:t ^^m( Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2008 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/educationforsociOOkingrich EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY i i EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY A STUDY IN THE SOCIAL RELATIONS OF EDUCATION BY IRVING KING, Ph.D. w SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA AUTHOR OF the psychology of child development," " the development of religion: a study in social psychology," "the social aspects of education" D. APPLETON AND COMPANY NEW YORK CHICAGO L.C ' K4- Copyright, 1913. by D. APPLETON AND COMPANY PREFACE In writing the pages which follow the author has had in mind not so much the interests of the educa- tional specialist as the practical needs of busy teachers and parents. He has attempted to present, in simple language, and largely through the medium of illus- tration, a social view of education which is coming more and more to prevail. He has attempted to show, concretely, various ways in which the average teacher and parent may contribute something toward the realization of the ideal of social efficiency as the goal of our educational enterprise. Let not the reader lose his perspective as he finds the social point of view constantly dwelt upon in these pages. In emphasizing the social meanings the author has not been unmindful that education has other important meanings and values. These are, in a sense, subordinate to the social values, and, in any case, they have received their share of attention elsewhere. It seems legitimate, therefore, to pass them by in this discussion. The author gratefully acknowledges his indebted- ness to Mr. Walter R. Miles, a graduate student in the State University of Iowa, for his generous con- 26^33 vi PREFACE tribution to Chapter XVI of the account of his per- sonal experience in organizing a "Social Center" in a small country town, and to The National Congress of Mothers, for permission to reprint in Chapter V a part of a paper written originally for that organi- zation and published in Problems of Parents. Iowa City, January i, 1913. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. The Social Origin and Function of Edu- cation i^ 11. The Social Aim of Education . . ii-^"^ III. The Rural School and the Rural Com- munity 21 IV. Adapting the Country School to Country Needs 43 V. The Character-Forming Possibilities of Home Life 71 — VI. The Cooperation of School and Com- munity 90 '^ VII. Play as a Factor in Social Efficiency 109 "pT VIII. The Social Basis of School Incentives 123 IX. The Opportunity Afforded by the In- ternal Life of the School . 138 X. School Government, an Opportunity for Social Training .... 158 XI. The Social Ideal in the Curriculum . 177 XII. The Vocational Interest and Social Ef- ficiency 199*^ * XIII. Vocational Guidance, an Aid to Social Efficiency 219 XIV. The Method of Instruction as Determined BY the Social Ideal >. . . 232-^ XV. The Character- Forming Influence of Group-Work 252 XVI. The School as a Social Center . . 262 XVII. The School and Social Progress . . 280 vii CaLjI' Education For Social Efficiency CHAPTER I THE SOCIAL ORIGIN AND FUNCTION OF EDUCATION Education a Social Process. — The abstract statement that education is a social process, a social enterprise, will gain easy assent, but so complex are the currents of the modern world that it may be lost sight of as a practical truth. The social relations of education are so many-sided and so important that they may, for that very reason, be unappreciated, as one may fail to see the forest for the trees. Even in its very earliest forms education was a social undertaking. The primitive tribes of to-day illustrate this fact in their methods of training their children. Indeed we may get important light upon the basic social principles of education by turning for a brief space to consider these beginnings, or at least these simpler stages of the education process. The Beginnings of Education. — Some sort of child- training all savage tribes have, partly informal, and partly directed by conscious purpose. Crude though their culture may be they always have something ,\ ; fepUGATipN ; FDR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY which they must needs impart to their children, if the latter are to become efficient members of the adult society. In fact the very continuance of the tribe upon the human level requires that the children should receive and learn to profit by the experience of their parents. Since the survival of the primitive group depends upon the educability of its children it would not be strange if the capacity both to teach and to learn were bred into the human race by natural selection. The groups which exhibited some slight tendency along these lines would have an advantage over the groups which had it not, and they would be the ones to sur- vive. As for the very beginning of education it was probably quite without any definite purpose on the part of the elders to instruct. It depended, rather, upon a little superior imitativeness in the children. Not merely among savages, but among people in all stages of culture, it is imitativeness which lies at the basis of education. It is this quality which makes the child open and receptive to the experience of his elders. The formal agencies of instruction are but specializations of social activity which render the imitation of certain important elements of a people's culture less open to chance; in other words, the for- mal means supplement, at certain points only, the action of undirected imitation. The Place of Imitation. — Many observers tell us of the great imitativeness of the children of the primi- tive races. This readiness to copy everything seen is apparently the main method of learning among the Baganda, an African people. In Roscoe's careful study of these tribes no mention is made of any for- ORIGIN AND FUNCTION mal attempts to teach the children anything but to count. The simple daily intercourse of the children with the rest of the community is probably the main avenue of their learning. As to their power to imi- tate Roscoe says they "may be seen making toy guns after the pattern of those used by their fathers. Those toy guns are so well made that, when the trig- gers are pulled, they make a sharp report. Bicycles have been cleverly imitated by boys, with wheels and spokes made of reeds. Once an idea has been pre- sented to them they are quick to seize it, and, with but a few tools and the common materials around them, to turn out the most cunningly devised articles." Dudley Kidd, writing of the Kafirs, says: "Faculties, such as cunning and imitation, seem to be developed in black children at an even earlier age than in the case of white children. No farmer's boy in England could make such excel- lent bird-traps at the age of three as the Kafir child can." Much of the material culture of his tribe the sav- age child can thus pick up by mere contact with those older than himself. He sees and participates daily in almost every phase of the tribe's economic and social life. There is nothing remote or unusual about any- thing. It is all there before him and he can try his hand at it as he pleases. The value of all the tribal knowledge and skill is also immediately apparent. Everything he learns fits in directly with the life he leads day by day. Among the Kafirs "the smallest children are taught to be polite, and this constitutes their first lesson. Obedience to parents hardly needs to be taught, for the children notice how everyone 3 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY in the kraal is instinctively obedient to the old men; the children catch this spirit without know- ing it." The Beginnings of Formal Instruction. — But, impor- tant as imitation is, it is generally supplemented by some formal instruction, even in barbarous societies. The religious rites and the myths are usually too com- plex to be acquired and understood through imitation alone. Among some of the Australian natives it is said that "the old men in their leisure time instructed the younger ones in the laws of the tribe, impressing on them modesty of behavior and propriety of con- duct, as they understood it, and pointing out to them the heinousness of certain crimes." Familiar social communication within the family and neighborhood was not only the first and simplest avenue of formal education: it has remained, in all ages and in all stages of culture, one of its most important means. The more formal agencies have been but special de- velopments from this broad matrix of social inter- course. Social intercourse gives the setting, the back- ground, and determines the relationships of the for- mal agencies. It fills in the gaps and makes up the deficiencies of that type of instruction. The Function of Formal Instruction. — -Formal educa- tion, neither in the beginning, nor ever, for that mat- ter, has been concerned with imparting to the child all the culture of his people. It has centered, rather, around certain customs and religious beliefs, that seemed too important to be left to chance. It was and is in the daily life in the group, however, that the child gained a living appreciation of what he re- ORIGIN AND FUNCTION ceived through formal instruction, if, indeed, the lat- ter was to have any meaning at all. When formal instruction is given to the savage child it is usually an undertaking which occupies the attention and energy of the whole tribe. The initia- tion ceremonies, common among most barbarous peoples, represent the beginnings of schooling, and they are of especial interest to us in this connection, because they are so clearly social undertakings. The initiation ceremonies constitute the course of instruc- tion given the savage boy as he approaches maturity. By them he is prepared for the duties of manhood, which consist, not merely in his being able to take care of himself, but also in his being a worthy mem- ber of the tribe and sharing in the various obligations it imposes upon all adult members. These ceremonies are usually performed at some stated time of the year and may continue for weeks or even months. All the older members of the com- munity are the teachers. The whole tribe unites in the important social function of testing and teaching its boys. This is strikingly illustrated by the elabo- rate ceremonials of the aborigines of Australia, At these times the old men set a time, take the boys of proper age, and put them through various mental and physical tests, in addition to instructing them in all the legends and customs of their people. The en- durance of the boys is tested in many trying ways, such as going for days without food, undergoing severe physical pain, to see whether they have suffi- cient hardihood and self-control to be admitted to the society of adults and bear their share of the responsibilities of tribal life. No special class in the 5 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY community is set apart as teachers, unless it be the oldest men. Literally the whole social group takes a hand in the instruction. The Aim of Primitive Education. — One acute student of the primitive races says: "The educational sys- tem of the savage v^as designed to secure the solidar- ity of the group, not to convey a body of exact knowl- edge. The formal instruction was mainly moral; the occupational practice was picked up informally. The food regulations of the Australians are a striking example of the thoroughness with which moral in- structions were imparted." It is manifestly of supreme importance that a prim- itive tribe should form a well-knit collective life, bound together by common customs and common in- terests. Likewise it should be composed of men and women able to endure privation and hardship, and loyal under all circumstances to the interests of the whole group. Consequently in large part the initia- tion ceremonies are devoted to impressing upon the youths the sanctity of tribal custom, and in inspiring in them a profound respect for the older men and women as representatives of the social life. Respect for the old men is illustrated by the following words of Spencer and Gillen, with reference to the Central Australians: "It may be noted here that the defer- ence paid to the old men during the ceremonies of examining the churinga [sacred objects] is most marked; no young man thinks of speaking unless he be first addressed by one of the older men, and then he listens solemnly to all that the latter tells him . . . The old man, just referred to, was especially looked up to as an oknirahata, or great instructor, a term 6 ORIGIN AND FUNCTION which is only applied, as in this case, to men who are not only old, but learned in all the customs and traditions of the tribe, and whose influence is well seen at the ceremonies — where the greatest deference is paid them. A man may be old, very old, indeed, but yet never attain to the rank of oknirahataf' Schools as a Social Division of Labor. — The develop- ment of formal agencies of instruction, the begin- nings of which we have pointed out in the initia- tion rites of savage tribes, may be regarded as one of the many divisions of labor which become needful as society develops from the primitive to the civilized level. The school, as an institution, and teaching, as a profession, are but phases of the inevitable growth in complexity of a progressive social or- ganism. Education and Evolution. — Education has been, from the beginning, a social necessity, so thoroughly grounded in human need as to be almost, if not en- tirely, instinctive in its origin. Its development has been closely associated with the changes which we call, for want of a better term, social progress. In- deed, were it not for the educability of the child, and were it not for the readiness of the adult to instruct him, progress of any sort would be infinitely slow, if not altogether impossible. It has often been pointed out that the development of conscious, intelli- gent life has wrought a radical change in the char- acter and method of evolution. Through all the un- told ages lying back of the human race, progress was inconceivably slow. To our limited range of vision and to our still more limited understanding of the under- lying causes of development, the whole course of the 7 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY development of living forms on our planet seems to have been little better than a blind struggle. Of course we may feel that, underneath it all, there has been an intelligent purpose, and that this purpose has wrought order out of chaos, has brought up the higher from the lower, and led all forward to the working out of some high plan. Whatever our philosophy of life and its development may be, we at least can see that the steps forward in the lower orders of life have been by most minute gradations, and that every point gained was accomplished with a prodigal wastefulness, both of time and of life itself. In striking contrast with these processes by which that which was worth while was preserved in the plant and in the animal, stands the course of human development. Man, equipped with at least a clearer self -consciousness than the brute world, and certainly with a power of choice and a capacity to utilize his environment far beyond that of any form beneath him, has become more and more a positive agent in the evolutionary process. To be sure he is still sub- ject in very definite ways to the natural forces which produced him. There are limitations to his control which will probably always continue to operate. But, even though he cannot take everything into his own hands, he can do something, and the story of human progress, as we know it, is largely the story of what man can accomplish by even slightly modifying the action of natural forces. Slowly but surely the physi- cal environment has been made over, and the world has been subdued. The forces of nature that once terrorized and afflicted, while not entirely mastered. ORIGIN AND FUNCTION have at least been made to minister to his comfort. A variety of factors have cooperated to make these things possible. Among them have been a superior capacity of memory and a corresponding ability to compare the results of experience, and to profit by them. Each individual now has, on the whole, done comparatively little, but there is always the possi- bility that the little that he is able to do will be pre- served and that others may add their little to it, consciously, purposely, and not blindly. The results of experience, instead of being wasted altogether, or accumulating by infinitely slow gradations through natural selection, may thus gather and become avail- able with comparative rapidity. When it seems to us that the majority of men are blind and that their behavior is guided by impulse rather than by wise understanding, we can reassure ourselves by the re- flection that even thus the period of time covered by the human race is but a day in comparison with the unmeasured ages which have preceded. The Method of Education. — Halting though man's advance seems to be, it has been rapid in comparison with the progress of life on pre-human stages. In a large and real sense education is the instrument which has made this possible. It is the agency through which conscious purpose and choice have operated toward progress. The means by which this has been accomplished in times past have been the giv- ing to each child, as far as possible, the experience of adult society. In this way each generation presum- ably starts off with approximately the same equipment as the previous ones. In the course of its further growth it may possibly learn more, and thus, little by 2 9 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY little, the fund of culture grows. It is only a part of the business of education, however, to assist in the acquisition of knowledge. It has always at- tempted also to traiUj to discipline the child, to culti- vate in him capacity and power. The method of accomplishing these latter ends, however, is far less perfectly worked out than that of instruction in the lore of the past. The develop- ment of power is supposed to come through the ac- quisition of knowledge. But this is not necessarily the case. We are only beginning to appreciate the possi- bilities of education if it may but enlarge the scope of its efforts and put the development of efficiency in the child upon a scientific basis. Knowledge, discipline, efficiency, how then are they to be secured? What means are open to us that we may utilize to the best advantage the capacities which each new generation brings with it? These questions suggest a new and larger view of education. To an- swer them properly requires a clear appreciation of the many social relations and functions of the educative process. CHAPTER II THE SOCIAL AIM OF EDUCATION The Social Aim. — From what has been said of edu- cation as a social enterprise and of its necessity as a means, both of maintaining existing culture and of promoting social progress, we may naturally con- clude that some sort of social end or aim should be at the basis of all educational endeavor. In earlier times this fact was only dimly appreciated, and, even to-day, it has scarcely descended from the realm of vague theory. The need, however, of a thoroughly concrete, practical conception of the social end of education is thrusting itself upon us. Already many and diverse forces are grappling with the problem of giving our children a really adequate preparation for modern life. There is the greatest need that the serious student of education should think through the present situation, complex though it is, and baffling though its tendencies are, and attempt to evaluate what is being done and interpret it according to some unifying principles. -^ While it is true that direct and fearless attempts $ '9 to meet an insistent need or solve a pressing problem usually precede scientific interpretations, it is neces- sary for reflection and interpretation to follow closely, if these first endeavors are to bear good fruit. Re- flection and theory are not something apart from ac- tion, as we often hear. They are most necessary that II EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY action may be really successful. Successful educa- tional work must depend, therefore, both upon deter- mined and energetic action and upon clear, penetrat- ing insight into the situations in which we work, the needs of these situations, and the relationships of these needs to the still larger problems of our modem social order. Eeasons for Individualistic Ideals. — There has never been a time when true education did not have a social function and a social end. How, then, can we explain the individuahstic conceptions of educa- tion which have been common in the past? Chiefly on the ground that the social environment in which children lived, and the duties which this environment carried with it, supplejijented the methods and ideals of formal instruction.^ Considering the narrow philos- ophy of the school master, the product was usually better than might have been expected. It is really not strange that individualistic ideals should tmderlie much of our educational practice. The individual child is always before the "teacher. His individual and peculiar difficulties are always claiming her attention. The teacher's immediate problem is to train this individual in order that he may, as far as possible, have good habits of speech and of conduct; that he may know at least a little of arithmetic, of geography, of history, and so forth. If she is a person of high ideals, she hopes, as a result of his school study, that he may acquire a trained eye, hand, and ear, a sound judgment, a love of the beau- tiful and the good. With attention centered on the problem of instruct- ing and training the individual pupil it is easy for 12 THE SOCIAL AIM OF EDUCATION the teacher to conceive of the goal of her work as the harmonious development of all the capacities of the pupil, or, if this be too broad a program, then the training of a part of his powers, so that he may be able to make a living for himself, or engage in some honorable work. It is not merely, however, because the attention of the teacher has been centered on the individual pupil that the educational aims of the past have tended to be individualistic. This point of view has largely dominated every phase of life. The church has often held the salvation of the individual soul as its ideal. The industrial world worshiped and still worships in- dividual successT^ociety in general idealizes the hero, the great man, the man of prowess, physical and in- tellectual, the person of superior personality. All this idealization of individual success came about, not because man ~w& not a social being, but ^ because social relations and social dependence had not come clearly to consciousness, because in the sim- pler life of the past these relations did not thrust them- selves upon people's attention. They were matters of course — they took care of themselves. The child re- ceived his training in social relations and duties in simpler and more informal ways outside the school. A^- was noted -above, however, formal instruction devel- oped among primitive peoples to meet the deficiencies of informal social intercourse. It was devised as a means of insuring that the child should learn certain things which he would not be able to learn satisfac- torily if he were left to pick up things for himself by imitation and simple contact with the life that was going on daily about him. As culture increased 13 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY in complexity, more and more of the burden of edu- cation had to be shifted to formal agencies, specifi- cally to the school. A New Point of View Needed. — Precisely this sort of situation is rendering it imperative to-day that these old individualistic conceptions of education be recon- sidered and that a new type of endeavor be under- taken by the school. ^ It is clear to us to-day that none of these individual excellences v^^ould have any value, or, indeed, mean anything, except as our pupil lives and works among other people. 'Of what worth are knowledge, skill, culture, except as they enable him to live more effi- ciently among his fellow-men? His whole life is inevitably bound up with other people"? "What is good and wise for him must be ^ood and wise for others. His welfare or success can in no wise be separated from that of his associates. Thus the common wel- fare furnishes the standard for estimating the effi- ciency of the educative process in each and every in- dividual capacity. t^ Social Training of the Child. — Individual capacities each child has, and the object of education is to train them. There is no other course open to the teacher than to begin with this same individual pupil. He, with his plastic mind and muscles, is the inevitable raw material. The question is not shall the child be trained, but rather how shall he be trained. If he is to be an active member of society, shall he be trained with this object in mind, or shall the development of each capacity proceed as if he were a self-sufficient, isolated unit, living entirely unto himself? Live and work with other people he must, and, if 14 THE SOCIAL AIM OF EDUCATION the school does not give him suitable training, he will have to get it in other ways if he gets it at all. He may never get it, or he may get it only imperfectly. That is, while living with other people and working with them, he does so with friction and difficulty, not realizing either for himself or for the community the maximum of good. v^ Social Training in Home and Neighborhood. — As v:^ have stated before, the social values of education were in the past secured in many ways outside of school. Life was complex enough, it is true, and presented many difficult social problems, but these problems were largely met by man's instinctive social equipnieiTt. The primitive ideals of the family and of the neigh- borhood were in the main sufficient to meet and solve such problems as thrust themselves upon people's at- tention. In these small social groups the conception of social unity, and such ideals as loyalty, kindness, truthfulness, lawfulness, were largely instinctive. They/^3 have, from time immemorial, characterized such in- timate human associations. The family and neigh- borhood groups were necessary to the most elementary phases of social development, and no family or neigh- borhood could endure that did not develop as funda- mental instincts in its members these ideals of mutual helpfulness, kindness, and truthfulness. These are elementary qualities of human nature in all small groups of people the world over, both barbarous and civilized. They are found conspicuously in the lowest levels of culture, and they are found among ourselves in all those situations which bring us into intimate personal acquaintance and daily association with one another. Mankind's whole code of morals and theory 15 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY of right conduct have been built up upon the basis of these elementary virtues of the home and the neigh- borhood. As long as the life of the individual was lived largely in these simple situations, as long as there was little to carry him outside of them into far- reaching relationship with the world at large, he found in this family and neighborhood life a fairly adequate socializing medium. Recent Growth of Human Relations. — The last cen- tury, however, has immensely increased the reach of human life. Man's vocational activities have broad- ened in their scope. More and more has he been led out of the narrow, primitive relation of family and neighborhood and drawn into contact with larger and larger groups of people. This increase in the scope of our relationships has vastly extended the influence of our simplest acts. Our conduct, whether good or bad, to-day affects not alone the little narrow groups in which we live, but even people whom we may not know intimately, or perhaps never see at all. ' Under the influence of these conditions every type of industry has developed new phases and problems, the family shows signs of radical modification, the old-time neighborhood is already, in many localities, a thing of the past. In a word, present-day life throws the individual into a host of social relations and arouses him to a consciousness of a host of knotty problems that never appeared in the primitive com- munity or family. Difficulties of Social Adjustment. — While, therefore, the old-time society educated its children informally, the new social order presents such difficulties of social adjustment that the present-day child is scarcely able j6 THE SOCIAL AIM OF EDUCATION to fit into it, and live a really satisfactory life, unless these new social relations are made a more conscious element in his formal training. He needs, in other words, a distinctively social training. The social rela- tions and opportunities of school and neighborhood must be utilized to prepare him for the complex life he must live. And all this not merely that he may be more efficient as an individual in this larger life, better able to make his own personal way in more intricate surroundings, but that he may be better able to carry over into his broader relationships the ele- mentary virtues of the home and of the neighborhood. Indeed, more and more it becomes apparent that mod- ern society needs to be humanized and moralized, if it is to endure, just as this was needful in the simple primitive community. The moralization of the primi- tive community was accomplished without any definite reflective purpose. It gradually developed under the influence of natural selection, just because it was im- possible for these little groups of people to survive except as they were bound together by a sort of ele- mentary consideration for each other. Their goodness was as natural and instinctive as was everything else that pertained to their lives. Economic Development Precedes Social. — Modern so- ciety, however, is the result of a more or less definite conscious evolution. If it has not been guided by any broad, comprehensive aim, in which everyone has participated, it has at least been made what it is by a vast number of partial purposes, which are largely economic. The maladjustment of human energies and resources is in the main due to an excessive develop- ment along economic lines, accompanied by a -great 17 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY increase in population, without a corresponding de- velopment of those ideals of social relationship which, in the simple primitive community, coordinated and kept a proper balance in these other phases of life. In other words^he social nature of the modern man has not grown fast enough to keep up with his economic progress. The problem that confronts us to-day is that of extending, and, if necessary, recon- structing, the social ideals of a simpler social order, that they may dominate the life of the modern world, with its greatly diversified activities and the hosts of problems that have grown out of these multiplied and enlarged interests. The same sort of conscious purpose which has wrought the changes in the economic life must appear in the development of a social morality which is ade- quate to these new conditions ; a social morality which can unify diverse and conflicting interests and con- serve human welfare in the midst of the great modern machine of production, distribution, and consumption, which man himself has constructed; a social morality which will, in a word, save man from the monster of his own creation. Readjustment Throngli Education. — All of this must be accomplished through education, meaning by edu- cation the entire process by which human nature is trained and instructed. And this education must be largely wrought out through the school. The ideal of a social life adequate to modern conditions of liv- ing must take its place as an object of explicit and conscious training, just because it is too complex and difficult to attain in any other way. In fact such an ideal may be regarded as including all i8 THE SOCIAL AIM OF EDUCATION others. Properly interpreted it is the real ideal of all education. A Workable Social Ideal. — ^As we have already pointed out, men were not less social creatures when their conscious ideals in religion and in education, for instance, centered upon individual development and upon individual perfection. They were social then, as now, but upon a smaller scale, and the social train- ing, which the educational ideal did not explicitly pro- vide for, took care of itself. 1 Since the life of to-day makes such heavy and unforeseen demands upon the social nature of its members, the time has come when a definite social conception of education must displace the older individualistic conceptions, a social concep- tion which will not be held as a bit of mere abstract philosophy, but which will rather react explicitly and constantly upon the every-day work of teaching in every type of school, w-^ tv Social Efficiency. — Such an ideal has already been formulated and is common in some form or other in almost all recent educational discussion. It has been best stated as the ideal of social efficiency. In this brief form, however, it is not a very intelligible nor a very practicable conception. It needs to be definitely enlarged and definitely applied. What does it mean to be socially efficient, and what are the means of at- taining that condition when once we have satisfied our- selves as to what it is? These questions cannot be answered briefly. There are many things to consider, many needs to evaluate, and many types of situations to examine. Because of its scope and complexity, the modern social need can- not be met in any simple way, or through one or a few 19 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY pet schemes or devices. If it is to be adequately met it must be through a complete reconstruction and utili- zation of every element and factor in the educational process, v-^ Definition of the Ideal. — It is the object of the chap- ters which follow to define and render workable the ideal of social efficiency, to present a number of con- crete situations with their manifest needs, and to state, in a preliminary way, at least, what social efficiency in these situations means, as well as the ways in which it is being accomplished, and may be still better ac- complished. CHAPTER III THE RURAL SCHOOL AND THE RURAL COMMUNITY The Rural School Problem. — Following our plan of defining the social end of education, and of presenting it as a concrete and workable ideal for the practical teacher we shall take up first the situation and the problem presented by the rural school and the rural community. In many respects this is the best point at which to begin our study. It is the logical beginning, because the rural school, while not the original Ameri- can educative institution, nevertheless does represent the type from which much of present-day American education has developed. This is especially true of those phases which have sprung up in the great Cen- tral and Western sections of the country. In all these regions the rural school was long the predominant type, and, if it did not furnish altogether the pattern on which the city school was built, it at least furnished a set of ideals of the relation of the school to the com- munity, which were carried over into the city and have persisted in men's minds to this day, even though they may have ceased to exist in real life. The rural situation is also a good place to begin our study, because the social needs there existing are simple and uncomplicated by puzzling variations and counter-currents. Many of the obstacles to the reali- 21 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY zation of the social ideal, which are present in the great modern city, with its mixture of races, its di- versity of interests, its problems of social adjustment, and its conflicting ideals, are not to be found in the country; or, if found there, are less marked. The country problem is simple, in that the factors which enter into it may be more easily unraveled and the means of solution are much more readily available than in the city. But the country problem is also sufficiently diffi- cult. Elementary and unentangled though the forces operating may be, there is an inertia about the country that renders our rural school problem quite as grave and as difficult, though in another way, as the city school problem. Let us bear in mind that it is not the whole of the rural problem that we are here to consider, although that will be indirectly involved. We are rather con- cerned to see what is being done and what must be done still further that the rural school may actually realize the social ideal in country boys and girls. In dealing with this question one should clearly see what the elements are, the things which constitute social efficiency in the country. The Social Ideal in the Country In briefest terms the rural school, if it is to be governed by social ideals, must be an exponent of the needs of rural life. In times past and even to-day, in too many localities, the main inducement held out to boys in the country to secure an education is that they may go to college or prepare for some profession. These are not un- worthy ends to strive for, but it is unfortunate that they should be conceived as the main ends of an edu- 22 RURAL SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY cation. As a matter of fact, only a small proportion of boys and girls, either in city or country, do go to college, and, if the training they receive in school is planned with reference to the college as a goal, it means that much of their time and effort is being wasted through being expended in lines not directly related to their real life-needs. Those country chil- dren who wish to prepare for college must have the opportunity to do so, but the resources of the country high school should not be devoted entirely, or even largely, to the interests of this small class. Adaptation to Country Needs. — As one writer on rural education says : * "One of the great aims of sec- ondary education in any locality should be to provide a program of studies which shall take into considera- tion the natural aptitudes, inclinations, needs, and des- tiny of the boys and girls of the section. In addition, a type of education must be established which shall react upon the community and the region in which the school is located in such a way as to be a source of strength and a means of upbuilding the whole district tributary to it. If education is to be universal, not only must the needs of the boys and girls be taken into consideration and provided for, but the industries of the community in which the school is located must be represented in its program of studies." The school must, furthermore, be in hearty sympa- thy with these needs, and must see in them opportuni- ties as great and as worthy as any which may inspire human effort and enthusiasm. Moreover, it must * Supt. H. A. Brown, "The Readjustment of a Rural High School to the Needs of the Community." U. S. Bureau of Education Bulletin No. 20, p. 10. 19 12. 23 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY seek to promote a type of rural life which furnishes scope for the best phases of man's social nature. It must cultivate in boys and girls the capacity to be efficient units in the larger social morality that is de- manded by modern life. Contrast of Pioneer Times. — The old-time rural school, the school of the pioneers, was in many re- spects closer to the community and its social needs. Its curriculum was narrow, but it was possibly broad enough for its time. The frontier community needed intensive and diversified formal instruction less than it needed a center for its social and intellectual life and interests. The meager curriculum of the three "R's" and the poor methods of instruction, as com- pared with our modern conceptions, did not matter so much. The children were surrounded by a com- munity and family of a sound social nature. It was, to all intents, the community of primitive man, in which, under the very eyes of the children, occurred daily all the types of industry and sociability needful in a simple community. Each family was almost self-sustaining. Its di- versified activities of clearing the ground, preparing the soil, planting and harvesting the crops, the prepa- ration of food and of clothing were all carried on in ways that could be easily understood and in ways that not merely gave the children opportunity but even required that they should participate in them to the extent of their strength and ability. All of this con- stituted the finest type of industrial training; in the first place, because it was diversified and appealed to a great variety of interests, and, in the second place, because everything done had its clear and definite 24 RURAL SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY practical value and social worth. There was small opportunity for any notion of unreality, or for any feeling of remoteness from life to enter in. It was, in fact, an education through life in the very fullest sense. With such opportunities for direct, first-hand contact with and participation in the satisfaction of elementary human needs; with such opportunities for free, open-air activity and for grappling with difficult though not insurmountable problems, the pioneer com- munity could well put up with a narrow range of school studies and with poorly trained teachers. Those were times when strong, self-reliant men and women were produced with perhaps only three months of school attendance in their whole lives. Pioneer Social Life. — But the excellence of the pio- neer community as a medium of education consisted not merely in its primitive economic life. Its social life was fully as important; and here the old-time rural school was more of a vital force. The pioneer community was a primitive one, also, in the sense that the instinctive social morality from the imme- morial past held sway and was altogether adequate as a means of adjusting such conflicts of interest as arose, and of interpreting life and directing conduct. The people lived and worked together with much the same interests and with little difference of social level. Thus, real neighborhood feeling was possible. Although each family might be an independent economic unit, there were ample opportunities for the development of mutual helpfulness. The neighbors assembled for barn-raisings and husking bees, the dominating spirit of which was hearty good-will and brotherly helpfulness. If one of the community was 8 25 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY sick and could not get his crop planted or harvested, it was done as a matter of course for him by his neighbors without the shadow of a thought of being paid. It was the rule that he who had should lend to him who had not. In our older communities, which are still inhabited by the descendants of these first settlers, much of this fine neighborhood spirit still persists. Although many services are paid for to-day that were once rendered by community cooperation, the men will often gather for the old-time barn raising in the same spirit as their fathers. Although much of the dangerous work may now be avoided through the use of machinery, the occasion is still a genuine social function, an expression of old hearty neighbor- liness. ^The life of the early rural community in America was, then, a soil in which grew up and flourished all the basic social virtues. Not that the people were perfect, or not subject to evil passions, but these less admirable qualities were tempered by the sense of moral unity, with its attendant ideals of kindness, truthfulness, honesty, and lawfulness. Its Educative Character. — Just because these quali- ties of character were manifest in the daily life and intercourse of the people they were ingrained into the children who thereby acquired the social character needful in such communities. It was a social life limited in scope and opportunity, but it was adequate for the type of life then existing. On the educational side, in the narrower sense, the school was a real cen- ter of influence in the neighborhood. It was estab- lished by mutual consent and purpose and expressed the social belief in education. That the content of 26 RURAL SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY instruction was formal and narrow did not matter, because it was really only a supplementary agency in the training of the children. The school was really adjusted to meet the one need that participation in the life of the community could not conveniently sup- ply, namely: the rudiments of reading, writing, and arithmetic. The Old-time School and the Home. — Moreover, these early schools maintained an intimate relation to the homes. The teacher was usually a man, thoroughly familiar with the life of the people, one who had, himself, experienced many of their struggles and was able to do the things they did. Crude though his learning in books might be, he was often the intel- lectual head of the neighborhood; he often boarded around among the patrons of the school, and thus kept in constant touch with their social ideals and aspirations. His leadership of the younger genera- tion depended quite as much upon the fact that he was the physical master of the "big boys" as on the fact that he knew slightly more about arithmetic than they did. A Center of Social Life. — The country school-house itself, along with the country church, was the center of many of the social interests and activities of the neighborhood. The young people, in the absence of other opportunities for recreation, naturally gathered at the school-house and amused themselves in simple ways. Those were the days of the spelling matches and the debating clubs and literary societies. The older members of the community readily joined with the school children in these neighborhood functions, partly because there was little else going on to attract 27 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY their attention, and partly because the school children themselves were in many cases young men and women, so that there was no sharp line dividing the social interests of the adults from the pupils of the school. So much for the social significance of the old-time education and the old-time rural school. Even though the preceding account of its character may seem to be exaggerated, it was certainly different in many ways from the life of the modern rural com- munity. If our account errs, it is probably not so much in over-emphasizing the social values, but rather in neglecting some of the less pleasant features of the pioneer community. These drawbacks do not detract from the good side of the lives of these people. Hard- ships, suffering, and sin do not make the good and the happy side of life any less real. Real Social Training Provided. — We have meant in our picture of the old rural life to show how the social ideal of education was fairly well provided for through the cooperation of the school and the com- munity, to point out how there was an organic rela- tion and sympathy between the two, and, how, as a result, the children received a really socialized educa- tion. The changes that have come over rural life and rural education are due to many causes, some of the more important of which may be mentioned, though we can scarcely undertake to discuss them here. Causes of Later Deterioration. — Prominent among the causes of the deterioration of the country was the rapid development of the city. The evils of city life were not evident at first glance nor at long range. The city community seemed to have certain comforts that RURAL SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY the country did not possess. It afforded more diversi- fied types of amusement and more opportunity for the satisfaction of the social instincts. That these opportunities were less healthful and normal was not immediately apparent. A Typical Illustration. — The words of Superintend- ent Morrison, of New Hampshire, * written with special reference to New England, describe quite ac- curately the course of events in all the older rural communities the country over. He says : Out of the old country schools went a steady stream of sons and daughters who were, other things being equal, always the strongest of the generation, for other- wise they would not have gained this education. Seldom did they settle upon the old farm or in the home town. Their education had fitted them for other things. They became lawyers, or physicians, or clergymen, or schoolmasters, or business men in the cities, and the girls went with them, generally to be their wives. Their children grew up under city conditions and went to city schools. The unambitious, the dull, the unfor- tunate boys and girls of the old countryside, who could not get to the academy, as a class, remained behind and became the dominant stock. And they reproduced their kind for another generation, upon whom the same sort- ing process was carried out. Then the factory system seized upon the strong-limbed and restless, albeit slow- witted, and began to sort them out and remove them. Finally the Civil War came and struck down the ideal- ists by the wholesale, mostly boys or young men who had not yet reproduced themselves in a new generation. * Biennial Report for 1907-8. Quoted by Supt. H. A. Brown, op. cit., pp. 25, 26. 29 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY Now upon a journey through rural New England you shall see fine old mansions, showing by their architecture that they date back well toward the beginning of the nineteenth century, and ample old homesteads with their capacious barns, all of them more or less in a state of decay. Of many, nothing but the cellar hole and an, at first sight, unaccountable orchard is left. These were the homes of a race which lived and prospered, which cleared the land, and built homes, and added barn to bam, which accumulated wealth, and gave virile expres- sion of itself in church, in state, and in educational in- stitutions. . . . But that race allowed its sons and daughters to be educated away from the farm and the country and from the State. In their place to-day we too often have a dwindling town, a neglected farm, a closed church, an abandoned schoolhouse. Depletion of the Country's Resources. — During the time that the farmer's children were being deluded by the glamour of the city, the resources of the farm, its soil, and its timbers were becoming impoverished, and the material return of labor was lessened. The products of the farm entered into larger and larger markets, and the machinery of distribution that de- veloped operated to leave most of the money profit in the city rather than in the country. The farmers of the second and third generation may have actually received more for their products than did the pioneer farmers, but not nearly in proportion to the new needs that had come into the lives of them and their families. Consequently, the hardships of pioneer times gave way to a new sort of hardship which was now, unfortunately, coupled with discontent. In a word, the changed attitude in the country may be said 30 RURAL SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY to have been due to the more rapid development of the city. It is safe to say that the different phases of society must keep pace with one another in their changes or maladjustment will arise. Prosperity, to be genuine and abiding, must occur for all classes, if it occurs at all. One class cannot enrich itself at another's expense indefinitely. New Needs Demand Satisfaction. — With the passing of pioneer life many new needs and desires have de- veloped — desires which will cause grave social dis- orders unless they have some measure of satisfaction. The failure of the country school and the country social and economic life to hold its own and progres- sively satisfy the enlarging life that was gradually opening up before the people did not indicate that these forces were not adequate in their own time. They simply did not for one cause or another develop fast enough to meet the changed life thrust upon the country. When first the pull of the city began to be felt upon the country, the grandchildren of the pioneers left what seemed to them the hard, narrow conditions of the country, and more and more flocked to the city in quest of the larger opportunity, as they imagined, in industry, in amusement, and in culture, instead of seeking to work these things out in their own rural life. This defection from the country of its most enter- prising young people left gaps which have been filled up by a transient population of renters, who have seldom had the stability or the incentive to build up a neighborhood life that would bear comparison with that of the pioneers. Under the shifting, unsatisfac- tory conditions, almost every phase of the higher rural 31 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY life has deteriorated. The school is no longer the social center of the community. Its still narrow cur- riculum and crude teachers are generally ill-adapted to the enlarged needs of the country. The child, edu- cated in the rural school, is less efficient socially than his grandfather, partly because there is no longer the rich neighborhood life which formerly supplemented the narrow training of the school, and partly because the school itself has not only not tried to meet new social demands, but has even lost touch with life as it is. The rural teacher is often from the city, with- out the slightest appreciation of country life, and with utterly no comprehension of its problems. It looks as if conditions could not have been more cun- ningly devised to hasten the deterioration of the country. The very agency that should have acted as a corrective, that should have studied and met the new needs, has become one of the influences for dis- integration. An Educational Problem. — The great problem of rural betterment, which now confronts the whole na- tion, and upon the happy solution of which the wel- fare of the nation depends, is in part a problem of education. The need is obvious, a higher grade of intelligence in the country population, a development of interests in country problems, higher ideals of rural life, more sociability, more opportunity for healthy-minded recreation in the country. To all of these ends the school can contribute something, and it must do so if it is to realize the social ideal in the education which it attempts to furnish. We have outlined a particular situation, a situation which presents perfectly definite needs. The attain- 33 RURAL SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY ment of the social ideal in education demands that these needs be met. The problem of making socially efficient men and women out of present-day country boys and girls is, specifically, the. problem of develop- ing in them this higher intelligence and interest in their own life, of securing greater efficiency in deal- ing with the peculiar economic problems of the coun- try, and, through it all, of so training these children in social relationships and obligations that it will make of them, not individual self-seekers, but members of a real social community, capable not merely of coop- erating with others for their own individual good, but also able to appreciate and strive for the welfare of the community. Phases of the Problem. — The social efficiency of ru- ral education is, in a word, dependent upon its get- ting into close touch with the actual needs of rural life. These needs are not only economic, but social and intellectual. As we have pointed out, people will not live contentedly in the country if they are forever deprived of social enjoyments and opportunities of recreation. Nor will the best boys and girls remain in the country if the life there starves the intellectual nature. To quote again: "When the boy finishes the high school course, if he is not one of the few who can go to college, he should find himself equipped with an interest in the problems of the farm, with an appreciation of the value of farm life, with a con- ception of the dignity of scientific agriculture as a profession, and with an attitude toward farm life which is entirely different from that of those who have been for four years educated away from the farm and the home and who have been taught that 33 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY only with the brain can a living honorably be made. When farming is raised to the dignity of a profession by the introduction of scientific methods the trend of population toward the city will in some measure cease." * Signs of an Awakening. — In many parts of the coun- try there are signs of a vigorous awakening on the part of those engaged in school work. The efforts they are putting forth to meet the conditions which we have sketched are most promising, although most of these endeavors are so new it remains to be seen how far they will actually solve the problem. They are also necessarily somewhat sporadic, and, in the main, distinctly local ; but they are nevertheless worth studying and evaluating in a preliminary way. It is important that these attempts should be viewed in the light of a general social philosophy of education. While further development and extension will prob- ably be determined in large part by the particular op- portunities presented by different localities, and will be in the nature of directly practical movements rather than the outgrowth of a clear and systematic view of underlying principles, a grasp of the princi- ples is necessary as the movement becomes more wide- spread. Systematic efforts toward making the rural schools really accomplish the maximum of social effi- ciency will depend upon a widespread discussion and study of principles as well as of specific expedients. Cooperation of Forces Needed. — It is, moreover, gen- erally recognized by all who know the problem of the country that the country school working alone can- not go far toward realizing a more socially efficient * Supt. H. A. Brown, op. cit., p. 26. 34 RURAL SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY education. All really effective education is the result of a cooperation of the community and the school. We have viewed educational efforts of all times as types of social activity developed to meet needs which are felt generally by the community. This will be found to be as true of the rural community as of any other. No deeply penetrating improvement can be secured except as the country people feel the need and lend their hearty cooperation to the school in its efforts. The country population, as a whole, is only half- awakened, or is awakened only in spots. In most places it is unresponsive and even apathetic. It views with suspicion the gospel of social betterment for the country. A part of the educational problem is, then, to touch and arouse the home. Before rural condi- tions, socially and educationally, can be improved in any large sense, the rural population as a whole must rise up and demand improvement. Outside forces may make a little beginning, but the success of the movement as a whole is in the hands of the people themselves who live on the farms and draw their subsistence from the soil. The lines along which the most significant work is now being done may be grouped as follows : (i) Improvement of the rural schools themselves. (2) Definite attempts to develop an interest in country life and country problems. The Beginnings of the New Movement. — The begin- nings of the present-day impulse for a more socially efficient education for the country date back at least twenty-five years. The efforts which were first put forth were modeled essentially upon the relation of 35 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY the school to the community of two generations ago. In fact, more or less idealized traditions of the "little red school-house of the olden time" have always per- sisted and served to keep alive in the hearts of a few discerning leaders the impulse to realize again the social possibilities of the rural school. Gradually the country school-house ceased to be a frequent neighborhood meeting-place; the patrons seldom or never crossed its threshold; often they did not know the teacher even by sight; they completely lost touch with the work of the school; and, worse still, they lost their community-interest in education through never meeting at the school-house to discuss it and other matters of neighborhood interest. The "Hesperia Movement." — The recent revival, as stated above, has been patterned after the old-time relationship. It was, at the first, an attempt to get parents and teachers together to promote the intel- lectual and social interests which they naturally had in common. The "Hesperia Movement," so-called, which began in a western county in Michigan, as far back as 1885, is an illustration which may be regarded as typical. Some of the country and village school teachers organized an association, to which the parents were invited, and in the programs of this association the interests of both classes were provided for. The association met at intervals in different school-houses. An active appreciation was awakened from the start; the meetings furnished a needed opportunity to the farmers for a social gathering-place during the win- ters. They served to promote the mutual acquain- tance of parents and teachers ; made the former more appreciative of the aims of the latter, and the latter 36 RURAL SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY more appreciative of the aims and interests of the former. Other associations were formed in the county, similar to this, and later in some other coun- ties of that state. With many variations, due to local conditions, the idea has spread to other states, but has perhaps developed nowhere with such bene- ficial social results as in the county and state of its inception. Means of Betterment Summarized. — President Butter- field, who has given one of the best accounts of the "Hesperia Movement," summarizes as follows * the means through which the rural school may be made a more efficient social agency in the country : 1. Bettering the course of study by utilizing more fully the materials afforded by the country environ- ment. There is no need, for instance, that the science taught in these schools should be abstract and remote from the life of the children. The forests, fields, and streams, the animal life, wild and domestic, are re- plete with most interesting problems. 2. Developing the social activities of the pupils. Affording opportunities for them to cooperate in vari- ous ways; for instance, in special day programs, in the preparation of exhibits for county fairs, improve- ment of school-grounds and buildings, building up of suitable libraries and collections of pictures. '*It needs no argument to show the value of this sort of cooperation to the pupil, to the teacher, to the school, to the parents, and ultimately to the community as a whole." 3. A more thoroughgoing and sympathetic coopera- tion between the school and the home. * In Chapters in Social Progress, Chicago, 1907. 37 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY 4. The making of the school-house a social meet- ing-place, a place for lectures, entertainm nts, social functions, clubs devoted to the quickening if the in- tellectual life, and the broadening of the outlook of country people in common human problems, as well as in those belonging specifically to the country. 5. Having teachers who will be identified with country life and who will become leaders in the com- munity in all lines of social improvement. The "Hesperia Movement", described above, is good as far as it goes, but it is typical only of the beginning of an awakening which is occurring in many different forms. The recent developments, as yet scattering, it is true, but none the less definite, have followed in very large measure these general lines sketched above. We shall try to indicate con- cretely in the following chapter how schools here and there are seeking in these ways to secure a higher social efficiency in the country boys and girls. First, however, we may note briefly the movement toward consolidated schools as furnishing a general condi- tion favorable to a better education for the country. Consolidation of Rural Schools. — The consolidated country school opens the way for many lines of social service impossible to the small, isolated, one- room school. Consolidation, of course, presents the undesirable feature of removing from the immediate community the old-time center of neighborhood life. But, where the number of pupils is small and scat- tered, and where the local school has already lost its hold on the community, this drawback is more than 38 RURAL SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY offset by the new life and interest engendered by the larger sch'/6l. Besides, such a consolidated school may, witt better roads and better means of trans- portation, be quite as easily accessible to-day as was the old-time neighborhood school. In some states this movement toward consolida- tion has already gone far. In others there is great backwardness toward adopting it. The advantages of consolidated country schools do not lie in their being any cheaper, financially, than the separate schools would have been. On the contrary, they usually cost more, and people generally should be- come accustomed to the idea that they must pay more and more for an education that is to keep pace with the needs of the times. An aroused public sentiment in the country is usually willing to pay for what is manifestly needed. The consolidated school makes possible better teachers and better equipment, although both of these features might have been supplied to the original one-room schools. Most important of all, as we have said, it brings a larger number of children together, and thereby makes for more in- terest and enthusiasm in the work. Should Be Real Country Schools. — The consolidated school, however, may not, in itself, be any closer to the needs of the country than was the one- room school. It may have better teachers and a wider range of studies, but, instead of meeting country needs, it may strive to become a school of the city type. Such a tendency cannot be too greatly de- plored. What is needed is not a city graded school and high school in tho country, but a real country school, based directly upon the needs of country com- 39 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY munities. From a social point of view, more and more do we realize that there is no such thing as a general education adapted to all types and conditions of people. It cannot be too often reiterated that diversity is to be the rule of the future rather than uniformity, and that this diversity is based directly upon the diversity of social needs. The realization of the full social value of the consolidated school for the country community will thus depend upon its being actually situated in the country, and not in a village or town. When country and town unite in a school the town interests and ideals are bound to be dominant, and such a school will lure the children away from the country rather than educate them for it. An Illustration. — An excellent example of a school of the best type is afforded by the John Swaney Con- solidated School in Putnam County, Illinois. It is a high-grade country school for country children, situ- ated two miles from any town or village, on a twenty- five-acre plot, in part wooded, which was generously donated by a farmer. The consolidated district sup- porting this school is composed of fourteen sections of land. *'The school is housed in a $12,000 two and one-half story brick building, containing four recitation rooms, two laboratories, large auditorium, two library and office rooms, a boys' manual training room, a girls' playroom, furnace room, and cloak room. All are lighted with gasoline gas, generated by a plant the reservoir of which is stored outside of the building. The building is heated with steam, and furnished with running water supplied by an air-pres- sure system. The building and equipment cost 40 RURAL SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY $16,000." * It was fitted up, in part, through gener- ous donations of people in the vicinity. The children are brought to the school by two wagons owned by the district. The grounds, naturally beautiful, have been still further improved by wise plans. A teach- ers' home and a janitor's home are also provided on the school-plot. As Foght says, it is a ^'school right in the heart of the rural community, where the child can dwell in close communion with nature, away from the attrac- tions and allurements of the city. In this sylvan re- treat, fitted with everything essential for school work, the boys and girls of Magnolia Township learn to know nature and to love it.f The high school course furnished by the John Swaney School is definitely adjusted to furnish train- ing in both college preparatory subjects and in agri- culture, manual training, and household arts. A state agriculture experiment station is installed on a six- acre plot adjoining the campus, where the pupils have the privilege of observing the methods and of profiting by the results. A Square Deal for Country Children. — Of a truth, as Foght says, ''the farm youth has not had a square deal. And the fundamental cause of it all is that our rural population does not spend enough money on the edu- cation of their boys and girls, nor does it spend this money to the best advantage. To-day the farmer * From a report by Supt. J. O. Kern, quoted by H. W. Foght, The American Rural School, p. 326. See also Country Life and the Country School, Mabel Carney, Chi- cago, 191 2, p. 150. t Foght, op. cit., pp. 324, 327. 4 41 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY spends $13.17 for the education of his children every time the city dweller spends $33.01 ! Can further ar- gument be necessary? And much of what is invested in rural education is spent to poor advantage in feeble, poorly instructed schools, which could just as well be abandoned or consolidated." * * Foght, op. cit., p. 332. CHAPTER IV ADAPTING THE COUNTRY SCHOOL TO COUNTRY NEEDS A Two-fold Problem. — Let us remember our double purpose in studying the country school. First of all, we should see in it a situation which is typical of our whole educational enterprise in America, namely, a school system very imperfectly adjusted to the needs of modern rural society, a system betraying the in- ertia which is very liable to develop in schools every- where. A method of education once worked out to meet a certain need is apt to become fixed and unre- sponsive to the new social needs which are bound in time to develop in a progressive community. Society is always larger and more vital than any of its institutions. An institution which, to start with, is quite adequate soon becomes inadequate, and vig- orous reconstruction is needed to keep it up with the times. The church has, in many respects, fallen be- hind present-day needs. Its old methods, once effec- tive, no longer grip people and shape their lives as those methods should. Political parties betray the same tendency to inertia, and are in frequent need of reorganization. We have shown how the rural school studies and methods of to-day were the product of the pioneer community. Crude though they were, they met fairly well the requirements of those early days for the 43 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY beginnings of an education. To-day they are out of touch with the needs of country-Hfe. Our first ob- ject, then, in studying these schools, is to observe this tendency and see, if possible, how it may be avoided, not merely in the country, but in the village and city as well. Our other purpose in this study should be to see how rural education in its various details can be made to minister to real social efficiency. The first prob- lem is a general one; the second is specific. In the preceding chapter we sketched the situation in the gross. In the present chapter our aim is to see what particular things are being done and may still further be done to meet the general need already outlined. We shall here take up, one by one, certain of the means suggested on page 378, by which the rural schools may be vitalized and made effective instru- ments in training country boys and girls to be so- cially efficient men and women. I. A COURSE OF STUDY ADAPTED TO COUNTRY NEEDS The first means suggested was that of a better course of study. Just what is the problem, and how is it being worked out? It goes without saying that country children must be taught the fundamental common branches. They must learn to read, write, and use numbers. They must be made acquainted with geography, history, and the every-day use of their mother-tongue. Their powers of perception, of memory, imagination, judgment, and reasoning must be developed, and their capacity for attention must be trained. They must acquire good habits of con- duct in association with others and right ideals of 44 RURAL SCHOOL AND RURAL NEEDS life generally. In none of these matters is the need of the country child a whit different from that of children everywhere. All schools are concerned with these various types of training, although they may actually accomplish much less than that at which they aim. The country school should be at least as effi- cient in these particulars as the school in the city. It should be different from the city school only in the means it uses to attain these ends. It should utilize to the fullest extent the materials afforded by the country environment in every one of its studies. Reading and Writing. — In the matter of merely be- ginning to read and write, there will, of course, be nothing to distinguish the country school from that of the city. As the children acquire skill in these arts, however, the materials on which they work should be those of their natural surroundings. They should have books to read which shall tend to awaken and enlarge their interest in country life and country prob- lems. For the lower classes there already exist large numbers of "nature readers", which boys and girls of the country need quite as much as do those of the city, that their eyes may be opened to what is going on about them in forest, field, and stream. For the upper classes there are masterpieces of lit- erature which present the idealistic side of agriculture and interpret nature from the standpoint of country life.* There is no reason why a part of the reading of the older children should not be found in books * Quotations in this and the following paragraphs are from a suggestive discussion of "The Country School De- partment of the Illinois State Normal University," by Mabel Carney, in The Normal Quarterly, Oct., 1911. 45 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY and pamphlets which deal with the economic problems of the countr}^, such as certain of the bulletins of the Department of Agriculture, or such admirable books as those of Professor L. H. Bailey on country life and country interests. Grammar and Composition. — "The essentials of grammar should be taught informally, chief attention being given to good habits in the use of English." These good habits can be acquired only by practice in conversation and writing, and what better subject is there than the interests of the farm home and the country environment? The teacher must, of course, appreciate these interests in order to raise them above the level of the commonplace and make them seem really worth while. The children will not be long in catching the enthusiasm of a teacher of deep sympathy with and genuine zeal for country life. There is a growing custom of having city school children correspond with children in other parts of the country and exchange with them pictures and small samples of their natural products. This cus- tom yields good results, both for geography and nature-study, and vitalizes the work in letter-writing and composition. This plan might be adopted to advantage by country children as a means not only of increasing their knowledge of the farm-products and methods of different states, but also as a natural means of motivating their practice of written Eng- lish. Arithmetic. — The rural school should, of course, thoroughly ground its children in the essentials of this subject, and, in doing so, it should draw its prob- 46 RURAL SCHOOL AND RURAL NEEDS lems largely from the farm and the country home. This will become more and more possible in the upper grades, where the processes of farming and household economy are studied specifically. Arithmetic has an important place in the management of the farm. Per- centage, mensuration, and the other usual topics should be "presented through problems of corn-rais- ing, stock-feeding, farm machinery, fertilizers, drain- age, and other farm interests", such as the marketing of its products, buying of supplies, and the keeping of accounts. Geography. — The aim of geography in the rural schools should be, not merely to familiarize the chil- dren with the essential facts of the science, both physical and political, but to discuss the imme- diate problems of "weather, drainage, transporta- tion, roads, field erosion, the use of wind and waterpower, crop production, and similar topics". It should aim at an intelligent understanding of natural forces, their relation to human life, and the extent to which their action can be foreseen and controlled. Nature Study and Elementary Science. — Different phases of elementary science are finding a large place in the elementary course of study of the best schools. The opportunities in this direction open to the trained rural teacher are particularly fine. The children are in constant association with many different natural fonns and forces. Their welfare as citizens of the country is intimately bound up with their knowing about certain plants, insects, birds, and larger ani- mals, native and domestic. "Trees, pond life, com- mon flowers, weeds, and grasses, plant propagation, 47 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY corn and corn-breeding, soil, with simple experiments, fertilizers, crop rotation — all furnish an abundance of interesting material for training their powers of ob- servation." The practical economic problems that may be suggested in connection with them are without any limit. Surely no country lad or lass should lack for opportunity to learn to think and grapple with real problems. And yet, unless they are taught to observe and think about this world of nature, they will be largely unappreciative of it. The nature study of the lower grades in the country school should center about the habits and economic value of birds and other varieties of wild life; it should include a study of insects, good and bad, and their relation to crops and to health. The common weeds should be observed and their methods of propagation and extermination should be considered. Vegetables, grains, grasses, fruits, and trees all pre- sent hosts of simple and yet fascinating problems, whether approached from the point of view of ele- mentary botany, or from the point of view of farm economy. The small wild animals and the domestic animals and fowls of the farm afford the best of material for a first course in zoology, as well as being of great practical importance to every farm boy and girl. Chemistry and Physics. — Elementary lessons in chemistry and physics will not want for material, both for observation and experiment, in the study of soils, fertilizers, freezing and thawing, the care and testing of milk, simpler problems in the construction of fences, farm buildings, concrete construction, pres- 48 RURAL SCHOOL AND RURAL NEEDS ervation of foods, baking, cooking, etc. All of these things the country child knows a little about, but only enough usually to make him despise them. They do not appeal to him as things attractive and worth thinking about, but only as connected with hard and often thankless work. To study about them at school would throw them into a new light and give to many children a new interest in them. In any case, there is not a shred of reason why the children of the country should not find the main part of their intellectual training in just these concrete situations and objects that lie closest about them. The printed material to guide the teacher in such work is now abundant and easily accessible, both in books and in U. S. Farmers' Bulletins. The chief obstacle to the practical carrying out of such a course of study is the lack of teachers who know how to start it, for, once started, the farmers would ^oon be aroused to its desirability, and would demand it for their children. Physiology and Hygiene. — To the general subject matter of these sciences should be added frequent dis- cussions "of the rural phases of school and personal hygiene with special attention centered on the farm home and the causes and prevention of rural dis- eases", the conditions needful for pure drinking water, pure milk, the dangers of carelessness in these matters, and in the disposal of waste ma- terials and offal, the propagation of disease by flies and other insects. History and Civics. — In addition to the fundamental facts of United States history and of local govern- ment, the teacher should emphasize and lead the 49 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY pupils to think of "the need for agricultural states- men and more equitable legislation for farming". The development of agriculture in different parts of the country should be taken up with special reference to the evolution of better methods, the allotment of government lands, the reclaiming of arid areas, and the conservation of natural resources. Manual Training. — This type of work is beginning to find a place in even one-room country schools, and no subject is more worthy of attention. In the lower as well as in the upper grades there should be practi- cal instruction in various sorts of simple construction. "All manual training projects should be so chosen as to be of special interest and value to farm boys. Chicken-coops, [trap-nests], gates, milk-stools, sleds, and various articles for farm and home and school may be included in the list of projects." Careful Grading Necessary. — It goes without saying that such subjects as are above outlined should be carefully graded to pupils of different ages. The be- ginnings can be made in the lowest classes, and, as the upper classes and the high school are reached, the attention should be more and more largely devoted to these specifically rural materials and problems. Unless a real country high school, of the type de- scribed in the last chapter, is provided, the pupils will not, of course, get very far in any of these studies. Already many satisfactory courses in agriculture and home economics have been put in successful opera- tion in different rural high schools scattered over the country. We venture to reproduce here a set of such courses now offered in Colebrook Academy, situated 50 RURAL SCHOOL AND RURAL NEEDS in the small country town of Colebrook, in northern New Hampshire. DETAILED OUTLINE OF COURSES IN AGRICULTURE* Agronomy 1. Elements of plant life: Study of seed, root, stem, leaf, reproduction. 2. Soils: Origin, kinds, uses, soil water, plant food, care and improvement. 3. Seed selection and testing: Judging, germinating, analyzing. 4. Fertilizers and manures: Composition, value, rela- tion to soils and crops, lime. 5. Insects: Kinds, harm, benefit, life habits. 6. Farm crops: Kinds, cultivation, uses, care. 7. General handling of field crops. 8. Experimental work in greenhouse. 9. Practical work in school garden. The class plant a school garden in the spring in which all crops are raised which grow in this climate. This will develop into a farm for demonstration and practi- cal work. Farm Carpentry 1. Construction and proper use of carpenter's tools. 2. Reading and drawing blue prints. 3. Plan for each article finished before construction begins. 4. Study of building plans and construction, with prac- tice in estimating and figuring the cost. ♦ From "The Readjustment of a Rural High School to the Needs of the Community," by H. A. Brown. United States Bureau of Education Bulletin, 1912, No. 20. 51 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFl^ICIENCY 5. Mechanical drawing. 6. Construction of wooden articles needed on farm and for home and school use. 7. Repairs to school building. 8. Practical work in construction and repairing. Farm Blacksmithing 1. Proper use and construction of blacksmith's tools. 2. Mechanical drawing, continued. 3. Study of iron and steel manufacture in an elemen- tary way. 4. Hardening and tempering. 5. Study of typical farm implements, machinery, and so far as possible construction and repair of same. 6. Constant practical work at the bench and forge on useful articles of iron construction. It is hoped to make these courses a means of better articulating of the school with the community. The school plans to be of assistance to the farmers in the vicinity by making simple repairs to tools and machinery. Animal Husbandry and Dairying 1. Types and breeds of farm animals: Horses, cattle, sheep, swine, poultry. 2. Principles and practice of breeding: Origin, im- provement, care of farm animals and plants. 3. Feeds and feeding: Why, what, how to feed: 4. Structure and functions of the animal body: Sys- tems of the body, and care. 5. Animal diseases, disinfection and general sanitation ; prevention and cure. 6. Observing and scoring herds in vicinity. 7. Milk: Kinds, care, uses, composition. 52 RURAL SCHOOL AND RURAL NEEDS 8. The Babcock test: Theory and practice, use. 9. Essentials in good milk production: Cleanliness, care. 10. Market milk and cream: Kinds, uses, preparation, care. 11. Buttermaking. Horticulture 1. Review of general principles of plant life, soils, fer- tilizers, and cultivation. 2. Greenhouses, hotbeds, and cold frames: Principles, construction, and use. 3. Care of plants under glass, forcing and hardening. 4. More special study of (a) vegetable growing; (b) fruit growing; (c) flower growing. The excellent greenhouse makes it possible to teach this course almost by the practical method. Road Building 1. Essentials of a good road: Grades, solidity, water- shedding characteristics. 2. Road material and principles of construction. 3. Dirt, gravel, macadam, and telford roads. 4. Bridges, grades, cuts, and fills. 5. Projecting, laying out, and figuring cost of roads in the vicinity. 6. Field work in observation of construction work in State highways in the vicinity. Forestry I. Study of New Hampshire forest types: Life his- tory, associates, enemies of characteristic tree in each type. 53 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY 2. Forest seeding and planting. 3. Management of the form forest; the wood supply. 4. Management of Government forests. 5. Conservative lumbering. 6. Relation to stream flow and general rural conditions. 7. Practical field observation and lectures by experi- enced foresters and lumbermen. Rural Economy and Farm Management 1. Farm accounting and bookkeeping: Value, meth- ods, extent. 2. Farm management: Values, systems, management of farm and farm products. 3. Elements of rural law; legal relations of farmer to surroundings. 4. Conditions determining farm values. 5. Systems of cropping. 6. Marketing and transportation. 7. Management of fields and cropping. 8. Water supply and sewage. DETAILED OUTLINE OF COURSES IN DOMESTIC ARTS Elementary Sewing 1. All cutting and stitching involved in sewing simple articles for dress and household, including the making of such articles as jabots, sewing bags, towels, aprons, doilies, handkerchiefs, kimonos; darning, mending, etc. 2. Sewing clothing cut by competent fitter. 3. Elementary machine sewing. About one-eighth of the time is devoted to instruction and calculation. In this course no attempt is made to 54 RURAL SCHOOL AND RURAL NEEDS follow a set outline. It consists entirely of practical work and the various stitches are learned when needed. Dressmaking, Millinery, and Designing 1. Designing, cutting, and fitting of clothing. 2. Purpose and requirements of clothing; materials; selection of materials. 3. Instruction and practice in drafting, including the making of drawers, shirtwaists, shirt patterns, etc. 4. Making gingham dress from pattern. 5. Materials used for hats. 6. Combination of colors and materials. 7. Relation of face to shape of hat. 8. Plates and drawings. 9. Designing of hat for pupil. 10. Selecting material and making a hat. One-half of the time in this course is given to study- ing designs from sketches and prints from the artistic point of view. Elementary Cooking 1. Management of coal, wood, and oil ranges. 2. Care of utensils, sink, and other apparatus. 3. Preparation and cooking of vegetables and cereals. 4. Use and cooking of eggs and milk. 5. Preparation of cheap cuts of meat. 6. Different methods of preparation of fish. 7. Batters and doughs, and preparation of muffins, popovers, bread, and similar articles. 8. Preparation of simple desserts, such as bread pud- ding, lemon jelly, tapioca cream, etc. 9. Preparation of simple menus. 10. Preparation and serving of simple dinners, includ- ing instruction in table setting, serving, etc. 55 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY Practically no attempt is made in this course to teach the chemistry of foods. The course consists of a maxi- mum of concrete practice with a minimum of theory. Advanced Cooking and Dietetics 1. Canning and preserving from a bacteriological point of view, with practical work with material from the school garden; decays, molds, bacteria, sterili- zation, etc. 2. Composition, structure, methods of cooking vege- tables; place in diet; practice in cooking vege- tables. 3. Cereals: Methods of cooking as governed by com- position and commercial preparation; practice in preparation of various cereals. 4. Milk: Value as food; effect of heat as to physical changes,, digestibility, and preservation; practice. 5. Eggs: Composition, place in diet, preservation; practice in preparation in various ways. 6. Meat and fish: Chemical composition, economy, place in diet; methods of preparation. 7. Practice with batters and doughs, with the study of grains and of leavening agents. 8. Preparation of salads; importance in diet. 9. Desserts: Relation to preceding courses in menu; practice in the preparation of both cold and hot desserts. 10. Food values; chemistry and biology of cooking; preparation of economical dietary; food combina- tions ; relation of occupation to food requirements. 11. Practical work in serving. Trained Teachers. — To carry out such a course of study demands trained teachers, but if the work is 56 RURAL SCHOOL AND RURAL NEEDS worth while the teachers will be forthcoming. The question is, Shall or shall not the country child be taught to know and love the country? If he is to be taught, it must be done rightly by those who know how. Let no one raise the cry that such an education will be productive of social castes, or that the country child shall thereby be deprived of full opportunity to make the most of himself in the great world. No system of education could be more productive of caste and of closed opportunities to native ability than just the type which still largely persists in our rural districts, the type which tends either to lure the children to the cities or to permit them to sink back to become unintelligent, inefficient tillers of the soil. Possibilities for the One-room School. — No teacher or country superintendent need bewail his inability to do anything because he is confined to small one- room schools. Desirable as consolidation and rural high schools may be, he need not wait for their estab- lishment. The work of Miss Jessie Field, Superin- tendent of Page County, Iowa, is well known, and furnishes a striking illustration of the development possible even under unpromising conditions. Her work has extended not merely to vitalizing the course of study, but to making her country schools centers of interesting social life. Here we may refer only to the first feature. Classified farm bulletins have been put in the schools and the pupils have learned that they are worth reading ; as a result, they turn to them eagerly when their lessons are finished. Miss Field's Work. — Her own words best describe this phase of her work: 5 57 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY Our teachers one spring had at each school a ger- mination test for seed corn. One little teacher reported : "My boys, who wouldn't go across the road for a song- book, went two miles in a snowstorm to get some saw- dust for a germination box. And when the corn had germinated the farmers came to the schoolhouse to see how their corn had turned out, and incidentally saw the work of the school. Why, farmers came who couldn't remember when they had been inside the schoolhouse before." We have a Babcock milk tester, which we pass from school to school in the districts specially interested in dairying. After the school learns how to use it, the farmers ask to borrow it. One farmer who returned the tester yesterday told me that because of it he had sold eight cows that it was not paying him to keep. For the Babcock tester soon weeds out the cows that are not paying their board, let alone bringing a profit for the hard work of the farmer who milks them. In districts where fruit growing is especially carried on we hope to bring especially something of the science of horticulture. Throughout our country the great money crop is corn. So our schools are all interested in corn. Some six hundred boys are growing corn under direction and showing it for prizes.* We cannot here attempt to give a more extended account of the adaptation of the course of study to the needs of the country and of country children. Enough has been said to make clear the lines along * Jessie Field, "The District Schools in a County as Edu- cational and Social Centers," p. i8 of Tenth Year Book of the National Society for the Study of Education, Pt. II., 1911. 58 RURAL SCHOOL AND RURAL NEEDS which work is being done and may be still further developed. We may turn now to a brief review of efforts along the second line mentioned in the last chapter, namely, the encouragement of social and cooperative activities among the pupils and others of the community. 2. SOCIAL AND COOPERATIVE ACTIVITIES Boys' and Girls' Farm Clubs. — Perhaps the most far-reaching means by which the country schools may make their training more socially eflFective is through appealing to the economic interests both of the boys and girls and the parents. From these as a center almost all lines of betterment have been found to radiate. Moreover, when the people in the country realize that the school is alive to their real economic interests, their minds are opened to the other things the school can do for them. Let no one raise the cry that the economic utility values are to be lightly es- teemed in any scheme for a more socially efficient education. Such an objection betrays a lack of knowl- edge of the driving forces of human development. Two obvious and comparatively simple needs of the country are better crops and better homes. They are lines along which schools have found it easy to make beginnings and which have formed entering wedges into rural conservatism for the introduction of many socializing influences. Interest in these two lines has been aroused over wide sections of the country through boys' and girls' clubs. The corn-growing clubs of the boys are perhaps the most widespread, and on these have been patterned clubs for cotton, potato, and fruit growing, and for poultry raising. 59 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY For the girls have been organized clubs for better cooking, fruit canning, sewing, and others of similar nature. These clubs are naturally loose organizations, the method varying somewhat in different states, but in all of them there is the healthful motive of com- peting in some sort of production. Each boy or girl works out on the home farm some problem which is of vital agricultural significance; for example, a project of intensive corn or potato cultivation or of bread baking. The knowledge that many other boys and girls are similarly engaged, and that honors or prizes are to be awarded for the best work, gives a zest to the study of these needful country occupations which was seldom or never aroused when these chil- dren simply helped their parents. The selection of good ears of corn for seed, the testing of sample grains for their vitality, the best methods of planting and of cultivating, all these things involve a degree of observation and reflection, and an exercise of keen judgment such as throw the formal exercises of the old-fashioned school entirely into the shade. Unite with this intellectual alertness the opportunity for working out one's ideas, not merely concretely, but under the conditions of real life and in healthful competition and cooperation with others, and we have set in motion an educative process of a most effective type, an educative process which not only enlists in boys and girls energies before undreamed of, but connects these energies with per- manent life interests and motives, not of the children only, but of the whole community. Such results were almost never accomplished by the old type of school. As one of the leaders in this movement says: "Be- 60 RURAL SCHOOL AND RURAL NEEDS ginning with an awakened interest in one thing — ^bet- ter seed corn, for example — communities have rapidly extended their interest to other features of rural im- provement, with the result that in the regions affected by the agricultural club movement there has come about a general upward trend in the thoughts and activities of the people." * These clubs serve many useful purposes. First of all, they quicken the interest of boys and girls in the economic activities of the fami and home. No child can take part in a corn-growing or baking con- test without being made to realize vividly and effec- tively that science is related to everyday life. These contests open up a wide range of nature-study ma- terials, and, best of all, bring the knowledge thus ac- quired into actual use. The crying evil of practically all elementary and high school work of to-day is that it does not connect in any real way with the life in- terests and activities of all normal boys and girls. The work does not function in any appreciable de- gree, and is therefore soon lost out of their lives. The interests aroused by these economic activities furnish also a basis for vital work in arithmetic, geography, history, and, in fact, every line of instruc- tion possible in the rural school. Life in the country is seen to be full of possibilities for the ingenious and scientifically minded boys and girls. The voca- tions connected with the farm and the farm home are seen to be no more mere deadening routine and drudgery, but to demand applied science and manual skill of the highest type. * F. W. Howe, Tenth Year Book, National Society for the Study of Education, Pt. H., p. 21. 61 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY Social Value of the Clubs. — But the value of this work is not alone economic. Its socializing value is fully as great. The organization of country children in competitive and cooperative clubs destroys the sense of isolation that has in the past accompanied so much farm work. The children of the community are brought into contact with each other; sociability and feelings of mutual interest spontaneously develop. A sense of the value of organized effort and of coopera- tion takes the place of cold indifference, if not of actual distrust. All sorts of opportunities present themselves for getting not merely the boys and girls, but also the whole community together. The boys' and girls' an- nual camp, "Annual County Parents' Day", county, or even township and district, "Corn Shows" and industrial expositions, culminating in district and state meetings for the exhibition of products and the awarding of prizes, excursions of children and parents to high-grade experiment farms and to agricultural colleges, are all natural outgrowths of the club idea. Development in Nebraska. — In some states, typically in Nebraska, the movement is organized on a state- wide scale, the state department of education issuing many bulletins full of practical suggestions for the simpler phases of farm and home activity. These bulletins can be distributed through the schools and may furnish the basis for much important discussion in the course of the regular school work. Almost every phase of rural interest is discussed in a practical fashion in these leaflets : testing, husking, and judging corn, potato culture, the elements of domestic science, simple sewing. The bulletins come out at intervals 62 RURAL SCHOOL AND RURAL NEEDS during the year and contain information appropriate to the season in which they are issued. Club mem- bers make written reports of their work to the state department of public instruction. Interesting and valuable as this work has proved to the children of rural schools, the communities and the school authorities have hardly yet recognized its full educational significance. There is a disposition to regard the club activities as merely accessory to the regular work of the school and to insist that the time devoted to them shall be out of school hours and that they shall not interfere with the "regular" work of the school. It is altogether necessary that high stand- ards of school work be maintained, and that the teaching shall be of the highest grade obtainable, but it would seem that the incorporation of these country- life interests into the regular work of the rural school should be one of the next steps taken, and that it would be quite consistent with the highest standards of school work. Wider Influences. — We have said that these club in- terests are an entering wedge for many things which contribute to the social efficiency of the rural school. School grounds, buildings, and equipment are im- proved when the people of a community find that their school is alive and interested in them, for then they become interested in it. To quote again from Miss Field : *Tt was in a district school like this, where all the men came and spent the day terracing the grounds, and their wives brought dinner and they ate together. A more beautiful school ground and a hap- pier neighborhood spirit resulted. It was for this school that the grouchiest farmer in the district 63 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY opened up his heart and came himself and brought his son and his hired man and three teams to work on the yard because the school had won a place in his respect by doing such strong and transforming work." * School Libraries. — These cooperative and social ac- tivities are being extended in many directions. In some parts of the country special attention is given to building up useful school libraries and collections of pictures. Professor Graham, Superintendent of Agricultural Extension in Ohio State University, has done much to develop country school libraries. His work is typical of what is being undertaken in some other states. The social meaning of the library may well be stated in his own words : The rural school comes a little nearer than any other organization to being the center of a variety of com- munity interests. A greater percentage of the people of any community can be reached from the little country schoolhouse than can be reached through the public libraries or through the schools of a city when an equal number of people in each place is considered. The fre- quent communication of the rural home with the rural school through the child who attends it brings the little library into close contact with that home. For this rea- son, if for no other, it is a little nearer to the people who support it than is the city library. The country school library leads to much reading at the fireside. The natural result is that more small pri- vate libraries are built up in the homes than would be, had there been no opportunity for general reading in * Tenth Year Book, Pt. IL, op. cit., p. i8. 64 RURAL SCHOOL AND RURAL NEEDS the home. In some communities it has been found that prior to the establishing of the library at school the num- ber of books in the homes could be counted on the fingers of one hand. Sometimes the Bible, the last agricultural report, and a Hagerstown almanac made up the library for young and old. The same home, or others like it, has coming to it some low-grade story paper or so-called agricultural paper whose subscription price is something like ten cents for three or perhaps five years.* The Country School Beautiful. — Superintendent J. O. Kern, of Winnebago County, Illinois, has identified himself with many phases of rural school improve- ment. Not the least important of his services has been that of arousing public sentiment for better and more attractive school-houses and grounds. By means of the camera, printing press, and stereopticon, he has brought home to the farmers of his county the difference between ugly and beautiful school plants. Through illustrated articles in the county papers, through lectures at parents' meetings, teach- ers' institutes, farmers' institutes of the county, through traveling art exhibits, and suitable books and magazines in the school libraries, **the taste for better things is being created" in the children and in the parents, and an active public sentiment for the beau- tiful has been built up in whole communities.! 3. THE SCHOOLHOUSE A SOOAL MEETING-PLACE The natural culmination of the different lines of en- deavor mentioned above is found in the country school * Tenth Year Book, National Society for the Study of Education, Pt. II., pp. 35 f. + Tenth Year Book, op. cit., pp. 44 f. 65 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY as a social center, whether it be a one-room build- ing, or a modern consolidated school. The country commimity needs a center for its social life, a place for lectures and entertainments and social gatherings. When the building and grounds have been rendered really attractive, as described in the preceding section, it is not hard to induce the people to gather and en- joy them. Social and literary clubs of all sorts have been started by progressive rural teachers among the younger adults, parents' meetings have been organ- ized, and lecture courses sustained. The best agri- cultural high schools conduct extension courses for the farmers and their wives. Such a school in Balti- more County, Maryland, has conducted, for the women, Saturday afternoon classes in domestic sci- ence, manual training, homecrafts, and modern liter- ature, and a lecture course in the evening for men, on "Soils and Fertilizers" ; it has planned and carried out a Corn Congress; has tested seeds and milk for farmers, and has developed social, literary, and re- ligious organizations among the young people. For all these activities the schoolhouse is the meeting- place, the social and intellectual center of the com- munity. Other schools here and there are undertak- ing similar and possibly more extended lines of social service. Teachers Who Are Leaders. — We have emphasized the need of trained teachers. It is manifest, also, that we must have teachers who can be leaders, teach- ers who have come from the country, who have en- dured the hard toil of the farm, who know and un- derstand the farmer folk, but who have also had a vision of a larger, happier, better life for the deni- 66 RURAL SCHOOL AND RURAL NEEDS zens of the country. This is really the greatest need presented to-day by rural education. While great natural leaders are few in number, the country has not been lacking in fine examples of superior leader- ship, and more will appear as the opportunities for service become more clearly defined. The teacher who loves the country, who will study his situation, who will acquaint himself with what is being done in a constructive way by others, who has the intelli- gence to plan his work to meet genuine needs in com- mon-sense ways, who is able to survive initial set- backs and discouragements, and "keep at it" with the patience born of conviction that he is right, will find his powers of leadership growing far beyond what he may have dreamed himself to be capable of at the outset. 4. ORGANIZED RECREATION FOR COUNTRY BOYS AND GIRLS The Conntry's Need for Play. — ^We may refer only briefly to the need for and social value of organized recreation in the country. The social significance of play and its place in education we shall reserve for a separate chapter. The old life on the farm had too much work and too little play. The varieties of amusement that have developed among the shifting population of the third and fourth generation are not always of an elevating type. Then, again, as means of transportation have become better the young people of the country have been lured more and more by the cheap and tawdry amusements of the town and city. A definite movement has been started for the or- EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY ganization and development of play in the country. This has naturally and properly been fostered and actively directed by the wide-awake educational agencies in the country. The social value of com- petitive field-meets and play festivals of various types for country boys and girls, as well as for their parents, cannot be too highly regarded. The success which has thus far attended such efforts when wisely directed is sufficient proof of the need and eagerness of the country for healthful sports and wholesome recreation. Professor Scudder's Work. — Professor Myron T. Scudder, formerly of the New Paltz Normal School, New York, has been prominently identified with the problem of recreation for the country. Comment- ing on the need, he says : It must be borne in mind that play in the country is not so much to promote health as to develop the higher social instincts, to introduce another powerful centripetal factor into country life which will tend to counteract the expulsive features which have been so actively depopu- lating our rural districts. The country child does not play enough. His repertoire of games is surprisingly small and inadequate. If he would play more he would love the country better, see more beauty in it, feel the isolation less. And he would play more if conditions were favorable, for, unfortunately, they are not favorable to play. He does not know how to play or what to play; his parents are usually out of sympathy with play ; and in the coun- try schools not only are his teachers as ignorant as he himself in regard to these matters, but even if the child and the teacher did know, the school trustee would in 68 I RURAL SCHOOL AND RURAL NEEDS many cases interpose objections and forbid any effort in the direction of organized play or athletics. Left to themselves, only a comparatively few country districts will attempt to do anything. Initiative will have to come from the outside, but experience shows that with tact- ful persistence and with organized action considerable may be accomplished even in a short time. A very important result of play in the country is the development of community spirit, which is so seriously lacking in rural districts. There seems to be so little to hold people together. Social forces are centrifugal rather than centripetal. But once interest children in play, get them to organize teams, design and make a school banner, compose and learn a school cheer, adopt a distinctive athletic costume or even a celluloid button which is to be worn when they go to the next great play festival and compete with other schools, and there will be no lack of community spirit so far as the children are concerned, and the adult population will soon be catching something of it, too. . . . Perhaps it is not too much to say that through prop- erly supervised play and through a series of properly conceived and well-conducted festivals the civic and in- stitutional life of an entire county or district, and the lives of many individuals of all ages, may be permanently quickened and inspired, the play movement thus mak- ing surely for greater contentment, cleaner morals, and more intense patriotism and righteousness on the farm lands and in the village populations of our country.* With this topic we must bring this chapter to a lose. Much more remains to be said. The experi- lents which have been mentioned are only a few ♦ Tenth Year Book, op. cU., pp. 53 f. 69 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY of the many that might have been given. Not all the phases of the problem have even been suggested. The interested student of the social relations of edu- cation will find an abundant and growing literature easily available for pursuing the study further. Practical Zeal Needed. — While much practical work has already been done along good lines, let us remem- ber it is, at its very best, only a beginning. Vast re- gions remain untouched, unvitalized. The redemp- tion on a large scale of the country school for the sake of the boys and girls and the community itself is one of the great educational problems of the pres- ent time. May the interest of the reader not be that of the merely curious, but that of the one who is fired by a seal really to do something, even though it be little, to meet the present social crisis in the country. CHAPTER V THE CHARACTER-FORMING POSSIBILITIES OF HOME LIFE Social Efficiency Dependent Upon Conduct. — All of us would agree that boys and girls need training in right conduct and in wholesome ideals, as a basis for social efficiency, but just how it can best be accom- plished is not as clear as might be desired, even to those who have thought about it most. Along with this generally recognized need, there is a constantly growing demand that the public schools should under- take definitely the task of moral as well as of intel- lectual education. Home and School Share Responsibility. — There can be no doubt that a great opportunity, as well as a great responsibility, does rest upon the schools for this sort of service to society ; although as yet no generally accepted program of how to do it has been worked out. The teachers themselves in most cases do not know how to take hold and make such training vital. The moral education thus far provided by the schools is largely incidental and haphazard, the sort that oc- curs on the playground and in the informal contact of pupils and teachers within the school itself. This does not go as far as it should, and it is quite as apt to be bad as good, because no one thinks very much about it or tries to plan to make it effective. 71 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY But, while the school is awakening to its responsibility and is groping about to find some way to meet it, the home must not forget its own duty in the matter. There is altogether too much of a tendency to-day for the home to try to shift its own responsibilities to outside institutions. As a matter of fact there is absolutely no substitute for the home in moral and religious training. The First Duty of Parents. — Family-life developed in the human race about the child, and, whatever other duties rest on parents, their greatest duty and privi- lege is, and always has been, the rearing of a healthy- minded, happy group of children. Whatever oppor- tunities the father and mother may have in the way of service outside the family, the good they may thus accomplish for society is little compared with what they may bring to pass through the right training of their own children. The greatest service to society is indeed to train properly the children of each new generation, and the right and normal place for this training to begin is in the home. If, through eco- nomic necessity, or through a mistaken sense of "larger duties," or, worse still, through refined sel- fishness, the home neglects its children, no other in- stitution can make good the loss that they thereby suffer. Even if the deficiencies of the home should be corrected, in some degree, by other agencies, odds are against it, and, moreover, a character started wrong and later reformed is never quite as fine as one whose growth has been wholesome and normal from the start. The importance of the early years spent by the child in the family has long been appreciated, but 72 I CHARACTER AND THE HOME even discerning parents have scarcely yet compre- hended in what subtle ways the social forces of family-life cooperate to fix the fabric and texture of the child's life or how permanent, withal, are the influences which operate in these earliest years. Complexity of Children's Growth. — The growth of children is, in truth, a many-sided affair. Their bodily development is dependent upon nourishing food, proper clothing, and an abundance of exercise and fresh air. The social and spiritual atmosphere which surrounds them is also fully as important, for their minds and bodies are clearly dependent upon each other, and a cheerful, buoyant, mental life acts upon the body and makes it respond more readily to nour- ishment and exercise. A child may be ever so well fed and clothed and yet fail to develop normally be- cause of defects in his family environment. His soul craves kindness and parental love, and without this his bodily functions cannot go on at their best. There is, indeed, no sadder sight than that of a little boy or girl, well cared for physically, but with every lineament of the face showing hunger for warm and wise parental affection. Denied this the spirit lacks a something which causes all the rest of the bodily and mental development to be distorted. It is the spiritual side of child growth with which we are here chiefly concerned, and we can consider only a part even of that, because it is itself such a large phase. It consists in part of the direct training of the child in right habits and right ideals of be- havior. Then, back of all explicit instruction by word of mouth, there is the training that comes merely through participating in the social life of the family. 6 73 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY It is this social life, indeed, that makes the direct in- struction meaningful and effective, and it is, there- fore, of the first importance that parents should un- derstand how to make the home atmosphere as whole- some as possible. We shall attempt to sketch this particular aspect of the home's opportunity, and to show why it cannot be slighted without loss to the children. Power of the Home. — The peculiar power of the home for moral training rests upon its social rela- tionships. Good conduct and right ideals of life are essentially social matters. It is in the child's rela- tionship to other people that he first learns what it is to do right, and it is in daily living with others that he has the opportunity to practice morality. The "give and take" of normal family life is the ideal medium for acquiring and fixing for all time the habits and ideals of a wholesome life. After all, the intelligent practice of right conduct is the goal of all the home's efforts at child-training. The condition of first importance furnished by the normal home is then that of intimate, confidential, human associations. The more general, less intimate association with people outside its walls can never be as effective in character-building. Children get their first conception of human duties and of life's broader responsibilities through participating in the life of the family. The family is not merely the nursery of the physical child, it may even more be the nursery of all those qualities which go to make up a fine human nature. The Normal Home. — The home which produces such a training must, of course, be more than a mere 74 CliARACTEK AND Tllli HUME economic collection of individuals. We do not, how- ever, have in mind the extraordinary, unusual home, the one of superior refinement and opportunity to pursue the finer things of life, or even the home of moderate circumstances, in which the parents have more than the average discretion and insight into the principles of child-training. We mean rather the nor- mal home (we can hardly any longer call it the aver- age), the home formed by honest, hard-working parents whose lives are ruled by ideals and who are anxious to do their very best for their children, who believe it is the main purpose of their lives to rear a happy group of right-minded children, who indeed look at this in no sense as a burden or as a restriction upon their performing some larger, more ostentatious duties, but rather as their very highest privilege. The »tiormal home, wherever it still exists, is a definite center of spiritual life, participated in by a little community of people, parents and children. It has, naturally, various material interests. There are usually insistent economic necessities; there is work to do in which all share in different ways and de- grees. These, however, are but expressions of its deeper spiritual purpose; they are the ways through which the common collective life of parents and chil- dren realizes itself. I Modem Industry Menaces Home Ideals. — There is reason to believe that we, in this country, are losing the old ideals of home-life. The integrity of the family is being threatened, but not primarily by the divorce-court. There are deeper lying menaces of many kinds, and different homes are affected by them in different ways. There is, perhaps, first of EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY all the stress of modern industrial life which requires so many parents, and even children, to spend a large portion of their time completely outside of the home and away from its influences. Where parents and children cannot gather at least once or twice a day for meals, and where they cannot spend a part of their evenings together the spiritual unity of the home is seriously threatened. "Social Duties." — There are the "social duties" of the great middle and "upper" classes, and these are fully as insidious a menace to the development of true family-life as the unfavorable industrial life. Then, again, we should not forget the increasing tendency of the modern city to destroy not only the quiet privacy of the home, but also to remove from it its old-time independence. The present-day family is less a cen- ter of busy life than it used to be. It has less to do with the preparation of its food and clothing; it has left to it only a few of the thousand and one tasks of inner maintenance in which it once engaged and which diversified its life and gave to each child a real chance to be helpful. True, the family relieved of these duties, often hard and exacting, has more time left for "other things," but it is doubtful if these "other things" have furnished adequate compensa- tions for the loss sustained. The interests which were formerly centered around the family hearth have been scattered; the freer, easier life has broken down the spiritual unity of former days. Delinquency and the Home* — A study was recently made of the home conditions of delinquent high school boys and girls of Minneapolis. It was found that only about fifty per cent, of the families invest i- 7^ CHARACTER AND THE HOME gated eat breakfast together, even half of the time. Fifteen per cent, of the famiHes are together for less tlian half the evening meals. Forty-six per cent, of these pupils confessed that they are "out" the larger share of their evenings every week. Fourteen pupils, out of three hundred and eighty, are never at home of ez'cnings. Twelve per cent, of the families enter- tain company three or more times per week. Twenty per cent, of them apparently find the newspaper all- sufficient for regular mental diet. The investigating committee concluded that, even in the families where magazines are read, they are not in general of the type to furnish the children with much food for thought. As to outside amusements, it was found that these four hundred delinquent high school stu- dents attended more than two thousand, one hundred and sixty-six per month. These amusements are not necessarily all bad, but they are more or less idle and dissipating, and, in any case, they indicate that the outer world is making serious inroads upon the interests and impulses which should have centered in the home. The Home No Longer a Social Center. — It is not a mere theory, then, when we say that a thousand attractions induce the parents and children to leave the family fireside. In many households the home is no longer the place for the keenest enjoyments, the l)oint toward which each turns with regret, when he finds he must needs be absent. There are other ways to get amusement, sociability, and even intellectual satisfaction, ways which seem fuller and richer, and the family finds only too late how evanescent and hollow these opportunities prove to be. In many 77 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY homes the old-time spiritual values have been lost only gradually. Easier economic conditions enabled parents and children to taste more and more fre- quently of outside allurements which, because they were as yet untried, seemed to offer something better than the quiet enjoyment of home-life. Spiritual Unity of the Home In this latter day parents are complaining that their children are no longer duly respectful or obedient; that they are wild and coarse of taste, and we often hear it said that parents have erred in not being as strict and stern with their children as they used to be. But the real virtue in the old home was not in its sternness, hut in its spiritual unity. Our children are suffering from the lack of this influence^ rather than from a mere weakening of discipline, although the weaker disci- pline is one of the results of lack of spiritual unity. What, then, can be done to retain, or to restore, if it has been lost, the spiritual unity of home life? The individual parents cannot, of course, do much to change the general social life of their time. They can- not, if they would, reinstate old industrial methods. These conditions are changing, it is true, for better or worse, through the interaction of myriads of men and women. Something infinitesimal is accomplished for the better by each person who lives true to his ideals. But, desirable as it is to have a large and active idealism, and to strive to introduce a more healthy conduct of life in the great world of human associations, it must not blind parents to the possi- bility of bettering their more immediate relationships. They should see that their first duty is in their own homes. The larger duty to society is often remote 78 CHARACTER AND THE HOME and intangible, but the duty to one's family is con- crete and definite. One can always do something here and now to make the home-life more wholesome and more effective for child-training. How Preserve It? — This, then, is our problem. If the values of home-life have been lost, or are en- dangered by changed economic and social conditions, let us try to grasp the ideal more consciously and bend determined efforts toward realizing it, in spite of unfavorable external circumstances. Even though it may be difficult to do, we cannot believe that it is impossible. If the home, which we have described as normal, is of the right type, then it can and must be preserved. If we have drifted away from it, it is not necessarily because it is incapable of being main- tained under modern conditions, but because we have not realized keenly enough its true excellence. Ear- nest parents, therefore, must be brought to see clearly just what they can do to conserve the moral and spir- itual values of the household which, partly through neglect, are in danger of being lost. Such a proposal is of vastly more importance than any or all the re- forms in public education which periodically agitate the minds of the fathers and mothers. Its Relation to Economic Interests. — First of all, then, the parents must study and plan to conserve the moral unity of the home, for this is the mother of all character- forming influences. A spontaneous, collective life it has to start with, and this may either remain as it is, or it may be nurtured and developed to almost any extent. This collective life was fos- tered and furthered in the old days by the economic interests which centered about it. There was always 79 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY something to do at home which made it a center of attention, and usually also of interest. For those liv- ing in the country there is still the work on the farm and in the garden, the gathering of fruits and vege- tables for the winter, the care of domestic animals, the curing of meat, making of soap, etc. If we go back a half, or three-quarters of a century, we find still more diversified activities, in the form of spin- ning and weaving flax and wool, making of candles, and even shoes, and a thousand other things which, to us, through the distance of the years, look most in- teresting, but which were to our grandparents often hard and exhausting, and which, no doubt, deprived them of much opportunity to cultivate the "higher life". Exacting as these employments were they made the home a spiritual as well as an economic center of life. In these enterprises there were always chances for the children to help; in fact, their help was quite essen- tial to getting the work done. They learned not only how to do real work, hut also how to he persever- ing, how to overcome difficulties, how to he helpful, honest, Izindly, and , loyal to the family circle and its interests. In the evenings, after the day's work was over, it was natural that the parents should sit to- gether with their children about the fireside and tell stories or read from a few choice books. In many an old-time home the only books were the Bible, Para- dise Lost, The Pilgrim's Progress, and perhaps Rob- inson Crusoe; and the frequent and loving reading aloud of these classics furnished the cap-stone to the wall of spiritual unity which surrounded the family circle. The children had not only their taste for en- 80 CHARACTER AND THE HOME during literature developed, hut they acquired also, in this way, a fund of sound moral principles, which were bound to find expression in their work-a-day liz'cs. The lessons that come to us to-day from these old pioneer homes are many, and there is no good reason why we cannot put them into practice. We are able no longer to base the spiritual unity of our family- life upon a varied round of economic activities, and yet every normal home must study to keep alive some of these activities of self -maintenance. The farm- home still furnishes plenty of work for its boys and girls, but if the children in the town and city are to have home-work, it must usually be through careful foresight and planning on the part of the parents. Some have lawns to mow, flower and vegetable gar- dens to care for, and perhaps a little poultry; there is food to cook, and washing, ironing, and mending; the rooms are to be kept clean and neat, and there are errands to run. Of course there is every ten- dency among all classes of people to have others hired to do these things, and there is little left to the chil- dren, out of school hours, but to play, perhaps to loiter on the streets, or to waste time and money in various cheap entertainments, of which the moving- picture show and the questionable vaudeville are all too typical. Value of Home Activities. — The power of stated and I regular work about home to restrain a child from mischief and wrongdoing i^ little appreciated in the average city household. Of course, in the homes of |the poor many children are overworked and exhausted by out-of-school duties, but their condition is scarcely I EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY more pitiable than that of the children of more well- to-do families, who have no home duties. Mr. Wil- liam George has found that work and responsibility for some difficult tasks are almost a panacea for the reformation of the wayward children of rich and poor alike. His experience with delinquent children from comfortable homes points conclusively to a fatal defect in the training these homes tend to provide. Such children are often suffering from irresponsi- bility. They have been used, all their lives, to have things done for them and, consequently, they have never acquired the art of relying on themselves for anything but the doing of mischief. Dr. Montessori, in her famous "Houses of Child- hood", in Rome, recognizes that the first step in child-training is to teach her little ones to do for themselves. They learn how to button on their own garments, how to lace their shoes, how to do scores of little acts of service for themselves and their mates. We may well say that the first step in moral training is to learn how to depend on one's self, and how to be ready to give kindly help to others when they need it. The various phases of promptness, obedi- ence, mutual helpfulness, truthfulness, and self-reli- ance can be much more vitally impressed through home duties than in any other way. There, if any- where, the child must learn how necessary these vir- tues are to the welfare of everybody and how hard it is to be happy without them. The Lesson of Thrift. — In connection with his ser- vice in the home the child should learn his first les- sons in thrift. The prevailing habit of our times is to spend rather than to save and, unless there is very 82 CHARACTER Ax\D THE HOME wise and persistent effort put forth to correct it, the children of the poor, as well as of the rich, will early fall into a most careless regard for money. Over- fond parents get a good deal of selfish pleas- ure out of constantly spending and allowing their children to spend money for all sorts of trivial things. They think a few pennies or nickels here and there make so little difference, anyway, and the children seem to like it. Like it they do, but, even if it is only a matter of pennies, they are learning to spend rather than to save, and the latter lesson is always the harder one. Every parent can a thousand times better afford to forego the selfish pleasure of indulg- ing his children for the sake of teaching them the value of thrift. They can be paid for little services and encouraged to save their earnings. A child's own earnings should cover most of his needs in the way of books and toys, and, if he is obliged to buy out of his own resources, he soon acquires the art of the wise use of money. The Eollo Books. — The parent of to-day, who would like to get in mind a concrete picture of the family- life which may train and develop in its children the arts of individual and social responsibility, can not do better than read thoughtfully the Rollo Books, a little series of volumes for children, written more than sixty years ago by Jacob Abbott. They used to be popular in children's libraries, but are in danger, to-day, of being forgotten. They trace the life of a little boy, Rollo, through the various vicissitudes of play, school, work, vacation, etc. The social atmos- phere of his home, if a little overdrawn, is yet, on the whole, admirable, and is full of food for thought for 83 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY parent as well as child. Rollo is a boy full of curi- osity and of eagerness to do things and he is encour- aged in everything to rely upon himself. He learns early that his success or failure in an enterprise de- pends upon his straightforwardness, patience, and willingness to use his own mind. The father occa- sionally discusses with him the little difficulties and problems which he faces, and helps him think things out for himself. In this way he gradually acquires insight into the principles of right-doing. Obedience, veracity, a willingness to work are never presented as abstract virtues, but always in relation to some real emergency that arises in his daily life. He constantly sees right-doing as a necessary incident of his home- and school-life. No parent can thoughtfully read these books with- out getting hosts of practical ideas as to how to make the social life of the home a real power in the devel- opment of wholesome-minded, self-reliant boys and girls. What Every Home Can Do. — There are, indeed, few parents who cannot do something to build up and preserve the character-forming influences expressed in the phrase "our home". Even if conditions are such that the children can do very little work, there is much they can participate in which will hold them together and make them better boys and girls. More evenings can be spent together in reading and in friendly social intercourse. The parents can discuss the work of the day, even if it has had to be per- formed away from home. If the children have had peculiar difficulties to meet and their hearts are sore they can be encouraged by kindly inquiries and inti- 84 CHARACTER AND THE HOME mate counsel. They must ever feel that the home is interested in all their varied enterprises, within and without the school. Better progress in their studies would often result, if they knew that their father and mother had a more loving concern that they do their best. Nothing alienates a child more quickly from the home than the sense that no one cares very much what he does. On the other hand, if he can be made to feel that every phase of his conduct in school and on the street docs make a difference, does reflect upon the cheer of the home circle, he has gained one of the most powerful of incentives for a right life. The Opportunity of Conversation. — One of the most valuable and yet most neglected opportunities for character-formation is wholesome conversation at the table and in the evening circle. When we reflect how trivial and cheap home-talk often is, we need no longer wonder that conversation is a lost art. And yet the daily verbal intercourse of parents and chil- dren could yield great returns if only a little more thought were given to it. The trouble is that most people do not appreciate the power of conversation, or make any effort to develop it. To many parents the talk of children seems trivial. Their insistent and well-meant questions are answered in an oflf-hand way, or not at all. The distraction and teasing qual- ity of much of their talk is the direct outcome of their failure to find any appreciative response from their parents. The worth appears only as it fuses with a kindly attitude in some older person who is awake to the importance of his opportunity when he holds communion with the child-mind. 85 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY In how many homes are the precious moments to- gether with the children frittered away upon silly gossip and coarse jests! How ready are the elders to pass back and forth comments upon the unlovely side of life, and, by their laughter over situations which the children cannot and should not understand, awaken in them a curiosity which, just because it cannot be satisfied, is almost sure to work harm in the children's inner life. It is not the child of six who sits at the table and listens; it is a human spirit, eager, curious, wondering, surrounded by mysteries, silently taking in what it does not understand to-day, but which will take possession of it next year and become a torch to light it on its way. It is through association with older people that these fructifying ideas come to the child; it is through such talk that he finds the world he is to possess. The talk of the family ought not, therefore, to be directed at him or shaped for him ; but it ought to make a place for him. If the Balkan situation comes up, let the boy get out the atlas and find Bosnia and Bulgaria ; it is quite likely that his elders may have forgotten the exact location of these countries ; it is even possible that they may never have known. . . . Talk on books, plays, pictures, music, may have the same quality of a common interest for those who listen as well as for those who talk. There are homes in which the informal discussion of these matters is a lib- eral education; and long years after children, who were not taken account of at the time, remember phrases and sentences that have been key words in their vocabulary of life. . . . Children are part of the family and have a right 86 CHARACTER AND THE HOME to share in the talk; do not silence them by the old- fashioned arbitrary rule commanding them to be "seen but not heard." If they are in the right atmosphere, they will not be intrusive or impertinent; perhaps one reason why some American children are so aggressive and lacking in respect is the frivolity of the talk that goes on in some American families. Make place for their interests, their questions, the problems of their experience, for there are young as well as old perplexi- ties. Encourage them to talk, and meet them more than half way by the utmost hospitality to the subjects that interest and puzzle them.* Its Lasting Influence. — In fine, this much we may say with entire assurance: In the intimate conversa- tion in the home the real life is laid bare, whether it be noble, or coarse and low. The things which really interest the parents they will usually talk about, and what the child sees the parent truly cares 'for he is apt to care for himself. His sense of life's values is thus largely formed, and it will be very difficult for any other power to make him have a high regard for what he hears slightingly referred to by his parents. Sex Instruction. — Much is being said to-day about instruction in matters pertaining to sex, and no home can afford to neglect its responsibility in this particu- lar. Recent studies in psychology lend tremendous emphasis to this duty. Curiosity as to all such mat- ters usually develops much earlier than parents im- agine. Children of three and four often have in- quiries that need to be frankly faced and answered. The specialist in mental diseases frequently finds * From The Outlook, Nov. 14, 1908. 87 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY that much of the trouble with his patient grows out of the early suppression of normal childish impulses. The parent who tries to suppress an impulse of any sort in his child may succeed in thrusting it out of the child's conscious life, but he does not really kill it. More than likely it is still working away in the recesses of his mind, producing distorted and unhap- py consequences in his conduct. Many things that the child may want to do are neither suitable nor right, but the energy of the im- pulse in most cases can be used in some desirable form of activity. What is needed most of all in the home-life is abundant opportunity to redirect the child rather than to stop him point-blank when his curi- osity and eagerness to do show undesirable tenden- cies. One of the most effective ways offered by sci- entific psychology for disposing of early impulses and curiosity, of a sexual nature is through frank sympa- thetic conversation between parent and child. The air of mystery, the sense that these things must not be mentioned, and, worse still, the false information so often given, produce deep-seated and lasting harm to almost every phase of the child's inner and outer life. Intelligent Sympathy Needed. — After all, the great- est thing needed by the father and mother is that they be intelligently sympathetic with their children. Their other mistakes will be in part offset if they can really enter into the lives of their boys and girls and learn to appreciate their point of view in all they are striving to do. The father, as well as the mother, must be the comrade of the children. Openness and frankness must characterize their intercourse. They must be CHARACTER AND THE HOME absolutely truthful in all their dealings with them. They must cultivate the art of loving and confiden- tial talks Vvith them. The problem of moral training in the home is made still harder by differences in the children themselves. Some are more tractable, and yield more readily to right influences than others. After we have done the very best we know how, we shall often feel that we have fallen far short in our efforts with this or that child. And yet tlie fault will usually be found to lie, not in the principles here discussed, but in our own lack of insight into the needs of the troublesome youngster and in our lack of deftness in applying these principles. Practice Harder Than Precept.— In all the preceding discussion we have not been unmindful of the fact that it is easier to say than to do. The things which we have suggested are by no means easy of accom- plishment, and yet it is in just these things that the I)arents must find their greatest opportunities for child-training. To strive to accomplish something along right lines is better than to make no effort at all. CHAPTER VI THE COOPERATION OF SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY Demand for Economy of Effort. — In the minds of active men and women everywhere there is a grow- ing sense of the need of scientific management in all types of worthy social enterprise. The work of the world is increasing in scope and complexity and, great as is the fund of human energy, it has its limits. It must needs be conserved and utilized in ways that will contribute to its maximum efficiency. In earlier times, when the stress of life was less intense, the evil of wasted energy and of wasted natural resources was less apparent. But it is not so to-day. Waste of every sort is more and more open to condemnation. It is, in fact, a social menace. Economy in Industry. — None of us can see far into the future; none can predict with assurance just how modern civilization, with its increasing demands upon human and upon natural resources, is going to work out. The pressing problem of to-day is how to avoid waste of every description. In the indus- trial world, for example, all of the forces which op- erate in a given line of production must be corre- lated with one another; there must be no "hitches", no useless movements, the least possible loss in secur- ing raw materials, in their manufacture, and in the 90 COOPERATION WITH COMMUNITY bringing of them to the consumer. When competi- tion was less keen, and raw materials were abundant and cheap, leakages along the way attracted little seri- ous attention. As everybody knows, however, the problem of the scientific management of industry has already been met in part. At least the first steps have been taken toward a general and practical application of the principle involved. Economy in Social Enterprises. — What is true of in- dustry is true in far greater degree of all those enter- prises which are directly planned for increasing man's intellectual and social efficiency. Here the possibili- ties of conservation, through a scientific study of methods and aims, are hardly as yet generally real- ized. The problem, it is true, is recognized by indi- viduals and by separate organizations, but there is yet lacking a broad correlation of the various forces which operate upon and determine real human productivity. No mechanical adjustment of these forces can be adequate; the human factor must be taken as it is, that is, as human, and not as a machine. A man has feelings, prejudices, motives, ideals. These inevit- ably influence his behavior. Therefore all efforts to improve that behavior necessarily involve dealing with most complex and often inextricable influences. The education of children, in even its crudest form, is one of these complex processes. The organization of educative agencies in modern society, so that the best results may be attained, is, in fact, infinitely com- plex. The higher the ideal the greater the number of influences which play a vital part in the process and the more do we appreciate the need that they be scientifically adjusted and controlled. 91 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY Cooperation the Basis of Economy. — As we have seen, the school is the instrument of society for car- rying on, a needful function. But, like all social in- stitutions or agencies, it is capable of doing its allotted work only as it continues in close relation with the society which it serves. There is no such thing as complete and absolute separation of functions. So- ciety is a unit, a whole, and all its divisions of labor are more or less arbitrary and for the sake of practi- cal expediency. Its parts, its forces, its interests, its activities are interwoven almost beyond our power to unravel. That the school has been established as an educative institution does not mean that the work of education is thereby transferred bodily and completely to the school. It rather means that the process of education has become so complex that it has to be cared for in part by this special agency, which shall, however, act in cooperation with the more general educative influences of society. The point, then, is that the principles and ideals of scientific management should be applied to education as well as to industry. Not merely to the aspects of education which occur within the school walls, those which have to do with methods of teaching and wise administration of the school's resources, but also to those w^hich have to do with the school's relation to the more general educative influences of the home and society. The School a Supplementary Agency. — Look at it as we will, we must always admit that the school can perform but a part of the educative function, that, at its very best, it must be regarded as only a supple- ment to the action of the educative forces diffused 92 COOPERATION WITH COMMUNITY through the community. Its success will depend on the extent to which it is able to join with these forces and work with them. We can say without hesitation that the successful coordination and cooperation of the school and the community is one of the very im- portant problems of present-day education; it is, in fact, one of the phases of scientific management in that field. Lack of cooperation means wasted energy on both sides and a consequent product in the way of child-training that is unsatisfactory to school and com- munity alike. The need of vital interaction is, more- over, especially urgent if the object of education is conceived to be something more than mere intellec- tual discipline. Social efficiency as an end can be attained only through the general recognition of the essential relation of all forces which play upon the child and influence his development. In this connec- tion the words of one school superintendent are sig- nificant. "As I see the public education situation at present, the public school system has got just about as far as it can get, working unaided. There is left a great, unreached field, which can be occupied only through cooperation with other agencies. The more these other agencies get into cooperative action with the schools the greater will be the efficiency of school work; and increased efficiency will not come to any great extent in any other way." Tendency Toward Isolating Social Processes. — The re- sponsibility for the separation of the educational ac- tivities of the school from those of society rests largely upon the community itself. It is easy, how- ever, to try to shift responsibility. The parent busied with the economic problem of the family forgets that, 93 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY however good the school may be, some of the business of child-training remains with the home and the com- munity. However far division of labor may be car- ried in some lines, it cannot be rendered absolute in anything which is largely concerned with social rela- tions- A principle is here involved which holds for all phases of democratic society. Such a society must always be keenly alive to the functions which it dele- gates to this or that special person or institution. The function of lawmaking and of law enforcement, for instance, in a democratic society, cannot be com- pletely turned over into the hands of a few individ- uals. The law-makers and the law-enforcers are but the agents of the social will, and they must follow closely its decrees. Social Responsibility Essential. — This fact must al- ways be clearly appreciated if these agents are to act in the real interests of the people. There must be all sorts of ways for the will of the people to ex- press itself. The expression may sometimes be short- sighted and bungling, but if it is a real expression of the community or of the state, it is not too high a price to pay, for the continuance of democratic insti- tutions depends upon the existence of a large body of men and women who are alive and responsive to all sorts of social needs. It is from this point of view that the present-day interest in nominations through primaries, in the initiative, the referendum, and the recall is of greatest significance. Unless a democratic society is an illusion, the defects of all such schemes are not inherent, but are rather inci- dental phases of their development. In fine, a health- ful society must participate, in a general way, at 94 COOPERATION WITH COMMUNITY least, in all the interests and activities which are need- ful for its continued welfare. Close Relation of Home and School. — It is manifest that the home is, of all the various agencies which act upon child-life outside the school, the most deeply and directly concerned. It is easy, however, for home and school to stand widely apart. The home has its economic duties, and these are often insistent and leave little time or energy for anything else. On the side of the school, the technic and the processes of instruction are so elaborately developed that the parent usually feels that they are quite beyond his comprehension. The school-world becomes one of mystery, which he looks at from afar, either with awe, intrusting his children to it without question, or with distrust and suspicion, just because its meth- ods and ideals are unfamiliar to him. It is quite natural that there should be aspects of the work of the school too technical for the average home thoroughly to comprehend. Albeit, it is most needful that they have some ground of common un- derstanding. The home should have a general ap- preciation of the aims of the school as expressed in the curriculum and other school exercises. It should know, in general, what the school intends to accom- plish by teaching and training in the way it does. It also should go without saying that the school must have a real and not a perfunctory interest in the best welfare of each child, and the parent should know the school well enough to understand that it does have such an interest. Value of Mutual Understanding. — With the confi- dence engendered by such a general understanding 95 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY the home will be in a position to cooperate with the school in many ways in realizing its worthy aims; it may even do much toward broadening the vision and the purpose of the school itself. The reaction of home on school and of school on home should make for good in both directions. No matter how poor the homes and how good the school, or how good the homes and how poor the school, this getting to- gether should be mutually helpful. Their Common Aim. — The common object of inter- est is the efficient training of the child, for both home and school play a part in the process, and it is of the highest importance that they work together and not at cross purposes, that there be sympathy and not in- difference. From this center of interest many spe- cific activities looking toward the betterment of both home and school will, and do, naturally develop. Need of Cooperation. — The urgent need of coopera- tion to-day grows, in part, out of the extension of the demands made by and upon the school. As long as the school occupied only a small place in the social horizon there was scarcely any need for systematic effort to bring home and school together. In fact, they were once fairly close to one another. When the community was small, the teacher was a part of it, and was known to all the patrons. All the needed cooperation was secured through the informal con- tacts between parents and school, which sprang up spontaneously. Where parents frequently visit the schools of their own accord much can be accomplished in the way of mutual helpfulness, but too little of this sort of thing usually occurs, especially in the case of the large mod- 96 COOPERATION WITH COMMUNITY ern school. In fact, informal visiting, if indulged in by all patrons, might seriously interfere with the regular work. But, in actuality, it is impossible for many parents to be free to visit the school, even at rare intervals. As a matter of fact, there is little or no visiting of the school by any parents to inspect the regular work of the classes. Some are too busy, as they think, and they excuse themselves on the ground that supposedly competent teachers have been employed to attend to those phases of their children's training, and they can best be left to attend to it in their own way. Most parents also feel awkward and out of place in the school room, and they prefer to keep away from it altogether. When they come to the school it is usually to the superintendent's or prin- cipal's office to consult regarding the child's miscon- duct or failure to make proper progress. On all other occasions the teachers and school officials are left se- verely alone, many parents not even knowing by face or name the teacher of their children. Home and School Associations.— It is needless to say that the school life of boys and girls ought not to be so completely separated from home interests and sympathies. True, we should not expect or desire the parent to enter the school room and assume the role of a critic of the teacher's work. The teacher ought to know more about his work and how to do it than any but the most exceptional parent. There are, however, large non-technical questions which the parent and the school officers and teachers should discuss together and on the proper meeting of which much of the welfare and eflfectiveness of the school depends. To provide opportunity for such confer- 97 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY ences, various associations of parents and teachers, or home and school associations, or parent-teacher clubs have been organized in many parts of this country. Their Function.^The function of these associations is, first of all, to get the teachers and parents ac- quainted. To bring them together merely in an in- formal, social way is a good thing. Such meeting together softens prejudices, enkindles kindly regard, and a spirit of readiness to help one another, such as can be secured in no other way. On the basis of the common understanding and acquaintance thus engen- dered, the Parent-Teacher Association can reach out and do many things to further the effectiveness of the school. It becomes a means, in the first place, of enlightening the parents as to the aims of the school, and of informing the parents as to ways in which they can help the school accomplish its pur- poses. This is especially needful to-day in those communi- ties where there is a large foreign element. It is of the utmost importance that these strangers within our gates should know what our American schools are striving to do for American children. The course of study needs to be explained, and where, as in the upper grades, there are different courses of study, the respective aims of each need to be discussed. The relation of school training to vocation can be set forth and the foundations of effective work in vocational guidance can be laid. Where home work is required by the school the nature and amount can be explained, and the parent can be made to see in what ways he can make this home work really beneficial to his chil- 98 COOPERATION WITH COMMUNITY dren. One of the greatest goods that can come from such explanations is the development, in the home, of a spirit of sympathy and assistance toward the school. The existence of such a spirit the children are quick to detect, and it has much to do with their taking school requirements seriously. They realize that their pa- rents and their teachers are working together. Where there is any suspicion of cross-purpose or of indiffer- ence of one toward the other, the pupil is ready to take advantage of it. Value of the Parent-teacher Association. — It is easy for the Parent-teacher Association to pass beyond these narrower problems of school policy and con- sider many questions of child welfare, which are quite as much problems of the community as of the school. In doing so, the progressive school does not pass beyond its legitimate sphere. It should be actively interested in all that has to do with the welfare of children. By no possible twist of logic can the proper interest of the educator be confined to the narrow problems of the school-room. The general well-being of the children of the community is oj much the con- cern of the school as is their progress in the narrower school tasks. The one inevitably reacts on the other. Intelligent teachers should be able to suggest many ways of bettering the conditions of child-life and con- secjuently improving the school work. Not merely I can teachers suggest such things, they can actively cooperate with parents in bringing them to pass in the community. We have here the second function of the Parent- teacher Association, namely, that of actually endeav- oring to uplift the community itself as a basis for 99 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY the working out of a more effective school program. The school can actively cooperate with the more intel- ligent parents, not only in making better conditions for child growth, but also in enlightening and train- ing the less intelligent parents. Such problems as that of children's savings, the nickel theater, development of responsibility through some regular home duties, the child's play hours, the home garden, how to coun- teract the vicious influences of the modern city, prob- lems of food, clothing, fresh air, sleep, care of teeth, suitable reading for children, moral training, regular- ity of school attendance, etc., have all been taken up and profitably discussed by parents and teachers. Even parents of more than average intelligence may often be helpfully enlightened on some of these matters. Eesults Accomplished. — As to actual results accom- plished, much might be reported. In some places, for example, these associations have secured the proper guidance of the pupils' social and athletic activities. In other places better equipment for the schools has been secured, either through the board of education, or through a general appeal to the people. School spirit has been improved, parents and teachers are led to know each other. Some communities report that tardiness has been diminished thereby and the necessity of discipline reduced one-third. They have been partly responsible in various places for the cur- few, for increasing interest in the supervision of play- grounds. Buildings have been furnished with pic- tures and libraries, many schools have gone far toward becoming real social centers of their communities. One state president reports that, through the influ- lOO COOPERATION WITH COMl^UKirV : ence of these clubs, the tie between the schools and the communities is yearly growing stronger. Flags, pianos, and victrolas have been secured for schools, picnics, basket suppers, etc., have been arranged. Even needed legislation has been secured, and the active support of the administrative officers in many matters related to the increased efficiency of the schools has been obtained. In other places sanitary drinking fountains have been installed through the help of these associations, school gardens have been established, money has been raised for the improvement of roads leading to the school, laws against selling cigarettes to minors are enforced, and town "clean-ups" and sane Fourth-of- July celebrations secured. These are natural and tan- gible results, and many more might be mentioned, but they are probably less significant than the deeper spiritual values which are the outcome of the coopera- tion of school and home. "That children thrive under the new and sympathetic relation of home and school induced by these meetings is shown by the fact that they almost always urge their mothers and fathers to attend. One mother said that before the school had parents' meetings her children never wanted her to come because she was poorly dressed, but now, seeing her a part of the meeting, and probably experiencing a newly sympathetic attitude on the part of the teacher and a more intelligent understanding of the school on the part of the mother, they have urged her to come, clothes or no clothes, and have really seemed to have more respect for her opinions." * * Statement furnished by The National Congress of Mothers. The author is indebted to Mrs. E. H. Weeks of lOI EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY It is usually found that the getting together of the parents involves little extra labor for anyone. The children themselves often write the invitations and carry them home. The programs of the meet- ings usually consist of a short talk or paper on some subject vital to child-welfare followed by free dis- cussion. Sometimes simple refreshments are served in the social half hour which follows. There may be musical programs, or other forms of entertainment occasionally. Various Methods. — Great diversity exists as to plans and methods. In some places only one or two meet- ings a year are provided, and these mainly that the parents and teachers may get acquainted. In others the meetings are more frequent, sometimes even monthly, and on Friday afternoons or evenings. Suc- cess, of course, demands leadership, and this may come either from the side of the school or the home. The general experience is that most teachers will heartily cooperate when they find that it imposes little extra labor upon themselves. This is especially true in certain states and cities where the work is well organized. In the state of Washington, for ex- ample, a Parent-teacher Bulletin is published : Boston has a Home and School News-letter. Los Angeles has 1 08 of these associations, united in a central or- ganization. The Superintendent of Schools writes: *The Parent-teacher Associations of Los Angeles city have exercised a very remarkable influence for good by intelligent and sympathetic cooperation with the board of education, superintendents, principals, the Publication Committee of this organization for valuable assistance in gathering data for this chapter. 102 COOPERATION WITH COMMUNITY and teachers, in work directly and indirectly related to the public schools." Advantages Mutual. — It is not assumed that the ad- vantage has been all on the side of the parents. The teachers may be quite as much helped as the parents. In fact, nothing will so tend to vitalize the teacher's work and raise it above the perfunctory level as to get an occasional glimpse beyond the school-room upon the broad human problem of which the school-work is only a part. As one student of the subject writes : *The teacher, somewhat overbalanced by too much dwelling on system and curriculum, finds her sympa- thies refreshed by coming into contact with the home- relations of the children. She realizes more vividly the conditions under which they must work at home, makes fairer allowances for shortcomings, and is often able to suggest changes that are most helpful to her charges. Even the untrained parents can give good common-sense advice, and the contact of such parents with the trained mind of the teacher is of in- calculable value to the home." Current Criticism of Schools. — A great hue and cry is being raised to-day through the popular maga- zines about the inefficiency of our American public schools. Their training is said to be abstract and far removed from any of the vital needs of present-day social life. Boys and girls, completing the common school and high school course, are said to be prepared for nothing. They are not enabled through their school training to enter into any vocation within or without the home. Any success the boy attains in business or industry or any proficiency the girl shows for home-making duties is said to be attained by ave- 103 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY nues outside the school walls rather than within them. Of course these criticisms, though in a measure true, are one-sided. The public has an exaggerated idea of what can be accomplished in the way of specific voca- tional training in the years of childhood and early youth. The main part of the child's business in these years is to grow unhampered by economic necessity. Nevertheless there is no justification for ignoring altogether these criticisms. The school has its grave shortcomings, of which teachers as a whole are about as keenly conscious as is the world outside, if not more so. For these shortcomings, however, it is not merely the teachers and the appointed administrators of public instruction who are to be held responsible, but society as a whole. Schools Represent Community Development. — The schools are usually on a par with the social body that supports them. If they are narrow and short- sighted in their method and range of work, they are probably not more so than are the other institutions and forms of social activity. The general improve- ment of the schools is bound up with the improvement of society and with the development of a higher so- cial intelligence. The schools are, therefore, much more the expression of the social will and of social intelligence than the critics in the public press usually seem to imagine. With all their defects, as well as their excellencies, they are bound up with the social and intellectual life of their communities. If their methods are inadequate, and, if the studies are lack- ing in vital appeal to boys and girls, it is in part a phase of the imperfection of modern social life. Collective life has increased in bulk out of all 104 COOPERATION WITH COMMUNITY proportion to the development of the more deh'cate coordinating machinery which alone can render bulk effective and worth while. We are socialized ade- quately only in spots. There is a general lack of ability to put into effective play the good ideals that most people have. Hence it is not strange that much of the effort expended, not merely in the school, but also in other lines of social activity — for example, in the church, the lodge, labor unions, and charities — fails in many ways to accomplish the full good at which it aims. We must think of the retardation of the children in their grades, their rapid elimination, as the upper limit of compulsory school attendance is reached, and the general lack of interest in the work and lack of sympathy of school with life as evidence, not so much of wrong ideals, as of the un- wieldiness of the social machinery. Parent-teacher Association Can Increase Educational Efficiency. — It would seem that not the least impor- tant thing to be done in the effort to overcome these conditions would be the bringing of parent and teacher together in such associations as have been described above. Their object is to acquaint the teacher with the home, and the home with the teacher and the school, and to establish cooperation where now there is indifference, if not active antagonism. They intro- duce the teachers into an active participation in com- munity problems, and the parent is enabled, not merely to appreciate what the school is doing, but to under- stand more intelligently its shortcomings. There is not one thing more needed for the betterment of the schools than that the parents should see at first hand the actual conditions of that work and should discuss 8 105 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY it with the teachers and other school officers. The reaction of an enlightened public sentiment will do much to better many phases of the school work, phases that the community would never appreciate, nor in- deed sanction until they see for themselves and have the need explained to them by the teachers and other school officers. The National Organization. — The movement for Pa- rent-teacher Associations has had many independent beginnings in different parts of the country, but so important and so widespread has their value proved to be that a national organization has recently been formed, having as its aim the systematic development of such associations everywhere. The only prerequis- ite for success in any community seems to be that a few live teachers or patrons shall wish for such an association, and the national organization stands ready to advise how to get started and how to conduct along lines that have been proved to be successful. Two types of meetings are suggested for these associa- tions, one in which all parents and teachers of a school come together ''for a social time and to hear and discuss a paper or short lecture on some subject of mutual interest", and another, in which each grade teacher meets the mothers of her particular group of children. One practical worker regards the individual grade meeting as "the very foundation of a successful parents' association for it is here that we work out our ideals and accomplish that intimate intercourse between mother, teacher, and child, which is so vital to the work". It is on the basis of the interest aroused in these grade meetings that the fathers' sympathies are enlisted, and thus both parents are in- io6 COOPERATION WITH COMMUNITY duced to attend the larger evening meetings of the entire association. The Home and School Visitor. — An important ad- junct of the associations of parents and teachers in some cities, particularly in Boston, is the Home and School Visitor. It was found that many parents, especially those most needing to do so, could never attend the meetings at the schools. The Boston re- port says : "The school visitor is an interpreter from the school to the home and the home to the school." The opportunity for usefulness open to an expert worker is, of course, very great, especially where the foreign element is large. Homes are studied, difficult children looked up and all sorts of problems of physi- cal and moral hygiene are met. The Master of one of the schools reports: "The Visitor enlightens parents, where necessary, respect- ing the work and requirements of the school, aids teachers on request to a fuller understanding of the pupil, and rescues many a child from a career of de- ceit and double dealing. With us, as elsewhere, are found unsatisfactory pupils of many different types. What of the irritable and ill-conditioned boy? If lacking sleep, is it of his own wilfulness, or because of possible parental exactions? What of the boy who fails in home lessons? Is it his neglect, or be- cause of ill-regulated home conditions? And so on to the habitually tardy pupil, the untidy, the unkempt, the never-to-be-forgotten cigarettist, and many more." Such pupils through the ministrations of the school visitor may become "subjects for moral recovery". The work of a Home and School Visitor can be in- trusted only to a person of wisdom and experience. 107 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY Only matters directly arising in the school are to be engaged in, and all conference in the home limited to the reasonable necessities of the case in hand. The work is undertaken in a spirit of sympathy and help- fulness for honest and, it may be, overburdened parents." Summary and Conclusion. — Enough has been said of the value of home and school associations in the development of a socially efficient education. The underlying need expressed in such organizations is that all the forces in a community concerned with the education of the boys and girls should maintain a real interest in the enterprise, and should have their, aims and efforts rather definitely correlated. Of course this correlation of efforts and aims is not all that is needful, but it is one thing that cannot be neglected; it is one phase that is vitally essential. There is no better way to make the children feel that their school training is worth while. Such organiza- tion of a community about its educational interests will keep these interests in vital touch with life, and will go far toward making the work in the school not mere preparation for life, but real participation in life itself. And, as we have seen, and shall see again, in the various phases of our study, the primary need is just this. There is no medium or means for train- ing in social efficiency that is superior to a natural social atmosphere in which each child may fully par- ticipate. CHAPTER VII PLAY AS A FACTOR IN SOCIAL EFFICIENCY Social Values of Play. — The realization of the so- cial ideal in education depends quite as much upon healthful play as upon work. The playground, more- over, is the immemorial place for learning how to live and work with others. Here the idea of "social oneness", of group life, develops through team games. The conflicts of the playground develop the first no- tions of social justice and lawfulness. Here boys and girls learn to be leaders and learn how "to play the game" against all sorts of odds. We recall that when the Duke of Wellington was asked to explain his victory at Waterloo, he replied that it had been won years before on the playgrounds of Eton. Many values attach to play, and they are all of more or less significance, in a social way, but most of them have been fully set forth by others, and hence need not be repeated here; It has been truly pointed out that play is, for in- stance, a preparation for adult life. For one thing, it introduces the child to the meanings of many adult activities. It is needful, also, that he may learn to use his limbs and his mind readily; needful for physi- cal development, for strong muscles, for healthy lungs. Play is worth much, also, as a means of rest from other forms of activity. It gives an opportunity 109 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY for the tired mind or body to recover its balance and return to more exacting duties with new energy and effectiveness. It is the best of all agencies for keep- ing alive the joyous, buoyant spirit that all men and women need for a truly happy life. All of these op- portunities also are of distinct social value, for all sound social life must be made up of healthy-bodied and healthy-minded individuals. It is, however, a more specific relation between play and social efficiency that interests us here. Namely, the opportunity afforded by play and the playground for training in social relationships and for building up in boys and girls the best social ideals. For many years, even for centuries, a few people have recog- nized the educational importance of play, but it is only within the last few decades that its individual and social worth has been adequately understood, at least to the extent of serious and systematic attempts to work it out in a general and practical way. The Playground Movement. — One of the most strik- ing educational phenomena of the last decade has been the rapid development of public-school and mu- nicipal playgrounds and other recreation centers. The movement has been so rapid that it is hardly likely that it is, in every case, motivated by a clear apprecia- tion of all its social meanings. It is the fashion for an up-to-date city to have playgrounds, and so the play- ground is installed, whether anyone sees the social need for it or not. Probably the most impelling mo- tive in their establishment in large cities has been the purely practical desire to get children off the streets and to lessen, if possible, the tendency to vicious types of play and the temptation to crime. Play- IIO PLAY AND SOCIAL EFFICIENCY grounds have actually proved their effectiveness in these directions. They have prevented crime by fur- nishing play opportunities. They have proved that child nature becomes vicious through neglect and not through inherent badness. Play and Education. — The social meaning of play and its place in education present two slightly differ- ent phases. One of them is the training in social relations, referred to above. The other phase is the one now mentioned, namely : that of preventing crime through furnishing a safe outlet to youthful spirits. Other social values may suggest themselves as we consider these main ones. It has been pointed out in earlier chapters that education for true social efficiency must be modeled largely upon the suggestions furnished by community life itself. In social matters, as in all else that is human, one learns to do by doing. There is no substi- tute for the training afforded by actual participation in life and its various responsibilities. A truly so- cialized education must, therefore, get many of its most important ideas of method by going back to the spontaneous community life which is back of all schools and from which they themselves have sprung. Simple neighborhood life is the greatest socializes Here people come into intimate contact with each other, and here the most fundamental and most ad- mirable of human characteristics may naturally de- velop. The normal home, with its parents, its children, and its natural divisions of labor, also affords many suggestions as to what the normal life of the school should be. The school cannot completely reproduce III EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY family relations, but it can often examine itself with reference to the family ideal, and, in this way, de- velop its own life along more wholesome lines. In proportion as the school recognizes and keenly appre- ciates the fact that education is for social as well as for intellectual ends will it need to study and utilize these socializing forces which exist outside its walls. In fact, the work of the school should be largely that of selecting the best things which appear thus spon- taneously, and developing them to their fullest useful- ness. It cannot create mind, or individual power, or social forces. It can only study these movements of life in children, determine whither they are tending, and attempt to give them opportunity for expression in profitable directions. Need of Attention to Play Life. — No opportunity for social training is, then, more significant or more effective than that afforded by play, and, if the school is to strive toward the ideal of social efficiency, it cannot afford to neglect the play-life of boys and girls. Like all else that belongs to the child's in- formal life play is the soil from which evil, as well as good, may spring up. There are manifold opportuni- ties everywhere for intellectual training and for moral training, but, left undirected, the results are uncer- tain and often perverted. So also with the play of childhood. It is instinctive and, to a certain extent, it may be allowed to take care of itself, but, that its possibilities for good may be fully realized, it must be made an object of study and of systematic atten- tion. Most human instincts play an important part in the development of normal men and women; that is, 112 PLAY AND SOCIAL EFFICIENCY they are, in a sense, good, or, at least, more readily turned to a good end than to an evil end. Not one of them, however, but is capable of perversion or becoming an agency for great harm. It is worth while to note, just because instincts have this value for human development, that the good in them is eas- ier of attainment than the evil. The first flowering of an instinct is nearly always beautiful: it struggles awhile to work itself out along right lines, just as a tree tends to grow upright, or a plant to produce flowers according to its type. However distorted the flower or the tree, we can always see the evidence of the struggle to follow out its original nature; to be straight, or to be beautiful. It is here that we get our cue as to the possibilities of play, and to the need of its proper cultivation that the normal instinct may have a chance to contribute its part to sound manhood and womanhood. Rudimentary Social Ideals on the Playground. — In the life of the playground social relationships and ideals appear in rudimentary form. Here we find emerging quite spontaneously such fine traits of character as loyalty, truthfulness, or good faith, generosity, de- votion of one's self to the welfare of a group, respect for law and orderliness. All of these qualities are of the highest social value. A true education for social efficiency must make use of all of them. They appear on the playground, even in those incidents that may seem to need repression. The dispute or fight of chil- dren is not necessarily a bad thing, but even where it is, it usually grows out of an attempt on the part of the players to secure fairer play; it is their reac- tion against injustice, or the infraction of some other 113 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY instinctive ideal, and what is really needed in such cases is such oversight that the children will not be too harsh in their efforts to secure justice. The influence of the playground upon later life is evident in the fact that many of our adult ideals of proper human relations continue to be stated in the language of the playground, for example, fair play, being square, and so forth. In play, then, the child gets his first experience and training in social virtues outside the family. As Cooley says, * "Everyone remembers how the idea of justice is developed in children's games. There is always something to be done, in which various parts are to be taken, success depending on their efficient distribution. All see this and draw from experience the idea that there is a higher principle that ought to control the undisciplined ambition of individuals. 'Rough games in many respects present in miniature the conditions of a society where an ideal state of justice, freedom and equality prevails.' "The decisions in most of the disputes have behind them the obviously social motive of carrying on a successful game. The sense of common interest has been stretched so as to take the competitive impulse itself into camp, domesticate it, and make it a part of the social system. The acutely realized fact that a society of kickers can never play a game or anything else comes to be seen against a background of a pos- sibly orderly arrangement of which one has had occasional experience, and with which one has come at last to sympathize; there comes to be to some extent * Social Organisation. 114 PLAY AND SOCIAL EFFICIENCY an identification of one's own interests and purposes with the interests and purposes of the whole. Cer- tainly the decisions of the group as to whether Jimmy was out at first, as to who came out last, and whether Mary Ann was really caught, are felt as community and not as individual decisions." As another writer says : "We are only just beginning to appreciate the great significance and value of play as a developing and uplifting force in building the character of our future citizens. It would be difficult to over-state the value of the lesson acquired in organized play, of learning to be a *good loser*. I doubt whether there is any lesson that is more essential for a man to learn at an early age. In fact, it is in the recreative activi- ties that the social nature finds its fullest and freest expression. Only when work is laid aside and people are mingling in their avocations are the social powers at their best." Need of Supervision.^ — In order that the full educa- tional and social values of play may be realized, a play director has been found to be most necessary. The phrase, "directed play", may seem to some per- sons to be a contradiction in terms. How can it be real play if it is supervised? Is not the very essence of play spontaneous, free activity, joyfully planned and carried out by the children themselves? If this ideal were actually realized on the undirected play- ground, little more need be said, but such is not the case. There are all sorts of obstacles to its being realized. In the first place children often do not know what to play, either because they are actually ignorant of good games, or because no one game is familiar to a sufficiently large number of children to be played "5 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY successfully. All children have the same instinctive impulse, but what they play they must learn from others. "Children, whether savage or civilized, learn their games from one another, and from imitating and symbolizing adult life." In the stable communi- ties of earlier times games and plays from the im- memorial past were easily transmitted from one gen- eration of children to another. But not so where populations are changing. Play traditions are easily shattered, and only the poorest games are saved. When children from different localities and countries come together they soon forget their native sports. Their play impulse may be reduced to mere running, pushing, or teasing. This is about the situation in the average shifting American community. "Ameri- can children of to-day are poorer in imagination, ideality, and invention than their forefathers; for they have lost many of the old games." * The situation is even worse among the children of the congested districts of the cities. The condition described by Miss Kennard, the president of the Pitts- burgh Playground Association, is not peculiar to that city. The children found there are usually either of foreign birth or foreign parentage. "Their new Americanism demands complete forgetfulness of the old country and its ways. They must adopt the play traditions of their adopted country. But what sug- gestions of play could they find in a city of iron, whose monster machinery rested neither day nor night? Their surroundings were ugly and forlorn. In many places green things could not grow because of the fall of smoke, which swept heavily down, * Miss Kennard. ii6 PLAY AND SOCIAL EFFICIENCY clouding the sunlight, and leaving a deposit of grime on everything, including the children. If the imagi- nation is fed by sense impressions, these children could have little idea of life other than mere existence for the sake of work. Without playground, play- traditions, imagination or vitality, we found that these children literally did not know how to play." * The play director is needed, then, to suggest good games to the children and show them how to play them. The average child, under the most favorable circum- stances, knows but a few of the rich store of games which are his heritage from the childhood of the race. His only means of getting them is through imitation of other children, who are not apt to be better off than himself, or through actual instruction. Most children welcome such help from an older head. What teacher has not had her children gather around her with the touching appeal that she tell them some- thing to play? Leadership also Essential. — Not merely is instruction needed, but also leadership. The capacity for lead- ership should be developed in boys and girls, but this loes not always occur when they are left entirely alone. A boor or a bully may dominate and exploit tlie playground for his own selfish gratification. The "natural leader" is not always the best leader. Then, again, while most children appreciate the need of law, of order, of taking turns, and, while to some extent these matters are adjusted by the children themselves, a few selfish ones may, nevertheless, try to keep the swings, the teeter-boards, the other opportunities, and the best places in the games, if there is not a director ♦ Miss Kennard in The Pittsburgh Survey. 117 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY to interfere. A referee is also needed in the case of many of the playground disputes. In fine, it is not contrary to the spirit of genuine play that it should be supervised. The children prefer that it thus he. They find that they have better times under a play director. There is, in fact, no more reason for failing to supervise play than for leaving the child's intellectual development to take care of itself. If play-life in the modern community is to minister in a large way toward the realization of the social ideal it must be sympathetically studied and guided by older heads than the children's. Democratic Influence of Playground. — Another posi- tive social value of the playground lies in the effec- tiveness with which it brings together on a common level children of different races and social standards. We are familiar with the idea that our schools are important agencies in the Americanization of the children of other lands coming into our midst. In the schools they are supposedly brought in touch with American modes of thought and American ideals. Is it not likely that the developed playground is an even more effective agency toward this end ? Foreign chil- dren will learn the American point of view and the English tongue much more quickly through playing with native children than through any of the formal instruction of the school. All nations, it is true, are alike in their need for play. The ideals of the play- ground are more or less alike the world over. This common human need and this common mode of its finding expression furnish a basis on which children of all nations can meet. Surely no better conditions than those furnished by play could be desired for ii8 PLAY AND SOCIAL EFFICIENCY allaying race prejudice, mitigating social differences, and laying the foundations for an appreciation of our common humanity. We can hardly hope that the American society of to-morrow will be identical with that of yesterday. Foreign blood is coming to us too rapidly to be com- pletely transformed to the American type. We are inevitably being modified ourselves. But this does not mean that the nation of the future must needs be of any lower grade than the original American people, provided the best in all these diverse elements can be fused into a unified whole. The danger rests in class conflict, in lack of sympathy and of understanding, in the persistence within our gates of unlike and hos- tile elements. The opportunities afforded by organ- ized and supervised recreation for accomplishing this unification are certainly very great. We have referred to the playground as a preven- tive of crime. It is significant that the prisons and reformatories are largely filled by persons between sixteen and twenty-five years of age, the period of life when the play-impulse is still strong and when the demand for some sort of recreation is most insis- tent. Students of social problems are convinced that much criminality in these years is simply the perv^erted expression of energy, of the love of activity, and of adventure, in a word, of the play-spirit. The Experience of Pittsburgh. — Few cities, probably, have encountered more difficulties in the development ^of organized play than Pittsburgh, and yet the ex- irience of the Playground Association of that city ihould be an inspiration to educators everywhere who jlieve in the social value of play. There were no 119 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY yards in many districts, and the children did not know how to play, or seem to care for it. They were spirit- ually starved. Child labor prevailed. The relaxation of the boys was in tough predatory gangs, which often terrorized whole neighborhoods. A little girl's high- est ideal was to be able to ride in the patrol wagon as she had seen her mother and father do many times. The playgrounds, once organized in these locali- ties, have furnished the entering wedge for many lines of social betterment. In addition to the play there have been organized classes in various sorts of hand- work, music and art. Dancing and rhythmic gymnas- tics have received much attention that the children might learn better control of hands and feet. In the summer there are weekly flower days, when great baskets of flowers sent to the city from the surround- ing country are distributed to the children *'from the tiniest babies to the roughest boys". There are lessons in cooking and dietetics for the girls. The child-labor evil has been mitigated, for some children had been put to work to keep them off the streets. "Little Michel Strozzi's father had put him in the glassworks for the summer, but he sent him to the vacation school (and playground) more than a mile away, where the child, small and delicate for his age, ran and jumped and built pyramids with other boys, handled tool^ made toys, and played with an earnestness which expanded his lungs, straightened his back, and steadied his active little brain for an- other year of effective study. The gang has been tamed. The West End Gang, whose ideals had been confined to baseball and pugilism, became enthusiastic carpenters. Their devotion to the fine, clean, young 120 PLAY AND SOCIAL EFFICIENCY fellow who was their instructor was pathetic. They followed him around. In order to cure the sneak thieving he would leave all the material out on the ball field and go away without making any boy re- sponsible for it. The next morning every bat and ball and glove would be returned." As Jane Addams says: "Much vice is merely a love for pleasure." We cannot imagine a boy who by walking three blocks can secure for himself the delicious sensation to be found in a swimming pool preferring to play craps in a foul and stuffy alley, even with the natural excitement which gambling of- fers." * We continually forget that amusement is stronger than vice, and that it alone can stifle the lust for it. "Every city in the United States spends a hundred- fold more money for juvenile reform than is spent in providing means for public recreation." f The Chicago Playgrounds. — The experience of Chi- cago with its playgrounds points to the truth of the above statements. They furnish a healthful outlet to youthful spirits, and have noticeably diminished juve- nile delinquency in the areas which they reach. The difficulty is that, notwithstanding the expenditure of vast sums for these playgrounds, they are even yet only spots, and great districts are as yet entirely un- I touched. These playless districts are the present hot- beds of juvenile crime. One worker says truly: "I think it would be difiicult to find any point at which, in our largest cities, a dollar will go further in the making of these things for which the city exists * The Spirit of Youth and the City Streets. t Ibid. I2X EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY than in the provision and maintenance of play- grounds." Summary and Conclusion. — Taking into account all these values of play, we may well say of playground expenditure that it is a method of social insurance that no nation which seeks to attain the ideal of social efficiency can afford to neglect. Whether these ave- nues of recreation are administered by the city di- rectly, or by the machinery of the public schools, or even by private enterprise, they must be regarded as belonging to public education in the larger sense, be- cause they embody many of those agencies which operate to produce a healthful and efficient manhood and womanhood. As Dr. Gulick well says: "Not only must munici- palities and philanthropic associations coordinate their efforts in some harmonious, comprehensive scheme, but the whole plan must be administered by experts with definite goals in view. It is not enough to give everybody the chance to play. We must also direct that play to specific and attractive ends. The ten- dency of recreation to be warped from its legitimate purpose when left to private adventure is well illus- trated in the development of baseball. Our national game has produced spectators in a number far out of reasonable proportion to the number of players. If our boys are going to learn team play; if they are going to acquire the habit of subordinating selfish to group interests, they must learn these things through experience and not from books or the 'bleachers' maintained by professional baseball. Such moral de- velopment comes only through activities which are pursued with spontaneous and passionate enthusiasm." 122 L CHAPTER VIII THE SOCIAL BASIS OF SCHOOL INCENTIVES Effort Proportional to Incentive Count Tolstoy, in his great study of human Hfe and motive, War and Peace, pauses in the account of Napoleon's disastrous retreat from Russia to raise the question as to what determines the efficiency of an army. The French were well organized and armed, and yet they melted away before the desultory, unorganized attacks of the poorly equipped and ungeneraled Russians. Some mil- itary authorities, he says, insist that efficiency depends upon the leaders, others upon the organization, and others upon the armaments. But, according to these standards, the French should have succeeded instead of being ignominiously defeated. No, the effective- ness of an army depends on all of these accessories multiplied by an indeterminate "X" which, says Tol- stoy, is the desire to fight. The Russians were eager to fight, the French were tired of it. We have, in this comment of the great novelist and philosopher, a recognition of far-reaching im- portance of impelling motives for all human endeavor. All people, young or old, if they work efficiently and with telling result must have some incentive. Few of us accomplish as much as we might with the ma- terials in our hands and the knowledge we possess because of a lack of adequate driving motives. We 123 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY may see many things we might well do, but the keen desire, the eager feeling that it is worth while, does not seize us, and we work along in a perfunctory manner and with a low degree of efficiency. What is true of us in our adult occupations is true in a very vital sense of children in their school life. Dr. Reeder, in his suggestive book, How Two Htmdred Children Live and Learn, says : "When I have at- tempted to attain certain definite results with children and failed I have rarely found the chief cause of fail- ure to lie in the children. It generally means that the motive for effort or Attainment has not been adequate. The good was too remote, appreciation of its value too slight, or there was lack of personal touch and inspiration, so that whatever was necessary to energize the full capacity of the child was want- ing." Incentive Essential in School. — Every teacher of boys and girls must have felt at times the truth of Dr. Reeder 's statement. The lack of a suitable incentive is surely one of the main obstacles to good school work. W^hatever the aim of the teacher, whether to train the individual child to be capable for himself alone, or to be a useful member of society, that aim will be best accomplished if the child, like the Rus- sian soldiers, is eager to do the tasks set before him. Indeed the problem of adequate motivation is as fundamental and as far-reaching in every phase of the educational enterprise as it is for the larger rela- tions of life which occupy the attention of men and women. It is constantly appearing in one form or another in the daily routine of the school. Our par- ticular interest in that problem is due to the fact that 124 BASIS OF SCHOOL INCENTIVES it is essentially a social one. The keenest incentives to work at one's best one gains through social rela- tionships. An education guided by the social ideal thus possesses unusually fine opportunities for devel- oping in children the most genuine and lasting motives for a full measure of individual efficiency. Strength of Social Motive. — Dr. Reeder gives a fine illustration of the strength and value of the social motive. In the orphanage at Hastings-on-the-Hudson the children are grouped in cottages and perform for themselves much of the work incident to household life. The reckless breaking of dishes had proved a serious problem in the cottage economy. Neither ad- monitions nor fines imposed on the careless seemed to avail much in lessening the waste. Money was not an important item in the lives of these children, and fines, therefore, did not arouse them to greater care in handling the china. Finally the rule was made that if more than two pieces a week were broken in a cottage the excess was to be replaced by plain agate ware. This rule substituted a social motive for carefulness for the ineffective individual one. The effect of this rule was to reduce breakage to less than one piece a week. The pride of the cottages was at stake. If a child bungled in his work, he did not suffer alone, but all his mates suffered with him; the breaking of a piece of china was no longer "an in- dividual mishap; it was a social offense. The sad consequences of his deed were brought home to him by many others, who felt that it was a disgrace to be obliged to spread their table with agate ware." * * How Two Hundred Children Live and Learn, pp. 184-87. 125 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY Motivation Strengthened Through Community Rela- tionships. — A school which is definitely adjusted to community needs has gone a long way toward solv- ing the problem of motivation. Recent attempts to improve rural education, described in preceding chap- ters, certainly function in this direction. Every step toward bringing the home into closer touch with the school, through associations of parents and teachers, is also most helpful. Children work better when they feel that older people outside the school are vitally interested in them and in their progress. The social stimulus, whether it develops in the inner life of the school, or comes from outer sources, is produc- tive of far better results than any artificial induce- ment to work. Indeed a real social efficiency will be attained largely through the rich motivation that comes to boys and girls by their participating in nor- mal social relationships. From this general statement of the point of view we may turn our attention to a brief review of the present school situation with reference to motivation. The object will be to consider why the problem is to- day a particularly important one; what prevailing at- titudes in educational theory and practice have been responsible for the school's deficiency in this regard and to suggest a possible change of emphasis which may secure more thoroughly motivated work. Problem Only Recently Developed. — Only in com- paratively recent times has the need for a more care- ful study of school incentives made itself felt. Its appearance is indeed one of the incidents of the ad- vance in the scope and complexity of modern educa- tion. Outside the school, in "real life", there is 126 BASIS OF SCHOOL INCENTIVES usually plenty of incentive for normally minded boys and girls and men and women. There it takes care of itself and seldom has to be made an object of care- ful planning. Within the school, however, the situation is dif- ferent. Here the pupil is required to spend a large part of his best working hours in a somewhat arti- ficial environment, an environment good on the whole, but yet lacking in many of the elements that make the outer world attractive. In pioneer times this did not matter very much, because the school exacted little of the pupil's time and energy. Its inadequacies were concealed by a simpler and more immediate so- cial life, in which (he pupil found his enthusiasms, and came to a consciousness of worthy life-purposes. The dominating theory of this old-time school was the receptivity of the child. He was naively regarded as a lump of plastic clay to be shaped, or as an empty vessel to be filled. As a present-day educator, voicing the simple view of the old education, re- cently said: "The only thing for the pupil to do is to keep the neck of his flask open while the teacher fills it." We could endure such an educational theory as this as long as it did not make itself too obtrusive. It was when the educational enterprise was enormously enlarged, when it made vast and ever-increasing de- mands upon the time of the children and the resources of adult society that the deadening effect of this doc- trine, its total inadequacy as a means of securing a real education became generally apparent. The more time and money are spent for education, the more critical does the public become of the results, the more 127 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY does it insist that some adequate and tangible returns be shown for the investment. Failure of Compulsory School Attendance Laws. — The blind faith that compulsory school-attendance laws can secure to every child the elements of an educa- tion has received a rude shock in the recent revela- tions of the extent of retardation among public school pupils. It has been found that more than fifty per cent, of our children are seriously behind their proper grades, and that, in the later years of the ele- mentary and grammar school, children are dropping out at an alarmingly rapid rate. Retardation of pu- pils, together with rapid elimination as the upper limit of compulsory school attendance is reached, means that only comparatively few of our boys and girls get even a useful elementary education. Not Due to Inability of Children. — We are loath to believe that the inability of our expensive public school system to reach the children is due to their mental incapacity, and yet, somehow, they do not re- spond properly to our studied efforts to train them. We know too well the apathy and indifference shown by many of them, the perfunctory attention that they give to the lessons and tasks which we daily require of them. We know that, although they may work hard, most of them do not work as hard as they might. The hard work in the school does not com- pare very favorably with the capacity for hard work these same pupils show in their sports, on the ball- ground, or in other outside activities. To come at once to the point, this difference is due to a lack of adequate incentive in the school, to a deficiency in inner driving force in the pupil. The work is half- 128 ► BASIS OF SCHOOL INCENTIVES hearted and therefore naturally barren of much per- manent value. But to Lack of Incentive. — The real secret, then, of much of the retardation and elimination in the grades and of the ineffectiveness of the modern school, in general, lies in the fact that the development of the machinery of instruction has not been accompanied by a corresponding development in the pupil of the proper motives for work. As a recent writer says : "We take boys and girls at a time when their impulses are strong for active participation in the vital interests of life, and we confine them within narrow school-room cells, with books and pencils as a chief and sole means of em- ployment; we take them when their desire for social cooperation is a dominant motive, and we require each to work for himself upon tasks, which, so far as we can see, have little to do with the great world out- side the school walls; we take them when their indi- vidual diflFerences in capacity, interests, and prospec- tive careers are matters of growing and vital con- cern, and we require them to pursue a uniform course of study having little direct relation to these specific powers, motives, and prospects." However unsafe it may be to make unqualified statements regarding the resulting retardation and elimination, we are at least forced to the conclusion "that our present methods are failing with half the children confided to the care of the public schools.'* "The schools have not only failed to awaken in large numbers of their pupils an interest in study, but have engendered a distaste for work of any kind, particularly manual work." * * Quoted by Leavitt, Examples of Industrial Education, 129 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY A Narrow Educational Theory Responsible.^ — As we pass on it may be worth while to see how underneath this failure there has persisted a narrow, mechanical conception of education. The digression is justifi- able, for what is needed at the present time is not merely a reform in practice, but a complete recon- struction of educational theory. The old conception of mental' action was mechanical. As economic sci- ence had hypostatized the fiction of an ''economic man" who would automatically go where he could get the highest wages, who would sell to the highest mar- ket and buy in the cheapest, without regard for count- less subtle social and ethical ties, and without regard to the inertia of habit and of social custom, so the school- man imagined a theoretical pupil on whose organs of sense the environment made divers impressions, im- pressions which were stored up and associated and reproduced according to the mechanical laws of asso- ciation. Thus, the teacher was told that if he wanted to get a certain response from a certain stimulus he must put the stimulus and the desired response to- gether. If one idea was to call up another idea, the two must be put together in the pupil's mind. In both cases, if necessary, there should be a little pleasure to serve as a cement. Let him make desirable connec- tions pleasant and undesirable connections unpleasant ; that was all there was to it.* He was told, in season and out of season, to proceed from the simple to the complex, from the concrete to the abstract, and above all to connect the new thing to be taught with the pupil's past experience according to the law of apper- ception. *Cf. Thorndike's Principles of Teaching, pp. no, in. 130 BASIS OF SCHOOL INCENTIVES Yet, in spite of this fine and theoretically perfect conception of how learning should take place, the pupil did not always learn what he was supposed to learn. He did not remember things in their right connections, nor did he do the things he was sup- posed to do when the appropriate and neatly worked out stimulus was made to affect him, even though the teacher put the things together that belonged to- gether. The pupil might even, as a high school boy actually did, in response to the question, "Locate Athens and Sparta", write that they were situated on the Tigris River, spelling the river ^Tigress". If the pupil was seen to be apathetic, or mischiev- ous, it was because he lacked interest in his work; therefore, the teacher said, "Let us go to and interest him". This was a suggestion in the right direc- tion, but it was at first conceived merely as a sort of external application that would, in some magical way, oil up the machinery of the child's mind and make it work more freely. The fundamental fallacy of this earlier pedagogy was that it never took into account the real, living, throbbing personality of the pupil. It was so absorbed in the laws of association and in the problems of con- necting new experience with old experience that it failed to see that the desire or purpose of the child could have anything to do with eMcient learning. We are beginning to realize that, while the mechanics of learning are in a measure true, they have meaning only in connection with, and as subordinate to, the motive and purpose of the learner. The child is, first of all, a personality, and the essence of person- ality is purpose, intent, motive. Narrow and limited 131 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY though this motive may be, it is the real starting point of teaching and the real basis of effective learning. A Suggestion for Child-study. — From this point of view we may remark that the most instructive and valuable child-study is that which unites with the in- vestigation of the contents of the child-mind and child-modes of behavior, the deeper and far more sig- nificant question of the development of his purposes, the unfolding consciousness of the things he would like to do. The contents of his mind are interesting and curiously fragmentary, but it matters far more for the teacher to know what the pupil would like to do, what capacity he has for projecting himself into the world. A child-character with plenty of this driving power, this eagerness to know and to do, will soon make good any initial deficiences in mere mental contents. Inadequacy of ideas, for example the no- tion that a cow is no larger than one's thumb, be- cause that happens to be the size of the picture the child has seen, is a mere incident of immaturity and of limited experience. Vastly more significant than this negative fact is the fact that the child may pos- sess an impulse to act, to work, to investigate, to dis- cover. This eager, purposive attitude lies at the very core of real apperception of new experience by old. At first the educational theory put into the hands of the teacher assumed that similar experiences had some mysterious affinity. The task of the teacher was to arouse the old related idea and present the new one, and, presto! they would be as one, or at least they ought to be, all disturbing circumstances ruled out. Basis of Interest. — Interest was conceived as a re- 132 BASIS OF SCHOOL INCENTIVES sultant of this similarity. To arouse interest, stir up first the old related idea. We are now beginning to see that the first term in the whole process is the eagerness. The reaching out of the child to do some- thing, the desire to find out, is primary, and assimila- tion of the new experience is not the outcome of any fancied similarity between the newly presented con- tent and the previous content of the mind. In fact, the most cunningly worked-out similarities may be utterly barren of results. The assimilation of a new experience largely depends on whether the learner wants the new experience or not; whether he sees that it fits into his purposes or not, helps him to do something which he feels to be worth while. Motivated Effort Counts. — We have, then, in our pupils, great potentialities of energy, but to plead that this energy should furnish the dynamic force for all school work is not equivalent to advocating that it be undirected or uncontrolled. We have reached the point where we are forced to recognize the absolute necessity of a serious and scientific study of incen- tives, as well as of methods of imparting information. // is not mere work which counts, or mere additions to the child's store of knowledge, which a real edu- cation must arrive at. A development of vital pur- poses, a systematic cultivation of motives for work and for the acquisition of knowledge — this must be the guiding principle of all we do. **Mere attendance upon school, the mere acquisition of knowledge, does not necessarily result in the development of intellec- tual power. The performance of. daily tasks which are perfunctory, or which are too easy for the intel- lectual ability of the child, may produce weariness 133 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY without stimulating growth." "Power and strength come from the conservation of energy, and growth, after all, is the result of effort. The real problem would seem to be to help the child to select the proper objective point upon which to direct his energy, to stimulate him to continued effort, to the end that his fullest growth may be insured." * Objections from the Practical Teacher. — The above proposition, good as it appears in theory, will seem to the average teacher as altogether impractical. He will insist that the pupil's own purposes are flighty and inadequate. No really valuable education, it will be insisted, can be built upon this basis. Will such a course not result in the teacher's being led about by every whim and fancy of the pupil? To be sure, if "the individual child is merely allowed to follow his own inclinations, he is no more likely to develop high efficiency than the free current of electricity, the bab- bling brook, or the vapor that rises from the simmer- ing teapot." f Much that must be taught cannot ap- peal to him now as a part of anything that is akin to the moving power within himself. The best that can be done is to arouse him by various devices to a tran- sitory interest in his work. Irresponsibility Not a Necessary Characteristic of Youth. — We have unfortunately accustomed our- selves to the idea that boys and girls cannot have any wide-reaching, permanent interests in their school work. We refer to the irresponsibility and lack of seriousness of even the high school pupils as neces- * From a "Report 6f the Committee on School Incentives," of the Brooklyn (N. Y.) Teachers' Association. ■tlbid. 134 BASIS OF SCHOOL INCENTIVES sary incidents of growth, as a condition to be ex- pected and to be made the best of in what way we can. We try to devise means of overcoming it tem- porarily; we note that some of this irresponsibility disappears occasionally in certain phases of the school work, or under the influence of a particularly inspir- ing teacher; but these occasions are so fragmentary and so transitory that they appear to be mere acci- dents; they do not suggest to most teachers any far- reaching, scientific principle according to which the entire school-life of the pupil may be transformed and infused with life. Due to Isolation of School. — The crux of the diffi- culty, as we have already suggested, arises out of the isolation of the school from real life. And for this isolation educators are not alone responsible. It is incidental to our present social system, and it will not be adequately met until the public, as well as the teachers, begin to understand that a really effective child-training cannot be expected to occur on the nar- row basis and with the limited means at present pro- vided. It is not strange that the teacher of to-day is baf- fled by the proposition that he base his work more largely upon the pupil's own initiative; that he ulti- lize more largely the pupil's own motives for work. To him there seems no alternative between imposed tasks, on the one hand, tempered perhaps by a few transitory interests, and, on the other, giving up all cflort at training and letting the pupil pursue his own sweet will. The object of entering into this discussion of the question of incentives is not to suggest devices by 135 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY which adventitious motives may be introduced into our school-work, schemes by which we may tempo- rarily relieve the montony and the ineffectiveness of our teaching, while we continue to teach essentially as we have always taught. Our purpose is rather to develop a principle according to which the whole edu- cational procedure may be gradually transformed, and for bringing about this transformation there are many things we can all do, but, in the main, these things must be done in cooperation with an enlight- ened public intelligence. Basis of Motivation Is Social Life. — 'The general principle is that the work of the school and its life must not only be in closer touch with the interests and motives of life outside the school, but also that it must reproduce within itself more natural and vital social conditions. This may seem like a platitude, yet it is fundamentally true. As was stated in the first of this chapter, real life, especially social life, is rich in incentives for all normal people, and children, as well as adults, are open to its influence. In a thoroughly socialized school the problem of incentives assumes a new as- pect. It does not cease to present difficulties, but the difficulties are such as can be met scientifically and with some hope of lasting results. A school which is established upon thorough-going social re- lations within and without becomes a matrix from which all desirable incentives for the best work will naturally emerge. There has been, in recent years, an increasing number of educational experiments which have grown directly out of this conception of the basis of ade- 136 BASIS OF SCHOOL INCENTIVES quate motivation. Unfortunately they are as yet iso- lated and fragmentary; nevertheless, they are gleams of light which we may believe presage the dawn of a new day. These attempts serve to impress us, moreover, with the very great complexity of the mod- ern educational problem. To secure adequately moti- vated school work, to provide incentives which will call forth the best energies of all the pupils, is a prob- lem fully as many-sided as life itself. Retrospect and Prospect. — To bring the school into closer touch with life involves, then, the doing of many things. The content of the curriculum itself must be more directly based on the prevailing inter- ests, activities, and problems of living civilized com- munities. The things which the child is required to learn must function more immediately in his daily life. The activities and enterprises of the adult are not remote or foreign to the child. When he is brought face to face with them his enthusiasm and interest are easily aroused, unless he has been de- bauched by a long course in irresponsibility, either in school or in an abnormal family or environment. In the chapters which follow we shall take up various phases of school activity, with a view to de- termining how they may be more completely social- ized. In every development of social values we shall find more favorable conditions for properly moti- vated work on the part of the children, whether it be in the healthier social life of the school, in a curricu- lum which has vital connections with the world out- side, or in the method of instruction in which a more definite recognition is given to the natural stimulating influence of one pupil upon another. 10 137 CHAPTER IX THE OPPORTUNITY AFFORDED BY THE INTERNAL LIFE OF THE SCHOOL Education and Life Cannot Be Divorced. — "Educa- tion is not preparation for life, it is life," said Pro- fessor Dewey, in his ^'Educational Creed". It is be- cause of their conviction that this is true that many earnest teachers have, in recent years, given more and more attention to the general social life of their schools. They see quite clearly that preparation for life and living itself cannot be separated. The best preparation for the life of to-morrow is to live com- pletely to-day, meeting its opportunities to the fullest extent of one's ability. This recognition that education is life itself car- ries with it the recognition that school education can- not confine itself to the training of the pupil's mind in isolation from his social relationships. It must train the whole child. There is no warrant for as- suming that one phase of child-nature is any less in need of training than other aspects, or, specifically, that a child needs less training in his social relations than in his intellectual processes. As we have said, one of the popular current con- ceptions of the end of education is social efficiency, and yet, with most teachers, it is a mere verbalism, having no direct relation to the actual work of the 138 \ INTERNAL LIFE OF THE SCHOOL school. The teacher is usually content to think that, if he trains the boy in the ordinary school studies, he is training him to be an efficient member of society. The penetrating observer, however, sees that this is not the case. The training for a truly socially effi- cient manhood or womanhood must include, at every step of the process, the whole child in all his rela- tionships. Our public school work to-day is being subjected to a rapid-fire criticism of a most searching order. Some of it is unintelligent and foolish, but some of it must be seriously faced. That a good deal of school work from the beginning to the end does not make for vital contact with the child and with the youth, as we have already indicated, is fairly evident. How else can we explain the fearful waste involved in re- tardation and in dropping out that prevails every- where. We can scarcely say that all our over-age pupils, or those who drop by the wayside, are of in- ferior intelligence. Some of them are, no doubt, but for many, the work of the school is so abstract and unrelated to the interests of life that it fails to grip them in any impelling way. School a Social Institution. — To meet this situation is no easy matter. No one patent nostrum, no one royal road will be sufficient, and yet, perhaps, the most far-reaching remedy is to appreciate the fact that the school is a social institution, and to work this out consciously and systematically in our practice. This conception of the school, if realized, demands the doing of many things. It demands, for one thing, a curriculum that shall more definitely prepare for vocations, and that shall, as a whole, appeal to chil- 139 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY dren as helping them to understand and act intelli- gently in the great world outside the school's walls. It demands also the recognition of the fact that the boys and girls within the school have a social as well as an intellectual nature. The first one of these de- mands we shall reserve for discussion in succeeding chapters. The latter need, the recognition of the importance of the general social life of the pupils in the school, we shall consider here. Two Reasons for Recognizing This Fact. — The syste- matic study and development of the social life of the school is necessary for two reasons : It is needed to render the strictly intellectual training more interest- ing, more vital, and more effective. Secondly, it is needed because all boys and girls are quite as much in need of training in proper social relationships as in intellectual processes. In fact, the two cannot be separated. In all normal growth both phases must be concurrent; each one will supplement the other. All School Life Social. — Every school has a social life of some sort. People of any age, and especially of the high-school age, cannot be brought together day after day without developing manifold social re- lationships, without influencing each other in all sorts of ways, for better or for worse. The question is whether this obvious tendency is to be officially rec- ognized and used as an educational opportunity, or whether it is to be ignored or suppressed. If we im- agine we can take either of these latter courses, we deceive ourselves. To attempt it is to run the risk of transforming a precious educational opportunity into an opportunity for almost any amount of harm to the youth. 140 L\TERNAL LIFE OF THE SCHOOL The attitude of school men and women has passed through several well-marked stages. First there was the spontaneous, uncontrolled social life of the pupils, existing but ignored, or energetically suppressed. Then the idea came that these social activities should he controlled so that they might not interfere with the primary and legitimate functions of the school. They were looked upon as evils, but as neces- sary evils to be curbed. This is about as far as most school administrators have gone. In some quarters, however, the conviction is assuming definite shape that this social life must not only be controlled, but also that it is part of the function of public education to develop it, and make it a positive, uplifting force in the work of educating boys and girls. Social Tendencies of Children Spontaneous. — Let us first of all try to get a clear conception of the nature and character- forming influence of the spontaneous social tendencies of children. We must carefully de- fine our problem. We do not here have in mind the obvious and important fact that every child is from birth surrounded by people and that the whole course of his mental development is determined by his hu- man associations. This sort of social influence exists for all ages and circumstances of life, for little chil- dren, as well as for older ones. We have in mind, rather, the sociable, group-forming tendencies which are not apparent in the earlier years, but which gradu- ally and quite spontaneously appear, and become more and more marked as childhood turns into youth. Early Evidences. — Children, before the school age and in their first years in the elementary grades, show little of the group spirit. They play together, it is 141 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY true, and work together, and are subject to all sorts of mutual influences, but, as far as social spirit is con- cerned, they are little individuals. In the play each one looks out for himself. In their school work they sit side by side in classes and yet are concerned only with individual attainment. A low form of group life does appear in the elementary school, and it may be regarded as the beginning of the more social rela- tions of later years. This is little more than a primi- tive mob spirit. Occasions of excitement or of dan- ger may transform a roomful of little children into an unreasoning and uncontrollable mob. Gradually, also, the sense of being a part of a school dawns upon the child. For instance, a school exhibition or entertainment is arranged and each pupil feels that it is a collective undertaking and takes pride in the impression made by his room or by his school. The individual pupil feels more and more keenly what his classmates say and think about him. He wants to do as the rest do. He tries to use the same language as his playmates. He has a keen con- sciousness of trying not to be different from them. He is careful not to don an overcoat sooner than the other boys do. If he is compelled by his parents to use mittens before the proper time, he will carefully conceal them before he comes near the school grounds. In his earlier years he never thought of such things, nor did any of his companions. At first, moreover, he was glad to have his father or mother visit his school, but, by the time he is nine or ten, he is plainly embarrassed if they should appear in his room, simply because it is not common for parents to visit the school, and the other children will smile at 142 I INTERNAL LIFE OF THE SCHOOL him, or make trifling remarks about his own depend- ence on his parents. This early self-consciousness marks the dawning of his social consciousness. A school atmosphere, a school sentiment, gradually grows up in his mind and shapes his whole behavior. In spite of its crudity it develops into a very definite sense of loyalty to his companions or to his school. Clubs, Team Games, and Gangs. — In these years of nine and ten, little playground groups tend to spring up quite of their own accord. Group games and rudi- mentary team games begin to be played. Both boys and girls begin to find that there are things they are interested in in common, and they tend to associate or "chum together" more and more. This group-form- ing instinct soon begins to show itself away from the school grounds among boys in the development of gangs. The gang is often little more than the fortui- tous grouping of boys who live in the same neigh- borhood or upon the same city block; those who, in other words, are constantly thrown together in work and play. Through this daily contact a definite esprit de corps grows up, a sense of social solidarity, of tremendous power in impelling its members to stand together. The gang possesses a group courage and daring for all sorts of enterprises, good and bad, which no boy would undertake by himself. Basic Significance of Rudimentary Social Groups. — These early groupings are but the foreshadowings of those elementary forms of social life which lie at the basis of all human society. They have been aptly called "primary groups", and may be most readily illustrated by the associations involved in the family, the neighborhood, the playground, and all sorts of so- 143 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY cial and fraternal and religious organizations. These are the units out of which is built the larger whole of society. They are primary, as Cooley says, * be- cause they are essentially the same the world over, notwithstanding differences in race, nationality, or in form of government. They are also primary because they are the "nurseries of human nature"; they fur- nish the conditions in which the child gets his first ex- periences of human nature, in which, in fact, his own human nature is first formed and built up. They are not by any means ideal in all respects, but they come nearer to being ideal than any of the larger and more loosely knit social groups, such as cities, states, or nations. The intimate, face-to- face association, which necessarily exists within these little groups, gives the child his first experience in social unity or ''oneness" with his fellows. Still following Cooky's admirable discussion we may say that this sense is the mother of all social and hence of all human virtues, for social solidarity can exist only as it is supported by a certain sense of loyalty, a certain regard for lawfulness, and a due respect for individual freedom. To be loyal to one's group means that a man must be truthful to his fel- lows; he must be ready to serve them, even against his own individual interest, nor can he be loyal to his group except as he experiences more or less kindly regard for its other members. These are fundamental human virtues which one is not born with and which one cannot acquire except through fellowship in a "primary group". We need not pause here to give illustrations of the * Sociol Organisation. J44 INTERNAL LIFE OF THE SCHOOL reality of primary group virtues. Every family, if it is in truth a family, every neighborhood and play- ground will furnish evidence to him who takes the pains to look. No boys' or girls' club, or even the worst gang, could hold together for a moment ex- cept as its members have some sense of their unity, some regard for law, for fair dealing, for kindliness among themselves. These fine qualities within the group may be coupled with much that is unlovely, especially in the group's treatment of those who are without its pale, but they furnish the basis, the raw material, for all possible improvements in the relations of men and women, whether on a small or on a large scale. Relation to the Social Ideal. — When we reflect that these group-forming tendencies are strong in children, especially as they approach the high school age, we can see what an immense educational opportunity they can afford for the realization of the ideal of social efficiency. The school has tended to deal with its children as individuals, when they are in reality social beings. It has tried to train them as individuals in the virtues of truthfulness, justice, loyalty, fair-play, and lawfulness. As abstract statements these mean nothing to children, but, when illustrated by the inti- mate associations of the playground, gang, club, or school itself, they stand out with convincing force. It is not so necessary, however, as a first step, that children shall have these desirable qualities of con- duct pointed out to them ; it is far more essential that they shall have abundant opportunity of actually ex- periencing them in association with one another un- der the wise supervision of parents and teachers. H5 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY Every school which sets up social efficiency as its ideal must, therefore, recognize and encourage the group-forming instincts of its children, through which they will learn much that will make them well-rounded men and women. Various Aspects of School's Social Life. — The social life of the school has naturally several phases which must be recognized by the teacher who wishes to make it a valuable educational asset. In the first place, there is the school as a whole, which is itself a "primary group", if it is not over large. In that case, it can easily be subdivided into natural groups of rooms and classes. In the next place, there are, even in small schools, the still smaller groups or clubs, which are knit together by some common even though temporary interest. The training in social re- lationships must center, if possible, about the school as a whole. The sense of "our school" should be built up and nurtured in various ways, as an impor- tant basis for cooperative undertakings, and as a means of developing in all the children a sense of loyalty and lawfulness, all so needful in adult so- ciety. The morning assembly, the entertainment, the public exhibition of the school's work, and, best of all, the festival, varying with the season of the year, a cooperative activity in which each individual group in the whole school may participate in varying ways — all these are to-day increasingly utilized in progres- sive schools as educative agencies of a high order. Subordinate Groups. — The school or room unit will naturally differentiate into various subordinate units which will provide for more intimate association and for the fuller satisfaction of kindred interests. Thus, 146 INTERNAL LIFE OF THE SCHOOL every school tends to have its athletic, literary, cam- era, and dramatic clubs, its debating societies, its band, orchestra, and chorus, and many others, according to the size and make-up of the student body. All such subordinate organizations may be "primary groups" of the very greatest value to the pupils. They afford abundant opportunity for practical experience in the social virtues described above. It is, however, of the utmost importance that all such clubs should feel themselves but parts of "their school", and should feel that their special opportunity to follow their own in- terests does not give them the right to act selfishly or without public spirit. Their interests are but dif- ferentiations of the general school interests, and they constantly owe it to the school to bring back to it some contribution of their own. They must feel that all the school is interested in what they, in separate groups, are doing, and that all have a right to par- ticipate in their accomplishment. Whatever they do, they do not only for their own satisfaction, but be- cause it contributes to the honor and efficiency of the collective life. Social "Functions." — We must not forget the par- ties and social functions of the school and of the class- es as a further means of social training. To deal prac- tically with this phase, as well as with all the preceding aspects of social life in the school, demands a clear recognition of the needs involved. On the negative side there is need of control, because of the almost certain tendency of boys and girls in their teens to go to excess in social matters. To control does not mean to depreciate, but to see to it that the social life shall be beneficial by making it well balanced. On M7 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY the positive side there are several aspects. First, the general need that all boys and girls shall have fair opportunity for training in social relationships; that some shall not be thrust to one side and a few monop- olize all the advantages. This is most apt to occur where there are not definite attempts on the part of the school authorities to supervise and actually to de- velop the school's social life. The ones who are least in need of such phases of training are most likely to get it all. They will even tend to exploit the whole school for their own selfish benefit. There are always a large number of backward, self-conscious boys and girls, who need to be brought out and given oppor- tunity to participate in the school's social pleasures and activities. They need it, not merely that they may enjoy their high school life fully, but also that they may be well rounded and socially efficient men and women. In the second place, all these high school youths, and particularly the aggressive ones, need training in social cooperation and in social unselfishness. Group life, a social consciousness of some sort, is, as we have seen, inevitable. It is also natural and inevitable that these adolescents should experience a genuine desire to find themselves in a larger life of some sort. They crave a larger life than the merely personal. They are eager to live in some sort of atmosphere of social regard and social appreciation. They experience the utmost readiness to sacrifice narrow personal interest for the good of the group to which they feel them- selves to be vitally related. These adolescent impulses are perfectly normal phases of human development. There is nothing about the youth that is finer or of 148 INTERNAL LIFE OF THE SCHOOL more ultimate worth to him as a man than just these desires. They may, however, fail utterly to bear good fruit, if left to work themselves out undirected. The greatest danger is that they find expression only in a narrow group and that the larger welfare of the school be ignored. The trouble with most adult life is not that it is unsocial, but that it is social in only limited relations and within narrow groups of people. We are most of us, for instance, loyal enough to our friends or to our narrow social circle, but we have not learned to use this loyalty in any large way. Kindliness, truthfulness, honesty, lawfulness, and jus- tice, are fairly common traits of human nature when that is confined to a small circle of friends with mu- tual interests. But, if they are ever to play any part in the larger circle of life in the city, in the state, in the nation, it must be through education. The Need Summarized. — The need, thus stated, may be summarized briefly thus : All normal boys and girls, whatever their future vocations, will necessarily be thrown into contact with other people. They must know how to live and work with others if they are to be happy and efficient. They must know how to talk freely and without affectation. They must know how to persuade, and how to yield to persuasion graciously. They must clearly appreciate the rights of others; they must be able to merge their own nar- row interests in that which is for the interest of soci- ety as a whole. They must learn that a moral life and happy life is to be attained only through submitting to the restrictions and conventions of society; that these conventions of social life are to be submitted to gladly, because they are safeguards of their own 149 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY personal well-being, as well as of that of their asso- ciates. How Far Its Urgency Is Recognized. — So much for the need. In order to determine the extent to which this need is recognized a little investigation was re- recently undertaken in the high schools of a Middle Western state. To all schools having approximately one hundred pupils, letters were sent out, about one hundred twenty-five in all. These letters inquired only as to the status of *'social functions" in a somewhat limited sense. Principals were asked to tell just what standing such functions had in their general school program, whether the students tended to go to ex- cess in social matters or not, the extent to which they were supervised by the school authorities, and whether any definite attempt was made to develop such occasions into real and valuable educational as- sets. Only about thirty principals responded to this in- quiry. While many of the failures to reply may have been due to the natural indisposition of people to bother with circular letters, it is fair to assume that a goodly portion of those not replying were not vitally interested in the question. In their minds there was no problem. Doubtless many shared the feeling of two who did reply, one to the effect that ''he had no use for any such thing", and the other that there was "too much blamed social life already". The thirty answers bring out much of interest to one who believes that there is a problem and cares to study it. These answers may be regarded as fairly typical of the prevailing attitudes of high school principals. Nine principals, or thirty per cent., show 150 INTERNAL LIFE OF THE SCHOOL an active interest in the questions, and five of the nine are really doing something to meet them. Five show only a slight appreciation. Eleven show none at all; and two are hostile to everything of the sort. Fourteen report a definite tendency in their pupils to go to extremes in all social matters; sixteen see no excessive manifestations. Of these sixteen principals, at least eight report so7nc attempt on the part of the school authorities to develop a controlled social life. In other words, eight out of the sixteen principals who report no excess in pupils have at least, in some de- gree, made the social life of their pupils an object of attention. Nine principals who report a tendency of their pupils to go to e\'ircmcs report also that little or no official recognition of the social side is given. In some cases it is ignored and in one case of excess the principal reported that he definitely suppressed everything of the sort. Manifestly his suppression was a failure. The normal instincts toward sociabil- ity, denied expression within and under the super- vision of the school, were having more or less riotous development outside. With reference to the faculty supervision of school or class parties, fifteen report a fair degree of super- vision, that is, one or more teachers are expected to be present. Nine report that teachers are not only present, but play an active part in the planning of the parties. Four report no supervision of any sort. Home Cooperation Needed.— It must be manifest to all high school teachers and principals that the suc- cessful handling of the social life of the pupils re- quires the active interest and cooperation of the home. 151 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY Nine of these principals recognize it as in part a parents' problem. Excessive social activities of pupils develop apparently quite largely through lack of plain common-sense on the part of parents. Some have found it possible to enlist the help of parents, with good results; others urge the need of educating the parent up to where he will see his own responsibility in such matters. In some places it has been found that the parent-teacher associations have brought about a mutual understanding that has been most helpful in the control of the pupil's social life. Friday Afternoon Parties. — In some schools, in some parts of the country, a weekly or bi-weekly party is made a feature of the school program. These parties are somewhat formal, just because the adolescent needs training in social conventions. They are ar- ranged to meet the legitimate need of the pupils for purely social recreation. In the University of Chi- cago High School these parties occur on Friday after- noons, after school hours, and are attended by some of the parents. There is dancing, in which all take part. The aim is to secure the active participation of everyone, rather than of the few who may need it less. This official recognition of a stated period in the school program has much to commend it. It would furnish a means, if properly carried out, of developing a healthful school friendliness, a means of overcoming snobbery and clannishness. It can be made to take the place in part of the high school fra- ternities. Not that the secret societies will be aban- doned of their own accord. Experience indicates that they must in most cases be positively forbidden by school authorities. But forbidding is not successful 152 INTERNAL LIFE OF THE SCHOOL unless various other avenues of social activity are provided and carefully cultivated. The attitude of the thirty high school principals of this Middle Western state toward such a type of social recreation is probably fairly representative of opinion in other states. Some of them think it might be a good plan, especially if parents would attend. In general, however, they are dubious ; in part, no doubt, because the idea is unfamiliar. Many are sure it would not be popular with the pupils, that they would think it tame, that it would be too frequent, would be bound to become hackneyed; it might be sufficient for their needs, but not for their desires; would be a burden on teachers; would savor of the school regime; would not give the pupils the opportunity to do as much as they pleased for themselves ; they would want more freedom, etc. These are typical answers; and yet, the plan has met with marked success in places where tried. There seems no good reason why every one of these objections could not be adequately met by a competent principal and teachers. One prin- cipal admits that some such plan is needed, and two or three have tried some modification of the idea. Present Status of Social Entertainments. — At present it appears that the chief form of social entertainment under the auspices of the schools in small Middle Western towns are class parties, the annual reception of the juniors to the seniors, parties by various school clubs, such as the athletic, literary, etc. These all present interesting possibilities to the believer in social education, but it is unfortunate that the need of gen- eral functions for the entire school is not more widely recognized. It goes without saying that, where the 11 153 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY school is large, it is not feasible to handle all the pupils at one time, but suitable methods of diversion can be worked out. Testimony of One School-Man. — One high school principal * states the need for attention to the social life of the pupils thus: The school must provide for the activities suited to high school age. ... It must furnish an education for initiative in enterprises, for development in natural leadership, for the genius of organization, for the growth of individual talents, for the meeting and solving of diffi- culties which come from a clash of interests, for the fostering of courtesy and dignity of manner, and last, but not least, in importance, a training in social conven- tions, without which a boy or girl meets life with a serious handicap. With these needs in mind, he set out to enlarge and vitalize the usual club activities in a high school of about four hundred. They had "had experiences with the fraternity, the excess of dance and party", and had felt the *'lack of solidarity in the school which puts the interests of the school above all out- side interests of club or clique". Open organizations were "increased to twenty or more, with the social feature prominent in most of them". Open meetings with printed invitations and refreshments at the close of the program were held. Mr. McLinn continues : The control of these affairs presented the first prob- lem. At the first meeting [of one of the clubs] the * C. B. McLinn, in The Boston Journal of Education, 74; 345- 154 INTERNAL LIFE OF THE SCHOOL boys drank all the lemonade, and at the next one they pocketed the fudge and threw salted peanuts at the girls. The teachers in charge were in despair. We determined on a concerted action to create a spirit in the school against that sort of rowdyism. Frank talks to groups and to individuals, an effort to awaken a desire to appear well, discussion in classrooms, expression in the school paper of student disapproval of bad manners, have borne fruit, and abundantly. The sentiment is strong for geniality and quiet behavior, and the popularity of the societies is also increasing. . . . Each holiday, Hal- lowe'en, New Year's, Washington's Birthday, St. Valen- tine's Day, has been the occasion of parties by the purely social class clubs, sometimes for the girls alone and sometimes for both boys and girls. They are all held at the school building, which the school board has freely thrown open, with no expense for light, heat or janitor, and they are chaperoned by the teachers. Other ex- penses are borne by the organizations, and the original- ity of design, combined with economy of expenditure, furnishes also an excellent field for training. The benefits are many. Interest and identity in the various social groups foster a pride in the school as a whole. The greatest force for discipline is a gertuine school loyalty, such as comes when students take an active part in directing the life of the school and feel a sense of ownership in the organizations outside of the classroom. I have little faith in the student government that concerns itself with matters of conduct and dis- penses with justice through students' courts and police. I do not believe in the autocratic will of the teacher as the best means of discipline. The natural and effective force in school government is a cultivated and whole- some sentiment in favor of right-doing. This "school 155 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY g-overnment," rather than teacher government or student government, is one of the most apparent results of train- ing through school organizations. . . . The effect of this social relation between students and teachers is felt in its reaction upon the latter. Teachers have need of the enlarged sympathy and understanding w^hich come from knowing the child's point of view. The problem of the adolescent mind, with its dreams, its determined will, its desire for activity and recogni- tion, can never be understood by contact in the class- room alone. In the large schools, especially where the teacher's attention is likely to be limited to her own in- dividual work, the spirit of cooperation and interest in the school as a whole often comes from her connection with student organizations. The qualities of leadership and power of initiative that develop in these organizations is often remarkable. No- where is the spirit of democracy more powerful than in the American high school, and nowhere will true merit be quicker of recognition. The responsibilities of offi- cers, the efficient work of committees, the planning of programs and decorations, and unique means of adver- tising entertainments, all teach the joy that comes from doing for others. True social efficiency is shown in the art of acting with others toward a definite end, and through school organizations are learned the value of co- operation and the essence of self-government. New Attitude in High School Administration. — The experience of this principal is quoted at length be- cause it is typical of a new attitude that is developing among high school administrators. What is here given could be duplicated from the reports, which the writer has gathered, from other high schools in dif- 156 INTERNAL LIFE OF THE SCHOOL ferent parts of the country. In dwelling at such length upon the educational value of the general so- cial life of the school, we must not lose our perspec- tive. This is only one part of the school's work, and it must not be developed to excess. It must not be allowed to take the attention of the pupils to such an extent that it detracts from the more serious business of study. Nor is there any need that it should in a school where the officers and teachers have a suitable sense of proportion. Everywhere there is need for the "golden mean." Just because there is danger of ex- cessive attention to "outside-of-class activities" is no reason for ignoring the social life, which is bound to be present, or for trying to suppress it. CHAPTER X SCHOOL GOVERNMENT AN OPPORTUNITY FOR SOCIAL TRAINING Controlling Power of Collective Life. — The fact that the school is a little society has many important bear- ings upon the problem of educating boys and girls for social efficiency. In the preceding chapter we saw that living in a social group is itself a character- form- ing influence, which may be either good or bad, but which, in either case, gives one certain fundamental and lasting lessons in social relationships. It was pointed out that the life of intimate, face-to-face cooperation and competition, such as one finds in the family, on the playground, in the gang, or in the club, would be impossible if people did not very early acquire certain elementary social virtues, such as loy- alty, which involves a willingness to ignore one's own personal desires for the sake of the collective interest, and withal a certain kindliness and truthfulness in, dealing with one's fellows or co-workers. It was seen also that such a group, whether it be a company of children at play, a gang, a club, or any other primary unit, cannot long stick together without some regard for one another's rights and some agreement among its members as to how things are to be done. Each person must be willing to stand by the rules and *'play fair". 158 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT This ingrained sense of lawfulness is one of the most striking features of such associations. It is a characteristic of lawless gangs, as well as of the law- abiding clubs. Within a predatory gang, for instance, the fellows must be quite fair with each other, and "play the game" as agreed. This feature of group life, so natural as to be almost instinctive, has a de- cided character-forming influence, and is of the ut- most importance in all education directed toward the making of real men and women. Whatever other qualities an efficient member of society must have he must be law-abiding. He must have a due sense of responsibility for his own acts and a keen and active conscience against all violations of group-morality in others. Gang Virtues. — We quote from Puffer's admirable account in illustration of our statements above: The steady pressure of gang life on the side of social virtues appears strikingly in the rules and customs of these organizations. [They] "Put me out," reports one youth, "because 1 said one fellow didn't have spunk to play the leader." "Put a boy out of the gang for fighting when he didn't need to." I'Put a fellow out once for fighting with another boy. The other fellow was in the right." r Never allow a big fellow to pick on a little one. We were against smoking." "Had to be at work when he comes into the gang; must pay his dues." /'All stand up for a fellow in trouble." "Help each other out if we get into trouble." "If anybody picked on one of our fellows, we would fight them." "If a fellow didn't divvy up, we started fighting with him." V"Put a fellow out because he wouldn't take his share of expense." "A 159 r EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY fellow wouldn't share up, so we fought him." j"Put three out for bossing and running the place." "No fel- low ever told on us. One fellow was caught. He stayed in Charles Street jail three months before the rest of us were caught." Or consider the following unwritten laws of various gangs as a preparation for a law-abiding life : | "If there was a dispute, the leader settled it. If two fellows were fighting for a thing, he took it away from them and gave it to another fellow. In playing dice we chuck the fel- low out who made the dispute." "I was leader. Would settle disputes. Would say whether it was right or not." "Quarrel for five or ten minutes, and then ask N. to settle it. We would be satisfied with what he would say." "The officers would 'most always settle the dis- putes. Talk it over, get circumstances, then settle it. They would stop the fighting." "If we had disputes, we would vote on it. One who would get the majority, to him we would leave it go." * These Virtues Needed in Adult Society .^ — Adult soci- ety can, no more than a boys' club, hang together and do its proper work, unless it is composed of people who will stand by the rules and sternly repress those who are not inclined to "play fair". Hence, boys and girls, as they grow up, must have exercise in such an attitude toward life and the orderliness that life de- mands. Training for Civic Life Necessary. — It might be ar- gued that no such training is needful if children nat- urally acquire this sense in their youthful organiza- tions. All the training they need should provide for itself automatically in gangs, clubs, and in playing * Puffer, J. A., The Boy and His Gang. 1 60 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT group games. But this is not the case. The instinct of the youth is narrow in its scope and limited in its appHcation. It is not Hkely that the lawfulness within the gang will ever be extended to the broader rela- tions of life, unless it is taken hold of and developed by someone who sees farther than do the boys them- selves. Group morality is at best only raw material, but, even so, it is a valuable asset for every teacher of youth. It means that, to make responsible, law- abiding citizens out of irresponsible and clannish boys, one does not have to implant in them some new qual- ity, or point of view, but only to provide proper op- portunity for that which they already are to have exercise along right lines, to shunt the native energy of boyhood into the channels that will enable it gradu- ally to expand into the full measure needed by the man. Opportunity in School Government. — This purpose can be attained in many ways, and not the least of them is the opportunity afforded by the government of boys and girls in school. Here the teacher or prin- cipal has a golden opportunity to exercise children in habits of good conduct and in a proper respect and responsibility for law and order, through utilizing their sense for these things gained in their own asso- ciation together. As an abstract proposition, it would seem to be almost self-evident that a well-balanced education of youth could not afford to omit such training from its program. And yet few teachers get at the matter with any well-defined and conscious purpose. School government is often regarded as purely incidental to the intellectual training, or, if approached more i6i EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY directly, it is usually through talks, lectures, and gen- eral admonitions. But what boys and girls need is practice in the habit of responsibility, practice in dis- criminating between good and bad conduct, and for this the daily work of every school affords plenty of opportunity. Pupil Participation in School Government. — It is with reference to giving the youth such practice that many schools have tried various schemes of self-govern- ment, or, more properly speaking, pupil-participation, in school government. Dr. Charles W. Eliot has well stated the principles underlying the educational need felt by these teachers. He says : The first of these fundamental principles is that the real object in education, so far as the development of character is concerned, is to cultivate in the child a ca- pacity for self-control or self-government, not a habit of submission to an overwhelming, arbitrary, external power, but a habit of obeying the dictates of honor and duty as enforced by active will within the child. The second fundamental principle to which properly conducted self-government seems to me to conform is that in childhood and in youth it is of the utmost im- portance to appeal steadily, and almost exclusively, to motives which will be operative in after-life. In too much of our systematic education we appeal to motives which we are sure cannot last; to motives which may answer for little children of six, ten or twelve, but which are entirely inapplicable to boys or girls of fourteen, sixteen or eighteen. Thus, fear is one of these transi- tory motives on which organized education in the past has almost exclusively relied; yet it is well determined by the history of the race that the fear of punishment, 162 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT whether in this world or the next, is a very ineffective motive with adults. The third fundamental principle in education is Froebel's doctrine that children are best developed through productive activities, that is, through positive, visible achievement in doing, making or producing some- thing. Student self-government enforces positive activity; it appeals steadily to motives in the boys which will serve them when they become men ; and it is constantly trying to develop in the boyish community the capacity of self- government. Therefore, I say it is based on sound edu- cational principles. Questions at Issue. — Much has been written and spoken on the subject within the last dozen or fifteen years, some of it heartily in favor and some bitterly opposed. Into the details of this controversy we can- not here attempt to enter. Our purpose should rather be to try to see the matter in its right perspective and with a clear appreciation of the needs at stake and the principles involved. First of all, let us say, it is not the form of school government which is of the greatest moment. It is rather whether the pupils are actually getting any practice in shouldering re- sponsibility and in deciding things for themselves, as they will have to do when they leave school. This practice they might conceivably get in a variety of ways and under a variety of external forms of gov- ernment. A school, to outward appearance, governed according to a strict monarchial scheme, might fur- nish large character- forming opportunities along this line. So also might a school in which there was very little said about government at all. 163 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY Let us also admit that a school which seeks to give its pupils practice in law-abiding conduct may not be any more orderly to the observer than one which is controlled by a strict and arbitrary authority. The school of the former type, however, will do more real training than the latter, because its pupils are learning the lessons of self-control, instead of merely submitting to authority, and self-control is really what we want, tdtimately, rather than blind submis- sion. Without committing ourselves, then, to any particular form of school-government, let us try to see how pupils can actually get this practice in self- control and in civic responsibility. Let us try to see whether the conditions of school-life are such that this practice can be real and not mere pretence. Sense of Social Unity Primary. — If the room or the school forms a social group of the best type the teach- ers as well as the pupils are members. The teachers do not stand outside and aloof, but rather participate with their pupils in the common life and interests of the school. It is in this corporate life of the school, including both teachers and pupils, that the real basis for genuine pupil-participation in school government is to be found. Unless that participation is a natural expression of a healthful, kindly, loyal and law-abid- ing group spirit it is apt to be farcical. The teacher, therefore, who wishes to give his pupils practice in the art of social responsibility must first see that his school actually furnishes the conditions. Natural as these needful qualities are within the children's own associations outside of school, they may not appear in any helpful way within the school- room. The pupils will possess more or less sense of 164 ' SCHOOL GOVERNMENT their own "oneness", but this sense will not be apt to function for the good of the school. They may use their sense of social unity against the teacher rather than in cooperation with him. The school may be just a seething mass of individual boys and girls, held together, or, rather, held down, by the stern authority of the teacher, or it may form a crude social unity, bent constantly upon mischief. A few aggressive pupils may develop a public sentiment of insubordination, and those pupils who do not ac- tively join in with them stand quietly to one side and watch the fun, or even admire the bravado of those who dare to be lawless. In other words, the failure to build up a healthful group spirit within the school results in many right-minded pupils being held in abeyance, and, though with natural inclinations toward good order, instead of their being actively en- listed in its behalf, they are reduced to neutrality. Teacher Must Possess Social Sympathy. — If the teacher would enlist the energies of his pupils in the cause of good order and give them practice in social responsibility he must show in all his dealings with them a genuine capacity to be one of their group and a genuine willingness to participate with them in their group life. To do this does not mean that he shall lower himself in their estimation. He does not have to be childish to have a really sympathetic, hearty at- titude toward children. He does not have to throw away the wise influence of his maturity to enter into a real appreciation of the children's point of view. A teacher who is able to establish this relationship with his pupils ceases to be regarded by them as an arbitrary and external authority, whose main business 165 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY is to make them, if he can, do what they do not want to do. He is rather one of their group, older and wiser, it is true, than they are, hut still one with whom they feel they can cooperate. Pupils' Part May Be Gemiine. — The plea is often made that pupil-participation in school government can never he more than a sham. The pupils only pre- tend to govern themselves and know it is only pre- tence. The teacher or principal is the real power be- hind the scenes. Those who make this plea fail to grasp the point of view developed in the preceding paragraphs, namely, that a true social unity, including pupils and teachers, can actually be formed, and that within it each one can have a genuine part to play. The fact that the teacher's personality has more weight that the children's is a perfectly normal so- cial fact. In the great world outside, where there is interplay of personality, there is every gradation of influence. Some people, because of greater knowl- edge, aggressiveness or superior leadership, are felt much more than others, but the lesser parts are none the less genuine. The teacher, therefore, should be the leader, but his leadership is not necessarily sub- versive to true exercise in responsibility on the part of the pupils. A New York City Plan. — Even the elementary school affords opportunities for beginnings along the lines sketched above. The plan followed in one of the public schools of New York City is suggestive. The plan is as follows: The foundation is laid in the lowest grades by simple forms of pupil cooperation, without any of the forms i66 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT of self-government. In the middle grades pupils are permitted to elect a few class officers, who take charge in the absence of the teacher and suggest certain mat- ters affecting class government. In the upper grades the pupils of the last three years are organized as a "School State," consisting of a federation of classes called "Cities." Owing to the size of the school, each department has its own set of state officers, consisting of a Governor, a Lieutenant-Governor, a Secretary of State, a State Treasurer, an Attorney-General, and a Chief Justice. Nominations for state officers are made by a conven- tion consisting of delegates from each one of the cities. A general election is held once a term, the voting being done by mimeograph ballot. The canvassing of the votes, a very interesting process, is done after school hours, so as not to encroach on the time devoted to study. The duties of the state officers are those usually performed, with modifications made necessary by school conditions. The Legislature is bi-cameral, consisting of a Senate, composed of girls elected in each of the cities in the girls' department, and an Assembly, composed of boys. Resolutions, before taking effect, must be approved by the Governors and signed by the principals, who exer- cise a final veto. When a Governor vetoes a bill it is submitted to the voters in the class and by them ap- proved or disapproved. The Court takes cognizance of all offenses committed outside the classrooms. In the class the teacher is in absolute charge, unless she decides to avail herself of the State Court; in such case the Attorney-General con- ducts the prosecution and represents the teacher or the principal. The penalties inflicted are: (a) reparation, 167 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY where possible, (b) apology, (c) reprimand in court, (d) reprimand in class, (e) detention, (f) imposition of demerit marks, (g) deprivation of the rights of citizen- ship for a stated period ; this involves the forfeiture of civic rights in halls, play-yards, and on the street. All penalties imposed must be approved by the teacher in charge. The classes are organized as cities, with a mayor elected for a term of one month. Each row of seats forms a ward and elects an alderman to the city council, which concerns itself with affairs pertaining to the class — such as the arrangement of pictures and decorations, the distribution of material, etc. The teacher retains an absolute veto over the deliberations of the council. Preparation of Pupils Essential to Success. — To prepare the way for such a system the teachers should talk to the smallest children about "our school" and encourage them to think of what they can do to make it better. She can illustrate in very simple ways how their interests are all bound to- gether, how they can help or hinder each other and herself in their work and play. They can be made to see that unruly conduct is an infringement upon their own rights as well as upon hers. In all sorts of little ways they can be thrown on their own responsibility for maintaining good order within and without the school-room. When trouble of any sort arises she can talk it over with her pupils and help them to see it is something in which they are all concerned and that the good name of their room is at stake. Little Children Naturally Interested.— It does not take any special forcing to arouse even little chil- dren's interest in these things. In fact, until they i68 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT are repeatedly suppressed they show a great deal of natural concern for all matters of school behavior. This concern is often crude and develops into trou- blesome "tattling", but it is the manifestation of a wholesome instinct, which, if properly cultivated, is an asset rather than a nuisance. In a school known to the writer some second-grade children were once involved in a little quarrel on the playground. When the teacher appeared some of the children who had witnessed the trouble volunteered to explain to her how it had occurred. She turned on them angrily, with the command to keep still. Her attitude was that it was solely her affair, and she preferred to set- tle it by an exercise of her own authority. She ig- nored the natural concern of the children to partici- pate in an adjustment of the trouble. Treatment of this sort can produce only one result in the pupils — the feeling that misbehavior in others is no concern of theirs, that it is the teacher's business to detect and punish if she can. Need of Public Sentiment. — No teacher wishes to en- courage foolish "tattling", nor is it necessary. Every school should develop a strong public sentiment for good order and should provide ways in which this sentiment can express itself without its incurring the odium of "tattling". As Mr. Richard Welling says: It is alarming to realize how little the American peo- ple are concerned with their public affairs. In the few days preceding elections they are much aroused about measures and men. But when the great day has passed there is a general sigh of relief and a feeling that "it's a good thing it comes only once a year." The only 12 169 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY other events that arouse them from their civic slumber are the prosecution of public officials and the uncover- ing of graft. In the absence of these the average Ameri- can citizen devotes himself without interruption to his personal affairs. This is what is known as public apathy, and instead of its being the object of attack from all citadels of progress it is looked upon as an elemental fact of civic life. Writers, preachers, teachers, publicists all agree that the greatest asset of the political boss and the greatest obstacle to a purer and more enlightened democracy is the apathy of the mass of citizens. This we know — that in the main our people are lack- ing in a true conception of the benefits of democracy; and this we believe — that by permitting the pupils in the school to share in its government they will become habituated to democratic living.* If the stability of adult society depends upon such a willingness of the majority of its members to stand openly and fearlessly for good government, a willing- ness to support its appointed officials in suppressing flagrant wrongdoing, it is hard to see why the same should not be encouraged in the little school society. There are obstacles and difficulties, to be sure, and the easiest course is for the teacher to assume the whole responsibility, but this is not the course most needed by the pupils. Practical Demonstrations. — The efforts thus far made in many schools to train in individual and social re- sponsibility afford very suggestive object lessons of the truth of the principles here set forth. Over and over again it has been shown to be possible to develop, * From an address before The National Education Asso- ciation, 1903. 170 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT especially in the grammar grades and in high school, a full-fledged sense of the school's collective life, with an attendant sound public opinion on all matters of conduct. Over and over again it has been found pos- sible to utilize for the good of the school the gang's instinctive sense of lawfulness. Children, in coopera- tion with their teachers, do show an amazing capacity to control themselves and to suppress wrongdoing and bring in line the offenders. There is, in fact, no greater controlling force than that exerted by a social group. As Mr. Welling says in another paper * : Boys and girls have shown an astonishing capacity to deal with social and political problems similar to those that arise in the world outside. Even the truant has thus been successfully dealt with. Principals are unani- mous in reporting that this has been due largely to the creation of public opinion among the children them- selves. The head of a New York City public school reports the case of a Jewish boy, a red-blooded tough, who threatened to give grave trouble. The boy chief- of-police, with public sentiment behind him, took charge of the case. The young tough saw the light, used his energies in another direction, became a militant good citizen and was finally elected mayor, and was a good mayor at that. It was only natural that where the mistaken loyalty of the boy may have been to his gang or to his mischief-loving hero, when once this loyalty was perfectly directed the original worst offender should become mayor of the school Republic. ♦ Proceedings of the National Association for the Study and Education of Exceptional Children, 191 1, p. 94. 171 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY A School-city in Manhattan. — In order to give the reader a concrete picture of the working of a school- city we quote at some length the account of a visit to a large down-town school in Manhattan: Here is a school city of four years' standing. The school city officers, headed by the mayor, a small girl, conducted the opening exercises. As the children marched in, in perfect step and time with the music, the principal pointed out that the only crooked line was in charge of a teacher, in the absence of one of the small officials. He went on to say that he had recently tried the experiment of having no teachers present at the opening exercises. So far as the children were con- cerned, the experiment succeeded, but he had to give it up because of the difficulty of finding the teachers when they were wanted. . . . After the exercises the principal directed six teachers to leave their rooms, and then sent me, with a small boy to act as guide, to inspect the six teacherless rooms. In each one I found the president in charge and work going on in as quiet and orderly. a manner as possible. When I got back to the principal's office he told me this story: Some few weeks before, one of his teachers had been ill and away. To fill her place the authorities sent an elderly woman, who is on the retired list and acts as a substitute. Realizing that it would be next to impossible to explain the spirit and purpose of the school city to this teacher, accustomed by life-long habit to old methods, he simply told her that they had a system of self-government in the school; that all he wanted her to do was to hear the children recite and to assign them their lessons. Beyond this she was to do nothing. Let her take a book and read, occupy herself as she chose, but on no account interfere with the discipline. 172 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT /Por three days the elderly woman obeyed instntctions implicitly. On the fourth, although, the order was good, she could stand the strain no longer. Old habits re- asserted themselves, and she started in to boss the job in the good old orthodox fashion. To her consternation, chaos ensued. She grew excited and tried violent meas- ures. The chaos turned to riot. The riot turned into open rebellion, until, with mingled wrath and fear, the teacher fled from the pandemonium and sped to the principal's office. The priu^ipal lost little time in reach- ing the seat of trouble. What did he find? The presi- dent of the class in charge, the work going on quietly, ithe room in perfect order. The elderly substitute left the school in bewildered rage. In the afternoon came a session of the court. The court meets every Friday evening after school. I was somewhat surprised to find a girl presiding as judge. There is a tradition that the feminine mind is not judi- cial. This little judge had a very high forehead, a de- termined chin offset by large and kindly eyes ; altogether a face that suggested strength and a sense of justice mitigated by "the milk of human kindness." The prin- cipal said she had been nominated by one of the boys at the last nominating convention in these words: "I think we want a girl for judge, because girls are more merciful than boys and less apt to get mad and act with- out thinking when they're mad. I think we want Minnie for judge, because she's got these good qualities of girls more than most any other girl has." Minnie was nominated and later unanimously elected. As the ten defendants came forward successively I was impressed with the rapidity and assurance with which the judge gave sentence. The charges were: "Turning around in line at assembly," "Loud talking 173 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY during school hours," "Marking school books," "Fooling on the stairs," etc. The judgments varied from acquit- tals and reprimands to three or four days in the deten- tion room. In general, the sentences were light for first and heavy for second and third offences. The three or four-day detention room penalties sounded so drastic that I inquired about them. It appears that the deten- tion room, instead of being a dungeon, is a pleasant classroom set aside for the purpose and presided over by a school city official, commonly the chie^iofi^lice. A day is the half-hour after school which the Board of Education permits children to be detained. As most of the children in this particular school stay after school voluntarily for more than half an hour, it was difficult to see the terror of this punishment. On inquiry, how- ever, I found that this penalty was greatly dreaded be- cause of the disgrace attached to it. Apparently the philosophy of the thing is this : AVhen punished by your teacher you are a martyr in tn? eyes of your fellows. When punished by your fellows you are a disgrace to their community Of course, no sentence may be executed without the approval of the principal. He stands to the judiciary in the relation of a supreme court. He told me that it had not been necessary for him to reverse or even modify a single decision of the girl judge since her first few weeks in office. Next to the judge the most interesting figure in court was the sheriff. He was a tough-looking specimen. He would have looked much more appropriate as a prisoner at the bar than as an officer of the law. It appeared that he had scrupulously lived up to his looks until his election as sheriff, since which time he had been a shining example of efficient propriety. There had been 174 SCHOOL GOVERNMENT not a single case of contempt of court during his term of office. Although far from a brilliant student, he had at least taken to struggling with his lessons. He told the principal he wanted to make a good record as sheriff so that "they'' would some time elect him to an office with more work to it.* To quote still again from Mr. Welling f : The idea has passed the experimental stage. Whether it be the Brownlee system, which emphasizes the pre- liminary character-training side of self-government; the Ray system, which employs a Roman form of self- government ; the school city plan, which applies the prin- ciple through the organization of a modified municipal government ; the school state, the school country, the student council, the commission plan, or whatever other plan may be devised, the utilization of civics is a grow- ing factor in the schools. The pity of it is that it is not growing faster. Enough has been said to make clear the point of view from which the teacher or principal should re- gard the problem of pupil-participation in school con- trol. That pupils need practice in civic responsi- bility will meet with general agreement. Just how to accomplish it in a particular school is a matter that calls for much tact, much keen insight into child and youth nature. The plans described above might not ♦"School Republics," L. B. Stowe, The Outlook, Decem- ber 26, 1909. Reprinted by courtesy of The Outlook Com- pany. t Proceedings of the National Education Association, 191 1, p. 1008. 175 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY succeed everywhere, certainly not without suitable preparation for them. Success also will depend on the character of teachers and other school officers. Vrhey must thoroughly understand and be in complete sympathy with what is proposed. They must be skill- ful leaders of boys and girls. If these latter condi- tions are not favorable to inaugurating such a system in full, it will often be found possible to do it at least partially.* * For much of the concrete material here presented I am indebted to the kindness of "The School Citizen's Commit- tee," No. 2 Wall Street, New York City. This Committee offers literature and expert advice to any school desiring to start pupil-participation in government. CHAPTER XI THE SOCIAL IDEAL IN THE CURRICULUM Social Efficiency: How Produced. — True social effi- ciency cannot be attained by any educational scheme which is narrowly intellectualistic. In certain of the preceding chapters we have sketched some of the means of bringing the school into closer touch with the community which it serves. This intimate rela- tionship is not only normal, but necessary for every well-balanced school. The real school must be an organic part of the community life. The training of child nature in the school must, it is true, be more definite and systematic in certain directions than the training that the community can give, but it must not be markedly different from what the community might attempt, if it had the time to give to that sort of work. It should, in other words, be a training for an efficient life in that or other similar com- munities. Community Vitally Related to School. — ^"All the in- stincts of humanity, all the growth of civilization, demand that intelligent concern be devoted to the suc- cess of the young and inexperienced. The force that holds society together makes it also desirous of pro- viding for children such training as shall perfect them as nearly as may be in accordance with their EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY possibilities and for living life to the full," * The fact that the school has been set off, under the social necessity of division of labor, to render a specialized service affords no reason for its confining its service to a purely intellectual and largely individualistic training. It should be its function, rather, to produce and to focus upon the growing child all the best forces present in the modern civilised community. It must do this in order that these forces may exert a sys- tematic rather than a haphazard influence. Such a task is by no means simple or easy, but it is none the less needful. It is difficult in proportion as the school attempts merely to imitate the conditions of social life rather than to be a vital outgrowth of this life. School Must Select Best Elements. — Moreover, there are many forces at play in society that it is not de- sirable should appear in the school. This is partly due to the fact that society is far from perfect. There are many modes of behavior current which we do not wish to perpetuate. Hence, from this point of view, the influences of the school must not be a mere duplication in miniature of the social life outside the school. It must be an idealized, but none the less genuine, expression of the better aspects of the life of the community. Furthermore, the community life is complex and highly specialized. As it stands it is beyond the range of understanding possible to the child. It needs to be simplified and adapted to the various stages of child growth, if it is to have real educative value. But simplification should be pos- * Dr. William McAndrew, in The World's Work, Novem- ber, 1912. 178 SOCIAL IDEAL IN THE CURRICULUM sible without depriving it of its genuine social charac- ter. Method of School One-sided, — The intellectualistic training of the old-time school was largely supple- mented, as we have seen, by life outside the school. Children had abundant opportunity to share in varied types of work and community experience. If the school training was narrow and unsocial, there were a thousand ways in which it was filled out. But, in our present state of society, it is doubtful if there can be such a complete separation of functions. It is doubtful if the intellectual training furnished by the school is really adequate as intellectual training un- less it is connected more definitely with the rest of the child's life. Divorced from all social relationships, the school studies seem abstract and incomprehensible to the majority of children, and they fail to respond with much interest. Their best efforts are not called forth ; they fall behind, often have to repeat the work and are adjudged, by the narrow standard of abstract intellectual proficiency, to be backward, or even defi- cient. On the other hand, real life, community life, has places for all types and variations in ability, ex- cept for those abnormal forms found in the criminal, feeble-minded, and insane. Training Should Be Adapted to Individual Ability. — Every normal child in the community is entitled to such training as he is capable of receiving. And, in the ordinary "give and take" of neighborhood and commu- nity-life, each child usually gets more or less real prep- aration for manhood. However, in the school, which is dominated by the narrow ideals of information and discipline, there is a place for only one type of child, 179 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY and that an unusual type, one who is interested in ideas rather than in things and in deeds. If the school is to afford the same opportunity to all types of children it would seem necessary that it should reproduce to a greater extent the conditions of health- ful community-life. Outside the school both the in- formation and motive for work are social ; within the school it is apt to be true of neither. The general question of motivation we have considered in an earlier chapter ; here we confine ourselves to the prob- lem of how to secure a more socialized subject-matter of instruction, a more socialized course of study, how to connect the subject-matter of the curriculum more definitely with the larger life of the pupils, or, per- haps, what and how should a school teach, which defi- nitely adjusts its efforts according to the ideal of social efficiency f Our inquiry does not in the slightest degree ignore the generally recognized function of the school to train the child and to cultivate in him the right and useful habits needful for adult life. It is concerned rather with the question of the best means of accom- plishing these necessary ends. Why Narrow Standards Prevail. — It is easy to see how the narrow intellectual conception of the means to these desirable results should have come to pre- vail. In the first place the conception is easier to follow. It is easier for the teacher to tell than to develop. It is easier to impose tasks than to guide original impulses into fruitful lines of expression and growth. It is easier to conceive of the child as an idea-getting machine than as a developing person- ality, with impulses, motives, and appreciations. The i8o SOCIAL IDEAL IN THE CURRICULUM great difficulty, however, with this easier way is that it reaches so few children. As long as school men were satisfied as to the correctness of the intellec- tualistic scheme, they complacently regarded all chil- dren who did not respond to it as backward or defi- cient. It did not occur to them that there could be any defect in the type of training itself. Definite Results Wanted. — The idea that school training should be a real training for an efficient so- cial life is by no means new. In fact, it has long been held as an abstract theory. There is, however, a novelty in the present-day attitude on this matter, and that is the growing tendency to ask whether, in its actual work, the school is trying to do anything specific toward the realization of this ideal. Most teachers have tended to assume that if they had the right theory as to the aim of their teaching, it would matter little what they actually did, for all efforts would of necessity exert some influence in bringing their ideals to pass. However, it is one of the signs of the times that people are more and more insisting upon definite results. Less and less satisfaction is found in the comfortable feeling that the results, though intangible, are none the less real; that there are effects, even though they cannot be accurately specified and measured. There is, of course, a danger of going too far with such demands. Not every valuable result can be defi- nitely separated from other results and accurately measured. We cannot measure all the results of school education, all the deep-seated enthusiasm and character development that may occur in a pupil through association with a high-minded teacher, and, i8i EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY yet, we must not imagine that these fine products are entirely unconnected with efficiency in those phases of the educational process which are under control. It is a good thing that we should try to see more clearly wherein our work is efficient or lacking in effi- ciency. Every teacher should frequently ask himself pointedly : Just what am I doing, through my teach- ing, day by day, to cultivate sound judgment, deeper appreciation of social relationships and duties; just what practice are my pupils actually getting, through being in this school, in doing the things they will surely have to do in later life? Closer Connection Needed Between Practice and Ideals. — The current demand that the teacher show defi- nitely how his teaching is related to the ideal which he accepts as valid is an outgrowth of the conviction that a good deal of our school work is barren of re- sult because it is not consciously connected, day by day, with any governing purpose. This failure to make connection between ideals and practical work is partly due to wrong conceptions of ideals. With most people ideals are largely luxuries, because they are either conceived so vaguely as to be useless, or as so remote that they become unattainable. The natural result of such a point of view is that educational ideals, whatever they may be, have little place in de- termining the actual work of the school-room. The teacher with the finest aims is apt to become the worst sort of empiricist, because he never gets his aims into any sort of working relation to his daily problems. // the social ideal of education is to he really worth holding, it must he capable of heing put into this working relation with the actual business of 182 SOCIAL IDEAL IN THE CURRICULUM educating boys and girls. It must be a determining factor in the teaching and administration of the vari- ous school studies, as well as in the more general re- lations of the school to the community. Some teachers possibly imagine that the intellec- tual training is distinct from the social training. The child is said to get his training for social life through the various "social activities" of the school, through supervised play, and so forth. But, in the studies themselves, the training is admittedly individualistic, and is, in the main, a training for intellectual profi- ciency. That is, the main work of the school, as embodied in the actual work of study and teaching, is not directly, or even remotely, connected with the realization of the social life. Curriculum Must Be Socialized, — Now, in a really socialized school the socialization must extend beyond the '^outside activities", so-called; it must extend be- yond the school's external relationships to the neigh- borhood ; it must include the socialization of the cur- riculum, and of the methods of teaching and of study. If it does not go this far, we cannot hope that the main work of the school, as it finds expression in the study and teaching, will do much in the way of making of boys and girls better members of society. If they acquire social power it will be because of other influences than those exerted specifically through teaching and study. If a pupil is to get any real training for social efficiency through his school studies it must be because his teachers make that a direct and specific object, both in the selection of his studies and in the way they are taught to him. With such an end in view, the social ideal must be very 183 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY tangibly conceived; it must be thought of as a tool, leather than as a remote goal unrelated to present en- deavor. The problem, then, is how may the curriculum, the studies, and the regular work of teaching and learn- ing contribute to the realization of the social ideal? There are really two separate questions involved, namely, that of socializing the studies, and that of socializing the method. In actual school-life they are interwoven, but, for the sake of clearness, we take them up one at a time. First of all, how should the studies be socialized? How to Do This. — The fundamental condition of socializing the studies is that they shall clearly connect with and explain some phases of the actual life of the pupil. It is not sufficient that the teacher shall know that the school studies are really phases of so- cial experience. Thoughtful teachers, indeed, have always known it. They have known that people can- not get along without some understanding of reading, of writing, and of numbers. They have known that the successful pursuit of vocations requires not only skill in the use of the hands, but more or less knowl- edge of the world, as given in geography and in other phases of natural science. It requires some un- derstanding of the principles of human effort and conflict, as revealed in history, sociology, economics, etc. It is not, however, enough that the teacher should know all this as he teaches his various sub- jects. The pupil should know it also. The funda- mental vice of the traditional school lay in the as- sumption that these important forms of social knowl- edge could be successfully taught without some rec- 184 SOCIAL IDEAL IN THE CURRICULUM ognition on the part of the learner that he was really learning how to live and work. It was as- sumed that the boy would, when he left school, see the connection of his school-work with life, even if he did not see it at the time he was in school. When he went to work he would be able to make practical ap- plication of the knowledge gained in school, even if he saw no practical applications while he was a student. I suppose, furthermore, that everyone is agreed that what the boy studies should benefit him in some way, and this benefit, if it is genuine, whether it be discipline, culture, skill, power, or information, must make of the boy a more efficient man. So far so good. But, when it is assumed that he will get this benefit if he studies and is taught out of all specific connection with social life, there must be dissent. The boy, of himself, will not make the connection be- tween what he has learned in school and what he finds he must do outside the school. This is not the worst feature of the case, however. When the teacher and the school feel that they are not under obligation to make clear the application to life, they have easily tended to allow their work to become even more re- mote and unreal. The criterion of social utility is constantly needed that the course of study may be kept up-to-date and vital. If the school is not con- stantly required to measure its work by some such standard it will rapidly drop behind the actual needs of present-day society. It will keep the boys and girls at tasks which not only have no clear connec- tion with real life, but actually have no connection of any sort, being even many decades or centuries be- hind present needs. 13 185 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY The First Requirement. — In the socialization of the curriculum, then, two things are needful: first, the subjects taught must really be subjects which inter- pret and prepare for efficient living in the present- day world. The hulls and vestiges of outworn modes of thought and long unused ideas must be cast away. While breadth of knowledge is desirable, and facts about remote times and distant parts of the earth must be studied, such facts are really worth while only as they connect with that which is near at hand, and as they help the pupil to understand his own world more thoroughly. As mere information about remote times and places, they have no value. Unless a body of fact has some positive contribution to make to present social efficiency it has no excuse for remaining in the curriculum. And it is fair to demand that this contribution shall be fairly clear and definite. The existing fund of human knowledge and culture is so great that only a few very niinute frag- ments of it can be taught in school. In any case a selection is necessary. When, therefore, that which must be rejected is immensely greater than that which can possibly be taught, why, in making up the curriculum, should not that which is remote and un- related to life be cast aside, and that which is of vital importance be retained ? The Second. — But, as suggested above, another thing is also needful in the socialization of the cur- riculum. Not only must the content actually be re- lated to real life, it must be presented to the pupil so that he can see its relation and see it rather clearly. We do not mean by this that every item and detail of each study must be so interpreted for the pupil. This i86 SOCIAL IDEAL IN THE CURRICULUM would be impossible, if for no other reason than indi- vidual differences in mental ability in the pupils them- selves. Our point is rather that this sense of reality shall be the rule rather than the exception. Relatio^^ to Immediate Interests. — Moreover, by re- lation to life is meant not merely relation to some re- mote future life, but, first of all, this immediately present life of the pupil's school days. To be sure, his school work must prepare for the future, but, if this is the only appeal it can make to him, he will not become very enthusiastic over it. It is his present life in which he is mainly interested. And what is this present life? Some people imagine it is only a life of play, and play it largely is, and should be. But the boy, and the girl, too, have other interests than those of play. They are keenly alive to much else that goes on in the world. Their range of vision is limited, of course, but is constantly growing. They are interested in what they see men and women ab- sorbed in. They want to know about the work go- ing on about them. They like to see things made, and like to have the processes of making explained to them. They are glad to try their own hands, de- lighted with the opportunity of showing that they also have power. All normal children, in fact, are curious about almost everything that takes the atten- tion of adult society. Children's Interest in the World's Work. — It takes very little effort to interest children in the various phases of the everyday work of the world. Certainly a part of their creation should consist in introducing them to this rich, throbbing, compelling life, which .'-' they find on every side. It needs explanation, too: 187 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY its most important features must be pointed out and discussed, the different ways men have of making a living must be explained. The child must be made to observe more and more the conditions of success- ful work in different vocations. He must learn about the most important products of human skill and in- genuity, about foods and fabrics, about metals, clays, and woods, about the wonders of steam and electric- it)^ and their relation to human life. He must under- stand how the raw materials for all the highly wrought products of human labor come from the earth, why conservation is necessary for the good of everybody, how labor is essential to human happiness and well-being. He must have pointed out to him how men must work together, the value of coopera- tion, and how, underneath all else, is society's funda- mental need that men should deal justly and honestly with one another. In these, and in many other things, boys and girls are interested. They are realities to them, nor does this fact detract from their value as preparation for mature life. In fact, as childhood turns into youth the interest in what one is going to be and do to make a living comes strikingly to the foreground. Summary. — Thus, our answer to the question — What do we mean by relation to life — is a double one. We mean that the school work shall be related both to the child's present interest in the real world of adult activities and to the interest he soon develops in his own life's work. Both of these connections must be made between the school and life. Both interests interact and enrich each other. Ultimately they are but sides of the same impulse, i88 SOCIAL IDEAL IN THE CURRICULUM the impulse to he a real man or woman in the real world as over against the world of remote abstrac- tions, dead languages, and mathematical formula:. Not that these are objectionable, but if they are to play any genuine part in the education of the boy, they must prove to him that they are connected in some vital v^ay with the life he has to lead. In not every part of school v^ork, nor at all times in the school, can this appeal to real life be made. The boy must be trained in school to work ; he may even need to be drilled in many things that will seem to him at the time to be but little better than drudgery. But this need not, and must not, be the prevailina condi- tion in his school training. Over all tlie wofk which partakes of drudgery must fall ever and anon the gleam of reality. The pupil must feel more and more that he is at least getting a lot of good stuff for just those things that seem worth while to actual boys and girls. Curriculum Satisfies Children's Interests. — Fortunate- ly most of the school studies, if they are properly taught, are capable of satisfying in some degree the child's interest in the real world. They are not en- tirely foreign to normal, healthful human desires. The first step, then, toward the attainment of a more socialized course of study is that the schools make use of the opportunities they already have in the cur- riculum as it stands. Let the teachers feel more keenly, as they teach arithmetic and geography, or history, that they are interpreting human interests to the children. Let them reflect that these studies have not always existed ready-made for the mere purpose of giving mental training. They are selections out 189 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY of the rich fund of race experience, selected because they are supposedly adapted to introducing the child to a sympathetic and efficient understanding of that experience. But, if they are to accomplish that re- sult, they must be taught from that point of view and not as so much external material to be learned. How can this social point of view in the various studies be actually carried out? This is really what we are interested in here, rather than in any general discussion of principles. How can the real teacher in the real school-room develop such ideas as have here been suggested ? To answer such questions fully would require a special book on the socialization of the curriculum. But a few things can be said to indi- cate the lines along which practical endeavors must proceed. Oral Reading. — The first practical suggestion is the one given above, namely, that the teacher have the right point of view. This means that he should teach oral reading, for example, not as a mere isolated ac- complishment, but as a tool of definite social value. Of course, even the best teacher will have to give a good deal of attention to the mere mechanics of read- ing, but mechanical skill is only a means to an end, and it should never at any stage of the process of learning overshadow the real end in view. This end is that we may communicate something contained on a printed or written page to others, for their enter- tainment or instruction. When children read in a class, they usually all read the same selections. As every pupil knows what every other one is to express, the main motive for good reading is absent. Why take pains to express the thought well, when all know 190 SOCIAL IDEAL IN THE CURRICULUM it or can see it for themselves? Again, why should one listen to another read except to hear and enjoy? The ordinary method of teaching reading deprives the child of even the social motive for listening. He listens, not that he may share the interesting experi- ence which his fellow pupil is communicating, but that he may detect technical errors, mispronuncia- tions, wrong inflections, and the like. As over against this method, which sees in reading an individual accomplishment only, the socialized method will seek all sorts of ways of emphasizing the social significance and utility of that art. That the means of doing this will vary with the age and ad- vancement of the pupil one can readily see. In every grade of the school the underlying motive for all reading must be the interesting and effective com- munication of thought. Excellence in reading will be constantly estimated by the degree in which the pupil succeeds in doing this. Children may read different things in their classes, and thus gain genuine experi- ence in oral communication. The value of reading as a social tool will be discussed, and the wide range of experience that the good reader can make his own will be pointed out. It is often noted that children begin to learn to read with much interest and, after a year or two of excellent progress, lose interest, and cease to improve any further. This is less apt to oc- cur where the pupil feels he is reading for a purpose, especially if he sees it is a means of bringing him into touch with other people and of helping him to share in their thoughts. Reading thus becomes a fas- cinating social tool, capable of bringing to one all sorts of social pleasures and social satisfactions. 191 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY Writing. — In the same way writing may be trans- formed from an isolated act of skill to an important social instrument. When a boy has something to communicate to another he has a motive for writing on the basis of which all desirable proficiency in the mechanics of writing can be developed. Socialized Geography. — On the side of the informa- tional studies, geography may serve as one illustra- tion. It is usually taught as a mass of miscellaneous facts about the earth, its products, people, and coun- tries. Such geography as this can be committed to memory and it satisfies a certain inferior type of curi- osity. The ideal of attainment is that the mind may be stored with as large a collection of facts as possi- ble as was the case of a little girl of the "school of day-be fore-yesterday", who was marked high in her geography because she could answer 117 questions on the map of North America, y^ questions on the map of Europe, and so on. But this is not geography in any proper sense of the word. Real geography should interpret to the child many important human relations and human activities. ''The essence of any geographi- cal fact is the consciousness of two persons, or two groups of persons who are at once separated and connected by the physical environment, and the inter- est is in seeing how these people are at once kept apart and brought together in their actions by the in- strumentality of this physical environment. The ulti- mate significance of lake, river, mountain, and plain is not physical, but social ; it is the part which it plays in modifying and [assisting] human relationships. [Commercial geography] has not to do simply with business, in the narrow sense, but includes whatever 192 SOCIAL IDEAL IN THE CURRICULUM relates to human intercourse and intercommunication, as aflFected by natural forms and properties." * From a social point of view, then, the purpose of geography in the schools is to give boys and girls some intelligent idea of their relation to their physical and social environment. Every fact of physical, political, and even mathematical geography is capable of being related to human life and to human effort. Much of it can be related in one way or another to the pupils themselves. Facts of climate, of mountains and riv- ers, and of products of the soil in remote parts of the earth often affect in intimate ways the health and welfare of American school children. A fact that affects us in some way is far more significant than one which does not. Step by step the pupil can be led out to an understanding of other people in their various modes of life and work either as they con- tribute to his own happiness or help him to appreciate his own problems of work. Experience of Some Elementary Schools. — Some ele- mentary schools have actually taken up a large part of geography through this study of the relation of the industries and products of other countries to the life of their own city. They have studied in detail how lines of commerce from all over the world con- verge at their door, how the manifold industries and commercial enterprises of the city depend upon this cooperation with lands and peoples widely scattered. The products of the Amazon Valley, or of China, are discussed in their relation to their own lives. A more formal logical study of the subject might be desirable * John Dewey, "Ethical Principles Underlying Education," The Third Yearbook of the National Herbart Society. 193 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY at a later period, but, for children in the grades, this method is far more effective. The principal of a large city school, where geography is thus taught, empha- sized the enthusiasm of the children in tracing all sorts of relationships, in gathering materials, in the way of pictures, specimens, magazine articles, and relevant information from other books than the text. This method furnished large opportunity for individ- ual initiative, for much valuable social cooperation. The pupils felt themselves individually responsible for the progress of the study; each had a chance to con- tribute something to the general store of information. Such pupils were not studying mere geography, hut rather their own life interests as these were affected by the wide world. Socialized History. — As another illustration of needed socialization we may take history. Here, again, it is possible for the pupil to spend most of his time memorizing miscellaneous facts, with little ap- preciation that these facts may have any connection with the understanding of present-day affairs. Of course, there are all degrees of connection between historic facts and the pupil's own life. History pre- sents information as far apart in value as Charle- magne's large nose, Cromwell's wart, the English Bill of Rights, and the Monroe Doctrine. As Professor Dewey says : * "History is vital or dead to the child, according as it is or is not presented from the sociological standpoint. When it is treated simply as a record of what has passed and gone it must be mechanical, because the past is remote. The ethical [and social] value of history teaching will be ♦ Op. cit. 194 SOCIAL IDEAL IN THE CURRICULUM measured by the extent to which it is treated as a matter of analysis of existing social relations." The l)iipil must see, through his study of history, how many different forces have cooperated to make our present world what it is ; it should help him to grasp the idea that all existing institutions are growths, evo- lutions, and that they can be rightly understood only as they are viewed with the background or perspec- tive furnished by history. The pupil can understand the fact of progress only as he studies other times and peoples. He needs to know, for instance, something of the corruption in the early political life of the United States, not in order to be self-complacent over any later improvement, but that he may be fired with a zeal to make our political life still cleaner and more worthy. In the study of United States history all of the lines of development in such problems as slavery, money, tariff, constitutional interpretation, industrial expansion, and labor, and a score of other subjects, can profitably be worked out with definite reference to the fuller understanding of modern complex condi- tions. Where there is no direct connection to be made, no chain of causes and effects to be worked out, there is still much of social value. In story and in biography the pupil has usually suggestive pictures of human life and struggle, which inspire him to greater effort himself. They often represent typical situations, which are illuminating for all time. It is important, however, that the characters in the his- torical narratives or stories should be treated in their relation to the community life behind them. The re- lation and the responsibility of the hero to the life 195 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY that surrounds him is a most important lesson to bring home to boys and girls. To quote again from Professor Dewey : * "What the normal child continuously needs is not so much isolated moral lessons, instilling into him the impor- tance of truthfulness and honesty, or the beneficent results that follow from some particular act of patri- otism. It is the formation of habits of social im- agination and conception. I mean by this it is neces- sary that the child should be forming the habit of interpreting the special incidents that occur and the particular situations that present themselves in terms of the whole social life. The evils of the present in- dustrial and political situation are not due so much to actual perverseness on the part of individuals con- cerned, nor to mere ignorance of what constitutes the ordinary virtues as to inability to appreciate the social environment in which we live. It is tremendously complex and confused. . . . Most people, are left at the mercy of tradition, impulse, or the appeals of those who have special and class interests to serve." History, if rightly taught, should be an important in- strument in creating this greater intelligence which is so needful for real social efficiency. Other Studies. — The other ordinary school studies have many of the same possibilities of socialization as those discussed above. They might be summarized in the words of Dean James E. Russell, from his ar- ticle, "The School and Industrial Life" : f The quantitative measurements of arithmetic will find * Op. cit. \ Educational Review, December, 1909. 196 SOCIAL IDEAL IN THE CURRICULUM concrete application in every step of the industrial proc- ess, from the first step of production of the raw ma- terials to the end of the series, when goods are turned to practical use. How much, how many times, how often, in what proportion, at what cost, are questions which must be answered by the child at every turn. The computations called for in the manufacture, transporta- tion, and final distribution of any commodity are in daily use in trade and commerce, and should be the staple re- quirement of the school. Nothing will vitalize the study of arithmetic more than to create in the school a need for quantitative measurement and for the employment of business methods in business aflFairs. Such a situation suggests clearly the place and scope of commercial training in the upper grades or high school for those who are in training for commercial vo- cations. The natural distribution of metals, fuels, clays, and other earth materials, the climate and physiographic conditions which determine the location, amount, char- acter, and availability of our flora and fauna, the factors which control transportation by land and water — these are problems in geography which become concrete and vital in the study of industries. The correlations are so obvious that only a stupid teacher can miss them. In nature study we shall find a real place for the ele- ments of agriculture and forestry; no longer aimless meandering in any scientific field, but definite attention to those occupations concerned with the production of materials good for food, clothing, and shelter, the con- ditions calculated to give best results, and the resistance which men meet in doing their work. The growing of any crop, even in a window garden, will epitomize the farmer's labors in tilling the soil, supplying plant food, utilizing light, heat, and air, overcoming disease and 197 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY insect pests, and reaping his harvest. Every step takes on new meaning when the learner sees its place in the series of operations culminating in the commercial food supply of his own community, its sanitary regulation and domestic consumption. The elements of physiology and hygiene, and of physics and chemistry, are also called into requisition; they are all indispensable in fixing values of industrial products and determining economy in technical opera- tion. What makes for hygienic living is as well worth knowing from the economic standpoint as what mechani- cal appliance will most increase the output. A proper study of the industries, therefore, I contend, will bring about a unified and closely correlated course in the bio- logical and physical sciences by way of supplying the information wanted by the child in adjusting himself to the real world. Conclusion. — Thus far we have been trying to see how the school studies themselves may be brought into more direct relation to life. There is, however, a special phase of this problem, which we must reserve for separate discussion. We have had little to say of the boys' and girls' vocational interests. These are really the most important of all the means for vitalizing school work. In fact, it is about the prepa- ration for a life career that all school activities should ultimately center. Fortunately there is no other in- terest more keen in normal boys and girls, and it is on this basis, then, that the most important socializa- tion of the curriculum is to be worked out. This we shall take up in the next chapter. CHAPTER XII THE VOCATIONAL INTEREST AND SOCIAL EFFICIENCY Characteristics of a Socialized Curriculum. — In the last chapter it was pointed out that the socialization of the regular work of the school demands that that work be connected in two ways with the life of the pupil: first, with his actual present life and interests, and, secondly, with his future life as a working mem- ber of society. The pupil should feel that his school work is real, because it satisfies his impulse to un- derstand the world of which he is now a part. It was pointed out that every school study can contribute in some degree to this end. As the pupil grows older he naturally becomes more and more interested in his own future as a member of the adult community. This interest in the future, as fast as it develops, should find definite satisfaction through the work he is required to do in school. Early Appearance of Vocational Interests. — As was suggested, these two lines of connection between the school and social life are not entirely separate. In fact, one easily flows into the other. The strong in- terests of childhood are the forerunners of the domi- nant interests of manhood. They furnish the basis upon which vocational purposes gradually come to consciousness and develop. The continuance of child- 199 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY hood interests into maturity has recently been studied and reported by Professor E. L. Thorndike. He found a high correlation between interests of children in the upper elementary grades and the interests they possessed in their later college years. There is a strong probability, according to this study, that what interests the child is really an index to what his adult ability will be, and forecasts with reasonable accu- racy his vocational career. Such being the case, one may see how easily the general interests of the child in the life about him may be utilized in connection with the "motive for the life-career". As ex-Presi- dent Eliot well says, this is a strong and a lasting mo- tive, and it should be developed as early as possible. Not that the child shall be encouraged to fix himself irrevocably to a certain vocation, and as early as pos- sible begin to prepare for it, but rather that he shall at first, in a general way, begin to look forward into the future, and, as he grows older, more and more definitely. He must feel increasingly that his present work may actually count in preparing him for his life work. This interest is usually so keen that it fur- nishes the strongest of motives for efficient work in the upper elementary grades and in the high school. Relation to Elimiiiatioii from School. — As is well known, the rapid elimination of pupils from these grades is partly and even largely caused by the eager- ness of children to get to work. Some, it is true, have to work as soon as the compulsory school period is past, but many do not need to do so. They could just as well stay in school a little longer and would do so if they felt that the school were really doing them any good. As far as they can see, its tasks are 200 THE VOCATIONAL INTEREST in no way related to this impelling motive of a life- career, and so they drop out in the blind hope that they may find outside of school what they do not see that they are getting within. This vocational interest should receive more and more attention, as the pupil advances through the grades, because it is capable of becoming one of the most effective methods of vitalizing his work. Inadequacy of "General Training." — We may wish that we might keep the boy upon a general, or purely cultural, training for a few more years. But it is a condition we have to face, not a theory. The bald fact of the case is, the more general, cultural work grips only a few of the boys, and, in most cases, not the vigorous, active ones, at that. When an ac- tive boy is really interested in this general work it is usually because he sees in it a real preparation for a career. Try how it will, the school cannot escape the necessity of recognizing the vocational interest if it is to hold its pupils. It might as well cease to look at this interest as a call to compromise with something low and unworthy and frankly accept it as an asset of inestimable worth. Aim of This Chapter. — The object of this chapter is not a general discussion of the problem of vocational education. It is rather an attempt to estimate its social significance and to point out the way in which the recognition of the vocational motive in the school and the definite adjustment of the school to vocational needs are parts of the large problem of realizing the ideal of social efficiency. Social Significance of Vocations. — First of all let us note the social significance of vocations themselves. 14 201 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY They are natural products of social progress. They represent specializations or divisions of labor which are made necessary by increase in the complexity of social life. Furthermore, vocations are essential to the maintenance of civilized society. The needs of civilized society are such as can be met only by large numbers of trained skilled workers. Vocations also have a deep moral and intellectual significance, both for the individual and for society. It is of ines- timable moral value to a man or woman to have some- thing definite and worth while to do — a work which engrosses his attention and utilizes a large part of his mental and physical energy. This moral value is espe- cially prominent in skilled work. A skilled worker acquires a certain sense of personal worth fulness which is a most important element in the building up of a sound moral character, as well as in the develop- ment of a socially efficient individual. Those classes of society which are sometimes called ''higher", which have never felt the stress of economic necessity, tend to produce many non-workers who show clear signs of moral degeneration. The social value of the vocation and of vocational training is clearly brought out in the experiments in negro education. There is no question but that social betterment has resulted to the members of that race who have received industrial training. Booker T. Washington says: "From both a moral and a re- ligious point of view, what measure of education the negro has received has been repaid, and there has been no step backward in any state. Not a single graduate of the Hampton Institute or the Tuskegee Institute can be found to-day in any jail or state peni- 202 THE VOCATIONAL INTEREST tentiary. . . . The records of the South show that 90 per cent, of the colored people in prison are with- out knowledge of the trades, and 61 per cent, are illit- erate." What Eeformatories Have Done. — The experience of reformatories is even more significant. A large num- ber of delinquents and criminals have never received training for any lines of productive skilled work. The best reformatories, therefore, ofifer opportunities for vocational training. The United States Indus- trial Commission on Prison Labor, in 1900, said: *Tn many penal institutions labor is the essential ele- ment in the reform training of the individual, and through it he becomes accustomed to the habits of industry, proficient in the use of tools, and is made to feel that he has ability within himself for the earn- ing of an honest livelihood. The plan that is being used in some institutions, of allowing prisoners to look forward to the certainty of being employed upon a better grade of work as the reward of industry, acquired proficiency, and good conduct is certain to lead to results of greatest benefit to the prisoner, to the institution, and to the state. The prisoner's am- bition and interest are aroused, and he is encouraged to pursue a course which should end in his acquiring a useful trade. Society at large is benefited by any- thing that tends to better the condition of the prisoner in the way of improving his opportunities of earning an honest livelihood after his release." * The work of the George Junior Republic, at Free- ville, N. Y., is a striking illustration of the moral * Quoted by F. J. Leavitt, Examples of Industrial Educa- tion, 203 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY and social value of work. The motto of this school is ''Nothing without Labor", and the practical appli- cation of this ideal has accomplished marvels in the reformation of the delinquent and in building up a sturdy robust character in the morally weak. Vocational Education and Social Efficiency. — From such facts as these we turn back to the problem of the vocational interest and of vocational training in the regular education of boys and girls. That training for vocational efficiency is the most important means of training for social efficiency there cannot be the slightest doubt. Nor need such a training in any sense be a narrow one. As Dr. Kerschensteiner, of Munich, says: "It lies within our power to make an education for a calling as many-sided as any edu- cation can be. Well nigh every calling, if treated with sufficient thoroughness, naturally involves an en- largment of the field of conception and activity. Sci- ence enters to-day into the simplest work and incites all possessed of the necessary gifts to develop their knowledge, their dexterity, and their initiative. In- deed experience has shown that the path of early education for a calling may lead to very much better results than the path of early general education with no definite calling as its goal." The frank recognition of the vocational interests in all children, the appreciation of these interests as among the most important assets in the formation of socially efficient men and women, and the definite organization of the school studies from the upper elementary grades through the high school about these interests is one of the most far-reaching methods within our reach of realizing the social ideal in edu- 204 THE VOCATIONAL INTEREST cation. The problem of working it out successfully in its various details is one of the greatest ones con- fronting the modern civilized state. Beginnings in the Elementary Grades. — Thus far the students of the subject seem to agree that the begin- nings in the upper elementary grades should be made through acquainting children with the products and modes of present-day industry. In many schools the study of human industry has been confined to a study of primitive forms, for example, primitive modes of weaving, of pottery, and so forth. It is unfortunate, however, to stop with these when there is so much the children need to know and can easily learn about these things as they occupy men and women to-day. The words of Dean Russell are very pertinent at this point : A child should acquire in these years a fairly well- roiinded conception of textile processes and become fa- miliar with the most important types of textile products. Spinning is an important industry in modern life; it means yarns for all manner of fabrics made from a great variety of raw materials; it means thread of all kinds; it means cordage. How many of our school children, how many adults, have any adequate conception of the extent of these industries or their bearing on every- day life? And yet the processes are simple, and, by ac- tual demonstration, supplemented by illustrations cut from current magazines or by visits to neighboring fac- tories, the lesson can be taught in such a way as to make the learning a delight and the knowledge a permanent possession. On leaving the elementary school every child should know, it seems to me, the characteristics of cotton, wool, silk, and linen, both in the spun and 205 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY woven forms, and have some notion of their value as determined by the processes to which they have been subjected. A proper combination of handwork, the ap- pHcation of design and the giving of information should produce the desired results without strain and with con- stantly increasing interest in the study. At the end of a high school course, possibly at the end of the gram- mar school, a girl should be able not only to make many articles of clothing, but also to discriminate in the choice of fabrics by reference to what she has learned in school concerning the nature of the several materials and the processes of manufacture. . . . Once accept the proposition that this is worth doing, and the time can be easily found, and some day we shall have teachers prepared to do the work. Again, let me illustrate from another field — from the clay industries. Children like to make mud pies. The kindergarten turns this aptitude to good use in fashion- ing things by hand molding. Of late, primary teachers have adopted clay as a convenient medium for expres- sion of art forms. The result is thirty plaques, thirty ink wells, or thirty vases — all very pretty, decorated and glazed, when put in a row on exhibition day. So far I have no criticism. My complaint is that they stop right there. The chief processes in the clay industries are very few: hand-molding, turning on the potter's wheel, pressing into set forms, and building up in per- manent shape, as in cement and concrete construction. Why not, then, pass from hand-molding, which can be approached through primitive types, to the use of the potter's wheel? A single demonstration of this machine, with the use of illustrations, which may be had in abun- dance, will give the clue to the entire round of the pot- tery industries. A few samples, varying from unglazed 206 THE VOCATIONAL INTEREST earthenware to fine china, will complete the teaching equipment. Next come brick and terra-cotta. But who has ever heard of brick-making in school? I should like to hear of it, because it is an immense industry, the products of which are visible on every hand — soft brick, hard brick, fire brick, red brick, yellow brick, ornamental brick, terra-cotta. Why should not our children know more about these things than we do? I venture to say that ten hours of instruction judiciously spread over two or three years, and properly correlated with nature study and geography, will give to sixth grade children a better appreciation of one of the staple building materials than ninety out of every hundred adults have to-day. ... I might illustrate my point by any of the staple foods, by glass, by woods, or by metals. The working up of these ma- terials, the getting them ready for use, do not involve many processes. The combination of processes is most intricate and the variety of products simply indescribable, but with an eye single to typical ways by which raw materials are transformed it is not impossible to leave with twelve-year-old children a lasting impression of the modes of operation in any industry and the nature of the most important results.* Class Excursions. — In some cities the class excursion is an important aid to bringing the children of the grades into touch with these things. A recent report of the Superintendent of Schools of St. Louis com- ments thus on the value of the excursion : The thing that the country boy is in touch with all * "The School and Industrial Life," Educational Review, December, 1909. 207 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY the time the city boy many times passes by and does not see. He really does not see the city because of the houses. He is distanced and lost in the rushing multi- tude of things, and in his confusion gets hold of very little outside of a narrow circle of experience. The country boy is with nature and grown-up folks. He just has to know something very accurately about cows and, horses, corn and potatoes, about how men work, and what they do with the products of their labor. His life is more nearly participation in the whole life about him. The city boy lives apart from his father's life, and in many cases from his mother's life. . . . He is kept a child in a child's world till suddenly he awakens to the fact that he is shoved into the whirl of adult human activity, and that he does not know enough about it to help himself or others well. On the social side the city gives a much more extended opportunity for seeing the range of men's interests and work, but the city child cannot get at these things by himself as well as the country child can get at the cor- responding interests in his sphere. The village smithy stands with wide open door, and the boy and the smith have no difficulty in getting acquainted and profiting by the acquaintance. The door of the city business house or manufactory is sealed to the child, because nobody has thought that he can look in without disturbing the work. In the very place where human life should be richest in its social contact the child is more shut out than he would be in the country. . These contacts and experiences that come to the chil- dren by the simplicity of social relations in the country must be brought about in the city by some organized play of parents and teachers to take children into many places whfere men are engaged in their daily work, that ^\ 208 THE VOCATIONAL liNTERESi the children may know how each contributes to his fel- low's welfare, and that they may have some widened experience to serve them when they come to choose what they intend to do as men. Excursions of classes for this purpose are welcomed whenever they ask for admission, and there is no surer way of putting a child in sympathy with the life about him or of fitting him for intelligent participation in that life. A number of our schools have realized during this year the opportunity given by these visits to the industries of the city for arousing the gen- uine interest of the pupils and of broadening their ex- perience. The quarries have told them of the myriads of lives that animated the skeletons now compressed into stone, and of th6 changes through which this stone must still further go to serve the uses of man. The furniture fac- tory has taken them in imagination back to the woods and has shown how the skill and art of man have made the trees minister to his comfort. At the weather bureau they have learned how dependent the business of the world is upon the conditions of the air. In the courts and in the postoffice they have gotten some notion of the social institutions. In these and other ways these schools have turned the seeming prison house of the city into a world throbbing with human interests and full of opportunity for him who will open his eyes and heart. Vocational Studies in Upper Grades. — By the time the pupils have entered the seventh or eighth grade of the elementary school the work should begin to be differentiated to meet the more or less definite inter- ests in various vocations. Such a diflferentiation of work should not, of course, fix boys and girls un- changeably in certain vocations. The instruction will 209 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY still be generalized and there will always be possi- bilities of later readjustments to meet possible changes of interest and enlargements of vision. New York State Plan.— The New York State Edu- cation Department advocates the following scheme: The larger part of the work of the present two upper grades will be uniform, but some differentiation, looking finally to complete separation, will begin at that time. Three distinct courses of study, or classes of schools, will follow the elementary school period: (a) a high school system looking to entrance into college ; (b) busi- ness schools looking to work in offices, stores, etc.; (c) industrial and agricultural schools looking to the train- ing of workers in these vocations. This plan provides that pupils in the (a) division will commence some study of a modern foreign language, if they are needed for the literary and classical high school; that in the (b) division some special commercial studies will be intro- duced for pupils headed for advanced business schools; and that in the (c) division special training with tools and in the household and domestic arts will be offered for those who are to go on to the trade schools or agri- cultural high schools. This restratification will make it possible for pupils, teachers and parents to direct their energies toward the work that pupils are ultimately to do, and by the time the children have completed the eighth or ninth year they will find abundant opportunity to this end, besides some enthusiasm for a school which qualifies them for their lifework, whether it is profes- sional, industrial, or along the lines of business activity.* Its Value. — The value of some such plan as this is * From Dean's The Worker and the State, pp. 325-6. 210 THE VOCATIONAL INTEREST that it makes a definite appeal to the youth's vocational impulse when it begins to assume a large place in his life. , It furnishes a real motive and aim for his school work which he is liable otherwise to wish to drop altogether. The presence of such a motive is just now a most vital matter. The boy and his later edu- cation, whatever it may be, cannot possibly suffer from his having it. It will vitalize and render mean- ingful many things he would not otherwise get at all. Dr. Kerschensteiner well says that "education for a calling offers us the very best foundation for the gen- eral education of a man". Character-forming Influences. — The growing definite- ness in a youth's vocational aim may become a marked character- forming influence, and this is one of the reasons why an education for a calling is the very best foundation for a general education. The really efficient skilled worker must be a person of good per- sonal habits, prompt, courteous, ready to learn, not ready to take offence, always willing to give to his work the full stint of his ability. More and more is the business and industrial world demanding these qualities of its employees. When children fail to acquire these qualities it is often because they have never been made to realize that they have any real connection with their future success. On the other hand, the clear consciousness that one is preparing for a definite vocation is usually a powerful incentive to acquire these traits of char- acter. Most boys and girls who fail to "make good" in the work they turn to are not mentally or morally bad. They are defective in their training. They have acquired vicious habits, have never learned to 211 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY he neat, punctual, or courteous, because they never supposed these things mattered very much. It is the ''motive of the Hfe-career'' at the center of the youth's education that makes these things significant, that makes him strive for a character through which it may be possible to realize this motive. The "general education", just because it is out of touch with life, does not lay the exacting conditions on children that life lays upon them. It is a matter of common knowledge that they are not trained in the habit of personal responsibility for themselves or their surroundings. Their school work is, for instance, largely dictated by the teacher. The pupil has little opportunity to develop his independent judg- ment or power of choice. His own initiative, even though crude, should be called into play. The obedi- ence and courtesy exacted of him by the school is given grudgingly because it does not appeal to him as having any direct connection with his success in his school work. It is imposed, as far as he can see, just to please the teacher or the principal, and not because it can be of any personal use to himself. It is natural for healthy-minded boys to react against this sort of control. Consequently a good many boys, and girls, too, do not get the training for a dependable character that they should receive from their school life. The "Students' Aid Committee." — That a mere "gen- eral education" is defective in many of these vital points is evident to all those persons who have tried to get positions for boys and girls leaving the elemen- tary and high schools. The experiences reported by the "Students' Aid Committee" of the "New York 212 THE VOCATIONAL INTEREST City High School Teachers' Association",* are prob- ably typical of what might be found in other cities and even in smaller towns. A boy who applied to an agent of the Committee for help in securing employ- ment "was directed to call upon his adviser at nine o'clock the following Saturday morning to go to interview an employer. He called at eleven instead, because his father needed him to go on an errand first". A young man was placed by the Committee in a promising position, but he left it after a week because of some harsh criticism. "His case is typical of an increasing class. This young man may have had too much teaching and too little learning in his school life. He had a ready mind, had acquired a great deal of knowledge, but he had never learned to take pleasure in solving difficulties for himself." The Habit of Personal Responsibility. — This Commit- tee believes that the emphasis in elementary education upon amusing the pupils has cultivated in them the disposition to expect everything to be done for them by their teachers, and they never learn to put forth any effort to do what they have not been taught or told explicitly to do. In the words of the Committee : Sometimes a boy gets to feeling that the teacher is responsible for his conduct ; from this condition it is easy for him to develop the attitude which leads him to do things because he wants to and the teacher can't touch him. ... I remember one such boy. We stated his case fairly to an employer, who afterward agreed to give him a trial. After a few weeks in his position he was tempted to play a trick on a stupid associate. It ♦ Vide Report of 1909 by E. W. Weaver, Chairman. 213 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY was the kind of a trick which, in school, would have secured the boy a holiday until his mother or his father could have made arrangements to take a day off to see the principal, taken an hour or two of the valuable time of that official . . . and generally punished every- one but the offender himself. In the business house it needed only twenty minutes to help the offender on with his overcoat, to give him his pay envelope, and plant him on the sidewalk. . . . The power of self-con- trol, which is so necessary to those who would get along with their fellows, had never been developed in that boy. A certain employer of girls who were required to attend to machines states that not over ten per cent, of those who apply for work are employable. "Be- cause of their inability to keep their eyes from wan- dering away from their work." The school must de- velop in children self-control and self -direction. It may often be "that the assigned work employs their energies so completely that they lose all desire to learn anything which they are not directed or re- quired to do by someone in authority". Another important quality which a mere "general education" may fail to cultivate in children is an in- terest in their surroundings and a sense of their re- sponsibility for the things they use and handle in school. They expect to have things done for them. The story is told of a school-board member, "who could not be made to see why the taxpayers should pay the laundry bills for the domestic science classes of the high schools". That member had a better idea than his associates of at least one thing that girls should learn in school. One other illustration may be given. The daughter of a wealthy family, a stu- 214 THE VOCATIONAL INTEREST (lent in a university, had allowed her table in the chem- istry laboratory to become untidy and dirty. The instructor asked her to clean it up, but she indig- nantly replied that she had not been raised as a scrub- woman. Whereupon the obliging teacher cleaned up himself! These are typical instances of what may happen in our schools, and, as far as they go, they indicate a failure somewhere, partly within and partly without the school, to provide for the formation of socially efficient men and women. Somehow or other, it must be brought home to all boys and girls that all sorts of personal bad habits, such as profanity, cigarette smoking, lack of courtesy, neatness, truthfulness, honesty, punctuality, willing- ness to work and to do one's best for an employer really do matter most tremendously. All of these undesirable habits are acquired, either because the youth has no clear conception of an over-mastering interest or purpose in life, or because he has never been made to see that such things make any special diflference anyway. We must not, of course, lay too heavy a load upon the vocational motive and upon vocational training. That, of course, cannot remedy all the ills of our social life, and the defects of youth are but part of the general defects of our present social order. The vocationalizing of education, however, while it cannot do everything, can do much, and it is this that it can do that concerns us. About the problem of vocational and especially in- (histrial education has grown up a vast literature into which we cannot here penetrate. It deals largely with the question of how to organize and administer eflfec- 215 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY tive industrial training. The problems of evening schools, continuation schools, part-time industrial schools, of the proper relation of the vocational courses to the "liberal" courses have not as yet, at least in this country, been satisfactorily solved. The field which is here opened up is a large and interest- ing one, but it is one which we must pass over. It is the social need that concerns us. When that need is more generally recognized it will be met more ade- quately than it is at present. A great obstacle to-day to furnishing all boys and girls with proper vocational training lies in the lack of such a general public appre- ciation of the need as will secure hearty cooperation from all those institutions, industries, and individuals who should share the burden and the responsibility for the undertaking. The "Wasted Years." — In considering the need for industrial education and its place in the realization of the ideal of social efficiency we must not forget that its value is quite as much in saving children from the so-called "wasted years" of fourteen to sixteen as in any positive skill it may give them. These years have been called "wasted" because the youth is not then usually able to begin to take up a creditable trade, and, when he stops school at this time to go to work, his energies are very likely to be exploited as a messenger, elevator, or delivery boy, or in some other types of purely juvenile service. Such work, with its initial high wages, does not prepare him for any better job. As the years go by he finds him- self still working for the child's wage and no better able to take up a man's work than when he left school at fourteen. In fact, he may be much less able 216 • THE VOCATIONAL INTEREST at twenty to learn a trade or enter a vocation, for his powers have been dwarfed, and the period of his nat- ural plasticity has passed. When he can stand the juvenile occupation no longer he is a likely candidate for the army of the unemployed, those who eke out a precarious existence through occasional unskilled jobs, or he may even become an unemployable, one whom no man would willingly hire if anyone else were obtainable. As Bloomfield says, this is '^not necessarily because of their physical or mental in- capacity, but because their economic backbone has been broken. The wasted years have landed their innocent victims on economic quicksands. Attractive wages, with no training, the illegitimate use of youth- ful energy, long hours of monotonous uneducative work have produced at his majority a young man often precocious in evil and stunted in his vocational possibilities." The Massachusetts Industrial Commission, — This body found in Massachusetts, a few years ago, as many as 25,000 children, between the ages of four- teen and sixteen, out of school, and either doing noth- ing or engaged in purely juvenile, or **blind alley oc- cupations". Surely the social waste involved in turn- ing this army of children loose in the industrial world is tremendous — waste of young life, of ambition and energy that might be turned to good account if it were given two or three years' further training in a vocational school. Wasted, also, because of the men- ace to society of this growing army of unproductive, dissatisfied men and women. Compulsory Vocational Education. — If these young people could be required to attend trade schools of 15 217 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY some sort, at least part of the time, if they are at work, and all of the time, if they are not at work, the situation would be very different. The compul- sory continuation schools of Germany, particularly of Munich, are organized and administered to meet this need. The fact that they do not seek to train merely for a narrow skill but for intelligent craftsmanship and the keen joy in work which goes with it, and, more than all, for the life of good citizens, shows on what broad social lines that nation conceiyes the prob- lem of vocational education. CHAPTER XIII VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE AN AID TO SOCIAL EFFICIENCY Vocational Guidance. — The correlate of vocational education is vocational guidance. It is not sufficient to give boys and girls the proper training for a call- ing. The machinery of public education must be ex- tended until it can exercise some oversight of the vocational adjustment of those whom it has trained at such expense. As Bloomfield says: "The social protection of the young ceases artificially and arbi- trarily when the school working certificate is granted. This ought not to continue so. On the contrary, should not the few years after leaving school be the time for the most careful scrutiny by the public? While the school authorities are given increasing re- sources to train their charges for the demands of modem vocational life, should they not be likewise empowered to deal with abuse and misapplication of society's expensively trained product?" * And so the theory and the practice of vocational guidance have gradually developed. It promises to be- come a valuable adjunct of our public school policy, and a most important means of furthering the ideal of social efficiency. The work of securing adequate vocational adjustment involves many interesting problems in the study of human nature and of the opportunities as afforded by the modern community ♦ Vocational Guidance of Youth. 219 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY for work of various kinds. And yet, in time past, the whole question of vocational adjustment has been curiously neglected. Conditions of Vocational Success. — Success in a call- ing obviously demands two things : first, that it should be selected with reference to one's capacities, and, secondly, that these capacities should be trained to be as effective as possible in the chosen direction. While some attention has been given to the latter point, the first one has scarcely been approached, hitherto, in a really scientific spirit. Parents and teachers have failed to see that the interests, even of the child, were capable of being studied with any assurance of their revealing his adult capacity. The choice of a life work has been left to all sorts of chance circum- stances, such as the father's vocation, or the example of some admired and successful man. Children and youths have been allowed to drift along, postponing from year to year what might be settled comparatively early. The result is all sorts of pitiful misfits, all sorts of ineffective applications of valuable energy. In the present state of civilized society, with its com- plicated divisions of labor, it is harder than ever for the youth to find out where he can best take hold and do a man's part. More than ever does the need ap- pear for wise counsel by those older than himself, partly that he may know himself better, and partly that he may understand something of the variety of opportunities open for new workers. Vocational Direction in New York. — One is natur- ally appalled by the magnitude of the problem. But it is none the less needful to do something to solve it, and, when one begins to look into it, one is sur- 220 VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE prised by the many comparatively simple things that can be done in the way of a beginning. It is better to do a little in the right direction than nothing. For some years the "High School Teachers' Association" of New York City has had a "Students' Aid Com- mittee", which has systematically endeavored to se- cure the favorable vocational adjustment of the young men and women leaving the high schools. With this end in view, it has studied various occupations, se- cured information as to the types of young people wanted, the qualifications especially desired, the initial wages, and the opportunities afforded for advance- ment, etc. Much of this information has been pub- lished in the form of inexpensive pamphlets and leaf- lets, such as. Choosing a Vocation, A Circular of Information for Boys, and a similar one for girls; Accountancy as a Profession, and many others. These pamphlets contain brief bibliographies of books avail- able in the libraries explaining various employments. The committee also endeavors to bring the attention of employers to "the fact that the schools are willing and ready to help them select suitable recruits for their service". It offers aid to deserving students in secur- ing vacation employment and work in and out of school hours, advises with those who are either ready, or who are obliged, to leave school about the choice of vocations and how they can best fit themselves for their chosen life work. By a study of "help wanted" advertisements and by occasionally going with boys to answer them, they have found that there is great need that these young- sters be protected and advised, lest they fall victims to unscrupulous employers. After securing positions 221 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY for such as want help they follow them up to see that they both do their best and receive square deals. When a student has difficulty his case is studied and the help or advice he needs is' offered. In the preced- ing chapter we noted some phases of the work of this committee and some of the problems that arise in the vocational adjustment of the students. No one can read the accounts of its work without being convinced that it is of the very greatest social impor- tance and that it is a natural and necessary extension of the public school enterprise in a very great city. The committee regards the work as having passed beyond the experimental stage and recommends the appointment of a vocational director, who will be assisted by specially qualified teachers in every large high school. These teachers should act as vocational advisers in the schools. To do this they must be allowed time in the school program for their extra duties and be given facilities for keeping records of the students who go out, and for collecting necessary information as to opportunities for employment, etc. The Boston Vocation Bureau. — The well-known "Vo- cation Bureau", of Boston, was started in connection with settlement work by the late Professor Frank Parsons. His book, Choosing a Vocation, is a valu- able work for any high school library. It contains helpful questions, by means of which a youth may be set to thinking of himself with reference to his fu- ture work, and analyses of the personal characteris- tics needful for success in many lines of work. Not the least suggestive portion of the book is the collec- tion of sample interviews of the counselor with ac- tual applicants for help. Along with this book every 222 VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE teacher, or at least every superintendent and princi- pal, should read Bloomfield's Vocational Guidance of Youth,* in which the social need of this type of ser- vice is pointedly discussed and many sidelights upon the practical working-out of the idea in connection with the public schools are set forth. Its Appeal to Business Men. — It is interesting to note that the work has appealed so strongly to the business men of Boston that the Chamber of Com- merce, in the autumn of 1910, held a Conference on Vocational Guidance, which was attended by persons from many parts of the country, who wished to get in touch with the work in Boston. The School Com- mittee of that city has also invited the Vocation Bu- reau to formulate a plan of cooperation with the pub- lic school officials. The plan suggested was adopted by the School Committee, and, with the assistance of the Superintendent of Schools, much interesting work along the line of vocational guidance has been started. At the end of a year the Vocational Commit- tee of school masters reported, for instance, that a general interest in vocational direction has been aroused among the Boston teachers; a vocational counselor or committee of such counselors had been appointed in every high school and in all but one of the elementary schools; vocational card records of every elementary school graduate for the year had been made and forwarded to the high schools ; stimu- lating vocational lectures had been given to many of the elementary school graduating classes ; vocational libra- ries had been started, the cooperation of philanthropic societies and of prominent men in the city had been * Riverside Educational Monograph Series. 223 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY secured, students had been helped and meetings with the teachers had been held. They emphasize espe- cially the need of further enlightenment of parents, teachers, and pupils on the problems of choosing vo- cations. The Parents' Associations of Boston have already shown their interest in the undertaking. Vocational Record Cards. — The cards, prepared by the Boston Vocation Bureau, are especially interest- ing and significant. They are herewith reproduced : * ELEMENTARY SCHOOL VOCATIONAL RECORD CARD Name School and Class Date of birth Parent's name Residence Parent's plans for pupil Pupil excels in or likes what subjects? Pupil fails in or dislikes what subjects? Physique Pupil's plan (a trade, a profession, business) Attend school, or work next year ? What school ? Intend to graduate from that school ? After High School, what? (College — Tech. — Normal — Evg. High — Trade School or Spec. School.) * For permission to reproduce these cards and the other material of the Boston Vocation Bureau, I am indebted to the courtesy of Mr. Meyer Bloomfield. They are reproduced from his Vocational Guidance of Youth. 224 i VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE HIGH SCHOOL VOCATIONAL RECORD CARD First Year (Oct. i) Name From School Entered Object in attending High School? Docs intend to graduate? What school after High? Normal ? Technical ? College ? Preparing for business, trade, or profession ? Greatest aptitude ? Third Year (Oct. i) Have you changed plans since first year ? If so, what are they ? Their Value. — The value of such records, aside from the information regarding each pupil thus made avail- able, is in setting the boys and girls in the upper ele- mentary and high school grades to thinking seriously of their future. The importance of early interests with reference to a possible life calling is recognized. The suggestion is left with the elementary pupil that his continuance in school is desirable, and he is led to think that the choice of the school he is to attend the next year may have a definite bearing upon his later choice of a vocation. The high school card 225 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY which secures written statements from the pupil in his first and third years serves to keep the matter be- fore his attention and furnishes an important stimulus to steadfastness of purpose, not only in remaining in school, but in working during his high school days toward some definite end. The Boston Home and School Association has endeavored to enlist the seri- ous thought of the parents as to their children's fu- tures by sending to them the following questionaires : QUESTIONAIRE FOR PARENTS OF HIGH SCHOOL PUPILS 1. Are you going to send your boy (or girl) to college? 2. If so, what college, and why? 3. Have you in view any occupation for which you wish to train your boy (or girl) ? 4. What occupation do you think your boy (or girl) is most adapted to? Has your boy (or girl) received any training in preparation for this occupation? QUESTIONAIRE FOR PARENTS OF CHILDREN IN THE EIGHTH GRADE 1. Are you intending to send your boy (or girl) to high school ? 2. If so, what high school, and why? 3. Have you in view any occupation for which you wish to train your boy (or girl) ? 4. What occupation do you think your boy (or girl) is most adapted to? Has your boy (or girl) received any training in preparation for this occupation? The following is a sample of the type of investiga- tion of various occupations undertaken by the Voca- tion Bureau of Boston: 226 VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE VOCATIONS FOR BOSTON BOYS Nature of occupation: Shoe manufacture. Date of inquiry: July i, 1910. Name of firm Address Superintendent or employment manager Total number of employees : J ^ e . . . . ,/j I Female . . ^,280 Number of boys, 1,200; girls, 1,000. Has there been a shifting in relative numbers of each? No, There is a fixed work for each. Pay Wages of various groups, and ages? Erraiid boys, coun- ters, carriers, 14 years old, $3.30; assemblers, as- sistants, pattern boys, 16 years, $3.30 to $6.00; lasters, 20 years, $6.00 to $y.oo; other work, 20 years or more, $8.00 to $12.00 for young men in early employment. Wages at beginning? $3.50 to $6.00. Seasonal? By year. Hours per day? 7:50 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. To 12 m. on each Saturday in summer. One hour nooning. Rate of increase? This is very irregular, averaging $1.00. (a) On what dependent? Not at all on age, but on ability and position filled, or on increase in skill in a certain process. (b) Time or piece payment, any premiums or bonus? 66 per cent, payment. Premium on certain lines for quality and quantity of work, neatness of departments, etc. 227 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY Boys How are boys secured? By application to firm, by ad- vertising, and by employees. It is impossible to Und enough. Their ages? Fourteen years and up. Previous jobs? Nearly all boys come into this industry from school. A few come from other shoe factories, or from retail shoe stores. Previous schooling ? Grammar school, or a certificate of literacy, or attendance at night school must be pre- sented. Are any continuing this training? Yes. Where? In public evening schools, Y. M. C. A. classes, and Continuation School in Boston. The Industry A. Physical conditions ? Most sanitary, mith modern im- provements and safeguards, with hospital depart- ment and trained nurse, B. What variety of skill required? Sofue mechanical skill. The ordinary boy of good sense can easily learn all processes. C. Description of processes (photos if possible) ? Er- rand boys, counters, carriers, assemblers, assistants, pattern boys, tasters, trimmers, and work dicing, zvelting, and ironing shoes. Also in office, salesman, foreman, manager, or superintendent. D. What special dangers? Machinery ? The chief da/nger arises from careless- ness. Dust? Modern dust removers are used. Moisture? Not to excess. Hard labor? Steady labor, rather than hard, 228 VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE Strain? Not excessive. Monotony? Considerable on automatic machines. Competrtive conditions of industry? Nezv England is a great center of the shoe industry. There is extreme competition, hut luith a world market. Future of industry? The future of a staple product in universal demand. What chance for grammar school boy ? He would begin at the bottom as errand boy. High school graduate? In office or in wholesale depart- ment, to become salesman or manager. Vocational school graduate? Trade school, giving fac- tory equipment, would be best. What opportunity for the worker to show what he can do in other departments? The superintendent and foreman study the boy and place him where it seems best for him and for the arm. ^, Tests What kind of boy is desired? Honest, bright, healthy, strong. Boys living at home are preferred. What questions asked of applicant? As to home, educOr- tion, experience, and why leaving any former posi- tion. What tests applied? For office work, writing, and figuring. What records kept (collect all printed questionaires and records) ? Name, address, age, nationality, married or single, living at home or boarding, pay, date of entering and of leaving. Union or non-union? Open shop. Comment of employer : Education is better for the hoy and for us, 229 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY Will he take boys sent by Vocation Bureau? Yes. Will he attend V. B. conferences if asked? Gladly. Comment of foreman : Employment bureaus have failed us. We look everywhere for hoys, hut find fezv such as we want. The average hoy can apply himself here so as to he well placed in life. Comment of boys: We have a howling alley, reading room, and library, park, and much to make service here pleasant. It is something like school still. We mean to stay. Piece-work will give us good pay by the time we are twenty years old. Health Board comments: Inhaling naphtha from ce- ments and dust from leather-working machines and overcrowding and overheating workrooms are to be guarded against in this occupation. The danger of each injurious process may he prevented by proper care. The information thus secured is filed on "white cards when it presents normal conditions, on yellow cards when the occupation is undesirable for any rea- son, and on red cards when objectionable or danger- ous". It is also put in narrative form and furnished to the teachers in the schools. Vocational Direction Possible Everywhere. — The study of the work in New York and Boston should be very helpful to school officers everywhere. Not that it may be carelessly initiated, but because it is suggestive of many things which can be done, even in small towns and with limited means. Every grammar and high school principal can inform himself as to what is actually being done in the larger centers. He can talk to his pupils and teachers of the importance of wise choice of a life work; he can point out the per- 230 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY sonal qualities which make for failure and success. He can make a beginning of a collection of books and other literature suitable for the use of his school, bearing upon the choice of vocations. He can explain to them the use of such material and direct them in the reading of it at proper times. Moreover, in almost every locality, there are men and women who can be asked to talk to the school occa- sionally upon the openings afforded by their particu- lar lines of work. There is no good reason why parents, also, in every community should not be in- terested in these things, either by questionaires, or, better still, through the meetings and discussion which may be made possible through Parent-teacher Asso- ciations. This is not the place to enter into such a subject in greater detail. It is sufficient to point the way and to emphasize the whole movement for vocational adjust- ment as one of the significant and necessary phases of public school education and an important influence in the practical realization, in a larger number of boys and girls, of the ideal of social efficiency. CHAPTER XIV THE METHOD OF INSTRUCTION AS DETER- MINED BY THE SOCIAL IDEAL Social Ideal Must Affect Instruction. — It will not be amiss to say again that an educational program, defi- nitely planned along social lines, must not merely recognize the social factor in the external relations of the school to the community and in the activities of the pupils within the school itself, which lie outside the immediate work of preparing and reciting lessons. It must also extend the social ideal to the studies them- selves and to the work of teaching and study. In the three preceding chapters we have considered the studies and then* possible relations to life in general and to the vocational motive in particular. We turn now to the social aspects of teaching and learning. These aspects are of great practical importance, and are quite as needful of our attention as the phases having to do with the subject-matter itself. Whether the school is to produce socially efficient individuals or not depends very largely upon the opportunities afforded in its regular work for real social partici- pation. Individual Instruction As is well known, the teacher is very apt to expect his pupils to study as individuals and to recite as individuals. The class is regarded as merely an expedient for economically 232 THE METHOD OF INSTRUCTION handling large numbers of pupils, and not as in itself a means of practical value for efficient learning. We hear a great deal to-day of the need of more individual instruction, especially in the case of the backward and the very bright pupils. Some interesting school pro- grams have been worked out, with a view to depend- ing altogether upon individual instruction, or with a view, at least, of affording to certain pupils a large amount of personal attention. We should not fail to recognize the value of all such efforts. There is no doubt much need in all schools for just this sort of thing. The difficulties which pupils have in their work are, in the last analysis, individual difficulties. Moreover, all pupils cannot go at the same rate, and it is right that each one should make the best progress he can. The bright pupil should not be held back simply to keep a more slowly moving class uniform. Nor should the slower pupil be hurried ahead to keep up with his class, whether he comprehends the work the class is doing or not. In the latter case the result is almost inevitable that the pupil will fail of promo- tion and will be obliged to repeat the work of his grade, going again over what he may know, as well as over what he may not know. What such a pupil needs is either to go at a slower rate in the first place or to be given the indizndual assistance he needs so that he may be able to keep up zi/ith his class. Socialized Instruction. — Let us, then, recognize to the full the need of individual instruction. But, along with this, we must not neglect also the social phases of instruction. The exceptionally backward and the exceptionally bright pupils will receive quite as posi- tive benefits from group work and from participation l« 233 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY in a class as will the ordinary pupils. All alike will be benefited by socialized, as well as by individual, in- struction and neither can be ignored in a good school program. Here our problem is to work out the social values and to determine ways of realizing them. Principles Underlying It. — First of all let us note certain underlying principles. All people, whether children or adults, when they come together for any sort of work are bound to influence one another in very real ways. They form what are technically called social groups. The work accomplished by a social group is not merely the sum of all the bits of work done by the individuals contained in it. It may be more and it may be less, according to the way the group works. The different members may interfere with each other y through lack of proper coordination of the individual efforts. They may also actually help one another to do more.. The latter condition is the ideal toward which every well-developed company of workers should strive. Group Influence. — The influence of one person upon another can be analyzed and illustrated in many dif- ferent directions, but we shall confine ourselves defi- nitely to school work and to learning processes. It has been shown by careful investigators, for example, that children in various types of mental and physical tasks do better when working in groups than when working alone. And this is true, even when the task is seemingly quite dependent upon individual effort. It has been found that in regular assignments the saving of time in group work over individual work is considerable. In specially prepared exercises in memorizing it has been found, particularly with the 234 THE METHOD OF INSTRUCTION younger children of eight and nine, that much better resuhs are attained when they work together in the same room, though not consciously assisting each other, than when they work alone. Some investigators think that a higher degree of concentration of atten- tion is possible with a group of pupils, even though each one may be engaged separately, than when one is at work alone. A certain momentum of attention is acquired, which seems to he efficient in resisting dis- tractions which would disturb the isolated worlzer. It has been suggested, therefore, that the ordinary noises of the school-room and the hum of busy pupils are a positive help rather than a hindrance to the in- dividual worker. The pupils in a class, even though they appear to be occupied separately, are really "in a sort of mental rapport; they hear, see, and know continually what the others are doing, and, thus, real class work is not a mere case of individuals working together, and their performance the summation of the work of many individuals; but there is a sort of class spirit, so that, in the full sense of the word, one can speak of a group performance, which may be compared with an individual performance. The pupils are members of a community of workers. The indi- vidual working by himself is a different person. . . . The child studying school tasks at home is relatively isolated ; in the class he is one of a social group with common aims." * In one experiment it was found that the pupils did * Professor W. H. Burnham, "The Group as a Stimulus to Mental Activity," Science, N. S., Vol. 13, pp. 761-766. The data in all these paragraphs is drawn largely from the above article. 235 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY not do as well in a test when the teacher was present. This suggests an interesting question: Why should the teacher have been a disturbing factor? It may have been due to a common attitude pupils have toward their teachers. They regard teachers not as sympathetic co-workers, but as task-masters, as per- sons who are watching them to detect faults and mis- takes. No one can doubt that the presence of such a person when one is trying to do something is a real obstacle to good work. The teacher, whose predomi- nant attitude is critical, renders the children self- conscious, and more likely to make mistakes than if the attitude is friendly and helpful. Value of Group-work. — The results of many differ- ent experiments clearly indicate, then, that there is real value in group-work, and that school-study, other things being equal, gives better results than home- study. These experiments do not, of course, discoun- tenance home-study, for that has its place and is often very needful to supplement particular phases of school-work. What they do point to is the positive value of group-activity. In recognizing this value, we should admit also that there are differences in pupils, and that, while group-work is effective for many, there are really some pupils of a less social temper, and, possibly, of nervous dispositions, who do not as readily fit in with others, and who are actually dis- turbed by them. Why ValuaWe. — It would be interesting to deter- mine all the factors which tend to make group-work efficient. Some of them will readily occur to the reader. The mere sight of other people busily en- gaged about us acts as a suggestion upon ourselves. 236 THE METHOD OF INSTRUCTION Without doubt the factor of rivalry enters in, often half consciously, but none the less effectively. The forces which play upon us when we are engaged with others are subtle and yet real. For example, there is the indefinable social atmosphere of the school it- self. It may be one of cheerful industry, of optimism, of success, or it may be less stimulating, if not actu- ally depressing. We always do better when we work with those who are cheerful and hopeful. The Interplay of Personality. — The play of one per- sonality upon another in the school is constant, al- though it is not always possible to specify every detail of that influence. Some children, as well as some adults, are more susceptible to certain influences than to others. The bad humor of the teacher is mentally depressing to some; others may not mind it. In no place, more than in the school-room, are poise and buoyant self-control more needful. Every word, every intonation, every gesture, every expression of trust or of distrust, helps or hinders in some degree the work of the pupils. It bears a definite relation to the intellectual work of the pupils as well as to their general deportment. A teacher can do much to in- spire his pupils with enthusiasm for the various tasks. Difficult things may be learned, hard problems solved, with no great thought of the difficulty, because the difficulty has not been emphasized. To tell a pupil that he has a hard task may sometimes be wise, but not always. Sometimes such a thought prevents his succeeding with it as quickly as he otherwise might. An Example. — A very good illustration of the un- conscious influence of a stimulating social atmosphere 237 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY in learning is given in Jastrow's Fact and Fable in Psychology. At the time of the Tenth Census, ma- chines for tabulating the returns were used in the offices in Washington. The use of these machines was complicated, in that it required of the operator that he remember a large number of arbitrary symbols and that he be able quickly to insert a key in the proper hole, which was one of about two hundred and fifty. It was thought that, after suitable training, a person might be able to punch as many as five hun- dred and fifty cards per day. This was actually ac- complished after several weeks spent in practice on the symbols and in using the machine. This record was also surpassed in time, but with much nervous strain. It was generally admitted that the work was hard. After some weeks about two hundred addi- tional operators were secured to handle the rapidly increasing volume of reports, which were to be tabu- lated. These new people were set to work among the trained clerks with no preliminary training and with no warning that the work was particularly difficult. They simply saw others working at a fairly rapid pace. In three days some of these "green" recruits had caught up with the "old hands", and the first records were soon broken. Before the end of the work, as many as two thousand two hundred and thirty cards in one day were punched by one of the new clerks, with no evidence of the nervous strain which was at first so marked in the others. What- ever else this incident may illustrate, it shows at least the power over a learner of a social atmosphere in which the thing to be learned is going on smoothly and efficiently. The best condition of learning many 238 THE METHUD UF LNSTKUCIlUN things quickly is merely to be with, and practice with, those who already know how. Higher Types of Group-work. — Thus far we have dwelt only on the mental stimulus which comes by working at one's task with others who are also at work upon their own tasks. Much of the social value of school and of class work is of this type. It is, however, only the beginning of the story of the value of group- work. The influence of one upon another is greatly enhanced when there can be definite com- munication, exchange of ideas, and discussion, and especially where the work is something that lends itself to cooperative endeavor. The old Hebrew prov- erb tells us that, just as iron sharpens iron, a man's countenance is sharpened by his friend. This is true of all the interplay of mental activities in a group of people who are occupied with a common undertaking or problem. Social Contact Stimulates Mental Development. — It is certainly true that much of our acuteness of judgment and of reasoning is gained by contrasting our ideas, through discussion and argument, with those of other people. The actual interplay of minds in a good con- versation, or discussion, affords valuable data for ex- plaining and controlling the development of efficiency of mind in the individual. What our individual minds would be like without this social interplay from child- hood throughout life we cannot say, because a com- pletely isolated existence is impossible. But we can see the effects of degrees of isolation. We do know that one who habitually shuts himself off from com- munication with others cannot attain a mind of high social efficiency, and that such a one is usually marked 239 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY by individual peculiarities of questionable value, even to himself. It is, then, in communication and cooperation that we find an indispensable means of both individual and social development. The stimulating power of con- versation, the enlargement of one's capacity for work, the increase of personal initiative and enthusiasm, and, withal, the restraining influence upon individual caprice, through work with others, all these are marked characteristics of all social life outside the school. The problem of socializing school-method is in large measure the problem of adjusting the tasks so that opportunities may be afforded within the school which are similar to those afforded in the life outside. Application to School Work. — To begin with, the work of study and of recitation must be recognized by the teacher, and, if possible, by the pupil, as a series of social undertakings. It w'this, in fact, even in the poorest school, but a value unrecognized falls far short of the influence it would have if recognized. If it is consciously appreciated it may be developed and expanded. In the ordinary study and recitation of lessons the social influences are largely of the unconscious variety described in the first part of this chapter. They are the influences which occur just because children and teachers are working together, even though at individual tasks. Each child is at work for himself and each one displays in the recita- tion, perhaps with exultation, perhaps with apathy, his own individual accomplishment. But very much more would he accomplished if these tasks were made opportunities for definite social cooperation. 240 THE METHOD OF INSTRUCTION Value in "Outside" Life. — When people work to- gether in performing a task outside of school, for example, in building a house or making a shoe, a better result is attained than if they worked sepa- rately. Nor does the single person work with any less intensity because his efforts are interwoven with the efforts of others. In just the same way could not the acquisition of such a subject as geography or algebra be expedited, and could not more actually be acquired in a given time through cooperation than through depending solely upon individual effort? Are School Conditions Different? — The critical reader will at once object that the conditions are different. He will say that what each pupil gets he must get for himself through his own efforts. This is true, and yet it is only half the truth. We do not suggest that any pupil shall work less. If cooperative work meant diminished effort for each one, there would be no profit in it. But when all minds are active, when each one is contributing something to the solution of the difficulty or to the development of the point, then the residt belongs to all alike, all alike profit by it; each one has not only the result of his own endeavor, but he shares also in what the others have contributed. The tendency to depreciate cooperation in school tasks grows out of distorted forms of cooperation, where, for instance, one pupil does all the thinking and the others merely sit by and attempt to absorb — a procedure which is, of course, of no great educational value. School Studies as Material for Personal Intercourse. — As has been said by one student of social problems : "The scientific task to which education should set it- 241 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY self is that of making the subject-matter of its in- struction the material of personal intercourse between pupils and instructors and between the children them- selves, the substitution of the converse of concrete in- dividuals for the pale abstractions of thought." * How can the studies lend themselves to such a trans- formation? How can they become material for per- sonal intercourse? In reply, let us remember that all the studies, as they exist in social experience, in the world outside the school, are precisely this. They were built up through social intercourse, and their existence and value for society are dependent upon their continuing to play a part in the varied forms of social communication and activity. Every one of these forms of social experience, when crystallized in a study for children, contains abundant material for co- operative work. Every study contains sufficient ma- terial for any amount of discussion and interchange of ideas. G-eography.— Geography, for example, is not a modi- cum of more or less dry information to be religiously learned. It extends far beyond the covers of the largest book. The fact that some geographical in- formation happens to be put in a text-book is only an incidental feature of the subject itself. With this larger view of the subject, the teacher finds manifold opportunities for each pupil to contribute something of his own to the various topics taken up by the class. The study of rivers, of irrigation, of moun- tains, of the commerce of New York, of the cotton industry of the South, or of the wheat industry of * G. H. Mead, "The Psychology of Social Consciousness Implied in Instruction," Science, N. S. Vol. 13, pp. 688-693. 242 THE METHOD OF INSTRUCTION the North, are so many chances for collective work, and, altogether, they are subjects affording abundant opportunities for interchange of ideas and for general discussion. In recitation, these pupils are not simply quizzed on what they individually remember from the same book. They rather meet and talk together and with the teacher about what they have found out, and further meanings are discovered through questions and discussions. Someone will object that there is a certain sub- stratum of geographical fact which each child must learn and be tested for individually. We reply by the question, is not this mastery by each individual of a certain set of facts largely a delusion, even where it is most conscientiously enforced by the teacher? Does not the information that is actually acquired and does not the thoughtful attitude of mind, as far as any has been really developed, come through the communi- cation and discussion rather than through any isolated effort of the individual pupils? Personal Intercourse Assures Mastery. — In other words, the making of the actual subject- matter of the text-book into ''material for personal intercourse" be- tween members of the class is the very best way to insure its mastery by each pupil. What each one gets in this "give and take" of conversation and discus- sion, one learns much more thoroughly and remem- bers longer than that which one acquires through be- ing formally questioned by the teacher. His action in the class is social participation. What he learns he learns in the normal way that all people acquire in- formation outside of school. Moreover, he gets valu- able experience in social activity, and this is fully as 243 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY important as any particular set of facts which he may learn, if not more so. Exaggerated Importance of Facts. — All of us who teach tend to place an exaggerated valuation upon facts as such. We admit, in theory, that the school should teach facts, not because they are good in them- selves, but because they are to be used, because, in some mysterious way, the pupil should gain "power" and mental discipline. The point here raised is that these desirable results are not practically realized by merely memorizing information and learning lessons, nor are they realized by each child's working them out for himself alone, no matter how thoughtful he may be, no matter how far he advances beyond just committing his lessons to memory. The learning which brings to the child that which all teachers ad- mit he should really get out of his school studies is the learning that goes on within a vital social medium; it is that which gives to him, as he learns, the oppor- tunity to use facts as he is supposed to use them when he leaves school. Social Influences Always Present. — It was stated above that, even in the worst school, the social factor enters into the learning processes. This is simply be- cause none of us can do anything in conjunction with others without being affected, at least in some degree, by them. But when the positive value of social inter- course is not recognized, it is very apt to find expres- sion in ways that hinder rather than help learning. For instance, it is often thought that the ideal school- situation is the one in which the personality of the teacher disappears as completely as possible. If the pupil is conscious of the teacher, it is only in the arti- 244 THE METHOD OF INSTRUCTION ficial, unnatural relation expressed by a quizmaster, or by one who is watching the pupil for breaches of "good order", or to bring his lagging attention back to his work. But Sometimes Baneful. — There is a social relation, an interaction of minds, in the situation described above, but it is of a low order. It distracts rather than helps in the work in hand. There is no feeling of friendly cooperation. The pupil conceives the teacher as one set over against himself, with different interests from his own. Since the teacher is identi- fied in his mind with one trying to make him learn his lessons, he forthwith ceases to find his own inter- ests in the lessons, but rather in various activities ex- ternal to his lessons, and even opposed to them. In- stead of devoting himself to his assigned work with all his childish zeal, he gets as much of it as he has to, and devotes his main energies to the pursuit of other and possibly conflicting ends. Even if the pupil is diligent in his work and is praised by the teacher, that approval does not bear any essential relation to the subject-matter itself. It may be only an external bribe. It is far different from the real satisfaction and the approval that come to one in the best types of social cooperation. The satisfaction and joy, for ex- ample, that come spontaneously to the boy who plays a real and valuable part on the athletic team are far more worth while. The approval or the disapproval of the captain of the team and of one's fellow mem- bers is an organic part of the regular team activity. A Concrete Case. — This enlistment of the child's best energies in the actual work of the school studies, with its attendant character- forming influence and its real 245 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY satisfaction in accomplishment, is well illustrated in the experiment of a history teacher, Miss Lotta A. Clark, of the Charlestown, Massachusetts, High School. For the past nine years she has taught his- tory as a collective undertaking on the part of the class. We do not suggest that her method can in every detail be imitated by all history teachers. That is a matter which can be decided only by study of local conditions and by the varying personalities of the teachers themselves. We feel sure, however, that every teacher can get many practical suggestions from Miss Clark's method. It is a concrete illustration of how at least one teacher made the subject she was teaching "material of personal intercourse" between pupils. It is the spirit of such undertakings that is to be imitated, and this can be successfully done only by a study of many actual experiments in the school- room. We cannot do better than quote a part of Miss Clark's account of her scheme after it had been in operation for five years : * A History Teacher's Experiment After having taught history in the high school for six years, I determined to have the courage of my convic- tions for one year, at least, and to give my pupils a fair chance to take the responsibility of their work and to do it in their own way. Up to this time I had conducted my lessons in the usual way, had planned the lesson be- forehand, collected what illustrative material I could, and in the class had asked the questions, explained the difficulties, and carried the burden of the work on my *Tke School Review, 17; 255 — "A Good Way to Teach History." 246 THE METHOD OF INSTRUCTION shoulders. The pupils had answered the questions, but rarely asked any, and had had no chance to get the real benefit of being responsible for the continuity and prog- ress of the work, nor to plan, investigate or discuss it on their own account. I determined that the class should be a social group of young people and should have an opportunity to do just those things, i. c, to cooperate — to work together — and to give each individual a chance to do anything which he particularly wanted to do. It seemed impossible at first to get a chance to try this group work ; the conditions in the high school make it difficult. Instead of having the same pupils for five hours each day, we have a different set every hour, and they are with us but forty-five minutes. Some of these classes we see only three times a week, and, as a number of them are preparing for college and normal school, there is not a moment to be wasted. Furthermore, I did not feel warranted in trying any experiment which would unsettle the classes and make them harder to control in other recitations. In spite of all this, however, I determined to give the social group work a fair trial. I talked the matter over with the classes, showed them why the lessons we had been having were unsatisfactory, and asked them how they would like to try the experiment of running their history lessons themselves. The novelty of the idea pleased them, and after considerable informal discussion we decided to carry on our relations in the form of busi- ness meetings such as any group of people would have who had come together to accomplish a piece of work. A chairman was appointed from the class and there was something of a sensation when I exchanged chairs with him. He appointed a committee to nominate candidates for president, vice-president, and secretary. These offi- 247 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY cers were elected by ballot for one month, and their duties were decided upon by the class and written down in a simple constitution. We had an amusing time when they tried to decide what they ought to do with me. I told them I should do just as little as possible in the class, in order that they might have all the time and opportunity there was. They finally decided to call me "the executive officer,'' with power to exercise full au- thority if necessity required. It was surprising to see the change in the whole at- mosphere of the recitations which this order of things brought about. The pupils were timid at first and I trembled for the result, but after a lesson or two they became used to it, and the work went on with far more ease and spirit that I had dared hope it would. Here is a brief sketch of the new kind of recitation: ( I ) The president called the class to order and called the roll. (2) He asked for the secretary's report, which was corrected by the class and formally accepted. (3) The president asked if there were any unfinished business. If so, that was taken up first; if not, (4) The lesson of the day was called for. Whoever wished to arose, addressed the chair, and began to de- scribe the historical events in the lesson. If he made a mistake or omitted anything, another pupil who noticed it arose, and, when recognized by the president, made the corrections he thought necessary. Sometimes these cor- rections were not correct, or did not go far enough, and several others entered into the discussion. When there were several pupils on the floor at once, the one who was recognized first by the president had the right-of- way and the others had to do the same in turn. That prevented disorder. This part of the Vv^ork proved to be 248 THE METHOD OF INSTRUCTION of preat value. The pupils questioned each other's state- ments, and when they could not agree the point was left over as unfinished business until the next day. In the meantime they consulted authorities to be able to prove their points, and they used their reasoning powers to good advantage. There were all sorts of unexpected, interesting de- velopments as the work went on. Whenever difficulties arose we solved them together. My opinion was con- sidered of no more importance than theirs. When we did not agree I urged them to try their way, so that they might have confidence in their own judgment if they succeeded, or see its weakness if they failed. Sometimes they elected officers who were not efficient and who bungled matters uncomfortably. The pupils. suffered im- mediately and got some pointed lessons in civil govern- ment at first hand. To tell all this sounds as if it must have taken a great deal of time. As a matter of fact, we soon found that we had time to spare. The time which previously had been taken up by the teacher's questions was all saved, and the pupils could easily recite in half an hour what it had taken them an hour to prepare. The reports of the secretary helped considerably with the review work, and as the class grew more critical of both the history and the English of these reports the secretaries grew more careful, and very often we had reports read with which no fault could be found. The roll-call and report were sometimes finished in five minutes, the lesson of the day in thirty more, and we found ourselves with ten minutes to spare. There were various suggestions as to what we had bet- ter do with the extra time. One was that they take longer lessons, and this led us into the habit of letting 17 249 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY them assign their own lessons, and they almost always took longer ones than I had been in the habit of assign- ing them. Another suggestion was that the scholars col- lect pictures and show them to the class during spare minutes. One boy said he didn't have much luck find- ing pictures, but he would like to read things in other books and tell them to the class. A girl asked if she might draw some pictures from a book in the library, and another boy asked me to get permission for him to take photographs at the Art Museum of the casts that related to our work. We did all these things and many more, and these suggestions led to the richest develop- ment of all in the work of that year. They formed them- selves into little volunteer clubs, met at recess and after school, and considered what they could do to contribute things of interest to the lessons. There were drawing clubs, camera clubs, and the club that brought in pic- tures and newspaper clippings and gave interesting ac- counts which they had read called themselves the "Side- lights Club." We used the last half of the last lesson each week for the reports of these clubs. They all did well for beginners, but the work of the drawing clubs was truly remarkable. Never before have I had such beautiful illustrative material. A point worth noting is that some of the finest drawings were made by the poor- est talkers. This teacher further says: The discipline of these three classes was the easiest I had ever had, and it became almost unnecessary as the years went on. . . . And what was the teacher's part in this new order of things ? She was learning the truth of the statement that "no teacher is equal to the dynamic 250 THE METHOD OF INSTRUCTION force of the class before her." Her time and energy were taxed to the utmost to utilize all that the pupils produced, to help to get materials for them, to find and suggest books to be consulted, and to give them credit for the work done. Even the teacher who feels himself bound by the most rigid type of traditional school system will find ways to introduce into his classes something of the social opportunity afforded in these history classes, provided, of course, he feels it is really worth while. CHAPTER XV THE CHARACTER-FORMING INFLUENCE OF GROUP-WORK Broader Applications of Socialization. — We have thus far considered the social phases of ordinary class work and have pointed out ways in which these phases may well be emphasized and extended. The teaching and learning within the school, however, need not be confined to the study and recitation of lessons. There are many other ways by which chil- dren may learn and be taught, aside from these tra- ditional methods. These other ways become more apparent when we study the school as a social group. The most serious difficulty attendant upon the sociali- zation of ordinary class work is that it consists of more or less "set lessons" and dictated exercises. It requires much ingenuity and careful planning on the part of the teacher to secure the best form of social reaction under such circumstances. It can be done, however, as the history teacher quoted in the last chapter has proved. Characteristics of Collective Effort. — A study of vari- ous types of group-work reveals certain characteris- tics which suggest the possibility of further develop- ments within the school. In the best examples of cooperative activity in ordinary life we see people plan- ning and working together at certain common tasks or 252 INFLUENCE OF GROUP-WORK problems which all feel to be vital. They are drawn together voluntarily because each is interested, even though in a different way, in the task in hand. A business enterprise of any sort is a good illustration. A company of people may unite their efforts for the purpose of manufacturing and marketing an article of some sort. Some of them contribute the money; others, inventive skill, and perhaps, as in the old days, labor itself; others have charge of the practical man- agement of the concern. Real life is full of just such voluntary undertakings of varying magnitudes. Their success depends upon individual loyalty, upon skill- ful planning, and upon concentration of effort under proper leadership. Responsibilities of various sorts rest upon each member of the group. Types of Collective Effort. — Now a school which prepares children for real social efficiency must pro- vide much opportunity within its walls for boys and girls to have experience in just this sort of thing. As was pointed out in a previous chapter, the athletic, lit- erary, and social clubs which tend to spring up in every high school give the students much valuable experience in planning and carrying out projects of their own. But these should not be the only oppor- tunities. In the regular school program there should be more chances for children to select problems of their own and to have the responsibility of carrying them out. Such chances would give them a train- ing in social cooperation and would develop in them a sense of personal responsibility and initiative, which the best assigned class work can never accomplish. Professor Scott's Self-organized Groups. — It was with some such need in mind that Professor Colin A. Scott 253 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY tried in various places and with significant results the experiment of *'self -organized group work." * The children in two third-grade rooms, for example, were told by their teachers that if there was anything any of them wanted to do, either singly or in groups, they might arrange to do it, and they would be given a certain amount of time for it during school hours. They were told, however, that they must plan before- hand just how they were going to do it and determine how much time they would need to finish it. The teachers reserved the right to reject any plan which they did not regard as feasible or worth while. Un- der these conditions at first only a few groups of children organized, but, as they more generally under- stood what the teachers meant, and saw the pleasure the first groups were having, almost all the children availed themselves of the opportunity. First, three boys of eight or nine wanted to print, and, after satisfying their teacher that they could ac- tually carry out their plan, they were given a half hour on three mornings in the week to work in the back of the room. One of the conditions was that they should work quietly so as not to disturb the rest of the class which was employed at the seats. Other groups were organized to cook, engage in photogra- phy, to give plays, to typewrite, etc. As time went on, other grades were given similar opportunities and the experiment was even tried with young women in a normal school. For interesting details as to the activities of these various voluntary organizations the reader should consult the accounts in Scott's book. Social Education. We shall attempt here to indicate * Vide his Social Education, Boston, 1908. 254 INFLUENCE OF GROUP-WORK only some of the social values which such work brought to the children. Of course, the chance af- forded the children to exercise their own initiative, both in selecting things to do and in the requirement that they make definite plans, was of the greatest importance as a bit of training for real life. Obstacles Foster Self-dependence. — All sorts of prob- lems, unexpected to the children, but just such as occur in real life, appeared in these little enterprises. For example, too large and unwieldy a group was sometimes formed, and, when they were confronted with the necessity of quitting unless they actually car- ried out their scheme, they arranged among them- selves to reduce their number. Furthermore, the suc- cess or failure of the work did not depend directly on the teachers. When once a plan was approved the children were thrown on their own responsibility in carrying it out, the teachers declining to interfere. If some member of a group did not work harmoni- ously with the others, the group itself had to deal with him. Sometimes such a member was expelled, sometimes he was brought very effectively into line, much more so than if the teacher had used her author- ity to coerce. Difficulties in the way of getting ma- terials to use as wanted had to be met by the children themselves, so also in the proper distribution of indi- vidual responsibility. All of these experiences were so many practical and lasting lessons in real social life. Ordinary School Work Does Not Cultivate Responsi- bility. — In the cultivation of the sense of individual responsibility much regular school work falls sadly short because the teacher feels he must step in, at the first sign of faltering, with suggestions. Or if 255 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY the task seems doomed to failure, after the pupils ''have tried long enough", he feels under obligation to bring it to a successful issue by taking hold himself. This may be proper sometimes, but it should not be the invariable rule. A boy in the manual training room of a certain well-known school was once asked by a visitor what he was making. He replied blithely : ''I don't know, but the teacher does." Such a pupil lacked the sense of complete responsibility for his un- dertaking that he should have had. This lack of responsibility develops into an abnor- mal dependence upon the instructor. Too often the pupils get the idea that it is the teacher's business to interest them and to get them through their work if he can. It is not for them to exert themselves any more than they have to. While such responsibility does rest on the teachers of the elementary grades, the effort should more and more be made, as the higher grades and the high school are reached, to cultivate a different attitude in pupils. In the high school, especially, they should feel that it is as much their duty as the teachers' to take an interest in their work and try to make it successful. The history teacher quoted in the last chapter apparently suc- ceeded admirably in developing such a sense, and its effect upon the efficiency of the class work was notable. , Value of Failure. — Turning again to Scott's experi- ments, we may say that the experience of failure un- der certain conditions is as valuable as success. It should lead the children to look over what they have done to determine the causes of failure and how they might have remedied them. These things they will 25^ INFLUENCE OF GROUP-WORK never realize acutely if they receive help from the teacher as soon as it is apparent that their own efforts do not lead to success. When they pass out into the so-called "real world" they are likely many times to fail in their undertakings. They must, however, meet such experiences with brave hearts, and know how to go ahead profiting by their earlier mistakes. Surely any aid the school can give them in learning how to meet defeat and profit by it is worth while. To quote from Scott: "It is the democratic responsi- bility to one's own ideals and to others on the same social level, and not responsibility to the teacher, which this phase of work aims to cultivate." Cooperation Develops Character. — Individual charac- ter building through social cooperation in these self- organized groups is marked and effective. In the first place, it is a good thing for children to have the experience of doing something worth while which they have planned themselves. The work a child does with enthusiasm and with a sense of self-direction is worth ten-fold more than the same amount of directed work done without seal. Not all of school training can be self-directed, but every school program should be planned so as to give some opportunity for it. The reason why such outside activities as athletics, liter- ary and social clubs are followed so enthusiastically by high school students, often to the detriment of their school work, is that they find here outlets for their craving for cooperation with their peers and for self- direction. The amount of information acquired by the mem- bers of the groups referred to above was in itself suf- ficient to justify the use of a part of the school hours 257 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY in this way. Moreover, the children learned to look at knowledge from a more practical point of view; they learned by the very best of stimuli to think and plan clearly, mainly in order to convince and guide one another in their common undertakings. Individ- ual children, who, if left to work alone, were vacillat- ing, learned the value of steadfastness of purpose and of continued effort. The approval or disapproval of one's peers in every individual act was a strong and lasting inducement to faithful work. School Participation in Results of Group-work. — 'It should be noted also that many of the things accom- plished by these groups were of interest and benefit to other groups and to the school as a whole, as when the boys printed menus or recipes for the girls, or when a dramatic group gave a play for which the entire room would become the appreciative spectators. Influence Upon Teachers. — -The experiments with voluntary groups in the school have a practical inter- est for all teachers, whether they are able to try any- thing of a precisely similar nature or not. In the first place, they may enlarge one's vision as to the method of learning and teaching. We all have needlessly con- stricted views of these matters. We think, when a child is studying, he must be buried in a book or busied with a pencil. The function of teaching we confine largely to hearing pupils recite lessons which they have learned from books. We may strive to have more or less supplementary material, but this is con- ceived only as illustrating the book lesson. That is what we hold the pupils responsible for finally. Of course, there need be no question but that the study and recitation of assigned lessons is an important 258 INFLUENCE OF GROUP-WORK phase of school activity. A certain type of continuous effort is thus cultivated, systematic habits of work may thus be formed, a definite body of information, useful for later work, may be gradually acquired in this way. But such exercises as these, however de- sirable they may be, should not occupy all the chil- dren's time. As has been pointed out, this procedure is apt to leave them more or less dependent upon the teacher. It is fully as necessary for them to learn to plan and carry on simple tasks for themselves. A Common Complaint. — The evil of having done nothing but assigned work is especially evident in those children who reach the upper grades of the high school and the college and the trade or technical schools. It is a common complaint of teachers in these schools that the young people lack initiative in their regular work. They want to be told what to do and how to do it. They show a deplorable lack of power to deal with simple problems for themselves. They still want to be "told" what to do firstly and sec- ondly and thirdly. If some explicit direction of their efforts is not immediately forthcoming they wait list- lessly and even vacantly, instead of trying to do some- thing. A school training, no matter how rigid or exacting, that leaves pupils with this attitude toward their school tasks certainly does not contribute very much to social efficiency. They may gain this power for self-directed effort in other ways, but the conten- tion here is that the regular school work itself should lead more definitely toward this goal. Opportunity of the "Average School." — Even the or- dinary school, pressed to the utmost, as it imagines, to get through a set course of study, could afford to 259 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY reconstruct its program to some extent along these lines, especially when it is realized that such self- directed work may do much to enlarge the children's field of knowledge, as well as develop their sense of personal responsibility and powers of social coopera- tion. For one thing, the teacher can make larger and more systematic use of the general knowledge and outside interests of various sorts. All children come to school with scattering experience and abilities of various sorts. They do not ordinarily find much use for it within the school. A teacher who ''stuck" to the course of study was once asked regarding a bright little boy, who knew a great many things she had never heard of, if she noticed what a wide range of information he had, or if he ever used it in his recita- tions. She replied that she had not noticed it. There was apparently no place in her room for any outside experiences. She saw no organic relationship between everyday life and school tasks. As a matter of fact, there should have been abundant opportunity for this larger out-of -school self to function within the school. A teacher can make large drafts upon this self. Pupils should be constantly expected to make indi- vidual contributions, if not in every study, at least in some of them. Best of all, they should be given chances for cooperation in bringing to the class ma- terial for class discussion. There seems to be no good reason why groups of pupils may not, if they are encouraged to do so, think of things they would like collectively to undertake, to find out more about, or things they would like to do together, which grow directly out of their regular studies. Certainly these studies, if they are worth 260 INFLUENCE OF GROUP-WORK anything at all, should be capable of suggesting all sorts of accessory activities of interest to boys and girls. At first the teacher will have to take more or less of the responsibility of suggesting these possi- bilities. But more and more the pupils will think of them, especially as they experience the joy of doing things themselves. Proposed Scheme Workable. — Our constructive pro- gram is not a revolutionary one. It is simply that all the factors in study and recitation be given due weight. Individual pupils who for various reasons have fallen behind must be given the specific help that will do them the most good. Individual instruction will always be needed. But there must also, in the very nature of the case, be class or group work. We suggest that this be appreciated at its full value. The teacher, even though he thinks otherwise, is not deal- ing with individuals in his classes. All sorts of in- fluences play from one pupil to another. It is normal and right that they should, and these influences con- stitute important assets for the skilled teacher. If his aim is to develop the individual pupils to the fullest extent, he can do it best not by neglecting social forces, but by using them. If his aim is the higher one of training socially efficient men and women, he can still less afford to neglect the opportunities await- ing him, on every side, of utilizing social forces. CHAPTER XVI THE SCHOOL AS A SOCIAL CENTER larger Conceptions of Public Education. — In each chapter, thus far, we have constantly had in mind edu- cational processes as they are ordinarily understood, namely, those which are concerned with the training and instruction of boys and girls in school. Educa- tion is, of course, a much broader affair than this, and one of the striking characteristics of our time is the rapid growth in the public mind of larger ideas of what the schools may legitimately undertake. Almost every movement which has to do with the improve- ment of human conditions is, in one way or another, educational. In our study of social meanings we can- not afford to omit some consideration of these new ways in which the schools are becoming of service to society. Social Center Movement. — The current "social center movement" may be taken as typical of the many broad educational activities which are more or less definitely associated with the public schools. Like many other "movements", it is not entirely new. It represents rather an attempt to conserve and develop certain values which already exist and whose worth has been established. We have referred in other chapters to the desirability of the school's being a center of in- fluence in the community. This was brought out in 262 THE SCHOOL AS A SOCIAL CENTER the discussion of the rural school and of the parent- teacher associations. But the point of emphasis in both these cases was upon the benefit to the school itself of such sympathetic cooperation. It was seen that educational agencies can accomplish better results with the children if they work, not in isolation from the community, but in intimate association with it. But whenever the school attempts to cooperate with external social forces it is sure to discover many new lines of service open to it which extend beyond its work with the children. It discovers that educational needs are not confined to the immature members of society, hut that they extend to every age and condi- tion of adult life. Thus, we may say, the attempts of the school to enlist the active interests of the com- munity in behalf of its boys and girls have given a vision of still more extended services in behalf of the community. The result, everywhere, has been a great enlargement in the conception of the scope and func- tion of public education. According to this "larger view", the influence of the school should extend out in many directions into the surrounding community. It should radiate a wholesome social life, the scope of its efforts should be broadened until old as well as young may have their intellectual life quickened and refreshed. In- deed, an educational scheme animated by the ideal of social efficiency cannot afford to neglect these larger social services. If it should confine its efforts to the children it would soon discover that much of its best work is dissipated and lost through the un- leavened community life into which these children are thrust when they leave school. Moreover, for its 263 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY own sake, the community must needs be infused with better social ideals. Everywhere there are imperfec- tions of adjustment that may be relieved by the schools thus reaching out and showing people how to do what they usually feel the need of but which they are often unable to realize because of lack of suitable leadership. Its Association with Scliools. — Perhaps the social cen- ter movement, in the beginning, tended to be asso- ciated with the school because the school plant itself is public property and there seemed no good reason why the public should not freely use it for all pur- poses connected with its own betterment. This feel- ing was further strengthened by the tradition, still persisting, of the old-time school as a community cen- ter. As expressing the new sentiment regarding the larger use of the school plant, the National Educa- tion Association, in 191 1, passed a resolution favor- ing the use of school houses and grounds outside the regular school hours, as recreation centers for parents as well as children, and their development as "radiat- ing centers of social and cultural activity in the neigh- borhood, in a spirit of civic unity and cooperation". A social service body in New York says : "The com- munity should regard the school building as its prop- erty, to be turned to every possible community use." The United States Bureau of Education is also cham- pioning the idea by "sending out bulletins describing the progress of social and recreation center work throughout the country".* Variety of Types. — The social center idea has de- * Perry, C. A., "Survey of the Social-Center Movement," Elementary School Teacher, Nov., 1912. 264 THE SCHOOL AS A SOCIAL CENTER veloped in different parts of the country in different ways; sometimes under the auspices of school author- ities and sometimes through outside agencies. In some locahties it has been more largely recreational and social in its intent, in others the civic feature has been emphasized, the school houses being used, not only for voting, but also as places where clubs may meet for the discussion of various public and political questions. The Underlying Idea. — Mr. Edward J. Ward, who, through the University of Wisconsin, is now associ- ated with the development of social centers in that state, did his pioneer work in the city of Rochester, New York. The central idea of the work, as he con- ceived it, may well be given in his own words : The social center was not to take the place of any existing institution ; it was not to be a charitable medium for the service particularly of the poor; it was not to be a new kind of evening school; it was not to take the place of any church or other institution of moral uplift; it was not to serve simply as an "improvement associa- tion" by which the people in one community should seek only the welfare of their district; it was not to be a "civic reform" organization, pledged to some change in city or state or national administration; it was just to be the restoration to its true place in social life of that most American of all institutions, the public school cen- ter, in order that through this extended use of the school l)uilding might be developed, in the midst of our com- plex life, the community interest, the neighborly spirit, the democracy that we knew before we came to the city.* ♦ Perry, C. A., Wider Use of the School Plant, pp. 272-3. 18 265 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY Neighborliness Needed. — In the last words of this quotation we have stated the real underlying pur- pose of the movement, namely, to bring people to- gether in a friendly way and promote good fellow- ship through social intercourse, wholesome recreation, and entertainment, and an appeal to intellectual inter- ests. There is, indeed, probably no more vital present- day need, whether in country, town, or city, than for people to assemble occasionally in a spirit of old- fashioned neighborliness. There are various reasons why this is so. The interests of life are becoming so diverse, old social standards and moral restraints are breaking down, people are moving about more gen- erally, large numbers of alien people are constantly coming into our midst. All of these conditions ren- der it difficult for men and women to continue to know each other in a helpful way. And yet such neighborly acquaintance is vitally essential, both to our individual and collective welfare. We naturally crave companionship and sociability. Without it dis- trust and suspicion develop. We lose the feeling that others are like ourselves, or, at least, not so very different from ourselves. Such a living appreciation of our common humanity, underneath diversity of oc- cupation, religion, and social station, is needful for almost every phase of community life. The members of every neighborhood, ward, or city have many common interests at stake which can be realized best through just such friendly confidence and mutual understanding. There is everywhere the need, for instance, of a purer civic life, of better enforce- ment of law, of improved recreational facilities for young and old, of beautifying the community or city, 266 THE SCHOOL AS A SOCIAL CENTER of keeping the schools up to modem standards, of wise poor relief and, withal, there are the manifold problems of public health. These needs can always be dealt with most effectively where people have cul- tivated the art of general neighborliness. Many of the most knotty social problems would be solved if men and women would only get together and learn to know each other. This is, in fact, the first condi- tion of real cooperation in all those things which con- cern their collective life. People are not generally bad or lacking in public spirit, but when they live apart they inevitably acquire distorted ideas of one another and fail to appreciate other points of view than their own. Even the best men and women in a community can seldom see all sides of important questions. Friendly discussion and exchange of ideas are constantly needed as correc- tives. Real community progress depends on collective effort. It may not thus be as rapid as a few clear- headed individuals may desire, but it is bound to be more permanent. Even the most ardent social re- former has need to exchange his ideas with his less alert brothers, not merely for their sake, but for his own. To all of these larger needs of society the **social center" has proved itself able to minister in very direct and efficient ways. Spread of This Idea. — Country and village communi- ties, as well as cities, are awakening to a sense of the value of "getting together" for sociability, recreation, and instruction. So much, however, has been written about the work in the cities that one may get the idea that it is essentially an urban movement, or at least, one may fail to see how it can be developed in smaller 267 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY communities. For this reason, therefore, we shall con- clude our general statement of the need and function of the "social center" by giving an account of the actual progress of the work in a small country town. This account should prove of practical value in many ways. It shows among other things how one community "started". Often all that is needed to get such work under way is a clear idea of how to begin. It shows also what difficulties are apt to be encountered in a village and how these difficulties may be met. It shows what different phases of social service may be undertaken in such a community. It is significant also in that, while it originated to some extent inde- pendently of the public school, it has tended to come into closer and closer relations to the school, until it now promises to be an accepted phase of public edu- cation in that town. THE WEST BRANCH SOCIABILITY ASSO- CIATION * West Branch, Iowa. — The average traveling sales- man who "makes" West Branch, Iowa, will be likely to tell you that it is "a good little town". Its inhab- itants, numbering six hundred fifty, are, in general, fairly well-to-do, and the surrounding farming coun- try is exceedingly productive and well settled. The train service to nearby points, for example, to Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, and West Liberty, is very good. * This account was especially prepared for this book by Walter R. Miles, M. A., a graduate student in the State University of Iowa. 268 THE SCHOOL AS A SOCIAL CENTER Material and Social Conditions. — The town is well equipped materially, having electric lighting, water and ice plants; an abundance of telephones, and paved walks, two flourishing banks, a town library, five churches, four of which undertake to support pastors, and a commodious pressed-brick school building. It has always enjoyed the reputation of being a very moral community. *'No saloons" has been its watch- word. Let us trust that its reputation is not far from the reality. But what shall we say of the social side of the community? Here is the rub with West Branch as with the great majority of country towns. They would, most of them, be delightful places in which to live if the social conditions were different. As it is, the young people, many times the older folk, feel that they want to go away for their entertainment and good times, and many hope to move away as soon as possi- ble. Move whither? **0h, to the Rapids, or the City, or any place where there is something going on." Es- pecially is this feeling present among many of the young men. Social Life Undemocratic. — Of course there is some social life in West Branch. There are several clubs of various degrees of exclusiveness, a few lodges, and, as stated, the five churches. Each of these groups of people forms in a sense a social center. However, they are centers of a very limited, and — ^may I say it? — selfish nature, no one of which has much likeness in basis or program to what a com- munity social center should be. The Sunday school classes and young people's societies theoretically are not exclusive, but, practically, they work out much as the other organizations. All of them have their so- 269 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY cials and parties, which afford entertainment for per- haps a good many when taken together, but at what duphcation of effort! The high school commence- ment and lecture course numbers, and perhaps the farmers' institute, are the only affairs that come near to touching the interest of the whole population. No one of the clubs, lodges, or churches is strong enough in numbers or in popular sympathy and good-will to undertake and carry out any plan having to do with the town as a whole. In fact, they all seem to have different ideals, and are usually conducted on the same competitive basis as are the corner grocery stores. Not one of the organizations furnishes even to a limited group of young men anything in the nature of a lounging-room, not to mention a game- room or gymnasium. There are no places for leisure time but the pool hall, restaurants, and tobacco stores. Planning a Social Center. — It was with a sense of such conditions, which have, perhaps, been sufficiently described to be recognized by all, that a group of us met at the school house about May i, 191 1. The group was not large — just seven, as I remember, the principal of the school, with two high school teachers, two pastors, and two ladies, one the wife of a pastor, the other the president of a local woman's club. There was a long discussion of the question as to what ought to be done and what could be done. Finally those present agreed to the formation ^*of an association for the purpose of providing good wholesome enter- tainment for the people of the town and community, and for doing general center work". The following simple constitution was drawn up and adopted and officers were elected. 270 THE SCHOOL AS A SOCIAL CENTER Constitution Article I This organization shall be called the "West Branch Sociability Association". Article II The purpose of this Association shall be to pro- vide wholesome entertainment, promote good fellow- ship, and encourage civic improvement. Article III Any individual who feels himself in sympathy with the purpose of this Association is eligible to member- ship, and may become a member by signing the con- stitution. Article IV Section i. The officers shall consist of a presi- dent, two vice-presidents, a secretary, and a treasurer. Section 2. The president shall appoint such com- mittees as shall from time to time be considered need- ful. Article V Business meetings of this Association shall be held the third Monday night of each month, at the home of the president, unless otherwise designated. Any five members of the Association shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at a regular or called meeting. 271 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY Article VI This constitution may be changed at any regular meeting of the Association by a two-thirds vote of members present, provided notice has been given in writing at the previous regular meeting. By-Laws Article I The time and nature of each entertainment or so- cial occasion shall be determined at some regular busi- ness meeting of the Association. Article II Officers shall be elected annually at a regular busi- ness meeting. Article III There shall be an executive committee which shall have general oversight of the work of the Associa- tion subject to the Association's direction. This com- mittee shall consist of the officers together with any others whom the Association may see fit to appoint. Activity of the Association. — The activity of the West Branch Sociability Association began with ef- forts to get the townspeople together. One of the very first things was an out-of-doors community sup- per. This was held from six to seven o'clock, on the school grounds, by permission of the School Board. The fare was served on the cafataria plan. The roast- 272 THE SCHOOL AS A SOCIAL CENTER ing of "wienerwursts** was a special feature. Most of the business men and many others came out, with their families, and found the occasion enjoyable, and they said: "Why have we not done this before?" It became an unwritten rule with the Association to have something in the nature of a social entertain- ment each month, unless there were other provisions, such as lecture numbers, etc. One month we had what we called a "Dicker Social". Each person brought some article which he would trade. This was used as a method of mixing people. The effort surpassed all our hopes. People traded with the excitement of a stock exchange. Afterwards they were divided into groups of fifteen to twenty- five for parlor games. Simple refreshments were served. Another month there was an "Indoor Carni- val". The business men and their clerks came dressed to represent their wares and gave us a parade. This was followed by games and a short home-talent pro- gram. At another time a "Hobby Social", each one riding his hobby, afforded lots of amusement. A series of shadow pictures, representing different well- known individuals at their hobbies, was especially appreciated. These socials have nearly all been held in the "Opera House", as it was not at first possible to se- cure the school building. Most school boards are con- servative when it comes to "wider uses" of the school property. As the "Opera House" costs seven dollars per night, and the Association is not endowed, it has been necessary to charge a small admittance fee, usually ten cents. The refreshments are not donated, but are purchased from dealers and sold nearly at 273 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY cost. From the first the Association's poHcy has been not to seek to make money, nor yet to exist on charity. The attendance at the social occasions, varying from one hundred twenty-five to two hundred, while not as large as might be hoped, is still much larger and more representative than that drawn by any other organization. They have grown in popularity from the first. Engineering a "Sane Fourth.". — Another matter which came up for consideration soon after the or- ganization was "what shall be done about Fourth of July?" This is always a hard problem for the small town. The business men, who are the backbone of the town, dislike to see people go away for entertain- ment, for they are likely to get the habit of going away for trading purposes also. Therefore, the West Branch business men said they would furnish some good fireworks for the evening and prizes for the contests, if the Association would arrange a program and manage the details. The Association took charge of the Fourth and saw it through. All went well, from the automobile parade in the forenoon to the last big skyrocket of the evening; people stayed at home^ and were pleased. The celebration was held on the school grounds. It was not quite as sane as was desired, but tended in that direction. About fifty dollars were cleared at the Association's stand. Sponsors for a Chautauqua. — No sooner had July 4, 191 1, passed successfully than ''the advance man" for a circuit chautauqua appeared in the town. To whom should he talk in West Branch with better chances of a fair hearing than to the Association? That busi- ness meeting was well attended. Many thought it 274 THE SCHOOL AS A SOCIAL CENTER would be foolhardy to undertake a Chautauqua when it was hard work to make a lecture course pay. Fur- thermore the Chautauquas of nearby and larger towns were frequently quite well attended by our people. The agent wanted a guarantee of three hundred dol- lars. We came to terms on a guarantee of two hun- dred ; the next one hundred to go to the company and forty per cent, of proceeds above to be given in to our local treasury. Twenty signers put their names on the guarantee. The Chautauqua was held and was financially successful, the Association's part being fifty dollars, which was set aside as a Chautauqua Fund. The program numbers furnished by this com- pany, however, all had such a radical political bias that the community was not well pleased. The Asso- ciation did not contract for a second year, although the company took things into its own hands and tried to force the matter. It may be well to continue the description of this "department" of work, as it has come to be called. People were at least pleased with the idea of holding a local Chautauqua. The Sociability Association ap- pointed a committee to consider "the matter of or- ganizing a Chautauqua Association of townspeople". Our committee reported August 20, "the wish of the people is for the Sociability Association to have charge of such features". The Chautauqua Depart- ment was then formally created. We shall not dwell long on the details leading up to the next Chautauqua. Seventy people signed a paper guaranteeing individu- ally to the extent of ten dollars each. We bought some "talent" from a popular bureau, which treated us very courteously, and we booked some directly. Our 275 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY Chautauqua was thus independent of all circuits. The business men were glad to have provision made again for July 4th. They got together and subscribed $234.50 for the purpose of securing a fine "Regi- mental Band" for the Fourth. This, with ex-Governor Frank Hanly, of Indiana, and two baseball games, made another red-letter day for the town. I may add, parenthetically, that we had no fireworks. The day was a little saner than the previous year. Good weather and the appearance of all the "talent" as scheduled were features which, no doubt, added much to our success. Managing the Lecture Course. — The lecture course season of 1911-12 had been managed by a group of business men and resulted in a sixty-dollar deficit. This year the lecture course would have been aban- doned had not the Sociability Association taken it in charge. While the season tickets were being sold the question would be frequently asked: "Who is going to be the goat this year?" The course is now two- fifths past, and it begins to look as if there would be no goat, thanks to the spirit of the community. Our Association found another field in the town's lack of musical instruction. Music was not taught in the schools. Three of the churches had choirs of the average sort. No one organization could afford to pay an instructor, and, as for some local amateur taking upon himself the place of musical director, that would be worse than "love's labor lost", for a prophet, especially in a small town, is apt to be without honor. This scheme had been tried, in fact, several times, with the usual result of breaking up or dividing the choirs. There seemed to be nothing to do with such 276 THL SCHOOL AS A SOCIAL CENTER a situation but just to sing, letting each one hobble along as best he could. The Sociability Association appointed a representative music committee which ar- ranged with a competent man from a nearby city for a series of twelve weekly lessons during the win- ter. These lessons were followed by a successful public recital in the *'Opera House". A Community Sociability Hall. — One other matter, considered by the Association, may be mentioned. We felt the need of a building (Sociability Hall) after the general type of a Y. M. C. A. building. There was a good lot available, and we received an option on it. One of our members, a young architect taking a correspondence course, was delighted to have a con- crete problem. We talked and planned the matter, and there was considerable enthusiasm, but we en- countered the snag of sectarianism. One of the churches was planning to build and its members would have nothing to do with such a project, for, as it proved later, they had decided on the same lot for their church. Of course the Sociability Association had to stand aside, and, at least for the time, give up its own plan. Perhaps we were developing too fast. There is danger along that line. What Has Been Accomplished? — It might be hard for a stranger coming into this village to put his finger on the things actually accomplished by this simple little Association. But one who lives here can feel the results, for they are mostly of that nature. There have come about a feeling of cooperation and union, and a sense of town responsibility and pride, which is surprising to many. During September, of 1 9 12, the Methodists, Presbyterians, and Friends held 277 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY a Union Revival Meeting in a large tent. They all got on so remarkably well, for a small town, that, near the close, folks began to say: *'Why not continue to meet together? After all we have so much in common it's a shame to divide our forces." There's inspiration in a choir of seventy- five voices and in a Sunday school attended by four hundred. ''Could we not at least all have one hiiilding and together secure a leader of initiative and power f The Head Worker will surely be dis- pleased with so much waste and duplication." It seemed that something was about to happen for the sake of stumbling humanity. And who knows but that something would have happened, had not that particular pastor with a few of his flock set their hearts on building a new church? And yet the com- munity has gained a larger sense of its unity. Future Prospects. — Our hope for the future, there- fore, turns to the public school as the most available and practical social center. Recently a Parent-teacher Association was organized, as the Sociability Asso- ciation could not well attend to that particular field. Our aims are slightly different, and the only connec- tion that exists between the Associations is that the president of each is a member of the executive com- mittee of the other. One month ago the Sociability Association made a proposition to the School Board that we should be permitted to put in electric lights at the school house if they would allow us to use it for public entertainments and social occasions. The Board accepted the proposition. The growth of senti- ment regarding the extension in the use of our school property would be, of itself, an interesting story. 278 THE SCHOOL AS A SOCIAL CENTER The doors are just now opening, and we feel our- selves only getting started in the real work. Perhaps this account should not have been written until 1932, after the surrounding school districts shall have been consolidated with us, and we have a good building combining the features of the best rural high schools with those of Sociability Hall, and the school grounds with some adjoining lots shall have been con- verted into a recreation park; then the whole thing could be pronounced a real success. We are just be- ginning. Why should not other towns begin? Many of them could do a better work than we have done. The great difficulty is to secure the long-continued residence of citizens who are genuinely zealous for such ideals. Much of our success as an organization has, without doubt, been due to the energy and enter- prise of our first president, the wife of the Presby- terian pastor. Think not that there is magic in the name Sociability Association to turn the stagnant pools of rural community-life into running waters of social intercourse. Such magic springs are as rare as the mythical fountain of youth. Every healing move- ment of the waters must he preceded by some vigor- ous stirring. No gravity system of social life will work. Surely it is better so, and who knows but that these many tasks of seeming thankless service are really the things most worth the doing? CHAPTER XVII THE SCHOOL AND SOCIAL PROGRESS The Concept of Progress. — Evolution is a generally accepted law of the material universe. Everything about us that we can observe, either with the naked eye or by means of the microscope or telescope, is in motion, and is undergoing changes of some sort. Some of these changes are in the nature of building up more com- plex systems ; others involve the breakdown and decay of such systems. The oldest philosophers of an- tiquity noticed these constant changes and interpreted them as evidences that our world with its inanimate and animate objects is slowly evolving, that the face of nature as we see it is the result of a development from some simpler condition of things. Modern sci- ence by its researches has confirmed this view. Not that everything is increasing in complexity, for in some directions there is evidence of decay and dissipa- tion of energy. Heat, for instance, is continually be- ing scattered in space, as far as we can see, never to be recovered. The animal and plant life of to-day is far less rich and varied than it was in certain geologic ages of the past. But, on the whole, the changes that have occurred and are occurring are in- terpreted by the scientist as evolution upward. Applied to Human Race. — This concept of develop- ment, or progress, is also applied to the human race. THE SCHOOL AND SOCIAL PROGRESS and the problems which there appear are both fasci- nating and important. For example, what changes in human nature and in human conditions are we to con- sider as changes for the better? Civilized man is dif- ferent from the savage. Is he, therefore, any better oflF than the savage? While we think we can specify many ways in which he has advanced, it is also pos- sible to point to phases in which he has declined. Is the progress ultimately greater than the decay, and is every deterioration offset by greater development in other directions? Probably most of us think that it is, and yet the question is a complex one, and is by no means susceptible of an offhand answer. Some thinkers insist that we have reached our maximal de- velopment and are now in process of rapid decay. The increase in knowledge and in material comfort, which some would bring forward as evidences of progress, others would mention as the very instru- ments and evidences of decline. Manifestly the an- swer to the question depends upon the point of view and upon the standards we may choose to accept. Conditions of Progress. — Then, again, supposing hu- man progress to be a fact, what are the agencies, the means through which it occurs; what are its condi- tions? We think we have discovered certain forces which have tended to produce higher and higher types of plant and animal forms. Do these forces control human development, or are there other influences which may supplement the action of these primitive forces? Furthermore, we note that the evolution of plant and animal life is almost inconceivably slow, so slow, in fact, that it was commonly believed until the middle of the last century that these forms of life are 19 281 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY fixed and have always been as they appear to us to- day. The question then arises as to whether human evokition must always be so slow, or whether it may be controlled and accelerated. Progress and Social Efficiency. — These are questions of far-reaching and practical importance. No discus- sion of education for social efficiency would be com- plete without some attempt to view it in its relation to these broad problems of race-welfare and race-im- provement. It is this relationship, in fact, which finally gives meaning to the social ideal, for the pro- duction of really able men and women is the first step toward a better society and toward a better humanity. Starting out, then, with such a point of view, let us first note that if education for social efficiency is to minister to progress it must be thought of in this broader relation, as well as with reference to its nar- rower and more immediate effects. There is, in fact, a danger that we may not be truly successful in work- ing out our aim, because of conceiving it in too nar- row and isolated a form. Social efficiency, to be gen- uine, must be worked out with some reference to its ultimate relation to human welfare. True, the problem which every teacher faces is im- mediate and calls for a more or less narrow and spe- cific course of action. If he were to think all of the time of race improvement he would miss doing the thousand detailed and necessary things that each day demands of him. But, even so, his range of vision must not be completely limited to specific results, or else these will in the end lack the fine adjustment to the larger life of which they are only the elements. The best worker in any line is one who unites with 282 THE SCHOOL AND SOCIAL PROGRESS a painstaking appreciation of the minute details of his own task a sense of the whole of which his work is a part. It is worth while, then, that all who teach should try to see in just what ways the great social enterprise of education may really contribute to so- cial advancement. In the first chapter it was stated that the human race, in the matter of evolution, stands on a different plane from the rest of the animal world. While changes and possible improvements of the latter de- pend upon the slow action of natural selection, the human species, having attained by that means a higher type of intelligence, may supplement the chance pres- ervation of variations by conscious selection. Natural selection does not disappear, but its action may be modified, and, by giving thought thereto, the rate of change may be greatly increased. Importance of Conscious Selection. — This has al- ready been established in man's dealings with lower orders of life. In ancient times, even, it was known to be possible to improve certain plants and animals of economic importance by careful breeding. But only in the last few decades have the larger possibilities in this direction been fully realized. The laws of varia- bility and of inheritance, as they have become better and better known, have made possible striking and rapid improvements in a wide variety of forms of life. In this way we have arrived at the notion that the same intelligent forethought given to our own species could accomplish equally remarkable results. Effect of Intelligence. — The action of intelligence upon the changes which occur in human society is two-fold. It is the means, in the first place, by which 283 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY useful experience, or, more broadly, culture, may be gradually accumulated and preserved. In the second place it permits of a higher type of selection than that which has ruled in the development of the lower forms. Let us examine briefly each of these phases of the action of intelligence. Progress Through Accumulated Experience. — With reference to the first phase, it is evident that man is thus able to profit by the mistakes and successes of the past. Thus he can, slowly at first, and then more rapidly, improve the conditions of his living, and, step by step, rise above the level of savagery. He can learn to secure and prepare better food, clothing, and shelter; he can learn better ways of deciding differ- ences of opinion, and thus, in time, avoid the extrava- gant and senseless method of physical combat and war ; he can master the forces of the world and elimi- nate all sorts of wastefulness in connection with his use of the resources of nature. He can improve the conditions under which he and other men labor. All of this he can do simply by his capacity of remem- bering, reflecting and profiting by past experiences, with no actual change or improvement in his original nature. Man, to-day, is not markedly different in in- telligence from the man of ancient times, nor even from the savage of the present day. He simply knows more. Each generation has added a little to the gen- eral fund of knowledge. He is possibly, in conse- quence, less superstitious, perhaps somewhat more kindly, and a little more regardful of the value of human life. Much of our boasted present-day superiority is due, then, to the fact that we stand on the shoulders of 284 THE SCHOOL AND SOCIAL PROGRESS the men who have lived before us. Human intelli- gence makes possible the accumulation of culture and this is one phase of human progress. The other phase, that of the improvement of human nature it- self, we purposely leave out of account just at present. Supposing that man has attained his maximal devel- opment as a human being, there are still vast oppor- tunities for his bettering his condition. In no re- spect is it likely that he has as yet realized to the fullest extent the possibilities of a happy, efficient so- cial life. He has made great strides in the mastery of nature and in the heaping up of material wealth, but this wealth is as yet unevenly distributed, and it has, furthermore, been gained by a wasteful disregard of the happiness and comfort of large groups of his fellow-men. Even if all possessed their quota of creature comforts the resulting progress would be superficial and undesirable unless it were accompanied by an increased opportunity for the expression of human nature itself. It is in this latter particular that great advances are yet to be made. This phase has been relatively ignored in the rapid conquest of the material world, but it is, notwithstanding, of far greater importance. Progress Through Utilizing Latent Resources. — As we look abroad upon the large amount of injustice and misery in society, we are accustomed to think of prog- ress, and particularly of reform, as dependent upon the development of a new and radically different hu- man nature. The sentiment of Huxley that the best thing that could happen to the human race would be for it to be swept off the face of the earth by some friendly comet, is based on the idea that the existing 285 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY resources of human nature have been exhausted, that man is mostly and hopelessly bad. The modern social worker, however, has a different point of view. One of the most interesting and hope- ful results of the study of human nature is the dis- covery that there are fine qualities even in the worst of us. The social worker believes that the deficiencies in our present-day life are largely due, not to a fun- damental lack of finer qualities in human nature, but to the failure, thus far, to give these qualities fair play. Social reform has ample raw m.aterial to start with. Savage peoples show astonishing degrees of kindliness, hospitality, truthfulness, and justice, along with much that is unlovely if not abhorrent. The same traits appear in the most unpromising situations and among the most unfortunate representatives of the civilized races. Tramps, criminals, boys' gangs, reveal to the sympathetic observer much that is admir- able and much that goes to prove that underneath their distorted lives they are fundamentally human, and are capable of being actuated by finer motives. As Cooley says : "Where there is a little common in- terest and activity, kindness grows like weeds by the roadside." There is, in other words, in all men much fine raw material. No one is given over completely to con- scious badness. Even the worst reprobate is in some degree the victim of circumstances, and is expressing, in a distorted manner, qualities of human nature which are susceptible of a higher usefulness. Hence, we may well say that social progress does not so much require a radically new human nature as a better utilization of the resources that already exist in men 286 THE SCHOOL AND SOCIAL PROGRESS and women. At least we must start with those re- sources and do what we can with them. How to make use of human nature, as it exists, how to extend the influence of the qualities of kindness, of loyalty, of justice, of lawfulness beyond the narrow confines of the little circles of family, neighborhood, and city ward is a fundamental problem of present-day social advancement. Such, in brief, is one phase of the question of social progress. In summarized form: progress is depend- ent upon the conquest and conservation of the material world and upon the working out of conditions favor- able to the better expression of human life. The Office of Education. — With reference to this phase, it is clear that education may play a part of the greatest importance. As Professor Dewey says: *'The school is a fundamental means of social prog- ress and reform." The simplest of all ways in which the school may become such an agency is through its function of instruction. Thus the knowledge and ideals of the past are preserved in each new genera- tion. Of course, the mere transmission of our social inheritance to our children would not contribute very much to actual progress. If this were all it would re- sult in a stationary social order. Such an education is, in fact, characteristic of the lower, less-developed races. The children are instructed in all things just as the fathers were instructed. Questions of better and worse are not raised. All that has come down from the past is assumed to be good. But, as culture slowly accumulates, it becomes less and less possible to teach everything. Some things must be selected, and, in the long run, phases of a people's culture thus 287 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY selected to be taught are the better ones. Thus the knowledge that is of least worth drops out, the modes of behavior that are least desirable are unem- phasized, and, instead, the better things are taught. Thus by the mere process of selection of what shall be the subject-matter of school instruction the level of human knowledge and of human behavior is actu- ally, though slowly, raised. The rate of improvement depends upon the extent to which this selection is guided by a definite, conscious purpose. The School a Selective Agency. — The school, then, at its lowest level of efficiency is something of a sift- ing and selective agency, an agency which determines, at least in some degree, what shall and what shall not be taught to each succeeding generation. And, hap- pily for the idealist, the level of efficiency in this re- spect is rising more rapidly to-day than at any previ- ous period of human history. As one social thinker points out, this is a period of remarkable shifting in social responsibility. Certain institutions, such as the church and the family, seem at present to have less influence than they used to have, while the influences of other institutions are progressing by leaps and bounds. Among these latter are the agencies of pub- lic education. The schools are not directly responsi- ble for this. They have simply found themselves caught in the current of change and of readjustment. Heavier duties are yearly being thrust upon them. Society is demanding that they train, not alone in a narrow, intellectual sense, but that they provide means of public recreation; that they give attention to child hygiene, that they share a part of the burden of the problem of public health; that they provide definite THE SCHOOL AND SOCIAL PROGRESS training for vocations; that they undertake the diffi- cult task of securing proper vocational adjustment; that they take up and grapple with the vital social questions of sexual morality; that they assume large responsibility in the general moral training of chil- dren. All of these matters were formerly attended to with more or less efficiency by the home, by the church, and by the world of industry itself. To-day, the responsibility for them is shifting to the school. To meet these new demands places a heavy strain upon the existing machinery of public education. Whether it can measure up to the larger duties re- mains to be seen. In any case it is significant that there is a growing consciousness on the part of so- ciety that the deeper questions of social welfare are really educational questions. In the preceding chapters we have attempted to discuss the ways in which the schools are awakening to a sense of their new responsibilities. Whether they can adequately and completely deal with them or not they are at least becoming "mighty engines", to use Ross's phrase, "of social progress". We can think of all these new phases of public school activity as evidences of conscious and systematic selection of the better aspects of human culture, which will tend to place each new generation a little farther along than the preceding one. The school is, at least, a se- lected environment, with a selected set of influences designed to give children a training in better habits and in better ideals than they would pick up inciden- tally if left to themselves in the hit-and-miss contact with the life about them. It gives them, as far as it can, a hcahhful point of view toward life that will 289 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY enable them to start out with at least some prospect of living efficiently and nobly. Significance of These Modem Movements. — ^Every one of these modern movements in education is thus fraught with great social values. The improvement of rural schools, bound up, as it is, with the improve- ment of rural life, is one illustration of the influence of selection through which better conditions are brought to pass. The level of farm life to-day is not so high as it should be; the farmer's labor does not count for as much as it should, either in material or in spiritual satisfaction. Fragmentary and crude though present-day efforts in improving rural schools may be, they are, nevertheless, efforts to put the boys and girls into vital touch with the better ways, and to eliminate thereby the less effective modes of farm life. The problem is not only to discover better ways, but to enable people generally to put into practice the better ways already known; to put in the hands and into the lives of the many the wisdom of the few. Thus the farmer's lad learns improved methods of selecting his seeds, of plowing his ground, of fertiliz- ing it, and of tending his crops. The girl learns to be a better home-maker; both together learn how to make the farm home more attractive and comfort- able; how to secure healthful recreation; how to be more sociable ; how to cooperate, as all people need to do, in an efficient social life. In all this endeavor the better ways of working and of living are selected and set before the youth, and thereby a real step is taken in social advancement. In the cities the same thing holds true. The atten- tion given by school authorities to the health of chil- 290 THE SCHOOL AND SOCIAL PROGRESS dren is of the first importance for social progress and social efficiency. The development of public play- grounds and other means of recreation, the school gardens with their opportunities for the cultivation of healthful outdoor interests are all means of crowd- ing out of the lives of children the untoward and de- moralizing influences of modern city life and giv- ing the real boy and girl nature a chance to unfold properly. The bringing of home and school into a more thorough and sympathetic cooperation ; the train- ing for vocational efficiency, and the securing of proper vocational adjustment are still other phases of the operation of those upbuilding, character- form- ing influences which exist in our midst, but which have to be selected and organized in order that they may play the part they should in social improvement. Within the school the efTorts to develop a healthful social spirit through all sorts of voluntary organiza- tions and ** functions", through pupil-participation in school government, through introducing more of the social motive into the regular work of study and in- struction, and through the actual choice of the sub- ject-matter itself, are further illustrations of the ways in which selection may operate. Choice of Subject-matter. — What we mean by selec- tion in the case of subject-matter may be briefly illus- trated. Take history for an example. It is not the object of ordinary school instruction in this subject to train historians, but to give each child a sane and helpful point of view for actual life. Hence, the need of careful choice in what is taught, not that facts are lo be covered up or distorted, but that the pupil may see things in their right relationships, and that he may 291 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY appreciate the real forces of human progress and their relation to his present life. If historical facts were taught indiscriminately he would only be con- fused in his vision and he might never see the essen- tial things; that is, the things which count for most in the long run. With this in view thoughtful teach- ers see that elementary history should lay less empha- sis upon wars and upon national and race prejudices, significant though these may be for the historian, and more upon the essential solidarity of human interests, more upon the manifold phases of human effort as seen in the pioneer life, in the conquest of nature, and in industrial and social evolution. The great achieve- ments of the past must be admired, but not blindly. The imperfections of men and of movements must be recognized, not as isolated facts, but that later achievement may be more thoroughly appreciated, and that courage may be developed to continue the strug- gle for more of honesty, of justice, and of fair-play. What we have illustrated in the case of history is true in greater or less degree, and in varying ways, of every other subject of the curriculum. In each there is need of selection. The School and the Immigrant. — We should not neg- lect to recognize that social progress in America is intimately bound up with the problem of assimilating the people of other lands who are coming in such large numbers into our midst. They are for the most part sturdy, adventurous people, full of red blood, and willing to work, but they are raw material, needing training and adjustment along right lines. No one agency can do more or is doing more to make valu- able Americans of these people than is the public 292 THE SCHOOL AND SOCIAL PROGRESS school. Every phase of the selected influences which the school has built up gains in significance an hun- dred-fold when it is viewed in connection with the im- migrant child. The school is society's main agency for bringing him into touch with the best that Ameri- can life has to oflFer. Summary. — In summary of this section we may say that social progress is to be controlled in part by consciously attempting to train the children of each new generation in the better elements of the life of the parents. // is essentially a process of systemati- cally taking hold of the ideals held by every com- munity but which have, as yet, been only imperfectly realized. No community lives in all things as it knows it should. Every parent wishes his children to attain a higher plane of usefulness than he has himself reached. It is just this aspiration, this sense of "more beyond'', that is the starting point and the op- portunity of the school. It tries to keep the children from imitating unreservedly everything they see about them; it strives to emphasize right modes of behavior; it introduces them to the lives of high-minded men and women. In the social life of the school com- munity they are given experience and practice in truthfulness, in justice, and in fair-play, and are taught how these ideals must be extended, beyond the family, the school, and the playground, into the broader and more intricate relations of the world, rhus, step by step, these virtues may be more defi- nitely realized in the common life of the average man and woman, the better usefulness and the finer quali- ties which are present, but find as yet only partial ex- pression. That the schools do this imperfectly and 293 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY with many shortcomings does not prove that it is not part of their problem. The outHne thus far presented of the relation of education to social progress presents a large program. If the individual teacher shrinks before it, let him remember that the responsibility for carrying it out does not rest upon his shoulders alone, but upon those of many thousands of other earnest men and women with him. Even though his own opportuni- ties are limited he can do a little, and this all the better if he has some vision of the larger problem — pro- vided, of course, that vision does not frighten him. Process Through Improvement of Human Nature. — With the hope that the larger view may stimulate rather than discourage, we venture to turn to still another phase, one that is more baffling than the pre- ceding, but which cannot be ignored if we would see our work in all its relationships. This is the problem, not of using what we already have in better ways, but of securing actual improvement in the human stock itself, of attaining higher levels of innate ability, higher general capacity to deal with the questions of material existence and of living together. The points here at issue are far-reaching and complex, and they lie, moreover, in large part beyond the field of edu- cation, as that is ordinarily understood. And yet, in some degree, public education is concerned with them. As was pointed out in the first portion of the chap- ter, the scientist conceives of the evolution of higher types of life as dependent upon the appearance, now and again, in the history of different forms, of varia- tions which prove of advantage in the struggle for 294 THE SCHOOL AND SOCIAL PROGRESS life. Such useful variations in the parent may be transmitted by heredity to the offspring. Useful adaptations made by an individual in its own lifetime are not so transmitted. Hence, the possibility of im- proving the innate qualities of any plant or animal depends upon the preservation, whenever they appear, of these fortunate variations. The extent to which lower forms of life may be modified and improved to meet human needs has given the scientist a dream of human improvement through conscious and wise preservation of useful variations in children and in men and women. The preservation of these varia- tions in the human race has thus far been subject to all sorts of chance circumstances, and golden oppor- tunities for the absolute betterment of human nature have doubtless been lost over and over again. The School's Relation to Race Betterment. — Leaving out of account many large aspects of this problem, let us turn directly to the school. It is the school's privi- lege, in theory, at least, to give to each child the train- ing he is most fitted for, to develop his native en- dowments to the fullest possible extent along socially useful lines. To do this it must be able to recognize varying abilities and especially those which are su- perior or which have any peculiar relation to social progress. The School and the Backward Child. — ^Just at pres- ent there is great public interest in backward and men- tally deficient children. Recent studies in retarda- tion reveal the large number of the former in all school systems. There are many causes other than mental inferiority for this failure of large portions of our children to come up to the standard set by the 295 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY school. One of the causes is lack of a fine adjustment of the school to individual needs. Children are treated too much in the mass. Standards which are often ar- tificial are set up which place a premium upon chil- dren of a plastic, receptive disposition. Others who have even greater mental ability than these may fail to make proper connections with school instruction and drop behind. There are also conditions outside of school which interfere with the progress of per- fectly normal children. But, when all of these things are taken into account, it is obvious that there still remain a number who are of inferior mentality. That both these and the distinctly subnormal and deficient must be cared for and trained as far as may be goes without saying; but there is a danger of losing a proper perspective in the matter. The popular in- terest in the training of these children has rested largely upon the assumption that they can in some way be raised to the level of normal children. Many public school systems provide special schools or special classes for these subnormal children, in the hope of restoring them to the work of the regular classes. This is now known to be very largely impossible, at least as far as the really deficient pupils are concerned, and the effort devoted to training them, aside from its purely humanitarian aspects, is valuable only as a form of social protection. Social Menace of Defective Classes. — Extended and careful studies of the last few years have revealed the fact that these mentally deficient classes furnish a large percentage of our delinquents, paupers, and criminals. Anything, therefore, that society can do to enable them to earn an honest livelihood, if it is within 296 THE SCHOOL AND SOCIAL PROGRESS their power to do so; to safeguard them from the exploitation of the more intelligent classes ; and espe- cially to prevent their marriage and procreation, is highly worth while. Statistics gathered recently by a Royal Commission in England and Wales indicate that about one person in every 248 of the population is feeble-minded. There is every reason to believe that the percentage is slowly increasing. These fig- ures take account of only the worst cases. If all per- sons who are subnormal, that is, the higher grades of the mental defectives, were included, the figures would be many times greater. Dr. Henry H. Goddard, of The Vineland Training School for Feeble-minded Children, estimates that two per cent, of the children in the public schools are men- tally defective to such an extent that they are a men- ace to society. In the whole United States he esti- mates that there are 350,000 positively feeble-minded children, and at least 150,000 more who cannot, with safety to society, be allowed to take care of themselves. If one is inclined to think that the menace of these de- fectives is overestimated because the relative number is small, let him consider the further startling dis- covery of the Royal Commission of England, which studied the problem for four years, namely, that these people are increasing at twice the rate of the general population. It is not hard to understand how this may be true. We know with absolute certainty that mental defi- ciency of all degrees and of nearly every type is trans- missible by heredity and that, while there are other causes, the bulk of the rising tide of defectives, with its attendant menace of pauperism and crime, is due 20 297 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY to society's carelessness in permitting feeble-minded people to propagate their kind. This tide can never be held in check except by systematically preventing procreation among such classes. Moreover, if defec- tives are unrestrained they procreate faster than the normal classes, because they are bound by none of the restraints of intelligence that operate with the latter. If anything, the lower their mental level, the more intense are their animal passions. It is, therefore, not only the absolute improvement of the human race which is at stake, but the even more serious question arises as to whether civilized society must not be facing the possibility of an actual decline through its failure to prevent itself being con- stantly infected by the poison of feeble-mindedness. Certainly the rights of society are here greater and more imperative than the rights of any individual. The responsibility for intelligent action rests in part on clear-sighted educational leaders — leaders who are no longer blinded by the old groundless optimism that all men are born equal, or can be made equal by training. Opportunity Afforded by Superior Children. — While, therefore, we do what we can to save these classes from society, and especially to save society from them, we must recognize that all effort so expended is essentially of the protective sort. We must see to it, also, that we realize as fully our responsibility to care for and train properly the children of su- perior ability. In all likelihood they are as numerous as the defectives, and yet they have not hitherto been given the attention bestowed on inferior children, nor even any special recognition or opportunity in our 298 THE SCHOOL AND SOCIAL PROGRESS school systems. A few cities have recently organized classes for their specially gifted children, but by far the greatest amount of effort is still expended on the deficient children and those of ordinary ability. We excuse our action with the plea that the gifted child will take care of himself. So he does, sometimes, but // is .not the part of an intelligent society to leave it to pure chance that he shall be able to emerge. In fact, the conditions of most schools are distinctly un- favorable to his emerging. The attention of the teacher is fixed upon the perplexing task of keeping the average and the inferior pupils up to grade. The supernormal pupil, just because he varies from the average, is apt to be regarded as a disturbing factor, if not as a nuisance. He is sometimes sternly re- pressed, in order that he may be held in line with the others. He is often sacrificed to systems of pro- motion, and, while we say theoretically that he may take care of himself and go ahead as fast as he hooses, no adequate provision is made by which he may go ahead any faster than his slower moving asso- ciates. To be sure a few cities have tried with more or less success various plans of grading and promo- tion, whereby the brighter pupils may be allowed to go ahead at a most rapid pace, but in our country, as a whole, the so-called "lock-step" system still pre- vails. Superior Child Needs Careful Training. — Even if the supernormal pupil had no difficulty in taking care of himself it would not follow that his own care would be wise, nor would it follow that he does not stand in serious need of suitable training. His superior abil- ity, if left to itself, may develop into almost any eccen- 299 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY tricity. He may use it in a thousand ways that are detrimental to social welfare. In other words, he needs, even more than does the average child, watch- ful care and training, that his peculiar endowments may be conserved and fitted into the fabric of social life, rather than suffer pitiful miscarriage. Further- more, energy expended on finding and properly train- ing the children of more than ordinary ability will yield an incomparably larger return to society gener- ally than the same effort expended on those below the normal level. The fact that our schools are not equipped to deal with these children does not make the need for it any less real. It is true that the situation is a difficult one from every point of view, but if human ability is to be increased by any other means than the slow and wasteful action of natural selection, this is one line of effort to which the school must give its most serious attention. A Serious Problem. — The problem of selecting and conserving superior ability is really a larger one than that of discovering here and there a peculiarly gifted child. It involves saving, to the fullest extent, ability of every sort. There are many fine qualities in even average children, which are directly related to human progress, which are now disregarded and even sup- pressed by the average school. We refer particularly to the quality of personal initiative in its various forms. All normal children are full of eagerness, full of the desire to explore and find out, full of the im- pulse to do things for themselves. The ideal of ad- justment, of mere receptivity, is remote from all healthful child-life. Children need, of course, a cer- 300 I THE SCHOOL AND SOCIAL PROGRESS tain amount of adjustment, not as an end in itself, but as a means for the fuller exercise of their own individual powers along socially useful lines. Education as Adjustment Only a Half-truth. — The ideal of education as some sort of social adjustment widely prevails to-day, but it expresses only a half- truth. A broader conception would be social partici- pation. We may freely admit that a child who is to participate adequately in social life must learn to con- form to many social usages. We may also freely ad- mit that he would not, if left to his own initiative, find out or appreciate properly all the things he should learn in order to be a useful man. Our point is rather that his initiative and eagerness to act on his own account should not be suppressed while he is learning necessary adjustments. Everywhere about us, in adult society, there is a premium placed on inventiveness, on the capacity to do old things in new and better ways. In fact, this emphasis is one of the characteristics of progressive peoples. In lower stages of culture, and especially among savage peoples, imitation and conformity to type is the prevailing ideal. Such people possibly cannot afford to take the risk of trying new ways of doing things, lest the experiment prove a failure and the whole social body come to grief. The Central Australians represent the acme of human adjustment to natural conditions. They have not tried to make clothes or to construct for themselves any adequate shelter from a climate that is often severe. They do not till the soil, but simply take what Nature gives them, eating roots, fruits, game, and even grubs and insects. They accept things as they are, and have 301 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY learned to endure them, except that endurance is not the proper word, from their point of view, for they know of nothing else and are therefore quite content. When we turn to more progressive branches of the race we find large numbers still, who merely conform to conditions imposed upon them. There are always a greater or less number, however, who are restive under all conditions, who are always reaching out and apparently striving for fuller self-expression. The qualities of perseverance, of energy, of curiosity, of eagerness to experiment and to explore, seem to lie at the very basis of social progress. It is somewhat surprising, then, to find the main em- phasis upon imitation in the education of the pro- gressive races. The chief concern of adult society seems to be that the children should spend most of their time acquiring the wisdom and skill of the past. We should not criticize this concern if it had coupled with it a clearer recognition that this is only the be- ginning of the process, not an end in itself, but a means to an end. The most precious heritage of pro- gressive races is personal initiative, and their most serious problem is how to conserve and direct this initiative wisely. Undirected, it is of no more value than unconfined steam; it is mere vaporing, which brings only discredit upon itself. The child studies certain aspects of the culture of past generations, not merely to absorb it, or to be- come, as it were, a receptacle in which to preserve that culture intact, as the arts and crafts of other times are preserved in museums for the inspection of the curious. He studies rather that he may use, that he may have better tools for the expression of his 302 THE SCHOOL AND SOCIAL PROGRESS initiative, that his impulses may avoid failures and take advantages of past success. The Right Emphasis. — The emphasis in a truly pro- gressive society must then be upon a wise cultivation of the individual capacities of the child for initiative rather than upon his simply acquiring in passive fash- ion the culture of the past. This is a broad generali- zation which must be interpreted with due recognition of varying conditions. Children vary in their indi- vidual capacity for initiative. Some persons will at- tain the most useful lives when they simply follow unswervingly in the steps of their fathers. More- over, the importance of cultivating initiative in pro- gressive societies does not rest upon the narrow con- ception of education as merely for the making of great leaders. It is true, however, that the qualities for leadership, for which there is such a large place in the modern world, will be fostered and developed by such a type of education. But, while all cannot be leaders in various lines of industrial, professional, political, and social activity, all do need, in wider or narrower spheres, the capacity of self-direction and the alertness to meet and take advantage of new con- ditions. A part of the poverty and crime of modern society is due to the rapid changes in the conditions of life. The pauper is not merely the inefficient one; he is often one who was by his training fitted or ad- justed to a social and industrial order which had changed ere he had established himself. He could not readjust himself to fit the new conditions, and, hence, dropped down into the ranks of the incapable. A Slow Process. — The task of raising the general level of human capacity is not one that can be ac- 303 EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL EFFICIENCY complished quickly or easily. If the higher branches of the race are not held in check by the subtle poison of feeble-mindedness, it is possible that they may rise still higher by the slow action of natural selection. The rate of this rise, at the best slow, can, however, be increased by intelligent and concerted action on the part of the more efficient. For one thing the child of superior ability, when he appears, must he given his full chance to grow, to work, and to have healthy off- spring, the only avenue by which his native endow- ments may be preserved to the race. Furthermore, the valuable traits of all normal children must be rec- ognised and nurtured. In this latter need there is the largest practical opportunity for teachers every- where. Not all schools, for a long time to come, will be able to recognize and train in special classes the "gifted" pupils, but all schools can begin at once to give freer scope to those native endowments of aver- age boys and girls which count at least a little in abso- lute human progress. Conscious selection with ref- erence to breeding higher efficiency must not stop with conserving the types which are strikingly superior. Everything of value, even though it be minute, must be saved and used. When the teacher once realizes how closely related to progress are these qualities of self-reliance, of eager curiosity, of initiative, he will find more and more ways to make his school favor- able to their expression and growth. A truly pro- gressive society, especially in a democracy, depends upon all its members with properly socialised motives having the opportunity to use what powers they have to their full extent. 304 INDEX Addams, Jane, quoted, 121. Adjustment, education as, a half truth, 17, 301. Agronomy, 51. Aim of education among primitive people, 6; social character of, 11 f. Animal husbandry and dairying, 52. Arithmetic for country schools, 46 f. Australian type of educa- tion, 5. Babcock tester in rural schools, 58. Backward child, school and, 295- Baganda, 2. Bailey, L. H., 46. Bloomfield, Meyer, quoted, 217, 219, 224. Boston, home and school news-letter, 102 ; Home and school visitor, 107. Boys' and girls' farm clubs, 59; social value of, 61 f ; in Nebraska, 62; full value as yet unappreciated, 63- Carney, Mabel, referred to, 41 ; quoted, 46 f. Character-forming influence of failure, 256. Chemistry for rural schools, 48. Child study, a suggestion for, 132. City, pull of, 31. Civic life, training for, in socialized school, 160 f. Clark, Miss Lotta A., on group teaching of history, 246. Clubs and gangs, develop- ment of, 143; farm boys, 59- Colebrook Academy, course of study, quoted, 51 f. Collective life, controlling force of, 158; effort, 253. Compulsory school attend- ance and incentives, 128 f. Consolidation of schools, advantages of, 38 f . ; must be real country schools, 39. Conversation, educational value of, 85. Cooley, C. H., quoted, 114, 144. 305 INDEX Cooperation of school and community, 90 f. ; basis of economy of effort, 92, 96, 177; and character devel- opment, 257. Country schools, see Rural Schools. Course of study adapted to rural needs, 44!; 51 f. Curriculum, social ideal in, 177; relation of, to chil- dren's interests, 189. Dean, A. W., quoted, 210. Delinquency and the home, 76 f. ; play as a preventive of, 120; work a preven- tive, 203. Dewey, J., quoted, 138, 193!; 287. Economic development pre- cedes social, 17. Education, a social process, I ; illustrated by savage peoples, I ; relation of origin to imitation, 2; beginnings of formal, 4; in primitive society an in- terest of whole tribe, 5; aim and social need for primitive education, 7 ; education and evolution, 7; more than imparting knowledge, 10; in the home, 15; in pioneer com- munity, 26; as life, 138; larger conceptions of, 262; as adjustment, a half- truth, 301. Effort, motivated, 133. Elementary social ideals, 15. Eliot, Dr. C. W., on self- government, 162; motive of life career, 200. Endurance of primitive boy tested, 4. Evolution and education, 7, 280 f. Excursions, class, 207. Facts, exaggerated impor- tance of, in education, 244. Failure, positive value of, 256. Farm carpentry, 51; black- smithing, 52. Field, Miss Jessie, work of, 57, 63. Foght, W. H., quoted, 40 f. Forestry, 53. Formal instruction, begin- nings of, 4; function of, 4- Gang virtues, 159. "General training," inade- quacies of, 201. Geography for the country school, 47; socialization of, 192, 242. Goddard, Dr. H. H., on prevalence of defectives in public schools, 297. 306 INDEX Grammar and language, in country school, 46. Group, influence of, in learning, 234; group work, value of, 236; higher types of, 239; character- forming influences of, 252 f., 258.f. ; a practicable scheme, 261. Gulick, Dr. L. H., quoted, 122. "Hesperia movement," 36. History and civics for country schools, 49 f . ; so- cialized history, 194. Home and neighborhood in education, 15; pioneer school and, 27. Home life, educational in- fluence of, 71 f.; respon- sibility of, for moral train- ing, 72; relation of, to child growth, 73 f. ; men- aced by modern industry, 75; by "social duties," 76; spiritual unity of, 78; value of activities in, 81 ; conversation in, 85 f. ; sex-instruction in, 87; sympathy needed, 88. Home and school, close re- lation of, 94; associations, 97; function of, 98; re- sults, 100; various meth- ods, 102; relation of, to educational efficiency, 104 f. ; national organiza- tion of, 106; home and school visitors, 107; sum- mary, 108. Human nature, improve- ment of, in relation to progress, 294. Ideals and practical work, close relation of, 182. Imitation, at basis of J)rim- itive education, 2; too great emphasis on, in modern education, 302. Imitativeness of savages, 2 f. Incentives, 123 f. ; social basis of, 124; a recent problem, 126; relation of, to compulsory school at- tendance, 128; lack of, due to inadequate educational concepts, 130. Individual instruction, place of, 232 f. Individualistic ideals, courses of, 12; need of new point of view, 14. Individual capacities, 303. Initiative, development of, 303- Instruction and personality, 237. Interest, basis of, 132 f.; immediate interests, 187; vocational, 199; perma- nence of early interests, 200. 307 INDEX Irresponsibility, supposed, of youth, 134 f. Jastrow, Joseph, referred to, 238. John Swaney Consolidated School, 40 f. Junior Republic, 203. Kafirs, imitativeness of, 3. Kennard, Beulah, quoted, 116. Kern, O. J., quoted, 65. Kerschensteiner, Dr. G., quoted, 204, 211. Kidd, Dudley, quoted, 3. Leadership in play, 117; of teachers, 66. Learning socially condi- tioned, 236; as personal intercourse, 241, 243. Libraries for country schools, 64. Los Angeles, parent-teacher associations, 102. McAndrew, Dr. W., quoted, 178. McLinn, C. B., quoted, 154. Manhattan "school city," 172 f. Massachusetts Industrial Commission, 217. Mead, G. H., quoted, 242. Methods of instruction and the social ideal, 232. Motivation and social life, 136. National Congress of Moth- ers, lOI. Nature study in country schools, 48. Nebraska boys' and girls' farm clubs, 62. Neighborliness, need of, 266. New York schools, a plan of self-government in, 166 f. Parent-teacher associations, 99- Perry, C. A., quoted, 264, 265. Pittsburgh playgrounds, ii9f. Play for the country, 6yi.', social value of play, 109; playground movement, no; and education, in; attention to, needed, 112; basis of social ideals, 114; supervision needed, 115 f; democratic influence of, 118; in Pittsburgh, 119!; in Chicago, 121 ; relation of, to delinquency, 120. Practical applications of school subjects, 184 f; in- terest of children in, 188. Progress, social, 280; con- ditions of, 281 ; compared with animal evolution, 280; relation of, to educa- tional problems, 282; uti- 308 INDEX lization of latent re- sources in human nature a factor in, 285; selective action through the school, 291 ; dependent upon im- provement in human na- ture, 294; retarded by de- fective classes, 295; rela- tion of, to superior ability, 298 f. Pupil-government, see Self- government. Reading in country schools, 45 ; socialized reading, 190. Recreation in country, 67. Responsibility, habit of personal, 213; not culti- vated in ordinary school exercises, 255. Road building, 53. Rollo books, 83. Roscoe, quoted, 2. Royal Commission on fee- ble-mindedness, 297. Rural depletion, 29 f; boys and girls educated away from country, 33 f; signs of an awakening, 34; co- operation needed, 34 f; lines of improvement, 35 f; consolidation of schools, 38 f; real country schools, 39; course of study adapted to, 44 f; need of trained teachers, 56 f; possibilities for one- room school, 57; Miss Field's work, 57; adapta- tion to country needs, 23; a new course of study, 45-55 ; rural econ- omy, 64. Russell, J. E., quoted, 196 f, 205 f. St. Louis Supt. of Schools, quoted, 203. School, a social institution, 7, 139; self-government in, 158 f; value for civic training, 161 ; in pioneer community, 24 ; social forces in school, 240; and immigrant, 292; a selec- tive agency, 118, 288; one-sided character of, 179 f; need of. social mo- tives and methods in, 180; and backward child, 295. "School city" in Manhattan, a, 172. "School Citizens' Commit- tee," 175. Scott, C. A., on self-or- ganized groups, 253. Scudder, M. T., quoted, 68. Selection and progress, 283, 288, 291. Self-dependence, cultivation of. 255. Self-government, 162; ques- tions at issue, 163; based 309 INDEX on sense of social unity, 164; success dependent on sympathy of teacher, 165; not mere pretence, 166; in New York, 166; prepara- tion of pupils essential to success, 168. Sex-instruction in home, 87. Social and cooperative so- cieties in rural schools, 59. Social basis of incentives, 125, 136. Social forces in mental de- velopment, 239; in school w^ork, 240. Social groups, rudimentary, 143 f- Social life of school in rela- tion to social ideal, 145; various aspects of, 146; social "functions," 147, 152, 153- Social education needful, 148 ; growing recognition of, 156 f. Social solidarity, aim of primitive education, 6. Social aim, 11 f; must be workable, 19. Social adjustment, an inade- quate educational ideal, 17, 301 ; efficiency, 19 ; basis of, 177; relation of vocational interest to, 204. Social ideals, elementary, 15; more adequate ones needed, 18; in country, 22, 33- Social life, increasing com- plexity of, 16. Social progress, 280. Social centers, modern need for, 262; relation of, to schools, 264 ; underlying principles, 265; spread of idea, o.d'j', in West Branch, la., 268 f; in pio- neer schools, 27, 59; in modern rural schools, 65 f. Social menace of defectives, 296 f. Socialization of curriculum, 183, 197 f, 199; condition of, 184 f, 186; of reading, 192; of writing, 192; of geography, 192; of his- tory, 194. Spencer and Gillen, quoted, 6. Students' Aid Committee of New York City, 212. Superior children, responsi- bility of society for, 298 f, 304; need of training, 299; serious problem of, 300. Teachers as leaders, 66. Thorndike, E. L., referred to, 200. Thrift, lesson of, 82. Tolstoy, Count, referred to, 123. 310 INDEX Vocational guidance, social importance of, 219; con- ditions of success, 220; in New York, 221 ; in Bos- ton, 222; beginnings of, in grades, 224; appeal to business men, 223; voca- tional record cards, 224 f ; sample of Vocation Bu- reau's record of an occu- pation, 127-130. Vocational interests, early appearance of, 199 f; re- lation of, to elimination from school, 200; social significance of, 201 f. Vocational education begun in the elementary grades, 205; developed in upper grades, 209; New York plan, 210; character- form- ing influence of, 211-215; compulsory, 218. Ward, E. J., on social cen- ters, 262. "Wasted years," 216. Weaver, E. W., quoted, 213. Welling, Richard, quoted, 169, 171, 175. West Branch (la.) Social Center, 268 ff. Writing, Socialization of, 192. (1) ^41^ UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY BERKELEY Return to desk from which borrowed. This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. APR 88 ^^ NOV 18 1958 L ■'~D LD. ^ '^l-100m-9,'47(A57028l6)476 u n I <^ UNIVERSITY OF CAUFORNIA LIBRARY i^. a^i