The community as a source of materials of instruction. Georgia program for improvement of instruction in the public schools. A report of the Committee on procedures

THE COMMUNITY AS A SOURCE OF MATERIALS OF INSTRUCTION

GEORGIA PROGRAM FOR IMPROVEMENT OF INSTRUCTION IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
(
A Report of the Committee on Procedures

M. E. Thompson, Director

Paul R. Morrow, Director ornesearch

Celia C. McCall, Assistant Director of Research

State Department of Education M. D. COLLINS
State Superintendent of Schools Atlanta, Georgia
Revised, August, 1938

I

FOREWORD
The Community as a Source of Materials of Instruction is a report of the Committee on Procedures of the Georgia Program for Improvement of Instruction in the Public Schools. This report was first prepared in 1937 in preliminary, mimeographed form. About ten thousand copies of the mimeographed report have been distributed to the teachers of Georgia. Parts of the report have been printed in the new book, The Community School, edited by Samuel Everett, D. Appleton-Century Company, New York.
The demand for this report continues to be so heavy that it was recently decided to print the report as a regular publication of the Georgia Program for the Improvement of Instruction. Some revision of the report was made before the printing.
The value of this report for study and use of the community for source materials for the public school curriculum has been proved. During the past two years the report has had constant use in the schools of Georgia.
M. D. COLLINS, State Superintendent of Schools.
S. V. SANFORD, Chancellor of the University System of Georgia.

The Committee on Procedures
~1..:E. V. Whelchel, Co-Chairman, Cook County Public Schools, Adel, Ga.
L. D. Haskew, Co-Chairman, Monroe Public Schools, Monroe, Ga.
Ethel Adams, Moultrie Public Schools, Moultrie, Ga. Katherine Comfort, Atlanta Public Schools, Atlanta, Ga. Thomas B. Conner, Worth County Public Schools, Sylvester,
Ga. Mary L. Cloud, Griffin Public Schools, Griffin, Ga. Mrs. W. 1. Flanagan, Athens Public Schools, Athens, Ga. Dorothy Hains, Richmond County Public Schools, Augusta,
Ga. Hugh A. Inglis, Habersham County Public Schools, Clarkes-
ville, Ga. Gladys Kendrick, Bibb County Public Schools, Macon, Ga. Grace King, Bainbridge Public Schools, Bainbridge, Ga. Celia McCall, State Department of Education, Atlanta, Ga. Caroline Miller, Chatham County Public Schools, Savannah,
Ga. Eva Moncrief, Bibb County Public Schools, Macon, Ga. John Morgan, Georgia State College for Women, Milledge-
ville, Ga. Mrs. Stella Mae Powell, Atlanta Public Schools, Atlanta, Ga. J. Homer Simpson, McDuffie County Public Schools, Thom-
son, Ga. Ashton G. Varnedoe, Chatham County Public Schools, Sa-
vannah, Ga. Joan Warner, Columbus Public Schools, Columbus, Ga. Sam W. Wood, Atlanta Public Schools, Atlanta, Ga.
Sub-Committee on Study and Use of the Community
Ashton G. Varnedoe, Chairman, Chatham County Public Schools, Savannah, Ga.
Katherine Comfort, Girls' High School, Atlanta, Ga. Mrs. W. 1. Flanagan, Athens Public Schools, Athens, Ga. Hugh A. Inglis, Habersham County Public Schools, Clarkes-
ville, Ga. John W. Morgan, Georgia State College for Women, Mil-
ledgeville, Ga.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Viewpoint of the Committee on Procedures______________________ 9

Why Study the Community?

11

How to Study the Community

- 13

/i I. Personal Investigation by Teachers

15

II. Use of Pupil-Teacher Activity in Studying

,.,/' Community Needs and Resources

18

III. Study of Community Resources and Needs

by Contacts with the Home

21

IV. Obtaining Information from Records

27

V. Obtaining Information from Laymen, Public Service Officials or Organizations---------------------- 29
VI. Study of the Agencies of the Larger Community: State, Nation, and World____________________ 31

Suggestions for Preserving and Filing Materials

36

Suggested Questionnaire to Help in Community Study 38

I. Maintaining Physical, Mental and Emotional

Health

38

II. Earning an Adequate Living

44

III. Performing the Responsibilities of Citizen-

ship in the Home, the State, the Nation and

with Other Nations

.____________________________ 47

IV. Utilizing and Controlling the Natural Environment for Individual and Social Needs 50

V. Receiving and Transmitting Ideas; Trans-

porting Persons and Commodities

54

VI. Expressing Aesthetic and Spiritual Impulses 61

/VII. Utilizing Education as a Means of Acquiring

and Transmitting the Social Heritage and as

an Agency for Conserving and Improving

Human and Material Resources

64

Bibliography

7(}

7

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VIEWPOINT OF THE COMMITTEE ON PROCEDURES
The curriculum of the new school is determined in advance to the extent, and only to the extent, that it can be predetermined by two factors:
1. The learners who attend the school.
2. The community (including the larger community) in which the learners of the school live.
The first step to be taken in providing a curriculum is to begin a study of the persons engaged in learning. This study
will not OIilY-locafeTnOiViCtU-arand- group needs, interests,
purposes, and problems but will also discover'past experiences of the persons surveyed.
Paralleling the study of the learner there must begin a continuous study of the community. This study will locate its needs, its resources, its group characteristics, and its possibilities.
On these two bases, then, the curriculum will move forward. It will_~_.Qfexperienceswhichpupils have. These experiences will be unified by the pupil's organization of them around a succession of worth-while problems which he has discovered to be his own and in whose solution he is vitally interested.
Since the dynamics of such a curriculum must come from the operation of pupil purposes, the exact planning in advance of activities by the teacher is manifestly impossible. A "planned-in-advance experience" is as foreign to a democratic philosophy of education as is a "planned-in-advance society."
It should be pointed out, however, that the type of curriculum advocated does not degenerate into following the whims of immature members of society. This would be as bad as following the logicalized pronouncements of subject matter specialists. The needs of the community, the felt needs of the individual, the persistent problems of living, the nature of the child, and the aims of education are all opposed to whimsicalness as well as to subject-matter-setout-to-be-learned.
9

Under this conception, the problems of the teachers be-

.come ones involving their mastery of certain fact-finding

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techniques needed for pupil and community study, in addi-

tion to even more complete mastery of subject matter.

Locating sources of experiences becomes the initial concern

of the teacher. The function of the teacher is to guide learn-

ers into and through rich experiences which contribute to

the aims of education. These problems demand of teachers

even more planning, but planning of a different type from

that involved in setting up in advance for teaching pre-

scribed bodies of subject matter.

10

.

WHY STUDY THE COMMUNITY?

Too long the school has been content with what may be learned from books without recognizing the part played by out-of-school influences upon the education of the child. It

has often neglected what has already happened to the child

before he comes to school and what he is doing in his out-pf-

school hours.

;

The pupil and the environment are inseparable; his needs ;md interests arise from environmental conditions. Every persistent problem of living as outlined in the Georgia scope of the curriculum takes root in the environment.

Since it is the responsibility of schools to guide the learner

in wise growing so that he may deal successfully with the

persistent problems of living, it becomes necessary for those

engaged in guiding to know the environment, with its re-

sources and needs.

What constitutes environment?
In the first place, environment is the home. It is made up of each individual in the home, the relationships that there exist, the activities pursued, the topics discussed, the books read, the music heard, the food, the pleasures, the privations, the thrift, the occupations-all that touches the home.
The environment is the local community with its countless problems of everyday life-the community with its many occupations, its varied industries, professions, schools, libraries, museums, churches, clubs (civic, political and social), shops, recreational facilities, its means of transportation-all that affects and contributes to life there lived.
In the large sense, envirQD.nlent is the const~ expallding community; the world community with the major'social, economic and industrial problems; the opportunities for service, leadership, understanding; the worlds of science, letters, invention, art and music.
To know the changing community in all its phases necessitates continuous study. It is hoped that in the following chapters there will be found helpful suggestions for this study-suggestions that will develop an awareness of the

11

1. Personal investigation of the community by the

teacher or by a group of teachers to ascertain its

.>:::-'-2..:

resources and needs.

2. Co-operative pupil-teacher activity as a part of the experiences provided for in the curriculum.

3. Laymen-school co-operation for discovering needs and resources of a community.

Which of these procedures is the best and most practical for use in the schools of Georgia? No single procedure can fulfill the needs of a particular school. It may be necessary to use all of these. However, since the function of the school is to provide for the learners opportunities for rich and rlleaningful experiences, a survey which involves pupilteacher activity assumes great importance. The effectiveness of this method will be conditioned by the teacher's understanding of the community. It will be necessary for her to do some personal investigation of needs and resources of the community in order to gain a rich background of understanding that will make her better able to guide learners into the activities of the proposed study.
It is important to keep in mind that when pupils carry on a study of the community in co-operation with the teacher, the amoant of pupil participation will vary with different age levels. The early elementary pupils can do very little interviewing of persons, while pupils of higher levels of experience can use this method of gaining information very successfully. A learner of the elementary age group can do much direct observation but he may be able to do only limited research into printed materials; whereas, a learner of the secondary level may investigate much technical, printed material.
In the following chapters will be found illustrations of methods involved in any community survey, utilizing one or all of the foregoing agencies. The illustrations here are only suggestive; no attempt has been made to illustrate every detail of community life or to include every way by which one might gain a better understanding of the community. No teacher should feel that because some community need or resource has been used for an illustration in this bulletin, that it must become a part of the curriculum of her particular school.

14

1. PERSONAL INVESTIGATION OF THE COMMUNITY BY TEACHERS
The committee suggests a simple and practicable approach to community study on the part of the teachers themselves, without recourse to a complicated plan. A faculty may agree that each member of the group will pursue, in his or her own way, investigations of a particular phase of community life. It may be that the teacher will develop a formal plan for a survey of her topic or she may pursue it casually as she requires data for the guidance of her children. Group meetings of all the teachers concerned would assemble at stated times to hear and discuss the results of these individual studies. Records and exhibits should be filed or stored for later use by the entire group.
The alert teacher will find a wealth of material awaiting personal investigation of a particular phase of community life. The investigation may grow out of some pupil interest which involves research and surveys outside the reach of the children, or a preliminary visit may be necessary to prepare the way for the children's own study. For example, the teache:r,;4ilhould visit a factory prior to the trip to be made by the students in order to look out for such important matters as safety, the good will of the factory operators, and the sifting of the important from the unimportant.
Other occasions for surveys by individual teachers, especially with regard to the larger community, may come about during summer vacations, during which the teacher is making full use of camera and notebook. Children have a vivid interest in ordinary camera pictures because their creation is an experience close to the child inasmuch as they are made by someone whom the children can associate with themselves.
One survey that will embrace all the aspects of living as given in the report of the Scope Committee is that of foods. Such a study would be concerned with health, earning an adequate living, good citizenship, the environment, transportation. aesthetic impulses, and the educational aspect in relation to the advertising and educational programs of the food producers and processors: ?--/The first technique in such a study is that of observation. The teacher may visit grocery stores where she will note
15

the variety of foods offered for sale, the sources of these foods, the care taken to p'rot~tthese foods from pollution,

premiums and materials givenwith foods*, the opportunity

for making a living and the use of art in displays. Other

places which would be worthy of a visit are truck farms,

canning plants, abattoirs, restaurants, the unloading sheds

at the railroad, truck stations and dairies. If it is possible

to do so without arousing the suspicions of the pupils con-

cerned, the teacher may notice the foods in children's lunches

and the attractiveness of foods on the tables in the homes where the teacher may be invited. Caution should be taken

not to ment,ion names but rather the vital facts such as well-

balanced diets, preparation of foods, and the emotional

atmosphere while the meal is being eaten, etc.'

A lead into the larger community will naturally grow out

of the local environment. Some of the foods which are sold

in the grocery store come from other states, the territories,

and even foreign countries-oranges from Florida, flour

from Minnesota, apples from the state of Washington,

potatoes from Maine, bananas from Central America, dates

and dried figs from the Near East. Transportation facili-

ties lead out of the smallest of our communities to the state,

the nation, and the world. Boxcars at the unloading sheds

tell something about commerce with the other states when the boxcar initials are interpreted; for example, R. 1. (Chi-

cago, Rock Island and Pacific) suggests the middle western

states; S.P. (Southern Pacific), the southwestern and

Pacific coast sections; N. Y. C. (New York Central), the northern states; and the B. & M. (Boston and Maine), the

New England states.

~The need for a second technique appears. Certain key

people must be interviewed for information that cannot be

obtained by mere observation. Perhaps the grocery store

manager can be of some help. If not, he may be able to

refer the investigator to someone. The local railroad agent

can give suggestions for studying the railroads. One person

will furnish a lead to another. The railroad agent may refer the investi~t&r to the National Railway Guide for infor-

mation a"outrailroads, and the merchant may refer him to

Pic~e *aFdovreenxtaumr eplset, ories~

ca.rds boxes

of of

American breakfast

birds food.

in

packages

of

soda,

and

16

certain trade journals, atlases, newspapers, textbooks,

encyclopedias, etc.

-1.,; The teacher can easily see how the foregoing procedure

may be applied to clothing, automobiles, fuel, and other

human necessities.

Another interesting survey of the community would be

/

the listing of attractive homes and gardens; natural beauty

spots such as lakes, forests, mountain views, rivers, springs,

beaches; places made attractive by the hand of man and

places that might be made attractive through the co-opera- I

tion of the people .living in the community-for example,

highway beautification, elimination. of slum conditions,

street paving, landscaping for schools and community

c~nters.

Once the teacher develops the attitude of looking for com-

munity resources and needs, she will find them on all sides.

In walking through fields and woods she will note out-of-

door life. She can see the crops grown, the types of soil,

unusual rock formations, and soil erosion. She can discover

streams and find their uses. From the forests she can list

the various kinds of trees, shrubs, wild fruits, nuts and

berries. She can broaden her knowledge of wild flowers and-

birds. This sort of information is invaluable to a rural

teacher since it furnishes a basis of understanding common

to all rural people.

From local interest in improving the environment, it is

an easy step to similar activities in the larger community

by means of the Sunday rotogravure section of some of our

metropolitan newspapers, The National Geographic Maga-

zine, encyclopedias, etc. The smallest town or village is not

a social organization separated from the rest of the world.

Many schools are now making trips in school "busses" to

places of outstanding interest (See the forthcoming national

guide to :national and state parks, which is now being compiled as a WPA project.) ,~ut the skilled teacher can take

,her children all over the world, at a low cost, by means of

newspapers, magazines, travel folders, encyclopedias, and

even textbooks. Again the teacher can make full use of

observation, interviews, and research into printea materials.

These are only examples of what teachers may ftnd when

".'

they open their eyes to the possibilities neglected by a blirul

pursuit of subject matter in books alone. The necessity for

17

each teacher to report to the central group should be re-

. emphasized, for at least three values may grow out of this

..~ .'j

.

- procedure:

1. Selection of information and materials which are to be saved for future use.

2. Information for all teachers about materials as they are collected.

3. Provision for participation by the entire group in further study if such should be considered valuable.

',j The success of a teacher is likely to be in direct proportion to her personal knowledge and sympathetic understa,nding of the community-local, state, national, and international.

II. USE OF PUPIL-TEACHER ACTIVITY IN STUDYING NEEDS AND RESOURCES

How would the teacher use pupil activity for obtaining

information that will give a better understanding of com-

munity resources and needs?

For example, health as an important aspect of living,

and as an important need and resource of the community, is

to be investigated. There are many factors involved in

health resources and needs. But let us take one of these

factors-water supply. How can this be used as material

for pupil activity?

Probably the teacher as an individual, or as a member of

a teacher group, has already interviewed the health officer

of the community to obtain a more general understanding of

health conditions. She will discuss the importance of water

supply with her class. Many of them may know little about the water supply in general but will know something of their

..

own immediate supply.~he beginning then will be the pres-

ent knowledge and experienoe of the pupils. If the class is

in a city school, attention will naturally be directed towards

the central water supply. IndiVidual pupils or committees

of pupils can be given the responsibility of obtaining definite

information from the superintendent of water works as to

the flow of water, per capita consumption, proVision for

adequate fire protection, purity of water, outstanding char.

18

acteristics of the water, prOVISIOn for protection against . pollution and other topics of interest. This information can <L be brought back to the class, and a class discussion of the
information will produce certain conclusions as to adequacy or inadequacy of the water supply. Pupils may wish to organize this information in some easily recorded form, such as a chart, a graph, a poster, or a written report.
In a rural community much more detailed information must be secured by each individual. Each pupil may be asked to check his own water supply-whether it is from a well, pump or spring, the amount of labor required to obtain the water, etc. Is the well open or covered? What precautions are taken to keep the spring pure? Is the supply adequate both winter and summer?
Samples of water may be secured and tested for purity and chemical content. What materials does it contain? Is it free from germs? Is it hard or soft? It is immediately apparent that some of these activities will be unsuited to one age level while readily suitable for another. For example, the first few grades of the elementary school could not go into the analysis of water, but a class in high school might easily discuss minerals in water and perhaps test water for its chemical content and purity. In the general science class a fine opportunity is presented for pupil investigation of water conditions.
Another illustration of use of pupil activity might be given in regard to survey of resources and needs for earning an adequate living. The primary and elementary pupils may take up as a part of their work the different kinds of occupations and how workers help all of us. They will gain from their homes much information. Older pupils may develop skill in securing information from records and reports by investigation at the library. The United States census will give some iriformation. The teacher, with records from the school, can formulate some idea as to how these occupations are represented in the class, and by co-operation with other classes obtain a cross-sectional view of the community occupations.
Another example might be a citizenship survey. The percentage of the population registered, and of the voters voting, are measures of citizenship standards in the community. The civics teacher, with co-operation of her pupils,
19

could take a school census of voters. Each child could be asked to obtain this information from home. The general
..~<!,;
interest awakened would lead to various avenues for further activity.
Another example of the use of pupil activity is in surveying the customs of the community. An aspect of educatiorr is found in the factor of peculiar, local social customs. It is easy to see that children of the community will have much information about these customs. In their study of other lands and peoples contrasts of strange and unusual customs with their own customs will arise. They might be asked to talk about and discuss local ways of behavior with which they are familiar. There may emerge from this results of great value for education. For example, the use of children in heavy farm tasks may be in opposition to proper educational opportunities.'
These activities carried on by the pupil under the guidance of the teacher will touch every pupil-in simple terms the elementary school pupil, and in more complex and broader terms the high school student. The lower elementary pupils will be concerned mainly with the "persistent problems" of their own immediate environment but as they go up progressively in the experience scale, there will be need for digging into state, national and world conditions. v Let us take just one example of a practical problem of living that starts at one's doorstep and spreads over the world from our present time back into the past and far into the future. One aspect of the history of Georgia has been the ruthless exploitation of the land. On every hand we see evidences of unintelligent use of land. Even first grade pupils can see its effects in their own fields. Then, as they go up the path of experience, they will have a real interest in a study of their state and its marginal lands, the misuse of its timber lands, its great problem of reforestation for control of erosion, its silt laden rivers, floods, and the filling up of harbors. Much of this information may be obtained from direct observation, from state and government reports, from newspapers, magazines, illustrated sections of newspapers, radio programs, individuals, graphs and weather reports.
The above is a survey of what is happening now. It might be better understood in the light of what has hap-
20
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pened in the past. The high school pupil will find in the .history of China the sad story of a nation that failed to meet <!.: the problem of conserving its natural resources. He will read of an ancient emperor of China who saw, when it was too late, the destruction of whole areas of his land. All trees had been cut, the grasses had been plowed up, and the wind and water had carried the topsoil of broad areas away, with consequent famine, floods, disease, poverty and, more terrible, an inevitable acceptance by his people of a low standard of living.
III. STUDY OF COMMUNITY RESOURCES AND NEEDS BY CONTACTS WITH THE HOME
Since the home is one of the most dynamic institutions of . any community, it is most important that any study of a
community include a study of the homes that make up the community. For work with the child to be effective, a sympathetic understanding of the home and its relation to the child must go hand in hand with a study of other community resources and needs. The school can best teach what the child needs when the teachers are familiar with tne home background. Children are learning, whether they are in school or out, and the period of the day when the child is under the direction of non-school agencies is longer than the school day. Attitudes and ways of living to be functional must be carried from the school into other centers of daily living. Parental attitudes, due to misinformation or lack of understanding, may make itharder for the child to learn to adj ust himself to his environment.
The following ways of making home con~acts are sugge!ted, and the method of accomplishing each discussed: (1) Home visits; (2) contacts with the parents through means other than the visit; (3) informal conferences with the pupil to find out some factors of the home background.
Home Visits.
A visit to the home is the best way to get a picture of the child and his immediate environment. There are several questions that are raised by teachers concerning home visits that must be answered. Some of these questions are: (1)
lU

What teachers shall make the visits to the homes? (2) What should the teacher's attitude be so that she will be welcomed ,ihto the home? (3) Wben--a.]j.all home visits be made? (4) How can the teacher visit the homes when children live many miles from school and no transportation is supplied by the school? (5) What are some things that she should or should not do to make the visit successful and secure the information she wants?
In some schools it may be possible to have a "visiting teacher" who goes into the home and makes contacts with parents. This teacher may collect information and give it to the other teachers. From an economical standpoint, this is not always possible, particularly in the smaller school. Direct contact of the classroom teacher under whose direction the child is placed has its advantages. Parents will feel a more sympathetic and personal interest in the person actually working with the child, and a more enthusiastic co-operation on the part of the home with the school will result.
The teacher's personality andher approach to the parents will greatly affect the response from the home. She will not gain the parents' confidence if she appears to be "inspecting" the home. If she is approachable, friendly, and sympathetically interested in the family, she will be readily welcomed. The teacher who finds a mother working in the garden, or washing dishes, can make ;herself at home by insisting that
the mother continue her work, or even joining lier in it.
It is well for the teacher to plan beforehand some way to begin conversation because the .mother may have a limited social background and may be embarrassed in the presence of a stranger. No matter how poor the home, one may notice something to comment on in a sincerely interested way and receive an appreciative, if sometimes slow response, from the mother. Some comments might be made about a pretty tree in the yard, a pet, or some work the mother is doing'.
The bel;lt~~tthe home is soon after the school term has started. The parents will then feel that the teacher is coming from interest and not to make complaints about the child's work. The time of day that the mother is least busy with her home duties will be better from her standpoint. From the teacher's standpoint, after school will be the time when she is free for home visiting. It is well to
22

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remember that in the very late afternoon mothers are apt to be busy with various home duties and the evening meal. <1.: It is not feasible to attempt more than three to five visits in one afternoon.
In the professional capacity of a teacher one may visit the homes without being governed by the social custom of waiting for the mother to call first, or for a special invitation. Frequently, it will be wise for the teacher to let the parents know that she is going to call sometime early in the school year. In some instances it may be best to set a definite time. This has the disadvantage that the family prepares for the visit and the teacher cannot observe the home under normal conditions. Notifying the parents that home visits are going to be made may be done by means of a letter from the superintendent or teacher explaining the purpose of the visit. Frequently these carry more weight if they are written, or typewritten, and mailed, rather than mimeographed and sent home by children. A letter similar to the one below might be used:

Dear Parents:

September 15, 1938

The first week of school has been a busy as well as a

happy one for the boys and girls of

School.

We are glad to have them again under our direction.

We are hoping to make our school program this year as

vital as possible in the lives of the boys and girls. We realize

that the child is in the school only a short part of the day

and that our school, to really make for the best growth and

development of the child at all times, must work with the

home and other agencies which are a part of the child's life.

Our teachers feel that they can do better work if they

know the parents in a friendly way. Next week they are to

begin making visits to the homes because many of the par-

ents cannot come to the school. Through these visits with

you, and with your co-operation, we hope that we can make

this school year a happy and worth-while one for

.

Sincerely,

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Transportation presents a big problem in home visiting, e!pecially if the teacher has no automobile. Sometimes the ~<t.: school board will allow mileage if the members have been made to see that home visitation is an important part of school work. The vocational agriculture teacher or the school nurse is often willing to take a teacher around, or the superintendent or principal might lend his car. Occasionally a teacher can go home with some of the students after school, if she knows that one of the patrons will bring her back to town. Frequently two or three can visit in the same locality and share expenses, or a parent will be willing to co-operate with the teacher and take her for the visits. A teacher may need to use much ingenuity before she can reach all the homes.
There are a few other points that a teacher might consider in order to make home visits more successful:
First, one should not be too much concerned with getting information about the home. If a teacher has this in mind she is likely to make it apparent, and her visit will not be as suc.cessful as it would be if she went in an informal manner with the idea of making friends of the parents uppermost in her mind.
Second, one should not write anything in the presence of parents as they might resent this inquiring attitude and apparent study of their home.
Third, one should record any "key remarks" made by either parent or child that might give a better insight into the home. One teacher gained a gOQ<1 insight into one home from a remark by the father to this effect, "lam going to make a nurse out of Ma:pY,"
R-ecording HtYrM V~it~.
The school or individual teacher may work out a form for recording the home visits, with a summary of information secured. It will facilitate matters if a standard form
is used to :tit the needs. of the individual school. These
records may be made in duplicate. Loose-leaf sheets filed alphabetically in a notebook might be used by the teacher to keep the home record of the children under her direct supervision. The second copy might be filed in the school office for
24

use of the other teachers working with the child. Frequent conferences of teachers working with the child are sug-1... gested so that the entire staff can work co-operatively for the child's development and growth. A suggestive form is given below:

HOME VISIT REPORT

Narne of studenL

Date of first visit

.

Narne of parenL

Nationality

_

Occupation of father

Mother

_

Home environment

_

Impression of family

_

(An account of the home visit might include record of

things which would give a picture of the social and econom-

ic background of the pupil. For example: Kind of house,

conveniences, education of parents, social and religious in-

terests of parents, civic leadership, attitude toward training

of children, type of discipline used, or special observation or

incident pertinent to understanding of home.)

_

Attitude toward schooL

_

Parents' ambition for the child

_

Record of any particular problem that the child might have

Comments from the teacher relative to the result of the visit to this child's home, as:
(1) Make school as pleasant as possible for this child; family cordial, but more interested in hearing of their son, Johnnie, than of Charlie.
(2) Try to help the child with cleanliness and health habits.

....

~

..J

_

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Contacts with Parents by Means Other Than the Home Visit.

. When it is impossible for the teachers tOgo to the homes
.~<!..:
because of the distance from the school, the parents may be

invited to school. The usual invitation that the parents get

is to come to the school for some special program or display.

Frequently lack of time and the nature of the occasion

prevent the teacher from making friendly contacts with the

parents. Those who live so far that the teacher cannot go to

the homes are the ones who do not come to the school on these

occasions. The teacher must then find some other way of

contacting these homes. One might obtain some information

from the county agent, health officer, school nurse, truant

officer, or pastor. Parents frequently come to town for

shopping. A teacher can find out the time that they usually

make this trip so that arrangements may be made to be at

school at that tjme, and parents may be invited by personal

note to visit the teacher at the school then. It will probably

be on Saturday afternoon when the week's work is over.

Some teachers have found that having office hours after

school, at regular intervals, helps solve this problem.

Another way of contacting the parents and getting their

interest and co-operation is by means of personal letters.

These may inform the parents of things going on in the

school; they may suggest ways of parental co-operation. A

sample letter follows: ---

School

Dear Mr. "C_~_~_"c

October 3, 1938
_

I wish you could have been at school tPis morning to see a
"Good Citizenship Program" which -c.-.-----C-"---~.----------, your son, presented at the assembly period. His committee wrote

the playlet entitled, "A Safe Walker," after a child had been

hit by a bicycle rider a few days ago. You should be very

proud of

c

He is a fine citizen. One of

our objectives this year is to become good citizens.

On Saturday afternoon I expect to be at school from 4 to 6 and I do hope that you and Mrs. "__________________________ will

come and see some of the excellent work ..._.__~

_

has done.

Sincerely~

Teacher

----------------------------

26

Teacher-Pupil Conference.
<!.: A direct interview with the pupil in which questions are asked about the home may not give the desired information because the child may feel that the teacher is prying too much into his personal life. After a study of all information concerning the home that has been recorded on the permanent record card, the teacher might have an informal conference with the pupil to try to find out facts she wishes to know. A conference of this kind might be begun by asking the child about things he likes to do outside of school; in his discussion of them the teacher may insert questions that will give her the desired information without the child's feeling that he has been questioned definitely about his home life.
IV. OBTAINING INFORMATION FROM RECORDS
In examining any community to discover its resources and needs the information obtained from records is of utmost importance. Many records are public property, such as those accumulated by schools, governmental agencies, libraries and international organizations. Other records belong to various organizations such as civic clubs, credit bureaus, cooperative unions, welfare groups and churches. This type of material is usually not made public but is often shared if this is requested of a member of such a group. Much interesting material can be gathered from such sources as old letters, diaries, old land grants and maps, historic markers, monuments and tombstones.
School Records.
Probably one .of the best sources of information is a careful study of the pupil's registration card. Practically all school systems require pupils to fill out such a card upon entering. It usually carries such information as the pupil's name, address, age, race, birthplace, parents' names, nationality, vocation and length of occupancy at the present address. It indicates to whom reports are to be sent, and note is often made as to whether older pupils help to support themselves. In some instances, record is kept of the pupil's
27

past absences and their causes. Frequently religious prefer-

ence is noted.

~<L

The thoughtful teacher readily sees how a little organiza-

tion of data contained on such cards would give her afairly

good cross section of her local community-its ways of earn-

ing a living, its health trends, its nationalities, its religious

tendencies, its transitory population, etc. Something may

be learned as to child labor and the divorce situation.

In addition to the registration card a great amount of

help results from an examination of case study cards.

Those cumulative record sheets of pupils might indicate the

general delinquency and criminal tendencies. They often

reveal interests of the community and prove useful in fur-

nishing leads for '~experience teaching." The study men-

tioned is not only useful in one classroom, but if carried on

in the whole school, will furnish a broader view of the whole

community. Case study cards should be filed so that they

can be easily kept and used by all teachers.

Other records containing information related to schools

and useful in understanding the larger community may be

found in county and state school superintendents' offices.

The Georgia Education Association and National Education

Association, as well as the international home economics

organization, can furnish much interesting data.

Governmental Agencies.
Our governmental agencies stand ready at all times to give out information. The local city hall, courthouse, and post office are headquarters for such data. The mayor, the courthouse clerk, and the postmaster are usually most willing to give assistance in securing help from their records. They will either do this themselves or direct one to the proper persons. The state and Federal agencies are indispensable in studying the larger community. The Federal census in itself is invaluable, while the various departments of the Federal government, such as the Department of Interior, of Agriculture, etc., the Office of Education and the Ethnological Department of the Smithsonian Institute are ready to furnish a wealth of information on almost any subject. Such materials are in the forms of books, bulletins, leaflets, maps, etc. State departments publish similar

~8

materials. They may be obtained by writing the head of .the department or by contacting your congressman or state <!.: legislator. If requested, individual names will be added to the congressman's mailing list for such material.
Teachers have failed in many instances to make full use of materials that the government has at its disposal. So much of this material is free, or at such low cost, it is hoped that larger numbers of teachers will take advantage of the opportunity to secure information to which they all have access.
Information from Laymen's Organizations and Nongovernmental Agencies.
The average laymen's organization is usually undertaking some project to improve community conditions. The local unit works in connection with the larger state and national groups. In carrying on the work these organizations collect large amounts of information that not only bring about better understanding of the local community but of the larger community.
Railroad companies and steamship lines are contributing also to such understanding by their publications of free bulletins and maps. The Red Cross is one of the very best sources for information on the world community.
The pupil, if mature enough, can always have a part in gathering this information. Pupils' detail work can supplement the teacher's general survey. Information obtained should be continuously kept in such way that it is easily available and usable.
V. OBTAINING INFORMATION FROM LAYMEN AND PUBLIC SERVICE OFFICIALS OR ORGANIZATIONS
In any study of the community much vital information may be secured from laymen and public service officials. Frequently in the smaller community there may be persons from whom one can draw information or interpretations that help him to understand and participate in the affairs of the larger community of which he becomes more and more a part. Outside the smaller community there are rich sources of facts which help teachers and learners to see
29

relationships that exist in modern, complex society, if he

but uses them.

~-'2,;

Take for an example, health, which is one of the per-

sistent problems of living. A phase of investigation may be

the mortality rate. In the smaller community the health

officer, nurse, or local physician has at hand much informa-

tion that can be utilized. To secure this, it means that the

teacher or learner must make some kind of contact with

these people. The mechanics of "interviewing" are impor-

tant here. With older students this may mean that the

teacher will pave the way for the students to get the infor-

mation by discussing the matter with one of the suggested

persons so that when the pupil goes for the facts the person

to be interviewed will be ready to give him the desired

information.

In seeing the question of local community mortality rate

in relation to the state and nation, or even the world, facts

may be obtained from the state Board of Health, the Federal

census, or World Almanac. This may mean letters on the

part of pupils or teachers to get this material. Frequently

time will be saved for the learner if the teacher has antici-

pated these needs and has the materials available in the

library so that the learner can go there for his facts. This

then gives the student a problem in which research is used to

secure facts. Students can summarize the materials ob-

tained in a charl or graph that will show relationships of

mortality rates for local community, state, and nation. Com-

parison of mortality rates for twenty-year periods might be

made and conclusions drawn.

Frequently if the problem for study has an aspect that is

broad enough to merit the attention of the entire group, a

person who has something definite to give might be brought

into the school. In studying housing one can often secure

the help of an expert who is familiar with housing conditions

in the local community, the state, and nation. Since the

Federal government is giving much attention to housing, a

person working in that field could give to a group a view-

point on housing problems, slums, and slum clearance that

would broaden each member's outlook and help him, as a

member of society, to see his responsibility for the existing

conditions. Frequently these people have slides, graphs, and

maps that present problems and conditions in a most strik-

30

ing way. They often show what is being done in other parts of the world. "2.: Our communities and states are rich in traditions, local customs and folklore. Frequently interesting persons in the community can be brought into the school to help the learners become acquainted with this phase of community culture. Some people make hobbies of collecting materials concerning folklore and customs. Materials that have been collected for various centennial or bicentennial celebrations and preserved in files of local organizations may be used by the school: Old newspapers and periodicals are also useful. Books are beginning to appear that give a wealth of material about various sections of the country.
The local chamber of commerce or the chamber of commerce in any large city can supply much valuable material concerning the natural resources of a state or local community. Material from these sources often gives resources and the extent to which they have been developed. It may be obtained by pupil or teacher interview or through a letter explaining the need for such material. If this organization cannot supply material it can direct you to sources where it may be obtained.
Another organization whose possibilities have not been utilized to its fullest extent is the parent-teacher organization. This organization is an excellent vehicle through which the school may be interpreted and the community informed of the needs, problems and program of the school. Likewise the school may obtain valuable aid on problems of the community. In working with the problem of safety, for example, this organization has much material, consisting of slogans, statistics, and pamphlets.
These cases are only a few illustrations of how many interesting resources and needs may be made more vital to children through actual contact with laymen and public service officials and organizations.
VI. STUDY OF THE AGENCIES OF THE LARGER COMMUNITY: STATE, NATION AND WORLD
The five general methods already discussed may be thought of as placing too much emphasis on the smaller community. There are other agencies (which the school
81

must recognize) that affect our daily living and that bring the larger community closer to us. These lend themselves to enrich the learner's life and help the teacher to guide him to understand better the community in its broadest sense. A teacher cannot guide the learn~r until she herself knows the larger community; the teache'r must have at hand a rich background of materials and suggestions so that she can direct the learner into channels that will prove rich and vital.
The instruments through which the learner and teacher can study this larger community are newspapers, books, periodicals, government bulletins, "movies," national and world organizations, institutions of research and preservation, and expositions of national and international character. In the use of this method of study we find a great need for teacher guidance because of the necessity of building up discriminating attitudes toward the above instruments. The teacher must be continually on the alert to keep herself informed on current problems and the information and material that can be obtained on those prg,blems. The use of the Reader's Guide to Periodical LitertL1,ure, !ijund in most libraries, will be useful in locating material. \ The school as a democratic society has an obligation to help make of each individual a good citizen. The good citizen is interested in making society democratic, wholesome, wellordered, and collectively happy. Therefore, the individual must be aware of the relationships of social, economic, political and industrial forces that affect him. In this way only can we prevent the curriculum of our schools from being narrowly provincial. The learner must be brought face to face with issues and be willing to do his own thinking, basing his action or participation in society on intelligent judgment.
In using experiences that result in learning and make '-the individual a participating citizen, schools must deal
with present-day problems that society as a whole is facing., This becomes one of the most difficult jobs because the teacher must see that the child studies all sides of a question and thinks it through before formulating his own opinion. Teachers should use many of the instruments that help inform the public on these issues. Reading newspapers, periodicals, books, listening to radio discussions, studying
32

reports of the government and other organizations, may

. serve to clarify issues. The Reader's Guide to Periodical

-~..

.

. - Literature, in which articles that appear in current maga-

zines are classified, will help the teacher to locate such ma-

terials. Requests from the teacher to have his name placed

on mailing lists from various departments of the govern-

ment, or various civic and welfare organizations, assure

announcements of recent publications. Care must be exer-

cised to see that children get material on all sides of any

Issue. -Bringing into the school people familiar with the

problem will be valuable. The learner should always have

an opportunity to hear both sides, however. (This matter

must be handled carefully because opinions formed may be

affected by the actual personalities introduced.) It should

be emphasized again that this is one area in which the

teacher must go to infinite pains to make the best possible

material available to the learner.

Questions or issues of a controversial nature are not the

only ones in which the instruments named above can be

utilized, nor are they the only ones that show relationships

and interdependence of the smaller community with the

larger community. By means of transportation and com-

munication our communities are no longer isolated. Take

for example the question of citizenship and see how some

of these instruments offer constructive help. In many

schools "sound pictures" are being used to show in a dra-

matic way situations that illustrate good citizenship, or

some phase of character education. Questions of ethical

conduct and problem situations where judgment of values

enter may be illustrated through the "movies." It has long

been recognized that character education cannot be taught

effectively through subject matter areas. Many excellent

short reels have been shown recently in commercial "movies"

on "Safety" and "Crime and Its Eradication." They have

made a definite contribution in creating wholesome attitudes

about these problems.

Newspapers and periodicals carry much useful material

that can be utilized in the classroom. The use of these

develops in the learner an alertness to what is happening in

the world. The radio is another field rich with possibili-

ties. Frequently much that is given over the radio is com-

mercial but the programs are being improved each year.

33

More and more attention is being given to the discussion of present-day problems. Programs like "You and Your Gov-
...=--,-2..:
ernment," and forum discussions, have places on the programs of many of the broadcasting stations. The need here is to find out what may be obtained over the radio. Radio guides will help the teacher direct her students in listening to these programs. Group discussions of 'programs in school will do much to develop discriminating judgment and a questioning attitude toward what is heard. In any discussion of the radio and periodicals we cannot fail to call attention to the vast amount of advertising that one sees, hears, and follows. There is a definite need to study the authenticity of advertisements and develop a habit of not blindly accepting the claims and values of advertised products. Such publications as 100,OOO~OOO Guinea Pigs, Skin Deep, Counterfeit, Consumer Research, and the like, are valuable in pointing out many of the fallacies of highpressure advertising.
In their educational nature, these instruments offer much that helps develop an appreciation of art, music and literature. They may be a real source of pleasure and entertainment. Surely the radio has raised the level of music appreciation by bringing opera "stars," selections from the opera, light opera, ballads and folk songs to a large, unseen audience. Many of the finest symphony orchestras have broadcasts at regular intervals. Musical programs from foreign lands or adventure broadcasts, as those from the Byrd expedition in Little America, stimulate the imagination of the learner and bring him into closer contact with distant parts of the world.
Likewise the "movies" have brought much that is good in art and dramatics. The setting of pictures such as in "Mutiny on the Bounty," the acting and historical significance of the "House of Rothschild," and the period setting and interior decoration of "Berkeley Square" are good examples of this. Travel talks in the "movies" show places of beauty in all parts of the world as well as giving customs of peoples.
The popularity of such magazines as Reader's Digest among learners ,of the secondary level indicates their interest and capacity for enjoyment of summaries of the best articles from current magazines. Through this means wider
34

reading in magazines like Harpers, Time and Forum, may be stimulated. These lead children into a greater apprecia<L tion of the larger world and the ways of living of other people. What control then does the school have on the programs the children listen to over the radio, the "movies" they see, or the periodicals they read? Only by developing an appreciation of these things in school can pupils be led to enjoy the best that these instruments have to offer. The teacher may suggest things to read, programs to hear, or "movies" to see and allow learners to discuss these in a critical way, bringing out the best points and the things in them that they like best. Thus pupils will learn to distinguish the artificial from the worth while under the guidance of the teacher. The importance of the teacher's keeping "up-to-date" with materials like the newspapers, periodicals, the radio, the "movies" and the like cannot be overemphasized. This means actual reading of much material, studying the radio guides, book reviews, "movie" criticisms,\ in order to be familiar with what is worth while. Careful ! analysis of world literature on all subjects will locate for i the teacher useful material for enriching her class work. The trained librarian in a school has at hand many valuable guides that the alert teacher may utilize directly in her work .with boys and girls in their study of the larger community.
35

SUGGESTIONS FOR PRESERVING AND FILING MATERIALS

~--2.:

School education to be based on the actualities of life

should provide learning tools which provide life experi-

ences. Interest in the worth-while things of life should be

early given to children through the media of modern learn

ing tools, such as maps, charts, pictures, and other aids.

Many of these can be supplied with little or no expense

but the problem of how to take care of them after they are

collected is important. Some materials, as pictures or clip-

pings cut from magazines, are of transient nature and need

to be discarded or revised from time to time. Permanent

materials, as pictures of famous Georgians, national parks,

beauty spots in Georgia, and reproductions of art should be

mounted and filed so that they can be used again and again.

Newspapers, magazines, descriptive folders and roto-

gravure sections all provide excellent materials for mount-

ing. These should be cut and trimmed with care and pasted

in a scrapbook or album. If properly made, such a book

will be a source of pleasure and information for many years.

The pictures should be classified. Those pertaining to animal

life should be placed in a book by themselves. Likewise, a

separate book should be filled with pictures of home life.

One book might illustrate American history; another,

beauty spots of Georgia, or plant life, and so on. Children

are fascinated by the pictoral study of the United States

from its first settlement to the present day. They enjoy

collecting, mounting and even binding the materials when

they know they are to become a permanent and useful addi-

tion to the school library.

Other types of materials that should be preserved are

posters of railroads, bulletins, pamphlets, publications by

the state and national governments, travel bulletins, book

and seed catalogues, exhibits and collections of Georgia

minerals, specimen models, reviews of plays, "movie" and

radio programs, properties and costumes to be used in play

productions and school programs.

Classification of Materials.

In some systems there is. a central place where all materials are kept so that teachers can get them when needed. But a mo::e ideal way is to have a place in the building if there is an available room with shelves and cabinets.

36

The materials may be classified according to topics, subject headings, or teaching problems. The system should be "2,; kept simple enough to make the material easy to find. Fre-
quently one of the older pupils can take charge of this room.
No matter how much material may be collected, it will be of little value unless it is classified and catalogued so that the teacher and pupils can refer to it readily when needed.
Such materials as empty cigar boxes, orange crates and empty cracker boxes, which the merchants are glad to give, will be valuable for use as filing cases.
Ways of Filing.
1. An available room or closet with shelves and cabinets. Index cards and labels. Regulation steel or wood filing cases may be purchased from any office supply house. Some sections should be large enough to carry the legal size folders; others 91/2" by 12~
2. Sometimes a patron or the boys of a given class will take pride in building a filing case froJtllumber, or from a wooden box which may be obtained from a store. The box should have a cover made with hinges and a lock, and should be painted to match the other furniture.
3. Orange crates, painted and lined with heavy wrapping paper, may be used. A cover should be made.
4. Heavy corrugated cartons and 'shirt boxes that may be obtained from the clothing store may be used in filing pamphlets, pictures, bulletins, and some costumes. A piece of paper may be pasted on the end of the box, with list of what it contains.
5. Envelopes of heavy paper, left open at one end, and bound around the edge with gummed paper tape to pre>:ent tearing, may be used to take care of small bulletins. Pupils will be glad to make these out of laundry or other heavy paper. On the back they may be lettered with the name of the collection and the list of bulletins contained in each.
6. Scrapbooks will serve to keep materials of certain types. They may be made of heavy cardboard, brown paper, looseleaf type, or secured from ten-cent stores.
Pupils may help to make cards for filing and do the printing on the envelopes, boxes and labels.
37

SUGGESTED QUESTIONNAIRE TO HELP IN
COMMUNITY STUDY
'~--1..:
Following are some suggestive questions on the community which may help the teacher to discover its resources and needs. These lists are based upon the "persistent problems of living" as outlined by the committee on the scope of the curriculum. No attempt has been made to take care of every detail of community life, or to include every way by which one could gain a better understanding of the community. The ingenuity of the teacher should bring forth many other ways of handling the problems of community study.

1. MAINTAINING PHYSICAL, MENTAL, AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH
Suggestive Questions to Help Some Ways of Investigating Determine Needs and Resources of a Community

A. General.

A. The questions in this group are for the teacher's background. Pupil activity may be utilized with upper elementary and secondary school pupils especially.

1. What agencies in your community are provided to maintain a standard of physical health?

Much of this information can be obtained from the county health officer, school nurse, or a local physician.

2. What is the attitude of your community toward clinics?

3. Are funds or means available for correction of defects?

38

4. What regulation does your community h a v e for "2.: vaccination for smallpox? Diphtheria? Typhoid?
5. Are quarantine regulations enforced? Used?

Some information may be obtained from school principal, county commissioner. Check record~ and case studies for vaccination records.

6. Are there any occupational diseases in your community?

7. Are epidemics studied to find out sources? To effect control?

8. What authority does the Check on summer roundschool have to require any of up before school opens. the above?
9. What is the attitude toward school regulations for control of disease?
10. What per cent of community takes advantage of vaccines, etc.?
11. Does the community have epidemics of certain diseases frequently, as malaria? Measles? During certain months?

12. What state laws make available health services?
13. To what extent are they utilized in your community?

Write state Department of Health for state laws that make general provisions.

14. What is the attitude of the community toward the use of alcohol in any form?

89

15. What child health and See health officer, local maternity centers does your physician, or mayor. -0--.1..; community have?
16. Is birth registration required? Are these records properly kept?
17. Are there hospitals or organizations for human rehabilitation in your community? (For tuberculosis, for example?)
18. Are local and state laws enforced with regard to removal of nuisances and general sanitation?
19. What hospital accommodations has your community? How are charity cases taken care of?

B. Food and Water.

B. Food and Water.

1. What is the source of water supply in the community? Homes?
2. Are there regulations for purity?
3. What is the source of food? (Shipped? Home grown? Produced locally?)
4. What is the common diet?

Pupil investigation under guidance of teacher. Visit water works after study has been made. Through interview with local official and letters to state Department of Health, study purity. Questionnaire for pupils about rural home water supply may be used.

5. Are fresh fruits andvegetables used during win~er months?

40

6. How often is meat used?
c~2.: 7. Are eggs, milk, and dairy products used generally?

Pupil questions (check list) might be used to find out answers to. questions 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

Pupil investigation, visits to local grocery stores, studying local food advertisements, will be valuable in No.3.

8. Is there provision for hot lunch at school?
9. Are prices low enough to be within range of most of the students?
10. What provisions are made for children who cannot afford to buy lunches?
11. Is inspection of meat, milk, and other foods required and enforced in your community?

Information concerning questions 8, 9 and 10 can be obtained from person in charge of cafeteria.
Pupil investigation of lunch problem may reveal changes that might be brought about. Frequently they might undertake the preparation of soups when provisions are not made for this in school.
Principal can give information about No. 10.

C. Sanitation.

C. Sanitation.

1. What regulations does the community have for sanitation?
a. Sewage disposal?
b. Garbage disposal?
c. Marsh and swamp drainage?

Contact health officers or local physician to get information.

2. Is the standard for rural . Pupil investigation may be

homes high? Low?

used here.

41

3. What is the attitude of Observation of general

co:mmunity or home toward sanitary conditions of a

0-.2,; its responsibility for sani- locality may lead to definite

tary conditions?

study and work to correct it.

D. Recreation.

D. Recreation.

1. What recreational centers are provided by the community for children? For adults?

Pupil- teacher investigation of recreational opportunities of community.

2. Are they directed?

3. What Ii brary facilities . Pupil questionnaire to see

are provided by the commu- how many utilize those that

nity? Church? Home?

are provided.

4. What are the commercial recreation centers?

Visits to these places to study recreational activities offered, safety, supervision, etc.

5. Do they offer a high type of entertainment? Are there any undesirable f eat u res? What?

Questionnaire to check reading habits and interests.

6. Are there agencies that Pupil investigation under

work for better commercial teacher guidance (secondary

entertainment?

and upper elementary).

7. Are parks located in congested centers?
8. Is there an effort on the part of the community to provide co-operative public recreation, as pageants?

Interview health officer, welfare w 0 r k er, woman's club, etc.

9. To what extent is the school building used for a recreational center?

42

E. Relief and Social Welfare. E. Relief and Social Welfare.

. <L 1. What relief agencies are active in the community?
2. To what extent are they active?
3. How are services rendered, and to whom?
4. Are there any hospitals, homes, etc., to care for special diseases, old age, orphans?

Pupil - teacher investigation. Information obtained from:
Local physician or health officer.
Church organizations. Direct contact with relief
agencies. Managers of community
chest.

F. Safetr.

F. Safety.

1. Is the community con- Pupil investigation under

tinually carrying on an ac- teacher guidance. Informa-

tive safety program?

tion from police.



2. What agencies are par- City council, city manager, ticipating, and to what ex- or mayor.
tent?

3. What responsibility do the various industries in the community assume for safety of workmen?

Visits to industries and interviews with managers.

4. How is traffic controlled? Effectiveness?
5. Does your community require adequate lighting of streets?
6. Is it constantly revising traffic rules and requiring enforcement?

Pupils may participate in safety work:
Safety patrols near school. Participation ins a f et y
campaign, with slogans, stories, etc.

7. Are grade crossings being eliminated?

8. What is the school doing for safety in traffic?

48

II. EARNING AN ADEQUATE LIVING

..:;---2..: Suggested. Questions on the Suggested Ways to Examine

Problem of Earning a Living the Community to Become

in the Community

Better Acquainted with the

Economic Situation and Re-

sources That Might be Used

to Improve the Situation

1. What is the leading industry of the community? What is the prevailing wage? Salary scale? Is it adequate for a good standard of living?

Contact the chamber of commerce, labor unions, trade unions, co-operative groups.
See Federal census.

2. What other industries Consult the city directory, and occupations are there? telephone directory and local What professional persons? newspapers.

Contact the chamber of commerce and employment bureaus.

3. What is the unemploy- Contact employment bu-

ment situation? To what is reaus, FERA and similar

unemployment due?

organizations.

4. How much child labor is Visit and observe places

there? Of what type and where it exists. See case

nature is it?

study cards at school.

5. W hat occupational opportunities does the community offer, and especially for young people?

Interview heads of business institutions, commercial enterprises, and of business and vocational schools.

6. What local industries and vocational schools are there that offer opportunity for training in s pee i a I skills? Other schools that train in. skills? What state agencies?

See the telephone directory, city directory and local newspapers.
Contact the heads of vocational schools, relief schools, colleges, etc.

44

7. What business institu- See the city directory, tele-

tions are there? Of what phone directory, local news-

<L nature?

papers and charters granted

by city, county, or state.

8. What is the tax rate? Contact the city, county,

The tax income? Sources of state and Federal tax offices,

tax income?

and the tax payers' league.

9. What co-operative associations are there that foster better working conditions? Trade unions, farmers' unions, etc. (local, state, national) ?

County farm agent; American Federation of Trades and Labor; chamber of commerce; Federal Department of Labor.

10. What per cent of the See reports of real estate population own homes? What boards, tax returns and per cent rent their homes? courthouse records.

Are there any housing projects sponsored by government or housing corporations? What per cent of homes carry mortgages?

11. What is the cost of Library materials. Write living? How does it compare U. S. Department of Labor. with rest of state or nation?

12. Is there a county demonstration agent? Home demonstration agent?

Write state Department of Education, Atlanta, and the University of Georgia Division of General Extension, Atlanta.

13. What type of merchandise is offered in public sales?

Check stores, shops, markets, wholesale houses, buyers' guide, advertisements, etc.

45

14. What 'per cent of fami- See health nurse or officer.

lies belong to the so-called See leading reliable citizen.

'~<L marginal group? What seem

to be the underlying causes Read Southern Regions,

of this situation?

Howard Odum; Human

Geography of the South,

Vance; both from University

of N. C. Press, Chapel Hill,

N. C.

15. What agencies are functioning in the local community to relieve economic stress? S ta t e? National? What seems to be the cause of this distress?

See city council, county commissioners, FERA, organized groups such as welfare and civic clubs, Red Cross, churches, and the like.

16. What agencies or outstanding persons are working for economic improvement? Is the making of family budgets taught by any agency?

Contact chambers of commerce, vocational s c h 0 0 1s, Consumers' Research, state experiment stations, cooperative associations, tax payers' league, etc.

17. What agencies in the community are working for economic security?

Write Federal Department of Agriculture, county agent, and Soil Conservation Bureau, Athens, Ga.

18. Are there any provisions for employee's insurance, retirement or pension funds?

Insurance companies; post office; Federal government reports.

19. To what extent have scientific inventions affected the occupations of the community?

Observe people at work. See county agent, home demonstration agent, labor unions, Federal Department of Labor.

20. Is there a credit bureau See telephone directory,

in the community?

chamber of commerce, civic

clubs, banks, postmaster.

46

21. What utilities are pub- Check with municipal,

"2.; '1idy owned? What are rates state and Fed era 1 govern-

of each?

ments. ContactT.V.A.

22. What key persons might serve as sources of information?
23. What industries employ women workers? Does the law limit the hours for women?

Preachers, presidents of civic clubs, state, county and Federal experts, government departments, congressmen.
Secretary of chamber of commerce.

III. PERFORMING THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF CITIZENSHIP IN THE HOME, THE STATE, THE
NATION, AND WITH OTHER NATIONS

Resources

Ways of Investigating

A. Character of Population. A. Study of the Population.

1. What is the population of your community? School district?
2. What per cent of this is white? Of negro race? Other nationalities? What per cent is naturalized?
3. Are these races localized or scattered?
4. What is the attitude toward these groups?

Much of this information may be secured by pupils of the upper elementary and secondary levels under the direction of the teacher as they study their problems through experience activities. On the lower elementary level the teacher will want information for her own background.
The Federal census report can be used to find out much of this.

5. What do other races or nationalities contribute to your community life?

Local officials s u c has mayor or county commissioners can supply this information. County records. Tax receiver. '

47

B. Participation in Govern- B. Study of Government.

ment.

-::---2.:
1. What per cent of the

Information from county

population is registered?

tax receiver.

2. What per cent voted in recent elections?
3. Are there any open forum discussions sponsored for studying civic problems? How organized? To what extent are these functioning?
4. What provision is made for upkeep of community properties, as streets, etc.?

Records at courthouse, or old newspapers showing election (local, state, and national) returns.
Principal can give information about open forums. Interviews with active leaders of forum groups will supply information as to function and organization.
City manager or official in charge of public work can give data on community upkeep. See tax digests.

C. Form of Government.

C. Investigation of Form of Government.

1. What is the form of local government? Town? County?
2. What is attitude toward law enforcement?
3. What is the personnel of the government? How selected? What qualifications for basis of remuneration?

Interview members of city council and board of county commissioners. Bull e tin s from state Capitol will give general county organization. These may be found in libraries or obtained by writing s tat e Capitol. Elementary and secondary groups may organize group government along the lines of city or county governments.

D. School Organization.

D. Study of Schools.

1. How are schools organized (consolidated, city, county) ?
2. What is basis for salaries?

Chairman of school board or trustees, school superintendents, Red Cross, health officials, etc.

413

3. What is the general educational status in the community?
4. To what extent are politics involved in school management?
5. What per cent of local budget is allotted to education?

Educational status may be checked by interview with students, asking amount of education parents have; workers may be checked by conferences with employers. Principal or superintendent can give records of graduates attending college. Questionnaires.

E. Civic Organizations.
1. What civic clubs are active in your community? For adults? For youth?
2. Is their function primarily social?
3. If not, what definite civic responsibilities do they assume? (Health, safety, scholarship, citizenship, etc.)

E. Study of Civic Organizations.
Interview leaders in various clubs to find out activities, etc.
Organize club groups as part of school activities. Lead children to formulate programs that encourage them to assume civic responsibilities, as (1) keeping school ground clean; (2) practicing safety in regard to traffic.

F. Recreation.

F. Investigation of Recreation.

1. What community projects are maintained for recreational activities?

Visit various recreational centers, as Y. W. C. A., and find out recreational resources, safety, provision for direction and guidance, etc.

2. Are there antisocial influences in the community? What is the attitude toward these? Are there any agencies combating these influences? (See Health.)

County agent; law enforcement officials. With secondary group, the antisocial influences may be studied in detail. Regulations controlling these can be obtained from the mayor.

49

G. Delinquent and

G. Study of Delinquents

Dependent.

and Dependents.

~--2.:

1. How is juvenile delin- Judge of court can give

quency handled?

information here.

2. What type of correction is given? Is it constructive, and directed toward correcting tendencies by developing good citizens' traits?

If there are corrective institutions older students may visit the sea n d interview managers. Effectiveness of' institutions may be studied by studying reports of cases of corrective work.

3. How does local community compare with other communities in crime?
4. What means has your community of granting aid to mothers and dependent children?

Contact social service officer. Write to U. S. Department of Labor, Children's Bureau; National Congress of Parents and Teachersboth in Washington, D. C.
Consult visiting teachers and school records. Interview juvenile court officer.

IV. UTILIZING AND CONTROLLING THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT FOR INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL NEEDS

Suggested Questions on the Problem

Suggested Ways to Get Information

1. What native animals are in the community? Domesticated? Wild? What native birds? What migra tory birds?

Contact home and farm, state Division of Wild Life, county game warden, local and national Audubon Societies and Federal Game and Fish Bureau.

2. What are the best known native trees, shrubs, crops,flowers and other plant life?

Visit woods and fields to note numbers and kinds of trees, shrubs, and flowers.
Contact state Forestry Di-

50

vISIon; visit farms and flower gardens.
County agents and home demonstration agents.

3. What are the physical Observe local situation.

features of the community, See state and national phy-

region, state, etc. ?

sical maps.

4. What use is made of most of the land?
Has the local soil been analyzed? What types exist? What uses are made of them?

See county agent. Write state Department of Agriculture. Observe soils of community.

5. Has a geological survey of the community been made?
Are there any unusual rocks, clay, minerals, etc.? To what extent have they commercial value? Are industries developed? If not, why not?

Contact state and national geological soc i e tie s; state and Federal geological bureaus.
Observe rocks and minerals of community.
Consult chamber of commerce.

6. What bodies of water are See maps. Observe. Inthere (oceans, rivers, lakes, terview reliable citizens. creeks, ponds) ?

What use is made of each of the above? What power used for hydroelectric purposes? For grist mills? Transportation? Irrigation? Recreation?

Visit mills, water works and contact public works directors.

Are any provisions made for con:aerving water supply?

7. What are the general climatic conditions?
What is the medium and
maximum temperature at various seasons? What is

See local and world almanacs; weather reports in
local newspapers.
See state and Federal records and reports.

51

the usual amount of rainfall? See local, reliable citizens. Is the community subject to CCC camps; Federal pro.:::-,.-2..,:. any unusual conditions such jects; windbreaks; levees. as floods, dry or wet spells, tornadoes, etc. ?

Is there a weather bureau? Does the community make definite use of it?
What use, if any, is made of the wind? Windmills?

8. What agencies, if any, exist for conservation of natural resources? For control of soil erosion?
Are they governmentally controlled or handled by the community co-operatively?

See c 0 u n t y farm agent. Observe conditions. Contact state Department of Agriculture. Write congressman. Interview leading citizens. Agricultural colleges. Experiment stations.

9. What agencies, if any, exist for beautification of natural resources?

Contact local, state and national garden clubs. See home demonstration agent. See heads of civic clubs.
Write Federal Commissioner of Parks and state Department of Natural Resources.

10. In controlling the environment, what use has been made of scientific discoveries, machines and farm tools? I s the community familiar with the lives of the scienti~s and inventors whose works they use?
11. What agencies, if any, are at work to explore undiscovered resources?

Observe. Survey farms and schools.
County agent; Federal Forestry Department; state and Federal geodetic departments. Southeastern Chemical Society.

12. What scientific facts are Federal government; De-

52

used in solving problems of partment of Agriculture.

production? Consumption? Chamber of commerce;

Distribution?

county agent.

13. What pests, such as insects, worms, etc., are destroying community crops?
What plant diseases (rust, black rot, wilt, etc.) exist?
What is being done to combat and control the situation?

Interview leading farmers, state and Federal agricultural agents, county agents.
Contact experiment station.

14. Is there an experiment station? Are there scientific I abo rat 0 r i e s of any kind?

See county agent. Contact state agricultural college; chamber of commerce.

15. Are there evidences of primitive civilizationmounds, relics, etc.? What use did primitive people make of environment?
16. What early settlers came? Are there points of historic interest; forts, old homes, markers and monuments?

Observe. Contact president of State Historical Society. Write Ethnological Department of Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D. C. Government reports in library.
Leading citizens. Chamber of commerce, histories, and magazines.

17. Are there any points of Library; chamber of com-

scientific interest?

merce; county agent; inter-

view citizens.

18. Are there any clubs or Contact scientists at varigroups studying astronomy? ous state colleges; library.

19. Are the natural econo- Interview a reliable leadmic resources of the environ- ing citizen. Observe. ment being exploited for profit, or used for the good of the general public?

V. RECEIVING AND TRANSMITTING IDEAS;

TRANSPORTING PERSONS AND COMMODITIES

'.:;;"'-2..:

Some Important Facts

Some Ways of

Investigation

Speech.

Speech.

1. Do the speech habits of the average citizen reflect a high standard? Does slang characterize speech of adults? Of school children?
2. Is there a distinct patois or dialect in the community? What is the historic source of this dialect? What is the attitude of the community toward it?
3. Does the school provide for development of proper form in conversation, teleph 0 n i n g , correspondence, storytelling, dramatization, group discussions and planning, speaking to large groups, presi di ng over groups, organizing groups, program making, interviewing, and the like?

See teachers and other citizens who have lived for some time in the community.
One or more faculty meetings on this topic led by the teachers of English should direct attention to significant facts and trends and to experiences needed to promote efficient interchange of ideas.

4. Is there a speech department in the schools? A private teacher of speech?

Mail Service.

Mail Service.

1. What mail service does See the local postmaster the local community afford? for facts about local service. What needs are apparent?

a 2. What is the general plan Research into Federal gov-
of the mail service from ernment reports for national

national point of view? An service. Maps, charts, pic-

international viewpoint?

tures of means of conveyance

54

for mail. Timetables of railroads, boat lines, mail planes, etc.

Newspapers.

Newspapers.

1. How many newspapers does the community have and what are their general characteristics? Are they conservative, lib eraI, radical? Have these newspapers been a great factor in progressive upbuilding of the community? What is the extent of their circulation? Do they carry quack advertisements?
2. What newspapers from other local communities are of special value for reading of pupils and teachers? What newspapers present both sides of controversial issues? What newspapers in foreign languages are of great value to the school? What pictorial news sheets are of value?

Talk to the editors of the papers; perhaps bring a reporter or editor to your class for interview.
Have pupils read papers with an attempt to analyze editorials and advertisements, etc.
Check with pupils of school on how many pupils' families subscribe to newspapers.
See library references as to newspaper guides. Pupil research into newspapers at library.
Pupil communication with pupils of other countries. Exchange of literature.
A pupil check on use of such material in the home. A survey by every teacher of her pupils. Compilation of data.

Magazines.
1. What types of magazines are found in use in the community? What is the average number of magazines in use in the homes of the community?
What types of magazines are of value for special pur-

Magazines.
Teacher and pupils investigation of guides to periodicals.
Observation by pupils of magazines for sale at newsstands and stores. Pupil interview with newsstand proprietors for estimate of sales

55

poses, as science, history, of various types of reading

archaeology, current ques- matter.

:;-''-2.,:

tions, etc.?

School survey for pupil

What magazines are preference in magazine read-

greatly nee d edt hat the ing.

school does not now make

use of?

Pamphlets; Bulletins.
1. What pamphlets of local nature are of value? Pamphlets on local history, local resources, I 0 c a I attractions; folders of local commercial concerns?
2. What pamphlets and bulletins of a general or specific nature are available from governmental agencies, clubs, commercial organizations?

Pamphlets; Bulletins.
See city directory; contact chamber of commerce, local librarian, local individuals with knowledge of some field.
Write the various government bureaus in Washington, D. C.
Contact local groups of national organizations such as Boy Scouts, Red Cross, etc.
Write the state bureaus for information. Much pupil activity can be utilized here.
Write the Curriculum Laboratory at the University of Georgia for sources of inexpensive materials. Write for the same to G.S.C.W., at Milledgeville.

Library Facilities.
1. What are the library facilities of the local community? In what ways does the school library co-operate? What per cent of the general public make use of the library service offered?

Library Facilities.
Interview the local librarian. Possibly have one of the librarians come to the school.
Librarians often carryon analyses of reading habits of the public.

56

How many book stores <loes .the 10 c a I community <L have? What type of reading matter is sold?
What arrangements can be made for local service of reading materials from local library, from state library, from larger libraries over the country?
What private and commerciallibraries of the local and larger communities make loans?
Do pupils have libraries in their homes that can be made available for use?

Interviews with bookstore proprietors.
See local librarian. Write state librarian.

Billboards.
What types of advertising are done by means of billboards? How does this affect the community as to aesthetic tastes, judgment of values, ideas popularized, as to wise use of income?

Billboards.
Observation of local surroundings. Check by pupils.

Telephone and Telegraph Service.
What per cent of the population have telephone service, local, state, national, international?
What telegraph facilities are in the community.

Telephone and Telegraph Service.
Check on use of telephone by class survey. Local telephone company office.
Check at library on nationaland international telegraph service.
Write telephone and telegraph companies for literature.

67

Radios.

Radios.

,.:::'-,.-2..:

What per cent of the popu- Check by pupils on use of

lation have receiving sets radio. Discussion with class

in their homes? What broad- as to preferences in regard

casting stations does the to programs.

community readily receive? Interview with officials of

What programs are of local station. Conference of

greatest interest to the com- teachers and parents for con-

munity? What chance is sideration of desirable pro-

there of your nearest broad- grams. Consideration in this

casting s tat ion providing of pupil preferences. Re-

programs particularly valu- search in radio literature.

able to the school? What na- Radio guides.

tional "hookups" pro vide programs of great value?

Deliberate check on program for a period.

Is a radio guide service provided by your local'newspaper for its patrons?

Questionnaire by pupils. Pupil investigation.

What amateur radio enthusiasts does your community have? What organizations foster use of radio and interest in radio?

What types of advertising are carried on by means of the radio?

Motion Pictures.

Motion Pictures.

What motion pictures does the local community afford? Are there special children's programs?
What visual education facilities does the school itself afford? What are sources of visual aids that are within the ability of your school to use?

An excellent source of information is to have children survey their own interests.
Interviews with local proprietors of "movie" houses.

58

What effect do motion picture~ have upon the com0"2.; munity? What is the general character of the program that comes to your community?

Social Groups.
Are there local reading groups of adults or children? Dramatic clubs? Art clubs? Music clubs? Writing groups? Societies for study of local interests, such as folklore, archaeology, historical research?
What state, national and international groups of this character exist?

Social Groups.
Interviews with individuals.
Possible membership by teachers or pupils in such organizations.
Check connections of local groups with state and national groups. Investigate literature.

Personalities.
What local leaders such as writers, composers, inventors, orators, etc., does the community possess?

Personalities.
Become acquainted with the leaders of the community.

Organizations.
What ideas are transmitted by such organizations as the church, American Legion, D.A.R., W.C.T.V., and various other organizations?
What state and national organizations are powerfully active in transmission of ideas?

Organizations.
Wide contact with community affairs and wide reading.

Illiteracy.

. Illiteracy.

What per cent of the Contact Office of Educa-

69

population are illiterate? tion of Federal government.

. (Local, state, national, inter- Contact state Department of

''::--'-2..,:

national ?) W hat agencies .Education.. Contact N.E.A.

besides the school are mak- and G.E.A.

ing a definite a tt empt to.

eliminate illiteracy?

Transportation.

Transportation.

What per cent of the population own an automobile?

Governmental records and reports. Local sales offices of automobile concerns. Analysis of national conditions by economists.

W hat railroad facilities does the community afford? What "bus" facilities does the community afford? (Local, state, national, world ?)

Check local conditions by contact with local officials, highways, literature of "bus" lines, government reports.

What facilities are used Standard references in lifor transportation by water? braries. (Investigate for
trains and "buses.")

Roads.

Roads.

Are the roads of the community hard surfaced? What provision is made for betterment of road conditions?
Does the community have a traffic problem that might be eliminated by more careful planning?

See county officers. Write state Highway Department. Check by pupils of the neighborhoods. Interview school "bus" driver.
Communicate with American Automobile Association. Investigate program of Federalgovernment. Library references such as atlas. Talk to public officials and use sources given above.

Have pupils do some direct observation.

Investigate reports of re-

60

cent government checks on

traffic made in various locali-

--<L

ties through the W.P.A.

VI. EXPRESSING AESTHETIC AND SPIRITUAL IMPULSES

Suggested Questions on the Suggested Ways to Find

Problem

Information

1. Are there places of natural beauty that afford aesthetic enj oyment? What areas are reserved to conserve natural beauty, such as are found in national and state parks?

Contact chamber of commerce, libraries, and Federal Department of Interior for national parks. See publication of state Department of Education, The Natural Resources of Georgia.

2. What is the community attitude toward care and beautification of public property? Of private property?

Contact local, state, and national garden club presidents. See horne demonstration agent; heads of civic clubs.

3. What does the community offer in musical culture? Are there music clubs, orchestras, ban d s , choirs, choruses, etc.? Any local folk songs? Per cent of radios? What is favorite type of music?

Contact superintendent of , schools, local music teachers, church choir leaders, conservatories and colleges. Write to radio stations.

4. What are the art re- Observe the art needs in

sources of the community? visits to homes, stores,

Do the homes show lack of streets, public buildings.

functional art in everyday Use libraries for books

living?

and magazines related to art

Do the advertising dis- problems. Con tact ci vic

plays show effective use of . planning commission. Con-

art? Is advertising misused tact artists, architects, and

in billboards along the high- other art specialists.

61

ways? Does the community Visit industries, crafts,

. have a commission for civic studios, commercial artists,

.::---2.:

planning? Are there art florists, potteries.

clubs, garden clubs or any

clubs engaged in art activi-

ties?

Are there artists or art specialists (teachers, craftsmen, designers, painters, sculptors, commercial artists, architects) working in the community?

Are there industries employing designers?

Are there museums or provision for art exhibitions?

Are there stores whose goods and methods of display have art quality?
5. What does the community offer in literary culture? Are there reading clubs, writers' clubs, literary groups? What is the general reading level of the community? What is the general type of community reading material? Books, magazines, newspapers? Are there book stores?

Contact heads of schools and colleges. See chamber of commerce. Interview older, cultured citizens. Visit library. Write state Library Commission. Check illiteracy with state and Federal Education Department, and with G.E.A. and N.E.A. Check child r e cor d cards. Contact pas tor s, superintendent of schools and mayor.

6. What does the community offer in dramatic arts? Are there dramatic clubs and schools? Are there motion pictures, road shows, theater facilities? What type

See city directory, telephone directory, chamber of commerce; observe community entertainments. Contact principals of schools and physical education teachers.

62

of entertainment is offered? What opportunity for excC2.:pression is found in dancing?

See "Better Films Committee" or other groups interested in better motion pictures.

7. What agencies afford opportunity for spiritual development? Churchesmembership, denominations? Number of churches? Evangelistic cI u b s ? Sun day schools? Missionary groups? Lea g u es? Denominational unions? Nondenominational? Y. M. C. A.? Y. W. C. A. ? Scouts? Girl Reserves? Student volunteers? How do they provide for social and recreational life?

Interview pastors and rectors. Study case record cards of pupils. Con t act local, state, and national denominational organizations.
Contact Y. M. C. A., Y.W.C.A., and Scout headquarters; contact leaders.

8. What is the attitude between va rio u s organizations? Co - operation? Antagonism?

Observe. Interview social worker or pastor.

9. Are there persons outside the church who have definite influence upon spiritual growth of community?

See newspaper editorials. Interview older, reliable citizens.

10. What is the apparent level of spiritual development in the community?

Observe daily life of inhabitants. Contact pastor and persons who have attained high spiritual development.

63

VII. UTILIZING EDUCATION AS A MEANS OF AC-

QUIRING AND TRANSMITTING THE SOCIAL

c<L

HERITAGE AND AS AN AGENCY FOR CON-

SERVING AND IMPROVING HUMAN

AND MATERIAL RESOURCES

Some Important Factors

Some Means of Investigation

1. To what extent does the community make use of the school as an aid to care of preschool children?
Does the school provide for a roundup of children for health examinations?
Is the school used as a community center for meetings and entertainments?
2. Do the community's needs call for some guidance by the school in leisure activities of children? Is guidance provided?
3. What agencies does the community provide for educational experiences during the summer for both youth and adults, such as camps or summer schools conducted by educational, civic, or religious organizations?
4. What natural resources of the community (immediate and larger) offer opportunity for recreation and

Use of P.-T.A. for discussion of this problem.
Conference with the school nurse and health officer. Conference with officers of clubs, and ministers.
Survey, with children, of their activities during vacation periods and possible interests in leisure time and summer school activities, such as basket making, building things, nature study, etc.
Telling of summer experiences by pupils. Check by teachers as to costs, value, etc., of camps, schools, and the like. Investigation of summer activities of various local organizations by contact with representatives of these organizations.
Camping places, good picnic grounds. Facilities for inexpensive vacation pe-
riods. Check on these by dis-

~

conservation of human re- cussion with class and con-

c-.2.: sourcei?

tact with chamber of commerce.

Local Customs.

Local Customs.

1. What are the local customs in regard to school attendance and use of the school as an agency for better education of the community? What local customs interfere with school attendance?

Study of school absences and their causes, from school records. Visiting the home; conference with parents; conversing with pupils.

2. What local folklore and Pupil discussion is of great

cultural patterns exist in the value here in every level of

community?

experience and age.

Is there a difference in traditions among various groups and economic levels of the population? (This applies to the larger community as well as the local.) What provisions are being made for conservation of this cultural heritage?
Are there any particular individuals possessing great knowledge of local history, folklore, customs?

General 0 bserv a tion of local environment.
Research into literature bearing on this factor. Newspaper accounts.
Con t act indIviduals and organizations such as historical soc i etie s, archaeological societies, D.A.R., etc.

3. What local customs are of particular value in contributing towards educational experiences?
What customs are working in direct opposition to the standards desired by the schools?

Interviews with the ministers of the community are useful. Discussion in class might bring to light much information. Observation in the home, on the playground, in the community in general. .Sunday school classes.

4. What national and inter- This is a very broad field;

65

national customs are helpful however, there are many fine

. and harmful, from an educa- sources of information.

o:;--,-L

tional viewpoint?

See your .librarian for in-

formation abo ut organiza-

tions handling such ques-

tions as international rela-

tions, the Jewish question,

etc. Your state university

can give much information.

Columbia University can

give information. Current

literature should be care-

fully in v est i gat ed, both

magazines and books.

The illustrations in the National Geographic Magazine are particularly useful in the eleventh grade. The University of Chicago Press deals much with this factor. The Federal government bulletins are useful.

Contact Red Cross, Y.W.C.A., Y.M.C.A., and Girl and Boy Scouts. Various com mer ciaI organizations have much information in pamphlets. W r i t e to G.S.C.W., Milledgeville, Ga.

5. What attempts are being made to use the school as an agency for dissemination of attitudes based upon selfish motives? Upon worth-while motives?

Analysis by faculty of the moti ves of organizations closely connected with the school.

Holding Power of School.

Holding Power of School.

1. What is the holding Study of school records. power of the school? What Information from G.E.A.,

66

per cent of pupils enrolled N.E.A. and state Depart.in the first grade drop out ment of Education. 0"2.; of school at various levels?

2. What is the general attitude of the public towards the school? What is the status of the teacher in the community?

Talk to various patrons. General observation. Discussion in fa c uIt y meeting. Visiting in the home.

3. Does the community think of the school as mainly college preparatory, or is there a demand among the patrons for meeting the local needs on all levels of the school?
4. What per cent of high school graduates go to college? What type of college? Do they return to live in the community?

For status of the school, state, national and international, obtain G.E.A. and N.E.A. literature. Office of Education of Federal government; P.-T.A. ; talks with par e n t s; discussions with civic leaders. Analysis of local school records. Study graduates of the school.

Financial Support of Education.
1. What is the status of school finances in relation to the ability of the community to support education? There are many factors involved here that will bear careful analysis.

Financial Support of Education.
Obtain county tax digest and statistics on property values. Much valuable information can be obtained from the state Department of Education.
From the state, national and international viewpoint, the N.E.A. and the Office of Education of the Federal government can supply information.

Part-time Education.
1. What per cent of the total population, both youth

Part-time Education.
School records. Contact personnel of part - time

67

and adult, attend school for schools. Study curriculum of

.part time?

these schools.

c<L
2. Are there any continua- Check on radio schooll'! of

tion schools in the com- the air.

munity providing for remedial or additional education of people in the business world-such as "opportunity

Questionnaire for former graduates of your school system.

schools"?

3. Do commercial firms cooperate in use of such schools?

4. Are there night schools? What do they teach?

5. What use in your local community is made of correspondence courses?

Private Schools.

Private Schools.

1. What private schools are to be found in your community (kindergarten, elementary level, secondary level) ?

Interviews with personnel of those schools, avoiding any possible avenues to animosity.

2. What are the standards of those schools?

3. What effect do these schools have upon the community? Are they a democratic influence?

Adult Education.

Adult Education.

1. Do the adults of the community make use of the school plant and facilities for study as well as recreation?

This is a place where the school people can call in adults for thorough consideration of better use of edu-

68

2. Is there any need in the comm.unity for adult educac2.tion on the various aspects of living set up in the scope of the curriculum for Georgia?

cational facilities. Much discussion of this with parents and civic groups might show interest among adults for further work along various lines. S 0 meg 0 0 d results might be a better understanding between people and the school and more efficient use of the school plant.

3. Does the community support adult discussion groups such as a "Community Forum" ? Is there school cooperation in such endeavors? Is there community interest in current questions of local, state, national, and international viewpoint?

Write the N.E.A., and Office of Education of the Federal government for information.
Investigation of magazines devoted to education, such as The Educational Frontier, the N.E.A. Journal, Progressive Education, G.E. Journal, etc.

4. W hat outstanding personalities, besides schoolmen, does the community have-individuals with vital, constructive ideas as to the needs and resources of the community as related to education. This applies to the larger community, as well as to your local community.

Conversation with 10 C a I leaders, members of state Department of Education, and faculties of colleges and universities. Possible use of these people for adult discussion groups .as well as for higher levels of secondary school in assembly programs, etc.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

c-.2,:

Alexander, Thomas and Parker, Beryl,The New Educa-

tion in the German Republic. The John Day Company,

New York, 1929. ($4.00)

Chapter III: Germany's provision of "Hostels of Youth" to accommodate groups of school children on long excursions.
Chapter IV: Information gained by trips through the country. Types of excursions made by different age groups.
Chapter V: "Country School Homes" where city children spend periods of time during regular school year.

*Association for Childhood Education, Studies of Environ-
ment. (Edited by Beryl Parker.) Washington, D. C., 1201 Sixteenth Street, N.W., 1931.
Articles on school journeys in Europe; selecting activities to enrich experience; the management of trips; outcomes of excursions in school work; value of trips in a curriculum for five and six-year-old children; excursion report as school publicity; surveying the school environment; students and teachers as explorers. Good bibliography on field trips.

Baldwin, Bird T., Fillmore, Abigail and Hadley, Lora, Farm Children. D. Appleton-Century Company, New York, 1930. ($4.00) Good background reading on rural life.
Barnes, Emily A., and Young, Bess M., Children and Architecture. - Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, 1932. ($2.35)
Chapter V: Excursions; discusses the preliminary work necessary to make excursions valuable, purposes to be kept in mind, ways of sharing the experiences of the excursions, types" of excursions taken during this unit of work and ways in which information secured may be used to further the study of architecture.

70

Borgeson, F. C., Elementary School Life Activities, "GroupInterest Activities," Volume 2. A. S. Barnes and Company, New York, 1931. ($1.00)
Chapter II: Trips and excursions - gives values; principles for conducting current practice; comments on trips by pupils; bibliography.
*Byington, Margaret F., What Social Workers Should Know About Their Own Communities. Russell Sage Foundation, New York, 1929. (25)
A valuable outline and guide for community study by teachers, pupils, social workers, etc.
Caswell, H. L. and Campbell, D. S., Curriculum Development. American Book Company, Atlanta, 1935. ($3.00)
Clouser, Lucy W. and Millikan, Chloe E., KindergartenPrimary Activities Based on Community Life. The Macmillan Company, Atlanta, 1929. ($2.00)
Trips taken in connection with farming and marketing. The need for careful planning emphasized. Method of conducting trips. Questions listed to be answered as a part of the trip planning.
*Clouser, Lucy W., Robinson, W. J., Neely, D. L., Educative Experience Through Activity Units. Lyons and Carnahan, Atlanta, 1932. ($1.80)
The part played by trips and excursions in the development of units and activities in the early grades.
*Everett, Samuel and Others, The Community School. D. Appleton-Century Co., New York, 1938. ($2.25)
A report, analysis, and discussion of community school programs which have been experimented with in a number of different types of communities.
Finley, C. W., and Tippett, J.S. Field Work. Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, 1925. ($1.05)
71

How to plan trips; some "do's" and "don'ts." Value

of elementary school field trips: (1) Helps to come into

~<L

real contact with the environment and gain better under-

standing of it; (2) suggests activities that lead into other

valuable experiences; (3) supplies the basis for content

material which develops in the classroom; (4) may set-

tle debated points or verify conclusions; (5) will give

information.

*Fry, Luther C., The Technique of Social Investigation. Harper and Brothers, New York, 1934. ($2.50)
A standard work on techniques for social research.

Gaither, F. F., "The Excursion Project", The Educational Screen, April-October, 1929.
Page 230: Reasons for going on excursions; points to be considered before and after trips. General suggestions could be applied to any trip.

*Hanna, Paul R., Youth Serves the Community. D. Appleton-Century Company, New York, 1936. ($2.00)

Harbison, Sophie Ann, A Fair and a Study of Milk, '''Teachers' Lesson Unit Series," No. 15. Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York. (25)
Visits to dairy farm and creamery for observation of activities.

Herchmer, Cordelia A., "Getting to Know Nature," Childhood Education, 5 :469-70. (May, 1929)
Discusses use in excursions of map on which to trace trips and findings; definite outcomes and results observed with a group of kindergarten and first grade children.

Hartman, Gertrude, Horne and Community Life. E. P. Dutton and Company, New York, 1931. ($2.00)
Suggestive outline for the study of the community,

72

with a rich background of primitive and pioneer life. Lists of readings given on each subject.
Hoban, C. F., "School Journeys in England, Germany, France, and Belgium," The Educational Screen, November, 1930.
Describes school journeys in Europe and gives values as reported by young people. Account of co-operation of museums.
*Hughes, Avah W., Carrying the Mail. Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, 1933. ($2.35)
Trips in connection with a unit on carrying the mail ; discusses the need, teacher techniques, values, initiation, and safety measures of trips.
Hughes, Avah W., "The Sevens Discover How the City Gets Bread," Progressive Education, July, 1928.
Community study growing out of the subject of wheat, with trips concerned with the movement of wheat from the farm to the baker.
Johnson, Harriet M., School Begins at Two. New Republic, Inc., New York, 1936. ($1.00)
Discusses means for introducing the young child to his environment, and ways in which he makes use of his experiences from trips in his play life and with words, color, and construction materials. Suggestions for planning for continuity of experiences, types of experiences valuable for the young child and ways in which results may be noted~
Kansas City, Missouri, Public Schools, 1930. Social Studies for Primary Grades.
The use of excursions in the social studies program; study of the life of the home and community stimulated by trips to various places in the neighborhood. Bibliography for teachers; suggested visual aids and music.
73

c-.2.;
~~-'

Keelor, Katherine, Curriculum Studies in the Second Grade. Bureau of Publications, _Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, 1925.

A study of New York's food supply carried on by trips

to markets, farm, wholesale district, grocery stores, and

bakeries. Lists questions formulated before trips were

taken, describes activity of teacher and children during

the trips, and discusses follow-up of the trip; also gives

trips in a study of primitive people.

-

Keelor, Katherine, and Sweet, Mayme, Indian Life and the Dutch Colonial Settlement. Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, 1931. ($2.35)
Report of the activities and resulting outcomes given in such a way as to bring out the significance of trips in relation to the unit as a whole.

Kilpatriek, W. H., Remaking the Curriculum. Newson and Company, New York, 1936. (80)

Knox, Rose B., School Activities and Equipment. Houghton Mifflin Co., Atlanta, 1936. ($2.25)
Helpful in the selection, use and testing of educational activities and materials.

Kusch, Monica Henrietta, "An Experiment in First Grade Field Work," Journal of Geography, Vol. XXXV, No.5. (May, 1936)
Discusses importance of field work in teaching geography; necessary planning; lists trips taken by the author's groups in Cleveland, Ohio, with items explaining conduct of trip and follow-up of work in the classroom.

*Landis, Benson Y., A Guide to the Literature of Rural Life. American Country Life Association, 105 Eo 22 Street, New York.
A list of "representative titles of the more recent and more accessible works on rural life." Many pamphlets

74

are listed. The materials are generally nontechnical. Every school in Georgia should possess this publication.
--2..;
Langfitt, R. E., Cyr, F. W., Newsom, N. W., The Small High School at Work. American Book Company, Atlanta, 1936. ($3.00)
Chapter I: Place of the small high school in the community; discusses the child's needs, physical, emotional, intellectual, social, as served by the school; the staff, pupils, buildings and grounds, equipment and community life-local, state, national, world-all the experiences of the child as contributing to his education. Takes position that experiences of actual living outside of the school are as educative, potentially, and as valuable, hour per hour, as school experiences.
Leining, Edna B., Millions of Years in a Winter. Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, 1935. ($2.10)
Suggests that much enrichment can often be secured through firsthand experiences with nature, institutions, commercial processes and materials; that unless carefully planned and selected such trips can be expensive in proportion to their educative value. Suggestions as to preparation and "checking up."
Lynd, Robert S., and Merrell, Helen, Middletown. Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York, 1929. ($5.00)
Michigan State Normal College, Ypsilanti, Social Studies, A Tentative Course of Study, Kindergarten to Third (Jrade Inclusive, 1930.
Social studies units in outline form, showing the use of trips in such study.
Miller, L. Paul, "School Journeys and School Journalism," Junior-Senior High School Clearing House, 5 :229-3l. (December, 1930)
School journeys within local limitations; extremely important visual aids; summary of school journeys with
75

are listed. The materials are generally nontechnical. Every school in Georgia should possess this publication.
- ..'j ~
- Langfitt, R. E., Cyr, F. W., Newsom, N. W., The Small High School at Work. American Book Company, Atlanta, 1936. ($3.00)
Chapter I: Place of the small high school in the community; discusses the child's needs, physical, emotional, intellectual, social, as served by the school; the staff, pupils, buildings and grounds, equipment and community life-local, state, national, world-all the experiences of the child as contributing to his education. Takes position that experiences of actual living outside of the school are as educative, potentially, and as valuable, hour per hour, as school experiences.
Leining, Edna B., Millions of Years in a Winter. Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, 1935. ($2.10)
Suggests that much enrichment can often be secured through firsthand experiences with nature, institutions, commercial processes and materials; that unless carefully planned and selected such trips can be expensive in proportion to their educative value. Suggestions as to preparation and "checking up."
Lynd, Robert S., and Merrell, Helen, Middletown. Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York, 1929. ($5.00)
Michigan State Normal College, Ypsilanti, Social Studies, A Tentative Course of Study, Kindergarten to Third Grade Inclusive, 1930.
Social studies units in outline form, showing the use of trips in such study.
Miller, L. Paul, "School Journeys and School Journalism," Junior-Senior High School Clearing House, 5 :229-3l. (December, 1930)
School journeys within local limitations; extremely important visual aids; summary of school journeys with
75

high school science classes; steps in conducting the trips; report of trips in local papers gives children reasons for reporting and keeps community in touch with work of school.

r.,.i

':1

Mitchell, Lucy S., "Geography with Five-Year-Olds,"

Progressive Education, September, 1929.

Orientation in the environment through experiencing in trips; describes active playing following trips.

*National Education Association, Department of Supervisors and Directors of Instruction, Eighth Yearbook, Materials of Instruction. Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, 1935. ($2.00)
Chapter II, "The Environment as a Primary Source of Materials of Instruction," by Fannie W. Dunn:
Gives accounts of use of environment by country schools, city schools, Indian schools; use made of environmental resources, and equipment for using natural science resources of the community.

National Education Association, Department of Elementary School Principals, Aids to Teaching in the Elementary School. Thirteenth Yearbook. Washington, D. C., June, 1934. ($2.00)
Valuable on visual education; types of materials and how to preserve them.

National Education Association, Department of Elementary School Principals, The Principal and His Community, Eleventh Yearbook, Washington, D. C.
Good from standpoint of survey of community and contact with home.

National Education Association, Department of Superintendence, Social Change and Education, Thirteenth Yearbook, Washington, D. C., 1935. ($2.00)
Chapter V, valuable on problems of community survey.

76

National Education Association, Department of Superintendence, The Social Studies Curriculum, Fourteenth
<L Yearbook. Washington, D. C., 1936. ($2.00)
*National League of Women Voters, Know Your Town.
Washington, D. C., 1934. (Pamphlet,5)
Ten sets of questions to measure the achievement of your community.
*Porter, Martha P., The Teacher in the New School. World Book Company, Yonkers, New York, 1930. ($2.00)
Gives types of written work following trips; the value of trips to group of forty-five children in a public school; lists trips made by the kindergarten and first grade classes in a public school.
Pratt, Caroline, Experimental Practice in the City and Country School. E. P. Dutton Co., New York, 1924. ($2.50)
Experiences with trips as the basis for discussion and activity in building a play city. Planning in advance for trips to flour mills.
Pratt, Caroline, "Children and Their Neighborhood," Child Study, 6 :110-12.
Gives as primary reason for understanding and for extending of environment of young child that the individual may become independent enough to continue making his contacts without help. Cautions about giving children body of information that will make trip meaningful; seeing things in relationships, not in isolation.
Pratt, Caroline, "Making Environment Meaningful," Progressive Education, April, 1927. Discusses the part played by excursions in the curriculum.
Pratt, Caroline and Stanton, Jessie, Before Books. Greenberg Publishing Company, Inc., New York, 1926. ($2.00)
77

Gives reasons for making trips; orientation trips about the community. Gives some account of children's behavior on such trips, the rules set up by the teacher, the teacher's method of dealing with difficult children on the trip.
Raleigh, N. C. Public Schools, Bulletin No.3, Teaching in First Grade, 1928.
The place of the excursion in the first grade program; trips to railroad yards and to markets in connection with group activities of the grade.
Bulletin No.4, Teaching in Grades Two and Three, 1928. The use of the excursion in units of work carried on in
these grades in a public school.
*Raleigh Elementary Education Council, Adventures in the Field of Elementary Science, Third Yearbook, 1935. Raleigh, N. C. Public Schools.
Page 13, "The Environment": Lists of things rich in possibilities for science learnings in the region around Raleigh and available to the public school teachers and children, giving place and statement of what can be found there.
Page 26, "Field Trips and Excursions": Discusses the '!l8(;! made of field trips, with examples of work in form of records kept by children and by teachers.
*Rugg, Harold, American Life and the School Curriculum. Ginn and Company, Atlanta, 1936. ($2.60)
Problems of American culture and education. A program is described which "brings adults and young people into the same community enterprise."
*Rugg, Harold and Shumaker, Ann, The Child-Centered School. World Book Company, Yonkers, New York, 1928. ($2.40)
Condensed plan of the curriculum of the first three grades, Lincoln School, Teachers College, Columbia University, showing the relative position of trips and excursions in the curriculum.
78

Seattle, Washington, Public Schools, Community Life Studies for Kindergarten, Grades One, Two and Three,
--2.: 1930. The importance of family excursions. Excursions at
the beginning of the year to discover what goes on in the school building. Trips about the school grounds. Excursions to the stores in the community. Trips in connection with an Indian life unit and a study of pioneer life.
Slavson, S. R. and Speer, R. K, Science in the New Education. Prentice-Hall, Inc., New York, 1934. ($2.50)
Trips and excursions (p. 280) from an elementary school. Value of trips given in order of importance of items; suggests trips should be considered from child's point of view, not subject matter angle; trips in elementary general science should stimulate interest and discovery, should whet child's appetite for knowledge; classified trips as recreational and correlational.
Stevens, Marion P., The Activities Curriculum in the Primary Grades. D. C. Heath and Company, Atlanta, 1931. ($2.00)
Suggested trips for various age groups. Helpful suggestions of things to do and things not to do concerning trips. Trips taken in a study of primitive life.
Storm, Grace E., The Social Studies in the Primary Grades. Lyons and Carnahan, Atlanta, 1931. ($2.50)
Trips to get used to ideas about important factors in the community. Needed preparation of the teacher in order to make the trips worth while. Types of activity and expression that may be expected of the children during such studies.
Teachers' Guide to Child Development. California State Department of Education, Sacramento, 1930. Manual for Kindergarten and Primary Teachers.
First grade trips to find out about types of construction in the community and various neighborhood pro-

jects; information gained outlined for each excursion. Suggestions of things effective in conducting excursions, including planning in advance of the trip, children's rules to govern the trip, and suggestions for follow-up work.
*Teachers' Guide to Child Development in the Intermediate Grades. California State Department of Education, Sacramento, 1936.
Place of excursion in the program of the intermediate grades. Accounts of the excursion as it plays a part in the units of work carried on by the different grades, and as a part of the program of the school as a whole.
*Tippett and Others, Curriculum Making in an Elementary School. Ginn and Company, Atlanta, 1927. ($2.20)
Reports trips taken in connection with units of work, with a discussion of the follow-up of the trips.
Western Reserve University, School of Education, Curriculum Laboratory, Nature Guiding on Wheels, W. G. Vinal and Others. Bulletin No. 55, 1936. (75)
An account of a field trip to New England with teachers, showing the manner in which the group collected information and materials and broadened their knowledge of geography and the resources of the natural environment.
Williams, James Mickel, Our Rural Heritage. F. S. Crofts and Company, New York, 1925. ($3.00)
Background reading on rural life.
*Wright, Lula E., A First Grade at Work: A Non-Reading Curriculum. Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, 1932. ($2.00)
Gives description of the part excursions play in an integrated curriculum as a part of everyday living with a group of "first-graders."
*Very valuable.
80