Proceedings of the fifth annual North Carolina Conference on Elementary Education: Chapel Hill, N.C., July 11-12, 1929 |
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3i\ 3 rCl4e Wf)t TLibvav? Of ti)C (HntberSttpofJ^ortfjCarolma tEfjia; feoofc toag pretfenteb 3fO.L C14e> * Cp Si 0. lo Educational Publication No. 146—Div. of Information and Statistics No. 3 PROCEEDINGS OF THE FIFTH ANNUAL NORTH CAROLINA CONFERENCE ON ELEMENTARY EDUCATION (Called Jointly by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Director of the University Summer School.) EDITED BY M. C. S. NOBLE, JR. Executive Secretary CHAPEL HILL, N. C, JULY 11-12, 1929 published by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction Raleigh, N. C. INTRODUCTION The rural elementary school, when considered as a unit over the State, according to all the statistics in this department, is at the bottom of every ordered classification. This is true in respect to all the following measures: The length of the term, the housing facilities, the per capita costs, the classification of children, the grade promotions, the age-grade tables, the attendance records, and the training of the teachers employed. From the consideration of all the facts now available, the rural elemen-tary school seems to be the neglected part of the system. For the improvement of the conditions under which elementary in-struction is given the following movements have been inaugurated: For the extension of the term, for the improvement in teacher training, for rural school supervision, for library facilities, for standard schools, and for the enrichment and modification of the curriculum. Each one has made a contribution. The Conference on Elementary Education, projected by the joint agreement of the Director of the University Summer School and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, is tending both to clarify and to unify the thinking in this field. It serves as a clearing house for the interchange of the best thought. It serves also as a forum in which the questions arising in connection with the improvement of the elementary school may be discussed without restraint. There has been no effort to solidify the deliberations into formal resolutions or state-ments of objectives which would be binding upon its members. There are no censors to determine what views are orthodox. On the other hand, each person is free to present his views in his own way, and to carry away with him only such impressions as meet his own approval. It is very gratifying to note the increased interest from year to year. The discussions show that foundation work is now being done on a wide scale in North Carolina. The papers presented in the fifth conference are of an exceptionally high order. In the most instances, they represent the outcomes of actual field experiences. Believing that the proceedings of this conference are of permanent value, I am causing them to be printed in order that they may be avail-able for the use of all who may be interested in better elementary education. The sponsors of this conference are deeply gratified at the fine re-sponse of the workers in the field of elementary education. The secre-tary of the conference, Dr. M. C. S. Noble, Jr., has edited the material in this bulletin. It is presented here as nearly as possible in the exact form in which each author prepared it. State Superintendent of Public Instruction. c 12-5-29—3M. COMMITTEE IN CHARGE OF THE PROGRAM FOR THE CONFERENCE ON ELEMENTARY EDUCATION R. E. Boyd E. C. Brooks Annie Cherry John H. Cook B. B. Daugherty Pauline Edwards Executive Committee A. T. Allen N. W. Walker M. C. S. Noble, Jr. Advisory Committee Mary Fitzgerald W. H. Frazer W. P. Grier Ruth Heilig Louisa Hill H. T. Hunter Mary Knight Bertha Lawrence John C. Lockhart Estelle Rawls J. M. Shields P. C. Stringfield Robert H. Wright Presiding Officers at Regular Sessions E. J. Coltrane John Carr G. B. Phillips J. T. Jerome Summarizers of Discussions A. T. Allen W. H. Frazer R. H. Wright N. W. Walker ACKNOWLEDGMENT The Executive Committee of the Fifth Annual North Carolina Con-ference on Elementary Education wishes to extend its thanks: 1. To the members of the Advisory Committee who rendered many valuable suggestions in connection with the preparation of the Program. 2. To the following persons who assisted in summarizing for the Conference the achievements of the separate Sessions: Dr. A. T. Allen, Dr. W. H. Frazer, Dr. Robert H. Wright, and Dean N. W. Walker. 3. To the four chairmen who presided so efficiently over the regular sessions of the conference, namely: Supt. E. J. Coltrane, Dr. John Carr, Supt. Guy B. Phillips, and Supt. J. T. Jerome; and to Mr. Robert House who served as host and toastmaster at the conference dinner. 4. To those persons who presented papers during the Conference, and 5. To all persons whose interest in elementary education caused them to attend and participate in the Fifth Annual Conference on Elementary Education. PROCEEDINGS OF THE FIFTH ANNUAL NORTH CAROLINA CONFER-ENCE ON ELEMENTARY EDUCATION FIRST SESSION Solving Problems of Retardation in the Elementary Schools in Such a Way as to Further Child Development E. J. Coltrane, Presiding Officer Page 1. Reducing the Percentage of Retardation in the First Grades—Mary E. Leeper S 2. Reducing Retardation Through the Classification of the Six-Year-Old — Mrs. H. T. Latham . 7 3. Reducing Retardation Through the Establishment of Opportunity Classes for Pupils Who Are Mentally Proficient but Who, for Various Reasons, Have Lost Some Ground — M. R. Trabue ._... 9 4. Reducing Retardation in Edgecombe County by Means of a County Wide Survey — W. H. Pittman 1 1 5. Reducing Retardation in Craven County Through a Study of Problem Cases in Craven County—R. S. Proctor , 13 6. Pupils Cumulative Permanent Records as a Means of Reducing Retardation — H. F. Srygley ... 15 SECOND SESSION Some Phases of Child Development John Carr, Presiding Officer 1. Radio in Education—H. K. Carpenter 20 2. How to Help the Elementary School Child in Developing Art Appreciation — Lydia A. Bancroft 22 3. How an Analysis of Health Education in a North Carolina County May Further the Development of Children of Elementary School Age Within That County — Nettie Brogdon _ 24 4. The Emotional Development of the Child of Elementary School Age—Frazer Hood 27 5. How to Aid the Elementary School Child in Developing Character—K. C. Garrison 29 6. How to Aid the Elementary School Child in Developing Proper Social Attitudes — Mrs. Gladys Hoagland Groves 31 THIRD SESSION Methods of Instruction for Furthering Child Development Guy B. Phillips, Presiding Officer 1. An Activity Program in Mecklenburg, County Schools—Eloise Rankin 33 2. Free Activity Work in the Elementary Grades—Annie Wilcox 35 3. An Activity Program for Primary Departments—-Mrs. James A. Robinson 38 4. Big Unit Teaching in the Elementary Grades—Karl Adams 40 5. Recreational Reading in the "Grammar Grades—Grace Brunson . 43 6. Standard Elementary Schools in North Carolina—Susan Fulghum 45 7. Some Attainable Objectives in Six Supervisory Activities in the Elementary Grades Mary L. Knight .- . 47 FOURTH SESSION Solving Administrative Problems of the Elementary School in Such a Way as to Further Child Development J. T. Jerome, Presiding Officer 1. Supervision in a Union School by One of the Elementary Teachers Who is a Part Time Principal—Gladys Thoroughgood _ * 52 2. Supervision in a Straight Elementary School by a Principal Who is a Full Time Prin-cipal— Sallie B. Marks — -__ 54 3. Analysis of the Duties of a Union School Principal With Specific Reference to Child Development—R. G. Anders 55 4. Ways by Which the Superintendent of a Supervised County May Aid His Principals in Furthering Child Development—John C. Lockhart .. _..... 58 5. Ways by Which the Superintendent of an Unsupervised County May Aid His Principals in Furthering Child Development—K. R. Curtis 60 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education SOLVING PROBLEMS OF RETARDATION IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN SUCH A WAY AS TO FURTHER CHILD DEVELOPMENT REDUCING THE PERCENTAGE OF RETARDATION IN THE FIRST GRADE (Mary E. Leeper, Director, Park Avenue Kindergarten, Asheville, N. C.) Foreword: Before any intelligent steps can be taken toward improv-ing a condition, the underlying cause, or causes, must be discovered and faced. Answers to the question, "What are the causes of retardation in the First Grade," from approximately fifty people representing school executives and teachers, group themselves under four main heads, namely: (1) Poor teaching, (2) Undesirable home conditions, (3) Physical unfit-ness, and (4) Lack of reading readiness. I. Poor Teaching: On the first cause, poor teaching, I wish you might have heard a lecture given last week by Dr. Trabue before the N. E. A. in Atlanta, on "Training the Teachers of Young Children." Some of the points he stressed particularly were: (1) Giving, by selection, the privi-lege of this training only to those showing special abilities and power for the work. (2) Intensive, practical training. (3) More opportunities for practice teaching, with large groups of children, in public school situations. II. Undesirable Home Conditions: When discussing undesirable home conditions as a second cause of retardation, we would remember the homes found in every community where children are being reared in wholesome, normal, happy atmospheres; where intelligent cooperation is given to the school. But there are also homes where barren environment, ignorance of health principles, lack of mental stimulus, and perhaps, little moral training, send sadly handicapped children to our first grades. In homes of this type parents give little understanding or cooperation to the teacher. III. Physical Unfitness: Physical unfitness, the third cause of re-tardation mentioned, might, in many cases, also be traced to unfavorable home conditions. This is the cause which our medical friends would have us think most important. Inability to do easily the work of the first grade is sometimes due to physical defects, to anemic condition, or to a lowered vitality. Certainly no child should be expected to do good work who, perhaps, does not see well, or hear well, or who must be absent a great deal because of illness. In the majority of cases this unfitness can be removed by proper attention. In our present scheme of things the child may have medical care from the State until he is one year of age, then he must shift for himself until he enters school and comes again under the supervision of health authorities. It is in this in-between period that so often slight defects become real handicaps. Eyes, teeth, and tonsils, must be examined and necessary corrections made. The forming and practicing of good health 6 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education habits in these early years can accomplish much if cooperation is secured between the efforts of teacher, nurse, doctor, parents, and child. But the time to do this is not while he is making his first-grade adjustments. It must be done earlier. IV. Lack of Reading Readiness: We now come to the fourth out-standing cause of retardation in the first grade, namely, the lack of reading readiness. And what is reading readiness? Is it not the desire within the child to be able to learn to know for himself what is on the printed page? How many children entering the first grade have this readiness, or desire, or urge? Do the majority of them love books and know how to handle them? Do they listen to and enjoy stories told or read to them? Do they like and know any rhymes or poems? Have they vocabularies broad enough and experiences varied and rich enough to bring under-standing and meaning to the reading of the stories? Are they skilled in clear pronunciation and enunciation? Do pictures interest them and stimulate creative language work? Have they formed the habit of think-ing through hard problems? Have they had the opportunity of working, playing, and living with large groups of children near their own age, so that first grade adjustments, both social and emotional, are smoothly made? You will agree with me that unfortunately this is not what we find, but just the opposite. And what do we do about it? The majority of our first grade teachers do violate, and are sometimes compelled to ignore, the first fundamental law of learning, and thrust large groups of these children into formal reading, forcing upon them all the mechanics that will be necessary if they are to "make the grade." What are the results? Many slow, stumbling, ineffective, unhappy word-callers, who have no permanent interest in reading, and a resulting distaste for it; children who have acquired a keen sense of their own inability to do what is required of them. They are marked at school and censored at home. They mistrust their own powers and quite often cover up their bitterness of heart at being left back, by saying, "I don't care." Too often this grows into a reality, and something happens to those children that can never be undone. V. Pre-School Education: Facing these causes of retardation, we might stand appalled were it not for the hope we can see in the "Junior Primary," the "Lower Primary," the "Kindergarten," or whatever name you may care to give to the period of time preceding the child's entrance into the first grade, regardless of his chronological age. Here the child may be,—under the leadership and guidance of a carefully selected, scientifically trained teacher—in an environment that is stimulating him to develop into a child free from physical handicaps; a child who by daily exercise is constantly strengthening the fixation of desirable health habits. By participating in the interesting happenings of the group, he is building up from within attitudes of interest and love for school, an eagerness to know how to read, self-responsibility, and the ability to render constructive judgment of his own work and that of the work of others. He is acquiring and strengthening day by day, habits of prompt and regular attendance, of persistent effort in working out difficulties, of independence of thought and action; of industry and con-centration. His knowledge is growing daily through stories, songs, poems, Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 7 rhymes, games, and dramatizations. Well-planned excursions give him real experiences to talk about, and a richer background. His vocabulary-grows; his pronunciation and enunciation improve, and symbols hold real meaning for him. Those who observe closely and follow day by day can surely see the overcoming of undesirable home conditions, the changing of the physically unfit into strong, happy, alert children, and the daily growth of attitudes, habits and knowledge that make for strong reading readiness. So shall they enter the first grade, able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the others, and with heads up. VI. Pre-School Education in Asheville: In Asheville the kindergartens are a part of the public school system. Our primary supervisor has been watching the retardation problem closely and reports as follows: 1. Classification tests were given all the children entering the first grade in 1927. 24% of the children who had at least one semester in kindergarten were found to belong to the A group; while only 14% of the non-kindergarten children met the requirements of that group. At this time definite and concerted efforts were made to improve the work of the kindergartens, especially along the lines of reading readiness. Additional standards and goals were set up, and a new curriculum worked out. 2. In 1929 the classification tests given the first grade entrants re-vealed the follewing: (a) 48% of the children from the kindergarten belonged to the A group, while only 12% of the non-kindergarten children fell into that classification, (b) In June, 1929, 25% of the non-kinder-garten children in the first grade failed to "make their grade," as against 10% of children who had been in kindergartens, (c). In January, 1928, 36% of the first grade children were retarded. In June, 1929, the per-centage had dropped to 17.5, slightly over one-half. Improvements in the first grades were no doubt partially responsible for this decrease; but a comparison of retardations between the kinder-garten and the non-kindergarten groups, 25% as against 10%, would seem to indicate and prove that the kindergarten was a large contribut-ing factor in reducing the percentage of retardation. In view of these findings, do you not think that pre-first grade train-ing reduces retardation in such a way as to further child development? REDUCING RETARDATION THROUGH THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE SIX-YEAR-OLD (Mrs. H. T. Latham, the Washington Public Schools, Washington, N. C.) To reduce retardation and to help retarded children are matters of much importance in the schools of Washington, North Carolina. Having studied the types of retarded children and noted the causes of retardation, we are to some extent prepared, at the beginning of the school year, as to what to expect in the first grade. The John H. Small School is organized on the homogeneous grouping plan. The first grade has five sections. At the beginning of school these 8 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education children are divided alphabetically for these sections. At the end of the first week The Pinter Cunningham Test is given to four of these sections. The fifth section is in the second year of first grade work and has had this test the previous year. These four grades then receive the new children according to their ability as shown by this test. But not even a test can always judge the mind of a child. We know their ways are past finding out. To meet this expected condition, a second test—the "Detroit First Grade Test"—is given at the end of six weeks. By this time the teacher who has watched her children closely, has found hidden qualities or perhaps handicaps that may not be easily overcome and with this information added to the test, a reclassification is made. This classification now gives us the X section, those with the highest I. Q.; the Y section, those with good I. Q. ; the Z section, those whose I. Q.'s are below average; the special section which is a subnormal group and unable to do a year's work in first grade; and still another section consisting of the previous year's special section with a few repeating pupils from other sections. The children of a homogeneous group work better together. Bright children often overshadow the slow ones, and the slow ones become even more reticent alongside the bright ones. Every little child wants to be in the "high" section even though she knows nothing of its work, or demands, and often a precocious miss, boasts that she is in a "higher" grade than her little neighbor. These troubles are eliminated, quite often, after the second classification. The course of study is planned as nearly as possible to meet the abilities of each group. The methods of presenting the subject matter differ in the sections. The amount of work varies greatly; the highest section sometime covering four times the- amount of work done in the lowest section. The first three sections follow the same course in proportion to ability. In another section, are children who are doing the regular work but taking two years for it. Yet, they are not repeating the same work but are those who have come up from the lowest or fifth section of the preceding year. The reading matter as well as the nature work and geography is new material. In the fifth section are subnormal children. The mental ages of these children are about four or five years. Yet, all of these are over six years of age. Most of these advance to the higher first grade, at the end of the first year. Some extreme cases remain in the same grade. This is really the problem room but to see them at work, happy, in a congenial atmosphere, doing their best—though such a small bit may seem to be accomplished—is an inspiration to other teachers to work more than ever with the minds that can receive. These little children are never made to feel that they "are different." They are so often praised, I sometimes think they will develop a superiority complex. These children are of pre-school age mentally and the work here is to build up a large speaking vocabulary, to widen experiences, to adjust them to school life and school spirit, and to prepare them for first grade work. Hygienic measures and health laws are taught, and aids to physical defects are given wherever possible. Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 9 At the end of the year a final achievement test—Gates' Primary Test—is given. This divides the five first grades into three groups for second grade work, and a fourth or special grade composed of first and second grade subnormals and misfits. The other grades from second to ninth inclusive are divided into X, Y, Z, sections. The subnormals are placed in ungraded rooms in three groups, one primary, one grammar grade, and one Junior High School, the work for each section adjusted to the ability of the group. A two-fold benefit arises from this grouping, namely: (1) a benefit to the group itself, and (2) a benefit to the rest of the grades. The fact that they are so divided does not prevent retardation, but proper sectioning does make health, ability, diverse interests, and other class-room problems much easier to solve and also reduces the number of problems for any one teacher to solve. These children are taught to cooperate with each other. Initiative is developed, and they have a feeling of success because of being able to accomplish the work assigned, whereas they would become discouraged in a fast-moving group. Self-reliance and a good civic attitude are encouraged; and extreme school loyalty is much in evidence. Six years ago, before sectioning was tried in our school, 142 children repeated the grades. Two years ago there were 85. This year, with 860 children enrolled, thei*e are only 20 repeating the grades. REDUCING RETARDATION THROUGH THE ESTABLISHMENT OF OPPORTUNITY CLASSES FOR PUPILS WHO ARE MENTALLY PROFICIENT, BUT WHO, FOR VARIOUS REASONS, HAVE LOST SOME GROUND (M. R. Trabue, Chairman, Division of Elementary Education, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N. C.) I assume that when we speak tonight of "reducing retardation" we mean reducing the number of pupils who are older than a specified normal age for the school grade in which they are classified. I assume that the phrase "lost some ground," as it appears in my topic, also refers to the fact that certain pupils are older than a specified normal age for their grade. The "various reasons" which have caused them to lose ground, or to grow older than the normal age before being promoted, are not defined. My topic states that these people are mentally proficient. I assume that this phrase is intended to signify that they would, if measured by the Stanford-Binet Test, show an I. Q. somewhere above .70 or .75. Having stated my understanding of the meaning of my topic, I am now ready to make my speech. It is very brief, but it gives my views on this topic quite fully. I am in favor of "reducing retardation through the establishment of opportunity classes for pupils who are mentally proficient, but who, for various reasons, have lost some ground." I am in favor of any improvement in the public schools in North Carolina that will make these schools serve more adequately the needs of North Caro-lina boys and girls. 10 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education Now that I have made my speech and have a few moments left, I want to say something about retardation or over-ageness. The age-grade table and the percentage of over-ageness derived from it were devised about twenty years ago as tentative measures of the degree to which the schools had adjusted themselves to the abilities and needs of the boys and girls attending them. There were in those days no scales or standard tests for measuring objectively the exact achievements of pupils. The relation of a child's grade to his age was one of the first tests to be applied in widely separated school systems. It is a crude measure, depending in each case upon the unpredictable vagaries of many different teachers. As suggested in the topic on which I was asked to speak, many pupils have "lost some ground, for various reasons." Promotion from one grade to another, as practiced in most schools, depends chiefly upon the subjective judgments of teachers, each of whom uses her own ideas as standards for determining promotion. Twenty years ago, how-ever, the age-grade table and the measures to be derived from it were among the best measures available for determining the efficiency of schools and school systems. My purpose in mentioning this matter of history is to raise the ques-tion as to whether the real purpose of tonight's meeting should be merely to reduce the percentage of pupils listed as over-age for their grades, or the larger task of improving the organization, the programs, and the activities of the school in such ways as to make it serve its pupils and the State more effectively. Retardation is, as I see it, merely one symp-tom of maladjustment between the school and its pupils. Should we not consider fundamental issues that will correct the underlying causes rather than inquire how we may modify mere symptoms? If we are at all willing to consider the greater problem, the first fact that we must face is that children differ in their interests, purposes, and emotions, as well as in their abilities and achievements. It is abso-lutely impossible to make them equal, and even if we could make them equal, it would be utterly undesirable in modern life. Industry, society, democracy, science, and human happiness demand specialization rather than uniformity in people. And yet our schools maintain their old pro-cedure of "promoting" or "failing" pupils in terms of standards which are supposedly uniform, although objective measurements have long ago proved that they vary widely from teacher to teacher, or from school to school. In other words, schools persist even yet in ignoring the fundamental fact of individual differences. Retardation and its reduction have been discussed now for twenty years, but the schools have practically the same percentage of retardation today as they had twenty years ago, because they are still using a thoroughly antiquated and outworn pro-motion- and-failure system. Individual differences in children can never be eradicated, but it is conceivable that classification schemes might be changed. Until the schools realize that human nature will not change, and that the schools must therefore adapt themselves to it, retardation will continue to flourish. I am not greatly alarmed at the amount of retar-dation, but I am deeply distressed at the complacency with which school men continue to disregard the needs of society and the happiness of children. Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 11 Why should a pupil who has done his best ever fail? If the school makes a requirement which the pupil cannot meet, it is the school and not the child that has failed. Pupils who have the same needs and abilities should have the same instruction, regardless of the grades in which they are classified. We now have objective means for measuring the achievements of pupils in various fields, and the records needed by the school should be kept in terms of these objective scales rather than in terms of the subjective estimates of teachers. In short, the promotion or failure of a pupil should be determined by reference to his own growth' in character and ability rather than in terms of any previously determined uniform standards in subject matter. Each pupil should work with other pupils at the tasks which have greatest value to him and at the difficult level which will be most helpful to him, regardless of the grade or class to which he belongs. Whether a pupil is classified as in the second grade or in third-year high school, if he has a given degree of ability in reading, his instruction in reading should be at such a level as will help him to make actual progress in that field. How one is classified should have nothing whatever to do with the kind of school work he is doing, while what he needs and can do should have everything to do with it. Such a program would require school officials to know objectively the various abilities and needs of each pupil, and to provide a more flexible educational program than is now offered, but it would throw the emphasis on the child and his welfare rather than leave it as it now rests upon imaginary standards in subject matter hidden away somewhere in the dark recesses of the minds of innumerable teachers. REDUCING RETARDATION IN EDGECOMBE COUNTY BY MEANS OF A COUNTY-WIDE SURVEY (W. H. Pittman, Superintendent of Edgecombe County Schools, Tarboro, N. C.) I. Causes of Retardation: Our study of retardation and repeating was made in December, 1928. We knew many children were retarded and that we could not promote many children. We considered it a worthy undertaking to try to find as definitely as possible the precise status of our backward children and to determine the causes of retardation as fully as we could from the teacher's opinion of each individual. The teachers in rural schools know not only the child and his school record but in large measure know his home environment also. The teachers were instructed to assign the causes that contributed to the retardation of each individual. Blank forms were placed in the hands of each teacher so prepared as to show the name, age and grade of each pupil and the cause of that child's retardation. The reports of the teachers show the grade repeated and the number of times each retardate repeated any grade or grades. The summary of these reports showed the causes of retardation in the opinion of our teachers to be as follows: (1) Irregular attendance, 24.55%; (2) Heavy teacher load, 12 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 22.22%; (3) "Slow to learn," 20.73%; (4) Poor health, 10.34%; (5) Late entrance, 10.13%; (6) Frequent moving, and (7) Poor teaching. An amusing feature of these reports was the fact that but three or four teachers reported poor teaching as a contributing factor in our retard-ation. These teachers were teaching in their grades for the first time. II. Retardation: A comparison of age-grade distribution in 1924-1925 and 1928-1929 shows 47.31% over age in 1924-1925 and 37.26% in 1928- 1929; 52.69% were of normal or under age in 1924-1925 while 62.74% were of normal or under age in 1928-1929. 10% fewer children were over age in 1928-1929. In 1926-1927 we promoted 61% of the elemen-tary pupils; in 1927-1928, 59.1%, and in 1928-1929, 66.7%. We examined the records of 2,171 children. Of these 1,108 or 51.03% were either repeating their present grades or that had repeated past grades. Many children have repeated the same grade more than once. The following percentages of enrollment, by grades, are repeaters: First grade, 47.5%; second grade 50%; third grade 51.34%; fourth grade 48.3%; fifth grade 57.49%; sixth grade 52.95%; seventh grade 50.27%; total 51.03%.. The figures were tabulated by schools as well as by grades and it is interesting to note that Battleboro, our only nine months school, has the lowest percentage of repeaters of all -our schools. The 1,108 repeaters had been retaught 1,798 times in their checkered school careers. It was also revealed that the 1,108 repeaters had repeated the first grade 882 times; the second grade 337 times; the third grade 264 times; the fourth grade 145 times; the fifth grade 82 times; the sixth grade 72 times, and the seventh grade 16 times. III. Outcomes: We are unable to know much of definite results that have come from our study. We believe, however, that the teachers achieved a keener insight into the problem of retardation. We feel confident that each teacher's examination of the whole school record of each of her children has made it more apparent to her that each child needs certain individual attention. The attendance record is a powerful weapon in the hands of the teacher or principal when dealing with an irate parent whose child failed of promotion. Where tabulations were completed they were placed in the hands of the teachers and an entire meeting given to discussions of the problem. We do not place too great confidence in the weight given by teachers to the several causes of retardation. Teachers cannot know, for instance, a great deal about the physical handicaps of their pupils. We used, however, the results of the study effectively in securing the physical examination of all our elementary children this spring. We recognize that poor teaching was not given the value it should have had in this matter,—but we did not expect much to be reported under this head. In view of the recently proposed increase in teacher load, the fact that "crowded conditions" ranks second as a factor contributing to retardation is enlightening. This is especially true since our study was made before the Legislature convened. Another vital outcome of our survey is found in the increased respect that our teachers have for complete and accurate individual records. Perhaps the best result has been the emphasis placed upon the fact that we are dealing with individuals rather than with classes. Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 13 REDUCING RETARDATION IN CRAVEN COUNTY THROUGH A STUDY OF PROBLEM CASES IN CRAVEN COUNTY (R. S. Proctor, Superintendent of Craven County Schools, New Bern, N. C.) This study was made under the direction of Miss Margaret Hayes, county supervisor, assisted by elementary teachers in the various grades of the consolidated schools, the principals, and by the county health officer. The study was an investigation of children in the elementary grades of the schools, who for various reasons found difficulty in learning. For quite a long time these children have given us concern. They made up the grade repeaters, quite often the discipline problems, and certainly they tended to take the joy out of what otherwise would have proved an interesting teaching experience for the teacher. The reason for the study was to attempt to find out the causes for slow learning on the part of the pupils investigated and to propose and apply remedies to the individual pupils in order that learning for them might become a more pleasant experience and that the per cent of retard-ation might be reduced. Our feeling was that if this group of children were given attention in time much repetition of work could be eliminated, the children could be made more confident of their ability to make prog-ress, and a larger number of promotions would result. In the fall of 1928 a conference was held with the grade teachers, principals, supervisor and health officer to discuss the problem, method of approach, etc. Each teacher was requested to select her worst case. The spirit and enthusiasm with which all entered into the problem i*esulted in an achievement that was hardly thought possible for the first year. Following is the line of procedure used in the study of the problem child: Collection of Data: 1. Giving intelligence tests to all children selected for investigation. (54 cases were selected.) 2. Giving achievement tests at the beginning and conclusion of the study. 3. Distribution of blanks to be filled out by the teacher, calling for information about the home environment, physical history, mental history, and pedagogical history of the child. 4. Physical examination of the child by the health officer. 5. Observation of each case as the investigation progresses by the supervisor of schools. 6. Final estimate of the teacher along with all other data secured at the conclusion of the study. Through tests, physical examinations and teachers' investigations, the following facts were revealed about the 54 cases under consideration: 64.8% had health troubles; 64.8% had vocabulary deficiencies; 63% had mental deficiencies; 59.3% were deficient in paragraph meaning; 53.7% were poor in sentence recognition; 51.9% had unfavorable home con-ditions; 40.7% had short memory span; 35.2% showed lack of interest; 24.1% were antagonistic, lazy, misbehaved; 14.5% showed poor attend- 14 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education ance; 11.1% were unable to read; 7.4% confused words; 5.6% were weak in fundamentals of arithmetic; 5.6% mispronounced words; 3.7% were timid; 3.7% were weak in spelling; 3.7% had language difficulties; 3.7% had bad study habits; 3.7% had speech impediments; 3.7% were weak in earlier stages of arithmetic; and 1.9% had either sex difficulties or lack of background or used lips in reading, or inserted words in reading, or read too much. A summary of the difficulties showed that there were a total of 299 causes and 28 different causes. Each child was handi-capped by from 2 to 10 causes. After the causes of the difficulties were found immediate steps were taken to remedy the situation. Specific remedial work was provided by the supervisor for each of the causes that had to do with the actual classroom instruction; the health problems, poor attendance, and unfavor-able conditions were attacked by teachers, supervisor, health and welfare officer together. Visits to homes, letters to mothers, conferences with mothers, were used to bring to parents the necessity of their cooperation in the undertaking. The results of the attempt to help this group of children were most gratifying. Fifty-one of the fifty-four cases came through to the end of school. Progress made in their work ranged from .5 of a year to 2.8 years. No pupil was promoted on .5 a year's progress; above .5 and below .9 of a year's progress promotion was based upon the teacher's and supervisor's estimates in connection with all data secured. Above .9 of a year's progress, promotion was made unconditionally. Thirty-one children out of the fifty-one cases remaining in school were promoted, or a promotion of 60% of the cases. The I. Q. of the group ranged from 63 to 108.2. Eighteen had I. Q.'s of 90 and above; 18 others I. Q.'s of from 80 to 90, and the remainder ranged from 63 to 80. In the matter of promotions: Of those children having I. Q.'s of 90 and above, 11 were promoted, 8 were not. Of those children whose I. Q.'s ranged from 80 to 90, 10 were promoted, 7 were not. Of those children whose I. Q.'s were below 80, 11 were promoted, 10 were not. Records of improvement of 13 children during 1927-1928 (year pre-vious to the study) and 1928-1929 (year of study) are available and are of interest: Child No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Imp. 1927-1928 .5 year .5 " .6 "" .4 " .7 " .5 " .6 " .4 " 1.1 " .8 " 1.3 " .6 " .1 " Imp. 1928-1929 Total Imp. .5 year .0 .6 it .1 2.8 tt 2.2 1.3 a .9 1.2 tt .5 .5 (l .0 .9 tt .3 1.7 tt 1.3 1.8 tt .7 .6 it .2 .8 tt .5 1.2 tt .6 .7 tt .6 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 15 PUPILS CUMULATIVE PERMANENT RECORDS AS A MEANS OF REDUCING RETARDATION (H. F. Srygley, Superintendent Raleigh Public Schools, Raleigh, North Carolina) It seems to me in my experience in school work, that we should keep a very complete record of all children, in order to build up school atti-tudes and thereby increase the interest in attendance, thus preventing retardation. In the Raleigh Public School System, we have worked out a form of record, whereby we can keep in close touch with the child from the point of view of his social surroundings, his scholastic attainments and his health. We have worked out this record under six headings as given below: Form I. Personal, Family History, and Home Life. 1. Personal History. 2. Family History. 3. Home Life. Form II. Scholarship and Attendance Record. 1. Residence Record (Admission and Transfers). 2. Elementary School Record. 3. Junior and Senior High School Record. 4. Grade Progress Table. 5. Statistics following graduation. Form III. Standard Test Record. 1. Test Data. a. Achievement Tests. b. Intelligence Tests. c. Other Tests. 2. Permanent Progress Chart. Form IV. Record of Growth in Ideals and Character. 1. Character Ratings. a. Social Traits. b. Mental Traits. c. Emotional Traits. 2. General Strengths and Weaknesses in Character, a. Series of Memoranda at Infrequent Periods. Form V. Physical and Health Record. 1. Personal Health History. 2. Family Health History. 3. Child's Health Habits. 4. Physician's Examinations of Records. 5. Serious Ailments—Recommendations and Treatment. Form VI. Vocational Tendencies and Aptitudes. 1. School Interests. 2. Extra-Curricula Activities. 3. Work Outside School Hours. 4. Vocational Interests and Ambitions. 5. Plans for the Future. 16 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education If we keep track of all of the information contained in the above outline, we will have an accumulation of records for every child during his entire school life. These records should be of tremendous value in making conclusions and measuring all results in public school attendance. We have been too negligent in the past in recognizing creative work in childhood. One of the big questions we are facing in our schools, is how to provide an environment which will foster creative development for every child in a group. Mass instruction does not fulfill the needs of the individual, for we are not trying to make poets, artists, sculptors or writers of the children who are under our care. However, we do hold to the necessity for developing the creative faculty of each individual pupil. We have convictions that every normal individual has to a greater or lesser degree the impulse to create, but each individual has a question-ing attitude, and the fullest growth is possible only when the child has a chance to use his natural creative impulses. If we can collect from time to time samples of work that are the results of a creative atmos-phere in the school, we will be able to judge whether or not we are making progress in an advanced way. Take as an illustration of this, a collection of poems and natural productions, as well as mechanical productions, find their way to the scrap heap or waste basket. If a school could build up a museum of things that have been made by pupils—poems that have been written, arts that have been produced, music that has been sung, games that have been devised by the pupils, these would be of inestimable value in judging the worthwhileness of our efforts. As another illustration of this matter of keeping records of pupils, I wish to call the attention of my hearers to the following verses that have been collected by teachers and placed in permanent form for future reference: A first-grade child brought a honeybee for the museum and the follow-ing resulted: We hear the honeybee buzz, buzz, buzz, On the soft summer air, In the night he sleeps and dreams and dreams, Of sweet flowers everywhere. —Kern; 7 yrs. of age. Hum, hum, hum, sings the honeybee, While he sucks the honey from the flowers, The flowers made the honey from the April showers. —Dorothy; 6 yrs. of age. Bailey's white rabbit spent a week in school. When he curled up on someone's coat for a nap, he looked so cunning that Margery was moved to say the following: Bailey has a timid rabbit, His fur is white as snow. His eyes are soft, his ears are long, But his tail is—Oh! so short! —Margery; 7 yrs. of age. Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 17 A second grade, while working with their garden, expressed them-selves in these verses: Tulip, tulip, please come up, Catch the dewdrops in your cup. It would be very much fun, To see you nodding to the sun. Flowers, flowers of every hue, Red, purple, yellow and blue, In my little garden grew, 'Til the wind came rushing through. Since we have been hoeing, The garden has been growing. —Thomas Rich. We have planted lots of seeds, Now we must pull up all the weeds. —Alda and Virginia. When airships came over the town: Seventy airships flew our way, On a pretty Saturday. One warm, bright sunny day, Seventy airships came over this way. They circled above and all around, Then they went to another town.—Fred Lee. April has come to town, The trees are green, Flowers are creeping, From long winter sleeping, Sunshine has come again. —Lillian Holliday; 4B. THE DAFFODIL LADY The Daffodil Lady is pretty and gay, The Daffodil Lady will swing and sway. Her yellow gown shines like a crown, With silver bells shining around. And she swings her partner to and fro, And they dance in the sunshine as they go. —Rose Dell Potter; 4B. 18 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education COLUMBUS Columbus was a man of old, He and his sailors were very bold. One day they sailed the ocean wide, He and his sailors, side by side. One day his sailors began to fear, But Columbus told them land was near. He saw the birds flying in the sky, And bits of wood tossed on waves high. When at last on dry land they rode, They thanked God for their safe abode. They put up a cross in the name of Spain, To show that it was their country's gain. —Elizabeth Utley, 5B. THE SEA Many sorrows has it seen, Many rocks has it washed clean, And I'm sure, if it could speak, It would tell of men that -seek Other lands in which to dwell, Men on ships with goods to sell. Many fish in its waters hide, Big fish that dart, swim, and glide. And many a brave sailor has made his grave, While other lives he tried to save, And down in the waters so very deep, Many a captain was made to sleep.—Virginia Thomas; 5A. THE TREES BEHIND OUR SCHOOL The trees behind our school All look so very cool. While the shadows are long and deep, All the birds go to sleep. There is the mighty oak Which still stands so proud. No one is allowed To harm the trees behind our school. The trees behind our school Are all around a deep, blue pool, When the birds come by with a song The trees invite them to bring their babies along. We have a garden in one corner. Our log cabin is in the other. Neither one is better Than the trees behind our school. Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 19 All the birds go flying by, Forming a dim outline in the sky. On the ground is the grass Of the very finest class. This is the bird's playground, The best ever found. Please keep this rule, "Be kind to the trees behind the school."—Charles Swan; 6B. CALL OF THE WOODS Oh, I've heard the call of the tall white pine And the call of the running brook; I'm tired of tasks which each day are mine, I am weary of reading a printed book. I want to get out of school and strife, And the clanging of a bell, And walk for a day where life is life, Where joys are true and pictures are real. —Gladys Woodward; 6B. As a final sentence, too many good things are lost in child life, too1 many opportunities are neglected, too many fine sentiments are over-looked, because of the teacher's indifference due to lack of ability to accumulate the wonderful things that have been created by school chil-dren. If such records as these were kept, I am sure there would be more interest in school work. More interest in school work, would cer-tainly create better attendance, and the results would be more highly appreciated by parents, teachers, supervisors, and children. 20 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education SOME PHASES OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT RADIO IN EDUCATION (H. K. Carpenter, Manager, Radio Station W. P. T. F., Raleigh, North Carolina) Radio is a new industry; and like other new industries grows so rapidly that even those in the work find it very hard to keep abreast of developments. As compared to what it is hoped radio will accomplish in the future, the progress which has been made so far consists of merely the most elementary steps. Being a new industry, radio must prove its value as it goes along; and also it must overcome the natural tendency of so many of us to frown upon anything that is new. The use of radio in connection with school work, both elementary and advanced, has recently been cropping out in spots all over the United States. This is noticed particularly in the public schools in Oakland, Atlanta, Cleveland and Chicago. And, as you probably know, the Extension Divisions of most universities are beginning to accept all invi-tations tendered them to broadcast programs of specific interest to the alumni of the institutions. A number of colleges and universities, especially in the Middle West, own and operate their own broadcasting stations, and in a few isolated instances, college credit is given for the completion of radio extension courses. Probably the most elaborate attempt, however, has been that of the Radio Corporation of America in broadcasting their series of morning concerts played by Walter Dam-rosch and his Symphony Orchestra. When it comes to the actual consideration of what can be done in each particular instance, there are several problems to be faced. First, what are the types, of broadcast available in your particular community? Second, if the programs are to be more or less under the supervision of the educational authorities, what speakers, musicians, and teachers can be secured to appear in the studios? Third, the cost of sending out any given radio program is rather larger than most people suspect; some firm or organization must be found which can be induced to furnish the necessary broadcasting facilities. Fourth, the proper means of publish-ing the plans must be found; these must include not only newspaper publicity, but a means of taking the necessary information directly into the schools. Fifth, a proper receiving apparatus must be secured and installed in the schools. And, sixth, a very definite plan of classroom procedure must be developed and maintained. The above problems may seem to be insurmountable, but the fact of the matter is that they have been solved in some communities, and are being solved in increasing numbers each year. Radio in education should be used not only from the viewpoint of the development of music appreciation, but also for what it can do in con-nection with the study of such subjects as geography, history and Eng-lish. Consider the value to children studying geography of being able to tune in broadcasts in connection with the Byrd Expedition at the South Pole; the opening of the new International Bridge at Niagara Falls; and relay broadcasts from European stations. Think of the Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 21 opportunity for the study of history in the making—tuning in such events as the following which have been broadcast during the past year: The Pan-American Conference, from Havana, Cuba; the Memorial Service, from Gettysburg; the annual conference of the American Farm Bureau in Chicago; Washington's Birthday Celebration in Washington; the Republican Convention in Kansas City; the Democratic Convention in Houston; the Inauguration of President Hoover; and many others. Let us consider for a moment, some things a little nearer home. Since last September W P T F has been broadcasting educational material whenever available. This has included a series of Music Appreciation programs under the auspices of the Music Section of the Raleigh Woman's Club; the United States Farm Forum; the Farm Flashes; the World Book Man; Garden Club Talks; and talks from various State Departments such as Agriculture, Motor Vehicle Bureau, Conservation and Development, etc. Besides these features having a very evident educational aim, here are a few broadcasts sent out from Raleigh during the past year, having considerable educational content: News flashes, weather forecasts, the Poet's Corner, Church Services, Tone Pictures, Song Story, the World Today by Dr. Julius Klein, National Safety Council Series, Roads of the Sky, and many others. Of course these broadcasts have a general appeal rather than content applicable to Elementary School work alone. I mention W P T F and the programs we have broadcast merely because they indicate the attitude and work of the great majority of responsible radio stations. Radio broadcasting and the placement of receiving sets must go hand-in- hand; a broadcasting station without at least some potential listeners is about as useless as anything we can imagine. Stations deliberately broadcast programs which are planned to be pleasing or acceptable to those who have receiving sets. Why should stations, therefore, send out lessons in music appreciation for elementary grades when there are no facilities for receiving these programs. Such broadcasts should not be put on the air at night when probably a majority of listeners are adults; and why broadcast them in the daytime when boys and girls are in school? On the other hand, why go to the expense of installing apparatus in schools when little suitable for reproduction in the school is available on the air? The answer to these questions is quite obvious: the educational authorities and the broadcast stations should join hands for their mutual good. And I know I speak for the broadcasters when I say that they are more than willing to cooperate in any manner possible. Of course it has been impossible in this short space of time to do anything but barely scratch the surface of this subject. May I urge you to seriously consider the use of radio in your plans for the coming year. To make the matter very concrete, let me suggest that you do one or both of two things: First, communicate with your nearest radio station and enlist the cooperation which undoubtedly is awaiting you, at any time; and second, write to Miss Alice Keith, Division of Education, Radio Corporation of America, 233 Broadway, New York City. 22 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education To start, don't bite off more than you can chew—don't try to do it all at once; for radio is no different than any other business or enter-: prise; but do something this fall to employ the services radio can bring you in elementary education. The material is there for the asking, the boys and girls deserve it, and you personally will have the pleasure of being in step with the times and affording yourself the opportunity of some day being able to say, "I can remember when we had no radios in our schools!" HOW TO HELP THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILD IN DEVELOPING ART APPRECIATION (Lydia A. Bancroft, Professor of Public School Music, Cullowhee State Normal School, Cullowhee, N. C.) Little time need be spent in justifying the teaching of art, for we all realize that by it life is enriched and better and happier citizens are developed. The first and greatest essential in developing in the child a sense of art appreciation is in the training of the teachers so that they will themselves understand and enjoy beautiful things and be able to interpret that appreciation in others. In many classrooms little is accomplished because the teachers have been so instructed in art that it has not meant to them a tangible art which they are able to interpret to the children. The second necessity is that we provide school buildings and school grounds that are in themselves examples of the art which teachers wish the children to appreciate. This unconcious appeal is very important. The environment in which we place the child should be the most beautiful one that it is possible to procure. This point needs emphasis for too often we are teaching one thing and living another. By such a contra-dictory life little can be accomplished. In this connection it is well to realize that to make our schools attractive does not always mean that they be so very much more expensive. Tinted walls, cabinets, built-in book shelves, a picture moulding, are all aids in the keeping of a neat, clean, attractive room yet these are not so very expensive. They are but the proper setting which will make possible an artistic environment for the children. In the discussion of definite classroom problems there is much to be said. When actual need exists art problems arise in every subject taught in the elementary grades. Correlation makes possible the fitting of art into its proper place in the curriculum. Poster, book covers, Christmas cards, decorations on pottery, the painting of landscapes will serve to bring to mind the many problems which are typical. The child learns what it is that makes them fine. He develops a critical sense in art based on a definite understanding of such principles as balance, rhythm, and harmony as they appear in line, dark and light, and color. In such problems good - taste is developed to its greatest extent when there is constant chance for children making choices between good and poor arrangements. A wealth of illustrative material does more than Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 23 anything else to help one see what is good design and good color. The teacher may talk all day but to show the child means much more. It matters little whether it is a book cover for a first grade Mother Goose book or a sixth grade geography book. Children should discuss the size and the shape which will be most convenient and look the best for the cover. Then what lettering shall be used, how large it shall be, and where it shall be placed must be considered. The children should also decide whether any other decoration is needed and if so how large it shall be and where it shall be placed. Finally, color choices must be made. To give a specific example, green paper should not be passed to the class for one problem and brown for another but regardless of the extra work and the temporary disorder occasioned, each child should be allowed to come to a table upon which various colored papers have been placed. There he may make his selection of that which suits his purpose and pleases his eye. This does not mean that unlimited freedom shall be permitted. Problems should be chosen and the conditions of their development arranged to suit the age of the children. The thing I wish to emphasize is that art appreciation is developed only when the students are given many occasions in which to make choices between good and poor designs and between good and poor color combinations. Again let art problems come very close to the children's everyday experiences. Let them discuss and offer suggestions for the arrange-ment of the class room. It may include the handling of pictures, the arrangement of clippings on a bulletin board, the placing of chairs, table and books for a library corner in the room. Flowers may be arranged. Art need not be intangible. Children can understand the same art prin-ciples which have been used by the Japanese for centuries in their schools of flower arrangement. Children may profitably take part in any experience which will give them occasions for developing good taste in dress, in house furnishing and in advertising. Let the children plan the beautifying of the school grounds and there will be no need of posting signs requesting that papers be kept from the school lawn. When they have had some part in the beautifying of their surroundings "clean-up" campaigns will not be necessary. Art is an every-day thing after all. It is not for the few but it means good taste for all. A well-spaced letter, a nicely arranged spelling paper or a well-drawn map are just as worthy of attention as a poster made in the art class. One's sense of appreciation develops through doing. There may be beauty of proportion and of construction in a well-made piece of furniture or a rug woven in the school room. Frequent exhibits of the best work are important and finally a yearly exhibit. Let me make a plea for more care in the arrangement of such exhibits. One becomes conscious of the lack of definite art training on the part of many teachers when one studies the good work of the children which so many times at county and group-center commencements is displayed unmounted and badly arranged in too crowded an area. This lack of training is not the fault of the teachers so much as it is the fault of those in authority in teacher training institutions who have not themselves sufficient realization of the value of such training to provide adequately for it in their courses of study. 24 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education Children of the large cities are becoming familiar with the art of many distant peoples through the art museums. Classes of children visit the gallaries and study the exhibits under the leadership of trained museum guides. We can hardly do this in North Carolina. Let us not, however, overlook the art that is about us. Children should be led to see the best that is in their environment. School children who make a loom and weave on it a rug or a scarf will go home with a greater appre-ciation for the hand-woven coverlets of their grandmothers than they had before such an experience. Exhibits may be planned which will bring together the best art found in the homes of the community. Much may be done to rid the homes of that which is poor in design and bad in color and to develop a sense of appreciation in the best that can be found in the homes. When these things are accomplished we shall be well on the road toward the Second Renaissance which some writers claim is about to enter America. HOW AN ANALYSIS OF HEALTH EDUCATION IN A NORTH CARO-LINA COUNTY MAY FURTHER THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AGE WITHIN THAT COUNTY (Nettie Brogdon, Rural School Supervisor, Guilford County, Greensboro, North Carolina) The results from an investigation of the causes for failure in the elementary grades in the Guilford County schools gave conclusive evidence that the health of the child was a big contributive element in his educa-tional progress. In order, therefore, to attain "maximum standard pro-motion of the grade enrollment" which is a goal the schools are striving for, it seemed evident that some remedial work must be done in health. Two health aims, therefore, were agreed upon: (1) Every child physically fit; (2) Positive health teaching. The discussion which follows outlines the objectives and the initial procedure for health education in Guilford County. One of the basis objectives or outcomes of elementary education should be the growth and improvement of the child's mental, emotional, social, and physical health behavior in terms of attitudes, habits, skills, and knowledge. That the elementary schools in Guilford County may achieve these ends in increasing proportions, the following procedure was outlined: 1. To utilize all the forces, factors, and natural situations within the school, the home, and the community for the development and promotion of mental, social, emotional, and physical health practices, attitudes, and knowledge of children. 2. To provide opportunities for the practice of mental, emotional, social, and physical health habits frequently, accurately, and efficiently in natural situations. 3. To aid children individually to make their own judgments and to form their own standards for healthful living, social relationships, Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 25 and emotional control through well-directed activities for individual expression. 4. To study the health needs of individual children, and to guide their activities as far as possible to meet these needs. 5. To arouse the interest of the children, the parents, and the com-munity in the improvement of the health conditions and surroundings of the school, the home, and the community. 6. To develop in the children and the parents an increasing appre-ciation and cooperation toward the scientific professional services of the examining physician, the dentist, the nurse, and the welfare worker. As an initial step in helping teachers to realize these big health objectives, they were guided in making an objective analysis of the forces, factors, and natural situations within the school and the com-munity which influenced the health of the child. Analysis sheets were prepared for them, which consisted of positive statements or practice based on practicability in relation to the public school; statements or practices which in the light of present-day knowledge are educationally sound and scientifically accurate, and based on the fundamental needs of childhood. Teachers analyzed their own practices by these positive statements. Every phase of the physical equipment was studied such as: Light, ventilation, heat, water, toilets, etc. The natural situations which arise throughout the child's day in the school and through which health habits may be practiced, health knowledge impressed, desirable attitudes built, and social health adjustments made, were analyzed. These natural situa-tions were: 1. Transportation to and from school. 2. Activities before and after school. 3. Entering school for day's program. 4. Beginning the school day—the Home Room period. 5. The daily schedule. 6. Morning playground period. 7. Getting ready for lunch. 8. The lunch period. 9. Afternoon recess. 10. Drinking water during the day. 11. Attending toilet during the day. 12. Washing hands during the day. 13. Rest periods for Primary children. 14. Auditorium activities. 15. Class room clean and artistic. 16. Control of communicable diseases. 17. Dismissal of school. 18. After-school activities at the school. 19. Preparation of school work at home. 26 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education The activities within each of the above situations were analyzed. For example, the situation: "Entering School for the Day's Work," consisted of the following activities: 1. Entering building from the playgrounds. 2. Assembling in class rooms. 3. Attitude of teachers. 4. Placing of coats, sweaters, hats, etc., in spaces provided for them. 5. Removal of coats, sweaters, overshoes, and hats. 6. Adjusting room ventilation and heat. 7. Observing that no child has wet feet or wet clothing on rainy and cold days. A composite score showing the number of teachers observing the various positive statements was made for each school and the county as a whole. With the information from this composite score each school and class room was able to find its own needs and be in a better position to utilize all the factors and forces in the school and community in developing a healthful school day. Teachers were helped in the inter-pretation of their school analysis and given remedial and constructive assistance through the various supervising agencies in the county. After six months of remedial work a study was made in order to determine the results. The data gathered from this study gave: (a) The number of teachers observing particular healthful school practices one hundred per cent; (b) of the three hundred forty-four (344) practices included in the study, reports from the one hundred ninety-eight (198) teachers showed that the range of practices which had been improved by them was from one to one hundred twenty-six. At the end of the seventh month, a second study was made in order to determine the teacher's needs in teaching materials. These data have been assembled and will be used in the promotion of this work. During the past year we have taken only the initial step in realizing the broad health objectives in education. The analysis which was made pointed out both the healthful and the unhealthful school practices, thereby causing many unhealthful practices to be changed. The parents, represented by the Parent-Teacher Associations are actively interested in finding their responsibility in assisting the school in the development and in the promotion of the mental, social, emotional, and physical health of their children. They have already engaged in many activities which have shown appreciable results. At present "An Analysis of Health Practices in the Home," similar to the one used in the schools, is being prepared for their use. The outcomes from the correction of remedial physical defects and the broad health program has contributed much towards attaining the county-wide objective, "Maximum Standard Promotion of the Grade Enrollment." Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 27 THE EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHILD OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AGE (Frazer Hood, Professor of Psychology, Davidson College, Davidson, North Carolina) In recent years we have awakened to the fact that intellectual train-ing, rational and moral, fails at a very critical juncture, so that we behold the brilliant scholars of our primary and secondary schools, while intellectually disciplined, to go to pieces in certain critical situations and become in extreme instances charges on the State. It has become pretty widely accepted today that this breakdown, this failure in life crises, is due not to any faulty intellectual processes, but to abnormal and para-logical emotional reactions. The field of research here has scarcely been entered, and there lies before us much work to do before one can feel very confident in his tentatively accepted theories. But enough work has been done to make one feel hopeful of the future. I want to indicate briefly in this paper something of the nature of work doing in this field. And as an approach to my subject—"The Emo-tional Development of the Child of Elementary School Age"—it may be well to observe that the training of the emotions, so directing their development, that the child may live his life helpfully both to himself and to the other members of his social milieu, we must appreciate the fact, that in contrast to intellectual and motor training, we can work only indirectly in achieving our ends. The emotions are controlled, or conditioned by the autonomic and not the central nervous system. The autonomic nervous system in its functioning differs from that of the central nervous system in that the central nervous system ?'s under the control of conscious purposes whereas the autonomic reflex is not under the control or direction of conscious purposes. Concretely, I cannot will not to become angry, for instance, if an anger stimulus is presented, but I can be so trained, either that a substitute rather than the primitive anger stimulus is necessary to call out the responses, or the natural response may be made to give way to a conditional response. Here then, is your objective in directing the emotional development of the child—either to train him away from responding to the uncon-ditioned stimulus or to respond to the unconditioned stimulus with a substitute response. Our aim in educating the emotions then, is not at all an attempt to root out any of the emotions. It is not at all the question of how may we banish all fear or all anger responses of the child. The stimulus to anger, for instance, and the result of such stimu-lation is a preparation of the organism, through the sympathetic seg-ment of the autonomic system, for a fighting reaction. This mechanism of anger is a very strong and vital part of every human being, and he is an abnormal person who cannot be aroused to anger by an adequate stimulus. Even if anger, or fear, could be ratine, there would be no benefit occurring either to the individual or to society in the success of such an uprootage. But anger like fear and love, is so strong, so vital, so primitive a part of the psychic furniture of the race, that its excision could only result disastrously. 28 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education What we hope to do in training the emotional reactions of the child, and the experimental approach to our problem justifies expectations, is so to train the child that the reactions to emotional stimuli may be bene-ficial to the child as an individual and as a member of society. Through the genetic study of the emotions by Watson, and others, psychologists are fairly well agreed that there are at least three primitive emotions. Some say more and a few are inclined to deny on technical grounds any one definite pattern of emotional responses, but I believe agreement can be had among the large majority, that from the birth the child manifests emotional experiences in response to three classes of stimuli and for the nonce the emotional experiences are classifiable under three headings: (1) Fear, (2) anger, and (3) love. I also believe there is pretty wide agreement that the primitive stimuli are: Of fear, loud sounds and loss of support; of anger, restraint of bodily movements ; and of love, stroking the skin, rocking, riding on boat, etc. With these assumptions psychologists have proceeded to test certain methods which claim to be successful in training the child away from responding to certain substitute stimuli. The brevity of this paper pre-vents my doing more than very briefly sketching the conclusions from laboratory studies of just one emotion. For explanatory purpose I shall select fear. The problem is to ascertain the most successful and prac-tically applicable methods of unconditioning fear. 1. One method of "curing" a child from being afraid of harmless objects is to eliminate the object from the experiences of the child and by the "law of disuse" finally achieve the result. This may be called the method of elimination; and it proceeds on the assumption that if we keep a child protected from such stimuli as arouse fear, for a sufficiently long time, the stimuli will fail to provoke the responses. Because certain responses are known to obey the law of disuse, by a false analogy it was assumed that emotional responses obeyed the same law. The results reported from the laboratory are that very frequently fear response to the stimulus returns even after an extended interval. Of course the impracticability of guarding the child from exposure to undesirable stimuli makes the method, even if successful, valueless to the teacher. 2. Then, there is the method that consists of talking over with the child the thing that causes fear, stressing its interesting and attractive features. We may call this method, the method of verbal appeal. This has been found to be occasionally successful. 3. We have what may be called the method of negative adaption. Here the procedure is to let the thing causing fright be presented while the child is occupied, calling no attention to it, merely allowing it to lie in sight. This has been found to be occasionally successful. 4. The next method is called the method of repression. Using this method one proceeds to make fun of the fear state, the boy is afraid to go to sleep alone in a dark room. We make fun of the boy's fear and hope by laughing at him to so shame him out of his unreasonable fear that he will cease being afraid. Of all the methods this is the one most to be condemned. If you wish to see a probable result of this method read Augustus Thomas' "The Bewitching Hour." From laboratory reports we are told that this method often produces sullenness; and sometimes Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 29 it takes psycho-analysis to bring to light what has dropped into uncon-sciousness. 5. The method of distraction directs that with the cause of fear present, we call attention to attractive features, we characterize it, etc. You will perceive that this is superficially very similar to method number 3. However, here the stimulus is in the focus, not the margin of atten-tion. This method has at times proved successful. 6. The method of direct conditioning. If carefully and patiently employed this method is perhaps the most successful of all. Certainly experiments made with it show results superior to all others. The pro-cedure is to use something which the child likes when the fear object is present, such as food for young children, hoping to transfer the pleasant association from it to the fear object. But great caution is necessary to prevent the undesirable quality of the fear object by association to travel to the desired object. In other words it is possible, highly probable in unskillful hands, that the child may still remain afraid of the object and now comes to detest a food which he formerly enjoyed. 7. The method of social initiation closes our catalog. Here we pro-ceed as follows: Have the child play with the fear provoking stimulus, if it can be played with, in the presence of children of similar age who are not afraid of it. The child may withdraw at first, but the example of the group will usually interest him in the object and he forgets his fears. All experiments with adults have failed to accomplish the end. With children, and especially young children it is often successful. In this fragmentary and laconic presentation I hope I have at least dropped a hint as to how to proceed in dealing with children's fears, and negatively, some things to eschew. HOW TO AID THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILD IN DEVELOPING CHARACTER (K. C. Garrison, Associate Professor of Psychology, N. C. State College, Raleigh, N. C.) In very recent years the increase in crime in our country—and par-ticularly the steady reduction in the average age of criminals who find themselves finally ending in our jails, penitentiaries, and the like—has become alarming. Although the schools have been playing an important role, both directly and indirectly, in character development, their work may be made even more effective if the aims of education and the nature of the child are more carefully understood by those in charge. In the first place it is erroneous to conceive of education as an all-powerful force that can place its hands upon a child in whom habits have been thoroughly established, and in a short while effect a total change in his habits. The child's inborn potentialities, past experiences, imme-diate surroundings, and present stage of development must be considered with respect to any character trait that is being developed. If strong drinks are served in the home, then any attempt, by the schools, to teach 30 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education pupils to uphold the enforcement of the Eighteenth Amendment promises to be a failure. Again, if the father persists in breaking the speed limit while his son Jim watches for the cop, the idea that the policeman is some spy to be outwitted if possible, is thoroughly instilled in the child. Two methods of character education are available, namely: (1) The indirect or incidental method, and (2) the direct or formal method. The first method says that character development is related to the various activities of the child, the motto being "hit while the iron is hot." The second method calls for a definite program organized on the basis of certain "traits" or "modes of behavior." The indirect methods finds expression largely in extra-curricula activities and is especially concerned with the development of the proper social relations. It is with this method that I shall concern myself during the remainder of this discussion. In the transition from the home to the school many new adjustments of a social nature are present. The child is placed in a broader social situation. The habits formed prior to this period are still functioning, but are destined to be fitted into and modified by the new social environ-ment. In this social environment the child comes into contact with many different children and these children come to be a vital factor in deter-mining his behavior activities. From this group, in later years, play-mates are chosen. These playmates are chosen largely on the basis of similarity in physiological and chronological age—from the same locality, and from the same school room. Especially is this found to be true for boys. In the case of girls the social factor is more prominent in the choice of friends. The interests and activities of these children are going to depend largely upon the guidance of the teachers and parents. Social workers have £,hown that playmates are the greatest force, aside from the home, in the making of desirable or undesirable behavior. Perhaps the greatest single force for the development of character in children is that of confidence in those who are guiding their activities. Confidence in the teacher or parent will be a great force in the choice of desirable play activities. Confidence can only be secured through sympathetic understanding and fair play. The teacher must know the child's interests and understand his or her difficulties. The child is con-stantly meeting new situations, coming into contact with strange situa-tions, or becoming confused at seme new relations or thought presented. Curiosity is the natural outcome. And who has not heard the child's question, due to curiosity, answered in some such manner as this: "You musn't ask such foolish questions?" Was the question foolish to the child? Has this answer cleared up the curiosity? Will the child return to get such an answer when curiosity again is present? It is because of such behavior on the part of teachers that children get perverted ideas and often develop very . undesirable habits. Especially is this true in problems relating to birth and to the sex phases of life. Again the teacher may actually go so far as to be unfair to the child in order to carry her point. Have you heard of the teacher who in Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 31 answer to the child's question, can never say, "I don't know?" Have you not been told of the teacher who refused to allow the child to sharpen his pencil because of some petty or minor trouble wholly unrelated to the sharpening of the pencil? Have you ever heard of the teacher who kept a child at school after the school closed because the child broke a window light—and probably accidentally at that? We all recognize that there should be a reconditioning process in connection with the child's behavior activities, but unless the child sees the reason for the reconditioning and understands the error in his conduct then the child will come to look upon the teacher as a person "who will get me if I don't look out." The resulting behavior activities will be characterized by "avoidance." Or in place of a natural spontaneous imitation of the qualities of the teacher, the behavior of the child will be a mere mockery. When the teacher has established an attitude of confidence on the part of the pupils towards her, then her attitude, her ideals and her behavior patterns will be found present in the behavior of her pupils in her charge. HOW TO AID THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILD IN DEVELOPING PROPER SOCIAL ATTITUDES (Gladys Hoagland Groves, Chapel Hill, N. C.) Not the "bad child" who makes schoolroom discipline difficult and intrigues the teacher's interest by presenting her with an obvious prob-lem to solve, but the "model pupil" who always has his lessons, attends to class work, and never teases his roommates—this is often the child who most needs help in making satisfactory social adjustments. The "bad child" is at least making social contacts, and however bad they may be he is in a fair way to learn to improve his technique by the simple process of trial and error; while the "model pupil" may be shirking every possible contact with his fellows, and making up for his feeling of inferiority on the playground by grinding away at his work in the schoolroom. . The child that is driven to apply himself to his work because he supposes himself unpopular with his mates will perhaps achieve remark-able results in his life work, but at the cost of a lasting discontent that impairs his judgment and prevents his fully enjoying any success that comes to him. Childhood attitudes form so important a part of one's adult makeup that nobody can ever get entirely away from the basic happiness or unhappiness of his early days. When a teacher sees a child keeping by himself while the others play or work or squabble together, it is time to take account of that child's stock. Is he shy because of shabby or over-elegant clothes? Is he phys-ically handicapped, or burdened by the social stigma of an unsavory family reputation? 32 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education If one can gain such a child's confidence one may find that he is harboring resentment against the world because of some handicap that exists only in his imagination. He may once have been weaker than his playmates, and not realize that he has outgrown his weakness, or he may magnify the poverty that means nothing to his playmates. If the handicap that bothers a child is imaginary or greatly enlarged by his dwelling on it, he may be relieved to find on talking it over with a friendly teacher that all he needs to do is to forget it. When there is a real handicap, the child will need to be assisted or encouraged to make the most of whatever social talents he has—whether it be whistling or taking part in games of skill (since he may be unable to shine in contests of strength) or just the art of being consistently good-natured. Once a stand-offish child has been persuaded that he is not funda-mentally disliked by his schoolmates, but only disliked for his air of superiority or his readiness to see a grievance where none was meant, he is in a position to learn step by step to make satisfactory social adjustments. 1 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 3; METHODS OF INSTRUCTION FOR FURTHERING CHILD DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY PROGRAM IN MECKLENBURG COUNTY SCHOOLS (Eloise Rankin, Rural School Supervisor, Charlotte, N. C.) Foreword: One of our objectives during the past year was to "intro-duce and develop an activity program based on the needs and interests of the pupils." I have used the words "introduce" and "develop" because there were some teachers of the formal type who did not know how to begin and lacked confidence in themselves and then there was a large number of teachers who had experience in activity work but needed help. At all times both teachers and pupils have been encouraged to try their own ideas, if possible correct their own mistakes, and bring to a successful conclusion whatever work they have undertaken. I. Method of Procedure: Two county-wide Primary and two county-wide Grammar Grade Teachers' Meetings were given over to the dis-cussion of an activity program which would include among other things, reports from individual teachers whose classes had done outstanding work. Mimeographed copies of the following criteria by Dr. Lois Mossman for evaluating activities were supplied each teacher: Some Suggested Criteria for Evaluating Activities* 1. Is it related to the present living experience of the children? 2. Does it give promise of outcomes relatively valuable in life today? 3. Will this work contribute to some of the larger essential goals of education? 4. Will it give fuller meaning to the experience of child in this particular environment? 5. Is it hard enough to challenge? 6. Is it easy enough to insure some degree of success? 7. Will it lead on to something more worthy? 8. Does it come out of the children's previous experience? 9. Will it foster an inquiring investigative attitude? 10. Will it teach the children method in ordering their experiences? II. Will it develop relationships leading to organization of experience? 12. Is the experience involved socially constant or socially variable? 13. Are the fields of subject matter involved worthwhile, repre-sentative of the big aspects of life? 14. Is it related to other activities of the children? 15. How often and how recently have similar activities been ex-perienced? 16. Will it contribute to the child's efficiency? 17. Is it in line with the theory of increasing difficulty? 18. Is it practicable under school conditions? 19. Are materials and helps needed available? *From "Criteria for Evaluating Activities."—Dr. Lois Mossman. 34 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 20. How fully can the activity be carried out? 21. How much time will it consume? 22. What difficulties may arise in carrying it out? Each teacher whose class had worked out an activity was asked to return on blanks sent out from the office the following information: (1) Name of activity, (2) aim, (3) results, and (4) sources of help. These were mimeographed and returned to the teachers by grades. This, together with demonstration lessons centering around some activity, stimulated increased interest in the work. In the teachers' meetings conducted in the individual schools the following books were found to be most helpful: Annie Moore's Primary School, Rose Knox's School Activities and Equipment, and the Lincoln School Curriculum. (The activity program seems to have stimulated library reading on the part of the teachers. The average .number of professional books read by each teacher during the term was five.) 2. Types of Activity: A partial list of the various types of activities — many of which overlap—follows: a. Scientific and Social—History, Geography, Science, Industry, and Number. Under this came: Transportation; Indians; Eskimaux; Thanksgiving; Excursions; Pottery; Maps; Study of paper; Play City—Charlotte; Animals—gold fish, tadpoles; Birds; Gardening; Party; Jobs; Museum; Collecting specimens of rocks, trees, leaves. b. Constructive Activites—including all kinds of hand work, Fine Arts, Industrial Arts, Jobs, Plays: Making houses, stores, etc.; Furniture; Rugs, curtains, pottery; Draw-ing— use of larger muscles, rather than finger muscles; Painting; Writ-ing; Soap carving book-ends, shelves, cases, and calendar plaques. c. English Activities—Language, Literature, and Reading: Bulletin Board—Daily News; Record of own experiences; Play; Puppet Show; Story-telling ; Reading to find answer to own questions; Committee reports and floor talks; and Reading Circle. d. Artistic and Recreational Activities—Art, Music, and Play: Excursions; Trips to library; Picture studies and pictures from library; Music appreciaton; Rhythm orchestras; Dramatization; Group games; Pantomimes; Pageants. (These differ from other activities only in aim. The aim here is always to create beauty and self-expression, and to develop appreciation of the beautiful in everyday life and surroundings.) 3. Supplementary Work: Through the splendid cooperation of both teachers and principals the following supplementary work has been accomplished on a county-wide basis: Thrift—44% of pupils in average daily attendance were depositors at the bank at close of school and members of Thrift Clubs. Music Appreciation—1,080 pupils enrolled in State Music Appreciation Contest. Pupil's Reading Circle—63% of total enrollment received certificates for having read six or more books. Average number of books read by each pupil enrolled—10. Home Nursing and Care of Sick—course conducted by Red Cross graduate nurse in six schools. Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 35 Supervised lunch periods. (Hot lunches in six schools.) Pre-school clinics-^-65% of estimated enrollment in attendance. Social Hygiene course for all 'teen age boys and girls. Health Clubs—stressing right health habits, diet, weighing, and measuring. Citizenship Clubs with enrollment of 3,852 pupils. 4. Results of the Year's Work: One per cent less pupils are over age for grade than last year. The average age has been reduced. The improvement in attendance was 3%, and the number of pupils promoted increased 6%. Just how much of this has been due to our activity program it is difficult to say, but we do know that it has afforded opportunity for development of self-reliance, cooperation, consideration of others, fair play, leadership, good sportsmanship, honesty, and other habits of citizen-ship which are so sorely needed. FREE ACTIVITY WORK IN THE ELEMENTARY GRADES (Annie Wilcox, Teacher, Carteret County Public Schools, Newport, North Carolina) The subject assigned me is Activity Work in the Elementary Grades. I shall not attempt, however, to cover such a broad topic, but will tell you something of the activity program carried on in the first grades of our school last year. Free activity work is that type of work which provides the child with varied, interesting and worthwhile activities, in the participation of which he grows in subject-matter and develops certain desirable qualities that make for better citizenship. We know that experience is the most direct route to knowledge. Some one has said, "I would not have a child say 'I know' but 'I have experienced.' " After a child has taken part in an activity program he is able to say, "I know because I have ex-perienced," for this program furnishes necessary experience. I have heard that in order to have a successful activity program, three things are necessary; movable furniture, movable pupils, and movable teachers. I am sure that the movable teacher is the most important of the three, because if she is movable she can very easily make the furniture and pupils movable. It is absolutely essential that the teacher stay in the background and let the children do the planning. Of course she has to be on the alert to direct wisely, set standards and handle any situation that may arise. In an activity program one may have as many centers of work as equipment, furniture and space will permit. Of course the larger the space the easier it is to carry on the work, however, an average size school room may easily be converted into a workshop if the furniture is light and movable. Even the old stationary desks can very easily be made movable by nailing two or three desks to two narrow strips. In our room we had three large tables that would seat eight or ten children, a dozen individual desks, a large work table which was used for the clay center and the library furniture. We had ten centers, as follows: 36 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 1. The reading center, which we called our library. This was the most attractive spot in the room! We had low book cases with slanting shelves, a reading table, a bench and two chairs in there, all of which were painted in an attractive color scheme. We had about sixty first grade books in the library. 2. The tool center in which the children did construction work with hammer, saw, and nails. 3. The clay center where the children used clay for modeling various things. 4. The painting center in which the children worked at an easel with brushes and cold water paints. They painted original pictures, illustrated stories, and reproduced pictures. 5. The drawing center where the children drew on paper with colored crayons and at the board with colored chalk. 6. The printing center in which the children used a printing press and newsprint for printing words, stories, and numbers. 7. The science center which was made up of natural things brought in and learned about by the children. 8. The weaving center in which the children strung up frames and wove rugs, mats, etc., of rags. 9. The play center in which the children played in the doll house or with any games or playthings they happened to bring to school. 10. The sewing center where the children sewed for their dolls and made anything else needed in the room. As soon as the children entered the room in the morning, they had a short conference, each one stating what he intended doing during the work period. I very often had to offer suggestions because frequently a child would want to go to something else before he had finished a piece of work already begun. From the beginning I tried to make them see that making things that were of no use was a waste of time. During the work period each child went about his particular task asking for help when needed and offering suggestions to others whenever he could. I moved around among them making notes from which I made my perma-nent activity records. These are some of the things made during the year: A doll house; the home of The Three Bears; a paint box; two chairs; a bench; pencil holders; wall vases; flower bowls and book-ends for the library; clothes for the doll family; pitcher and cracker bowls; and work aprons and white aprons, and caps for those who sewed during the mid-morning lunch. After the children worked about thirty minutes, I either played the victrola or rang a bell and the children immediately stopped work, put away materials, swept the floor, scrubbed the clay table and put the room in order . After they washed their hands they returned to their groups and discussed what they had done, made a story about it and decided which one should tell the story. When I asked for a report from a group, the one chosen displayed the work done by that group and told the story they had made. The children then discussed the work, saying whether they did or did not like it and why, giving suggestions for improvement. Quite often I have seen a child exhibit a piece of work which he considered finished, but after the conference period he would Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 37 say, "I'm going to work on this again tomorrow and fix it right." It was during this conference period that I accomplished most in setting standards. After the stories and discussions, the children decided which story was best and I wrote that story on the board and had as many children read it as wanted to. Then we had a short phrase and word drill. In the afternoon I printed that story and added it to our activity reading chart. The next day they read the story in printed form and had another phrase and word drill. Quite often we went back and reviewed some of the old stories. I consider that the mid-morning lunch was one of the most important features of our program. We were unable to serve this lunch every day because we did not have the necessary materials. However, on the days we did have it—for instance if we served cocoa—some children carried milk, some cocoa and others sugar. The Home Economics girls prepared it for us and four children served. They used a sheet from a magazine for a mat, and a quarter of a paper towel for a napkin for each child. We had a nice socialized lunch period, after which those who served cleared the tables, washed dishes and put everything in order. These are some of the advantages of this lunch period: It improves the child's table manners generally, teaches him the proper things to talk about while eating, brings in good health habits, and trains for table service. I was at Newport some time after school closed last spring, and one day the janitor's little girl was at my home at lunch time. She had lunch with us and it was surprising to see how well she handled her silver and her napkin, and what nice manners she had throughout the meal. I know this was a result of mid-morning lunches because she has had absolutely no home training along that line. It is impossible to evaluate fully the benefits of this work at this time. It seems quite obvious to me, however, that the children have achieved the following advantages: (1) Greater happiness, (2) the development of judgment, self-confidence, and independent thinking, (3) a cooperative attitude, (4) a desire to do more and better work, and (5) an improvement in vocabulary and sentence sense. I must say also that more than anything I ever tried, it helps retarded children to meet with some success. At first they showed very little interest in the work, but after a while they became interested in doing things and wanted to tell about what they had done. Then they were more interested in reading their own stories than any story in a book. The little fellow who used his table for a foot stool made a story about it and quite frequently he would ask that we turn to his story and let him read it. One of my boys had been in the first grade two years already, and I had had him one of those years. Before we started our activity work last year, I was terribly discouraged about him because he was doing nothing. After we started the new program, however, he became intensely interested in reading the activity stories. He learned the words and phrases so well that we were able to promote him at the end of the year. If first grade children are happy and interested in this type of work, why shouldn't it be just as effective in the other grades? We have a very deplorable condition in our school, which probably also exists in 38 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education other schools. Last year we enrolled about eighty-five in our first grades and about thirty in the seventh grade. Why so many drop out is some-thing to think about. After the experience that I had last year, I am thoroughly convinced that we would have fewer retarded children and would not lose so many children on the day they became fourteen if we had a child-centered program throughout the elementary school. AN ACTIVITY PROGRAM FOR PRIMARY DEPARTMENTS (Mrs. James A. Robinson, Supervisor of Elementary Grades, Durham, N. C.) ) Setting up a real activity program for the Primary Departments is such a broad problem that I shall not even attempt it, but will present briefly, some types of activities that we have found worthwhile in the primary grades in the Durham City Schools. Activities in the primary grades, especially in the first year, should grow out of the experiences and environment of the pupils. It is not an easy matter for the teacher to turn from the old ways of doing things to the new and it seems wise to begin with quiet types of activity at first, such as drawing, cutting, building with blocks, etc., which involve fewer movements and adjustments. By degrees come greater freedom in choice of both topic and material. From the first the children should be encouraged to try out their own ideas and if possible to correct their own mistakes. "Children are capable of doing far more in planning, thinking, and actual work, than most teachers either realize or permit." Work once begun should be finished. In all plans there should be thought for both beauty and utility; for practical detail and fundamental principles; and for healthy questioning minds and for awakening interests. A flexible schedule is essential. The two-group plan always leaves one division free for work. The amount of time allowed for this work is not definitely indicated. Some teachers allow thirty minutes on the program while others have longer periods. Some types of reading and other activities that always prove worth-while may be briefly summarized as follows:' 1. Making books of various kinds. a. Booklets of experiences, family, pets, toys, circuses, etc. 1. With pictures. 2. With names under pictures. 3. With sentences. 4. With units composed by the pupils. b. Scrap book. c. Joke book (illustrated with drawings and cuttings) . d. Riddle book. e. Clippings. f. Original jingles and rhymes. g. Health book, etc. h. Class book (work left for incoming grade in September) . 2. Reading from story books brought from home or made by pupils from old discarded readers at the opening exercises, during a special period for supplementary reading or in auditorium. Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 39 3. Bulletin board—News corner (cork, beaver board, or blackboard). a. Greetings. b. Riddles. c. Surprise picture with a sentence or two written under it. d. Simple announcements (birthdays, weather reports, surprises, etc.). In grades 2 and 3 children are encouraged to write something of interest, original riddles, jingles, etc., on the bulletin board. Many of these boards were made by the pupils. 4. Following directions by drawing, cutting, modeling, writing, sew-ing, or action. 5. Reading preparatory: To dramatization, to making moving pic-tures, puppet and peep show. 6. Reading story for another group of children. 7. Library period: Posters and placards were placed above cases and tables calling attention to the way to handle books. 8. Plans and aims are kept constantly in view, either on chart or blackboard, as a constant reminder to children. For example: (a) Our plans for week, (b) our plans for month, and (c) this week let us aim — 9. What it means to be a good citizen: Children select and practice the qualities that make for good citizenship. They gain habits, skills, feelings, and ideas of value to them. For example: (a) Do my daily work to the best of my ability, (b) be courteous to everybody, and (c) help to keep our class room neat and orderly. 10. Pupils suggest qualities to cultivate. 11. Many suggestions on board, as: a. Am I — Am I disturbing my class? Am I wasting my time? Am I doing my best? Am I improving my work? Am I helping someone to improve? b. Are you a good workman? Watch yourself today. c. Is your work here? Specimens of best work executed during the day. 12. Each room keeps a chart of school duties. a. Host or hostess and committees named every week in some rooms, every two weeks in others. 13. Wild flower garden. 14. Newspaper of short stories, simple poems, news items, riddles, and jingles selected or written by pupils. Nothing has done so much to stimulate interest in writing, spelling, language, and drawing, as these papers in the primary grades. A sheet a week is usually made by a group. The papers are preserved for the incoming pupils in the fall who thoroughly enjoy them. 15. A stanza or two of some poem conveying a beautiful thought or a helpful suggestion may always be found on the blackboard. 16. Recognition of good work and good workers by teacher (written on board), as, Tom and Mary were our best readers today. Best spellers (followed by names of pupils who are best spellers), Felix, John, and Caroline were such quiet workers today. 40 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 17. Reading Club. (Pupils to be eligible for membership must read according to standards set and must read two books from the library, either home, school, or public library.) 18. Charts containing songs, poems, stories, and games that have been learned, also books that have been read. 19. Dutch Village (sand tray) . Indian Village. Early Settlers. 20. Doll House. The class booklets dedicated to the incoming grades are a joy and delight to the authors and a great inspiration and incentive to the new pupils who are eager to leave a record just as good or even a little better. BIG UNIT TEACHING IN THE ELEMENTARY GRADES (Karl Adams, Professor of Education, E. C. T. C, Greenville, North Carolina) The practice of using the "big unit" idea for instructional purposes in the American schools, according to one writer, was introduced about 1910, or a little prior to that time. Its first use was in connection with teaching agriculture. Since then it has been given a tremendous amount of publicity. Under one name or another much space in our educational journals, books and lectures en teaching, and periodicals has been devoted to its explanation, justification, and praise. There are those who urge its virtues as a curative for all educational ills. Some proclaim it for its worth in motivating effort; some praise it for its magic effect over individual differences; some support it for its power to remove problems of discipline; some advocate it for instruction of the weakminded; and some make it the only correct and properly effective basis for making our elementary curricula. If these statements express the facts, then, one is prompted to ask: What is meant by "big unit" teaching and how is one to acquire the ability to use it? Answers are offered here to these questions, but they are not to be regarded as complete. Also consider-ation is limited to the elementary grades. What is meant by "big unit" teaching? Several terms have been employed as the title designation of this idea. Some of them are: "Unit of study, project, type study, enlarged object lesson, or instructional unit." To enter into a discussion of each of these terms and its par-ticular meaning is not considered practical for this short paper. One can very well get at the nature and understanding of them through the use of one. For this purpose the term "project" is used. The ques-tion, then, becomes: What is meant by "project" teaching? (Note: The mooted question of whether it is a method is purposely avoided here.) Some say one thing; some say another. Those who talk and write for its cause are not agreed as to just what it is. Hosic says, "It is the name for what happens when an individual, or group, sets about accom-plishing a purpose, and in carrying it out brings about changes in his (or their) knowledge, skills, habits, or attitudes." In this statement the central idea seems to be "learning." Charters states, "A project is a problematic act carried to completion in its natural setting." He has included two ideas, namely, the "problem" and the "naturalness" of its Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 41 setting. McMurry denies it the quality of "naturalness," but insists "Projects are enterprises undertaken by boys or girls or by men and women looking toward desired results." "Planning toward some aim" is the chief trait here. Kilpatrick limits it to "wholeheartedly purposeful activity." He appears to be thinking about the learner's "attitude." It may be that all these writers have in mind something similar, but to the untrained these statements possess the possibility of confusion. In a course of educational tests for the grades at East Carolina Teachers College there are fifty-eight students. These fifty-eight students are professionally divided as follows: Thirty-five teachers, four princi-pals, three of whom have been and are still teachers, and twenty-two who are planning to teach, but as yet have had no experience. Of the thirty-five experienced members of this class, nineteen have tried to make use of the project in their teaching. Only nine of this number have had any training for it. Of the twenty-two who have had no experience, fourteen stated that they intend to try to make use of the project when they take up the work of teaching. Of these fourteen twelve have, up to this time, had no training in its use. Each member of this class was asked to state the meaning of "project," or "big units" in teaching. Each one did so. Examination of these replies revealed several interesting things. The nineteen experienced teachers who had made use of the project, or some other form of the large unit, employed fifteen different ideas in their answers. Of these fifteen ideas, nine of them occurred only once each. "Creating interest" occurred most often. It appeared in seven papers. "Correlation of school subjects" was found in six, while "unifying school activities" was found only four times. The replies of the twenty-two students who had had no teaching experience were also examined. The terms they used varied very little in meaning from those used by the experienced members of the class. The quotations from writers made in an earlier paragraph of this paper and the replies from the members of the class given above rather indicatively suggest that there is still some lack of understanding among writers and teachers as to the meaning of this much-used term. It calls to mind the incident of the school boy who was out hunting with his insect net. His teacher asked him what he was hunting for and he replied, "Wooglies." The teacher being unfamiliar with this species of insect asked the boy what it looked like. The boy replied that he did not know; he had never seen one. And so it seems here. Those who are pleading for the use of some form of large unit in instruction, and even those who are now trying its use, appear very much at sea in giving definite statement to what they are after. What is the project? What is the large unit in teaching? It may be safe to suggest that the large unit in teaching is a plan of organizing the materials for instruction. This organization must be around a central idea; it must include all relevant materials and activities from the curriculum; and promote motivation through interest. Even this statement does not include any-thing about the child's participation. But one has to stop somewhere. A careful study of the writings on the matter, and the efforts of teachers in its use reveals one significant fact. It is the tendency to take the curriculum to the child instead of the old practice of taking the child 42 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education to the curriculum. In all the "pros" and "cons" of this large unit affair the child is beginning to emerge as the center of school activities. And that is as it should be. Learning is nothing more nor less than having experiences. And teaching is selecting and organizing the materials of instruction in the child's school life so that his most desirable development will be promoted through these selected experiences. How is one to acquire the ability to use this teaching device? In the absence of a more refined philosophy and aim of the project, and a more definite pronouncement of its characteristics and method of organi-zation, most any sort of an answer to this question is dangerous. It seems, however, that the simplest way to do this is to go to some teachers college and be trained for it. But it is not quite that simple. For some reason or other colleges do not give loud publicity to the fact that they offer such training. An examination of thirty-five 1929 catalogs and sum-mer school announcements from teachers' colleges, State universities, nor-mal schools, and various other colleges having departments of education showed that only nine of these institutions advertised training in the use of the project, or some other form of large unit teaching. Sometimes this training was offered in a general methods course and sometime for some special subject like "Teaching Reading," or "Teaching Language," etc. Whenever mention was made of it, it was usually along with a large number of other topics to be studied in the same course. For instance, one college mentioned it with twelve others, such as, "social objectives, factors of environment, special types of learning, the principle of interest," etc. These thirteen topics were to be done in one year's time at the rate of one reading hour and one recitation hour per week. It is noteworthy that a great deal of training in the use of large units is not offered and, wherever training is offered, it does not carry the earmarks of thoroughness. A similar situation is encountered when one examines the answers of the fifty-eight students referred to above. The largest amount of training indicated by anyone of them was "about two weeks." If the condition obtains generally that is revealed here, certainly there is little encouragement for one to seek training in the use of the project. Another way to acquire ability in the use of the project is to procure literature on it, study this literature, work out a plan, and go to it. According to the replies from the students in the test course mentioned above, this seems to be the most prevalent practice. It will be recalled that, of the nineteen experienced teachers who had used the project, less than half had had training for it. Of the fourteen inexperienced teachers who were expecting to use it only two had had training for it. To say that a teacher must sponsor his own training in this form of instruction is perhaps stating a near fact. For one to attempt self-instruction about the project and its uses, it will be necessary to invoke the aid of some guiding principles. Some sort of technique will also be necessary, but that must be left to the individual. Below are stated some suggestions which might serve as guiding principles. (1) Start with a purpose. (2) Use simple projects at first. (3) In the project activity make the thing to be done pertinent to the purpose of the project undertaken. (4) Avoid the use of materials or procedure that wastes the child's time. (5) Make it a practice to present the materials of Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 43 instruction in the simplest and most direct manner. In other words, if the thing can be taught without the use of the project, don't use it. (6) Avoid the use of exciting elements in situations, if learning is desired. (7) The maximum of the child's time spent on big units should probably not exceed fifty percent of his total school time. (8) Remember that the practice of allowing children to select what is to be done is laden with many dangers. It must be kept in mind that they are likely to err in the choice of what they need. On the other hand the other extreme is also undesirable. Train them to select. The proper balance between the selection of materials that will give the child training along the lines nature has started him, and the materials which provide the experiences the race has found most profitable is a problem which still requires some thought for solution. (9) Some failures are to be expected. Success rewards only effort. (10) Finally, don't abandon successful methods and technique for something doubtful. RECREATIONAL READING IN THE GRAMMAR GRADES (Grace Brunson, Teacher, Winston-Salem Public Schools, Weston-Salem, North Carolina) Since we, as school administrators and teachers, realize how truly recreational reading gives wings to the imagination, lifts the common-place things to planes of beauty, stimulates endeavor to do greater things, and creates ideals of higher living, we are convinced that recreational reading helps greatly in solving the problem of which Dr. Samuel Chester Parker spoke, when he said, "We are concerned with the problem of bringing as much of fun and frolic and quiet contemplative enjoyment into the lives of the people as we can without interfering with their service of society. A favorable attitude toward reading "just for pleasure" has been rapidly developing in our schools within the past few years, probably due in a large measure, to the emphasis placed on silent reading which has undoubtedly increased to a marked degree the reading rate and com-prehension of the children, and has made necessary the supplying of more varied reading materials to satisfy their desire to explore strange and unknown worlds through their reading activities. Well selected grade and school libraries with a wide range of reading to satisfy the varying abilities and tastes, hearty coopei'ation with city and county libraries, and books in the homes are means by which children may be taught "the habit of indulging in reading as one form of congenial recreation." The number of people who have learned to read and do not enjoy reading is many times too large. The real test of reading instruction is the extent to which reading interests and tastes carry over into life outside the schoolroom and on into adult life. Much extensive reading should be done by pupils of the grammar grades that their experiences may be extended and enriched. For this extensive reading, an abundance of material, not too difficult, covering many fields of interest, and full of action and spirit should be provided. A serious mistake is sometimes 44 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education made in trying to force adult literature and adult standards upon gram-mar grade children, and instead of establishing desirable permanent reading interests, a distaste for reading, in general, is formed. During the past school year, the Grammar Grade Teachers of the North Carolina Education Association conducted a research study on "Recreational Reading in the Grammar Grades of North Carolina." It was my privilege to serve on the central committee and to make the final report on this study at the State meeting in March. We feel that as a result of this research study, some rather valuable data on the status of recreational reading in the larger schools of the State were obtained. I have been requested to give a very brief summary of some phases of this research report this afternoon. Questionnaires, formulated by the central committee, were sent out through the office of the State Department to the principals of the larger schools of the State. Eighty-eight returns, some being the combined reports of entire counties, were received by the committee. The grammar grade pupils, included in these returns, totalled 10,297 from schools whose grammar grade enrollment ranged from 91 to 597. Ninety per cent of these pupils had access to school libraries ranging in size from 50 to 4,205 volumes of recreational reading, while seventy-three per cent of these pupils had access to a county or city library, but only twenty-six per cent of them had cards. Only five schools reported subscriptions to a daily newspaper. Eighty-one per cent of these pupils had a regular time during the school day for recreational reading, averaging one period a week of twenty-three minutes in length. Seventy-two per cent of them observed Good Book Week, eighty-six per cent had reading clubs. Thirty-three per cent of them had access to library vacation reading clubs, but only six per cent were members. Only fourteen per cent of the children reported home libraries with as many as fifteen volumes of recreational reading for children, and only five per cent of the pupils had access to their school libraries during vacation. From this part of the report, we see that two of the decided weak-nesses seem to be in the homes which are so deficient in providing good recreational reading, and in the provisions made for vacation reading by the schools, and the limited participation in public library vacation read-ing clubs. Some of the public libraries are doing a remarkable work in the vacation reading clubs. Being familiar with the library in Winston- Salem, I know that for four summers they have conducted reading clubs, each member of which was required to read and report on at least twelve books from a graded list to receive an award at the end of the summer. During the winter they have two "story hours" each week; one for the white children and one for the colored children. Other parts of the report on the research study contained methods of caring for individual differences among children, a list of the twenty-five most popular books found • in the school libraries, a list of the new books suitable for grammar grade children, and a suggested list of children's magazines. In conclusion, may I summarize the following methods of encouraging recreational reading in the grammar grades: Well-selected school and Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 45 grade libraries with a wide range of reading, hearty cooperation with public libraries, good home libraries, "story hours" in the schools given by the librarians, book exhibits of attractive editions, book programs — some communities need to be aroused to the realization that books offer a means of recreation—and pageants and plays which have a special charm for most people. Any combination of these methods or others are worth-while if they result in creating a real desire to read, for good reading "feeds the spirit and provides for a wholesome leisure." STANDARD ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN NORTH CAROLINA (Susan Fulghum, State Inspector of Elementary Schools, State Department of Public Instruction, Raleigh, N. C.) Foreword: This paper will attempt to give data concerning three phases of education in the public elementary schools of North Carolina, namely: (1) The increase in number of schools, 1925-1929; (2) the use of the library in connection with large unit studies; and (3) the outstanding needs of the elementary schools in North Carolina. 1. Growth: There are today 326 standard elementary schools in the State with an enrollment of more than 157,000 children or approximately one-third of the total elementary school enrollment for 1928-1929. Five years ago when the standards for elementary schools were first set up, there were 270 rural schools which had the proper length of term and number of teachers—but only 26 of these schools met all requirements and could be classified as standard schools. There has been great progress each year and today of the 445 rural schools with an eight months term and seven teachers, 208 are standard schools. In the cities of the State rapid progress has been made each year and today there are 118 standard elementary schools as compared with 30 such schools five years ago. And the growth of the libraries in standard elementary schools is most encouraging. Five years ago, except in some of the cities, very few elementary schools had even small libraries. At that time, in the larger rural schools there was a total of less than 8,000 books. But the situation today presents a vastly different picture. Perhaps, in no phase of our educational progress has greater interest been shown. There has been wonderful growth each year, and today, in the standard elementary schools of the State alone, there are more than 279,000 volumes with more than 113,000 of these in the rural schools. These carefully selected interesting books have been widely read, for the records from the schools show more than 70,000 rural children reading library books, and 600,000 volumes loaned during the present year. In the city schools which are now standard, there are more than 165,000 volumes. The circulation record for both rural and city standard ele-mentary schools show more than 1,200,000 books read by the children this year. The long list of standard schools by counties and cities, shows how untiringly the people of the State have worked, especially the Parent- Teacher Associations, to place a standard elementary school within the reach of every child. All of the larger rural schools and the city schools 46 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education which have not yet met all requirements for standard schools, are working earnestly toward this end and a large number will become standard next year. 2. Use of the Library in Connection With Large Unit Studies: It h
Object Description
Description
Title | Proceedings of the fifth annual North Carolina Conference on Elementary Education: Chapel Hill, N.C., July 11-12, 1929 |
Contributor |
Noble, M. C. S., (Marcus Cicero Stephens), 1899-1962. North Carolina. Department of Public Instruction. |
Date | 1929 |
Subjects |
Education, Elementary--North Carolina Education--Congresses |
Place | North Carolina, United States |
Time Period | (1900-1929) North Carolina's industrial revolution and World War One |
Publisher | Raleigh, N.C.: State Superintendent of Public Instruction,1927. |
Agency-Current | North Carolina Department of Public Instruction |
Rights | State Document see http://digital.ncdcr.gov/u?/p249901coll22,63754 |
Physical Characteristics | 50 p., [1] leaf of music :ill., ports. ;23 cm. |
Collection | Health Sciences Library. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
Type | text |
Language | English |
Format | Minutes |
Digital Characteristics-A | 3563 KB; 62 p. |
Series | Educational publication. no. 146; Div. of information and statistics. no. 3 |
Digital Collection |
Ensuring Democracy through Digital Access, a North Carolina LSTA-funded grant project North Carolina Digital State Documents Collection |
Digital Format | application/pdf |
Audience | All |
Pres File Name-M | pubs_edp_proceedingsoffifth1929.pdf |
Pres Local File Path-M | \Preservation_content\StatePubs\pubs_edp\images_master\ |
Full Text | 3i\ 3 rCl4e Wf)t TLibvav? Of ti)C (HntberSttpofJ^ortfjCarolma tEfjia; feoofc toag pretfenteb 3fO.L C14e> * Cp Si 0. lo Educational Publication No. 146—Div. of Information and Statistics No. 3 PROCEEDINGS OF THE FIFTH ANNUAL NORTH CAROLINA CONFERENCE ON ELEMENTARY EDUCATION (Called Jointly by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Director of the University Summer School.) EDITED BY M. C. S. NOBLE, JR. Executive Secretary CHAPEL HILL, N. C, JULY 11-12, 1929 published by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction Raleigh, N. C. INTRODUCTION The rural elementary school, when considered as a unit over the State, according to all the statistics in this department, is at the bottom of every ordered classification. This is true in respect to all the following measures: The length of the term, the housing facilities, the per capita costs, the classification of children, the grade promotions, the age-grade tables, the attendance records, and the training of the teachers employed. From the consideration of all the facts now available, the rural elemen-tary school seems to be the neglected part of the system. For the improvement of the conditions under which elementary in-struction is given the following movements have been inaugurated: For the extension of the term, for the improvement in teacher training, for rural school supervision, for library facilities, for standard schools, and for the enrichment and modification of the curriculum. Each one has made a contribution. The Conference on Elementary Education, projected by the joint agreement of the Director of the University Summer School and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, is tending both to clarify and to unify the thinking in this field. It serves as a clearing house for the interchange of the best thought. It serves also as a forum in which the questions arising in connection with the improvement of the elementary school may be discussed without restraint. There has been no effort to solidify the deliberations into formal resolutions or state-ments of objectives which would be binding upon its members. There are no censors to determine what views are orthodox. On the other hand, each person is free to present his views in his own way, and to carry away with him only such impressions as meet his own approval. It is very gratifying to note the increased interest from year to year. The discussions show that foundation work is now being done on a wide scale in North Carolina. The papers presented in the fifth conference are of an exceptionally high order. In the most instances, they represent the outcomes of actual field experiences. Believing that the proceedings of this conference are of permanent value, I am causing them to be printed in order that they may be avail-able for the use of all who may be interested in better elementary education. The sponsors of this conference are deeply gratified at the fine re-sponse of the workers in the field of elementary education. The secre-tary of the conference, Dr. M. C. S. Noble, Jr., has edited the material in this bulletin. It is presented here as nearly as possible in the exact form in which each author prepared it. State Superintendent of Public Instruction. c 12-5-29—3M. COMMITTEE IN CHARGE OF THE PROGRAM FOR THE CONFERENCE ON ELEMENTARY EDUCATION R. E. Boyd E. C. Brooks Annie Cherry John H. Cook B. B. Daugherty Pauline Edwards Executive Committee A. T. Allen N. W. Walker M. C. S. Noble, Jr. Advisory Committee Mary Fitzgerald W. H. Frazer W. P. Grier Ruth Heilig Louisa Hill H. T. Hunter Mary Knight Bertha Lawrence John C. Lockhart Estelle Rawls J. M. Shields P. C. Stringfield Robert H. Wright Presiding Officers at Regular Sessions E. J. Coltrane John Carr G. B. Phillips J. T. Jerome Summarizers of Discussions A. T. Allen W. H. Frazer R. H. Wright N. W. Walker ACKNOWLEDGMENT The Executive Committee of the Fifth Annual North Carolina Con-ference on Elementary Education wishes to extend its thanks: 1. To the members of the Advisory Committee who rendered many valuable suggestions in connection with the preparation of the Program. 2. To the following persons who assisted in summarizing for the Conference the achievements of the separate Sessions: Dr. A. T. Allen, Dr. W. H. Frazer, Dr. Robert H. Wright, and Dean N. W. Walker. 3. To the four chairmen who presided so efficiently over the regular sessions of the conference, namely: Supt. E. J. Coltrane, Dr. John Carr, Supt. Guy B. Phillips, and Supt. J. T. Jerome; and to Mr. Robert House who served as host and toastmaster at the conference dinner. 4. To those persons who presented papers during the Conference, and 5. To all persons whose interest in elementary education caused them to attend and participate in the Fifth Annual Conference on Elementary Education. PROCEEDINGS OF THE FIFTH ANNUAL NORTH CAROLINA CONFER-ENCE ON ELEMENTARY EDUCATION FIRST SESSION Solving Problems of Retardation in the Elementary Schools in Such a Way as to Further Child Development E. J. Coltrane, Presiding Officer Page 1. Reducing the Percentage of Retardation in the First Grades—Mary E. Leeper S 2. Reducing Retardation Through the Classification of the Six-Year-Old — Mrs. H. T. Latham . 7 3. Reducing Retardation Through the Establishment of Opportunity Classes for Pupils Who Are Mentally Proficient but Who, for Various Reasons, Have Lost Some Ground — M. R. Trabue ._... 9 4. Reducing Retardation in Edgecombe County by Means of a County Wide Survey — W. H. Pittman 1 1 5. Reducing Retardation in Craven County Through a Study of Problem Cases in Craven County—R. S. Proctor , 13 6. Pupils Cumulative Permanent Records as a Means of Reducing Retardation — H. F. Srygley ... 15 SECOND SESSION Some Phases of Child Development John Carr, Presiding Officer 1. Radio in Education—H. K. Carpenter 20 2. How to Help the Elementary School Child in Developing Art Appreciation — Lydia A. Bancroft 22 3. How an Analysis of Health Education in a North Carolina County May Further the Development of Children of Elementary School Age Within That County — Nettie Brogdon _ 24 4. The Emotional Development of the Child of Elementary School Age—Frazer Hood 27 5. How to Aid the Elementary School Child in Developing Character—K. C. Garrison 29 6. How to Aid the Elementary School Child in Developing Proper Social Attitudes — Mrs. Gladys Hoagland Groves 31 THIRD SESSION Methods of Instruction for Furthering Child Development Guy B. Phillips, Presiding Officer 1. An Activity Program in Mecklenburg, County Schools—Eloise Rankin 33 2. Free Activity Work in the Elementary Grades—Annie Wilcox 35 3. An Activity Program for Primary Departments—-Mrs. James A. Robinson 38 4. Big Unit Teaching in the Elementary Grades—Karl Adams 40 5. Recreational Reading in the "Grammar Grades—Grace Brunson . 43 6. Standard Elementary Schools in North Carolina—Susan Fulghum 45 7. Some Attainable Objectives in Six Supervisory Activities in the Elementary Grades Mary L. Knight .- . 47 FOURTH SESSION Solving Administrative Problems of the Elementary School in Such a Way as to Further Child Development J. T. Jerome, Presiding Officer 1. Supervision in a Union School by One of the Elementary Teachers Who is a Part Time Principal—Gladys Thoroughgood _ * 52 2. Supervision in a Straight Elementary School by a Principal Who is a Full Time Prin-cipal— Sallie B. Marks — -__ 54 3. Analysis of the Duties of a Union School Principal With Specific Reference to Child Development—R. G. Anders 55 4. Ways by Which the Superintendent of a Supervised County May Aid His Principals in Furthering Child Development—John C. Lockhart .. _..... 58 5. Ways by Which the Superintendent of an Unsupervised County May Aid His Principals in Furthering Child Development—K. R. Curtis 60 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education SOLVING PROBLEMS OF RETARDATION IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN SUCH A WAY AS TO FURTHER CHILD DEVELOPMENT REDUCING THE PERCENTAGE OF RETARDATION IN THE FIRST GRADE (Mary E. Leeper, Director, Park Avenue Kindergarten, Asheville, N. C.) Foreword: Before any intelligent steps can be taken toward improv-ing a condition, the underlying cause, or causes, must be discovered and faced. Answers to the question, "What are the causes of retardation in the First Grade," from approximately fifty people representing school executives and teachers, group themselves under four main heads, namely: (1) Poor teaching, (2) Undesirable home conditions, (3) Physical unfit-ness, and (4) Lack of reading readiness. I. Poor Teaching: On the first cause, poor teaching, I wish you might have heard a lecture given last week by Dr. Trabue before the N. E. A. in Atlanta, on "Training the Teachers of Young Children." Some of the points he stressed particularly were: (1) Giving, by selection, the privi-lege of this training only to those showing special abilities and power for the work. (2) Intensive, practical training. (3) More opportunities for practice teaching, with large groups of children, in public school situations. II. Undesirable Home Conditions: When discussing undesirable home conditions as a second cause of retardation, we would remember the homes found in every community where children are being reared in wholesome, normal, happy atmospheres; where intelligent cooperation is given to the school. But there are also homes where barren environment, ignorance of health principles, lack of mental stimulus, and perhaps, little moral training, send sadly handicapped children to our first grades. In homes of this type parents give little understanding or cooperation to the teacher. III. Physical Unfitness: Physical unfitness, the third cause of re-tardation mentioned, might, in many cases, also be traced to unfavorable home conditions. This is the cause which our medical friends would have us think most important. Inability to do easily the work of the first grade is sometimes due to physical defects, to anemic condition, or to a lowered vitality. Certainly no child should be expected to do good work who, perhaps, does not see well, or hear well, or who must be absent a great deal because of illness. In the majority of cases this unfitness can be removed by proper attention. In our present scheme of things the child may have medical care from the State until he is one year of age, then he must shift for himself until he enters school and comes again under the supervision of health authorities. It is in this in-between period that so often slight defects become real handicaps. Eyes, teeth, and tonsils, must be examined and necessary corrections made. The forming and practicing of good health 6 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education habits in these early years can accomplish much if cooperation is secured between the efforts of teacher, nurse, doctor, parents, and child. But the time to do this is not while he is making his first-grade adjustments. It must be done earlier. IV. Lack of Reading Readiness: We now come to the fourth out-standing cause of retardation in the first grade, namely, the lack of reading readiness. And what is reading readiness? Is it not the desire within the child to be able to learn to know for himself what is on the printed page? How many children entering the first grade have this readiness, or desire, or urge? Do the majority of them love books and know how to handle them? Do they listen to and enjoy stories told or read to them? Do they like and know any rhymes or poems? Have they vocabularies broad enough and experiences varied and rich enough to bring under-standing and meaning to the reading of the stories? Are they skilled in clear pronunciation and enunciation? Do pictures interest them and stimulate creative language work? Have they formed the habit of think-ing through hard problems? Have they had the opportunity of working, playing, and living with large groups of children near their own age, so that first grade adjustments, both social and emotional, are smoothly made? You will agree with me that unfortunately this is not what we find, but just the opposite. And what do we do about it? The majority of our first grade teachers do violate, and are sometimes compelled to ignore, the first fundamental law of learning, and thrust large groups of these children into formal reading, forcing upon them all the mechanics that will be necessary if they are to "make the grade." What are the results? Many slow, stumbling, ineffective, unhappy word-callers, who have no permanent interest in reading, and a resulting distaste for it; children who have acquired a keen sense of their own inability to do what is required of them. They are marked at school and censored at home. They mistrust their own powers and quite often cover up their bitterness of heart at being left back, by saying, "I don't care." Too often this grows into a reality, and something happens to those children that can never be undone. V. Pre-School Education: Facing these causes of retardation, we might stand appalled were it not for the hope we can see in the "Junior Primary," the "Lower Primary," the "Kindergarten," or whatever name you may care to give to the period of time preceding the child's entrance into the first grade, regardless of his chronological age. Here the child may be,—under the leadership and guidance of a carefully selected, scientifically trained teacher—in an environment that is stimulating him to develop into a child free from physical handicaps; a child who by daily exercise is constantly strengthening the fixation of desirable health habits. By participating in the interesting happenings of the group, he is building up from within attitudes of interest and love for school, an eagerness to know how to read, self-responsibility, and the ability to render constructive judgment of his own work and that of the work of others. He is acquiring and strengthening day by day, habits of prompt and regular attendance, of persistent effort in working out difficulties, of independence of thought and action; of industry and con-centration. His knowledge is growing daily through stories, songs, poems, Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 7 rhymes, games, and dramatizations. Well-planned excursions give him real experiences to talk about, and a richer background. His vocabulary-grows; his pronunciation and enunciation improve, and symbols hold real meaning for him. Those who observe closely and follow day by day can surely see the overcoming of undesirable home conditions, the changing of the physically unfit into strong, happy, alert children, and the daily growth of attitudes, habits and knowledge that make for strong reading readiness. So shall they enter the first grade, able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the others, and with heads up. VI. Pre-School Education in Asheville: In Asheville the kindergartens are a part of the public school system. Our primary supervisor has been watching the retardation problem closely and reports as follows: 1. Classification tests were given all the children entering the first grade in 1927. 24% of the children who had at least one semester in kindergarten were found to belong to the A group; while only 14% of the non-kindergarten children met the requirements of that group. At this time definite and concerted efforts were made to improve the work of the kindergartens, especially along the lines of reading readiness. Additional standards and goals were set up, and a new curriculum worked out. 2. In 1929 the classification tests given the first grade entrants re-vealed the follewing: (a) 48% of the children from the kindergarten belonged to the A group, while only 12% of the non-kindergarten children fell into that classification, (b) In June, 1929, 25% of the non-kinder-garten children in the first grade failed to "make their grade," as against 10% of children who had been in kindergartens, (c). In January, 1928, 36% of the first grade children were retarded. In June, 1929, the per-centage had dropped to 17.5, slightly over one-half. Improvements in the first grades were no doubt partially responsible for this decrease; but a comparison of retardations between the kinder-garten and the non-kindergarten groups, 25% as against 10%, would seem to indicate and prove that the kindergarten was a large contribut-ing factor in reducing the percentage of retardation. In view of these findings, do you not think that pre-first grade train-ing reduces retardation in such a way as to further child development? REDUCING RETARDATION THROUGH THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE SIX-YEAR-OLD (Mrs. H. T. Latham, the Washington Public Schools, Washington, N. C.) To reduce retardation and to help retarded children are matters of much importance in the schools of Washington, North Carolina. Having studied the types of retarded children and noted the causes of retardation, we are to some extent prepared, at the beginning of the school year, as to what to expect in the first grade. The John H. Small School is organized on the homogeneous grouping plan. The first grade has five sections. At the beginning of school these 8 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education children are divided alphabetically for these sections. At the end of the first week The Pinter Cunningham Test is given to four of these sections. The fifth section is in the second year of first grade work and has had this test the previous year. These four grades then receive the new children according to their ability as shown by this test. But not even a test can always judge the mind of a child. We know their ways are past finding out. To meet this expected condition, a second test—the "Detroit First Grade Test"—is given at the end of six weeks. By this time the teacher who has watched her children closely, has found hidden qualities or perhaps handicaps that may not be easily overcome and with this information added to the test, a reclassification is made. This classification now gives us the X section, those with the highest I. Q.; the Y section, those with good I. Q. ; the Z section, those whose I. Q.'s are below average; the special section which is a subnormal group and unable to do a year's work in first grade; and still another section consisting of the previous year's special section with a few repeating pupils from other sections. The children of a homogeneous group work better together. Bright children often overshadow the slow ones, and the slow ones become even more reticent alongside the bright ones. Every little child wants to be in the "high" section even though she knows nothing of its work, or demands, and often a precocious miss, boasts that she is in a "higher" grade than her little neighbor. These troubles are eliminated, quite often, after the second classification. The course of study is planned as nearly as possible to meet the abilities of each group. The methods of presenting the subject matter differ in the sections. The amount of work varies greatly; the highest section sometime covering four times the- amount of work done in the lowest section. The first three sections follow the same course in proportion to ability. In another section, are children who are doing the regular work but taking two years for it. Yet, they are not repeating the same work but are those who have come up from the lowest or fifth section of the preceding year. The reading matter as well as the nature work and geography is new material. In the fifth section are subnormal children. The mental ages of these children are about four or five years. Yet, all of these are over six years of age. Most of these advance to the higher first grade, at the end of the first year. Some extreme cases remain in the same grade. This is really the problem room but to see them at work, happy, in a congenial atmosphere, doing their best—though such a small bit may seem to be accomplished—is an inspiration to other teachers to work more than ever with the minds that can receive. These little children are never made to feel that they "are different." They are so often praised, I sometimes think they will develop a superiority complex. These children are of pre-school age mentally and the work here is to build up a large speaking vocabulary, to widen experiences, to adjust them to school life and school spirit, and to prepare them for first grade work. Hygienic measures and health laws are taught, and aids to physical defects are given wherever possible. Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 9 At the end of the year a final achievement test—Gates' Primary Test—is given. This divides the five first grades into three groups for second grade work, and a fourth or special grade composed of first and second grade subnormals and misfits. The other grades from second to ninth inclusive are divided into X, Y, Z, sections. The subnormals are placed in ungraded rooms in three groups, one primary, one grammar grade, and one Junior High School, the work for each section adjusted to the ability of the group. A two-fold benefit arises from this grouping, namely: (1) a benefit to the group itself, and (2) a benefit to the rest of the grades. The fact that they are so divided does not prevent retardation, but proper sectioning does make health, ability, diverse interests, and other class-room problems much easier to solve and also reduces the number of problems for any one teacher to solve. These children are taught to cooperate with each other. Initiative is developed, and they have a feeling of success because of being able to accomplish the work assigned, whereas they would become discouraged in a fast-moving group. Self-reliance and a good civic attitude are encouraged; and extreme school loyalty is much in evidence. Six years ago, before sectioning was tried in our school, 142 children repeated the grades. Two years ago there were 85. This year, with 860 children enrolled, thei*e are only 20 repeating the grades. REDUCING RETARDATION THROUGH THE ESTABLISHMENT OF OPPORTUNITY CLASSES FOR PUPILS WHO ARE MENTALLY PROFICIENT, BUT WHO, FOR VARIOUS REASONS, HAVE LOST SOME GROUND (M. R. Trabue, Chairman, Division of Elementary Education, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N. C.) I assume that when we speak tonight of "reducing retardation" we mean reducing the number of pupils who are older than a specified normal age for the school grade in which they are classified. I assume that the phrase "lost some ground," as it appears in my topic, also refers to the fact that certain pupils are older than a specified normal age for their grade. The "various reasons" which have caused them to lose ground, or to grow older than the normal age before being promoted, are not defined. My topic states that these people are mentally proficient. I assume that this phrase is intended to signify that they would, if measured by the Stanford-Binet Test, show an I. Q. somewhere above .70 or .75. Having stated my understanding of the meaning of my topic, I am now ready to make my speech. It is very brief, but it gives my views on this topic quite fully. I am in favor of "reducing retardation through the establishment of opportunity classes for pupils who are mentally proficient, but who, for various reasons, have lost some ground." I am in favor of any improvement in the public schools in North Carolina that will make these schools serve more adequately the needs of North Caro-lina boys and girls. 10 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education Now that I have made my speech and have a few moments left, I want to say something about retardation or over-ageness. The age-grade table and the percentage of over-ageness derived from it were devised about twenty years ago as tentative measures of the degree to which the schools had adjusted themselves to the abilities and needs of the boys and girls attending them. There were in those days no scales or standard tests for measuring objectively the exact achievements of pupils. The relation of a child's grade to his age was one of the first tests to be applied in widely separated school systems. It is a crude measure, depending in each case upon the unpredictable vagaries of many different teachers. As suggested in the topic on which I was asked to speak, many pupils have "lost some ground, for various reasons." Promotion from one grade to another, as practiced in most schools, depends chiefly upon the subjective judgments of teachers, each of whom uses her own ideas as standards for determining promotion. Twenty years ago, how-ever, the age-grade table and the measures to be derived from it were among the best measures available for determining the efficiency of schools and school systems. My purpose in mentioning this matter of history is to raise the ques-tion as to whether the real purpose of tonight's meeting should be merely to reduce the percentage of pupils listed as over-age for their grades, or the larger task of improving the organization, the programs, and the activities of the school in such ways as to make it serve its pupils and the State more effectively. Retardation is, as I see it, merely one symp-tom of maladjustment between the school and its pupils. Should we not consider fundamental issues that will correct the underlying causes rather than inquire how we may modify mere symptoms? If we are at all willing to consider the greater problem, the first fact that we must face is that children differ in their interests, purposes, and emotions, as well as in their abilities and achievements. It is abso-lutely impossible to make them equal, and even if we could make them equal, it would be utterly undesirable in modern life. Industry, society, democracy, science, and human happiness demand specialization rather than uniformity in people. And yet our schools maintain their old pro-cedure of "promoting" or "failing" pupils in terms of standards which are supposedly uniform, although objective measurements have long ago proved that they vary widely from teacher to teacher, or from school to school. In other words, schools persist even yet in ignoring the fundamental fact of individual differences. Retardation and its reduction have been discussed now for twenty years, but the schools have practically the same percentage of retardation today as they had twenty years ago, because they are still using a thoroughly antiquated and outworn pro-motion- and-failure system. Individual differences in children can never be eradicated, but it is conceivable that classification schemes might be changed. Until the schools realize that human nature will not change, and that the schools must therefore adapt themselves to it, retardation will continue to flourish. I am not greatly alarmed at the amount of retar-dation, but I am deeply distressed at the complacency with which school men continue to disregard the needs of society and the happiness of children. Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 11 Why should a pupil who has done his best ever fail? If the school makes a requirement which the pupil cannot meet, it is the school and not the child that has failed. Pupils who have the same needs and abilities should have the same instruction, regardless of the grades in which they are classified. We now have objective means for measuring the achievements of pupils in various fields, and the records needed by the school should be kept in terms of these objective scales rather than in terms of the subjective estimates of teachers. In short, the promotion or failure of a pupil should be determined by reference to his own growth' in character and ability rather than in terms of any previously determined uniform standards in subject matter. Each pupil should work with other pupils at the tasks which have greatest value to him and at the difficult level which will be most helpful to him, regardless of the grade or class to which he belongs. Whether a pupil is classified as in the second grade or in third-year high school, if he has a given degree of ability in reading, his instruction in reading should be at such a level as will help him to make actual progress in that field. How one is classified should have nothing whatever to do with the kind of school work he is doing, while what he needs and can do should have everything to do with it. Such a program would require school officials to know objectively the various abilities and needs of each pupil, and to provide a more flexible educational program than is now offered, but it would throw the emphasis on the child and his welfare rather than leave it as it now rests upon imaginary standards in subject matter hidden away somewhere in the dark recesses of the minds of innumerable teachers. REDUCING RETARDATION IN EDGECOMBE COUNTY BY MEANS OF A COUNTY-WIDE SURVEY (W. H. Pittman, Superintendent of Edgecombe County Schools, Tarboro, N. C.) I. Causes of Retardation: Our study of retardation and repeating was made in December, 1928. We knew many children were retarded and that we could not promote many children. We considered it a worthy undertaking to try to find as definitely as possible the precise status of our backward children and to determine the causes of retardation as fully as we could from the teacher's opinion of each individual. The teachers in rural schools know not only the child and his school record but in large measure know his home environment also. The teachers were instructed to assign the causes that contributed to the retardation of each individual. Blank forms were placed in the hands of each teacher so prepared as to show the name, age and grade of each pupil and the cause of that child's retardation. The reports of the teachers show the grade repeated and the number of times each retardate repeated any grade or grades. The summary of these reports showed the causes of retardation in the opinion of our teachers to be as follows: (1) Irregular attendance, 24.55%; (2) Heavy teacher load, 12 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 22.22%; (3) "Slow to learn," 20.73%; (4) Poor health, 10.34%; (5) Late entrance, 10.13%; (6) Frequent moving, and (7) Poor teaching. An amusing feature of these reports was the fact that but three or four teachers reported poor teaching as a contributing factor in our retard-ation. These teachers were teaching in their grades for the first time. II. Retardation: A comparison of age-grade distribution in 1924-1925 and 1928-1929 shows 47.31% over age in 1924-1925 and 37.26% in 1928- 1929; 52.69% were of normal or under age in 1924-1925 while 62.74% were of normal or under age in 1928-1929. 10% fewer children were over age in 1928-1929. In 1926-1927 we promoted 61% of the elemen-tary pupils; in 1927-1928, 59.1%, and in 1928-1929, 66.7%. We examined the records of 2,171 children. Of these 1,108 or 51.03% were either repeating their present grades or that had repeated past grades. Many children have repeated the same grade more than once. The following percentages of enrollment, by grades, are repeaters: First grade, 47.5%; second grade 50%; third grade 51.34%; fourth grade 48.3%; fifth grade 57.49%; sixth grade 52.95%; seventh grade 50.27%; total 51.03%.. The figures were tabulated by schools as well as by grades and it is interesting to note that Battleboro, our only nine months school, has the lowest percentage of repeaters of all -our schools. The 1,108 repeaters had been retaught 1,798 times in their checkered school careers. It was also revealed that the 1,108 repeaters had repeated the first grade 882 times; the second grade 337 times; the third grade 264 times; the fourth grade 145 times; the fifth grade 82 times; the sixth grade 72 times, and the seventh grade 16 times. III. Outcomes: We are unable to know much of definite results that have come from our study. We believe, however, that the teachers achieved a keener insight into the problem of retardation. We feel confident that each teacher's examination of the whole school record of each of her children has made it more apparent to her that each child needs certain individual attention. The attendance record is a powerful weapon in the hands of the teacher or principal when dealing with an irate parent whose child failed of promotion. Where tabulations were completed they were placed in the hands of the teachers and an entire meeting given to discussions of the problem. We do not place too great confidence in the weight given by teachers to the several causes of retardation. Teachers cannot know, for instance, a great deal about the physical handicaps of their pupils. We used, however, the results of the study effectively in securing the physical examination of all our elementary children this spring. We recognize that poor teaching was not given the value it should have had in this matter,—but we did not expect much to be reported under this head. In view of the recently proposed increase in teacher load, the fact that "crowded conditions" ranks second as a factor contributing to retardation is enlightening. This is especially true since our study was made before the Legislature convened. Another vital outcome of our survey is found in the increased respect that our teachers have for complete and accurate individual records. Perhaps the best result has been the emphasis placed upon the fact that we are dealing with individuals rather than with classes. Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 13 REDUCING RETARDATION IN CRAVEN COUNTY THROUGH A STUDY OF PROBLEM CASES IN CRAVEN COUNTY (R. S. Proctor, Superintendent of Craven County Schools, New Bern, N. C.) This study was made under the direction of Miss Margaret Hayes, county supervisor, assisted by elementary teachers in the various grades of the consolidated schools, the principals, and by the county health officer. The study was an investigation of children in the elementary grades of the schools, who for various reasons found difficulty in learning. For quite a long time these children have given us concern. They made up the grade repeaters, quite often the discipline problems, and certainly they tended to take the joy out of what otherwise would have proved an interesting teaching experience for the teacher. The reason for the study was to attempt to find out the causes for slow learning on the part of the pupils investigated and to propose and apply remedies to the individual pupils in order that learning for them might become a more pleasant experience and that the per cent of retard-ation might be reduced. Our feeling was that if this group of children were given attention in time much repetition of work could be eliminated, the children could be made more confident of their ability to make prog-ress, and a larger number of promotions would result. In the fall of 1928 a conference was held with the grade teachers, principals, supervisor and health officer to discuss the problem, method of approach, etc. Each teacher was requested to select her worst case. The spirit and enthusiasm with which all entered into the problem i*esulted in an achievement that was hardly thought possible for the first year. Following is the line of procedure used in the study of the problem child: Collection of Data: 1. Giving intelligence tests to all children selected for investigation. (54 cases were selected.) 2. Giving achievement tests at the beginning and conclusion of the study. 3. Distribution of blanks to be filled out by the teacher, calling for information about the home environment, physical history, mental history, and pedagogical history of the child. 4. Physical examination of the child by the health officer. 5. Observation of each case as the investigation progresses by the supervisor of schools. 6. Final estimate of the teacher along with all other data secured at the conclusion of the study. Through tests, physical examinations and teachers' investigations, the following facts were revealed about the 54 cases under consideration: 64.8% had health troubles; 64.8% had vocabulary deficiencies; 63% had mental deficiencies; 59.3% were deficient in paragraph meaning; 53.7% were poor in sentence recognition; 51.9% had unfavorable home con-ditions; 40.7% had short memory span; 35.2% showed lack of interest; 24.1% were antagonistic, lazy, misbehaved; 14.5% showed poor attend- 14 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education ance; 11.1% were unable to read; 7.4% confused words; 5.6% were weak in fundamentals of arithmetic; 5.6% mispronounced words; 3.7% were timid; 3.7% were weak in spelling; 3.7% had language difficulties; 3.7% had bad study habits; 3.7% had speech impediments; 3.7% were weak in earlier stages of arithmetic; and 1.9% had either sex difficulties or lack of background or used lips in reading, or inserted words in reading, or read too much. A summary of the difficulties showed that there were a total of 299 causes and 28 different causes. Each child was handi-capped by from 2 to 10 causes. After the causes of the difficulties were found immediate steps were taken to remedy the situation. Specific remedial work was provided by the supervisor for each of the causes that had to do with the actual classroom instruction; the health problems, poor attendance, and unfavor-able conditions were attacked by teachers, supervisor, health and welfare officer together. Visits to homes, letters to mothers, conferences with mothers, were used to bring to parents the necessity of their cooperation in the undertaking. The results of the attempt to help this group of children were most gratifying. Fifty-one of the fifty-four cases came through to the end of school. Progress made in their work ranged from .5 of a year to 2.8 years. No pupil was promoted on .5 a year's progress; above .5 and below .9 of a year's progress promotion was based upon the teacher's and supervisor's estimates in connection with all data secured. Above .9 of a year's progress, promotion was made unconditionally. Thirty-one children out of the fifty-one cases remaining in school were promoted, or a promotion of 60% of the cases. The I. Q. of the group ranged from 63 to 108.2. Eighteen had I. Q.'s of 90 and above; 18 others I. Q.'s of from 80 to 90, and the remainder ranged from 63 to 80. In the matter of promotions: Of those children having I. Q.'s of 90 and above, 11 were promoted, 8 were not. Of those children whose I. Q.'s ranged from 80 to 90, 10 were promoted, 7 were not. Of those children whose I. Q.'s were below 80, 11 were promoted, 10 were not. Records of improvement of 13 children during 1927-1928 (year pre-vious to the study) and 1928-1929 (year of study) are available and are of interest: Child No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Imp. 1927-1928 .5 year .5 " .6 "" .4 " .7 " .5 " .6 " .4 " 1.1 " .8 " 1.3 " .6 " .1 " Imp. 1928-1929 Total Imp. .5 year .0 .6 it .1 2.8 tt 2.2 1.3 a .9 1.2 tt .5 .5 (l .0 .9 tt .3 1.7 tt 1.3 1.8 tt .7 .6 it .2 .8 tt .5 1.2 tt .6 .7 tt .6 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 15 PUPILS CUMULATIVE PERMANENT RECORDS AS A MEANS OF REDUCING RETARDATION (H. F. Srygley, Superintendent Raleigh Public Schools, Raleigh, North Carolina) It seems to me in my experience in school work, that we should keep a very complete record of all children, in order to build up school atti-tudes and thereby increase the interest in attendance, thus preventing retardation. In the Raleigh Public School System, we have worked out a form of record, whereby we can keep in close touch with the child from the point of view of his social surroundings, his scholastic attainments and his health. We have worked out this record under six headings as given below: Form I. Personal, Family History, and Home Life. 1. Personal History. 2. Family History. 3. Home Life. Form II. Scholarship and Attendance Record. 1. Residence Record (Admission and Transfers). 2. Elementary School Record. 3. Junior and Senior High School Record. 4. Grade Progress Table. 5. Statistics following graduation. Form III. Standard Test Record. 1. Test Data. a. Achievement Tests. b. Intelligence Tests. c. Other Tests. 2. Permanent Progress Chart. Form IV. Record of Growth in Ideals and Character. 1. Character Ratings. a. Social Traits. b. Mental Traits. c. Emotional Traits. 2. General Strengths and Weaknesses in Character, a. Series of Memoranda at Infrequent Periods. Form V. Physical and Health Record. 1. Personal Health History. 2. Family Health History. 3. Child's Health Habits. 4. Physician's Examinations of Records. 5. Serious Ailments—Recommendations and Treatment. Form VI. Vocational Tendencies and Aptitudes. 1. School Interests. 2. Extra-Curricula Activities. 3. Work Outside School Hours. 4. Vocational Interests and Ambitions. 5. Plans for the Future. 16 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education If we keep track of all of the information contained in the above outline, we will have an accumulation of records for every child during his entire school life. These records should be of tremendous value in making conclusions and measuring all results in public school attendance. We have been too negligent in the past in recognizing creative work in childhood. One of the big questions we are facing in our schools, is how to provide an environment which will foster creative development for every child in a group. Mass instruction does not fulfill the needs of the individual, for we are not trying to make poets, artists, sculptors or writers of the children who are under our care. However, we do hold to the necessity for developing the creative faculty of each individual pupil. We have convictions that every normal individual has to a greater or lesser degree the impulse to create, but each individual has a question-ing attitude, and the fullest growth is possible only when the child has a chance to use his natural creative impulses. If we can collect from time to time samples of work that are the results of a creative atmos-phere in the school, we will be able to judge whether or not we are making progress in an advanced way. Take as an illustration of this, a collection of poems and natural productions, as well as mechanical productions, find their way to the scrap heap or waste basket. If a school could build up a museum of things that have been made by pupils—poems that have been written, arts that have been produced, music that has been sung, games that have been devised by the pupils, these would be of inestimable value in judging the worthwhileness of our efforts. As another illustration of this matter of keeping records of pupils, I wish to call the attention of my hearers to the following verses that have been collected by teachers and placed in permanent form for future reference: A first-grade child brought a honeybee for the museum and the follow-ing resulted: We hear the honeybee buzz, buzz, buzz, On the soft summer air, In the night he sleeps and dreams and dreams, Of sweet flowers everywhere. —Kern; 7 yrs. of age. Hum, hum, hum, sings the honeybee, While he sucks the honey from the flowers, The flowers made the honey from the April showers. —Dorothy; 6 yrs. of age. Bailey's white rabbit spent a week in school. When he curled up on someone's coat for a nap, he looked so cunning that Margery was moved to say the following: Bailey has a timid rabbit, His fur is white as snow. His eyes are soft, his ears are long, But his tail is—Oh! so short! —Margery; 7 yrs. of age. Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 17 A second grade, while working with their garden, expressed them-selves in these verses: Tulip, tulip, please come up, Catch the dewdrops in your cup. It would be very much fun, To see you nodding to the sun. Flowers, flowers of every hue, Red, purple, yellow and blue, In my little garden grew, 'Til the wind came rushing through. Since we have been hoeing, The garden has been growing. —Thomas Rich. We have planted lots of seeds, Now we must pull up all the weeds. —Alda and Virginia. When airships came over the town: Seventy airships flew our way, On a pretty Saturday. One warm, bright sunny day, Seventy airships came over this way. They circled above and all around, Then they went to another town.—Fred Lee. April has come to town, The trees are green, Flowers are creeping, From long winter sleeping, Sunshine has come again. —Lillian Holliday; 4B. THE DAFFODIL LADY The Daffodil Lady is pretty and gay, The Daffodil Lady will swing and sway. Her yellow gown shines like a crown, With silver bells shining around. And she swings her partner to and fro, And they dance in the sunshine as they go. —Rose Dell Potter; 4B. 18 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education COLUMBUS Columbus was a man of old, He and his sailors were very bold. One day they sailed the ocean wide, He and his sailors, side by side. One day his sailors began to fear, But Columbus told them land was near. He saw the birds flying in the sky, And bits of wood tossed on waves high. When at last on dry land they rode, They thanked God for their safe abode. They put up a cross in the name of Spain, To show that it was their country's gain. —Elizabeth Utley, 5B. THE SEA Many sorrows has it seen, Many rocks has it washed clean, And I'm sure, if it could speak, It would tell of men that -seek Other lands in which to dwell, Men on ships with goods to sell. Many fish in its waters hide, Big fish that dart, swim, and glide. And many a brave sailor has made his grave, While other lives he tried to save, And down in the waters so very deep, Many a captain was made to sleep.—Virginia Thomas; 5A. THE TREES BEHIND OUR SCHOOL The trees behind our school All look so very cool. While the shadows are long and deep, All the birds go to sleep. There is the mighty oak Which still stands so proud. No one is allowed To harm the trees behind our school. The trees behind our school Are all around a deep, blue pool, When the birds come by with a song The trees invite them to bring their babies along. We have a garden in one corner. Our log cabin is in the other. Neither one is better Than the trees behind our school. Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 19 All the birds go flying by, Forming a dim outline in the sky. On the ground is the grass Of the very finest class. This is the bird's playground, The best ever found. Please keep this rule, "Be kind to the trees behind the school."—Charles Swan; 6B. CALL OF THE WOODS Oh, I've heard the call of the tall white pine And the call of the running brook; I'm tired of tasks which each day are mine, I am weary of reading a printed book. I want to get out of school and strife, And the clanging of a bell, And walk for a day where life is life, Where joys are true and pictures are real. —Gladys Woodward; 6B. As a final sentence, too many good things are lost in child life, too1 many opportunities are neglected, too many fine sentiments are over-looked, because of the teacher's indifference due to lack of ability to accumulate the wonderful things that have been created by school chil-dren. If such records as these were kept, I am sure there would be more interest in school work. More interest in school work, would cer-tainly create better attendance, and the results would be more highly appreciated by parents, teachers, supervisors, and children. 20 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education SOME PHASES OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT RADIO IN EDUCATION (H. K. Carpenter, Manager, Radio Station W. P. T. F., Raleigh, North Carolina) Radio is a new industry; and like other new industries grows so rapidly that even those in the work find it very hard to keep abreast of developments. As compared to what it is hoped radio will accomplish in the future, the progress which has been made so far consists of merely the most elementary steps. Being a new industry, radio must prove its value as it goes along; and also it must overcome the natural tendency of so many of us to frown upon anything that is new. The use of radio in connection with school work, both elementary and advanced, has recently been cropping out in spots all over the United States. This is noticed particularly in the public schools in Oakland, Atlanta, Cleveland and Chicago. And, as you probably know, the Extension Divisions of most universities are beginning to accept all invi-tations tendered them to broadcast programs of specific interest to the alumni of the institutions. A number of colleges and universities, especially in the Middle West, own and operate their own broadcasting stations, and in a few isolated instances, college credit is given for the completion of radio extension courses. Probably the most elaborate attempt, however, has been that of the Radio Corporation of America in broadcasting their series of morning concerts played by Walter Dam-rosch and his Symphony Orchestra. When it comes to the actual consideration of what can be done in each particular instance, there are several problems to be faced. First, what are the types, of broadcast available in your particular community? Second, if the programs are to be more or less under the supervision of the educational authorities, what speakers, musicians, and teachers can be secured to appear in the studios? Third, the cost of sending out any given radio program is rather larger than most people suspect; some firm or organization must be found which can be induced to furnish the necessary broadcasting facilities. Fourth, the proper means of publish-ing the plans must be found; these must include not only newspaper publicity, but a means of taking the necessary information directly into the schools. Fifth, a proper receiving apparatus must be secured and installed in the schools. And, sixth, a very definite plan of classroom procedure must be developed and maintained. The above problems may seem to be insurmountable, but the fact of the matter is that they have been solved in some communities, and are being solved in increasing numbers each year. Radio in education should be used not only from the viewpoint of the development of music appreciation, but also for what it can do in con-nection with the study of such subjects as geography, history and Eng-lish. Consider the value to children studying geography of being able to tune in broadcasts in connection with the Byrd Expedition at the South Pole; the opening of the new International Bridge at Niagara Falls; and relay broadcasts from European stations. Think of the Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 21 opportunity for the study of history in the making—tuning in such events as the following which have been broadcast during the past year: The Pan-American Conference, from Havana, Cuba; the Memorial Service, from Gettysburg; the annual conference of the American Farm Bureau in Chicago; Washington's Birthday Celebration in Washington; the Republican Convention in Kansas City; the Democratic Convention in Houston; the Inauguration of President Hoover; and many others. Let us consider for a moment, some things a little nearer home. Since last September W P T F has been broadcasting educational material whenever available. This has included a series of Music Appreciation programs under the auspices of the Music Section of the Raleigh Woman's Club; the United States Farm Forum; the Farm Flashes; the World Book Man; Garden Club Talks; and talks from various State Departments such as Agriculture, Motor Vehicle Bureau, Conservation and Development, etc. Besides these features having a very evident educational aim, here are a few broadcasts sent out from Raleigh during the past year, having considerable educational content: News flashes, weather forecasts, the Poet's Corner, Church Services, Tone Pictures, Song Story, the World Today by Dr. Julius Klein, National Safety Council Series, Roads of the Sky, and many others. Of course these broadcasts have a general appeal rather than content applicable to Elementary School work alone. I mention W P T F and the programs we have broadcast merely because they indicate the attitude and work of the great majority of responsible radio stations. Radio broadcasting and the placement of receiving sets must go hand-in- hand; a broadcasting station without at least some potential listeners is about as useless as anything we can imagine. Stations deliberately broadcast programs which are planned to be pleasing or acceptable to those who have receiving sets. Why should stations, therefore, send out lessons in music appreciation for elementary grades when there are no facilities for receiving these programs. Such broadcasts should not be put on the air at night when probably a majority of listeners are adults; and why broadcast them in the daytime when boys and girls are in school? On the other hand, why go to the expense of installing apparatus in schools when little suitable for reproduction in the school is available on the air? The answer to these questions is quite obvious: the educational authorities and the broadcast stations should join hands for their mutual good. And I know I speak for the broadcasters when I say that they are more than willing to cooperate in any manner possible. Of course it has been impossible in this short space of time to do anything but barely scratch the surface of this subject. May I urge you to seriously consider the use of radio in your plans for the coming year. To make the matter very concrete, let me suggest that you do one or both of two things: First, communicate with your nearest radio station and enlist the cooperation which undoubtedly is awaiting you, at any time; and second, write to Miss Alice Keith, Division of Education, Radio Corporation of America, 233 Broadway, New York City. 22 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education To start, don't bite off more than you can chew—don't try to do it all at once; for radio is no different than any other business or enter-: prise; but do something this fall to employ the services radio can bring you in elementary education. The material is there for the asking, the boys and girls deserve it, and you personally will have the pleasure of being in step with the times and affording yourself the opportunity of some day being able to say, "I can remember when we had no radios in our schools!" HOW TO HELP THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILD IN DEVELOPING ART APPRECIATION (Lydia A. Bancroft, Professor of Public School Music, Cullowhee State Normal School, Cullowhee, N. C.) Little time need be spent in justifying the teaching of art, for we all realize that by it life is enriched and better and happier citizens are developed. The first and greatest essential in developing in the child a sense of art appreciation is in the training of the teachers so that they will themselves understand and enjoy beautiful things and be able to interpret that appreciation in others. In many classrooms little is accomplished because the teachers have been so instructed in art that it has not meant to them a tangible art which they are able to interpret to the children. The second necessity is that we provide school buildings and school grounds that are in themselves examples of the art which teachers wish the children to appreciate. This unconcious appeal is very important. The environment in which we place the child should be the most beautiful one that it is possible to procure. This point needs emphasis for too often we are teaching one thing and living another. By such a contra-dictory life little can be accomplished. In this connection it is well to realize that to make our schools attractive does not always mean that they be so very much more expensive. Tinted walls, cabinets, built-in book shelves, a picture moulding, are all aids in the keeping of a neat, clean, attractive room yet these are not so very expensive. They are but the proper setting which will make possible an artistic environment for the children. In the discussion of definite classroom problems there is much to be said. When actual need exists art problems arise in every subject taught in the elementary grades. Correlation makes possible the fitting of art into its proper place in the curriculum. Poster, book covers, Christmas cards, decorations on pottery, the painting of landscapes will serve to bring to mind the many problems which are typical. The child learns what it is that makes them fine. He develops a critical sense in art based on a definite understanding of such principles as balance, rhythm, and harmony as they appear in line, dark and light, and color. In such problems good - taste is developed to its greatest extent when there is constant chance for children making choices between good and poor arrangements. A wealth of illustrative material does more than Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 23 anything else to help one see what is good design and good color. The teacher may talk all day but to show the child means much more. It matters little whether it is a book cover for a first grade Mother Goose book or a sixth grade geography book. Children should discuss the size and the shape which will be most convenient and look the best for the cover. Then what lettering shall be used, how large it shall be, and where it shall be placed must be considered. The children should also decide whether any other decoration is needed and if so how large it shall be and where it shall be placed. Finally, color choices must be made. To give a specific example, green paper should not be passed to the class for one problem and brown for another but regardless of the extra work and the temporary disorder occasioned, each child should be allowed to come to a table upon which various colored papers have been placed. There he may make his selection of that which suits his purpose and pleases his eye. This does not mean that unlimited freedom shall be permitted. Problems should be chosen and the conditions of their development arranged to suit the age of the children. The thing I wish to emphasize is that art appreciation is developed only when the students are given many occasions in which to make choices between good and poor designs and between good and poor color combinations. Again let art problems come very close to the children's everyday experiences. Let them discuss and offer suggestions for the arrange-ment of the class room. It may include the handling of pictures, the arrangement of clippings on a bulletin board, the placing of chairs, table and books for a library corner in the room. Flowers may be arranged. Art need not be intangible. Children can understand the same art prin-ciples which have been used by the Japanese for centuries in their schools of flower arrangement. Children may profitably take part in any experience which will give them occasions for developing good taste in dress, in house furnishing and in advertising. Let the children plan the beautifying of the school grounds and there will be no need of posting signs requesting that papers be kept from the school lawn. When they have had some part in the beautifying of their surroundings "clean-up" campaigns will not be necessary. Art is an every-day thing after all. It is not for the few but it means good taste for all. A well-spaced letter, a nicely arranged spelling paper or a well-drawn map are just as worthy of attention as a poster made in the art class. One's sense of appreciation develops through doing. There may be beauty of proportion and of construction in a well-made piece of furniture or a rug woven in the school room. Frequent exhibits of the best work are important and finally a yearly exhibit. Let me make a plea for more care in the arrangement of such exhibits. One becomes conscious of the lack of definite art training on the part of many teachers when one studies the good work of the children which so many times at county and group-center commencements is displayed unmounted and badly arranged in too crowded an area. This lack of training is not the fault of the teachers so much as it is the fault of those in authority in teacher training institutions who have not themselves sufficient realization of the value of such training to provide adequately for it in their courses of study. 24 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education Children of the large cities are becoming familiar with the art of many distant peoples through the art museums. Classes of children visit the gallaries and study the exhibits under the leadership of trained museum guides. We can hardly do this in North Carolina. Let us not, however, overlook the art that is about us. Children should be led to see the best that is in their environment. School children who make a loom and weave on it a rug or a scarf will go home with a greater appre-ciation for the hand-woven coverlets of their grandmothers than they had before such an experience. Exhibits may be planned which will bring together the best art found in the homes of the community. Much may be done to rid the homes of that which is poor in design and bad in color and to develop a sense of appreciation in the best that can be found in the homes. When these things are accomplished we shall be well on the road toward the Second Renaissance which some writers claim is about to enter America. HOW AN ANALYSIS OF HEALTH EDUCATION IN A NORTH CARO-LINA COUNTY MAY FURTHER THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AGE WITHIN THAT COUNTY (Nettie Brogdon, Rural School Supervisor, Guilford County, Greensboro, North Carolina) The results from an investigation of the causes for failure in the elementary grades in the Guilford County schools gave conclusive evidence that the health of the child was a big contributive element in his educa-tional progress. In order, therefore, to attain "maximum standard pro-motion of the grade enrollment" which is a goal the schools are striving for, it seemed evident that some remedial work must be done in health. Two health aims, therefore, were agreed upon: (1) Every child physically fit; (2) Positive health teaching. The discussion which follows outlines the objectives and the initial procedure for health education in Guilford County. One of the basis objectives or outcomes of elementary education should be the growth and improvement of the child's mental, emotional, social, and physical health behavior in terms of attitudes, habits, skills, and knowledge. That the elementary schools in Guilford County may achieve these ends in increasing proportions, the following procedure was outlined: 1. To utilize all the forces, factors, and natural situations within the school, the home, and the community for the development and promotion of mental, social, emotional, and physical health practices, attitudes, and knowledge of children. 2. To provide opportunities for the practice of mental, emotional, social, and physical health habits frequently, accurately, and efficiently in natural situations. 3. To aid children individually to make their own judgments and to form their own standards for healthful living, social relationships, Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 25 and emotional control through well-directed activities for individual expression. 4. To study the health needs of individual children, and to guide their activities as far as possible to meet these needs. 5. To arouse the interest of the children, the parents, and the com-munity in the improvement of the health conditions and surroundings of the school, the home, and the community. 6. To develop in the children and the parents an increasing appre-ciation and cooperation toward the scientific professional services of the examining physician, the dentist, the nurse, and the welfare worker. As an initial step in helping teachers to realize these big health objectives, they were guided in making an objective analysis of the forces, factors, and natural situations within the school and the com-munity which influenced the health of the child. Analysis sheets were prepared for them, which consisted of positive statements or practice based on practicability in relation to the public school; statements or practices which in the light of present-day knowledge are educationally sound and scientifically accurate, and based on the fundamental needs of childhood. Teachers analyzed their own practices by these positive statements. Every phase of the physical equipment was studied such as: Light, ventilation, heat, water, toilets, etc. The natural situations which arise throughout the child's day in the school and through which health habits may be practiced, health knowledge impressed, desirable attitudes built, and social health adjustments made, were analyzed. These natural situa-tions were: 1. Transportation to and from school. 2. Activities before and after school. 3. Entering school for day's program. 4. Beginning the school day—the Home Room period. 5. The daily schedule. 6. Morning playground period. 7. Getting ready for lunch. 8. The lunch period. 9. Afternoon recess. 10. Drinking water during the day. 11. Attending toilet during the day. 12. Washing hands during the day. 13. Rest periods for Primary children. 14. Auditorium activities. 15. Class room clean and artistic. 16. Control of communicable diseases. 17. Dismissal of school. 18. After-school activities at the school. 19. Preparation of school work at home. 26 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education The activities within each of the above situations were analyzed. For example, the situation: "Entering School for the Day's Work," consisted of the following activities: 1. Entering building from the playgrounds. 2. Assembling in class rooms. 3. Attitude of teachers. 4. Placing of coats, sweaters, hats, etc., in spaces provided for them. 5. Removal of coats, sweaters, overshoes, and hats. 6. Adjusting room ventilation and heat. 7. Observing that no child has wet feet or wet clothing on rainy and cold days. A composite score showing the number of teachers observing the various positive statements was made for each school and the county as a whole. With the information from this composite score each school and class room was able to find its own needs and be in a better position to utilize all the factors and forces in the school and community in developing a healthful school day. Teachers were helped in the inter-pretation of their school analysis and given remedial and constructive assistance through the various supervising agencies in the county. After six months of remedial work a study was made in order to determine the results. The data gathered from this study gave: (a) The number of teachers observing particular healthful school practices one hundred per cent; (b) of the three hundred forty-four (344) practices included in the study, reports from the one hundred ninety-eight (198) teachers showed that the range of practices which had been improved by them was from one to one hundred twenty-six. At the end of the seventh month, a second study was made in order to determine the teacher's needs in teaching materials. These data have been assembled and will be used in the promotion of this work. During the past year we have taken only the initial step in realizing the broad health objectives in education. The analysis which was made pointed out both the healthful and the unhealthful school practices, thereby causing many unhealthful practices to be changed. The parents, represented by the Parent-Teacher Associations are actively interested in finding their responsibility in assisting the school in the development and in the promotion of the mental, social, emotional, and physical health of their children. They have already engaged in many activities which have shown appreciable results. At present "An Analysis of Health Practices in the Home," similar to the one used in the schools, is being prepared for their use. The outcomes from the correction of remedial physical defects and the broad health program has contributed much towards attaining the county-wide objective, "Maximum Standard Promotion of the Grade Enrollment." Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 27 THE EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHILD OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AGE (Frazer Hood, Professor of Psychology, Davidson College, Davidson, North Carolina) In recent years we have awakened to the fact that intellectual train-ing, rational and moral, fails at a very critical juncture, so that we behold the brilliant scholars of our primary and secondary schools, while intellectually disciplined, to go to pieces in certain critical situations and become in extreme instances charges on the State. It has become pretty widely accepted today that this breakdown, this failure in life crises, is due not to any faulty intellectual processes, but to abnormal and para-logical emotional reactions. The field of research here has scarcely been entered, and there lies before us much work to do before one can feel very confident in his tentatively accepted theories. But enough work has been done to make one feel hopeful of the future. I want to indicate briefly in this paper something of the nature of work doing in this field. And as an approach to my subject—"The Emo-tional Development of the Child of Elementary School Age"—it may be well to observe that the training of the emotions, so directing their development, that the child may live his life helpfully both to himself and to the other members of his social milieu, we must appreciate the fact, that in contrast to intellectual and motor training, we can work only indirectly in achieving our ends. The emotions are controlled, or conditioned by the autonomic and not the central nervous system. The autonomic nervous system in its functioning differs from that of the central nervous system in that the central nervous system ?'s under the control of conscious purposes whereas the autonomic reflex is not under the control or direction of conscious purposes. Concretely, I cannot will not to become angry, for instance, if an anger stimulus is presented, but I can be so trained, either that a substitute rather than the primitive anger stimulus is necessary to call out the responses, or the natural response may be made to give way to a conditional response. Here then, is your objective in directing the emotional development of the child—either to train him away from responding to the uncon-ditioned stimulus or to respond to the unconditioned stimulus with a substitute response. Our aim in educating the emotions then, is not at all an attempt to root out any of the emotions. It is not at all the question of how may we banish all fear or all anger responses of the child. The stimulus to anger, for instance, and the result of such stimu-lation is a preparation of the organism, through the sympathetic seg-ment of the autonomic system, for a fighting reaction. This mechanism of anger is a very strong and vital part of every human being, and he is an abnormal person who cannot be aroused to anger by an adequate stimulus. Even if anger, or fear, could be ratine, there would be no benefit occurring either to the individual or to society in the success of such an uprootage. But anger like fear and love, is so strong, so vital, so primitive a part of the psychic furniture of the race, that its excision could only result disastrously. 28 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education What we hope to do in training the emotional reactions of the child, and the experimental approach to our problem justifies expectations, is so to train the child that the reactions to emotional stimuli may be bene-ficial to the child as an individual and as a member of society. Through the genetic study of the emotions by Watson, and others, psychologists are fairly well agreed that there are at least three primitive emotions. Some say more and a few are inclined to deny on technical grounds any one definite pattern of emotional responses, but I believe agreement can be had among the large majority, that from the birth the child manifests emotional experiences in response to three classes of stimuli and for the nonce the emotional experiences are classifiable under three headings: (1) Fear, (2) anger, and (3) love. I also believe there is pretty wide agreement that the primitive stimuli are: Of fear, loud sounds and loss of support; of anger, restraint of bodily movements ; and of love, stroking the skin, rocking, riding on boat, etc. With these assumptions psychologists have proceeded to test certain methods which claim to be successful in training the child away from responding to certain substitute stimuli. The brevity of this paper pre-vents my doing more than very briefly sketching the conclusions from laboratory studies of just one emotion. For explanatory purpose I shall select fear. The problem is to ascertain the most successful and prac-tically applicable methods of unconditioning fear. 1. One method of "curing" a child from being afraid of harmless objects is to eliminate the object from the experiences of the child and by the "law of disuse" finally achieve the result. This may be called the method of elimination; and it proceeds on the assumption that if we keep a child protected from such stimuli as arouse fear, for a sufficiently long time, the stimuli will fail to provoke the responses. Because certain responses are known to obey the law of disuse, by a false analogy it was assumed that emotional responses obeyed the same law. The results reported from the laboratory are that very frequently fear response to the stimulus returns even after an extended interval. Of course the impracticability of guarding the child from exposure to undesirable stimuli makes the method, even if successful, valueless to the teacher. 2. Then, there is the method that consists of talking over with the child the thing that causes fear, stressing its interesting and attractive features. We may call this method, the method of verbal appeal. This has been found to be occasionally successful. 3. We have what may be called the method of negative adaption. Here the procedure is to let the thing causing fright be presented while the child is occupied, calling no attention to it, merely allowing it to lie in sight. This has been found to be occasionally successful. 4. The next method is called the method of repression. Using this method one proceeds to make fun of the fear state, the boy is afraid to go to sleep alone in a dark room. We make fun of the boy's fear and hope by laughing at him to so shame him out of his unreasonable fear that he will cease being afraid. Of all the methods this is the one most to be condemned. If you wish to see a probable result of this method read Augustus Thomas' "The Bewitching Hour." From laboratory reports we are told that this method often produces sullenness; and sometimes Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 29 it takes psycho-analysis to bring to light what has dropped into uncon-sciousness. 5. The method of distraction directs that with the cause of fear present, we call attention to attractive features, we characterize it, etc. You will perceive that this is superficially very similar to method number 3. However, here the stimulus is in the focus, not the margin of atten-tion. This method has at times proved successful. 6. The method of direct conditioning. If carefully and patiently employed this method is perhaps the most successful of all. Certainly experiments made with it show results superior to all others. The pro-cedure is to use something which the child likes when the fear object is present, such as food for young children, hoping to transfer the pleasant association from it to the fear object. But great caution is necessary to prevent the undesirable quality of the fear object by association to travel to the desired object. In other words it is possible, highly probable in unskillful hands, that the child may still remain afraid of the object and now comes to detest a food which he formerly enjoyed. 7. The method of social initiation closes our catalog. Here we pro-ceed as follows: Have the child play with the fear provoking stimulus, if it can be played with, in the presence of children of similar age who are not afraid of it. The child may withdraw at first, but the example of the group will usually interest him in the object and he forgets his fears. All experiments with adults have failed to accomplish the end. With children, and especially young children it is often successful. In this fragmentary and laconic presentation I hope I have at least dropped a hint as to how to proceed in dealing with children's fears, and negatively, some things to eschew. HOW TO AID THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILD IN DEVELOPING CHARACTER (K. C. Garrison, Associate Professor of Psychology, N. C. State College, Raleigh, N. C.) In very recent years the increase in crime in our country—and par-ticularly the steady reduction in the average age of criminals who find themselves finally ending in our jails, penitentiaries, and the like—has become alarming. Although the schools have been playing an important role, both directly and indirectly, in character development, their work may be made even more effective if the aims of education and the nature of the child are more carefully understood by those in charge. In the first place it is erroneous to conceive of education as an all-powerful force that can place its hands upon a child in whom habits have been thoroughly established, and in a short while effect a total change in his habits. The child's inborn potentialities, past experiences, imme-diate surroundings, and present stage of development must be considered with respect to any character trait that is being developed. If strong drinks are served in the home, then any attempt, by the schools, to teach 30 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education pupils to uphold the enforcement of the Eighteenth Amendment promises to be a failure. Again, if the father persists in breaking the speed limit while his son Jim watches for the cop, the idea that the policeman is some spy to be outwitted if possible, is thoroughly instilled in the child. Two methods of character education are available, namely: (1) The indirect or incidental method, and (2) the direct or formal method. The first method says that character development is related to the various activities of the child, the motto being "hit while the iron is hot." The second method calls for a definite program organized on the basis of certain "traits" or "modes of behavior." The indirect methods finds expression largely in extra-curricula activities and is especially concerned with the development of the proper social relations. It is with this method that I shall concern myself during the remainder of this discussion. In the transition from the home to the school many new adjustments of a social nature are present. The child is placed in a broader social situation. The habits formed prior to this period are still functioning, but are destined to be fitted into and modified by the new social environ-ment. In this social environment the child comes into contact with many different children and these children come to be a vital factor in deter-mining his behavior activities. From this group, in later years, play-mates are chosen. These playmates are chosen largely on the basis of similarity in physiological and chronological age—from the same locality, and from the same school room. Especially is this found to be true for boys. In the case of girls the social factor is more prominent in the choice of friends. The interests and activities of these children are going to depend largely upon the guidance of the teachers and parents. Social workers have £,hown that playmates are the greatest force, aside from the home, in the making of desirable or undesirable behavior. Perhaps the greatest single force for the development of character in children is that of confidence in those who are guiding their activities. Confidence in the teacher or parent will be a great force in the choice of desirable play activities. Confidence can only be secured through sympathetic understanding and fair play. The teacher must know the child's interests and understand his or her difficulties. The child is con-stantly meeting new situations, coming into contact with strange situa-tions, or becoming confused at seme new relations or thought presented. Curiosity is the natural outcome. And who has not heard the child's question, due to curiosity, answered in some such manner as this: "You musn't ask such foolish questions?" Was the question foolish to the child? Has this answer cleared up the curiosity? Will the child return to get such an answer when curiosity again is present? It is because of such behavior on the part of teachers that children get perverted ideas and often develop very . undesirable habits. Especially is this true in problems relating to birth and to the sex phases of life. Again the teacher may actually go so far as to be unfair to the child in order to carry her point. Have you heard of the teacher who in Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 31 answer to the child's question, can never say, "I don't know?" Have you not been told of the teacher who refused to allow the child to sharpen his pencil because of some petty or minor trouble wholly unrelated to the sharpening of the pencil? Have you ever heard of the teacher who kept a child at school after the school closed because the child broke a window light—and probably accidentally at that? We all recognize that there should be a reconditioning process in connection with the child's behavior activities, but unless the child sees the reason for the reconditioning and understands the error in his conduct then the child will come to look upon the teacher as a person "who will get me if I don't look out." The resulting behavior activities will be characterized by "avoidance." Or in place of a natural spontaneous imitation of the qualities of the teacher, the behavior of the child will be a mere mockery. When the teacher has established an attitude of confidence on the part of the pupils towards her, then her attitude, her ideals and her behavior patterns will be found present in the behavior of her pupils in her charge. HOW TO AID THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILD IN DEVELOPING PROPER SOCIAL ATTITUDES (Gladys Hoagland Groves, Chapel Hill, N. C.) Not the "bad child" who makes schoolroom discipline difficult and intrigues the teacher's interest by presenting her with an obvious prob-lem to solve, but the "model pupil" who always has his lessons, attends to class work, and never teases his roommates—this is often the child who most needs help in making satisfactory social adjustments. The "bad child" is at least making social contacts, and however bad they may be he is in a fair way to learn to improve his technique by the simple process of trial and error; while the "model pupil" may be shirking every possible contact with his fellows, and making up for his feeling of inferiority on the playground by grinding away at his work in the schoolroom. . The child that is driven to apply himself to his work because he supposes himself unpopular with his mates will perhaps achieve remark-able results in his life work, but at the cost of a lasting discontent that impairs his judgment and prevents his fully enjoying any success that comes to him. Childhood attitudes form so important a part of one's adult makeup that nobody can ever get entirely away from the basic happiness or unhappiness of his early days. When a teacher sees a child keeping by himself while the others play or work or squabble together, it is time to take account of that child's stock. Is he shy because of shabby or over-elegant clothes? Is he phys-ically handicapped, or burdened by the social stigma of an unsavory family reputation? 32 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education If one can gain such a child's confidence one may find that he is harboring resentment against the world because of some handicap that exists only in his imagination. He may once have been weaker than his playmates, and not realize that he has outgrown his weakness, or he may magnify the poverty that means nothing to his playmates. If the handicap that bothers a child is imaginary or greatly enlarged by his dwelling on it, he may be relieved to find on talking it over with a friendly teacher that all he needs to do is to forget it. When there is a real handicap, the child will need to be assisted or encouraged to make the most of whatever social talents he has—whether it be whistling or taking part in games of skill (since he may be unable to shine in contests of strength) or just the art of being consistently good-natured. Once a stand-offish child has been persuaded that he is not funda-mentally disliked by his schoolmates, but only disliked for his air of superiority or his readiness to see a grievance where none was meant, he is in a position to learn step by step to make satisfactory social adjustments. 1 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 3; METHODS OF INSTRUCTION FOR FURTHERING CHILD DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY PROGRAM IN MECKLENBURG COUNTY SCHOOLS (Eloise Rankin, Rural School Supervisor, Charlotte, N. C.) Foreword: One of our objectives during the past year was to "intro-duce and develop an activity program based on the needs and interests of the pupils." I have used the words "introduce" and "develop" because there were some teachers of the formal type who did not know how to begin and lacked confidence in themselves and then there was a large number of teachers who had experience in activity work but needed help. At all times both teachers and pupils have been encouraged to try their own ideas, if possible correct their own mistakes, and bring to a successful conclusion whatever work they have undertaken. I. Method of Procedure: Two county-wide Primary and two county-wide Grammar Grade Teachers' Meetings were given over to the dis-cussion of an activity program which would include among other things, reports from individual teachers whose classes had done outstanding work. Mimeographed copies of the following criteria by Dr. Lois Mossman for evaluating activities were supplied each teacher: Some Suggested Criteria for Evaluating Activities* 1. Is it related to the present living experience of the children? 2. Does it give promise of outcomes relatively valuable in life today? 3. Will this work contribute to some of the larger essential goals of education? 4. Will it give fuller meaning to the experience of child in this particular environment? 5. Is it hard enough to challenge? 6. Is it easy enough to insure some degree of success? 7. Will it lead on to something more worthy? 8. Does it come out of the children's previous experience? 9. Will it foster an inquiring investigative attitude? 10. Will it teach the children method in ordering their experiences? II. Will it develop relationships leading to organization of experience? 12. Is the experience involved socially constant or socially variable? 13. Are the fields of subject matter involved worthwhile, repre-sentative of the big aspects of life? 14. Is it related to other activities of the children? 15. How often and how recently have similar activities been ex-perienced? 16. Will it contribute to the child's efficiency? 17. Is it in line with the theory of increasing difficulty? 18. Is it practicable under school conditions? 19. Are materials and helps needed available? *From "Criteria for Evaluating Activities."—Dr. Lois Mossman. 34 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 20. How fully can the activity be carried out? 21. How much time will it consume? 22. What difficulties may arise in carrying it out? Each teacher whose class had worked out an activity was asked to return on blanks sent out from the office the following information: (1) Name of activity, (2) aim, (3) results, and (4) sources of help. These were mimeographed and returned to the teachers by grades. This, together with demonstration lessons centering around some activity, stimulated increased interest in the work. In the teachers' meetings conducted in the individual schools the following books were found to be most helpful: Annie Moore's Primary School, Rose Knox's School Activities and Equipment, and the Lincoln School Curriculum. (The activity program seems to have stimulated library reading on the part of the teachers. The average .number of professional books read by each teacher during the term was five.) 2. Types of Activity: A partial list of the various types of activities — many of which overlap—follows: a. Scientific and Social—History, Geography, Science, Industry, and Number. Under this came: Transportation; Indians; Eskimaux; Thanksgiving; Excursions; Pottery; Maps; Study of paper; Play City—Charlotte; Animals—gold fish, tadpoles; Birds; Gardening; Party; Jobs; Museum; Collecting specimens of rocks, trees, leaves. b. Constructive Activites—including all kinds of hand work, Fine Arts, Industrial Arts, Jobs, Plays: Making houses, stores, etc.; Furniture; Rugs, curtains, pottery; Draw-ing— use of larger muscles, rather than finger muscles; Painting; Writ-ing; Soap carving book-ends, shelves, cases, and calendar plaques. c. English Activities—Language, Literature, and Reading: Bulletin Board—Daily News; Record of own experiences; Play; Puppet Show; Story-telling ; Reading to find answer to own questions; Committee reports and floor talks; and Reading Circle. d. Artistic and Recreational Activities—Art, Music, and Play: Excursions; Trips to library; Picture studies and pictures from library; Music appreciaton; Rhythm orchestras; Dramatization; Group games; Pantomimes; Pageants. (These differ from other activities only in aim. The aim here is always to create beauty and self-expression, and to develop appreciation of the beautiful in everyday life and surroundings.) 3. Supplementary Work: Through the splendid cooperation of both teachers and principals the following supplementary work has been accomplished on a county-wide basis: Thrift—44% of pupils in average daily attendance were depositors at the bank at close of school and members of Thrift Clubs. Music Appreciation—1,080 pupils enrolled in State Music Appreciation Contest. Pupil's Reading Circle—63% of total enrollment received certificates for having read six or more books. Average number of books read by each pupil enrolled—10. Home Nursing and Care of Sick—course conducted by Red Cross graduate nurse in six schools. Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 35 Supervised lunch periods. (Hot lunches in six schools.) Pre-school clinics-^-65% of estimated enrollment in attendance. Social Hygiene course for all 'teen age boys and girls. Health Clubs—stressing right health habits, diet, weighing, and measuring. Citizenship Clubs with enrollment of 3,852 pupils. 4. Results of the Year's Work: One per cent less pupils are over age for grade than last year. The average age has been reduced. The improvement in attendance was 3%, and the number of pupils promoted increased 6%. Just how much of this has been due to our activity program it is difficult to say, but we do know that it has afforded opportunity for development of self-reliance, cooperation, consideration of others, fair play, leadership, good sportsmanship, honesty, and other habits of citizen-ship which are so sorely needed. FREE ACTIVITY WORK IN THE ELEMENTARY GRADES (Annie Wilcox, Teacher, Carteret County Public Schools, Newport, North Carolina) The subject assigned me is Activity Work in the Elementary Grades. I shall not attempt, however, to cover such a broad topic, but will tell you something of the activity program carried on in the first grades of our school last year. Free activity work is that type of work which provides the child with varied, interesting and worthwhile activities, in the participation of which he grows in subject-matter and develops certain desirable qualities that make for better citizenship. We know that experience is the most direct route to knowledge. Some one has said, "I would not have a child say 'I know' but 'I have experienced.' " After a child has taken part in an activity program he is able to say, "I know because I have ex-perienced," for this program furnishes necessary experience. I have heard that in order to have a successful activity program, three things are necessary; movable furniture, movable pupils, and movable teachers. I am sure that the movable teacher is the most important of the three, because if she is movable she can very easily make the furniture and pupils movable. It is absolutely essential that the teacher stay in the background and let the children do the planning. Of course she has to be on the alert to direct wisely, set standards and handle any situation that may arise. In an activity program one may have as many centers of work as equipment, furniture and space will permit. Of course the larger the space the easier it is to carry on the work, however, an average size school room may easily be converted into a workshop if the furniture is light and movable. Even the old stationary desks can very easily be made movable by nailing two or three desks to two narrow strips. In our room we had three large tables that would seat eight or ten children, a dozen individual desks, a large work table which was used for the clay center and the library furniture. We had ten centers, as follows: 36 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 1. The reading center, which we called our library. This was the most attractive spot in the room! We had low book cases with slanting shelves, a reading table, a bench and two chairs in there, all of which were painted in an attractive color scheme. We had about sixty first grade books in the library. 2. The tool center in which the children did construction work with hammer, saw, and nails. 3. The clay center where the children used clay for modeling various things. 4. The painting center in which the children worked at an easel with brushes and cold water paints. They painted original pictures, illustrated stories, and reproduced pictures. 5. The drawing center where the children drew on paper with colored crayons and at the board with colored chalk. 6. The printing center in which the children used a printing press and newsprint for printing words, stories, and numbers. 7. The science center which was made up of natural things brought in and learned about by the children. 8. The weaving center in which the children strung up frames and wove rugs, mats, etc., of rags. 9. The play center in which the children played in the doll house or with any games or playthings they happened to bring to school. 10. The sewing center where the children sewed for their dolls and made anything else needed in the room. As soon as the children entered the room in the morning, they had a short conference, each one stating what he intended doing during the work period. I very often had to offer suggestions because frequently a child would want to go to something else before he had finished a piece of work already begun. From the beginning I tried to make them see that making things that were of no use was a waste of time. During the work period each child went about his particular task asking for help when needed and offering suggestions to others whenever he could. I moved around among them making notes from which I made my perma-nent activity records. These are some of the things made during the year: A doll house; the home of The Three Bears; a paint box; two chairs; a bench; pencil holders; wall vases; flower bowls and book-ends for the library; clothes for the doll family; pitcher and cracker bowls; and work aprons and white aprons, and caps for those who sewed during the mid-morning lunch. After the children worked about thirty minutes, I either played the victrola or rang a bell and the children immediately stopped work, put away materials, swept the floor, scrubbed the clay table and put the room in order . After they washed their hands they returned to their groups and discussed what they had done, made a story about it and decided which one should tell the story. When I asked for a report from a group, the one chosen displayed the work done by that group and told the story they had made. The children then discussed the work, saying whether they did or did not like it and why, giving suggestions for improvement. Quite often I have seen a child exhibit a piece of work which he considered finished, but after the conference period he would Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 37 say, "I'm going to work on this again tomorrow and fix it right." It was during this conference period that I accomplished most in setting standards. After the stories and discussions, the children decided which story was best and I wrote that story on the board and had as many children read it as wanted to. Then we had a short phrase and word drill. In the afternoon I printed that story and added it to our activity reading chart. The next day they read the story in printed form and had another phrase and word drill. Quite often we went back and reviewed some of the old stories. I consider that the mid-morning lunch was one of the most important features of our program. We were unable to serve this lunch every day because we did not have the necessary materials. However, on the days we did have it—for instance if we served cocoa—some children carried milk, some cocoa and others sugar. The Home Economics girls prepared it for us and four children served. They used a sheet from a magazine for a mat, and a quarter of a paper towel for a napkin for each child. We had a nice socialized lunch period, after which those who served cleared the tables, washed dishes and put everything in order. These are some of the advantages of this lunch period: It improves the child's table manners generally, teaches him the proper things to talk about while eating, brings in good health habits, and trains for table service. I was at Newport some time after school closed last spring, and one day the janitor's little girl was at my home at lunch time. She had lunch with us and it was surprising to see how well she handled her silver and her napkin, and what nice manners she had throughout the meal. I know this was a result of mid-morning lunches because she has had absolutely no home training along that line. It is impossible to evaluate fully the benefits of this work at this time. It seems quite obvious to me, however, that the children have achieved the following advantages: (1) Greater happiness, (2) the development of judgment, self-confidence, and independent thinking, (3) a cooperative attitude, (4) a desire to do more and better work, and (5) an improvement in vocabulary and sentence sense. I must say also that more than anything I ever tried, it helps retarded children to meet with some success. At first they showed very little interest in the work, but after a while they became interested in doing things and wanted to tell about what they had done. Then they were more interested in reading their own stories than any story in a book. The little fellow who used his table for a foot stool made a story about it and quite frequently he would ask that we turn to his story and let him read it. One of my boys had been in the first grade two years already, and I had had him one of those years. Before we started our activity work last year, I was terribly discouraged about him because he was doing nothing. After we started the new program, however, he became intensely interested in reading the activity stories. He learned the words and phrases so well that we were able to promote him at the end of the year. If first grade children are happy and interested in this type of work, why shouldn't it be just as effective in the other grades? We have a very deplorable condition in our school, which probably also exists in 38 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education other schools. Last year we enrolled about eighty-five in our first grades and about thirty in the seventh grade. Why so many drop out is some-thing to think about. After the experience that I had last year, I am thoroughly convinced that we would have fewer retarded children and would not lose so many children on the day they became fourteen if we had a child-centered program throughout the elementary school. AN ACTIVITY PROGRAM FOR PRIMARY DEPARTMENTS (Mrs. James A. Robinson, Supervisor of Elementary Grades, Durham, N. C.) ) Setting up a real activity program for the Primary Departments is such a broad problem that I shall not even attempt it, but will present briefly, some types of activities that we have found worthwhile in the primary grades in the Durham City Schools. Activities in the primary grades, especially in the first year, should grow out of the experiences and environment of the pupils. It is not an easy matter for the teacher to turn from the old ways of doing things to the new and it seems wise to begin with quiet types of activity at first, such as drawing, cutting, building with blocks, etc., which involve fewer movements and adjustments. By degrees come greater freedom in choice of both topic and material. From the first the children should be encouraged to try out their own ideas and if possible to correct their own mistakes. "Children are capable of doing far more in planning, thinking, and actual work, than most teachers either realize or permit." Work once begun should be finished. In all plans there should be thought for both beauty and utility; for practical detail and fundamental principles; and for healthy questioning minds and for awakening interests. A flexible schedule is essential. The two-group plan always leaves one division free for work. The amount of time allowed for this work is not definitely indicated. Some teachers allow thirty minutes on the program while others have longer periods. Some types of reading and other activities that always prove worth-while may be briefly summarized as follows:' 1. Making books of various kinds. a. Booklets of experiences, family, pets, toys, circuses, etc. 1. With pictures. 2. With names under pictures. 3. With sentences. 4. With units composed by the pupils. b. Scrap book. c. Joke book (illustrated with drawings and cuttings) . d. Riddle book. e. Clippings. f. Original jingles and rhymes. g. Health book, etc. h. Class book (work left for incoming grade in September) . 2. Reading from story books brought from home or made by pupils from old discarded readers at the opening exercises, during a special period for supplementary reading or in auditorium. Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 39 3. Bulletin board—News corner (cork, beaver board, or blackboard). a. Greetings. b. Riddles. c. Surprise picture with a sentence or two written under it. d. Simple announcements (birthdays, weather reports, surprises, etc.). In grades 2 and 3 children are encouraged to write something of interest, original riddles, jingles, etc., on the bulletin board. Many of these boards were made by the pupils. 4. Following directions by drawing, cutting, modeling, writing, sew-ing, or action. 5. Reading preparatory: To dramatization, to making moving pic-tures, puppet and peep show. 6. Reading story for another group of children. 7. Library period: Posters and placards were placed above cases and tables calling attention to the way to handle books. 8. Plans and aims are kept constantly in view, either on chart or blackboard, as a constant reminder to children. For example: (a) Our plans for week, (b) our plans for month, and (c) this week let us aim — 9. What it means to be a good citizen: Children select and practice the qualities that make for good citizenship. They gain habits, skills, feelings, and ideas of value to them. For example: (a) Do my daily work to the best of my ability, (b) be courteous to everybody, and (c) help to keep our class room neat and orderly. 10. Pupils suggest qualities to cultivate. 11. Many suggestions on board, as: a. Am I — Am I disturbing my class? Am I wasting my time? Am I doing my best? Am I improving my work? Am I helping someone to improve? b. Are you a good workman? Watch yourself today. c. Is your work here? Specimens of best work executed during the day. 12. Each room keeps a chart of school duties. a. Host or hostess and committees named every week in some rooms, every two weeks in others. 13. Wild flower garden. 14. Newspaper of short stories, simple poems, news items, riddles, and jingles selected or written by pupils. Nothing has done so much to stimulate interest in writing, spelling, language, and drawing, as these papers in the primary grades. A sheet a week is usually made by a group. The papers are preserved for the incoming pupils in the fall who thoroughly enjoy them. 15. A stanza or two of some poem conveying a beautiful thought or a helpful suggestion may always be found on the blackboard. 16. Recognition of good work and good workers by teacher (written on board), as, Tom and Mary were our best readers today. Best spellers (followed by names of pupils who are best spellers), Felix, John, and Caroline were such quiet workers today. 40 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 17. Reading Club. (Pupils to be eligible for membership must read according to standards set and must read two books from the library, either home, school, or public library.) 18. Charts containing songs, poems, stories, and games that have been learned, also books that have been read. 19. Dutch Village (sand tray) . Indian Village. Early Settlers. 20. Doll House. The class booklets dedicated to the incoming grades are a joy and delight to the authors and a great inspiration and incentive to the new pupils who are eager to leave a record just as good or even a little better. BIG UNIT TEACHING IN THE ELEMENTARY GRADES (Karl Adams, Professor of Education, E. C. T. C, Greenville, North Carolina) The practice of using the "big unit" idea for instructional purposes in the American schools, according to one writer, was introduced about 1910, or a little prior to that time. Its first use was in connection with teaching agriculture. Since then it has been given a tremendous amount of publicity. Under one name or another much space in our educational journals, books and lectures en teaching, and periodicals has been devoted to its explanation, justification, and praise. There are those who urge its virtues as a curative for all educational ills. Some proclaim it for its worth in motivating effort; some praise it for its magic effect over individual differences; some support it for its power to remove problems of discipline; some advocate it for instruction of the weakminded; and some make it the only correct and properly effective basis for making our elementary curricula. If these statements express the facts, then, one is prompted to ask: What is meant by "big unit" teaching and how is one to acquire the ability to use it? Answers are offered here to these questions, but they are not to be regarded as complete. Also consider-ation is limited to the elementary grades. What is meant by "big unit" teaching? Several terms have been employed as the title designation of this idea. Some of them are: "Unit of study, project, type study, enlarged object lesson, or instructional unit." To enter into a discussion of each of these terms and its par-ticular meaning is not considered practical for this short paper. One can very well get at the nature and understanding of them through the use of one. For this purpose the term "project" is used. The ques-tion, then, becomes: What is meant by "project" teaching? (Note: The mooted question of whether it is a method is purposely avoided here.) Some say one thing; some say another. Those who talk and write for its cause are not agreed as to just what it is. Hosic says, "It is the name for what happens when an individual, or group, sets about accom-plishing a purpose, and in carrying it out brings about changes in his (or their) knowledge, skills, habits, or attitudes." In this statement the central idea seems to be "learning." Charters states, "A project is a problematic act carried to completion in its natural setting." He has included two ideas, namely, the "problem" and the "naturalness" of its Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 41 setting. McMurry denies it the quality of "naturalness," but insists "Projects are enterprises undertaken by boys or girls or by men and women looking toward desired results." "Planning toward some aim" is the chief trait here. Kilpatrick limits it to "wholeheartedly purposeful activity." He appears to be thinking about the learner's "attitude." It may be that all these writers have in mind something similar, but to the untrained these statements possess the possibility of confusion. In a course of educational tests for the grades at East Carolina Teachers College there are fifty-eight students. These fifty-eight students are professionally divided as follows: Thirty-five teachers, four princi-pals, three of whom have been and are still teachers, and twenty-two who are planning to teach, but as yet have had no experience. Of the thirty-five experienced members of this class, nineteen have tried to make use of the project in their teaching. Only nine of this number have had any training for it. Of the twenty-two who have had no experience, fourteen stated that they intend to try to make use of the project when they take up the work of teaching. Of these fourteen twelve have, up to this time, had no training in its use. Each member of this class was asked to state the meaning of "project," or "big units" in teaching. Each one did so. Examination of these replies revealed several interesting things. The nineteen experienced teachers who had made use of the project, or some other form of the large unit, employed fifteen different ideas in their answers. Of these fifteen ideas, nine of them occurred only once each. "Creating interest" occurred most often. It appeared in seven papers. "Correlation of school subjects" was found in six, while "unifying school activities" was found only four times. The replies of the twenty-two students who had had no teaching experience were also examined. The terms they used varied very little in meaning from those used by the experienced members of the class. The quotations from writers made in an earlier paragraph of this paper and the replies from the members of the class given above rather indicatively suggest that there is still some lack of understanding among writers and teachers as to the meaning of this much-used term. It calls to mind the incident of the school boy who was out hunting with his insect net. His teacher asked him what he was hunting for and he replied, "Wooglies." The teacher being unfamiliar with this species of insect asked the boy what it looked like. The boy replied that he did not know; he had never seen one. And so it seems here. Those who are pleading for the use of some form of large unit in instruction, and even those who are now trying its use, appear very much at sea in giving definite statement to what they are after. What is the project? What is the large unit in teaching? It may be safe to suggest that the large unit in teaching is a plan of organizing the materials for instruction. This organization must be around a central idea; it must include all relevant materials and activities from the curriculum; and promote motivation through interest. Even this statement does not include any-thing about the child's participation. But one has to stop somewhere. A careful study of the writings on the matter, and the efforts of teachers in its use reveals one significant fact. It is the tendency to take the curriculum to the child instead of the old practice of taking the child 42 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education to the curriculum. In all the "pros" and "cons" of this large unit affair the child is beginning to emerge as the center of school activities. And that is as it should be. Learning is nothing more nor less than having experiences. And teaching is selecting and organizing the materials of instruction in the child's school life so that his most desirable development will be promoted through these selected experiences. How is one to acquire the ability to use this teaching device? In the absence of a more refined philosophy and aim of the project, and a more definite pronouncement of its characteristics and method of organi-zation, most any sort of an answer to this question is dangerous. It seems, however, that the simplest way to do this is to go to some teachers college and be trained for it. But it is not quite that simple. For some reason or other colleges do not give loud publicity to the fact that they offer such training. An examination of thirty-five 1929 catalogs and sum-mer school announcements from teachers' colleges, State universities, nor-mal schools, and various other colleges having departments of education showed that only nine of these institutions advertised training in the use of the project, or some other form of large unit teaching. Sometimes this training was offered in a general methods course and sometime for some special subject like "Teaching Reading," or "Teaching Language," etc. Whenever mention was made of it, it was usually along with a large number of other topics to be studied in the same course. For instance, one college mentioned it with twelve others, such as, "social objectives, factors of environment, special types of learning, the principle of interest," etc. These thirteen topics were to be done in one year's time at the rate of one reading hour and one recitation hour per week. It is noteworthy that a great deal of training in the use of large units is not offered and, wherever training is offered, it does not carry the earmarks of thoroughness. A similar situation is encountered when one examines the answers of the fifty-eight students referred to above. The largest amount of training indicated by anyone of them was "about two weeks." If the condition obtains generally that is revealed here, certainly there is little encouragement for one to seek training in the use of the project. Another way to acquire ability in the use of the project is to procure literature on it, study this literature, work out a plan, and go to it. According to the replies from the students in the test course mentioned above, this seems to be the most prevalent practice. It will be recalled that, of the nineteen experienced teachers who had used the project, less than half had had training for it. Of the fourteen inexperienced teachers who were expecting to use it only two had had training for it. To say that a teacher must sponsor his own training in this form of instruction is perhaps stating a near fact. For one to attempt self-instruction about the project and its uses, it will be necessary to invoke the aid of some guiding principles. Some sort of technique will also be necessary, but that must be left to the individual. Below are stated some suggestions which might serve as guiding principles. (1) Start with a purpose. (2) Use simple projects at first. (3) In the project activity make the thing to be done pertinent to the purpose of the project undertaken. (4) Avoid the use of materials or procedure that wastes the child's time. (5) Make it a practice to present the materials of Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 43 instruction in the simplest and most direct manner. In other words, if the thing can be taught without the use of the project, don't use it. (6) Avoid the use of exciting elements in situations, if learning is desired. (7) The maximum of the child's time spent on big units should probably not exceed fifty percent of his total school time. (8) Remember that the practice of allowing children to select what is to be done is laden with many dangers. It must be kept in mind that they are likely to err in the choice of what they need. On the other hand the other extreme is also undesirable. Train them to select. The proper balance between the selection of materials that will give the child training along the lines nature has started him, and the materials which provide the experiences the race has found most profitable is a problem which still requires some thought for solution. (9) Some failures are to be expected. Success rewards only effort. (10) Finally, don't abandon successful methods and technique for something doubtful. RECREATIONAL READING IN THE GRAMMAR GRADES (Grace Brunson, Teacher, Winston-Salem Public Schools, Weston-Salem, North Carolina) Since we, as school administrators and teachers, realize how truly recreational reading gives wings to the imagination, lifts the common-place things to planes of beauty, stimulates endeavor to do greater things, and creates ideals of higher living, we are convinced that recreational reading helps greatly in solving the problem of which Dr. Samuel Chester Parker spoke, when he said, "We are concerned with the problem of bringing as much of fun and frolic and quiet contemplative enjoyment into the lives of the people as we can without interfering with their service of society. A favorable attitude toward reading "just for pleasure" has been rapidly developing in our schools within the past few years, probably due in a large measure, to the emphasis placed on silent reading which has undoubtedly increased to a marked degree the reading rate and com-prehension of the children, and has made necessary the supplying of more varied reading materials to satisfy their desire to explore strange and unknown worlds through their reading activities. Well selected grade and school libraries with a wide range of reading to satisfy the varying abilities and tastes, hearty coopei'ation with city and county libraries, and books in the homes are means by which children may be taught "the habit of indulging in reading as one form of congenial recreation." The number of people who have learned to read and do not enjoy reading is many times too large. The real test of reading instruction is the extent to which reading interests and tastes carry over into life outside the schoolroom and on into adult life. Much extensive reading should be done by pupils of the grammar grades that their experiences may be extended and enriched. For this extensive reading, an abundance of material, not too difficult, covering many fields of interest, and full of action and spirit should be provided. A serious mistake is sometimes 44 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education made in trying to force adult literature and adult standards upon gram-mar grade children, and instead of establishing desirable permanent reading interests, a distaste for reading, in general, is formed. During the past school year, the Grammar Grade Teachers of the North Carolina Education Association conducted a research study on "Recreational Reading in the Grammar Grades of North Carolina." It was my privilege to serve on the central committee and to make the final report on this study at the State meeting in March. We feel that as a result of this research study, some rather valuable data on the status of recreational reading in the larger schools of the State were obtained. I have been requested to give a very brief summary of some phases of this research report this afternoon. Questionnaires, formulated by the central committee, were sent out through the office of the State Department to the principals of the larger schools of the State. Eighty-eight returns, some being the combined reports of entire counties, were received by the committee. The grammar grade pupils, included in these returns, totalled 10,297 from schools whose grammar grade enrollment ranged from 91 to 597. Ninety per cent of these pupils had access to school libraries ranging in size from 50 to 4,205 volumes of recreational reading, while seventy-three per cent of these pupils had access to a county or city library, but only twenty-six per cent of them had cards. Only five schools reported subscriptions to a daily newspaper. Eighty-one per cent of these pupils had a regular time during the school day for recreational reading, averaging one period a week of twenty-three minutes in length. Seventy-two per cent of them observed Good Book Week, eighty-six per cent had reading clubs. Thirty-three per cent of them had access to library vacation reading clubs, but only six per cent were members. Only fourteen per cent of the children reported home libraries with as many as fifteen volumes of recreational reading for children, and only five per cent of the pupils had access to their school libraries during vacation. From this part of the report, we see that two of the decided weak-nesses seem to be in the homes which are so deficient in providing good recreational reading, and in the provisions made for vacation reading by the schools, and the limited participation in public library vacation read-ing clubs. Some of the public libraries are doing a remarkable work in the vacation reading clubs. Being familiar with the library in Winston- Salem, I know that for four summers they have conducted reading clubs, each member of which was required to read and report on at least twelve books from a graded list to receive an award at the end of the summer. During the winter they have two "story hours" each week; one for the white children and one for the colored children. Other parts of the report on the research study contained methods of caring for individual differences among children, a list of the twenty-five most popular books found • in the school libraries, a list of the new books suitable for grammar grade children, and a suggested list of children's magazines. In conclusion, may I summarize the following methods of encouraging recreational reading in the grammar grades: Well-selected school and Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education 45 grade libraries with a wide range of reading, hearty cooperation with public libraries, good home libraries, "story hours" in the schools given by the librarians, book exhibits of attractive editions, book programs — some communities need to be aroused to the realization that books offer a means of recreation—and pageants and plays which have a special charm for most people. Any combination of these methods or others are worth-while if they result in creating a real desire to read, for good reading "feeds the spirit and provides for a wholesome leisure." STANDARD ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN NORTH CAROLINA (Susan Fulghum, State Inspector of Elementary Schools, State Department of Public Instruction, Raleigh, N. C.) Foreword: This paper will attempt to give data concerning three phases of education in the public elementary schools of North Carolina, namely: (1) The increase in number of schools, 1925-1929; (2) the use of the library in connection with large unit studies; and (3) the outstanding needs of the elementary schools in North Carolina. 1. Growth: There are today 326 standard elementary schools in the State with an enrollment of more than 157,000 children or approximately one-third of the total elementary school enrollment for 1928-1929. Five years ago when the standards for elementary schools were first set up, there were 270 rural schools which had the proper length of term and number of teachers—but only 26 of these schools met all requirements and could be classified as standard schools. There has been great progress each year and today of the 445 rural schools with an eight months term and seven teachers, 208 are standard schools. In the cities of the State rapid progress has been made each year and today there are 118 standard elementary schools as compared with 30 such schools five years ago. And the growth of the libraries in standard elementary schools is most encouraging. Five years ago, except in some of the cities, very few elementary schools had even small libraries. At that time, in the larger rural schools there was a total of less than 8,000 books. But the situation today presents a vastly different picture. Perhaps, in no phase of our educational progress has greater interest been shown. There has been wonderful growth each year, and today, in the standard elementary schools of the State alone, there are more than 279,000 volumes with more than 113,000 of these in the rural schools. These carefully selected interesting books have been widely read, for the records from the schools show more than 70,000 rural children reading library books, and 600,000 volumes loaned during the present year. In the city schools which are now standard, there are more than 165,000 volumes. The circulation record for both rural and city standard ele-mentary schools show more than 1,200,000 books read by the children this year. The long list of standard schools by counties and cities, shows how untiringly the people of the State have worked, especially the Parent- Teacher Associations, to place a standard elementary school within the reach of every child. All of the larger rural schools and the city schools 46 Fifth N. C. Conference on Elementary Education which have not yet met all requirements for standard schools, are working earnestly toward this end and a large number will become standard next year. 2. Use of the Library in Connection With Large Unit Studies: It h |
OCLC Number-Original | (OCoLC)23276929 |