JUNIOR HOME PROBLEMS

Preface

HIS book is an outgrowth of five years of investigation and study of the needs of junior high school girls. For three years the basic materials have been used wholly or in part in two city school systems and for two years the book has been taught in mimeographed form. Various units have also been tried out in other schools in different parts of the country. It has been recast and rewritten a number of times in the light of the suggestions and criticisms of pupils and teachers who have worked with it, and the reports of parents who have seen the results from their point of view. In its present form, therefore, it is an actual product of the classroom.

This book has been planned for general use as a textbook in junior high school home economics. Its chief aim is to help girls create a more abundant life in their individual homes as they exist at the present time. The specific aims are to give girls a consciousness of their responsibility in family and community life, to guide them to see and enjoy the pleasure of participation in their own family life, and to lead them to practice more healthful habits of living.

The material for this book was selected after a careful study of the findings of all of the available research studies in home-economics education. The outcomes to be expected are stated in terms of growth in attitudes, habits, knowledge, and skills. In general these are:

lll iv PREFACE

1. To develop a desire for and apere eon of happy home life.

2. To develop a desire for and joes of happy community life.

3. To develop better habits of healthful living.

4. To develop skill on the junior high school level in the performance of the fundamental household tasks.

5. To develop the ability to do most of the work in the home from the standpoint of the home helper and not the home-maker.

The book contains sufficient material for five 60-minute periods per week for one-half year, or two or three 60- minute periods for one year. It is organized on a unit basis, each unit being complete in itself. The order in which these units should be studied may be varied, except that Unit I should be taken up first and Unit VIII should be studied last. This reeommendation is made because the knowledge of habit-formation, which is developed in Unit I, should be utilized throughout the entire course. The material presented in Unit VIII presupposes a knowledge of the work of all of the preceding units.

At various points in the book, care has been taken to give proper acknowledgment to the sources from which materials have been obtained. The number of persons who have given helpful advice and counsel is very large. To all of these the authors express their deep appreciation. Particular mention should be made, however, of certain individuals who have made contributions of a singular or special type. For very helpful suggestions as to selection and organization of content, the authors are deeply

PREFACE V indebted to Miss Frances Zuill, Head of the Home Economics Department, University of Iowa; to Miss Emeline Whitcomb, Specialist in Home Economics, United States Bureau of Education; and to Miss Anna Williams, Head of the Home Economics Department, University of Colorado. Grateful acknowledgment is extended to Miss Frances Pickarski, Visiting Teacher in the public schools of Berkeley, California, for her assistance in adapting the materials to meet the actual conditions which exist in present home life. To Miss Maud E. Hayes, Director of Home Economics, Long Beach, and to Mrs. Ila Mae Hobson, Teacher of Home Economics, Grant Junior High School, Denver, the authors are under deep obligation for important suggestions as to classroom procedure and methods. Much valuable help and advice was contributed by Dr. A. L. Beaghler, Pediatrician and Director of Health Education, Denver Public Schools, in relation to the units on the care of younger children and the management of illness in the home. Finally, the authors wish to express their indebtedness to Miss Maud E. Wilson, Research Assistant to the Director of Curriculum, Long Beach, for placing at their disposal the results of an exhaustive investigation of research studies bearing upon home life, and for valuable assistance in matters of style by proofreading the entire manuscript. Whatever merits this book may have, therefore, are due in a large measure to the unusual interest and codperation which the authors have received from so many sources. THE AUTHORS

CONTENTS UNIT I

WHAT ARE THE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF GIRLS IN MAKING THEIR HOME AND WAMILYe DIP SUCCESSFUL (ls... a3 so

Can you answer these questions? What is a family?— How does a human family differ from an animal family? — What is the difference between a house and a home? — What are your personal responsibilities in your home? — What is a personal habit?— What physical health habits should a junior high school girl have?— What mental health habits should a junior high school girl have?— What social health habits should a junior high school girl have?— How do personal health habits affect family life?— How are habits formed?— How can bad habits be changed to good ones?— How will you spend your day?— What every pupil should be able to do.—Questions and problems.—Laboratory experiments.— Selected references.

UNIT II

WHAT DOES IT COST TO FINANCE THE HOMBE?. .

Can you answer these questions? What is the income of a junior high school girl?—What are the advantages of making a budget?— What are the steps in making a budget for yourself?— How should a schoolgirl spend her income? — How are incomes of schoolgirls actually spent?— What is the family income?— What is the family budget?— What is the relation of the schoolgirl to the family income and budget’?— What every pupil should be able to do.— Questions and problems,— Laboratory experiments.— Selected references.

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PAGE viii CONTENTS UNIT I

How CAN YOU HELP MOTHER IN HOUSEKEEP- ING IN YOUR HOME? .

Can you answer these questions? What are your responsibilities in keeping your home clean?— What are the advantages of keeping your home well cared for and in order? — What must you know in order to care for your own room?— How can you keep your room in order?— What care should be given tools used in cleaning?— How will you clean your room weekly?— How can you help to keep the bathroom clean and in order?— What is your share in keeping the other rooms of the house clean and in order?— What conveniences can you have in your home to save time and labor?— How can you make your own room more attractive? — Is the furniture in your room arranged to the best advantage?— How will you select the wall finish for your room? — How will you select the curtains for your room?— How will you select the rug for your room?— How will you choose the bedding for your room?— What is your responsibility in helping to make the other rooms of the house attractive? — What is the installment plan of buying?— What every pupil should be able to do.— Questions and problems.— Laboratory experiments.— Selected references.

UNIT IV

WHAT MUST YOU KNOW IN ORDER TO HELP WITH THE CARE OF YOUNGER CHILDREN IN YOUR HOME?

Can you answer these questions? What has every child a right to expect from his environment?— How can you help children to be healthy and happy?— How can you appreciate mother’s problem in teaching the children regular habits?— How can you help mother bathe the baby?— What food is necessary for a baby?— What are some of the habits which baby should form?— What steps can be taken to pre-

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CONTENTS vent children from having infectious diseases?—What clothing is necessary for baby?— What books, stories, and games are good for children?— What are your problems if you take care of children for pay?— What every pupil should be able to do. —Questions and problems.— Laboratory experiments.— Selected references.

UNIT V

WHAT MUST YOU KNOW IN ORDER TO BE HELPFUL WHEN THERE IS ILLNESS IN YOUR HOME?

Can you answer these questions? What aresome of the causes and means of preventing illness?— How can a junior high school girl help to care for one who is ill in the home?— What precautions should be taken in caring for one who is ill?— How can you choose and prepare food for one who is ill?— How can you serve food to one who is ill?— Why should a schoolgirl not be expected to nurse a person who is very ill?— Do you know what you should have in the home medicine cabinet?— How should you select the family physician? — What every pupil should be able to do.— Questions and problems.— Laboratory experiments.— Selected references.

UNIT VI

How CAN YOU HELP TO MAKE YOUR HOME FRIENDLY, HOSPITABLE, AND ENTERTAIN- ING FOR YOUR FAMILY AND GUESTS?

Can you answer these questions? | What is true hospitality? — What is a gracious hostess?— What qualities make for friendship?— How shall the family spend its leisure time? — How can you help mother entertain guests?— How can you entertain for father?— How can you plan a party to entertain your friends?— What every pupil should be able to do.— Questions and problems.— Laboratory experiments, — Selected references,

PAGE x CONTENTS UNIT VII

WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP AND THE RE- LATIONSHIP OF YOUR HOME TO THE COM- MUNITY?

Can you answer these questions? What is a community?— — What are your personal responsibilities to the community? — What is your responsibility in obeying the laws of the community?— What is your responsibility to the school and the church in your community?— What are the responsibilities of your family to the community?— What every pupil should be able to do.— Questions and problems.— Laboratory experiments.— Selected references,

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JUNIOR HOME PROBLEMS UNIT I

WHY SHOULD GIRLS UNDERSTAND AND APPRECIATE THE PROBLEMS OF HOME AND FAMILY LIFE?

Can you answer these questions?

1. What is a family?

2. What is the difference between a house and a home?

3. What are your personal responsibilities in your home?

4. What is a personal habit?

5. What are the characteristics of a person with good health habits?

6. How do personal habits affect family life?

7. How are habits formed?

8. How can bad habits be changed to good ones?

9: How should you spend your twenty-four hours?

What is a family? Poets and painters have never exhausted the themes of home and family life. The most hardened criminal responds to a touching story or picture of the home and the family. The ideal home with its family circle is the center of love and happiness, which lives in memory throughout the

il years. The companionships formed here are the - most enduring relations of life. They persist through troubles, disagreements, and quarrels. Love of home and family is too deep to be destroyed by discord and tribulation. The words home and family hold the most intimate and tender associations of life. What is a family that it should make such a lasting impression upon the individual? Is this type of family life limited only to human beings? Do animals have a family life? Some points of contrast between life among animals and human beings may help you to understand better the nature of a family.

It is said that a codfish will deposit 8,000,000 eggs per season and that, on the average, only sixteen of the fish hatched from these eggs will ever reach maturity. A conger eel lays 15,000,000 eggs in one year and a fish like the turbot produces an equal number each year for a period of ten or more years. A lobster lays 10,000 eggs at a time. A green sea turtle has been known to deposit 900 eggs in a season. On the other hand, a pigeon produces about fifteen young annually, while a robin rears five or six young birds. A cow gives birth to only one calf and a horse to only one colt during twelve months. An elephant begins to produce young when she is thirty years old and stops when she is ninety years old. During this period she gives birth to six young, or an average of one each ten years.

Beside the number of young produced, another great difference between the lower and higher forms of animal life is the provision which they make for their young. A salmon will deposit her eggs in a lake or stream and then die before the young salmon are even hatched. A sea turtle crawls out of the water, digs a hole in the sand, lays her eggs, and then goes back into the water to forget even where the eggs were placed. Insects deposit their eggs where there will be food for the young when they are hatched, but this is the only parental care which is given. As a result of this lack of attention only a few of the young of such species live to reach maturity. Many of the eggs of the cod are eaten by other fish before they are hatched, while thousands of the young are devoured long before they reach the age when they can take care of themselves.

Bees have a well-organized system of parental care of the young. The queen bee lays each egg in a little cell or compartment of the hive. In three days the egg hatches and the little, soft white grub or larva is cared for by workers, who are really nurses. For the first two or three days they feed the young bees with a highly nutritious food called bee-jelly, then they give them pollen and honey. Birds lay their eggs in nests built for the purpose. Almost all of them hatch. During the period when the young birds are helpless, the father and mother feed them and protect them from animals which would be likely to injure or kill them. All of you are familiar with this devotion. Many people have seen father or mother birds actually risk their lives for the protection of the young ones. As a result of this parental care, the death rate among the young is very low. A robin family that has five eggs will rear to maturity three birds. How does this compare with the fish family? Can you account for this great difference? Do fish have a family life? Do bees? Why? In what ways are they different? Have these animals always had the same type of home since the beginning of time? Do they ever change or improve their homes? What would you consider to be the real purpose of a family in the animal world? The family life of animals is concerned only with food, shelter, and the protection of the young during the period when they are helpless.

The picture of the ptarmigan standing at the door of her home was taken from the trail to Longs Peak, Colorado, at an altitude of approximately 12,000 feet above sea level. It shows the care which some birds take to locate their nests in such places as to give the best possible shelter and protection to the young. The ptarmigan’s nest is in under the big rock, shel- _ tered from the rain, winds, and wild beasts. Her own color blends in so well with that of the landscape that you may have difficulty in finding her. In the winter when the snow is on the ground the feathers of the ptarmigan are all white.

Why do some birds build their nests in the branches of tall trees? Why do swallows make theirs under the

A PTARMIGAN STANDING AT THE DOOR OF HER HOME eaves of buildings? What happens to young birds after they are grown? Do father and mother robins or ptarmigans stay at the nest as soon as the young ones have learned to care for themselves?

How does a human family differ from an animal family? A baby is by far the most helpless and dependent of all living creatures. He must depend upon his parents to care for his every need. It is years before he can provide himself with clothing, shelter, food, protection, and the other wants of life. During these years his parents contribute care and protection. How does the length of time over which the child needs this care and protection differ from that of the young bird or the young bee? How many months does it take for a young robin to grow to the point where he can care for himself? How old are young people before they can be responsible for themselves? In some states this period of infancy is determined by law. See how old a person has to be in your state before he becomes of age.

While the young animal needs care and protection the young child needs something more. He needs education. The period of infancy with birds is short because all that the young need to develop is physical strength and maturity. As soon as this is reached the young bird knows how to care for himself. He does not have to be taught how. The young chick feeds himself within a very few hours after he is born. While at first he will peck at bright stones as well as grain, he learns not to do this within a few days. On the other hand, it takes a child years to learn to distinguish between healthful and unhealthful foods. The animal has inherited ways of acting which meet nearly all of his needs in life. The child inherits no such ways of meeting his needs. The environment of the animal is simple. It changes very little. The environment of the child is more complex and variable. For this reason he must learn how to adapt his conduct to the new problems which arise from day to day. Learning how to meet these changing conditions is education. All of this takes a long period of time. The responsibility for much of this education during youth rests upon the home.

Look at the picture of the home given on next page. Do you think it will be a comfortable place in which to live? Why? Do the members of the family appear to be happy? Do you think that this father and mother will give love, protection, and education to their children? Why? Make a list of some of the things that you learn in the home which do not have to be learned by animals. Suggest some things which animals know how to do well a short time after birth. How long would it take you to learn to do these?

The home of the animal is broken up as soon as the young are reared. This is not true with the human family. The father and mother continue to live together in the home for many years after all of the children have grown up and established homes of their own. Even under these conditions parental care seldom ceases. Most fathers and mothers are interested in the success of their children and are

WILL CHILDREN RECEIVE THE RIGHT KIND OF EDUCATION IN THIS HOME?

ready to lend a guiding hand whenever needed, regardless of the age of the children. They are glad to have grown-up children and grandchildren come home for Thanksgiving, the Christmas. holidays, or the summer vacation. Sometimes there are reunions, when all of the children of the same family come together to enjoy the fellowship which existed when they lived together. It is said that most animals never recognize their young after they are grown. This is sometimes true with human beings. Some fathers and mothers are divorced before the children are grown and able to care for themselves. What happens to the children under such conditions? How are they given the needed care, protection, and education? In some cases family life is broken up by the death of the father or mother or both, so that the children become orphans. How are these children cared for? There are some parents who never recognize or feel any affection for the children after they have grown up and left home. They place the children on their own responsibility to earn a living for themselves just as soon as the law permits. The children have no one to whom they can go for helpful sympathy and advice in times of trouble. Such parents, however, are the exception rather than the rule, as most fathers and mothers take a kindly, sympathetic, and helpful attitude toward their children as long as they are able to do so. What experiences may children be deprived of who have had their home life broken up?

Have the homes of people always been the same? Compare the home of one hundred fifty years ago with f

HOME OF 150 YEARS AGO that of today. How is the home of today better? What kind of home did primitive man have? Why has man changed and developed his home when animals have not? Look at the picture of the home of the beaver.

How many changes do you suppose he has made in the last five hundred years in the type of home which he builds?

The picture on the opposite page illustrates a common type of pioneer home. Have the homes of

XS J NW Ne /

Courtesy Francis Studio, Estes Park, Colo. BEAVER ON HIS HOUSE the human family always been of this kind? What has brought about the change? Why will there be more changes?

What is the difference between a house and a home? Some people live together within the four walls of a house, but they never have a real home life. The father and mother provide the food, shelter, and clothing for the children, but there is something lacking. This something is the thing which makes grown-up children look back upon their home as the most blessed place on earth.

A junior high school girl expressed what she considered to be the difference between a house and a home in the following:

How My Hovust Brecomss 4 Home

When I start a home the rest of the family must be willing to help. There is a certain atmosphere about a home that a house does not have. To make an attractive home, things must be clean and neat. It is also necessary to have the house look cozy and comfortable.

The family should be cheerful and unselfish to one another. Each person should be willing to help everyone else. There should be some duty for each member of the family.

Do you agree with everything that this girl has stated? Why? Does she give some characteristics of the home that you would omit? What are some of the other important considerations which distinguish a house from a home that she has left out? Is a person ever truly happy who lives only in a house? What happens when “a house changes to a home? What takes place when a home changes to a house?

If you quarrel with your sister and do not speak to her for two days, what effect does this have upon the _ family life? If you fail to eat the right food and are ill for a week, what particular difference does it make to others in your home? If you leave the bathroom in disorder each morning, of what consequence is it to the other members of the family? If you are habitually late to breakfast, how does it affect the home life?

The home is the center of the finest things in life. Its members must be willing to share in all of its activities for the greatest good to all; they must be willing to make personal sacrifices for the comfort and happiness of others and be willing to assume duties of helpfulness. Worthy home membership is worth striving for.

The description of a home given below was written by a schoolgirl who has never known any home life. Her idea of home has been obtained from pictures, poetry, books, and stories. Do you think that she has the right attitude toward home life? How does her idea of:a home differ from the modern home as it actually exists? How would you describe an ideal modern home as you see it?

My Lonc-Wantrep Home Not long ago I happened to hear someone say, “Home is merely a place to park the Ford, get a handout, and rest till the next trip.”

But that is not an ideal home. My idea of a home is a place where you have someone waiting that you love. What is home without a mother and father? It is like living in a hotel. But if I could go to a little cottage home tonight, and open the door to find a dear little mother sitting before the open fire with her knitting or with closed eyes—waiting for her dear ones, I would tiptoe in and kiss her withered but beautiful, careworn face. Withered, yes, but with labor and hard struggles, after having put her children where the world could not find fault. And how I would work to repay such a mother! I should take my place on the footstool and tell her what happened today at school. And then mother would tell me about her school days, which would always be interesting to me.

Then I would want evening to draw near. The door would open and in would come father, tired but happy. I would want father to kiss mother and the children and joke alittle to make mother laugh. He would tell her she is as beautiful as she was fifteen or twenty years ago. She would know he is trying to make her happy, but she would smile and tell him he is an old dear.

Mother would tell us children to set the table, with the dear old blue tablecloth and Delft dishes. Then we would sit down. Oh, what a dinner! Father would carve that wonderful golden brown roast with the delicious smell.

And what a happy family where home is not merely a house; where there is love and happiness each day; where -you go to bed and waken in the morning with the assurance of a pleasant day. These hours are too short to prove to dear parents how much we love and will miss them when our Father has called them to dwell among his angels.

This is my dream of a perfect home. But I have never had one. Ah, how much I would give to have a home like this!

The same distinction between a house and a home which is brought out by this schoolgirl is stated in poetic form by Henry van Dyke in ‘‘ A Home Song,’”’* as follows:

I read within a poet’s book A word that starred the page: “Stone walls do not a prison make, Nor iron bars a cage!”

Yes, that is true, and something more: You'll find, where’er you roam,

That marble floors and gilded walls Can never make a home.

But every house where love abides, And Friendship is a guest,

Is surely home, and home-sweet-home; For there the heart can rest.

Select from these quotations the characteristics which distinguish a house from a home. Why are they worth striving for? Can they be produced in all types of homes? Can a house be made into a home

*The Poems of Henry van Dyke. Used by permission of Charles Scribner’s Sons, by just one member of the family? How can you help to make your house a home?

What are your personal responsibilities in your home? Since the father and mother give love, care, protection, and education to the children over such a long period of years, it seems reasonable to suppose that each child ought to have some responsibilities in the home to the parents and other members of the family. Many times not only young children but even grown-up children accept the responsibility of others toward them, but never think of their own responsibilities in return. If a number of people are to live together happily in a family group, each must recognize that the other individuals and the group as a whole owe something to him. He must recognize also that he owes something to the other individuals and to the group. The actions cf each person affect everyone else. Each member of the home ought to see that his actions bring no inconvenience or discomfort to the other members. He must stand ready to make such changes in his personal habits as will make his relationship to the group as a whole most profitable and enjoyable. When the question of personal responsibility in the home was raised in a group of junior high school girls, one of them compiled the following list of what she considered to be her responsibilities to her family group. .Can you add others? Do you think that this girl was trying to make herself worth while? Do you think that the practice of the things here set down will help her to _ make her house a home? ‘‘My Responsibility to My Family,”’ which follows the list, was also written by a junior high school girl.

A Giru’s REsPonsIBILITIEs TO Her FamMity

1. To be on time to all meals if possible. 2. To notify her mother if she will be detained longer than she expected to be. 3. To help any member of the family. 4. To care for her own room. 5. To obey her mother and father. 6. To be responsible for taking care of younger children. 7. To be able to start a meal if her mother is not at home. 8. To be cautious, so that her mother can trust her to take care of herself. 9. To keep her mother from worrying as much as possible. 10. To be cheerful in order to keep up the spirits of the whole family. 11. To be trustworthy. 12. To uphold the family honor.