Fundamentals in elementary education

Preface

The subject matter of this book is a direct outgrowth of the experiences of the Department of Education in the State Normal School at Warrensburg, Missouri, in giving courses in Education to beginners in that subject. During the ten years of the experiment, the major portion of the material has been tried out in more than one hundred fifty classes, taught by well-trained teachers. The book is designed primarily for students in Teacher-training Classes in Education in high schools, and in Elementary Courses in normal schools; and it is well adapted to Teachers' Reading Circles. It might well be used as an Introductory Course in Education in colleges or in College Courses in normal schools.

The author has tried to keep in the foreground the function of the elementary school as the greatest single agency in a democracy for the education of its children, and, while no effort has been made to exhaust the topics concerning elementary schools, an attempt has been made to discuss the fundamental ones with considerable detail and thoroughness. Practically all of the " Problems" presented at the end of each chapter may be answered from the subject matter contained in the text, and the experiences of the teacher and students. The selected readings are intended chiefly for supplementary purposes, and for those students who have access to a good library.

It is needless to state that the writer claims no large degree of originality for the volume, because he has drawn freely upon pedagogical literature as it relates to the elementary school.

The author is under obligations to Messrs. C. B. Hudson

PREFACE

and C. A. McPheeters and Misses Walker and Humphreys, of the Department of Education in the State Normal School at Warrensburg, Missouri, who have criticised, constructively, the manuscript and helped to formulate problems for study. He is especially indebted to Miss Humphreys for a detailed criticism of the technique of the chapters. Mr. C. F. Martin of the Department of English has offered a number of valuable criticisms on certain chapters. President E. L. Hendricks has read all the manuscript and proof, offering helpful suggestions and criticism. There are many other obligations — not of a personal nature — which have been acknowledged either by foot notes or in the body of the text.

C. A. P.

Warrensburg, Missouri.

February, 1916.

Contents

CHAPTER

I. The State and Education: State Control of Education — The Functions of the State — Types of State Control — Aims of Education in a Democracy Pages 1-5

II. Systems of School Administration: District Systems — The Township System — The County System — The State Unit Pages 6-11

Chapter I. The State And Education

State Control of Education. — One of the characteristic developments of modern civilization is the increased control of the state over institutional activities, the single exception being that of the church. There has been a steady increase in the control of the state over educational institutions for more than three centuries, but the increase has been most marked in the last half century. State dominance has been fostered by the growing spirit of democracy ; for the people have sought, through the state, to secure equal rights, privileges, and opportunities by means of the development of the system of public education.

The public schools have become the means by which modern states develop their nationalization. It was in this spirit that the Pestalozzian pedagogy was adopted in order to rehabilitate Germany after the Napoleonic wars. Fichte, the great German philosopher, prophesied that Germany would become supreme through the adoption of the principles of Pestalozzi, and history records the fulfillment of the prophecy, for Germany completely crushed France in the Franco-Prussian war. All modern nations now appreciate that a good system of education is a national asset which has its ramifications in all the economic, political, religious, and social life of a people.

In America there has been but little national control; though it was pointed out by the founders of the Republic that education was of supreme importance for the perpetuity and well-being of the state. Washington was interested in the problems of education and was concerned with the founding of a national university. Hamilton laid the basis for the New York school system, and both Madison and Jefferson interested themselves in education for Virginia. Jefferson laid out in detail a plan for a state system of education including elementary schools and district high schools which would prepare pupils for the University of Virginia.

One hindrance to educational progress in America is our fundamental notion that centralization is dangerous even in the separate states. Local autonomy has been considered essential for the welfare of democracy and, unfortunately, we have applied the principle of local autonomy to the school as an institution, when, as a matter of fact, it would have been better to restrict its application to civic and political affairs. The " Bogie man" of centralization is still feared in nearly every state of the Union, though to a lesser degree as affecting elementary schools than in the control of high schools and special technical schools.

The Functions of the State. — The functions of the state in relation to education may be summed up as follows: 1. The state should support education in order to secure the safety and welfare of the group, to perpetuate the institutions which society

THE STATE AND EDUCATION 3

has evolved, and to provide for the change and improvement necessary in a growing democracy. 2. The state must demand that education be carried on so as to secure the largest measure of individual development, so that the potential powers and possibilities of all the people may be discovered and utilized. 3. The state must train its people to meet the intense vocational and industrial competition incident to modern civilization. 4. The state must take an intelligent interest in education in order to prevent unsocial and anti-social forms of instruction.

Types of State Control. — Broadly speaking there are three possible types of state educational control: 1. The state may, without giving any support whatever, pass educational laws or in other ways direct educational matters. 2. The state may regulate and at the same time give partial or complete support to the system of education. This is the stage in which we now find most states of the American Union. 3. The state may impose, absolutely, certain educational requirements and restrictions; as, for example, laws in which attendance, length of term, and curriculum are completely prescribed. In addition to the above the principle is now well recognized that the state may provide special schools ; such as elementary schools for delinquents or defectives, high schools where the community has not provided them, and many vocational and industrial schools.

Aims of Education in a Democracy. — Education in a democracy should be recognized as a social force, because its aim is primarily to secure social welfare and betterment ; and this aim should not be construed to imply any marked restraint of individual development, except in so far as this would prove detrimental to social progress. A recent writer 1 has said, " Public education aims to preserve, improve, and transmit the specific resources of society — to develop in every individual general and social efficiency. General Social Efficiency means social intelligence and the power to deal effectively with social problems. Special Social Efficiency means vocational efficiency; efficiency in a particular calling."

It should be the aim of education to train citizens to understand and appreciate the common good, to make them capable of self direction and self restraint, and to cause them to know how to work and play without being unfair to themselves or their fellows.

PROBLEMS FOR STUDY.

1. Tell something about the work of Pestalozzi. For what ideals did he stand?

2. Why have we no national system of education?

3. What should be the character of a national university?

4. Show how the state controls in matters of public utilities, e.g., railroads, banks, insurance, etc. Should this control be exercised in matters of education? Why?

5. What are the advantages and disadvantages of having the state inspect all classes of schools?

6. State the various forms of education provided in your own state.

7. State the social-efficiency aim of education as advocated by Bagley in his Educative Process.

8. What is meant by the development of moral character as the aim of education?

9. Discuss " citizenship " as an aim in education.

1 Hanus: School Efficiency — A Constructive Studij.

THE STATE AND EDUCATION 5

READINGS.

Bagley: The Educative Process, Chap. III.

Cubberley: State and County Educational Reorganization.

Dutton and Snedden: The Administration of Public Education in the United States, Chap. I. to IV.

Hanus: School Efficiency — A Constructive Study, Chap. I. and II.

Hanus: Educational Aims and Educational Values, Chap. I. and II.

Hollister: The Administration of Education in a Democracy, Chap. I. to VI.

King: Education for Social Efficiency.

McMurray: The Elements of General Methods, Chap. I.

Spencer: Education, Chap. I. and II.

Chapter II. Systems Of School Administration

A brief discussion of the various types and forms of school organization from an administrative point of view will assist the student of present-day schools to come to some understanding of the administrative problem. These forms or types are: 1. District systems. 2. Town or Township systems. 3. County systems. 4. State systems.

1. District Systems. — In nearly all the colonies and states, some form of the district system was used. In New England there are one or two exceptions, as Massachusetts and Connecticut. As early as 1642 the general court of elections in Massachusetts made provision for a school in each town, but, in general, the "common" school was a community enterprise which was undertaken on the initiative of the wide-awake and progressive citizens. Later, when legal sanction was granted by legislative enactment or by the county court, the district was made only large enough to include certain families or cliques; no thought was given to area or property valuation. The state gave little or no attention to these organizations. Commonly, permission was granted to tax and to construct buildings, and later these school districts became corporate bodies. Under such conditions, the school was as "good" or as "bad" as the community wanted it to be. At present twenty-one out of forty-eight states are laboring under the district system.

SYSTEMS OF ADMINISTRATION 7

Advantages. — The chief argument for the small district unit is that it keeps the school close to the people and is, therefore, more democratic. It tends to foster local pride in the school.

Disadvantages. — Its disadvantages are numerous. 1. Inequalities of district valuation of property make inequality of educational opportunities. 2. It is an unfair taxation scheme because two neighbors may pay different rates with no guarantee that the one paying the higher rate will have the better school. 3. It involves a cumbersone administrative plan. Often a full board of directors supervises a one-room school and a single teacher. Under this system, in some states there are as many as thirty thousand school directors. In short, district organization is out of date, unfair, and uneconomical; it should be merged into some larger unit as rapidly as possible.

2. The Township System. — The town or township was the first basis for school organization in some of the New England colonies. The best type of township organization is possibly to be found in Indiana, where there is but one township trustee, who is elected by the people, and whose business it is to supervise the management of all the schools in the township. It is his duty to see that elementary schools are properly conducted in each local district into which the township has been subdivided and that there is at least one high school for each township. The township trustee is not responsible for the management of the schools in the incorporated towns and villages. Thirteen states have some form of the township, town, or magisterial unit. The magisterial district, which is used in Virginia, for instance, includes only part of the county. There is a district board which has control over all the schools in the district and there may be from ten to fifty schools under this board's control. A town of five hundred or more inhabitants may be a separate school district.

Advantages. — The township system tends to equalize the burdens of taxation and to offer equal opportunity to the children of the territory. It lessens the possibilities of local favoritism. It tends to promote permanent tenure of teachers. It provides a more economic and efficient scheme of administration.

Disadvantages. — The township system has some drawbacks. The area is not large enough to insure equal school privileges to the children throughout the state, because of the unequal distribution of wealth as among various communities. Township lines do not necessarily run in such a way as to make them suitable division lines for school units. On the whole, however, the states having good township organizations are fairly well satisfied with them.

3. The County System. — The county system of administration is now used in some form in most of the states of the Union, but its organization is complete in only thirteen states. The best examples of the county type of administration are found in Maryland, Utah, and Georgia. In some states there is merely a county superintendent or a county board of education with very few powers. The county unit of educational organization, however, is being discussed and worked out in nearly all of the states of the American Union. At present it seems that this is the form of administration which will obtain in many states in the near future, though progress may be slow in some of the states.

Advantages. — The advantages of the county unit

SYSTEMS OF ADMINISTRATION 9

are numerous and weighty. For the children, it means better teachers, better buildings, better equipment, better curricula; and it guarantees equal opportunities for all the pupils of the community. For the teachers, it means better supervision, better buildings and equipment, more adequate salaries, equal lengths of school terms, and more assured permanence of tenure. For the taxpayers, it means the equalization of the educational burden of supporting the school; it means economical administration and the elimination of small, inefficient schools; and it means that, at a reasonable cost, high schools can be established within the reach of all the people. Under the county system the county superintendent will find his position of greater importance and influence ; it should remove his office from partisan politics and give him a permanence of tenure which will enable him to plan and carry out a policy. It will give him some power over the placing of teachers and the construction of school buildings; in short, when completely installed, the county system will dignify his office.

Disadvantages. — Almost the only argument which can be urged against the county system is that it is less democratic than the district or township system. It is sometimes urged that the county system is a type of centralized government and should not be adopted as a form of administration for our schools. However, it would seem proper to do so inasmuch as the county is the unit for administration in all civil matters. It is urged that a county system will diminish local interest and local responsibility. This argument is contrary to common knowledge, for, even where a district is " supervised" by three directors, they give it small attention, and the muchvaunted annual school meeting is usually attended by only a few of the men of the district. It is doubtful, however, if the county system of organization should take away completely the district responsibility in the states now having district organization. One director should be retained to look after the problems of the district school. It should be possible, also, for a local district to vote money for special purposes, to improve the local school, or to add sums to the county levy for special reasons. These two provisions would foster local pride in the district school. When a central school "is provided for the entire township there is no longer any need of such local participation in school administration. 4. The State Unit. — In all the states of the American Union there is what we call a state system of education over and above all of the other units which we have considered. In many states the organization hardly deserves to be called a " system" ; in many of them it exists only on paper. The system is administered by some officer, known as the " superintendent of public instruction" in about twenty states. In a few states — among them New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey — he is called " Commissioner of Education." In many states there is a state board of education; although as a rule this board usually does not have any mandatory powers over the state schools, its work being largely directory and advisory.

PROBLEMS FOR STUDY.

1. Discuss the merits and demerits of the district system of school organization; the township system; the county system; the state system.

SYSTEMS OF ADMINISTRATION 11

2. Describe in detail the organization of schools in your own state.

3. What leads to differences in the school levies in districts where the district system prevails? Is this fair? Why?

4. Do you know of extremes in the district valuations where you have the district system of school organization? How does this affect the efficiency of the school?

5. What work is there in a local district to occupy the time of three school directors?

6. How many school directors are there in your state? What marked differences are there between the control of city schools and country schools?

7. What advantages for teachers are to be found where the county system prevails? What advantages to the community as a whole?

8. Have you a state board of education? How is it organized? What are its powers?

9. In many of the countries of Europe the length of the school year is more than two hundred days. What is the average length of term in the United States? In your state?

10. Should we extend the length of the school term in the United States? Give reasons.

READINGS.

Cubberley : Rural Life and Education, Chap. VIII. and X. Dutton and Snedden: Tine Administration of Public Education in the United States, Chap. V., VI., and VII. N. E. A. Report of Committee of Twelve.

Chapter III. Consolidation

Factors Working Against Consolidation. — As indicated in the preceding chapter, the county unit for school administration is highly desirable, and the township system is better than any district system. However, for some time to come it will not be possible to secure the adoption of a county unit or even a township system in many of the states. In the meanwhile, it seems best to continue the movement for what are known as consolidated schools. That is, to substitute for a number of neighboring one-room schoolhouses a single large, well-equipped building, with an adequate teaching force. To and from such a central building the pupils living at a distance are often transported at the public expense.

The chief difficulty which stands in the way of consolidation is the one which we encounter when we urge the abolition of the district system in favor of the township or county unit. The little "red" or "white" schoolhouse is always more or less woven into the emotional life of many members of a community because they have attended the school; and there are yet living men and women who have gone through some hardships and difficulties in order to secure and maintain such local schools. One other objection is urged with great force: namely, that the school being democracy's greatest institution, should remain very close to the people.

Consolidation Not a New Device. — Consolidation is not a new educational device. As long ago as the time of Horace Mann, shrewd observers of education were aware of the difficulties involved in a system based on so small a unit as the district, and sought a remedy. As early as 1870 some efforts were made at consolidation in Massachusetts, and since that time nearly all the New England states have undertaken the task. At the present time consolidation in one form or another has been tried to a greater or less degree in practically every state in the American Union.

In nearly all the states the movement is what might be called a ' ' pioneer " one. We have more than 200,000 one-room country schools, and only a few hundred consolidated schools. The movement is being supported most earnestly by the United States Bureau of Education, the United States Department of Agriculture, the Southern Educational Board, the State Boards of Education, State Superintendents and County Superintendents; and, without exception, it is favored by every recognized authority on educational administration.

Arguments for Consolidation. — Where a county system or a township system cannot be obtained there are many reasons for the establishment of consolidation. In many of the states of the Union the rural population has materially decreased, and, along with this, a corresponding decrease has come in the enrollment of rural schools. Many schools which formerly enrolled from twenty-five to forty pupils now enroll from five to ten. In every state which has the district unit of administration there are several thousand schools in which the enrollment is less than fifteen children, and the actual attendance is less than ten.

1. This condition is economically bad, for the reason that in a small school with only ten pupils, if a good teacher is employed, the cost per capita will be far out of proportion to the average cost in the whole state. In several hundred of the rural schools in one state the cost is fifty dollars per pupil for instruction, whereas the average cost for the whole state is slightly less than twenty dollars per pupil. This average cost includes several large cities in which elementary education is administered in a most efficient way.

2. A school of only ten children does not offer the best possible opportunities as to instruction — considered from the standpoint of either the children or the teacher. A better division of time between recitation and study can be made. In the district school there is not enough opportunity for competition to insure the best effort. On the other hand, the consolidated school furnishes stimulation in all intellectual and social matters, and this is desirable for both children and adults. The danger of social or moral stagnation is always greater in a restricted group.

3. The larger interest in life which will result from a consolidated school widens the intellectual horizon of the community, thus tending to do away with petty jealousies and animosities.

4. The consolidated school, with its auditorium and library, may be made to minister to the aesthetic and moral growth of the adult population. This is a very important matter, because the isolation of rural life has been one factor of the many which have caused young people — and older people, as well — to migrate from the country to the town or city. Man's aesthetic and social instincts must be ministered unto.

5. The consolidated school will be much better graded and organized, as the teacher will have fewer recitations or subjects per day. Pupils can work in classes of their own age and mental development.

6. Better teachers may be employed, for the reason that a teacher is more willing to work in such a school than in a one-room school, and specialists may be secured also to keep the school abreast of advances in education. The teaching force is more permanent and stable.

7. The building and equipment of a consolidated school may be much better than can be afforded in a one-room school. It would be extravagant and wasteful for most one-room schools to try to provide a thorough equipment for the vocational subjects of agriculture, household arts, etc., for so small a number of pupils as usually attend a one-room school. One hundred or one hundred fifty pupils could be provided for by the same equipment that would be necessary for twenty-five pupils. We are in the midst of great industrial changes of all kinds, and the school can best bear its resulting burden by having the children educated in larger groups.

8. The consolidated school is necessary to give all the children of the state equal opportunity to secure the privileges of an education. The four-orfive-month rural school, in poor physical condition and with no equipment, which is the best afforded to many thousands of country boys and girls, presents a sorry spectacle when compared with the magnificent buildings and equipments in the cities and towns of the same commonwealth. These arguments have a direct political bearing, because equal opportunity in the matter of education is necessary to the civic life in a democracy.

9. It is a comparatively simple matter to provide high-school education for the ambitious country boy and girl after consolidation has taken place ; and one of the most important problems facing the American people is that of providing adequate means for the secondary education of its children.

10. It is easy to secure expert supervision with the consolidated school, as it conserves the time of the supervisor.

Methods of Consolidation. — In nearly all of the states, permissive legislation has been passed which allows voluntary consolidation through action by neighboring districts. This is the way in which we should naturally expect the movement to begin, for our people are strong believers in local autonomy in the administration of our educational and political institutions.

In a number of states the law provides for a type of compulsory consolidation, which must take place when the attendance in a single rural district falls below a minimum number. Usually the pupils are transported to another district, at public expense, when a school has been closed on account of small attendance. Both Indiana and Iowa are good examples of states providing for compulsory consolidation in this way. The schools are commonly closed when the average daily attendance falls below ten or twelve.

In a few states consolidation is brought about by offering subsidies from the state treasury when certain requirements have been met by the local community. In many respects, Minnesota has the best law of this kind, and Missouri has a law modeled along the same lines as the one in Minnesota.

In order that this study may take a very concrete form, some laws now in operation in certain states are here summarized from a recent Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Education 1 :

Requirement of Law and of the North Dakota State Board of Education for Classification on Consolidated Schools.

First class. — To be entitled to aid as a State consolidated school of the first class, the law and regulations of the board require :

1. School term: Must be not less than nine months during the school year.

2. Attendance: The actual per cent of attendance for the school must be not less than 80; provided that each child between the ages of 8 and 15, inclusive, must attend school for the entire time that the school is in session, unless it can be shown to the satisfaction of the State board of education that the non-attendance is due to one of the following causes, viz. (1) attendance elsewhere at some approved school; (2) extreme poverty or destitution of the family which the county has failed to relieve on being requested to do so by the family in question; (3) completion of the course; (4) physical or mental incapacity; and (5) lack of transportation beyond the 23/2-mile limit.

3. Departments: Must not be less than four departments.

4. Teachers: The principal must be a graduate of a State Normal school or higher institution of learning; he must hold a professional certificate; and must receive not less than $90 per month. Each teacher must hold a first-grade elementary certificate or better, be a graduate of a standard four-year high-school course or equivalent, and must receive not less than $65

United States Bureau of Education, Bulletin 1914, No. 30— Whole Number 604: Consolidation of Rural Schools and Transportation of Pupils at Public Expense. By A. C Monahan, Bureau of Education.

per month. On and after July 1, 1914, each teacher must be a graduate of a standard four-year normal-school course or equivalent, and must receive not less than $70 per month. All teachers must render efficient service of a high grade.

5. School buildings: Must be suitable for school purposes, clean and well kept. Fire-escapes and outswinging doors in the exits must be provided, as required by law. There must be at least 12 square feet of floor space and 200 cubic feet of air space provided for each pupil.

6. Equipment: Each department must be provided with encyclopedia, dictionaries, supplementary readers, maps, globe, desks, and seats, blackboards, drinking water, laboratory equipment.

7. Course of study: The common-school subjects, including elementary agriculture, as named in the law and outlined in the State course of study, must be taught. A two-year high-school course must be offered, as outlined in the high-school manual. This shall include a course in either sewing or cooking and a course in either manual training or agriculture, provided at least 10 qualified high-school pupils ask for same.

8. Library: Must have a well-selected library of at least 150 volumes, divided between general and reference.

In addition there are certain regulations regarding heating, ventilating, and lighting required, also concerning outhouses and school grounds.

Second class. — To be entitled to State aid as a school of this class the requirements are practically the same as for the first class, except that the school may have two or more departments instead of four or more.