PLANNING DAILY AND WEEKLY SCHEDULES

GUIDING PRINCIPLE

Program scheduling is a concern for the entire teaching staff in consultation with the members of any other service that may be related to it. Learning experiences both in and out of classroom and shop will be recognized in making schedules. Balanced schedules are planned in terms of daily and weekly time allotments, with allowance for varied activities and for large blocks of time in which pupils may pursue vital problems to a satisfactory conclusion. While there should be daily and weekly adherence to the schedule in the main, it should also be flexible enough to allow for change if a certain learning experience calls for a change.

DISCUSSION

The character of the pupil population and differences in pupil needs dependent on ages, abilities, and experiences have been considered as a basis for classification and curriculum planning. The development of a functional curriculum for the several classifications or groups has been discussed. Now the daily and weekly schedules planned to carry out a functional program are proposed. The purpose of schedules is to define for both teachers and pupils a plan of time allotment for various subjects and activities which if adhered to in the main from day to day and from week to week will aid in furthering group progress as well as each pupil's progress toward the goals set.

Write to your State education department and see if any help ful material on schedule-making or curriculum-planning is avail able from that source. In this connection, read again chapter 4 of part I as to the relation of training schools to State education departments.

Difficulties in Schedule-Making

Making schedules is not an easy task. Many difficult problems are involved. There is the element of space for classrooms and special activities rooms to be considered. There is the time element for pupil and for teacher. The teacher's day should not be so long that it overtaxes her strength or eliminates time for

lanning or keeping in touch with pupils' related activities in ottage, garden, or kitchen. The pupils' school time must not be nade to suffer by an undue amount of maintenance and producive work. The small school staff does not have as many teachrs in special areas, such as health and recreation, music, arts and crafts, library and remedial work, as has the larger school. Schedules sometimes must be worked out so that classroom teachers and shop teachers share in these special activities. The teacher who plays and sings well, the shop teacher talented in Wood and plastic crafts, or the classroom teacher who has had training in diagnostic and remedial work may need to be called on to take over certain activities.

Growth in Schedule-Making

As the teaching staff grows in appreciating the value of group opportunities when subjects are built around group interests, they will be ready to move toward schedules which provide greater pupil participation. Time will be allowed on the daily schedule for making plans and for cooperative group undertakings. Time will be provided for doing, as well as studying under teacher guidance, through trips, visual aids, and arts and crafts. There will be recognition of the need of using the tool subjects as a means to an end, deriving their motivation from life experiences and problems. There will be provision, too, for mastery according to individual needs, with remedial periods under specialized instruction.

The weekly schedule will provide for teacher guidance in certain cottage activities, such as a story hour or radio hour. For younger groups, there may be informal discussion of recreatory books read, or at another time group listening to a radio program, such as the "Cavalcade of America," and talking it over following the broadcast. A group of older boys may plan with the teacher to listen for successive weeks to some program that is related to a group project under way. Such occasions afford opportunity for the teacher to get closer to pupils in an informal setting and to become acquainted with the atmosphere and relationships prevailing in their cottage life.

Suggested Schedules

Two daily and weekly schedules to illustrate the plan and purpose of schedules in a functional school program are outlined on pages 76 and 77. These schedules are only suggestive and are intended as a basis for discussion, since each school has its own

SCHEDULE A

SCHEDULE B

TIME

Use of audio and visual aids.

Arithmetic development, including plan for individual mastery of skills.

Library

scheduling problems to meet. They are basic, however, as to t fundamental principles of a full school day, teacher and pu planning, meaningful purpose in subjects, varied activities, gro activities, individual pupil help and progress, and integration learning experiences. Schedule A is for an ungraded class mentally retarded pupils 13 years and under, and Schedule B for a group of pupils 13 to 16 years, of dull normal intelligen and above.

Compare these schedules with those given in some of the refe ences suggested for reading. (California; Hildreth; Hocket Rochester) What likenesses do you find? What difference What principles of integrating subject matter about a commi center do these schedules illustrate? (California; Giles; Hoc ett) How does the study of life problems (instead of subje matter) tend to change program and schedules? (MacConnel

Some training schools organize their programs and schedul on a strict subject basis, such as English, history, or arithmet each subject being assigned to a particular teacher. What are t advantages and disadvantages of such a practice? How can t disadvantages be overcome? (California; Giles; Holy, 1, 2; Ma

Connell)

Moving Toward Functional Goals

Training schools are at various states of progress in respect t growth in school organization to meet pupil needs, functional cu riculum and methods, and schedules for carrying forward t curriculum. At what stage has your school arrived? Do you present schedules read like this: