told him not to return until Monday. He refused to continue to live under the same roof with her because "I knew she had those men on Saturdays and Sundays."

He went to live with his father, who has a fishing camp. Mr. B. was strict. Both the boy and his father have tempers. Each resented the other. Thomas left his father's home and was living alone in an apartment, doing his own housekeeping. When questioned about finances, he admitted that he had collected his mother's rent, unknown to her, and had kept the money. The matter was considered at length, and he was offered a "break"-the special classprovided he mended his ways and earned his way after school hours. He accepted the challenge and is working hard to complete the eighth grade in June 1947. His teacher says he is especially interested in stocks and bonds, and that it is now difficult to give him enough work to keep him busy. He says he is going to high school.

Nora E. is the girl who found school "so happy now" after years of discouragement, failure, and repression. She, too, had an opportunity to combine high school with elementary school until the time came when she was accepted by the high school as a regular student. Here her fields of study were carefully selected and individual help was given her in mastering needed skills. In June 1946 her average grade in homemaking and allied subjects was almost 80 per

cent.

None of these pupils will likely "set the world on fire" with accomplishments of genius. But neither will any of them, it is hoped, set the world—or the community-on fire with acts of malice. If the special adjustment program devised for them has helped to prevent delinquency, and to make of them reasonably adequate citizens in their relationships to themselves and to other people, it will have served a worthy purpose.

Factors of Success

There have been changes of teachers of the special group; there have been wartime shortages of materials with which to work; and there have been many other problems in carrying on this project. Moreover, those who are immediately responsible for its initiation

believe that it is but the beginning of a much more extensive program that should reach into every section of the city. However, with all the problems and limitations attendant upon it, there has been apparent a high degree of success in making educational experiences fit the requirements of slow-learning, disgruntled, and rebellious adolescents. This success is attributed in large part to the following factors:

1. The teachers themselves wanted to meet the needs of their pupils.

2. The principals of the elementary school, the neighborhood high school, and the boys' and girls' trade schools were all ready to work together.

3. The cooperation of various departments in the school system, as well as of parents, was enlisted from the beginning, and services were coordinated in the most effective manner

possible.

It is at Christmas time, I believe, more than at any other time of the year, that we count our blessings and look around us to find our own special ones.

I am thinking now of Miss P.'s class at Colton. . . . It is such a help to school-age children that can't learn from books, to know there is still another way to make a place for themselves in the world.

This important class helps to make good honest citizens of our children instead of delinquents. . . . It will help bring out ambitions in these children that may otherwise go unnoticed. I believe this because I have seen it happen. After a few months in this class, my son . . . was enrolled in a good trade school. He is happy and content and busy. He is learning something worth while. He is doing well. I am proud of him. I am grateful, and I am sure every mother is who has children in this group.

No doubt this mother would echo the words of the pupil, Carl B., when he said: "I think there should be more schools with a special class like this in the city and in other cities and States."

with limitations, and his environmental background was related to the school

situation.

6. The special class was not an isolated group, but was an integral part of the school community, with the pupils taking part in school activities and often assuming positions of leadership.

7. The school experience was related to the not-too-distant vocational adjustment of the individual pupil.

8. The teachers of the special groups were selected because of their ability to teach, to interest, and to inspire youth; to hold before each pupil definite goals of achievement and yet, in doing so, to keep the schedule flexible; and to apply educational experiences to the pupils' out-of-school life.

9. The fundamental principle was accepted that real success in life is based upon personal adjustment as much as, if not more than, upon scholastic achievement.

On December 17, 1946, a mother of one of the boys enrolled in the special group wrote to the principal of Colton School:

Julio del Toro, University of Michigan; vice president, Stephen A. Freeman, Middlebury College; secretary-treasurer, Henry Grattan Doyle, George Washington University. William S. Hendrix, Ohio State University, succeeds Henri C. Olinger, New York University, as managing editor of the Modern Language Journal; and Stephen L. Pitcher, of the St. Louis public schools, succeeds Ferdinand Di Bartolo, of the Buffalo, N. Y., public schools, as business manager of the Journal.

The American Association of Teachers of Slavonic and Eastern European Languages was admitted to the Federation, which now includes the regional or State associations of modern foreign language teachers of New England, the Middle States, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the Central West and South, as well as the American Associations of Teachers of French, Teachers of German, Teachers of Italian, and Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.

News Notes from State Departments of Education

CALIFORNIA. While Helen Heffernan is in Japan serving on General MacArthur's staff with responsibility for elementary education, Bernard Lonsdale is acting chief of the Division of Elementary Education. He reports

that sectional groups of elementary principals and of elementary supervisors are working on the problem, Characteristics of a Good Elementary School. This is one of the six problems

chosen by the Association of State Directors of Elementary Education for study during the current year.

MICHIGAN.-At the fall meeting of the Michigan Conference of Grade Supervisors held in Flint in early December, the group discussed characteristics of a good elementary school. A staff member of the elementary division of the U. S. Office of Education participated in the meeting.

OHIO. The State supervisors' group at its fall meeting sponsored a Statewide study of the teaching of mathematics in the elementary school. This study has constituted one of the major projects for the winter. It is expected that this experience will clarify the thinking of teachers with reference to a functional approach to the teaching of mathematics.

Radio station WOSU at Ohio State University is broadcasting a series of programs that have been prepared by various divisions of the State Department of Education. These programs are broadcast regularly every Friday night at 6:30. Transcriptions made early in the week are used for the broadcast. The program on elementary education was broadcast twice from Columbus, twice from Cleveland, and is available for loan to other towns and cities within the State.

Camping and Outdoor Education

"The values of camping and outdoor education have been recognized by leading American educators. But mere recognition does not bring these values

10 children of elementary school age and under are burned to death each day of every year. Members of the Working Conference are continuing to serve with an Office representative as a Committee on Fire Prevention in Elementry Schools of the NFPA.

Over a period of several years assistance has been given to the American Automobile Association in reviewing safety education lessons, in making awards to school safety patrols, in contributing descriptions and designs of play equipment for community development of Back-Yard Play Yards suitable and safe for young children, and in judging the National Contest for School Safety Posters.

The Office was represented on a Joint Committee of the Association for Childhood Education and the National Commission for Safety Education to prepare the bulletin, Growing Up

children.

camping experiences in American edu- Safely, designed for teachers of young cation? (2) How can camping and outdoor education be integrated into teacher education? and (3) How can public support for camping and outdoor education be developed so it can be extended to more American youth?

The report should be helpful to teachers who are seeking to provide out-of-door experiences for their pupils, to administrators who anticipate proto administrators who anticipate providing facilities such as camps, gardens, farms, parks, or play areas as part of the school plant, to community groups that wish to assist schools in some specific and tangible ways, and to teacher-training institutions which always bear so much responsibility for facilitating new movements in educa

tion.

Safety Education

Staff members of the U. S. Office of Education have been responsible for a number of activities in the field of safety. These include planning and carrying out a working conference on fire prevention education at the elementary school level which resulted in a publication entitled, A Curriculum Guide to Fire Safety. This publication is designed to show what children themselves can do with guidance in the field of fire prevention. The National Fire Protection Association states that

The Director of the Elementary Division served as secretary of the section. on elementary education of the Presi dent's Highway Safety Conference held last spring and in that capacity assisted in the preparation of the report for elementary education.

Conference-Workshop in
Elementary Science

Stanford University, in cooperation with the U. S. Office of Education, will conduct a Conference-Workshop in Elementary School Science on the Stanford University campus from July 7 to 12. Morning hours will be devoted to lectures and discussions, afternoon periods to group discussions and work on individual problems. Regularly admitted students may register for a maximum of three quarter units of

credit.

The conference will be open (without fee) to teachers, supervisors, principals, members of teacher training institutions, and any others interested. Opportunities will include consideration of such problems as: curriculum construction, program planning, organization of teaching units, selecting activities, eval uating results, choosing materials of instruction, use of audio-visual aids, and similar problems.

There will be opportunity for participants to examine and use experimental apparatus commonly used in the elementary schools and for individual teachers to improve their own subject matter background.

A New Professional Organization

At the first meeting of The American Association for Gifted Children, held in New York City, November 21, the following officers were elected: Honorary President, Charles Coburn; President, Harold F. Clark; Vice President, W. Carson Ryan; Secretary, Pauline Williamson; Treasurer, Ruth Strang; Counsel, Joseph H. Collins.

The newly formed organization is a membership corporation and has as its

ing to elementary school programs and currently issued by State departments of education, professional organizations, the U. S. Office of Education, and other sources.

Contents of the last packet included curriculum materials related to the teaching of reading, efficient everyday living, teaching films, air age, safety, fire protection and intergroup education, and public relations for teachers. tion, and public relations for teachers. Items from a State curriculum guiding committee were also included. Nine

States, the Association for Childhood Education, and the Department of Elementary School Principals of the NEA, in addition to the Office of Education, contributed materials for the packet.

purpose to recognize, appreciate, and Special Education Meeting
stimulate creative work among gifted
children. Members of the Association
will foster the development of a clearer
appreciation of the possibilities and
capabilities of gifted children and pro-
mote plans to further their interests.
Dr. Clark announced that the program
will encourage public sentiment in favor
of plans to recognize gifted children at
an early stage and to promote their
welfare.

State Directors and Supervisors of Special Education will hold a 1-day meeting, March 3, in the auditorium of the Board of Education Administration Building, Atlantic City, N. J.

Health Education Programs

Considerable new material in health

education of interest to the elementary school teacher is being published by State departments. Los Angeles has put out a graphic, clearly defined program of activities for the third and fourth grades; the State of Minnesota. has published a new bulletin that contains health material in a concise form. A group project of health and child development for the elementary school teachers of Orange, Tex., is built around the philosophy that wholesome, desirable, and satisfying child growth and development is the major objective underlying every phase, every activity of the instructional program in the Orange Elementary School.

Publication Packets

A Packet Service to State Directors of Elementary Education from the U. S. Office of Education was inaugurated last spring. The packets include bulletins, leaflets, and other materials relat

Schools Serve Children
After School Hours

Reports received from several schools reveal interesting features and trends. in planning their extended school programs. A program of supervised afterschool activities, with some schools hold

ing Saturday sessions, is conducted in

an increasing number of communities

by local school authorities. Boards of education consider expenditures for these services a practical and constructive approach to the problem of juvenile delinquency.

Madison, Wis.-Conducts an extensive community center program in its school buildings beginning in early November and continuing 20 weeks. Ten school buildings were open on Saturdays last year and approximately 3,600 children attended these centers. Seventeen

supervised playgrounds are open from June to September with a regular attendance of 3,500 children.

St. Louis, Mo.-Announced during the fall of 1946 that the board of education had made funds available to pay the teachers who supervised after-school activities. Formerly teachers had volunteered their services and no coordinated plan was made to have the program available to all schools. The

program this year includes a variety of activities for both boys and girls in after-school hours during the school year, with participation open to all elementary grades. The only question raised thus far has been why such a program was not started sooner.

Seattle, Wash.-Twenty schools are now conducting recreation programs after school and with a number of Saturday offerings. Aggregate attendance records were kept of the 1945-46 program which show that 36,236 boys and 18,816 girls participated during a 12week period from March to June.

Cincinnati, Ohio.-The superintendent's report states that the board of education is making plans to provide greater use of school facilities. New buildings are being planned in order that such facilities as the gymnasiums, auditoriums, shops, and art rooms will be readily accessible without opening the entire building. At present, considerable expense is involved in using school buildings after school hours, and school funds are not sufficient to permit wide use of the facilities.

Loan Exhibit

The Picture-Story Summary of Nutrition Education in the Elementary School (Terre Haute Workshop, 1944) is still available for loan to teachers colleges, public schools, and professional organizations for payment of return postage. Set up as a nine-panel accordion folded chart, it is useful as a basis for discussing, "What constitutes good nutrition education in the elementary school?" Write Elementary Education Division, U. S. Office of Education, Washington 25, D. C., for an application blank.

Health and Physical Education

A workshop conference on health and physical education in the elementary schools will be held in Memphis, Tenn., March 12, 13, and 14. This is being sponsored jointly by the U. S. Office of Education and the American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation. Representatives from the 13 Southern States have been invited to participate. Bess Goodykoontz, Director of the Elementary Division, will open the conference on March 12.

This is the last article in a series on Health Education for the Elementary School, contributed by Helen M. Manley, Health Instruction and Physical Education.

at T IS the first day of school. Mary, 5, is skipping along at her mother's side. She is a strong, well-nourished child; she has had her immunization shots; and she knows the kindergarten teacher, whom she met last spring at a party for the new children. Mary feels secure; mother is with her, too, and will leave her when she is enrolled. The building is bright and cheerful; there is lots of space in which to play and work, and cots are folded in the corner, for resting. Everyone is pleasant.

Janet is entering the same school; she has just moved in from the country. Her parents are dead and she is living with her grandparents. They moved to town so Janet could enter a good school. They want the best for Janet but don't know exactly what the best is. Janet is a mouth-breather, squints a great deal, and wasn't in town for the summer health round-up program. The teacher, with the aid of the school nurse and visiting teacher, will soon have conferences with Grandma, and Janet will get rid of her adenoids, get glasses, perhaps, and be immunized against the diseases that may threaten her and her little friends.

Jimmy, 12, starts to school again-to one more different school. He has gone to a different school every year, and one year he changed twice; his parents are share croppers. Jimmy is the oldest and there are five other school-age children in the family. Their thin, ill-nourished bodies can hardly drag the mile and a half to the little red schoolhouse. There is no school nurse here, no nutrition program, and no bright school room. Jimmy cannot see the blackboard. He is in the third grade again and he towers over the others in his grade. The small

est ones can read better than he can. He hates school. He remembers the gay music and laughter in the little tavern where he went to "fetch" his father last week. He'd take the money and go there, and maybe he'd find out how to get away from home and have fun.

Johnny is starting to school, too. He and his brothers and sisters live in two dark rooms in the alley behind Papa's junk shop. His little sister Mary was cross and red-faced yesterday so Mama gave her castor oil and carried her while she helped Papa sort the junk. Last evening the public health nurse came, and thought Mary might have polio. Johnny was an important person when

he arrived at school. The nurse smiled at him and told him to come to see her every morning. The new teacher, too, knew all about him.

The health of the elementary school child is important; it is important to the child, to his family, and to every person

were

who ever touches the life of that child. It is not solely a home, school, or community job; but it is a 24-hour assignmunity job; but it is a 24-hour assignment in each agency that affects the living of that child. In previous articles, the importance of the child's medical examination, school service, school environment, and curriculum stressed. If, however, a millennium were quickly reached, and each child had his remedial defects discovered and corrected, if all children with irremedial handicaps were well cared for, and if the ideal school environment and curriculum were achieved, our goal of having all children permanently healthy would still not be reached. For the child will not remain healthy unless all the forces which affect his living out of school are kept in tune with this imagined perfect school program. The opposite situation is also true. All forces other than the school may be doing a constructive job for the child's health while the schoolwith its crowded classrooms; its nervous excitement from grades, promotions, or a nagging teacher; and its strain of poor seating or lighting-may be counteracting the work of the other agencies.

Planning the health education of children must be a cooperative undertaking. Because health is concerned with the total growth and development of the child, all forces which influence that growth and development must work together. In the cases of Mary and Janet, we see the close coordination of home, school, and community; while Jimmy has little to give him joy in liv

ing or a reason for right doing. Johnny is getting little help from his home in the alley, but the community protects its citizens from communicable diseases by providing nurses in the home and school.

In large communities there are often many professional groups that concern themselves with health. Sometimes, too, several of these depend on public financial support. Each will undoubtedly have a distinct and important contribution to make to the health of the school child, but the taxpayer should be assured that there is no duplication of effort, and that each child is getting a complete program of health education. In addition to the home, the agencies usually concerned are the public health department, the public schools, social service agencies, youth agencies, and the fields of medicine and nursing.

An organization which has been successfully used to synchronize efforts in health has been called the Community Health Council. This might be set up in a large town as a city health council; if the town is too small for such an organization, a county health council could be formed. The health council would represent all groups: The city officials, the public health department, the public schools, the parochial schools, the medical and dental professions, fraternal and service organizations, business, industry, and farm groups. This council would learn the health problems in its particular area, and each group would help in the solution of the problems. Such a city-wide council, for instance, might work on problems such as:

1. The summer round-up program of immuni

zation

2. Health examinations for the children 3. A bulletin informing the citizens on what is being done in the town and in the schools on health

4. A school dental program

5. Chest X-rays

6. Clean-up campaigns

7. Baby clinics

8. Prenatal clinics

9. Premarriage forum 10. Adult education program 11. Recreation

12. Extended school services

Such a community program would be coordinated with the school and home through the school health council. The chairman of the school health council would be represented on the community health council. The school health council in a small school system would have on it a representative from each school (in a large system there would be representatives from each district of the city), several parents, a member of the school board, and representatives from the various departments concerned with health-school health services, health instruction, physical education, nutrition, and custodian.

In turn, each school would have its health council.

The representative, Miss Smith from Washington School, will be chairman of the Washington School Health Council. Membership here would include several teachers (all, if the school were not too large), several parents, the custodian, the chairman of the lunch program, the school nurse, and several students. The council at Washington School will discover the health problems in that school; if they can be solved through the home, the parents will bring them to the attention of the P.T. A. If they involve several schools or an administrative decision, Miss Smith will take them to the school council for action.

Illustration One.-Washington School has a cafeteria. The garbage

cans, kept in the back of the school near the playgrounds, are frequently left uncovered. This is discussed at the health council; the representative from the cafeteria feels that the responsibility is not with her helpers but with the type of garbage-pail lids. It seems impossible to get new lids; the large cans are bought through the business office. Miss Smith brought this problem to the school council; there it was discovered that Lincoln School had tight lids, but that they had been lost after several weeks and so, using makeshifts, their

problem was similar to that of Washington School. Jefferson School, too, was having troubles. The fault here seemed to be with the garbage collectors. The tight lids were too much trouble, and so they were thrown away or bent out of shape by the garbage

men.

Mr. Brown brought the problem up in the community council. In the discussion it was discovered that in some areas there was only a weekly collection. The whole problem of garbage disposal was reviewed, studied, and

solved.

Illustration Two.-Washington School had been broken into several times. Last month all the north windows were broken. Last week end the

building was again entered and the culprits found. They came in first to play basketball, broke the window to get in, then the equipment door to get a basketball. After playing awhile they got hungry, went to the cafeteria, broke other locks, and got some ice cream. One boy didn't like his teacher so they decided to upset her room. Yes; some of them had broken the north windows, too; they started throwing at the corner stone, but someone hit a window and that pane became the target; of course other windows were hit by the less skilled. This problem was taken to the school health council; similar

"goings-on" were prevalent in other schools. The matter was taken up at the community health council. Town X is now a show spot for an excellent recreation program; schoolhouses are lighted at night and they are open on Saturdays and Sundays.

The home, the school, and the community have responsibilities in health planning. No child should be as handicapped as Jimmy is; no community can afford to let the Jimmys go the way this one was headed. For many years America has affirmed its belief in the strength of unity; only by the fine cooperation of all agencies that have a vital interest in the life of Jimmy may we ultimately give each child a functional health education program.

Inter-American

(From page 4)

A newsletter entitled School Services was distributed to cooperating schools to keep them informed about the services of the center which, in addition to visits from the counselors included the loan of materials and individual conferences. A spring conference on interAmerican education was held for community groups and teachers in the vicinity of the college. The conference included discussion meetings, lectures by specialists, and a Spanish dance recital.