Page images
PDF
EPUB

E

Back-to-School Campaign Reports

MPHASIS of the Back-to-School Drive, sponsored this year by the Children's Bureau of the U. S. Department of Labor and the U. S. Office of Education, is focused upon extending the drive throughout the school year. It is essential to work continuously for the return of young people to school as their services in wartime work are no longer needed; and for the retention of pupils in school to complete their secondary education.

It is pointed out that in 1940 some 900,000 boys and girls, 14 through 17 years of age, were at work. In the spring of 1945, nearly 3 million youth of hese ages were employed. Half of them had dropped out of school entirely; half vere in part-time jobs. Since the war with Japan has been won, many of the nillion and a quarter youth of high-school age who left school and have been n full-time employment will be laid off as cut-backs occur. These constitute an mportant pool of potential students. It s important both to return to school and to retain in school those youth who are no longer essential to the labor force for vinning the war, but whose education is ssenti al for insuring a citizenry competent to live and work in a democracy.

Attention of the general public needs to be called to the following situation relative to high-school enrollment: In 1940-41 high-school enrollment reached its all-time high of 71⁄4 million pupils.

In 1941-42, it dropped 300,000.

In 1942-43, it dropped another 300,000. In 1943-44, it dropped an additional 600,000.

In 1944-45, only a negligible further

drop occurred; nevertheless, enrollment at the close of that year was approximately 14 million below the prewar peak.

School Officers Report

Back-to-School reports which follow are excerpts from statements recently received by Commissioner Studebaker from chief State school officers and school superintendents:

From Supt. E. L. Bowsher of Toledo, Ohio "We want to acknowledge our indebtdness to yourself and other members of

your staff who did such a splendid job on a Nation-wide basis in promoting the 'Back-to-School' movement. For your information, I am sending you a résumé of the plan followed in Toledo in our 'Back-to-School' campaign.

"Publicity

"(1) Editorials and news items urging boys and girls between the ages of 16 and 18 out of school on full-time work permits to return to school published in both the Toledo Blade and Toledo Times.

"(2) Placards and posters drawn by pupils of the public schools posted in teen-age canteens, places of amusement, and other locations that would bring to the young people the importance of completing their education. Slogans such as 'Be Smart-Get Your Education Now' and 'Don't Fence Yourself In' were used.

"(3) Radio spots run over WSPD and WTOL for 10 days before the opening of school urging young people to return to school.

"(4)... a large retail firm in the city of Toledo, at its own expense and without our knowledge, placed posters on the outside of all street cars urging young people to return to school. This acceptance of civic responsibility of one of our large mercantile firms without prompting was called to the attention of the Toledo Blade. The Blade commented editorially upon the self-assumed responsibility of business leadership in educating our future citizens. "Labor

"(1) Both the C. I. O. and the A. F. L. passed resolutions urging boys and girls of school age now employed full time in business to return to their studies. These resolutions adopted by organized labor were published in the daily papers.

"(2) Some effort was made to emphasize the 'Back-to-School' movement by labor groups in their Labor Day programs.

"Cooperation of Various Civic Organi

zations

"(1) A letter was sent by the superintendent of schools to all retail merchants and manufacturers urging them to use their good offices in dispensing with boys and girls of high-school age now in their employ and returning them to school. The retail merchants and manufacturers of Toledo have long cooperated with the public schools in adjusting the labor market to the needs of industry as the war effort demanded. The program of

the merchants and manufacturers integrated effectively with the efforts of the labor unions above mentioned.

"(2) A letter was sent by the superintendent of schools to all Protestant ministers and other civic leaders of the community in Toledo urging their cooperation through their various facilities to return boys and girls to school.

"In addition to the above, the superintendent of schools sent out a personal letter to all boys and girls between the ages of 16 and 18 employed on vacation permits. . . . The program in Toledo has worked effectively."

From Robert L. Haycock, Superintendent of Schools of Washington, D. C.

"Under date of August 27, 1945 I received a copy of your announcement ad

dressed to all Chief State School Officers concerning the Back-to-School Drive sponsored by your office and the Children's Bureau of the U. S. Department

[merged small][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors]

A circular as follows, prepared by Superintendent Haycock, was addressed to all principals and teachers of the District:

As the postwar period begins, the guidance of boys and girls who have been out of school during the war becomes a vital consideration. Principals, counselors, teachers, and parents should persuade working boys and girls to return to school. The Federal Government is making every effort to give employment to returning veterans. Federal agencies, therefore, are placing great emphasis upon the return-toschool movement.

The time is opportune to convince these young people that education is one of the greatest essentials for success in life. Parents should be convinced of the part that education and training play in human progress. Much depends upon the attitude of mothers and fathers. Principals should take steps at once to enlist the help of the P. T. À. in an effort to win the cooperation of the home.

Counselors have found it possible to retain students in school by resorting to the cooperative work-study plan. This has value if the work experience is related to the classroom program of the pupil, and is thus complementary to school instruction and training. It is hoped that employers will help by releasing pupils especially at this time of reconversion and adjustment.

Our evening schools offer a wide range of academic, commercial, and vocational courses. Thousands of young people who work during the day have taken advantage of these opportunities. Many pupils earn diplomas in the night

schools and enter the universities.

Every principal should study the problem as he finds it at his school and develop a plan for contacting as many pupils and their homes as possible.

From Mississippi State Superintendent of Public Instruction, J. M. Tubb

Governor Bailey of Mississippi issued the following proclamation supporting the Back-to-School campaign, a copy of which was received from Super

intendent Tubb:

Whereas the people of our State, who have contributed so magnificently to the winning of the war, now face the challenge and opportunity to make the peace we have won the birthday of an era of great human advancement; and

Whereas our achievements in peace, even more than our achievements in war, will depend in large measure on the care and education we provide all children and youth; and Whereas the completion of a highschool education, whatever the cost, is the minimum our State should encourage every boy and girl to attain; and

Whereas many of our young people, through necessity or because of their eagerness to share in family responsibilities and to help the Nation win the war, have cut short their schooling during the past 4 years; Now, therefore, I, Thomas L. Bailey, Governor of the State of Mississippi, call upon all citizens to make it their personal business to encourage and enable all high-school-age boys and girls to enroll in school this year; and I urge our citizens to support our educational leaders in their efforts to provide an education which will prepare our young people for abundant living and responsible citizenship.

From Robert E. Anderson, Supervisor, Curriculum and Publications, State Department of Education, Oregon

"We wish to express our appreciation for material and information concern

ing the National Back-to-School Drive which has been received from your office. Publicity is being given to this drive through press release to State and local newspapers and in Education News, our official monthly bulletin to

teachers."

The Press Stresses Importance of Education

The press of the country has responded whole-heartedly to the Backto-School Drive and contributed much in the way of editorials and news matter

to the movement. These excerpts are representative of many items received by the Office of Education from different parts of the United States:

With school bells ringing in his ears, Mayor La Guardia lectured New York kids and their parents on the importance of education and urged 72,000 youngsters who have permanent working papers this summer to hand those papers back ... go back to schoolP. M., New York City, September 10,

1945.

Men and women who know the value of an education are urging the youths of the nation to go back to school, now that the war is over, and complete their high school or college education. ... Competition is going to be

much keener in the business world in the years ahead than it has been, and the educated man and woman will enjoy a great advantage over those who are less fortunate. Young man, young woman-don't cheat yourself. Go back to school.-Herald, Albany, Ga., September 7, 1945.

[ocr errors]

The Nation-wide Back-to-School Drive aimed at bringing students who have dropped out for the sake of war jobs back into the classrooms, was given impetus in Providence this week. Mayor Dennis J. Roberts gave official endorsement to the drive in a message praising youth for their part in bringing about victory and asking them to think now of themselves and their future. Dr. James L. Hanley, Superintendent of Providence Schools, said yesterday 1,100 letters have been mailed to students who dropped out of school since early 1944 and promised full cooperation in arranging schedules to meet

their needs.-Journal, Providence, R.! September 8, 1945.

On the eve of the reopening of t city's public schools, officials are laun ing a campaign to bring back to class the thousands of teen-agers who lef: take war jobs. . . . Spearheading t Back-to-School Drive will be a series special meetings for school princip to discuss the needs of such youth.. As a part of the campaign, letters v. ing their return are being sent by i Alexander J. Stoddard, Superintend of Schools, to all 16-year-olds listel school files as unemployed or likely lose their jobs.-Record, Philadel Pa., September 9, 1945.

[merged small][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors]

There never has been a greater for educated youth in this country. statement that today's students are morrow's leaders is an acknowledg fact, for they will some day fall heir the new responsibility of maintain peace. The teen-agers who played ans tive part in the home front product lines must now be made to realize t their wartime pay checks were not true indication of their future ab and worth. Their services in the ye to come will be governed directly by t value they place on a thorough and s quate education which cannot be cluded at graduation from the eig

rade.-Herald, Decatur, Ill., Septem- of America, suggested the following er 5, 1945.

[ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small]

outline of activity to local committees to aid in returning youth to school, according to a statement by Paul H. Good, committee secretary:

1. Volunteer your help in organizing a community-wide back-to-school drive, or join school authorities already at work.

2. Make certain that there are no violations of State or Federal child-labor laws in business in your city.

3. Bring the campaign to the attention of your labor-management committee, trade associations, and businessmen's clubs, and help them plan to support the campaign.

4. Urge firms having a plant paper to see that it gives strong support to the Back-to-School Drive.

5. Provide speakers as the mayor, the school superintendent, other prominent citizens, or a persuasive young person to address employee groups on the importance of the Back-to-School Drive.

6. Take a poll to find out how many of your high-school-age workers are signing up for school courses. Encourage employers to write young people now in their employ who have any doubt about the value of school to come in and talk over their plans with management or the personnel officer.

7. Use any available posters throughout retail and industrial plants or encourage store art departments to have some made.

8. Support the campaign in publicity and store advertising.

9. Business could post an honor roll of teen-agers in a prominent place in their plant, listing the young people who have left their employment for full-time school and those who are combining school courses with work.

In cooperation with local education authorities, local chambers of commerce in some communities took concerted action in appealing to business and the community to get youth back to school, Mr. Good reports.

Terrain Model Building

A 28-page illustrated pamphlet, How to Build Terrain Models, prepared for the U. S. Office of Education by the United States Navy, Office of Research and Inventions, is now available. In the foreword to the publication, Commissioner Studebaker, states:

In this pamphlet, the Office of Education joins the Navy Department in bringing a new activity to the schools. The methods of terrain model building described herein were largely developed by the Navy for use in combat. The simplicity of these methods, dictated by field conditions, makes them particularly applicable to the age level and the facilities of the average high school.

The value of terrain model making and its many practical uses in the classroom will be readily apparent to educators. Three dimensional models, colored and textured, can be used to great advantage in the teaching of such subjects as geology, botany, geography, and history. In making models the student gains experience in mathematics, cartography, drawing, painting, and sculpture. But perhaps more valuable are the practical applications to national problems such as flood control, water power planning, soil conservation, air transportation studies, and town and road planning.

As an educational project, terrain model building is full of possibilities and it is to be hoped that teachers and students of our schools will combine to make the most of the opportunities involved.

The manual describes in nontechnical terms simple methods of construction that are the outgrowth of experiences in the Navy, but which lend themselves to refinements that provide opportunities for the use of manual skills and aesthetic abilities. When the draft of the manuscript was completed, arrangements were made through the assistant superintendent in charge of senior high

schools, Washington, D. C., for trying

it out under classroom conditions. A teacher of geography in the Calvin Coolidge High School was assigned to conduct the experiment. After the construction of several models by the students the teacher made the following statement concerning the value of terrain model building and the practicability and soundness of the methods

prescribed in the manual:

The importance of making and using terrain models in the senior high school geography course is quite evident, yet

9

seriously overlooked in current practices. All geography, whatever specified branch-physical, mathematical, human, economic, industrial-employs in its basic concept, the earth. No student can clearly picture the surface of the earth from the study of pictures, maps, diagrams, or written description unless he has gained a previous concept through travel or living in areas where terrain is a vital influence.

Much of our national "ignorance" about geography is a result of the failure to inspire a real interest on the part of pupils, partly due to their inability to gain an adequate comprehension of the earth from abstract descriptions and symbols and two-dimensional representations. The earth, as the earth is, can be accurately interpreted only by methods which give the correct concept of the earth, and this means today the terrain model.

The course of study for the Washington, D. C., senior high school geography contains units on agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, industry, water power, transportation, communication, an d conservation and on typical climatic or industrial regions for which in varying degrees "terrain" is the basic factor.

From my experience in teaching and in my study of maps and map-making I can say that the use of models made by the individual student or as a group project would be invaluable.

A copy of How to Build Terrain Models is available free from the U. S. Office of Education, Washington 25, D. C.

Radio

(From page 5)

Corporation network as a force in building the greater America of tomorrow. May it become a welcome guest in American homes, bringing:

Full and free expression of diverse viewpoints on national and international issues so that we may become better-informed citizens;

Programs calculated to foster and elevate our tastes in music, literature, drama, and the other arts;

Wholesome entertainment; Fair reporting of the news and an understanding of the background of the news; and

Opportunities for enlarging our knowledge of the world of science.

May it bring us these and many other good things which the bright horizons. of tomorrow give promise.

EDUCATORS' BULLETIN BOARD

New Books and Pamphlets

Bretton Woods

[blocks in formation]

D. C., United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (1344 Connecticut Avenue), 1945. 18 p. illus. Free. Copies are available in bulk, for distribution to groups.

Briefly describes the organization and operations of UNRRA; written in popular style for general use. Other publications about UNRRA for the use of teachers, speakers, discussion leaders, and students of international relations, may be obtained free from the same source.

Intercultural Education

The Immigrant in Fiction and Biography. Compiled by Joseph S. Roucek in cooperation with Alice Hero and Jean Downey. New York, Bureau for Intercultural Education (119 West 57th Street), 1945. 32 p. 20 cents.

Lists 274 books about the immigrant, annotated and classified; indicates titles suitable for children and some selected for junior high school.

Spanish and Portuguese The Teaching of Spanish and Portuguese. Compiled and edited by Stephen L. Pitcher. Washington, D. C., National Education Association of the United States, 1945. 23 p.

Reports a series of regional conferences sponsored by the National Education Association and conducted in cooperation with the Office of Inter-American Affairs. The discussion deals with objectives, methods, supplementary training aids, lessons learned from the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP), training of teachers, and supervision of language teaching programs. Summaries of some addresses are included.

Education and International
Organization

Only by Understanding: Education and International Organization. By

[blocks in formation]

Traces world events since World W and points out that educational isolation: not preserve peace; reviews the resul past efforts toward international collab tion in education; and outlines some cur proposals for education in internationa ganization. Considers international co ration in education an essential element in solution of complex world problems. A ter on postwar social education by R Price concludes the volume.

New Handbook

NEA Handbook. First Ed Washington, D. C., National Educ Association of the United States. 240 p. $1 single copy.

Gives general and historical infor about the National Education Associati committees, departments, headquarters sions, and publications. The section, "I tant Facts for Education Workers" m used in presenting the case for educati each of the various States.

Consumer Education

The Modern American Consul His Problems and Opportun Washington, D. C., Consumer E tion Study, National Associatio Secondary-School Principals. 16th Street NW.), 1945. 67 p. (Consumer Education Series, Un 1.) 25 cents, single copy.

Intended to serve as an introduction to sumer education for both pupil and te The Consumer Education Study has this publication as the first in a sere teaching-learning units which will conce on general principles underlying all cons. tion. The units are planned to be flexib rich in resources so that they may be at to a variety of situations and will be us a maximum number of schools.

[blocks in formation]

International Exchange of Teachers-Legal Aspects

[ocr errors]

by Ward W. Keesecker, Specialist in School Legislation

HE exchange of teachers, proHer exchange of among nations ow looms on the horizon as an imporant phase of international activity nerging from World War II. In view f the increasing interest in internaonal intellectual activity, many edutors and legislators in the United tates and other countries are concerned ith the extent to which legal provisions cilitate and also restrict the free ovement of teachers between nations id the practice of their profession in a reign country. The free exchange of achers and intellectual workers among itions is increasingly regarded as a pontial factor in the development of inrnational understanding and cooperaon which are essential to an orderly orld society.

The nations are now confronted with e practical problem of reconciling and ljusting their education systems with 1 their deep-rooted national tradition include international relations. This sk of adjustment presents legal as ell as psychological difficulties.

The purpose of this article is to prent a résumé of legal provisions and oblems which affect teachers who seek pursue their profession in a foreign untry, with special reference to those oming to the United States. Teachers ho engage in education beyond their ational boundaries are often cononted with certain legal obstacles. he freedom of teacher movement mong nations is affected by interna▪onal legal relations; and a foreign acher who seeks to engage in educaon in the United States which, unlike ost other countries, has no national inistry of education, may encounter ate laws which restrict his employ

ent.

Legal provisions which affect the emoyment of foreign teachers in the nited States arise from three main urces: (1) State laws; (2) Federal

statutes; and (3) international lawstreaties and conventions among nations. American teachers entering upon the practice of their profession in a foreign country are subject to international legal relations and the national and local laws of the country in which they may be engaged.

The numerous certification requirements in the several States of the United States or of other countries are not presented here. It is assumed that a foreign teacher coming to this country (or an American going to a foreign country) to engage in teaching would possess the general academic and professional qualifications usually required for some type of certificate under the laws of the State (or country) in which he proposes to teach. Attention, however, is invited to those State laws of this country which require teachers to be citizens of the United States and also the State laws which require teachers to subscribe to an Oath of Allegiance to the United States, both of which affect the exchange of teachers between this country and a foreign country.

Recent Developments

In comparatively recent times, especially since 1900, some noteworthy developments have occurred which facilitate participation of members of learned professions in international life. One of the first steps in this direction among the nations of the Western Hemisphere grew out of the Second Pan American Conference at Mexico

City in 1902. The delegates of that conference, representing 17 American countries, including the United States, signed a convention to assist their respective citizens of learned professions to "freely exercise" their profession within the countries signatory thereto. This convention was ratified by 9 American countries. The United States did not ratify. While this convention did not expressly mention teachers, the

language of it seems sufficiently broad to include college professors or those engaged in professional, educational, and scientific work.'

The participation by American teachers and students in the realm of international intellectual exchanges is not new. It was, however, notably advanced by the Rhodes Scholarships which have been in existence for more than 40 years.

The Rhodes scholarship exchanges were established by private endowment. In 1908, the Congress of the United States by a joint resolution authorized the President to remit to China approximately $12,000,000 of the Boxer Indemnity Fund accredited to the United States,2 This sum the President in 1908 duly remitted to China which at the request of China was specifically used for educational purposes. Furthermore, on May 21, 1924, Congress by Joint Resolution 164 (43 Stat. 135), as a further act of friendship, authorized the President in his discretion to remit to China any and all further payments of the annual installments of the Chinese indemnity (over $6,000,000), such remission to begin as of October 1, 1917. Under this arrangement many Chinese students have studied in American institutions.

Since World War I, new impetus has been given to international intellectual relations. The First Assembly of the League of Nations in 1920 gave consideration to this subject and instructed the council to associate itself as closely as

1 As long ago as 1895, the U. S. Supreme Court made the following observation: "Formerly, theology, law, and medicine were specifically known as the professions; but as the applications of science and learning are extended to other departments of affairs, other vocations also receive the name. The word implies professed attainments in special knowledge, as distinguished from mere skill. A practical dealing with affairs, as distinguished from mere study or investigation; and an application of such knowledge to uses for others as a vocation, as distinguished from its pursuits for its own purposes." (163 U. S. 258.)

2 To cover losses incurred by the Boxer disturbances in China during 1900.

« PreviousContinue »