What is the modern elementary school like?

The elementary school of 1940 carries on the work of the nursery school and kindergarten in developing the growth of children physically, socially, and mentally. A child has been learning ever since birth, but upon school entrance he is able to organize his knowledge with the aid of other children and the teacher. In this way he is able to use the material gathered in his home and community life. Starting his school life well is important.

The elementary school has great responsibility at present with 84 percent of the children 5 to 14 years of age attending. The school systems of America have many variant forms. The following are a few examples of the various types: The one-room school, the larger village or small-town school, and the great city school. First to be considered is the 1-room school. The poorest school of this type is often located in an ugly, box-shaped building, standing in the middle of a treeless lot which no one else wanted. The water may be supplied from a well. The outside door opens into the one room and the children's hats and coats are hung on pegs around the room; there is one stove to heat the room, and the equipment is poor. Of course there are good rural schools, too. Rural schools, however, are slowly being turned into consolidated schools which resemble our town or small city schools.

Some of our town schools are offering an excellent type of education. Their elementary schools provide a broad curriculum consisting of reading, writing, arithmetic, history, geography, civics, art, music, language, science, hygiene, and physical education. Sometimes several of these are combined as in the social studies (history, geography, civics) or the language arts (reading, language, spelling, handwriting). The curriculum of the modern school is usually worked out on the unit plan. Most of the equipment and materials are supplied from taxes. The building is planned to meet the needs of the climate. Some of the great city schools of today are very modern. Most classes in the city are actively engaged in many lines of play and work. The schoolyard of the big school is often large and has adequate equipment, while the building itself is a modern brick structure with a cafeteria, nature rooms, gymnasium, library, music room, auditorium, and offices. The books and other supplies are distributed by the school. Today, the elementary teacher in several States must have a 4-year college education.

There are four main purposes in modern elementary education: (1) To teach the child to get along with other people; (2) to see that the child's health is good; (3) to see that the child appreciates and uses his leisure time wisely; (4) to teach the child the skills, abilities, and attitudes he will need in meeting the problems of home and com

munity. The 1-room country school, the town school, and the city school-all try to realize these objectives with the children.

What is the modern high school like?

From many points of view, the best high-school systems of today seem to approach the ideal. The following description of one of the finest schools will help us to realize what the program extends to every boy and girl by way of varied opportunity in a high school education. An example is that of a great high-school building recently completed in one of our large cities. This school, in the opinion of many experts, is the finest public school building ever erected. It is an 8-story structure that occupies half a city block and will serve 5,000 students and 228 instructors. Every modern fixture needed has been obtained for this school. Some of the interesting new features are: Seven-room apartment for study of domestic science.

Conservatory on the roof for the study of botany.

Cages for animals to be borrowed from the zoological park.

Fully equipped laundry.

Bookbinding plant.

Banking department fully equipped with furniture, books, and adding machines.

Basketball courts on the roof.

Four gymnasiums with shower baths.

Seven large rooms for 200 sewing machines.

Typewriting classrooms with 200 typewriting machines.

Classroom with department store features. (These are used for the study of salesmanship.)

Luncheon room for 700 students.

Auditorium with large stage where 1,500 persons can be seated.

A large library-the heart of the school.

Such a building will cost about one and one-quarter million dollars. In modern high schools the choice of subjects is wide. The usual subjects are: English; social studies; languages; all the natural sciences; mathematics; practical arts, such as business; agriculture, household arts, and manual arts; also the fine arts, such as music, literature, drawing, dancing, and drama; health and physical education. An attempt is made to give individualized education along lines of the personal interests of the students through curriculum subjects as indicated above, as well as through a broad program of extra-curricular activities. These extend not only into athletics, but include bands and orchestras, glee clubs, school papers and annuals, dramatics, debating, student councils, and clubs of various kinds. What about modern education in the "backwoods"?

in the

All over our United States there are "backwoods" sections East, in the West, in the North, and in the South. These little communities, often cut off from the progress of the outside world,

represent the worst of backward conditions. Fortunately, to combat such conditions, mission schools have been set up. Slowly these mission schools are raising the standards of education until soon the schools in the "backwoods" may equal rural schools. Out of these religious schools have come not a few leaders for our people.

How does the progress of education in the South compare with

that in the North?

After the War Between the States, a new situation faced the South-free public education had to be provided for all citizens of school age; the problem was serious. There was tremendous expense involved in setting up separate schools for the white children, and for the colored, especially when all 16 of the former slave States were overburdened with debt and struggling to recover from 4 years of devastating war. A large number of the people were of school age; since the South was agricultural, its prospective students were scattered far and wide. Many of the new students were the heretofore uneducated Negroes. When the time arrived for reconstruction of the school system in the South, conditions were deplorable. Most of the public schools were made of logs; because the South was poor and desperately in need of laborers, teachers quite often received less pay than the State permitted for the hire of convicts.

For more than half a century, however, progress in the South has been amazing; but in spite of the progress made in education the South still ranks below the average for other parts of the Nation. The South has many improvements to make-even as the North has. In many Southern States less money is spent per year per child than in other sections of the country. Teachers' salaries there are still lower than the average in the United States; the school term is shorter; the attendance is more irregular; and library equipment is often meager. Illiteracy, poor economic conditions, and poor health conditions in the South are factors which indicate the need for equal educational opportunity throughout the country.

Can Negroes get a good education in this country?

The education of Negroes was in general forbidden in the South before the War between the States. Several millions of illiterate. men, women, and children were waiting for the opportunity to attend. school. As mentioned previously, separate schools for Negroes were established in the South. The Freedman's Bureau of the United States Government, between 1865 and 1870, established 4,239 schools for Negroes, these being among the first for Negro people. In proportion to their ability to pay, the Negroes themselves gave generously. Other substantial donations were made by the Federal Government and from private funds. Among the agencies assisting

in the early development of schools for Negroes are the Peabody, Jeannes, Slater, and the Rosenwald funds. Since that time States have contributed funds and all agencies together have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Negro education. Colleges and normal schools for Negroes have been established over wide areas in the South, although much still remains to be accomplished; however, sentiment is growing for providing equal educational opportunities for Negroes.

What has the United States done to educate the Indians?

America has yet another race problem to consider in the development of its educational system. The desire to convert and educate the Indians was in the hearts of the earliest colonists. During the religious revival which swept the country in the first quarter of the nineteenth century, the activity was intensified in this direction: denominational societies founded missionary schools in the Indian areas, many of which are still in existence. From 1819, however, when the Federal Government made its first appropriation of $10,000 for Indian education, control passed almost entirely into the hands of the Government. It operated four types of schools: Vocational schools not located on the reservation; reservation boarding schools; day schools in villages and camps, each taught by one teacher with the aid of the housekeeper; and contract schools, or schools for white children in which Indian pupils also were placed to be educated.

Today the Office of Indian Affairs, United States Department of the Interior, is the agency directing work for the Indians in our country. In 1929 the school policies of the Indian Office were changed so that the curriculum from school to school was varied to meet the needs of the community. This change resulted in many more Indian children attending school, especially the community day schools. Here boys and girls are taught to make use of their own resources, to respect their own culture, and to practice conservation. What have been the advancements in general education in the West?

Advancement in general education in the West has been equal to that in other parts of the Nation. The early history of the West influenced its forms of education just as the culture of the South directed the development of its system. The Mormons, who were permanent settlers, early realized the necessity of setting up a sound foundation for the education of future citizens. The miners, on the other hand, brought to the West by the discovery of gold, had no reason to establish schools at first because there were no children to be taught. After they had brought wives to their new homes, and

Dexter, Edwin Grant. History of Education in the United States. New York, The Macmillan Co., 1904. P. 462-67.