Community Civics and Rural Life

by Arthur William Dunn

CHAPTER XIX

EDUCATION

DEMOCRACY DEPENDS UPON EDUCATION

Both the efficiency and the democracy of a community depend upon the extent and the kind of education it affords to its people. Autocratic Germany had a most thorough-going system of education, but a system that made autocracy possible. The common people were trained to be efficient workers, and thus to contribute to the national strength; but they were trained TO SUBMIT to authority, and not to exercise control over it. The kind of education that develops leaders was given only to the few. The leaders of the German people were imposed upon them from above; in the United States we are supposed to CHOOSE our leaders. In a nation whose aim is to afford to every citizen an equal opportunity to make the most of himself and whose people are self-governing, education must be widespread, it must develop the power of self-direction, it must train leaders, and it must enable the people to choose their leaders intelligently. When Governor Berkeley of Virginia reported to the king of England in 1671, "I thank God there are no free schools nor printing; and I hope we shall not have these hundred years," he spoke for the autocratic form of government which a hundred years later led the colonies to revolt, and which in 1917 forced the United Stares into a world war.

GOVERNMENT BY MEANS OF EDUCATION

In a democracy government must be carried on largely BY MEANS OF education. There must be trained leadership. And since the aim of democratic government is to secure team work in public affairs, the people must have the tools of team work, such as a common language and other knowledge that makes living and working together possible; they must have training that will enable them to contribute effectively to the community's work, and an intelligent understanding of the community's aims and ideals. And since government is controlled largely by public opinion, the people must have an intelligent understanding of the community's problems. We had abundant illustration during the recent war of the extent to which our government not only depended upon highly educated men and women for leadership, but also used educational methods to secure its ends.

THE COST OF EDUCATION

These facts explain why public education is the largest single item of expense in our government (except in time of war). In 1914 nearly 600 million dollars were spent for public elementary and high schools. Some 200 million dollars more were spent for private elementary and high schools, and for universities, colleges, and normal schools, some of which are public and some private.

INEQUALITY OF EDUCATIONAL REQIUIREMENTS

If democracy is to be safe and efficient, every member must have a reasonable education. Every state now has a compulsory education law, though these laws vary greatly. In some states every child must attend school for seven years (7 to 14, or 8 to 15), and in one state (Maryland) for eight years. In other states the period is less, sometimes as little as four years. In most of the states there is an additional period, usually of two years (14 to 16), during which children must remain in school unless they go to work. As a rule there are laws that forbid the employment of children in industry before the age of 14. In some states they may go to work as soon as they reach the age limit regardless of what their educational qualifications are; in others they must have completed the eight grades of the elementary school; in others

[Editor's Note: Missing text.]

laws are not well enforced in some states. The facing table shows the number of children of school age in and out of school in the several states in 1915-1916. For the country as a whole, 17.4 per cent of the children of school age were not in school.

"School terms are so short in many states and compulsory attendance is so badly enforced that THE SCHOOL LIFE OF THE AVERAGE PERSON GROWING UP IN RURAL SECTIONS IS ONLY 4.5 SCHOOL YEARS OF 140 DAYS EACH. In urban communities conditions are better, but far from satisfactory." [Footnote: Bulletin, 1919, No. 4, U. S. Bureau of Education, "A Manual of Educational Legislation," p. 6.]

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The facing table shows the number of days the public schools were open, the average number of days of attendance by each pupil enrolled, and the rank of the state in each case, for each state in the school year 1915-1916.

Why would it not be more democratic to permit children to attend school or not as they or their parents wish?

Discuss the statement that "education makes people free." Compare this statement with a somewhat similar statement made on page 136, Chapter XI.

What is the compulsory school age in your state?

Is wide variation in the compulsory school age among the different states a good thing? Why?

Is the compulsory school law rigidly enforced in your state? How is it enforced?

How much of each year must a child spend in school during the compulsory period in your state?

Investigate the reasons given by pupils in your community for leaving school before completing the course, and report.

What rank does your state hold with respect to length of term? to average daily attendance of pupils? (See table.)

What rank does your state hold with respect to number of children of school age in and out of school? (See table.)

What is the length of your own school year? Do you think it should be lengthened? Why?

Get from your teacher or principal the average daily attendance for each pupil enrolled in your school; in your county. Do you think this record could be improved?

Is there any good reason why the school year should be shorter in rural communities than in cities?

It is advocated by many that schools should be open the year round. What advantages can you see in the plan? Debate the question.

THE DISTRICT SCHOOL

The pioneer family was dependent at first upon its own efforts for the education of its children. When other families came, a schoolhouse was built, a teacher employed and the work of teaching the elements of knowledge was handed over to the school. This was the origin of the "district school," which is characteristic of pioneer conditions. As the population grew and local government was organized, the unit of local government tended to become the unit for school administration. In New England this was the "town" or township; in the South it was the county; in the West it was sometimes the township and sometimes the county, or else a combination of the two. In a large number of the western states, however, and in a few of the eastern states, the district school persists in many rural communities, a relic of pioneer conditions. It is often felt that it is more democratic for each district to administer its own school, subject only to the laws of the state.

Under the district system there is an annual school meeting of the voters of the district, who vote the school taxes, determine the length of the school year, and elect a board of education or school trustees. The trustees look after the school property, choose the teacher and fix his salary, and in a general way manage the school business. Each school is independent of all other schools.

TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION

Under the township system all of the schools of the township are administered by a township board or committee (or by a single trustee in Indiana) elected by the people of the township. The chief advantages over the district system are that all the schools of the township are administered by a single plan, the taxes are apportioned to the schools according to needs, and pupils may be transferred from one school to another at convenience. In New England two or three townships are sometimes united into a "union district" supervised by a single superintendent.

COUNTY ORGANIZATION

Under the county system all the schools of the county are under the management of a county board and, usually, a county superintendent. In 29 of the 39 states that have county superintendents they are elected by the people, in 8 states they are appointed by the county board, in Delaware they are appointed by the governor, and in New Jersey by the state commissioner of education. Election of the county superintendent is losing favor on the ground that there is less assurance of securing a highly trained man. The chart on page 293 shows a plan of organization for county schools proposed to the legislature of South Dakota by the United States Bureau of Education.

ADVANTAGES OF SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION

Among the advantages of the county system are greater economy, more nearly equal educational opportunity for all children of the county, and better supervision because of the larger funds available for this purpose. It is under the county system of organization that the movement for SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION is progressing most rapidly. By this is meant the union of a number of small, poorly equipped schools into a larger, well-graded, and well equipped school. Its advantages may best be suggested by an example.

In Randolph County, Indiana, there were, in 1908, 128 one-room schools in the open country, with an attendance of from 12 to 60 pupils doing grade work only, 6 two-room schools in hamlets, with grade work only; 2 three room schools in villages, with grade work and two years of high school work with a six months' term; 3 four- room village schools, with grade work and three years of high school work with a six months' term; 1 six-room school in a town, with grade work and four years of high school work with an eight months' term.

By consolidation, 113 one-room schools and 4 two-room schools were supplanted by 20 consolidated schools with two grade teachers; 6 with four grade teachers, 6 with five grade teachers; 2 with six grade teachers; and 1 with eight grade teachers—a total of 86 grade teachers doing the work formerly done by 148 teachers, and doing it better. Fifteen of the schools have a four-year high school course with an eight months' term. For the five-year period preceding consolidation not more than half of the eighth-grade pupils attended high school; after consolidation, an average of 96 per cent of the eighth-grade pupils went to high school.

The pupils are transported to and from school in hacks or motor- busses heated in winter. The school buildings are equipped with running water, modern heating and sanitation, telephone, restrooms for pupils and teachers, gymnasiums and outdoor physical apparatus, physical training and athletic competition being carried on under supervision. The courses of study have been enriched, increased attention is given to vocational work, and music and art receive attention impossible in the district schools. Eleven of the schools have orchestras, and concerts are held which the community as well as the schools attend. There are auditoriums used for community lectures and concerts, Sunday- school conventions, community sings, parent-teachers' meetings, and exhibits of various kinds.

Report on the following:

School life in colonial New England; in colonial Virginia.

The first schools in your own community—length of school term, attendance, whether private or public, qualifications of teachers, methods of teaching.

What the family does for the education of the children that the school cannot do. What the school does that the family cannot do.

Organization of the schools in your district, township, county, or city.

Advantages of graded schools over ungraded schools.

Consolidation of schools in your county or state.

Debate the question: The district school is more democratic than the county organization.

Method of selection of the superintendent of your county and town.
Length of term of office.

Organization, powers, mode of election, etc., of your local board of education.

Authority, or lack of authority, of your county superintendent over the schools of cities and large towns in the county.

Qualifications prescribed for teachers in your county or town. How selected.

How are school books selected? Are they free to pupils? Advantages and disadvantages of free textbooks.

Evidence that public education is or is not a matter of common interest to the people of your community.

Examples of team work, or lack of it, in your community in the interest of the schools.

Are the methods by which school authorities are chosen in your community calculated to secure the best leadership?

How the duties relating to the schools are divided between your school board and the superintendent. Does your board perform any duties that should be performed by the superintendent, or VICE VERSA? Explain.

Parent-teacher organizations in your community and their service.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE HIGH SCHOOL

Public education was long restricted to the elementary school. High schools were at first private academies designed to prepare for college the few who wished to continue their education. While they still continue to give preparation for college, their development in recent years has been largely for the benefit of the greater number of boys and girls who do not expect to go to college. The high school naturally made its first appearance in cities. It requires more elaborate equipment and more highly trained teachers, and its cost is at least twice that of elementary schools. These facts, together with the small and scattered population of rural communities, have been obstacles to the development of rural high schools. The consolidated school has in large measure removed these obstacles, and a high school education is rapidly becoming as available for rural boys and girls as for those who live in cities.

Report on:

The history of high school development in your community.

The percentage of pupils in your community who go to high school after completing the elementary school.

"What the high school does for my community."

"My reasons for going (or not going) to high school."

The cost per pupil in the high school in your community as compared with that in the elementary school.

Education must not only be within the reach of every citizen of a democracy, but it must be of a kind that will fit him to play well his part as a member of the community.

EDUCATION FOR PHYSICAL FITNESS

The public schools now give more attention than formerly to the physical education and welfare of the pupils (see Chapter XX, pp. 314, 315). The wide prevalence of physical defects disclosed in the effort to raise an army during the recent war will doubtless cause still greater emphasis to be placed on this aspect of education. Physical fitness is the foundation of good citizenship. Provision for physical education and welfare has found its way into rural schools more slowly than in city schools, as the following table shows. But our nation can be neither efficient nor fully democratic until the physical well-being of all its citizens is provided for, and the responsibility rests largely with the public school.

HEALTH WORK IN CITY AND RURAL SCHOOLS OF THE UNITED STATES

[Footnote: Adapted from Dr. Thomas D. Wood, in New York TIMES
Magazine, April 2, 1916.]

EDUCATION FOR VOCATIONAL FITNESS

It is a part of the business of education to fit every citizen to earn a living, for every efficient citizen must be self-supporting and able to contribute effectively to the productive work of the community. The interdependence of all occupations in modern industry and the necessity for every worker to be a specialist make training essential for every worker who is to attain success for himself and contribute his full share to the community's work. The war emphasized strongly the nation's dependence upon trained workers in every field of industry.

NATIONAL AID FOR VOCATIONAL EDUCATION

One of the direct results of war needs was the passage by Congress, in 1917, of the Smith-Hughes Act, providing for national aid for vocational instruction for persons over 14 years of age who have already entered upon, or are preparing to enter, some trade. The instruction given under the terms of this act must be of less than college grade. Every state in the Union has met the conditions imposed by this law.

The Smith-Hughes Act created a Federal Board for Vocational Education to consist of the Secretaries of the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce and Labor, the United States Commissioner of Education, and three citizens appointed by the President, one to represent labor interests, one commercial and manufacturing interests, and the third agricultural interests. The law appropriates national funds to be given to the state for the establishment of vocational schools and for the training of teachers for these schools; but each state must appropriate an amount equal to that received from the national government. Each state must also have a board for vocational education, through which the national board has its dealings with the state.

BREADTH OF PREPARATION FOR VOCATIONAL LIFE

The duty of the regular elementary and high schools is not to cultivate special vocational skills; not to turn out trained farmers, or mechanics, and so on. But the work of these schools should be such that their graduates will be better farmers, or mechanics, or lawyers, or doctors, or engineers, or teachers, than they would be without it. First of all these schools should produce workers who are physically fit for the work they enter. They should educate the hand and the eye along with the brain. They should cultivate habits of working together, give instruction regarding the significance of all work in community and national life, and by every means possible prepare the pupil to make a wise choice of vocation. Moreover, the schools should provide a breadth of education that will "transmute days of dreary work into happier lives."

MAKING LIFE EDUCATIONAL

Mr. Herbert Quick in his story of "The Brown Mouse," which is a plea for better rural schools, says:

Let us cease thinking so much of agricultural education, and devote ourselves to educational agriculture. So will the nation be made strong.

The life we live, even on the farm, is full of science and history, civics and economics, arithmetic and geography, poetry and art. The modern school helps the pupil to find these things in his daily life and, having found them, to apply them to living for his profit and enjoyment. For this reason it works largely through the "home project," boys' and girls' clubs, gardening, and many other activities.

A recent writer has said,

What is the true end of American education? Is it life or a living? … Education finds itself face to face with a bigger thing than life or the getting of a living. It is face to face with a big enough thing to die for in France, a big enough thing to go to school for in America … Neither life nor the getting of a living, but LIVING TOGETHER, this must be the single PUBLIC end of a common public education hereafter. [Footnote: D. R. Sharp, "Patrons of Democracy," in ATLANTIC MONTHLY, November, 1919, p. 650.]

EDUCATION FOR LIVING TOGETHER

The more nearly the conditions of living in the school community correspond to the conditions of living in the community outside of school, the better the training afforded for living together. In many schools the spirit and methods of community life prevail, even to the extent of school government in which the pupils participate.

Of this community pupils and teachers are members with certain common interests. Cooperation is the keynote of the community life. The realization of this cooperation is seen in the classrooms, in study halls, in the assembly room, in the corridors, on the playground. It manifests itself in the method of preparing and conducting recitations; in the care of school property; in protecting the rights of younger children; in maintaining the sanitary conditions of the building and grounds; in the elimination of cases of "discipline" and of irregularity of attendance; in the preparation and conduct of opening exercises, school entertainments, and graduating exercises; in beautifying the school grounds; in the making of repairs and equipment for "our school"; in fact, in every aspect of the school life.

[Footnote: "Civic Education in Elementary Schools," p. 31, United
States Bureau of Education Bulletin, 1915, No. 17.]

THE SCHOOL AS A COMMUNITY CENTER

The schoolhouse is becoming more and more the center of community life. We have noticed how, in Randolph County, Indiana, the consolidated school building affords a meeting place for all sorts of community activities. The school law of California provides that:

There is hereby established a civic center at each and every public schoolhouse within the State of California, where the citizens of the respective public school districts … may engage in supervised recreational activities, and where they may meet and discuss … any and all subjects and questions which in their judgment may appertain to the educational, political, economic, artistic, and moral interests of the respective communities in which they may reside; Provided, that such use of said public schoolhouse and grounds for said meetings shall in no wise interfere with such use and occupancy of said public schoolhouse and grounds as is now, or hereafter may be, required for the purpose of said public schools of the State of California. Investigate and report on the following:

Provision in your school and in the schools of your state for health work suggested in the table on page 299.

Other provisions in your school for the physical well-being of pupils.

The work of your school that relates directly to preparation for earning a living.

The extent to which a high school can make a farmer.

The operation of the Smith-Hughes Act in your state and in your county or town.

The meaning of the quotation from "The Brown Mouse" on page 301.

The use of "home projects" by your school.

The meaning of the statement that the end of public education is "neither life nor the getting of a living, but living together."

Differences and similarities between the government of your school and that of the community in which you live. The wisdom of making them more alike.

Different plans of "pupil self-government." (See references.)

Uses to which the schoolhouses of your community are, or might be, put.

Hours per week and weeks per year during which your schoolhouse is used.

Economy (or lack of it) in allowing schoolhouses to stand idle most of the time.

The community center idea. (See references.)

Educational work for adults in your community.

Educational agencies in your community besides schools.

STATE ORGANIZATION FOR EDUCATION

The schools of the local community are a part of the state school system. Education is considered a duty of the state, though it is performed largely by local agencies. The constitutions of all states make provision for it. State control and support of education are necessary if there is to be equality of educational opportunity for all children of the state. Every state has a department of education, and in most states each local community receives a portion of a general state tax for school purposes. The state departments of education differ widely from one another both in organization and in the effectiveness of their work. In most states there is a state board of education, composed sometimes of certain state officials, including the governor and the state superintendent of education, sometimes of citizens appointed for this purpose alone by the governor or (in four states) by the legislature. In only one state is it elected by popular vote. In all states there is also a chief educational officer, usually called state superintendent or commissioner of education or of public instruction. In several states women hold this position. The state superintendent is sometimes elected by popular vote, sometimes appointed by the state board of education or by the governor. Under the state superintendent there are deputy superintendents, heads of departments, and supervisors of the various branches of educational work. The diagram on page 293 shows a plan of organization proposed for one state by the United States Bureau of Education.

RELATION OF STATE TO LOCAL ORGANIZATION

The extent of the supervision and control exercised by the state department of education over the schools of the state varies within wide limits. In some cases it is very little. In many states there are state courses of study that are followed more or less closely by local communities. In a number of states the textbooks used by all schools are selected either by the state board of education or by a special state textbook commission. In New York State the examination questions used in all schools are prepared by the state educational authorities. Some states furnish text books free, and in a very few the state even prints all textbooks. It has not been easy to work out a well-balanced plan of state administration of schools that would ensure a thoroughgoing education for the entire state, and that would at the same time leave sufficient freedom to local school authorities to adjust the work to local needs.

HIGHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

Many of the states support higher educational institutions, such as state universities and state agricultural colleges, at which attendance is free for citizens of the state. There are also special state schools for defectives, such as the blind and the deaf.

POLICY OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT TOWARD EDUCATION

The national government gave its first support to public education by the Ordinance of 1787 under which the Northwest Territory was organized. It provided that "religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary government to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall be forever encouraged." As new states were organized, sections of the public lands were to be reserved for school purposes. Grants of public land were also made for the establishment of agricultural colleges and experiment stations.

THE UNITED STATES BUREAU OF EDUCATION

We have also noted the national cooperation with the states for agricultural extension work and for vocational education. The United States Bureau of Education is under the direction of the United States Commissioner of Education. It has exerted its chief influence through its investigations of educational methods and its numerous reports and other publications. It serves as a sort of educational "clearing house" for local and state school authorities. One of its chief endeavors has been to increase the educational opportunities in rural communities.

Report on the following:

Provisions of your state constitution with regard to education.

Cost of public schools per year to your community; your county; your state.

How this cost is met in your town or county. Portion paid by the state.

Organization of your state department of education. Compare with the organization of state departments in neighboring states.

Arguments for and against the method of choosing your state board of education and your state superintendent.

Do the rural schools and city schools of your state operate under the same state supervision? Why?

Use of state course of study in your school and community.

Selection of textbooks for your school.

Advantages and disadvantages of uniform textbooks and course of study. Of uniform examinations throughout the state.

Management and support of your state university.

Qualifications for admission to the state university and state agricultural college.

Why you are (or not) going to college.

The value of the state university or agricultural college to your state.

State educational institutions for the blind, the deaf, etc.

Arguments for and against national control of education.

Chief provisions of any bill now before Congress for a national
Department of Education.

READINGS

In LESSONS IN COMMUNITY AND NATIONAL LIFE:

Series A: Lesson 11, Education as encouraged by industry.

Series C: Lesson 8, Preventing waste of human beings.

In Long's AMERICAN PATRIOTIC PROSE:

Educated men in politics (Grover Cleveland), pp. 255-257.

The educated man and democratic ideals (Charles E. Hughes), pp. 286-288.

In Foerster and Pierson's AMERICAN IDEALS:

The American scholar (R. W. Emerson), pp. 133-155.

Democracy in education (P. P. Claxton), pp. 156-157.

Reports of local and state departments of education.

Publications of the United States Bureau of Education.

Latest annual report of the U. S. Commissioner of Education. These annual reports contain excellent summaries of every phase of education in the United States and in many foreign countries.

Bulletins. Send to the Bureau for List of Available Publications. These bulletins relate to every important aspect of education, school organization and administration, etc. Many of them are of special application to rural education.

Teachers of civics will find the following helpful:

1915, No. 17, Civic education in elementary schools as illustrated in Indianapolis (Government Printing Office, 5 cents).

1915, No. 23, The teaching of community civics (Government Printing Office, 10 cents).

1916, No. 28, The social studies in secondary education (Government Printing Office, 10 cents).

1917, No. 46, The public school system of San Francisco, chapter on civic education.

1917, No. 51, Moral values in secondary education.

1918, No. 15, Educational survey of Elyria, Ohio, chapter on civic education (Government Printing Office, 30 cents).

1919, No. 50, Part 3, Civic education in the public school system of Memphis. Write to the U.S. Bureau of Education for list of references on pupil self-government. Also write to the School Citizens' Committee, 2 Wall St., New York City, for material on the same subject.

Earle, Alice Morse, CHILD LIFE IN COLONIAL DAYS (Macmillan).

Dewey, John, THE SCHOOL AND SOCIETY and SCHOOLS OF TO-MORROW.

Quick, Herbert, THE BROWN MOUSE (Bobbs-Merrill Co., Indianapolis).

Foght, H. W., THE RURAL TEACHER AND HIS WORK.

Jackson, Henry E., A COMMUNITY CENTER—WHAT IT IS AND HOW TO
ORGANIZE IT. Bulletin, 1918, No. 11, U. S. Bureau of Education.