r^ Kj ) LP 361 .P35 Copy 1 BULLETIN of the Imuprfittg of g>0utlt Olarnlttia A School Program for Li^O- WH South CaroHna By DERA D. PARKINSON ISSUED MONTHLY BY THE UNIVERSITY No. 80 May, 1919 COLUMBIA, S. C. Second-Class Mail Matter MAh 6f V. 1920 i- V ■ c - .0 • TABLE OF CONTENTS. Financial Support 5 Equalization of Opportunity 6 District Taxation 6 South Carolina's Illiteracy Problem 6 The Night School and Adult Illiteracy 7 Future Illiterates 8 Compulsory Attendance 8 Free Text-books 9 State-wide Text-book Adoption 9 Supplemental Texts 9 Need for State Certification of Teachers 10 Present Methods of Certification 10 Need for Increased Salaries 10 County Supervision 12 Present Legislative Tendencies 13 Consolidated High Schools 15 Medical Inspection 16 Physical Education 17 Provision for Mental Defectives 17 Vocational Training 18 Four Types Vocational Training 19 Appendix 21 Bibliography 23 A School Program for South Carolina was submit- ted by Mrs. Dera D. Parkinson to the Department of Edu- cation of the University of South Carolina as a thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts. It is a concise, clear-cut and comprehen- sive survey of the State's elementary and secondary school fields. The University Extension Division pub- lishes it as another useful contribution to South Caro- lina's growing heritage of educational straight seeing and right thinking. REED SMITH, U. S. C, June 10, 1919. A School Program for South CaroHna Following are some of the elements of a practicable educational program that would help to prepare our peo- ple for useful and effective membership in a democracy. Financial Support. The most important element in this program is a con- stitutional provision for definite, adequate dependable financial support. It is the duty of our lawmakers to find some means of increasing the State's educational fund. Our present system of depending upon appropriations is subject to the whims and fancies of politicians and is too uncertain a basis upon which to build. The present three- mill tax produces a considerable sum which could be ma- terially increased thru a one hundred per cent, valuation of property. Many property owners oppose any increase in the three-mill-tax on the supposition that within a few years taxes will be paid on the actual worth of the prop- erty. In the meantime our schools and our people suffer. Incidentally, the present system of tax returns is conduc- ive to dishonesty and leads to a constant evasion of the law. However if property were returned at its true value or if the three-mill-tax were increased, there would remain the necessity for calling a Constitutional Convention to change this provision. F'or, the present three mill tax is really a county tax and cannot be used outside the county in which it is collected. Equalization of Opportunity. Each county is a part of the State and a definite sum should be set aside for equalizing opportunity to all. The children, in a section taxed to its capacity, should not be deprived of an education while other counties enjoy a sur- plus derived from taxing railroads and corporations that drav^ their support from the entire State. The accident of having a v^aterfall or a river within its boundaries should not give the children of one community an undue advantage over those who live in an adjoining county. The three-mill-tax should be abolished and a State tax, based upon a one hundred per cent, valuation of property, should be levied. This tax should be utilized for the benefit of those counties which after doing their utmost cannot maintain a seven-months school in each of their districts. District Taxation. In addition to the State tax there must be constant en- couragement of and provision for district taxation in order that local taxation and interest may be maintained. Any improvement in the buildings, equipment, or teach- ing force of these schools vdll involve increased expendi- ture. Last year South Carolina's per capita sum for edu- cational purposes was only six dollars and fifty-eight cents, while the average for the United States was twenty- three dollars and eighty-seven cents, or nearly four times as much.* No worth while educational program in this State can succeed until a strong financial basis is pro- vided. South Carolina's Illiteracy Problem. In some States the next step would be to improve courses of study, extend vocational education and provide *1917 Report United States Commissioner of Educa- tion. for a centralized system of public parks and playgrounds. In South Carolina, it is to see that every man and woman and future generations be given an opportunity to learn to read and write the English language. South Carolina has 276,980 inhabitants over the age of ten years who are illiterate.* This number is larger than the entire white voting population of the State.* No doubt there are many near-illiterates who are very little in advance of those who cannot write their names. The entire urban population of the State is less than the number of illiter- ates.* Should these illiterates pass thru the State House grounds in single file, at the distance apart, and at the rate at which United States soldiers march, an ob- server could watch a continuous procession for ten days. If the members of the Legislature of nineteen hundred and nineteen should see this one hundred mile procession, there would be forthcoming immediate legislation for stamping out existing adult illiteracy and for preventing children of school age from growing up into adult illiter- ates. South Carolinians who give their money to support schools in China, Japan, South America and Africa, might well ponder the fact that one out of every four persons over the age of ten years in their own commonwealth cannot read the Bible. Problem of Adult Illiteracy Solved by Night School. Unfortunately the only men and women who have thought seriously on the subject of adult illiteracy have had no money to give. However, they have given their time and talent to the detriment of their physical well- being and probably to the detriment of the work for which they are paid. All honor to the teachers who, actuated by a love for humanity, have worked all day and taught at night for no financial consideration ! But the good of society demands that every citizen assume his share in *United States Census, 1910. 8 lifting this burden of adult illiteracy. The present system of voluntary, missionary night school teaching does not decrease the number of adult illiterates as rapidly as does the death* rate. Future Illiterates. However, ample provision for eradicating adult illiter- acy would not solve the illiteracy problem. While the night schools are slowly decreasing the number of adult illiterates, their ranks are being filled with fresh recruits from the children of school age^.* Last year 157,994 boys and girls between the ages of five and eighteen were not in school and of the 394,467t_^ enrolled only two hundred thousand eight hundred sixteen attended regularly. In the world's greatest war. South Carolina furnished about 45,000 soldiers, or a number about one- third as large as that of the boys and girls between five and eighteen, who, unprotected from the indifference and selfishness of their parents, are growing to manhoc and womanhood with the millstone of ignorance about their necks. Further Illiteracy Prevented by Compulsory Attendance Laws. The very existence of the State as well as the hap- piness of its future citizens demands that these children be guarded from the criminal neglect of their parents by a State-wide compulsory school attendance law. Special provision must, of course, be made for the mentally, phy- sically and economically unfit. For the intelligent enforce- ment of this law, a school census must be taken. Too long have we guessed at conditions. We are living in a scien- *1918 Report of South Carolina State Superintendent of Education. 11918 Report of South Carolina State Superintendent of Education. tific age and we must know the exact status of affairs if we are to make any improvement. Attendance officers, provided with a "live census," will be enabled to carry out the provisions of the law. Free Text-books. A compulsory attendance lav/ also implies the neces- sity for free text-books. This in itself would do away with much of the objection to compulsory attendance and would obviate the economic necessity for a State- wide text-book adoption that is claimed by the advo- cates of uniformity. State-wide Text-book Adoption. Concerning the State-wide adoption of text-books, it is well to remember that such an arrangement is inflexible and does not allow for the varying needs of our rural, village and city schools. Neither does it take into con- sideration that what is one man's meat is another man's poison. The text adapted to the use of the highly trained expert may be unintelligible to the holder of a third grade certificate. Yet the expert should be permitted the use of the best tools available. The inflexibility of the State adoption also does away with experimentation. Obviously the State as a whole cannot try out every new text that is published, no matter what its merits. If it should make this attempt, it would lose the great economic argument; if it does not, it will stagnate. The only satisfactory method is to allow the most progressive schools some degree of freedom. These can improve and strengthen the State's list by recommending new editions whose worth they have proved. Supplemental Texts. The providing of free texts makes the change from in- ferior books an easy one and, since no book is perfect and nearly every text has some good qualities, the change 10 is beneficial in that it provides for supplementary texts. These supplementary texts are valuable to the educated teacher. They are indispensable to the poorly trained one. Need for State Certification of Teachers. Unhappily, South Carolina has many poorly trained teachers. So long as it is possible for a girl with only a sixth grade education to play the part of teacher, so long will our schools be unattractive and harmful to the boys and girls who attend. So long as a third grade certificate is tolerated,a much needed incentive to professional train- ing is lacking. It is high time for the State to insist that its teachers be reasonbly qualified for the work they undertake. To do this, a change must be made in our methods of certificating teachers. Present Methods of Certifying Teachers Unsatisfactory. Our system begins satisfactorily by having the State Board prepare the examination questions.* It ends dis- astrously by permitting 45 standards of grading the an- swers to these questions. As teachers move from county to county there should be a uniform standard. Further- more only experts should grade examination papers or pass upon professional qualifications. Natur|ally, the larger the unit from which to select, the easier it is to secure the services of experts. Always the local district , should be permitted to select its own teachers but only from among those who have been certificated by the State Board and recommended by the county superintendent of education. Need for Increased Teachers' Salaries. With this State certificate must go an increase in teach- *General School Laws of South Carolina. 11 ers' salaries. MUny have done conscientious and really splendid work on a salary that a first class janitor would not accept. It is a sad commentary upon the intelligence of a society when it values the services of a teacher who serves thirty families as it does the labor of a cook who prepares the meals for one family. Many cooks in this State receive five dollars a week or two hundred sixty dollars a year plus their board and frequent tips in either money or partly worn clothing. The average sal- ary of the teacher in South Carolina is $293.99* She pays her board and buys her own clothing, supports the activities of the church, and buys Liberty Bonds. She is expected to contribute to the Red Cross, buy Thrift Stamps, and relieve the suffering of the Armenians. Also, she should join teachers' associations, attend teachers' meetings at the county-seat, subscribe for the leading professional magazines, attend institutes, and go to sum- mer schools. In the community her dress must be neat and "pleasing to the eye" of the children. In some com- munities she is even expected to set the fashion in dress for daughters of farmers who have just sold one hundred bales of cotton at forty cents a pound. Is it strange that other professions and even trades are attracting away from the teaching profession the good material that either accidentally strayed into its ranks or entered the fold expecting to receive a living wage in return for faithful service? Because of the high qualities expected and the low salaries paid, the best material in our college classes is planning to enter some other profession. This means that the weaker men and women will gravitate towards the teaching group and, unless stringent measures are taken, we shall forever have with us the ignorant, un- trained, unprofessional teacher. Such a teacher works the greatest harm in the rural sections where no provision is made for an expert checking up of educational activi- ties. *1917 Report United States' Commissioner of Educa- tion, Vol. II. 12 County Supervision. * The average country community has suffered from weak teaching plus weak supervision. A few counties have provided expert supervisors but the majority depend upon the county superintendent of education to note "any deficiencies in the classification of pupils or the methods of instruction."* So far as the law is con- cerned any qualified voter may become superintendent of education in his own county.f Considering the salary paid, it is marvelous that men of the intelligence of some of our modern county superintendents of education have been led to choose that occupation. Of course this is due to the high level of intelligence in a few counties, the unselfishness of some men, and largely to accident. Defi- nite qualifications as to general education, class-room ex- perience, and professional training should be required by law and then there should be provided a salary commen- surate with the demands of the ofiice. Our school law requires over 600 words to describe the various duties of the county superintendent of education and then makes provision for a salary that necessitates his having an in- dependent income or another job. The salary varies from five dollars a year to $2,000 a year.f For this reason, many county superintendents of education preach, plow, or practice law "on the side." If a tempting salary were provided and educational qualifications required, pos- sibly a capable man would be elected, but the ofiice Should be removed from the domain of politics. A county board of three, elected by the people, should appoint the county superintendent of education. The county board, rep- resenting the thought of the voters, should' be elected. The superintendent of education should be selected for his knowldge, not because his views on educational mat- * General School Laws of South Carolina. fCeneral School Laws of South Carolina. tl918 Report of South Carolina State Superintendent of Education. 13 ters coincide with those of the most influential man in the county's political machine. As one of the foremost educational leaders of South Carolina says, "When I send for a physician, I want him to substitute his knowledge for my ignorance."* This is the correct attitude to assume towards any position that demands expert train- ing. The county superintendent of education must be a man capable of training the inexperienced, weeding out the unpromising, and adding the successful teacher to his staff. He should have the authority by law, to do these things. With certified, strong superintendents, and compulsory attendance, it will be necessary to change some of the education the State is offering and also the places where this education may be secured. Taking up the latter question first, it is only necessary to visit some of the miserable one-room school houses to under- stand why some enlightened citizens have opposed com- pulsory education. Present Legislatlve Tendencies. Instead of working to perpetuate the one or two-room school, the rural population must be shown the advantages of co-operation. A billf much discussed by the legis- lature of 1919 was one requiring all schools with two teachers to teach ten grades if there are any pupils de- manding such instruction. Many advocates of this bill were parents of boys who have completed the seventh grade and who desire to secure high school training. Such citizens unfamiliar with the value of the consolidated school but actuated by worthy motives used an argument that ran something like this : "Does not equality of oppor- tunity mean that every boy and girl in every district in South Carolina must have the privilege of securing a high school education if any other boy and girl in the State may *Dr. Patterson Wardlaw. fBill Introduced by Representative Mann of Pickens County, Session 1919. 14 do so? Is it fair that Johnny Jones, who has been com- pelled to attend school for four months each year until he has learned to read, write, and cipher should now be barred from studying Latin and algebra just because his teacher does not know these subjects herself? Every- body knows that the teachers of the State get out of all the work they can anyhow, so why not compel the said teacher to accede to Johnny Jones' request to be taught eighth, ninth and tenth grade subjects?" Needless to add that grown men almost wept over the plight of poor Johnny who "wants to teach" and is prevented from getting the proper preparation by the laziness and selfish- ness of the two teachers of the country school who refused to teach him high school subjects. Their only reason was that they had fifty pupils requiring thirty-five lessons a day in the first seven grades and that these recitations required of each teacher seventeen and a half twenty-five minute recitation periods a day or a total of seven and a fourth hours of teaching time each day and that when one and a half hours for dinner and recess periods were added to this teaching time, a school day of eight and three-fourths hours was required and that there was no time for Johnny's high school education. In spite of this calculation, there is frequently heard the statement that, "Two educated teachers can handle ten grades where there are not more than fifty-five pupils enrolled." Let us test this statement. Deducting enough time for dinner hour and recess periods, we seldom have more than a six hour or a three hundred and sixty minute school day. The high school teacher with only three grades of four subjects each has twelve recitations of thirty minutes each. We shall not discuss the work of the elementary teacher except to say that being "educated," she knows how to teach seven grades with less than an hour of time for each grade as well as the city teacher who has five hours for one grade. The country teacher must be six times as efficient as the city teacher during the school day. How wonderful she must be in preparing the next 15 day's lessons ! Able teachers sometimes spend two hours a day in preparing to teach five classes on the following day. At that rate, our high school teacher would study from 7 :00 p. m. to 12 :30 each evening. The elementary teacher possibly having not over twenty-five classes, by combining some of the grades would need about ten hours of preparation. She would be permitted to sleep from 5:00 to 7:00 a. m. if she did not live too far from the school building. Is it necessary to add that the "edu- cated" teacher will not remain in such a situation? Too many graded schools are offering better salaries, better living conditions, and less work. If the father of Johnny Jones wants him to have high school training, he must not demand it at the expense of Johnny's small sisters. He should be taught that every Johnny in South Caro- lina cannot have a real high school within three miles of his home and then he should make sure that Johnny's small sisters may be prepared for high school work by forbidding the two teachers in his school to attempt teaching more than seven grades. Any educator in the United States will assure him that elementary pupils cannot secure proper instruction under less favorable conditions. Consolidated High School. But what about Johnny's high school training? The consolidated high school is his only hope. From two to three consolidated high schools for each race in each county of South Carolina would furnish adequate high school facilities for all of the Johnnies and Marys of the State. Such a system of consolidated high schools would assure suitable buildings, proper heating, ventilation and sanitary provisions, and ample equipment for teaching history, science, and vocational subjects. It would also provide for instruction in each subject by a teacher who had specialized in his subject. By bringing together into one high school, by means of railroads and school wagons, all of the high school pupils within a radius of five to 16 seven miles, the patrons of that school would be co-operat- ing financially in such a way that they could afford to employ an adequate teaching force which would assure real high school training for pupils attending such a school. Much has been accomplished by the consolidated school, but only the more progressive communities have realized its great possibilities. Legislation should make it impossible for any district to house its school children in any but a well-lighted, hygienically planned building with sanitary surroundings. Too little thought has been given to the care of the child's physical welfare. Medical Inspection. (a) Free Treatment. The proper care for the health of school children de- mands real, skillful and efficient medical inspection of all school children each year and free treatment to correct the physical defects and diseases of children whose par- ents are not able to pay for the treatment recommended by the medical inspectors. (b) School Nurses. To follow up this medical inspection and give treat- ment, each school should employ one or more public health nurses to educate the entire community along the lines of sanitation, hygiene, and dietetics. The nurses thru vari- ous methods of publicity should show the people of their community how to prevent contagious and infectious dis- eases and should convince these people that it is not neces- sary for every child in a community to go thru the whole category of contagious diseases in order to become a real good South Carolinian. Such a program is as essential to the safety of the well as to that of the diseasesd, to the safety of the rich as wtII as to the protection of the poor. 17 Physical Education. The measures just mentioned will expose and correct the physical defects of the school children and will help greatly in preventing disease. However, we must go a step further. Thru provision for supervised play and physical culture in our schools, we must develop the phys- iques of our school children. The recent report of Major General E. H. Crowder, provost marshal general of the United States, sho>vs that thirty per cent, of the men called for medical examination were physically unfit for military duty. On the other hand, life in the uniform has remade the 3,750,000 men accepted for military serv- ice. They have gained millions of pounds in weight, the average gain per man being fourteen pounds. They breathe deep. They have new color. They are supple. They know for the first time in life the fullness of health. All of this was brought about by living in the fresh air, by eating the proper food, thru the taking of setting-up exercises, and thru the playing of games under the direc- tion of competent physical directors. What has been done for the men in uniform can be done for school children. The trained play director, competent to direct the physi- cal activities of school children, is as essential to the school as the teacher of reading or English. Every school child should be taught the joy of play, the physical bene- fits to be derived from play and from properly executed setting-up exercises. The ability to direct games and set- ting-up exercises should be required of a teacher before she is certified to teach in our schools. Participation in play, games, and physical exercises should be compulsory for every school child. Provision for Mental Defectives. No school program that does not make provision for mentally defective pupils will be effective. Provost Mar- shal General Crowder's report shows that six and two- tenths per cent, of all the men rejected for military serv- 18 ice were mentally defective. There are 564,320* boys and girls of school age in South Carolina. Basing our figures on General Crowder's report (any experienced teacher who has studied psychology is not surprised at the facts revealed in General Crowder's report) we find that there are more than 34,000 mentally defective children of public school age in the State of South Carolina. It is an injustice to the normal child as well as to the mentally defective child to place them in the same class-room. Each retards the progress of the other. Methods that are suit- able for the development of the normal child are not adapted to the development of the mentally defective child and vice versa. The method of teaching mentally defective children should be determined by the degree of defectiveness. Some should be placed in special or un- graded rooms in classes under teachers with special train- ing for teaching abnormal pupils. Others should be placed in special schools for the feeble-minded. Vocational Training. When all the children are in school and their physical well-being is provided for, public sentiment must be edu- cated to the point of demanding vocational training. Probably this type of education will meet with approval in most communities, if properly presented. The curri- culum of the past has rested serenely on the idea that all educated men will become preachers, doctors, or law- yers and that all girls will marry at an early age. The boys could secure their vocational training thru profes- sional schools and the girls were to get theirs thru in- stinct. The laboring or industrial classes were not ex- pected to go to school and the apprentice system pre- pared them for self-supporting occupations. The introduction of the factory system, the application of science to industry, and the idea that all members of a community must be educated have increased the demands *Estimated from United States Census, 1910. 19 made upon the school. The introduction of the factory- system has removed most of woman's work from the home, thus making it more and more necessary for girls who do not wish to be parasites and for those who have to add to the family income, to enter some outside occupa- tion. The application of science to farming and industry has made it impossible for the old apprenticeship and father-to-son methods to compete successfully in the com- mercial, industrial, or agricultural world. This economic training that has passed from under the supervision of the home, must, to a large extent, be supplied by the State if society is to fulfill its duty of guaranteeing to each in- dividual some form of training which will contribute to his self-support and productiveness. The State's agent for this work is the school. Four Types of Vocational Training. In our State probably four types of vocational train- ing would suffice. The girls should be required to take a course in domestic science and household arts as the majority will have the care of a home either directly or indirectly. The few that do not should understand what the majority of their sisters are doing. Training in agri- culture and commercial subjects should be offered to all students. In mill communities part-time schools would permit the learning of the textile industries. It is essen- tial that this vocational training be coordinated with the public school work in order that a sharp division between industrial and professional classes may be avoided. If necessary, industrial efficiency must be sacrificed to so- cial efficiency. The latter can be brought about only thru contact which promotes understanding and sym- pathy. After all, the educational program of a State is only its school for preserving itself. "The autocratic German government developed thru its schools technical and ex- pert leadership and a willingness to follow it never before equalled but it failed to develop the mass movements and 20 co-operation necessary to the highest accomplishment."* The education that the State of South Carolina must provide is not instruction handed down from above for either economic or military purposes. It must be "of the people, by the people, for the people," and it must have as its aim the all-round development of a free and en- lightened people. *"An Introduction to Educational Sociology." — Smith. 21 APPENDIX. Before attempting to write an educational program for South Carolina, I mailed a questionnaire to every county superintendent of education in South Carolina and to every superintendent of schools in towns of 2,500 in- habitants and over. I have arranged their replies in the form of a graph and placed it after a copy of the questionnaire. It is interesting to note that while many educators favor legislation that will make future adult illiteracy impossible, a larger number is in favor of an appropriation for wiping out present adult illiteracy. In addition to studying the sentiment of the school men of the State, an effort was made to avoid recom- mending any scheme or law that has not worked success- fully, under similar conditions, in other States. 22 QUESTIONNAIRE. 1. Are you in favor of a State Board for the certifica- tion of teachers? 2. Is South Carolina ready for and do you favor a State- wide compulsory attendance law? 3. Are you in favor of an appropriation by the next Legislature for the teaching of adult illiterates? 4. Do you favor a State-wide text-book adoption that would require all schools (both special charter and others) to use the books on the State's list? 5. (a) Do you favor a substantial increase in the salaries of teachers? (b) How would you suggest that this money be raised ? 6. Do you think that the three-mill Constitutional tax should be abolished? 7. Is there any legislation that you think is especially needed just now? 8. Should county superintendents of education be elected or appointed? If appointed, by whom? 9. Should there be a State tax and an equalizing board for the benefit of the poorer counties? 23 BIBLIOGRAPHY. "Does It Pay?"— Dr. Reed Smith. Bulletin, 1915, No. 47, Bureau of Education, State Laws, Relating to Public Education. Bulletins of Illiteracy Commission of South Carolina. 1917 Report of State Superintendent of Education for South Carolina. 1918 Report of State Superintendent of Education for South Carolina. 1917 Report of United States Commissioner of Educa- tion. "An Introduction to Educational Sociology." — Smith. "Social Organization." — Cooley. "Outlines of Sociology." — F. W. BlacKman and J. L. Gillen. "The School and the Nation." — G. Kerschensteiner. "Education of the American Citizen." — A. T. Hadley. "Administration of Public Education in the United States." — Dutton and Snedden. "Education Thru Play."— H. S. Curtis. "Prevocational Education in the Public Schools." — Leavitt and Brown. "Industrial Education." — H. S. Person. "Education for Industrial Workers." — Herman Schnei- der. "The Place of Industries in Elementary Education." — Katherine Elizabeth Dopp. 022 115 555 5 H5S CD O p w o •? P S g CD oj cr<5 *^ p 0) CD «<

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