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Kentucky Negro Educational Association Journal v.22 n.2

Kentucky Negro Educational Association Journal v.22 n.2 Kentucky Negro Educational Association 400dpi TIFF G4 page images University of Kentucky, Electronic Information Access & Management Center Lexington, Kentucky 2003 kneav22n2 These pages may freely searched and displayed. Permission must be received for subsequent distribution in print or electronically. Kentucky Negro Educational Association Journal v.22 n.2 Kentucky Negro Educational Association Kentucky Negro Educational Association Louisville, Kentucky February 1951 $IMLS This electronic text file was created by Optical Character Recognition (OCR). No corrections have been made to the OCR-ed text and no editing has been done to the content of the original document. Encoding has been done through an automated process using the recommendations for Level 1 of the TEI in Libraries Guidelines. Digital page images are linked to the text file. VOL. XXII, No. 2 DUNBAR GRADE AND HIGH SCHOOL, MORGANFIELD FEBRUARY 1951 I KENTUCKY STATE COLLEGE Frankfort, Kentucky Established 1886 CO-EDUCATIONAL CLASS "6A" RATING Agriculture - Biology - Business Administration Chemistry - Commercial Teacher Education - Education English - French and Spanish Literature History and Government - Home Economics Industrial Arts - Mathematics - Music Physical and Health Education Pre-Professional Courses Sociology and Economics Correspondence Courses A Complete Life on One Campus Modern, Well-equipped Housing - Athletics - Debating Student Infirmary - Student Government - Dramatics Aesthetic and Social Dancing - Fraternities Sororities - Clubs - Movies - Theatre A DISTINCTIVE COLLEGE IN FACULTY, CURRICULUM, AND EDUCATIONAL POLICIES For Information, Write the Dean LINCOLN INSTITUTE OF KENTUCKY A-CLASS HIGH SCHOOL-COLLEGE PREPARATORY - VOCATIONAL COURSES 1. Engineering 2. Home Economics 3. Building Trades 4. Agriculture 5. Home Nursing 6. Commerce 7. Veterans' Program WE PROVIDE HEALTH . HAPPINESS - SAFETY The Domestic Life and Accident Insurance Company Louisville, Kentucky PROTECT THOSE YOU LOVE 1. DOMESTIC'S EDUCATIONAL POLICY will guarantee your son or daughter a college education. 2. DOMESTIC'S SPECIAL WAGE-EARNER'S POLICY will help pay the home expenses in the event of injury or sickness of the head of the home, and the Death Benefit of $250.00 will also guarantee a decent religious burial. The Domestic Has a Policy for Every Need See a Domestic Agent At Once for Further Information Help Make Jobs for Your Own Sons and Daughters - - TYPEWRITERS Royal Remington Underwood L. C. Smith Portables Standards NEW - USED TERMS LEACH BUSINESS MACHINES CO. 105 S. Second St. AMherst 1151 Louisville, Ky. Miss Robbie Gentry 1030 Fifteenth Avenue, South Nashville, Tennessee Presents Class Jewelry Senior Announcements Diplomas Medals Club Pins Trophies by WRIGHT &STREET, Inc. Chicago, Illinois "Fine Jewelry Since 1903" Write for Appointment LOUISVILLE'S MUSIC CENTER 10 Years of Service to The Teachers of Kentucky PIANOS Kimbal Kranich and Bach MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Penzel - Mueller Reeds F. A. Reynolds - Vincent Bach Brass William F. Ludwig Drums and Tym 422 West Liberty WAbash 8761 Louisville, Kentucky MILLER'S GRILL SOFT DRINKS - ICE CREAM BREAKFAST - LUNCH HAMBURGERS SHORT ORDERS 24-hour Service 630 W. Walnut Louisville, Ky. NEWEST CREATIONS Jewelry and Diamonds Wedding and Graduation Gifts The Watch Shop, Inc. The Hoffman Building Louisville, Ky. THE [~ 4 JQUIIXAL official publication of the KENTUCKY NEGRO EDUCATION ASSOCIATION VOL. XXII February 1951, No. 2 Published by the Kentucky Negro Education Association EDITORIAL OFFICE: = 1740 West Dumesnil Street, Louisville 10, Kentucky EDITOR: W. L. SPEARMAN, Executive Secretary, Louisville PRESIDENT K. N. E. A.: R. L. DOWERY, Sr., Shelbyville ASSOCIATE EDITORS: W. B. Chenault, Stanford; E. K. Glass, Hopkinsville; V. E. Miller, Louis- ville; L. J. Twyman, Glasgow; W. M. Woods, Harlan; W. 0. Whyte, Maysville CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: R. B. Atwood, Frankfort; E. T. Buford, Bowling Green; H. E. Goodloe, Owensboro; Mary E. Guy, Horse Cave; N. L. Passmore, Lexington; W. H. Perry, Jr., Louisville; Mrs. Lucy H. Smith, Lexington; C. L. Timberlake, Paducah; A. S. Wilson, Louisville; W. M. Young, Lincoln Ridge PRICE ONE DOLLAR PER YEAR OR 25 CENTS PER COPY Membership in the K. N. E. A. includes subscription to the JOURNAL Rates of advertising mailed on request Table of Conte nts PAGE Editorial Comment ........................................ 4 Cover Picture ........................................ 4 "The President's Letter," R. L. Dowery, Sr ........................................ 4 "A Reading Student, A Thinking Student" "A Thinking People, A Free People," James R. O'Rourke .............. ................. 5 Notes on District Officers ........................................ 6 Student Participation Through the Student Council .................................... 6 "Segregation vs. Integration," Atwood S. Wilson ...................................... 7 A Better Correlation Between Junior High and High School English, Frances Bryant Munford. . 8 Reduce the Cost of Your Audio-Visual Program ...................................... 11 Diagnosing Silent Reading Needs, Bertha L. Bryant ..................................... 12 Writing, H. L. Smiley......................................... 14 Constitutional Amendments ........................................ 16 Music Notes, R. Lillian Carpenter ......................................... 17 Book Nook, Ruth Hill Jones ......................................... 18 Standing Committees-1950-1951 ........................................ 19 K. N. E. A. Kullings........................................ 20 Editorial Comment WHEN DO WE GET REPRESENTATION? Any organization is no stronger than its weakest unit. This is true in all instances-even insofar as our greatest national educational organization is concerned. This organization, the NEA, represents many hundreds of thousands of teachers-teachers in whose hands lie the future of democracy. How can we share our great ideal of democracy if it is not first evidenced in those who train our future generations? The NEA, as the leading educational organi- zation for the teaching profession, must cease hiding behind the undemocratic attitudes of a few prejudiced educators. It is time now that this great organization proves its greatness. This can be substantiated by quoting from the minutes of the Joint NEA-ATA Committee Meeting in Washington, D. C.: " . . . the NEA should take such positive and immediate steps as will provide that all members whose dues it receives will have an assured opportunity for state-level and local-unit delegate repre- sentation." "HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE" roughly translated, means it all depends on what you make it. While there is no place for politics in educa- tional associations, still educators, as individuals, cannot sit and silently watch the passing political scene. As educators and citizens during the year 1951 it is our duty to see that forward strides in education are made on the local, state, and national political level. We cannot afford to see the future of edu- cation deterred by a mumbo-jumbo of lobbying and political bickering at all levels. Contact your local political representatives; write your senators and congressmen. Let us fight together to see 1951 bring even greater educational gains on the local and state political scene-let us see a bill for federal aid to education passed by the 82nd Congress. COVER PICTURE Dunbar Grade and High School, located one-half mile south of Morganfield, is the only school for Negroes in Union County. Built in a modem style, it contains seven classrooms, lounge for teachers, a gymnasium with modern showers and rest rooms, and a steam heating plant. The superintendent, Mr. Carlos Oakley, and the Union County School Board work with untiring efforts to aid the principal, Mr. E. R. Hampton, and his efficient staff of ten teachers in providing a well-rounded educational and community program. The President's Letter February 1, 1951 To the Officers and Members of the Kentucky Negro Education Association Ladies and Gentlemen: These are perilous times through which we are passing. When we take a view of state national, and international world conditions, we become somewhat alarmed. However, with an abiding faith in God, we will be able to surmount the arising difficulties. Since my first letter, we have met on common ground with all sections of our grand old Com- monwealth represented, and worked out definite plans for our "DIAMOND JUBILEE" celebra- tion in April. Our efficient secretary-treasurer, W. L. Spearman, has sent to all members of the variouscommittees our reports on suggestions that were offered and adopted November 18, 1950. We are grateful to all for the letters and cards of congratulations upon the first issue of our JOURNAL. With your moral support, together with finance, our editor can continue to give you a good journal. Let this be the prayer of every teacher: 0 God, Thou who hast ever brought all life to its perfection by patient growth, grant me patience to guide my pupils to the best in life. Teach me to use the compulsion of love and interest; and save me from the weakness of coercion. Make me one who is a vitalizer of life and not a merchant of facts. Show me such a sense of value, that I may distinguish the things that last from those that pass, and never confuse mountains with mole hills. Grant me insight to overlook the faults of exuberance, because I can see with prophetic eye the possibilities of enthusiasm. Save me, oh Lord, from confusing that which is evil with that which isonlyimmature. May I learn the laws of human life so well that, saved from the folly of reward and punishment, I may help each pupil of mine to find a supreme devotion for which he will give his all. And may that devotion be in tune with Thy purpose for Thy world. May I be so humble and keep so young that I may continue to grow and to learn while I teach. Save me from letting my work become commonplace by the ever present thought of all human endeavors; teaching is most like the work that Thou hast been doing through all generations. Amen. Yours for an aggressive and progressive association. R. L. DowBRY, SR., President K. N. E. A. 4 "A Reading Student, A Thinking Student" "A Thinking People, A Free People" JAMES R. O'ROURKE LIBRARIAN, KENTUCKY STATE COLLEGE Teachers in the schools and colleges have a great responsibility to the young minds we have dedicated our lives to teach, especially during these critical times. Are we sabotaging these minds with neglect and rationalizations? The administrator, teacher or librarian who is not using every available means to equip his students for the challenges that lie ahead is as much a demagogue as the legislator and/or politician who fights equal educational opportunities for all people. Textbook and lecture educated students are seldom thinking students. Education means awakening and the characteristics of the edu- cated individual are inquisitiveness, independ- ence, intellectual courage and initiative. The textbook and lecture educated student seldom possesses these qualifications. He finds it ex- tremely difficult to keep up in college courses. When the college subjects him to the same type education, he has still greater difficulty in the graduate school where he is likely to be placed on his own. By textbook and lecture educated I mean students who read only what is written in the textbook about a thing rather than reading the thing itself, e. g., the student reads about various authors but seldom, if ever, reads and analyzes the works of the author. The lecture educated student usually takes what the lecturer gives him without making a contribution him- self, and he is expected to give it back just as it was given. Rarely does the student form any ideas and opinions of his own. Because of the increased enrollment in the colleges and other demands of society after college years, students must be trained to sift, locate and interpret information when it is needed. "The library functioning as an intel- lectual laboratory and functioning as a method in education has the chief power by the very nature of newer methods of education." If "Kentucky's Greatest Resource Is Her People," and if "an informed people are a democratic people," and I might add a thinking people, then we who man "Arsenals of a Demo- cratic Culture" (libraries and classrooms) have a responsibility never before placed on dis- seminators of knowledge and ideas. Herman W. Liebert, in his article, Books- Swords or Dreams, Library Journal, November 1, 1950, says, "Many jobs are dangerous because CLIMB ON THE BAND WAGON! they involve the handling of perilous materials . .. with which a single misstep may mean a local disaster. But none of these is so powerful, so full of good, if handled correctly, so full of destruction if handled carelessly as the com- modity that librarians handle every day. That commodity is ideas. The student who remains in school from 12 to 16 years without being exposed to the thoughts and ideas of the great writers appears to have about 'as much inspira- tion as a plate of muffins.' " The increasing responsibility is on the faculty of each educational institution. The efforts of the librarian and the teaching faculty must be more closely coordinated for it has become clear that their respective responsibilities do not merely overlap, but have merged. In many of the combination elementary and high schools the library collection consists only of books for the high school student. Reading a variety of books should begin in the elementary grades in order that the reading habit might be developed. The Library Extension Division, Old Capitol Building, Frankfort, will send fifty books to your school to be returned. When these are returned you may borrow another fifty copies, and for only the cost of mailing. One enterprising teacher told me how she was able to give her students the advantage of a number of books. She had each member of the class to purchase one 25-, 35-, or 50-cent copy of a Bantam, Pocketbook or Signet. Some pur- chased Modern Library titles. As a student finished a title it was exchanged for the title owned by one of his classmates. During that term several students read twentyfive titles. More school principals and superintendents are becoming library conscious and as fast as possible are doing something about providing library facilities. The faculty and library staff of Kentucky State College is cognizant of the needs of its students who plan to teach especially. We are attempting to teach effectively the use of books and other library materials since these students will be expected to assist in developing the use of a variety of reading materials as integral parts of the educational method of the schools of the Commonwealth because we realize that "a reading student is a thinking student," and "a thinking people are free people." PAY YOUR K. N. E. A. MEMBERSHIP FEE Now! 5 Notes On District Officers MRS. BESSIE S. THOMPSON PRESIDENT OF THE SECOND DISTRICT K. N. E. A. Mrs. Bessie S. Thompson of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, a product of Kentucky State College, is a classroom teacher in Hardin County, chair- man of the National Program Committee of the Kentucky State Alumni Association, and the proprietor of a cleaning establishment in Eliza- bethtown. E7 G. BRISCo HOUSTON PRESIDENT OF THE FOURTH DISTRICT K. N. E. A. G. Brisco Houston, a graduate of Lincoln Institute and Kentucky State College, received his Master of Science degree from Indiana University in 1948, is a past president of the Third District Association, and is now principal of the Henderson County Consolidated Schools. Student Participation Through the Student Council Student participation is the active self-motivated and responsible sharing of the pupils in the planning and living of school life under the guidance and stimulus of the family. Many educators believe that this can best be done through the student council. Under no circum- stances is student participation or self-govern- ment to be taken to mean complete control of the school by the pupils. PRINCIPLES: 1. To train for worthy citizenship through cooperation, self-control, self-reliance, initiative, etc. 2. No one council can fit every school. 3. All phases of the school must be given proper training. 4. Make sure it is cooperative government -not self-government. 5. The school must feel a need for the council. 6. Each pupil must be represented. 7. The student should feel his represen- tation. 8. There should be no general restrictions on representation. 9. The council must have a definite place on the school program. 10. The principal implications of democracy are basic to council purposes. OBJECTIVES: 1. Training for citizenship. 2. To establish better faculty-student and better student-faculty relationship. 3. To develop an interest in and pride for the school. 4. To promote self-expression and self- development. 5. To instill the fundamentals of correct parliamentary usage. 6. To develop good business habits. Just when student participation began is unknown. Even the Greeks had it. It has been handed down to us in various forms. It is important that we bear in mind that self-government and pupil participation are two different things. Under no circumstances is the pupil to govern himself. The government Continued on page 7 "Segregation vs. Integration" ATWOOD S. WILSON PRINCIPAL, CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL, LOUISVILLE Today the Negroes of America are striving more than ever to obtain integration in educa- tion, sports, housing, and other areas of life. There is nothing wrong with integration itself. Certainly in a democracy complete oneness of people is expected; equally discrimination and segregation should be foreign to such a society. But the Negro, long suffering from the humilia- tion and frustration induced by race bias found in the American social structure, has launched an attack at the heart of the evil. His yearnings are understandable; they are right and need no defense. The Negro knows also the many inequities that have come to him through the antiquated theory of "separate but equal facilities." While the Negro has every reason to demand integration, there are certain peculiar factors associated with it that deserve careful consideration and mature thinking. If integration in the American way of life were to be complete, not partial, then arguments against it would be senseless; but if it means the giving to the Negro the rights and privileges of an American citizen, but denying him the right of employment within those areas into which he has been integrated, then there is much to protest. In our struggle for integration we must never lose sight of the fact that with it we also want "job opportunities." It is not enough to possess the privilege of attending integrated schools, if the doors of employment in those same schools are closed to the Negro. In his quest for integration the Negro must include in his demands and obtain the right to employment in the areas where integration is accomplished. Failing to do this, he may find himself a victim of a type of discrimination more sinister and more dismal than that which he sought to avoid. A good example of this type of thing is found in the situation at the Louisville Municipal College. When the University of Louisville made provisions for the acceptance of Negro students, it failed to provide "job opportunities" for the several capable and well-trained teachers and other personnel at the Municipal College, which is a part of the University system. Here we have the pitiful example of capable men and women who are now forced out of employment because of integration, and who are now faced with the problem of establishing themselves elsewhere. This is but one illustration that could be multiplied several times, unless we, in our march toward integration, insist upon and receive along with it the right to work in the fields for which we are prepared. I can see valuable contributions of the K. N. E. A. to the education of the Negro child. Some time in the future I think we should be integrated with the K. E. A., but I think "not at the present." The interest of the Negro child can best be served by an effective and well-organized K. N. E. A. I am not quite ready to see the dissolution of the Red Cross Hospital, or the Domestic Life Insurance Company, or the Mammoth Life Insurance Company, or any other similar Negro businesses through integration. Not until it is an established fact that the Negro will be assured employment within integrated areas shall I be prepared to accept abolition of Negro business for whatever good that may come through integration. Concluding, I urge "job opportunities" with integration. Should we run so hastily into "integration" that we approach economic slavery? Let us stop, think, and evaluate this important issue. Continued from page 6 of the school is the function of the whole society in which the school is found. In developing a council, the idea that we are living in and training for a democracy should be kept in mind. The principles and aims of the student council fit all situations. The council must be adapted to suit the needs, mores, etc. of the community. Building a council is a gradual process that can only be done when all concerned are fully educated as to the workings and benefits of the council. The types of councils, means of nominating and electing members and officers, are numerous. The type that can best be adapted to the school should be used. Activities for the council are many. It is best to start with a few and enlarge the scope as the council grows. Some possible activities follow: 1. Publish handbooks 2. Tutorial work 3. Help plan commencement 4. Student advisory group to the principal 5. Keep activity records and point system 6. Plan and conduct elections 7. Make good will tours to schools 8. Conduct courtesy, clean-up, etc. cam- paigns 9. Start new school activities 10. Exchange ideas with other schools 11. Make a community survey 12. Study student viewpoints and opinions 7 A Better Correlation of Junior High and High School English FRANCES BRYANT MUNFORD ENGLISH TEACHER, MADISON JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL, LOUISVILLE The teaching of English should do several things for our boys and girls. First, it should give them considerable power of self expression; that is, power to think clearly and to say simply and effectively, either in writing or orally, whatever they have occasion to say, but primarily to express their own thoughts and feelings. Next, it should give them power to appreciate literature; that is, power to get from the printed page all that is in the author's mind and heart when he is writing, much of which is not in words but between the lines - suggested, not said. Finally, it should give them habits of accuracy in both oral and written work, and so thorough a mastery of a small bodyof grammatical and rhetorical principle that each one will be able to say with confidence, "That is correct, and I know it is correct." Most experienced teachers of college freshmen know that too many in each entering class lack a mastery of the fundamentals of English which should have been learned by the end of the elementary or junior high school. They are unable to write the possessive case correctly, misspell common words, know little of the use of commas, regularly use of instead of have in writing such an expression as could have, capital- ize and punctuate phrases and clauses as sen- tences, have but little understanding of the efficient use of the dictionary, lack the mastery of any standard letter form, have little idea how to begin effectively a friendly letter or a simple newspaper "story," and not only lack the read- ing habit, but wonder why anyone should think it worth having in these days of the radio and television. It is not the place of the college to have to train freshmen in the habits of speech and writing that should have been learned in the elementary or junior high school; nor is it high school work; and in general neither the high school nor the college deems it wise to take time to -develop habits of oral and written accuracy. The result is that many high school, and even some college graduates, go through life handicapped by the lack of these fundamental skills. It seems, then, that too many primary and intermediate schools, junior high schools, and high schools are in part failing to solve the problem of teaching the English which functions in life. The normal child, before he goes to school, has almost unlimited powers of self expression, and he has an endless supply of thoughts and feelings that he wishes to express and that he will express if given the opportunity. All the things he talks about are things in which he has deep interest. Equally true is it that children in the primary grades, the intermediate grades the junior high level, and the senior high schooi level seem never to lack subjects to talk about when they are by themselves, even if they are at times silent in the presence of their elders. Among their topics have been home affairs, school activities, their friends, their social life, their reading, their plans for the future, their games and sports, and numberless other subjects -every one being something vital to them, even though it seems commonplace to others. Here, then, is a cardinal principle of teaching self-expression. Ask the pupil to talk about and write about only those things in which he has a strong interest. This principle excludes much of the repro- duction work of the conventional course in oral and written English. Once most books dealing with the teaching of composition based their exercises largely on reproduction. Now, for- tunately, few retain any great number of repro- duction exercises, while there is general agree- ment among authorities that such work should have only a small part, if any part at all, in teaching self-expression. For self-expression is not reproduction. It is the expression of one's own thoughts and feelings. In teaching oral and written composition seldom ask a pupil to reproduce something he has read or heard about. Base self-expression work on the pupil's experience. Rather, let him stand before his class and talk interestingly for three minutes about a familiar subject or hap- pening. Use, rather than repress, the child's normal desire to tell of his experiences. When it seems necessary to delay him, make the delay as brief as possible, assuring the child of your interest and of your wish that he tell his class- mates as well as you. The class in oral and written composition has no need for material other than the experi- ences of the pupils. These experiences are ample to supply subjects throughout the years of the grades and of senior high school. They can be taught to omit formal introductions and to begin with strong opening sentences that will hold the listener's or the reader's attention. They can be taught to pick out the parts which will interest others. They can be taught to arrange their material in an effective manner. They can be guided to an understanding of what an interesting closing sentence must do. Self-expression is not something foreign to life. Teaching it is merely bringing daily life 8 into the schoolroom, merely training the pupil to use more effectively the powers with which he is usually endowed when he enters school. The best teacher, then, is the one who knows Lost fully the interests of childhood and of youth; who has learned that children talk most readily about the things in which they have most interest. What these things are demands attention. For the normal child oral self-expres- sion is as natural as breathing. The school should use this instinct, not destroy it. Would it not be well for the senior high school to give its new pupils a comprehensive English test and a reading ability test? Then the English teachers could frankly say of those who did not pass the test, "Well, they are here. They have been passed by the junior high school teachers and the elementary teachers. Instead of teaching them what we feel should be taught to the senior high pupils, we will teach them the junior high school English they have not mastered." In like manner the elementary and junior high school should deal with its pupils, not attempting to build the intermediate or junior high school structure until the earlier founda- tions are laid. In the meantime should not the English teachers on the senior and junior high school level unite with the elementary teachers in a comprehensive survey to obtain data needed on which to base scientific statements as to exact fundamentals to be taught in each grade from the first to the twelfth, inclusive? A survey has shown the words which pupils of each grade should be taught to spell. Should not teachers obtain equally scientific knowledge concerning the punctuation marks and the capital letters which a clear-cut statement of the habit-knowledge should inculcate? To this might be added definite methods of both oral and written drill, so simply and clearly stated that the average teacher will have no difficulty in using them. Such a report sent forth with the enthusiastic and continued backing of the teachers would show real results in the senior high school in a few years' time. In nothing are the schools of today more derelict than in the requirement that children and youths master and follow exact rules and principles. Nowhere have the pupils been required to do their work with perfection, so many times, that to do it any other way would become impossible. Accuracy is habit. So is inaccuracy, carelessness. This is not a plea for form rather than con- tent, for accuracy instead of thought. Power to express is vastly more important than is accu- racy; but both are desirable. Literary apprecia- tion is infinitely preferable to correct punctuation and capitalization; but the two are so clearly integrated that anything which really adds to power in one will add to power in the other. The fact is that in no one of the three are the schools doing efficient work. English teaching has been too definite, too theoretical, too ab- stract. It is time for English teachers to get down to the concrete, the definite, and the practical. The aim, then, in the teaching of accuracy is the formation of habit rather than the mastery of theory. In other words, speaking accurately is an art, as writing accurately. Skill comes with practice under capable guidance. The more nearly habit-forming drills approach life condi- tions, the more valuable they become. If the schools wish to send forth graduates who speak and write accurately, they must make habitual all common oral and written forms before the end of the elementary or junior high school; they must not let inaccuracies creep in during the high school and college period. Then the college graduate will not, by his speech and his writing, be "a disgrace to his institution." Until the lower grades send to the secondary schools pupils far better grounded in the funda- mentals than they are sending, every high school English teacher should have a daily dictation exercise. It should deal with all errors found in the written work of the pupils; and there will be plenty of material. Insistence on relating rule to punctuation mark and letter should be remem- bered. Constant care to be accurate will become habitual if the teacher makes it clear that careful written work in other subjects will raise the mark in English, while slovenly work will lower the mark in English and in other subjects. Would it not be helpful if all teachers coop- erated with English teachers? Is it possible to develop accuracy if the teachers of other subjects do not demand it? Will boys and girls get the habit of accurate speech if they are permitted in all classes except English to be careless in their speech and written work? Would it not help if we could get other teachers, each a specialist in his subject, to demand certain simple capitalizations and punctuations of all pupils? These teachers could present to the English teacher the exceptionally good and the dis- gracefully bad papers handed to them by pupils, with the understanding that good papers raise the English grade, while careless papers lower the grade. Some teachers have found that this is most useful in making students careful with their written work. Too, if "every teacher, a reading teacher" is a sound principle, it follows that teachers should be prepared for this phase of their work. They should clearly see the reading problem as a developmental problem; know how to appraise the reading ability of pupils in their classes; and 9 be acquainted with methods and materials for helping individuals and groups to improve their reading efficiency. From the elementary, the junior high school and the senior high school the pupil can take nothing that will have more permanent value than a love of reading. This the school should give him, no matter what the cost. Some children dislike reading because they have difficulty with the mechanics of reading. Many do not read because they have never been exposed to the right book. They have never ex- perienced any thrill in reading, or felt any desire to find good books. A child who has trouble with mechanics of reading is in need of special help. There should be some administrative provision made for such people. They should be helped by specially trained teachers to solve, or help solve, their reading difficulties, for they will otherwise be unable to accomplish their high school work. Diagnostic testing is now recognized as an essential part of teaching technique. The purpose of the diagnostic test is to reveal to the teacher the exact' nature of the child's weakness, so that remedial treatment may be applied to correct the deficiencies. To my mind, it would 'be of advantage to give both the standardized and the informal tests to the pupils entering the seventh and tenth grades. The diagnostic test is an agency for the improvement of teaching and it helps the teacher adjust instruction to the needs of the individual pupil. It puts the teacher in a scientific attitude towards her work. The test discloses the nature of the reading defect, but it does not automatically indicate the cause of the deficiency or suggest the remedy. The reading defect is but a symptom, and clear thinking will be required on the teacher's part to discover the cause and to apply the appropriate remedy. It is important that reading deficiencies be corrected as soon as they appear, so that wrong habits and attitudes may not become fixed. The cry of the high school teacher is heard above all others. She moans that her tenth grade pupils cannot read their textbooks and hence are failing in their English, history, and health classes. When urged to greater effort, the children complain that the books are too hard. The teacher is not unsympathetic; she examines the situation and finds that they are not just lazy-that many actually cannot read tenth grade materials with understanding. She notices that the pupils are leaving school and she wishes to do something about it. At first she helps a few slow pupils with their reading after school. However, she usually makes little progress in her attempt. She is a high school teacher, not an elementary teacher of reading. She doesn't know the technique nor does she feel that it is her job to teach something that the pupils should have learned in the lower grades. She concludes that the elementary and junior high schools have slipped or there would not be so many poor readers. The insistence that the elementary schools have failed is wrong. No two people are alike. Just as there are differences in height and weight, so there is difference, too, in intellectual capacity. It is true then that children with lesser intellectual capacity simply cannot per- form as easily as those with greater capacity. Since ninth and tenth grade textbooks are written for the average child, obviously some very bright children will find them too easy and slow pupils will find them too hard. If the sub- ject matter in the books would be brought down to the reading level of the low ability pupils, the books would have no challenge for the average student and would be simply childish for the bright pupils. Dr. Ralph Tyler, Examiner of the University of Chicago, pointed out in a recent article that testing has demonstrated that sixth grade pupils at present are about equal to eighth graders of 15 years ago when it comes to reading and com- putation. He further stated that the area upon which attention should be focused for improve- ment is high school. High school teachers might do well to make the following observations: (1) The elementary teachers have done well, and are trying to do better each year. We will leave their problem to them and we will handle our problem our- selves. (2) After analysis, we recognize that our problem is not a watering down of general scholarship, but instead is caused by the con- tinued arrival (at our school level) of hosts of pupils with low academic ability who in former years would not have attended high school at all. (3) Since that is true, there isn't such a crying need to deal very differently, now, with the bright and the average. Our program tradition- ally was built for them. Our program is not perfect; hence, we can well plan collaterally a better program for them as well as for the less scholastically inclined. (4) We will use guidance facilities to direct the bright and the average into classes where they belong and to deflect the slow from them. (5) However, in such sub- jects as English, health, and social studies we will cease to be selective. We will try to offer materials in each which will contribute to the maximum growth of every pupil. We will remember that in social studies, for instance, credit should be given not so much upon the number of difficult books read but upon the development of certain civic attitudes and citizenship skills. For instance, a pupil who critically examines issues before he forms judg- Continued on page 13 10 feduce the Cost of Your Audio-Visual. Program! The usefulness of audiovisual material as an aid to better classroom teaching is apparent. All types of learners can profit by a program enriched with these materials. In all schools a well-rounded program of audio- visual materials can prove to be a financial strain on the usually limited school budget. As a partial answer to this financial problem, we are listing below sources from which audio- visual materials for English and science classes may be obtained. AUDIO-VISUAL MATERIALS IN TEACHING ENGLISH A. Radio, Recordings and Transcriptions I. Teacher's Manual, C. B. S., local station or 485 Madison Avenue, New York 22, New York. 2. "Radio as Contemporary Literature-From the English Teacher's Viewpoint," John J. DeBoer, Journal of the AER, December, 1944. Also see other issues. 3. New York University, Recordings Division, New York, N. Y. 4. R. C. A. Victor, Camden, N. J. 5. Columbia Records, ioio Central Avenue, Indian- apolis, Ind. 6. Capitol Records, 8i5 Sycamore Street, Cincinnati 2, Ohio. 7. Decca Records, 437 S. Illinois Street, Indianapolis, Indiana. 8. Majestic Radio Co., Elgin, Illinois. 9. Mercury Records, 839 S. Walbash Avenue, Chicago a, Illinois. lo. M. G. M. Records, c/o Rodefield Co., 6T4 N. Capitol Street, Indianapolis, Indiana. B. Moving and Still Projections I. New York University, Film Library, New York, New York. 2. Encyclopaedia Britannica Films, Inc., 2o North Wacker Drive, Chicago 6, Illinois. 3. Films Incorporated, 64 E. Lake Street, Chicago I, Illinois. 4. Keystone View Company, Meadville, Pennsyl, vania. 5. Study Guides and Catalogue, I. U. Audio-Visual Extension Center, Indiana University, Blooming- ton, Indiana. 6. Young America Films, IS E. 41st Street, New York, New York. 7. University of Kentucky, Film Division, Lexington, Kentucky. 8. American Optical Co., Buffalo IS, New York. 9. U. S. Films Service, Federal Security Agency, Washington, D. C. Io. Educators Guide to Free Films, Educators Progress Service, Randolph, Wisconsin. C. Dramatic and Demonstrations I. Junior Town Meeting League, 4oo S. Front Street, Columbus, Ohio. 2. Central States Speech Association, c/o G. E. Densmore, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. 3. MidWest Debate Bureau, Jacksonville, Illinois. 4. Drama Guild Publishers, 8o Boyleston Street, Boston, Massachusetts. 5. Pennsylvania Play Co., 1617 Latimer Street, Philadelphia 3, Pennsylvania. 6. Dramatic Publishing Co., 59 E. Van Buren Street, Chicago, Illinois. 7. Eldridge Entertainment House, Franklin, Ohio. 8. Samuel French Co., 25 W. 45th Street, New York Ip, New York. 9. Word Ancestry, American Classic League Service Bureau, New York University, New York, New York. io. Woman's Home Companion Service Bureau, 250 Park Avenue, New York, New York. ii. The Book Festival Handbook, University of the Philippines, College of Arts and Sciences, Bagnio City, Philippine Islands. (3oc) 12. Public School Publishing Company, 509 513 N. East Street, Bloomington, Illinois. D. Exhibits, Museums, Field Trips, Books, and Models i. Informative Classroom Picture Publishers, I209 Kalamazoo Avenue, S. E., Grand Rapids 7, Mich. 2. The Colonial Art Co., I36-I38 N. W. First Avenue, Oklahoma City 4, Oklahoma. 3. The Quarrie Company, 32 E. Wacker Drive, Chicago I, Illinois. 4. Universal Map Co., 22 Park Place, New York, New York. 5. Pictograph Corporation, New York, New York. 6. The Instructor Magazine, Normal Park, Dansville, New York. 7. School Use of Visual Aids, Bulletin No. 4, 1938, Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C. (Ioc) 8. Classic Illustrated (formerly Classic Comics), New York, New York. 9. Mrs. Ruth Anderson Tooze, The Book Box, Evanston, Illinois. Io. Mitten's Display Letters, Redlands, California. ii. Dis-Play-Well, 23 E. 22nd Street, New York, New York. I2. Felt Letter Studios, 538 S. Wells Street, Chicago, Illinois. i3. American Federation of Arts, Barr Building, Farragut Square, Washington, D. C. 14. Museum of Fine Arts, Division of Museum Ex- tension, Boston, Massachusetts. i5. Army Pictorial Service, Signal Corps, Room 3413, Munitions Building, Washington, D. C. i6. American Classical League, New York University, New York, New York. 17. Educational Screen, Inc., 64 E. Lake Street,Chicago, Illinois. AUDIO-VISUAL MATERIALS IN TEACHING SCIENCE A. Learning By Doing i. Direct experience, contrived experiences. a. Material collected from environment. b. The General Biological Supply House, 76i E. 6oth Street, Chicago, Illinois. 2. Dramatic Participation. a. Baker's Plays, 178 Fremont Street, Boston, Mass. b. National Board of Fire Underwriters, 85 John Street, New York, New York. c. National Dairy Council, III N. Canal Street, Chicago, Illinois. d. T. S. Denison & Co., 2o3 N. Wabash Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. B. Learning By Observation i. Demonstrations. a. General Biological Supply House, 761 F. 69th Street, Chicago, Illinois. b. Outside specialist, local museums, and manufacture ing. concerns. Continued on page I6 11 Diagnosing Silent Reading Needs BERTHA L. BRYANT ELEMENTARY TEACHER, WARREN COUNTY With the advent of the radio, television, movies and the like to inform and entertain the populace, the old days of the town crier proclaiming the latest happenings in the public square and of oral reading by one or two members of the family in front of the old open fireplace on a snowy winter's night for simple entertainment, are only memories for reminiscence and facts for history books. Since the widespread increase of better libraries, magazines, newspapers, books, and reading facilities in general, silent' reading has gradually usurped the important niche in edu- cation's aim that oral reading formerly held. But first, what is "silent reading?" We find that silent reading is one of two types of reading according to form, the other being oral. Silent reading is further classified on the basis of use into two types: 1. Recreational-reading for pleasure 2. Work or study-reading for a more or less definite purpose There is no exact line of division between these two types because what might be reading for fun at one time may be work under different conditions. Perhaps the larger portion of silent reading is done for recreation. Values that may be ex- pected from it are: 1. A profitable use of leisure time, provided the guidance has been effective. 2. Permanent interest in reading good books, magazines, etc. 3. Interest in special fields, such as sports, editorials, etc. 4. A desire to keep informed in as many fields as possible, such as politics, science or education. 5. A broader conception of human relations with a better understanding of their implications. Work or study types of reading has a direct and immediate as well as a lasting value to pupils. Its values are: 1. The ability to appraise quickly and to attack effectively any task which in- volves reading, as in solving a problem or finding an answer. 2. Developing skill in summarizing a larger unit of work and putting the summariza- tion into a few pithy sentences fully expressive of the larger unit. 3. The ability to use books, libraries, reference guides and source materials efficiently. 4. The ability to organize main and sub- ordinate ideas into some orderly form mentally while reading and in written outline later. 5. The ability to acquire a new vocabulary by using the old. Abilities in recreational reading may be developed in various and numerous ways; but before making any practical suggestions, a few facts which show the need for developing pupils in this respect should begiven. A recent study of 466 boys and 641 girls, now out of school, was made by the Iowa Planning Board. Their average age was 19.8 and 10.5 their average grade. One-half had completed high school and many were in college. Twenty-nine per cent enjoyed reading more than any other leisure activity, but forty-three per cent had read no books since leaving school and only five per cent had read books of at least average literary quality. Leisure reading in colleges seems to be woe- fully deficient and adult reading savors too much of the "garbage can." If this is true, what, if anything, can be done about it? Some of the most practical answers to this question are given by E. L. Horn in his book The Improvement of Leisure Reading. In adapted form they are: 1. Separate literature teaching from in- struction in reading skills. He suggests the use of other subject matter fields such as history, geography, or science to develop reading skills as they contain more logically arranged information. 2. Stimulate a reading interest in all the content subject matter by using the subject matter of those fields as a start for reading. 3. Change the method of teaching literature from that of critical analysis to one of direct appreciation; from that of pre- pared lessons to one of "real leisure reading" in an informal atmosphere; from intensive to extensive reading. 4. Provide reading materials to fit indi- vidual abilities. 5. Provide materials that children like. 6. Spend more money for suitable books. More specific suggestions and devices useful to teachers are: 1. A library table displaying an attractively covered book for the week may be provided. 2. A bulletin board chart showing the number of books read and reported by each child may be made by using a very small colored folder for each book read. 3. A book club may be formed. Member- ship may be earned by reading a certain number of books. The pupil should get certain privileges by belonging. 4. A book or story may be read up to an interesting place with the suggestion that the pupils finish. 5. Some interesting happening in a book or story may be told by the teacher up to a certain point, with the question ' What do you suppose happened after that?" being asked. Perhaps the most valuable asset pupils acquire from the elementary school is a healthy attitude toward reading. In other words, teaching pupils to read is one of the most important of all elementary teacher activities. Leisure reading plays an important role in creating this desirable pupil attitude. The commonly used work type reading skills are rather well known, but comparatively few teachers do anything definite about teaching them and even fewer help pupils to transform knowledge of these skills into efficient study habits. This is indicated in three different ways: 1. The objectives toward which teachers work.The course of study usually directs them to teach subjects, so many pages, a given number of problems, etc. 2. The methods of teaching. The seatwork and recitation is largely based on subject matter. Rarely is an attempt made to find out just what Tom really needs and rarely is the subject matter shaped to meet these needs. 3. The results obtained when definite effort is directed toward certain work type reading skills and content subject matter is used to develop them. A test was given to determine the gains made in certain work type reading skills in a six-month period in the rural and urban public schools in 27 counties in Iowa. The test was purported to cover six skills: a. Paragraph meaning. b. Word meaning. c. Central thought. d. Sentence meaning. e. Location of information. f. Rate of reading. The first five types mentioned test compre- hension; the last tests the rate of reading. The per cents of standard gain shows that approxi- mately equal gains were made in graded and one- room schools. This would seem to indicate that in both situations comparatively little develop- ment in work type reading skills is normally being made. ment has a good civic attitude; he has sound citizenship skill. If he grows in this attitude in the tenth and eleventh grade social studies class, even though he cannot read treatises easily, he is entitled to high school credit in that course. Health credit should not be determined upon how well a student passes a difficult examination on anatomy. He should receive credit in health if he has integrated into his behavior the kind of habits which will make him a healthy indi- vidual. The child who reads well but does not practice what he reads should receive the poor grade, while the one who does not read so well, perhaps, but who integrates what he reads and what he studies into better health practice is entitled to the high grade. In English those students who read well and take delight in fine literature should be given every opportunity to pursue their inter- ests. Those who do not read easily should be given as good materials as possible according to the level of their reading ability. If high school teachers will do this, bright pupils will continue to enjoy the traditional English program and dull students will not develop such a distaste for good reading. Furthermore, the reading abilities of slower pupils will continue to grow. The high school has a tough job ahead. It has the responsibility to minister to every child his greatest profit. The bright child must be given work which will stimulate him to the utmost so that he may learn to live and act upon his highest possible level. Society needs these bright people and needs them well trained. The high school must give to the average pupil a wholesome program so that increasingly he will be more capable, more effective in modern life. The high school has done well with the bright and average person. Since, until lately, it hasn't been confronted with many slow people, it has not given much thought to them. The dull normal is now going to high school, however, and he should continue to go there. These persons must be taught to be useful, safe citizens, too, and it is the locally controlled high school which should teach them, not some outside agency. Hence, the next great task for the secondary schools is to analyze carefully the capacities, the emotions, the needs, and the citizenship possibilities of the slow student, and to develop programs which will fit him. When they have done that I hope no high school teacher will shudder because she gives tenth grade credit to a slow student who is growing in citizenship and health and English by reading books that demand only sixth grade reading ability. This requires patience, a long view, and a Continued on page 20 13 I Continued from page IO WRITING H. L. SMILEY ELEMENTARY TEACHER, S. COLERIDGE TAYLOR SCHOOL, LOUISVILLE EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the second of a series of three articles by H. L. Smiley on the language arts to be presented in the JOURNAL. The numbers in parentheses refer to the number in the bibliography. When young children begin to write, most of the trunk of the body is involved as well as the arms and limbs. Even the contraction of the tongue and facial muscles is noticeable. The entire body seems to take a part in the writing activity. From this knowledge researchists have concluded that there is very little need for first graders to write in the beginning stage. Strick- land(13) states that now writing is taught when there is need for it, usually beginning, except for writing the child's name, after the period of orientation. Through the years cursive writing has been the style of writing used in the American schools. Many school systems have switched to manuscript writing. Trends in the use of manuscript writing in public schools have been summarized by Beale(l). He found that the larger cities have been slower than the private schools and smaller cities in adopting the manu- script style. The most recent survey of manuscript writing in the public schools has been made by Free- man(4). The survey shows that cities all over the country in the majority teach manuscript writing. Of the 727 cities replying, manuscript writing is taught in the schools of 613 cities, or 84.3 per cent. The majority of these school systems use manuscript writing only in Grade I and II. Less than a quarter of the schools teach manuscript in Grade III. Only a few teach manuscript above the primary 'grades. The survey did not investigate reasons for abandon- ing manuscript above the third grade. Less than a fifth of the schools replying had intro- duced manuscript before 1935. Concerning the advantages and disadvantages of manuscript writing, the replies indicated that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Ease of learning was indicated as an outstanding advantage. Polkinghorne(12) reports that in a survey made by the laboratory school of the University of Chicago it was shown that there is a great amount of interest in handwriting in the schools of the forty-four states that answered question- naires sent to them. One of the questions asked was in what grade writing was first taught. Other questions were whether the schools that used cursive or manuscript writing for beginners also used it in all grades, what were the mediums used in handwriting in the various grade levels, and how much time and guidance were given to handwriting. Below are some of the conclusions reached after the survey was completed: i. In 93.1 per cent of the schools, handwriting in, struction begins in the first grade. 2. In 89.3 per cent of the schools, manuscript writing is used for the beginners. 3. Only 17.6 per cent of the schools use manuscript writing through the grades. 4. In 66.4 per cent of the schools the shift from manuscript to cursive writing takes place in the third grade or above. 5. The tools used for writing and the width of ruling on the writing paper and on the blackboard show that the children write large letters at first and gradually decrease the size of their handwriting. 6. In 65.4 per cent of the schools a commercially prepared writing system is used. Most other schools used their own systems. 7. In five schools the pupils are permitted to go their own way in writing, and in 75.9 per cent of the schools they are given help. 8. The time devoted to handwriting varies, but, in general, most schools devote from seventy-five to one hundred minutes to writing instruction with some remedial help given to individuals. 9. In 63.6 per cent of the schools handwriting is first used as a tool in the first grade. IO. The schools are using research studies, personal preference, experience and experimentation hand- writing, but the most pronounced influence is the experience of their best teachers, supervisors or administrators. The most important characteristic of hand- writing is its legibility. After legibility comes the factor of speed, and when a fair rate of speed is combined with a high degree of legibility, satisfactory writing is produced. Freeman(S), Goetsch(7) and Hildreth(8) agree that manuscript writing should be used in the primary grades. In enumerating briefly some of the points in favor of this decision, the writers propose that, since the letters are separated, each letter stands out as a distinct unit of per- ception and the unit of perception is smaller than the letter rather than the word. The unit of movement is also shorter. There are no con- nections to be made between the letters, hence less work to burden the young child. The manuscript letters resemble printed letters and the child's familiarity with the printed letters is, therefore, a greater help in learning manu- script than in learning the cursive form. Lewry(11) in an experiment with manuscript writing, came to the conclusion that manuscript writing, since it is recommended for use in the primary grades, should be standardized with type forms with which children are familiar. He suggests the type such as that used in telephone directories for general use. 14 In his experiment he found that many readers which are in use in schools today were set in styles using serifs (fine cross strokes at the top or bottom of the type). Since it is known that manuscript writing consists of circles and straight lines, the problem to be solved was a kind of type with the serif so that a correlation of writing with reading would be higher. He found the kind of type used in the telephone directory to be more logical to use. His sugges- tions for improving the writing is to control the height, width and shape of the letters of begin- ners by using paper or workbooks with standard- ized, uniform guided boxes. Heese(10), in an experiment in the schools of South Africa, tried to find the cause of allegations by some critics that handwriting in their schools has deteriorated because: I. Old-fashioned copy books have been eliminated from most schools. 2. New methods of writing which allow the child too much freedom with regards to the way he sits, rests his elbows, places his feet on the floor, arranges his paper in front of him, and manipulates his pen. 3. Of an overloaded curriculum. 4. Extended use of print-script of post-primary pupils. 5. Teachers today do not pay as much attention to the subject as formerly, and do not continually insist on getting only the best from the pupils. An extensive study was made by the author of this article by sending questionnaires to a large and representative group of school prin- cipals. The main conclusions of the study are as follows: (a) That the Educational Department give schools a large measure of freedom in teaching handwriting. (b) That manuscript writing has come to stay in the beginners class. (c) That the change-over from manuscript writing to cursive writing is earlier than formerly. (d) That even though the writing of high school pupils is not up to par, no definite agreement has been reached as to the most important causes. (e) That there is still a large group of educators who want print-script used in the primary grades and some even want it used in high school. (f) That it is simple yet individualistic. These questionnaires also listed a number of faults of the print-script system. Among those faults listed were: (a) It is slower than cursive writing. (b) It tends toward a stereotype letter form, thus eliminating individuality. (c) Children who are taught manuscript writing might encounter difficulty in reading the cursive writing of their elders. (d) It is not always acceptable in the business world. (e) The transition from manuscript to cursive often proves unsatisfactory. Dr. Callawaert(2) gives a like opinion when he says any writing should begin with a methodi- cal apprenticeship. Young children who are given writing without such training usually labor under great strain, so much so that at times it seems painful. With a good method the child writes with more ease and more speed. Besides all of this, the child is rewarded with a product that is more enjoyable to read. There has been some controversy over the question of whether or not a change should be made from manuscript to cursive form in the middle and upper grades. Hildreth(8) gives these factors in favor of the change: (1) parents demand it, (2) children frown upon manuscript at this level, (3) most teachers of middle and upper grades are loath to learn well enough themselves to be able to teach it well; hence they prefer cursive writing. Lefthanded children have created a problem with many teachers. A good many teachers admit that they do not know what to do with these children. Teachers and parents are con- stantly attempting to shift their writing to the right hand. This causes them to be confused and they often become discouraged. Hildreth(9) states that approximately five per cent of school children are left-handed. It is estimated that two hundred thousand left- handed six-year-olds enter the first grade each year. Usually there are one to four "lefties" in a classroom, sometimes six or more. The number of left-handed children appears to have increased over a period of years, due to relaxed home and school discipline, as well as to the belief that children who show early preferences for the left hand should not be changed. When the left-handed child is not given the proper attention he works under a serious handi- cap. His writing is awkward and he shows strain and tension. He is unable to see clearly what he has written and the way in which he crooks his wrist causes his progress in writing to decrease rapidly. On entering school very definite attention should be given to those pupils who seem to be definitely left-handed. If it seems certain that they will write with the left hand, teachers should make every effort to develop their efficiency with that hand. The use of the blackboard plus manuscript writing should be continued for a considerable length of time before the left-handed children are introduced to writing on paper. CONCLUSION: Speed and legibility seem to be the two main causes for the controversy concerning writing. From the standpoint of the psychology of learn- ing, speed is a function of age, no matter what style is used; the older the child, in general, the faster he writes. Often the lack of instruction in the middle and upper grades is the cause of deterioration. It seems to be accepted that as yet educators have not found a cause for all the ills of present day writing. Yet it seems that all agree that whatever writing is done it should be correlated with other classroom work and habits of auto- matic writing be built in the child so that he 15 writes naturally and spontaneously as he per- forms any other skill. IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHERS: In the field of writing manuscript writing should be used at least in the primary grades. A type like the printed page seems to be de- sirable. In changing from manuscript to cursive writing speed and legibility are the two main considerations, since illegible writing is a waste of time, and slow writing causes inefficiency. Learning to write is often made unnecessarily complicated for young children. Teachers should encourage those children who show a tendency to write left-handed to write with the other hand. Teachers should study those children who are definitely left-handed to understand their motor characteristics. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Beale, Beulah P., "Trends in Handwriting," Baltimore Bulletin of Education, No. 10, 1944. 2. Callawaert, Dr. H., "A Rational Technique ofWriting,"Journalof Educational Research, 41:1-21, September, 1947. 3. Cole, Luella, "Instruction in Penmanship for the Left-handed Child," The Elementary School Journal, 39:426-438, May, 1939. 4. Freeman, Frank, "An Evaluation of Early Handwriting Instruction," The Elementary School Journal, 36:446-455, February, 1936. 5. Freeman, Frank, "Solving Handwriting Needs As We See Them Today," Colum- bus, Ohio: Zaner-Bloser Company, 1941. 6. Gates, A. I., and Brown, H., "Experimental Comparison of the Movement in Manu- script Writing and Cursive Writing," Journal of Educational Psychology, 20:3-16. 7. Goetsh, Walter, "The Effect of Early Hand- writing Instruction," The Elementary School Journal, 36:290-298. December, 1935. 8. Hildreth, Gertrude, "Should Manuscript Writing Be Continued in the Upper Grades?", The Elementary School Journal, 45:85-92, October, 1944. 9. Hildreth, Gertrude, Learning the Three R's, Minneapolis, Minnesota: Educational Pub- lishers, 1947. 10. Heese, J. De V., "The Use of Manuscript Writing in the Schools of South Africa," Journal of Educational Research, 40:161-177, November, 1946. 11. Lewry, Marion E., "Improving Manuscript Writing in Primary Grades," The Elemen- tary School Journal, 47:508-515, May, 1947. 12. Polkinghorne, Ada R., "Current Practice in Teaching Handwriting," The Elementary School Journal, 47:218-224, December, 1946. 13. Strickland, Ruth G., A Good Start in School, State of Indiana Department of Public Instruction, No. 158, 1944. Constitutional Amendments A majority of the members of the Committee for the Revision of the Constitution, under the able chairmanship of A. R. Lasley, recommend that the proposed amendments listed below be added to the Constitution of the Kentucky Negro Education Association. PROPOSED AMENDMENTS 1. That retired teachers who pay the annual enrollment fee or who are life members be given the same status as teachers who are actively Continued from paf 2. Field Trips. a. Material available from local community. b. American Ed. Press, Inc., 4oo S. Front Street, Columbus, Ohio. 3. Exhibits. a. Household Finance Corp., 9i N. Michigan Blvd., Chicago, Illinois. b. National Carbon Co., Inc., 30 E. 42nd Street, New York, New York. (Batteries) 4. Museums. a. Local, classroom, and school museums. I. Motion Pictures. a. American Museum of Natural History, Film Division, 77th Street and Central Park, West, New York, New York. b. Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C. c. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conserva- tion, Washington, D. C. d. DeVry Corp., izii Armitage, Chicago, Illinois. engaged in the teaching profession, with the exception of holding office. 2. That the president of each district asso- ciation and one classroom teacher from each district meet with the Board of Directors at least once each year. 3. That the Secretary-Treasurer be elected for a term of three years. 4. That brief memorial services be held at each annual session for deceased teachers. (Free films-5oc for pamphlet.) f. Indiana University Audio-Visual Center, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. g. Other visual aid centers of other universities. h. Burton Holmes Films, 75IO Ashland Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. (Free loan.) 6. Still Pictures. a. Slides. (I) Keystone View Co., Meadville, Pennsylvania. (2) Viewlex, Inc., 35 Queens Blvd., Long Island City, New York. (Health and Birds.) b. Opaque Projection. (I) American Optical Co., Scientific Instrument Div., Buffalo, New York. c. Color Plates. (I) J. H. Doson, Inc., Kankakee, Illinois. (Write for order blank and catalog.) (a) National Geographic Society, i6th and M Streets, N. W., Washington, D. C. (Send for list.) R. LILLIAN CARPENTER ASSISTANT SUPERVISOR OF MUSIC, LOUISVILLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS Today we are in the throes of an undeclared war. The last war demonstrated the priorities which come to the educated and competent men and women. It also revealed some of the fallacies and errors of our present educational system. The crisis of today offers opportunities for further considerations of change in some of our philosophies of music education-opportunities which we must recognize as a challenge for our best efforts. As a race we cannot hope to reach a satis- factory solution to our problems until we have developed within the group an understanding and a sincere appreciation for the fine arts comparable to that of other groups. A statement that the present rating of our musical productivity is appreciably higher than before the last war is no indication that we in Kentucky are measuring up to the standards of other groups. The All-State Chorus is a major step forward toward our goal. Compared with the singing groups who participated on the program of the K. N. E. A. twenty years ago, we have a good reason to be proud of our ac- complishments. On the other hand, if we com- pare it with groups who boast of participants who read and understand music, we are aware of the fact that our music program is lacking in its organization. A large percentage of the pupils who participate in our All-State Chorus cannot read music and must be taught the songs "by rote." The time spent in teaching the music to nonreaders could be profitably given to other choral techniques so necessary for satisfactory presentation. Another phase of our music program which is being overlooked in many of the schools in Kentucky is training in instrumental music. The school executives in a few cities are aware of the possibilities in this area, and, consequently have employed instructors in this field. An All-State Band and an All-State Orchestra could function as successfully as an All-State Chorus. The organization of piano classes in elementary and secondary schools has been perfected in many of the larger cities. These classes exert a tremendous influence on the musicianship of the community. The motivation of intensive study of music notation is present in a high degree in well-directed piano study. The social value of group instruction, and the lifelong independent pleasure the piano gives to persons who can play it, even if only moderately well, warrant includ- ing piano classes in the curriculum of the modem school. Materials and methods for class piano teaching are now so easily and inexpensively available that any capable school music teacher can in a short time prepare for this type of instruction. No doubt all educators will agree that the present craze for distorted music in the home, church, and community has retarded the growth of appreciation for pure music among the mem- bers of our race. The fundamental purpose and ultimate aim of any music program is to cultivate and develop desirable attitudes toward music. We in Kentucky should plan a program which provides for growth in such skills and knowledge as will contribute definitely to the development of these attitudes. The foregoing statements are a challenge to the educators of Kentucky. The implication suggests a program of music education for all boys and girls of the State. Such a program should provide music reading in both elementary and secondary schools, the organization and training of instrumental groups and piano classes, and courses in music appreciation. In short, a program should be planned whose function is "to cause the rank and file of our boys and girls to maintain, if possible to increase, the interest which they felt when they first heard and took part in music, and give them suitable opportunities for growing constantly more intelligent when listening to good rendi- tions of standard music. " For a number of years educators of Kentucky have advocated greater and equal education for the Negro youth of the State. Some barriers bave been removed and avenues opened to students of music. A conversation with those students who have taken advantage of these new oppor- tunities will prove that our program has not given them a background comparable to that of their classmates. We must accept the responsi- bility for this limited background which may prove disastrous to the cause for which we have fought. In an effort to raise the standard of music in Kentucky, the music teachers perfected the organization of the Kentucky Association of Music Teachers, November 3, 1950. The Asso- ciation hopes to conduct a workshop annually. All music teachers are invited to become members and are urged to participate in the all-state choral and instrumental activities. 17 Book REVIEWS BY RUTH HILL JONES LIBRARIAN, MADISON JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL, LOUISVILLE Formal education applies its pattern to the mind; but only through books does the mind itself enrich, deepen, apply, modify and develop those patterns in individual life fulfillment. Books may mean much in individual development in the realms of character formation, activation of intelligence, in the enrichment of resources, and in the deepening of sensitivity. Books offer building material for the formation of character through knowledge and thought. Through them we gain what John Marley called "The historic sense of progress through the ages," a background of understanding, a basis of understanding, a basis of familiarity with inter- locking of events and the great undercurrents that run changing yet forever the same through human experience past and present. Without this there can be no broad intelligence or sound judgment. The possessions and equipment man has today are achievements and realizations that would have been miracles to the people of yester- year. Through books we have bridged the cen- turies and built the world's structure of achieve- ment; through books we receive and enlarge the heritage of the human mind. This background of understanding is in a degree indispensable to enjoyment of good reading and it builds itself from that enjoyment. To care for good reading and to continue it for this reason means that bit by bit this background takes on substance in the mind, and unconscious- ly every new subject contemplated, studied, or enjoyed enlarges and enriches it. From every book invisible threads reach out to other books; as the mind comes to use and control those threads the entire panorama of the world's life, past and present, becomes more varied and interesting. At the same time the powers of reflection and judgment are exercised and strengthened. Drama, poetry, novels-books that set the imagination at work-are potent agents in back- ground building, weaving color and personality into the fabric of his social progress. Background reading may be built forward or backward. The present gives stimulus to explore the past; the tides of the past ebb and flow into i the present. Through reading we are carried along on this flow and movement of life. What is good reading? The question is far easier asked than answered. All reading, any reading, is better than none. -It is futile to attempt to specify what are the ten, twenty-five, or fifty "best books." That familiar phrase means only the books that are "best to me." The choice of books must always be influenced by individual personality. Yet, the "books that everyone should know" are all worth knowing; from them every reader can draw his own measure of inspiration and wisdom. They are the sources of the means to background in understanding and appreciation of literature. Already we were too busy with the rush of modern life to actually sit down and enjoy reading. The radio had long ago made reading a lost art for some people-and now comes television to play an important role in our world today. Under the high pressure of present day living, how then is time for reading to be found? This, too, is a difficult question. Its only answer is that those who care for books will somehow, slowly as the years go by, come to know them widely and well. At this critical period in the world's history, it appears that sooner or later atomic warfare will be waged on an extensive scale. It may be later than we think. As I read the daily papers, current news magazines, and listen to the com- mentators, I thought it would be well to present some reviews in this area. After reading quite extensively about the atom, and the bomb, I am forced to agree with Chancellor Hutchins of the University of Chicago, who states that "the best way to avoid trouble from the bomb is not to be there when it explodes." Atom Bombing Soon Shadow on the Hearth By Judith Merril, New York: Doubleday & Co., 277 pp., $3.00. Since American bombs ruined Hiroshima and Nagasaki several writers have attempted to describe what would happen to us in an atomic war in which the enemy attacked our principal cities suddenly and without warning. Nearly all of them asked too much of the reader's imagination or his courage to face seriously universal disaster and death from the effects of radiation or mass starvation. This book relates what happened to a capable wife and mother in a suburb of New York after atomic warfare destroyed most of the city. In this novel the action is entirely within the walls of a house; the terror comes only through radio and telephone. The day it began was like all other days in Gladys Mitchell's life. Her husband commuted to his office and the children went off to school. Suddenly came a flash of light and a curiously ominous cloud. An hour later the radio began to pour out its messages:"New York and Washington destroyed. Don't leave your home; bar your windows and doors; wait for help; telephone if you must to radiation and police center!" Continued on page xg 18 Standing Committees REVISION OF THE CONSTITUTION COMMITTEE G. U. Curry............... Glasgow Mrs. Stella Gray ..... .......... Russellville J. Polk Griffey ................. Princeton H. E. Goodloe .. ............... Owensboro H. Gumm ............... Franklin E. R. Hampton............... Princeton CeciliaJackson .... ........... Harrodsburg A. R. Lasley, Chairman .. .... Hopkinsville M. L. Mastin............... Frankfort J. Matthew... ........ Benham Vernon E. Miller.Louisville v. K. Perry............... Louisville Mrs. Anita Robinson ...................... Louisville J. V. Robinson............. Elizabethtown F. B. Simpson ............. Elkton Mrs. Mary Spradling .Shelbyville F. I. Steiger........... : . . Mayfield William Summers.......... Danville N. S. Thomas .......... Horse Cave L. J. Twyman ............ Glasgow Thomas West .......... Hopkinsville 0. W. Whyte .......... Maysville William Wood .......... Harlan C. H. Woodson .......... Bardstown LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE G. W. Adams .......... Winchester R. B. Atwood, Chairman ............. F rankfort S. L. Barker .... ............ Owensboro F. R. Cannon................ Nicholasville C. B. Clelland................ Harrodsburg C. V. David................ Cynthiana Mrs. Agnes Duncan ................ Louisville H. E. Goodloe................ Owensboro P. L. Guthrie .Lexington M. E. Kellis. Paris H. B. Kirkwood.......... Henderson C. B. Knuckolls ............ Ashland W. V. Knuckolls.......... Providence H. R. Merry .......... Covington W. H. Perry, Jr.......... Louisville W. L. Shobe.......... Lynch 1950-51 0* * S Mrs. Lucy Hunt Smith .................. Lexington Frank Stanley ....... ........... Louisville C. L. Timberlake .................. Paducah Mrs. Theda Van Lowe .................. Lexington E. W. Whiteside .................. Paducah W. M. Young ............ ...... Lincoln Ridge AUDITING COMMITTEE Joseph Carroll ............ ...... Lincoln Ridge P. L. Guthrie .................. Lexington M. J. Sleet, Chairman .................. Paducah NECROLOGY COMMITTEE Mrs. Sadie Abstain .................. Jeffersontown Mrs. Nannie M. Armstrong ................ Eminence L. J. Buckner ......... ......... Hopkinsville Mrs. Eggesters ................... Paducah Mrs. Horton.................. Ashland Charles N. King ......... ......... Frankfort Mrs. J. A. Matthews ............... ... Benham Mrs. Iola Morrow ................... Elkton Mrs. Elizabeth Ramsey .................. Louisville Mrs. Ida M. Ross .......... ........ Mayslick Grant P. Wilson, Chairman ................. Somerset Mrs. Edmonia Wilson .................. Covington Mrs. William Woods ............ ...... Harlan COMMITTEE ON CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN KENTUCKY WITH VIEW OF ACCREDITATION R. B. Atwood ........ ........... Frankfort Mrs. E. T. Buford ................... Bowling Green Mrs. Kathleen Carroll .................. Lincoln Ridge T. R. Dailey, Chairman ................... Frankfort Mrs. Meacie Rhodes Dukes ................ Drakesboro Mrs. Hattie B. Hansford .................. Bardstown Mrs. Minnie J. Hitch ................... Frankfort H. C. Mathis .. ................... Drakesboro E. B. McClasky ............. ...... Russellville Mrs. L. J. Spencer ............... .... Frankfort Mrs. Courtney Thompson .................. Louisville Mrs. E. C. Whiteside ................... Paducah Mrs. Beatrice C. Willis ................... Louisville Continued from page i8 The children returned home, but the husband did not. Every day the situation of the little household grows worse, At night, the home is attacked by a band of marauders. the gas fails, and the water is about to be turned off. The hair of one of the children begins to fall out, from radio- activity absorbed from a toy picked up outside the school. Somehow the mother finds the courage to go ahead. The moral that threads itself throughout the story is almost too clear. Men and women can go through the worst disasters if they are not conquered by fear or doubt but go bravely about their tasks. What would have happened to all of them if the enemy had kept up a rain of atomic bombs and if the United States had not developed push-button warfare can best be left to the imagination. The Good News of Damnation Can You Get Very Calm? How to Survive an Atomic Bomb. By Richard Gerstell. In two editions: iyo pp. New York: Rinehart & Co. (For Combat Forces Press.) $x.95, Bantam Books 2y cents. If atomic warfare should come, this book may save your life. Richard Gerstell, the author, has succeeded in giving us "A Complete, Easy-to-read Guide for Every Home, Office and Factory." The book is simple, lively and easy to absorb, even for a reader who wouldn't know a proton from plutonium; for the strictly factual portions Mr. Gerstell's illustrated manual is as technically correct as elementary teaching can be. The author was a radiological monitor at Bikini and is a consultant to the United States Civil Defense Office now being formed. However, Mr. Gerstell is really a writer. He keeps his reader busily employed as he walks him briskly through the situations he may find before, during, and after an atomic raid. The writer aims to calm what he judges to be our needless fears. If you read this book, you'll be less frightened, and moreover, you'll know what to do and be able to do it. He destroys such "misconceptions" as the theory that "food hit by atomic rays is poisoned," or that "one bomb can wipe out a city." What he says is generally true as he qualifies it. The book opens condescendingly with this question from the hypothetical reader, "How afraid should I be of the atomic bomb?" Ignorance and panic, states the prelimi- nary answer, could be worse than the bomb. If we permit ourselves to remain ignorant, we may be killed. The final answer is that one should memorize some instructions and be fearless, but when it comes, "wherever you are, drop flat on your stomach and put your face tight in your folded arms, and remain there as long as necessary- flat but fearless." This is a good book so far as it gives facts on which citizens can plan with confidence, a dangerous book in so far as it encourages a national tendency to* overconfidence. The author has providedus with an aspirin for Armageddon. 19 K. N. E. A. Kallings... F. I. Stiger, principal of Mayfield Hig] School, sends the information that the schoc has a new gym under construction. * * * Mrs. Mary M. Spradling, James O'Rourk, and Mrs. Rose Banks attended library confer ences recently. * * * W. L. Spearman was in Washington, D. C. in November attending a meeting of the Nationa Association of Secretaries of State Teacher Associations. * * * The Lyceum at Kentucky State College sponsored the Louisville Philharmonic Orchestra in a matinee for school children of the Bluegrass area. * * * The Honorable Jesse H. Lawrence, winner of the Lincoln Institute Key for Achievement in 1950, was chosen "Omega Man of the Year" by the Omega Psi Phi fraternity. * * * Mrs. Edith Bristow, Miss Lucille Wilson, and Mrs. Thomas Blue of Louisville, and Presi- dent R. B. Atwood of K. S. C. attended the Mid-Century White House Conference on Children and Youth Education recently in Washington, D. C. * * * The beginning of the school year found many new teachers and principals at work in schools throughout the state. We wish all of them, including those whose names do not appear below, a successful school year. Principals Mrs. Carrie Franklin Smythe, Western School, Louisville; Leo Diggs, Bond School, Louisville. Teachers George Carver School, Lexington: Alice Gillespie, Mrs. Rosairene Black, Mrs. Roslyn Lawson. Phyllis Wheatley School, Louisville: Mrs. Gwendolyn Laslie. Virginia Avenue School, Louisville: Mrs. Nellie Wilkerson, Mrs. Fredda Alexander, Mrs. Elcina Manier. Parkland School, Louisville: Carrie Perkins. Lincoln Institute, Lincoln Ridge: Carrie Bennett, Walter Gilliard, Tony Miller, Mrs. Flora Swafford, Mrs. Louvan Gearin, Fannie Lawson, Mrs. Ida Mae Nesbitt. Hopkinsville High School, Hopkinsville: James W. Hammons. * * * If you have news for this column, why not send it to the editor? Principal Brumell of Ormsby Village is on -the lookout for basketball games for his boys, who are proudly sporting new uniforms. * * * The funeral for Mrs. Emma K. Butler, for years a teacher in the Louisville School System, was during the Christmas holidays. * * * President R. B. Atwood has asked the State Board of Education to accept the $1000 gift given to K. S. C. by Chairman Paul Blazer of the Board of Directors of the Ashland Oil Company. This gift, the second given, will be added to the first gift which was used to estab- lish a student loan fund. * * * Dr. Charles H. Wesley, President of Wilber- force State University, will be the principal speaker at the DIAMOND JUBILEE HOME- COMING BANQUET. * * * Probably one of the proudest of teachers in Kentucky is Mrs. Juanita Lane. Her husband, David C. Lane, Jr., ex-Dean of Municipal College, has been promoted from major to lieutenant colonel in the U. S. Army. * * * Through Atwood S. Wilson, principal of Central High School, Louisville, we learn that Central High School was the only Negro high school to meet all the standards of the Secondary Commission of the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. R. L. Dowery, Jr., formerly a teacher at Drakesboro, is now a member of the Harlem Globe Trotters. -DIAMOND JUBILEE BANQUET J. Bryant Cooper, chairman of the DIAMOND JUBILEE HOMECOMING BANQUET COMMITTEE, announces the homecoming banquet on Friday evening, April 13, 1951. The banquet will be held in the Kunz dining room on Fourth Street. This dining room, the largest available to Negr6es in Louisville, will seat a limited number of persons. When you receive information concerning reservations, please make them immediately. Continued from page I3 faith that our efforts will bring some reward- not a revolution or a reformation, but a further step in a line of natural development. We have responsibilities, don't we? We have the responsibility of teaching students to use languages intelligently as an instrument of thought and communication: to speak, write, and read like educated human beings: and to be citizens of the community, to the end that they may grow to be not slaves, or robots, or dolts, but educated men and women in a free society. 20 WEST KENTUCKY VOCATIONAL TRAINING SCHOOL PADUCAH, KENTUCKY C. L. Timberlake, President Strictly a Trade School Offering Courses as Follows: FOR MEN Automobile Mechanics and Maintenance Engineering Electric Welding (one course) Office Practices (Typing, Short- Barbering hand, Filing, etc.)-one course Briok Masonry Shoe Repairing Woodworking Tailoring Carpentry Horticulture Chef Cooking FOR WOMEN Tailoring Beauty Culture Dressmaking Barbering Office Practice (Typing, Shorthand, Filing, etc.) Practical Nursing This is an old established trade school that aids in placements and follow-up of its graduates For all information write: M. J. SLEET, Business Manager - N. E.A. 40 DUMESNIL WUISVILLE 10, KY. 3STMASTER: If undeliverable FOR ANY REASON ify sender, stating reason on FORM 3547, postage which is guaranteed." See. 34.66 P. L. & U. S. Postage Paid Louisville, Ky. Permit No. 332 Kentucky's Oldest Life, Health and Accident Insurance Company Over 48 years of faithful service to policyholders. More than $34,000,000.00 paid to policyholders and their beneficiaries since organization. KENTUCKY CENTRAL LIFE AND ACCIDENT INSURANCE COMPANY Home Office: Anchorage, Kentucky R. H. West, Secretary-Treasurer - i E. H. Speckman, President

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