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An Experimental Prog,ram 
 
 IN 
 
 Elementary Education 
 
 AT 
 
 Spring, Hope, North Carolina 
 
 ISStlBD BY THE 
 
 State Superintendent of Public Instruction 
 Raleigh, North Carolina 
 
Publication No. 200 
 
 An Experimental Prog^ram 
 
 IN 
 
 Elementary Education 
 
 AT 
 
 Spring, Hope, North Carolina 
 
 A Report Written By 
 ANNIE M. CHERRY 
 
 Issued by the 
 
 State Superintendent of Public Instruction 
 
 Raleigh, North Carolina 
 
 1937 
 
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 ;''^^^^ 
 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 The Spring Hope Public School has initiated a most Avorthy project de- 
 signed to provide a program of education based upon the needs of the in- 
 dividual child regardless of his present equipment or stage of growth and 
 development. That all children participating in this program are satis- 
 factorily succeeding in the achievement of an all-round education, meeting 
 the present-day social, intellectual, and physical demands, is already a 
 well-known and recognized fact. On the whole, the project is attracting 
 not only Statewide but National attention because it is considered by many 
 authorities to be unique in American education. In the philosophy ex- 
 pressed and in the practical application of the principles underlying the 
 program, there are no failures and no dependents but an unmistakable 
 and workable democracy of everyday living as evidenced in the freedom 
 of the individual child to use his own God-given powers to their fullest 
 extent and capacity as he achieves success in the worth-while educa- 
 tional experiences the school provides for him. 
 
 To Miss Ada E. Valentine and her associates in this experimental work 
 I wish to express grateful appreciation for the work that has thus far 
 been accomplished and to assure them of my heartiest support in the 
 further development of the project at Spring Hope until its influence is 
 felt in all school programs throughout the State. 
 
 Miss Annie M. Cherry, the author of this report, has spent the past 
 several months observing and studying the experimental program and 
 has presented herewith a most interesting and a true account of what is 
 happening to the boys and girls as well as to the teachers and parents at 
 Spring Hope. 
 
 Too long have we neglected the unsuccessful school child, and in too few 
 instances has provision been made for the successful advancement of each 
 and every individual child enrolled in our schools. "Spring Hope truly 
 points the way." May the State as a whole profit by this remarkable and 
 practical example of a more adequate education for every child. 
 
 
 state SuperintenrJent of PutJic Instruction 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2011 with funding from 
 
 Ensuring Democracy through Digital Access (NC-LSTA) 
 
 http://www.archive.6rg/details/experimentalprog1937cher 
 
INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT 
 
 Perhaps the greatest educational need of our country today is the 
 freeing of our schools from the clutches of traditional methods and goals 
 in order to better conceive and achieve those vital things which now seem 
 most promising for the fullest, all-round development of modern youth. 
 Therefore, the challenge which faces education is the organization and 
 conduct of the public schools in terms of maximum child growth that will 
 promote more complete living. If the solution of this problem reaches 
 the optimum goal, the teaching profession and the public must cooperate 
 intelligently to provide a school environment in which creative teaching 
 and learning can take place. Only when these agencies — the school, the 
 home, and the general public — are ready to consider each other as con- 
 tributors in a cooperative enterprise will there be a sound basis for the 
 harmonized development of wholesome, well-balanced, integrated per- 
 sonalities in our schools. 
 
 Growth in the ability to make one's own experiences ever more meaning- 
 ful is the highest human good; it is the best realization of the basic things 
 of life. The enlarging and enriching of life through active participation 
 in social situations and through creative reconstruction of experience are 
 essential to the realization of permanent values. It follows then that if 
 we accept education as growth throughout all of life and as broad and as 
 versatile as all of the processes of living, then we must adjust all methods 
 of teaching and training to the intelligent understanding and knowledge 
 of the child as an integral personality and of childhood as a stage of the 
 continuous stream of living. Emphasis must, therefore, be placed upon 
 growth, change, new adjustments, adaptations to new conditions, and the 
 solution of social problems needed in making these adjustments. 
 
 If our conception of behavior is the growth of the child in relation to 
 his environment, then we must have the type of school where the child's 
 total personality can expand properly and grow happily, naturally, and 
 continuously, and where his character can develop maximally through 
 doing purposeful things of interest to him under the wise leadership of a 
 well-adjusted teacher with an alert, observing, learning attitude toward 
 childhood and its problems. Therefore, the experimental work of Miss 
 Ada E. Valentine with a group of unadjusted school children at Spring 
 Hope, North Carolina, over a four-year period, followed now by a similar 
 program on a somewhat larger scale, comes as a distinct innovation and 
 a unique contribution in the field of educational endeavor. It points the 
 way for the emancipation of all children from a cramped, shackled regime 
 to a hitherto uncharted course by them, but one that promises the most 
 for a larger life. 
 
 Annie M. Cherky 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Page 
 
 The Scene of Action : 
 
 Setting the Stage 9 
 
 An Emerging Program of Creative Living For All Children : 
 Viewing Eight Years of Experimental Work in 
 
 Elementary Education 15 
 
 Spring Hope Points The Way : 
 
 Moving Forward Toward a Larger Life for All 
 
 Children 61 
 
 Teacher-Training Orientation : 
 
 Guiding the Teaching Personnel Toumrd Creative 
 
 Leadership in Emerging Program 71 
 
 The Challenge For Public Education : 
 
 Reaping Satisfactions for All 77 
 
THE SCENE OF ACTION 
 
The Scene Of Action 
 
 Setting The Stage 
 
 "Fifty years ago Spring Hope, a village in Nash County, on the 
 fall line of North Carolina, definitely took root and began growth 
 on its present site, (See Map of North Carolina on page 2.) 
 On August 1, 1887 the first woodburning Atlantic Coast Line 
 train arrived and changed Tineview' crossroads into 'Spring 
 Hope' depot. The town received its charter February 25, 1889. 
 In connection with Charter Day and Jubilee Year many pictur- 
 esque tales of Spring Hope's origin and early history have been 
 revived by old citizens and by various documents on file in the 
 county. 
 
 "In seeking the birthplace of Spring Hope, one is brought to 
 a standstill in a pasture four miles west of town by the brink of a 
 rock-walled, moss and fern fringed spring and shown a sheep- 
 house one hundred yards up the hill. This identical building in 
 this identical spot of the crossroads was the first store at the first 
 Spring Hope. Its mortise and tenon fashioned framework were 
 strengthened with wooden pegs. The lumber and shingles were 
 handdrawn and hauled by ox cart a century ago from a discarded 
 store. The shutters open like doors. Its nails and the diagonal 
 iron bar over each window were hand forged in the builder's 
 blacksmith shop. 
 
 "It is unanimously agreed that the fore-mentioned spring in- 
 fluenced Spring Hope's name. In olden days springs were all-im- 
 portant. People feared enemies would poison the wells, whereas 
 running water was safe. It appears that there is no one at the 
 present time who knows about the origin of 'hope' in Spring 
 Hope, Stanhope, and Union Hope — all in a fifteen-mile radius in 
 Nash County. Three springs made the name even more appro- 
 priate for new Spring Hope. However, an early settler is credited 
 with christening his settlements; though a thirsty stagecoach 
 traveler may have suggested the title, as 'Old Spring Hope' was 
 a mail and passenger stop in days before the Civil War when 
 the Richmond coach and four horses journeyed back and forth by 
 Spring Hope to meet the Raleigh-Tarboro coach at 'Old Stan- 
 hope'. 
 
 "No enviable job the stagecoach driver had to 'handle the 
 lines' of four to six horses and direct his cumbersome vehicle 
 over Nash County red clay roads. Few are the people now living 
 
10 An Experimental PROGRAii in Elementary Education 
 
 who heard the stagecoach bugle as it blew a mile ahead of each 
 stop. The number of passengers for dinner was designated by 
 the number of blasts, and at horse-changing stations the colored 
 hostler hurried the horses into order. 
 
 "Almost unbelievable delay and discomfort are recorded in 
 tales of freshet seasons when Tar River, Sapony, Stony, and Pig 
 Basket Creeks became impassable and flat boats relayed the 
 coach, horses, and passengers across. The old Richmond stage- 
 coach ford over the Tar River is pointed out today near York's 
 Bridge. In winter the horses were unhitched and led across the 
 ice and all hands pushed the coach across. Mail and baggage 
 rode on top in modern bus style. Coach horses were the finest 
 obtainable and were gi\^en solicitous care between stages, which 
 covered from fifteen to thirty miles. The last coach to pass Old 
 Spring Hope was several years after the advent of the first trains 
 in North Carolina. 
 
 "Today instead of the clatter and the bugle of a stagecoach 
 these quiet hills, the birthplace of Spring Hope, echo the baa, 
 baa and the tinkling sheep bells of probably the largest flock of 
 sheep in Nash County, whose wool and flesh make sufficient profit 
 for their owners that they raise no cotton or tobacco. What a 
 landmark to progress is Spring Hope: seventy-five years ago a 
 village crossroads with one store and a twice-weekly stagecoach 
 stop ; fifty years ago a forest of pines, four or five stores, and a 
 new railroad ; today a busy Httle village of 1,350 population, sup- 
 plied with many of the necessary services to meet their spiritual, 
 cultural, civic, educational, and social needs. There is a steady 
 fiow of streamline cars and buses through the very heart of this 
 municipality on N. C. Highway No. 90, U. S. No. 64, and thirty- 
 eight miles from Raleigh, the State capital, and twenty miles 
 from Rocky Mount, the chief railroad center of eastern Carolina." 
 
 This community is essentially rural and is concerned chiefly 
 with agricultural pursuits. The climate and soil combine to make 
 the land very fertile and productive and well suited to intensive 
 agriculture ; so large areas are under cultivation. These planta- 
 tions are often worked by tenants, many of whom are Negroes, 
 though much of the farm land is operated by the owners them- 
 selves. Cotton, corn, and tobacco are the principal crops grown. 
 
 Since its very beginning. Spring Hope has made its contri- 
 bution to the welfare of the Commonwealth socially, educa- 
 tionally, economically, and religiously. Long has it been known 
 for its unselfish, cooperative spirit, expressed through the chan- 
 
The Scene of Action 11 
 
 nels of its various organizations now incorporated into one of the 
 strongest and most active Town Planning Boards in the State. 
 The population includes members of both the white and the Negro 
 races. The whites are descendants of pure Anglo-Saxon native- 
 born rural Americans ; the Negroes are of Southern native-born 
 parentage. Thus this rich background has been reflected in the 
 people and has had a notable effect upon their general tone and 
 quality. 
 
 Located within the boundary of the village itself one finds the 
 Spring Hope School, a typical consohdated, rural village school. 
 For many years a small public school of the traditional type was 
 in operation. During the past decade a county-wide plan of con- 
 solidation was completed, and the school at Spring Hope received 
 its pro rata part of the school population of the county. The area 
 included in the new school community covers about one hundred 
 and fifty square miles, which comprises the village and many 
 adjacent farms, some large, some small, in a radius of nine or 
 ten miles. 
 
 Today the school plant includes four buildings, a modern high 
 school building, an old building used temporarily to house the 
 elementary school children, a gymnasium, and a small, inade- 
 quate shop for the work in vocational agriculture, constructed 
 as an emergency to meet the pressing needs of the larger boys. 
 This school system is operated under the supervision of the 
 county superintendent of schools, but is in direct charge of the 
 principal, who with the help of twenty-two teachers is immedi- 
 ately responsible for serving the educational needs of eight 
 hundred and thirty-seven white children throughout the eleven 
 grades of the school. 
 
 All of the people within the consohdated area are a part of this 
 larger school community. The principal and the teaching force, 
 the pupils and the parents— all live and work together in close 
 contact with each other, both in school and out of school. 
 
AN EMERGING PROGRAM OF CREATIVE 
 LIVING FOR ALL CHILDREN 
 
An Emerging Program Of Creative Living For 
 
 All Children 
 
 Vietving Eight Years of Experimental Work in Elementary 
 
 Education 
 
 The Spring Hope experimental program in elementary edu- 
 cation, initiated and projected by Miss Ada E. Valentine at 
 Spring Hope, North Carolina, is a venture in creative living for 
 all children. Its main purpose is to give boys and girls new 
 horizons, richer and more abiding interests, and loftier aims and 
 ideals, which will help them to live ever better the life of each day 
 as they face it. 
 
 Here the observer will find a faithful and life-sized picture 
 of how both pupils and teachers work and play together happily 
 and effectively under wholesome and stimulating conditions, 
 living and growing in the fullest sense the life of each day as a 
 basis for a brighter and more fruitful tomorrow. Rarely, if 
 ever, has there been a more vivid portrayal of complete living 
 among school boys and girls over a period of years with few 
 evidences of fragmentary and blurred spots appearing, but rather 
 a wholeness and a completeness of the entire experience that is 
 altogether pleasing and satisfying. As one stands off and views 
 it in true perspective, the school life with its whole round of 
 activities appears as one panoramic view of interesting events 
 and circumstances woven into a human tapestry of recognized 
 merit and worth, with lights and darks sketched in here and 
 there that give proper balance and appreciation to the whole 
 scene of action. 
 
 But if someone were to ask, "What is the fundamental doc- 
 trine, the underlying plan of work around which this new pro- 
 gram is developed?", in all sincerity the reply would be, "It is 
 not a plan. It is not a creed or a theory that can be defined any, 
 more than it is possible to 'define' a beautiful painting or a piece 
 of sculpture." If you will go to Riverside Church in New York 
 City, you can see "Christ in Gethsemane" and "Christ and the 
 Rich Young Man", two original Hoffman paintings that are ex- 
 quisitely beautiful in workmanship and in conception. Certain 
 of their outstanding characteristics can be indicated, but no one 
 can give you the fundamental doctrine from which these inspired 
 creations came. A work of art does not originate in that way; 
 it comes from a permanent, abiding feeling deep from within. 
 
16 An Expeeimental Program in Elementary Education 
 
 The same is true of this genuine expression of educational art 
 at Spring Hope that depicts a new attitude toward childhood and 
 youth, an enlarged appreciation of the nature of young people and 
 of the sound conditions under which they grow most richly and 
 fully. It is an alliance between abundant living and effective 
 learning; it is a spirit that pervades over all and through all; 
 it is a way of life that should be within the reach of all children. 
 
 Inspired with a prophetic vision and enveloped by an insatiable 
 desire that will not let her go, Miss Valentine, a great-hearted 
 woman of silent but sweeping power, has dedicated her full 
 strength in selfless service toward guiding youth to live full, 
 beautiful lives each day. With her it is an obsession — a mighty 
 force working within that sweeps her very soul into action. Day 
 in and day out she has for years builded visions, dreamed dreams, 
 made plans, and talked of the day when all children, regardless of 
 their limitations or capabilities, race or creed, might live crea- 
 tively. Her courageous, optimistic spirit, charged with the 
 dynamic force of final victorious fulfillment of her dreams come 
 true, is so contagious that it has gripped all who have felt its 
 presence, and in the end has commandeered their active interest. 
 
 Instead of being dominated by theories previously formulated 
 and accepted. Miss Valentine seems to be guided in large measure 
 by a tremendous intuitive power that has become a mighty source 
 of direction, as in the case of any masterpiece, in helping pupils 
 unfold normally and healthfully at a rate commensurate with 
 their inherent powers. Here the child's personality is not sacri- 
 ficed for outworn and outmoded rules and creeds but is guarded 
 zealously as his most precious birthright. A better and a more 
 appreciative understanding and recognition of his worthwhile- 
 ness and his uniqueness as a distinct individual take priority over 
 antiquated methods of treatment and serve to liberate him from 
 the trammels of formal convention. 
 
 It is her unchanging conviction that there are extraordinary 
 possibilities in ordinary people and that if the doors of oppor- 
 tunity are thrown wide so that all boys and girls can develop the 
 best that is within them, amazing results will be obtained from 
 unlikely sources. So with unceasing energy she labors to con- 
 tribute vitally and directly toward leading boys and girls to de- 
 velop within right ideals and aspirations, right purposes and 
 motives that will cause them to think nobly as well as critically, 
 to work eff'ectively, and to desire to serve the welfare of all as 
 well as their own advancement, enjoyment, and well-being. 
 
An Emekging Phogram of Creative Living for All Ciiii.uren 17 
 
 Therefore, she seeks always to see the proper relationships in 
 each situation and to guide pupil reactions intelligently through 
 effective study and experiencing in enough real and vital situa- 
 tions so that each child may evolve ways of right behaving, may 
 become self-directing, and finally may "build such dynamic out- 
 look, insight, habits, and attitudes as will enable him to hold to 
 his course amid change." 
 
 In very truth, the fresh breath of invigorating life has been 
 breathed into this program teeming with fruitful possibilities for 
 helping all children to lose themselves in their own chosen in- 
 terests, and then, through the proper guidance of the releases 
 set in motion, to find a satisfying way of life by which to chart 
 their own courses aright from day to day. In a word. Miss 
 Valentine's consuming aim is to make the school within her gate 
 a school of maximum opportunity, leading to optimum growth for 
 every boy and girl therein — a school pulsating and vibrating 
 with joyous, successful, and complete daily living that will "teach 
 this growing mass of manhood and womanhood how to live and 
 how to serve so that in place of the briar of crime shall come up 
 the myrtle tree of righteousness and in the place of the thorn 
 of illiteracy shall come up the fir tree of intelligence that shall be 
 for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off." 
 
 If we wish to understand this all-pervasive spirit more fully, 
 if we seek to catch a glimpse of what lies behind, we would do 
 well to get a close-up view and give ourselves time for a first- 
 hand study and understanding of all that is taking place. 
 
 FIRST PROGRAM OF WORK 
 
 Beginning with a class of school beginners and left-overs in 
 the first grade. Miss Valentine initiated a program of work based 
 on the understanding of the individual child, his capacities and 
 needs, and from this vantage point developed a new-type 
 curriculum. Four years with the same group of children proved 
 an advantage for both pupils and teacher. During this time 
 records were kept of the growth and development of each child, 
 including photographs and personal history. 
 
 To summarize the initial efforts set forth, here is a brief but 
 comprehensive statement of the origin of the work, as taken from 
 the teacher's actual records on file in the school, followed by the 
 chief characteristics of the program as developed over the four- 
 year period. 
 
18 An Experimental Program in Elementary Education 
 
 "In the fall of 1929 I was assigned a group of thirty-eight boys 
 and girls, all of whom had been in school from one to six years in 
 the first grade room. I recall very distinctly I had five from one 
 family, the youngest a beginner, who did not wish to be sepa- 
 rated from the other three brothers and one sister. This mass of 
 maladjusted childhood was perhaps the greatest challenge of my 
 life. We spent some time in getting acquainted. My first aim 
 was to win the confidence and trust of these children; my second 
 aim was to know their trials and problems. When this was done, 
 I was perhaps more merciful than I had ever been. Every home 
 was visited, and individual records were secured regarding the 
 family and the private life of each child. 
 
 "After three weeks of individual study, I was able to make 
 certain recommendations to the county health officer and to the 
 county school nurse regarding the physical needs of the group. 
 Later, physical examinations were made, and in cases where the 
 findings would warrant it, the children were hospitalized. A den- 
 tist spent the number of days necessary in the school for cleaning, 
 filling, and extracting the teeth of the children who needed den- 
 tal service. Various types of standardized tests were selected 
 and used, according to my knowledge of the child's growth and 
 achievement to date. 
 
 "By this time I was ready to begin searching for individual 
 pupil interests. I knew even with this group of what promised 
 to be broken manhood and womanhood that I must arrange a 
 program that offered youth a taste of all that was noble and good ; 
 one that would inspire health of mind and of body; a program 
 that would allow and provide for individual choices, release their 
 minds, and refine their emotions. How could this be done was the 
 question that was continually in my mind. As this was a purely 
 agricultural center with every child in my room from a rural 
 home, I thought to turn to our great teacher for help — Nature. 
 For days we rambled the forest and the fields ; wild flowers were 
 gathered, discussed, and classified; butterflies were caught and 
 put to sleep, as the children said, but in reality mounted and put 
 into cases made by them. 
 
 "After this had proved to be pleasant and profitable, I took a 
 toy piano to my room. This was another lead for them. The 
 result was a primary orchestra, with every child taking some 
 part. From this, one activity led to another. At the close of the 
 year these children were so different from the dull, listless boys 
 and girls they were in the fall. Now they were living in a new 
 
An Emerging Program of Creative Living for All Children 19 
 
 world, experiencing new joys, and participating in varied phases 
 of life hitherto unknown to them. There was scarcely an absen- 
 tee without a good reason — school was so different in appeal and 
 in corresponding satisfactions that they liked it. 
 
 "I had the opportunity to make my own course of study, using 
 the State Course as my guide. Throughout the entire period I 
 tried to arrange the curriculum to embrace all of the arts of 
 learning based upon the children's interests and needs in re- 
 lation to their chronological age and physical and mental ability. 
 
 "For four years I have followed this group through the first, 
 second, third, and fourth grades. As a result, I have renewed my 
 faith in such experiments and wish to pursue further study and 
 work along these lines." 
 
 The chief characteristics of the program as developed during 
 the first four years of the experiment were as follows : 
 
 1. Understanding the child, his parents, and home relation- 
 ships. 
 
 2. Attention to individual social, mental, emotional, and phy- 
 sical needs as a part of daily living — eating, sleeping, bath- 
 ing, personal appearance, working and playing together, 
 and learnings in practical and cultural subjects. 
 
 3. Fostering one general theme throughout the term, such as 
 quilt making ; tying up all learnings with the central theme, 
 and in this way providing experiences which developed 
 better thinking and ability to organize ideas. 
 
 4. Follow-up work in making adaptations and adjustments in 
 the home, the school, and the community. 
 
 5. Keeping accurate records of the interests, the accomplish- 
 ments, and the problems of the individual pupils. 
 
 6. Writing reports of activities and units of work to serve as a 
 guide to other teachers in developing a curriculum suited to 
 the needs of the unadjusted and the unsuccessful child of 
 primary school age as well as other types of children. 
 
 SECOND PROGRAM OF WORK 
 
 Building upon the recorded successes of the first experiment 
 as a background, a second and more inclusive, far-reaching pro- 
 gram of work was started in 1933. 
 
 When the first group of children was being tried out in the 
 regular fifth grade class of the school after four years with Miss 
 
20 An Experimental Program in Elementary Education 
 
 Valentine, another group of beginners and left-overs in the first 
 grade was assigned to her. The need for further organizing such 
 classes arose from an accumulation of children throughout the 
 elementary school, all of whom were not only unable to profit by 
 the regular or adopted school program but who were likewise be- 
 coming social problems at a rapid rate. Therefore, the immediate 
 aim of the present program is to discover underlying causes for 
 these existing conditions and, as far as possible, to remedy them. 
 
 There were two distinct departures from the first program in 
 the organization of the new class. With the services of a psy- 
 chologist and psychiatrist, sixty-three children with varying 
 mental ages and ranging in grade levels of achievement from the 
 beginning class to fourth grade were selected for further ex- 
 perimental work on the bases of scientific test data and case 
 histories. The third year Miss Valentine was given an assistant. 
 Miss Margaret Pickens, who entered whole-heartedly into the 
 study and promotion of the experiment. 
 
 For two years both teachers and pupils have worked together 
 in an effort to find the best ways and means of living and 
 growing. There has been an attempt to record the significant 
 achievements and to indicate the milestones along the way. 
 Progress along all lines is evident to the interested and sympa- 
 thetic observer. 
 
 In several important respects, this total school experience as 
 organized and developed at Spring Hope involves many crucial 
 and highly significant features. Because of the distinctive values 
 accruing from this program, it seemed desirable that an accu- 
 rate record should be made of this effort to further educational 
 progress. Therefore, a comprehensive, firsthand study of this 
 project was made during the spring months of 1937 in order to 
 determine those elements of greatest worth inherent in the de- 
 velopmental process and to preserve these for the use they may 
 be in giving guidance and direction to present and future educa- 
 tional plans in North Carolina and for the value they may be to 
 others in initiating or furthering a constructive program. 
 
 An analysis and evaluation of the most persistent major fac- 
 tors involved are herewith presented against the background of 
 the general philosophy underlying this entire program of creative 
 living and learning. These include: (1) a scientific study of 
 children, (2) educational and vocational guidance of children, 
 (3) healthful living, (4) participation as a measure of achieve- 
 
An Emerging Pkoguam ob' Creative Living for All Children 21 
 
 ment, (5) utilizing community resources, (6) creative expression, 
 (7) academic work, (8) spiritual training, (9) parent education, 
 and (10) evaluation of pupil progress. 
 
 Scientific Study of Children 
 
 In order to have an intelligent understanding of each indi- 
 vidual child, his ^present equipinent and needs, the school should 
 have an accurate picture of ivhat the child's background has been 
 to date — his physical and mental health, ivhat social and emo- 
 tional adjustments he has had to make, and the like. Therefore, 
 the teachers at Spring Hope set out first to study synchronously 
 the interwoven factors contributory to the total life thus far of 
 each child in the group, so that a well-balanced educational pro- 
 gram might be projected that would help each individual child 
 search happily and inquisitively for proper solutions to his own 
 problems and at the same time help him bring about permanent 
 desirable changes in his own behavior. 
 
 By means of personal interviews and conferences with parents 
 and pupils, questionnaires filled out by both, observations, scien- 
 tific achievement and intelligence tests, the school census, indi- 
 vidual cumulative pupil records and other available statistical 
 facts, pertinent firsthand information is assembled that makes it 
 possible for many phases of the child's life to be examined in a 
 most objective and thorough way. A detailed diagnostic study 
 of his complete equipment from the focal points of seven stan- 
 dards — his health, his work, his play, his home, his school, his 
 coming citizensTiip, his spiritual growth — give a rather accurate 
 picture of the individual pupil personnel as it exists. Thus, on 
 the basis of the total findings, each child's needs and interests in 
 relation to the harmonized development of his total personality 
 are treated with intelligent human understanding. 
 
 Educational and Vocational Guidance 
 
 // guidance is to be effective in ministering directly and intelli- 
 gently to pupil grotvth, it must rest upon an accurate knoivledge 
 and complete understanding of all those immediate and remote 
 factors which impinge upon and condition the present status, the 
 huirnan needs, and the opportunities of the individuals concerned. 
 In order for this school to render efficient service in education for 
 abundant living, a system of child guidance, as complete and as 
 professional as possible, is made an integral part of the regular 
 
22 An Experimental Program in Elementary Education 
 
 work. The program consists of studying the individual child 
 scientifically, of learning to know his abilities and his limitations, 
 and, in the light of this knowledge, of helping him to achieve a 
 way of life fully satisfying to himself and to society. It is not an 
 attempt to make all children follow the same beaten path ; on the 
 contrary, it is a distinct effort to help each child find the path 
 appropriate to his own individual needs and aptitudes. 
 
 Through a careful, interpretive analysis of all the significant 
 data at hand, coupled with a close-up view of the present be- 
 havior of each pupil in meeting actual situations, the teachers 
 attempt: (1) to realize the steps in growth and development 
 already achieved by each individual child in relation to his op- 
 portunities and his abilities and to build tentatively the next lap 
 of his educational journey upon his accomplishments thus far; 
 (2) to determine what bad habit formations, faulty mental ad- 
 justments, health defects, and so forth have been developed and, 
 therefore, should be changed or modified; (3) to determine the 
 causes of underlying social problems existing; (4) to help each 
 child analyze his own needs and interests, draw his own con- 
 clusions, and to set up his own program of work, play, study, and 
 health, accordingly; and (5) to help each child make those ad- 
 justments leading to permanent desirable changes needed in 
 carrying forward satisfactorily his program of living. 
 
 By means of a cooperative, integrating process all available 
 forms of service directed toward his all-round development, 
 whether concerned with his physical, mental, or social health, his 
 mental ability, his social and recreational interests, his educa- 
 tional progress and aspirations, his general aptitudes, his voca- 
 tional choices and training, or some other phase of his growth — 
 all are coordinated, balanced, and fused into a composite func- 
 tioning whole and used for the child's best interests. Each child, 
 regardless of his limitations or capabilities, is held up to his 
 highest possible standard of attainment on his own level. He 
 is encouraged to make the best use of whatever ability he pos- 
 sesses in order that he may not only live a better life himself but 
 will also enrich the whole community. Through careful teacher 
 direction each child is guided in the selection of goals that are 
 within the limits of his possibilities of achievement and yet ones 
 that challenge his abilities and his interests. Not one is rebuked 
 or criticized for his inability to make progress but is encouraged 
 constantly. The child's response is always accepted as his best 
 at the time, leaving him with a feeling of success. 
 
An Emerging Program op Creative Living for All Children 23 
 
 All are closely counseled witl? by the teacher in regard to their 
 individual problems, and also by experts and specialists in the 
 field of their interests or needs. Frequent conferences are held 
 with individuals for the purpose of guiding them to make wise 
 choices educationally and vocationally. 
 
 For example, the children are helped in the best educational 
 manner possible to choose to use dental service to the best ad- 
 vantage, to appreciate it as an important factor in safeguarding 
 their health, and to cooperate with those giving such service. 
 They are also helped to gain from each experience such knowl- 
 edge, judgment, and self -direction as will equip them to meet 
 future emergencies or to prevent such emergencies from re- 
 curring. Instead of developing morning health inspection as a 
 mechanical, automatic practice, it is conducted so that the chil- 
 dren gain the understanding and the ability necessary to control 
 their own conduct in such a way that they protect themselves 
 and others intelligently and voluntarily. And so it becomes a 
 channel by which they are guided to develop self -discipline as a 
 means toward contributing to greater life values. By a better 
 handling of all disciplinary practices, school grades, matters re- 
 lating to competition, and other school problems, certain mental 
 and emotional maladjustments are likewise being reduced satis- 
 factorily in m.any of the children. 
 
 The children are given every opportunity to practice balanced 
 and unselfish acting and sharing in their solution of problems 
 relating to the group as a whole or to any individual member. 
 Situations which call for independent thinking are often first dis- 
 cussed by the group and then acted upon by each child singly. 
 At all times the children are helped to face reality squarely and 
 to solve their own problems on the basis of all the available facts, 
 considered in the light of their own best thinking rather than by 
 indoctrination. Such a fundamental pattern for living is already 
 serving the children both as an anchor now and as a springboard 
 in directing and shaping their future responses and reactions. 
 
 In the interest of each individual child's program of living, 
 every home is visited and a conference is held with the parents. 
 Through such contacts the parents are awakened to the persist- 
 ent needs of their children physically, emotionally, and socially 
 — and they begin to take the initiative in cooperating with the 
 school in helping to effect desirable changes in their children. A 
 report of the visit, together with all recommendations made and 
 all reactions noted, is filed. Very definite home and school and 
 
24 An Experimental Pbogkam in Elementary Education 
 
 parent and child records containing the amount of work covered, 
 pupil participation and growth along all lines, measured in the 
 most objective way possible, are kept in a detailed and accurate 
 fashion. Such complete information regarding pupil accounting 
 has become essential to the projection of the best procedures in 
 the Spring Hope program of pupil guidance. 
 
 Let us look at specific cases and consider the definite progress 
 that has taken place over a one-year period. The following fall 
 and spring records of individual children are illuminating: 
 
 CASE 1. J. R. 
 
 Fall 1936. 
 
 J. R. is very much interested in the academic work, shop work, 
 and every other phase of school life. He feels that group and pri- 
 vate conferences are very valuable indeed. Although he seems to 
 understand that he is not good in reading, spelling, and writing, he 
 does not underestimate his other contributions in playground organi- 
 zation, conference work, business management, including the news- 
 paper, in which he takes an active part. J. R. says that he will 
 probably never learn to read but that he thinks other things are 
 just as important; some one must be a mechanic, a painter, a cabinet 
 maker, and do other lines of work that will not call for so much 
 reading. He further maintains that he should not be blamed nor 
 punished by his family because he cannot do as well as his brother. 
 
 Spring 1937. 
 
 J. R.'s interest in academic work is increasing, though his ability 
 seems about the same. He is a good leader but an unwilling fol- 
 lower. He suffers from silent temper tantrums. Sometimes it is 
 a week before he recovers. His attitude toward school and people 
 has changed to a slight improvement, though he even forces me 
 occasionally to look up to him in order to prohibit an upset or out- 
 burst that would take both teacher and pupil some time to work 
 over. 
 
 Since Christmas he has been admitted into the Scout troop here. 
 One afternoon last week he said, "If you are not busy, I would like 
 to talk to you some." He took out his Scout book and said, "See if 
 I can name the twelve Scout Laws." He could name them every one 
 but was unable to read any of them. He knew the meaning of every 
 law, and after it was over, he said, "Do I do all of these?" I very 
 carefully read every paragraph under each law, and in every in- 
 stance where I thought he had failed I told him so. For the" first 
 time since he has been in my room — that is to say, at any conference 
 that I was appraising or reproving him — he listened without a flare 
 of temper. 
 
 As captain of one of the tables in the shop, J. R. has full charge 
 of all the tools. For six weeks he has been at work on a cherry 
 whatnot without the least complaint. Probably he will not even 
 finish it before school closes. 
 
 His play is very satisfactory, and his contributions in group dis- 
 cussions are always valuable. He has relieved me considerably of 
 any teaching of patriotism in my room. I do not have to look out 
 for holidays, the proper display of the flag, the proper care of the 
 flag, and the pledge of allegiance to the flag. He takes great pride 
 in all of this, and also in assisting our neighbor room in much the 
 same way. 
 
An Eimerging Program of Creative Living for All Children 25 
 
 CASE 2. M. B. 
 
 Fall 1936. 
 
 M. B. is anxious enough to do her part and do it well. She often 
 asks for the privilege of trying over and expresses a desire to im- 
 prove. Each night she takes library books home with her. Three 
 times this fall she has asked if she were improving. Her interest in 
 the interior of the classroom is pronounced. There is never a time 
 that she cannot get the other children to help her in the house- 
 keeping. She calls for and participates in group and private con- 
 ferences and plays well with the other children. Thus far she is still 
 highly nervous. She has been to sleep during rest period only once 
 this fall. 
 
 Spring 1937. 
 
 M. B. shows great growth in her academic work, in group par- 
 ticipation, and in conferences. She stands out as a regulator in 
 group work. Even under very trying circumstances she is fair and 
 impartial. She is a good leader and a happy follower. She shares 
 with others and willingly assists children younger than herself. Her 
 creative writing is very satisfactory. It is a source of great joy to 
 her. The greatest difficulty M. B. has is to relax and to rest properly 
 during rest period at school. She seems to fight this with all the force 
 and determination she possesses. 
 
 Healthful Living 
 
 School life to a child should inean a valid, creative, satisfying 
 experience that helps him to build those qualities that make for 
 successful and healthful living. Based upon this major premise, 
 each day's work at Spring Hope unfolds and moves forward. 
 
 In this school situation we find an on-going, significant life of 
 its own generating always in full sway. Here the child's personal 
 experiences have meaning out of which his satisfactions grow, 
 rather than as a result of something that has been arranged for 
 him without consideration for his capacities or likings. Creative 
 learning is thus promoted in such a way that it remakes his 
 whole living. 
 
 The open sesame for participating in a normal, happy day is a 
 diversified program, arranged by teachers and children planning 
 together for their wholesome development in relation to edu- 
 cational achievement, health in general, recreational activities, 
 and avocational interests. A simple, wholesome environment, 
 full of opportunities for meaningful work and enriching ex- 
 periences, provided a perfect setting for such an accomplishment. 
 It was made a place to live which would suggest ideas of what 
 to do or what needed to be done and, at the same time, offered 
 freedom to carry them out. Those stimulating materials that 
 were challenging to the individual children's purposes — those 
 materials that furnished the elements in which children feel at 
 home — were brought into the classroom by the teachers and the 
 
26 An Experimental Peogram in Elementary Education 
 
 pupils. Such things as native clay, picture books, discarded 
 boxes, an easel, paints, lumber, bits of cloth, pictures, books, an 
 oil stove, building blocks, dolls, a victrola and suitable records, 
 a printing set, typewriters, and other materials were included. 
 The all-important thing was "To create an environment in which 
 children might live and grow and flourish, a place in which a 
 child's soul and mind might be at peace." 
 
 The result was satisfying. The school room was not only made 
 sufficiently attractive in an informal way to impress the group 
 that it was a happy, desirable place to be, but it was so full of 
 interesting things that a working atmosphere of informality was 
 created at the outset. Out of this environment that aroused their 
 active interest and gave them an opportunity to work, to experi- 
 ment, and to create, developed activities in which the children 
 engaged whole-heartedly. Such purposeful work presented 
 numerous opportunities for wholesome growth mentally, socially, 
 physically, and emotionally. As the various units progressed, 
 a special study of the habits and attitudes being developed was 
 made. From every standpoint, the children were really learning 
 what they were living. 
 
 A person is regarded as mentally healthy if his personality is 
 such that he gets along in social and working relationships with 
 others and is happy in those relationships. This is dependent 
 upon meeting two instinctive human needs — that of security and 
 that of accomplishment. As a contributing factor toward de- 
 veloping a feeling of security within each child at Spring Hope, 
 he is given wholesome love, a proper amount of affection, and a 
 sympathetic understanding and appreciation by his school family. 
 To be able to achieve satisfactorily, he is further allowed to de- 
 velop his own individuality while learning to live in harmony with 
 the aims and purposes of others in his social world. 
 
 There is enough real failure in everyday life experiences out- 
 side of school to justify a protest against facing the approval of 
 it in our schools. Since repeated failure weakens any person to 
 meet the next combat — whether he handles a pick or a pen — it 
 should be guarded against and prevented whenever possible. At 
 Spring Hope no child is a complete failure, but on the other hand,^ 
 he experiences growth in a real way and is successful from the 
 beginning according to his capacities and his interests. He is 
 helped to realize a measure of success at every available turn. 
 There is no teacher-imposed course, no rigid standard set up to 
 
An Emerging Program of Creative Living for All Children 27 
 
 attain — each step in progress is determined by the present needs 
 of the individual and the group with whom he works. 
 
 Since the touches from without awaken the responses from 
 within, every effort is put forth to control those influences from 
 without that set the mental, social, emotional, and physical pro- 
 cesses going. The freeing of all the energies and potential powers 
 of the child, not only through individual and group development 
 of a large variety of interests but also through medical, surgical, 
 and dental service, through proper nutrition, rest, and exercise, 
 and through the development of habits that will make him a 
 healthy and socially acceptable person, is of primary concern. 
 Such a program in and of itself constitutes corrective treatment 
 for serious cases of maladjustment and offers a better adjustment 
 for all other children. Such changes are always made in terms 
 of the greatest fulfillment of life for the child, for it is his in- 
 alienable right to realize his greatest possibilities. 
 
 Positive health means an abundance of life and vigor as well as 
 freedom from health defects and handicaps. It brings those ad- 
 vantages that permit us to make the most of our opportunities 
 for useful service, to live fully and more abundantly. This new 
 attitude toward disease and ill health, which emphasizes pre- 
 vention rather than cure, places a great responsibility upon the 
 school. 
 
 Since the possibility of instilling health knowledge and health 
 habits is greatest in the school period of life, the Spring Hope pro- 
 gram set out to perform two distinct duties toward promoting 
 human efficiency and human happiness. One is to assist in pre- 
 venting physical defects and disease; the other to assist in 
 furnishing the teaching and the training that will make and 
 keep the body well and strong. In an effort to fully discharge 
 these, every child is the beneficiary of the best medical, dental, 
 and psychological examinations available. Every possible op- 
 portunity for the development of right health habits and right 
 living practices is a part of each day's work. 
 
 As an aid toward providing such services, members of the 
 State Board of Health, Division of Oral Hygiene, coordinate 
 their efforts with the local unit in an attempt to carry out a 
 thorough-going program that will make for physical well-being 
 and will provide an environment favorable for growth and pro- 
 ductive work. Activities are directed along these lines: 
 
 1. Yearly physical examinations are given each child. The 
 corrections that are made include having glasses fitted, 
 
28 An Experi:\iental Program in Elementary Education 
 
 having tonsils and adenoids removed, and meeting other 
 similar needs, 
 
 2. Complete dental service with follow-up program is given 
 all children, 
 
 3. Hot lunches are served to the undernourished children. 
 
 4. A supervised indoor lunch period with all of its attendant 
 health features is observed, 
 
 5. Regular rest periods are conducted according to individual 
 needs. 
 
 6. A definite, constructive health program is carried on con- 
 tinuously, thereby helping to develop and establish good 
 health habits. 
 
 7. Recreational activities are participated in daily either in 
 the gymnasium or on the playground. Singing games, folk 
 dances, indoor games, and competitive games are a part of 
 the regular organized play program. All children are in- 
 cluded in some group. Under the leadership of captains 
 chosen officially, team work is encouraged. The youngest 
 child shares equally in privileges and training with the 
 largest boy or girl in the game. Any problem arising is 
 settled by the children themselves under the direction of 
 the leader in charge except in extreme cases, when the 
 teacher must be called in for counsel. 
 
 8. A healthfully programmed school day is enjoyed and par- 
 ticipated in by every child. 
 
 Participation As a Measure of Achievement 
 
 The focal point of the society in ivhich these sixty-three chil- 
 dren, differing ividely in both chronological and ability age levels, 
 live and tvork together six hours each day is simply wholesome 
 responsibility — the responsibility of each child to himself and to 
 each individual in the group as ivell as to the larger group itself. 
 The atmosphere and organization of the place foster a strong 
 sense of obligation within the children and the independent as- 
 suming of protective care and direction by the older ones for 
 those still needing personal help. In the most natural and 
 realistic manner they both give and receive assistance and in- 
 struction from each other on matters of concern to them, regard- 
 less of age. In solving their academic problems the children are 
 constantly helping each other, discussing with each other the 
 issues at hand, and otherwise engaging in cooperative tasks. 
 Group consciousness is thus developed through active^ participa- 
 tion in the school as a community enterprise. 
 
 This idea of responsibility pervades all aspects of their school 
 
An Emerging Pkogkam of Creative Living for All Children 29 
 
 life, even in the most everyday matters. Not only do the children 
 solve problems relating to the immediate life of the school, but 
 they also set certain fundamental standards, subject to change 
 as the need arises, by which the group is controlled and directed 
 throughout the year. For the most part, proper self-direction, 
 self-control, and self-management can be expected whether in 
 the classroom, in the workshop, in the sewing room, on the play- 
 ground, or on trips away from school, because these qualities are 
 developed within the children themselves instead of being forced 
 upon them by external authority. At no time and under no cir- 
 cumstances is there an evidence of superimposed dictatorship by 
 those working with them, for the children themselves consider 
 all matters of discipline as problems of their own to solve. In 
 finding the best solution they seek freely the advice of the 
 teachers, if necessary, but in the end they themselves try to 
 right the difficulty on the basis of the help received. 
 
 A modified form of parliamentary procedure is used in con- 
 ducting all affairs. The entire program is developed on the self- 
 government basis; it is planned and executed by the children 
 under direct teacher guidance when necessary. Democratic prin- 
 ciples as are practiced in the larger community are upheld. Dis- 
 cussions relating to problems of local, state, or national im- 
 portance are conducted on the level of the child's abihty. Visiting 
 places of public interest, such as the post office, the telegraph and 
 telephone offices, the bank, the museums, the State Capitol, and 
 voting precincts, and making actual contacts with law makers, 
 educators, local and State officials, and many others who serve 
 them, are all important phases of the work. 
 
 The medium used to greatest advantage in solving the most 
 tedious and persistent problems is the group conference led by a 
 fellow member. When a leader cannot guide his group or any 
 member of the group to settle a dispute properly, to work or play 
 happily and efficiently, or to solve problems relating to the life of 
 their school world, he calls a meeting of those involved and all 
 others, including teachers, who he thinks can be of value to 
 them in finding a satisfactory solution. An expression from 
 every one present, both large and small, is insisted upon by the 
 children in charge, for active participation in matters of con- 
 cern to the best interests of all is considered only a normal 
 sharing of the full responsibility. 
 
 Each child strives to make his contribution one of definite 
 
30 An Experijiental Program in Elementary Education 
 
 value. However, if a child in his immaturity misses the point 
 in his effort to help, those who are capable of doing more direct 
 and unbiased thinking never treat it with sarcasm or ridicule. 
 On the other hand, they encourage and guide him by asking di- 
 rect questions or by giving suggestions that will help him do 
 more intelligent thinking upon the issue. When questions are 
 voted upon, the youngest child participating can use his vote 
 with as much freedom and assurance as the fifteen-year old boy 
 in the group. Each individual is allowed to grow on his ov/n re- 
 sponsibility and by his own act, and to travel toward those high 
 ideals he has set for himself. 
 
 The whole conduct of the school is based upon the interaction 
 of group and individual. The activities that go on in the room, 
 the physical care of the room, the social relationships among the 
 children and between the children and the teacher, their contacts 
 with the school as a whole and with the community, all are used 
 with the end in view of gradual progression in the business of 
 living with people. When the children pool their knowledge in 
 group discussions, share responsibilities, and participate in other 
 similar situations, there are many opportunities for developing 
 standards of social relationships. In fact, there are innumerable 
 situations that arise daily whereby opportunity is given for 
 learning to subordinate individual interests and desires to the 
 larger interests of the group. Such learning is not a thing apart, 
 but is bound up with the whole day's work and play. The chil- 
 dren are living right relationships in their own school community. 
 Out of these will come the standards that will make it possible 
 for them to live properly in larger communities later. 
 
 In order for the children to be made aware of social change 
 and social needs and to develop those understandings needed for 
 effective participation in society about them, opportunities for 
 direct contacts in the larger community are also provided. Thus 
 by enlarging the school environment to include the neighborhood 
 and by projecting the enterprises of the classroom into the 
 broader area, even the smallest children are led to understand 
 increasingly the importance of the various aspects of community 
 living and of their personal responsibility and relationship to the 
 individual members participating. In this way, the experiences 
 are not limited to a study of the various agencies involved but 
 are broadened to include an appreciation of the activity itself 
 and the corresponding inter-relationships. 
 
 For example, the group became actively interested in the prob- 
 
An Emerging Program of Creative Living for All Children 31 
 
 lem of community safety on account of the increased number of 
 serious accidents in their own neighborhood and in adjoining dis- 
 tricts, and set about to bring proper information to the school 
 group and to the community at large. After a long and profitable 
 discussion period, led and participated in by the entire pupil 
 group, it was decided to call a mass meeting to present this im- 
 portant problem. A committee was appointed to confer with the 
 local railroad agent in regard to securing the services of the 
 Atlantic Coast Line Railroad safety representative as their 
 speaker. The program was planned, advertised, and conducted 
 by the children themselves. As a result, they became keenly 
 aware of their individual obligation to help each other observe the 
 safety rules they had formulated for use on the playground, 
 when crossing the street, on trips down town, on the highways 
 to and from school, and when riding the school bus. As one 
 evidence of growth along this line, the children developed ability 
 to load and unload their school buses safely without giving the 
 teachers on duty undue concern. 
 
 In April when plans concerning an excursion to Durham and 
 Raleigh were being made, much attention centered about the 
 safety aspect of the trip. Patrolmen were appointed by the group 
 to be responsible for guiding and directing the teachers and the 
 pupils in their charge, when such services were needed, in 
 crossing the main thoroughfares, getting in and out of the 
 trucks, going up and down steep stairways, and on other 
 similar occasions. At no time did an officer forget the im- 
 portance and dignity of his position and all that it entailed. 
 
 The school program in its entirety is a character-developing, 
 citizen-forming enterprise. All school activities that involve 
 natural positive situations for raising the levels of conduct are 
 utilized in presenting ideals of behavior and in making good prac- 
 tices habitual. Every school procedure and every child activity 
 are considered in their bearings upon citizenship training. The 
 daily life of the school offers a continual series of situations 
 calling for ethical judgments, and the teachers are always on the 
 watch to make them profitable. 
 
 In sum, an effort is made through organization, outside acti- 
 vities, classroom situations, and attention to individual differ- 
 ences to give the children character-building experiences and to 
 preach a little wisely but not too well. To this end, worthy 
 models drawn from life and literature, biography and history — 
 
32 An Experimental Progkaji in Elementary Education 
 
 the finest illustrations that can be found of lives of service and 
 beauty — are also kept before them. Over and over again, the 
 teachers are rewarded by seeing the glowing spark pass from one 
 life to another and kindle into a flame of steady and satisfying 
 purpose. 
 
 The entire day's living together is so organized and projected 
 as to make clear to the child that it is not an end in itself, but a 
 means to more abundant life. Ideals of honesty, industry, ac- 
 curacy, thoroughness, fair play, sharing, enjoyment, unselfish 
 regard for the common good, open-mindedness, critical minded- 
 ness, and the like are as much a part of the teaching as the con- 
 tent of the material itself. Likewise, the pupil's experiences 
 gained through his sharing in the available outside activities, 
 which are fostered by the school, are also made to serve his 
 growth in character. 
 
 All phases of good social usage are practiced in natural situa- 
 tions. The innumerable visitors are received and introduced to 
 the teacher and to the children by the child who answers the 
 door. During their stay they are the guests of the children as 
 well as of the teacher, so their comfort is given first consideration 
 by the children. Different ones take their coats, hats, gloves, and 
 scarfs and then see to it that they are seated in the most com- 
 fortable chairs the room affords. It is then their pleasure to share 
 with the visitors their program of work in progress at the time 
 and to invite them to have an active part in any and all of their 
 activities while they are present. They take pride in presenting 
 their guests to other groups of children in the school, to the 
 teachers in charge, and to any school officials present in the 
 building. It is also their responsibility to communicate with the 
 person in charge of the lunch room and to make all arrangements 
 for luncheon plans. A visitor rarely ever leaves without a copy 
 of "Our Classroom News-Record" and a gift from the shop or 
 from the art room. From that day forward these newly made 
 friends are never forgotten, but are often referred to and in- 
 quired about on many occasions. 
 
 The children arrange several parties and picnics during the 
 year. At different times they are hostesses to various school 
 groups, to their parents, and to other friends. Not only do they 
 work out every detail connected with each affair, but they are 
 personally responsible for executing and financing their own 
 plans. 
 
 However, in the larger sense, the children are making their 
 
An Emerging Program of Creative Living for All Children 33 
 
 biggest contribution to society through their school, which is the 
 largest growing enterprise in the community. They consider it 
 their privilege as well as their duty to help make it a going con- 
 cern. On many occasions certain promising school activities 
 have been participated in from start to finish by the group. No- 
 tably among these was the erection of a gymnasium sufficiently 
 adequate to serve the entire school enrollment. In an amazing 
 way the children have likewise focussed the attention of the com- 
 munity at large on their school; in turn they have gained the 
 active support of the people in the projection of several vital 
 school projects. 
 
 Utilizing Community Resources 
 
 In every coinmunity there are available environmental re- 
 sources that offer productive possibilities for opening up the 
 ivorld in far-reaching ways. At Spring Hope these are used to 
 introduce the children to the social, industrial, artistic, and 
 natural phases of their surroundings and to give them a growing 
 understanding and appreciation of the world in which they live. 
 In fact, the whole community is each teacher's schoolroom, her 
 laboratory; to the children, it is their world, their workshop, 
 their home — a place where they can search intimately for truth 
 and light rather than vicariously. Factories, stores, museums, 
 woods, fields, and streams — all become inviting sources of educa- 
 tive experiences. By means of direct observations and contacts 
 the children are led to better investigate, interpret, enjoy, and 
 utilize their environment from both a social and a natural science 
 point of view and likewise to project themselves into new fields 
 of thinking, feeling, and doing. 
 
 In this way the children become acquainted with and learn 
 more about the valuable services that such resources, as local 
 business concerns, individuals, and other agencies, can offer. 
 Often they make purchases, sell and exchange farm produce in 
 the interest of their class work. Likewise, the lumber companies 
 cooperate by doing business with them in supplying the wood- 
 working shop. The children make their own arrangements with 
 local business men, either by telephone or by correspondence, 
 when they wish to secure trucks for their different trips. While 
 making plans for the financing of their weekly paper early in the 
 year, pupil committees visited twenty-one firms to solicit adver- 
 tisements. As a result of their efforts, a bank account was 
 started and kept by the group in the interest of this enterprise. 
 
34 Ax Experimental Program in Elementary Education 
 
 When visits were made to the post office, the postmaster co- 
 operated in helping the children learn how the Post Office De- 
 partment serves the public. During the year many business and 
 friendly letters were written and then dispatched by airplane, 
 train, boat, and rural route. The mailing of "Our Classroom 
 News-Record" each Friday to all subscribers was a coveted privi- 
 lege. Money orders, special delivery letters, and insured pack- 
 ages were also involved in this experience. This led to a study of 
 the post office system and the desire to open a branch ofiice in 
 their schoolroom that would serve the entire school community. 
 Definite plans concerning the establishment and operation of a 
 sub-station early in the fall, in accordance with government regu- 
 lations, were formulated and decided upon by the entire class be- 
 fore the close of the term. 
 
 Through the efforts of several Boy Scouts in the class, the 
 American Legion was interested sufficiently to donate two United 
 States flags. Permanent standards for displaying them were 
 made in the shop by the boys. 
 
 Upon invitation, a Confederate Veteran visited the group and 
 gave an interesting talk on history and his experiences with war. 
 One of the grandmothers spent an entire morning teaching the 
 children how to card and spin ; another day an uncle of one of the 
 children came in and gave a demonstration on saw filing and 
 talked to the group about the proper care of their shop tools. 
 
 Likewise, it is due every child that his mind be opened to the 
 outdoor beauties of nature around him and his senses so trained 
 and adjusted that the world will become alive to him. Thus in 
 order to awaken scientific interest in his surroundings and to 
 develop an increasing awareness of the aesthetic values involved, 
 excursions that give opportunity for close observation and dis- 
 cussions are utilized to an advantage. A stream near the school 
 ground is visited often for the study of water life, water power, 
 soil erosion and formation, water supply, and the uses of water; 
 while the adjacent woodland, rich in animal, bird, and insect 
 habitats, furnishes an excellent setting to teach forest preser- 
 vation, bird adaptation, and interdependence of plant and animal 
 life. Interesting evidences of field trips, such as various nature 
 specimens collected and mounted, if necessary, models, paintings, 
 drawings, booklets, poems, and stories made by the children, are 
 always found later in the Science Center. A record of all re- 
 ported observations is filed. As an outgrowth of such an educa- 
 tive experience, the development of a most creditable museum, an 
 
An Emerging Program of Creative Living for All Children 
 
 35 
 
 aquarium, a forestry study, and other varied activities are 
 stimulated. 
 
 The schoolroom also serves as an inviting science laboratory. 
 Here the weather conditions are determined through temperature 
 and air pressure readings; plant life is studied through seed 
 germination and bulb growing. The life cycle of plants, animals, 
 and insects is observed, and the corresponding histories are 
 recorded. 
 
 Several pets were kept and cared for during the term. Nanette 
 the goat, Tony the turtle, Mr. and Mrs. White (the white rab- 
 bits), Grappo the raccoon, and other animals became interesting 
 members of the school family. Through participation in such 
 activities involving real life, the children became curiously con- 
 scious of some of the wonders of nature about them and, as a re- 
 sult, began to attach a more meaningful significance to their im- 
 portance in the general scheme of things. 
 
 As a result of the year's work together, evidences of the fol- 
 lowing goals of accomplishment are beginning to take shape : 
 
 1. To develop a better understanding and appreciation of the 
 values of their surroundings. 
 
 2. To acquire a satisfaction and joy through observing and 
 discovering things in Natural Science. 
 
 3. To acquire a realization of the inter-relation of man, plants 
 and animals. 
 
 4. To acquire the habit of accurate observation and investi- 
 gation when studying natural phenomena. 
 
 5. To acquire a. desire to protect and preserve life in all its 
 forms. 
 
 6. To acquire the habit and the desire to use the knowledge of 
 the natural and social sciences in one's activities in the 
 home, in the school, and in the community, also during 
 leisure time. 
 
 Creative Expression 
 
 All children should have the right to live in a rich environ- 
 ment, to exercise to the fullest all of their poivers of expression, 
 and to have every avenue to their souls open and in use. In 
 support of this conviction the teachers at Spring Hope tried 
 faithfully to help create conditions and provide materials which 
 would arouse each child to live fully and happily and to express 
 himself and his potentialities freely and effectively in some 
 chosen form of his own best ideas, inspirations, and emotions. 
 Different avenues proved worth-while to the group in providing 
 
36 An Expekimextal Program in Elementary Education 
 
 constant stimuli to creative effort through books, people, and an 
 enlarging environment, and in furnishing wide opportunities for 
 a continuous and satisfying use of their own creative impulses. 
 And so the inner urge that came from the deepest recesses within 
 each individual child personality found creative expression 
 through the uses of clay, wood, paint, cloth, dramatization, rhy- 
 thm, song, stories, and other media. 
 
 In the woodworking shop both boys and girls not only learned 
 how to make practical, useful things, but they learned to know 
 and to appreciate good furniture, the different kinds of wood and 
 their uses, the value of good workmanship, neatness and ac- 
 curacy, and some appreciation of what is acceptable in line and 
 form, the proper care of tools, and other valuable learnings. Rare 
 old walnut, rich red cedar, highly colored cherry, poplar, maple, 
 and pine were fashioned into magazine racks, book cases, book 
 ends, whatnots, candle holders, foot stools, letter holders, paper 
 files, riding horses, and other usable toys that evidenced real 
 artistic merit on a high level of excellence. Practically all articles 
 made warranted a market value. After supplying their class- 
 room needs and sharing with their mothers and with their 
 friends at school and elsewhere, the children often sold their 
 products and used the money to further supply their shop with 
 tools and materials. 
 
 All children were privileged to have a share in such creative 
 activities as: cooking, canning, jelly making, sewing, clay 
 modeling, painting, weaving, and other available handwork that 
 seemed to fit their needs and interests. The results of their 
 labors bore testimony to the genuineness of expression resulting 
 from the freedom and wide range of choice enjoyed. Their 
 original poems, stories, and plays, also accounts of all activities 
 projected both within and without the school were likewise 
 indicative of varied pupil interests and considerable growth 
 over the school year period. Concrete evidences of the results 
 accomplished could be found in "Our Classroom News-Record" 
 each week. 
 
 The music periods yielded big returns. It was a time when the 
 children responded freely and naturally with spontaneous, joy- 
 ous, creative expression. Through the use of the victrola and of 
 the singing classes they enjoyed work in (a) rhythmic ex- 
 pression, (b) group singing, (c) music appreciation, and (d) 
 similar activities that brought the deepest satisfactions. 
 
 An outstanding example of the influence of creative expression 
 
An Emerging Pbogram of Creative Living for All Children 37 
 
 as a means of releasing and refining hidden powers and energies 
 within was illustrated in the reaction of a nine year old boy in 
 the group. A report of the teacher's record follows : 
 
 A few days after school opened all of the children, with the exception 
 of this boy, were well at work. As usual he came about one day out of 
 every week. His home was visited for contact with his parents. I asked 
 the mother why he had been staying out of school, and with the most 
 surprised look she said, "I thought he was in school". After further dis- 
 cussion, the mother thought perhaps he had spent the day in town or in 
 the swamp he had to pass through on his way to school. 
 
 This gave me the proper lead for further procedure. Sure enough 
 when I went to the swamp I found the hiding place of this boy. Not far 
 from the path I saw a heap of pine needles and a tow sack, a pile of 
 potato peelings, some papers and boxes which had been used to pack 
 lunches. The boy evidently had been hiding himself in this still, quiet 
 spot. A crude bridge of poles had been put across the stream, and stakes 
 had been driven to hold it in place. I turned at once and went back to 
 the house. 
 
 When I reached there, I found the boy cutting wood in the back yard 
 After greeting him I said, "Our new tools have come. How would yoii 
 like to work in the shop tomorrow?" With one shy glance he said "I 
 can't make anything in a shop". Without further comment I said "I like 
 your bridge and your camp. That is the way the Indians used 'to live 
 I visited an Indian reservation this summer and saw a bridge built of 
 ropes. The bridge was much longer than yours though. It was across a 
 nver". With a goodbye I left the boy standing there. 
 
 Next morning during the organization of the day's work the question of 
 selecting a shop foreman arose. It was suggested that they put in a large 
 strong boy about this child's size. At once it was evident that this sug- 
 gestion was not a popular one. Then it was that I mentioned some of his 
 qualities, such as his strength, his knowledge of shop work, and his ability 
 to do a job well. Finally he was nominated and voted in. Most of his 
 day was spent in the shop. The next day he was back— and on and on 
 Today he is my right-hand man and captain of one of the work benches 
 He has charge of training six younger boys and does it with a high degree 
 of efficiency and with little direction from me. 
 
 Academic Work 
 
 ^ Creative teaching is concerned tvith all of the complex situa- 
 tions one meets in everyday life and is not limited to any specific 
 field of subject matter. At Spring Hope emphasis is placed upon 
 learning through active participation in meaningful and purpose- 
 ful experiences, growing out of real situations of vital interest to 
 the child and through which desirable knowledges, skills, habits, 
 attitudes, and ideals are developed. All aspects of the program 
 are adjusted to serve his needs and interests rather than by 
 letting the curriculum dominate him. In order to carry forward 
 his activities successfully, the child realizes a vital need for the 
 mastery of certain tool subjects, techniques, and pertinent con- 
 tent material, and then sets about on his own initiative to learn 
 those essential facts and skills necessary for the desired accom- 
 
38 An Experimental Program in Elementary Education 
 
 plishment. As a consequence, definite subject matter classes, in- 
 cluding both cultural and tool subjects, are conducted each day in 
 direct relation to a felt need growing out of some central theme 
 or activity in progress, such as a study of cotton, the editing and 
 the printing of a newspaper, the life cycle of plants and animals, 
 and other activities. 
 
 All of this material is thus made richer, more realistic, and far 
 more valuable through such an integration than it could other- 
 wise be in the scheduled-formal recitation. In this connection the 
 child gets the desired reaction in a way that suits him best and 
 thus creates within him a greater desire to possess it, because he 
 can better see the relationship of this piece of work to the activity 
 in which he is vitally interested at the time. Therefore, subject 
 matter as such is used as a means to an end and not as an end 
 itself. Everything that does not carry over into the life of the 
 child and does not help to strengthen his moral, mental, physical, 
 and social fiber is eliminated from this school program. Here we 
 find a complete transition from the traditional procedure. 
 
 When the girls and boys learned to make jelly, to prepare soup 
 mixture and tomato juice, to can fruits and vegetables, to set a 
 table and serve a meal, to measure accurately and season 
 well, to read and follow directions in using patterns and recipes, 
 to use accurately the common tools needed in the average home, 
 to make out and figure accurately a bill of material, to read a 
 working drawing, to grow, gather and prepare vegetables and 
 fruits for home use — all these and many more thrilling but prof- 
 itable activities as well — excellent opportunities were furnished 
 for natural creative expression and for profound research in 
 practically all of the fields of human interests that set the chil- 
 dren working on problems with energy and persistence sufficient 
 to find the solutions. In this connection the academic work, in- 
 volving the language arts, the natural and social sciences, arith- 
 metic, health, and the fine and industrial arts, was developed in 
 direct response to the individual pupil's needs in solving the many 
 and varied types of problems that arose in the above situations 
 and proved to be not only meaningful and helpful but also equally 
 fascinating as any other phase of the activity. In each case the 
 achieved subject m.atter learnings, considered in relation to the 
 individual child's ability to make progress, were most satis- 
 factory. 
 
 "Our Classroom News-Record" offered perhaps the greatest 
 possibility during the entire school year for the promotion and 
 
An Emerging Program of Creative Living for All Ciiilduf.n 39 
 
 the development of sustained pupil interest in a variety of in- 
 tegrating activities over a prolonged period of time. The fol- 
 lowing account of how this school newspaper came to be a 
 moving concern at Spring Hope speaks for itself. 
 
 "Our Classroom News-Recoru" at Spring Hope 
 
 Early in the fall one of the boys brought a copy of a CCC camp news- 
 paper to class and asked to have it read. Both groups had been writing 
 stories, and more than once suggestions had come from them as to how 
 they could keep their stories permanently. Some wanted to print them 
 in the form of charts; others wanted to make books. The newspaper gave 
 them the idea that they could make one and print it regularly in order 
 to take care of their writings. This suggestion was seized upon eagerly, 
 and a conference was arranged in which all of the children could meet 
 together and make plans. 
 
 Before the conference actually took place, the newspaper was dis- 
 cussed informally in smaller groups. A committee was appointed to ask 
 the editor of the local paper to meet with them at the appointed time. 
 As many newspapers as possible were collected by several children and 
 placed in the room for the use of all. Each child was asked to be 
 thinking of a suitable name for their new publication. Interest increased 
 with each activity. 
 
 When the day for the conference came, almost everyone had gained 
 some information about newspapers. The local editor gave simple ex- 
 planations of the duties of the staff and of the mechanics of printing a 
 paper. In response to the numerous questions asked by the children, an 
 animated discussion period followed in which practically all took an ac- 
 tive part. Then, under pupil leadership, committees were chosen, and a 
 tentative editorial staff was appointed to serve until after the issuance of 
 the first copy. The editor and teachers met with the dilferent committees 
 appointed and helped them to formulate plans. 
 
 The advertising committee, with the business manager as chairman, 
 began work immediately. After the size and the prices of the advertise- 
 ments were decided upon, the business firms were apportioned to each 
 member in order to avoid repetitions. The children had full responsi- 
 bility for soliciting all of the advertisements. Although the teacher 
 usually accompanied them, the pupils conducted the interview, made the 
 trade, and collected the money. The bank account that was started was 
 added to from time to time; all transactions were made by the pupils. 
 
 The subscription committee divided their territory and interviewed the 
 people who they thought would be interested. It was also their duty to 
 collect the subscription price of twenty-five cents, which the class had 
 decided upon, to deliver the papers to the local subscribers, and to send the 
 others by mail. And so the newspaper got under way. 
 
 With the exception of the mimeographing, all of the work was done 
 by the children. Different groups assembled the sheets and fastened them 
 together with staples. The covers were designed and executed by the 
 pupils with a little help in planning, when requested. The sports and 
 society editors were busy collecting and writing material from the begin- 
 ning. Each child made some kind of a contribution each week. One 
 group planned an imaginary continued story, which was featured in each 
 issue throughout the term. In order lo have the proper background to 
 develop it, much outside reading was necessary. Every activity partici- 
 pated in during the year was reported for the paper. The mailing list was 
 prepared, and and the papers were wrapped, addressed, stamped, and 
 mailed by various members. The publicity committee wrote to other 
 neighboring schools that published a newspaper and arranged for an ex- 
 change. 
 
40 An Experimental Pkogram in Elementary Education 
 
 The newspaper usually carried ten pages to the issue. In addition to 
 the copies going to various educatoi's and friends outside of the com- 
 munity, the paper was delivered regularly to about seventy-five families 
 living in the school community. Other children in the school exhibited 
 much interest by reading the paper and by contributing to it. Almost 
 every issue carried an item from another group. Many children, from the 
 high school down to the first grade, often requested a copy of the paper 
 and expressed joy in reading parts of it. 
 
 During the year the children had the opportunity not only to increase 
 their ability to do creative writing but also to develop certain skills in 
 the language arts. The need for spelling and for sentence construction, 
 the use of capital letters, and other phases of language made it necessary 
 for specific work along these lines to be undertaken. The business phase 
 of the paper involved the handling of money, banking activities, and the 
 solving of many problems in arithmetic. Throughout the entire project 
 many genuine reading experiences were participated in by each member 
 of the class. Even the tiniest kindergartener would read and re-read her 
 own contribution and then ask for help in reading other stories in the 
 paper. Growth along the lines of cooperation and intelligent self- 
 direction was also achieved by all of the children in the group. 
 
 Spiritual Training 
 
 The important role of spiritual values in the shaping of human 
 life and conduct is considered here as a balance of all other 
 values in a symmetry of life fashioned after the perfect ideal. 
 It is the child's right to be allowed to possess certain desirable 
 virtues as a touchstone to which all of his thoughts and all of his 
 actions may be subjected. If he has these qualities deeply im- 
 bedded in his heart, if he possesses them as a vital part of his 
 very being, then his spiritual anchorage may be regarded as 
 safe. 
 
 The teaching of religious principles in relation to everyday 
 living is a part of the present program at Spring Hope. It in- 
 cludes stories, a study of religious literature, and a consideration 
 of the child's ethical character. Encouragement to participate 
 in church and Sunday School activities is given without em- 
 phasis being placed upon sectarianism at any time. A conscious 
 effort is made to start going in each child those enterprises, am- 
 bitions, and tastes that will fill both his leisure time and his work 
 hours with clean, ennobling, and joy-giving activities. In this 
 phase of his growth the same freedom of thought and action is 
 accorded as is expressed previously along other lines. 
 
 Parent Education 
 
 Home and school, parents and teachers, must have commoyi ob- 
 jectives, purposes, plans, and similar techniques that are de- 
 sirable if the child's life at school and at home is an integral 
 whole. As a means toward developing a consistent regime and 
 
An Emerging Program of Creative Living for All Children 41 
 
 policy for each child to follow in his daily living, the teachers at 
 Spring Hope put forth great effort to establish better parent- 
 child and parent-teacher relationships by: 
 
 1. Making personal visits to and holding private conferences 
 with parents for the purpose of learning to know each 
 other and together to understand the child and his prob- 
 lems, to confer and agree upon the atmosphere that should 
 surround him, and the habits and ideals that should be set 
 before him in order that each may adjust, supplement, sup- 
 port, and cooperate with the other intelligently to the end 
 that each child may grow happily and successfully in a 
 harmonious, understanding, secure, and loving environ- 
 
 . ment. 
 
 2, Sharing reports of individual pupil progress with the 
 parents at the end of the first month of school, at the close 
 of the term, and at such other times as it seems desirable. 
 
 . 3.. Urging parents to visit the school to observe their child 
 as he works and plays with other children, to become bet- 
 ter acquainted with the teacher and the principal, and to 
 better understand the program of work that is being carried 
 on in the school. 
 
 4. Sponsoring study courses for parents and teachers. 
 
 5. Offering guidance to parents, such as acting in capacity 
 of adviser in regard to proper diagnosis and treatment of 
 their children who are causing problems at home. 
 
 6. Serving as adviser in an educational and vocational capac- 
 ity to parents in helping them to guide their children in 
 life after school. 
 
 Evaluation of Pupil Progress 
 
 In true 'perspective, the experimental program organized and 
 conducted at Spring Hope is neither curricidum centered nor 
 child centered, hut life centered; it is primarily concerned 
 neither with the amount the child learns nor with the uniqueness 
 of what he creates, hut luith his emotional stahility and his 
 ahility to live completely and to get along ivell with others; it 
 believes in developing control from ivithin, not from without; 
 it emphasizes creation, not acquisition; it subordinates subject 
 matter to personality ; it substitutes the social motive of group 
 participation for the competitive motive of individual achieve- 
 ment; it considers the changed ways of behaving (conduct) as 
 the real test for learjiing rather than the oral co^nmafid of sub- 
 ject matter, and places its emphasis upon the actual living 
 through a valuable experience. Finally, it measures its success. 
 
42 Ax Experimental Program in Elementary Education 
 
 not in terms of grades and credits, but in terms of the character, 
 the culture, and the effectiveness of the personalities of the 
 children. The supreme goal toward which all efforts are directed 
 is to enable every child, regardless of his varying abilities, to 
 develop increasingly all of his potential powers to the highest 
 level of which he is capable and to help him live happily and 
 successfully as a worthy contributing member of the social group. 
 In terms of this point of direction all methods, means, measure- 
 ments, and other aspects of the educative process are selected and 
 interpreted. 
 
 As a result of this satisfying way of living and growing, 
 learning and working, there is every indication that desirable 
 growth, development, and adjustments along many lines have 
 been effected in the daily life of every child participating. Some 
 observable evidences of the productive changes made in these 
 children are : 
 
 1. Quickening children's interest. 
 
 a. Children showing increasing ability to obtain concrete 
 illustrative material for classroom use, such as speci- 
 mens of rocks, plants, land and water life, pets, toys, 
 magazines, and books. 
 
 b. Children bringing in illustrative materials with in- 
 creasing promptness and regularity. 
 
 c. Children showing ability to secure from outside sources 
 additional facts and information for classroom discus- 
 sion and study. For example, writing the curator of 
 the State Museum for information concerning the care 
 and feeding of a baby squirrel; writing a taxidermist 
 for information concerning mounting of birds ; writing 
 the State Geologist for information concerning the 
 analysis of minerals found in local rocks. 
 
 d. Children participating voluntarily and more completely 
 in all school activities and in those community activities 
 within their range of ability and interests. 
 
 2. Securing improvement in children's ability to think crea- 
 tively and critically. 
 
 a. Growth in power to organize subject matter, evidenced 
 by oral and written reports and by the convincing way 
 of presenting materials and problems to class for dis- 
 cussion. 
 
 b. Growth in power to frame questions and to present them 
 for consideration. 
 
 c. Growth in power to answer questions with greater clear- 
 ness and understanding. 
 
 d. Growth in power to originate problems of greater scope 
 and value. 
 
An Emerging Program of Creative Living for All Children 43 
 
 e. Growth in power to offer suggestions of greater worth 
 in solving community, school, group, and individual 
 problems. 
 
 f. Growth in power to analyze and control elements in 
 new situations and in new problems. 
 
 Securing improvement in children's ability to become 
 socially minded. 
 
 a. Increasing willingness to share with others their ma- 
 terials, such as books, pencils, toys, tools, and other 
 equipment. 
 
 b. Increasing readiness to share with others any infor- 
 mation and knowledge they have gained. 
 
 c. Increasing power to understand and evaluate the claims 
 of others in comparison with one's own. 
 
 Securing progressive achievement of children. 
 
 a. Improved results in daily work, evidenced by written 
 and oral reports and by ability to solve more difficult 
 problems in the different fields of learning. 
 
 b. Improved results in habits of study, evidenced by ability 
 to concentrate and to become absorbed more and more 
 completely during long periods of study. 
 
 Developing growth of character in children. 
 
 a. Improvement in accepting responsibility, evidenced by 
 being punctual for all work; by having ready in good 
 condition, when required, all needed materials and 
 tools ; and by carrying on work in the shop, on the play- 
 ground, and in other places without need of outside 
 help. The report of a day's work with a substitute 
 teacher indicates very clearly that many habits of right 
 conduct have become integrated in the daily living of 
 these children. They considered it their full responsi- 
 bility to carry forward the program in the absence of 
 their regular teacher. Not only did they accomplish 
 this satisfactorily, but with much keen enjoyment. 
 
 b. Improvement in self-control, evidenced by the ability 
 to wait calmly and politely for the correct time to take 
 part in discussions, to ask and answer questions, to se- 
 cure materials and the like. 
 
 c. Improvement in ability to judge the worth of one's own 
 work, evidenced by skill in correcting one's own errors 
 before asking for teacher's and pupils' criticism. 
 
 d. Improvement in ability to accept suggestions and cor- 
 rections from teacher and classmates, evidenced by 
 making use of suggestions and corrections in later 
 activities. 
 
 e. Improvement in ability to give more reliable and more 
 accurate statements of one's own conduct, evidenced by 
 
44 An Expekiaiental Program in Elementary Education 
 
 making admissions on one's own accord and by giving 
 accurate and correct answers to questions, 
 f. Improvement in cleanliness, evidenced by the care they 
 take in their school surroundings, in their personal ap- 
 pearance, and in both personal and public properties. 
 In the last analysis, the all-important determining factor is the 
 releasing and the freeing of the creative power that is somewhere 
 imprisoned in each child. To a degree, improved individual pupil 
 action along the following lines of right living resulted: co- 
 operation, persistence, personal self-dependence in care of own 
 things and in surroundings, right attitude toward school and 
 school work, respect for older people, initiative, leadership, re- 
 sourcefulness, profitable use of leisure time, fairness toward 
 others and himself in games, civic responsibility, ability to talk 
 intelligently before a group, interest and participation in group 
 activities without self-consciousness, consciousness of rights of 
 others, respect for contributions of others, desire for knowledge 
 and information concerning his everyday life and environment, 
 keen powers of observation, desire to share with others, desire to 
 create, ability plus a desire to read and write that prompts volun- 
 tary "doings", ability to plan and carry out own plans, ability to 
 present worthy judgments, right attitude toward conduct and 
 respect for feelings of others. 
 
 A School Day at Spring Hope 
 
 The following account of the activities enjoyed by the chil- 
 dren at Spring Hope is typical of the usual school day that is 
 carried forward there. This is indicative of the wholesome living 
 and learning that these children are privileged to share in whole- 
 heartedly day by day. 
 
 After dispatching their usual morning duties, the children spent some 
 time discussing their program of work for the day. Several changes were 
 made in their organization plans that gave definite responsibility to 
 different ones in the group. All seemed eager to have a share in the day's 
 activities. 
 
 This morning H. T. brought a shivering owl to school. When he was 
 asked where he got him, he told the whole story with much enthusiasm. 
 Then he added, "How long before I can start printing some news?" He 
 waved his hands frantically to get the attention of the group and said, 
 "Please all of you children tell something so Miss Valentine can put it on 
 the board. I want to print some." The owl dominated, of course. After 
 that was settled, several children walked up and down and read the 
 stories of their own dictation, as they were written on the board by the 
 teacher. It soon became evident that more information was needed about 
 
An Emerging Program of Creative Living for Aix Children 45 
 
 owls. As a result, some of the children looked in their room library for 
 material, while others went in search of more help from the school libra- 
 rian. H. T. used his time to record the whole story with his printing 
 
 set. 
 
 At the suggestion of M. J. a profitable period was then spent in talking 
 over again the very interesting field trip they had had to a nearby pond 
 the afternoon before and in writing stories about their many experiences. 
 Several children brought in accounts of certain plants, insects, and 
 animals that they had written on their own accord. Almost every child 
 had some valuable contributions to make in regard to the water life they 
 had observed. Several boys remarked that the group cooperated much 
 better on this excursion than they did on the last one. 
 
 Although this was the first time some of the children in this group had 
 tried to write their own stories, they exercised much more independence 
 and ability than they had on any similar occasion. With the exception of 
 a list of words, which was put on the board in the beginning at their 
 suggestion, only a few of the children asked for special help with spelling. 
 The work accomplished was most creditable from every standpoint. 
 
 After the stories were read and discussed, L. N. asked if he could show 
 the group a copy of a paper written by some of the CCC boys in camp. 
 Several indicated considerable interest and asked for a number of the 
 articles to be read to them. Soon plans were being made for beginning 
 a paper of their very own. The class agreed that M. J. would make a 
 good editor-in-chief; so she was unanimously elected. After they worked 
 for awhile on the details connected with the organization, a small com- 
 mittee was appointed to formulate a plan for them to follow. Several 
 suggestions were then given as to the kind of contributions that should 
 be included in their school paper. Almost every child volunteered to 
 have something ready to offer by the next day. 
 
 In their discussion that followed the question was asked, "Where does 
 paper come from?" B. M. volunteered, "I think paper is made from 
 wood." S. J. wondered aloud, "How could wood be made into paper?" 
 The several questions proposed offered splendid leads for further study 
 along this line. All seemed particularly eager for information on paper 
 making; so a committee was appointed to go to the library in search of 
 such help and to report their findings to the group later. 
 
 During the play period today the larger boys played unusually well. 
 However, a slight disturbance, which they were successful in settling 
 themselves, occurred with the smaller boys. Other than that they played 
 well too. The girls were very happy this morning, although one or two 
 of them strayed and had to be brought back into the group by the 
 captain. During the entire period all of the children played a variety of 
 games of their owri choosing under pupil leadership. 
 
 When the children returned to their rooms, both groups assembled for 
 music appreciation. They listened reasonably well to the playing of 
 several Victrola records. S. G. recognized two musical instruments to his 
 great delight. Some kept time with their hands and with their feet; 
 others with their heads. There seemed to be more interpretation of the 
 music within than was reflected by the expressed demeanor of the group. 
 
46 An Experimental Program in Elementary Education 
 
 The story of "A Hunt in the Black Forest" held their interest longer than 
 any of the selections. They recognized the superiority of Schubert's 
 "March Militaire" and asked for it to be played again. 
 
 The shop period moved along very smoothly. B. M. started a new unit 
 today. B. H. worked hard on his magazine rack; H. T. almost completed 
 his game board. One of the larger boys said, "I do hope H. T. will have 
 his board ready in a few days, for I can't wait much longer to play that 
 game. It will be interesting, because we will have to keep score." C. W. 
 has his bird house all drawn, the measurements made, and the timber 
 selected; while W. J. finally began putting together the bookrack he has 
 been working on for more than a week. T. H. was very much concerned 
 about some inferior work that had been done on his bookcase without 
 his permission. Although he prepared some crack filler and tried to 
 rework the damage done, his bookcase is somewhat defaced. Five boys 
 worked on the teacher's desk. The dining room chairs they are re- 
 working are now ready to be painted. Today the table captains and all 
 of the other boys worked happily and expressed regret when the period 
 was over. 
 
 While the boys were in the shop, the other children divided themselves 
 into several groups. Some worked on reading, using both incidental 
 material and library books. The more advanced children helped the 
 smaller ones. But the major part of the group was engaged in a project 
 of making jelly from apples that had been brought from home. Sugar 
 was purchased by a special committee, also oil for the stove. While the 
 jelly was cooking, the girls prepared the glasses, the paraffin and the 
 labels. In making out the expense account, several arithmetic problems 
 involving measurements and amounts were worked. Some members 
 spent the time in making a record of this interesting experience. 
 
 Lunch period followed with all of its attendant health features in 
 operation. Cocoa that was made by four of the girls was served by some 
 of the boys. It was a happy, enjoyable hour. 
 
 During the first of the rest period. Mother Goose Rhymes were read at 
 the request of the first graders. Later the larger children called for 
 " "The Norwegian Twins." In about twenty minutes each child in the 
 room was fast asleep. With few exceptions they rested nicely. 
 
 After an hour of quiet relaxation, the groups set about to complete 
 several tasks they had planned for the day. During the period that 
 followed, the larger children were unusually interested in a group dis- 
 cussion in history that was started earlier in connection with the first 
 missionaries and how they went out into the Oregon country. This 
 matter led to a discussion of what the church had done for the country in 
 which we live now and how it had always had a strong influence. Some 
 of the outstanding values of a church to a community were noted. 
 
 Another group spent the first part of this period in checking over the 
 work accomplished yesterday. Then they continued their discussion 
 about Switzerland, which included a study of the tunnels and the 
 mountains of that country. This brought up many questions about 
 similar places of interest in our own country. Notably among these was 
 the Holland Tunnel in New York City. The different ways that tunnels 
 
An Emerging Program of Creative Living for All Children 47 
 
 are built in mountain areas provoked much thinking and further 
 questioning. 
 
 At the last period this afternoon, the boys asked permission to hold a 
 meeting alone with B. M. as spokesman. They retired to the sewing 
 room for about thirty minutes. C. L. acted as secretary and took notes. 
 When they returned to their room, the secretary reported that the group 
 had decided to work on some important matters; namely, moving the 
 bases on the playground to make it easy and safe for people passing not 
 to stumble; taking care of the tennis wire; fixing seats for the observers 
 on the ball field; placing a wire back of the ball catcher; planning other 
 match games in baseball this season ; correcting some small faults in both 
 players and spectators; planning better organized play for the little boys; 
 and planting a spring garden. They stressed good sportsmanship and the 
 need for practicing it. As there are too many boys in the room to play all 
 of the time, G. E. offered to let C. B. play one-half of his time. Several 
 others volunteered to share in this way. C. B. asked if he could get a 
 small group together and arrange a ball game with the third grade. 
 However, this question was postponed until the next meeting. No con- 
 ference was conducted by the children during the year that showed as 
 much evidence of positive growth as this one. 
 
 For the last few days there has been a degree of unrest among the girls. 
 In a meeting with them, the teacher helped them to work on self-control 
 and on better organized play. M. D. suggested that the teachers talk 
 more individually with the girls. Although S. R. was still very inactive, 
 she gave some evidence of a desire to cooperate. All in all, the girls were 
 willing to discuss any undesirable behavior, even if it involved the 
 individual. They also expressed a keen interest in making some changes 
 in their conduct. 
 
 As the gong for closing time was about to ring, one of the boys went 
 to the pencil sharpener and then looked around to say, "One more 
 announcement before the day is gone. The squirrel is sick. Do you all 
 want to write him some notes?" Then he burst into a laugh. 
 
 Individual Case Studies 
 
 The case studies herewith recorded give some conclusive evi- 
 dence of the far-reaching effects of this program as it relates to 
 individual child growth. Such reports show clearly that this pro- 
 cess has not been a "hit and miss" method, and that the curric- 
 ulum has not been limited to the traditional three R's. Instead 
 it is an endeavor to offer proof of a kind of work, which helps 
 children to "advance from year to year, ascending like a spiral 
 which rests upon the same area and yet ever goes higher." 
 
 Case 1 
 
 My first concern when I meet a child is to gain a thorough knowledge 
 of his environmental background and his complete developmental equip- 
 ment to date. These are most important things that we must know about 
 
48 Ax Experimental Program in Elementary Education 
 
 the child if we are to teach, guide, and help him so that he may bless 
 and glorify the world in which he lives. 
 
 Take this child for instance — a street waif seven years of age in August 
 1933, walking proudly down the street with an air rifle on his shoulder, 
 while a little rat terrier follows closely behind. In November he lost 
 his mother — saw her die. The father, a drunkard, gave away all of the 
 children except this little boy, who followed at his heels always whistling. 
 Finally, this child was deserted. A good citizen became interested in his 
 welfare and began looking for a home for him. Later the boy was 
 adopted by a childless couple about thirty years of age. 
 
 That fall this restless, nagging, high tempered, but musical little fellow 
 was assigned to my group. When we organized our orchestra, he was 
 made director. His mind seemed to be in the gutter, for he saw only the 
 dark and ugly things in life. By Christmas I could see a change. I 
 visited his new home and went with him to see his pigs, his calf, and his 
 dog. I inquired about his books and his toys. When I remarked about 
 what a lovely place for birds and for flowers, then it was that he 
 volunteered to tell me about a robin that nested in their grove during 
 the spring. As he was talking, he led me to the tree. The next day he 
 asked to tell the other children about this robin. And so from that day 
 he began to unfold and to become a joy and a help in our room. 
 
 The second year he developed an ability to read and was one of the. 
 first to join our book club. He took an active part in music; in fact, 
 he often had charge of the music for our chapel programs and for our 
 entertainments. Many of his letters and stories were published in our 
 local paper as well as in our own room paper. 
 
 Throughout the third year he was actively interested in every unit of 
 work. When he was called upon to make spontaneous announcements, 
 he chose his words carefully and expressed himself well. He continued 
 his writing; served on several important committees; read fourteen 
 library books from choice; and helped with the shop work, the pets, the 
 cooking, the sewing, and anything that came up for consideration. 
 
 All in all this boy at the close of the term was a happy, useful citizen, 
 a joy in the class room and on the playground, and a real leader — clean, 
 upright and honorable, liked and trusted by all. He made many business 
 trips; bought and sold at times for our grade; and engaged a truck by 
 telephone when we visited a taxidermist in Raleigh. One day he made five 
 trips to the office before he could locate his party over the telephone. 
 When he finally succeeded, he came back and made his report as well as 
 an average high school boy could have. Along with the other children, he 
 wrote to a group of boys and girls in China, to our State Supervisor, and 
 to a child in Jacksonville, Illinois. During the year he read twenty 
 library books profitably. A greater degree of improvement was shown 
 in all of his work than at any previous time. His attendance in school 
 was good. He was never absent unless he was ill. His parents fre- 
 quently visited our room and cooperated in every way. 
 
 What if this child's environment had never been interpreted? What if 
 he had aimlessly drifted along as did his older brother, who is the picture 
 of poverty and supreme suffering from an inferiority complex? 
 
A>- E.MERGi>-G PuoGr.A>r OK Creative Livi>-g for Aix Chiloren 
 
 49 
 
 Case 2 
 
 T et us turn our thoughts to a little girl in this room and see how she 
 
 VZ this type of teaching and to what degree she has gamed. How 
 
 ;':r an she g in a dSerenf environment? What if she should never 
 
 T .^1.1 in school^ How long would this moral fiber stand 
 
 Z't^'TrJZj:/^^ HOW long would the mental strands we 
 
 "-^^Z^T^Z::^^^ September as one belonging to 
 J'hrfamily. I Visited the home in which the three children were 
 Zt The father could barely care for himselt, to say nothing of a little 
 bov of eight a girl of seven, and another afflicted child three years of age, 
 b o hf was taken, a victim of pellagra, to the county home and the 
 loth r was sent as a patient to the State Hospital for the Insan^ On 
 Monday morning this little frame of humanity stood m my door with an 
 
 Latei one of them offered to escort her to the hot lunch room, where the 
 
 " p'orlyfshirelm^/rzeratd she dreaded to talk to anyone. Finally 
 shlgot in er'e ted in playing dolls, and she volunteered several times to 
 alk about i,er own dolls. The first month she gained three Po-^^- J^ 
 Uttl color began to show in her olive face and light to come into hose 
 arge brown eyes, set in a pale, thin face. At last one day she said, 
 vou have an extra chair, I would be glad for my brother to come m this 
 r oom H^d be so happy in here." She seemed to be afr^d of e-ybo^; 
 and would give up so easily the books, the materials, the toys or any 
 thfng She was enjoying at the time. Gradually ^^^ ^--^^.^^^^^J^f, 
 next thing was to help her establish confidence in herself and to create 
 wmiin her The desire to aspire, to achieve, and to accomplish. I insisted 
 upon her playing a great deal with the children; called upon her 
 con'tant^ to assist me; and urged her to accept responsibility m every 
 way She was given parts in plays and was called in for conference, 
 regarding the domestic part of our program, such as cooking, house 
 keeping and other similar activities. Daily I could see the adjustment 
 
 feU B yrandil,. s alSe were interests, and worKed together^ A.ter 
 he auilt wL taken out of the frames, this child was hostess through 
 our grade r^other to the entire room. The next day she brought a note 
 to me and Tald "I wrote this tor my sister. She can't write. May I read 
 » To the cWd'.en'" By the end of the year she was taking an act. ye 
 part in a. o our dramatizations and was making valuable contrtoufons 
 
50 An Experimental Program in Elementary Education 
 
 in group stories for the daily paper. In fact she seemed so happy and 
 so eager to develop that she would try to do any assignment, whether it 
 came from me or from the group with whom she was working. 
 
 On the day that school opened the second year, this child walked into 
 my room with her mother, who had been dismissed from the State Hos- 
 pital for the Insane, and said in the sweetest manner, "Miss Valentine, 
 I want you to meet my mother." As the father was able to leave the 
 county home, the home had been reestablished. 
 
 Socially, physically, and, mentally this child continued to open like a 
 flower. She read twelve library books with ease and did the work with 
 the others happily and acceptably. I called upon her without warning 
 one night at a P. T. A. meeting for an explanation regarding a piece of 
 work that had been recently completed in our room. When she had 
 finished her announcement, she turned to me and said, "That's all I know 
 about it now." She had told it with such child-like simplicity and so 
 beautifully that I was amazed. 
 
 This child was active, alert, and happy throughout the rest of the time 
 she was in my room. She wrote many stories for publication in our 
 county paper, became a member of the Campus Committee for the ele- 
 mentary school, and was president of the Book Club for two months. 
 Her progress in academic work was commensurate with the rest of her 
 development. 
 
 Case 3. 
 
 Let us study the record of a little girl who failed to make the proper 
 adjustment in the first grade. When school opened, one of the pictures 
 to greet me was this screaming child clinging to her sister. Every 
 muscle and nerve in her body seemed to tighten and to rebel. I went 
 about my work as best I could, talking to those who gave evidence of 
 any reaction. About 9:30 she released her grip on her sister, but she 
 would not let her leave her side. At 10:00 o'clock all of us went down 
 to the brook. I took a book of Mother Goose Rhymes. This child joined 
 us and soon we were reading and playing some of these jingles. 
 
 For the next hour or so everything moved along smoothly. Finally 
 some child crossed her path. Her temper sprang like a lion from its lair. 
 She fought, bit, kicked, and spat upon the child almost in the same 
 breath. And when I came upon the scene, she defied me. It was terrible. 
 Such an outburst of temper! When I talked with the children for 
 awhile, I directed some of my questions to her, but she ignored me en- 
 tirely. I sat near her for an hour, while I continued to talk with the 
 other children. Finally she softened up and said, "Well, I believe I'll 
 go home." I told her that the buses were not ready to leave and that 
 we were not ready to go. When we turned toward the house, she fol- 
 lowed along with the other children. Before the day was over, you 
 never would have guessed that she had passed through such torture. 
 
 NeA^er have I dealt with a more fractious child in all of my life. 
 She was pretty, and she made friends easily, but she was merciless 
 toward those she did not like. By the end of the first year she was able 
 to adjust herself fairly well; she showed reasonable progress in her 
 
AN EMERGING PROGRAM OF CREATIVE LIVING FOR ALL CHILDREN 51 
 
 academic work and gave evidence of being happy most of the time, 
 luhou^h The was very active in play outside and also m dramatiza- 
 Uons of any t"pe, she made few oral contributions in group work. 
 However, She did ^n.oy the Book Club and read ei.M^ooks during ^h 
 first year. Her interest in pets was quite pronounced. This child was 
 thoroughly honest and reliable. She was lovely to me, except when she 
 saw fit to give vent to her temper at my expense. 
 
 Freauent visits to this home established the proper relationship be- 
 
 twee^^parents and me. After we Y/^TLirafhor When 
 found out that all of the children quarreled and fought at home^ When 
 T realized that this child considered me her friend, I asked her to tell 
 Le why she fought her sister and brothers and why she was not happy 
 Thome. Sh: t'old me very frankly that they -ased and mocked h 
 all of the time. I worked harder than ever to show this little .irl the 
 Ter Z ot living. I visited her home, admired everything that ouche 
 her life, and made her feel that I too was a part of her world and her 
 
 '^The'second year was quite different. She greeted me with a smile t^ie 
 first day of school and said, "We are going to do so many things this 
 year aren't we?" As the days passed, I could see her gradually letting 
 go and try nl to make the adjustment that I so much desired. She was 
 fak?n^ an active part in the entire program; she was reading and 
 a::Mng for information beyond her immediate environment^ We were 
 enioving some of Robert L. Stevenson's poems one day, when she saiQ 
 rdenly, "Tell us about the man who wrote those songs. I can sm^ 
 The Swmg YOU see I made up the music." And so she sang the poem 
 Jor us That was a headline in the next day's paper. After I had told 
 hem all I knew about Stevenson, this same child urged me to continue 
 WhTn I admitted that I would have to look up more ^^^^^ f J^/f , ^^^^ 
 shared with them further, she offered to go to the library and get a book 
 ?or me The librarian helped her find just what she wanted, so m a shoit 
 time she walked back with a large book in her arms. Her contribution 
 was one of the biggest hits of the season, as she saw it. 
 
 on and on throughout the year this little girl was a happy useful 
 citizen except for occasional outbursts which grew less frequent As a 
 con r butinTfactor in, controlling her temper in this environment stres 
 was placed upon attending to her own business, having respect for the 
 other fellow's rights, working hard, and playing fair. 
 
 The third year this child found reading for pleasure and for informa 
 tion a oy and a privilege, and never an assigned task. She read twenty- 
 S Xry books easily, assisted with any and all of the w.rk in and 
 
 four library dookb anbuy, c^j^oxou.,.. .,...- --. .i^iio-htPfi ln 
 
 outside of the class room, enjoyed every excursion, and delighted in 
 Takfnc^ Written and oral reports. She made a collection of her own 
 Ttor's s"me of which she typed in our room; others the commercia 
 c a rilxed for her. She wrote and received letters through our post 
 office- wmingly assumed responsibilities in the house keeping served 
 afpr'esrdent of our Book Club for two months; played and workea well 
 with the gro^P, but, as in the past two years, occasionally some child 
 fell victim to her temper tantrums. 
 
52 An Experimental Program in Elementary Education 
 
 The fourth year she was able to take hold where she left off. Only 
 twice did she have an outburst, once with me and later with a classmate. 
 As a result of the interruption which involved the whole room, I said to 
 her, "Pardon me, please, but your chairman says that you are disturbing 
 the group and that you are not helping as you could." She flew into a 
 rage and accused me of unthinkable things, it seemed, for one of her 
 age. I made the best of it, realizing how she was suffering. Three dif- 
 ferent times during the day she fanned the flame, but she managed to 
 get by without an attack. The next morning she handed me a note that 
 she had written, in which she said, "I begged my Daddy to take me to 
 your house last night. I told him I had been ugly and bad. I told him 
 you were good to me and talked kind. I could not sleep. Please forgive 
 me." After I talked with her during the day, she seemed to be much 
 relieved. It is my belief that something has happened so permanent in 
 this child's life that it will carry over and prevent her from being the 
 problem she no doubt would have been without some definite help. 
 
 If we know how and what to do for boys and girls and fail to do it, we 
 have sinned against childhood. If we fail because we do not know, then 
 we have sinned against the profession and the young lives, who will grow 
 stronger in the light of truth. The steady drumming of a meaningless 
 life and environment upon a perverted mind will, in my opinion, lead into 
 acts of imitation. We cannot change children, but we can help them 
 modify their behavior by proper treatment. Instead of training our 
 students to become clever competitors in the world as it is, we should 
 help them to become creative cooperators in the making of the world as 
 it should be. 
 
 Case 4. 
 
 So far we have dealt with three separate and distinct types of home 
 environment. Now we come to the fourth one. Here we find an average 
 couple with some high school training, both about forty years of age, 
 living on a farm and maintaining a real home — a place of love and wel- 
 come for boys and girls. The child in question has to help with the 
 home duties, to be sure. Although she cannot have luxuries, she can 
 have the comforts and some of the necessities that the work and co- 
 operation of all together will allow. But above all she has that priceless 
 heritage, the love, the tender care, the confidence, and the encourage- 
 ment of her parents. She is mentally alert, morally fit, and physically 
 strong, patient, tender, thoughtful, and kind to everyone; fits into any 
 program; carries her work on as well as any child in the third grade; 
 is even tempered, and a most reliable, sound-thinking little girl; can 
 assume more than one person's responsibility and yet keep her head. 
 I shall always attribute her being a repeater to crowded conditions and 
 poor teaching. My greatest problem was giving this child a balanced 
 ration and as much as she was capable of doing. She was unanimously 
 elected president of our first Book Club, and she served on many impor- 
 tant committees in the elementary school. This child of an average 
 mentality is coloring her own life and is developing satisfactorily from 
 every standpoint in an environment, which allows the privilege of choice 
 under guidance and from which no child can possibly escape. 
 
1 
 An EiiERGiNQ Program of Creative Living for All Children 53 
 
 Case 5. 
 
 A handsome boy, a lawbreaker under suspended sentence, joined my 
 people in second grade. His father and mother were honorable, law 
 abiding citizens. They both thought if you spared the rod you spoiled 
 the child, so this boy had been severely beaten and restricted. He was 
 a plucky little fellow with an excellent personality, but he was easily 
 led. He had a fine brain — that's what got him in trouble, knowing how 
 to pick a lock while older boys looked on. I lived close to this child, 
 studied him, talked with his parents about him and told them that he 
 could be reasoned with; but that they were frightening their child and 
 driving him away from them. I then tried to show them how fear would 
 imprison this life; how it would distort and rob it of all joy and happi- 
 ness. I said to them, "Faith in you and people is what your boy needs; 
 faith in himself and others; faith in beauty, faith in the character of 
 people. Help him to ti-ust himself, you, me, and his class mates. There 
 is so much in this child, such a brain, such a personality." He made 
 friends easily. All of the children thought that they were on holy ground 
 almost if they could get to this boy when they were in a dispute af any 
 kind. 
 
 By the end of the second year in this grade, this child was making the 
 necessary adjustments to become a good citizen. Very dramatic, a 
 genuine sport, seemingly he had become thoroughly ashamed of those 
 loathsome outbursts and was daily proving himself to be quite a gentle- 
 man — courteous toward the girls and his teacher, a square shooter. 
 
 The third year I could not supply him with enough reading material. 
 He read every library book in our room and also prepared all of the other 
 work expected of him. He gave no trouble on the playground nor in the 
 class room. As time passed, he wrote and directed several plays. When 
 he revised and presented Robinson Crusoe and Rip Van Winkle, the 
 performances were given in costume on the stage before the rest of the 
 elementary school. 
 
 During his fourth year this child was my right-hand-man. He was alert 
 and in the midst of every activity in process. His academic achievement 
 reached a very high level. His contributions were always valuable. 
 He wrote many stories and made many grand written reports of excur- 
 sions. I feel that the moral fiber in this boy has been sufficiently 
 strengthened that he will be able to carry on in a satisfactory way. 
 
 Case 6. 
 
 Now let us turn to a child from a totally different environment and 
 see what his reaction has been and what this type of program has 
 amounted to in his life so far. This seven-year old boy, who came into 
 my room a repeater from the first grade, was a big, strong, handsome 
 child; but he was a real bully. He proved to be a problem in the first 
 grade by disturbing and annoying the other children, and by defying 
 his teacher on all occasions. 
 
 When school opened, his mother came to me and told me of some of his 
 weaknesses, among them ingratitude, being disagreeable, envious, dis- 
 honest, and cruel. Then I inquired as to his abilities. She shook her 
 
54 An Experimental Program in Elementary Education 
 
 head and said, "He is mentally alert and physically strong and can be 
 easily reasoned with, but it doesn't carry over. I do not get any co- 
 operation from his father when I try to discipline him." A teacher 
 appreciates such confidence and trust from a mother, who can see the 
 faults in her child and who tries to uproot them while he is yet young. 
 One day I saw him with hands on knees in half-stooped position, similar 
 to a catcher behind a bat, spring from side to side and from end to end 
 of a lovely bed of flowers in bloom. Just as I reached the plot, he went 
 out at the opposite side laughing. I called him by name and said, "I'm 
 so sorry you trampled the pretty flowers. You have destroyed so much 
 beauty. How about a game of marbles? I will play one game with you." 
 I drew the ring while he dropped in four marbles and gave me a steel 
 to shoot with. 
 
 I watched this child, studied his likes and dislikes, lived close to him, 
 won his friendship and his confidence, watched for his interest, and 
 opened every avenue possible to further his progress along all lines. 
 His interests represented those of an average boy. The shop work, 
 the group work, the book club — in fact anything that was a 
 problem sufficient to challenge him — all brought rich returns to 
 this boy. Every day's progi'am was rounded up so that he would get a 
 full share of the responsibility and plenty of Avork to do that was related 
 to his life interests. In this way he really had no time for bullying; 
 no time for dishonesty, for there was so much honest labor before him; 
 no time for ingratitude, for everyone praised and admired him. It was 
 a give and take proposition. Before the year was out, he had been made 
 foreman of the shop, a member of the Chapel Program Committee, and 
 was given other places of trust. Life had taken on new color. 
 
 Soon after I arrived on the first day of his second year, I was called 
 to the office. When I got back, he had all of the pupils in a circle in 
 chairs ready for a conference. He said, "Here is a chair for you. We are 
 making plans for this year's Avork." The program that they outlined 
 for the establishment of a museum claimed their interest for the rest 
 of the year. In fact it has continued to grow from time to time. When 
 the museum was cataloged, this boy had made the most liberal historical 
 collection. Throughout the term his work along all lines proved to be 
 most satisfactory. 
 
 The third year this boy starred as a football player and a baseball 
 player. While he was chairman of the Bulb and Shrub Planting Com- 
 mittee, he not only planned and studied plots, but he worked the flowers 
 on the campus and took pride in telling what we were doing to make the 
 campus attractive. When we made our electrical transcriptions, he was 
 our announcer and introduced each speaker and his subject. The engi- 
 neer, who did the recording for us, told me that no inexperienced person, 
 man or woman, had ever excelled this child in announcing. 
 
 The fourth year he had grown so handsome and lovely. He was not 
 only courteous, but he was gallant. Morning after morning he would 
 take my hat and coat. His mother said that he was equally courteous 
 toward her. He loved history and hero stories, so he spent much time 
 reading. All in all he was a well integrated personality. 
 
AN EMERGINa PROGRAM OF CREATIVE LIVING FOR AlL CHILDREN 55 
 
 A Group Case. 
 
 Here is a test of how the entire group of pupils reacted to a situation 
 «a rlifferent from their regular classroom environment. The ch Idren 
 LJ ered a t u'k and went to Raleigh to visit the Olivia Raney Lihrary. 
 W^en I walked -n I introduced the children to the librarian and said, 
 ^W wan to spend an hour with you. What tyPe of books yuld you 
 ■ li^e children-"' They answered as quick as a flash, Hero Stories 
 msiorv Stories Fairy Stories, Bird Stories, Geography Stones, Nature 
 
 StorL Hore Stories, a book about children in other lands a book 
 Stone. Horse btoi ^ ^^^^^„. ,.j ^^^^ ^ ^^^^ 
 
 someui s would make a note of the title m a 
 
 ^^'iZTZyZZnlX^^^r.. o, the authov an. the pu,„i..« 
 me S:'. Tinauire. o. one Mtt.e ..... "WU^ -e .„u seU.n. the Ba e 
 °' *at -o.cr. She .ep,.e.. -- ^ .rup'ILJ *e cU" ^n I i 
 S%rr.\:tV." r na':e,\.e^ut.or, an. the pnM.s.e. o. the 
 
 '°TMV;rt"::e''cM.a.en w„.e ...en an oppor.nn.ty - - <nrt.er .n^o 
 thP study ol geography and history. Their growth in these fields came 
 
 through a conuuu costumes and stage scenery. 
 
 STasTso^^Jl^f "e^^^^^ Jo them that they^acl .und^t a- 
 
 s::r=trs:r:iriXr'^e^^^ 
 
 landt also how people live in other lands, about the wonders of the woild 
 
 ^Ihf r iTS^cS: Ms::Lrr:;ng with six distmet personalltl^ am. 
 envfronment herewith presented are: 1. A home broken by death 
 2 A broken home that was reestablished; 3. A child who was emotion^ 
 allt unstable- 4 A child from the home of a reliable couple who were 
 ally .^^-t^l^ ^.^^- ^ 5. A child who was a law breaker 
 
 :rrsocii pr^bt: and 6. A child who could not make the proper 
 adLtment in his family and in his school life. These cases are not a all 
 unu ur They are in any average class room, if we but knew the chil- 
 dren s histories and environments. Every case has its history, and the 
 remaps tMrty-three in my room are equally as interesting as the ones 
 
 nie':::h\rdirw1nh-while. Wm helpmg the Child to a better and 
 more thorough interpretation of his environment, in your opinion, bear 
 The ight oTreasoning? This business of helping to unfold pei.onalities 
 s a privilege to be coveted by all teachers; it is a beautuul task. 
 
] SPRING HOPE POINTS THE WAY 
 
Spring Hope Points The Way 
 
 Moving Forivard Toivard a Larger Life For All Children 
 
 There are hundreds of children enrolled in our schools each 
 year who, because they are not understood, are labelled as fail- 
 ures at the very outset and in many instances do not recover. 
 This group of unsuccessful, unadjusted children soon lose com- 
 plete interest and either remain in the lower grades year after 
 year or eventually drop out of school before completing the ele- 
 mentary grades. Many are handicapped for life because of the 
 type of school experiences afforded them. Much of this, if not 
 all, could have been prevented if a school program suited to their 
 interests and needs, including vocational and social guidance and 
 providing them with learning situations in which they could con- 
 tinuously and successfully progress through the public school, 
 could have been arranged that would have held these young 
 people beyond the danger line. 
 
 Statistics for 1936-1937 show us that retardation is a most 
 serious weakness in our entire school system, both State and 
 National, and until it is strengthened our schools cannot reach a 
 very high rate of efficiency. This problem of over-ageness is 
 perhaps our greatest handicap at the present time. A recent 
 study of the available facts in regard to school children who have 
 to repeat their grades reveals two startling facts: (1) that the 
 highest percentage of failures is in the first grade, and (2) that 
 those who fail at the beginning frequently maintain this record 
 of failure throughout the course. Furthermore, when children 
 continue to repeat each grade, they fall so far behind the other 
 children of their own age that they become social misfits and 
 leave school permanently as soon as the law permits. Even while 
 their names are on the class roll, they attend spasmodically and 
 evidence a most indifferent attitude toward their school responsi- 
 bilities. 
 
 One of the greatest wastes in public school finances today is 
 caused by having to pay several times for the instruction of chil- 
 dren repeating their grades. The right start in school for all 
 children will not only reduce this expense but will also represent 
 a saving to the State in human values as well as in material 
 wealth. If all of the children everywhere are given the oppor- 
 tunity to develop a confidence in themselves instead of a failure 
 
60 . An Experimental Program in Elementary Education 
 
 complex, a courage of attack, a habit of success, and can stay in 
 school marching happily right up through the grades to further 
 educational achievements, then we may reasonably expect to 
 have a citizenship worthy of our rightful inheritance. Until this 
 is done, our schools will go on grinding out their regular pro- 
 portion of failures each year. Nothing can save money and 
 create wealth like a school program based upon right living and 
 learning. Likewise, nothing can help each individual child unfold 
 normally and healthfully like a program that takes the child as 
 it finds him, discovers just where he stands in all lines of his 
 growth, and then sets about trying to harmonize his attitudes 
 and his abilities so that he may be able to start off victoriously 
 on his long series of school years. 
 
 This type of program offers protection against many serious 
 handicaps and hazards of everyday life that profoundly affect his 
 physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development. Thus it 
 contributes either directly or indirectly toward a better start in 
 life by making it possible to care more adequately and effectively, 
 not only for neglected children and those in danger of becoming 
 delinquent, but also for all other children in the system. Such 
 a school is an unmixed blessing, whether it serves as an adjuster 
 of the average child, the supplier of the deficient experiences to 
 those who need them, or the happy exercise ground for a super- 
 abundance of experience to those able to move ahead. 
 
 In an age in which the foundations of oiir civilization are being 
 uprooted, the concepts and practices of education must neces- 
 sarily change. Present day life demands initiative rather than 
 passivity, independent thinking rather than blind following of 
 direction, and active participation in the world's affairs rather 
 than a limited accumulation of facts apart from their use. It is 
 evident, therefore, that the implication for elementary education 
 must be recognized and properly interpreted. The time is at hand 
 when our schools should re-examine what they are teaching and 
 the way they are teaching to the end that emphasis may be placed 
 where it belongs — upon life and the things that make for useful 
 and worthy living. Likewise, educators and laymen must accept 
 the responsibility to provide through cooperative study and plan- 
 ning a dynamic program of elementary education that will enable 
 every child to experience fullest growth possible in terms of his 
 abilities and emerging social needs. 
 
 Stirring and profound things are taking place all around us. It 
 is a rushing age in which we find ourselves, an age of swift de- 
 
Spring Hope Points the Way 61 
 
 velopment — so swift and so rushing, in fact, that there is danger 
 of disaster. Science and technology have effected and are ef- 
 fecting significant changes in modern society. The basic patterns 
 of hving are undergoing reconstruction. Individual initiative and 
 social control, wisely articulated and intelligently balanced, are 
 becoming more essential to American welfare. Because of the 
 increasing complexities resulting, individuals must become more 
 socially intelligent. The general trend of society shows that a 
 new type of education is needed to prepare our children for new 
 conditions and to help fit them to make the proper adjustments in 
 such a swiftly moving scene of action. Therefore, the elemen- 
 tary school is being challenged to adjust its function, organi- 
 zation, curriculum, methods of instruction, and administrative 
 policies to the existing and emerging conditions and needs of the 
 changing, complex society in which it is an inter-related unit. 
 
 Without doubt, public education is the greatest investment of 
 a democracy. Where the people who constitute such a govern- 
 ment are ignorant, illiterate, and mentally and socially unstable, 
 there the expression of a free republic is wanting. In such an 
 atmosphere true democracy can never survive. Without proper 
 education it is neither safe nor lasting and pays a tragic price in 
 terms of crime, lawlessness, accidents, war, unemployment, 
 poverty, unhappiness, lack of security, wrecked homes, and vices 
 of all kinds each year. 
 
 In light of Biblical questioning, "What shall it profit a man if 
 he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?" We might 
 also ask, "What shall it profit society to train up its children with 
 great knowledge and skill if it fails to develop within them a 
 purity of heart and a perfectly balanced mastery of themselves ?" 
 
 As an aid in this direction, it seems desirable and practical to 
 set up an educational clinic at Spring Hope, North Carolina, to 
 combat and to prevent such conditions, which if left uncorrected 
 or permitted to develop, will result in serious personal malad- 
 justments in later life and lead to delinquency, dependency, and 
 crime. Here we have a type of work which could well be used as 
 a pattern or a guide by all grade teachers. The entire program is 
 based upon a long range view of desirable maximum child de- 
 velopment in all of its corresponding relationships. Special signi- 
 ficance is given to the importance of happy, successful exper- 
 iencing, unmarred by the hampering effects of narrow emphasis, 
 and unbroken by the gaps that occur when the pace or expecta- 
 tion is beyond the child's ability to achieve satisfactorily. 
 
 r 
 
62 An Experimental Program in Elementary Education 
 
 With the proper equipment, including a building suited to the 
 immediate needs involved, there is every reason to believe that 
 an educational clinic at Spring Hope will provide a program which 
 will grow and develop along the following lines : 
 
 a. Adjust the program to the maladjusted child and help him 
 become economically independent and socially desirable. 
 
 b. Become a laboratory for scientific research and investiga- 
 tion of all types of children. 
 
 c. Become a center for training of teachers. 
 
 d. Demonstrate the success of an integrated program and 
 foster the reorganization of the whole school curriculum. 
 
 e. Become a discussion center for dealing with behavior prob- 
 lems. 
 
 f. Demonstrate the importance of social and vocational 
 guidance for children. 
 
 g. Focus attention on public health. 
 
 h. Through parent-education improve home conditions, in- 
 cluding sanitation, nutrition, and social family adjust- 
 ment. 
 
 i. Provide opportunity for group discussions for visiting 
 teachers and educators, concerning various types of prob- 
 lems and curriculum making. 
 
 j. Sponsor analytical and diagnostic testing programs as an 
 aid in the understanding of children. 
 
 k. Provide for the compilation and the distribution of publi- 
 cations in the field of educational guidance. 
 
 ANTICIPATED FUTURE ENLARGEMENTS 
 
 With the present possibilities at Spring Hope it is reasonable 
 to expect that a satisfactory expansion of the work may be ac- 
 complished during the proposed five-year period. It is beheved 
 that the following needs will be a part of the program of ex- 
 pansion : 
 
 I. Reorganization of Curriculum for Elementary School. 
 
 1. To increase efficiency in tool-subjects, but at the same 
 time to place the emphasis on the larger aspects of edu- 
 cation, rather than on memory and book work, such as 
 personality and character development, ability to think 
 independently, to make wise choices, to interpret all 
 learning and make it meaningful, and to help children get 
 a broader view of life along the hues of tolerance, good 
 citizenship, and service. 
 
 2. To adjust the program to the individual so that each 
 child will develop to his greatest all-round capacity. 
 
Spring Hope Points the Wat 63 
 
 3. To prevent misfits and failures. 
 
 4. To keep potential juvenile delinquents in school happily 
 participating in educational, constructive, and interesting 
 activities to them. 
 
 5. When children have already become misfits, failures, or 
 delinquents, to utilize remedial measures, both in tool- 
 subjects and in personality adjustments. 
 
 6. To help each child develop creative ability according to 
 his capacity. 
 
 II. Parent Education. 
 
 1. To enlarge the program to include child-study and dis- 
 cussion groups to be held regularly and in organized form 
 with parents. 
 
 2. To have a circulating supply of reading material, books, 
 magazines, and other materials of an instructional type 
 for use of parents. 
 
 3. To have study classes for parents, including such topics 
 as home making, health instruction, and other allied sub- 
 jects. 
 
 4. To have some social activities in which children and 
 parents will both participate. 
 
 5. To enlist parent aid in canning and in furnishing supplies 
 for hot lunches. 
 
 III. Increasing Health Facilities. 
 
 1. To make a survey and a study of community health 
 problems. 
 
 2. To make a special study of sanitation and the control of 
 diseases. 
 
 3. To include in the school housing program adequate rest 
 rooms, shower baths, lunch room, kitchen, and other 
 needed facilities. 
 
 IV. Home Making. 
 
 1. To conduct classes for the elementary children in the 
 household arts, including cooking, sewing, home nursing, 
 first aid, and other similar topics. 
 
 2. To develop a simplified course in physiology, the eco- 
 nomic factors of family life, sex education, and social 
 diseases. 
 
 V. Scouting. 
 
 To organize troops for each social group. 
 
 VI. Young People Out of School. 
 
 1. To promote an adequate program of recreation and other 
 types of activities for the youth who are out of school. 
 
 2. To cooperate with community agencies in establishing 
 the following community enterprises: public swimming 
 pool, library, club house for social functions, playground, 
 and park. 
 
64 An Experimental Program in Elementary Education 
 
 In time, the following may be added according to geographical 
 locations: a nursery, a florist shop, and a laundry. Also truck 
 farming and dairying would net a very comfortable income for 
 those participating. 
 
 The present street shows sponsored by the merchants of the 
 town in early fall could be used for an educational basis regarding 
 any phase of this program. 
 
 A TENTATIVE PROGRAM OF SCIENCE IN ITS RELATION TO ALL- 
 ROUND DEVELOPMENT OF CHILD LIFE AT SPRING HOPE 
 
 As an example of the program of expansion as related to the 
 curriculum, the following outline of a proposed integrated course 
 in science is indicative of the present needs of the school : 
 
 I. General Statement of Present Philosophy of Education. 
 
 The present philosophy is to follow the scientific methods 
 which will embrace teacher values and child values for the 
 best possible all-round growth and development of the whole 
 child. 
 
 II. Survey of Pupil Personnel, Involving Present Equipment 
 and Background in the Natural and Social Sciences. 
 
 By studying one group of children over a period of time, 
 it has been possible to ascertain approximately the back- 
 ground and abilities of the individual children. Objective, 
 achievement, intelligence, and aptitude tests were given ; 
 conferences were held with the individual child, with the 
 parents in the homes, and with the group. A study was 
 made of the child's environment, and records of several 
 kinds were kept. By the help of a specialist, this procedure 
 will be followed through the entire school. 
 
 III. Survey of Consolidated School Community for Environ- 
 mental Resources Available for Use in Development of 
 Science Program. 
 
 It is the present plan to make a survey of the greater com- 
 munity for environmental resources, involving both the 
 natural and the social sciences, and to formulate some plan 
 by which the resources may be used in a practical way. Al- 
 ready there exists a Town Planning Board, which includes 
 representatives of all the thirteen civic, fraternal, and re- 
 ligious organizations. Since these people are interested, 
 more than likely they will cooperate in making the survey. 
 All available agencies, such as local rock quarries, an aban- 
 doned gold mine, certain industrial plants, farm club or- 
 ganizations, and others will be utilized. The science pro- 
 
Spring Hope Points the Way 65 
 
 gram for the entire school can be developed around such 
 material. Experts and speciaHsts in various fields can be 
 secured from the extension departments of the State col- 
 leges and universities located nearby. 
 
 IV. Development of Science Program. 
 
 After a survey of the pupil personnel is made, plans will 
 be completed for work along various lines. Large units of 
 work, each involving various phases of both the natural and 
 the social sciences, will be developed at various levels, 
 keeping in mind constantly the child's values and the 
 teacher's values. These units will be so developed as to 
 place before the child the fundamental principles and the 
 larger concepts in the sciences and will include many activi- 
 ties, such as field trips, experiments of various kinds, con- 
 ferences, research, and the like. An attempt will be made to 
 find better ways of evaluating and recording child growth 
 along all lines. Not only will careful records be kept to 
 indicate growth in knowledge and skills, but also to record 
 and to evaluate pupil growth in critical thinking and in 
 personality and behavior adjustments as developed through 
 this science program. 
 
 V. Projection and development of Professional Program for 
 Elementary Teachers in the System to be Coordinated and 
 Integrated with the Pupil Program. 
 
 The school includes the elementary grades and the high 
 school. The work done in the sciences, heretofore, has been 
 more or less traditional and has been confined largely to the 
 upper grades and the high school. The teachers are in- 
 terested, but because of a lack of scientific training have a 
 very definite problem — that of how to launch an adequate 
 science program. With this in mind, through the combined 
 efforts of the school principal, a specialist, and the teachers 
 themselves, a plan has been proposed. 
 
 Under the direction of the high school science teacher, 
 groups will be formed to make elementary studies along the 
 lines most needed by individual teachers. Conferences and 
 discussion groups will be held at regular intervals. The 
 fundamental principles and the point of view will be con- 
 sidered from the teacher standpoint, and attempts will be 
 made to solve individual problems as they may arise. An 
 effort will be put forth to build up a science library and to 
 work out bibliographies both for children and for adults. 
 
 VI. Enlargement of Interests and Opportunities for Community 
 Participation. 
 
 In order that schools may operate most effectively, it is 
 necessary for the teacher and the administrator to consider 
 the family of the child, particularly his parents. It is a part 
 of the plan to enlarge the science program so as to enlist the 
 
66 An Experimental Pkogram in Elementary Education 
 
 aid of adult organizations and also to offer some activities in 
 which they can participate along with the children. Out of 
 this can grow cultural, ethical, and racial values, not only 
 for the school but for the community as a whole. Some 
 community activities with scientific values that could be 
 initiated are a garden club, a hiking club, and other similar 
 organizations. Work will be directed toward the enlarge- 
 ment of the Boy Scout and Girl Scout programs. The op- 
 portunities are many and varied. 
 
 VII. Summary. 
 
 Such a program as has been outlined, if successfully car- 
 ried out, should show evidences of growth in the child, in 
 the teacher, and in the community. 
 
 For the child, there should be a better understanding of 
 scientific concepts and principles, which can be applied to 
 basic problems he has to deal with daily. He should know 
 more of the world about him and should be able to make a 
 greater contribution toward successful and happy living. 
 He should have learned to think more scientifically and 
 critically and to be more tolerant. He should have a desire 
 to continue to grow along all of these lines. 
 
 For the teacher, broader philosophy of education and of 
 life will be developed. She should be better able to apply 
 the scientific method to every phase of her work. By broad- 
 ening her own vision and by developing a larger viewpoint, 
 she will be more able to guide her group in the same di- 
 rection. She will also be able to collaborate with her con- 
 temporaries in further study and development of materials 
 to be utilized in practice. 
 
 For the community, which is the sum total of what its 
 people are and do, such a program, if successfully achieved, 
 will of necessity make for better living and enrichment. 
 
TEACHER-TRAINING ORIENTATION 
 
Teacher-Training Orientation 
 
 Guiding the Teaching Personnel Toivard Creative Leadership 
 in the Emerging Program 
 
 Youth is saying to us in tones that echo throughout our land, 
 "Give us a new deal in education, and we will give you a new day." 
 Indeed and in truth, our schools in America are at the cross- 
 roads. As we are facing the most crucial period in educational 
 reconstruction, we should be very ready to ask, "What now for 
 living fully, and how can education help to bring about and to 
 foster the good life for all?" If we continue to journey along the 
 beaten path we are now traveling, we will remain forever miles 
 and miles from the desired goal that will set our citizenship free. 
 But if we turn and follow the arrow that points in the direction 
 of the challenge that youth has flung to us, we will see the 
 morning star of the promised new day already visible on the 
 horizon at Spring Hope. 
 
 To speak convincingly and fluently about the great need for 
 change in one educational program does not solve the problem. 
 Education is America's biggest and only indispensable business; 
 therefore, the time is at hand when we must face this reality 
 squarely and then act accordingly. In the light of this, educators 
 can set no greater task for themselves than to find, sort out, and 
 weld into a harmonious unit all of the forces that affect the suc- 
 cess of living in its highest sense. It must be remembered that 
 the teachers are the only people in the world today who have it 
 within their grasp to help the child fulfill his greatest realization 
 and to prohibit him from holding in later life the withered stem 
 of a promised laurel; for they touch more lives in the course of 
 their service than any other existing group, professional or 
 unprofessional. 
 
 Of first consideration in attempting to give the child the fullest 
 measure of living and learning successfully is the paramount 
 necessity of having thoroughly trained artist teachers — in or out 
 of classrooms — well-integrated teachers with an alert, observing, 
 learning attitude toward childhood and its problems and serving 
 as interpreters, guides, and counselors. They must be individuals 
 who will not deal in a "dross of words without works, who will 
 not place at the wellspring of a child's eagerness to know, the 
 dead weight of superficial fact." Nor will they "muffle the flame 
 
70 An Experimental Program in Elementary Education 
 
 of his desire to think" by the mere substitution of their knowl- 
 edge for the child's waiting power of research. Not only must 
 their cultural and spiritual background be broad enough to see 
 things in their larger relationships, but they must have a vision 
 of the significance of education in our social order. Such 
 teachers must have a different type of preparation, must have 
 freedom to develop and an opportunity to share in all phases of 
 administration, which will help them in arousing and promoting 
 intelligence to the chief place in education. In such a system the 
 organization, administration, and control of the schools should 
 be the result of democratic, long-view planning shared by all 
 concerned with the child. 
 
 The most potent factor in the development of creative teaching 
 is the teacher's ability to guide the learning process intelligently 
 and skillfully. How many of our teachers have been adequately 
 trained to meet this demand? Until the teaching profession de- 
 velops a common understanding as to the philosophy and meaning 
 of this type of education and its significance in our social order, 
 a thorough, sympathetic understanding of child nature, a mas- 
 tery of a technique of teaching based on dynamic psychology and 
 on the philosophy of the good life, the teachers of our country 
 will not possess the proper background necessary for creative 
 teaching in our schools. A merely theoretical vision of her task 
 is an inadequate equipment for the artist teacher. The vision 
 of the artist would be lost to the world if he had not the skill in 
 handling his materials so as to give his vision ^ysical form. 
 So it is with the teacher who has the proper insight of the pos- 
 sibilities of creative teaching. If she develops the technique to 
 handle learning situations in an artistic fashion, the world has 
 from her a beautiful contribution in the lives of children. Then 
 we may hope to have not only a curriculum adapted to the needs 
 of a changing and growing world, but men and women engaged 
 in developing that curriculum who inspire in the boys and girls 
 of our schools the ambition and the ability to raise themselves 
 as citizens, and their communities as well, to ever higher stan- 
 dards of material, mental, and moral living. 
 
 As educators, we need vision ; we must not be concerned merely 
 with the children in our own division or in any particular section 
 of the State, and we must not be contented to grapple with the 
 problems that concern one type of school or one class. Our 
 vision must embrace the whole child in all aspects of his growth ; 
 we must understand his physical, his mental, his emotional de- 
 
An Emeiujing Pkogham ok Crkative Living foh All Ciiilduen 71 
 
 velopment from babyhood through the successive stages of child- 
 hood and adolescence. It is his right to live fully, to learn from 
 his own experience, to grow. We must see to it that his complete 
 development is not frustrated nor crippled. Therefore, the 
 working out of an adequate program that looks to this end will 
 surely result in a larger and more successful life for our young 
 citizens. To find the means and to develop the technique that 
 will make it possible to realize these educational ideals become a 
 challenge to us to explore these new fields of educational thought 
 and practice. 
 
 The problems that confront the modern world can be solved 
 only by mastering the technique of living and working together 
 in such a way as to permit the fullest development of the indi- 
 vidual and the enrichment of the life of the group. Therefore, the 
 school should become a laboratory where principles of living to- 
 gether are tested out, where desirable social traits are developed, 
 and where human contacts are made to yield their richest re- 
 turns. All teachers should count it a privilege to be able to work 
 in such a laboratory where they can examine under a high- 
 powered mental microscope growing boys and girls and magnify 
 their findings in human values many times — where they can give 
 life to life rather than life for life. 
 
 As a pathfinder in the new and yet unexplored field of educa- 
 tional endeavor, Miss Valentine at Spring Hope has developed a 
 golden charter for childhood that will stand the test for all time. 
 Here we have the laboratory illustrative of all that is highest and 
 best in a modern educational program. Here, also, we have a 
 laboratory for the training of teachers — for teachers who are 
 seeking a better way. 
 
 Therefore, with the opportunity ahead, it is proposed that an 
 experimental program of teacher training, based upon the 
 findings of Miss Valentine in her study of the needs of boys and 
 girls, include the integration of the teacher training program at 
 East Carolina Teachers College and other teacher training insti- 
 tutions and centers in the State with the work at Spring Hope. 
 
THE CHALLENGE FOR PUBLIC 
 EDUCATION 
 
The Challenge For Public Education 
 
 Reaping Satisfactions For All 
 
 Upon the principle of the equal right of every individual to 
 "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness", this government of 
 ours was founded. This conception of the right of the individual 
 to equality of opportunity is unique and fundamental to our 
 whole scheme of national life. To preserve this principle inviolate 
 and to train each individual for such efficiency — civic, economic, 
 moral, political — involving a well-rounded social, emotional, phy- 
 sical, and mental development as his capacity makes possible, is 
 the primary function of education in this great democracy which 
 we call America. 
 
 The highest service that can be rendered the present genera- 
 tion is to help it in the attainment of a civilization that is 
 higher than its inheritance. Only thus can the human race be 
 lifted. Only thus can civilization move forward. To accomplish 
 this goal, American life needs leadership. It especially needs the 
 far-sighted leadership of those who are trained for service and 
 whose lives are permanently dedicated to the important task of 
 building a great civilization, for the greatest goal for a nation is 
 the production of the highest possible type of man or woman. 
 
 "Education", said G. Stanley Hall on one occasion, "has now 
 become the chief problem of the world, its one holy cause. The 
 nations that see this will survive, and those that fail to do so 
 will slowly perish .... There must be re-education of the will 
 and of the heart as well as of the intellect, and the ideals of 
 service must supplant those of selfishness and greed. Nothing 
 else can save us." All of us agree that when the youth of a 
 nation are unfit, all other wealth becomes a menace. Just as long 
 as our children are deprived of training in right living, democ- 
 racy will continue to pay a great toll in human values. Conse- 
 quently, whoever labors to help children to better things is adding 
 to the most vital resources of humanity. 
 
 During the past century North Carolina has evidenced great 
 progress in the development of her childhood. Until recently 
 each year has marked just another milepost in the splendid 
 march which our State has made in the interest and welfare of 
 her most precious asset — her youth. Today, there are more chil- 
 dren asking a whole loaf of us than at any time in all of our 
 history. Shall we rejoice over this fact as an evidence of growth 
 
76 An Experimental Program in Elementary Education 
 
 and abounding health and labor that each succeeding generation 
 may have life more abundantly than the preceding one, or shall 
 we slip back into the lethargy of a long sleep and dream away 
 the time that calls for our most wide-awake and energetic action ? 
 
 Throughout the State, there is an effort being made toward 
 readjustments in meeting changed economic conditions. Econ- 
 omy is the word of the moment, but economy is a double-faced 
 virtue, capable not only of good but also of damage. In no 
 situation can unwise economy do more harm at this time than 
 when applied indiscriminately in the field of child development. 
 Wise economy — yes. But to the nation and to the individual 
 there should be a wise and far-seeing recognition that there are 
 things the value of which far outweighs their cost. Can anyone 
 doubt that pre-eminent among these are the well-being and hap- 
 piness of our youth? 
 
 We must do wise thinking ; we must face courageously the is- 
 sues and keep before the public the guideposts of our civiliza- 
 tion. Any attempt to economize on the wrong things may en- 
 danger the safety of our next line of defense. That type of 
 economy will cost us greatly in many ways and will, no doubt, 
 force us to correct crime that we might have prevented. Sacri- 
 fice, if we must, trivialities which bring passing pleasure, but let 
 us never relinquish the rights of our young people to the pro- 
 tection which is afforded by the development of a well-balanced, 
 well-integrated personality. If we fail to provide for them an 
 adequate intellectual, physical, moral, and spiritual training, we 
 shall fail the nation for the days to come and stifle our hope 
 for a brighter and more glorious tomorrow. 
 
 Today we are in a period of transition between the old order 
 and the new. Strong educational policies, strong growing 
 teachers and leaders, and a sympathetic understanding public are 
 necessary to prepare us to meet new dangers and greater re- 
 sponsibilities, for growing is the essence of the "good Ijfe. To 
 grow is to live — the only way to live well. Our big business then 
 is to help children thus to grow — grow in such a fashion that 
 others whom they influence shall in turn so grow. 
 
 There must be a proper mobilization of our forces if we wish to 
 accomplish the full measure of success, for these things cannot 
 be done by individual effort, however wisely it may be directed. 
 Therefore, all of us must shoulder our part in developing and 
 maintaining a program that will help furnish every child the 
 opportunity to burgeon out the best that is within him. To each 
 
The Challenge fob Public Education 77 
 
 one is given the high privilege and opportunity of holding ever 
 before the citizens of our State the inspiring vision of more ade- 
 quate educational opportunities and universal justice for the 
 youth of our land and of molding intelligent public opinion to 
 wield a mighty influence in transforming that vision into a State- 
 wide reality. With a shoulder to shoulder stand for these big 
 things, we may make a definite contribution to public welfare by 
 possessing the sentiment and the will to translate material things 
 into terms of everlasting values. 
 
 It is evident, then, that the spread of creative teaching in our 
 schools depends upon the active united support and the intelli- 
 gent cooperation of the home and of the public in general. For 
 the most part, this contact should take the form of keeping the 
 people informed as to the aims, the purposes, and the plans of 
 the school. The public should know the needs basic to progress 
 in education. There should be concerted action on such prob- 
 lems as : decrease of the teacher load ; provision of proper furni- 
 ture, equipment, and materials; discipline of children through 
 development of self control ; and the provision of classroom space 
 adequate for an activity program. When the teaching profession 
 becomes willing to work out pertinent school problems with the 
 school patrons and to keep the parents informed as to pro- 
 gressive educational ideas, the influence of teachers will be in- 
 creased, and public opinion vv^ill support educational progress. 
 Only when these agencies — the school, the home, and the general 
 public — are ready to consider each other as contributors in a 
 cooperative enterprise, will there be a sound basis for the harmo- 
 nized development of wholesome, well-balanced, integrated per- 
 sonalities in our schools. 
 
 There is a great need in every community for bringing the 
 school and the public into closer mutual understanding regarding 
 that which is best for the child, the school, and the community. 
 It can not be disputed that concerted group action will not only 
 lessen the burden but will better insure the attainment of desired 
 results. Since this is true, all the guardians of childhood in a 
 school community should muster their forces and concentrate 
 their energies toward building for more abundant life in our 
 young citizenship. 
 
 The year of 1937-1938 and all the years that are to come must 
 signalize the new service of education which must include train- 
 ing for the fullest development of the whole child, based upon a 
 careful study of his physical, mental, social, moral, and emo- 
 
78 An Experimental Program in Elementary Education 
 
 tional characteristics. As we catch step with the great spirit of 
 youth and go forward in obedience to the marching orders of the 
 Children's Century, let us resolve to do our full duty toward 
 stimulating constructive thinking, toward creating and main- 
 taining a wholesome public sentiment as to the ideals and ends 
 of public education, and toward advancing the cause of education 
 in our own State, in our own country, and in the world. For, we 
 must, as a commonwealth, seek those things which are above, 
 which are of the greatest value to our people and to the whole 
 nation — a thoroughly trained and intelligent citizenship. 
 
 "If we seek the kingdom of Heaven educationally," says Dr. 
 John Dewey, "all other things shall be added unto us." All of 
 which means that if we identify ourselves with the real needs of 
 children and ask only after their fullest assertion and growth, the 
 discipline and culture of adult life shall all come in due season. 
 
 In the beginning, when the earth was without form and void, 
 and darkness was upon the face of the deep, God said, "Let there 
 be light." A close study of the needs of children and the ways 
 and the means to secure for them maximum development is a 
 conscientious effort to execute that high command. Let there 
 be light! Let the white light of truth beat and blaze on the 
 hearts of us all — teachers, parents, the lay public, yea, all of us — 
 and in its shining presence no injustice for our children will 
 live. 
 
 "The glory born of justice never dies! 
 
 Its flag is not half-masted in the skies." 
 
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