A Longer School Term Needed 105 



cerned take notice of this situation and join with all 

 possible earnestness in the forward movement. 



In his instructive monograph entitled "Changing 

 Conceptions of Education," Professor E. P. Cubberley 

 states the new ideal as follows : 



"The school is essentially a time- and labor-sav- 

 ing device, created with us by democracy to 

 serve democracy's needs. To convey to the next 

 generation the knowledge and the accumulated ex- 

 perience of the past is not its only function. It 

 must equally prepare the future citizen for the to- 

 morrow of our complex life. The school must grasp 

 the significance of its social connections and rela- 

 tions, and must come to realize that its real worth 

 and its hope of adequate reward lie in its social 

 efficiency. There are many reasons for believing 

 that this change is taking place rapidly at present, 

 and that an educational sociology, needed as much 

 by teachers to-day as an educational psychology, is 

 now in the process of being formulated for our use." 



WORK FOR A LONGER TERM 



One of the first steps toward a more helpful school- 

 ing for the country youth is that of lengthening the 

 yearly school term. In many thousands of instances, 

 the country school is conducted for only three to five 

 months during the year, and even this short term is 

 indifferently attended. But the actual length of the 

 year should be seven months or more. Many of the 



