/ 



What kind of a school ia needed hy lada 

 like these alert iann youngsters? That's 



the question for rurol people in the local 

 communities to decide. 



"kZ/uU Kind 0/ BcltwU? 



By JOHN K. COX 



THESE ideas are in answer to often 

 repeated questions from farm 

 people when discussing their 

 school problems. 



Whai kind of school plant, program 

 and teaching staff do we want? 



The plans should include an attractive, 

 well located building, appropriately built 

 and equipped on an adequate parcel of 

 land to serve the particular community. 

 The educational program should be suf- 

 ficiently broad and similarly adapted to 

 the needs of the community. Also each 

 teacher and principal or superintendent 

 should be selected with due consideration 

 to his or her training, and general adapt- 

 ability to the life and work in that par- 

 ticular community. In all cases each of 

 them should have the personality, ap- 

 pearance, bearing, and ability in the spe- 

 cial field to demand respect and coopera- 

 tion from the pupils. Each of them 

 should maintain high ethical and moral 

 standards and view his or her work from 

 a professional standpoint. 



How broad should the school program 

 be? 



To be more specific, what skills, qual- 

 ities, and attitudes should the school 

 seek to uncover or implant and stimulate 

 to further growth in our boy Johnnie and 

 our girl Mary? In the first place, the 

 school should provide for each pupil an 

 opportunity to become skilled in the 

 fundamentals of learning, as well as an 

 opportunity to explore some other field 

 of special interest. There should be a 

 sufficient number of pupils in each one's 



grade level, so that a reasonable amount 

 of competition between students is ob- 

 tained and so that the cost of instruction 

 per pupil is not unnecessarily high. 



What provision should the school 

 make for instruction in hygiene and phys- 

 ical education? 



The laws of physiology and hygiene 

 should be not only taught but practiced 

 daily. Also Johnnie and Mary should 

 have the advantages of a good well- 

 rounded physical education program to 

 develop his or her physical strength, 

 poise, and bodily coordination. Each 

 should have an opportunity to participate 

 physically in a sports program and to 

 learn how to win or lose with equal 

 grace. 



What responsibility does the school 

 have toward ]ohnnie's and Mary's per- 

 sonality development? 



In class work, clubs, or other school 

 activities each needs to develop habits of 

 courtesy and good manners, originality 

 and the ability to think for one's self, 

 even in a crowd. Each needs to have a 

 consciousness of his or her immature 

 judgment and inexperience and yet to 

 develop a proper measure of self-assur- 

 ance. Each needs daily activity in a 

 group large enough to help eliminate shy- 

 ness and self -consciousness. Each needs 

 an opportunity to train for leadership 

 as well as for minor participation in the 

 group. Each needs to know that regard- 

 less of abilities and talents, there is no 

 fair substitute for diligence and effort. 



Should the school endeavor seriously 



to enable Johnnie and Mary to adjust 

 themselves socially to many different per- 

 sonalities and situations? 



They should have many opportunities 

 in a reasonably large group to establish 

 pleasant social relationships. There should 

 be occasional school parties, picnics, din- 

 ners and programs where they can learn 

 to work with the group and to conduct 

 themselves properly as individuals within 

 the group. In a nation such as ours they 

 will need to know not only how to ex- 

 press their thoughts as individuals but to 

 give up their ideas, if necessary, for the 

 good of the group. Each will need to 

 learn how to get along with others, 

 even with whom he or she differs. And 

 each will get much satisfaction and 

 benefit from participation in group 

 music and dramatic events, as well as 

 from opportunities to display his or her 

 individual talents. 



How far should the school go in pre- 

 paring Johnnie and Mary for future citi- 

 zenship? 



Good citizenship should be analyzed 

 into its component parts, so that each 

 can see just what is required of a good 

 citizen. Each should be made to realize 

 that the qualities of honesty, eourage, and 

 loyalty are fundamental. Also each should 

 learn that society runs more smoothly and 

 government more efficiently when people 

 adopt and maintain attitudes of intelli- 

 gent thinking, unselfishness, and coopera- 

 tion. Johnnie and Mary should be im- 

 pressed with the idea that the qualities 

 and attitudes that they build in a school 

 will generally be the ones each will have 

 when he gets out of school. Not only 

 should the school furnish Johnnie and 

 Mary a knowledge of what is required of 

 good citizenship and recognition that the 

 qualities they develop in school will be 

 generally carried into adulthood, but they 

 should be taught how to evaluate propa- 

 ganda, and to understand social, eco- 

 nomic, and political issues of the day. 

 They should be led to understand their 

 liberties and privileges and how they 

 were secured and defended in the past. 

 Each should be impressed with his or 

 her individual responsibility to estimate 

 the promises and performances of can- 

 didates for public office in order that 

 each can help to safeguard those liberties 

 and extend them to others. They should 

 understand the underlying framework of 

 their local, state and national govern- 

 ments. 



If our Johnnie and Mary can secure 

 that kind of background of educational 

 experiences, there is little doubt that they 

 will discharge their future obligations 

 with credit to themselves and to society. 

 The school whose program and ideals 

 are broad enough to include training in 

 the above mentioned areas can justifiably 

 claim credit for training the whole child. 



L A. A. RECORD 



