THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY-WHAT IS IT?

THE CONCEPTS of the schools' relationship to the community, and vice versa, are many.

In th is isme we have tried to provide as many definitions of these concepts as are feasiblewithin our limitations of space.

&LeA* fcRtowe 99. a mu_HENRY HARAP

We lead with an article by Henry Harap, associate director, Division of Surveys andField Services, George Peabody College for Teachers, Nashville, Tenn. who outlines many

activities basic to nurturing citizens who can go from the school community to the larger

one with the security of having learned the true fundamentals of good citizenship.

WJTHIN THE WALLS in which anyschool exists, there exists a community.Individuals have to get along together;they play together; they work together;they use a place in common; they sharematerials; they care for their rooms,buildings, and grounds, and they havepractically all the institutions that existin the larger outside community.

A school has its problems of house-keeping, preparation of food, and sanita-tion. It has its own channels of com-munication and its peculiar problemsof traffic control. It has its program ofrecreation and its organized group life.It has a rudimentary system of produc-tion and consumption. It has its dis-tributive organization, its facilities forexchange, and its banking services. Itlevies taxes for community enterprises,and maintains its own political system.It makes its own laws and elects its owngovernmental representatives. It carrieson transactions with other school com-munities. It is through participation inthese practical activities that youngpeople have an opportunity to learntheir responsibilities to their com-

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munity. These real and purposeful ex-periences have great educative valueand, therefore, should become a partof the school's learning program.

Educative Value of School Activities

What we are discussing is not a wayof getting work done which wouldotherwise be done by janitors, car-penters, and other workers. There isthe possibility, of course, that menialwork without educative value will bejustified by some. However, the learn-ing opportunities are too plentiful togive one too much concern on thisscore. Learning situations in the im-mediate school environment offer manychallenging problems for inquiry andinvestigation which should deepen theunderstanding of the pupil and con-tribute directly toward the improve-ment of living in his home and locality.

There is, of course, the danger thatthe practical activities of the schooleconomy will be held to the manipula-tive level. This condition is not inherentin the activities; it is due to teachers'insensibility to the facts, principles, and

Educational Leadership

social implications that are related tothe simplest and most common tasks inthe everyday life of the school. It is areal challenge to the teacher to deepenthe meaning of common things; toprobe into their social and scientific ex-planations. Merely to paint a desk orshelf is to stay on the level of hand-work; to know that the ingredientsinclude pigments, linseed oil, and a drieris to go a little farther. From this point,one may pursue the inquiry into pro-gressively deeper reservoirs of knowl-edge such ,as, distinguishing paint,varnish, and stain; knowing that painthas a protective quality; knowing thatthe color of paint affects the lightingof a room; knowing what removes paintand why; and so on to wider limits ofhuman knowledge and experience.

To extend the illustration into thefield of social insight, let us assume thata class is studying the source and purityof the school's water supply. This in-quiry may carry the children into suc-cessively deeper and more significantunderstandings of collective effort.Thus the study of water supply maybe pursued to include how .water ispolluted and why; what the communitydoes to protect water supply; how thelocal sanitary department inspects thewater supply; and how these servicesare paid for by all the people.

Opportunities for Sharing

The group life of the school com-munity offers many opportunities forlifelike learning which are commbnlyoverlooked. Along the Lafourche Bayouin Louisiana, I once had occasion tovisit a beautiful one-story school build-ing. It was a rather good school as

February 1947

schools go; yet it did not fit entirely intothe social and economic setting of thepeople whom it was designed to serve.It gave no opportunity to the pupils tobeautify it and to make it into a home.The building had no provision for homeeconomics, no provision for shop work.The landscaping which was incompletewas being done by the principal during.his spare time. To have asked the pupilsto share the work was unthinkable!Here an obvious opportunity was lostto teach pupils to contribute to the up-keep of the school and to learn how tobeautify their home surroundings.

A short time ago, during a visit to asmall twelve-grade school, I met theelementary principal at the doorwaychecking and distributing milk bottleswhile his class was left idle. A sixthgrade group of children could havedone this just as effectively with muchprofit to themselves. It would havegiven them a sense of common owner-ship and opportunity for practicalarithmetic.

I once saw a well being sunk and apump being installed on the schoolgrounds at the very time when thepupils were studying water supply. Istopped to interview the craftsman whocheerfully explained the procedure anddemonstrated the operation of thepump. Here was an opportunity forlearning which no book or laboratorystudy could approach in clarity andreality. Yet the teacher allowed it toslip through her fingers.

Activity-Real, Not DramatizedThe most comprehensive plan of

learning through participation in pro-ductive enterprises in the school econ-omy was put into operation by Thomas

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Alexander, at Springdale Farms, NorthCarolina. This institution was foundedabout ten years ago to provide purpose-ful and constructive living in a placewhere the activities were real, notdramatized. The program of the schoolwas built around the many respon-sibilities which living in the school com-.munity demanded, rather than aroundsubjects. The boys and girls learned bysolving the problems which arose inliving together in a rural setting. Theywere confronted with such needs andresponsibilities as maintaining theirhealth; producing and securing properfood; obtaining proper recreation andachieving friendly relationships withthose with whom they lived.

In the fall of the current academicyear, seniors of the New School, a divi-sion of Evanston Township HighSchool, volunteered to contribute adefinite service to the school com-munity. It offered an opportunity tolearn as well as to serve. The respon-sibilities they assumed are varied. Oneboy is the auto shop foreman, anotheris librarian for the music department;two assist with the audio-visual pro-gram; three girls take care of thecostume chest for the director of dra-matics; four are employed by the col-lege library; four students aid in thetesting and guidance program. Severalserve as assistants to the director ofintramurals, mathematics, biology, artdepartments, and some students aredoing actual teaching.

Improved Living Involves Learning

Sometime ago I visited a six-teacherelementary school in northern Alabamain which the children organized them-selves into a self-governing council and

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assumed their share of the work ofschool improvement. The children madea survey of the grounds and prepareda map in which the existing conditionsand proposed improvements wereshown. The first grade helped to plantflowers and kept the school groundsclean. The second grade preparedflower beds in the court. The thirdgrade removed all rubbish from schoolgrounds and helped with the flowerbeds. The fourth grade enriched,plowed, and re-seeded the lawn andhelped to paint the walls of the toilets.The fifth grade took charge of plantingshrubbery and also helped in painting.The sixth grade made concrete walksand built new floors in the toilets. Therewas much sharing and cooperatingamong the various groups. The parentsand other persons in the communitywere called upon to help in the project.The entire enterprise developed a finerspirit of cooperation and pride amongthe children.

In the school community each roomis the home of a group of individuals.The classroom environment should setan example of pleasant and cheerfulsurroundings which the child maycome to associate with all places inwhich people live. Room beautificationhas been more widely accepted as alearning experience than any otherphase of the school's economy. Con-sequently it is not uncommon to findchildren and youth organizing them-selves into learning groups for paintingof woodwork and walls; making ofchair backs, centerpieces, and cur-tains; building of dress-up centers andlibrary corners; and many other decora-tive projects. Instruction in beautifica-tion in this way is included in every

Educational Leadership

grade as it relates to the needs of theclassroom, the building, and thegrounds.

To the children and teachers of therural school, the disposal of sewage isa problem with which they have dailycontact. In the main, it is the same prob-lem which confronts the child and hisfamily in the rural home. The schoolhas its septic tank and periodical tasksof disinfecting privies and commodes.The school has access to the sanitaryofficial in the county health department.The pamphlets on sewage disposal dis-tributed by various governmental agen-cies are available to school and homealike. On occasion, the school mayactually be in the process of buildingand installing a septic tank. The pupilsmay have an opportunity to have anactual part in the building of side walls,bottom, sides, partitions, and the top ofthe tank. It would be a simple matterfor them to make tests of the relativeeffectiveness *of quick lime, causticpotash, or chlorinated lime as disin-fectants. Opportunities often exist forextending these experiences to the home.

Economic Enterprises Promote Growth

For one of the best illustrations ofusing the economy of the school com-munity for educational purposes, we goback twenty odd years, to the MorainePark School where the economic activi-ties were one division of a fourfoldprogram. The other main divisions wereacademic, governmental, and physical.These business or economic activities inthe parlance of the school were knownas projects. No person was allowed tooperate a project in the school withouta franchise from the school council.

A construction company organized

February 1947

by pupils especially interested in me-chanical work did the repair workaround the school. The library was con-ducted by a corps of students interestedin library work. The printing companydid the printing for the school. Theluncheon company conducted thecafeteria. The merchandising projectsconsisted of enterprises engaged insupplying the school community withneeded articles. The maintenance proj-ects had to do with maintenance, repair,and construction of school equipment.The service projects included secre-tarial work, delivery of packages,musical entertainment, and the like.

The retail store enterprise boughtmerchandise from outside wholesalemerchants, gauged the demands ofcustomers, kept accounts, and ren-dered real service. There was a constantinterchange of services. The SupplyCoirnany depended upon the DeliveryCompany; the Delivery Company madedaily deliveries for the Lunch Com-pany; the Lunch Company receivedchecks on the Bank; and the Bankordered deposit slips from the PrintingCompany.

A more recent illustration of eco-nomic enterprises operating as an inte-gral part of the curriculum was de-veloped at the Skokie Junior HighSchool under the guidance of S. R.Logan, the principal. "Our school,"wrote Mr. Logan, "considers itself acommunity in which are found therudiments of the institutions and prob-lems of the times." Organized servicesarise naturally from the needs of theindividuals that make up the commun-ity. The children in the Skokie Schoolneeded pencils, paper, and other schoolsupplies which gave some of the chil-

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dren the idea that they would like toown and operate a supply store. Theysecured a charter from the SchoolCouncil, sold shares of stock, and withthe proceeds they purchased a smallsupply of goods and opened shop in alarge storage closet. Later the store wasconverted into a public enterprise andthe profits were used to buy equipmentwhich the school needed.

A mutual insurance company was or-ganized to write policies for both teach-ers and students to cover the loss ofdishes broken in the school cafeteria. Acredit union was organized on theinitiative of a thirteen-year-old son ofa member of a local cooperative. Itmakes small loans to members andoperates on the same principles as themany credit unions chartered by stateand federal government. Other eco-nomic enterprises include a companyengaged in raising and selling rabbits,mice, and chicks, renting pets and cages,selling feed and giving instruction tosmall children in the care of pets;operating an exchange of used skates,football suits, and other personal be-longings; stamping pens and articleswith names of owners; operating a pub-licly owned print shop, and an apiary.

Citizenship Education Needs Attention

It is in the field of citizenship edu-cation that the school misses its greatestopportunities to use its body politicfor educative purposes. On a smallerscale, the school community repro-duces all of the conditions of politicsand government which obtain in theadult world. The young people havetheir pressure groups, party politics,election campaigns, political patronage,and independent reform groups. In the

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conduct of their own affairs, the stu-dents have an opportunity to learn tochoose efficient public servants and tocheck on their integrity.

At the Parker District High Schoolthe pupils share in the cost of schooloperation and improvement. Each pupilhas a part in paying for supplies usedby the whole school, such as materialsfor the improvement of classrooms,magazines, charts, art materials, andother supplies and equipment. Mostpupils pay in money but some pay inwork which contributes to the improve-ment of the school. This, according tothe school report, helps the pupils torealize that many things used in com-mon are financed through commonfunds, to which every citizen con-tributes. We do not know from the re-port whether the pupils had an op-portunity to vote to tax themselves andwhether they handle these public funds,which would be important considera-tions in the complete process of self-government and purposeful learning.

The self-governing activities are themost effective means of education forcitizenship which the school can offer.They give the pupils an opportunity toshare in making decisions which affectthe welfare of the whole group. Stu-dents can assume a larger responsibilityfor control of their group activities andstudent organizations. School assembliescan be conducted by student officials.The practice of democracy can belearned in all groups in which youngpeople assemble, the most important ofwhich is the class. It is in the classroomthat the pupil learns to disagreecourteously; to give honest and con-structive criticism; to cooperate withothers for the common good. Here,

Educational Leadership

the young citizen begins to learn howthe rights of free men are safeguardedby keeping the channels of free discus-sion open.

The school is a society. It resemblesthe larger community in the sense thatit consists of people living within defi-nite boundaries and using many servicesin common. Just as every communityhas an individuality which is the result

of its customs and institutions, so everyschool has a character which is the re-sult of its traditions and ways of livingas a group. Both the school and the com-munity reach their highest level whenthere is a widespread awareness of thecommon interest and a high degree ofcooperation among individuals andgroups for the common good of thetotal community.

Eq"fieieAee4 (0L UIdSE. McndC ULOUISE C McCUE

Keeping minds open as well as ears is suggested by Louise C. McCue, formerly as-sistant editor, EDICATIONAL LEADERSHIP, as a guide to developing better and much morethorough understanding in community relationships. Mrs. MeCue underlines the sig-nificance of providing experiences for children which will lead to straight thinking inadulthood.

LARRY MASTERS might have under-stood Woody White. And Woodymight have understood Larry. But theydidn't. And least of all did either ofthem understand Henry Smith.

Larry owned and operated a lumbermill in Riverside. Woody was one ofLarry's most faithful workers, or hadbeen up until a week ago. Since thenLarry wasn't so sure. Trouble wasbrewing among the lumber mill em-ployees, and Larry had it pretty straightthat Woody was one of the ringleaders.Woody had been heard talking to themen about new safety installations, evenpointing out how they might have pre-vented the "accidental" death a fewmonths back of one of their fellow-workers. The men were airing theirviews on wages and hours, too. Larrycouldn't understand what was happen-ing. He took the defensive when localreporters came to interview him, fallingback on pat statements about "the value

February 1947

of his lumber mill to the community"and "the need for individual initiativein our modern economy."

The reporters talked with Woody,too, and he took the defensive. Hetalked about what happens to a manand his family when sick leave is onlytwo weeks a year and an injury sus-tained on the job keeps the man idlefor two months. He talked about howhard it is to make a weekly wage coverthe needs of a wife and three children.Grappling with personal problems ofdaily living hadn't left Woody muchtime to ponder the importance ofLarry's lumber mill to Riverside or "theneed for individual initiative in ourmodern economy."

Larry and Woody seemed to live indifferent worlds. That they could haveunderstood each other was perhaps toomuch to hope. So far as could be de-termined they agreed on only one thing-their distaste for Henry Smith. Like

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Copyright © 1947 by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. All rights reserved.