Our Schools in War Time—and AfterDean, Arthur D. (Arthur Davis)
History
Our Schools in War Time—and After
Dean, Arthur D. (Arthur Davis)
Education -- United States; World War, 1914-1918 -- War work -- Schools
In the second place, it is doubtful whether we can much longer continue
the policy of increasing the regular attendance of youth at school
without giving some consideration to the educative value of labor. The
educative process taken in its largest sense goes on for twenty-four
hours a day. It concerns health, character, mental capacity,
citizenship, and useful work. To most people the educative process
merely centers around the schoolhouse, and such think of education
in terms of schooling. To them, to increase the number of years that
youth is obliged to go to school is to increase the number of years
given over directly to the educative process. But the child goes to
school for about five hours a day for five days in the week for about
thirty-six weeks in the year, and in this time he deals largely with
books; and many find it a reasonable excuse, because they are "going
to school" and "getting an education," to avoid any useful work. Now
some kinds of work are wholesome and educative. Most farm work comes
in the class of useful and profitable employment. When the hours are
not too long and the factories and stores are sanitary and the pay is
reasonable, work in these places may be profitable to youth. Because
this is not always the case is no reason why we should not attempt to
make it so.
It would seem that educators now occupy a strategic position from which
they may exert a tremendous influence in the direction of standardizing
the work of juveniles in terms of the deepest social significance,
and a good start in this direction may be made in meeting the war
emergency. The subject is so large and the previous discussion of it
so limited that we have not very much background on which to work, and
it is not advisable at this time to do more than merely hint at some
possible procedures.
First, why not have the rural schools for children up to 12 years of
age open early in September and close the first of August, and make
provision for stopping the school work of the youngest children during
the winter months in those parts of the country where it is difficult
for them to reach school? Why not organize classes in dandelion
digging, berry picking, currant picking, and even, once in a while,
weeding, by having a series of field and harvesting days under the
direction of the school teacher with the coöperation of the parents?
Why not have able-bodied boys in these rural schools released from book
work in April and remain out of school until the first of November,
and then require them to attend school faithfully for six days a week
during the rest of the year? Why not have the boys between 14 and 16
drop out of school in June and July to pick small fruits and berries
and to work in vegetable gardens? Under certain conditions, in regions
where such service can be used,--which is not often,--they might stay
out in September to pick fruits and gather small crops.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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