Illinois teacher of home economics

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ILLINOIS TEACHER

TEACHING CLOTHING SELECTION TODAY

The Changing American Scene .... 1
Behavioral Sciences Applied to

Clothing 16

The Consumer Looks at Credit. ... 22

The Consumer Goes Shopping 29

Excellence in Teaching These

Concepts 38

HOME ECONOMICS EDUCATION • UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS BULLETIN

Volume V, Number 1; September, 1961. Published
nine times each year by the University of
Illinois. Entered as second-class matter
December 11, 1912, at the post office at Urbana,
Illinois, under the Act of August 2k, 1912.
Office of Home Economics Education, 33*+ Gregory
Hal 1 , Urbana, I 1 1 inois

TEACHING CLOTHING SELECTION TODAY

Jeanne Glazener Callihan, University High School
University of Illinois
Helen Haughton, Eastern Illinois University

A 1961 workshop in teaching clothing and textiles at the University
of Illinois, attended by a group of teachers particularly interested in
this subject and willing to "burn the midnight oil," developed concepts
useful in the teaching of clothing selection. In the limited space avail-
able, we are reproducing as many as possible in the hope that you, too,
may find them useful.

After a brief look at the changing American scene, you will find the
concepts organized under headings as listed in the index. Each concept i s
underl ined. The supporting facts to verify the concepts are starred (*) .
At the end of each group of concepts and facts is a separate category of
ideas to use in teaching these concepts.

The Changing American Scene

One of the reasons we teach clothing selection is because every day
we see some student who can ill afford it wearing a garment that is
equivalent to " 1 ight ing-a-cigarette-wi th-a-ten-dol 1 ar-bi 1 1" in terms of
wasting money. But can you blame her? It takes a super shopper to sort
the fabulous number of items on the market into a recognizable few that
she may really need and enjoy.

Furthermore, in a constantly expanding market we have continued to
try to cling to old ideas, or at least have given them up reluctantly.
We have of necessity abandoned some pet beliefs, such as "you get what you
pay for." Often there is no correlation between price and quality —
sometimes there is even a negative correlation.

For the few who have an unlimited budget, the study of selection in
clothing may be a waste of time. They can well afford the trial-and-
error method and will no doubt, with practice, become most adept at buying
successful 1 y.

Take, for example, the woman who spent $600 on an evening dress made
from layers of tulle over a base of crepe. Clusters of ostrich feathers
dyed to resemble flowers were scattered beneath the tulle. The effect was
enchanting and in motion created a lightness and grace that seemed well
worth the price. But — when she sent the dress to the dry cleaners it came
back with a curt note, "This cannot be cleaned"'. The tulle was sewn
directly to the crepe with the ostrich feathers trapped between. Unless
the entire dress was ripped apart and each piece cleaned separately,
cleaning was impossible. Since this required a complete remaking, the
cleaners refused to attempt cleaning. An expensive lesson, but effective!

1

How many of your students show you cotton dresses trimmed with a
velvet ribbon that cannot be washed? Or cotton pajamas with nylon lace
that will fuse onto the iron when ironed at cotton setting? Or buttons
that melt when touched with an iron? Or a nylon dress with "detachable"
collar and cuffs of another fabric — sewn i n?

We have abandoned, but most of us still remember, the admiration that
was given to the "tight-fisted" fellow who would not spend his money unless
absolutely necessary. He was the Horatio Alger type who bought as little
as possible but who "knew a real bargain when he saw one." Even then a
few of the shrewder people probably questioned the reliability of recog-
nizing quality in clothing without considerable practice. Now we know
that the more you buy, or at least the more you shop and compare, the more
sophisticated your selections should become.

The "shock of prosperity" has shattered so many of our truisms! There
has been developing a "respectability of spending" that high school students,
particularly, are subjected to constantly. We are bombarded with the
latest in fashions, all of which seem to be demoded faster than we can get
them home and hang them in the closet, let alone wear them a few times. It
is obvious that a tendency toward obsolescence is becoming more and more
a bui 1 t- in feature of our economy as a whole. But it is probably most
apparent and most rapid in clothing.

We need, then, some basis, and as much practice as possible, for
making choices if we intend to avoid the newest proverb "want not, waste
plenty," which has replaced our old idea of "waste not, want not."

In addition to giving up some of our old and (we thoughtl) tried and
true concepts, we need to take a long look at what has been happening to
our way of life. Do you know:

Who is doing the buying?
What they are buying?
Why they are buying?
Where they are buying?
How they are buying?

A brief glance at the following summary may not surprise you, but it
should help conf 1 rm what you saw happening at the dress shop yesterday,
or in the grocery store last night.

Who does the buying?

Women today are doing more family economic planning

* A 1956 survey conducted for the United States Treasury
Department by the University of Michigan showed that the
wife handled the money and bills in 38 per cent of all
United States families, the husband in 30 per cent of the
families, and the husband and wife together in 32 per cent
(1 per cent not ascertained).

:

* In middle income families especially, large numbers of
wives were managing the family finances.

Woman's greater personal and economic freedom means that women are
more important factors in buying today.

* The smaller household consisting only of the immediate
family and the many labor-saving devices release the
housewife for other duties.

* These other duties often consist of an outside job which,
in turn, increases the family buying power.

One of the myths about the current consumer seems to be that there
are no poor people left in the nation.

* 80 per cent of the families in the United States in 1958,
according to Federal Reserve figures, grossed under $6,000.

* Of this per cent, **0 per cent grossed under $3,000.

The grand total in teen-age buying power is estimated by Life maga-
"zlne at $10 billion annually, more conservatively by Newsweek at
$9.5 b i 1 1 I on .

What do we buy?

Women are generally better Informed and more conscious of brands
than men and are more inclined to be loyal to brands.

* Seventeen uses the slogan "Brand loyalty starts in Seventeen."
And they continue to emphasize it is easier to start a habit
than stop onel They offer special incentive to the high
school home economics teacher to induce her to use the maga-
zine in her classes. Apparently their promotion is very
successful as most every high school girl will tell you

it is her favorite fashion magazine.

v<r

Seventeen proudly announces that over half if its readers
actually purchased garments advertised in their publication.
Since almost half of their magazine is always devoted to
advertising, and since so many teen-agers are exposed to it,
this is very believable.

Loyalty to a brand is often a misplaced idea.

* Too many women fail to recognize that a brand is not always
a guarantee of consistent quality. The company making
the product may change hands, and this very often results
in a change in sizing, quality, or price. The article you
were so happy with six months ago may be completely changed
with your second purchase.

* Building a brand name takes much capital outlay. The adver-
tising costs for a national campaign are almost unbelievable.
All of this cost must be passed on to the consumer.

Today, luxury spending is the pattern of women in most economic
groups.

* Luxurious or Grade A merchandise is moving faster than the
less expensive items. There are many reasons for this,
one being that the cost of living has risen about 24.6 per
cent during the last decade and this has automatically
increased the cost of clothing. A dress of four years ago
that cost $10.95 is today, if the same quality is maintained,
going to cost the consumer about $17.95.

* The manufacturing costs have risen and the retailer, too,
must charge more to meet his expenses. The two items that
are most responsible for this increased cost in clothing
are the labor costs and the shipping charges.

* A recent article in Women ' s Wear Da i 1 y 1 isted the rapidly
increasing shipping rates as the number one problem of the
retailer. They quoted the percentage of increase in
railway express rates since 1 9^*6 as 700 per cent.

* The consumer is price conscious but does not pinch pennies
the way she used to, mainly because there is no necessity.

Today's increase in travel, decrease in time and closet space,
practically force a small wardrobe on most of us.

* We are a mobile nation, not only in traveling for recreation
but also in moving from job to job.

* We are inclined to tire of our clothing quickly and replace
it long before it shows obvious signs of wear.

How do we buy?

The number of shopping trips made by women is decreasing though
their purchases are growing.

* We are an affluent nation with more money to spend than
ever before, but we are at the same time pressed for
time in which to spend this money.

* The growth of the one-stop shopping centers, the pre-
packaged goods, and the vending machines indicate the time-
saving element that today's shopper prefers.

More women are shopping in cars.

* The suburban trend, the two-car family, and the growth of
outlying stores all point up the ease and often the necessity
for shopping by car.

Many women shop with someone and this is likely to influence what
they buy.

* "Shop by yourself," should be a cardinal rule if you expect
to do it efficiently and quickly. If you are visiting with
a friend, a shopping tour is not the ideal place to enjoy

a chat.

Today's women are buying on impulse more than ever before.

* Faced with a super amount of goods, with more money than
we have ever known before, and belabored by extravagant
claims for each item, the average shopper, in sheer
bewilderment, yields to the temptation to splurge. Hence,
the new shopping term in current use, "spl urchases,"
meaning purchases that were bought on impulse.

Today's women spend many more hours outside their homes.

* They are constantly on the go, often driving the children
to school or commuting to a job.

* For this reason they see more and have more opportunities
to wear a variety of clothing.

Where do we shop?

We err in thinking of the department store as the usual family
shopping center.

* The average department store, according to Professor
Bernard Smith of New York University's School of Retailing,
is geared to sell to the families in the top 40 per cent
income bracket, or those families grossing over $4,300
annual 1 y.

* The bottom 60 per cent simply cannot afford to shop in
department stores. Even the families averaging just under
$6,000 often desert the department stores for the discount
stores.

The direct-mail industry is increasingly important as a market for
consumer goods.

* There are four major mail order houses. They can be said
to be divided into two groups, the large and the small.

* In the large group are Sears-Roebuck and Montgomery Ward who
sell the most goods each year. Sears annually sells in
excess of $750 million in goods by catalog alone. If their
retail sales stores are included, the figures for Sears in
1959 show that it was the country's biggest retailer. The
sales were $4 billion. Sears is also one of the most
profitable retailers. The company's net on sales averaged
4.5 cents on the dollar, and this is the highest among big
retailers. After taxes, merchants' profits were likely to
average 3 cents on a dollar of sales.

* One out of every six families has a time-payment account at
Sears.

* Wards sells approximately $350 million, excluding its
retail stores, and is a close second among the giants in
retai 1 ing.

* In the smaller division are Spiegel and Aldens mail order
houses. Each of these do in excess of $100 million in
business annually through their catalogs alone.

* These well-established houses do only a small part of the
direct mail selling. It has been estimated that approxi-
mately $20 billion in goods and services are sold annually
by direct mail, of which the total major catalog industry
provides only 6 per cent or 7 per cent.

* In the '30's the small towns and rural districts were
presumed to be the primary catalog market. After World
War II through the '50's there developed a great advance
in selling to the urban areas. Today, large department
stores, such as Marshall Field's, are doing a significant
percentage of their business through catalogs.

The advantage to the customer is, of course, the elimination of
time and effort necessary for shopping.

Merchandise purchased in quantities by the larger houses may
offer some savings.

* The larger mail order houses offer some protection to the
consumer because they test their merchandise before it

is placed in a catalog.

The disadvantages are obvious in that buying from a picture and a

written description may cause the purchaser to be unhappy with

the actual article and merchandise must be selected far in advance,

* General catalog houses during December, for example, are
working on catalogs which will appear the following fall.

The movement to serve many needs under one roof is growing.

* As early as 195*+ the Supermarket Institute estimated that
in grocery stores the non-food percentage of total super
market volume was 3.5 per cent.

* The increase in one-stop shopping, which enables the shopper
to pick up all his needs in one store is not a new trend.

It traces back to the department store. Since World War II,
however, there has been a decided increase in this trend.

* A store in the suburbs may consist of more than one department
under the same roof. Many of the departments within one big
store may be leased.

* There is some prediction among retailers that one way to
compete with the discount houses is to allow the manufacturer
to lease and sell directly from these departments.

The door-to-door salesman is not likely to increase his sale of
fabrics and garments because these products need less personal
demons trat ion.

* The cost of door-to-door distribution is usually much
higher than that of the retail store. As a result it is
unlikely that the customer will save money on the product.

* Although there are many reliable companies selling on the
door-to-door plan, there is less control over misrepresenta-
tion than in most retail selling.

* The novelty item with a high margin of profit has tradition-
ally been one of the more successfully distributed items

in this selling method.

The small specialty shop offers the customer more in services,
as a general rule, than any other method of shopping. In
return the prices may well be higher as the volume of trade is
smal ler .

* Department stores are tending to build toward the appearance
and appeal of the small specialty shop by dividing their
stores into sections which sell only one type of clothing.

* We see the "junior" department often separated from "misses'
dress by pillars or even a swinging door to give the effect
of a smaller store. Most of the newer department stores
have been built to give the appearance of a series of con-
necting rooms. Often only one department is housed within
each room.

8

The growth of discount houses selling clothing has been unusually
rapid in the last ten years.

* Women's Wear Daily discusses the rapid expansion of the
more successful ones in many of its current issues. For
example, on May 31st they cite the plans of the Shopper's
Fair discounters for opening eleven new stores. Geo-
graphically, they are to cover Illinois, Indiana,
Michigan, Ohio, Alabama, and New York. Completion of
these eleven stores will bring the Shopper's Fair chain up
to 38 stores. The firm expects its expansion program in
1962 to bring the chain to 55 stores by the end of next
year.

* Discounting has taken many forms. It may consist of a
chain of stores banded together in order to buy more effi-
ciently. Or, it may consist of the smaller firm which
eliminates many of the recognized services of the regular
store in order to sell at a lower price.

* One of the largest and oldest of bargain centers in the
country is Klein's of New York City. They have for many
years eliminated salespeople and allowed the customer to
select garments from racks that are clearly marked as to
size and price. They have established the system of a
counter at each door where the purchased articles are
wrapped and paid for. The volume of their operation is so
large that they have been able to commission fashions
directly from the manufacturer. Within the last few years
they have gone into high fashion at bargain prices, even
sending their buyers to the haute couture opening in Paris
and Italy. As a consequence of offering high fashion at
bargain prices and in quantity, they can operate on a
profit margin of 1.3 per cent — less than many of the large
chain stores.

* Wool worth's, among others, has announced plans to enter
the discount operation.

* There are many marketing experts who believe that the
speed with which discount houses are opening plus their
rapid expansion will increase the competition and will
force the usual markup of merchandise lower. Indications
are, also, that the quality may rise, and a few have already
made efforts to introduce their own label.

* To date, department stores continue to carry goods in
greater variety, particularly more sizes and more styles,
as well as to offer greater service to the customer. They
are inclined to rely less on distressed goods.

In order to buy successfully in a discount house, the consumer
should be well informed on how to choose a wel 1 -constructed
garment of suitable fabric because she can expect less help in
making her selection and, if the garment is unsatisfactory,
returns may be more difficult.

Consumption of Clothing

Some of the concepts that appear to have a reasonable promise of
remaining true in the foreseeable future are underlined. The starred facts
support each basic concept.

Consumption in general

Because money and consumer goods are far more abundant than 25
years ago, our buying has rocketed to extremes of 1 uxur iousness.

* Consumers Union tells us:

Our income is 60% above 1936

In 1936 In 1961
33% owned electric refrig. 98%
00% freezers 20%

00% clothes dryers 20%

* Because more people are moving into high income brackets,
they are spending more on clothing to meet their new
standards.

* Because of increased amount of leisure time, there is great
increase in sports wear.

* Clothing expenditures for men are increasing at a faster
rate than for women in order to meet standards of new income
levels.

* The higher the income, the less time people take to do their
own clothing services, as alterations, mending, cleaning.

Public services are in financial trouble now because their value
has been underestimated and misunderstood moneywise.

* From Galbraith's The Af f 1 uent Society we find that our health
and safety are being jeopardized by the improper balance
existing between producer goods and public services available.

If we would understand that properly used taxes pay for the public
services important to the health and safety needed for happiness,
such services might receive a higher priority.

* ^e Journal of Home Economics. February, 1961 , "The Consumer
in an Affluent Society," points out that today's consumer
needs to evaluate public management of money to determine
adequacy of taxes.

10

Using money to satisfy low priority needs may not be a satisfying
exper ience.

* Facts from Fig Leaf by Eve Merriam indicate that a few years
ago one supermarket stocked three shades of make-up. Today
it stocks 32. Seventy per cent of the cosmetic industry

is based on new products good for little else than flatten-
ing the pocketbook.

Due to the tremendous volume of products manufactured, the pro-
ducer needs to create a market where none exists.

* Merriam also states that fashion appeal leads many women
into the make-believe that they, too, go cocktail ing and
dancing dai ly.

Teen-age consumption

The teen-ager is a powerful consumer on today's market, for what
he buys this year is out of date and outgrown by next year.

Because of the need for social acceptance, the teen-ager spends
the most money from his personal income on clothing.

Families with teen-agers spend the most money on clothing for a
teen-age gir 1 .

* A family of four with an income of $300 to $400 a month
spends, according to current investigations, about 15 per
cent of the total income on clothing. Of this total, a
16-year-old girl would spend 32 per cent, the mother 31
per cent, the father 27 per cent, the 12-year-old child

17 per cent, the eight-year-old child 15 per cent, and the
four year old 10 per cent.

* The category of greatest spending from personal money of
high school students is for clothing, although the amount
spent for the entire family may be relatively low.

Due to early formed concepts of money management, teen-agers
prefer to buy on impulse, rely upon opinion, and ignore the idea
of affecting society by their buying habits.

* "The teen-ager fails to think of herself as an on-coming
consumer influencing society by careless buying habits."
(From Illinois Teacher, Vol. Ill, No. 2.)

The teen-age girl becomes a target for promoters because she is
either earning money or has an allowance which has no immediate
commi tments .

* Largest cosmetic users are those under 25, including
teen-agers.

11

* "Adolescent problems and needs make teen-agers from 13 to 20
a unique buying group." ...Wolff's What Makes Women Buy.

Because of extravagant and thoughtless spending habits already
established, a real sense of values may need to be learned by
teen-agers.

* Teen-agers spend 9 per cent of their income on sports, 16
per cent on snacks; they own record players, TV sets, and
cameras paid for by themselves. They spend freely on
snacks due to irregular habits of eating. (From 111 i nol s
Teacher, Vol . Ill, No. 2.)

When the teen-ager buys poor quality, it means more consumer
dollars will be used for items that wear out quickly and must be
repl aced.

* Clothing is the third largest expenditure of the family
but this expenditure tends to be erratic and difficult to
budget.

* A budget for a family of four which includes the expenses
of all the family members and covers not only the cost for
new purchases but also drycleaning, pressing and repairs
can be charted as follows:

Income $2,500 $4,500 $6,500 $12,500

Clothing

expenditures 8% to 12% 9% to 13% 9% to 15% 9% to 15%

A teen-ager can better understand her own use of money if she dis-
covers its use in the family.

* The family income is spent for rent, food, clothing, oper-
ating expenses, taxes, insurance, and special needs.

The family spending needs and plans can help the teen-agers know
their share of income.

* Family councils are helpful in making cooperative decisions.

One of the current problems in consumption

The clothing and textile market today is being supplied with a
great many imported goods.

* There has been a great deal of controversy about the low-cost
imported goods. Many textile and clothing producers claim
the low-cost imports are hurting the market and thus our
country.

12

Students should develop some understanding of the problems
involved in importing goods.

* Students should begin to look at articles without prejudice
because of a label stating the article is imported.

* The imported label is no indication of the quality of any
i tern.

* The imported label has somewhat of a "snob appeal" if made
in France. To the same people the picture completely
changes if the label reads "imported from Japan."

Due to the quality and low cost, Japanese goods have begun to gain
acceptance in this country.

* Japan now controls 30 per cent of our blouse market and 20
per cent of the velveteen and gingham market.

* Hong Kong has also entered our clothing and textile market.
From Hong Kong we receive 26 per cent of our total imports.
In I960 14.9 per cent of the imported blouses, 9.5 per cent
of the imported brassieres, 9.1 per cent of the imported
shorts, slacks, and trousers came from Hong Kong.

As Japanese one-dollar blouses became popular, other imported goods
of the same price range were introduced and also became popular.

* In 195*+ a handful of American importers found that Japanese
blouses could be sold for as little as a dollar in this
country. Japanese dollar blouses undersold domestic blouses
as much as two dollars.

* After the blouses were introduced to this country other goods
were also imported. It was found that from Hong Kong the
U.S. could also obtain inexpensive imported goods. One
importer established a very successful business in men's
suits. For a $75.00 silk suit the importer pays a tailor

in Hong Kong $42.00. The air freight charge is $5.50. A
salesman gets $16.00 as his commission. The importer's
profit is $11.50.

Because imported goods could undersell domestic goods, manufac-
turers and labor leaders went to Washington asking for higher
tariffs and lower guotas.

* States which depend greatly on the textile and clothing
industry looked for measures they might use to discourage
the sale of inexpensive imported goods. Alabama,

South Carolina, and Mississippi have laws that state if
Japanese goods are sold a sign must be posted, "Japanese
textiles sold here," or the store must pay a $25.00 fine.

13

The majority of economists feel that free trade is a better policy
for the country as a whole than high tariffs and low quotas
because it would result in an international division of labor.

* Samuel son, the author of Economics: an Introductory Analysis,
a widely accepted economics textbook, states that trade
which is not restricted promotes a mutually profitable inter-
national division of labor, thus the possibility for all
countries to have a higher national product and a higher
standard of 1 i ving.

* When studying Japan, one finds that, as Japan's exports have
increased, a higher standard of living has resulted.

* Tariffs increase the price the consumer must pay for goods.
Free trade will help everyone a little, Samuelson states,
while tariffs and quotas will help a few people a lot.

* Samuelson states that tariffs and quotas protect the people
and industries that are relatively inefficient.

Low labor costs make it possible for other nations to produce goods
at a lower cost than the United States can, and as a result American
industry and labor prefer protective measures.

* One manufacturer states, "Give us competition in quality,
in style, and in merchandising, and we can lick them. But
we can't compete with sweat-shop labor." Textile and
clothing industry workers in the U.S. get paid about 10
times more than their foreign counterparts.

* Because of the government controls that operate in our
country, manufacturers in foreign countries are able to buy
American cotton for six cents a pound less than U.S.
manufacturers .

* Another reason that foreign countries and the U.S. are not
competing on an equal basis is that the U.S. government
helped to build and equip the textile and clothing indus-
tries in many countries. The manufacturers in this country
feel that this was most unfair.

* The increased number of goods that has been imported to this
country has caused unemployment. From 1953 to 1957, 87
Southern textile mills have been closed. Approximately
35,000 textile workers have been put out of work.

If the U.S. stops buying imported goods, its sale of raw materials
will be reduced because many countries use our raw materials for
their exports to our country.

14

Political factors as well as economic factors must be taken into
consideration when decisions are being made concerning restric-
tions on trade.

* Economic welfare is not the sole goal of life. The politi-
cal consideration must also be taken into account.

* The import situation is deeply involved with our foreign
policy. We want our allies to be truly friendly, eco-
nomically strong, and politically stable. Many of these
countries depend on their exports.

* Japan must sell merchandise abroad, and she lacks raw
materials which must be obtained. With a population of
some 90 million, one might say that she has only labor to
export. The more labor content a product has, the more it
pays Japan's domestic bills for foods, raw materials, and
other imports.

* In the case of Japan and Italy we first helped them get
started in the textile and clothing industry. We advised
them to make textiles and clothing and to export to us. A
moral issue is involved here.

* Another point to be made is that many countries will sell
their products to Communist countries if we are not
interested.

* High tariffs and low quotas are quite harmful to our popu-
larity and reputation abroad.

High tariffs and low quotas may be justified when national defense
is involved because it is most desirable that we be self-sufficient
in the t ime of war.

* Another side to consider is national defense. It is neces-
sary to become somewhat self-sufficient at great cost, due
to the possibility of war. Some people feel that it is
necessary that our manufacturers of textiles and clothing
continue to operate even if we have to pay a high tariff

on imported goods.

* The economist looks at the import problems in terms of the
long-run. To him the manufacturer's arguments are merely
rationalizations. In all fairness we must also consider the
side of the U.S. manufacturer.

The import problem is of a current nature; therefore, the President
and Congress are actively involved in working out solutions.

* On May 2, 1961 President Kennedy offered a seven-point
major program of adjustment assistance to strengthen the
textile industry against competition from abroad.

15

1. He ordered the Department of Commerce to expand its
research program for new products, processes, and
markets.

2. He directed the Treasury Department to review the
depreciation allowance on textile machinery.

3. He told the Small Business Administration to help
industry with financing modern equipment.

k. He instructed the Department of Agriculture to make
recommendations for eliminating or- of f-sett i ng the
cost of the U.S. mills of the differences in cotton
costs between domestic and overseas textile
producers.

5. He directed the State Department to seek an early
conference of the major textile importing and
exporting nations with a view to an agreement on
some voluntary limit to textile imports to this
country. This conference was held in Geneva,
Switzerland from July 17 to 21, 1961, and new quotas
were accepted.

6. He invited the textile industry to petition for
relief under the Reciprocal Trade Act.

7. He promised a program of federal aid for industries
threatened or injured by imports.

Construction versus purchase of ready-to-wear

Fabrics produced in this country are increasingly going into ready-
to-wear garments.

* The latest figures show that 95 per cent of the total produc-
tion of apparel fabrics goes into ready-to-wear, leaving
only 5 per cent for home sewing.

* Money savings are greatest in home sewing requiring the most
skill, such as suits, but less than k per cent ever try to
make a suit.

* Technological advances in textiles are demanding of home
sewers superior equipment, different techniques and supplies.

Today's home sewers are atypical of students in homemaklnq classes.

* Currently the home sewer is a young married (85%), lives in a
home she owns (80%), enjoys an income higher than the
national average (77%), resides in a city (70%), is well edu-
cated (5*+% attended college), and sews as a creative use of
leisure time.

* A recent survey of high school girls in New Mexico showed
that any garments made were those constructed in homemaking
classes. Very few sewed outside of class for themselves or
others, yet only 5 per cent lacked sewing machines in their
homes .

16

Behavioral Sciences Applied to Clothing

Psychology of clothing

Because clothes are often the first things we notice about a person,
we are inclined to judge people by the clothing they wear.

* At a glance one can tell something of a person's sex, occu-
pation, natipnality, and social standing by the clothes

he is wearing.

Clothes are a form of art, and they can be used as a means of self-
express ion.

* Art may be defined as a way of expressing ideas. Clothing
is a medium. Man has an urge to make clothing a thing of
beauty. Clothing has material, form, line and color which
lends itself to the creation of design.

Clothing is very important because clothes are closely related to
beauty.

* When a design is selected, it is hoped it will help to
create an illusion of beauty when the person wears the
garment.

* What is considered beautiful changes from time to time.

Clothes are used as an expression of personality and, in reality. *
are one's "second skin."

* Clothes have the ability to create a mental atmosphere.

* People do not try to select clothes that are in conflict
or different from their personality, but ones that will
enrich the personality.

* A change of dress often gives the wearer a feel ing of a
change in personality.

* Since many people wish to express their individuality, they
often wear clothes that have a distinctive character.

/

* Most women have become so clothes conscious that they do
not want to be a replica of another person.

* Many people find an outlet for their creativity through
the selection or making of clothing.

Special kinds of behavior can be influenced by wearing certain kinds
of clothes.

17

* Soldiers feel braver, policemen more courageous, and boy
scouts more adventurous when dressed in their uniforms.

* Zoot suits often give the wearers a feeling of superiority.
Often the person wearing a zoot suit acts like a hoodlum.

* Members of the Ku Klux Klan behave quite differently in
their ordinary clothes than when they are masked. As soon
as the members put on their masks, they lose their identity.

* Often teen-agers make protests against the authority of
parents and school by wearing outlandish clothes. Captain
Clifford G. Baily, Chief of the Minneapolis Crime Prevention
Bureau states that, "Teen-age troublemakers are often those
who set themselves apart by their dress and then try to
live up to their looks."

* Decorative evening clothes help the individual escape from the
routine daily living to more unreal but glamorous situations.

* Most people have the tendency to fit the approximate clothing
to the obligations of the job.

Clothing is often a device used to obtain a feeling of prestige.

* It has been said that the race for social supremacy is so
great that each individual is constantly trying to out-do
his neighbor.

* H. Garrett in his book, Psychology, states prestige is gained
from having a larger or more expensive display than someone
else. Some people collect expensive china, others collect
art treasures, still others collect expensive clothing.

* Through fashion men and women attempt to achieve and
maintain the goal of social approval.

* Clothing is often an attempt to gain a feeling of inner
secur i ty.

* Clothes play a part in creating the reputation of a person.
Some wear clothes which they feel will help to create a
favorable impression; perhaps a French label will do the

tr i ck.

* Clothes are a way of attracting attention. By wearing
clothes that are different, a person is able to draw atten-
tion to himsel f .

* The need for a change or something new in the wardrobe is
felt because the wearer no longer "sees" or is aware of
his old clothes, as was the case when they were new, and
they no longer contribute to his feeling of superiority.

18
When people wish to conform, they often wear similar clothes.

* Children especially have a desire to be dressed like
their peers.

* Nor do their parents want to dress too differently from
other adults.

* To be out-of-style is something that must be avoided, in
the opinion of many people.

Because people on the whole desire new sensations and new adven-
tures, new clothing ideas are readily accepted.

* It has been reported that need for change is one of the
most important factors in the phenomenon of fashion.

* It has also been said that we tire of clothing more quickly
than of many other things.

* One reason for the large sale of accessories is because
people who cannot afford a new garment can still have a
change with a new scarf or beads.

Since clothing is psychological protection as well as physical
protection, clothes are worn in different ways.

* It has been said that clothing may give the psychological
protection one needs to live in an unfriendly world.

* If one is among unfriendly and unsympathetic people and

if one feels that he is superior to these people as well as
having nothing in common with them, one tends to draw his
clothes tightly around him, as if the clothes will protect
from the people.

" If a person is happy and free, his clothes will be loose.

* People are inclined to fear ridicule if they do not wear
appropriate clothing.

Clothing as a means of achieving a sense of well-being

If we are physically well and are comfortably dressed, we have a
better chance to enjoy life.

* One of the secrets of the charm of any girl i s to be
dressed in such a satisfying manner that she can forget
herself and be really interested in others.

* If we have a comfortable feeling of satisfaction about the
way we are dressed, we are more likely to be a friendlier
and more successful person.

19

One should be well-dressed, because it creates a feeling of
conf idence.

* Herbert Spencer remarked that the consciousness of being
well-dressed may bestow a "peace such as religion can't
give."

* Success and clothing are closely related. It has been said,
"If you feel right, you can get good results." This could
be interpreted to mean, if one is well-dressed, success is
more likely to be obtained.

We must realize we cannot all be as physically well or as satis-
fied as we might wish, but we are all improvable if we will use
the methods at our disposal .

* It is noticeable, in an unattractive way, to go sloshing
about in flimsy slippers through rain or snow. Endangering
one's health merely results in an unattractive appearance
which can be avoided by wearing smart protective clothing.

* Casual types of dress-up clothes are always more satisfying
than being over dressed.

* The more mature we are, the less we want to be over dressed.
We learn it is more sophisticated to be dressed appro-
priately for the occasion.

* Low heels are appropriate for dress up days and for dances —
and cause far less damage to feet and general health, both
mental and physical.

In order to appreciate the importance of dress, we need to dis-
cover how we feel about the clothes we wear.

* Since conditioning is the reason for much of our action,
it affects clothing, too.

* We select some of our clothes not because they really suit
our personality or are becoming, but because we have been
conditioned to think that is what we must have. A person
may always wear blue, because the person has been told
that blue is his best color. Another person might never
wear purple, thinking it is just for older people.

* Conflicts between a need for adult approval and peer accep-
tance cannot be ignored if improved methods of clothing
selection are to influence the physical and mental health
of the teen-ager.

By studying the dress of different periods, one can understand the
political, economic, and social mores of that time.

20

* Anatole France stated that if he was allowed to look into
all the books published a century after his death, he
would choose a fashion journal as the best source of infor-
mation about the world.

* One can tell with a high degree of accuracy the characteris-
tic ideas and events of the time through the dress of the
people. The political and moral conditions of a nation,
attitude toward sex, treatment of children, position of the
church, and the presence or absence of war are clearly
reflected in the dress of the time.

* Flugel stated in his book, The Psychology of Clothes, that
fashion shifts its emphasis from one part of the body to
another with the change of the prevailing mood of the

per iod.

* In the Middle Ages when modesty was all important, the
parts of the body, which at other times might be considered
the physically attractive, were played down in dress. At
one time, for example, a corset was developed to conceal
the bust.

* Since the Renaissance the bosom has been important, but
there have been other centers of interest. The abdomen was
given special importance during the Middle Ages and
Renaissance when pregnant women were idealized.

* After some crisis in history, fashions have been designed
to exhibit the body by extremes, such as low bodices and
very short slit skirts. After the French revolution and
after World War 1, there was a time of exaggerated display
of the body.

* It is interesting to note how the leaders influenced fashion.
If they were dignified, fashions were dignified. For
example. Queen Elizabeth of England and Catherine de Medicis
of France were dignified and so were the fashions of the
time. Marie Antoinette was frivolous and so were the
fashions.

* In time of war the clothes are adapted to meet the situation.
Drab colors, mannish tailoring, and exaggerated shoulder pads
were worn by women during World War II because they were
doing the jobs ordinarily held by men.

* Clothing often is affected by physical changes of persons. These
vary with individuals and with different ages. Some women at the
menopause, for example, tend to withdraw and lose interest in
their appearance while others go all out for clothing, using

it as a release from tension, and nervousness, according to
Tate and Gl isson's Fami 1 y Clothing.

21

» Democracy has influenced our way of dress until there is
relatively little class distinction in our dress.

»'" Our production system has made it possible for the lower
income groups to wear attractively designed clothes.

* In our century there are many changes which have influenced
what people wear. Today our houses are well heated, city
streets are paved, transportation is rapid, new fibers have
been developed, and many more changes have occurred, all of
which have left their influence on the clothing we wear.

When there is little change in customs, there is apt to be little
change in the style of dress.

* In the East where civilization has remained constant for
centuries, fashions have remained comparatively stable.

* In our own country, there has been a constant mingling of
nationalities, and fashions have very frequently changed.

* It is also interesting to note in a small community where
the population rarely changes except for a new generation,
fashion may not be nearly as important. Everyone knows
everyone else's business. Fashion cannot be used as a
prestige device. In larger communities where the popula-
tion fluctuates, fashion is inclined to be considered
important .

One of the reasons clothing is worn may be to attract the opposite
sex.

* There seems to be a debate in much of the literature con-
cerning the degree that the attraction of the opposite sex
plays a part. Elizabeth Hawes does not feel that the main
reason for wearing clothes is to attract the attention of
the opposite sex. She feels a much larger amount is to
arouse the envy or comment in other women. It has been
said that fashion is largely a battle within the sexes
instead of between the sexes.

* Today the clothes tend to accentuate rather than to conceal
the differences between the sexes. Clothes that conceal the
body may create a greater stimulus than those that reveal.

People in prestige positions are most likely to start fashion.

* The leaders of a country, whether a monarchy or a democracy,
play an important role in determining fashion.

* The upper classes and other prestige persons also influence
fashion. As soon as they feel their excl us i veness is being
encroached upon, change occurs.

22

The Consumer Looks at Credit

Credit, in terms of the consumer world, is the plan of purchasing
any goods or service for immediate use and paying for it at a
later date by small monthly, weekly, or guarterly payments.

Host of us are incapable of shopping wisely for credit because it
is difficult to learn how much extra it costs us to borrow money.

* Two studies, one at the University of Illinois in 1953 and
one at the University of Michigan in 1959, have proven
conclusively that we as consumers do not know the actual
yearly rates of interest or carrying charges on our purchases.

The role of credit in our economy

Debt is not wrong because our economic well-being in the United
States depends upon it.

* According to Hi 1 lei Black, in Buy Now, Pay Later, if
Americans were no longer allowed to buy cars on time, there
would be a 50 per cent reduction in the number of cars manu-
factured; America then would produce 8 per cent less steel,
2k per cent less malleable iron, 21 per cent less lead, 15
per cent less zinc, 10 per cent less nickel and 31 per cent
less synthetic rubber. In terms of jobs, elimination of
credit could mean unemployment for 370,000 wage earners

who make motor vehicles and parts.

* Without credit buying, America could not grow.

Credit expands the supply of money in circulation and, as a result,
offers many advantages.

* Credit acts as a medium of exchange just as cash.

* Credit provides capital for enterprisers.

* Credit helps to raise the material level of family living.

* Credit used unwisely and overextended has at times worked
to the disadvantage of the consumer, business, and the
nat ion.

* Using credit wisely helps to establish moral and ethical
values and a confidence in others.

Types of credit

Because credit is widely used in our United States today, it is
Important to understand the types of credit of our business
world and how these operate.

23

* Charge accounts

* Revolving charge accounts

* Installment buying

* Small loans (not house mortgages)

Charge accounts are used in department stores, grocery stores, and
drug stores in order for the customer to have the goods immediately,
to be able to return the goods easily if not satisfied (if it is
not a sale item), and to eliminate much check writing or carrying
of money.

* As a result of these services the stores may charge higher
prices for their goods.

* It is generally assumed that the charge accounts will be
paid up each month, though in some areas--for instance,
where farm customers sell their crops only once or twice
a year-- longer periods may be used.

Charge accounts are scarcely more than "gentlemen's agreements,"
depending almost entirely on the store's confidence in the cus-
tomer, and it follows that the honorable person will keep his
credit good. A carrying charge may be made.

Revolving charge accounts are new in the department stores and
are used to safeguard the stores from having people charge too
much so that they cannot keep up with the payment of the accounts.

* The maximum amount that may be owed the store at any one
time is determined at the time the account is opened by
the consumer and the store.

* The amount agreed upon depends on the consumer's income,
and his purchases may never exceed that amount.

* Each month a certain portion of the total amount is due
and must be paid to keep the account in good standing.

* The usual interest rate or "carrying charge" is about

1 1/2 per cent per month on the unpaid balance. Since the
true annual rate is twelve times the quoted monthly rate,
this can be roughly 18 per cent. We should recognize that
"easy" credit is not really easy.

Installment buying is used in order for families to buy large,
expensive equipment which are considered everyday necessities in
our modern 1 i vi nq.

* Earliest evidence of installment credit appeared shortly
after 1800, in the furniture field. However, it was not
until after World War I when the automotive industry began
its tremendous expansion that installment credit began to
assume the proportions we know today.

2k

* By 1 9^+3, 9 per cent of the total retail selling in the
United States was done on an installment basis.

"Automobiles, television sets, stoves, freezers, and refrig-
erators are examples of things purchased on time.

* It involves a formal contract, usually providing that the
buyer makes a down payment, then pays a set amount each week
or month.

* The contract generally runs for from three months to several
years.

* While the buyer has the right to use the article while
paying for it, he may not hold title (actually own the goods)
until the payments are completed.

* A finance charge and possible other special charges are
usual 1 y added.

* The consumer should ask himself when considering an install-
ment purchase these questions:

How much will it cost me above the cash price of the

goods?
Is credit worth the added cost to me?
If I must have this credit, can I get it more cheaply

and satisfactorily in some other way?

* An example of the way installment plans work:

You want to purchase an outboard motor costing $150.
Dealer says credit terms are $30 down and rest paid
in 12 monthly payments. Each installment to be $10
toward the principal still owing plus interest
payment equal to 6 per cent on the unpaid balance.
$150 minus $30 equals $120 (the amount left to be
paid). At end of first month your first installment
must be paid. It will be $10 toward the principal
plus the interest charge. Six per cent interest for
one month on the $120 owing is 60<£ . (120 times .06
times 1/12.) The first payment will therefore be
$10.60. At end of the second month you will pay the
usual $10 on principal plus 6 per cent for one month
on the unpaid balance, now reduced to $110. The
interest is 55 cents (110 times .06 times 1/12). The
second payment will total $10.55.

Small loans are made by loan or finance companies to people because
they wish to purchase large pieces of equipment or pay off all small
installment debts or for emergencies.

25

* These finance companies in Illinois may, by law, loan any
sum of money not to exceed $800. and may charge interest
at the rate of:

3% per month on that part of the unpaid principal

balance not exceeding $150.
2% per month on any part thereof exceeding $150.

and not exceeding $300.
1% per month or any part thereof exceeding $300.

Cost of credit

People using consumer credit are not aware of the amount of interest
they pay, and they lose money; therefore we must learn how to
figure the "true annual interest" rate that we would be paying on
installment purchases, department store credit purchases, and small
loan company contracts.

* Department store credit ordinarily provides credit at the
rate of 1 1/2 per cent per month which works out about

18 per cent per year.

* Financing of an automobile will cost the consumer at least
12 per cent. Often it is very much more.

* Small loans charge 2 to 3 per cent per month and actually
receive 2k to 36 per cent per year. The "add-on" or
"discount" method makes the rate of interest nearly double
what the borrower believes he is paying.

The cost and risk of credit should be analyzed so that one can be
sure the benefits are egual to the cost and risk involved.

The constant ratio formula is one of the easiest ways of calcu-
lating the annual interest rate. The true annual interest rate is
the actual cost of credit, and the consumer must know this in
order to estimate what it really is costing him to borrow money
or buy goods on the installment plan.

«This is the formula: r = -?££ .

A(n+D

rsthe annual interest rate

p=number of payments in one year exclusive of the

down payment
csthe interest or finance charge in dollars
A^the amount borrowed

nathe number of equal installment payments in the
whole contract period exculsive of the down
payment

26

* Or you might consider the table presented to the people of
California by that state's Consumer Counsel. Here is what
they say you pay for credit if it is added to the purchase
price and the total is repaid in 12 equal installments:

When the seller says You actually pay in

it will cost you true annual interest
4% per year 7.3%

6% per year 10.9%

8% per year 14.5%

10% per year 18.0%

1% per month 21 .5%

* If it is charged only on the unpaid balance:

When they say You really pay in

true annual interest
3A of 1% per month 9.0%

5/6 of 1% per month 10.0%

1% per month 12.0%

1 1/^% per month 15.0%

1 1/2% per month 18.0%

2 1/2% per month 30.0%

Advantages of credit to the consumer

Credit is wise to have and to use providing consumers do not overdo
this privilege.

* It lets you use goods while you pay for them.

* It raises the standard of living. Lots of people never
would save enough money to buy a car or a piano or even

a radio all in one cash payment, but on credit plans they
do get these things. That is good for them and good for
national prosperity.

* It encourages thrift. Many people do not know how to save.
If they have a $10. bill, they spend it. But if they are
under contract to make payments, they manage to make them.

A good credit rating can be a valuable asset and should be pro-
tected in order to be usable at all times.

* Credit Bureaus have been established to help a merchant
find our whether or not you are a good risk. Such a bureau
will consider you in the light of the "3 C's":

Capi tal - net worth — your assets, home bonds, auto-
mobile, furniture, etc., minus liabilities —
mortgages, notes, unpaid bills.

Capaci ty - your income or earning power.

Character - whether or not you meet your obligations.

27

Wise credit buying may offer savings in time and money.

* Buying on credit often results in being able to return the
merchandise more easily, if it proves unsatisfactory,
because no cash refund is necessary.

* Credit buying may be both time saving and faster than
writing a check if credit is already established.

* Money may be saved over a period of time by buying on
credit because most stores send notices of special sales
to their charge account customers before advertising the
sale for the general public.

* Buying on credit may be more convenient because it is
unnecessary to carry so much cash.

* Credit may help maintain a written record of purchases
because most stores send written statements of individual
expenditures to their customers.

Disadvantages of credit

Credit is not wise if consumer overdoes the privilege.

* It reduces a person's total buying power and thus lowers
his standard of living. It may not matter as an occasional
thing, but if he habitually pays in installments, he will
regularly pay 10 to 20 per cent more for his goods; that
eats into his budget.

* If something happens to reduce or cut off his income, he
may lose the goods plus much of the money already put into
them; with his credit stretched to the limit, he may not
be able to get more when he needs it most.

* It destroys habits of thrift. One should learn to plan and
save toward a goal .

Credit may be abused because it may tempt the customer to overbuy.

* Credit buying has expanded enormously in the last ten years —
a 200 per cent increase over the past ten years.

* One hundred million Americans are now participating in a
"buy now-pay later binge." Americans must work two months
out of twelve to re-imburse their creditors.

* In 1959, 89,000 families failed financially.

* "Never have so many owed so much."

28

* The rates for credit go up as earnings decrease. The poor
consumer must pay the highest finance charges for the privi-
lege of buying on time.

Credit for teen-agers is being expanded in spite of the real diffi-
culties involved.

* Credit for teen-agers is usually limited to $25 - $50 in
charge accounts. A few have a high limit of $100.

* If the teen-ager abuses his credit the merchant cannot
force him to pay in most states. The age limit at which
he is held to be responsible is twenty-one.

* The merchant can repossess the merchandise, but the teen-
ager is not responsible if the merchandise has been worn.

* Embarrassment of the teen-ager and his family is the
weapon most often used by merchants.

"Shop around for credit" is a cardinal rule for the consumer.

* Rates for credit vary widely.

* Credit Unions offer one method of borrowing at low interest
rates.

Helps for the consumer

So far there is some protection for the consumer from the Federal
Trade Commission, but this applies only to interstate sales. But,
since most sales are intra-state, buyers as yet have no protection
within the state.

* A bill (S. 2755) proposed by Senator Paul H. Douglas will
be reintroduced into the 1961-1962 session of Congress.
This measure would make it mandatory for all sellers of
credit to inform the buyer of the cost of the finance
charges in dollars and cents in terms of simple annual
interest.

* A new book, Buy Now, Pay Later, by Hi 1 lei Black is one of
the most easily read and clearest explanations of credit
for the layman. It is essentially a report of the hearings
held on the consumer credit labeling bill (S. 2755) and
offers factual information on the abuses of credit by the
consumer as well as the unethical practices of loan sharks
or "debt merchants."

Members of Congress, under great pressure from most retailers and
manufacturers, reguire indications of active interest from citi-
zens, individually and collectively, and urgent demands for
consumer- i nformat ion legislation to cope with these business
pressures.

29

The Consumer Goes Shopping

Caveat emptor, the old cry used for centuries that means, "let the
buyer beware," is, unfortunately, still needed to warn the consumer today,
On the other hand, buying must not be taught in such a way that students
draw the erroneous conclusion that all merchants are dishonest.

Advert ising

To use advertising intelligently one should carefully weigh the
facts given because the motive of the advertiser is to sell.

* Advertising is written for two purposes — to inform and to
sell. It makes things look attractive, but you cannot
always judge the quality of the garments by studying an
advertisement. Look for standard brand names. Look for
the facts — price, size, color, material, quality.

* Take a good look at advertisements. Beware of tricks.
Trickery involves the half-truth or the half-promise.

For example, consider the word "guarantee." Who guarantees
the item? For what or against what? For how long?

* The word "free" usually has some string attached — that
other item you have to buy, or a minimum amount of pur-
chases. So it is not free at all.

* Be alert to bait advertisements. The Federal Trade
Commission describes bait advertising as "the practice of
offering at a spectacularly low price a product or a
service the seller is determined not to sell if he can
possibly avoid it."

* Bait advertisements are designed to get you to the store
so that the advertiser can sell you a more costly item.
They are used extensively in selling sewing machines, vacuum
cleaners, furniture, etc.

* According to the Federal Trade Commission, you can be certain
an advertisement is a bait advertisement if:

The product is offered at a startlingly low price;
The salesman is reluctant to show the advertised

product;
The salesman disparages the advertised item and tries

to sell you a more expensive one.
The salesman tells you he has only a floor sample, and

can get new stock at the advertised price only after

a long delay.
You are told the item was sold out in a very short time,

and you are asked to look at 'something better.1

30

Several magazines offer approval of advertising through testing
procedures; consumers should consider and evaluate this recognition

* Several magazines maintain testing laboratories or employ
independent testing agencies to examine products submitted
for advertising; they give a stamp of approval to superior
goods.

* At present the most elaborate program seems to be that
carried on by the Consumer Service Bureau of Parents'
Magazine. Maintaining no laboratory of its own, it has
its testing done by independent commercial laboratories
and by objective consumer advisers, to whom goods are sent
for tests in use. After an article has passed the tests
and its makers have signed an agreement to hold quality at
the level of the samples tested, Parents' Magazine grants
the use of its seal of commendation.

* Good Housekeeping established the Good Housekeeping Insti-
tute to test products offered for advertising in its pages.
But, because of the expense of testing all products, it
has discontinued this service to the consumer. The maga-
zine still investigates each product that is advertised,
however, and each issue carries this pledge: "Good
Housekeeping has satisfied itself that all products and
services advertised in this issue of the magazine are

good products and services. If any product or any service
is not as advertised herein, it will, upon request and
verification of complaint, be replaced or the money paid
therefor refunded."

* Every high-grade publication has some system of screening
out advertising that it thinks undesirable. It must, for
any magazine that opened its pages to every advertisement
offered to it would soon lose the respect of its readers
and the accounts of its best advertisers.

* The same principle applies to newspapers, radio and tele-
vision. Again, standards vary greatly. But any newspaper
or station that commands the respect of intelligent
people is likely to turn down a great many advertisements.

* There are independent research agencies which determine
the quality of manufacturers' products and also survey the
business conduct of retailers. Both the government and
private organizations publish bulletins, pamphlets, and
regular reports for consumer guidance.

Sales

Understanding the common terms used in retailing will help one to
become a more successful shopper. Some of the common terms one
should be familiar with are given on the following page.

31

* Irregulars - manufactured articles with slight imperfections
of some kind that are usually not noticeable. These items
cannot be labeled as perfect and are often sold at a
discount. Of this type, irregular hose are perhaps one of
the most common items sold.

* Seconds - items that have flaws such as a mended catch.

* Job lots - special orders from a manufacturer. The order
may or may not be of inferior quality. The manufacturer
may have given the retailer an especially good price on
regulars for sale purposes.

* Broken lots - sets or lines of items that are being
discont i nued.

* Markup - trade term used for the difference between cost
price and selling price. Forty per cent is the usual
markup on fashion articles.

* Dog - inferior merchandise or merchandise which for some
reason or other does not move. The garments may be going
out of style or they may be improperly cut.

* Damaged - indicates that the garment has been soiled or
torn. The amount of the reduction will depend upon the
extent of the damage. Damaged merchandise is usually
marked "as is" with a word of caution concerning returns.

* Markdowns - most often occur among style goods at the
end of the season. The faster an item sells, the less
markdown there is.

The shopper needs to be familiar with the merits of the various
kinds of sales and to recognize that prices are usually marked
down after a peak selling period.

* Private sales - These sales are usually held several days
before there is a public announcement made. The regular
customers or persons with charge accounts are notified in
advance of the sale. These persons are apt to find real
bargains.

* Season sales - These sales come just at the end of the
season or at the beginning of the new season. These sales
frequently offer good prices. The following is the complete
1 ist of seasonal sales as outl ined in Clothing Selection by
Chambers and Moulton:

"January: Store-wide clearance sales and substantial
markdowns on winter clothing
February: Fur sales

32

April: Clearance on Easter clothing

May- June: Anniversary sales

July: Clearance on spring and summer clothing

August: Furs and sports clothing

September: Back-to-school clothing clearance

November-December: Pre-Chr i stmas promotion."

* Special purchase sales - The merchandise for a special
purchase sale has been bought by the retailer for a spe-
cial price with the savings passed on to the customer.
Some special purchase sales feature good, standard quality
while others have seconds and irregulars.

* Anniversary sales - These are held by large department
stores and often by the smaller places. These sales gen-
erally provide good buys as the retailer has earlier
received a good price on the merchandise he has bought.

» Close out and inventory sales - These are sometimes for the
purpose of cleaning out old merchandise in order to make
room for the new styles and to make inventory simpler. One
must check to see that merchandise i s of a recent date.

* One-day sales - These are usually held in large cities just
before a holiday. One must beware of "dogs," unusual mer-
chandise that is thrown in with the real bargains.

« Penny sales - For a penny over the regular price you can
get two items for the price of one. Beware of inflated
prices to make bargains look much better than they really
are.

* Dollar days - Items can be good buys if you have checked to
see that they were well over a dollar the week before.

* Liquidation sales and fire sales - There is seldom any new
merchandise in a true liquidation or fire sale. This can
be a very good time to purchase staple items, often at
good reductions. Beware of those that extend their sales
over a great many months or years.

Future in fabrics

The future expenditure of money for clothing will probably increase
unless consumer credit continues to rise to such a level that the
family clothing dollar must be earmarked for other debt.

* Experts writing in Fortune magazine expect that by 1965
the nation's clothing outlay will be $43 billion; by 1970,

33

$50 billion. Among the factors on which the marketing
studies base their predictions are:

An anticipated sizable increase in the number of
middle and higher income families. Families in
these groups are inclined to allocate proportion-
ately more of their income for clothing.

Evidence of a turning away from such things as the
hierarchy of automobile models as status symbols
(note the increased demand for the smaller cars).
Instead there is a concentration on better taste
for betterment. This tendency is expressed today
in the booming market for fine clothes, more
tasteful home furnishings, music, art, etc.

A rise in the educational level. Statistics have
shown that families with more education spend
proportionately more on clothing than those with
less education.

This is the sunny side of the picture when considering the probable
consumption of clothing in the future. There are many factors in
our present economy that could well reverse this picture and lead
to a decrease in clothing expenditures. For example:

* Consumer debt is higher today than ever before. Debt
payments reduce family income which would otherwise be
available for current expenditures on merchandise.

* Economists agree that consumer credit is a good thing.
But there is widespread agreement that we may well be
getting too much of "a good thing."

* American consumers are now earmarking $13 out of every
$100 of their current cash incomes to pay installments on
past purchases — and they are continuing to buy!

The interest in guality and ease-of-care in clothing will probably
continue to Increase.

* Retailers have already noted the increased interest in, and
demand for, quality in clothing. With one-third of the
labor force now feminine and with more women entering each
day, the clothing they demand will, of necessity, need to
require minimum care.

* The fashion business more than any other has encouraged
impulse buying. A fashion is in and out at fantastic speed.
But impulse buying is always stronger with those who have
the leisure time in which to browse through the store.

34

With the increase in working women, it is logical to assume
the demand in quality and ease of care may well increase
with a decrease in shopping simply for recreation.

Style-wise and quantity-wise there may well be a revolution brewing
in men's clothing.

* For years the male members of the family heroically sacri-
ficed their needs in clothing to the women. The president
of one of the largest men's clothing wholesale firms says,
"American men put the car, the house, the wife and the kids
first. They put themselves last in everything, including
clothing." However he admits to a jump in sales last year.
He felt one of the contributing factors for this increase
was the number of men who are now earning between $5,000
and $10,000 a year. Men have more money to up-grade their
wardrobes.

* Manufacturers of men's clothing have always looked enviously
at the fashion changes in the women's market. With the
advent of synthetic fibers, it became possible to promote
"crease retention," lightness of weight, and many new advan-
tages. This psychology helped to prepare the male for the
acceptance of a new and broader color range. A current
magazine, on taking an inventory of the average middle-
class male wardrobe, noted that a majority of the items
could not have been found there fifteen years earlier.

Introduction of new finishes, new treatment of yarns, and the
improvement of existing fibers will furnish the consumer with many
additional advantages.

* Creative use of odors on fabric to bring a new selling
influence to bear on the consumer has been developed by a
French chemical and pharmaceutical firm with New York
headquarters. The finish is known as "Alamask" and is
used to either add a pleasant scent to the fabric or neu-
tralize an unpleasant one. Examples that are possible: a
finish for children's underwear that imparts a clean,
fresh odor associated with toiletries, men's shirts with

a spicy, masculine note, sheets and pillow cases with the
smell of those freshly laundered and dried in the sun.

* A new treatment for silks called "Special Permel Plus for
Silks" is said to make the fabrics crease-, spot-, and
stain-resistant and water-repellent. This treatment is
believed to be virtually permanent through repeated washings
and dry cleanings. It is also said to give finished silk
materials a "bouncy" hand and a "shimmering" look.

* Stretch yarns, long familar to us in stockings and pants
have graduated into many other uses. Spring of 1961 saw

35

many of the better designers using them in dresses. The
new stretch fabrics, almost weightless, are appearing in
velvets and in a sheer resembling georgette crepe. Some
fancy brocades done on the jacquard looms are appearing in
high style dresses. One very great advantage, of course,
is the ease of fitting. Some retailers look forward to
the day when they can buy three sizes in dresses just as
they do in the stretch hosiery. Emilio Pucci, the Italian
designer, predicts using stretch goods for everything from
ski pants to evening gowns — and perhaps even shoes.
"Perhaps in 10 years, there will be 55,000 fibers with
stretch qualities. I see an end to dressing in things
rigid," he states.

* Weightlessness seems to be the aim of the fabric manufac-
turers. A recent fashion show presented a wool challis
dress weighing k 1/2 ounces. A metallic fabric on the
market this fall will weigh 1 1/2 ounces.

* The 12- and 14-ounce fabrics once the rule for men's
suitings have given way to year-round "mid-weight" 10-11
ounce weights and 6-6 1/2 ounce summer fabrics. Some of
the spring and summer suits are so light the manufacturers
are putting a heavy lining in the trouser cuffs to hold
the pants down.

* Some of the synthetic fibers are bl own-up to get more
coverage without adding weight. Air is "lofted" into the
polyesters and acetates so the surface covered is greater
than it would be without the treatment.

* Olefin fiber fabrics are scheduled to appear in lines
being prepared for Spring, 1962. Predictions are that they
will be the lowest-cost minimum care, long-wearing synthe-
tic fabrics on the market. Blends of olefins with other
man-made or natural fibers seem possible. A few of the
possibilities in trade marks you might look for on the
market are:

Meraklon - already in commercial production in
Italy, and has been used in thread, gloves, under-
wear, and apparel fabrics. First items on the
American market are apt to be in carpets, uphol-
stery, and blankets, followed by dress fabrics.

Prolene - said to be concentrating on rayon and
Prolene blends. These are believed to have high
wet strength and good abrasive resistance plus a
crisp, cotton hand.

01 ane - plans are for wool and Olane blends,
viscose and Olane blends, and cotton and Olane
bl ends.

36

Help for the consumer

Competent testing and rating agencies have made a great contribu-
tion to consumer welfare.

* The United States Department of Agriculture offers a
grading service. This Federal service may be obtained
for a firm's entire product or for sample lots, the cost
being born by the user of the service.

* U.S. Testing Company's great laboratory covers a wide
variety of products. Having begun in 1880 on analyses of
silk, it continues to do much work on textiles. Its labor-
atories house pens of rabbits for testing possible
irritating effects of cosmetics or foods, and incubators
full of moth larvae to give the "taste test" to moth-proofed
fabrics.

* The Consumers' Research, Inc., and Consumers Union, Inc.,
are consumer testing organizations supported by subscription
Each has its own testing laboratory, but each also has
testing done by university laboratories, the Federal food-
grading services, and commercial laboratories. Each has a
monthly magazine and an annual summary. The magazines of
these two organizations can be obtained as follows:

Consumer Reports. 11 monthly issues, plus a large
"Annual Buying Guide" distributed in December , $6.00.
Consumers' Union of U.S., Inc., 256 Washington Street,
Mount Vernon, New York.

Consumers' Research Bulletin. 12 issues, $5.00.
Consumers' Research, Inc., Washington, New Jersey.

* The Federal Trade Commission was set up by Congress to
protect the businessman's competitors against unfair trade
practices. The benefits to consumers were naturally great,
but at the beginning they were incidental. The work of
the Federal Trade Commission proceeds along three main

1 ines.

General investigations - If there is strong suspi-
cion that some unwholesome condition is arising,
the President, or Congress, or the Department of
Justice may ask the Commission to get the facts
about it, or the Commission itself may take the
initiative.

Cease and Desist orders - If after proper hearings,
the Commission is convinced that a violation exists,
it issues a Cease and Desist order, commanding that
the activity be stopped. The defendant may appeal

37

this order to the courts, which may affirm it,
modify it, or set it aside. Once the order
becomes final, the defendant must abide by it or
be liable to a civil penalty.

The Trade Practice Conference - The Commission may
head off trouble and achieve improvements through
conferences.

* The National Association of Better Business Bureaus, Inc.,
was founded in 1911 as an agency to fight fraud and decep-
tion in advertising and selling and to build better
relations between business and consumers. The Bureaus have
been the spearhead in the drive by business to improve its
own practices.

Each Better Business Bureau, although affiliated
with the national association, is completely
autonomous, is financed by local businessmen, and
plans its work to meet local needs.

Each Bureau handles complaints. If you feel you
have been cheated, either by a local business or
an outsider, and you have failed to get an adjust-
ment, ask the Bureau to help.

Label inq acts and voluntary standards offer

the consumer protection

and information.

The U.S. qovernment has passed certain laws

for consumer protection

that can only be helpful and effective when

consumers understand

and make use of the information stated on labels.

* The Wool Products Labeling Act of 1939 was limited in
scope but valuable to consumers who made use of it.

* The Textile Fiber Products Identification Act became effec-
tive in March, I960 and covers all textile fibers except
those covered by the 1939 act.

* The L-22 American Standards Minimum Requirements for Textile
Fabrics now sponsored by the National Retail Merchants
Association and other interested parties offers the consumer
a colored tag for identifying the care necessary for a
fabric. Performance requirements for seventy-five end uses
in wearing apparel and home furnishings are now available.
To the average consumer, however, the color strip code

will offer a quick means of selecting articles for end-use.

Color Code Strip

Recommended as

Supplement to Care

Instruct ions

Purpl e

Green

Blue

Yellow

Red

38
The Information shown on labels will be as follows

Letter Code for
Ident i f ication Refreshing Articles

AS-L22-B B-Washable at 160 F,

with Bleach
AS-L22-W W-Washable at 160 F,

No Bleach
AS-L22-C C-Washable at 120 F,

No Bleach
AS-L22-H H-Washable at 105 F,

No Bleach
AS-L22-D D-Drycleanable Only

Excellence in Teaching These Concepts

John Gardner in his Excel lence. Harper, 1961, $3.95, asks: "Is
excellence possible in a democracy? Does our devotion to equality condemn
us to a pervasive mediocrity? How can one honestly explain or justify the
slovenliness that is so often accepted as normal in our schools, in trade
unions, in industry, in government — in short, everywhere in our society?"

Are we in home economics to ignore these as merely rhetorical
questions in the most critical period of our nation's history? In no
aspect of home economics, perhaps, is the "normal slovenliness" mentioned
by Dr. Gardner more likely to prove disastrous than in our "major emphasis"
on consumer buying.

The illiterate consumer must go!

We are told that economics will be the common denominator of life for
the next one hundred years. Certainly in the past economics has figured
largely in the history of peoples, changing their ways of life and often
leading to wars as the "have-nots" tried to wrest from the "have" nations
a larger share of the world's wealth.

Nowhere have these struggles had greater impact than upon home and
family living. Yet, a recent doctoral dissertation seems to indicate that
neither home economics teachers nor their senior and junior students in
Homemaking III or IV are equipped with anything like an adequate knowledge
of family economics. In contrast, the new "Scope and Sequence" for
Illinois Homemaking classes clearly indicates that consumer problems must
be one of the five major emphases for all teaching in the foreseeable
future.

Why have schools failed to help students to deal with consumer problems?

Investigations show that only about five per cent of high school
graduates in Illinois have completed a semester's course in Economics.
An Economic Education Project under the leadership of teacher educators

39

in Social Studies has been for several years actively engaged in attempting
to remedy this deplorable situation. A variety of teaching aids and up-
to-date references have been produced, and some teachers have been prepared
through specialized workshops to give effective instruction in this
increasingly vital area.

Likewise, for the past five summers the Life Insurance Institute has
sponsored a four-weeks workshop in Family Economics Security. In all,
about two hundred Illinois teachers participated in these workshops at
the University of Illinois. Of this number slightly over fifty were
teachers of home economics — a very small percentage of all the homemaking
instructors in Illinois.

As a result of present teachers' limited preparation for teaching
either Economics or Consumer Problems, and students faced with the many
choices developed through today's technological revolution, a "Do-lt-
Yourself" program seems to be necessary for instructors in Social Studies
and Home Economics. To help homemaking teachers teach effectively the
facts and concepts previously listed, we are offering some ideas developed
in this summer's workshop from new texts and the available literature in
research.

Seek pertinent information from your students

Dr. Patricia Tripple of the University of Nevada is reported to have
charged her audience of high school teachers at the AHEA meeting in
Cleveland this summer with "you have not altered the teaching of homemaking
to help your students to prepare for the life we are living. Instead you
have them looking through rose-colored glasses at the home life led by
our grandmothers." The dangerous part of this indictment is that all
psychologists tell us that we see things not as they are but as we arei To
counteract any such tendency, let's first get some pertinent information
from students.

* What do your students do?

A simple paper-and-penci 1 questionnaire will provide you and
your students with much food for thought 1 Ask them to write
answers to such questions as:

What clothes do you buy? What construct? How often?

When do you do your buying of clothes? Why?

Where do you do your buying? Why?

Who influences your choices? To what extent?

How do you pay for clothing purchases? Why?

* How do your students feel?

An opinionnaire may well be more structured than an open-end
questionnaire in order that value judgments sought may be more
clearly defined. Here are two examples of the many items that
prove illuminating, particularly to the teacher.

40

Direction: For each article listed on the left of the chart below
write in the prices you consider high, average, and below average
for your clothing.

Articles of clothing High price Average price Below average

Cotton school blouse

Winter skirt for school

Sweater for school

Winter coat

Shoes

Nylon hose

Cotton socks

Full-length slips

Etc., etc., etc.

Direct ion: Assume that every pair of choices that follow will
cost you exactly the same amount of money. Force yourself to
decide which one you would usually prefer and place an X before
that one in the blank at its left.

A school sweater trimmed with sequins and pearls sewed on

A school sweater trimmed with a removable pin

A winter coat of high-fashion color and style

A winter coat of conservative color and style

A sock with all loops woven into a ribbed top

A sock with all loops machine stitched to a ribbed top

Etc., etc., etc.

* What do your students know?

With fabrics and finishes, methods of manufacturing and dis-
tributing, and types of payment becoming increasingly complex, a
knowledge of terminology has become of prime importance to every
consumer. If the time for pre-testing such knowledge is limited,
many teachers believe that vocabulary tests in matching form are
especially efficient. Pre-tests can be introduced at the begin-
ning of each section to challenge and motivate students; later
these can be employed as end- tests to measure achievement.

On page 160 of the comprehensive text, Clothing Selection by
Helen Chambers and Verna Moulton, J. B. Lippincott Co., 1961, $6.95,
different kinds of stores are described. A high school senior of
average ability produced the following matching item from this
information.

Direction: In the column at the left are descriptions of stores.
In the column at the right are names given to different kinds of
stores. In each blank at the left write the letter of the kind
of store that is described most closely.

41

Descriptions of stores

Kinds of stores

1. Purchases can be made in A.
various sections of the store B.

2. Offers limited selection of

staple articles and minor C.
purchases D.

3. Limited to a special kind of
merchandise E.

4. Provides catalogs for easy F.
selection G.

5. Large volume, few services

6. Provides quick pick-ups of H.
minor items of clothing I.

7. Self-serviced purchases for J.
most family needs K.

8. Offers exclusive high style L.
in accessories and specialty M.
items

9. Cooperative store operated
only for groups who pay mem-
bership fees

10. Sells nationally advertised
articles below suggested list
pr i ce

11. Sells only fabrics and other
needs of the home sewer

12. Offers for resale high style
articles that did not sell
earl ier

Bout i que

Closed-door discount
store

Department store
Chain ready-to-wear
store

Mai 1 order house
Neighborhood store
Sample or manufac-
turer's outlet
Specialty shop
Discount store
Super market
Yard goods store
Drug store
Super-discount store

In preparing this item the student did not slavishly follow
the text. She substituted the local name of "chain ready-to-wear
store" for the "popular price or volume merchandise stores"
mentioned in the book. She formulated her own description of the
local "yard goods store" which handled a better quality of mer-
chandise than that described for "yard goods stores and mill
stores." But when challenged by her puzzled fellow students,
equally fascinated by the glamour of "boutique," to tell them more
about such a store, she had to appeal to the teacher.

Similar matching items can be formulated on services offered
by different kinds of stores, credit terms with their descriptive
phrases, words or phrases used on displayed labels "matched" with
descriptions of their meanings, names of agencies, organizations
and laboratories with authentic aids which they offer to consumers
Happily the newer texts on clothing selection, textiles, consumer
buying, and credit offer easily identified facts from which to
compose such matching items. Students enjoy seeking out organiza-
tions of subject matter and formulating such questions with which
to challenge each other's knowledge.

42
Behind the scenes

As you read the student -made matching item on kinds of stores, did it
occur to you to wonder how the teacher knew that the necessary information
was on that particular page in such a new text? No mystery about it I
She had been in summer school!

But she had also been doing further homework, not only in the book,
Clothing Select ion, which is relatively easy reading but in Consumer Buyi nq
for Better Living by Cleo Fitzsimmons, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1961, $8.50.
Moreover, she was disappointed that a copy of still another reference on
clothing selection was not yet available. Faml 1 y Clothing by Mildred Thurow
Tate and Oris Gl isson, another Wiley publication, promises to have a unique
organization around family life cycles and to incorporate the artistic,
psychological, social and economic aspects of clothing.

Believe it or not, Miss Burton was eagerly buying personal copies of
these exceptionally fine books, as well as adding them to the department's
library'. Running across canny old Ben Franklin's dictum that "The best
investment is in the tools of one's own trade," she decided to spend a bit
of her salary raise in carefully selected books and bulletins this year.

With vague but painful memories of Economics 1 in her mind, she was
amazed to find that she was reading every chapter in Consumer Buying for
Better Living with unflagging enthusiasm1. A lucid style, well-chosen
illustrations, and simplified statements of economic facts and principles
in the first nine chapters, with specific applications to buying all kinds
of goods and services in the remaining chapters, were a delight to a hesi-
tant beginner in teaching units with a major emphasis on consumer problems.
Chapter 12 on "Buying Clothing," for example, was typical of the teaching
aids provided: thought provoking questions at the end of each brief
section, examples of questionnaires with some results when used in surveys,
charts, graphs, reproductions of labels and advertisements, and other
pictures useful in the class projector, review questions and problems,
and lists of recent books, pamphlets, and periodical references.

Miss Burton found her partner in the junior high school equally
enthused over her students' new books. The text was a large and beautiful
Teen Guide to Homemaking by Marion S. Barclay and Frances Champion, McGraw-
Hill Company, Inc., 1961, $5.84. "It just has everything in it,"
Mrs. Brown, exclaimed, "clear, concise subject matter, color contrasts,
oodles of pictures and — oh, yes, up-to-the-minute film strips and motion
pictures listed right where they will be most useful!"

New knowledge is crucial for everyone today

Such behind-the-scenes acquiring of new knowledge by a teacher is
crucial. The search for knowledge must encompass professional literature,
scientific magazines, business journals, consumer periodicals, radio,
television, trips to market — and continuously! M. V. Jeffreys states
flatly, "If a teacher isn't learning today, she isn't teaching." Indeed,
al 1 free citizens must keep on learning or face national disaster.

43

So strong is the power of example, students of such a "learning"
teacher soon catch the spark of her interest and take great pride in con-
tributing from their reading, too. One instructor placed on her bulletin
board the colorful chart, "Seventeen Facts about Seventeen Fibers," from
the September, 1961 issue of What ' s New i n Home Economics . The next day
a student arrived with "Test-Tube Fashions" from the current Cosmopol ? tan.
Immediately the search was on to identify terms common to both articles.
Those inclined to scoff at the idea that home sewers could ever sew such
"far out" materials as pictured in Cosmopol i tan were somewhat taken aback
when their instructor showed them "Do You Know How to Sew the New SFLFPFs?"
in What's New. However, all were agreed that undoubtedly better than average
skill would be required for good results in such sewing. Indeed, the up-
shot of the whole episode was that students themselves suggested a longer
unit for studying textiles instead of a garment always formerly constructed.

Bases for selection of subject matter

The recent statement of the Educational Policies Commission uneqivo-
cally makes developing the ability to think the central purpose of American
education. They further state: "The ability to think cannot be developed
or applied without subject matter." However, "no particular body of
knowledge will of itself develop the ability to think clearly; vocational
subjects may engage the rational powers of students."

The Commission has injected into the ever-present problem of what
to teach in a changing world a new and difficult dimension. Educators in
home economics long considered the usefulness of subject matter in students'
lives the fundamental criterion. The "how-to-do" aspects of homemaking
at first dominated all teaching. Later, the urgent importance of societal
problems could not be denied. These are represented by the inclusion of
such problems as credit and foreign imports in the concepts and facts
recommended by the workshoppers. The Commission combines these two as
one of the bases for choosing the substantive knowledge which students
should learn. The other basis for choice is the potential of knowledge
for developing critical and creative thinking. Thi s is the new challenge
with which henceforth all teachers must cope.

Facts are essential to thinking

Obviously, no one can think in an intellectual vacuum. Yet students'
casual treatment of assignments for acquiring facts has increasingly
become a scandalous example of that slovenliness mentioned by Gardner.
Memorizing seems to have become a "dirty word" in everybody's language!

Dr. Marilyn J. Horn of the University of Nevada, in an address to home
economics teacher-educators at the last meeting of the American Vocational
Association, said bluntly, "We have become so philosophical about our
methods in home economics education that we have often overlooked subject
matter. We have for so long been couching our objectives in terms of
'personal development,' 'improvement of home and family living,' and
'meeting the needs of students' that we have neglected our responsibility
to help the students think cr i t i cal 1 y and creat i vel y."

kk

"Organizers" for verbal learning

If ever that has been true, to a greater or lesser degree, we dare
not let it continue'. Specifically, Dr. Robert Gilchrist, key speaker at
the annual meeting of Illinois homemaking teachers last month, declared
that if consumer economics was to be one of our five major emphases in the
Illinois curriculum, it would be "a downright disgrace if such topics as
borrowing and credit were to be given only superficial treatment." He
further charged that "covering without learning is our besetting sin!"

Today's teachers are asking, "But how can we persuade students that
concentrated studying, reviewing, drilling, self-testing, reviewing again is
rewarding or even possible?" Some recent developments in research on
verbal learning by Dr. David Ausubel and others at the University of Illinois
strongly suggest that if teachers desire the outcome of an organized body
of facts, they must help students develop what Ausubel calls "organizers."
By comparing the relative ease with which subjects learned material that
had intellectual and/or emotional meaning for them as opposed to nonsense
syllables, researchers evolved the importance of relationships in remem-
bering. Now they are pointing out that the relationships between the parts
of the knowledge must also be understood.

How is this to be done? By developing with students a structure into
which the parts of the whole may be organized. One example is such a
chart as the "Seventeen Facts about Seventeen Fibers" previously mentioned.
Notice the many examples of such "charted" materials in Clothing Selection
and Consumer Buy i ng for Better Li vi ng. They appear in different forms,
but the structure is there. Another example is the use of some type of
outl i ne. Such structuring may be very apparent, as in Teen Guide to Home-
mak? ng, because the authors understand that younger adolescents require
more concise and obvious outlining. In texts for older students the outline
is not quite so blatantly evident, but it is there. For example, Chambers
and Moulton used italics on page 160 to such good effect that a student of
average ability readily identified the kinds of stores and their major
character i st ics.

Motivation is developed and reinforced by successful experiences. The
teacher must plan for a student a series of effective "organizers" to engage
and expand his interests and progressively to raise the level of his parti-
cipation until he himself is able to devise his own — outlining content,
preparing matching self-quizzes, and even constructing charts of data
assembled from various sources and possibly with some provided by local
resource persons. One instructor encouraged her students when their interest
in such an activity appeared to be waning by printing on the chalkboard:
"Jumping to Conclusions Is Not Half as Good Exercise as Digging for Factsl"

A high degree of selectivity

How can such self-discipline be made to seem rewarding to hitherto
careless learners of facts? Perhaps the first requirement will be for
some teachers to change their point of view about the necessity of students
acquiring an organized body of knowledge from the home economics they are
teaching. Any instructor who is inclined to search for and respect changing

*5

subject matter is unlikely to encounter much resistance from students
providing she first makes each goal both clear and important to them. Such
provision demands a very high degree of selectivity in the subject matter to
be taught in terms of the two bases recommended by the Educational Policies
Commission. A practical guide in harmony with these bases is found in the
five major emphases recommended in "Scope and Sequence." These aspects for
selection are management of resources, consumer economics, applied sciences,
health and fitness, and human relationships.

For example, a teacher may try using these recommended phases to screen
the probable value of topics of subject matter being considered. For instance,
she might wonder whether that last section on "help for the consumer" might
not be too hard for her students.

* Is not today's consumer rather helpless in the management of h i s
resources without the protection of government agencies and com-
mercial associations? And teen-agers are consumers!

* Is it not easier for everyone, but particularly the less able
student, to learn to appl y the science pr i ncl pi es of such a
behavioral science as Economics to specific problems for which

he feels the need in daily living than to the general concerns in
Social Studies?

* The vitality and force of leadership in a democracy spring from
the peoples' making demands upon that leadership, but without
facts there will be no demands. Will not giving students practice
in concerted group action, such as writing letters to Senator
Douglas in support of his reform legislation on credit this next
year, make a very real contribution to their understanding of
consumer econom? cs?

Clearly, indeed, contributing to three out of the five major emphases
makes "help for the consumer" a MUST. In fact, workshoppers screened their
large collection of basic concepts by these same emphases. Naturally,
many of the supporting facts will change as time goes on but, by and large,
the topics and basic concepts seem to promise usefulness for the foreseeable
future. Unfortunately, they are likewise the aspects that are less familiar
to teachers. In contrast, for example, there have been relatively few
changes in the aesthetic aspects of clothing selection.

Give students time to discover for themselves

Now, let us assume, students are equipped with facts with which to
think. They are ready to more or less independently set out to solve speci-
fic problems close to their own personal interests. Of course, the teacher
will be always available to guide them in proposing plans and solutions to
keep them from exploring too many fruitless avenues. But discovering for
themselves is probably the most sat ? sf y inq mot i vat ion for students.

Let's look at an example of such inductive teaching for critical and
creative thinking. A ninth grade class reported serious troubles with
laundering problems and brought in as proof a sad collection of grayed or

46

yellowed undergarments, misshapened, faded and shrunken sweaters and other
articles. Here are the steps followed in studying their problems:

* Identified the problem — "What seems to have happened to each article?"

* Made "informed guesses" as to possible causes for "disasters"

* Collected from many sources additional information needed

* Used this information in experimenting to discover correct methods

* Shared these discoveries through committee demonstrations and reports

* Stated carefully and concisely new facts learned

* Studied facts and generalized these into a few basic concepts

* Applied concepts to similar problems for re-enforcement of learning

As a good teacher should at the end of every project, the instructor
did some reflective pondering about the visible outcomes in terms of develo-
ping the ability to think.

* Even slower students caught the "spirit of inquiry" when more or less
forced to rely upon their own resources when guessing possible causes.

* All caught the confusion resulting from unwarranted assumptions when
they found out mothers were washing garments in machines, not by hand
as they had assumed--and did not propose to do otherwise.

* Many encountered the confusion caused by contradictory statements of
"authorities" and learned ways of deciding whether or not one is true.

* They judged their ability to communicate accurately and effectively
through demonstrations to critical class members.

* They perceived the necessity of keeping and usi nq labels on clothing,
directions for washers and driers, of knowing the meanings and impli-
cations of technical terms in textiles and laundering supplies.

* They learned their own limitations as experimenters and the need for
consumer protection from business and government.

Similar outcomes can be gained from many problems associated with the
facts and concepts recommended in this article. Here are only a few ideas.

* Investigate through interviews local coin-operated dry cleaning and
report in a newspaper or at a program.

« Compare the reliability and validity of various sources of help such
as labels, salespeople, counter and home tests for evaluating textiles.

* Observe people buying in various situations; previously agree upon points
for comparing stores, products, prices, buymanship, salesmanship.

* Canvas local stores for imported and domestic clothing products, using
a score card developed in class; generalize information into concepts.

* Locate differences in clothing customs and try to identify reasons for
these, such as the value Egyptians place upon an American factory-made
shoe while tourists eagerly buy their hand-made shoes and sandals.

* Examine market offerings of blends with cotton as one of the fibers;
compare directions for care and try to discover science principles back
of these differences.

* Discuss application of statement, "If fault lies with a product, one
is morally bound to return it; if fault lies in own choice, learn from
the experience."

* Include consumer information along with showing of construction pro-
jects for students' re-enforcement and informal adult education.

47

Values as materials of thinking

Values are feelings. Yet they develop out of each individual's conclu-
sions, hence must also be considered in a student's necessary background
for thinking. Luckily many are recognizable. For instance, the youngsters
in their washing investigations readily perceived their mothers' valuing of
time because, asked why they could not preserve clothes better by washing
their own with the knowledge they had acquired, they vigorously protested
that they did not have t imel

Morris Bender has said that "Some folks entertain a new thought as if
it were an unwelcome relative." New values are even more difficult to accept.
But they are learned, hence can be changed. In fact, almost every class
member finally decided--and acted upon the decision — that they could find
time to wash their "tricky" garments'.

How was this accomplished? Each was led to verbalize on paper all the
conflicting values in his own situation. These lists, combined into one
on the chalk board, proved quite illuminating. Together students scrutinized
the possible reasons for the values, and analyzed their relative importance
under a variety of conditions.

As home economics teachers, we are constantly tempted to tel 1 our stu-
dents what they should value and do. Recently, however, this teacher had
read a statement that clung 1 i ke a bur in her memory. "It is a mark of a
limited mind which wants to escape thinking to ascribe absolute value to
precepts and customs which have only a relative validity. Intellectual capa-
city must be fully developed if thinking is to help us know and respect
values of ourselves and others." Perhaps we are doing better in this re-
gard as we learn to perceive, study and accept our own hierarchy of values.
Much recent literature, such as Faith Keane's "Balancing the Clothing Budget"
in Forecast, September 1961, features the realistic approach rather than
what one student called the "holy home economics standards" of her teacher.

Nevertheless, since some value or combination of values lurks behind
practically every choice we make in relation to clothing, teachers do have
a responsibility for helping adolescents think with increasing clarity about
their own and others' values. As in the example given, they must provide
for class examination of values inherent in situations, suggest alternative
ways to think about them, consider with students possible consequences of
different choices. By so doing they give each individual an opportuni ty to
change his values and to know why he decided to change.

Depth in learning for teachers and students

Teachers and parents are often heard to comment, "Today's kids don't
know the value of a dollar!" They fail to realize that youth are merely
adapting to the free-spending environment created for them by their elders.
Seventeen' s survey of annual clothing expenditures indicated that $200-$250
were being spent by adolescents from ages fourteen to seventeen, and $400-$450
by those eighteen and nineteen years old. In the December I960 Journal
of Home Economics, Ruth Cowles exmphasized that teen-agers represent a sur-
prisingly large part of the nation's purchasing power, hence must learn

48

to assume the same social responsibility as do older citizens. "With the
teen-age market increasing, the freedom afforded by teen-age credit cards,
and the influence of teen-age consumer panels, understanding of buying
trends, influences on buying, and a reliable basis for decision-making can
be taught effectively."

Few, then, would question the potent ial of these and innumerable other
specific problems for developing the ability to think. The processes of
thinking with knowledges and values must be constantly encouraged and prac-
ticed, evaluated, conceptualized, then tried again. Many kinds of applica-
tions in many kinds of situations are necessary before a concept is retained
and used intelligently. Dr. Horn gave this illustration. "The student who
learns to remove chewing gum from fabrics with carbontetrachlor i de in the
clothing class, then tries to mend the leak in a gasoline tank with a wad of
bubble gum, has not learned a concept. She has learned an isolated fact."

Dr. Gilchrist advised that we start on the "growing edges" of our stu-
dents and reminded us in the words of the Educational Policies Commission
that: "There is no known upper limit to human ability, and much of what
people are capable of doing with their minds is probably unknown today. In
this sense, it can hardly be said that any person has ever 'done the best he
can. '"

In putting accumulated knowledge to practical use, we must create
compatabi 1 i ty between what we think, what we feel, and how we act. We must
realize that changes are wrought slowly from wi thin an individual, not from
without. If we reduce our expectations for change in thinking and valuing
to what is literally achievable at the time, we need not despair--nor cease
to try to do better. And as we teachers grow, we shall see our students
growing for creative learning is a cooperative process.

May we take this oportunity to welcome both former
subscribers and those to whom the 1 1 1 i noi s Teacher
of Home Economics is a new experience. We sincerely
hope you find the nine issues of 1961-1962 interesting
and helpful. If you fail to rereive an issue, we shall
appreciate hearing from you fairly promptly. This is
the only way we can detect an error at the mailing
center. Thank you.

Editor: Letitia Walsh
Associate Editor: Doris Manning
Secretary-Treasurer: Vera Dean

,'S S" 7Viw^ £t

Vol. V No. 2

JAN 18 i(

1962

ILLINOIS TEACHER

TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT THIS YEARl

Bring the Present Local Situation

into Sharp Focus 51

Screening Lessons Taught in Terms

of Recommended Emphases 59

Experimenting with a Variety of

Teaching Methods and Materials . 76
Utilizing Different Kinds of

Evaluation Instruments 87

Action Research — Yes or No 9^

home economics education • university of Illinois

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS BULLETIN

Volume V, Number 2; October, 1961. Published
nine times each year by the University of
Illinois. Entered as second-class matter
December 11, 1912, at the post office at Urbana,
Illinois, under the Act of August 2k, 1912.
Office of Home Economics Education, 33^ Gregory
Hal 1 , Urbana, 1 1 1 i nois

TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT THIS YEAR!

Jacqulyn Albright, Galesburg Public Schools
Letitia Walsh, University of Illinois

"The old order changeth, yielding place to new,
And God fulfills Himself in many ways,
Lest one good custom should corrupt the world."
. . . Tennyson, Morte d'Arthur

The courageous philosophy of King Arthur addressing his knights must
be ours today. For years we have declared that the over-all goal of all
homemaking and family life education was the improvement of home and family
living. Under current conditions, accepting the facts of change is not
enough. We must seek out the "many ways" through which we can accomplish
this same goal as the old order changes.

Did you happen to read in the August, 1961 issue of Harper's Magazine
the lead article by Adlai E. Stevenson, "America Under Pressure"?
Mr. Stevenson makes a startling historical comparison that offers educators
food for serious thought. Let us look at his quotation from Thucydides
that gives a disturbing comparison of Athenians in their greatest days
and the Spartans with whom they were waging war, as related to Russia and
our own nation.

"They--the Athenians--are always thinking of new schemes
and are quick to make their plans and carry them out. You--
Sparta--are content with what you have and are reluctant to do
even what is necessary. They are bold, adventurous, sanguine;
you are cautious and trust neither your power nor your judgment."

"Today," Stevenson asks, "who is Sparta, who is Athens? Who
has the initiative? Who is making the schemes? Who is bold and
adventurous? Who is cautious and 'reluctant to do even what is
necessary'? Have free men become the conservatives and the
Communists the adventurers and innovators? Can there be more
to Krushchev's confidence that he will 'bury us' than brash self-
assertion? Has he captured a sense of history that we in the
West have lost?"

Stevenson closes his article with these stirring words:
"I hope I know the answers to these questions. I hope that I can
say that, while free society may have slumbered for a little and
rested and drawn breath, it is ready again for great purposes and
great tasks, and that its creative imagination, rearoused and
refreshed, is equal to all the crisis and challenge of our peri-
lous days."

. . . Reproduced through permission of Harper & Brothers,
publ ishers of Harper' s Magazine.

50

Are we in home economics education prepared to accept our share of
responsibility for bold and adventurous innovations in our teaching? Some
teachers of home economics are already engaged in trying out and evalu-
ating ideas and techniques new to them. Reports on these, we hope, will
stimulate our more cautious readers to "try something different this year."

Why do we need "something different"?

*The dynamic quality of life and society implies change. Public edu-
cation, like other instruments set up to serve society, must therefore
remain constantly alert if it fulfills its purpose and promise. As life
becomes more diversified, uncertain and complex, both the quantity and
quality of education are challenged.

Even the superior school of a decade ago needs some readjustments to
meet today's demands. Curricula in every area of education are being
carefully re-examined, and home economics cannot be an exception. The
following changes in life, now clearly recognizable, have implications
for the home economics program.

Changing Society

Technical revolution
Explosive population growth
Urbanization and suburbanization
Increasing number of elderly people
Wide differences between ages and cultures
Shorter work week
Instantaneous communication
Lightning-swift travel

Changing Fami 1 ies

Greater awareness of the importance of the affect ional

function of the family
Mobility of families and shift in jobs
Interchanging roles of family members
Mechanization in the household

Balance necessary between conformity and individual freedom
Family welfare affected by community decisions and world

tensions
Working mothers and commuting fathers
Shift from a producing to a consuming unit

Changing Schools

Knowledge explosion
Flexibility in school programs
Lengthened day and year for education
Emphasis upon higher standards of education
Provisions for individual differences
Over-all objective of ability to think

'^Suggested Scope and Sequence for Home Economics Education in 1 1 1 inois, p. 4.

51

Identification and evaluation of values

Creativity in problem solving

Emphasis upon mathematics, foreign languages, and the

sciences
Educational and vocational guidance
Continued learning

Every teacher's dilemma

Most teachers know of these changes--some only dimly, others with full
awareness. Bewildered by such an overwhelming list, a few teachers may take
refuge in the security and satisfaction of carrying on their daily activi-
ties in familiar terms. Others may be so impressed that they will decide
that nearly everything in their teaching must be changed; then suddenly
they find themselves, like Don Quixote, trying to "ride off in all directions!"

Fortunately, these extreme reactions — ignoring changes or attempting to
overdo--do not exhaust the alternatives. Reasonable change would seem to be
fostered most effectively by each teacher introducing into her present teach-
ing a few "try-outs" that seem to hold promise for improvement. How few?
Only as many as she has time to use thoughtfully and to evaluate the results
critically. Remember, change is not always progress1.

To us four aspects of teaching seem to merit such careful efforts at
improvement. They are:

* Increasing a teacher's understanding of her local school and community

* Screening her present curriculum in terms of major emphases recommended
for today's program

* Trying out less familiar teaching methods and instructional aids

* Comparing evaluation results with up-to-date teaching objectives

Ideas that have been used successfully by experimental-minded Illinois
teachers are described in considerable detail in the remainder of this
article. And at the close we offer a challenge to your growth that we be-
lieve should be an outcome of all such careful experimenting.

Bring the Present Local Situation into Sharp Focus

The teacher's first step in any situation must be to ask herself, "Of
all those twenty-seven major changes, which ones are most likely to pose
urgent problems of curriculum readjustment in my teaching?" There are almost
always a few that are especially obvious such as a huge new industry offering
employment to many local homemakers and even high school girls. Others may
not be entirely new but currently aggravated by societal changes. One example
might be the increasingly high proportion of slower learners in home economics
classes due to the concern about admission to college felt by many students
and their parents.

A bird shot approach to any problem seldom accomplishes much in con-
structive action. Hence, facts are needed in order to bring any local

52

situation into sharp focus. In these days of rapid change, often a long
time resident in a community may feel sure that she has the necessary facts.
Teachers who have had such beliefs challenged and have tried to "prove"
their infallibility have been honestly astonished at the disparities'.
For instance, one teacher sincerely believed that all her students ate
breakfast after her annual "Better Breakfasts Campaign." A study indicated
that over one-third of those same students ate nothing in the mornings'.
Habits are not readily overcome.

Questionnaires for securing facts

Unsigned questionnaires still seem to be the quickest and easiest way
to secure facts on significant practices and, to a limited extent, reactions
of students. Structured forms are more readily tabulated and summarized
for a group. Three survey forms are available for the asking and are typi-
cal of others any instructor may formulate for her own purposes.

Home Respons ibi 1 i t ies of Girls Whose Mothers Work and Do Not Work
Outside the Home. I960. (One legal-length page for each category of
girls to check). Single copy free upon request to Department of
Home Economics, National Education Association, Care of Dr. Mary Lee
Hurt, 1201 16th Street N. W. , Washington 6, D. C.

Teen-agers and Their Money. 1961. (Three sheets) Free upon request
from same NEA source as above.

Survey of Food Habi ts of Teen-agers in New Jersey. 1957. (One page)
Free upon request to Department of Education, State of New Jersey,
175 West State Street, Trenton 25, New Jersey.

Of course, many other survey forms are available, especially in the area
of food habits, but these three offer a "bonus" in the form of a condensed
report on the results obtained from students in New Jersey in the one case
and from forty-one and forty-eight states respectively in the NEA studies.
With ninety-four Illinois teachers out of a total of 527 participating in
the "working mothers" study, almost eighteen per cent of the data came from
our own state. As Dr. Hurt states, "Each teacher needs to become acquainted
with her own particular students and their backgrounds, yet it is helpful
if this information may be related to studies made on a wider basis."

Follow-up on questionnaires

With an appropriate division of labor, these questionnaires may be
quickly tabulated by students; with younger adolescents, the teacher may
assume responsibility for the summarizing. Graphs may be studied with the
use of an overhead projector, matching the results from a given grade in the
local school with those obtained from the much wider sampling.

Free and lively class discussions, helpful in offering students opportu-
nities for changing values and habits, are practically certain to follow.
For example, the most frequently mentioned reason for not eating breakfast

53

in New Jersey was "lack of time." Your students may concur whol eheartedl yl
But when they discover that thirty-five per cent of the high school boys and
forty-six per cent of the girls in the New Jersey study regularly had to
prepare their own breakfasts, thei r unwillingness to even get out of bed in
time to eat a wel 1 -prepared meal may appear in a different light.

At any rate, a teacher equipped with questionnaire results is now in
a position to focus her teaching upon the few most urgent student needs in
thinking about their breakfast habits and, if necessary, in gaining skill
in preparing quick, nutritious breakfasts. "Breakfasts" will have become
to her, as well as to her students, more than a textbook section to be
"covered." And in all follow-up teaching on the basis of survey findings,
the reason for the results must be sought. Why, for example, were seventh
grade girls in the national survey more likely to assume home responsibilities
if their mothers did not work, while the reverse was true of the older
girls? Why did older adolescents make plans for spending their money and
keep records no more frequently than did seventh grade girls in the 1961
study?

Acquiring a sharp focus on your students' learning equipment

One of the changes now very apparent in schools, according to the
quoted list, is "Provisions for individual differences." Certainly the
exceptional student at either end of the continuum on learning ability is
being increasingly recognized, and special programs or at least some school
adjustments are being provided for such individuals. The so-called "dull
normal" is in danger of becoming the "forgotten man" of the sixties, we are
now told. This fact should be of special concern to teachers of home econo-
mics because so many of their enrol lees fall into this large group.

Any teacher whose school boasts an adequate counseling service is
lucky. A trained counselor not only has the results from a battery of tests
on each student but also the competence to interpret these accurately
and meaningfully to the teachers of that student. Under such circumstances
students, too, are lucky. As part of the counseling service, such a school
usually provides organized remedial aid for individuals and groups to help
them increase their general vocabularies, improve their reading speed and
comprehension, and raise their levels of listening and observation.

But in even nearly ideal situations, each teacher of a non-academic
subject has the responsibility of securing some very crude estimates of her
students1 learning equipment for studying her specialized content in concepts,
values, and skills. Of course, if adequate counseling services are not
provided in the school, the responsibility is enormously increased. For
example, in many classes of beginners there are likely to be few students
who, reading the word "spatula," will know its pronunciation and meaning,
or can recognize it and use when appropriate.

Vocabulary study for rich dividends

Since words are the symbols which represent meaningful experience to
students, clues to the vocabulary of individuals whom we are trying to teach

54

seem imperative. Yet how often we take too much for granted in this respect!

Try this procedure with one or more of your classes, especially groups
beginning a new and somewhat technical unit.

* Select a passage in an unfamiliar part of the class text This selec-
tion should be interesting, suited to the class abilities, yet contain
terms specifically related to home economics

* Duplicate copies of the passage tor every student

* Ask students to underline every word they do not know and sign name

* Double check these results by giving each student a short objective
test, matching significant words in the passage with definitions

* i_et each student compare the results from his own two papers

Dr. Edward Dolch of the University of Illinois has found that, on the
average, students omit underlining more than half of the words actually
unknown to them'. Their matching test on the same passage provides the most
convincing possible evidence on this discrepancy.

Moreover, the results of such little studies give food tor thought on
the part of the teacher as well as for students. Forecasting results is
simply impossible! For example, Dr. Luella Cole, when testing eighth
graders on a passage from their text in social studies, obtained these
"familiarity scores" on the consumer terms included. (The higher the score
the less understood the term.)

Commodity - 18 Inflation - 38

Conservative - 31 Competition - 48
Rebate - 35 Consumer - 72

Clearly the key word, and the one implicitly taken tor granted, was the most
difficult for those eighth graders!

Psychologist Cole has discovered, nevertheless, that the greatest
growth in vocabulary occurs in the junior high school and less in the upper
years of high school. She suggests that this may be due to lessened attentu
to the vocabulary problem in the senior high school. Yet learning materials,
arranged in a normal sequence of difficulty, would seem to demand at least
as much, if not more, attention in succeeding grades.

Assessment of listening levels

Vocabulary improvement aids greatly in raising the level of reading
rate and comprehension; it is equally helpful in raising the level of
students' listening. These processes appear to be equally important for the
progress of learning.

Dr. Ralph Nichols of the University of Minnesota, in a recent address
at Ann Arbor, Michigan, declared that there is plenty of evidence to show a
clear-cut dollar value in "having employees who listen well." A number
of training programs have now been devised in business and industry to
achieve that aim. Dr. Nichols points out that the learning to concentrate
is the most important factor in good listening. He suggests to these adult

55

trainees that each try to give one minute of every hour to intently listen-
ing to another person talking or to a sound such as an airplane, a bird's
song, or the hum of a machine.

If you yourself would like to know more about listening, two sources
of information are open to you. One is Dr. Nichols' classic, Are You Listen-
ing? 1957. McGraw-Hill. $3.95. The other source is an examination of learn-
ing materials on listening used in your own school's primary grades. Discuss
with elementary teachers or your colleagues in the English department their
experiences in improving students' listening habits. For example, you may
find English teachers are using individual playbacks of lectures for each
student to take notes from; results are analyzed for weaknesses and strengths,
and suggestions are given for increasing the quantity and quality of the
notes taken.

Authorities estimate that at least forty-five percent of all classroom
learning in home economics is dependent upon listening — yet college fresh-
men average about a twenty-five percent listening level. Think of one of
your own experiences when almost "57 varieties" of student results followed
your well-organized and carefully enunciated laboratory directions'. Scolding,
even pleading, are of little avail in such situations. Students have to be
taught how to improve.

If reports on listening levels of a class are not available from your
counselor, you and your students can get a rough estimate from the following
procedures. Both college and secondary teachers have found them most reward-
ing in results.

* Select from the class text an unfamiliar passage that deals with
definite facts that can be readily formulated into an objective-type
quiz. The terse style of Barclay and Champion's Teen Guide to Home-
making offers innumerable such passages for students in junior high
schools. In a mixed class of seniors in Family Living, the single
section on "Play Is of Many Kinds," page 288 in Duval l's 1961 edition
of Fam? 1 y Living, Macmillan, $3.96 has been found appropriate for this
purpose.

* Prepare and duplicate a quiz to test the major facts and concepts in
the passage. Such a type of item as multiple choice is generally
useful in testing knowledge; it is important to 1 im? t the quiz to the
information given in the passage.

* Read the unfamiliar selection to the class as effectively as possible.

* Administer the test, usually shortly after students have listened.

* Let students identify the correct answers from their text and compute
the proportion of information missed in listening.

* Present those"guides" offered by Nichols that seem to be most promising
for strengthening your students' weaknesses; teach, practice, test until
even the dull normal students can perceive their own progress.

Does this mean that you should drop home economics and teach listening?
Of course not 1 There has to be something to listen to and practice on!

56

Learning to listen simply adds a new dimension to the teaching of home
economics — one that students readily understand and appreciate if it is
seen not only as a way of getting along better in school but also as the core
of good social manners and personal popularity, and later of cash value in
a job.

As students make progress, they find themselves interested in finding
the answers to the same questions as have today's researchers. For example,
to what extent does a clear-cut outline of content facilitate listening? How
much information is forgotten if quiz is postponed until the next day? Until
the next week? How do results compare if, instead of a recoqn? t ion objective-
type quiz, a recal 1 essay-type of test is given on the same information? To
what degree does pre-1 istening vocabulary study raise the listening level
on a given passage? Under what personal and group conditions can listening
be done most successfully? Answers to these questions are not as unpredictable
as are guesses about differences in student vocabularies. For instance,
research has proved that, other things being equal, the longer the time
that elapses between listening and writing the test, the less information that
will be remembered. But students delight in discovering such facts for them-
selves and struggle with gusto on remedial solutions.

Assessment of observation levels

In the research on the various facets of quality teaching currently being
developed on the University of Illinois campus, observation is playing an
increasingly important role. Home economics is able to offer a major contri-
bution to this learning process through experiments, demonstrations and labor-
atory lessons. The practice, however, may be more purposeful if students
can be led to recognize a need for improvement.

Almost any dynamic lesson in home economics offers an opportunity for
students to learn how acute they are as observers. Here are a few suggestions
that teachers have used to advantage.

* Place a picture related to the day's lesson where it will be readily
visible to every student entering the classroom. When class is seated,
remove the picture and ask each student to report on a sheet of paper
exactly what he saw in the picture. Those who have to be "led to the
trough of knowledge" may be alerted to greater interest in their en-

vi ronment .

* Display a vivid "human interest!1 pi cture for 30 seconds. Remove. Give
exactly two minutes for students to write what they recall seeing in
the picture. Compare differences in results and speculate on possible
reasons for these differences. Those who tend to think largely with
their emotions may be led to recognize this tendency in their observing.

* Sketch conventional place settings, including in each a single error.
Flash these numbered sketches on a class screen and ask each student
to recognize and jot the error opposite the appropriate number on the
paper provided for this purpose. From the scores that can be computed,
each can find a clue to the speed and accuracy she shows in selective
observat ion.

* Utilize any experiences in measuring space to emphasize the worth of
recognizing accurately what is called for in directions. Even placing
an open volume on the teacher's desk, explaining that the book contains

57

600 pages, and asking each to estimate the page at which it is

opened may arouse individuals to spatial errors in their own observing.

Clues to the logic of students' thinking

Excellent standardized tests on logical thinking are available but they
are at a level suited to senior high school — and then more appropriate for
the academically talented. One of the best is Watson and Glaser's "Critical
Thinking Appraisal," World Book Co., 2126 Prairie Ave., Chicago 16, 111.

Prices--35 cents for a specimen set or $4.15 for 35 test booklets.

i

However, simple reasoning processes are evident in children of elementary
age and even younger. ••Home-made11 tests often provide crude clues to younger
students' thinking abilities. In the sampie offered here, you will note that
the first step taken was to identify three common thinking abilities, then to
prepare statements that offered a student two alternatives. Her replies would
give herself and her teacher some rough idea of what reasoning she was capable.
Space permitted only a few statements as illustrations, but the form seems to
offer many possibilities to an interested teacher.

ARE YOU A GOOD THINKER?

Direct ions: To give you some idea of how well you can think, mark in the
appropriate column at the right your judgment on each of the
statements as answers to the over-all question in each section.

Are the reasons given strong or weak arguments? Strong Weak

1. Education is important because it helps a person to

deve 1 op h i s ab i 1 i t i es . X

2. Money spent on reforming del iquents is wasted because

human nature cannot be changed. X

3. An increase of synthetic blondes has been noted recently

because men and boys prefer blondes. X

k. Divorces will probably increase because statistics over

the past twenty years have shown a gradual increase. X

5. Compulsory health and medical insurance should be

enacted into a national law because prominent senators

recommend it. X

Are these statements facts or assumptions? Fact Assumption

1. A redhead is more temperamental than a brunette. X

2. Workers in industry are receiving more income now than

ever before. X

3. Poise and personality development lead to better pay. X

4. Almost half of all U. S. marriages involve a teen-ager. X

5. The span of life for the average person is increasing. X

Are these conclusions good or poor logic in light of the facts

stated? Good Poor

1. All good-looking girls are popular. Some rich girls
are good-looking. Therefore, some rich girls are
popular. X

58

Are these conclusions good or poor logic in light of the facts

stated? Good Poor

2. Eminent persons are frequently named in the news. Mary
Jones was named in the news. Therefore, Mary Jones must

be an eminent person. X

3. All emotions lead to both happiness and sadness. Love
is an emotion. Therefore, love sometimes leads to sad-
ness. X

4. If both John and Madge are young they are friends.
John and Madge are not friends. Therefore, we may con-
clude that they are young. X

5. Susan is more beautiful than Julia. Margaret is more
beautiful than Susan. Therefore, Margaret is more
beautiful than Julia. X

Clues to the values held by students

Values are so dominant as materials of thinking about home and family
living problems that there is actually scarcely a single teaching unit in
which we dare to ignore them. Teen-agers' values tend to be related to and
felt keenly in terms of specific types of problems. They are not yet able
to generalize their values into a pattern such as the eternal verities of
an adult philosopher.

Consequently, the use of an open-end essay question is worthwhile in
many units. Probably the most revealing clues are derived from students'
reactions to any of a number of issues likely to appear in a unit on marriage.
Let us describe the recent experience of one teacher.

In her copy of Fami 1 y Weekl y for September 24, 1961, she noticed a large
photograph of a pretty but bedraggled looking teen-ager standing in a
cluttered attic room, with her hair in pin curls and her feet in bedroom
slippers. With one arm she was awkardly grasping a chubby infant, with
the other attempting to manage a diaper. Perhaps Miss George's attention
was attracted to this picture because she was feeling considerable concern
about her senior course in Family Living. In vain she had hopefully la-
beled her first unit "Preparation for Mature Living" a la "Scope and Sequence.
Her boys and girls called it "Marriage" and apparently held very strong
convictions for early marriage which they were in no hurry to changel

On Monday she projected the drab photograph upon the screen and asked
each student to write the thoughts that came as he or she viewed the picture.
Miss George kept that poor teen-ager on the screen as long as any student
seemed to have anything to write, and the youth in the class stared right
back at her in an increasingly somber mood. The disgruntled mutter ings of
some of the girls quickly subsided as they sensed the class atmosphere. In
the end, the teacher surprised everyone by saying that she was not collecting
their papers but suggested that each keep his own paper to look at again
at the end of the course. Then she moved quietly into the regular lesson.

"But," you may be thinking, "how did that method inform the teacher
about her students' values?" In Miss George's situation, students' values

59

seemed all too clear to her, at least in a general way. She attached far
more immediate importance to the students' recognizing their own values and
their possible consequence. Ever since that Monday coup she has been over-
whelmed with requests for private conferences from boys as well as girls;
ultimately she will have gained much insight into both individual and group
values of her students.

Clues to the creativity of individuals

Do you recall reading in the last pages of "Changing Tests tor Changing
Times," Illinois Teacher of Home Economics, Volume IV, No. 9, the techniques
of securing clues on the kind and amount of creativity in an individual?
Although the Mosing method of computing scores was explained, the word
"clues" still most accurately describes the results of all tests of creati-
vity. Nevertheless, do try out a "task" occasionally this year. They are
fun and worthwhile!

The proof of the pudding

The proof of the pudding is in the eating; the proof of the use of any
of these "different" ideas lies in the improvement of students' learning.
Proof requires evidence. And, as every teacher knows, dependable evidence
is difficult to secure. At the present stage of development in measurement
and evaluation, we simply cannot expect completely valid and reliable evi-
dence to be derived from the complexities of classroom learning.

We can, however, pre-plan carefully, record results in some organized
fashion, and recognize that even the most obvious results might be quite
different in other, though similar, situations. Good and Scates in their
standard text on Methods of Research state: "In a broad sense, the term
'experiment' means simply to try — to try something in order to see what hap-
pens." Most experiments are expected to reveal causal relations. To iden-
tify accurately such relations in the interactions and dynamic forces
operating in every classroom may not be possible but teachers' speculations
provide a "built-in" motivation tor further experiments toward improvement.

Screening Lessons Taught in Terms of Recommended Emphases

Mary Harmon mentally reviewed her day's teaching as she washed the din-
ner dishes. When she had listened to the presentation of the five major
emphases recommended for Illinois homemaking education at the August meeting,
she had felt a warm glow of satisfaction; she was certain that they repre-
sented her own emphases in teaching. As she had remarked, "Those emphases
sounded wonderful !"

Later she read carefully the brief statement about these emphases as
found on page five of "Suggested Scope and Sequence for Illinois Home Eco-
nomics Education." Here is what she read.

"WHAT SHOULD BE THE MAJOR EMPHASES IN HOMEMAKING EDUCATION?

Certain implications for today's home economics curriculum
are implicit in changes in society, families, and schools. For

60

example, major emphases seem to be needed in the following aspects
of the program.

Human Relationships

Are we helping students to clarify the understanding of
all human relationships and achieve their goals in per-
sonal and family life?

Management of Resources

Are we helping students to develop the ability to manage
the material and human resources involved in homemaking
decisions and practices in light of each individual's and
family's recognized goals and values?

Consumer Economics

Are we helping our students apply the principles of con-
sumer economics to the end that their welfare and that of
our nation will be improved?

Health and Fitness

Are we contributing to mental health and physical fit-
ness of our students through emphasizing these in appro-
priate units?

Appl ied Sciences

Are we helping our students apply the principles of the
physical and behavioral sciences that are related to
homemaking concepts and practices?"

Manicuring was fun

That day the students in Miss Harmon's Homemaking I had devoted their
class period to manicuring the nails on their own left hands, then partners
manicured each others' nails on the right hand. Results were successful.
Indeed, the speedier and more skillful "operators" had insisted on applying
polish to Miss Harmon's nails, too. There was a happy, relaxed buzz of talk
as the enthusiastic students worked, and after the "style show" of completed
nails there was ample time to leave the laboratory in good order. So pleas-
ant was the total experience that Miss Harmon was tempted to agree with one
girl's remark as she reluctantly left for her mathematics class, "It only
al 1 school could be like this!"

In retrospect, however, even one major emphasis seemed to elude Miss
Harmon. To be sure there was a delightful spirit of comaraderie evident in
the group — but was that a new learning in human relationships? Possibly an
improved appearance would have mental health value--but was the appearance
improved beyond the girls' usual trim good grooming? Trying to be intellec-

61

tually honest with herself, Miss Harmon decided the answers to her questions
had to be negative.

Then WHY had she taught the lesson, she asked herself? Certainly it
was a pleasant experience but Miss Harmon was tar more seriously concerned
about the growth of her students than that reason would imply. Because the
girls needed the learning? She had increasingly grave doubts on that score.
"Oh, dear," she finally exclaimed, "I guess I just taught manicuring because
I've always taught it as a lesson in the grooming unit!"

Best buy in hamburger

An informal survey of young marrieds among their friends and relatives
had convinced Homemaking II students that far more ground beef was being pur-
chased than all the other economy meats combined. They decided, therefore,
to try to discover the "best buy" in the local markets. From the department's
petty cash fund Miss Harmon promised to reimburse the cost of a half pound
of ground beet purchased in a variety ot markets by volunteers in the class.
Each buyer came prepared to report the following information, as provided
by the salesman.

From what grade ot beet was the sample taken?

What cut was the source ot the sample?

How freshly ground was the sample?

How could the proportion of tat in the sample be judged?

To what extent could quality in ground beef be judged by appearance?

Was large demand the only reason for frequent "specials" on hamburger?

What were the reasons tor selling ground beet in a cellophane wrapping?

What sanitary precautions were necessary in handling ground beet?

Neither the students nor Miss Harmon had been prepared for the great
variety of choices involved in the everyday problem of determining the best
buy in so common a food* More questions were raised than answered by the
carefully prepared reports. Already familiar facts and principles about
meat grades and cuts acquired new meaning. Concepts from chemistry and bac-
teriology were obviously called tor--but where to tind them? Contradictory
answers from salesmen indicated a need tor additional knowledge on the eco-
nomics of marketing. The students proposed that the meat samples be carefully
broiled the next day in an attempt to measure the amount of tat that would
be "tried out" during the cooking process. They were eager to compare the
flavor of the cooked samples, also.

"Whew!" Miss Harmon thought as she recalled the lively lesson. "I think
I'd better dust off some of those science principles I once knew just in case
the students tail to locate the ones necessary. And I'd better do some plan-
ning on the conclusions that will be warranted or we'll not know what we've
1 earned."

In fact, Miss Harmon was so interested in the findings and the possible
discoveries the next day that she almost forgot to check the emphases invol-
ved. Several were clearly apparent. The problem itself stemmed from con-
sumer economics. Principles of both physical and behavioral sciences were
being applied in liberal amounts. The comparative nutritive values of fat

62

and protein related to physical titness. And ultimately, as decisions had
to be made for buying under different conditions, the principles of manage-
ment would be put into practice.

Miss Harmon was del i ghted--and somewhat astonished. "Part of the time,"
she confessed to herself, "I wasn't quite sure what we were going to learn
next! I wonder if we might achieve more genuine problem solving if we had
more lessons wnen not even I knew all the answers."

"The saddest words of tongue or pen"

Miss Harmon would willingly have forgotten that "opening41 lesson on
management! She had always dreaded units on management but had pinned her
hopes this year on an assignment in a 1961 revision of Hous ing and Home
Management by Lewis, Burns and Segner. Seeking something tangible to teach,
she had elected to begin the class with the first pages in chapter seven on
"Housekeeping Management." However, the students made it all too clear that
the excellent ideas offered held no interest whatever for them.

Baffled and frustrated by the imminent problem of tomorrow's lesson,
Miss Harmon took a coffee break with the September, 1961 issue of Redbook.
The lead article offered a summary of the free response of 10,000 young
homemakers who wrote to the point, "Why Young Mothers Feel Trapped." Spying
the sentence, "Housekeeping alone often presents a special set of problems,"
Miss Harmon read on avidly. As she finished the article, she had the insight
to perceive that even tangible suggestions can be utterly academic and sterile
unless set in a human relationships context.

"It might have been a good lesson," she mused, "if I had first shared
this survey report with my students. Vivid examples of need for the first
four emphases are provided and perhaps, if those young mothers had realized
that they could use their science backgrounds to think through their prob-
lems, they might have felt less trapped intellectually, also. This summary
of real-life problems certainly supports the recommended emphases as of ut-
most importance for homemakers of tomorrow."

Let's look at Miss Harmon's "score"

With two sections of Homemaking I, two of Homemaking II, and one of
Homemaking III, forty per cent of her teaching had been pleasant but not
profitable, forty per cent had been highly profitable, and twenty per cent
had been sheer waste of money, time and effort on everyone's part. Miss
Harmon was interested, if not very proud, and determined to do more such
reflective thinking on her teaching results.

Actually, some investigations in elementary schools have shown that
from ten to twenty per cent of classroom teaching, on the average, is highly
effective; about half is of little or no worth. But these are pre-Sputnik
statistics. Can we afford such inefficiency today?

The individual teacher is the crucial element

Handsome new laboratories, fresh and attractive texts, a generous

63

budget for a department can help— but only help! Unless the individual
teacher responds to the ferment for change by systematically and honestly
screening her teaching in light of the five recommended emphases, little
curriculum improvement is likely. If other emphases seem more important to
an individual teacher, she is certainly free to use these. The vital need
is for her to take a fresh look at her own teaching, to ask herself "What
am I trying to do? Is this the best use of the precious time of students?"

Robert Hutchins while at the Univeristy of Chicago is said to have de-
clared that "it is harder to change a curriculum than to move a graveyard."
Harold Hand, a curriculum specialist at the Univeristy of Illinois, cheer-
fully points out that all early models of automobiles had dashboards and
whipsockets like those on horse-drawn buggies. But gradually the dashboards
and whipsockets have been discarded! Unfortunately today there is a far
greater urgency about dropping the familiar and stereotyped in lessons
unless they contribute to at least one area of great importance for the future,

The moral of the Science Fair

Junior high school students in one city last spring put on exhibit a
large and extremely impressive Science Fair. There was nothing unusual about
that except that it proved to be a very disintegrating experience tor a
group ot home economics instructors from the high schools. So many of the
eighth grade exhibits were concerned with human nutrition that the city co-
ordinator ot home economics appealed to the administrator to order such need-
less duplication stopped at once. "Needless?" he asked. "Let's try a
little nutrition experiment!" He arranged for a disinterested third party
to prepare a test that included facts and principles with applications to
everyday problems in choosing foods. All enrol lees had studied science;
only the girls had studied home economics. When the scores of boys were
compared with those ot girls, the group averages and the ranges were almost
identical! America City's teachers were unpleasantly surprised.

So all the home economics teachers in the city met for a long and seri-
ous stock-taking. Sober second thought had already pointed out the fact that,
if the science curriculum tailed to include nutrition, boys would receive no
instruction in this area. And irritated eighth grade teachers had had heart-
to-heart talks with their girl students in home economics. At the meeting,
reports from these talks were the same. "But," all the bewildered students
had explained, "we were learning to cook in home economics class!"

Lively argument ensued. One teacher said acidly that, from her exper-
ience with students in later grades, their skill in cooking left so much to
be desired that she was in favor of concentrating upon food preparation and
leaving nutrition teaching to the science teachers. "Why, that would be
letting science steal our subject!" cried other instructors.

One bride finally offered diffidently, "Well, if Peter had no knowledge
of nutrition, he'd certainly balk more than he does at my tossed salads
that he calls 'rabbit food.' But I am the one who really makes most, if not
all, the decisions in planning our meals. It seems to me that girls have
to know more than boys. And we have to acknowledge that we're all using

6k

more and more wholly processed, frozen or canned foods, even if they do not
taste as well. Someone has figured that one can save an average of four
hours a day by using such foods--and still maintain health if we know how
to select go-together foods."

In the meantime the coordinator, jolted into realizing the need for
facts, had studied recent enrollment figures and discovered that the two
semesters of required home economics in the eighth grade represented all
the contact nearly half of America City's girls would ever have since the
mixed senior classes in Family Living were non- laboratory courses. Moreover,
a study of the various teachers' outlines of what they had taught last year
startled everyone with a degree of diversity that simply could not be
accepted as necessary because of the differences in neighborhoods.

With the close of school fast approaching, a unanimous agreement was
reached to study seriously this fall the total offerings by home economics
in the area of food and nutrition. The instructors even agreed that they
should be glad that science classes were teaching nutritionl But unanimity
on just what home economics' contribution should be seemed to be a distant
prospect indeed!

New publications to the rescue

All summer concerned teachers thought about the problems of changing
their curriculum. Seemingly, as confusion increased, resistance to any
change was strengthened. And the coordinator facetiously proposed a prema-
ture retirement!

Almost simultaneously two new publications arrived that offered the
much needed help. In the writers' opinion Teach i nq Home Econom? cs by 01 ive
Hall and Beatrice Paolucci, a 397-page, $6.95 text for college seniors pub-
lished by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., is by far the most comprehensive and for-
ward-looking book in home economics education that colleges now have available.
Its contents in many ways go beyond the subject matter previous college
courses have been able to incorporate, hence it is a rich source of help for
in-service teachers, no matter when or where they were educated.

Indeed, America City's teachers readily located in the volume the very
guides that they needed to clarify their thinking on the choice and arrange-
ment of learnings in their food and nutrition offerings. The publisher,
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., has given permission for us to share with you the
four criteria as they appear on page 175.

"Each activity or learning experience that is chosen should
measure up to the following criteria:

1. Cont inui ty. Whenever a subject area is included at more
than one grade level, learning experiences should provide for a
vertical reiteration of major elements. This means that some review
of previous work must precede new learning, so that there is a
sound foundation for developing new understanding. Students in
advanced classes will need continued opportunity to develop the

65

competences that are fundamental to their new experiences.

2. Sequence. Each successive experience builds upon pre-
vious experiences with a minimum of duplications and with a dif-
ferent approach that goes more deeply and broadly into the area
under study.

*3. Inteqrat ion. A horizontal integration, or coordination,
of the various experiences a student is currently having will help
him to learn more rapidly, and to unify his behavior. The central
theme of the home economics course, or problem, should be recog-
nized by the students; they should be able to see the coherence
and unity of their activities. In addition, it is frequently pos-
sible to relate home economics units to those of other courses in
which the students are enrolled concurrently. Such coordination
brings new and deeper meanings to their learning situations.

4. Siqni f icance. Students find challenge in problems that
are real and significant to them. Each experience that is selec-
ted as a means of solving the basic problem should be worthwhile
and justifiable in terms of the time required to carry it out."

This brief excerpt seems to us typical of the clarity, conciseness,
and forward-looking yet eminently practical quality of this book. America
City's teachers decided that they were extremely fortunate to have such ma-
terial made available to them just as they were beginning their serious
study of curriculum revision. After you have examined the volume, we believe
that both pre-service and in-service personnel in home economics education
will agree with them. Wiley's New York address is 440 Park Avenue South,
New York City 16, in case our enthusiasm is contagious.

The second publication used by the teachers was the twenty-three page,
tentative "Scope and Sequence for lllinios Home Economics Education," men-
tioned earlier. These specific suggestions for Illinois teachers to try out
this year were developed in a five-day workshop directed by Miss Elsie Bucha-
nan, Chief, Home Economics Education, Illinois Board of Vocational Education.
Dr. Johnie Christian of the U. S. Office of Education served as the consultant

In this bulletin America City's teachers found specific suggestions for
topics that might be considered in the area of food and nutrition for two
years of home economics study in junior high school, one year in the tenth
grade, and a special - i nterest semester course for eleventh and twelfth grade
students. In addition, topics were suggested for four to six weeks of food
and nutrition study in a year's course, Family Living, in senior high school.
The last two pages of the bulletin were found to be devoted to the form of
a "Progress Report" which, though expected to be returned to the State Of-
fice next spring, struck America City's teachers as something they might
like to do next spring for themselves. After analyses of the State returns,
next steps in curriculum development have been promised.

As the group of teachers prepared to discuss the examples of scope and
sequence in light of their own situation, a beginning teacher in shocked tones
asked, "Where are the objectives?" An experienced instructor laughed and

66

said, "Oh, what good are objectives, anyway? Each of us was supposed to be
teaching from that long, long list we had, yet look at the way we've been
going off in all directions!" "But wasn't that very difficulty caused be-
cause we'd prepared all kinds of noble object i ves--and then never thought of
them again?" a more thoughtful person replied. "You want to know what I
think?" another exclaimed, "I'll bet most teachers are in the same boat and
this unusual approach is an effort to make everybody ask herself 'What am I
trying to do, anyway?'" Still another teacher added, "I wonder if they were
not giving us more clues to today's objectives than we realized when they
listed those five major emphases so prominently on the cover of the bulletin?'

Using major emphases in classroom teaching

Not only are these five emphases stimulating as screening devices of
lessons already taught, a la Miss Harmon, but they merit consideration when
pre-planning is being done. Some experimentation in using these as guides
seems to indicate that a good lesson almost certainly will contribute to at
least two of the emphases since obviously they are so closely interrelated.
On the other hand, only an important class project in senior high school
should be expected to contribute to four or five. Most younger adolescents
lack the length of interest span and general maturity for keeping several
major goals in mind at one time.

In the remainder of this section, therefore, you will find one descrip-
tion of rigorous instruction at both junior and senior high school levels
that emphasizes a combination of physical fitness and applied sciences, one
description of an extensive class project for older adolescents in which
consumer economics and management of resources are the major emphasis, and
one description of the use of a teaching aid, useful at several levels and
primarily designed to emphasize human relationships in home and family life.

Physical fitness and applied sciences

Individually and collectively all over the state of Illinois, home eco-
nomics teachers are planning and reviewing the lessons they are teaching with
one eye on the major emphases. Perhaps because the newsmen have caught the
public's fearful interest in nuclear war, there has been a flood of publicity
given to the lack of physical fitness in Illinois. Great importance has
been attached, in this era of early marriage and motherhood, to the fact
that the diets of adolescent girls are notably inadequate. In turn, home
economics teachers have been startled to discover that this inadequacy ex-
ists in girls during the very years when they might be expected to be in
thei r classes! Change seems indicated, to put the matter mildly!

In the library collection of most home economics departments two ear-
lier publications can be found. Teaching Nutrition by Mattie Pattison,
Helen Barbour and Ercel Eppright, 1957, Iowa State University Press, Ames,
$3.95, offers both information and teaching methods. Food, the Yearbook of
Agr icul ture. 1959, was formerly distributed free by the United States Depart-
ment of Agriculture through local congressmen, but now costs $2.25. It is,
of course, a great bargain even at that price because it contains the most
comprehensive collection of up-to-date food facts and principles supported by

67

research that is anywhere available. If a teacher is expected to know more
than her students, she can rely on finding the answers to most questions in
this volume.

However, far more enticing materials are available for students since
all agree that motivation for changing eating habits is of primary concern
to teachers of adolescents. One of the most scientifically sound of the
several earlier pamphlets for students was Ruth Leverton's A Girl and Her
Figure but its value and appeal have been noticeably increased by the 1961
A Girl and her Figure and You which serves as a personal record and guide
for each teen-ager using the Leverton bulletin. Both are published by National
Dairy Council, 111 North Canal Street, Chicago 6, Illinois. Prices are 18
cents and 15 cents respectively per copy, net, with postage paid in quantities
of one to one hundred.

The increasing attention being paid to sciences in the scheme of modern
living is equally apparent in the three publications of the American Insti-
tute of Baking that are just off the press and being sent free to teachers
and their students so long as the supply lasts. Food and You for younger
adolescents contains a popularized but authentic report on nutrition research
in historical sequence to help students judge nutrition statements for them-
selves as well as aias in applying this information to their own food choices.
The Wonder of You is a thoroughly rigorous treatment of the science of
nutrition, accompanied by Your Guide! ine to Nutrients, and designed for classes
in senior high school.

If your first impulse upon examining these is to reject them as impos-
sible for your students to learn, pick up a copy of one of their mathematics
or science texts and compare the relative difficulty. We'll wager the latter
prove to be more difficult — and not glamorized in color, eitherl Of course,
the "impossible" will take longer, but are not the stakes high enough to
justify more time and effort?

Are such student materials self-teaching?

The intimate style of writing and detailed examples given might lead
one to think so. Unfortunately, in use this is not often true. Believe it
or not, some experimenting with various such publications suggests that
teachers themselves offer a major obstacle to students' self-teaching!
Apparently most teachers just cannot endure spending the amount of class
time necessary for students to do the computations required! Why? Well,
they say it is because no homemaker will ever have time to do such figuring.
Students inevitably sense this attitude. One girl, tired of being con-
stantly hurried by an impatient teacher, remarked, "You don't think this is
worth the time, do you? But J_ think it's great fun!"

Harsh choices face today's teacher of home economics. For years home
economics justified its existence in the curriculum in terms of its use-
fulness to students. And usefulness was far more often interpreted as
manipulative skills than intellectual ones. Now a teacher must bring her-
self to give more than lip service to students' urgent need for developing
the ability to think. She is outraged by any questioning of her teachings'
contribution to what is now designated as the central purpose of all

68

education. And she is justified IF she changes her habits in practices and
attitudes so that she provides a desirable environment for developing and
practicing the processes of thinking.

Consumer Service Departments of huge organizations of business and in-
dustry are providing home economics teachers with some of the finest teaching
materials ever available. Directors of these departments seem to be fully
aware of the need for rigorous, detailed study of home economics subject
matter that involves both sciences and mathematics. Teachers, young and old,
must force themselves to accept these fine materials gratefully, and try to
match their quality with superior use in teaching. One instructor became
convinced that this was true, but she felt at a loss when she thought of
trying to teach the aspects of mathematics and science. She asked her prin-
cipal's help. He gladly selected some methods books from the school's
professional library and suggested that, after looking at these, she ask
help from her skillful co-workers in these subjects. There are especially
helpful books on the teaching of the sciences. Try theml

Adults, too, are interested

As adults read newspaper accounts the^y, too, are troubled by a wide
variety of questions relating to food and nutrition; A representative sam-
ple of the questions adults are asking of their home economics teachers this
fall has been contributed by the American Medical Association to the Octo-
ber, 1961, issue of the PTA Magazine, formerly National Parent-Teacher.

Additional controversial issues can be identified and information
gained from two publications Food Facts Talk Back is provided for
fifty cents by the American Dietetic Association, 620 North Michigan Avenue,
Chicago 11, Illinois. Food Facts Vs. Food Fallacies is a four-page folder
available from the Food and Drug Administration, U. S. Department of Health,
Education, and Welfare, Washington 25, D. C. Both of these publications
also provide stimulating materials for special reports by high school stu-
dents, either in class or on programs.

Curiously enough, adults who are lethargic, to say the least, concern-
ing the dangers of such threats as radioactive fallout and even all-out
nuclear war, appear to be much exercised over the dangers of chemical addi-
tives in their foods. A new law, the Food Additives Amendment to the Federal
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, became effective in March, I960. Since that
time the Food and Drug Administration of the U. S. Department of Health,
Education, and Welfare has been publishing up-to-the minute booklets and
mailing them free to home economics teachers. Do get on the mailing list if
you have not been receiving them. On the other hand, if thorough class
treatment is indicated by your older students' interest and need, some kind
of a 1 iason with your chemistry colleagues seems likewise indicated. Some
of the explanations in the bulletins are pretty technical for folk who ne-
ver did enjoy chemistry.

Consumer economics and management of resources

In Home Economics: New Directions, the Committee on Philosophy and
Objectives of Home Economics of the American Home Economics Association

69

lists twelve competences fundamental to effective living. Four of the
twelve relate directly to these two recommended emphases.

Investigations concerning what is going on in classrooms of the
several areas of secondary subject matter related to personal and family
economics indicate clearly that this is a fertile field for "trying some-
thing different." As in teaching nutrition, student motivation seems to
be of great importance. Upon hearing impulse buying questioned, the typi-
cal adolescent complains, "But why be so fussy and take all the fun out of
buying?" Even home economics teachers in their franker moments confess that
"Those government guides give me a headache just to look at theml"

We suggest that you might like to try to interest yourself now, as well as
your students later, by sending twenty cents to the Superintendent of Docu-
ments, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C. for a copy
of Read the Label . FDA Publication No. 3. Sharp contrasts of right and
wrong, perky illustrations, witty commentary that nevertheless gets the
point across make the bulletin really fun to read. Some teachers have ob-
tained several copies for the department and distributed them to small
groups of students for inspiration and study.

Sometimes interested classes are offered the opportunity to present
accurate and helpful displays on consumer economics to the whole school in
a corridor showcase. Mathematics, social studies, business education and
agriculture vie with each other in the interest and worthwhi leness of their
presentations. Then comes the turn of the home economics students 1 The
humorous tone of Read the Label can be caught and applied to one or more
displays. If the topic of advertisements seems more appropriate, good and
poor examples from newspapers, periodicals, and catalogues may be used in-
stead of real labels.

Using school exhibits as a focus for learning

The procedures used by some teachers last year offer many suggestions
for those who may wish to experiment with a major class project in Family
Living. Let's look at a typical example in detail. First of all, the ques-
tion was raised concerning what students were really buying. To discover
the answers, students prepared a check list which study hall teachers
asked everyone to check. When these had been tabulated, the expected re-
cords, tickets to games, movies, and other forms of entertainment were
eliminated as representing strictly personal choice, except for a brief
discussion of them as a legitimate part of individuals' spending plan.
Analysis of the remaining categories led the class members to form commit-
tees to investigate the following aspects and set up informative displays.

* Food, particularly between-meal eating and "liquid diets"

* Clothing commonly purchased and paid for by students

* Home furnishings, largely as applied to students' own rooms

* Electric appliances since these were the most frequently purchased
fami ly gi f t

* Cosmetics and drugs

70

Two food exhibits

In the Chicago Tribune, December 27, I960 the following authoritative
statement appeared under the title, "Pitfalls of Formula Diets."

The Illinois State Medical Society's Committee on Nutrition
recently issued a warning that, while formula diets may be accepted
as food products, they should be used with caution, and that six
considerations, in particular, should be kept in mind in avoiding
reducing formula pitfalls.

* The special low-calorie formulas are dangerous for long-term
use.

* They are not a substitute for a well-balanced diet, except
for short-term weight control programs, and are not a good means
of saving money or time spent in eating.

* Additional vitamins should not be taken with the formulas,
because many of them contain the daily recommended vitamin intake.
Persons on 1800-calorie formulas should not, for the same reason,
take two 900-calorie formula units, thus subjecting themselves to
vitamin overdosage.

* A normal, healthy person should not expect to lose more
than 1 or 2 lbs. a week by dieting on medical advice in special
situations. "Crash" diets should be shunned.

* Persons using formula products as their sole source of
nutrition should consult their doctors immediately if constipation,
diarrhea, or other symptoms develop.

* Any effective weight control program requires continuing
adherence to a properly balanced diet. Once weight reduction is
achieved, it should be maintained by balanced dieting.

These six considerations were stated on colorful small posters, with
justification, a reasonable explanation, and a positive alternative suggestion
for each collected by committee members from local authorities. These were
grouped in the display case around a central warning, "Don't Believe All You
Read." By mid-December of I960 the Federal Food and Drug Administration had
already siezed shipments ot one brand of liquid diet that, in chocolate flavor,
had forty-eight per cent less protein than its label declared and twenty-two
per cent more fat. The label on the vanilla flavor was almost as unreliable.
Another false claim in a circular, "Sip a Quickie Meal," stated that one
serving was equal in nutritive value to a complete meal that included a six-
inch square of steak and "would enable adults, children, and infants to
either gain, maintain, or lose weight depending on an individual's choice."

This type of information must now be secured by writing to the Federal
Food and Drug Administration since activity for consumer protection has
"toned down" advertisements for these diets. But demonstrators for such
products can still be located occasionally making extravagant and misleading
claims verbally. A corridor exhibit helps to alert everyone in a school to
the value ot government protection tor consumers' health and pocketbooks.

71

Through correspondence with federal and state agencies, reading consumer
magazines, and talking with buyers of food products, the foods committee be-
came convinced that a whole display should be devoted to the general problem
of dishonest packaging. Real examples of flagrant deception of the consumer
through various tricks were accompanied by actual statistics on weights and
measures. Unfortunately these examples were all too easy to find in every-
thing from candy to cosmetics'.

However, the students lost some of their sympathy for the consumer after
they had done some keen observing in supermarkets. The number of adult buyers
who actually troubled themselves to read and compare the weights and measures
correctly stated on labels was very small indeed. When students discovered
that the largest package of a given product did not always reduce and some-
times even increased the cost per unit of weight or measure, they used some
telling examples of such discrepancies, complete with accurate computations,
in the packaging display. The over-all title given to this display was
"Why Be a Sucker?"

This year a simple device is on the market tor making comparisons
speedily and accurately, and one class has experimented with it so successfully
that they plan to demonstrate it in connection with the display they are pre-
paring. The device is "The Best Buy Selector" and is secured for $1.50 from
Best Buy Products Company, Box 82, Decatur, Illinois or in many types of stores,
It is simple to use, involving only two movements to indicate the per cent
of saving in the "Best Buy." Obviously weights of the same product must be
compared to achieve this.

The exhibit on buying clothing

The committee on this exhibit began by asking all class members and their
friends to bring in their "biggest goof." Out of these they selected articles
that, according to the check list, were purchased most frequently by high school
students. Outside of some rather ridiculous examples ot "impulse buying,"
an over-all analysis of the "goofs" revealed that errors in cleaning appeared
to have caused most of the lack of satisfaction with the products. The
exhibit was labeled "Don't-Care Wash and Wear" and included examples of tex-
tiles before and after improper cleaning in clothing of boys as well as girls.
Labels that had not been read or followed were attached.

However, the students themselves were so appalled by their own comparisons
that they decided everyone needed more detailed knowledge to handle the
problems of modern fabrics successfully. They therefore assembled some help-
ful mimeographed materials that were made available to any interested observer.

The exhibit on selection of home furnishings

Only home furnishings related to refurbishing or buying something new
for students' rooms were considered. The slow learners on this committee may
have selected the problem because they were aware from previous experience
that effective illustrative materials were already available in boxed exhibits
on floor coverings, window treatments, and furniture. These excellent exhibits
are available on request from Miss Berneice Dollnig, Director, Consumer Educa-
tion Division, D//03, Sears, Roebuck and Company, Chicago 7, Illinois. Stu-
dents had only to select and arrange the attractive display in light of their
own purpose. They "lifted" the title for the display from an old magazine

72

article — and the teacher rejoiced that they were able to rind itl In fact,
with the benefit of considerable teacher guidance, this display made a
respectable showing with very limited demands upon the producers. Miss
Dollnig even provided for distribution to observers tree copies of her
Hidden Values Pamphlets on paint and wallpaper, bedding, and slip covers and
uphol stery.

Such provisions for individual differences are imperative whenever the
results of student learning are to be put on public display. As all teachers
of home economics know, adjustments are simply not possible in every lesson;
students and teachers just have to accept a whole range in achievements be-
cause of the great range in abilities. If any type of exhibit or program is
projected, sometimes teachers need to hold back some attractive and effective
illustrative materials just tor slow learners to use proudly'.

Realistic purchasing or appliance gifts

Two engaged couples selected this problem for their display, in spite
of much good-natured teasing. The boys discovered an automatic projector
that repeatedly showed the twenty- ti ve-minutes- long filmstrip, "Small Electric
Appliances," again provided free for two weeks by Sears, Roebuck and Company.
Before the tilmstrip with written script arrived, time was spent in getting
the judgments ot young marrieds on the relative priority to be assigned to
the most common appliances. For example, these couples asked: "Electric fry
pans are the appliance most frequently bought tor wedding gifts; do you agree
with this priority? In what order would your present experience suggest tnat
appliances are necessary and valuable?"

A consensus or opinions on priorities was arrived at and prominently
displayed in the show case. For those appliances at the top of this list a
satisractory but inexpensive example was displayed beside a fancier ana tar
more expensive product. Costs or both were indicated. The title or the
exhibit was not "Best Buys" but "Best Buys tor Money Available." While this
exhibit was on display, the continous showing of the Dollnig filmstrip aaded
appreciably to the educational value and to the "audience impact."

Drugs in the spotlight

The check list used in the school survey contained some men's and women's
cosmetic items. Or course, at least some of these appeared on mo^t or the
returns. But the big surprise was round in the additional "write-in" items.
These consisted mostly of drugs--pep pills, happy pills, patent medicines,
ana aspirin, aspirin, aspirin!

The instructor, baffled by this problem as consumer economics, decided
to take the survey data to her principal before topics were chosen by committee
He, in turn, suggested that the materials be left with him until he could con-
sult with the members of his staff who were concerned with the health problems
of all students. Ultimately the principal attempted to influence student
behavior through an assembly program presented by competent adults. The home
economics teacher was grateful for being relieved of the responsibility of
guiaing a class discussion on the drugs. Yet the surprisingly critical
thinking and generally openminded spirit with which her students haa handled
tneir consumer problems made her wonder about the actual effectiveness of the
assembly program.

73

The emphasis on human relationships

"Human relationships" is a very broad term. Obviously, it is closely
identified with mental health but also with physical fitness, consumer prob-
lems, and with management of resources in terms of individuals' and groups'
goals. Of course, human relationships figure prominently in all behavioral
sciences. Rarely are human relationship angles absent from problems in
food, clothing, and housing. The twelve competences set up as goals for us
in Home Economics: New Pi rect ions indicate concern for interrelationships
between individuals, families and other social groups, communities, nations,
and the world. And the special concern of home economics is the family'.

But the family, like the fabled "old gray mare," is not what it used to
be! Home economics magazines and particularly the scholarly quarterly, Mar-
riaqe and Family Living, which would seem a necessity for every professional
library, offer many reports on research projects. However, it is in the
popular publications that we find the broadest and most timely presentations.
Cheap journalism? Far from it'. For instance, the article i n Fami 1 y Weekly
mentioned earlier was authored by Clark W. Blackburn, General Director,
Family Service Association of America. An article dealing with a similar
theme, "Are You Pushing Your Daughter into Too-early Marriage?" is built up-
on quotations from half a dozen nationally accepted authorities as it appears
in the October, 1961 issue of Good Housekeeping. Every home economist re-
cognizes Dr. David R. Mace who writes popularized articles such as "The Hid-
den Dangers in Subsidized Marriages" in the September, 1961, and "Does a Wife
Have a Right to Work?" in this month's McCal 1 ' s Maqazi ne. And probably no
social scientist is more respected and frequently quoted than is Dr. Dorothy
Lee, Department of Anthropology, Harvard University. Be sure to read her
st imul at i ng "Are We Giving Our Chi 1 dr en Too Much?" i n Parents' Magazi ne,
July, 1961.

"Love Is not enough"

The above statement is really the title of a book by Dr. Bruno Bettel-
heim, a child development specialist, but it seems to express succinctly the
philosophy of most of today's authoritative thinkers on problems of the
family. If you have not read the report on a discussion concerning "What
Has Happened to Old-fashioned Morals?" in the September, 1961, issue of the
Ladies Home Journal, you will have encountered the same type of thinking in
many other places and publications, secular as well as religious.

Can schools in general and we in home economics in particular help to
strengthen the influence of parents and church in this urgent need for a
change in youths' goals and values? In so far as we inform ourselves of
current facts and trends for the immediate future, in so far as we are able
to utilize this knowledge in stimulating our students to look at certain
ca use- and-ef feet relationships in their earlier upbringing, then to consi-
der possible consequences in a world where even survival is threatened, we
may well make a real contribution.

Again, as in the rejection of a detailed study of nutrition, our ear-
lier education may prove to be a real stumbling block to the success of
such class discussions. Prescott, the author of Emotions and the Educative

Ik

Process, has repeatedly declared that four-fifths of all adults strongly de-
sire to go back to the "good old days." Perhaps churchmen, parents and
teachers have been unconsciously (and with the kindest of intentions) pro-
tecting this generation of children from the very challenges in self-
discipline that made them strong!

The Da? ly Special

This is a short play, accompanied by a discussion guide, that deals
with the rights of every member of the family. It is available from Human
Relations Aids, \0k East 25th Street, New York 10, New York. A single copy
costs $1.25 and is a bargain at the price because of the many purposes that
can be served. Still more useful is the "producing packet" with a copy for
each of the four characters and one for the teacher; this costs $5.00.

The Dai ly Special presents the problem of a "special" occasion which is
very important to the teen-age daughter of the family, how the father, mother
and son are affected, and how each reacts to the situation. Susie, a six-
year old, is important in the family decision, although she does not appear
in the play. Problems of finances, space, time, discipline, and standards
of social conduct are some of the phases of family living which are dealt
with in the play.

There is plenty of room for argument on all sides. As students read
the lines of the four family members, after an appropriate description of
the characters and living room setting by the instructor, two methods have
been found to be especially effective in stimulating thinking preparatory
to the follow-up discussion.

One technique is to have the class count off by fours, then ask the
persons with number one to identify as completely as possible with the
thinking and feelings of the father as the play progresses. Numbers two,
three, and four may do this with the mother, the daughter, and the son.
This prevents some natural "antagonism of the sexes," age similarities, or
other factors from unduly influencing the observations.

After the play, students in each indent if icat ion group may first meet
together in buzz sessions of some length. They can thresh out their differ-
ing interpretations of the character in the play and try to reach consensus
on some defensible conclusions. In the total class discussion that follows,
a warning that only justifiable statements will be given a hearing helps
students to use values as materials in objective thinking.

A second technique that may be used is the preparation of a short
"Attitude Inventory" which, handed to each class member before they hear the
play read, serves to focus attention on the main conflicts presented. Sam-
ple statements may be as follows:

Directions: Check in appropriate column whether you more nearly agree or
disagree with each statement. Use the space at the far right
for noting evidence to support your judgment.

75

Statements

Dis-
Agree agree

Evidences

(There may well be class
agreement on a definition
of evidence before use of
this inventory. A simple
definition is "whatever
makes clear the truth or
falsehood of something."
But it is far from simple
to apply!)

1. Betty was too demanding in
requests from her family

2. Jerry, the father, gave up
his own plans too readily

3. Tommy should not have been
asked to give up the rum-
pus room

k. Susie, as a six-year old, was
given unfair treatment

5. Father was unreasonable in
denying Betty money for a
new dress

6. The parents were old-fash-
ioned in their ideas about
chaperoning.

7. Lydia should have just been
told to come some other
week-end

8. Betty has increased her ma-
turity through this exper-
ience

Obviously such an inventory serves to structure a class discussion and to
point up conflicts in values because individuals perceive with their whole
experiential background, not just with their physical senses. Even interpre-
tations of impressions gained through the physical senses can be shown to vary
greatly in different observers. An experiment that highlights this truth is
to ask two girls to read Betty's identical words but in different tones of
voice. For instance, Nora Stirling, the author, intends Betty to be a likeable,
friendly, unaffected fifteen-year old with an inherent sense of fairness.
But she can also be made to sound like an erratic, selfish, highhanded character
while using the same speeches.

One teacher found The Daily Special an excellent vehicle for interpreting
parents to youth and youth to parents. To promote the goal of "family together-
ness," one of the national program emphases of the Future Homemakers of America,
the local FHA members presented the play to their own families as special guests
Time did not permit memorization of the parts but each performer previously
studied the script more carefully than for merely reading it in class.

Before the presentation, the audience was broken into identity groups,
making sure that all fathers did not identify with fathers, mothers with
mothers, and the like. After the play, the audience was broken into discussion
groups of twelve to sixteen with some fathers, mothers, daughters and sons in
each group. These discussion groups tried, after considerable heated "give-
and-take," to formulate some general concepts that might serve families in
resolving the conflicts that naturally arise when the ideal of "togetherness"
is applied to modern conditons. The goal of mature thought and action was
perceived as the desirable outcome of youth experiences — often inculcated
through examples of such behavior by parents.

76

This problem of maturity

Lack of maturity and sound judgment invariably appears in practically
every problem case cited in current articles on the family. Many of the
writers point out this lack in parents and other adults, as well as in teen-
agers. Even teachers are being criticized for "pipe" courses and lax
discipline which critics of schools now perceive as undermining the strength
and maturity of our youth. Attempting to assign blame, however, is a profit-
less activity. The problem is "How can growth toward maturity be stimulated
in today's youth--and fast'."

Dr. Clark W. Blackburn reported that, as of last month, "The divorce
rate for brides under twenty is three times that of the over-all national
average. As many as two out of five teen-age marriages end in separation,
annulment, or divorce. And divorce rates are only a partial measure of marital
failures,... Most of these unlucky marriages stem from the unreal ist ic
expectat ions they had of each other and of married life."

Since in many localities high school marriages have tripled during the
past decade, should not home economics teachers as well as parents make an
immediate effort to help their students to become more realistic in their
thinking, their feelings, and their behavior? Back of the five major emphases
recommended for the Illinois curriculum lies this critically important objective
for al 1 educat ion.

* Applying science principles to homemaking problems should contribute to
students' ability to think logically

* Studying consumer economics in home economics should increase students'
ability to think critically

* Learning the basic concepts of nutrition and other aspects of physical
health should aid students in a realistic assessment of their own habits

* Solving problems concerned with the management of resources in many
situations should contribute to the balanced, sound judgments that maturi
demands

* Including human relationship considerations, often utilizing the princip'i
of mental hygiene, in most if not all teaching units should contribute
to students' development of both emotional and intellectual maturity

Is this asking too much of teachers of home economics? No more than it
is too much to ask of teachers of the many subjects in secondary programs.
And since applications in home economics can be made interesting to students,
results tend to be more immediate and visible in actions. But Dr. Tripple's
rose-colored glasses (see Vol. V, No. 1) must be abandoned foreverl

Experimenting with a Variety of Teaching Methods and Materials

The Commission on National Goals makes these statements in its recent
report. "The development of the individual and the nation demand that educatio
at every level and in every discipline be strengthened and its effectiveness
increased. New learning techniques must continue to be developed."

77

This challenge is being accepted by many researchers in education today.
"Crash programs" for improved teaching of mathematics, the natural and behavioral
sciences, foreign languages and other previously neglected areas of the school
curriculum are balancing the development of highly selected content with
innovations in teaching techniques and materials.

From Harvard University's Center for Cognitive Studies, Cambridge, to the
PTA-sponsored special interest, non-credit teaching of French to some third-
grade pupils, the spirit of experimentation is everywhere. Under the stimulus
of the 1961 "Scope and Sequence," Illinois teachers will undoubtedly greatly
increase their use and evaluation of unfamiliar techniques.

The teachers in County A had a problem

When home economics was introduced in grades eight and nine because much
enlarged school units permitted separate junior and senior high schools in the
school systems of the county, unexpected difficulties arose. For two years
the teachers had worked to articulate the programs offered in each system at
the two levels. The individuals in the group had voluntarily set up a division
of labor on their common problem, and were pleased with the results of their
cooperative undertaking. Consequently, when a more delicate problem became
apparent in the various schools, a group dinner meeting was proposed.

During the dinner one teacher relieved the tension by sharing with them
a bit of humor that she had enjoyed. For folk who had an educational problem,
Dr. Paul B. Diederich listed the following possibilities.

* Find a scapegoat and ride him. Teachers can blame administrators,
administrators can blame teachers, both can blame parents, and everyone
can blame the social order.

* Say that we must not move too rapidly. This avoids the necessity of
getting started.

* Say that the problem cannot be separated from other problems; therefore,
no problem can be solved until all other problems are solved.

* Carry the problem into other fields; show that it exists everywhere,
hence is of no specific concern.

* Point out that those who see the problem do so by virtue of personality
traits; e.g., they are unhappy and transfer their dissatisfaction to the
area under discussion.

* Ask what is meant by the problem. When it is clarified, there will be no
time left for the answer.

* Retreat from the problem into endless discussions of various techniques
for approaching it.

* Appoint a committee.

Another member of the group displayed a small folder which she had read
about and secured for five cents from the Superintendent of Documents, United
States Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C. She was rather diffident
about displaying the title page, however. One word on it, she explained,
might scare out mere classroom teachers but the content was actually very
practical and had been helpful to her, at least. What was that one word? Can
you decide when you read — Adventur ing in Research to Improve School Pract i ces
in Homemakinq Programs? The teachers in County A did readily identify it but
could not care less if the folder would help them.

78

Procedures in solving a problem

The owner of the folder was asked to read to the group the procedures that
were recommended to teachers who wanted to improve their school practices.
They were delighted that the steps recommended were familiar to them, not under
the name of "research" but as the processes in problem solving. The author,
Dr. Selma Lippeatt, who was then in the Office of Education, Vocational Divisior
illustrated the steps with a teacher's problem on attendance in her adult
classes. Here is a summary of the general procedures planned and carried out
by the instructors in County A.

Identify the problem area

The over-all problem in the schools was a failure for learning
to carry over from junior high school courses to the advanced experi-
ences in senior high schools. It was at this point that the scope anc
sequence previously developed seemed to be breaking down in a most
frustrating way to all concerned.

Clarify problems

During the free discussion the group attempted to identify some
specific aspect in this problem area where the need seemed to be most
urgent and results might be most tangible to study. Finally they
formulated this question for study: What changes in teaching food
preparation in grades eight and nine might increase students' retentlc
of basic concepts and techniques when called upon to use these in
senior high school?

Decide on a possible solution and state hypothesis

When a "hypothesis" was defined as a hunch or a guess as to a
possible solution, the teachers agreed that they had been doing a
lot of such guessing before coming to this meeting. Furthermore,
they discovered that all were inclined to focus upon some kind of
change in their present practice of teaching food preparation on
the meal basis.

Dr. Lippeatt recommends that a hypothesis should be so stated
as to imply a procedure for the experiment and a prediction of
findings. Ultimately the junior and senior high school teachers in
each system agreed to work together in testing the hypothesis: If
considerable individual food preparation is taught, basic concepts
and techniques will be learned without sacrificing the family focus.

Make preliminary decisions about methods

Dr. Lippeatt states that "The quality of an inquiry in a local
situation may vary considerably. Careful planning and record-keeping
will help to insure sound conclusions." A second meeting was proposed
as soon as teachers had been able to develop detailed plans and ways
of collecting evidences. Since food teaching at both levels had been
pretty much on the meal basis, al 1 teachers would be involved in the
study.

At the next meeting each school presented their proposed try-out.
As might have been expected, there was great variety in the methods
of study in terms of the difficulties perceived in each classroom.
A consultant was available at this meeting, and after listening to
the presentations of the proposed plans, she offered the following
ideas.

79

* You and Research, a twenty-one page bulletin published by the
American Vocational Assocation, Inc., states this: "The local
teacher has a unique opportunity to aid in research programs be-
cause he is at the focal point of the whole education system.
All useful investigation starts with a problem arising in actual
experience ... A good teacher is constantly experimenting.
When a teacher recognizes a teaching problem and tries to solve
it, he is researching in education."

* Experimenting to find the answer to one small question is a
realistic goal for each teacher to set. Realistic goal setting
leads to more satisfactory improvement than unrealistic.

* A precise definition for the term, "family focus," in the hypo-
thesis is necessary before individual versus family-meal prepara-
tion can be compared in this respect. Since "family focus" would
seem to involve value-systems, a definition meaningful to all par-
ticipants would probably require discussion and agreement.

* "Testing an hypothesis" is an expression of an experimental atti-
tude, of a genuine spirit of inquiry. "Proving an hypothesis"
expresses an attitude of collecting evidence to prove one is right.

* A time limit should be considered and accepted as reasonable for
the experiment; over-amibt ion has stopped many try-outs before
they even got under way.

* The one part of a food unit selected for study should incorporate
a few basic concepts and fundamental techniques highly important
for thorough mastery and later use.

*The one innovation used in trying out the introduction of indivi-
dual food preparation instead of meals on the family basis should
be testable in terms of achievement in concepts and/or techniques.

* Evidence-gathering instruments and procedures should be prepared —
pre-testing to provide a base line for appraising growth, provi-
sions for objective observations and student responses during the
experimenting period, and end-testing to assess actual increases
in learning.

* Not only must the exper iment i ng be geared into regular class work,
but students can be led to understand the purpose of the experi-
menting, thereby increasing the interest and intelligence with
which they participate.

* Once a careful plan of step-by-step procedures has been made,
experimenting will not shrink a teacher's time; it will give di-
rection, fresh significance, and satisfaction to teaching.

Collect evidence as study progresses

Teachers, thus encouraged and guided, proceeded to try out the innova-
tion each had planned. They discovered that the detailed record-keeping

80

required did demand a large amount of care and patience. But they also
discovered that having such a project helped to assign priority to their
work tasks and lifted their professional thought ceilings. Each one, as
she tried to examine teaching results more carefully than ever before, found
herself constantly thinking, "I wonder why . . . !"

Evaluate results and draw conclusions, or inferences

As individuals studied the evidence they had accumulated, they con-
ferred with their co-workers in the same school system. Ultimately, they
felt the need to again meet as a total group to hear about others' results.
At this group meeting, each teacher tried to report from her experiences
some guide that she believed might be inferred from her experimenting. But
non-def inat i ve results and, in a few cases, even contradictory evidence, led
almost everyone to hedge cautiously and propose that she would like to try
out such a guide in more situations before she'd generalize on her evidence.

Retest the hypothesis in new situations

Their earlier consultant attended this meeting to hear the various
reports and stressed that, in experimenting, the emphasis was rightly upon
the uniqueness of a situation rather than upon application to many situa-
tions. Dr. Lippeatt points out that the results of one experiment will not
necessarily apply in other situations or even in identical situations. For
example, the inferences from an experiment with students in junior high
school might be patently untrue in a senior high school situation. Results
might be different in different years, different communities, etc.

All the teachers of County A realized that both they and their interested
students had grown during the experimenting. Moreover, they had some thought-
fully considered guides to improve their own teaching and their students'
learning. But no answer had been really found as to whether individual food
preparation would provide for more thorough learning than would the teaching
of foods entirely on the meal basis. Nor would it be possible to compare
the degree of family focus even though the same students should study
another unit with all food preparation on the meal basis. They recognized
that they had not and could not "establish truth" as a laboratory scientist
could do with a comparison of two def in? tel y control 1 ed var iabl es between
which cause-and-ef feet relationships could be* establ ished.

Nevertheless, all the teachers expressed a desire to continue trying
out methods of teaching with some possibly promising new variation "just
for the fun of it," as one enthusiastic member of the group remarked. Their
zest was well expressed by Stephen Corey in his 1953 history-making small
volume, Act ion Research to Improve School Practice. "Our schools cannot
keep up with the life they are supposed to sustain and improve unless
teachers, supervisors, administrators, and school patrons continuously exa-
mine what they are doing. Singly and in groups, they must use their imagina-
tions creatively and constuct i vel y to identify the practices that give
better promise, and methodically and systematically gather evidence to test
their work."

81

No limit to experimenting with unfamiliar methods and materials

Notice that the methods and materials do not have to be brand new--only
new to you. Nor is a group approach as common as is that of one teacher try-
ing out whatever appeals to her. Actually, although basically every instructor
in County A was introducing an increased amount of individual food preparation,
the ways in which they accomplished this were as different as were the teachers
themselves. This freedom is essential because any kind of classroom experi-
menting is a creative experience.

There are several reasons why most teachers are inclined to try out some-
thing different in methods and/or materials before they tackle innovations
in other aspects of instruction. Results tend to be reasonably tangible and
evident in a rather short time, at least superficially. Students can be
taken into the confidence of a teacher; they are usually keenly interested
and thoughtfully introspective of what is happening to them as they learn or
fail to do so. Many parents have expressed appreciation that teachers would
consider the? r children important enough that they are seriously trying to
improve their learning in some new way.

To provide proper safeguards for students' learning is relatively easy.
"Proper" implies that students1 learni ng wi 1 1 be equal even though different
from the usual pattern. And the new pattern is in the direction of what
promises improvement in the future or obviously no experiment would be under-
taken. High school principals are now attending meetings where there is
constant emphasis upon experimenting so that they are almost certain to welcome
a report of such a proposal from a teacher providing these proper safeguards
are made clear.

To sift or not to sift

Experimentation is the order of the day--for students as well as teachers.
If a report on some new finding from a research center appears in a local paper,
some alert student may bring it to school to inquire, "Is this really true?"
An inquiry of this sort should be accepted with alacrity, even though the
verification may have to be postponed somewhat. You'll understand why if
you'll recall the joke, "Nowadays when Mother's bread doesn't rise, she knows
there's something wrong with the toaster." Genuine challenges in terms of
experimentation are hard to find in today's homes. Too often the problems
are like the disappointing toaster--too costly and technical to be under-
taken in a spirit of experimentation.

However, at the moment a somewhat controversial question seems to have
arisen concerning the need for sifting flour to be used in baking. Three
large flour producers, all located in Minneapolis, have issued statements.
One appeared in the September-October, 1961 issue of Tasty Tal k, a free
publication from the Pillsbury Junior Home Service Center. Another has
appeared in the advertisements of Robin Hood Flour; this company offers a
free-loan filmstrip on no-sift baking. In the October, 1961 issue of
Practical Home Economics there is described the clear step-by-step procedure
by which General Mills experimented and evolved their present stand on the
no-sift method. A page of tested recipes which use the "dip" method of
measuring flour is also provided.

82

Honest but different statements are more and more likely to
confuse the homemaker of the future as rapid technological changes occur.
To learn the process of experimenting in order to arrive at warranted con-
clusions for themselves, students may replicate the procedures followed at
a professional level of research by General Mills' product control flour
specialists and home economists in the Betty Crocker experimental kitchens.
These procedures are suggested.

* Class members personally provide frank answers to the following
quest ions .

When you are baking at home, do you sift the flour at least once?
Why is flour supposed to be sifted?
How is flour supposed to be sifted?
Do you think sifting is necessary?
If so, for what products in cooking?

* Individual students use these same queries to interview as many home-
makers as possible over a week-end.

* Class tabulate and summarize results of homemaker interviews. Instead
of a direct question on "Do you like to sift flour?" they may work

on the assumption that, with sifting specified in most recipes, a
failure to sift may indicate that they probably do not enjoy the process,

» Results percentagewise may be compared:

With findings from the General Mills surveys
With findings from homemaker interviews
With findings from their own reactions

* Working in pairs, students may compare the weight of a cup of flour that
has been sifted, spooned into the cup, and leveled with the weight of

a cup dipped into the flour (See Co-ed, page 3^ for pictorial directions
on this process) and similarly leveled. Record all weights in a chart
on the chalkboard.

* Students analyze together the results in the chart:

What is the average weight of each type of measuring?

What is the range of weights in each type of measuring?

To what might these individual differences be due?

What conclusions seem to be warranted from this experimenting?

Disscussion on these results give the instructor the opportunity to
stress the strengths and weaknesses of testing by individuals, the
desirability of suspended judgment, tne necessity for logical and
critical thinking by each homemaker.

* Again working in pairs students may employ the sift and no-sift
measuring in the preparation of sugar cookies, drop cookies, pie crust,
and a simple butter cake. Standard recipes should be used. Other
pairs of students may prepare the Thumbprint Cookies and Jack Horner
Cake recipes provided by General Mills on page 37 of Practical Home
Economi cs this month, using both methods of measuring flour.

83

* The class is now ready to examine critically the paired results on
the characteristics of the products that might have been due to
differences in the measuring of flour. Obviously this will be far
from "scientific" appraisal but defensible from the practical point
of view since inconsistencies in measuring and ineptness in handling
may occur with either type of flour measuring. Summarize conclusions.

If a teacher's primary goal were to teach cooking, all this time and
effort could not be justified. However, accord'ng to the Educational Policies
Commission, the central purpose of all American education should be developing
the abi 1 i ty to thi nk. If a teacher accepts this, she will realize that
teaching the processes of experimenting, comparing, and drawing tentative
conclusions concerning "to sift or not to sift" is very much in line with
the "central purpose" of the Commission. Speaking practically, is it not
very much to everybody's advantage to try to reduce the time required for
"cooking from scratch" just as high school clothing construction has been
revitalized by the introduction of the Bishop Method?

Teaching science facts and principles through home economics

The theme of the programs at the annual meeting of the Home Economics
Sections of the American Vocational Association was "Home Economics in a
Scientific World." Those attending left the meetings with some very clear-cut
and urgent "whys" and "hows." But observing science in action in a home-
making classroom is still too rare a phenomenon, alas.

We would like to share with you from the Idea Mart of the New York
Bureau of Home Economics Education a report on the promising practices of
Mrs. Rose M. Kuczma of Eastchester High School. However she may have
evolved her techniques, they are very much in harmony with those being
employed in the national research projects on the teaching of sciences, as
now being carried on at the University of Illinois.

"THE EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH. . . .With a class of eighth graders,
heterogenous 1 y grouped, teacher and students have developed a
unit entitled "Keeping Healthy and Attractive" (Wi thin - through
nutrition and Wi thout - through textiles, color and illusion
Nutrition is taught with consideration for simple molecular
structure of foods and body cells that students may understand
how the chemistry of the body may be upset by "crash" diets
and other irregularities in eating. Using gumdrops as atoms
and toothpicks as bonds, students build models of food structure,
incidentally learning the composition of many foods.

Simple testing of foodstuffs and use of the microscope add a
zest to the subject often thought of as dull. The same approach
is used for textiles, color and optical illusion. Students are
helped to see that fiber and foods are closely related: for
example, the protein in either is affected by heat. In color,
actual paints are used and color schemes developed. Experimenta-
tion is encouraged, particularly relating to after-image, absorp-
tion and reflection of wave lengths. Final application is made
to self and home. Experience gained from previous units on
management of time, energy, ability, money and material things,

and knowledge and experience of others is applied in conducting
experiments to achieve the goal of becoming better consumers in
the world of today and tomorrow."

84

Adding depth to the teaching of tableware and other home furnishings

The quality of the instructional aids being produced by commercial
companies and organizations seems to be reaching an all-time high. One out-
standing example of this quality is being offered to home economics teachers
by the American Cyanamid Company, Plastics and Resins Division, Wallingford,
Connecticut. At present their offering consists of the following materials.

One handsome and informative booklet, Design for Dining, planned as a

teacher reference and as a resource for students

One teacher's reference, The Making of Melmac Dinnerware, providing her

with authoritative technical facts on the manufacture of this modern and

popular type of tableware

One wall chart, "A Guide to Easier Dishwashing"

Any number of an extremely wel 1 -developed personal record booklet,

You and Your Tableware Trousseau, a colorful, charmingly illustrated,

and educationaly superior learning device for each student in a class

To those who have examined and tried in use these new materials, they
seem to have the following commendable characteristics.

* Many of the basic concepts presented apply equally to all phases of
furnishing a home. Some of these deal with fundamental considerations
in long-range planning, and criteria for selection set up in the form
of a brief, useful check list

* In the personal record booklet, individuality is warmly encouraged
but not impulsive emotional response without thinking through various
aspects of a choice

* Thoughtful analysis of self is provided through some typical choice-
making decisions in the form of multiple choice questions, accompanied
by interpretations of what various choices may mean for future planning

* Not only minimun essentials in subject matter are demanded but reasons
for choices in dinnerware, linen, glassware and flatware.

* Although the American Cyanamid Company produces the plastic from
which melamine dinnerware is made by some seventeen manufacturers,
the entire range of materials used in the manufacture of dinnerware
is presented without bias.

* Through the wide range of prices in Melmac dinnerware produced by
the various manufacturers 1 isted in Pes iqn for Dining, the material
is flexible in its adaptability to different socio-economic levels.

* Management of resources through organized pre-planning is promoted
through asking each student to prepare a time table for future pur-
chases in terms of cost and number of pieces.

We believe that you will agree that these materials seem to meet unu-
sually well the criteria for instructional aids sought by teachers. We
would like to propose that you experiment with injecting into your use of
these excellent aids an additional element to give further depth to students'

85

learning. As home economists we recognize and accept our responsibility for
helping students identify, clarify, and evaluate the values they hold. Inev-
itably cherished beliefs operate in the type of decision making required
in using the personal record booklet. No matter how intellectual an approach
may be, values get into the picture whenever a personal choice about which
an individual cares is to be made.

Just as in the experimenting of the teachers in County A, great flexi-
bility is possible in the ways values inherent in these instructional ma-
terials may be explored. Nearly always a smart teacher first explores her
o*vn values, we are told. Take a good long look at your own table appoint-
ments. What values were operating when you chose your favorites? What
influenced you to select those never-used purchases at the back of the cup-
board? How did you acquire these different values? How has it happened
that you have changed some of your values? In answering such probing ques-
tions, use Ralph McG ill's rule for successful journalists: "Never lie to
yourself. Be sufficiently objective to look a conclusion in the eye."

But you need, also, to understand as well as you can, the values of
teen-agers. If you can locate a copy in any library, some time spent on
The Adolescent Society, James S. Coleman, The Free Press, Glencoe, Illinois,
1961, $6.95, will be most rewarding. Although this is a report on a com-
prehensive research project, you will hate to lay it downl Similarities
and differences in values and aspirations of students in ten typical but
highly diverse high schools make fascinating and helpful reading. The il-
lumination of boys' values is particularly worthwhile for a teacher of home
economics or she may fall into the error of ignoring the preferences of the
girls' fiancees.

Before the students are introduced to the booklet, You and Your Tabl e-
ware Trousseau, they may be asked to react to an Attitude Inventory which
will stimulate attention during the examination of the personal record
sheets. Here are some items that may be included:

j-
Statements Agree Pi saqree

1. One set of dishes should be used for all occasions

2. Company should be served on "company" china

3. Flatware used for everyday use may be stainless steel

4. For company meals one should use silver plate or sterling

5. Dishes of plastic are fine for everyday meals

6. Dishes of plastic are fine for company service

7. Place mats are for eating in the kitchen

8. The price of tableware shows one's social standing

Teachers who know the home background of their students may wish to
add some items that are closer to reality than the examples in the booklet,
Pes i qn for Pi nl ng, in order to insure right from the first acceptance of a
wide range of standards. As teaching aids go, this booklet sets up modest
and flexible standards. But in some communities such an item as "Glasses
which come with a product in them (cheese, peanut butter, etc.) are suitable
for everyday and company use" would be needed to free students from a sense
of inadequacy. Even students from pitiful homes in the slums want very much

86

to learn how to live better but, if family loyalty and privacy are invaded,
they are likely to display hostile rejection of the whole project.

At what particular point the personal record sheet should be filled out
by each student will vary with situations. Some instructors may have this
experience serve as something of a pre-test on relevant knowledge and values.
If it precedes any organized study in class, desires and dreams will probably
dominate the results. Such expression may be useful in helping individuals
identify and clarify their own value system. Then after thorough study and
discussion of basic concepts as well as preferences, these same students may
wish to go back to their original choices and reassess the values and possible
errors in judgment due to ignorance that they represent.

Other teachers may use the personal record sheets as a sort of culminat-
ing activity after students have been exposed to information from reading,
observations on field trips, applications in the classroom. As a study of
each type of tableware is concluded, the student may complete that section
of her personal record booklet. As Design for Dining suggests, each girl can
thus take away with her a carefully thought-out plan for coordinated future
purchases. Strange as it may seem to many teachers, girls in the units where
this project would be studied are in grades ten, eleven and twelve and almost
half of them will be married and establishing homes before they are out of thei'
teens.

In all class discussions, teacher and students should become increasingly
aware of both emotionally weighted preferences and values and basic concepts
with their supporting facts. Such discussions offer an instructor a good
opportunity to sharpen the sensitivity of individuals to the recognition
of a factual statement as opposed to a value judgment. Both are rightfully
employed in reaching many decisions, but everyone should know when thinking
is largely influenced by emotional values and when by logical reasoning.

There is just a possibility that the American Cyanamid Company may later
make available to home economics teachers a filmstrip that will depict in actio
the choice making involved in the personal record booklet. In our estimation
such a visual aid would help tremendously in enriching the study of values
through this tableware project. If this dream eventually becomes a reality,
we shall try to inform you as to the basis on which the filmstrip may be
secured.

Injecting value study into one aspect of clothing selection

A new full-color filmstrip is being offered free from the Audio-Visual
School Service, 386 Fourth Avenue, New York 16, New York. The title is
"Furs--Fashions, Selection and Care." For the teacher of clothing selection
this filmstrip can be made to yield much the same kind of stimulating con-
f 1 ict-of-val ues perceptions as the project on tableware, if garments of
"fabric fur" are brought in for contrast. "Real" furs, especially when
pictured in lovely color, have the same snob appeal as sterling silver in
flatware. With fur trimmings on coats and even dresses fashionable this
season, youngsters may find themselves still paying for a rabbit skin so
worn that it has had to be removed, just as not long ago sterling silver
"clubs" drained the meager incomes of many Illinois youth.

87

To be fair to the Fur Information and Fashion Council which has prepared
this filmstrip and an accompanying teacher's manual that offers much up-to-
date and authentic guidance, when and where furs can be worn appropriately,
as well as the necessary care, should be stressed in using this visual aid.
With elegance the theme of today's fashion, some functioning knowledge of
furs would seem a part of general education in a special - i nterest semester
course in clothing, particularly where enrol lees are likely to be college-
bound girls. At the same time, because of their feminine appeal, a limited
study of furs can give students practice in weighing values before being
tempted into unwise impulse buying.

The pay-off from reflective thinking

Maximum benefit from any activity, whether reading these examples of
experimenting with unfamiliar methods or trying out your own ideas, can be
gained onl y if time for reflective thinking is available and used. One
challenging mental exercise would be to review the seven steps recommended
by Dr. Lippeatt, as given in the description of the cooperative studies
made by teachers of County A, then try to imagine the procedures you would
use if you were attempting to collect evidence, evaluate results, and retest
the suggested lessons on flour measuring, tableware, or furs. We all know
that these last three steps are essential before even cl ues to what was
achieved, much less firm conclusions, can be drawn.

Fundamentally, home economists seem to be ladies of action. We find
bustling through school activities stimulating and satisfying. To sit
quietly and attempt to do reflective thinking about our teaching is some-
thing else again for every one of us. Yet reflective thinking is probably
at the base of most improved school practices. The very fact that you have
found time for this article (which is no hammock reading) suggests that YOU
value thinking about your teaching and how you can improve it.

Utilizing Different Kinds of Evaluation Instruments

Since evaluation is an integral part of all teaching and one of our
most effective teaching methods, separating it from the previous section
may seem strange. Exploring a variety of fresh possibilities did seem called
for, however, because of its strategic importance in trying to draw any
sound conclusions from"trying something different." Dr. Sara Blackwell,
writing on the problems of action research in the January, 1961, issue of
the Amer ican Vocat ional Journal , declares that "In home economics, at least,
few of the professional research workers and full-time graduate students
have come up with instruments of high quality." She continues, "Have we
any right to expect the classroom teacher to solve the measurement problems
that baffle the experts?"

Quite clearly the answer to Dr. Blackwell 's rhetorical question is "No."
Nor do the suggestions that follow meet her standards in terms of research,
action, or otherwise. However, choice as to methods and materials of apprais-
al remains a worrisome problem of every classroom teacher, but her evaluation
of student progress fortunately is likely to be aided by her intimate aware-
ness of changes over a considerable period. Such teachers might be able to
experiment with one or more of the following suggestions quite effectively.

88
Up-dating instruments formerly used

As has been previously noted, the measure of goodness in education is
not in the amount of material covered but in how wel 1 it equips students to
go on learning in the future. New emphases in the objectives of home eco-
nomics require a "new look" in familiar instruments.

For example, let us consider the appraisal devices commonly used in a
unit on clothing construction. Only as technology radically alters proce-
dures will technical score sheets on individual processes change. But the
result of using these tends to be fragmentary unless some over-all goals of
learning from the experience are clearly spelled out for students. Indeed,
these must be developed before activity starts if grading on this basis is
to be fair.

Here is a "Score Sheet on Garment Making" that can be used repeatedly,
thus providing a record on future growth. The form is the same as the
"Hornby Score Sheet for a Bishop-Method Skirt," as reproduced on pages 319-
321 of Hall and Paolucci's Teaching Home Economics. Since students have to
be thoroughly taught to use a new form of an evaluation instrument, utili-
zing the same form is an efficiency measure.

Di rect ions

Score yourself on each item, rating 10, 20, or 30 depending
upon whether your behavior corresponds to the description in
the left-hand column, or in the right-hand column, or falls be-
tween the two. Record score in the space provided for it.
Total your scores, then analyze next steps for your improvement

SCORE SHEET ON GARMENT MAKING

Person rated_
Class

School

Date started

Date completed_

Descr i pt ions

10

20

30

Score

Human Relations

1. Makes plans and purchases with
no consideration of others

2. Is selfish, disagreeable in
working with others

3. Appears thoughtless about
sharing equipment

4. Fails to encourage or assist
others when capable of doing
so

5. Interferes with others' pro-
gress to satisfy own desire
for companionship

6. Evidences dissatisfaction with
her finished garment

Plans cost of garment in rela- 1.

tion to family's income and needs

Works pleasantly, cooperatively 2.

with others

Shares equipment willingly and 3.

fairly

Uses ability to help and stimu- k.

late others

Recognizes others' need for 5.
concentration as well as own

Wears finished garment with
pride and pleasure

6

89

Description 10

20

30

Score

Management of Resources

7. Requires directions and remind-
ers about planning time

8. Wastes time and motion during
construction periods

9. Allows unnecessary items, gen-
eral confusion in work area

10. Dumps rather than arranges
supplies in tote drawer

11. Is slow and careless in clean-
ing up at close of period

12. Brings poorly chosen equipment
and supplies, often late or

mi ss i ng

13. Is negligent in care of equip-
ment

14. Needs constant, watchful guid-
ance after class directions
have been given

15. Ignores guide sheet in favor
of waiting turn to ask ques-
t ions

16. Follows teacher's directions
without understanding or
accuracy

17. Shows little or no ability to
adjust to emergencies

Plans time independently and 7.
thoughtful 1 y

Uses elimination, rearrange- 8.
ment, simplification, and com-
bination to save motions
Arranges systematically in 9.
work area needed supplies,
equipment

Keeps tote drawer neat and in 10.
order

Is dependable and prompt in 11.
clean-up responsibilities
Selects equipment and supplies 12.
promptly and wisely

Is reliable in care of equip- 13.

ment

Makes sure understands direc- 14.

tions, then works independently

Uses and interprets guide 15.
sheet to the degree ability
permi ts

Interprets teacher's directions 16.
for self up to limit of capa-
city

Uses resources available in 17.
adjusting to emergencies

Consumer Economics

18. Seems unaware or careless of
the value of money

19. Buys fabrics and pattern with
little consideration of facts
and principles taught in class

20. Does not inquire into fiber
content and fabric character-
istics when buying

21. Fails to investigate the ease
and cost of upkeep of fabric
and style

22. Wastes money on unsuitable and
unsatisfactory findings

23. Refuses to accept implications
from performance pre-test in de-
ciding on pattern and fabric

Perceives place of expendi- 18

tures for garment in relation

to total money available

Applies knowledge of color, 19

line, figure, and personality

to the selection of pattern

and fabric

Understands fiber and fabric 20,

in terms of use planned for

garment

Insures reasonable upkeep 21,

costs in time, money, skill

through thoughtful selection

Selects findings appropriate 22,

to fabric, style, and use

Plans fabric and pattern with- 23.

in limits of own construction

abi 1 i ty

90

Descr ipt ions

10

Consumer Economics (continued)

24. Selects a high fashion pat-
tern too extreme to remain
in style long

25. Lets garment get soiled and
worn looking during construe-
t ion

20

30

Score

Chooses a smart style but con- 24.
servative enough to remain in
style as long as fabric lasts
Keeps garment clean, pressed, 25.
new looking during construction

Heal th and Fi tness

26. Selects a fabric and style
unsuited to weather and use

27. Works intermittently and
hal f-heartedly

28. Seems uncomfortable in wear-
ing garment, due to poor fit
and workmanship

Appl ied Sciences

29. Uses poor techniques in
pressing fabric during con-
struct ion

30. Abuses machine and other
equipment, as leaving water in
i ron

31. Fails to see relationship be-
tween finish of fabric and
methods of handling

32. Is unable to describe exact
steps in cleaning finished
garment

Considers principles of hy- 26.

giene of clothing in making

sel ect ions

Works steadily toward recog- 27.

nized goals

Holds self to good standards 28.

of fit and workmanship with

resulting satisfaction

Understands and follows label 29
directions for care of fabric

Applies physics principles to 30

care of equipment used in

classroom

Is aware of implications for 31.

handling of any fabric with

chemically treated finish

Knows correct procedures for 32,

cleaning garment and reasons

for these

Total possible score--32 x 30 = 960

Total score of person rated

Two suggestions for use of this Score Sheet may be offered. If students
have difficulty with the arbitrarily assigned weight ings--10, 20, and 30 —
they may be reduced to 1 , 2, and 3 for simplification. Why not try both
types of weightings and compare results for discrimination in judging and
accuracy in arithmetic?

The length of this Score Sheet may bother you. It would bother your
students, too. This form is a resource from which a teacher may select
those items most necessary for a project and in terms of students' ability.
Eventually, with the expected sequential increase in difficulty, students
should be able to understand and use all of the items. The term "resource"
also is meant to imply that even beginning sewers may use a part or the
whole of the Score Sheet from which to develop their own meaningful form
before starting their projects. Remember, the major emphases recommended
are goals for the students, as well as for the teacherl

Experimenting with unfamiliar programming devices

Unfortunately, as is all too apparent in the preceding Score Sheet,
forms of classroom appraisal require a great deal of space in an article
such as this. We are forced to confine our suggestions henceforth to
descriptions of some poss ibi 1 t i es, but we are hopeful that our readers will
carry the ideas further.

Almost every school in Illinois, we are told, has, or will have soon,
mechanical aids to students' learning in one form or another. The latest
to arrive are teaching machines, as discussed by Dr. Henrietta Fleck in
the October, 1961 issue of Forecast. One might infer from Dr. Fleck's
article that right now she has some reservations about the desirability of
using teaching machines. However, we suspect that we might well be doing
some experimenting with the fundamental concepts just in case we should face
a programmed course in home economics in the not-too-distant future.

Research in the preparation and use of a scatter-book in home economics
is under way at Purdue Univeristy but nothing is known to be now available
to teachers, either in the form of scatter-books or programmed cards for
machines. However, any teacher and her students can set up a sequence of
questions on cards, with space for a student's name on each, and the correct
answers on other cards.

As far as is now known, programmed cards are most easily prepared for
factual items. Some classroom try-outs seem to indicate that such items
are most likely to be found in subject matter giving fairly standardized
steps in the procedure of doing a job or in charted content now frequently
appearing in upKo-date texts. For instance, students in junior high school
could be asked (1) What is the f i rst step in cleaning after a meal, assuming
all soiled equipment has been assembled at or near a sink? (2) What is the
second step? etc. Each student writes her answer to question (1), then
compares it with the correct-answer card. If her answer is wrong, she re-
turns to question (1) and tries again. If her answer is correct, she moves
on to question (2). The same technique can be utilized in students' self-
checking of the steps in making a simple garment, washing a wool sweater,
ironing a dress, dusting a room, making a bed, and a host of other activities
presented especially well in today's texts for junior high schools.

So far, so good! Even a few try-outs, however, indicate that this
process is not without its difficulties. A case situation must be provided
before any sequence of programmed cards. Teachers are finding it hard to
include every deta ? 1, but not one unnecessary word, required to justify so-
called "correct" procedures in efficient order. For instance, in the example
on dishwashing, the assumption stated was finally evolved as adequate.
Such controlling descriptions are necessary because few procedures in home-
making activities are completely standardized. Yet so vital is learning to
think and act in an organized fashion that all the effort seems worthwhile
for students' self-teaching. Coming from you, the insistence on sequen-
tial and accurate thinking might be considered nagging; under the publicized
term, "teaching machine," the experience seems new and interesting.

Charts of facts dealing with textiles, nutrition, child development,
and similar essent ial subject matter provide materials for readily formulated

92

questions. The difficulty here lies in judging what detailed facts are
essential now and for the foreseeable future. For instance, would you
consider essential all, some, or none of the facts charted in the "Materials
Guide for Selection and Care of Equipment" found on pages 169-173 of Fitz-
simmons and White's Management for You? If, as Dr. Patricia Tripple has
suggested in the October, 1961 Journal of Home Economics, students were to
study home economics for only one year or even one semester, the source of
such information rather than the facts would appear to be the thing to
teach. On the other hand, if students seem to be the type who would be
unlikely to seek out a source of knowledge, but are spending more time in
studying home economics, a teacher's decision might well be different.

Experimenting with devices that challenge imagination and resourcefulness

In the proposed ninth grade unit, "Management in Relation to Personal
Goals," most students report as a persistent problem the length of time
required for getting ready for school each morning--and other family mem-
bers complain of the way girls monopolize the home bathroom. Why not ask
these students to write in a stated number of minutes every poss ibl e con-
structive suggestion for increasing a girl's efficiency in such a situation?
As a pre-test this would represent a "brain-storming" technique. At the
close of the unit, it could represent application of principles. At any
time such a challenge would provide clues to an individual's resource-
fulness in thinking.

In the tenth grade unit, "Spending for Family Foods and Entertaining,"
non- laboratory lessons need to be "spiced up" to maintain students' interest
as well as challenge their thinking. One teacher employed this brief
rhyme, Mary's Lamb, by Georgia Starbuck Galbraith to challenge students'
resourcefulness in an emergency.

"Mary had a little lamb,
For two 'twas scarcely ample.

And that was the night her spouse brought home
Two old school cronies, a

customer from Dubuque,

the boss, a taxi driver, and

an unidentified man with

bifocals and hiccups, to give them

of Mary's cooking an impromptu sample!"

The teacher added, "Mary's husband did remember to call her at four
o'clock to let her know his plans for their six o'clock dinner. If you
were Mary, describe _i_n order exactly how you would use those two hours."
One student promptly declared she would go home to mother! But eventually
some amazingly varied plans were made for meeting the same situation.

Many values concerning family relationships, money, managerial and
other homemaking skills are revealed throuqh such "pressured" thinking on
both of the problems mentioned. Many facts, right or wrong, and processes
of thinking, evident in the replies, also merit a teacher's analysis. With
their almost total lack of structure, such questions give freedom for creative
thinking--perhaps their strongest asset. The answers can be scored on

93

(1) frequency or fluency, (2) variety or flexibility, and (3) uniqueness, as
was described in Vol. IV, no. 9, Illinois Teacher of Home Economics. Scored
or merely assessed through careful reading, replies are practically certain
to provide some surprising and valuable clues to the multisided thinking of
students. On such clues the alert teacher can build for further strength in
an i ndi vidual .

Trying to interpret home economics to a community through appraisal

Some home economics teachers are satisfied with the reasoning, "But they
don't understand usl" when critics of public schools assail their field. Others
recognize that, if this is true, the fault may lie with a lack of interpretations
to the public. Facts convincel And what is a better source of facts than
results from appraisal instruments?

Several home economics teachers, whose files hold past examinations used
in the General Mills1 Betty Crocker Search, have tried an interesting experi-
ment in public interpretation. All invited the mothers of their students to
a "Fun Test." Some selected items from several tests; others used intact the
test for one year. Mothers and students took the tests together one afternoon
in a large study hall. When finished, all checked their errors as the teacher
read the correct answers.

In most cases the scores of the two groups were very similar. The mothers
shone on the practicalities included, the students on the facts of subject
matter such as nutritional values. Mothers saw separate roles for husbands
and wives in the realm of family decision-making. Students perceived those
roles as more flexible and marriage as a partnership, but they were apparently
intent on following in their mother's footsteps in the ways of rearing children.
Neither group was informed on community or world affairs, and apparently
could not have cared less I

Needless to say, even though no one had to reveal any of her answers,
the discussion on the over-all results and comparisons was lively, the
interpretation of home economics interesting and convincing to the mothers,
The fact that the mothers outshone the daughters on computation problems
led them to urge the teachers to include more emphasis on management of money.
But no teacher's questions, direct or indirect, persuaded the mothers or their
daughters that information on the world about them and the role of women in
it should be included in the study of home economics. Has this too long
been a blind spot of most girls and women?

A minor but effective use of tests for the purpose of interpreting home
economics to mothers is the practice of administering to students choosing
a home project an objective test on the understandings and abilities involved.
This came about first when teachers discovered that home projects at the
different educational levels were limited in number, and that students needed
to know certain essentials before undertaking independent work. Errors are
marked and the correct answer written on the test, as well as being retaught.

The student then takes the corrected test home as a guide. When there
is any difference of opinion between daughter and mother, the concise informa-
tion on the test proves its usefulness. Moreover, the mother may well gain
an increased respect for the excellence and worthwhi leness of the course.
Occasionally, they will even admit to getting a new idea for themselves out of
the experience!

94

In some communities young homemakers express regret that they failed to
elect home economics in high school. In other localities young mothers who
employ baby sitters are keenly critical of the baby sitting and the school's
failure to teach this aspect of home economics. Some teachers, aware of such
criticism, have tried to meet it by having child development classes prepare,
duplicate and sell a baby sitter's manual. After the resources of the local
libraries and resource persons have been exhausted for pertinent subject
matter, a class may be divided into committees for writing sections of the
manual that deal with techniques for children of different ages.

When students have put forth their best efforts and results are typed,
the teacher can provide three professional guides against which students'
productions can be measured. These three guides are titled, respectively,
Taking Care of a Baby, Taking Care of a Pre-School Chi 1 d, and Taki ng Care of
a School Age Chi Id. The set costs only seventy-five cents and can be secured
by writing to CHILD CARE BOOKLETS, Women's Community Building, 100 West Senaca
Street, Ithaca, New York. Some one is sure to inquire, "Why did we go to the
trouble to produce ours when these are available?" Here is a teacher's
opportunity to explain the need for convincing doubtful employers of the ex-
cellence of students' knowledge, which a booklet from Cornell University
could never do. She need not mention the added rigor introduced through the
painstaking study required in the preparation of the manual, but adults in
the community will readily recognize it.

Action Research--Yes or No?

We have been asked, "Is experimenting action research?" To try to
answer this question, let us review the steps in carrying out a study
recommended by Dr. Lippeatt, as discussed earlier in this article.

* Identify problem area

Quite obviously any teacher who "tries something different" is
feeling a little concern about some area of her teaching or she
would not be looking for new ideas.

* Clarify problems

After considering the general nature of her problem area, a
teacher tries to identify some specific focus for improvement
that she thinks she might do something about.

* Decide on a possible solution and state hypothesis

Whenever a teacher somehow acquires an idea that seems to hold
some promise for improving her practices, she may or may not write
on paper this hunch or guess but she Jias to have it or her acti-
vity stops right there. Just as a budget that gets on paper is
an asset, so is a clearly formulated hypothesis for experimenting.
In practice, most budgets and hypotheses never get on paper in
a formal composition.

95

* Make prel iminary decisions about methods

First of all, you have probably noticed that we are assuming
that the alert teacher reads up-to-the-minute materials in
thinking through exactly what she might do. In the process she
evolves clear-cut understandings of the meanings of key words and
concepts .

Secondly, the teacher surveys various possibilities and decides on
the choice that seems to best fit into her own situation. Actually,
if a teacher reads an idea in this article that she thinks might
be helpful, she probably will identify and clarify it as it re-
lates to some recognized need of hers, then figure out local
adjustments that she wants to make in using it. Do you see that
she mixes up the "proper" sequence listed here — and will be just
as likely to have success1.

Third, decisions have to be made about data needed as evidence
and instruments have to be prepared for collecting such data.
Right here the experimenter begins to part company from the per-
son doing action research. Our reader-critics of this article
uniformly advised offering more ideas for trying something dif-
ferent at the expense of lengthy development of one or two action
research projects.

But always, experimentation!

Only an occasional teacher will continue through Dr. Lippeatt's last
three steps — collecting evidence, evaluating results, drawing conclusions,
then re-testing — at the level of action research. But that should not dis-
courage even one of us from enjoying the zestful adventure of experimenting!
The important point is not how nearly "trying something different this year"
approaches a strictly interpreted definition of action research, but how
much the teacher grows through the experience.

After teachers have experimented with ideas that are new, at least to
them, they usually make such comments as the following:

"It is so different when you find it out for yourself! Then it's fun!"
"After using more evaluation instruments, I feel that I know better

what I'm looking for in my results."
"My first try-out was such a flop that it made me realize how deep was

the comfortable rut into which I had sunk."
"My students' enthusiasm for the different method so startled me that

I saw what a lot of satisfaction all of us had been losing out on

because of a failure to offer variety."

So let us call trying something different an "action technique" rather
than action research. There is nothing wrong in admitting weaknesses in
our instruments and procedures if they are the best currently available.
Recall the old maxim that a man must learn to walk before he can run. With
creative imagination and constructive practice, we may later learn to run.

96
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18 **

ILLINOIS TEACHER

VENTURING IN DEMOCRATIC VALUES THROUGH
ROLE-PLAYING

Values and Change in a Democratic

Society 97

The Teaching, the Teacher,

The Teen 106

Role-playing Endorsed in a

Democratic Society 115

Dynamics of Group Discussion in a

Democratic Society 131

DECISIONS: PLANNED OR CHANCE? .... 1 40

home economics education • university of Illinois

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS BULLETIN

Volume V, Number 3; November, 1961. Published
nine times each year by the University of
Illinois. Entered as second-class matter
December 11, 1912, at the post office at Urbana,
Illinois, under the Act of August 24, 1912.
Office of Home Economics Education, 334 Gregory
Hal 1 , Urbana, 1 1 1 inois

VENTURING IN DEMOCRATIC VALUES THROUGH ROLE-PLAYING

Alice Orphanos, Farragut High School, Chicago, Illinois
Amy Paula, Supervisor of Home Economics, Chicago Board of Education

We have heard it said that Ralph Waldo Emerson once visited a school
room and, upon leaving, commented to the teacher, "Madam! You are trying
to make all these children just like you. One of you is enough!"

The value of differences is to be cherished rather than lamented in the
training of youth for a changing tomorrow. A forward-looking democracy must
rest upon the solid basis of an enlightened citizenry. Victory is not won
by stronger muscles, sharper claws, and greater bulk, but by mutual helpful-
ness and responsibility for tne brotherhood of man. For this reason, special
attention is given to the necessity of including democratic values and practices
in present-day teaching to maintain fundamental liberties.

The teaching technique, role-playing, is advocated as one dynamic method
of furthering self-direction of students. Its unique quality stimulates
active group discussion. The study of values, within this democratic at-
mosphere, allows for the realities of our day to be exposed and faced ob-
ject i vel y .

The problems of the day demand man's best efforts, and man's values
are reflected in his actions.

"We hate you and we'll kill you." - Extermi nat ion

"We hate you but we'll use you." - Expl oi tat ion

"We don't like you, but we'll let you alone." - Tol erat ion

"You're different, but we know your worth." - Appreci at ion

"We appreciate you and will do what we can to help you realize all

your latent powers and capacities." - Creat i ve Development

Yes, we are a democracy because the final power to govern rests with the
people. National solidarity rests squarely on the welfare and integrity
of man and his family—the one value that has been the crux of the home
economics profession since its beginning. The qualities and values which
center in the home determine directly tne quality and permanence of civil i -
zat ion.

The contents of this article are organized into four areas. These are:

Values and Change in a Democratic Society

The Teaching, the Teacher, the Teen

Role-playing Endorsed in a Democratic Society

Dynamics of Group Discussion in a Democratic Society

97

98

Values and Change in a Democratic Society

Only through constructive values and actions
will man help to alleviate the ills of mankind. And
here lies the strength of democracy! Political and
economic forms are not isolated from our values--for
the American tradition deplores suppression, intim-
idation, and terrorism.

Democracy promotes ideals of tolerance and
popular enlightenment. It permits the individual
to make up his own mind free from indoctrination.
Democracy recognizes that no man should be granted
the power to curtail basic freedoms. Lord Acton
once said, "Power corrupts and absolute power corrup'
absol utel y."

Every teacher faces the inevitable task of setting the scene for her
students so that they have the experiences through which values desirable
in a democracy can be developed. Teachers of home and family living particuli
feel this responsibility since values concerned with personal living are
emotionally weighted and difficult to change.

Democratic learning experiences

"Let all that breathe partake!
Let Freedom ring!"

These words of rejoicing in freedom and liberty embody both our heritage
from the past and a challenge for the future. To be worthy of this heritage,
the teacher must value the principle, democratic behavior results only from
democratic learning experiences.

Democracy has not sprung all at once into full-flower. The germ of
the idea came from ancient Greece. By "democracy" the Greeks implied that
"demos" meant the people, and "kratein" referred to rule. Hence, the rule
of the people. This spirit of freedom and independence culminated in the
Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States, a
spirit that continues to seek the welfare of all mankind.

We hold firmly to the value of the worth and dignity of each individual.
Everyone is given credit for being responsible and intelligent enough to
make choices. The schools, in particular, are given the crucial task of
aiding individuals to become self-directed citizens, an essential for
democracy to flourish!

Moreover, a free society is not a society for weaklings. The con-
viction for continued freedom demands the values of courage, industry, and
faith which were bequeathed to us by the Founding Fathers. Our charge is
not only to remain democratic, but to become more democratic. In the words
of Thomas Jefferson:

Be generous in practicing liberty.

Value all human beings.

Find in equality the solution to the problems of a free society.

99

Cherish sol idari ty.

Be reasonable and moderate.

We know that a democracy is not simply a particular form of government
or a mere mechanism to be worshipped. Its values of liberty, justice, peace,
opportunity, self-government, and prosperity are preserved only by the cont 1 nuous
conviction of each generation. And yet, we note with some alarm, that youth
may be moving in the direction of alienation, neutralism, and indifference.
If there is partial truth to these claims, we must be concerned for values are
powerful directives in our lives. They govern our choices and decisions.
Is there merit in the thought expressed by Norman Cousins, the editor of
Saturday Review, who once said that we know virtually everything except what
to do with what we know?

Nothing is so constant as change!

The contrast from the past to the present helps us to see the unlimited
future. We have moved from, "A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse," to
today's world of, "Your rocket is ready, sir!1' This advancement might be
compared to a snowball rolling downhill, growing in size with every turn.
However, its momentum causes one to stand painfully confused before it.

Likewise, the body of knowledge has grown so great and changes have
occurred with unprecedented speed, so that confusion in values has been the
outcome. We say:

Education should help
youth to develop poten-
tial i t i es for 1 i ving
meaningful and satisfy-
ing 1 i ves,

but

the world in 1 980 in which
today's youth will live as
adults will be changing more
rapidly than at any period in
history and in presently unknown
ways.

We note today the effects upon individuals from the conditions of a
"society in transition" that can cripple the advancement of any democracy.
Confusion, feelings of inadequacy, loss of identity, need for conformity,
search for security, meaningl essness, anxiety, exploitation, escape, and
other effects are evidenced in many circles.

In view of this fact, many believe that a sense of values is the most
important single element in human personality, more important than knowledge,
intelligence, or imagination. It is the balance wheel, the guiding factor
in human activity, the basis of judgment and the foundation of character.

1 1 1

"As goes the home, so goes the nation!

Are not the teachers of home economics in an especially influential
position? Do we fill-in the sentence: Home economics teachers are in a

position to strengthen home and family living with adjectives

such as: choice, enviable, difficult, conspicuous, strategic, gratifying,
cr i t ical?

The answer to this question lies in our own values, convictions, joint
interests, and efforts in helping students to seek their values. Jane Addams
of Hull House fame, reminds us that, "progress is not automatic. The world

100

grows better because people wish that it should, and take the right steps to
make it better."

Indeed, the home economics teacher has the venturesome opportunity to
nurture learnings in such a way that her students:

* find a significant role to enact in society, as well as in personal
endeavors

* become aware of the effect of change upon their role

* learn to deal with change-producing forces, and

* accept change as a creative opportunity for further challenges.

As far back as 1935, a poem appeared in The Christian Century that
has even greater meaning in the Sixties. One can perceive the gamut of
feelings and values that it reflects. Each teacher can help in making these
1 ines less true.

In a Time of Cr i s i s

Such speed we make on land and sea and air,
Such prodigies of lightning wing and wheel —
While slower than a snail we crawl to heal
The splitting nations, and the world's despair!

Where do we begin in the development of values?

There is no cut-and-dr ied answer to this searching question. We no
longer accept that an individual is truly healthy merely because he is
physically fit. Nor do we consider a society healthy merely because it has
a high standard of living and a low death rate.

The values of a society operate in judging and reasoning as to what
ought to be, what is good for man. Values become more than mere preferences
and tastes in that they are deeper and more abiding.

Since the time of Anthropology Adam, man has had basic needs that serve
as "springboards" in understanding his system of values. D. M. Hall of the
University of Illinois expresses these basic needs in the book, Dynamics of
Group Act ion as :

Survival Needs: air, food, sleep, drink, and body comfort
Personal Needs above the sur/ival level:

(a) Pleasures associated with clothing, shelter, and health

(b) Ownership of tools, equipment, and property

(c) Recognition for activity, achievement, and self-expression

(d) Security, freedom from excessive fear and danger

(e) Integrity, the feeling of consistency in principles and acts,
understanding nature and the universe, in knowing one's place
in the universe, in understanding one's own nature and conduct

Social Needs: companionship, friends, and love; and understanding of

one's relation to his group, his rights, obligations, and
interests

Thus, we see that man reaches out to know, to understand, to appreciate.
He seeks to "see life steadily and to see it whole."

1 1

101

How many acquired values are there?

No one really knows, because values overlap and merge into one another
in imperceptible degrees. Nevertheless, the "General Goals of Life Inventory
from the Cooperative Test Service, Princeton, New Jersey, reflects comparative
values by pairing 190 items that show each one of the following as a goal in
1 ife:

* Serving God, doing God's will

* Achieving personal immortality in heaven

* Self-discipline; overcoming irrational emotions and sensuous ideas

* Self-sacrifice for the sake of a better world

* Doing one's duty

* Peace of mind, contentment, stillness of spirit

* Serving the community

* Fine relations with other persons

* Self-development; becoming a real genuine person

* Finding one's place in life and accepting it

* Living for the pleasure of the moment

* Getting as many deep and lasting pleasures as one can

* Security; protecting one's way of life against adverse changes

* Being able to "take it;" brave and uncomplaining acceptance of what
circumstances bring

* Realizing that one cannot change the bad features of the world overnight

* Handling the specific problems of life as they arise

The problem of values in our society is expressed by M. V. C. Jeffreys
in his article, "Confusion of Values and the Teacher's Responsibility" in
Educational Forum, March, 1961, as: "In an age of moral confusion and shift-
ing values the line of least resistance is to have no standards at all — to
say that nothing is right or wrong in itself but only if you think it to be."
Jeffreys further points out that our anxieties today find consolation in the
notion of life as a lottery — the substitution of luck for effort and purpose.
The breakdown of traditional moral authorities makes it all the more important
in education to help young people to group the values that underlie codes of
conduct .

Stated in another way, John L. Chi Ids believes that the schools should
not be morally indifferent institutions, but their purpose is to direct,
weigh, and influence the experiences and the growth of the young. Choos inq
is more than knowing, Chi Ids says, and the process of making value-judgments
is more than a process of inquiry, analysis, and description. In other words,
morality without feeling is an empty codification or idle semantics. Nietzche,
the philosopher, advocates, "He who knows a WHY of living surmounts almost
every HOW."

Are values inescapable in total learning?

Values emobody our conception of what makes life good. Life energies
are expended to pursue those that are prized most. The famed Albert Schweitzer
reminds us that values must be won out of living experiences and hard reflec-
tion. Are not classrooms part of living experiences?

A teacher may find many channels for further valuing in noting reactions
to:

102

pleasures and pains
satisfactions and frustrations
preferences

means, conditions, instruments
integration and disintegration
character, vitality, self-realization
survival, evolutionary fitness
individual freedom, social solidarity
adjustabi 1 ity

law, duty, conscience
virtues, idealism, norms
beauty and ugl iness
righteousness and justice
truth and error
real ity and unreal ity
courage and freedom
sense of worth
humane improvement

In this venture in values the teacher seeks to make her students:

aware of their values

express these recongnizabl e values

exhibit consistency in those values held vital

recognize their hierarchy of values.

For example, when skills are examined in relation to values, the teaching of
skills takes on a different meaning. Is it more important for a homemaker
to build a cake "from the bottom," to take the children to the zoo, to par-
ticipate in the community sing, or to use a package mix? Dorothy Lee in the
Journal of Home Economics, February, I960, speaks of changes in our society
in terms of substitutes that are necessary in order to achieve the values
that were concomitant with such experiences as mother and daughter shelling
peas, peeling peaches to can, or cutting apples to dry.

Are values expressed in many ways?

Assumption: You, the teacher, have clarified for yourself the meaning of
democracy, and have identified for yourself the values held
necessary in perpetuating this way of life.

Act ion:

You, the teacher, then advance forward in setting the "climate"
for your students to discover, discriminate, and choose the
values acceptable in a democracy.

Brand Blanshard of Yale University defines values as the stars by
which education may and should steer its course. Lee Crombach of the
University of Illinois states that if a person does not believe in the
values he publicly appears to live by, he can only resort to deception.
The ideal of moral education is to gradually free a man's mind so that it
can serve his highest values. We know that the person who most considers
others is also the one who has the deepest self-acceptance.

Robert J. Havighurst of the University of Chicago comments that modern
society divorces its world-view from its value system. This is not deliberate
and no one is happy about it. The result is bewildering to a young person.
He seems to be alone with the task of formulating his own goals and aspiration!
in the light of his scientific knowledge of the nature of man and his universe
Too often, his teachers and his parents do not or cannot help.

Ivan L. Russell of Southern Illinois University states that values are
unique verbal concepts that relate to the worth given to specific kinds of
objects, acts, and conditions by individuals and groups. He claims that
three dimensions can be found:

103

« a quantitative element, indicating the amount of worth one
al locates to a val ue

* a qual i ty of elasticity, indicating the extent to which a value is
held

* an interrelationship, a system referred to as one's hierarchy of values

Anna Carol Fults of the same institution believes that it is reasonable to
assume that in any educational program directed toward changes in behavior,
we must be aware of those things which motivate behavior — our values, our
needs, and our problems. Values are derived from the soil of everyday
exper iences.

What about values and the globe of many cultures?

Do we prepare our students to understand and accept cross-cultural
differences in family life? Do we recognize that man is a product of his
culture, and that life is seen in terms of his culture's perceptions, mean-
ings, and values? The profession of home economics defines this as
Competence Twelve in New D? rect ions: "to develop mutual understanding and
appreciation of differing cultures and ways of life, and cooperate with
people of other cultures who are striving to raise levels of living."

The magnitutde of this competence is imposed upon the youth of today who
will have to live with three to four billion neighbors in a closely knit
international community. In light of today's world, values that have long
been a part of the American ideal now become a necess i ty.

Our students are forced to respect, accept, and appreciate the similar-
ities and differences of their fellowmen. George D. Spindler wrote in
Educational Leadership, May, 1961, that: "The basic problem is how to
communicate to students the diversity of human cultures, the uniqueness of
values, and the integration of patterned behavior around them in each culture,
with increased awareness and tolerance as the aim; and at the same time
communicate understanding of the fact that all cultures are answers to the
same basic problems and conditions of human existence!"

Preconceived attitudes and values can be relinquished, as was the case
with several home economics classes that wrote term papers on "Family Life
in Other Lands." What were some new appreciations?

* Russia: "I had pictured Russia as a country with dirty little

farms and backward people."

* Norway: "It was the first time I gave any thought about boys and

girls of my own age in different surroundings."

* Mexico: "An interview with our neighbor spurred my enthusiasm in

writing about the Zapotec family of Mexico. We have
become closer as a result of the report."

* Laos: "I thought that those people were uncivilized and immoral,

but was surprised to find out that they had high moral
standards."

104

* Uraquay: "I feel that I have gotten to know the people of Uraguay

as close friends. We don't realize how much there is to
know about foreign peoples."

* Italy: "Writing about Italy was one of the most interesting things

that I have ever done. I think that I can remember things
about Italy for years to come."

* Czechoslovakia: "I could not appreciate what my parents used to tell

me about Czechoslovakia until now. My grandparents were
very happy that I wrote on their homeland; it brought back
memories for them."

* China: "It made me appreciate our way of life. I have been taking

it for granted."

* England: "I hope we follow their ideals in keeping the family unit

as most important."

* Korea: "I had thought that many Americans had a low standard of

life and were poverty stricken. I now real ize that we

are very fortunate, even the less fortunate in our country."

* India: "I found out how interesting it could be in writing about

family life in other countries, but I am mighty happy to

be living in America where I have a chance to better myself."

* Arabia: "If more people realized more fully the ways of other peoples,

world peace would be achieved a lot easier."

* Yuqosl avia: "If by some strange stroke of luck we should stop to see

how well-off we really are in comparison to other countries,
we might appreciate America a little more."

Cannot our youth be motivated through experiences such as these to awaken
them to the American ideal, and the responsibility demanded from each one for
contributing to a better tomorrow? They can seek out values of other peoples
in relation to our own, and be able to accept differences. The harm recently
caused by one thoughtless member of the Peace Corps in Nigeria highlights the
importance of such learning.

Story problems can be developed through discussion to encourage empathy
of other cultures. One case is described below that appeared in the Betty
Crocker Search Test Review of I960:

Story Problem

Ann and Jack spend every Sunday at the home of his parents,
who have retained many customs of the country of their origin. Ann
is irked by these Sunday visits. She resents the fact that the men
eat separately (and first!) while she is left to visit with the
women. She thinks that their constant talk of children and material
things is boring. A well-read person, she finds it difficult to
introduce new topics of conversation or to refer to something she
has read in a newspaper because her sisters-in-law suggest that she
is a highbrow and a snob. Upon their return home one evening, Ann
mimics the day's proceedings to Jack, announcing that she will not

105

spend another Sunday with his relatives. Jack loves his family,
shares educational background with Ann, and does not wish to displease
either. His family situation is not likely to change.

How can Jack help Ann to adjust to this situation? What attitudes
can she assume that would be helpful? Assuming the goodwill of
her sisters-in-law, what approaches can she use to adjust to them?

*

Also, many aspects of home life in other cultures can be role-played.
Perhaps a girl who has reported on Japan's culture can have a situation
such as this one cited as a springboard:

Scene: Living room with grandmother, mother, and teen-age daughter,
Carol .

Daughter: But, Mother, it is so important that I be allowed to wear
modern clothes al 1 the time'.!

Mother: I know, dear, but we often have to compromise in life.

Grandmother would not think of it; she feels that we must
cherish and uphold our wonderful traditions so we must
sacrifice part of the time.

Grandmother: Carol, you should be proud of our culture's long history.
The young age is frivolous. We oldsters can't let youth
override us — in clothes or in other things.

Daughter: That's just being old-fashioned. Royal and elite families
in Japan are becoming progressive — just read the papers and
see how right I ami I see nothing wrong with at least
wearing Western clothes all the time.

* What values are reflected in each role?

* What causes have created such different values?

* What type of family structure has been traditional in Japan?

* What happenings since World War Two have created shifting values in
thei r cul ture?

Cannot appreciations be enhanced by posing situations similar to this one
in getting the class involved?

What values and message do we find in the words of Thomas Carlyle?
"This world, after all our science and sciences, is still a miracle;
wonderful, inscrutable, magical and more, to whosoever will think of it."
Do our students perceive like Carlyle or more like the King of Siam in
"The King and I" who tells of his plight in holding on tightly to ideas:

"And it puzzles me to learn
That though a man may be in doubt

of what he knows,
Very quickly will he fight.
He'll fight to prove that what he

does not know is SOI"

Home Economics: New D? rect ions aims to change values similar to those
held by the Siamese king. For we know the art of communication with other
cultures is more than language. It is respect, understanding, and empathy
toward other peoples' cherished customs and ideals.

There are six principles of democracy expressed in George Counts'

106
book, The Education of Free Men in an American Democracy:

* The human being is of surpassing worth

* The human mind can be educated and should be free

* Men can and should rule themselves

* Minority groups and interests should be respected

* Both natural and cultural resources belong to all men

* Peaceful methods are superior to war

All these values make up a democracy.

The Teaching, The Teacher, The Teen

All teachers inherently want to be good teachers.
All wish to work with their students in the most effectiv
way. Nevertheless, the teacher's role-concept of her-
self affects the nature of teaching. She must have
thought through her own philosophy of teaching and have
decided upon the function she should perform.

To help students develop an allegiance to demo-
cratic values requires that the teacher promote an
atmosphere in which democracy is experienced. She
creates the type of environment in which the learning
she seeks is possible. Said in another way, the
"climate" of a learning situation determines how
efficiently the student will learn the facts, skills,

and values desired. Like Confucius' teacher, she "opens the way, but does

not take them to the place."

Teaching is the communication of life from the living to the living.
It is this influencing of life that makes personality such an important teach-
ing requisite. We have heard the oft-repeated saying, "What you are speaks
so loudly that I cannot hear what you say." The teacher will teach some by
what she says, more by what she does, but most by what she is.

What traits are most desirable in a teacher?

A screening of 12,000 responses from second through twelfth graders
received by Paul Witty of Northwestern University revealed in the order of
preference the following traits for teachers:

"The teacher who helped me most had:"

1. a cooperative, democratic attitude

2. patience, kindness and consideration

3. wide interests

k. a pleasing manner and a neat appearance

5. been fair and impartial

107

6. a sense of humor

7. a good disposition and a consistent behavior

8. an interest in students' problems

9. been flexible

10. used praise and recognition

11. unusual proficiency in the subject

A quality teacher conceives of her role as an encourager, coordinator,
and stimulator of action rather than an interpreter of life, bne values
diversity, and helps the students to value themselves.

Sociologists and pyschologi sts have long contended that the individual
acquires his conceptions of "good" and "bad" through a process of identifica-
tion with other individuals who are significant to him. "Significant others"
are those toward whom there are strong positive feelings, such as lo^e and
admiration. These figures become "models" for that person. The teacher can be,
and oftentimes is, the "significant other" for the student. Certainly, such
basic values as appreciation for the dignity and worth of man are strengthened
through this process of identification.

Values are acquired — not imposed

This is the essence of democracyl Concentrated attempts in all learning
experiences must follow this philosophy. Clarified values that guide the
democratic teacher show that she:

* Emphas izes the personal value of each student as part of the total
social group

* Assumes the role of a resourceful leader who is ready to help each
student

* Encourages each student to participate in the group

* Induces constructive methods of discipline to protect the feelings
of each student

* Recognizes that she does not know all answers, and is not threatened
by it

» Accepts the individual differences and avoids ridicule of the
student who is slow to learn

* Ass i sts the student to explore various approaches to an eventual goal

* Al lows maximum self-direction in allocating, assuming, and carrying
out tasks, as well as setting limits of freedom

A truly democratic teacher, in the judgment of Robert Watson, is one
who gives assistance and direction while allowing freedom of action only
within the limits of the students' capabilities to handle this freedom. In
other words, the teacher does NOT give up her adult responsibility and
authority. This "giving up" is a conspicous characteristic of the laissez-
faire leader.

Is emotional climate vital to learning values?

Let us consider:

Mrs. Smith who uses the classroom to vent her own frustrations and
feelings. We might overhear Mrs. Smith saying to the girls, "All right!
I've heard enough of your chatter. No lab work today 1 Instead, read
chapter six in your textbook."

108

Mrs. Brown who has achieved excellent class control by restricting
interaction of class members. We might overhear Mrs. Brown saying to
the girls, "We can't waste time working in groups. Besides, it can get
so noisy. Continue with your written assignment on page 105."

Mrs. Jones who establishes the class atmosphere in such a way as to
allow committee work, group planning, group action, and group evaluation
as basic democratic skills. We might overhear Mrs. Jones saying to the
girls, "Today we shall hear the reports from the committee group leaders."

Since learning is an active process, Mrs. Jones' approach "creates"
the environoment most conducive for desired democratic value outcomes to be
experienced. The minds of students are liberated to make creative contribu-
tions. Shared experiences, said Dewey, are the greatest of human goods.

There are additional clinchers that help in setting a sound emotional
cl imate.

* Discipl ine: The teacher has to "free" students to learn. But a
disorganized classroom does not facilitate learning. Whatever brings
out the least internal conflict is the best approach to employ.

* Permissiveness vs. toughness is not an either-or matter, but what
works best for a particular group. Democratic methods allow for
experience in self-direction within limits.

* Sense of humor is a healthy release from tensions and restlessness
that is so often part of adolescent years. Wittiness may work well
in some groups, and fail in others. The teacher has to observe the
group to see what approach helps in releasing tensions.

* Display of affection is best shown by the teacher's undi vided attention
to the group.

* Cons i stency has to be tempered with good judgment. It can be harmful
only if inflexible. Circumstances may occasionally change decisions;
pattern and timing may also be important.

* Understanding students helps in better teaching. An extensive study
revealed that children, parents and teachers agreed that stealing,
cheating, untruthfulness, and disobedience were among the most serious
behavior problems. In sharp contrast, forty-two child psychologists
ranked those behaviors of no great importance, but regarded depression,
unsoci al ness, fearfulness, and suspiciousness as the most serious
types of conduct. Fortunately, in recent times teachers, unlike parents,
are changing their concepts to correspond more closely to those held

by psychologists.

" Fairness and justice are top values in a teacher's effectiveness. The
less a teacher compares students, the more positive the learning.
Letter-grades should be based on the success or failure of daily ex-
periences and not on the teacher's or general image of the person.

109

* Anger frightens students, according to some theorists. Others contend
that anger, if well-handled, can be therapeutic. The latter personifies
"limits" of a society and reality. The degree is dependent upon the
situation and, also, upon the teacher's breaking point.

Basically, there is no simple solution for any teacher. As Dr. Jean Baer
of the University of Illinois says, "Teacher effectiveness is not in the teacher,
but always a rel at ionshi p between what the teacher has to offer and the com-
plexity of conditions within the teaching situation."

Helpful literature in reaching students through a teacher's understanding
of mental hygiene can be obtained by writing to:

* National Association for Mental Health, 10 Columbus Circle, New York 19,
New York

* Illinois Council of Mentally Retarded, 3*+3 Dearborn, Room 506, Chicago k,
I 1 1 i no i s

* Illinois Department of Public Welfare, 403 State Office Building,
Spr ingf iel d, 111 inois

Do we have "quaranteens" or "1 aunchinq-teens" in the classroom?

Too many adults are viewing the teen-age years with alarm. The prevalent
thinking of adolescents as "carnivorous packs" adds to the problem. As
teachers, however, we see that the picture is not so bleak. A re-appraisal
of growth problems can furnish insight in better understanding this period.
These can be the most exciting and rewarding years.

Teens have many hurdles to overcome. The social striving of the American
adolescent centers around the need to develop a clear status and a consistent
self-image. To do this he must gain recognition from his peers on the basis
of peer-group values; no longer can recognition from the family suffice. In
addition, our culture does not sharply differentiate the status role from one
stage of development to the next. This creates further ambivalence for the
teen. He may consciously or unconsciously wonder what role is expected of
him now.

Let us compare some worries of freshmen in contrast to worries of
seniors in high school.

Freshmen Worries

Senior Worries

getting along with teachers

avoiding looking like a freshie

remembering my locker combination

wondering how to act

handing in work on time

having parents understand me

getting to classes on time

eating with friends

matching clothes

being introduced to new faces

getting used to many teachers

learning to speak up

trying to remember names

passing tests

getting into activities

clash between dating and homework

having more money

going steady

passing senior tests

controlling temper

trait ratings from teachers

working after school

deciding what subjects to take

wondering about future

thinking about the prom

staying in school

conflicting job choices

wearing latest style clothes

110

There are times when the values of the school may not be those of the
adolescent. The teenager may test new social skills in his peer group and
gain recognition for achievements valued by his age-mates that may be unlike
those sought by the school. And yet, much of the socialization responsibility
rests upon the school in this transition. Oscar Handlin wrote in the Septem-
ber, 1961 issue of the Atlantic Monthly an article, "Live Students and Dead
Education," pointing out that boys and girls can make good citizens if they
can grow through the difficult years of adolescence, learning by experience
to relate themselves to the world about them.

Can the concept of developmental tasks serve in seeking values?

To grasp the concept of developmental tasks is to obtain a key to
understanding behavior. They are the actual and serious problems which al 1
young people have to solve as they mature.

Robert J. Havighurst sums up the developmental tasks that the adolescent
finds himself trying to master as:

* Achieving new and more mature relations with age-mates of both sexes

* Achieving a mascul ine or feminine social role

* Achieving one's physique and using the body effectively

* Achieving emotional independence of parents and other adults

* Achieving assurance of economic independence

* Achieving, selecting and preparing for an occupation

* Preparing for marriage and family life

* Developing intellectual skills and concepts necessary for civic
competence

* Desiring and achieving socially responsible behavior

* Acquiring a set of values and an ethical system as a guide to behavior

Role-playing is a useful technique in discovering values derived from
developmental tasks. The aim below is to present two developmental tasks-
achieving the feminine social role, and achieving one's physique and using
the body effectively.

The Problem: The teacher received complaints that working in groups
with certain class members is intolerable because of
"overpowering" body odors, frequently intensified by the
use of cheap perfumes.

Warm_Up_: To acquaint the group with the problem at hand, the teacher
began by saying, "I wonder if any of you have been faced
with telling one of your friends about some unpleasant
personal habit which makes her unpopular or even offensive
to her classmates?"

Ill

The Story: "Let's take ourselves out of this class and become mem-
bers of an imaginary one. Two girls, Mary and Joan, have
complained to the teacher that they find working happily
in their group impossible because Nancy, another member,
has a most unpleasant body odor. They suspect that
Nancy does not bathe regularly, nor does she use a deo-
dorant. Occasionally she reeks of an equally unpleasant
perfume. How would you manage such a situation if you
were the teacher — Mary or Joan — Nancy?"

The Action: The situation was role-played several times by different
students. Interesting facts and feelings were brought
to light, a few of which are given here.
Physiological fact: One's skin is equipped with pores
for elimination of body wastes. These wastes must be
removed daily with cleansing soap and water.
Social aspect: In our culture, body cleanliness is
valued highly. Social acceptance depends on indivi-
duals being inoffensive.

Feel inqs: Cosmetics and toiletries are expensive;
advertisements are not reliable; money spent on deodor-
ants is wasted; mothers don't use deodorants and they
"get along" alright.

Some Resul ts: The most interesting and effective action took place when
the role of Mary who has to do the "telling" was played
by a student who, heretofore, had been the most with-
drawn and uncommunicative member of the class. Her
approach:

Mary: "Nancy, will you help me with a personal
problem? I haven't been satisfied with
the deodorant I've been using, so I've
switched to a new kind. Yesterday I bought
some X-Brand. I paid twenty-five cents more
than for Y-Brand, the kind I've always used
before. What kind do you use, Nancy?"

Nancy: "I never use a deodorant. My mother says
they're a waste of money. Sometimes I use
a little rubbing alcohol under my arms."

Mary: "That doesn't help perspiration odor. You

really have to use something that neutralizes.
I've got an idea'. Yesterday when I was in
the drugstore, there was another kind that
I almost bought. It was much cheaper though,
and I was afraid that it was no good. How
about you and I doing some comparing? You
buy this other kind — it was only twenty-nine
cents for a small jar. I'll use mine for
two weeks; you use yours. Then we'll exchange,
In the meantime, let's be real honest and tell
each other how we're doing."

112

Evidences of the effectiveness of the role-playing activity appeared
in evaluations the students made immediately after the enactments and on the
following day. Only a few excerpts can be included here . . .

"I think the acts were very good. I think the girls got the idea of
bathing and using deodorants."

"This morning when I used my deodorant I thought about the acting we
had done the day before."

"It gave me an idea and courage on how to approach my friend who has
this kind of problem."

The teacher's satisfaction came from arriving at a solution far more
satisfactory than might ever have been accomplished had she used the more
common approach of lecturing on the merits of daily body care. Although
feelings, values, and habits do not necessarily change through one experi-
ence, more sensitivity to the problem can be developed by involvement
through this device.

Conflicting years for parents and teens

The adolescent is likely to resent what he considers parental inter-
ference in his affairs for some of the following reasons:

* The parental generation is older while the adolescent is just
reaching vigorous adulthood

* Parental authority is temporary, and the adolescent sees it waning
as he matures

* Parents, because of their greater experience, are more realistic
than adolescents

* The parents and the peer group may have conflicting norms that create
conflicting loyalties, and with the peer group winning most of the
time, according to Bailer and Charles in The Psychology of Human
Growth and Development. 1961

Topics of dispute between adolescents and parents that reveal values
and can be effectively portrayed by the device of role-playing include:

Dating Friendships Time schedules

Clothes Chores Money

Automobiles Vacations School

Telephones Discipline Morals and manners

Counselors find that the greatest difficulty for parents to surmount
is how to help enough, but not too much. The emotional maturity of both
parents and teens is tested and re-tested when decisions have to be made.
The final steps of granting their children emotional independence is the
hardest of all to take.

Adolescents are in the "not quite" stage of development. They are

113

not quite children, not quite adults, and not quite sure of themselves.
With the help of the teacher and parent, the developmental tasks can be
achieved for the launchinq-teen.

What are adolescent values in marital choice?

In Marriage and Family Living, Februrary, 1959, appeared a list of factors
which 713 high school students considered important in choice of a marriage
partner. I terns are ranked in the order in which they were given first place
by the students.

1. Emotional love 6. Common interests

2. Emotional maturity 7. Financial responsibility

3. Agreeable personality 8. Intelligence

4. Same religion 9. Family background

5. Physical attractiveness

The individual age-groups exhibited no significant differences in rating
choices. Responses given above paralleled those of other surveys on a
national scale. A survey of this nature can help the teacher to place emphasis
on mature, responsible consideration in selecting a marriage partner. The
students may gain a new perspective by becoming aware of views held by others.

Investigations such as the one cited reveal that values are shifting,
perhaps alarmingly at times. Herbert Thelen of the University of Chicago
speaks almost despairingly about this problem in his book, Education and the
Human Clues t, Harper and Brothers, I960. He states that, "graduation from
high school is mostly a calendar matter, a matter of waiting it out. Even
marriage, which used to have a sobering effect and used to be associated
with ultimate acceptance into the adult world, now has no real change of
value within the insulated peer-group world. We have given our youth privileges
of irresponsibility and these privileges have not had to be shaken off — far
from it. The times have made them stick.

"Thus one may quite seriously propose that the change in American values
has come about through the injection into the body politic of the values of
the adolescent. The astonishing similarity of the values of the organization
man and the high school adolescent simply cannot be laughed off, and this
similarity helps us, I think, to a better understanding of the nature, place,
and function, however it may have backfired, of the school.

"The schools' methods of teaching have, of course, aggravated the
problem of lack of commitment to any enthusiasms, causes, inquiries, or values.
There is a tradition of teaching with words, and these are abstractions. Words
are fine things for discussing and analyzing experiences one has had; but they
can never take the place of experience; at best they can remind one of select-
ed elements of past experience and that is all. If a person is never really
immersed in any situation, with feelings, interaction with phenomena, em-
barrassments, the need to extricate himself, disappointments, wrong guesses,
rewards and gratifications, why would he develop any needs or sense of urgency,
any identification with horrible or delightful possibilities? In a sense
nothing is real because reality hasn't engulfed him."

114

Can our nation and our schools allow the students to flutter in all
directions and fly in none? Students come from all kinds of families. A
student who grows up in a family knit together by a lively sense of unity and
belongingness, who is loved, who knows that discipline is for his own welfare
has one kind of values. But values will have a different shade of meaning
to a student who has come from an environment where there is blame, and
where he is made to feel as an outsider, unloved, disrespected, and arbitrar-
i 1 y puni shed.

What is the priority of values held by high school girls?

Dr. Glenn Hawkes of Iowa State University administered an instrument
designed to identify group values from high to low to 900 members of the
Future Homemakers of America at the National FHA meeting in St. Louis last
summer. The delegates were in grades seven through twelve. The values
checked by 128 questions dealing with management situations were: "Concern
for others, economy, education, efficiency, family life, friendship, health,
pleasure, and status."

Dr. Hawkes summarized the results as follows:

"We know that the 900 Future Homemakers of America here are very
much alike as a total group. Where your values rated high, they
are very high. Where they were low, they are very low. In other
words, your first and second place values — education and family life —
are very strong values for all of you; and your low values — status
and friendship — are very low. But within the middle group of values-
pleasure, efficiency, concern for others, economy, and health — there
are great individual differences among all of you."

The detailed story of how these nine values appeared on the tests in
different grades, Dr. Hawkes1 address on the influence of values on decisions,
and a presentation on the very different values of two girls to illustrate
his thesis that it is important to know one's values are extremely interesting
and worthwhile. But they do not begin to give an adequate idea of the riches
in this September, 1961 issue of Teen Times. If you have not yet examined
a copy, do take our word for it that you have never received more for one
little quarterl The address is Future Homemakers of America, Office of
Education, Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Washington 25, D.C.

Dr. Dorothy Keenan of Southern Illinois University, using a different
instrument and a somewhat different list of values, last year discovered
the values of boys and girls enrolled in Illinois courses in family living.
Their instructors also took the test so that she was able to compare hierarchies
in the values of both groups. To provide an adequate report on the fas-
cinating findings would require far more space than is available here. But
keep alert to any opportunity you may have to read about her results later.

The learner learns.

But, after all is said of the teacher's burden and opportunity, depending
on her own values, the actual value-judgments fall upon the free choice of
the students. The teacher creates the atmosphere and sets up the situations
in which they can discover for themselves the values that nurture human
fellowship. The late John Dewey fervently believed that since learning is

115

something that the pupil has to do himself and for himself, the initiative
lies within the learner. The teacher is the guide and director; he steers
the boat, but the energy that propels it must come from those who are learning,

How do teachers help these students strengthen values that are character-
istic of a democracy? Such values as honesty, loyalty, kindness, social
responsibility, respect for individuals, and freedom are "caught" by the
students. Words, actions, gestures, smiles, frowns — all these, no less than
the subject being taught, are among the ways in which the teacher's values
express themselves and make contact with the lives around her.

Role-Playing Endorsed in a Democratic Society

The teacher has a wide variety of methods to
call upon in helping her students to learn. More-
over, she needs to understand the distinct character-
istics, purposes, advantages, and limitations of
each method employed for effective transfer of learn-
ing.

Such is the purpose in describing one such
method in this issue. The authors identify this
technique as one of the best means in "capsul izing"
experience. In a sense, this device is more than
m.ere experience because it

* permits a reconstruction of experience

* permits a preconstruct ion of experience

* permits observation, discussion, and emphasis that are not

customarily a part of experience,
role-playing.

Rol e-pl ay i nq--how it began

The teaching tool endorsed is called

All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts.

Shakespeare's idea is as old as the first cave man. Upon his return
home, prehistoric man acted out to his family his exploits in the hunt. These
early attempts of man to express himself were the actual antecedents of what
we now call role-playing. For it was in these attempts to portray past and
future action that primitive man was aiding himself to adjust to his own
envi ronment .

Centuries later, during the Italian Renaissance, the commedia was developed
The actors invented their own lines with only an outline of the play before
them. However, in the Italian drama the basis was aesthetic, whereas role-
playing is conceived as a pract i cal method in:

* transmitting values, attitudes, and behavior

trying out different ways of behaving and practicing appropriate
behavior skills in a permissive setting

116

* providing insight into one's behavior and how it affects others

Although the concept of role-playing is not new, its application to
human relations problems is more recent. Role-playing came into its own in
the late 1920's through the efforts of the Austrian psychiatrist, Dr. J. L.
Moreno. He was concerned with personality disorders, and found that positive
results could be achieved through role-enactment. This technique Moreno called
psychodrama, to mean the performing of a life situation which holds emotional
meaning and conflict for the central character.

By 1940 industry had begun to recognize the "power" in having personnel
experience life "inside the skin" of another person through role-playing.
These experiences in temporarily stepping-out of one's own role to assume
the role of another proved to be profitable, as confirmed by industrial
studies. Today role-playing continues to be used in management to handle
many situations, including in-service training.

Moreover, the effectiveness of role-playing as a method in screening
recruits was evidenced during the war years. The Office of Strategic Services
in the 19^0's applied role-playing as a means to discover many facets of the
recruits. They measured a man's breaking point; his leadership potential;
how he would act in situations demanding tact, quick thinking or forceful ness,
and whether a recruit could take a hard blow physically or socially. In
assuming these roles, the men tried to feel like, sound like, and behave like
the ones they were attempting to portray. Recruits were able to forget about
themselves for the moment.

Role-playing, sometimes called reality-practice, has entered the field
of education. Today it is a highly acclaimed method for certain types of
learnings in the classroom. The present-day orientation is less as a one-
way transmission process, and more of a practice based on group dynamics.
Discussion becomes the central core of this process.

What research says about role-playing

Adequate statistical evidence is limited in the field of role-playing
at this time, and yet there are multitudinous empirical studies that reveal
bold and far-reaching results. The imaginative and zealous teacher will be
inspired to using role-playing as a tool in nurturing growth of values in
her students. And indeed, the home economics teacher has an unequalled
opportunity and a "made-to-order" setting for applying this device to the
teaching of values in homemaking experiences.

The "claims" crystallized below have supportive evidence from research.
For the sake of brevity, outcomes only have been cited. In using role-playing
a teacher may find different outcomes each time; therefore, the goal or goals
must be kept foremost in the mind of both the teacher and the student.

* There Is a sens? t izing to democratic values and ideals through using
democratic procedures

* There is an improvement in the gual i ty of solutions reached by the class

* There is an increase in interpersonal adjustment as compared to
scores established by the use of group discussion without role-playing

117

* There is a wholesome acceptance of isolates and rejects by other class
members

* There is an ? nducement for changing opinions, attitudes, and values
f avorabl y

* There is a noticeable degree of change, expecially in the role-players

* There is a concrete and real i st ic atmosphere in solving problems

* There is a sharpened insight and understanding of one's self and his
relatedness to others

* There is a strengtheni ng of family life through solving conflicts

* There is a pul 1 ing together of students with heterogenous backgrounds

* There is a gradual overcomi ng of overt and hidden prejudices

* There is a growing enl i ghtenment and appreci at ion of cross-cultural
similarities and differences

* There is a replacement of the "telling" approach to that of a reality-
practice that promotes more permanent learning

* There is a confidence transferred to the group, and especially to the
underpr i vi 1 eged

* There is modi f icat ion of behavior when a realization of underlying causes
for conduct are recognized

* There is a change in expectat ions of self and others

* There is an increase in ? nvol vement , part i ci pat ion, and ident i f i cat ion
of each member within the class structure

* There is the development of ski 1 1 pract ices through a "let's pretend"
approach

* There is a free sharing of ideas, agreements, disagreements, and an
ultimate clarification of issues

* There is a f aci 1 1 tat ion for learning of school subjects and improving
study habits

* There is a keen increase in percept ion of the values that warrant con-
sideration for a sound philosophy of life

* There is an Increasing spontaneity in behavior which brings about
more effective social acceptance

* There is an el ici tat ion of a more emphatic expression of personality
of students than by using paper-and-penci 1 tests alone

118

* There is development of a "feel ing tone" by empathizing in situations

* There is greater willingness to overthrow established patterns of
behavior when situations are more distant and objective

* There is tangible reality in learning factual material

* There is a cul ti vation of object i vi ty in evaluating problems and
s ituat ions

* There is a freer exchange of communication between one another in the
group

Examples of role-playing objectives

Role-playing is a forceful device in developing values necessary in a
democratic society. Sometimes role-playing focused on one objective results
in a learning experience in line with another objective. Values are inescap-
ably intertwined in all of the following illustrations.

Role-playing helps in understanding another point of view

The guestion of dating arose in a Family Living unit. A disagreement
developed over the question, "How and when should a boy ask his girl for a
date to a formal dance?" The girls complained that the boys waited until the
last minute to get dates for a big dance. Bob defended his sex by saying,
"My girl should know I'm going to ask her. She shouldn't worry about it."
Kathryn represented the girls. She argued against this attitude, and fur-
thermore resented the cocksure attitude of the boys.

At this point the teacher recognized an opportunity to role-play. Bob
was to phone his girl, Kathryn, just three days before the big dance.
Kathryn, upon receiving the phone call, was to react exactly the way she
felt. Props were not necessary. The situation was staged in keeping with
common teen-age phoning habits. Bob sat on the floor at one end of the room,
and Kathryn lounged in a chair at the other.

The scene was repeated with several other girls taking the role of
Kathryn. Some girls happily accepted the late invitation; others rejected
it with strong comments to Bob. Questions were posed by the teacher.

* "Would others have reacted the same way as Kathryn?"

* "What do the other boys think about the girls' reactions?"

* "What values were held important by each girl?" "By Bob?"

* "How similar or dissimilar were the values between the girls and
the boys?"

* "Why are there differences of viewpoints?"

Through frank discussion based on values held important by each sex,
greater understanding and tolerance of the opposite sex was promoted.

Role-playing assists in illustrating subject-matter under discussion

Another home economics class was discussing ways in which people handle
their problems. Various types of behavior were classified under the category

119

of defense mechanisms: attention-getting, compensation, identification,
rationalization, projection, and reaction-formation.

Later, buzz groups were formed to "structure" a situation that would
reflect a particular defense mechanism in operation. The following day the
enactments took place. One scene went like this:

Martha: Hi, Joyce, guess where I'm going this afternoon?

Joyce: I don't know, but not out for swimming practice, that's for
sure'.

Martha: You know I'm not good at that stuf f--l i sten, I'm invited to
a tea given by the National Honor Society. I'm all excited!'

Joyce: You certainly like to be with the "big cheese" around school.
I can't see it myself. Being with the gang and enjoying
sports is more my line, I guess.

Martha: Well, knowing the right people can pay dividends. Besides,
I might be lucky enough to meet some real "big cheese!" You
can learn your way around by going to these things.

CI ass: The class decided that Martha used the defense mechanism called
identification, because she valued being with important people, and perhaps
thought that she, too, was one of them.

Rol e-pl ayers: Martha and Joyce related that they had attempted to demon-
strate two mechanisms in the scene--one being identification.

Class: After further probing, the group recognized that they had overlooked
compensation as a mechanism. Perhaps, Martha was poor in sports, yet her
school valued sports highly. By this enactment the class more fully recog-
nized that oftentimes there is an over 1 appi nq of mechanisms in handling
everyday problems.

Role-playing aids in solving interpersonal relationship problems

A form of role-playing that is especially effective in accomplishing
this objective is puppetry. It encourages greater freedom of acting, and
serves as an added "protection" for the players. The audience, while en-
grossed in the watching, listening, and responding of the puppet-players,
may also find a personal meaning for themselves. The group may react in
favor of, or against the characters, or express some of their own personal
feelings, hopes, and fears.

Many times the school's art department makes puppets and presents the
shows. Here is an opportunity for the home economics teacher to collaborate
with the art teacher. Perhaps the homemaking department can work on the
skit or be allowed to borrow the puppets from the art department. The
type of puppets chosen should be suited to the actions needed for the skit.
There are finger puppets, cardboard puppets, picture puppets, hand puppets,
and other forms available.

120

Because puppetry is presented in an impersonal manner, the vitality
and perception of the group is enhanced. Values of responsibility and
privileges of citizens in a democracy can be depicted strikingly. Values
derived from good nutrition are readily exemplified through the use of pup-
pets. Showing students how to teach and entertain a young child through
puppetry is also valuable.

Role-playing adds an audio-visual quality to text word symbols

Having parents correct the speech of their offspring too early in life
was the topic under discussion. The situation was "structured" to make the
learning more emphatic. Situation: Howard was six. One day he said to
his mother, "I think I fixed my toy shelves very goodly." Mother replied,
"Howard, you mean you fixed your toy shelves very well, not goodly . . .
that is all wrong!" Howard answered in a dejected manner, "Mom, I can't
always say things just right. I'm not grown-up like you. I'm just a base
of a man I"

At this point, volunteers from the class carried the dialogue further.
The group's conclusions reflected the concept of readiness in allowing the
child to develop, to grow, and to learn at his own rate. Questions such as
these were discussed.

* Did parents expect too much too soon from their children?

* Did they treat them an miniature adults?

* Did parents realize that regardless of a child's mistakes, they
should not be "threatened" concerning loss of the parents' love,
care and protection?

* What values in our present-day society cause parents to defy the
readiness concept in the upbringing of children?

* How db these values contrast to those of one hundred years ago?

Role-playing permits growth of concepts from simple incidents

During a child care unit each girl observed a young child for a period
of six weeks. An observation sheet was used to note certain behavior pat-
terns. Near the end of the unit each student presented the one observation
that had made the biggest impact on her. Several girls attempted role-
playing their situation named "The Stubborn Child."

Structured situation: Michael, age eight, is stubborn to requests made

by his mother. His earlier life was spent with
his grandmother who had no "controls"--Michael
did anything his heart desired. Now mother has
problems!

Scene: Michael is sitting quietly reading a book until

his mother enters the room.. Mother says, "Mike,
pick up the book you just dropped on the floor!"

Spontaneous reactions from here on:

Michael : Why should I?

Mother: Because you dropped it.

121

Michael : So what!

Mother: Someone is knocking at the door. When I return I expect

that book to be off the floor. You must learn to listen

to me'.
(Mother re-enters the room. Book is still on the floor.)
Mother: Mike, where are you? (She discovers that he has gone to

his room. She wakes him up.)
Michael: Let me sleep ....
Mother: If you don't get up this very minute and pick up your

belongings from the floor, you will get a spanking that

you will never forget!

The teacher cuts the scene at this point.

Feelings of role-players

Each role-player was asked how she felt in her temporary role. This
is an important step because it allows for release of tensions, and an op-
portunity for them to express any feelings before the group poses questions.

Michael felt like: -running away

-was getting away with it

-ignoring it, but was afraid of the spanking

-Mother was picking on him

Mother felt like: -Mike needs to be trained

-Mike needs to respect his elders
-Mike needs to have responsibility
-If I allow him to get away with it this time, it
will continue all the time

Both girls claimed to have "felt" the roles they portrayed. The class
then had an opportunity to express their views. Many pros and cons were sug-
gested with vivid participation and engrossment in the problem. Most views
reflected one of the following actions:

* remove privileges

* talk with Mike and give him reasons

* ignore him--he'll outgrow this stage

* give him household chores as punishment

After further brainstorming on "What do we mean by 'removing privileges'"
the girls defined it as possible deprivation of candy, T. V., theater,
toys, play, allowance, circus, or even sending to bed. Other actions were
similarly defined and discussed.

Another question on the value of saying to a child, "You will have to
wash dishes all week because you didn't obey," was analyzed. The group
finally realized that washing dishes was unrelated to the problem, and that
a negative attitude toward routine househould tasks was being introduced.
When queried, "What would you do it you were the mother," the vast majority
of the girls decided that they would remove a privilege, and that spanking
would be a last resort. "What was your overall reaction to the entire situa-
tion," was asked.

122

* "The role-playing seemed to make you sit up and notice things more."

* "The comments of the class were intelligent. This kind of discussion
is so interesting that it could go on all semester."

* "People are afraid to get up and talk, but the play made everyone
more at ease."

* "The discuss ion was very stimulating because the class had so many
v i ews . ' '

* "It gave the class a better basis for logical discussion, rather than

just talking about it."

Findings in setting limits

After the values of various forms of discipline were evaluated, the
teacher led into the latest findings on the value of setting "limits1 in
child rearing. The girls learned that in setting 'limits' a parent fosters
strength of character and conscience which further determine the role of
the child. Thus, the establishment of reasonable 'limits' is essential in
preparing offspring for the realities of life. For this to be effective,
there must be sound value-judgments, firmness, consistency, and guidance
on the part of parents. "Limits" are important for a child because they
help to establish identity, provide control, stimulate the urge toward mas-
tery, result in character strength, and promote personality development.

Because of confusion of role-expectations in our culture, there is
often great conflict in the minds of parents as to what is the correct way
to act. The situation, "The Stubborn Child," serves as a start in later
developing experiences on "Roles of Humans in the United States Today as
Compared to 100 Years Ago." A special edition on the role of the woman in
our culture was produced by Life, that helped to show the transition of the
female role in this nation.

How to use role-playing

We say that role-playing occurs when a group watches a few of its mem-
bers enact roles in a skit based upon some real-life situation. All members
of the group, including the players, then talk about the skit and try to
analyze it. Who said what? How was it said? What kinds of feelings and
attitudes were exhibited? How did the players feel? These are a few ques-
tions which role-playing tries to get at. By making the situation lifelike,
the group grasps understandings and has more fruitful discussions.

So we seek democratic action in the group. We also seek progress which
means movement in some known direction. Unless we know where we want to
go, we do not know in what direction to goi

To save time for the teacher, the "how" of role-playing as a teaching
technique has been arranged in a checklist form so that the teacher may
use it both in the planning and evaluating periods. Symbols may be used
to indicate progress:

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t for (yes, good)

- for (no, poor)

0 for (fair, partly)

1. Defining the problem

Are the needs of the group kept in focus in the selecting of a problem?

Can the problem be solved by the role-players without having them go

beyond their abilities?

Is the situation problematic, specific, clear, and short?

Is the atmosphere of the group toward each other conducive to discussing

problems?

2. Selecting the situation

Can role-playing contribute to the outcomes desired?

Is the class size manageable, between twelve and thirty-five students?

Has the variety of functions of role-playing been kept in mind by the

teacher?

Does the situation contain controversy or conflict, a problem or obstacle

to overcome?

Has the situation developed through committees, discussion, question-
naires, teacher contribution, skit, story, film?

Have irrelevant data been removed so that the group doesn't get bogged

down?

3. Casting the role-players

Is the cast limited to three or four students in order to prevent con-
fusion or lack of participation by the role-players?

Is casting encouraged through volunteering of performers?

Is casting done with discretion to avoid overexposure of deep-seated

problems?

Is one who has enough status in group given an unfavorable role so that

he may not be "threatened" by it?

Are the role-players given fictitious names and addressed accordingly?

Do the role-players understand the role each is supposed to portray?

Is group aware that more important than dramatic ability is enthusiasm,

sincerity, and willingness to enter role?

124

Is the teacher willing to take a role occasionally to protect feelings
of others, and get enactment moving, if need be?

k. Briefing period

Are the simple physical properties — chair, table, and the like — provided

and the psychological mood set for both the role-players and the
audience?

Is the exact nature of the situation clearly understood by everyone?

Do the role-players understand that they must portray the type of person

that the role describes?

Does each role-player understand that what he says is entirely up to

the way he perceives the role?

Is the briefing period in accordance with the kind of data that is

needed in the analysis?

Doesthe teacher avoid the temptation of telling the players what to say?

Does everyone understand the importance of being spontaneous, and

that rehearsing is vetoed?

5. The action

Can the group easi 1y see and hear the role-players?

Are the role-players empathizing freely?

Is "prompting" from the group or teacher squelched to avoid disrupting

the players' roles?

Are watchers in class adequately prepared to observe carefully, objec-
tively, and intuitively?

6. Cutting the scene

Does the teacher cut action within the three to ten minute range, before

it goes on too long?

Is a scene cut when enough behavior has been exhibited so that the

group can analyze the problem?

Does the teacher cut at a point where the group can project what will

happen if action continues?

Does the teacher cut when role-players have reached an impasse, due

to miscasting or misbrief ing?

Is cutting applied when dialogue begins to be repetitious, or when

the central issue has changed?

Does the teacher make sure to cut a role-player if he shifts the situa-
tion to self-therapy? (Later she can reestablish the situation.)

125

Does the teacher recognize that with continued experience she will become

more proficient in knowing the best time to cut?

7. Analysis of action

Have the role-players been asked to relate their feelings before the

group is given the opportunity to discuss scene?

Does discussion consistently relate to the original porblem under study?

Are all comments geared to the characterization portrayed, and not to the

role-players themselves?

Are observers encouraged to have data, rather than opinions alone, about

what should or should not have been done?

Are comments steered away from the acting ability of the role-players?

8. Discussion and evaluation

Does everyone recognize that the worth of role-playing rests on the

discussions that follow it?

Is there awareness by the group that the quality of observations also

determines the quality of the discussions?

Is time given to the group for thinking?

Is the group allowed to ask questions of the role-players?

Does the group discuss whether the situation might have been handled

differently?

Have new problems arisen since the enactment of the original scene?

Is there an opportunity, when need be, to act out a scene a second

time by having:

the same players replay the same scene

the same players acting out a new scene

new players acting out the original scene

new players acting out a new scene

Is there sufficient follow-up to crystallize and interpret entire

process by group?

Does the group consider points based on attitudes and values?

Is discretion used to prevent group from becoming overly fault-finding?

Is there both sufficient clarification and time allowed for evaluation

forms to be filled-out when employed?

A summary of the steps in role-playing for the teacher

126

A concise summary devised to help the teacher or group leader review
the steps involved in role-playing includes these steps.

* Planning the session to include the needs and interests of the group

* Introducing the episode informally and enthusiastically

* Recruiting the players and making them feel at ease in the situation

* Getting the players into their roles and deciding with the audience
how they will observe the episode

* Swinging the episode into action

* Watching for players who fall-out of role and helping them regain role

* Cutting

* Watching for over-exposure of players, and re-establishing role if
necessary

* Helping the players to step out of their roles and re-establish them-
selves in the group

* Assisting the group to discuss the episode or to replay it

* Conducting a post-session evaluation by providing reaction sheets or
through oral discussions

Another recapitulation for the teacher to remember when using role-play-
ing may be even more brief.

* Is effective only when goals are clear

* Lends itself to whatever casting the situation demands

* Simplifies the presenting of various points of view

* Is spontaneous

* Is brief and unhampered by details

* Is effective to the degree that teacher learns when to cut

* Should not be over-used or misused

Role-playing promotes empathy in human understanding

Family rituals and observances were an outgrowth of a unit on leisure.
The aim was to show the values of rituals and special observances in strengthen-
ing home life and transmitting a spirit of unity. The importance of these
functions on family life cones iveness was recognized by most girls for the
first time. They had not realized that customs had merit in holding members
within a household together. Out of general discussion came about several
role-playing situations, one of which is briefly cited.

127

Si tuat ton: Mrs. Jones has two daughters--Mary, age sixteen and Susan,
age ten. During the summer months it is traditional to have Saturdays
spent on having barbeque parties with two other families. However, this
summer Mrs. Jones finds that her daughters do not want to participate
in these gatherings anymore. They are just plain tired of the same
"old stuff." But the parents insist that their daughters must share in
these weekly gatherings.

The scene was enacted by three volunteer girls. At the "cutting" point,
each role-player was allowed to express how she felt.

Girl playing the mother role: "I felt just like a mother! I wanted
the girls to understand my ideas. I was happy to see that the ten-year-
old at least said O.K. when I mentioned that there would be a big sur-
prise for her. But the sixteen-year-old was more difficult to convince.
We finally agreed to have some of her friends join the group."

Mary, the sixteen-year-old: "Boy, it took loads of convincing for me
to agree. The thing that really changed my mind was not just having my
friends join the group, but going to a new site for a change. It gets
mighty tiresome going to the same spot all the time!"

Susan, the ten-year-old: "I was satisfied with the promise of the big
surprise mother guaranteed me. I felt that I could not be as independent
as my older sister."

(All three girls claimed that they did not have much difficulty in identifying
themselves in their new roles. The girl portraying the mother was especially
effective in putting the others at ease.)

Observat ions: Before the role-playing, class members had divided into
"listening" groups and "watching" groups while the role-players had left
the room to "warm" up in their respective roles, not rehearsing, however.
After the enactment of the situation, and before the group heard from
the role-players as to how they felt, time was allowed to fill in the
form below.

Observation of a Situation

Listening section

* note any prejudices

* note voice changes

* note thinking based on
reasons versus emotions

Watching section

* note body tension

* note facial expressions

* note gestures

I empathized or identified myself with

probably because

Was the scene true to life?

Yes No. Explain briefly.

What main values of each person did you discover from observing the scene?
Rate the way the situation was handled as: very well rather well

128
so-so rather poorly

Do you see any advantage in using this method to focus the problem?

What other situations would you like to see performed in this manner?

Results of observation forms: On identification, twenty-four out of
twenty-seven girls in the class identified themselves with Mary, the
sixteen-year-old. This was to be expected since Mary reflected the
age-group of the class so that empathy was more readily achieved.

Discussion was the cl incher--thei r comments revealed attitudes and values
that a group may have on a particular issue. For example, the girls who
associated themselves with Mary overwhelmingly stated that they, too, have
had this problem in one degree or another. Many comments reflected problems
in developmental tasks that teens seek to master at this level of develop-
ment. What attitudes and values can you "pull" from each girls' comments
below?

* "I know how it feels to sit and listen to adults. You can't say a

word."

* "I do not like to be forced into doing things. My interests are
different from what my parents call fun."

* "I think a sixteen-year-old should be allowed to do what she wants."

* "Maybe Mary's friends would call her a sissy if she followed her

parents."

* "It's hard for a young girl to have fun with old people."

* "I am torn between the love for my parents and the wishes of the group.

ii

* "I don't think that children today can compromise easily. They are
more and more independent and strongminded."

Role-playing develops communication skills

Background: Junior and senior girls are planning their "after graduation"
lives. The teacher sees countless opportunities for role-playing to help
the girls make their choices. Four major problems seemed to be:

* Shal 1 I marry or go to work?

* Shall I work or go to college?

* How shal 1 I get a job?

* Should I quit school before graduating?

The teacher decides with the group to role-play, "How shall I get a job?"
Government statistics indicate that the high school girl of today will prob-
ably be gainfully employed for an average of at least twenty-five years.
Furthermore, role-playing this situation can serve as a springboard to con-
sideration of the other three choices.

129

Warmup: The teacher presents Labor Bureau statistics, and poses the
questions:

"Have you thought about the importance of a job interview?"

"How well prepared are you for handling your part in a job interview?"

The Situation: Miss Grant is personnel manager of a large department
store. She has placed a want-ad in the daily papers for salespeople.
The ad reads:

Wan ted- -sales women. Experience desirable but not necessary.
Pleasant working conditions. Good starting pay. Call FA 3-6400
for appointment. Ask for Miss Grant.

Miss Grant is at her desk. In the outer office are several applicants.

The Action: Here are some possibilities.

1 . Unstructured Girls take roles with no further outline of situation.

2. Structured Miss Grant's role is further defined and/or job appli-
cants' role is spelled out.

Miss Grant may be seeking for qualifications in these areas:

* dress

* personal neatness and cleanliness

* posture

* punctual i ty

* pleasant manners

* indication of willingness to improve skills

* knowledge pertinent to job

Other suggestions from students can be encouraged.
The applicant may have the following qualifications in her mind:

* personal appearance

* personal conduct

* scholastic records

* names and addresses of references

* name of person to see

* ability to fill out application blank

* general background of organization to which application is
being made

Students may offer different or additional ideas.

3. Role reversal Miss Grant becomes the applicant and vice versa.
k. Repeat Performance New role-players.

Some outcomes:

30

* Understanding the importance of communication

* Listing do's and don'ts for job applicants

* Experience in filling out sample application forms

* Understanding the importance of "selling" oneself by filling out
forms properly and with words correctly spelled

* Realizing the value of inner confidence

As Helen H. Jennings says, role-playing is a prelude for discussion
because its educational value is to broaden the scope and deepen the quality
of communcation between group members for happier, more comprehending inter-
personal 1 i ving.

How observant were you?

It is important that the teacher does not measure and classify persons
as fixed entities, but tries to recognize changes that can take place in
attitudes and values. A form such as the one below can be given to the class
after a role-playing situation. Before having the students answer questions,
the teacher should review with the group each question for clarification.

Role-Playing Questionnaire

1. What was the general atmosphere of the role-players? formal

competitive host i 1 e informal inhibit i ve cooperative

support i ve

per mi ss» ve_

2. What values were achieved?

3. Quality of enactment h i gh_

exaggerated
Were they:_
low

clear

vague?

med i urn?

4. What did the role-players contribute? Place a check below to describe
each contribution.

Role-players
1 2 3

Contr ibut ions

Encouraged

Agreed, accepted

Arbitrated, refereed

Proposed action

Gave opinions

Asked for questions

Gave information

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Role-players
1 2 3

Contr ibut ions

Posed problem

Sought information

Defined position

Depreciated self

Acted aggressively

Acted autocratically

Was disagreeable

Offered only i rrelevancies

Role-playing is enthusiastically endorsed by many authors. Ruth Strang
declares that "one cannot participate fully in role-playing without being
influenced by the experience." Why not see if you and your students agree?

Dynamics of Group Discussion in a Democratic Society

Living in a democracy is group living. We
cannot advance a free society by proxy. "Demo-
cracy" is something we learn to do together. The
classroom becomes the laboratory for dynamics of
group action. Students not only have opinions and
values, but also have the right to express them in
this laboratory.

m

Consequently, the technique of role-playing evokes penetrating and
productive discussions. The foundation is laid for

* understanding one's values and their relatedness to society

* growth in personal and group values

* relating knowledge to a changing world

* thinking as a method for solving problems

* developing social attitudes

A leader is best when people barely know he exists,
Not so good when people obey and acclaim him,
Worst when people despise him.
Fail to honor people, they fail to honor you.
But of a good leader, who talks little,
When his work is done, his aim fulfilled,
They will all say, "We did it ourselves."

Lao-tze

The democratic approach to interpersonal relations is not generally
transmitted, but must be learned through practice. Americans recognize
that severe author i tat iveness in the home and school is the seedbed of author-
itarianism of the state.

132

What happens to students in democratic group discussions? According
to forward-looking leaders in psychology, sociology, and adult education,
the values are characterized as:

* Increased awareness of responsibility to participate

* Learning to 1 isten to others' point of view

* Consideration of more than one point of view in constructing thought
patterns

* Growth in power to see all aspects of a problem

* Lessened psychological tensions and rigidity

* An increasingly stable group structure, and a cohesive group morale

Steps in group discussion following role-playing

John Dewey once said, "The open aid of public discussion and communi-
cation is an indispensable condition of the birth of ideas and knowledge,
and of their growth into health and vigor." He has shown us how discussion,
through problem-solving, follows certain steps of:

* Location, formulation, and definition of the problem to be solved

* Analysis of the problem in terms of its difficulty

* Reformulation of the problem in the light of this analysis

* Examination of the various methods to resolve a problem

* Evaluation and analysis of the various solutions to discover the
best one avai 1 able

* Choice of plan of action

These steps are more effective than random discussion. Basically,
the steps in group problem-sol ving are related to group-building processes.
The benefits are extended to all persons concerned in the search for value-
judgments that cannot be developed without freedom of inquiry, of speech,
and of choice.

The ART of questioning in group discussions

The word "teaching" comes from the Anglo-Saxon derivative taecho,
meaning, "to show how to do." Teaching, then, is not telling; it is a
probing process in which the surgical instrument is the question. The
response of the student, like the recovery of the patient, will depend on
the skill with which the instrument is used.

Anybody can ask questions. But not everybody can ask questions that
teach. The ART of questioning is the important stimulus to the mind. The
educational process really begins when the student asks searching queries.
The question is used to:

* Awaken thought . . . arouse interest!

* Direct thought . . . from one point to another!

* Quicken thought ... a burning spark!

* Apply thought . . . association!

The question is an index that reveals to the teacher the state of her
students' minds, and their stage of development. A high degree of progress
in the art of questioning has been reached when a teacher is able to answer
a question with a question. This throws the responsibility of thought back

133

on the student, and greatly assists in the much-to-be-desi red aim, making
the student an independent, self-directed investigator.

Teachers ask questions, too often in order to find out what the students
do or do not know. Likewise, students generally ask questions because they
face a difficulty which they wish to clear up. It is far better for the
teacher to confront the class with problems, and employ various techniques,
such as role-playing, to challenge students to find solutions. In this way,
the spirit of inquiry is stimulated.

How well are we doing on the art of questioning?

After a role-playing situation has been discussed, check yourself to
estimate the quality of the learning experience by asking yourself for honest
answers to the following questions.

* Was the problem clearly stated?

* Did the group help in the clarification of the problem?

* Was the problem important to the group?

* Was there an extension or deepening of insight about the problem?

* Did discussion move from "Who shall prevail" to "What shall we do?"

* Did we come to a decision understood by the students?

* Were we able to have clear communication channels?

* Were individuals able to disagree without being disagreeable?

* Was participation widespread?

* Were those silent moments used to consolidate thoughts?

* Was leadership flexible enough to allow freedom for frank expression
of opinions?

* Were the silent members drawn into the discussion?

* What quality of thinking was shown? Was it problem-centered or
personal i ty-centered?

* Were distinctions made between facts, opinions, inferences, and judg-
ments?

* Was critical thinking evidenced?

* Were data used to clarify issues? Were all sides of the problem
explored?

* How were decisions made? Was there consensus, majority rule, or
rule by the teacher?

* Were there warranted conclusions achieved as a result of discussion?

The teacher recognizes that participation is the key to all group work,
and one of the best means to gain this is through probing questions. The
ability for a group to look critically at concepts, opinions, and values in
the process of thinking aids in developing maturity.

Care in using role-playing in achieving values

A"tool" is all that the word implies. It is not an end in itself, nor
is it a crutch upon which the teacher may depend. This aid is only a means
of assistance for improving instruction. Such a "tool" is role-playing.
However, the first and foremost law is that the teacher must understand that
which she is to use. Knowledge is the material with which the teacher works
and, therefore, it needs to be thorough. In fact, a lack of sufficient know-
ledge of either method or subject matter cripples the entire process of
i nstruct ion.

134

Knowledge for anyone is power only when it is conquered, harnessed, and
set to work! Hence, there are some precautions to review in order to ease
first attempts with role-playing.

* Role-playing is not a panacea for finding answers to all teaching
problems; yet, in some situations, it can free students to define and
face issues more calmly and objectively than they might otherwise.

* Role-playing is a method. Whenever students and/or teachers become
more absorbed in the method than the learning outcome, the method
ceases to serve its purpose. The challenge is to set the wheels of
the mind to work.

* The role-playing process takes time. The teacher has to have some
"limits" in order to complete both the discussion and evaluation period
within class time. Simple situations can be completely developed
within a forty-minute class period. Variations and more complex
problems can best be done in fifty-five minutes or even longer periods.

* Role-playing is not a miracle-worker. The teacher is the key figure
in provoking questions and guiding the group. Francis Bacon once
declared that "The skillful question is the half of knowledge."

* Role-playing can lead into psychodramat ic situations that may result
in personal exposure. The teacher must guard against this by focusing
the entire process on the roles — not on the persons who play them.

* Role-playing needs to be employed in a democratic atmosphere. The
teacher assists her students to structure their work, and explore
various approaches to the eventual goal.

* Role-playing must be at the level of understanding and maturity of
the group. The semantics must be common to the students. We may
have heard analogies like the one a little boy sang, "I'm going to
Alabama with my Band-Aid on my knee."

* Role-playing is more effective after a group feeling has been estab-
lished. Methods like panel discussions, brainstorming, and committee
work lay the groundwork for developing a "we-group" feeling-tone.

» Role-playing tempts the teacher to speak up when there are silent
moments. However, she must refrain. There is real merit in pauses
for silence. They serve to get thinking movement into later action.
Even the simplest question is said to require at least twelve seconds
for students to formulate an answer.

* Role-playing should be used with discretion to avoid over-use. A
"tool" can be compared to a scaffold that is used for a building. No
more of it is used than is actually necessary; and the edifice, when
completed, is expected to stand by itself.

* Role-playing has to be tried more than once for its effectiveness to
be truly appreciated.

135

* Role-playing may be resisted in a few instances, primarily because the
class may be unfamiliar with it. Some may think it is childish or feel
self-conscious. However, the teacher's knowledge of the use of the
technique will clear the way for its acceptance.

* Role-playing is unsuited for presenting large amounts of information.

y/e see that any method is not all "peaches and cream." Some students
have been known to say:

"I felt ill-at-ease."

"I don't care what others think."

"I can solve my problems better by myself."

"I didn't learn anything that 1 didn't know before."

In spite of limitations

Role-playing serves to influence personalities, and help students become
democratic individuals. More often responses will be such remarks as:

It's good to know that others, too, have worries and problems."

I'll try harder to like people and act better at home."

Before this, I couldn't get up and speak before a class; I'd forget

everything."

I have learned not to have such strong prejudices."

Now I think I understand better what goes on inside people."

I have more self-confidence in group discussion."

Now I realize that first impressions may be quite wrong."

I'm beginning to see the importance of 'causes' for behavior, and I

am less critical of people."

It made me want to improve my personal weaknesses."

I began to see that human beings can change."

It helped me to get along much better with people."

The reason role-playing does work is because it is based on the old
truth we have taken a long time to rediscover, "If we are really to learn
anything, we need to learn it from the inside out. We have to start at the
'emotional' center," say Bert and Frances Straus in their book, New Ways to
Better Meetings. Used judiciously, it will work for youl

Another way of saying the above in the words of Elwood Murray from his
book, Integrative Speech is: "Verbal argument as to whether or not role-
playing will be useful in a situation is pointless. It simply has to be
tried. Intelligently used, it has been found effective, but to understand
it one has to get the 'feel' of it in action. It is not an added attraction
to entertain the group."

Methods arranged in sequence of difficulty in studying values

After a good deal of experimenting with trying to study values in home
economics classes, Illinois teachers reached the conclusion that method varied
in difficulty. Case situations, short stories, brief skits that could be
read or listened to by students seemed the simplest for both teacher and
students. Filmstrips were found to be easier than films because they, too,
could be re-examined as often as necessary. Role-playing, everyone agreed,
appeared to be the most difficult but also the most rewarding, if well done.

136

Previous subscribers of the Illinois Teacher, therefore, first received
Vol. Ill, No. 7 which identified the nine objectives sought in studying class
values and offered an extensive choice of reading materials suitable for
grades seven through twelve, for the slow as well as the fast learner. Last
year they received Vol. IV, No. 5 that offered somewhat more advanced concepts
about values, guides for using films and leading discussions on assigned
questions, and actual guide sheets for using highly selected filmstrips and
mov i es .

Because recent subscribers do not have the complete series of which this
is the third, special efforts have made it possible for Vol. Ill, No. 7 and/or
Vol. IV, No. 5 to be purchased as single copies for fifty cents each. These
particular issues are immediately available upon receipt of order.

Keeping up to date on aids for classroom teachers

In a world of daily crises, personal, family, community and even national
values often seem to change with great rapidity. A situation that stimulated
a discussion of values a few years ago may be a "dud" with today's youth.
Once a teacher has learned of a source, she would do well to add to
her order an inquiry concerning new aids that may be available. She and her
students should be constantly alert to possibilities in newspaper reports,
cartoons, the numerous accounts of "real life stories" in magazines, the recent
in films and filmstrips. Soon students discover that values are discussed
everywhere, even by politicians as they attempt to set up priorities for the
use of taxes collected.

In addition to the already recommended September, 1961 issue of Teen
Times, we would like to let you know about the service, Human Relations Aids,
104 East 25th Street, New York 10, N. Y. A description of the contents of
Packet No. kkt which has just arrived, may best explain the kind of helps
provided.

* Blondie - comic strip episodes of Chic Young that vividly depict
differences in family life - appropriate to stimulate role-playing by
younger adolescents

« Do Teenagers Have Wi sdom? by June Bingham - good suggestions for con-
flicts with adults that will trigger role-playing initiated by students

* Early Marriage, a twenty-four minute color film produced by the E. C.
Brown Trust, 220 South Alder Street, Portland, Oregon - annotation
indicates contents and use of this open-end discussion movie

* Four Fami 1 ies, produced by the National Film Board of Canada in two
parts of thirty minutes each - values and practices of parents in low
economic environments of different cultures - rich in springboards
for role-playing in child development units

* Group Participation Methods by Wi 11 iam Hoi 1 ister - contains both old
and new (such as "two-by-two buzzing") techniques for the teacher

* What Psychology Can We Trust? by Goodwin Watson of Columbia University
- fifty basic concepts generally agreed upon by all psychologists

137

* Highlights of Progress in Mental Health Research I960 from U. S. De-
partment of Health, Education, and Welfare - many new and surprising
ideas to be found in the non-techni cal summaries

* Mental Aftercare - Assignment for the Sixties by Emma Harrison - a
Public Affairs Pamphlet addressed to a relative or friend of a dis-
charged mental patient, a common family problem today

To summarize, then, in this particular packet are six bulletins to keep
the teacher up to the minute in subject matter and techniques in family life
education, lengthy annotations of five films, plus shorter mention of some
additional recommended materials on mental hygiene. Inadequate background
in psychology can cramp a teacher's ability to guide role-playing and the
discussions that follow. Consequently, a year's subscription to Human Relations
Aids at $7.00 for one year or $12.00 for two years would seem to be an ex-
cellent investment for any high school library. Many teachers would find
the several packets each year of great interest and value.

A final critique on attitude and value concepts

Attitudes and values may

* describe the readiness of an individual to respond toward something
in a certain way

* are acquired through experiences which have a pronounced affective
(feeling) component

* influence perception in determining not only what the student sees, but
how he sees i t

* are enduring, and change is gradual

* are learned in much the same way that skills and habits are learned

* are just as much a part of individual differences as abilities and
achievements, and deserve equal attention

* to be changed, require a change in self-concept through group processes

* are more tenacious because of their affective appeal, and only by
eliciting different feelings can change occur

* are more apt to be accepted when a person believes he has done the
thinking himself. As, in the words of Lao-tze:

"...When his work is done, his aim fulfilled,
They will all say, 'We did it ourselves.'"

Is awareness essential in better understanding of values?

Several years ago Life had an advertisement with the words, "Awareness
is a Fact of Life. It comes early to some, never to others. People who have
it are easily identified. They are busy keeping up with what's going on.

138

Their eyes are open to everything. While they vary greatly in size, shape,
age, and income, they all have this: a curiosity of the current."

Of course, the aim of the advertisement was to sell Life. But its
message has a way of evoking thought and val ue- judgments. What values do you
find reflected in this essay that was written by a girl in the eleventh grade?

Awareness is a Fact of Lifel

Awareness as defined by the dictionary means to be conscious
of. This definition brought to me the realization that awareness
does not necessarily mean knowledge alone. It is, however, curios-
its and interest in all that surrounds us.

I began to think of all the many, many things that I personally
am aware of. I notice the changing seasons, from the buds popping
out in the early spring to the heat of a midsummer's day. Then golden
shades of autumn with its lengthening shadows that blend into winter's
clear, cold beauty.

I've noticed the gradual disappearing of farmland and the build-
ing of little villages upon the once green, tranquil pastures. As
I grow older, I become aware of the tensions of the world around
us, enveloping individuals, as well as nations. There is happiness
and sorrow--prosper ity and want--beauty and sordidness; of all this
I am aware.

Our moods reflect our awareness in that, when we are happy,
we notice the beauties around us; but when we are unhappy or ill,
we tend to dwell upon the ugliness of life. Tell me, "Are you
aware?" And, if you are, have you been aware of your awareness?

Values in good citizenship

This type of writing, although stimulated by a mere advertisement, can
serve as a catalyst for a climate in developing values that are essential
for creative home life and for successful citizenship. Educators in the
social sciences more and more are accepting the technique of role-playing
as one answer to the very important problem of teaching for citizenship.
This is our society's basic aim of education.

A value prized highly in our democracy is a well-informed and alert
citizenry. As long as people can be allowed to change their minds, evaluate
evidences, think for themselves our democracy is safe. It is threatened
only when inertia prevails. As this is so beautifully phrased in a pre-
amble statement of the United Nations: "Our final value outcome is PEACE!
. . . to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and
worth of the human personality, in the equal right of men and women and of
nations large and small."

Ultimate value outcomes that can be sought through role-playing for
each student as a person, a family member, and a citizen, are:

139
In solving problems

* Develop respect and understanding for the scientific method in dis-
covering solutions to problems

* Develop objectivity in self and others

* Develop appreciation of the role of decision-making in a democracy

* Develop ability in making choices is relation to one's values

In publ ic opinion

* Recognize forces which influence and affect public opinion in group
act ion

* Recognize legitimate and unwarranted pressure tactics used to influ-
ence pol icies

* Recognize and use skills in critical thinking

In stabi 1 i zing homes

* Develop desirable attitudes and values toward home and family

* Develop an awareness in the relatedness of successful home living to
good citizenship

* Develop insight to causes that place the home in "transition" and the
changing role-expectations of its family members

In education

* An appreciation and recognition of the importance of education in
our society

* working knowledge of the relationship between the American philoso-
phy in education and in other agencies of the society

In good will among diverse groups

* An acceptance of the worth and dignity of each individual in all
cul tures

* An understanding of conflicts that may arise between diverse groups

* An evaluation of actions that family members can made in resolving
crises within a home and in the larger culture

In the maintenance of world peace

* Recognize the importance of each person's contribution in the design
for peace

* Recognize that cultural, physical, economic, and political conditions
differ among families and nations, and appraise ideas and actions in
light of these differences

* Recognize the importance of settling differences through orderly,
peaceful, and cooperative action by individuals and nations

DECISIONS: PLANNED OR CHANCE?

Don W. Rapp, Ph. D.
Division of Child Development, University of Illinois

Please make a decision right now! No matter how foolish the next few
paragraphs may sound, I want you to make the decision to imagine what is
suggested. I want you to imagine that you are hungry. Don't drop this arti-
cle to get something to eat; remember I'm only asking for imagination. Now,
let's imagine something more. You are not only hungry, but also tired and
you are alone in your home. You have worked hard at a dozen different tasks
and, although you are hungry and tired, your mind is alert to the needs of
your middle. You realize suddenly that you had better do something about
your hunger. Your stomach needs attention.

There are many excellent ways you could go about getting something to
eat. You list the possibilities quickly in your mind. Although the telling
takes most of a page, you may do something such as the following in a split
second.

The first possibility that flashes to mind is to call the caterers. They
have good food, and the thought makes your mouth water. But there are some
disadvantages. The cost is a little more than you can afford at this time
of the month, the time lag is too great for you are hungry now and a caterer
would take too long to serve you, and another disadvantage is that the
neighbors would surely think that you were "putting on the dog" if they saw
a catering truck come to your door. You think of something else.

You could bum something from the neighbor? With this thought there seems
to be a disadvantage that outweighs the advantage. It is true that you
would not have to wash the dishes, but it is also true that the neighbor is
a lousy cook. Let's go on.

A restaurant down town would be a nice way to satisfaction. The food
is good but it also costs too much, and besides you would have to take a
bath and get dressed. Next--

Starvation is a possibility. The way you feel by now you think that it
may be an eventuality! Even though you could allow this to happen, you can
think of nothing but disadvantages. They list something like this:

You can stand pain and besides it would take too long.

It distresses you to think that you may inflict deep psychological

damage on the person who finds the body.

And last but not least, it somehow just-does-not-seem-r ight.

After these four possible courses of action have been rejected your mind
welcomes the thought of your own refrigerator. It's close, you do not have
to change clothes, and there is no time lag. On top of these advantages, you
know that there is something in there you adore--liver sausage. You not only
vote for the refrigerator, but you act upon your vote with positive action.
Your decision is to relocate the liver sausage. You do; satisfaction is com-
plete, at least for the moment.

You picked the refrigerator because it seemed to be the best choice you
could make under the circumstances. But another time your decision might

140

141

very well embrace a different possible choice. In this sense, we are all
researchers. We all make decisions by putting forth many possible courses
of action in one place at one time for a scrutinizing look. Then we list
the advantages and disadvantages and pick out the one best solution. This
mental action takes the ability to make decisions. Not everyone seems
capable of making decisions, even on the most elementary level. Many other-
wise healthy people are confined today bejcause of their inabilities in this
respect.

Three major levels of decision-making

In a rough but perhaps provocative way, I have divided the methods in
which we make decisions. I have come to three major levels of decision-
making. The first method is on the lowest level, but it is by far the most
popular.

1. The first method is that of making decisions from our own unaided
mental processes. Unaided because, in this method, we add nothing to our
store of knowledge in making a decision on a specific matter. An example of
this may be keeping children out of the street. We don't have to ask Dr.
Spock whether this is the right thing to do; we know it is right. Another
example may be consulting someone else as to whether it is night or day. In
most cases, we know that if it is dark it is night and if it is light it is
day. But more difficult decisions than these are made on the level. There
are many decisions concerning an important thing like marriage that are made
on this level. Also, many people have a difficult time deciding whether to
ask a doctor about the mole on their neck that bleeds occasionally. Many
serious decisions are made with only the small bits of knowledge we have in
our own heads concerning the subject.

2. The second method is that of making decisions through the acquisi-
tion of facts which are, however, not specifically related to the problem-
decision area. An example of this second method is asking someone's advice
who is not educated in the particular area in which help is needed. Another
would be reading one's horoscope. A third is inferring to your own problems
from unrelated information when specific information is available. Inherent
in this second method of decision-making is a haphazard search for some
knowledge and the inability to locate the specific bit of information that
might be directly helpful in coming to a decision.

3. The third method, in its pure form, would be that each individual
should personally conduct a detailed study of all the previous knowledge in
his problem-decision area, and possibly even conduct a wel 1 -control led empi-
rical experiment which would further man's store of knowledge in this area.
From this study one might be able to glean reasonable if not conclusive
direction in deciding just what to do.

Much research has been done, so in most cases one does not have to do
all this research for himself. In the area of Child Development, Dr. Spock
is a great help, your local doctor is a valuable source of information, and
the reading of reliable digests of the research that has been done is a good
idea. All these sources of information give much that is not hearsay, super-
stition, or poppycock. It is true that research findings, over a period of
time, have reversed themselves. Witness the professional advice in child-
training given in the twenties which purported a very rigid child-care view.
Witness the professional advice given in the late thirties and early forties

142

which was extremely permissive in nature. Now we are somewhere in the middle.
Nevertheless, the information coming from research today is the latest and
best information about all areas of human endeavor.

This does not mean, however, that research has all the answers. Research
will eventually get better, more explicit, and provide more precise infor-
mation upon which one can make decisions. Please note that I have not said
that research will tell us exactly what to do as it can only suggest a pos-
sible better course of action. Therefore, even though we know enough about
decision-making and use the third method when we can, we actually may not
be able to Gome to a satisfactory decision directly from the research know-
ledge that is presently available. The question immediately arises: so
then what?

The place of values in decision-making

There is a fourth method that actually permeates the other three. The
first three methods are somewhat rational in their pure forms. This fourth
method may have had somewhat of a rational base, but has long since ceased
to be buttressed in rationality. Instead, it is largely subjective although
extremely deep-seated in the human personality. I am talking about our per-
sonal values that we hold to be self-evident truths. They may or may not be
self-evident or true. But this is of secondary importance when one consi-
ders their tremendous and tenacious power.

This world is moving so fast today that the values which were thoroughly
inculcated into our very bone marrow as children may be today, not only out
of date, but actually placing us as individuals in a disadvantageous position.
Just how does this work?

Dr. Ruth Cavan in her book The American Family writes that there are
three strong directing forces in the lives of men. The first force is the
system of val ues that is part and parcel of his conscience. The values that
he has learned direct him in a personal and intimate way. Values are very
close to what man is. Merle Boyer in his book Highway to Phi losophy has
said that "Man is a creature of values."

The second controlling force is the norms of the society in which we
operate. Group opinion is a powerful factor in how we live and the deci-
sions we make. At some periods of our lives social norms, community pres-
sures, and peer group insistence are more infectious than at other times.
But at all times we care what others are thinking and react to it in some
definite form.

The third controlling force in our lives is, in a way, a very odd thing.
It is our own personal conduct. The question is immediately raised here as
to how can our actual personal conduct control us? The answer may 1 ie in
the following example. A girl is born in a very small, close-knit farm com-
munity. In this community the personal values of most members are almost
identical. The social norms coincide extremely well with the personal values.
With the realization that the norms and values are in unison, the actual
personal conduct of the community members falls into line with the other two.
In this kind of society people are generally "solid citizens," there is
seemingly little mental illness, and people seem to be getting along "just
fine."

143

Now, for example's sake, (and this happens quite frequently,) let us
take this girl out of her childhood environment right after high school, and
place her in a very large city. In relation to the size of the community
from which she came, a "very large city" may be no larger than Champaign-
Urbana. She is now confronted with social norms. She will be laughed at
and perhaps ostracized if she replicates her previous conduct based on the
values she has held to be correct. Although she has a bad feeling when she
does something in her actual conduct which is against her values, she may go
right ahead. She is up against the great odds of a new and powerful social
norm.

Now we see that this girl's values do not coincide with the new social
norms, and her actual conduct may be out of line with both of them. She has
never been asked to make decisions such as are facing her now. How does
she know how? Does she completely give in to the new social norms and per-
haps merely appear on the surface to be adjusting well, or is she able to
retain in a healthy way her individuality in a manner that is respected by
the social norm? Something has to givel Either other people must modify
their attitude toward her, or she must modify her value sturcture. Sometimes
both happen to some degree. In the light of these dynamics, her personal
conduct must be modified to fit with the relationship between her total
value pattern and the social norms in which she now lives.

Growth in decision-making

In her old environment this girl would have remained in good mental
health. Now she may have her doubts concerning her own ability to cope with
this new world and with her own dis-ease. I am saying that good decision-
making does not come automatically from our government declaring, "You have
freedom of choice." We get to be intelligent, healthy decision-makers through
practice. Young children grow up lacking in many respects if they are never
allowed to make mistakes contingent to their own decisions. It is not silly
but rather good child development to offer a child the choice of sitting or
standing when you put on his shoes and then, of course, abiding by his de-
cision. This decision is his within the limits you set on his level.

Are we, then, to plan out the way we teach children to be competent
at decision-making, or are we going to allow chance to take the opportunity
to let the probabilities fall where they may? Some people think games of
chance are fun. It seems to me completely ludicrous to think of games of
chance in the growth of the next generation, or for very important decisions
that may deeply affect you and your family. I conclude with the question:
"Decisions: Planned or Chance?"

144

The fol lowing issues of the 111 i no is Teacher of Home Economics are immediately
available at $3.00 for all nine issues in a volume or 50 cents per single copy.

The "What" in Teaching Textiles
and 3 An Organization of Content for the First Level of Instruc-
tion in Foods and Nutrition
Developing Creativity through Home Economics Teaching
Developing Understandings about Values through Films
Teaching Housing in Senior High School
Planning Homemaking Departments

Special Home Economics Offerings for the Academically Talented
Changing Tests for Changing Times

The following issues of the Illinois Teacher are being re-run and will be
available some time early next year at exactly the same prices as listed above.

Volume IV

No.

1

No.

2

No.

4

No.

5

No.

6

No.

7

No.

8

No.

9

Volume I

No.

1

No.

2

No.

3

No.

4

No.

5

No.

6

No.

7

No.

8

No.

9

Vol ume 1 1

No.

1

No.

2

No.

3

No.

4

No.

b

No.

6

No.

7

No.

8

No.

9

Vol ume 1 1 1

Discipline: Problem and Opportunity
New Dimensions in Adult Education
Streamlined Teaching of Foods
Boys and the Homemaking Teacher
Improving the Teaching of Money Management
Co-Curr icular Activities — Boon, not Burden
The Play School in Teaching Child Development
Towards Results that Count in Teaching Clothing
Evaluation as Insurance

Cooperative Planning Pays Dividends

Toward the Improvement of Family Life Through Education

Evaluation of Observation and Thinking

Television for Teaching Adolescents ind Adults

Teaching Foods and Nutrition in the Space Age

Toward More Satisfying Living Through Better Time Management

Adventuring in Human Relations

Visual Aids Do Help

A Look at the Year Ahead

No. 1 Teaching Democracy through Future Homemakers of America

No. 2 Teaching Clothing Selection

No. 3 Teaching Economic Concepts Within the Homemaking Program

No. 4 The Challenge of the Junior High School Home Living Program

No. 5 Improved Teaching Through Improved Essay Tests

No. 6 Teaching Foods and Nutrition

No. 7 Teaching Values through Home Economics

No. 8 Let's Talk it Over

No. 9 Help Yourself to Success

!

/# ' y<?^ At* ™<?

Vol .V No. 4

JAN 18

nq

1962

ILLINOIS TEACHER

WAYS AND MEANS TOWARD RECOGNIZED ENDS

A Common Focus for Learning . . . . 146

Teaching "Thinking" Is Not Easy . . 148
Involving Learners in Recognition

of Desired Outcomes 153

Evaluation Instruments: Purveyors

of Meaning to Students 170

Learning-Teaching Efficiency. . . . 1 88

A Look at Programmed Instruction. . 190

HOME ECONOMICS EDUCATION • UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS BULLETIN

Volume V, Number 4; December, 1961. Published
nine times each year by the University of
Illinois. Entered as second-class matter
December 11, 1912, at the post office at Urbana,
Illinois, under the Act of August 24, 1912.
Office of Home Economics Education, 334 Gregory
Hall, Urbana, Illinois.

WAYS AND MEANS TOWARD RECOGNIZED ENDS

Rita L. Youmans, Professor, Home Economics and Education

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Alice Post White, Teacher of Home Economics

Wisconsin High School

University of Wisconsin, Madison

The desired ends of educational experiences have been debated from
time immemorial. Even though a consensus on the broad aims of education is
unlikely to be reached during the sensitive sixties, the effective teacher
does not abdicate his or her responsibility to state what outcomes he hopes
to observe in his learners. Therefore, this article will attempt to con-
sider some of the means by which learning objectives may be brought into
common focus. In short, we shall be looking at objectives and some of the
ways recognition of those objectives may be shared by learners and teachers,
during the experiencing process and in evaluating the achievement.

The thesis supported in this presentation is that the recognition of
desired outcomes is in and of itself one objective of the teaching. Implied
will be the challenge of mental discipline required of the teacher, when she
sharpens her own thinking to the point where she knows precisely where she
is heading and how she plans to guide the learners, be they younger or
older adolescents or adults, to that point and ready to go beyond on their
own "steam."

The central idea proposed for today's education

Charles E. Silberman in "The Remaking of American Education," Fortune,
April, 1961, spelled out the ends of education recognized by certain groups
of adults.

"The present ferment has gone beyond a restless discontent with
the educational ideas of the recent past. Nearly all the change
and experimentation now apparent turns around a central idea: the
pursuit of intellectual excellence. For two generations intellec-
tual training has not been the main goal of the U. S. public
school system; indeed, it has never been the main goal of any
school system designed for the broad mass of the population."

Silberman also highlights a controversy that is reflected in much of
the criticism of educational systems today. Quoting Silberman:

"The U. S. need for educated men is sometimes stated in terms of
specific skills said to be in short supply — electronics engineers
or nuclear physicists. Educationally, this is the wrong way to
approach the problem because it is impossible to predict what

145

146

skills will be needed ten years from now. Nothing could be more
wildly impractical, therefore — and nothing more destructive to
the future of an individual or of society — than an education
designed to prepare people for specific vocations and professions
or to facilitate their adjustment to the world as it is. To be
practical, an education now must prepare a man for work that
doesn't yet exist and whose nature can't even be imagined. This
can be done only by teaching people how to learn, by giving them
the kind of intellectual discipline and depth of understanding
that will enable them to apply man's accumulated wisdom to new
conditions as they arise."

What does this say to home economics teachers?

No school subject has a better chance of being taught by the problem
method than does home economics. In few realms can we predict greater
impact of sociological and technological changes than upon home and family
living patterns. Therefore, the challenge is squarely before us, can we
develop and teach a program in home economics that will be intellectually
stimulating, that will be preparation for solving problems of which we are
totally unaware today, and at the same time live up to the expectations of
students and their parents? I answer with an encouraging "yes," if we
really put our hearts and heads into mass production of top notch ideas
focused on this very problem.

Operating within a stereotype of public opinion which relegates many
home economics programs to achievement in terms of making and doing things,
the 1962 teacher who wants to succeed in her school and community — and who
does not — is faced with the baffling and frustrating complex of either teach-
ing up to or down to expectations. At the same time she is often seeing her
program labeled as non-academic and of questionable worth to the intellectu-
ally oriented high school student. As one teacher recounted, "Give them
what they want, and we get kicked in the teeth for being too practical!"

A Common Focus for Learning

One tangent of this struggle involves curriculum. Reference to Volumes
I , II, III, and IV of the Illinois Teacher of Home Economics wi 1 1 serve as
a refresher on curriculum. Vol. Ill, No. 4, "The Challenge of the Junior
High School Home Living Program," Vol. IV, No. 8, "Special Home Economics
Offerings for the Academically Talented," and Vol. Ill, No. 9, "Help
Yourself to Success" deal specifically with problems of curriculum building
in the several areas of home economics subject matter.

Grouping Students

A second tangent leads us to a look at groupings for our courses. It
is high time we recognized and accepted variability within classes as a
boon to effective teaching rather than a bottleneck. Wilhelm's review
ot the recent research on grouping has given some leads on this topic, if
not actual proof. You will find his article begins on page 410 in the April,
1961 issue of Educational Leadership.. He reported, for instance, that:

* Groupings do not produce anywhere near the homogeneity hoped for.

>

147

* Groupings have tended to ease somewhat the problems of instruction
but the groups, especially those of high mental ability, do not
necessarily learn any more than such students do in classes of
mixed abi 1 ity.

* Findings point toward moving past preoccupation with types of
learners and going straight to the unique individual; to quote,
"Jettisoning closed, rigid, formal stratification and narrow sub-
divisions of people or subject matter in favor of open, roomy
arrangements with a premium on flexibility."

* Resources that are adaptable to this flexible arrangement were sug-
gested as:

Learners are helped to size themselves up, each planning and
recording progress accordingly.

Swinging from day-to-day lessons to comprehensive units, gaining
time for teacher-pupil planning

Learning aids, such as tape recorders, table size projection
equipment, and programmed instruction which can run the gamut all
the way to teaching machines

Not one of Wilhelms' leads is really new to home economics teachers,
unless perhaps it is "teaching machines." How then can we do better what
we already may be equipped to do? Home economics teachers have reported
applying the following principles to bring a divergent group into a common
focus for learning.

* Recognition of an immediate and a projected goal for each learning
activity, first as a class, then for individuals, helps to provide
a common focus for the learning even when the individual goals may
be quite divergent.

* The analysis of differences in individual goals, procedures, and out-
comes provides a learning experience rich in appreciation and under-
standing of basic differences and similarities among families, place
of residence, cultures, and just people as personalities in their
own right.

* When projects in such areas as clothing selection and construction
are chosen on the basis of goals recognized by the learner and
teacher rather than on an assigned type of garment, individual aware-
ness or "reason why" seems to be increased.

* When the teacher, assisted by the students, obviously is checking
progress -gather ing evidence toward the recognized common goals, the
outcomes are apt to have deeper meaning than just "what I did."

* If the process — the thinking, analyzing, decision-making — is to be
made real and applicable in related or new situations, the alterna-
tives, the hows and whys must be emphasized above the activity itself,

148

* The teacher, who provides great variety in reference material, op-
portunities for student presentation, and a variety of evaluation
techniques, takes greatest advantage of diversity in a group. These
presentations are interesting in the form of demonstrations, sketches,
and exhibits as well as the more common oral and written reports.

* The evaluation of learning focused on individual and common goals is
of two types — individual progress toward own goals, both immediate and
projected, and toward the group outcomes recognized by the class.

* Since such factors as motivation, st ick-to-i ti veness, and personal
standards often are represented with much variability within a class,
"minimums" provide guide posts and resting points for learners and
may help individuals grow in understanding ot themselves.

Teaching "Thinking" Is Not Easy

We have lots of company when we accept the fact that to reach outcomes
that will equip our learners with understandings, tools for passing judgment
and making decisions, requires mental discipline. Elizabeth Stone reminds
us in the Summer, I960 Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin:

"Thinking takes practice. Too often we permit the minutiae of
detail to fill our time, so that when we settle down to do some thinking
about the important phases of our work, we find it impossible to think.
Our minds are vacuums. There is emptiness, as one will find who
attempts to think after a long period of not thinking. As Bernard
Baruch observes in My Own Story. 'Mankind has always sought to sub-
stitute energy for reason, as if running faster will give one a better
sense of direction."1

Could we as home economics teachers sometimes be substituting energy-oriented
learning experiences for thinking-oriented learning experience? Can we help
our students perceive the thought processes inherent in the roles of wife-
mother-homemakers, with all of the possible ramifications?

May I recommend the mental exercise, for teachers first and later for
students, of taking any one responsibility (later try another) that a home-
maker faces and identifying specifically the kinds of decisions involved.
Let us look at an example: selecting school clothing for a seven-year old
1 i vi ng in Wi scons in.

This experience was planned for a senior home economics class without
prerequisites. Represented in this class were means and extremes in socio-
economics levels and mental abilities. Few goals were consciously similar.
Therefore, it was important to provide a common basis for study through a
problem situation. The content obviously cross sectioned so many subject
areas that the teacher wisely did not hamper the learning possibilities by
"labeling" the subject. The teacher stated these objectives:

* To relate knowledge of child needs and values, family needs and values,
family resources, research and developments in industry and business,
and governmental protection to a realistic problem

149

* To think and apply facts to new situations, and to draw conclusions
in terms of probable permanent as well as present conditions

* To analyze the kinds of information upon which a homemaker might base
her decisions

Procedures

1. Problem was presented to entire class for discussion. Sufficient interest
was shown to seek solution. Teacher-stated goals were written on the board
and discussed. Each class member could rephrase the goals in her own words

if they were not clear as stated.

2. Assignment was given: "Write out all the kinds of questions and answers
a mother would have to consider in this regard. You may discuss this problem
with anyone you wish."

3. The following sub-problems or areas for decision were set by the class.
List was surprisingly like teacher's pre-planned one.

* Relating the money to be spent to needs of other family members' needs
for clothing or to other expenditures

* Deciding what qualities she is looking for in these clothes, i.e. care,
durability, status, personal characteristics of the child to be com-
plemented, etc.

* Balancing the fiber and construction qualities that best fulfill each
item chosen

* Understanding shopping practices that best fit mother's limitations
in time, energy, money, patience, and knowledge

* Checking buying guides, labels, trade names, prices, then telephoning
various stores for information, consulting advertisements, deciding
time of day, whether to take child along or taking out items on approval

* Establishing some tentative choices as a result of study

* Applying conclusions to a problem of individual concern to the class
members

k. Each student looked over the list and indicated need for study of each
sub-problem or decision according to:

B.A. - Background adequate - I already have sufficient knowledge and
understanding to meet this situation. Therefore, I am ready to try
evaluation item.

N.S.N. - Need study - Am interested now

N.S.R. - Need study but prefer to work on a related aspect or type of
decision. My rephrasing is:

5. Students who had the ability to work independenty proceeded to set up their
plans of work to match facts and/or principles to descriptive situations, seek-
ing authoritative information from reference material and interviews.. This
was individual, not group work, at this point. Less able students were
encouraged to proceed through a more detailed, step-by-step procedure and

with more guidance from the teacher.

6. Class members pooled all their information, emphasizing variables in
the solution of this problem.

150

7. Evaluation - Question sheet was distributed before discussion, later
answered by each student in writing. Conclusions would be drawn from reports
given in class and from own study. Guide sheet would naturally be varied

to suit needs of group.

* What conditions and characteristics of six to eight year olds are
important in selecting their clothing? What different informa-
tion would you need if the child is "early run-about"? Eight to ten?

* What seems to be the relationship between "easy-care" clothing
for this age group and cost?

* What protection does the consumer buyer of children's clothing
have from industry and the government? Do you feel this is ade-
quate? Justify your answer.

* How would you advise a young mother with limited knowledge of tex-
tiles to choose winter outer garments for a child? For herself?

* How would your answer be different if the mother expected these
clothes to be "handed down" to a younger child?

* Go back to decision sheet in step 3. Describe in a story form,
pictures, an exhibit or skit, the application of the decision-
making steps to a similar actual or hypothetical situation that
appeals to you. Limit your presentation to four minutes.

* The class selected the three or four best of these presentations
for experimentation with a skit to give at P. T. A. and other
club groups. A committee from the class worked outside of class
to prepare a skit combined with an exhibit, which received much
favorable response.

8. Final evaluation - Written as a test in class. Papers on which each
checked interest and/or need for study were handed back for reference*
Give evidence of your learning from this experience in terms of:

I. New learnings - Think through the processes you have gone through
to solve the problem. State one principle or generalization that you feel
you can apply in future situations you may meet for each of the areas for
decision. Remember that children, values, resources, ways to arrive at
decisions are all involved. For example, "understanding shopping practices":
A person who has only a little time free to shop when stores are open can
save many hours by telephoning to ask good questions about what she wants,
using ads, and deciding ahead of shopping pretty much wnat she wants. If
you cannot state principles, list facts that you have learned that you feel
you can use later.

I I . Resources

(1) What resources would you recommend to a young mother who
might be faced with this kind of a problem?

(2) On what basis did you decide each reference was authoritative?

(3) Which would you recommend for the public library, if they are
not already available there?

III. Personal gains

(1) Give an example that illustrates how you have already made use
of what you have learned in this unit.

(2) How do you feel about the importance of thinking in relation
to problems a homemaker faces?

151

9. Criteria for appraising individual achievement follow. These may take
the form of a rating scale to increase the objective quality of the evaluation
of learning during this three-week unit.

* Ability to look at self in relation to problem situations

* Degree of independence in using resource material to solve problem

* Ability to follow through logically once a lead has been chosen,
independently or with help

* Abi 1 i ty to see appl icat ion possibi 1 i t ies in new si tuat ions

* Creativity displayed in solving the problem or applying the principles

* Degree of mastery of subject matter involved in selected problem

Summary

Here we have seen how a problem, closely identified with the teacher's
objectives, became also the means by which learners accepted some personal
goals. Whether or not thev had recognized these goals sufficiently to be
able to verbalize them before the study is a real question and perhaps can
be viewed in light of the ability differences represented.

To get real depth into home economics teaching it seems quite in order
that the teacher minimize the risk of learners' missing the desired outcome
by planning in advance how to involve them in the recognition of goals being
sought. This recongition, too, is a learning experience and probably just
as significant as the early involvement in an activity. What we do in home
economics classes is so much easier to discuss than what we learned!

"The best is yet to be"

So Robert P. Goldman headlines an article in Parade, October 1, 1961.
"Defense spending may be soaring, but don't Jose sight of one vital fact.
You, the consumer, have not been forgotten by American industry. It's boom-
ing along pouring billions into research for better living--to make you
happier, more comfortable, and to make your daily routine more efficient,"
accord inq to Mr. Goldman. Into the role of home manager come thousands of
young men and young women each year. Their establishment of homes is a boom
to the American economy. With industrial research increasing at the rate
of about twelve per cent each year, according to Goldman, these young home-
makers, and the established ones as well, will surely find unlimited outlets
for their ready--and unready — cash. It will take a home economics teacher
with vision and enthusiasm for profound thinking to plan sufficient depth
in her courses so learners will have adequete bases for judging which of
the "Best Yet" are essential for their families.

Is not this another example of the demand for understanding personal
and family goals and the avenues which have a chance of leading in an
acceptable direction? "Acceptable to whom" seems less important than
"acceptable according to what aspiration." This is where teachers freely
express their fears. "Who am I to set someone else's standards," you hear
at conferences. Another familiar ring is, "Most parents can accept such stan-
dards as a five-eighths-inch seam width or a tunnel less muffin. They are
even judged at the fair. But discuss how money shall be spent or children
should be reared, and you are on mighty thin ice."

152

Again, the answer can come in terms of the methods a teacher develops
for analyzing ways and means toward recognized ends. Again, our groups
assemble in an — un — uniform pattern, and again we as educators give more
than lip service to the recommendation that primary aims of a strong home
economics program are geared to Individual development — development of know-
ledge and understanding, talents, judgment, attitudes, and values. If we are
realistic, we accept the fact that the measurement and appraisal of indivi-
dual progress toward those primary aims are carried on by testing the learners
in a group.

Add to the kaleidoscopic pattern another element — the premium placed on
the high grade in this age of urgency to develop the intellectual potential
represented in our school population. "Maybe grades aren't very important
to you," commented a senior boy in Economics for Consumers, "but admission
to college and scholarships aren't dished out to anybody with C's." So the
grades mean more than a monetary reward from dad when grade reports go home.
They are the status symbol par excellence in many high schools today, as
they should be.

The fact that the grade itself carries such weight, albeit an external
motivation, places uncommon demands upon the teacher to search diligently
for as accurate evidence of learning as possible. The sad part of the story
is the prevalence of parental, as well as student, opinion that if Johnnie
does not make good grades, it is the teacher's fault. Somehow learning is
not always equated as the basic ingredient in grading. Is it comforting to
know that teachers report their own anxiety over this pressure to teach qual-
ity programs and attempt to develop valid instruments by which to gather
evidence of learning? One teacher's successes may light a path for others
to go an extra mile or so. In this battle all teachers in the schools have
a stake'.

In this complex of the Harvard bookbag-carry ing, status-seeking, ear-
nest and non-earnest young learners, we find that sharp lines are again
being drawn to identify academic and non-academic areas of study at the
secondary level. If we are to maintain our self-respect and the respect of
our school population, the academic qualities of Home Economics teaching
must show through the maze of discontent and criticism being heaped upon
teaching anything that hints of a "practical" nature. This is not a defen-
sive measure. It is accepting our birthright as educators for home and
family living plus the challenges of our place in today's schools.

For some reason Home Economics courses are not included among the
reports of experimental studies in Schools of Tomorrow — Today by Arthur D.
Morse, Doubleday and Co., 1961. The imminence of the demand for intellec-
tual masses has undoubtedly over-shadowed experimentation in the significant
education in Home Economics. The following materials have been developed to
help some teachers find answers to their own questions. Repetitions have
been few so they can only be called the result of "studies," in terms of
selected samples and limited trials.

153

Involving Learners in Recognition of Desired Outcomes

When a teacher hopes to involve the learners in the understanding and
recognition of desired outcomes as they plan together for the learning exper-
iences, the teacher accepts the responsibility for providing "handles" where-
by the learners can "take hold" of the goals and find meaning in them.
Sometimes this can be done by actually mimeographing appropriate parts of the
early plans, which also can serve effectively as review sheets, as illustrated
by the following unit plans:

Understanding How a Chi Id Grows
An eleven-day unit in Home Economics II

Goals

Learning what to expect of a child at different stages

Gaining faith that a child will develop from one stage to another

Understanding that each child develops at different rates

Class experiences included:

1. Recall of memories

2. Checking of cartoons and pictures for ages and rechecking to
see progress in learning

3. Reading in reference books and pamphlets on a specific age
and stage

4. Compiling of dittoed sheets on ages and stages

5. Observation at nursery school for types of play, play equipment,
handling of discipline situations

6. Three half-hour observations, with written reports

7. Dr. Gesell's film, Life with Baby

8. Film, He Acts His Age, showing emotional growth in children

Attaining some skills and more appreciations in working with pre-school child-
ren so that they can develop without being too difficult to live with

Class experiences included:

1. Discussion and reading "Living with Children," Chapter 24 in
Explor ing Home and Fami 1 y Living by H. Fleck, L. Fernandez,
and E. Munves, Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1959

2. Practice in redirection of children

Understanding a child's needs in play, and art and literature, and developing

skills of working with children in these areas:
Such goals involved:

Understanding purposes of play for children and being able to make
intelligent choices of play material, based upon a knowledge of
their ages and stages

Recognizing factors other than developmental needs to be considered
when choosing play materials

Being able to choose books and stories appropriate for children
Enjoying children's literature, and thus helping children to enjoy it
Understanding importance of well-chosen books in a child's development
Knowing what are normal steps through which a child expresses him-
self creatively

154

Understanding the need for allowing creativity to proceed unhampered
Learning some techniques for helping a child with his art work

Class experiences included:

1. Reading on what to expect of children from ages six months
to ten years, then combining reports into a set of dittoed
sheets

2. Checking of "age-and-stage" dittoed sheets to determine what
play materials the child you are observing will need shortly

3. Reading references on play and play materials
k. Making a score sheet and judging of toys

5. Using a dittoed sheet on child's creative stages

6. Discussion on reading and study of examples of various stages

7. Reading, outlining, and reports on children's literature

8. Selecting of suitable book for child observed

Understanding self better as a result of studies, as well as seeing role of
parents more objectively

Class experiences included:

1. Recall of earliest memories to better understand own creative
development

2. Questioning and reference at all times to own experiences

Improving communication and other relations with children at home and in
your neighborhood; being aware of some social results attributable to wise
or unwise child guidance

Class experiences included:

1. Study and discussions in general as well as skill developments
in play, art, and literature areas, also area of Living with
Chi 1 dren

2. Own observations

3. Own thinking as a result of this study
k. Possible presentation of written observations to the child's

mother to treasure

This particular class was interested in and chose to concentrate on
children's art development. Other classes might make other choices. Reports
were pooled to provide the material, "Stages of the Child's Development in
Painting, Drawing, and Modeling."

Children's drawings were collected from the school file, from brothers
and sisters, from the child each observed. After study, the drawings were
again observed and the student's increased learning and understanding were
obvious. No attempt was made to record a grade for this.

Stages of the Child's Development in Painting, Drawing, and Modeling

Psychologists have identified four stages through which a child passes
on his way to maturity in using raw materials for making art objects. True,
the preschool child (under six) completes one stage and begins another. The
stages are:

155

1. The stage of manipulation, which begins at two or before and con-
tinues for another year or two (sometimes more)

2. Tne stage of child symbolism, which may occur as early as the third
year and continues until approximately the eighth year

3. The stage of pseudo-real ism, a transitional stage from around eight
to eleven years

4. A stage of realization and awakening which coincides with the begin-
ning of adolescence.

In painting and drawing, the stage of manipulation is called the scrib-
bling stage in most of the literature surveyed, and the child proceeds through
distinct steps in this scribbling stage.

Scribble stage — first phase. Around two or before, the child starts to
make uncontrolled marks on paper when given a crayon. A stick in dirt is as
good as a crayon, and a wall is as good as a blackboard. These uncontrolled
movements bear the same relationship to painting and drawing as the first
babbling bears to speech. Just as he enjoys his babbling, so he enjoys mak-
ing marks with the object he holds. He has no desire nor ability to control
the marks, for he does not connect the movement of the arm to the marks.

Scribble stage — second phase. At a later time, perhaps six months later,
the child makes the great discovery that he can produce motions on paper of
his own free will, and he begins to repeat some of these motions. One specialist,
Helga Eng, in observing her niece, noted a tendency to scribble back and forth,
making what she called a wavy scribbling. This was followed by a circular,
then a variegated scribbling. Other authorities call it "controlled scribbling."

When using paints, the child first explores the qualities and possibili-
ties of the paint itself, and then shows controlled movements as in drawing.
Katherine Read in her 1955 volume, The Nursery School , W. B. Saunders Company,
describes a child's first experience with paint:

"... she approached the easel with evident satisfaction on that first
day. She painted on the paper with full strokes of brush, using all
the colors. Then she touched the t i p of the brush to her tongue, and
stood relishing its taste. Next, she brushed it under her nose, getting
its smell. Afterwards she carefully painted the palm of her hand. She
found out what paint felt like. She had enjoyed all the sensory experi-
ences that paint offered, and she used it often during the time she
attended nursery school ."

Putting paint on paper has no special significance in the early days of
this phase, and it may be put everywhere else as well. The child achieves
satisfaction in making a lasting impression on things around him and in chang-
ing the world itself. This is creating, but not planned creating. Later,
as his motions become more controlled, he learns to confine his efforts
within the edges of a paper, but it is still an experience to be enjoyed for
itself, not a symbolic representation of something else.

Scribbling stage — third phase. Sometime during the controlled scribbling
stage the child tells a story as he scribbles or about his scribbling; for
the first time he is thinking in terms of mental images as he draws or paints.
Ceasing to think like an animal in terms of actions only, he has begun to

156

think in men's terms of images, which is an advancement toward verbal think-
ing. The story telling may be prompted by an imagined similarity in lines,
or may be influenced by hearing his parents tell a story while looking at a
picture.

Scribbling stage — fourth phase. Sometime between the ages of three and
four, a name will usuallv be given to the scribbling, either as the child
paints or after he finishes. The child completes his first stage of manipu-
lation, or scribbling, sometime around his fifth birthday, and he begins
the second stage of development, that of symbolism or "formula drawing," as
Helga Eng cal Is it.

Symbol ic stage. The first symbolic drawing is usually a human figure,
a round or square with two lines for legs. There may or may not be lines
for the arms. Later the house he lives in and then animals he knows are
drawn. While the child always draws human beings full face at first, animals
are shown sideways from the very beginning because characteristics of an
animal are best seen from the side view.

Daniel Mendelowitz of Stanford University agrees that the child usually
paints the human figure first, especially himself or his father, mother,
brother or sister. He said the lines attached to the circular body may or
may not have hands or feet, and the head has eyes, nose, mouth, and perhaps
ears. He points out that studies have shown that a five-year-old can draw
a circle best if it has eyes, nose and mouth, for he cannot understand an
abstract circle and has difficulty drawing it. The head is usually the same
size as the rest of the figure, although sometimes "a beanpole with a little
head" appears. There is no background or setting in these drawings, and
properties necessary for the action of the picture are placed around the
figure at random. Size, for the child, is a natural expression ot importance.

Viktor Lowenfeld of Pennsylvania State University also comments on the
tendency to make the most important objects in the picture the largest. "To
make something large because it is important is an illusion just as it is
an illusion to make something small because it is distant." Evidences of
growth as the child continues in this stage are:

* An increase in the number of parts by which a person or object is
symbol ized

* An increase in the number of objects represented

* Presence of fewer unidentifiable scribbled parts

* More consistent proportions and relationships between objects

* Larger drawings which fill the page more completely

* Increase in span of interest, so more complex drawings will be finished

He completes the first phase of the symbolic period usually by his sixth

year when he uses a fairly standard symbol for the human figure and he arranges

the objects of his picture on a base line at the bottom of the page.

Model inq

The stages of manipulation and symbolism can be seen in the child's
growth in the use of clay and other three-dimensional activities. Ruth Hartley,
Lawrence Frank, and Robert Galenson, in their 1952 bulletin from the Columbia

157
University Press, listed these in the following order:

1. First, clay is explored, the child seeming to ask, "What is It?"
He eats it, smells it, pastes it on his face or stuffs it in his
nose, pats it, pounds it, cuts it with sticks, and bangs it with
blocks.

2. In the second stage, attention is still focused on manipulation,
but clay is looked upon as a raw material to be manipulated and
changed in shape. Thus, he pats it or rolls it or tears it.

3. In the third stage he approaches clay as a raw material to be made
into something else. The product which is made, not always with
intention, is used as the real thing. Thus, if a ball is made, he
plays with it like a ball; it what he calls candy is made, he eats
a bit of it. This stage may go through the fourth year.

4. The fourth stage is the one many adults expect to be the first one;
in this, the child indicates what he is going to make, makes it, and
realizes it is only a representation and not to be used as the real
thing. He usually makes the parts which he fastens together to make
a whole.

Summary

Just as the child learns to talk or to walk by mastering progressively
difficult steps, so he develops in his creative use of the raw materials used
in painting, drawing, and modeling. First, somewhere around the age of two,
he explores the characteristics of the medium used, and then he suddenly
discovers he can change the medium, or use it to change his environment, in
a definite and controlled way. Later, he tells stories or suggests image
associations as he manipulates the material and lastly he attempts, from
memory, to make representations of persons or objects in his environment
which have meaning tor him. These attempts at symbolism also follow similar
stages, with size of objects or parts of objects indicating degree of im-
portance to the child.

Evaluation of Growth in Understanding How to Guide a Young Child's Behavior

Direct ions: The "better" statements were suggested in class before study.
After study of ways of guiding children, fill in the "best" statement.

1. Statement: "Don't play with the knife."

Better: "If you play with the knife, you might cut yourself."

Best:

2. Statement: "Don't throw sandl"

Better: "You shouldn't throw sand because you might hurt somebody."
Best:

158

3. Statement: "Not No! Put that vase of flowers back. You're going to

break it, Kathy."

Better: "Mom wouldn't want her nice vases broken, would she? Here1.
Come and play with your toys."

Best :

k. Statement: "Don't kick Johnny!"

Better: "If you play with Johnny, he'll be your friend instead of your

enemy!"

Best:

5. Statement: The boy sticks out his tongue at the minister. You say,
"Don't! That's rude!"

Better: "That shows you are still a little baby."

Best:

This instrument should be scored as follows

Answer is evidence of Answer suggests
understanding of basic involvement of
concept involved adult or person

giving direction

Score Values

Answer involves close redirection

to activity 4_

Answer involves more distant

redirection 3_

Answer involves completely

different redirection 2_

A "cause and effect" answer

Final Evaluation Based upon Objectives Pages 153 and 15^

Student's Name

Suppl ies needed: Your observation reports; the "ages and stages" sheets;

colored pencil; pen

Note: The qual i ty of thinking you show in answering the following questions
is far more important than the amount of writing you do.

I . Analysis of all observations

Read all the following directions through careful 1 y before beginning.

159

Check through your observations and compare with your listings of
ages and stages of a child the same age. Be sure to check at least
one year before and one year after. Use a colored penci 1 for marking
your observation sheet. Put an X by the statement you are using as
an example, followed by the year and number of reference on the
ages-and-stages dittoed sheet. For example:

Observation: May 4th, 6:30 P.m.
Child: Johnny Doe, 22 months

1. Sets glass down Age: 2 years

X 2. Picks up a spoon by wrapping all his fingers around

it Reference: 6

3. Took a spoonful of food and ate it slowly

This means you are comparing the second item in the observation to
the first item under age 2 years on the ages-and-stages sheets.

Continue to make as many comparisons as you can find in the observations
you have made. Clip your observation sheets and ages-and-stages sheets
to your test paper when you hand it in.

II. Did the child you observed sometimes perform above his age level accord-
ing to your checkings in question I? Below his age level? Right on it?
Justify your conclusions with examples:

Why can you not come to the conclusion that the child you observed is
exceedingly bright or slow or average on the basis of these findings?
Reasons:

III. If the child you observed acted in a way which would be annoying to
those around him or destructive to himself or others, use that as a
basis for your thinking in this question. If no such observance was
made, check that age level on your ages-and-stages sheets for an example
to use.

Observance or example chosen:

Give at least two specific suggest ions, us ing different principles
in line with the basic principles suggested by Fleck or other authorities
which would help a sister or baby-sitter or other family member to
live comfortably with this child and at the same time insure continuing
growth of the child in his various areas of development.

1. Basic principle and specific suggestion:

2. Basic principle and specific suggestion:

IV. Supposing the child you observed is having a birthday in June. Select
a birthday present which is either (1) a creative art material, (2) a
toy other than the creative art materials we considered in class or (3)
a book. Describe your choice (A), tell what you would consider in buying
it (B), and how you might help the child use it successfully (C) . Use
the back of this sheet if necessary.

160

A. Choice:

B. What you would consider in buying it:

C. How you might help a child to use it successfully:

V. Recall several incidents which occurred sometime before you were ten in
which you felt irritated or annoyed or upset or must have been annoying
to others. Check these incidents with your ages-and-stages sheet and
select one for comment.

Describe the incident selected:

Does this incident appear now to be a stage through which you went or
does it appear to be a type of behavior requiring discipline because
it did not help you grow into the next stage? Explain your answer
briefly.

Ages and Stages Sheets

As a result of pooling reports and study, these sheets of expectations
were developed by students and dittoed for class use.

Six months

What to Expect in a Child

1. Usually doubled birth weight.

2. Reaching end of natural immunity against dangerous diseases.

3. Two lower front teeth.

4. Has gained one to two inches in length since birth.

5. Sleeps about sixteen to eighteen hours.

6. Can sit up for a while by himself.

7. Lifts his head when lying on stomach.

8. Plays by putting feet into mouth.

9. Rolls over by himself and soon begins to creep.

10. Eyes and hands function together--grasps rattle and shakes vigorously.

11. Transfers larger objects from one hand to other.

12. Enjoys bath time — helpless in water.

13. Carries all objects to mouth.
\k. May suck thumb or fingers.

15. Beginning to drink from a cup.

16. Needs one long and two shorter naps during the day.

17. Talks to himself in mirror — smiles and pats his image in glass.

18. Vocabulary grows — coos, squeals, combines vowel sounds, says "m-m-nf1

19. Listens to words and to his own vocalization.

20. More of a sociable being — differentiates between familiar and strange
faces.

21. Enjoys company but also happy to play alone with his toys or explore
his hands and feet and talk amiably to himself.

One year

1. i

2.

3. <

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

161

Average height — twenty-eight to thirty inches.

Number of teeth — six.

Average weight — twenty-one to twenty-five pounds — three times birth

weight.

Sits alone.

Can stand and may walk alone.

May walk but may still prefer to creep.

Holds cup and spoon, beginning to feed himself (appetite normally

decreasing)

Plays with simple toys, especially likes noisy ones.

Can pick up small objects with thumb and finger.

Learning to cl imb.

Is slowly learning toilet control.

Is dependent on parents for physical care.

Learning to pull off stockings.

Enjoys tearing and crumpling paper.

Likes to pul 1 hair.

Sleeps about sixteen hours.

Says a few words (single words only) with a wide variation of sounds

Waves bye, bye, patty cakes.

19. Recognizes greetings and people by sight and voice.

20. Loves attent ion--responds to approval.

21. Repeats performances that get attention.

22. Imitates.

23. Stops certain acts on command.

Eighteen months

1. Abdomen protrudes.

2. Often has daytime bladder control.

3. Cl imbs stai rs.

4. Uses a spoon fairly well.

5. Builds cube towers.

6. Tosses a ball into a box.

7. Turns pages of books.

8. Imitates crayon strokes crudely.

9. Walks on a broad base; feet wide apart.

10. Runs with a stiff, propulsive gait.

11. Uses whole arm action to play ball.

12. Difficulty in coordinating his hands and feet.

13. Likes to lug, tug, push, pull and pound in rapid succession.

14. Takes off shoes, hat, and mittens, and unzips zippers.

15. Likes to close doors, flush toilets, mop up a puddle and hand his
mother his dish when he is finished.

16. Never in one place long.

17. Says five or more words (see no. 18 for report by another authority).

18. Vocabulary consists of about twelve words.

162

19. Has an abundant repertoire of sound and gesture.

20. Favorite words are — "bye, bye," "Thank you," and "Oh, my."

21. Is always into everything.

22. Attention span is short, but does learn in spurts how his house-
hold operates and where things are kept.

23. Responds to verbal directions, but must still be managed mostly by
action.

Two years

1. Cuts his last baby teeth — sixteen to twenty teeth.

2. Does not walk erect; his knees and elbows are slightly bent; leans
forward when he runs.

3. Average weight--twenty-six to twenty-nine pounds.

4. Average height — thirty-two to thirty-four inches.

5. Stoops or squats.

6. Eats with overhand grip on spoon.

7. Runs about and is very active.

8. Experiments by touching, smelling, tasting.

9. Is able to undress self except for buttons etc.

10. Can go upstairs, one foot after the other onto each step.

11. Can throw or kick a ball.

12. Can turn a doorknob and imitate a circular stroke on paper.

13. Likes to take things apart and put them back together.

14. Can't sit sti 1 1 .

15. Is able to feed self at most meals.

16. Will stick to one method of eating, dressing, and washing.

17. Needs rest before noon and night meals.

18. Is able to help wash self.

19. Likes wheels on toys and push toys.

20. Is able to turn pages.

21. Tends to be rough on books.

22. Will push his carriage, not ride in it.

23. Is able to open drawers.

24. Builds blocks into small towers.

25. Likes to fill and empty things.

26. Likes water--splashes and dabbles.

27. Tells when he needs the toilet.

28. Talks in short sentences.

29. Shows independence in speech and actions; is often negat i vist ic,
saying "No!"

30. Is curious.

31. Enjoys simple stories, rhymes, and songs.

32. Intense emotions but not for long.

33. Has short attention span: is easily distracted.

34. Likes to "pretend."

35. Needs a lot of time in order to change activities.

36. Prefers bright gay colors.

163

37. Interested in textured objects.

38. Likes to take favorite toys to bed with him.

39. Engages in solitary and parallel play.

40. Follows simple directions.

41. Prefers to play alone; likes to watch other people instead of par-
ticipating in the activities.

42. Does not share well.

43. Likes to do small errands.

44. Is not aware of others' feelings.

Three years.

1. Angelic baby look although he is beginning to do things for himself.

2. Average height — thirty-eight inches.

3. Uses large muscles in arms, legs, body — lifting, loading, pushing,
pulling, sliding, and climbing. Enjoys swings and slides.

4. Finer actions of muscles (fingers and hands) are not fully developed.

5. Can maneuver stairs alone and with alternating feet.

6. May run up and down stairs.

7. Rides a tricycle, confident of his equilibrium.

8. At meals is self rel iant--does not have to be fed.

9. Gets own glass of drinking water.

10. Dresses himself; needs help with hard parts.

11. Starts to use a fork and can eat without much spilling.

12. Has learned to brush his teeth.

13. Likes to make mud pies.

14. Makes trains or towers out of blocks.

15. Can help put away toys.

16. Can hang up his coat and hat.

17. Many can sleep without wetting.

18. Many can put themselves on the toilet; has developed bladder control.

19. May stay awake at nap time.

20. Acts more like a four-year-old than a two-year-old.

21. Will fall a lot.

22. Copies crude circles.

23. Uses a hankerchief.

24. Can indicate the position of pain.

25. Puts away toys after use.

26. By using new skills of speech and movement, child can get the feeling
of success and achivement and confidence.

27. Loves noise.

28. Does only one thing at a time.

29. Thumb sucking — turns to it when the going gets rough.

30. Talks a great deal to hear voice and use new words.

31. Needs someone to suggest next step.

32. Uses many verbs and pronouns.

33. Worries about "bad men."

34. Often can carry a tune.

35. May pick nose.

164

36. Is more conforming; is aware that he is a person and is eager to
ingratiate himself to please.

37. Responds to verbal guidance.

38. Misbehave because:

they want to be independent

they are curious and must know "why"

they may be bored

they may be angry

39. Will keep busy and can entertain self for long while.

40. Now uses complete sentences.

41 . Tries to be friendly; is interested in other people.

42. Attitude toward other children may be pushy, hitty, and bossy.

43. Does not "share" easily; if it looks good it's mine, is their motto.

44. Does not play with other children but near others.

45. Imitates parents and takes part in family activities.

46. May pay no attention to what they are told to do.

47. May say things like "I hate you."

Four years

1. Gains four to four and one-half pounds in the year.

2. Dresses self except for small buttons.

3. Brushes teeth and washes hands.

4. Goes on simple errands.

5. Likes to make things out of paper, sand, and clay.

6. Can use crayons, scissors, and other simple tools.

7. Runs down stairs.

8. Copies squares or cross.

9. Describes pictures.

10. Tries to make rhymes.

11. Can relate things to the past.

12. Is developing a conscience.

13. Uses language well.

14. Is noisy, and vigorous activity has definite direction.

15. Is able to carry some responsibility.

16. Is full of questions.

17. Has more fears, because he can understand dangers.

18. Makes up little stories.

19. Likes to sing; repeats verses of songs he hears.

20. Wants stories repeated.

21. His ideas about time are becoming clearer.

22. Can learn to say his name, address and telephone number if taught
to him.

23. Loves to play games and pretends to be some animal, using sound
effects and props.

24. Uses new words in sentences for sound, not for meaning.

25. Is developing a longer attention span.

165

26. Enjoys being silly, along with friends; craves being with other
chi ldren.

27. Can carry on a running conversation with anyone.

28. Asks questions not only to get answers but to get attention.

29. Is beginning to play with other children instead of parallel play.

Five years

1. His head is almost as large as i t wi 1 1 ever be.

2. Weight is double that at one year.

3. Can hop, skip, turn somersaults; can handle sled, wagon or small
bicycl e.

k. Likes to cut, paste, draw and paint pictures (eye and hand muscles
now better coordinated).

5. Can be skillful in handling tools and utensils if suited to his size;
more precise hand and finger movements.

6. With training, can dress and undress, lace shoes, hang up clothes
if low hooks are provided.

7. Can get a drink, go to the toilet, wash hands and face, clean up
after play and help themselves at the table.

8. Likes to help mother with household jobs, do errands, paint and
saw wi th father.

9. Can speak quite clearly, though a few confused sounds such as "dat"
for "that."

10. Inaginations are very lively.

11. Fear of dark — needs light on when going to bed; fear caused from
some TV programs.

12. Likes clothes and loves to dress up.

13. Sometimes can go to kindergarten or store alone after instructions
in crsssing streets.

\k. Loves to hear and tell stories but becoming more serious. Asks
thoughtful questions — "What is this for?" "How does this work?"
Needs an answer which really explains.

15. Is developing a longer span of attention.

16. Intense curiosity about world around him.

17. Loves repetition in speech and hand actions.

18. Can be taught simple health rules.

19. Defines words by use.

20. Listens to everything that is said and repeats it at the most inoppor-
tune times.

21. Prefers playing with other children in projects like playing house,
building garages, switch yards for trains and cars.

22. More dependable, likes to feel independent and can be given more freedom.

23. Uneven in social behavior; sometimes shares and cooperates, some-
times shows off; shy, self-conscious; may sulk and try to destroy
his toys when scolded.

24. Obeys simple commands in sequence.

25. Less use of grabbing and pushing than at age three.

26. Still experiments with forms of social behavior that may seem
annoying to others.

166
Six years

1. Starts to get permanent teeth, the six-year molars.

2. Has twenty to twenty-four teeth.

3. Needs twelve to thirteen hours sleep, including nap.

4. Likes outdoor play equipment and strenuous activities; has better
balance and straighter posture.

5. Some have mastered roller skating, ice skating, swimming; is
absorbed by running, jumping, dodging games.

6. Has improved skills of the previous year.

7. Enjoys any sort of wheel toys.

8. Learns to count.

9. Expresses own ideas; at times tries to talk like parents.

10. Goes to school .

11. Eager to learn; longs to experiment and to explore.

12. Is often careless, noisy and argumentative.

13. May make collections and send for samples.

14. Learns to plan ahead.

15. Likes fairy tales and adventure stories.

16. Has understanding of time and money.

17. Commonly uses upwards of 2500 words.

18. Delights in imaginative, dramatic play.

19. Is developing a conscience or moral code; is concerned by right
and wrong.

20. Likes playing with other children.

21. Likes to help mother and dad and follows lead of playmates.

22. Begins to evaluate how parents' opinions are shared with teachers'
opinions.

23. School, church and community activities take up increasing amount
of ch i 1 d ' s t i me .

24. Realizes others can do some things better than he can.

25. Being part of a group and having a best friend becomes very important.

26. These groups of friends are usually of the same sex.

27. Learns to give and take and to gain acceptance.

28. Begins to evaluate self and behavior.

29. Sitting still is an effort; wriggling especially noticeable at table.

Eight years

1. Ten or eleven permanent teeth.

2. Can do all that six-year-old can do, but better.

3. Has slow, steady physical growth.

4. Needs almost twelve hours of sleep.

5. Has big appetite.

6. Swims well and can bicycle and roller skate well.

7. Bathes self, but sketchily.

8. Likes to experiment and explore; girls experiment with their mother's
things; may take a puff or two on cigarettes.

167

9. Interested in radio, TV, comics, movies, pets, sports.

10. Makes collections; sends for samples.

1 1 . Likes fairy tales.

12. Can tell day of month and year.

13. Can make change for small amounts and tell time.

14. Far off places have real meaning.

15. Has lots of worries.

16. Humor is of slapstick variety.

17. Likes to play store.

18. Begins to have an historic perspective.

19. Reads for pleasure.

20. Likes to play cops and robbers, father and mother, teacher, doctor,
and actor.

21 . Girls 1 ike dol 1 play.

22. Although searching for a special friend, can share the friend with a
third person.

23. Has accepted parent's prejudices and attitudes toward other religions,
economic groups and political beliefs.

24. He can learn to accept Negroes, Chinese Jews, Catholics, Protestants,
Republicans, and Democrats.

25. Still too wrapped up in himself and his family to be angry at
injustices, but his sense of fair play is being developed.

26. Evidence of modesty increases.

27. Is not entirely capable of team play.

28. Manners often better away from home rather than at home.

29. Likes pretty teachers.

30. May have setbacks at home if another baby is on the way or has been
born during the year.

31. Likes to be paid for chores.

Ten years

1.

2.

3.

4.

5. -

6.

7.

8.

9.

10. i

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

Girls begin to outgrow the boys their age.

Girls are bothered by being exceptionally tall or short with

bodies out of proportion.

Boys worry about shortness.

Girls are two years ahead of boys in many ways in this period.

Average weight — girls, 79; boys, 77.

Fourteen to sixteen permanent teeth.

Boys are very interested in sports.

Cares almost entirely for his or her person.

Some girls are still ,rtomboys."

Are able to do very precise work with their hands, although some

things such as needlework is still difficult for them.

Some find it hard to adjust to this step of their education at school.

Wants to belong; gangs very popular, clubs, etc.

Boy-girl worries start and the idea of being socially accepted bothers

Has fears and frustrations of an in-between age, being either too

young or too old for most things.

Girls are starting to drop interest in dolls for the new boy craze.

Begins to take responsibility around house with younger children, etc.

168

Recognition of goals through motivation

Not always is it desirable from the standpoint of encouraging learner
independence to think through situations nor, from the teacher's time sche-
dule, to duplicate hand-out sheets describing goals and procedures. The
very methods a teacher uses to motivate learning can set the stage for recog-
nition of goals. One teacher built some ideas into her plans, as follows:

Area: Health, Safety, and Home Nursing

Unit: "Let's be Prepared for the Unexpected 1"

Previous assignment: Red Cross - Home Nursing Handbook, Chapter 6

Lesson: Learning to improvise equipment for the sickroom

Objectives:

* To develop an awareness that adequate equipment for a patient can be
made from common materials found in the home

* To realize the economic value of making, borrowing, or renting, rather
than buying, some equipment

* To learn the techniques for making certain improvised equipment effec-
tive and sanitary

* To learn to use ingenuity in devising sickroom articles that will
add to the comfort and happiness of a patient

Materials needed: Improvised equipment for display, numerous articles such
as newspapers, jelly jars, cookie sheets, pillows, etc. Also paint, "con-
tact" paper, paste, scissors, stapler, etc.

References avai lable: Red Cross - Home Nursing Handbook

Wava McCul lough - 1 1 1 ustrated Handbook of Simple Nursing

Activities

Display set up by teacher in home

economics department of homemade

sickroom equipment. Caption used:

"Don't use your money; use your

ingenuity!"

Call attention to the display as

the girls come into class.

For the last two days we've
been considering the sickroom and
how it can be adapted to the pati-
ent's needs. Today we're going to
go a step further and consider the
equipment needed in a sickroom.
Many times when a person is ill,
he has needs that call for equip-
ment that isn't used in everyday
living. What are examples of such
equipment?

Teaching aids and outcomes

Mot i vat ion:

Try to make students real ize that
they need not buy equipment when
a patient is ill.

Allow girls to walk around and
look and discuss the display to-
gether.
Introduction: 10 minutes

169

Activities

Since we all 1 ike to save money
where we can, it seems it would be
to our advantage to be able to
make the necessary equipment from
materials already on hand in the
home. The equipment that is dis-
played here today is all made from
common household materials, and
each piece costs twenty- four cents
or less. Here, for instance, is
a "dressed up" cookie sheet; for
what could it be used?

Teaching aids and outcomes

Students realize that a piece of
equipment may serve many purposes.

If saving time were a more impor-
tant goal for your family than sav-
ing money, how might you go about
securing equipment for the sick
room?

A list of necessary equipment can
be set up, indicating articles which
could be rented or borrowed at a
reasonable cost.

Class discussions of devices seen
on display, of demonstrations, and
in answering questions

Teacher demonstration of how to
make various pieces of equipment,
with help from students

How would these pieces of equip-
ment I have made add to a patient's
comfort and happiness? What will
you need to know in order to
achieve this comfort and conven-
ience?

Now I would like you to use your
own ingenuity. Over on the table
is an array of common household
articles. Think of some particu-
lar need of a patient, such as
those we have been discussing.
Then, using the materials on the
table, improvise a piece of equip-
ment to meet this need of a patient.
Check your reference material for
ways to sanitize the equipment.

Demonstrate how to make:

1 . backrests

2. novelty flower containers

3. pi 1 low arm rests

4. si ippers from newspapers

5. cookie sheet food trays, etc.

When making equipment for the sick-
room, make it with the patient's
needs in mind. Equipment is de-
vised to help a person in eating,
make him more physically comfort-
able, cheer him emotionally through
adding bits of cheer to the room, etc.

Laboratory:

This will prompt students to use
their ingenuity and consider more
carefully needs ot a patient. It
will give them an opportunity to
become somewhat skilled in the
techniques of improvising. It will
bring to focus the fact that a lot of
money can be saved by making home
equipment that will serve the patient's
needs just as well as if equipment
were bought for him.

170

Tomorrow we will each show our piece
of equipment to the class and discuss
them in terms of:

* Effectiveness for purpose

* Care needed for cleanl iness
and sanitation

* Saving of money

* Problems in making or using

* Other ways to achieve same
purpose

CI incher:

1. What factors help a person or family decide which eqiupment should be
improvised, which purchased?

2. What values might the "making" or improvising promote?

3. What precautions should you remember in selecting and using equipment
for a patient?

Evaluation Instruments: Purveyors of Meaning to Students

In theory — we see it in books, hear it discussed at conferences — the
teacher obligates herself to evaluate learning in terms of objectives for
that learning. In practice, do we apply the theory? Other questions teachers
raise — "How do you know if subject matter is learned unless you test for
facts?" Going back to Silberman, can we be confident that the subject matter
that is true today will also be true tomorrow? Often essay questions that
involve problem solving provide more worthwhile learning.

The following essay items were developed to be used where appropriate
during a unit planned to meet the objectives listed.

Unit: "Laundry News Eliminates Washday Blues"

Time: two-three weeks, eleventh grade

Students have good background on fibers, weaves, finishes of fabrics

Objectives:

* To be aware of the vast variety of fibers, fabrics, and finishes
available on the market today

* To review the basic properties of synthetic fibers and the relation-
ship between properties and care

* To know the main types of weaves and popular finishes and how they
affect wearability and care

* To have a basic understanding of the classes of stains and removal
agents and the principles of stain removal

* To understand the principles involved in determining a laundry method
and procedures to be followed

* To be familiar with various types of laundry appliances and their uses

* To understand the importance of proper clothing care and its effects
on personal grooming and relations with others

171

Evaluation items:

1. Sue Howard recently married and moved into a new neighborhood. One of
her neighbors, Mrs. Wilson, has a family of four active children. She
does her laundry two or three times a week. Mrs. Mason who lives next
door told Sue that it really would be much simpler to do the laundry
all at once and have it out of the way for a whole week.

What factors does Sue need to consider before deciding which

method is best for her?

Is either of these methods necessarily best for her?

Why or why not?

2. Mrs. Jones' washing machine has stopped working and cannot be repaired.
There is a laundromat within a few blocks of her home. What investigations
and decisions does Mrs. Jones need to make before she decides whether to
purchase a new washer or take advantage of the laundromat?

3. What factors do you need to consider when choosing an automatic washer
for the home? How do these differ from points to be considered in choos-
ing a dryer?

k. Automatic irorers have advantages over hand irons. Why might the automatic
ironer not be a good investment for a newly married couple?

5. When his mother suggested that fifteen-year-old John put on a clean shirt
yesterday he snapped at her, "What difference does it make whether I wear
clean clothes or dirty ones?" What pointers on health, grooming, personal
relations, etc., might John's mother have included in her answer?

6. A stain removal chart gives these directions for removing eggs or meat
from a fabric: "Sponge off with cold water, then launder. Do not use
hot water first. If stain remains, bleach with hydrogen peroxide. When
dry, sponge with carbon tetrachloride."

What does this information tell you about the nature of the stain?
What principles have been taken into consideration in determining
this method of removal?

7. What factors must be considered in treating the following stains? What
methods would you use? Why?

Stains Factors Method to use Reason for choice

Chewing gum
Ice cream
Axle grease
Sugar syrup
Dry blood

Evaluation in terms of recognized behavior

Unit objective: To realize that today's consumers face the problem of deter-
mining the fiber content of clothing in order to judge quali-
ties of use and conditions for care.

Outcomes in terms of behavior:

172

1. Knows that fibers today are not accurately recognizable by looks
and feel

2. Learns to analyze the labels on clothing

3. Interprets the labeling law to family and friends as well as using
it in making own selection of clothing

k. Appreciates the importance of wise consumer use of accurate and
meaningful labeling

Following the numbers above and paralleling each situation with a possible
device for recording evidence we have:

Experience: Where and Under
What Conditions

Devices for Recording Evidence of Learning

1 and 3 Paper-pencil test item

1 and 3 John needs to buy a new suit; he
asks you to feel of the suit and to tell
him what kind of fiber. What explanation
would you give John?

2. Bulletin board display of
labels from sweaters and
skirts

3 and k Self-check on reli-
ance on good label-
ing and comments to
others

2. Set up a chart and identify the labels
by number that:

a) Comply with I960 Fabric Identifica-
t ion Act

b) Comply with National Retail Merchants
Association Sure-Care Symbols

c) Have inadequate information for the
buyer

State your specifications for a garment.
Choose labels from two of the same type
garments and draw conclusions as to wh'ch
would best suit your purposes. Give
reasons. What problems in service and
care can you expect according to the in-
formation on the label or labels you
have chosen?

3 and k Set up a diary for recording the
kind of use you make of textile labels dur-
ing the next month. Record any instances
of analysis, reference to class notes, com-
ments to others, indicating to whom, and
their reactions. At the end of the month
summarize your record in terms of the third
and fourth behaviors.

Correlation of experience with evaluation of learning

Unit objective: To learn to make and carry out intelligent decisions regarding

the personal use of time.

Outcomes in terms of behavior:

1. Decides what factors are important to her that probably will affect
her use of t ime

173

2. Analyzes a record of her use of time to determine if important
achievements are possible for her within her time limits

3. Learns to adjust own rate of speed, management practices, hand
skills, attitudes, activities, and standards to fit values accepted
as important

4. Appreciates the relationship of her time management to harmony and
achievement of values for family and/or friends

Following the numbers of behaviors above and paralleling each situation
with a possible device or instrument for recording evidence, we have:

Experience:

Where and Under
What Conditions

Devices for Recording Evidence of Learning

With one or two partners
observe each other to
find out what kinds of
things are important.

See Starr, Management

for Better Living, Part 1 1

1. Tabulate from diary entries, from time
records, and from just natural discussions
the kinds of things that have real impor-
tance. These may be personal appearance,
keeping friends helping someone, good grades,
experimenting with own talents, etc.
There will be no standard right or wrong
for this list except for you as an indivi-
dual .

2.

3.

4.

Compare own actual record
of time spent over an
agreed-upon interval with
what you w? shed to accom-
plish during same period.

After study and practice
on individual projects
to improve management,
prepare report or demon-
stration or display on
techniques learned and/or
adjustments made.

Select two incidents
that show how your
time use affected
someone else.

2. Individual time record sheets and
"wishing well" for use of time. Questions
for analysis:

How close did I come to doing what I

wi shed?

Were my wishes realistic?

What kinds of things did I accomplish?

Which left undone?

Why did I act thus?

If I am the kind of person a schedule

frustrates, what can I do to make a

mental time plan work?

3. Rating scale with two descr ipt ions--
low and high — by students and teacher to
identify levels of achievement
Attitude check list to call attention to
changes in ways of looking at self and
problems

Anecdotal record of what you told others
about your management of time
Comments from parents, brothers, sisters,
and friends — what they have noticed about
your use of t ime

4. Answer these questions for each of your
written descriptions:

How did the other persons react (say,
do, look)?

Would you say these are isolated cases,
or are these quite typical of you?

174

Exper ience:

Devices for Recording Evidence of Learning

Over-al 1 :

Recorded observation
of self and close
associates

What might be the long-time results
of your practice--on your relationships
with the persons, on yourself?
Describe your feelings about your
responsibility for harmony and progress
toward mutually held goals?

Summary evaluation:

Divide a page of notebook paper into two
columns, A and B

List in column A at least ten time-savers
found in advertisements or being used that
you think might be useful to you. They may
be commercial or improvised through some-
one's creativity.

In column B state the factors you would
consider in deciding whether or not each
time-saver is worth your adopting or buying,
Refer to Starr's four principles — simplicity,
completeness, flexibility, workability.
Draw conclusions — general statements — that
describe yourself and your individual
challenges to be an effective manager of
personal time.

Study in terms of recognized goals

The kind of evaluation devices used have a definite relationship to the
kind of study habits developed. The more closely the evaluation procedures
relate to goals recognized by both learner and teacher, the more sharply can
learners and teachers communicate the learning that is (hopefully) taking
place. An example follows:

Area: Personal -Fami 1 y Relationships

Unit objectives:

* To understand the changes families are going through due to socio-
economic changes in our country

* To recognize the outside conditions that influence family living
patterns and causes of trouble spots

Outcomes in terms of behavior:

1. Reads statistical and descriptive materials and interprets the im-
pact on families in own generation or in similar position in family
1 i fe cycle

2. Traces the relationship of one development or invention that has be-
come popular or common within the last ten years to as many other
inventions, demands, adjustments, or living patterns as possible
See examples of learning experience under Teaching Procedures.

175

3. Discusses the meaning of an identified change to a particular family;

case studies or fiction preferred
k. Begins to analyze status symbols and their relationship to family

mobi 1 i ty

5. Expresses appreciation for own family adjustments

6. Begins to discuss what is meant by such terms as "controlled con-
formity of suburbia" and "upward mobility"

7. Begins to analyze own values, what affects them, how they influence
choice of friends, recreation, clothes

Teaching procedures:

1. Objectives and behaviors labeled TENTATIVE were mimeographed and
handed to class members, junior and senior students. Discussion
followed; some changes were made.

2. A time plan for the unit was worked out so there would be time for
study, committee work, class discussion within the eight days.
Reference lists, magazines, books from school and city library were
placed on the reading shelf.

3. A set of minimum essentials for satisfactory participation in the
unit was agreed upon. These included references to read, reports,
interviews, current news articles, advertisements. A "time and a
half for over-time" scale was set up by the teacher with reference
to extra work or reading or independent projects.

4. Each member in the class of twenty-four set up her own goals for the
unit and how she hoped to achieve them. These varied from two girls
who turned in the list of behaviors handed to them with the words,
"all this" — to one girl who described ten or twelve things she was
going to do in-and-out-of-school to accomplish her six personal goals

5. Learning experiences for groups and individuals were structured by
the teacher around these major activities. Examples:

* Simple graphs of rising living costs as a total and by categories
were shown with opaque projector. Each girl described in writ-
ing one idea she had gained and how she had observed its effect.

* A film, Changes in the Amer i can Market from Life Magazine was
shown with certain key questions used as a viewing guide. Film
was for questions and discussion. The film provoked strong dis-
agreements among class members which were "talked out" in terms
of justifiable reasoning. It provoked some parental discussion
and again was viewed as a source of analysis, not a body of
factual information everyone was expected to accept. Controversial
issues often need discussion with school administrators beforehand.

* A paper showing the influence of an important invention trend or
development of the last ten years was prepared by each. Examples:

processing of completely and/or partially prepared foods,
affecting kind of storage space in stores, in homes

spending a higher per cent of food dollar for service than
for food

reducing demand for homemaker's skill and creativity

176

reducing amount of time to "fix" meals, making it easier for

mothers to be away from home and still have reasonably good meah
making it more important to show how to buy food than just

how to prepare it
Class was encouraged to list as many by-product changes as pos-
sible without regard for chicken-and-egg-type sequence. These
could be hunches or maybe 's not based on research. These were
checked according to these criteria:

Clear description or awareness of important trend or

development

Reasonableness of "by-products"

Number and extensi veness of influence

Shrewdness in detecting important relationships

Awareness of influence on families and/or individuals —

not just things

* As a class looked at a particular family in a case study and dis-
cussed how the various kinds of trends and/or developments might
affect the adjustments in this family; individuals were encouraged
to do more on their own. The "Captivity of Marriage" by Nora
Johnson in the June, 1961, Atlantic would be appropriate for
top-flight student reading.

* As a class, discussed status symbols and advertisements that
reinforce them. Vance Packard's and similar current books are
appropriate reading as a basis for this discussion.

* Write not more than a page on — "My family adjusted to

by ." and "I could help more by ."

Later discussed changes in own attitudes.

6. Final Evaluation:

* Each girl went back to own goal sheet and wrote — What1 s New With
Me, as an illustration of learning subject matter, understandings,
and attitudes.

* Pencil-paper test included statistical material for interpre-
tation (choice-type items) problems to solve, (also choice-type
plus bases for choices), vocabulary, case study for analysis.

* Essay questions:

From your study and discussion, what factors can help make a
family unique and satisfying in its own development in an
era of mass production and clustering of the population in
the middle income group?

What special abilities or competencies will you be striving
for in the next few years as you prepare to assume your role
as a young woman, whether homemaker, career woman, or a com-
bination? How has your study of this unit helped you to
understand your responsibility in this regard?

Goals or garments?

If students are expected to work and to study toward recognized out-
comes, they have a right to know how their achievement is to be appraised.
Furthermore, if they will be expected to gather some of the evidence of
their achievement, the teacher is responsible for communicating with them how
and under what circumstances they are to carry out this expectation. It is
evident how much forethought the teacher must give to her plans for this
communication. She needs to practice some real Madison Avenue public relations

177

techniques, at times, to accomplish her objective. Justification for her
effort might be stated as — "If we expect our learners to go forth prepared
to appraise, judge, and act in terms of rational bases, we are obligated to
provide learning experiences in which they will appraise, judge, and act in
meaningful situations." Furthermore, they need to be aware of what is happen-
ing to them as learners.

How can a teacher plan with her students for a unit primarily concerned

with competence in the construction of clothing and yet orient the class toward

personal and class goals rather than toward a particular garment? At the
outset, let us examine what this question implies for evaluation.

Is it possible there may not be garments to model and score in the
goal -or iented procedure? Perhaps, because a "garment made" is not the most
important point in the experience. The type of garment is chosen to give
experience in the basic construction processes an individual would need in
terms of her aspiration level discussed below. She may not be making a whole
garment. "Horrors, are we going back to samples?" someone will say. Not as
such, but experiences with alterations, garments on which mother and daughter
may ethical ly work together to achieve goals important to both, garments
planned and made for someone who is not in class contribute to the understand-
ing that the actual product is less important than the learning associated
with it. Evaluation, therefore, will necessarily be in terms of outcomes
in addition to those that are inferred from the construction project.

Might the teacher be faced with a dilemma in which the standards
of skill achievement would be so variable that girls who developed quite
different levels in the construction dimension could still be appraised as
equally high on a grade report? Yes, and learners and their parents would
have to recognize the goals toward which an individual learner was working.
The skill is only a part of the total learning.

Would there be any assurance that minimum essential learnings would
be expected of all — and achieved within reason? Yes, when the teacher
establishes the limits, a decision that goes quite beyond the students'
basis to judge, the teacher can develop scales of satisfactory achievement
for those minimum essentials.

A flexible plan for teaching clothing construction

A teacher will be in a position to discipline herself to adjust her
demonstrations, bulletin boards and individual instruction to a new concept
in teaching clothing. If we are realistic, however, we will have to admit
that in any class students have always had very different goals and aspira-
tion levels. This plan merely spells them out in boldface type and helps
the teacher-learners share their goals. An example of the skeleton plan
which allows for much flexibility according to the group and its composition
is described. This plan has been adapted by one teacher to large and small
classes, grades nine through twelve.

The first teacher-student planning deals with a study of clothing prob-
lems appropriate to the age group. Articles in current publications, research
studies, interviews with young homemakers or college girls or sales people
in yard goods and ready-to-wear departments give learners an idea of the

178

kinds of understandings, skills, and basic "know how" they really need and
want. Do not overlook the adaptability of this technique for adult classes,
too. The teacher's position can be fortified, and at times even reoriented,
by the reality of these reports.

Learning for today? Planning skills for today? Not by a long shot when
individual goals can be projected into the scope of clothing problems their
counterparts by a few years recognize and verbal ize!

After a look at these problems, her own interests and present level of
competence, a talk with her mother and teacher, each girl decides the indi-
vidual level of competence she hopes to achieve from one of these choices:

* Basic understanding of contruction needed to be a competent buyer of
clothing for self and for others

* Sufficient skill and accuracy to understand how to alter clothing
purchased ready-made

* Creative enjoyment as well as economic satisfaction from skill in
clothing construction for self and others

Everyone is involved with a garment. Many garments in any one grade
level are similar. The teacher helps the girls see what kinds of garments
could involve the type of new learning they need in terms of previous
experiences, present interest, and aspiration level. The basic processes
everyone in the class is responsible for knowing include:

* preparatory steps — measuring, fabric care, cutting

* stitching with the machine and caring for the machine

* appropriate use of iron when sewing

* measuring, stitching, and pressing darts

* seams and appropriate finishes

* hems for cotton and wool garments, straight or flared

* buttonholing by machine

* zippers, side and back

* handling of fabric, needle, thread and thimble for important kinds
of sewing

Construction standards are discussed by analysis of ready-made garments
similar to the type being chosen for construction. Actual garments repre-
senting low, average, and high standards of workmanship are brought to class
and analyzed. The girls help to rate these garments on an agreed-upon scale.
Depending upon the class, this scale may be set up by the teacher or by
class members. They, therefore, know in advance which standards are A, B, C
quality before they begin their own projects. In some instances, up-grading
of a ready-made or previously constructed garment becomes a girl's project
in which she can compare costs, time, and originality factors as a basis
of later judgment in clothing selection and buying. Each learner is given
some responsibility, therefore, for accepting her own standard.

These garments also serve as the source of problems for special study
and pup.il or teacher demonstrations. It might be well to make the point
here that these garments for analysis are a good department investment.

179

If cooperation is sought from a retail store in the community, the garments
representing the three standards might be borrowed from one store rather
than purchased. It goes without saying that there is danger in comparing
the representative standards from one store to the next, and some teachers
agree this is a good place to remove labels!

Effective use of study time during waiting periods in class and out
of class is encouraged by guide sheets of questions, a variety of good
reference material, and an occasional quiz. Independent solving of problems
is encouraged.

Each week each girl confers with the teacher on her progress toward her
personal goals and toward the general goals. With her goal sheet, her note-
book and her garment, each girl comes to the teacher's desk where encourage-
ment, correction, and appraisal are given. A "grade" is actually given
each week on the basis of progress toward goals set the week before, under-
standings, and qual ity of workmanship. This is a jointly arr i ved-at grade.

While the teacher is spending time with each individual on "goal check
day," the rest of the class is expected to proceed with little or no atten-
tion from the teacher. This independence, too, is important in learning.

One teacher set up specific points for the f inal appraisal , or in man-
to-man talk, "grade," for the unit. These points were a part of dittoed
material distributed in early planning stages, and each girl was encouraged
to make notations on her own progress so she, too, had evidence of learning
on the same points the teacher was looking for. These were the points:

Unit: "Sharing Your Family's Clothing Dollar"

Your final grade will be based on:

1. Your weekly goals scores

2. Your written analysis of your goals at end of unit--how clearly
you see where you are, how far you have come these four weeks,
what you need to do next on your own

a. Try to remember what you were able to do or how well you per-
formed when you began your construction. You have some of this
written on your goal sheet

b. Tell what you have accomplished in terms of your feelings of
confidence as well as actual construction

c. Tell in what ways you need more help or practice to form the
habit or learn how to do it — or what you set for your goals

d. If you have reached your goals completely, what are you ready
to try next on your own?

3. The quality of construction in your project as compared to a stan-
dard, as discussed previously

k. Final test on "Sharing Your Family's Clothing Dollar"

A look at the method

Case studies help to show the kinds of problems and learning that might
take place when the goal -or iented approach is used in teaching clothing
construction. Let us take a look at Betty and Jeanie.

180

Interest in clothing was not a motivating factor in Betty's decision
to take home economics as a freshman. But is due course teacher-student
planning began in that direction. When Batty analyzed what needs and
interests she had in this area, she could accept the fact that she would
need:

* to know how to operate the sewing machine with reasonable accuracy

* to understand how to recognize reinforcements for spots on a garment
that might get extra wear or stress

* to follow written directions dealing with simple construction,
alterations, or make-overs

* to know how to press and care for fabric to get best results

* to become less awkward in handling fabric or garments

* to know what is good quality in construction of ready-made clothes

* to make minor adjustments as needed

The unit was planned for a five-week period. Betty's choice of a first
project was a serape for her horse. For her this was a thrilling project
and, although her classmates could hardly understand her enthusiasm, they
were interested in her progress. Naturally, she finished her project early
in the time schedule, and her teacher had racked her brain for a spark to
carry her competence further. Betty herself came up with the idea to make
a riding shirt for herself. She worked extra hours at school and at home
to apply the "proper" decoration for the riding club standards. She was
quick to see in her evaluation what she had learned and what she saved in
dollars and cents. Besides this, her enthusiasm throughout held at a
high level .

Jeanie was in the same class. She was a pretty child, lovely smile,
but a chubby figure. Good-looking clothes that fit her were expensive and
gave very little choice in fabric, color, and style. She could quickly
pick her desired level of achievement and could hardly wait to get busy
on a dress. Accuracy and perfection were important to her for this garment,
but in addition she knew she had a greater goal — to be creative and find
joy in her sewing ability. To complete her garment according to time sche-
dule, Jeanie took her project home to work on appropriate processes after
she had demonstrated her ability to proceed on her own. She made good
use of class time, too.

In this same clsss between these two extremes were individuals with
very real goals of their own to accomplish within the framework of the teacher's
unit plan. At the end of the unit in lieu of modeling their garments
(Jeanie had already worn her dress to a party at church and was basking in
the recognition it brought), the girls and their teacher looked particularly
at how they had achieved their goals. Questions like these were discussed:

1. What had they learned about their own habits of speed and accuracy?

2. What would they need to watch in future projects carried out in
home economics classes or at home?

3. What references had they found most helpful?

k. What had they learned that they would be sure to check in buying
clothing?

As teachers, we view with a certain degree of skepticism a change that
could mean considerable reorganization of a unit. One teacher of home economics

181

has used this plan many times, and her conclusion might be encouraging
to first-time experimenters. "I would not go back to a garment-oriented
unit in clothing, because this plan motivates both study and good work-
manship, pulls girls directly into awareness of and checking against
recognized goals^ and the outcomes in understandings, skills, and garments
are equal to or better than I ever had with the other method."

Some further comments and suggestions

In a very large freshman class a helper-teacher can speed along the
checking in early stages in construction. This helper may be a mother, a
teacher's aide or, as in the Trump plan, an older competent student in home
economics.

Individual self-reliance seems to be encouraged through the use of
quite complete process-type bulletin boards, exhibits, and dittoed sheets
of guide questions. Probably the goal check once a week, however, does
more than anything else to establish the pattern of the classroom environ-
ment and attitude for learning. It does take time to prepare materials
suitable for a class if there is a variety of garments in progress.

The teacher needs to be prepared in advance for the class where there
is a fairly even split between the minimum competence level and the top.
She quite likely would set the limits in terms of types of garments that
would be acceptable for the achivement of the level of competence chosen.
In this way general goals form the structure, and each girl then bases her
own personal goals within it.

A logical question would be, "What happens when this girl returns for
her second and third home economics course and a more difficult level of
achievement is expected?" Typical of adolscant ambivalence, the competence
level might change each year, but what difference does it make? Concentra-
tion on the personal goals in terms of more complex general goals still sets
the pattern for the unit. Standards of accuracy, speed, originality and
judgment become higher each year.

A further look at progressive difficulty

"Meaningful ness of experience" is a vital concept of teaching. Just as
"scope and sequence" describes a progression of difficulty in teaching,
meaningful experiences imply progressive difficulty in involving learners
in deeper and deeper learning. Quite apart from "scope and sequence" in its
usual presentation is the concomitant variability in methods of teaching
needed to distinguish progression from one grade level to the next. For
example, complexity, whether to meet variability within one class or between
grade levels, may be increased through:

* selecting more complex situations — more variables to consider, more
people's needs involved

* expecting learners to pull information from more complex presentations-
using graphs, charts, reports of research in addition to a variety

of bulletins and books

* expecting learners to analyze findings in casue-and-ef feet situations

182

* projecting present understandings to new and perhaps very different
ci rcumstances

* involving more precise skills and processes

* experimenting, analyzing and inferring from findings

With the theoretical importance of this list few people will disagree.
When it comes down to brass tacks and we are faced with its execution, we
are apt to hear remarks of righteous wrath about impractical "theory." Let
us take heart from those who believe that many ideas grow better when trans-
planted into another mind than in the one where they originated. The theory
becomes the well-spring, but the real pumping station of power comes in the
classroom teacher's creativeness in application.

Teachers have been attempting to apply this theory. Perhaps some
careful beginning steps will encourage others. Boiling down to rock crystal-
line form, then, we are looking for:

* methods of teaching that make provision for varying ability within
a class or from one grade level to the next

* means of communicating with learners how their achievement will be
appraised in terms of recognized goals

Guides for observation

The teacher has at her command many opportunities to help learners
find out what practices, attitudes, and standards are important. In effect,
she may be showing by the use of devices that illustrate different levels of
understanding and performance what is "good-better-best" in sharply identi-
fiable terms rather than in the vague general ones. We have been grateful
for the score cards on products so we can determine quality results. Now
the time is right to try to develop devices (perhaps ratings are more
adaptable to human behavior than score cards) to show levels of achievement
in the relationship areas, in management, and in human growth and development
The following example was developed by a student teacher for a senior class
studying "The Infant in the Home." The descriptive levels served as a
self-evaluating device and as a review sheet.

Feeding of Infant
Knows the Basic Four
Knows the food needs
of infants

Layette Planning
Appreciates that there
are many types of gar-
ments avai lable at
many pr ice level s

Nursery Planning
Knows that the nursery
should be a separate,
quiet room, if possible
Can list several fea-
tures it should have.

As I Evaluate my Own Successes

Knows the Basic Four,
needs of infants, and
how milk must be sup-
plemented and why

Knows why some garments
are more suitable for
baby than others

Knows the Basic Four, why
the nutrients are needed
by the body, and how to
supply them to the infant

Could plan a basic layette
for baby, considering the
best choices for money
avai 1 able

Knows why certain fea- Knows desirable features

tures of nursery are nee- 0f a nursery, Could plan

essary for welfare of a safe ancj sujtable nursery

baby, can suggest ways for a baby
in which a family may

183

Bathing a Baby
Has watched demonstra-
tion of bath, has prac-
ticed "footbal 1 hold"

Adjustments of Baby
Knows some of the ad-
justments which a baby
must make, such as wean-
ing, toilet training,
schedules for feeding,
etc.

Levels of Development
Realizes that there are
different levels of
development and that
they are important to
know

save money by '%ubst i tut-
ing"

Could assemble a bath Could get tray and rest of
tray, using household items ready for a bath,
items; knows reasons for Could give a bath, using
various procedures during correct procedures
the bath

Knows what incorrect Can suggest correct pro-
methods and procedures cedures on the part of the
of the mother can do to mother in helping her baby
the baby's adjustment to to adjust
his world

Can tel 1 some of the
different levels of de-
velopment at different
times in the growth of
the baby

Could find the different
levels of development in
babies observed in the
community

Attitudes Toward Learning During the Unit

Has

learned facts

for dis-
cussions, tests

"necessary"

Use of Resource Material
Has studied al 1 the
material given by the
teacher very thoroughly

Participation
Has recited when asked
a direct question or
when participating on
own panel

Can see some applica-
tion of the material
studied to home and com-
munity situations

Has studied material
given out by teacher and
also looked at other
references in the home
economics room

Has added additional in-
formation to a question
asked of the class gen-
erally, besides a direct
question and on own
panel

Has appl ied some of the
material already in various
si tuat ions

Has sought outside references
in the library, used outside
books, magazines, or resource
persons

Has added additional infor-
mation, asked questions, and
in other ways participated
then just answering and con-
tributions to own panel

Rating sheet on classroom performance

One of the over-all objectives for Economics for Consumers, an elective
course offered jointly by home economics and business education for senior
boys and girls, is: to increase ability to analyze current news items that
deal with economics problems. A rating sheet was developed by the teachers
in an attempt to convey to the learners what behaviors would indicate strengths
and weaknesses in their weekly news reports. A copy of the rating sheet was
given to each student for the "act i ve" section in his notebook. Obviously,
not every point would be appropriate each week, but students and teachers
checked the weekly reports and, at about each grading period, conferences
were scheduled to compare ratings. Improvement in ratings from one nine

184

weeks to the next was an indication of "growing ability." Those who fluc-
tuated from week to week were encouraged to check for kinds of errors and
attitudes that indicated their shortcomings.

Near the end of the year, an analysis was made of this kind of evalua-
tion device. These findings were noteworthy:

* The rating sheet served as a positive approach to setting standards
of studentship.

* Most students used the sheet to find a pattern or standard of per-
formance with which they were satisfied. A profile showing highs
and lows from week to week gave graphic evidence of work. Even con-
sistent high raters would slip occasionally, and these "slips" were
regarded as bench marks only, rather than a penalty.

* The ratings of students and teachers were surprisingly close. Points
of disagreement between teacher and student showed up most frequently
on item j. An attempt is being made to "sharpen" the descriptive
behavior on that point.

* At parent-faculty conferences, the ratings proved to be very helpful
in identifying strengths and weaknesses the student was exhibiting
rather than the instructor being embarrassed about giving quite sub-
jective evidence of achievement.

University of Wisconsin — Wisconsin High School
Economics for Consumers

Rating Sheet for News Analysis

Name Date Rat i ng Own Teacher ' s

Directions: This rating scale is one of several you and your teachers will
be using this year to help gather evidence of your learning. One day each
week, Friday suggested, rate yourself on what you believe to be your achieve-
ment in news analysis by placing a generous dot (.) under all the items that
best describe your performance in news analysis that week. It may be that
not every item will apply each week. You will recall that this is not im-
portant in a rating because you will rate yourself according to the general
pattern on the scale or a numerical average, not a total score.

From time to time your teacher will compare ratings with you. Your progress
is important.

0 1 2 3 4 5 .

a. "Last minute choice" Attempted to choose Chose article clearly

of article or "for- pertinent article related to current discus-
got" si on

b. Uses terms that Has looked up most Reports with understanding
have little or no unfamiliar terms and of terms and their meaning
meaning has general under-
standing

1

185
3

c. Cites no implications Cites a few implica-
tions

d. Relates to previous
study wi th dif f i-
culty; recognizes
few important
points

e. Raises few if any
quest ions

Shows 1 i ttl e con-
cern with import-
ance of other re-
ports given; pays
1 i ttle attent ion or
argues minor points

Written report deals
with insignificant
details or too brief
and shal low

Reports only re-
quired news read-
ing

Reports some rela-
tionship with pre-
vious study

Raises some ques-
tions for present
discuss ion

Gives quiet atten-
tion to other reports;
gives reactions if
asked

Written report shows
some understanding
and fair coverage of
important points

Brings out implications,

causes and effects in

terms of economics principles

Identifies importance of
event with current or past
discussion

Questions accuracy, con-
sistency, representation
of bias or intended purpose

Listens thoughtfully to
other reports and comments
on their importance, accuracy,
meaning or implications

Written analysis shows under-
standing of terms and thought-
ful study of ideas

Occasionally reports Frequently reports increas-
increasing interest in ing interest in current
current news of eco- events and uses them as
nomic importance illustrations in discussion

or on the bulletin board

Rating quality of class discussions

A similar rating sheet was developed as a guide to promote better
quality class discussion. Too often it seems a teacher is apt to come to a
marking period, feel the need to give credit for class participation, and be
up against only her own power of recall. A device like this can be handed
to the students and periodically checked by them as well as by the teacher.

Wisconsin High School
Economics for Consumers

1

Rating Sheet on Class Discussion
2 3 4

Quality of Discussion
a. Occasionally uses

text as reference;

often opinion

Generally uses text
background to docu-
ment own opinions

Uses text background plus
additional authentic
resources

b. Seldom volunteers,
contributes 1 ittle

c. Accepts what is
written or said
without question,
or questions with
1 ittle thought

d. Slows class

186

I 3 I

Contributes some care-
ful ly thought-out
ideas. Volunteers
occasional ly

Raises some questions.
Relates some discus-
sion to important
points

Analyzes ideas of others
and bui Ids on their
ideas

Raises thoughtful ques-
tions. Recognizes and
comments on relationships
of topics to previous
study — this course or to
another, and to reading

Moves class slightly Moves class forward

Interest and Attitude
a. Frequently disturbs
discussion

b. Assignments often
late

c. Argues pointlessly
or daydreams

Occasionally disturbs
discussion

Usually prompt with
assignments

Shows some enthusiasm
for topic

Is considerate of others

Is prepared

Shows considerable enthu-
siasm for the study at
hand

d. Rarely responds

Usual ly responds

Participates actively in
discussion

These notations were made on the effectiveness of this rating sheet in
use:

* When first handed to class several students identified some of their
disturbing characteristics. One comment repeated by several boys
and girls was, "Is what I do in discussion reaTly important?" When
assured that it was, there was a marked improvement in discussion
sessions

* The teacher found that the sheet used shortly after class served as

a reminder of the performance of those who responded. Quite obviously,
not everyone will participate every day

* At least once each week this device was used on the entire class with
a rating given. Two kinds of findings resulted — the occasional top
level discussers, and the ones who seldom rated above a 1 or 2.
Special effort was made to recognize the top group and provide addi-
tional stimulating reference material. The low achievers were invited
in for conferences to try to pin-point the trouble. The middle
group, too, was given attention when special areas of individual
interest were studied

187

* The importance attached to discussion when ratings were taken revealed
what a strong motivating factor "recorded evidence of performance"
really is. These ratings were not interpreted as a grade, week by
week, but the ratings were cumulative and provided a sound basis for
deriving an over-all grade on class participation

* It is, oh, so easy to rely on memory rather than record the ratings.
When the teacher became thoroughly familiar with the behavioral
levels, she could quickly rate on Qual i ty and Interest and Attitude
without looking at the sheet. It was found that a sheet of graph
paper on which the class roll was typed, fastened onto a clip board,
could be checked while discussion was in progress rather than waiting
till that hoped-for "free" moment that so seldom arrives.

Student-made observation guides

Even when learners are observing someone else, a device for recording
observations can be helpful to a student. With specific guide lines, the
learner may be in a position to see a situation objectively and analyze
what she has seen in terms of other situations or conditions.

This device was developed cooperatively with a sophomore class as a
guide to observing in the kindergarten. The list grew out of a study of
the characteristics of "fours and fives." Each student was to observe one
child and describe the observation in terms of the behaviors listed. After
the observation, the student was to draw implications for herself if:

a. she were caring for this child as a baby sitter

b. this child were her brother or sister

Observation Sheet for Study of Characteristics

Name of child _ Age Observer

Characteristics Evidences

Social behavior
Polite

Shows leadership
Participates
Responds to others

Work habi ts
Finishes work
Keeps busy at own work
Follows directions
Neat work

Hand work
Uses own ideas
Good muscular coordination

Music
Sings and enjoys it
Shows definite purpose

188
Characteristics Evidences

Attitude
Talks clearly
Shows interest in books
Listens to stories

Health
Relaxes during rest period
Active

Other

How would these sophomore girls know what was important in this obser-
vation? They were involved in the plans — not only the mechanics of the
visit, but the thoughtful analysis. Furthermore, their observations were
made meaningful as they related understanding to their own knowledge and
experiences with children.

Learning- Teaching Efficiency

There is not a one of us who does not wish for more hours in the day to
accomplish our professional and personal desires. The one possible exception
is the person whose amount of time is abundant in proportion to his physical
or mental resources. But, by and large, the pressures of time crowd us
unceasingly. We are advised on our attitude toward time pressures by Pru-
dence Bostwick in Creativity in Teaching, edited by Alice Miel, that "Perhaps
what we need most is to be less conscious of time and more conscious of purpose,
We must reduce our fears of the pressure of time and spend it in 'abundant
experiences, deeply sensed, dwelt upon, manipulated and rearranged* in the
interest of the creative life."

It becomes increasingly important to our success as teachers and to
our self-respect to find time to improve our teaching toward ever challenging
levels. Teachers, perhaps even more than learners, find rewards in their
awareness of progress toward recognized goals.

Mrs. Alice McDonald, a teacher at Monona Grave High School and a
supervising teacher for the University of Wisconsin, felt constantly needled
by the importance of teaching the relationship of values to decision-making.
With four section of Marriage and Family Living, including both boys and
girls, she was looking for ways to "hitchhike some ideas. Ill i no i s
Teacher, Vol. IV, No. 5, "Developing Understanding about Values through
Films," gave her a lead with its discussion and cartoon, pages 218-219. The
objective, to understand how much values help us in making a decision, was
communicated to the classes by the answer to the typical "What are we going
to study next?" question.

Using the principle described on page 21 8 that "stills" rank first in
a difficulty sequence in the stimulation of discussion, Mrs. McDonald pre-
sented the"Dennis the Menace" cartoon in ditto form and, through questioning,
focused thinking toward the value conflict between child and mother.

189

With interest keen and awareness sparked toward identifying values from
such tell-tale signs as facial expression, the film, "Til Debt Due Us Part,"
was shown up to the divorce scene, and each member of the class was asked
to write down the values observed according to this form:

Marriage and Family Living

Name Section

Assignment: Recognizing values: What makes people see and do things
differently?

Film: "Til Debt Due us Part"

1 . Li sten to what i s said in this film

2. Write down any statements which reflect the values of this
couple

3. Compare these statements with how you think and feel

Statements Compar i sons

To move thinking still further to recognize values in other cultures,
exerpts from The Good Earth were shown and the same form was used as a
device for recording. The final evaluation device gave further evidence
of individual awareness and understanding of the relationship of one's
values to decision-making:

Marriage and Family Living

Name Section

List three basic values which contribute to a successful marriage.

1.
2.
3.

Directions: Mark in blanks at left T for true and F for false answers

*+. Romantic love, independence, and individual expression are important

basic values in our culture.

5. Women in the Chinese culture were considered equal to men.

6. Arranged marriages are based on romantic love.

7. An aged person in the Chinese culture has the same problem as the

older person in our culture.

190

8. The family rather than the individual is the basic value in our
cul ture.

9. A woman's full status (value) in the Chinese culture depended on
her ability to produce male children.

10. Our United Stated culture has a high value on the extended family
system.

11. Values affect or determine actions or behavior in a situation.

12. Your values come from many sources.

13. Once you accept a value, you will never change it.

}k. You are surrounded all the time by values of our culture.

15. Name a value of Wang Lung's uncle:

6. Define: value

Following considerable discussion, conclusions such as these were
drawn by the class as the "clincher" for the unit.

* What _we think is important is not always very important to others

* Values are so deep in us that we make some decisions without recog-
nizing what is back of them

* Values people hold make a difference in their ability to get along
in marriage

A Look at Programmed Instruction

How can home economics teachers analyze and capitalize on the recent
developments in the teaching-machine, programmed- learning school of thought?
President Edward E. Booher of McGraw-Hill says, "On the basis of research
findings to date, there is every reason to belive that programmed materials
will become an important part of the learning materials system in both
school and non-school situations, especially where they are designed to
encourage and accelerate independent learning."

Characteristics of a program

Before we can analyze their usefulness in our field we need to look at
the most revealing characteristics of the method. These seem to be:

1. The individual student is provided with programs of questions and
answers or problems to be solved or exercises to be performed.

191

2. There is always some sort of automatic feed-back or correction to
the student so that he knows his errors at once.

3. Continuous active response is required, providing explicit practice
and testing of each step.

4. The student proceeds at his own rate, thereby providing for the
variability among learners.

The learner, therefore, has an almost immediate reward or correction.
The correct answer is the immediate goal, systematically broken down into
appropriate small steps, which means that if a correct answer or solution
is the goal, as is true in many subject areas, the goal is achieved when
there is agreement between the learner's answer and the programmed answer.

Is your first thought, "we have so very few absolutes, we could never
set up a program?" One great concern of those discussing programmed instruc-
tion for home economics is that we would have to reduce the number of
variables to the limitations of the machine, or that it is almost impossible
to find agreement among the authorities as to the so-called "correct response.1
However, are not there some situations where, for given conditions, there
is correct procedure, or a best sequence, or a specific answer?

Assumptions for programmed instruction in home economics

The first assumption for programmed instruction in home economics
surely is that desired outcomes are recognized and accepted. This point
really is not different from effective teaching by traditional methods.

The second assumption is that there are some basic working or thinking
skills needed to solve problems related to homes, families, and personal
development. Students achieve these skills with varying degrees of speed
and accuracy.

The third assumption might be that home economics teachers are known
to be experimentally-minded, creative in their teaching, and devoted to
the tasks in which they believe.

Why not experiment?

In line with these assumptions and many more you can add — let us take
some first steps toward sharply identifying what the outcomes in terms of
learning will be in one grade level at a time. We have gone a long way in
terms of products to be made — kinds of food, kinds of meals, kinds of gar-
ments— but, so far as programming learning goes, the literature does not
indicate we have been making rapid progress.

Behaviors, also sharply stated, will help the teacher and learner, too,
identify individual performance with expected behavior and measure the
quality of achievement on the basis of an acceptable standard. Here is the
place for fun in setting up variable standards in terms of values and con-
di t ions.

What we are saying is that the steps for programming to be recorded by
punching buttons are not so remote. Maybe the "punch card" or"l ighted

192

window" is a far cry, but the same degree of precision could up-grade pre-
sent teaching. The •'playback" in the form of anecdotal records, even tape
recordings, and photographs may be worth trying as we experiment with ways
and means toward recognized ends.

If you think you would like to know more about the developments in this
area, you might like to send for a new Monograph No. 6, Teaching By Machines,
by Lawrence M. Stolurow who is a professor of psychology at the University
of Illinois. This monograph may be obtained for sixty-five cents from the
U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C and is sponsored by
the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

You might also like to ask to be put on the mailing list of a new non-
profit organization which has started a small, free publication for the
purpose of keeping teachers aware of new developments. So far, at the time
this issue is going to press, only No. 1 and No. 2 of Volume I have been
received. Write to Dr. Robert T. Filep, Editor, The Center for Programmed
Instruction, Inc., 365 West End Avenue, New York 24, New York.

COMING NEXT MONTH

"Innovations in Space and Facilities for Homemaking Departments" by
Mrs. Beulah Walker of the Rockford Public Schools and Dr. Mary Mather of the
University of Illinois. This is essentially Part II of "Planning Home-
making Departments" by Miss Ruth Schooler of the Gary Public Schools and
Dr. Mary Mather of the University of Illinois which was published as Volume
IV, No. 7, 111 inols Teacher of Home Economics last year.

As was indicated in last month's issue, a copy of this Volume IV, No. 7
can be obtained by sending 50 cents to Illinois Teacher, 33^ Gregory Hall,
University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois. You might like to read it before
you receive Part II next month. Likewise, for 50 cents each you may secure
the past issues recommended in this article, "Ways and Means Toward Recog-
nized Ends" —

Vol. Ill, No. k, "The Challenge of the Junior High School Home Living

Program"

Vol. Ill, No. 9, "Help Yourself to Success"

Vol. IV, No. 8, "Special Home Economics Offerings for the Academically

Talented"

Vol. Ill, No. 5, "Developing Understandings about Values through Films"

WE REGRET

We are sorry that a few of you received a copy of "Teaching Clothing
Selection Today," Volume V, No. 1 in which pages had been incorrectly
assembled. The Printing Company and we at the University of Illinois deeply
regret that this happened, and we shall be glad to supply a satisfactory
copy if any other "mixed-up" issues come to you during this year.

I

Vol. V No. 5

US"

ILLINOIS TEACHER

INNOVATIONS IN SPACE AND FACILITIES FOR
HOMEMAKING DEPARTMENTS

Planning for Change 195

Concepts of Modern School

Buildings 207

Types of Facilities 219

A Plea for Action 238

HOME ECONOMICS EDUCATION • UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS BULLETIN

Volume V, Number 5; January, 1962. Published
nine times each year by the University of
Illinois. Office of Home Economics Education,
33^ Gregory Hall, Urbana, Illinois

INNOVATIONS IN SPACE AND FACILITIES FOR HOMEMAKING DEPARTMENTS

Beulah Walker, Auburn High School
Rockford, 1 1 1 inois
Mary Mather, Home Economics Education
University of Illinois

Why plan for "innovations" in space and facilities for home economics
departments in public schools? Why not keep on using the best of what we
have? Have not we been proud of what we have done? Yes, but times are
changing, and the best of what we have may not be good enough for the future.
Trends in education are going in new directions. School building is pro-
ceeding at a rapid rate. Home economists must not be caught napping when
asked what is needed in these schools.

Challenges of home economists

The challenge given by Henrietta Fleck in a I960 article in Forecast,
"An Action Program," is just as appropriate for school departments, and
those working in them, as it is for the profession in general.

"Why wait until other professions come up with ideas for new and
needed household appliances .... Our status would be enhanced
if the public looked to us for improved ways of making family
life more pleasant and practical .... This calls for greater
experimentation as well as for getting these ideas to the public
through a mass media public-relations program."

Dr. Floride Moore, speaking at the fall meeting of the Illinois Home
Economics Association, called to our attention that so many aspects of our
society are keyed to change that we as individual home economists have to
be keyed that way, too, or we may be left out of the picture. Let us be
more alert than we have been. Let us help to close the gap of fifty years
between the introduction of a new educational concept to its use in the
majority of schools. A school district makes an expensive choice when it
adopts a plant program that results in facilities that may hinder the pro-
gress of educational improvement.

Many home economists have looked to the 1959 statement of New Pi rect ions
formulated by a committee of the American Home Economics Association to
clarify philosophy and objectives. Re-reading this little pamphlet with
this question uppermost in mind "What does all this mean for space and faci-
1 i t ies for publ i c school home economi cs departments?" can be a good experience
in helping to clarify what is important. For instance, "A profession today
must be willing--and equipped--to recognize and be guided by change and to
relate its research and other activities to change." Are we relating the
facilities we plan to new ideas in education and to changing needs of
families? Furthermore, "Home economists must be among the first to antici-
pate and recognize change, to weigh the capacities of the individual

)3k

to meet new demands, and to set new directions for professional programs
of benefit to families." Do we weigh the capacities of our departments so
that experiences can be provided for new demands?

What might be some of these new demands? Floride Moore challenged us
to look at population facts and to direct our work to population groups where
it will be most effective. She thinks we need to find the age groups in
the population at the "teachable moment" for particular kinds of home eco-
nomics experiences, then direct our energies there in relation to those
needs. Dr. Moore suggests that there may be much more home economics in
elementary schools and junior high schools than formerly; that high school
courses will be designed as specialized courses on the semester basis, will
be elective and often organized for unique groups such as for the college-
bound student or for the business girl. She also challenged us to remember
that early marriages and early babies mean many young families needing
instruction in child care and family relations; and that the longer life
span means quite a group of oldsters with different living problems. As we
think of space and facilities, do we think of all these groups? Are we set
up to reach all sections of the total population?

Ideas of school administrators

Another challenge is found in the May 1961 issue of School Management.
In a section devoted to school buildings, an article entitled "Trends in
Industrial Arts and Home Economics" expresses this opinion:

"The only honest approach is to say that both subjects are still
taught, in most schools, in exactly the way they were taught at
the beginning of the century. Most of the change that one hears
about is either superficial or just plain 'talk* with very little
action. . . . This does not mean that specialists in these subjects
are lost for ideas or that all school districts are to be criti-
cized equally. What must be stated, however, is that the bulk of
teachers in these subjects--and the bulk of the school systems-
have permitted stagnation."

Discussing "What is a Good Program in Home Economics?" the authors
observe that there seems to be a trend to de-emphasize cooking and sewing
as such in favor of training for the broader responsibilities of managing
a family group. This does not mean that cooking and sewing are to be ignored,
but that these skills are adjusted proportionately to the role of women in
the modern family. "At the present time, however, in most schools, even the
new ones, there is little evidence that the basic equipment is much changed."
So say the editors of a magazine addressed to school administrators.

What is the image conveyed?

If one picture is worth a thousand words, consider the "picture" our
facilities give of our program. Do they bespeak a well-rounded curriculum
with provision for learning experiences in many areas? Or does the presence
of many unit kitchens, sewing machines, and tabl es, condi t ion our students,
their parents, the general public, and school architects to think of our
activities as primarily cooking and sewing?

195

For a long time we have been told that families have shifted from a
producing unit to a consuming unit in our society. But do we teach that
way? Are we spending a major portion of the school year teaching produc-
tion skills, when even in our own lives we recognize that wise consumption
is the big problem? Are we doing this because we have been taught this
way? Is it easier because space and equipment for these activities are
there, and other facilities may not be as convenient? Or are we taking an
easy way out by saying these activities are "what the students want"?
Changed facilities will not make a changed curriculum, but we know the two
are inter-related.

Planning for Change

The curriculum should determine the facilities, and the facilities
should implement the curriculum. Do not start your thinking with the faci-
lities. Start with the educational program. Ask yourself questions such
as these: What do you expect to happen in the learning situation? What
are the students going to be doing? What should they be doing? Why? What
are the new concepts in education? How can they be put into practice?

Educational specifications

Architects plan the buildings, but they do their best work when pro-
vided with educational specifications prepared by educators. One way that
committees of teachers and supervisors worked with architects in planning
for new schools was described in the 111 inoi s Teacher of Home Economics,
Vol. IV, No. 7» "Planning Homemaking Departments." Planning takes time,
especially if you are working with new ideas and trying some "armchair
brainstorming." But taking adequate time for thinki ng before beginning to
plan is a real economy in the long run. The challenge is to get the maxi-
mum amount of learning for what will be spent on buildings. The more you
can get your space to do, the better. Do not build spaces you are not going
to use very much. Avoid single purpose spaces; plan multiple uses. An
architect, well known for his contributions to school architecture, says
"School architecture needs more educational foresight and less educational
hindsight. Wei 1 -developed educational specifications will give us the
foresight."

Another architect has this to say about using educational specifications:

"A procedure to produce suitable educational features with a mini-
mum of re-drawing of plans by the architect is to prepare in
advance a set of detailed educational specifications. These
should be prepared by educators, preferably with advice from the
architect, and should be based on a realistic view of future
school programs. These should be set forth in sufficient detail
to enable the architect to grasp the philosophy behind them, but
not to engulf him in unnecessary pedagogical jargon. The speci-
fications should provide a basis for the architect's preliminary
drawings and should not leave for him any unanswered questions of
an educational nature. Likewise, they should not dictate to him
the solutions which he should use for purely architectural problems."

An architect must imagine something before he can create. What does he
"see" when he thinks of home economics? He may revert to old ideas unless

196

we, as home economists, do our job well in defining the functions we want
our facilities to serve. Our job is to tell the architect what he does not
know, not do the planning for him. Disappointments in new facilities may
arise from budgetary limitations, but they may also arise from lack of
foresight in defining the program.

One interpretation of facilities for general education

Begin educational specifications with a brief statement of philosophy.
The philosophy of the school in general has, of course, to be considered
before one can be formulated for home economics in that particular situation.
The unique character of a school population may make a difference in the
aims of the school. This is illustrated in an "Educational Facilities
Laboratory Report" about the Senior High School in Wayland, Massachusetts.

An increasing number of professional people — scientists, college
teachers, engineers, and management men--have settled in Wayland because
it is near Harvard, M. I. T. and many missile and electronic industries.
These new residents have forced a change in Wayland's educational outlook.
School, college, and graduate study have enabled them to rise to their pre-
sent positions. They want their own children to receive equal or superior
schooling. It is estimated that eighty-five per cent of the students in
Wayland Senior High School are qualified for college.

"Because of the character of the population, Wayland's new school
is not, in Mr. Conant's sense of the word, a comprehensive high
school. Vocationally oriented students are transported to nearby
state technical schools, thus eliminating any necessity to include
elaborate vocational programs and their costly shops, home econo-
mics rooms, and up-to-date business machines. Wayland does have
some of these faci 1 i t ies--a home arts kitchen-dining room, a sewing
room, a crafts and students area in the arts center, and some busi-
ness facilities in the social studies area.

"These non-academic facilities, however, are not thought of as
separate or purely vocational, but rather as a necessary and
desirable part of a rounded educational program. The Wayland
School Committee believes that all students should be able to
type, to do minor mechanical repair, and to appreciate the culin-
ary and craft arts as well as the arts of music and painting."

Another city's plan for facilities

The above is obviously describing home economics as part of general
education. In another part of the country a city supervisor of home eco-
nomics writes:

"We feel that emphasis must be given to family living, to child
growth and development, to management in all areas, to receiving
values for money, and to really teach pupils to solve problems, and
to plan goals that are worthwhile for satisfactory family living.
... If families of the future are to be strong, we must teach
our high school pupils today more about chNd growth and develop-
ment and more of changing how to manage their affair in a complex
world and with family life."

197

To this end, facilities have been planned which include one large all-
purpose laboratory for several of the homemaking skills, a family living-
child development room, a living room, and a workroom. Because it is
believed in this school system that the living room should be used as a
social center for the school, the adjacent workroom has been planned to faci-
litate this. In this workroom are pull-down burners, a built-in oven,
refrigerator, dishwasher, sink with disposal, space to store a large coffee-
maker, punch bowl, serving dishes and accessories. Thus, any group or com-
mittee can do advance preparation in this room without interfering with
classes in the laboratory. Other evidence that the groups who would be
using these facilities were considered is seen in the fact that this work-
room also includes storage and work space for student teachers and for
teachers of adult classes.

There are large multi-fold doors between the all-purpose room and the
family living-child development room so that spaces may be put together for
large group presentations which may be a part of team teaching. The family
living-child development room is set up to teach family living classes to
boys and girls, to instruct adults, and to have play-schools or part-time
nursery schools. This room has chairs for adults, chairs for children,
tables which are adjustable, an outside entrance, and is across the hall
from the bathroom for the homemaking department. In this room the sink is
part of a counter area which provides space for storage of play equipment.

Techniques in building educational specifications

Thinking of al 1 possible groups to be served by home economics facilities
in a given situation is an important step in building educational specifi-
cations. Will the students be junior high, senior high, boys as well as
girls, slow learners, college bound, pre-wage earners, soon-to-be married,
just-married young adults, parents, "oldsters", or perchance, very special-
ized groups such as handicapped homemakers?

The ki nd of spaces needed is the next task to think about in building
educational specifications. Here it is wise to think of the classroom
activities of the learners in rather precise terms. For example, to say
"space for discussion" is rather meaningless as compared to "space for
groups to be seated comfortably while focusing on a teacher presentation
or demonstration, sometimes in groups of twenty to thirty, sometimes in groups
of fifty to seventy-five (or whatever figures may be appropriate to the
si tuat ion) ."

Think of a school day (or start with a single class hour) from the time
the students come in until they leave. Write out in detail how many stu-
dents do what. Relate the kinds of student activities, the type of equip-
ment used, the size of groups within the class, whether activity is noisy or
quiet, the space necessary, supplies utilized and storage needed. It is up
to the teacher to describe the methodology of her teaching; for example, the
implications of sub-grouping students in a class. Do not take the archi-
tect's knowledge of your teaching methods for granted. He does not know
unl ess you tell him.

Thinking could be started with a listing of activities in answer to
the question, "What are the students going to be doi ng?" To bring innova-
tions into the thinking, perhaps the question should read, "What shoul d

198

students be doing in home economics classes? As we plan, should we not look
ahead into the next decades and think of how changes in society and in educa-
tion are forcing all teaching to change? And, as we think of possible acti-
vities, let us not forget what we know about how people learn, nor who the
students might be for whom we are planning this learning environment. Some
ideas for ways of looking at activities of students are:

Listening — to each other, to teachers, to guest lecturers,
panels, symposiums, recorded tapes.

Observing — teacher-and-student demonstrations, movies,
film strips, slides, TV, charts, displays, children at play.

Reading and study i ng--text and reference books, teaching
machines, magazines, pamphlets, newspapers.

Wr ? ting — note-taking, tests, reports, plans.

Discuss?ng--in small and large groups, individual student
with teacher.

Experimenting with materials and methods — use and care of
fabrics; color, texture and design in dress and home decora-
tions; household equipment and furnishings.

Examining procedures and products as bases for making decisions--
food prepared at home versus semi-prepared, ready-to-serve or
restaurant meals; laundry and dry cleaning; do-it-your-
self clothing versus semi-made or ready-mades from a vari-
ety of price lines; guidance of children; interaction in
human relations in group work and role-playing; expression
of hospital i ty.

After such a list is made, keeping in mind every area of home economics
that is to be part of the program, a teacher would need to think of the
kind of spaces needed to accomodate these activities. What kind of things
can be done just as well with large numbers of students as with small? In
what kind of activities would a total class participate as one group? For
what kind might several classes be combined? For what kind of activities
would individual work stations be needed? Should these be for quiet study
and reflection or for active work with equipment? Which activities would
require small groups working together? What size might these groups be?
To what extent are laboratory facilities required? Which activities can be
carried out in non- laboratory rooms?

The last two questions were given serious consideration in planning
for home economics in a new school in Rockford, Illinois. The planners
looked at the courses offered and figured that many did not need elaborate
laboratory facilities. Because of the cost of the special rooms, and
because of the student elections in home economics, it was felt that two
rooms of different types would be adequate — one with laboratory equipment
for foods and clothing, and the other an academic classroom with either an
adjacent storeroom or adequate wall storage for teaching materials. It is
expected that two or three teachers will use these rooms interchangeably.

199

With maximum scheduling fourteen classes can be offered in these facilities.
It would be hoped that these two rooms would be adjoining with a communica-
ing door, and that teacher-preparation stations would also be provided.

It is also up to the educationist to define for the architect the
amount of space needed (in terms of areas of square feet) for the various
operations to be carried out. Think of clusters of spaces for the different
kinds of activities and the inter-relationship of these clusters. Space is
so costly that over- lapping use of space is necessary. Also, remember that,
when storage units or fixed equipment line the walls, these use space that
was part of the original definition. As the spatial implications of the
desired program are clarified, approach the job imaginatively, not just
architecturally. Pre-concei ved ideas impose conformity.

A planning team of home economists in another Illinois city, trying to
put some of these ideas into act ion, 1 i sted five reminders to serve as guide-
posts in their planning. The last reminder is the biggest challenge!

* Flexibility in use of space is of utmost importance

* Duplication of costly equipment should be eliminated wherever
possible. Move classes to the space and equipment needed for
instruction; do not duplicate equipment

* Organized storage space for al 1 of the various areas of instruc-
tion in home economics is needed

* Small office areas are needed for each teacher to facilitate
the use of the teacher's preparation and conference period,
and to free classrooms for teaching

* Equipment, as well as space, is costly. What we get will be
expected to last many years, yet we are planning for a future
program that is not now in existence, as well as for our pre-
sent needs

Another way to do part of the preliminary planning is to define the
following in writing.

Name of room Approx. size needed sq. ft.

Primary kind of activity: Lecture , Lab , Combination .

Number of student-stations needed .

Special requirements as to location; for example —

service drives

outside entrances for adult classes, child study

relations to — other general school facilities
--other subject matter departments
— other rooms in home economics suite

Special requirements for utility or service connections

200

Auxiliary rooms required with approximate sizes indicated

storerooms

off ices

workrooms or other special facilities

Description of built-in or permanent equipment desired

Description and approximate dimensions of furniture or other equipment
requiring floor space

In summary, let us remember that educational specifications start with
a statement of philosophy and objectives. They are the preliminaries before
anyone is ready to talk about a specific building project. They are pre-
pared to:

* Clarify thinking of teachers and curriculum people concerning
what they teach and how

* Give the architect an understandable bill of specifics against
which to design facilities

* Evaluate the results of a building program

Educational specifications should be the culmination of a continous
staff process of curriculum evaluation and revision and the space implica-
tions for it, not merely a special chore associated with a particular
building project. No curriculum study is complete until it has been trans-
lated into space and equipment requirements necessary for achieving curri-
culum objectives.

Contact with home economics supervisors

In an effort to explore what might be happening in high school home
economics departments all state supervisors and several city supervisors
of home economics were contacted by letter. They were given a "Think Kit"
to stimulate ideas for response and were asked for ideas, observations, and
judgments about space and facilities already in use in departments they
visited, facilities they wished were available, or innovations still on the
drawing boards which showed promise of moving home economics in new directions.

Areas of subject matter for their consideration were outlined as follows:

A. Child development and guidance in terms of:

- infant development

- baby-sitting techniques

- play groups

- other

B. Clothing and textile study in terms of:

- selection

- buying

- care and storage

- alteration and repair

201

- construction

- expressing creativity

- other

C. Family health in terms of:

- physical fitness

- nutrition

- safety

- care of the sick

- other

D. Food study in terms of:

- individual and family needs for food

- product selection, comparison and preparation

- meal management to meet varying situations

- expressing creativity in food production

- other

E. Home management in terms of:

- housekeeping skills

- equipment selection and use

- knowledge, time, energy, other resources

- other

F. Housing in terms of:

- selection

- financing

- home furnishings that illustrate a variety of family values

- other

G. Personal grooming, health and hygiene

H. Preparation for marriage in terms of:

- family relations

- dating, marriage

- family economics

- other

The following list was also supplied for their thinking:

CHANGING DIRECTIONS IN EDUCATION
WHICH MAY INFLUENCE SPACE AND FACILITIES FOR HOME ECONOMICS

1. Experimentation to develop scientific thinking

2. Practice in decision making for wise consumption

3. Carrying learning to the point of mastery, by groups and individuals
k. Encouragement of creativity in thinking and in doing

5. Independent study; special projects of an individualized nature

6. Greater variety of instructional materials to develop thinking as well
as doing ski 1 1 s

7. Sharing space and facilities with other teachers because

- all rooms must receive maximum use

- similar subject aspects are being studied

202

8. Location of home economics rooms adjacent to other subject areas to
encourage and facilitate integration of subjects, e.g., art, science,
social sciences

9. Adjustments to class periods shorter than usual

10. Adjustments to classes larger in size than usual

11. Mutual exchange with community

- use of community facilities rather than paying for school equipment

- parents coming to school for discussions, open-house programs and
the like, with child care services provided

12. Provision for adult education and out-of-school youth groups

13. Pre-employment training in upper high school and 13th and 1 4th years

14. Flexibility in use of space to allow for:

- team teaching; rooms of different sizes for different uses

- a variety of demonstration set-ups to be brought out and plugged in
as needed for different subject aspects

- movable storage units

15. New designs in school buildings giving opportunities and challenges for
new arrangements

- windowless walls in conditioned-air buildings

- unusual shaped rooms such as found in round or hexagonal buildings

- others

The many thoughtful responses and provocative ideas produced by this
modified "brainstorming" are much appreciated. And a word of understanding
sympathy goes to those who replied to the effect that they wished they had
more time for creative, imaginative thinking about space and facilities;
they felt it so very necessary.

Although the title of this article includes the word Innovations, what
is described may not always seem to fit that term. Some old ideas have been
given a new twist, some which have grown rusty with disuse have been re-
emphazized, and, of course, what may seem like an innovation to one person
may be very "old-hat" to another. Some ideas from our previous issue on
planning have been repeated for emphasis.

In addition, we must remember that innovations are more than just new
physical facilities. The spirit for something different needs to be within
the person herself. The most up-to-date department possible, with many
facilities for modern teaching, may be frustrating to the traditional, con-
servative teacher. On the other hand, a seemingly out-dated room may offer
rich experiences because of the ingenuity and imagination of the teacher.

Comments from commercial companies

Nine leading manufacturers of school equipment for home economics were
contacted by interview or correspondence to see if they could discern any
trends, and to find out how they worked in planning homemaking rooms. All
agreed that home economics teachers and supervisors have an important role
and should have more to say about equipment for homemaking rooms. However,
as well as the equipment manufacturer and the home economics teacher, the
architect and the available money must also be included in the picture.
Major questions asked of the manufacturers, with summaries of their replies
fol low:

203

Where do manufacturers get ideas and information on which to act in design-
ing equipment and planning facilities?

Direct contacts with home economics teachers who are using the equip-
ment on the job, and home economics supervisors who are responsible for
planning facilities were almost always mentioned. Some of the ideas result
from working with teachers and supervisors on actual jobs; some may be paid
for on a consultant basis; some may come from reactions and informal dis-
cussions at exhibits at professional conventions. Ideas and information also
come from field representatives and distributors who work with architects
and school officials. University and State Department personnel, serving
as educational consultants on school planning, are also a source of ideas,
as is research within the company itself or from industrial design firms.
Manufacturers are constantly conducting research on the measures of man,
postures, and reaches. The search for the best finishes is never concluded
in this age of rapid technological development. New colors and records of
performance are studied as the decor of a room is becoming more and more a
part of the general plan of the room. Some manufacturers make use of research
publications about home planning from universities, such as the bulletins
from the Small Homes Council at the University of Illinois. Being alert to
new ideas from appliance manufacturers, furniture manufacturers and other
companies whose products are used in modern homemaking is another way
school equipment manufacturers try to keep up to date.

The people who use the equipment are important. One manufacturer
reports that it is on their suggestions that changes, improvements or addi-
tions to a line are made. Suggestions and criticisms are welcomed. It
must be realized, however, that one-time requests do not add an item, or
make a change, in a line. It must be asked for over and over. In addition,
the company must have proof that the idea will work. The economics of manu-
facturing and distributing products must be kept in mind. Any innovation
must result in a reasonable cost since competitive bids will be in the pic-
ture. Production of a seemingly simple item may be impossible because of
excessive hand labor or precision work. At other times a manufacturer may
make a factory change to meet a reasonable demand. For example, if a manu-
facturer has been making only a three-drawer base cabinet unit, and a state
specifies a four-drawer unit, he may make the change when he understands
the demand.

In your opinion, what has been the role of the local home economics teacher
in planning the facilities of a home economics department?

Here again the manufacturers say they believe the local teacher is
important, but some also think home economists have not played a big enough
part. One manufacturer feels that home economists need to become more asser-
tive about quality construction and special features that make for functional
pieces of equipment for teaching. He feels that in too many cases teachers
have compromised with cost, with the result that poorly styled or cheaply
built equipment has not functioned as it should. Other manufacuurers feel
that the local home economics teacher has not always been used as efficiently
or as wisely as she might have been. Frequently, these manufacturers say,
their work is entirely with the architect or some school official. The
teacher may never see the plans until they are finalized, or even may not
see the plans at all, only the finished room. A more successful plan results,

204

they think, when the local teachers and supervisor have had something to
say about what is needed in the plans. Individual teachers have a respon-
sibility in keeping business managers, purchasing agents, or other person-
nel in their respective schools informed of items that make for well -planned
departments.

What kinds of information should the home economics teacher supply to help
your company to do a good job in planning departments?

The answers here are based on the premise that the teacher or super-
visor is working directly with a company representative. Much of the
information would also need to have been provided the architect, or some
school official, as part of the educational specifications. Manufacturers
of school equipment want to know:

* The physical dimensions and characteristics of the room or rooms that
are to become the home economics department

* The extent to which homemaking education will be offered; that is,
what areas of subject matter will make up the program, what will
receive emphasis

* All types of needs the rooms must serve; that is, what kinds of
student activities and teacher activities will be going on

» Amount and kind of work areas needed for various parts of the
learning experiences. How much dove- tailing of these areas and
how much specialization is desired?

* Storage needs for equipment, teaching materials, student work, and
supplies in relation to the areas to be taught

* The kind of cooking facilities desired; that is, electric or
gas ranges, or both, electronic oven, charcoal broilers or what
have you

* The number of teachers, number of students in each class, and
the number of classes to use a given room

In addition, it is a good idea for the teacher to think through every-
day class situations in regard to traffic lanes, class demands per hour
on certain areas or pieces of equipment, student habits, or other require-
ments unique to her situation. For example, there may be a problem of
storing textbooks while in class because of the locker system peculiar to a
school, or the number of towel bars necessary to hold towels for a given
period of time if no laundry facilities are in the room. Again, the traffic
patterns set up by the out-going and in-coming classes in the same subject
may cause congestion through many students endeavoring to get at the same
storage area for their supplies.

What trends do you see in the kinds of room you plan?

In relation to multi-purpose rooms versus special purpose laboratories,
there was variation in opinion. One manufacturer thought that in a given

205

state the multi-purpose rooms might be used more frequently, but he believed
the general trend was towards special purpose laboratories since more empha-
sis can then be given to specific problems. Others felt the trend was
toward multi-purpose rooms. One firm said that no trend was discernible in
either direction, but they felt the use of multi-purpose rooms might be be-
cause of the economics of the situation. Space is costly and perhaps more
can be put into the multi-purpose rooms than into specialized laboratories.
Or, as another correspondent put it, "For the dollar spent, a student can
get a little of everything."

When asked about an increase or decrease in centers for teaching such
areas as grooming, laundry, family life, child development, and care of the
sick most correspondents felt that there was, in general, an increase in
these areas. Two commented that the inclusion of these areas could be a
reflection of the philosophy and understanding of the people controlling
the planning. As more money is available and the community wants to make
its schools better, more facilities will be available for a wider scope of
offerings. On the other hand, as community members make decisions about
how to spend money, they may, if not properly understanding the aims of home
ecnomics, consider certain areas in home economics luxury items for their
school. Yet, these same citizens may spend hundreds of dollars on expansion
of swimming pools or football fields. One correspondent implied that nar-
row-minded teachers could be at fault as well as narrow-minded citizens.
The individual teacher's preferences, her training or lack of training,
could dictate the type of department that gets reflected in architectural plans

Have you made plans for home ecnomics rooms in schools using new educational
methods such as TV or team teaching, or in rooms that are unique in shape,
size, or other architectural features?

Answers to these questions were, in general negative. A few commented
that they had had some unusual rooms to work with, but that it was more
difficult to make plans for good use of space in rooms with irregular or
curved walls. Rectangular spaces were preferred.

Additional comments

The following opinions and observations provided by manufacturers are
also food for thought as we move in new directions.

* Counter tops may go higher since statistics tell us young people
are growi ng tal 1 er

* Some schools are installing electronic ovens or charcoal grills
for additional kinds of cooking experiences

* Appliance kitchens, often in a demonstration area, are being used

* Some influence of domestic kitchens is felt in planning school
equi pment

* Laundry areas are not big in size, and seem designed to acquaint
students with equipment more than to develop a skill or carry on
a large task

206

* Workrooms for reuphol stering and refinishing furniture are
being incorporated in some schools

* More rooms are being planned for junior high schools; these
vary little from those of senior high schools

* Bigger changes in equipment and facilities seem to be occurring
at the elementary level than at the secondary. Functional units
that can divide off and separate a small group from the rest of
the class are being planned. Small group areas within a large
area will eventually find their way into the upper levels of

i nstruct ion

Cooperation is needed

What have we learned from these business firms? They want to do a
good job in helping to provide facilities that will enable teachers to do
a good job of education in home economics. They, naturally, want to pro-
vide equipment that meets a need so it will sell. They, like the archi-
tects, want to find out from educationists what is needed, as is evidenced
by these quotes from their correspondence:

"This is the type of letter I wish that we, as manufacturers, would
get more of, for it is only by working with people in your capacity
that we are able to get new ideas for planning departments, and
for the design and redesign of specialized equipment for homemak-
ing departments."

"Thank you for the opportunity to express our views on the subject."

"I can honestly say that your questions have raised some interest-
ing thoughts in our mind and perhaps mutual benefit can come of
this."

"We hope our frank comments will be of some use. If you, in your
area of work, can remedy the situation which prompted these com-
ments, we will be your friend for life. We are anxious to do the
best possible plans and supply the best possible equipment with
which to teach our high school youngeters."

Perhaps some "brainstorming" sessions made up of equipment manufacturers,
school architects, home economics teachers and supervisors, and school plan-
ning consultants could be very fruitful for new ideas. A suggestion which
at first might seem impossible, or ridiculous to hope to achieve, might be
the springboard for an effective and practical innovation.

A word of caut ion

Although the authors of this article believe in the philosophy of the
equipment manufacturers that the local home economics teacher, the ultimate
user, should have some voice in planning her department, we would like to
inject a word of caution. Different companies mentioned that the individual
teacher's preferences and/or background could limit certain aspects of planning
Because of this, and because the turn-over among home economics teachers is

207

usually much faster than the renovation of home economics rooms, it is sug-
gested that, in addition to the local teacher, others be brought into the
picture. Supervisors who have seen many different departments and educa-
tional consultants who have helped plan a variety of schools have a broader
perspective about what is possible than a single teacher does. A second
word of caution might be addressed to teacher-educators. As student teachers
are prepared, what image do they have from their off-campus center of a
well -planned and modernly equipped homemaking department?

A "thank you" goes to the equipment manufacturers who so generously
shared their ideas. Home economics leaders should rise to the challenge and
plan some organized research about equipment for schools of the future.

Concepts of Modern School Buildings

Many ideas for new school buildings are growing out of the recommenda-
tions of the Trump Report, Images of the Future. This report resulted
from the work of the Commission on the Experimental Study of the Utilization
of the Staff in the Secondary School, a group appointed by the National
Association of Secondary-School Principals and supported by the Ford Founda-
tion. The major concern was with the improvement of the quality of education
in the secondary schools. A summary of important suggestions which have
architectural implications follows:

Reorganization of instruction. Most instruction should be ordered
so as to provide more opportunity for individual study, more par-
ticipation in small discussion groups, and increased attendance at
large classes given by gifted teachers.

Rearrangement of curriculum and class schedules. In the high school
of the future these elements should be much more flexible. There
should be less reliance on the standard 40-45 minute period.

Changes in staffing patterns. Much greater utilization of instruc-
tional assistants, clerks, general aides, and other types of
relatively unskilled educational labor is seen. There should be
greater reliance on team teaching and the highly skilled specialist.

More extensive use of technological aids. Television, tape record-
ings, teaching machines, and electronic devices of all kinds will
be enormously significant.

Dr. Trump, in commenting on the recommendation of the Commission,
described these kinds of spaces and facilities for new schools:

"Spaces where individuals can keep their materials, study, use
teaching machines, read, draw, listen to music, write, and engage
in manifold other activities. At present the only place a student
can call his own is a steel locker, and a locker is not a very
good place to study, develop a spirit of inquiry, and exercise
independent responsibility for learning.

"Spaces where twelve to fifteen people can gather for small group
discussions. For this purpose the typical classroom is costly
and wasteful .

208

"Spaces where large groups— 100, 200, 500 or more, depending on
the size of the school --can meet. This center should permit pre-
sentations to two to four groups or to a single group depending
on the arrangement of its constituent spaces.

"Shops, libraries, art areas, and laboratories will also have to
be provided, but will be changed to serve students in the new pat-
terns of instruction.

"Space for teachers. This requirement is ignored in many modern
buildings. The traditional teacher's desk will no longer be ade
quate. Teachers need individual cubicles for privacy and must
also have space for small group meetings. Clerical help must be
easily available, as well as facilities for making instructional
aids.

"Facilities to accomodate technological aids. It is difficult to
predict the course of development, but some degree of flexibility
must be build into our schools to provide for this factor."

A group of architects discussing design proposals inspired by Images
of the Future, having semantic difficulties with the word "flexibility,"
offered the following as a working definition. Flexibility to them seems
to have these components:

Expansibi 1 i ty for exterior building changes. This quality has to
do with the capacity of a building to accomodate additions to the
original structure without undue expense

Convert i bi 1 i ty for interior changes. Schools are needed in which
the interior spaces can be altered at wi 1 1 in accordance with
changing needs of teachers and students. Two orders of converti-
bility are needed: convertibility at the immediate wish of the
teacher, and convertibility by maintenance men. All kinds of par-
titions and spatial dividers are appropriate.

Versat i 1 i ty to accomodate a variety of funtions. This should be
true for many spaces within the school building. An entirely new
attitude toward the installation of mechanical equipment is indi-
cated.

Not all of these components of flexibility, of course, will be equally neces-
sary in every case, but architects and educators will have to consider them
all in designing the high school of the future. To neglect such considerations
woul d be fol 1 y.

Two basic types of schools were envisioned by these architects as par-
tial solutions to the above. One, labeled "total flexibility," consists of
one large major space subdivided as needed by movable partitions. That this
might not have been in as much favor as the second is implied by this remark
about it--"perhaps an abdication on the part of the education people from de-
termining what type of program they want." The second type was labeled
"planned variability." This is a combination of large, medium, and small
rooms, which allows a variety of relationships for the student and teacher
and, through scheduling, flexibility in the total plan.

209

Class

rooms

Uti 1 ity
Core

CI assrooms

1 1 1 ustrat ion I .
Layout for Total
Fl exibl 1 ity

Permanent
wal 1 s
Movable
wal 1 s

Individual
Cubicl es

1 1 lustration I I .

Layout for Planned

Variabi 1 ity

210

Illustration III

Students observing child development area through special viewing window.

Illustration IV.

All areas in room open for expanded space in clothing activities.

Photos courtesy Yorktown High School

Ar I i ngton, Vi rginia

21 1

Flexible use of space in Arlington, Virginia

Variable spaces for learning, rather than box-like classrooms of similar
size, are definitely a part of school plants of the future. An example of
flexible use of space is found in a home economics room that can be divided
into three areas. These can be used independently for diversified activi-
ties, or the whole room can be used as one. The largest area is primarily
a clothing and home furnishing laboratory with appropriate tables, cabinets
and storage. The smallest area, a corner alcove suitable for fitting and
grooming, can be cut off from the main laboratory by multi-fold doors when
the occasion demands. A third area, adjacent to the fitting alcove, can
also be made separate from the main room by using multi-fold doors. Obser-
vation windows with one-way vision glass in the wall between these two
lesser areas enhance their use for child study. Students come into the
small alcove and observe activities of children in the play area as shown
in Illustration III. Students from psychology or adult classes also utilize
these facilities for observation. Low cabinets, counters and open shelves
for play equipment are built along two sides of the area used for children.

Home furnishings, clothing, or another type of class, can be going on
in the main room while a play school is in session. When the smaller spaces
are not used for child study, the separated areas could be used for small
discussion groups, special projects, or committee activity. Again, all
doors can be opened and the total area used for expanded laboratory activi-
ties as shown in Illustration IV. It would also be possible in such an
arrangement of spaces to assemble large groups of students for special pre-
sentations by a teacher or a resource person from the community.

Experimentation at the University of Chicago

Schools that can be divided, sub-divided and re-divided without great
effort or expense are one type of goal for modern educational programs. As
one architect put it, the job is "to shelter the known program of the present,
the unknown program of the future, and the change which is the one sure
aspect of secondary education."

At the University of Chicago Laboratory School an experimental suite
of rooms is being used to try out ideas suggested for modern schools. This
experimental suite is a frame that encloses a space equivalent to six tra-
ditional classrooms. Various types of movable walls and folding doors are
used as dividers within the total area. Both the ease of operation and the
effectiveness of walls as sound barriers are being tested. Carpeting on the
floor has proved as easy to maintain as the more traditional surfaces. In
addition, the acoustics of the room are much improved, especially important
when recordings or television programs originate in the classroom. An unex-
pected dividend is that, as students come into the room, they quiet down
faster than when entering a bare-floor room. There is a system of ducts un-
der the floor in this experimental suite through which cables and electric
wiring of various types can be drawn so as to be changed as needed.

Rooms of different shapes are being tried

Classrooms of unusual shapes are also in the picture in modern schools,
although more of these today seem to be in elementary schools than in

212

secondary buildings. Economy seems to be the reason offered for wedge-
shaped, triangular, or five-sided rooms, to name a few types. The way these
classrooms can be fitted together often means more rooms in a given area.
Corridor space is often less than in conventional buildings, and grouping
of mechanical services may be accomplished in a more economical way.

An elementary school reports liking triangular classrooms. Each is an
equilateral triangle with forty-two foot walls and sixty degree angles.
Each has one exterior wall with gabled ceiling and roof. This wall is
almost wholly glass, some of it tinted, other parts curtained with Venetian
blinds. Teachers like the satisfying natural light thus obtained, and feel
the diffusion and reflection is good, due to the relative position of the
other walls. The acoustics are even more pleasing than the lighting.
Because there are no parallel surfaces, the sounds do not reverberate.
Additional advantages are due to possible seating arrangements. With a
forty-two foot blackboard more children can be seated close to it. Circu-
lar arrangements of chairs, either for one large group or three small ones,
also work very well. Being "in the corner" in this room seems to have a
different connotation than in schools of yore, since teachers report that
the sixty degree angle promotes a feeling of intimacy for small group work.
Some of these same advantages would be found in five-sided rooms.

As walls between these unusually-shaped rooms are opened, we may get
different shaped rooms for different forms of learning activities. By hav-
ing irregular shapes, areas are provided for "things to happen." A small
group gathering or individual study is possible without disturbing other
students or blocking off large areas of the room. In most of the plans
observed, if there were rooms of unusual shape in secondary schools, these
were used primarily for the non- laboratory courses. Sciences, arts and
crafts, industrial arts and home economics tended to be in sections of the
building with rectangular rooms. The fitting of traditional laboratory
equipment does seem easier in a tradi t ional 1 y- shaped room. The day may
come, however, when few of our schoolrooms will seem "traditional."

Provisions for individual study and instruction

As indicated in the Trump Report, when changes occur in the method for
an educational program, a different kind of school plant is needed. Indivi-
dualization of learning is a concept of modern education that is showing up
in suggestions for school architecture. Students work on an individualized
schedule rather than a class schedule. Teachers serve as consultants and
advisers to individuals as well as purveyors of specialized information.
A teacher station is no longer a classroom or laboratory with a chalkboard
and desks or tables and chairs. When students work independently and in
small commi ttee-1 i ke groups, a teacher station must be an office-like room
for consultations, and a student work-station must be something more than
a tablet-arm chair.

An idea for a school where individualized work schedules would prevail
is described in a 1957 book entitled High School s Today and Tomorrow, by
C. W. Bursch and J. R. Reid. Each student has a work station in a home-
room adjacent to a materials center, small conference rooms, a practical
workshop, and teachers' of f ices. The "desk" for each student provides work
and storage areas in a variety of ways, depending upon which pieces of

213

accessory equipment he might requisition from the materials center, and how
these are assembled for use.

A home-room teacher may be responsible for fifty students and their pro-
grams in certain fields, such as citizenship and communication skills. She
would draw upon teacher-specialists for all other areas. Teacher-specialists
would be available for consultation. They would assist students in setting
up and carrying through to completion projects and units of work in their
special fields. From time to time they would give group instruction and
demonstrations. Each teacher-specialist would have facilities for instruction,
projects, consultation and testing in her field. It is also assumed in such
a school program that home, community, and work experiences would be used
to aid in the individualization of learning, and that each teacher-specialist
would be alert to opportunities in her own field.

The authors of this book see the homemaking teacher-specialist as an
indispensable resource person to the home-room teacher in a high school
where school, home, and community are working closely together to enrich the
growth and development opportunities for youth. Many problems students
will work on have homemaking implications and, in many instances, could be
homemaking projects in themselves. This specialist would also have respon-
sibilities in connection with possible work experiences in categories of
home nursing, baby-sitting, and domestic service. This would involve selec-
tion and training of students, and the development of programs of school
work and study designed to improve the ability of students to render these
services. The homemaking teacher-specialists would also give special instruc-
tion and training to those pupils who exhibit a more-than-average interest
and talent in homemaking work, to the end they can help the home-room teacher
and younger students with problems, and possibly look forward to collegiate
work in the field.

To accomplish these things Bursch and Reid see the homemaking teacher-
specialist doing the following:

* Demonstrating on closed circuit TV

* Lecturing in home-rooms with materials and equipment carted in
from the materials center

* Consulting with individuals and small groups in her office

* Supervising special pupils working in the homemaking laboratory

* Going to students1 homes where projects are being undertaken

* Working with clubs related to homemaking

Facilities suggested for these activities are as follows:

* Suitable office for each specialist

« Room suitable for club meetings and conferences of about twenty persons

* Facilities for demonstrations in the laboratory and for T.V.

* A general purpose laboratory for homemaking with a capacity of about
thirty

* Ample display space

In this school a "specialized learnings center" is planned, in addition
to the various horne-room units with their adjacent services. Here we find
the homemaking laboratory, along with facilities for music, art, drama,

214

science, and industrial arts. Groups of these rooms have been made so that
there is maximum encouragement for finding related interests. The home-
making room is located next to the arts and crafts room; a small conference
room is shared with this area, and the offices for teacher-specialists in
both fields share the same sub-corridor. On the other side of homemaking,
we find the science laboratories, and across the hall from homemaking, are
the electrical and woodworking shops.

In this proposal, the homemaking suite is diagrammed as having three
offices for teacher-specialists, and one for a clerk to take care of appoint-
ments and other routine duties. The conference room shared with arts and
crafts has already been mentioned. At the far end of the large general -
purpose homemaking room, there is a living room, a bedroom, a bath, and a
utility room. The homemaking room is separated from these rooms by a fold-
ing partition.

The importance of the bedroom and bath are debatable. Possibly, the
space might better be used for something like experimentation with home
furnishings. However, if training for household employment were a signi-
ficant part of the program, the bedroom and bath could be important prac-
tice areas for house care. Such practice might be used to develop speed
and competence to a marketable level. Time-and-mot ion studies could be
carried on in this living suite as effective methods for developing manager-
ial ski 1 1 s.

Schools within schools

A small school atmosphere with big school resources is another concept
used in modern buildings. As schools become larger they become more imper-
sonal. One "house" for some 2000 students is not so good. There is an
effort to make these schools seem smaller to each student by building a
group of "little schools" or "schools within schools." Each of the little
schools would have its own classrooms, its own faculty, its own administra-
tive coordinator, and its own social life. Some facilities, such as the
gymnasium, the auditorium, the cafeteria, shops and library, are shared by
the whole school. Each school handles most of its own administrative, dis-
cipline, academic and guidance problems. The students receive personal
attention. The teachers have an opportunity to work together, exchange ideas,
plan the school program, and venture across subject boundaries in their
academic work.

Sometimes these "little schools" are organized by classes; that is,
each year of high school would be in a different wing or section of the
whole building. Sometimes the school population is divided so that there
is a cross-section of each class in each "house" or "little school." Some-
times the separate sections of the bui 1 ding-compl ex may be organized around
subject areas, as an arts center, math and sciences, social studies and
business, languages, physical education, and administrative services. At
times the cafeteria is housed with administrative services; in other situa-
tions only a central kitchen is there. Food may be taken to dining commons
in each "little school," thus continuing the de-centralization of student
masses.

In some cases, classroom clusters are organized to facilitate team teach-
ing. In mild climates, these clusters may center around courts which tend

215

to separate building areas. Whatever the plan, the aims are similar--to
establish communication between the staff and students, to split up the stu-
dents into more intimate groups, to give both students and parents the
feeling that students are not wandering around in a large school without
guidance; and, for some very practical aims, to control the flow of traffic
more efficiently, and to make better utilization of centralized services.

Home economists may be wondering where we fit into all this. Sometimes
homemaking rooms have been observed as part of a science building or wing,
as part of an arts center, in a specialized learnings area, in a suite of
rooms for various vocational subjects located between two "little schools,"
and sometimes a general purpose laboratory has been noticed as part of each
"little school." The philosophy of the school as a whole, and the emphases
in the home economics curriculum would be factors influencing placement of
these home economics rooms. Cost is, of course, always a factor, so some-
times all laboratory facilities may be housed in a similar area. Home
economists should think about possibilities for placement in schools made
up of many subdivisions, and be ready with justifications for their recom-
mendations. Adjacency to other subject matter areas, or being part of a
teaching team, can make quite a bit of difference in any homemaking teacher's
opportunity for enriching teaching.

Facilities for instructional aids

Tools for learning are increasing rapidly. Space and facilities in
modern buildings have to take these into account. There are tools to aid
in presentations to large groups, tools to help individuals to study at
their own rate, tools to present ideas with greater impact than formerly,
and tools to provide flexibility in means of presentation. Libraries are
becoming reference and resource centers in the fullest sense of the word.
All sorts of teaching materials and instructional aids can be checked out
of them, or from instructional materials centers.

School systems, and some individual schools, are also including work-
rooms for the development of instructional materials. In these, audio-
visual aids can be made on the spot to meet any classroom need. Locally
produced material may be more up-to-the-minute than that available from
reference material. For instance, something like a map or a graph could be
clipped from a current periodical, a transparency made, and it could be
quickly projected for the whole class to see. Flexibility in types of mate-
rial is also possible. For example, when preparing material for a large
group presentation, a diagram or chart which is basic to the thesis of the
lesson could be photographed and enlarged for projection on the TV screen,
if that were the means for reaching the large group; smaller diagrams could
be made and duplicated to be circulated among the students; and, finally,
slides of the same diagram could be produced to be used by other teachers in
follow-up lessons.

Developing materials in the local area has other advantages, too. Mate-
rials can be tailor-made to the specific group of students. Pictures of
situations in the local area may have more meaning than those available
generally. The instructor receives values, too, as well as the students.
The act of creating the teaching material forces him to evaluate his lesson
as planned in order to figure out the best way to present this material.

216

Projectors used In teaching

Machines for projecting teaching materials onto walls or screens are
developing very rapidly. The use of some projection devices in classrooms
is taken for granted in modern schools. Provision for control of light to
provide various amounts for different purposes, a place for the projector,
and a suitable screen or wall are considered standard equipment for all
cl ass rooms.

Not every room will have a movie projector, but some day every room,
or cluster of rooms that could be put together, may have a TV receiver.
Movies could then be "ordered" from a central studio in the school system,
put in a projector there, and be received on the classroom TV.

Film strip projectors for ready use in classrooms are within the realm
of possibility for all schools. As well as serving for presentation to the
total class, filmstrips are excellent for needed review for some individuals
and for make-up or advanced study for others. Opaque projectors to take
illustrations directly from books or files, slide projectors and various
styles of overhead projectors are all convenient and important tools for
learning and teaching. The flexibility of overhead projectors opens up new
ways of presentations, often supplanting the chalkboard, or even the familiar
duplicated quiz. Some are designed to be used on the teacher's desk, pro-
jecting to a sloping wall built into the front of the room.

Audio as well as visual education

Using recorded sounds as well as visual images in also a part of modern
methods of education. Recorded sound in surely a big part of modern life
when one thinks of all the record players, television sets, and radios in
homes and public places today. Before long, a tape recorder of some type
may become as common a "household gadget" (or individual possession) as a
portable typewriter or transistor radio. Surely recordings should be com-
monly used as tools for learning in our schools.

Ready-made tapes can, of course, be ordered just as films can for spe-
cific purposes, but the made-at-home variety may be even more useful. In
home economics classes they are valuable for giving instructions. The
teacher can circulate among the class, giving help as necessary while the
tape takes over. When instructions have to be repeated in successive
classes, or for students who have been absent, tapes are useful. Some types
of lessons might be more successful on tapes than "live" in that they might
seem more impersonal and less embarrassing. This could be true in personal
grooming, or when presenting case situations for discussing behavior or
inter-personal relations.

Recording of some class sessions is another possible use of tape. This
may be for the purpose of analysis for the students to reflect about what
was said, or to determine the amount of participation among students.
Teachers, too, experienced ones as well as student teachers, may wish to
hear themselves and analyze their contributions to a class or the quality of
their questions. Recording of presentations of resource visitors or panel
discussions by student groups can give materials to use in subsequent classes
when similar resources may not be available.

217

Sel f- teach i nq machines and books

Several "machines" have been discussed without mentioning the so-called
"teaching machine" itself. Some of these will undoubtedly have a place in
modern schools, but it is hard to predict to what extent. Many schools are
now conducting experiments with them, much is in the literature, and sales-
men want to sell them. A school superintendent, writing in the November
1961 NEA Journal as part of the special feature on "Teaching Machines and
Programmed Learning," says,

"Experienced administrators are not likely to indulge in impulse
buying as a result of the sheer quantity of articles and the pres-
sures to try something that is new and spectacular. They must be
careful, however, to avoid attaching either too much or too little
importance to new technical devices."

It must be remembered that teaching machines or books, are more than
devices; they represent new methods of teaching. The programmed material,
rather than the device itself, is what is of real significance. Good pro-
grams take much time, money, and insight to develop. When considering
space or facilities for possible teaching machines, the same principles of
flexibility, convertibility, and versatility mentioned previously would be
appropriate. This might mean planning spaces where machines could be used
by indivduals, and space for storage of machines when the area is to be
used for other activities. Appropriate utility connections would, of course,
also be necessary.

Teachers and supervisors may wish to watch for reports coming from the
NEA Technological Development Project which was begun in the fall of I960.
This project was created to study various kinds of technological develop-
ments affecting (or about to affect) education. These include teaching
machines, educational television, language laboratories, new experiments in
learning, and new patterns of school buildings, organizations, and methods.

School furniture and walls

New lines of furniture and equipment are being developed to meet the
requirements of inventive teaching methods and to give improved environments
for learning. Competition forces the school furniture and equipment indus-
tries to keep up with developments in education. There is evidence that
industry is willing, and can provide the know-how to meet new needs when
such needs are recognized and clearly defined by educators.

Many of today's educational furnishings are light, strong, durable,
movable, mobile, flexible, stackable, modular, and adjustable. They have
maximum storage spaces, leg-room, optimum working surfaces, colors and
finishes keyed to lighting factors, and low maintenance. Tables and desk
tops come in any number of sizes and shapes--rectangular, trapezoidal, semi-
circular, round. These can be grouped together or arranged in hollow squares,
semi-circles, or serpentines. New types of modular cabinets, book carts,
storage files, and movable demonstration tables are available. Book cases
and display boards are now designed as movable room dividers so that side
alcoves can easily be formed.

218

Use of walls is also approached in a different way. Slotted aluminum
standards can be fixed permanently to the wall at four foot intervals. Re-
movable, interchangeable, accessory teaching units can be fastened to these
standards. These units now include chalkboard, tackboard, pegboard, easel -
board, flannel-board, shelves, cabinet storage and display units, magazine
racks, and a utility rail for hanging maps, charts, and projection screens.
Each accessory unit is designed on a four foot module and has angle clips to
fit the slots. Kinds and heights of all units can be adjusted to fit the
learning situation, or to transform a room function. The ordinary chalk-
board has also been altered. One can get the traditional surface, or one of
porcelain on steel to facilitate the use of magnetic teaching aids.

Achieving a desirable physical environment

The objective for any school building is to create a good environment
for learning, no matter how the spaces may be designed or what equipment
may be added. A controlled physical environment for year-round efficiency
and thermal comfort seems to be agreed upon as disirable for modern schools.
This idea was discussed in detail in relation to the schools in Gary,
Indiana, in our previous article on planning homemaking departments. How
to accomplish the desired comfort without unduly increasing costs is still
a problem. Buildings designed to utilize many interior spaces, and make
less use of large window areas in outside walls, seem to be one of the pos-
sible solutions. Yet the lack of windows from which to view the outside is
a very controversial issue. Feelings run high when one feels windows are
important. The psychological environment resulting may not be good. Per-
haps as evidence accumulates as to the economy of building schools without
large window areas in every room, or it is shown that more learning is
accomplished in a controlled environment, attitudes will change.

Various means have been noticed in architectural plans for new schools
designed to help counteract any closed-in feeling that windowless walls
might produce. Interior courts with natural light entering through sky-
lights and plantings of greemery in the centers of these courts offer one
attractive possibility. Another idea is to use glass panels as interior
walls between classrooms and corridors. These can give students and teachers
a sense of opennes and freedom. Class activity and displays can be seen
by passers-by and students in the room do not feel shut off from the 1 ife
of the school. This arrangement may also open up additional spaces for
learning activities. Plans were observed for an elementary school where the
corridor was deliberately widened so as to be useful for many projects that
might need more space than the classroom afforded. Teachers and pupils
moved back and forth between classroom and corridor as the activity demanded.
The glass walls aided in supervision of both areas.

What seems like a more radical departure is to do away with entire walls
between corridor and classroom, merely using bookcase units or storage cabi-
nets as dividers between class area and hall. Another plan is to do away
with all interior walls, having large spaces in which children could arrange
themselves in various clusters. Time for May 5, 1961, reported on such an
elementary school in Carson City, Michigan, which has "gone far beyond the
notion of movable walls to banish 'egg crate' classrooms." This school con-
sists of five grades in two cavernous "clusters," each measuring the size of
four conventional classrooms. Teachers like the arrangement for various
reasons, according to Time.

219

Adequate lighting and good acoustical conditions are as necessary as
proper temperature and vent i 1 i at ion. Adequate lighting has always been a
concern, but the characteristic of flexibility needs to be added here, as
well as to other aspects of the building. Variable spaces, and a wider
variety of activities within these spaces than in former years, surely call
for flexible lighting in all areas of the building.

Modern school buildings are often zoned for sound; that is, activities
involving loud noises such as metal and woodworking industries, music, and
commercial subjects, are set apart in separate wings. Some noise, however,
is a factor in every room. This may be especially true if multiple activi-
ties are going on, or if recorded sound is being used. For some reason,
teachers and students seem to want the machines turned on louder than ordin-
ary talking. Sound absorbing surfaces, and acoustical barriers where needed,
are desirable in order to make effective use of the spaces provided in
modern schools.

Types of Faci 1 i t ies

What are the rooms or areas which make up the home economics departments
in public schools? What should they be to take care of education in the
future? One supervisor suggested that we ought to avoid terminology that
will tend to label rooms "foods" and "clothing." The following designations
which have appeared in the surveys on which this article is partially based
should be of interest:

General homemaking room

General home living laboratory

All-purpose room or laboratory

Multi-purpose room or laboratory

Family living classroom

Family living-child development room

Child development classroom

Child development laboratory or suite

Child development and clothing area

Family foods and management area

Nutrition and meal management area

Foods and related subjects classroom

Foods 1 aboratory

Home management room (or center)

Laundry room (or area)

Clothing room

Clothing and related subjects classroom

Clothing laboratory

Living room (or area)

Living-dining room (or area)

Home-living center (or laboratory)

Hospitality center

Social center

Demonstration room

Workroom or workshop

Storage rooms

Teacher' s office

Independent study area

Class discussion area

220

The varied uses suggested for these rooms merit further consideration.
In general, comments are applicable to both junior and senior high school
home economics departments.

Home-living centers

These areas, called by several different names, probably have the
greatest variety in potential use of any area in a home economics depart-
ment. To be truly effective, these areas may also take more ingenuity to
plan and challenge to use than some other areas. One school building con-
sultant said that to most school architects the designation of "home-living
center" simply means a "living room" like in a home. But to home economics
supervisors it obviously means much more than a "model" living room. In
our previous issue on "Planning Homemaking Departments," the suggestion was
made that living areas as such were on the way out unless their use justified
the space. Most schools hold to the standard that each classroom shall be
used almost every period during the school day. Correspondence with super-
visors has turned up a great variety of current uses with suggestions for
still more possibilities.

One trend in departments in new buildings, which goes along with trends
in school architecture itself as well as in modern family living, is to
have the home-living room or living-dining area open on to a court or patio
to allow for outdoor cooking and entertaining. Even when the department is
not at ground level, there may be a roof-top terrace. One school reported
that outdoor electrical outlets are provided for cooking appliances and, in
addition, a portable hot-food server, which can be used out-of-doors, is
included in the foods laboratory equipment. Since school counselors, the
principal and the central office administrative staff make extensive use of
the living-dining room in the home economics department in this particular
school, the hot-food server is also used to keep cafeteria-prepared food
ready for such groups.

Expression of hospitality is part of homemaking, and practice in the
social graces is an essential part of growing up for adolescents. To what
extent this practice is kept within class groups or extended to other school
personnel or parents is up to the individual school. The sharing of faci-
lities to express hospitality is very likely, however, when policies are
that all spaces in the school building get maximum utilization. "If you
can't beat 'me, join 'em" may be applicable here in the way school facilities
are planned. The school which included the portable hot-food server describ-
ed above is one example illustrating this. Another is the school, previously
descr ibed, wi th a workroom adjacent to the home-living center in which food
for the school's social occasions could be prepared without interfering with
student work in the regular classrooms.

Home-1 iving centers can also make good places for discussion groups.
Some supervisors report that schools use living rooms for daytime adult
classes when the subject does not require laboratory facilities. Parent
education groups may feel much more at home in a living room area than in
the more school room- 1 ike laboratory or classroom. Use of the living area by
student committees or special groups which need a degree of privacy has
been rather typical.

221

As home economics moves along with changes in education in general,
we should plan to make even more use of this area, providi ng for independent
study here. A home-living center could serve as a quiet area for study of
library materials, or a place for individuals or small groups to listen to
tapes, observe film-strips or use teaching machines. These activities may
be part of make-up work for the student who has been absent, or special acti-
vities for either the slower student who needs repetition, or the more
advanced student who is going ahead on her own. An adjoining workroom with
some laboratory facilities could also provide stations for independent pro-
jects. Wall storage in the living room itself may be planned to include a
pullman-type kitchen or a complete home-sewing center which could serve for
individual use.

When adequate in size, and with storage for necessary equipment, the
living area may be used for the teaching of home nursing and, at another
time, for a play group for child development classes. One supervisor sug-
gested it would probably be very realistic to have a living room environ-
ment, as compared to a laboratory situation, in which to teach baby-sitting
skills. A base cabinet with removable doors would be a good feature if the
room is to be used by children. When the doors are off, open shelves serve
very well for children's play; with doors on, the clutter of toys is hidden.
Another idea for storage of toys is to have tilt-out bins installed in the
lowest shelf of a bookcase. With large wooden knobs on the fronts these are
easy for children to open so that small toys on the floor can be put away.
Both of these ideas may be fruitful ones for a home carpenter (or boys in
the family living classes) who wish to provide better play space and toy
storage at home. Having the home-living center open on to a court for out-
door play, and having a kitchen nearby for food service would be other
desirable features in an area for a play group.

Experimentation is increasingly recommended

Another use for home-living centers is for experimentation. This may
or may not conflict with its use for hospitality, but each school will have
to decide the major function for this space. Experimentation could be in
home furnishings and, to some extent, in housekeeping skills. Different
types of floor coverings could give experience in making decisions about
care, durability, and aesthetic value. Perhaps it would be possible to have
a section of the floor reserved ( a space about 2^ feet by k\ feet) into
which a piece of carpet and padding could be inserted to try out different
types. Floor tile a foot square rather than the usual nine inches could
help students quickly measure off and visualize spaces planned for activi-
ties and furniture. Movable panels which can simulate walls could be used
to designate areas, and as backgrounds for experimenting with wall-paper
and paint. Of course, storage of movable panels and screens for experimenting
with room decor must be provided in a convenient place nearby.

Experimentation with various kinds of window treatments would be desir-
able in a home furnishings unit. Judgment needs to be developed about
proportions, color harmonies, choice of fabrics, and choice of hardware to
achieve the effect desired. Since windows in the classroom are probably not
typical of home windows, and may be entirely absent in some schools, a panel
for this purpose could be set up in a home-living center or in a classroom.
This panel, or a portion of the regular wall, could be so arranged as to

222

accomodate the various kinds of curtain rods which the different try-outs
demanded. The window areas themselves could be made-to-order for each experi-
ment by marking off the dimensions with masking tape or some type of light-
weight boards with an adhesive backing.

Space for more than one "window" would be desirable in the above mentioned J
example so that extra large windows, or groups of windows to be treated as
one, could be designed. Having space for at least two identical "windows"
that can be treated experimentally would be good. The results of these
treatments could then be observed and compared, new methods tried if desired,
and conclusions drawn as a result of experiments. If this experimental area
were part of the regular wall, rather than a panel to be moved into the room
when needed, it could be covered with wall draperies when not in use by
individuals or classes. Remember, however, to show such areas in use when-
ever possible at open-house or exhibit time. The story our facilities tell
should not be one of "model" rooms, but opportunities for learning by experi-
mentation and problem solving.

Practice in selection and use of accessories

When home-living centers are to be used for learning experiences in
relation to home decoration, it is wise to have the large, more expensive
pieces of furniture in neutral tones. Bright colors can be added with inex-
pensive pillows and accessories, thus trying out different effects. Experi-
menting with choice and use of pictures is another opportunity that can be
made available in home- living centers. A peg-board panel with movable hooks
gives ample opportunity for experimenting with hanging pictures wherever you
want and changing them about as much as you desire without damaging walls.
Whether this be a movable panel to be inserted behind furniture when try-
outs of picture arrangements are to be studied, or a fixed part of the wall
against which different pieces of furniture can be placed, is something each
teacher would have to decide. Since pictures should be used in relation to
other furnishings, we would not want picture-hanging an isolated experience.
This offers, of course, an excellent opportunity for integration of work
with the art department.

Other decorative accents which give personality to a room are also
important to study and use experimentally. Flower arranging has been rather
commonly taught as a part of table setting. Some teachers have expanded
this idea to include flower arrangements as decorative accents anywhere in
the house. The current popularity of plastic flowers and dried seed-pods
and grasses for winter bouguets gives wide opportunity for development of
skills as well as taste. Flower arrangements need no longer be taught only
when fresh flowers are available, but can be scheduled whenever appropriate
to other learnings. However, we hope no one completely overlooks the plea-
sure given by fresh flowers. Perhaps here is another opportunity to go be-
yond the obvious outcomes, in this case the development of skills, creative
ability and taste, into the realm of choice-making and the values held which
influence expenditures of money, time, energy, and talents.

The choice and placement of other decorative objects, in combination
with or instead of flowers and pictures, also need practice. The mantel-
shelf over the fireplace is no longer a typical feature of home architecture,
but one could easily be simulated for practice arrangements, if desired.

223

Appropriate brackets and a board of the correct dimensions on a peg-board
wall are what is necessary. The fireplace opening could be merely
marked off with masking tape if it seemed desirable to do so. Appropriate
surfaces may not have to be fashioned. The surfaces of furniture in the
room, of course, lend themselves to arrangements of interesting objects.

However, if you wish to demonstrate, or give practice in, certain
ideas about home furnishings when the course is scheduled in a traditional
classroom, some contriving may be necessary. A suggestion is a large peg-
board panel, mounted on a frame with casters, to which nicely finished
wooden shelves of various sizes can be attached. This can provide facili-
ties for many of the experiences mentioned. A movable storage cabinet for
necessary teaching materials would also be required.

Teacher offices, workrooms and storerooms

A department used by only one teacher may be planned and equipped some-
what differently than one used by several teachers. Several supervisors
have commented, however, that al 1 teachers need to relinquish the idea of
"my" room or laboratory and be ready to move in and out of rooms as the
school schedule demands. As enrollments become larger, and space more at
a premium, this sharing of rooms will become increasingly necessary. Teacher
offices and laboratory preparation rooms will need to be provided for acti-
vities that formerly may have been carried on in an empty classroom.

As well as for preparation, teacher offices are needed for consultation
with students who need individual help, and for consultation with other
teachers who may be members of a teaching team. In some cases "office"
space might be combined with a workroom serving as a preparation center for
teaching materials. For example, a diagram of a science room gives an idea
which could be adapted for home economics. In the front half of this room
there are tablet armchairs facing a demonstration desk; in the back half,
laboratory tables for student work-stations. Across the back of the room
is a series of small rooms. One is a storeroom and preparation center for
the teacher, with large glass windows overlooking the laboratory to allow
for some supervision of activities there. Other rooms, or alcoves, are
small laboratories with specialized equipment for special projects.

A storeroom-workroom adjacent to laborator ies, but also with entry to the
corridor, can serve as a receiving center for supplies as well as a prepara-
tion center. This facility is of particular significance when several teachers
use the same classroom for teaching and each enters just as her class does.
One school reported that with such a room adjacent to the foods room, and
accessible to all instructors, it was possible to double the offerings in
foods without asking for increased space in the building. Moreover, the
resulting increase in room utilization was very pleasing to the administra-
tors.

A workroom might be furnished with equipment in relation to foods, such
as sink, refrigerator, range-top, counters and cabinets, but also with space
and facilities for the preparation of other kinds of teaching materials be-
sides those for foods. Space for a small pressing board and a portable sew-
ing machine would be desirable. A typewriter, paper cutter, table space for
the development of posters, charts or bulletin board displays are other ideas.

224

Storage for the supplies and tools for these jobs should be generous enough
to be efficient. Here the teacher, teacher assistant, student teacher, or
a high school student would have a headquarters for the preparation of a
great variety of teaching materials. Frequently this type of work has been
done in any part of the laboratory not in use at the moment, supplies being
collected from all over, and work having to be put away when the next class
moves in. Surely we can organize more effective work stations for prepara-
tion for teaching as well as for the teaching itself.

A well equipped workroom might serve occasionally as a special project
area for a student carrying on independent study. It might also be used
as an extra student station for an unusually large class, or for the student
who has make-up work to complete. Supervision of activities may be a problem,
however, if this area becomes a regular student work station as part of every
class.

Other kinds of workroom-storerooms observed in plans show them housing
laundry equipment, freezer, storage for equipment for home care of the sick,
child development study, home furnishing supplies, or other equipment used
only occasionally. Where adult classes in furniture renovation and reup-
holstering are popular, space for storing projects on which women are working
is essential. Sometimes there is a carpenter's workbench with space for re-
pairing furniture. However, such needs as a "dust-proof" room are usually
available in the workrooms of the industrial arts department.

Equipment and facilities used only occasionally

Let us take another look at the phrase "equipment used only occasionally,"
and consider curriculum offerings. Furthermore, let us assume that the
major emphases in the homemaking curriculum are: Human relationships, manage-
ment of resources, consumer economics, health and fitness, and applied science,
with skills for production being made subordinate to those for wise consump-
tion. One wonders what an analysis of the frequency of use of the various
kinds of equipment would show when such emphases were followed. How much
of the time might it be appropriate to have equipment like sewing machines
and ranges in storage, while equipment for child development study would be
in use to a greater extent than it often is.

Supervisors have suggested putting sewing machines in storerooms, push-
ing them under counter tops used for other purposes, or having styles of
sewing-machine tables easily adaptable for other uses. One supervisor
wrote, "The facilities for pressing and sewing will be completely out of
sight when the room is to be used for related areas of study." Perhaps the
philosophy of "out of sight, out of mind" is applicable here, and students
would be encouraged to think of aspects of the curriculum in addition to
sewing.

In the previous issue on planning departments it was suggested that
teaching materials for various units be organized in separate cabinets, each
to be brought out or put away as needed. This is a similar idea to requi-
sitioning items from a resource and materials center and having them brought
to you on a library cart, a definite trend in large, modern high schools.
Perhaps we should expand the idea so that "teaching materials" for various
units of home economics be thought of as facilities needed as well as the
films, books, magazines, and traditional kinds of illustrative material.

22 5

Storerooms will, of course, need to be carefully planned and organized
in order to house economically and efficiently the many items suggested.
But wise use of storerooms may make the teaching space, as well as the
teaching itself, more efficient. One supervisor remarked that her teachers
have taken advantage of expanded storage by increasing the kinds and amount
of teaching materials, certainly a forward step toward "quality" teaching.

Student access to storerooms will be necessary, too. By this we do
not mean that a whole class would file in to get their work or supplies for
a laboratory lesson but, when some students are working on independent pro-
jects, they should be able to get the necessary resource materials and/or
equipment without depending on the teacher to find it for them. Certain
security measures may have to be taken so students will not be unnecessarily
tempted. Locks, however, do not have to mean lack of faith in students.
They may help keep things in order. Items not in current use are not mis-
takenly disturbed or, in the flurry of putting things away, drawers or cabi-
nets which should not have been open at that time are not used.

Some supervisors suggest that a school district or a city system pro-
vide and store equipment for some areas of home economics rather than have
the individual school do this. If storage space were at a premium in the
local school, and the equipment were needed there for relatively short
periods of time, perhaps equipment for play schools, home care of the sick,
furniture repair, or for special studies in consumer buying could be carted
from school to school on a pre-arranged schedule.

Kits of certain kinds of illustrative material, or exhibits, could be
provided and used in the same way. All teachers are used to requesting
educational films on a pre-arranged schedule, and many have made use of
loan exhibits from commercial companies. A committee of teachers planning
and selecting exhibit materials to be shared with fellow teachers, or with
one another, could have a more worthwhile plan than one prepared by a
single teacher. However, there are some cautions to observe. If there is
great variation among different schools in the district one common exhibit,
unless quite comprehensive so each teacher could select the most appropriate
parts, may not be equally suitable for all schools. The second caution is
that it may not be wise to invest a good deal of money in exhibit material
which could soon become out of date. There needs to be a plan for keeping
materials current.

Foods rooms

Fewer new ideas for arrangements for foods rooms seem to have been
reported than for any other area. It is interesting to speculate why this
may be. Is food so basic that we just take the teaching of foods for granted?
Is the idea of the unit kitchen so firmly entrenched that we think of nothing
else? Or does the basic equipment in the foods laboratory seem so fixed that
flexibility, one of the new concepts, seem impossible? Whatever the reason,
we do need to examine what innovations may be possible here. We have already
suggested the importance of adjacent workrooms for preparations prior to
demonstration or laboratory lessons.

Unit kitchens are fine. They can be organized as efficient work centers
and demonstrate what good ki tchen arrangements can be. We have hoped and

226

expected that, by giving students opportunity to work in a " home- 1 ike" kitch-
en designed to meet home needs, efficient work habits would be carried over
to activities at home. Unit kitchens were a vast improvement over the old
"hollow square" arrangements of laboratories in the twenties and thirties.
Much research went into the recommendations for their design and development,
and they were thought to be helpful in promoting a family-centered feeling.

Perhaps now in the sixties we need to take a new look at families, the
kinds of facilities available to them, and the practices they follow in pro-
viding food for themselves. Perhaps, too, we should look at space for foods
teaching in light of one of the challenges in our previous issue, Vol. IV,
No. 7, page 305, Illinois Teacher of Home Economics.

"No longer can teaching methods remain 'product oriented.' New
dimensions in quality teaching are achieved through both labora-
tory and non- laboratory study with such teaching techniques as:

Experimentation and discovery to develop logical and

critical thinking.
Introspection and articulate analysis of values held by

self and others.
Free and imaginative self-expression to foster creativity.
Realistic problem-solving to develop managerial ability.

Desirable balances are sought between thinking and doing, indepen-
dent and cooperative learning, individual and group methods."

A question might well be raised: How many unit kitchens and of what
kind? They are very expensive to install and should be multi-purpose in use.
To some extent versatility in design among kitchens has been used in school
laboratories. Too often, however, this seems to have resulted from the job
of fitting units into the space available rather than each kitchen being set
up with certain differences in mind.

An example of versatility was reported in the November, 1959, Practical
Home Economics for a Pasedena, California high school. Mary Fleming reports
that each unit kitchen is different in basic shape, cabinet arrangement, and
color. Major appliances are both gas and electric. Cooking units include
an electric fold-up hot plate, built in gas oven and cooking surface, and
thirty-inch and deluxe ranges. . . . Tables and chairs are different in size
and color. Kitchen equipment and table ware are different in each unit.

Students who work in this laboratory learn more than meal preparation
and service. They study kitchen planning, cupboard organization for work
efficiency, consumer buying, comparative performance of kitchen appliances
and equipment. All study and activity is done within a framework of family
living. Patterns of family living are affected not only by financial status,
but also by values the family holds, and the current stage of the family
life cycle. A study of habits of eating and selection of kitchen equipment
can provide a tangible situation for increasing understanding of how families
live. As groups of students work in the various kitchens, they assume the
role of that particular family. One student said, "walking through this
room is like walking down a street and visiting several homes."

227

Patterns in family living around which these kitchens are designed,
suit the needs of the local community.

* "When teen-agers entertain" — generous counter space and many seper-

ate appliances for do-it-yourself parties

* "For a young f ami ly"- -compact, but adequate kitchen with low, pull-

out table for children's play or eating

* "Military on the move" — planned for the young couple who must make

many moves. All equipment is portable, even card table and chairs.
Plastic dishes and stainless steel eating and cooking utensils
are included

* "Life in a trailer" — a 'package kitchen' typical of kitchens in

smal 1 quarters

* "Career girl efficiency" — equipment is moderate in amount but maxi-

mum in quality. Entertaining is casual but sophisticated

* "For the young executive" — designed for the young couple who must

do a great deal of entertaining on a limited budget

Diversification in styling and equipping kitchens has distinct advan-
tages for achieving a greater variety of learning outcomes than may be possible
with similar or like equipment. Many supervisors reported that students
need more opportunity to make choices, to solve problems, and to make deci-
sions as a result of analytical study. Well-chosen but diversified equip-
ment would seem to serve such purposes as well as the activities previously
listed for quality teaching. Special tableware and accessories which could
be used to achieve different effects in relation to meals with a foreign
flavor, or some other theme, also give students opportunity to make choices,
and to develop judgments as they utilize art principles.

Uniformity in table and cooking ware in kitchens might be the result
of economics. It takes much teacher-time to make plans, locate equipment,
and write specifications for diversified equipment. And it may make more
sense to a school purchasing agent to get equipment "cheaper by the dozen"
rather than of so many different types. Home economists must have real
justification for their requests.

Possibilities in the future

In schools of the future, unit kitchens may vary in size more than for-
merly. Some may be for individual project work, or just for two girls. One,
in a laboratory, may be expanded to be typical of a kitchen area in a large
family room. It could be possible that not all work stations in a foods
room would be organized as "kitchens."

Perimeter planning for laboratories, so that all fixed equipment is a
around the outside, leaving the center of the room flexible, is being sug-
gested for sciences, and could be equally suitable in home economics. Using
portable cabinets for the "islands" or "pennisulas" with which one could
"indicate" kitchens as desired would be appropriate here. We have been
accustomed to thinking of the large, heavy appliances as fixed but perhaps
these, too, can be made portable with the right casters or glides and flexible
utility connections so that kitchen equipment can be used where and when
needed, as well as being used experimentally for kitchen design.

228

The aims of the program, and the groups to be served will, of course,
make a significant difference in the kind of equipment planned for foods
teaching, or for anything else. Junior high schools in one city are being
planned with kitchen units as islands, back to back in the center of a multi-
purpose room. Each unit consists of the following base cabinets arranged in
a s ingle 1 ine:

13-inch dish cabinet with three shelves

18- inch four drawer unit

18-inch cabinet with pull-out shelf and drawer

36- inch sink cabinet with pull-out towel rods

42- inch cabinet with pull-out shelf and two drawers

30- inch range

Although it is more difficult to get a home- 1 ike atmosphere, and having
two groups of girls face each other as they work requires more self-control
on their part, the supervisor feels there are significant advantages. This
installation of cabinets is less expensive than traditional unit kitchens,
and seventh and eighth grade girls can seldom make good use of wall cabinets
anyway. The teacher has a very good view of all class members, and there is
plenty of wall space for chalk and tackboard.

Clothing rooms

Although many supervisors suggest that there will be a decreasing empha-
sis on clothing construction skills, some equipment for this area is necessary.
Enough equipment should be there so efficient learning can result from
modern methods. This may be particularly true for adult classes; they appre-
ciate having individual sewing machines. Dr. Floride Moore suggests that
the popularity of sewing classes in adult education may mean that a real
need is being met there, and perhaps that is the place to give it emphasis
rather than for secondary school students.

There is evidence that clothing rooms are being planned so as to be
flexible in use. Much equipment for clothing study is portable and can be
brought out as needed. Carefully chosen sewing machine tables can serve
equally well as table-desks for a variety of other purposes. Under-the-
counter storage takes care of a great variety of equipment, and counter tops
make good work and display surfaces. Various areas in the room may be
planned so as to demonstrate with the facilities there that clothing study
is much more than clothing construction. Water is commonly provided in
clothing rooms, and often as part of a grooming area. Making a sink center
typical of a science work area for textile study could be an equally good
idea.

Whatever the area of study, student work-stations will need to be care-
fully conceived so that time-consuming traffic throughout the room is cut
to a minimum. Storage for work-in-progress, and for any individual student
tools or resources for study-work also needs careful planning. For security
reasons, it may be helpful to have lockers or tote-drawer space for a single
class located in the same cabinet which could be locked except when that
class is in session. On the other hand, when a large class converges on a
limited area at the beginning and end of a period, time may be wasted as they
have to wait to gain access to their supplies. In clothing laboratories it

229

would be desirable, if possible, to have hanging space for garments- in-
progress near to tote-drawer space so that when putting work away the stu-
dent does not need to go to different parts of the room.

Storage spaces in clothing rooms are of fundamental importance. The
way they are planned for use can help them to be teaching tools in themselves.
Hanging space for finished garments and for those in progress is tradition-
ally provided. Why not have rods at two levels in the same closet (with
the lower one removable when not needed) to take care of skirt and blouse
projects? A second variation for hanging space is to have a rack on casters
which fits into the closet rather than having a fixed rod. When clothing
selection is being taught this movable rack serves nicely for display of
garments. Or a rack can be made of three-fourths inch pipe used as needed,
then dismantled.

One section of a closet in a clothing room could be equipped with
shelves, rods, drawers, and racks which would exemplify a well -planned
clothes closet for a teen-ager's wardrobe. Articles of all types of cloth-
ing serving as illustrative material for the department could be stored here.
Having the shell of a closet fitted with strips for adjustable self supports
would give flexibility as well as opportunity for experimentation and problem
solving on the part of the students. Other equipment for this closet would
be shelves of various widths and lengths, step shelves, pegboard panels,
and a variety of hooks and racks. Then the students could figure out the
best closet arrangement for the particular items to be stored. Of course,
such a closet that provides the opportunity to design the interior arrange-
ment could serve in any type of home economics room and for many types of
storage problems — games and hobbies, sports equipment, cleaning equipment,
luggage, linens, cooking and eating utensils, food, etc. When students
think through storage needs and have the satisfaction of discovering how
spaces may be adapted to make them function better, they should be more
likely to practice good storage principles at home as well as at school.

Another closet in the clothing room could be fitted and equipped to
illustrate a good home sewing and mending center. It has long been tradi-
tion that many women construct garments at home because it is more economical
to do so. For some women, and for some types of garments, this may be true;
it is not always the case. Some women sew because unusual figure problems
call for extensive and expensive alterations of ready-mades. Some women
sew for the pleasure of creating. This may be a new emphasis or point of
view home economics teachers may want to develop in their high school and
adult classes. Even though we are promised economical throw-away clothes
in the future, mending and alterations are probably a big concern of many
homemakers today. Whatever the motivation for home sewing, let us demon-
strate possible work areas for this activity.

Ideas for home sewing centers have been developed by several home eco-
nomics extension services or through experiment station research. This cen-
ter should function in your teaching and not merely serve as an exhibit.
In it could be stored demonstration equipment and fabric; findings typically
needed for construction projects; the extra needles, pins, thread, or what-
ever is to be shared with students; mending and spot removal supplies, basic
patterns for pattern study. The specialized, one-of-a kind equipment that
may be purchased to broaden students' horizons about what is on the market,

230

or for them to evaluate to determine whether or not the product is worth
the cost, could also be stored in this center.

Such a center or cabinet as described above does not necessarily need
to be in a clothing room. It could very satisfactorily be a unit in a gen-
eral-purpose classroom where most of the teaching is by demonstration rather
than by practicing skills. It might be part of wall-storage in a family
living room to illustrate how a home sewing cabinet could be fitted in with
other storage areas. The whole cabinet could even be on wheels and moved out
of storage into any room when and where needed. Such a unit might also
serve very well as headquarters for an advanced student carrying on indepen-
dent projects.

Laundry centers

Until we get "throw-away" clothes, the care of clothing by washing and
cleaning will remain a problem to homemakers. This is an area that needs
study. Manufacturers of laundry appliances, soaps, detergents, and other
laundry aids are continually developing new products. Choices must be made,
directions understood and followed. New man-made textiles, used in such a
great variety of ways, offer constant challenges for intelligent care.
"Miracle" fabrics seem like "mystery" fabrics to the uninitiated and to the
disappointed user who handled them incorrectly.

A well-known home economist, speaking at a recent conference of the
American Home Laundry Manufacturers Association, said that perhaps the"ease"
of modern laundering has been oversold. It is not enough to throw some
things into a machine, push a button and expect the machine to work miracles
for you. True, modern appliances have taken away the hard physical labor,
but fundamental principles of how to get clothes clean have to be understood
and intelligently followed. There is still work to do, but now it is think-
i ng more than doing.

All too often the washer and dryer in the home economics rooms have
been used primarily for service laundry. Teachers have been glad to have
them for the tea-towels, aprons and table linens for the department, but
have felt a little inconvenienced when physical education uniforms and
school lunch aprons and towels made frequent appearances. Should not the
laundry center be a teaching center as well as a service center when needed?

When one is teaching home laundry, one is teaching much more than care
of clothes. Wise decision-making is inherent in the process itself. This
wisdom is, of course, based on understanding of textiles, detergent action,
and the mechanical action of the appliances. Management of resources
enters and decisions haveto be made about the economy of owning and using
equipment at home versus using community facilities, whether coin-operated
laundries or the more traditional commercial laundries. The relative amounts
of time, energy, and money necessary for various plans would have to be con-
sidered as well as the satisfaction with the finished products resulting
from various methods. Similar analyses could be made in comparing the new
coin-operated self-service dry cleaning establishments with those of com-
mercial dry cleaners. If also considering home dry-cleaning, the additional
factors of safety and selection. of the correct solvent would be in the pic-
ture. The degree of skill one has in pressing tailored garments would also

231

be a factor in weighing relative merits of dry-cleaning methods. A develop-
ment in metropolitan areas, which may influence decisions about laundry
problems, is the possibility of renting what you need rather than owning.
Diaper service has been common for years; how long may it be before indivi-
dual families rent towels, sheets, and the like?

Decisions have to be made about the frequency of laundering. These
would be related to the time, energy, and facilities one has available for
the job, the amount of laundry which accumulates because of the size of the
family, the kind of soil resulting from their activities, the standard of
cleanliness one wishes to maintain, and the number of clothes available for
wear. Fewer clothes and more frequent washings often seem to be the case
when one has automatic laundry equipment, especially in families of rapidly
growing youngsters.

Consumer education comes into the picture as decisions have to be made
about choices of equipment and supplies. Analyses of advertisements, tele-
vision, magazines, newspapers, and mail-order catalogues, and analyses of
costs and finance charges for appliances could be very important parts of
this consumer education. Experience in reading labels, directions, and other
information on products may point up the need for additional understanding.
Practice in figuring best-buys on various sizes and kinds of detergents,
and being alert to typical prices are other good consumer education exper-
iences in relation to laundry.

Decisions would have to be made about the style of equipment to be pur-
chased, whether for home or school. Here consideration should be given to
such choices as front-loading versus top-loading washer, gas or electric
dryer, venter dryer versus water condensation type, standard model versus
deluxe, space allowable for the appliances and the utility connections neces-
sary. The location of laundry equipment would need to be explored since
decisions about location might influence one's choice as much as other fac-
tors. Many of the experiences in decision-making about laundry give excel-
lent opportunity for practice in all steps of problem solving, and application
of scientific principles about soap and detergent action in hard and soft
water. Moreover, these learnings are not limited to classes having laundry
equipment in their school rooms.

Some schools may find it desirable to use community self-service
laundries rather than invest in specialized equipment. Principles of laun-
dry procedure and such activities as sorting and pre-treating can still be
taught in the classroom. Observations of the finished product can come
after the job is done somewhere else. To some extent various bundles of
laundry can be handled experimentally so that students could make observa-
tions and draw their own conclusions. Although variation in time or speed
of washing are seldom possible in coin-operated machines, variations in the
water, the size and composition of loads, the amount of detergent, and, to
some extent, the kind can be tried. Adding or not using bleach or fabric
softener are other possible variations. The results from tumble action
machines may be compared with those from agitator type washers, although dif-
ferent laundries may be necessary for this. Drying time is easily under
one's control, therefore observations could be made about optimum drying
time for various kinds of articles, and the relation of the amount of drying
to future appearance and the ironing or pressing needed.

232

Other opportunities for experience with laundry procedures can, of
course, come from observations and try-outs at home after presentation of
facts and principles at school. Laundry problems could make excellent
home projects, or special projects for investigation for individual study.
Another opportunity for study beyond the classroom may be using the public
utility home economist and demonstration equipment at her center.

Appropriate equipment in home economics classrooms may be found in
several different locations. Laundry equipment might be part of clothing
and textile work areas, part of a general storage and preparation area in
the foods room or an adjacent room, or in a home management center which
might be combined with a family living center. To be truly efficient, as
well as allowing for a variety of experiences, it would seem that the fol-
lowing facilities are desirable — an automatic washer and an automatic dryer,
each with flexible controls; a sink or small tub for pretreating, spotting,
and hand washing; an adjacent work counter as a surface for sorting, folding,
blocking knit garments, or shrinking fabric preparatory to cutting; and con-
venient cupboards for detergents and other laundry items. A floor drain
with rods or racks above it would be necessary so some things could be drip-
dried and comparisons made with machine-dried garments. Portable ironing
boards, adjustable as to height, small pressing boards to be used on counter
tops, and steam and/or dry irons are usually found in connection with a
clothing center and could be used as needed for laundry experiences. An
i roner may be unnecessary when "table linens" for the department (and in
many homes) are plastic mats and paper napkins. Yet, if training for
household employment were part of the home economics program, machine iron-
ing skills, as well as hand ironing skills, might be very important.

Demonstration centers

A good demonstration center seems to be a "must" for home economics
departments of the future. There may be several factors forcing teachers
to teach more by demonstration than by giving students extended practice in
laboratory classes. Larger classes resulting from increasing enrollments
may limit opportunity for extensive practice when costs of supplies and
equipment climb. Rapid changes in equipment and materials for homemaking
(and for teaching itself) may make it unwise to tie up capital or space in
facilities that may soon become outmoded. Students' time during the school
day may be at a premium since more and more courses are being added as pos-
sibilities in high school programs. Shorter, or fewer, periods for home
economics may result which, in turn, would limit the amount of time for
laboratory practice. We have streamlined homemaking itself so that many
homemakers carry full-time jobs outside the home. Can we not streamline
the teaching of homemaking to do what is important in as economical a way
as possible?

Visibility is of utmost importance for good demonstrations. Eventually
many schools may be using the television camera for close-ups of demonstra-
tions, but until that time other facilities must be planned. A minimum
would seem to be a convenient demonstration table with an adjustable over-
head mirror to reflect the work of the demonstrator. Some people prefer
this mirror attached to the demonstration table. Others like a separate
mirror on its own frame so that it can be moved to reflect work at places
other than the one table. In addition to the equipment, adequate space for
the comfortable seating of the student audience is necessary.

233

A demonstration unit can be much more than a table top with a good
work surface. Various styles of base cabinets with appropriate drawers and
cupboard areas can be used. Mounted on sturdy casters, which can be locked
in position, these can easily be moved where needed within a room, or from
room to room. Such a unit may need a home-base or storage location when not
in use for demonstrations. Perhaps a section of base cabinets along a kitchen
wall could be rolled out when needed, or the demonstration cabinets could be
lined up in relation to counters in unit kitchens, thus giving them more work
area. A separate or detachable mirror would probably be the best choice
for either of these plans. Ceiling mirrors are good, but very expensive
and would tend to limit the location of demonstrations. They may be the an-
swer for some places, however.

The demonstration area in a foods room may be planned as one of the
unit kitchens to be used by students. In such a case the refrigerator and
oven would likely be on the wall of the laboratory, but the work surface,
sink, and table-top burners could be in a penni sul a-1 ike counter curving
into the room, or in an island counter parallel to the wall units. Thus the
teacher could face her students as she works behind the counter. Supplies
and equipment would all be at hand and would not have to be moved to a
separate table. Pull-down chalk-boards, or sliding cabinet doors of chalk-
board, in this unit would enhance this as a demonstration area.

This arrangement of one unit kitchen as a demonstration center may
look better on paper than it works in practice unless special provisions
are made. If this unit is to be used by students immediately following a
demonstration, either the same period or a subsequent period, time must be
allowed for clean-up to make the area ready for student use. Time for get-
ting the area ready for others could be cut if extra equipment has been
provided for demonstration use. Duplication of certain types of equipment
for mixing, baking, and storing food can help a great deal in lack of frus-
tration in subsequent demonstrations or laboratory lessons. This is also
true when several food preparation lessons follow one another in close suc-
cession. A relatively small investment in extra utensils such as pie pans,
gelatin molds, casseroles, and storage containers for refrigerator or freezer
can pay big dividends in harmony between classes and teachers, as well as
in lack of confusion.

Another type of demonstration unit that has been very effective is a
cabinet made in three parts hinged together with piano-type hinges. When
closed, this is a compact unit giving a table-top surface of about k8 by 36
inches. When open, sections swing out so that there is a work surface of
US by 18 inches in front of the demonstrator with wings of 2k by 18 inches
on either side. She is, in effect, surrounded on three sides by work sur-
faces and storage facilities. The exact dimensions of the cabinet, the way
it is divided, and the fittings in the interior can be designed to accomodate
the type of work to be done at this unit. In any event, this cabinet, too,
needs casters for its own movability as well as for swinging back the wings.

A demonstrator needs things easy to find and easy to grasp without
wasting motions or time. One feature possible in the three-part cabinet
mentioned above is a series of tray glides in one of the wings (or in the
front part of the cabinet) to hold various trays on which the demonstrator,
or her assistant, has assembled tools and supplies for different operations.

23k

Well designed drawers and pull-out cabinet shelves to hold necessary utensils
and appliances are needed. A wooden chopping-board should be stored under
the counter top or in a vertical storage slot. Open shelves in one of the
wings of the three-part cabinet might be used as needed for packages of
food or for canisters. A receptacle for waste on a bottom shelf is conve-
nient, as is a dispenser for a roll of paper towels under the counter top,
and a hook for keeping hot-pan holders ready for use. Such features in a
cabinet can aid materially in keeping the work top uncluttered so that visi-
bility is good.

The demonstration unit may serve many functions. It can be the center
of many teaching operations. The table top surface may be convenient for
teaching supplies or display of illustrative material for certain lessons.
The cabinets in the demonstration unit may be a storehouse for special tools
and supplies to enhance the work of the demonstrator. One-of-a-kind articles
that may be too expensive to duplicate, and those needed for analytical
study and experimentation in consumer buying, can also be stored here. The
supplies and equipment in the cabinet may be changed from time to time. For
example, articles needed for such activities as a metal cleaning demonstra-
tion in relation to kitchen equipment, or spot and stain removal in clothes
care, could be kept assembled in a storeroom and brought to the demonstration
table as needed. Let "tote-drawers" serve the teacher as well as the student!

For food preparation and equipment demonstrations, it would be desirable
to have the demonstration unit wired so it could be plugged into a heavy-
duty circuit. Then any electrical appliances used could be plugged into an
outlet strip on the cabinet itself. Some teachers might like two surface-
units for cooking, or a food mixer built in the top of a portable demonstra-
tion unit.

For clothing construction demonstrations the table-top height would
likely be one for sit-down work. A sewing machine should be immediately
adjacent, built into the unit, or a portable one placed on the table. Press-
ing equipment should also be on hand. A portable reflecting mirror may be
better here than a mirror fixed on a table. For clothing selection and per-
sonal grooming demonstrations, the same mirror, plus full-length ones on
closet doors, could serve.

More than one supervisor suggested that at least one room in a large
home economics department be set up as a special demonstration room. One
idea was that this be designed primarily as a demonstration area for adult
classes. Possible equipment for this room could be one foods unit equipped
for demonstrations; one complete demonstration unit for clothing; all-purpose
tables; storage for portable sewing machines, ironing boards, electrical
appliances and teaching materials; a laundry unit; a living area corner; and
special cabinets storing child development materials and home care of the
sick supplies and equipment. It would also be desirable to have the room
arranged for easy use of movies, slides, and film-strips. This type of faci-
lity could be used for many consumer education problems, demonstrations in
many areas of homemaking skills, and parent education discussion groups.
When not in use for adult education this room could be an overflow for high
school classes, and/or a place for independent study projects.

Another supervisor refers to a similar type of room as a "home manage-
ment and demonstration room." In this case tablet-arm chairs rather than

235

small tables serve as pupil stations. This room is used for demonstration
in foods and clothing and for home management study. Between this room and
a foods room is an area about 15 feet by 30 feet separated from each labora-
tory by plastic folding doors. This is used as a living-dining area, some-
times by groups from one class, sometimes from the other. Or, with student
chairs in the big room turned toward this area, some types of demonstrations
could originate here as well as from any part of the laboratory.

Other home economics classrooms

In addition to the "demonstration" rooms mentioned above, and the tradi-
tional foods and clothing rooms, supervisors have suggested other rooms as
part of home economics departments. If we are going to take home economics
in new directions in line with changing needs of families in our society and
in line with general trends in education, we need to pay more attention to
spaces other than just those for foods and clothing. Even though we try to
add a phrase and speak of "foods and related areas room" or "clothing and
related areas room" the ready reference, as well as the popular image, is
"foods" and "clothing." When specialized semester courses are offered in
city systems, or in other large schools, then specialized laboratories will
be needed for these-- laboratories for child development and for housing and
home furnishing as well as for foods and clothing. But let us not forget
the entire scope of our field as curriculum and facilities are planned.

A group of teachers, planning for the teaching of "related subjects",
felt that whenever possible these subjects should be taught in a room other
than the foods or clothing laboratories. Although they could be incorporated
into these laboratories if necessary, it was felt that an "all-purpose" or
family-living room would function better. Some of their suggestions follow:

* Bulletin and chalk boards built into hinged frames that open

1 i ke a book and are attached to the wall or a cabinet and may be
closed away when not in use. Displays for more than one lesson
at a time can thus be assembled

* Tables with a durable surface can double as work tables, dining
tables, can be pushed together, can be part of the 1 iving room

* Chairs for students that can serve as part of the living room,
but can easily be stored when in excess—folding or stack
chai rs 1 ikel y

* Dark curtains and a projection screen which rolls out of sight
when not in use — Venetian blinds with draw draperies would pro-
bably suffice

* A background that is soft and yet neutral to provide a place to
try color arrangements in home decoration

* Patio for practice in entertaining and play-school yard desirable

* Location on ground floor for easy access for entertaining, deli-
very, ch i 1 d care

236

This group went on to recommend facilities in this area for grooming,
laundry, home nursing, child development, and entertaining. A sink with
counter and cabinets would be useful for many activities in these studies.
Placed behind doors, it need not detract from a living room atmosphere.

One city supervisor described facilities in a new high school as made
up of a multi-purpose classroom, a foods room, a clothing room, and a living-
dining area. Facilities to allow for studies in the multi-purpose room
incl ude:

For child development--

Floor space that can be cleared for play groups
Shelf and cabinet storage for games and toys

For family health--

Beds set up for home nursing screened by a folding door when same
room is used for other classes; when not in use, beds are taken
down and stored in wall cabinets
Floor to ceiling shelves in wall cabinets store other supplies

For housing and home f urni shi ngs--

Bulletin boards and display areas, counter tops serve, too
Storage for many types of illustrative material such as magazines,

pamphlets, samples of floor coverings, drapery, and upholstery

f abr i cs

For fami 1 y 1 i ving —

Provision for pamphlets, books, file materials

Provision for showing of films; flexible seating arrangements

An atmosphere not too feminine, since boys are here, too

A state supervisor suggests that a multi-purpose room, which could be
similar to those described above, may be a better choice in schools than a
home-living center. Whatever the name, the room needs to be large enough
to accomodate many activities in order to offer functional space for learn-
ing experiences. The multi-purpose room could probably offer this better
than the so-called living area. It could also be arranged so as to be adapt-
able for entertainment functions. "Family-living classroom" might evoke a
more accurate picture of what home economics teachers want than just "family-
1 i ving room."

A convertible classroom designed as one of three units for a high
school with a small enrollment may give us ideas for other arrangements for
a multi-purpose room. This classroom is described in Forecast for October,
1959. Here we find one large area which turns into the equivalent of three
classrooms. The room is six-sided with three alcoves, each equipped to
accomodate specialized subjects and separable as needed from the rest of the
room. One alcove houses equipment for foods teaching, another clothing, and
the third, home living and decoration. Cabinets are along two of the three
window walls in the main classroom area, with display cases on either side
of the door on the third wall.

Slide-up panels faced with chalkboard and tackboard separate each alcove
from the main classroom area. Chairs and work tables are light and easy to
move. When an alcove is opened the room becomes a miniature theater and

237

class attention is focused on the "stage" as a demonstration, lecture, or
laboratory work area. When all alcoves are closed, the cl assr oom, can be
used for any type of instruction without the distractions of homemaking
equi pment .

Classrooms, or multi-purpose rooms, which allow for a variety of areas
in home economics to be explored can lend themselves very well to the teach-
ing of senior level courses for the college-bound. Here the practice of
homemaking skills is not the aim, but the development of insights as to how
principles can be applied in homemaking. Opportunity for study, exploration,
and experimentation with a variety of materials could easily be given in a
multi-purpose room. A duplication of unit kitchens or clothing construction
centers would not be necessary or even desirable. One kitchen unit with cabi-
nets and equipment that could be moved about would be good. This kitchen
could than be set up in different ways for various kinds of learning situa-
tions, or the cabinets could be placed experimentally to test ideas about
kitchen planning. Wall storage units housing demonstration and illustrative
material for many areas of home economics should also be part of this room.
The center of the room should remain free for student groupings in any way
the class activity demanded. Two-student or individual tables that could be
arranged in a variety of ways for study, discussion or project work, would
seem to function well in this type of room.

Whatever the student group, when lessons are primarily of the discussion
type, a classroom with movable tablet-arm chairs, or small table-desks may
be better than a laboratory set-up. The distractions of a variety of labor-
atory equipment are not present, and it might be possible to seat students
in a better arrangement than in a laboratory. Both of these factors could
contribute to better attention. The seating arrangement might also be bet-
ter for viewing visual aids. Other teaching materials or simple demonstra-
tion materials could essily be moved to the classroom on portable carts.

For many years a two-teacher home economics department has commonly had
one room for foods and related subjects and another for clothing and related
subjects, sometimes with a living center between the two. We have already
suggested that this pattern seems to be in the process of disappearing. One
supervisor reported that suggestions for two-teacher departments in her state
are one room to be furnished and equipped for clothing and foods, and the
other to be for everything else in home economics. This second room is very
flexible and can be used by classes other than home economics groups. A
storeroom with work counter and wall cabinets is accessible from both rooms
in this arrangement.

The diagram of this room gives indication of the flexibility planned
for it. The following are shown:

* Twelve trapezoid tables to seat twenty-four in whatever grouping desired

* One wall of chalkboard, one of tackboard
" Movable, open book- she Ives

* A taH cabinet for teaching materials near the teacher's desk and
file

* A tall cabinet with adjacent base cabinets which could be moved as
desired. Electric surface units on one cabinet

* A half-bath, probably a toilet room for play school groups

238

* A large home living alcove near the window wall, with one wall of
storage units

* Laundry equipment separated from main classroom by folding partition
(but also available to groups from other homemaking room)

The capacity of this room for classes is twenty-four, but this might be
increased considerably for some kinds of presentations. If the tables are
the stack-type, they could be stacked out of the way in the home living
alcove and folding chairs put up in the main classroom. Presentations to
large groups by a member of a teaching team, or by special resource persons
from the community, would then be possible.

Classrooms such as described in this section are and will be challenges
to teachers who may be rather thoroughly oriented to a "laboratory." Both
in-service and pre-service teacher educators must help home economists see
the possibilities and opportunities in such classrooms. Administrators
seem to perceive the advantages of such arrangements rather more readily.

A Plea for Action

This issue of the II lino is Teacher is presented as an "idea" book, or
even a "wish" book, but we do hope some of the ideas and wishes get Into
action. About a year-and-a-hal f ago we asked you in Vol. Ill, No. 9, 1 1 1 i-
nois Teacher, "Are you moving in new directions — from 1 9^+0 toward I960
teaching?" Emphasis in that issue was primarily on curriculum and methods.
A similar question can be raised today: "Are you moving in new directions —
from I960 facilities toward facitities suitable for housing home economics
programs in the 70's, 80's, and 90's?"

Dr. Floride Moore made a point about the rapidity of change by saying
that one of our problems is that we have to train teachers to teach subject
matter that they have not yet been taught. Likewise, because of the urgent
need for more schools for more children, home economics facilities in schools
have to be planned not knowing for sure what future programs will be. We
become so wrapped up in the events of the day that it is difficult to look
beyond them. Let us try, as Dr. June Bricker has suggested, for the sake of
the future to "make the urgent tasks subservient to the important."

In Vol. V, No. 2 of this year's 111 inoi s Teacher, you are asked to "Try
Something Different." This issue continues that plea in relation to facili-
ties. These, of course, need not always be new rooms. Creative use of old
facilities is important, too. Let us take a look at one of the "Try Some-
thing Different" ideas and see what implications it may have for space and
faci 1 i t ies.

Bring the present local situation into sharp focus. As well as finding
facts about student practices, attitudes, and values through studies
and surveys, find out some facts about your practices in relation to
use of facilities. How is your home economics room really used? Stu-
dies in family housing have been based on use of rooms; why not do the
same for school rooms? It may be very illuminating to see objective
records about how frequently certain spaces are used, and for what kind
of activities.

239

A diary record of some kind seems in order to make an analysis of learn-
ing experiences as a basis for planning space and facilities. One basis for
analysis might be all class activities for every period in a week. Another
might be use of space and facilities throughout the time span of a given unit
of study for a single class. Both teacher activity and student activity would
need to be recorded along with the spaces used for the activity. Other
evidences recorded in a diary might be frustrations experienced in use of
space, or adjustments that had to be made because of inadequate facilities.

Additional suggestions from supervisors

Several supervisors, especially city supervisors, expressed concern about
what home economics should be doing to prepare students for wage-earning occu-
pations related to homemaking. Although the assumption seemed to be that jobs
after high school were the ones meant, home economics training for employment
should also be possible for out-of-school youth and adults. The question to
pose here is — do we need special facilities, or can facilities planned for
regular secondary school programs serve other groups, too? Possible occupa-
tions to consider are: child care aides for day-care centers, dietitian aides,
school lunch services, nursing aides in convalescent and retirement homes,
and household employment or homemakers' aides. Employers would probably ex-
pect fairly skillful workers who understood what they were doing; therefore
facilities for practice experiences as well as thinking and reasoning experi-
ences would need to be provided.

Another group that could benefit from teaching by home economists is
found in elementary schools. Home economists have served as resource people
in elementary classrooms, and elementary children have visited home economics
laboratories for special experiences. Perhaps, with appropriate space and
facilities In elementary schools, even more could be accomplished. A program
in unified arts where related experiences are provided in industrial arts,
home arts, and arts and crafts is one kind of an answer. The belief is that
each child should have opportunity to participate in art activities which
help enrich American family and community living. Facilities for such a pro-
gram would be a large workroom, possibly equivalent to two or three classrooms,
furnished and equipped for activities in all areas mentioned, with an arts
and crafts teacher available full-time and home arts and industrial arts
teachers alternating between two schools.

Supervisors raised many questions in relation to space and facilities
for the future. Some of these follow:

* What is the kind of program most appropriate for junior high home
economics? It is only as program is clearly defined that fair decisions
can be made about facilities.

* What kind of help can be given to teachers to aid in using all areas
of all-purpose rooms effectively?

* How can teachers be helped to gain satisfactions from teaching in
"classrooms" designed to serve many purposes as compared to traditional
"laborator i es"? Non- laboratory teaching needs more emphasis in
teacher education

240

* If it is important to teach skills for homemaking to the point of
mastery, how can this be done if provision is not made for adequate
student work stations for all in a class? How could this be done
without tying up so much space and money for equipment?

* With larger classes making for a kind of "mass education," what can
be done in space and facilities to provide for individual differences
and to encourage creativity?

* How can we help teachers distinguish between personal wants when
equipping home economics rooms and the needs of the teaching situa-
tion in that particular community?

* Maximum utilization of space at all times will be necessary. This
may mean designing home economics classrooms that are also suitable
for non-home economics classes. Also, teachers will need to think
less of "my room" and more of "our department" and "our school."

* Getting used to, and making good use of unusually shaped spaces is
likely to become more of a problem as new ideas continue to develop
in school architecture. We need to "play with ideas" about spaces
before the plans are drawn.

* Helping teachers decide when and how to utilize community facilities
rather than investing in space or equipment for the department at
school. Examples are laundry, observation of children, Red Cross for
home care of the sick.

Providing for flexibility in the way spaces are arranged and in the
kind of furniture and equipment selected is a big concern of supervisors.
Perhaps all home economists should put on their thinking caps and "brain-
storm" some ideas for creativity. Several years ago a popular magazine
had a "Why Don't They — ?" column. Why do we not use this idea in relation
to space and facilities for home economics as we talk to school planners
and to equipment people? After observing some "Why Don't They?" columns in
a few issues of The Nation's Schools it was interesting to see another
column head "Why Don't They?--They Didi" with manufacturers describing
products already developed.

"At a cross roads" is often used as a phrase to indicate need for change
of direction. One educator, however, has suggested taking another look at
this concept. His idea seems to have merit for innovators. When you get
to a crossroads you have arrived by one path, and there are three other
directions open to you. But at a crossroads these would be well defined
routes; someone has gone these ways before you. The suggestion is that edu-
cators step out into space, in new directions not previously traveled, rather
than following some one else's routes. Let home economists take these steps;
let them play with ideas and try them out! As we look to the future let us
continue to explore all possible groups we might serve; and let us find out
what is going on in the rest of the curriculum.

7A

'■■' *■ Vol. V No. 6

\m 14 1962

ILLINOIS TEACHER

GOOD MANAGEMENT IN EVERY DEPARTMENT

What Research Tells Us About

Management 2^+2

The Teacher-Manager 2^8

Managing Teaching Procedures. . . . 265
Experimentation with "Boxed

Lessons" 268

Examples of "Boxed Lessons"

Used in One High School 272

Teaching Management to Students . . 281

SCHOOL LUNCH ABROAD 285

ho:m:e economics education • university of Illinois

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS BULLETIN

Volume V, Number 6; February, 1962. Published
nine times each year by the University of Illinois.
Entered as second-class matter December 11, 1912,
at the post office at Urbana, Illinois, under the
Act of August 24, 1912. Office of Home Economics
Education, 334 Gregory Hall, Urbana, Illinois

>

GOOD MANAGEMENT IN EVERY DEPARTMENT

Phyllis Kinnison Lowe, Home Economics Education, Purdue University
Dorothy Eikenberry, Homemaking Teacher, Clinton Central High School,

Michigantown, Indiana

How many times have you heard, "I don't see how she manages to do all
that she does and yet do everything so wel 1 ."--or — r,l'm sorry, I couldn't
possibly manage to do that. I'd like to , but I'm just not a good manager."
This ability to manage or not to manage rests in large part with the attitude
and motivation of the individual. All of us recognize the truth in the old
aphorism, "Where there's a will, there's a way."

Therefore the proposition alleged by the writers is that one of the
major considerations in the problem of management is the desire or unwilling-
ness to work toward the goal in question. Too often one's willingness to
do a task, participate in an activity, or cooperate in a project is credited
to poor management of time or other resources. This willingness to work
toward the goal culminates in a decision. It should be obvious that only
after a goal is willingly accepted and a decision is made to work toward it,
that anyone has anything to manage. However, it should be emphasized that
a decision is never made unless the one making the decision assumes the
responsibility for its results. It logically follows then, that none of us
can make a decision for someone else. Management, then, is a personal matter
requiring constant self-appraisal and great flexibility. Basically manage-
ment is concerned with the stimulation, development, and fulfillment of
human potentialities.

Good managers who willingly accept a goal, decide to work toward it,
and ultimately assume the responsibility for the results of the decision
will also anticipate the demands that will be placed upon them by the situa-
tion or other people. It is the poor manager or perhaps the non-manager
who waits for someone else to indicate that "this should be done" or "that
comes next." It is the poor teacher-manager who places her students in such
a position that they cannot move ahead until she gives the go-sign or until
she catches up to where they are. Good managers look ahead and nave an over-
all flexible plan. Those who live one day at a time get caught in their own
web of nearsightedness.

Good management, then, becomes a complex problem involving motivation,
decisions, plans, resources, the management process, values and the like.
These components of management need to be scrutinized. The parts are apt
to separate out or cling together as though magnitized. It follows that
the able teacher-manager who achieves success in this atom-powered space age
may find the answer in her recognition of these relationships, concepts and
procedures. It should be remembered however, that the development of manage-
ment is a continuing, life-long job and is not a one-course, one-purpose,
once- in-a-whi le proposition.

241

242

What Research Tells Us About Management

What is management?

Dr. Cleo Fitzsimmons of Purdue University advises that a concept of
management should be comprehensive enough to allow for all variations and
yet should be flexible enough to include them without strain and as simple
as possible while covering the complexities involved in the activity. With
this criteria in mind, we turn to Webster and find that to manage means to
handle; conduct; carry on; control; guide; to bring about artfully to one's
plans and to make use of one's means or resources in a thrifty way. Fitz-
simmons says that management in a business venture is the direction of the
enterprise. This involves the determination of the ends sought; planning
the work to be done; organizing; corrdinating and directing the human and
non-human resources employed to achieve the predetermined objectives. Manage-
ment in the school venture is very similar. The same involvements occur and
are used in the full attainment of the school objectives. Management can be
thought of as making use of what you have in order to satisfy desires.

Analysis reveals that management is very largely choice-making. This
includes making choices among goals to be sought and among ways of using
resources to secure them. Dr. Margaret Liston of Iowa State College says
that management is the decision-making we do when we:

1. Plan to use what we have (our resources) to get as much as possible
of what we want (our goals). This involves planning to accomplish
maximum returns from a given use of resources and a given purpose
to be supplied at minimum costs of money, time, energy, and other
resources.

2. Put the plan in action and make adjustments as they are necessary
while the plan is in process.

3. Evaluate how well the plan worked. Use the results as a basis for
future planning.

Dr. Beatrice Paolucci of Michigan State University suggests that manage-
ment is the vehicle we use to get from resources to goals. From her articles,
the following statements about management were drawn:

* Management is more than a mere performance of work

* Management is not limited to the leader of the group

* Management is a mental process. Also, it is possible to be trained
for the job of management

* Management is not an end in itself. The attainment of values are
the ends

* Classroom goals are not dictated by management
With these concepts of management from various leaders in the field, the

»

243

writers see a close relationship between these concepts of management and
problem-solving and critical thinking. It is clear that management is for
the teacher a process. In it ends or goals are attained through the use
of resources available to the teacher-manager. According to the literature,
management:

* involves determining attainable goals that one willingly accepts

* is a choice-making process where values are clarified and evidences
and consequences are examined

* is concerned with analyzing the task, the resources at hand, etc.

* makes use of a plan for the achievement of the goals, incorporating
the available resources

* is carried out. The task or time or materials or energy are managed

* is not completed without an evaluation of the results
Now let us consider the major steps in problem solving:

1. A problem is encountered

2. A decision to solve the problem is made

3. A hypothesis or possible solution is formed

4. Information is collected

5. A plan for solving the problem is made

6. The hypothesis or solution is tested through solving the problem

7. The results are evaluated

Then consider the aspects of critical thinking as set forth in the
Manual and the Test of Critical Thinking published by the Cooperative Study
of Evaluation in General Education of the American Council on Education.
One who thinks critically:

* can define problems

* uses principles of logical reasoning

* selects pertinent information

* recognizes unstated assumptions and interprets data legitimately

* formulates hypotheses and evaluates them

* makes valid inferences

* comprehends and uses language for accurate communication

244

A comparison of these three important processes would seem to support the
thesis that management, problem solving, and critical thinking are closely
rel ated.

The broader concept of management as it applies to the teacher and the
school centers attention on the school system as a whole--on the total goals
of the educational system, and the ways in which decision making and manage-
ment practices in the school can help reach the goals. It begins with the
broad question, "How can all of the resources available to the school for
education — building, class room, furnishings and equipment, available money,
time, mental and physical energy, special abilities and skills, community
resources, and all other resources — be used so that all students can have
the kind of education for living they most need and prefer?" Previous issues
of The Illinois Teacher have dealth with the time and management of the
homemaking teacher and with the management of department facilities and equip-
ment. Major emphasis in this issue will be given to these other aspects of
management .

Management then, is not a simple recipe but a complex process requiring
motivation, self-discipline, a sorting of values, foresight, and high level
thinking. Management for the teacher might be thought of as the direction
of the activities of a home economics department through the planning, organ-
izing, coordinating, and controlling of the human and non-human resources
available to it, toward the achievement of pre-determined objectives. Fitz-
simmons put the problem of teacher management accurately when she wrote,
"Many people enjoy the task of management. Some dislike i t. . .Actual ly,
avoidance is impossible. . .Choices among alternatives will inevitably be
made, and these choices are the essence of management."

Goals

Let us look briefly at some of the dimensions of management — goals,
decisions, resources, plans and principles. Since management is a goal-
directed process, the recognition and translation of motivation into attain-
able goals is a first step in practicing or teaching management. Goals are
the things we set out to accomplish. They may be something tangible that
is wanted or an intangible to be achieved. Goals should be attainable,
challenging and worthy of attainment, clear to the manager, and should meet
a real need or interest. Some goals require many years of effort, some can
be reached in a single week or a day or even in minutes, while others are
intermediate — the stepping stones to more important goals. Our goals are
clarified when we realize they are on different levels.

For a long time the Illinois Teacher has illustrated the wisdom of
cooperatively identifying and accepting objectives in the classroom situation.
In this way both teacher and students have the right to state their desires
and purposes, and each one has the responsibility for hearing and considering
those of others. A greater total of "want-satisfaction" may be expected to
result. Ideally, the understanding, which results from a cooperative state-
ment of objectives, should lead to recognition of the total problem.

Goals then are essential to the management process. They must be clear-
ly identified, accepted by those concerned, and should meet a real need.

245
Dec is ions

Effective decisions are those that result in action. In order to have
action, we must first have experienced motivation. According to Paolucci
and O'Brien, the motivating forces are the whys of management. Motivation
is inherent in each step of the managerial process. One must be motivated
before he will plan, control, or evaluate. Motivation is an energizer, and
motives shape goals and result in decisions.

Paolucci points out that at this point little is actually known about
how to make specific choices. Considerable mental rambling is often involved
and a desired end may not at first be reached. The decision-maker must have
the authority to implement the choice and be willing to assume responsibili-
ty for the results. If this does not happen one probably will not become
deeply engaged in the decision-making aspect of management. The opportunity
for carrying out the decision and sharing in the resulting benefits of the
changed situation are the heart of the decision-making process. Decision-
making is a means, not an end. The results of a decision may be an end;
making the decision is a means to it.

The best decision-making system is one which works well for the teacher.
It should not be a chore or a burden. Neither is it to be consciously re-
membered as a system. Although time should be taken to collect all pertinent
information appropriate to the decision to be made, it is a slovenly habit
to put off making the decision once the necessary information is obtained.
This results in the individual who is managed by events rather than managing
the events that are to come. As Irwin Bross in his Design for Decision so
aptly points out, "If the decision is to be based on the consequences of the
possible actions, then these consequences must be evaluated and hence a value
system must be incorporated in the decision-maker."

Fitzsimmons suggests that one must learn that each decision in the allo-
cation of resources is related to all other decisions. For example, the way
that money is used will influence the use of time and skills. Skills will
affect the use of materials, and materials that are desired will influence
the use of money. We know that management practices in the operation of the
home economics department involve innumerable decisions in the use of time,
energy, money, supplies, talent, and equipment. Again, we should not over-
look the fact that everyone will have to engage in the decision-making aspects
of management. There is no escape. The only thing is that, if the student
does not agree with what the teacher-manager decided to implement and chooses
to assume responsibility for, he may manage not to work or not to work so
hard at attaining a goal he has not accepted. His goal will be to devote as
little to this end as he can so that he will not be hindered in reaching goals
he has decided to try to attain.

Decisions are opportunities and challenges to most of us. Chi Ids and
Cater, in their Ethics in a Business Society, express this well in their state-
ment:

"Man alone is capable of asking what he will do with his life,
with the little span of time allotted to him. And likewise he
can help shape the society of which he is a part, for good or

2A6

ill. It is this God-given choice that sets man apart and enables
him, in the face of an infinite universe, to call his soul his
own. To believe he will reject this choice is to admit utter
despai r."

Resources

What I found, I have.

What I used, I had.

What I kept, I have lost.

Resources are the tools that make end-results possible. It is only
through an awareness of all of the available resources that we can increase
the possibility of achieving what is desired. The resources are what are
managed. So it follows that to increase one's knowledge about resources is
one good way to facilitate management. After we learn to identify our re-
sources, we can better understand their characteristics. This knowledge
will help us manage them. When we lack full knowledge of the great variety
of resources that are at our command, our scope for management is narrowed.
When we are identifying our resources, we need to be aware not only of the
amount available to us as individuals, but also we should see what is
available to other persons which can be utilized for achieving group goals.
Individual teacher capacity, student capacity, and group capacity must be
mobi 1 ized.

For analytical and practical purposes several writers separate resources
into two groups. The first group is one's own work capacity and the second
includes situational resources. One's own work capacity includes his physical
energy, bodily strength, attitudes, abilities and skills, and knowledge.
Situational resources include all that is available to us from outside our-
selves and includes both money and/or the services and material goods that
can be purchase^ or obtained through barter as a resource. These situational
resources are like a person's work capaci ty- complex, interrelated and inde-
pendent. They can be measured.

Management of the multitude of resources in the school and her personal
life, as well as the teaching of these aspects to students, is one of the
greatest problems the home economics teacher faces. Much of the success of
her attempt to create the best learning environment for her classes is de-
pendent upon management.

Plans

Management of resources requires planning by the manager. A good plan
is a guide helping the manager to steer a straighter course toward the desirec
goal. Never should the planning become such a dominant factor that it takes
more time than the actual job. Neither should it be a stick over the head
to drive and limit the manager. A plan should be an assistant and guide so
that goals may be accomplished without undue personal tension and strain or
waste of resources. Both long range plans and plans for a smaller specific
period of time are essential for the total aspect of planning for good man-
agement.

247
Four essential steps to a good plan are:

* Thinking through possible ways to solve a problem

* Mental deliberation to visualize procedures and results

* Ranking the parts of the plan on the basis of their importance

* Arranging the time sequence for the chosen plan

As these four steps are followed, the wise planner will:

* Try to learn what is expected of him in his work

* Have plans which put first things first and are as flexible as
possible in order to allow for emergencies and interruptions, which
must be met with self-control

* Plan to do mental work when he is at his best

* Plan for the essentials in order to have more time for nonessentials

* Plan not only for work, but for rest and recreation, to meet his needs

* Plan in such a way that time and energy expenditures will be about
the same each day

* Make good use of those "odd" minutes

* Avoid putting things off

* Make his plan work — not let the plan work him

Management principles

Recognition of principles is the beginning of managerial success. Too
often we make our first mistake as teachers by failing to recognize clear
principles. When this happens our efforts lack direction and we find our-
selves entangled in the mesh of a multitude of details. The University of
New York gives a good list of principles in their publication, Teaching
Management, as follows:

* Thoughtful decision-making is essential to good management

* Use of good management practices tends to improve the quality of work

* Management experiences are needed to develop managerial abilities

* Management is a means of accomplishing goals

* Clearly defined goals and their constant evaluation are basic to
good management

* Human relationships are involved in all management processes

2^+8

* Management tends to produce efficiency

* The management process stimulates evaluation

* Management places responsibility on the individual to weigh values
before making decisions

* Management is basic to al 1 homemaking activities
In addition to these there might be added:

* There is an essential order to most activities

* An efficient use of good planning is a short cut to desired goals

Goals, decisions, resources, plans, and principles of management might
be thought of as the "bag of tools and the book of rules" in the following
quotat ion:

Isn't it strange that princes and kings

And clowns that caper in saw-dust rings,

And common folk — like you and me

Are builders for eternity?

Each is given a bag of tools

And a book of rules

And eack must make, ere life has flown,

A stumbling block or a stepping stone.

The Teacher-Manager

Sometimes teachers consider the business of management in the school the
sole responsibility of the administration. This is not so. Although the
administration deals in management, just as their management relates to school
problems, so must the management of homemaking teachers be designed to meet
the needsof their department, students and themselves personally. School
management should be cooperatively structured. Individual management practices
of teachers must serve to dovetail and extend school management practices.
No one person can perform all of the activities of management.

Management analysis of practices within the school, if they are designed
to help the teacher with her problems, might well begin with a recognition
of the potential diversity of felt needs and ends as they will be experienced
and expressed by teachers themselves. Most of these will fall into two areas
of management responsibilities. These are those of the teacher to the school
and that of the teacher to herself. Part of the task of the teacher-manager
is to clarify the relationship of such diverse responsibilities to her person-
al goals. Whatever is said about the management of the teacher must be based
upon the broad idea of what schools are and on what they are for, because
this is the media toward which the teacher directs her personal management
and through which she professes management for others. Unless a teacher-
manager has resources under her control, she is not in a position to manage.

Personal management

■

249

Included in the teacher's personal resources that she has the privilege
of managing are her health — both physical and mental—her energy, her time,
her money, and her talents. The successful teacher-manager will manage these
resources in order to achieve a happy balance between her personal and pro-
fessional life. One of the most important investments in life is the health
that is brought to it. If one is crippled by working from the opening gong
each day until "the last cat is hung," she must add or subtract the condition
of her most important "capital asset" which is health. If she has a heart
attack, stroke, or other acute disability, and if these are due to intem-
perance of work, lack of sleep, eating, drinking, or smoking, she is invest-
ing too much.

Below is a rating scale taken from suggestions given in a class in
supervision at the University of Illinois that is a helpful guide in this
area of personal management. Why not try rating yourself on it?

Personal Management of a Teacher of Home Economics

Di rect ions:

Rate the following aspects of your personal management. Lowest
possible score for each factor is one and highest possible
score for each factor is three.

Personal Resources

Score

Physical health

Mental health

Energy

Has insufficient health
for sustained effort.
Complains of overwork
and weariness and is
often absent

Is tired and nervous
because of problems
and worries she can-
not seem to solve

Tries to do more
things than her
strength wi 1 1 al low
in the t ime avai lable

Energy is used up on
unorganized tasks;
much needless running
to and fro

Has excellent health,
abundant energy; sel-
dom absent

Practices principles
of sound mental health,
has a positive approach
to 1 ife

Keeps goal s in 1 ine
with her own strength
and time

Activities are thought
through so that motion
is not wasted; dai ly
order of routine busi-
ness

Time

Gives 1 ittle thought
to when things should
be done; allows impor-
tant matters to pile
up on her. Goals often
are not accomplished

Plans when, how and
best sequence to use so
time is organized wise-
ly in terms of goals
and values

250

Personal Resources

1

Score

Time

Neglects use of time Definite time plan is
schedules; seems unaware used, re-evaluated,
of advantages they offer and organized to suit

needs

Money

Talents

Sets standards which
are unreal ist ic in
terms of time available

Is often late in keep-
ing appointments, turn-
ing in reports, and the
like

Tries to do too many
things which others
could do for her

Spends impulsively with-
out any over-all plans

Has a budget but runs
over and has to use
money that was planned
for something else

No organized system for
recording how money is
spent

Careless in spending of
money. Often charges
more than can afford.
Has many unpaid bills

Pays little attention
to those in the commun-
ity who could enrich
her teaching program

Sets standards which
are attainable in time
avai lab! e

Is prompt in meeting
appointments, turning
in reports, and the
like

Delegates to others
responsibilities which
they can carry out, thus
giving herself more time_

Plans carefully as to
how money should be used
in terms of value re-
ce i ved

Stays within planned
budget

Keeps careful and
meaningful records of
how money is used

Exercises care and
discretion in money
matters so that no
criticism wi 1 1 resul t

Uses people in the com-
munity who can add to the
effectiveness of her
teaching

Does many things her- Lets students do as much
self from which students of the planning and carry-
could benefit by doing ing out of activities
for her as possible

Does not have a knack
for clothes, but always
tries to be clean

Has a pleasing appear-
ance. Always clothed
appropriately and
attract i vely

251

Personal Resources 1 2 \ Score

Never takes time to Seeks associations with

assist fellow faculty faculty members to work

members on common prob- on common problems

lems

Leisure time spent ac- Leisure time spent for

complishing nothing some personal and/or

worth while professional growth

Needs of teacher-managers

Teacher-managers have two main needs. One is to develop a good level
of management ability. This requires a thorough understanding of the manage-
ment process and the strengthening of personal characteristics that make for
ability to manage. Another need is to accumulate the special knowledge and
resources used in managing.

Earlier it was implied that management goals are on different levels.
Another of the teacher-manager's goals for personal management should be con-
sidered here. Often in the pressure packed moments of the present we overlook
the future. Some personal goals need to be recognized on the long-range plan.
For most teachers life includes both teaching and other avenues of living that
must also be managed if the teacher is to be truly productive and at her best.
Some of these goals for long-range personal management include managing:

* Time for further professional study and growth

* Time to do other personally satisfying activities in one's home and
communi ty

* Time to make a continuing sel f- inventory of assets versus liabilities

In short, everything is right in its time but how will it have a time if this
latter has not previously been set aside in the long-range plan?

Department management

Managing the homemaking department is another aspect of the teacher's
management responsibilities. This is equally as important as her management
of personal resources and perhaps is even more observable to the public eye.
Homemaking departments are only as good as teachers convince the administra-
tors they should be. Instead of finding fault with the department and its
facilities, maybe management needs to start with an active interest directed
toward improving the kind of habitat which we inherit. The last issue of
the Illinois Teacher gave much help in this area. Since excellent informa-
tion regarding the management of equipment, facilities, and storage in the
department was given there, we refer you to that issue for these aspects of
department management. Now let us turn our attention to opening and closing
the homemaking department, maintenance of the department, and business man-
agement of the homemaking department.

Many homemaking teachers start the school year depressed with the mag-
nitude of the job before them. Probably opening the department is the first

252

chore to bring anxiety. A bit of self-made planning will set the stage for
this early management problem. Following is a suggested list of questions
emphasizing those opening-of-department duties that must be managed.

* Is the department's large equipment satisfactory and in working
order ready for use?

* Have department books been examined and made ready for use? Are
sufficient copies available?

* Have the files been brought up-to-date and made ready for use?

* Is illustrative material conveniently arranged for use?

* Does the department present an appearance that resembles "home
away from home?"

* If new equipment or teaching materials have been obtained, has the
teacher become sufficiently familiar with them?

* Have sufficient home contacts been made by the teacher to enable
home experiences to unfold easily?

* Have tentative plans for the year's work been made with the officers
of FHA or other sponsored groups?

* Is the department actually ready for the pupil to use?

Tables and chairs clean and arranged with the purpose in mind?
Necessary supplies attainable to fulfill the planned procedure?

* Has a specific written plan been developed and thought through?

These duties may loom large until the teacher-manager remembers that
this is not a solo job. Classes consist of students and these represent
lots of human energy and time. The teacher-manager will, after listing her
duties, next examine the ways through which her students will be able to
help achieve these ends and at the same time gain a learning experience.

With this in mind, class activities will be planned so that students
can assist in organizing and putting the equipment and department in good
order for the opening and closing of the school year. We do learn by doing
and what better way of teaching management is there? In closing the de-
partment, the duties are very similar but in reverse of those which opened
the department. Together the students and teachers could develop a simple
check list for opening and closing the department similar to this.

Plan your class activities at the beginning and the end of the school
year so the classes can assist in leaving the equipment and department in
good order. This experience provides for the students good learning ex-
periences in properly caring for equipment and applying management tech-
niques that can be readily transferred to the home. Use this check list of
duties and leave on file in the department.

253

Check List for Opening and Closing the Homemakinq Department

Item of management

Open Department

Close Department

Storage spaces

Bui let in boards

Teaching aids,
displays, etc.

Books, bul let ins,
magazi nes

Linens, drapes,
curtains

Mattress and
bedding

Smal 1 equipment

Si 1 verware

Glassware, china
and pottery

Appl iances

Food suppl ies

Refrigerator

Stoves

Washer and dryer

Clean and organize for use Clean and straighten
Arrange suitable display Clear and file materials
Arrange for use Sort, file and store

Properly display

Unpack, press, correctly
hang and/or distribute

Unpack, air, and distri-
bute

Unpack and distribute for
use

Unpack and distribute

Unpack and distribute to
proper places

Clean and check operation

Order and stock staples

Air and clean and cool
for use

Clean for use

Clean for use

Sewing machines Clean and test stitching

Upholstered
f urni ture

Rugs

Shades

Tables and other
work surfaces

Coverings stored and furni
ture brushed

Vacuum

Arrange at useful level

Clean

Inventory, sort, and store

Clean, label, and store

Clean, label, and store

Clean, inventory, and store

Clean, inventory, and store
Inventory, pack, and store

Clean and store

Discard perishables; safely
store staples

Defrost, wash with soda and
leave with door open

Clean thoroughly

Clean thoroughly and leave
front loading doors open

Clean, oil, cover, list re-
pairs needed

Clean surfaces and cover

Clean and protect against

moths

Draw to protect furnishings

Clean

25 *♦

Item of management Open Department Close Department

Garbage containers Make available Clean and disinfect

Fire hazards Check for hazards, locate Avoid leaving potential

and learn to use extinguish- hazards
ers

Household pests Inspect for and campaign Take all necessary pre-

against cautionary measures against

Duties managed by teacher

In addition to these opening- and closing-of-the-department duties
cooperatively managed by students and teacher, there are certain closing
duties the teacher needs to manage herself. She might check herself on
the fol lowing.

* Inventory taken and filed, one copy in the department files and one
to the administrator

* Expenditure records totaled, all bills paid, accounts completed and
reports filed at end of year

* Budget for the year made and filed

* Library inventory checked

* New books requisitioned

* All reports sent to the State office and copies filed in the depart-
ment

* Records of Future Homemakers of America and/or other sponsored groups
completed and filed at close of year

* Outline or ''blocks" for each course filed

* Home experience records filed

* Home visit and conference records completed and filed

* Record of the year's students, with addresses and location of homes
filed

* Requisition for new materials and equipment filed in department and
a copy given to the administrator

* Record of films ordered for classes filed

* "Off the record" information left which would be helpful to the new
teacher in case you should not return

255

Often school administration prescribes a certain yearly report form for
all teachers and not infrequently duplication of closing-department informa-
tion consumes many hours of the teacher's time. Hence, the wise teacher-
manager will acquaint herself with school policy and devise ways to dovetail
the mechanics of preparing department and school records.

Managing department maintenance

"Jt isn't my jobl That's what they hire a janitor for." How often have
you heard or even uttered this pronouncement? Just as students and teachers
must cooperate to fully manage the department, so must teacher and janitor
do some cooperating if department maintenance is to be well done. At most
schools there exists a rather vague understanding of what is expected of both
of these individuals. Somehow the teacher must ferret out as complete a
picture of this arrangement as is humanly possible. Tact and patience com-
bined with a few questions asked carefully of selected school personnel will
usually serve to outline the local situation. There are certain facts to
remember to apply in all situations.

Remember that janitors are people, that they have a job and generally
know how to do it. Their methods do not always coincide with those of the
teacher, but any changes desired probably need to be made through face-to-
face discussion and in a most frank manner. If this does not seem the best
method to employ, then go through the school's recognized "channel system."
Truly, there are times when the janitor can be the homemaking teacher's best
friend. Cultivate his friendship. In the homemaking department we need it.

Students as helpers

Let's face iti Even with the very best janitor, keeping a homemaking
department constantly maintained in apple-pie order requires the best manage-
ment we can bring to bear. What resources can be used? There is a limited
amount of time, less money, some things, and considerable available energy,
if it can be channeled in the desired direction.

Probably this "energy" is the best asset. Students, like anyone else,
balk at orders, but in a cooperative spirit can be interested in keeping the
department clean, neat, and usable. Students who are encouraged to recog-
nize the jobs involved in department maintenance are much more willing to
share in the work. Actually, many of these jobs become learning experiences
and students derive real and lasting benefits from their housekeeping duties,
not to mention a genuine show of pride at being active members of a good
housekeeping team. So attack the maintenance jobs with a strong bond of
"togetherness." Permit students to list jobs, find satisfactory ways of do-
ing them, and help in the allocation of these duties.

The idea of revolving or rotating duty charts is not new. Still, many
fail to utilize this simple and fair system for getting regular chores ac-
complished. Experience with this technique indicates that it is most suc-
cessful when the duties are arranged on levels of ability and spread through-
out all of the classes. A regular time should be set aside for doing these
duties.

256

The teacher who is fortunate enough to have assistants really has an
"ace in the hole" providing she has learned how to delegate responsibilities
gracefully and well. Student assistants do not represent door-mats for un-
wanted jobs but do represent the way for a teacher-manager to capitalize on
getting much of the routine of the teaching situation accomplished. At the
same time, students will see themselves grow in responsibility, a major as-
pect of the much desired maturity. Because most teachers could easily dis-
cover jobs for students, only a few suggestions for such responsibilities
fol low:

* Take attendance and report it on the correct forms

* Figure grocery orders and place them

* Take inventory of department supplies

* Secure materials from the file and re-file them

* Do some kinds of grading and grade recording

* Figure department accounts

* Distribute and store groceries and other supplies

* Set up demonstrations and assist with the clean-up

* Assist the classroom teacher in the laboratory class of junior high
1 evel

* Arrange displays and bulletin boards

* Write pass slips, answer the door and take care of other class
interrupti ons

* Type and do dupl i eating work

* Run the projectors and maintain them in running order

* Dri 1 1 classmates

Preventive housekeeping

The teacher-manager and her classes can do much to save time and energy
in managing department maintenance by using preventive housekeeping. In the
homemaking department, methods, management, equipment, and supplies can be
utilized to protect the department areas so that future cleaning is simplifie
These preventive measures can make cleaning less exhausting and less time-con
suming. Following are some suggestions that may help in managing department
mai ntenance.

* Decorate with an eye to preventive housekeeping. A knowledge and
understanding of materials that resist soil, clean easily, and hide
soil represent good choices to requisition

257

* Displays behind glass are completely visible and will spare many
minutes of tedious dusting. This same idea applies to hutch and
china cabinets

* Gluing strips of felt or> lamp and vase bases will protect furniture
surfaces from scratches

* Using the vacuum attachments for dusting not only represents an
efficient method for dusting but also permanently captures the dust
and does not scatter it

* End-of-class round-up by the teacher or a student will allow the next
class to enter a ship-shape room. The job can be rotated and only a
few minutes are required to pick up supplies, arrange books, magazines,
etc.

* Keep dirt, and water spots off floors and furnishings by always having
a handy supply of paper towels readily available for immediate use in
mopping up spills, drips, and splashes

* Use and help students learn to use trays for gathering small items when
they clean. A cobbler apron can collect many items and save steps for
the teacher as she moves about the department

* Insisting on the installation of a ventilating fan can help in keep-
ing grease and smoke off the walls. Remember though, it is not ef-
fective unless we manage to turn it on

* The short foods laboratory period does not seem to get away so quickly
if girls are taught proper dish-soaking techniques and encouraged to
employ them

* Take time to teach t ime-and-mot ion studies as they apply to jobs
frequently needing to be repeated in the laboratory — washing dishes,
cleaning spaces, measuring, dusting, etc.

* Organize storage so that there is a place for everything and see that
everyone knows and uses the places. Labels under cellophane help

* Experiment with, choose and then use cleaners and waxes that will
resist the constant grease, food, and finger stains of a busy labor-
atory

* Avoid the "all-lab-hour" cleaning sprees by doing light cleaning, and
quick pick-ups as a regular part of each laboratory lesson

* Organize cleaning jobs by doing first things first to save re-doing them

« A general storage box or tray for collecting odd items throughout the
day will make short work of the end-of-day put-away chores

* Store the department's better seldom-used silver in saran, foil, or
tarnish-resistant cloth for always ready use and beauty

258

* Divide big jobs — for example, assign sections of the unit kitchens
to different classes for periodic house-cleaning

* Be a constant detective to see that screens fit closely, that rodents
cannot find entrances and that heat sources are clean; such sleuthing
will pay big dividends in preventive housekeeping

* Box and label your teaching aids and props, then sort periodically so
those used with current units are up-front and handy — those that have
been used are underneath, behind and high. A file care system could
be devised to simplify the sorting so that even a student could do it

* If you do not already have a lazy-susan type of rack for storage of
students* aprons, visit the shop department and encourage the making
of this simple but very useful storage helper. Its use seems much
easier than having to pull out a hanger

* Small wastebaskets, easily made from sturdy boxes or gallon ice cream
or cottage cheese cartons, placed on clothing laboratory tables and
number ten cans placed beneath sinks make handy step savers for labor-
atory periods. Group members can rotate the responsibility for put-
ting out and emptying such containers

* A pleasant-smelling, popular, pastel cake of hand soap in each unit
kitchen encourages clean hands among small cooks

* A sponge beneath sinks in each unit kitchen helps girls wipe up spills
and saves on improper towel and dish cloth use

* Hard water in the laboratory? Keep detergents and make a suds to swish
the sinks, dry lightly to prevent rust and rings. Plead for the need
of water-softening system

* A colorful, inexpensive dishpan or bucket will corral all your odd
cleaning supplies and sponges neatly. It is an ideal home for wet things
with no rusting!

* No needless treks to utility closet if separate sets of cleaners are
stored in each kitchen unit

* Encourage the janitor to favor the floor with a water-resistant pro-
tective coat of wax. It aids in wipe-ups, prevents spots

* Class librarians or laboratory assistants can quickly be taught the
filing system and a spindle with date and list of materials needed
could save the teacher endless moments in getting and re-filing materials

* A row of low baskets — two for each class--make for neat efficient
handling of student papers. Label one of each set "hand-in" and the
other "return." Student assistants can collect and pass back materials

Keep a repair drawer or box with all sorts of do-it-yourself materials--
screw driver, hammer, glue, needles, thread, tape, tacks, etc. --a
stitch or tack in time does prevent a big job later

259

This brief discussion points up the detailed job of maintenance that
faces the teacher-manager. Through the management of time, money, things,
and most of all through cooperative use of energy and ideas, the job becomes
not only possible, but can also provide learning experiences for students.

Managing department business

You are the master of the business you represent. Will it help or
hinder you? Whoever said that line about being a "Jack of all trades" must
have had an eye on the home economics teacher for they certainly are busy
people. If, however, they are to be masters of their many trades, they
simply cannot shirk the business aspects involved in the management of the
homemaking department. In the last issue of the Illinois Teacher it was
pointed out that some newer departments were being built with a teacher office
or even several offices--one for each teacher in the department. Such plan-
ning indicates the recognition by administrators of the home economics teach-
er's need for such an area.

Running a homemaking department smoothly involves big business in at least
variety and amounts. The teacher-manager must use a multiplicity of materials
and teaching aids. Many letters are received and replies or requests are in
order. Probably, excluding the library and the administrative offices, no
other department in the school has more materials collected in a functioning
file. Part of the home economics job is involved in record keeping and home
economists report reams of information. In addition to all of this, by the
very nature of the area, reference libraries take up many shelves with their
store of different kinds of books.

Since the home economics department represents quite an out- lay of
money, the teacher-manager feels an extra responsibility toward keeping a
working budget for it represents the key to present as well as future success-
ful operation. On the basis of what the budget indicates, additional pur-
chases need to be made and this department assumes the responsibility for
managing throughout the school year considerable sums of money. Obviously,
the teacher-manager does require space for doing these several activities,
and if she is to also teach, there needs to be some systematized management
of the business aspects of the homemaking department.

Because the home economics teacher's business training tends to be in-
cidental rather than planned, she needs to view this area with a critical
eye aimed at detecting and adopting for her personal use those techniques
and practices from the business area which can aid her most. One direction
upon which to focus attention is that of effective use of time to be used in
the teacher-manager's business endeavors. Some points in this respect to
remember might be:

* Develop a system for routine business tasks

* Simplify and combine operations as much as possible

* Do mental work when you are at your best and not fatigued

* Develop the needed basic skills or techniques to carry on the business
of the department

260

* Take care of business tasks promptly

* Make all records clear, legible, and dated

A staggering amount of reading material is routed to homemaking teachers.
The character of this mail covers a wide range, but the busy teacher must
read all communications as soon as possible after receiving them. From ex-
perience, the teacher learns to sort material that is to be read carefully,
studied, scanned, deferred or ignored. One of these treatments should be
accorded every communication within twenty-four hours. It is the teacher's
business to read all material which comes to her department, regardless of
who delivers it or the route by which it arrives.

Letters for instance, require answers. The nature of the letter dictates
the kind of answer. Regardless of the purpose, length and content of a letter,
several practices should be followed:

* Use stationery that represents you. It is assumed that scratch paper,
torn notebook paper and the like are not the way you want to be rep-
resented

* Be sure to date all correspondence and include your address. These
are necessary courtesies and information for those who receive your
letters

* Use your full legal signature. Reserve nicknames for informal, friend-
ly letters — they have no place in business

* Direct your letters to a particular individual if you possibly can
Records and reports

These are not the same in all schools, but those of the homemaking
teacher are quite similar, regardless of where she is stationed. A few
pointers on what the teacher-manager should know about keeping instructional
records and reports may serve to set some limits for this activity. Shirley
Miller, a homemaking teacher in Illinois suggests:

* Know the policy of keeping records and reports in your school and
your department

* Set up a plan for keeping records and making reports by

finding out requirements
planning other records and reports
arranging for securing and keeping the data
planning for a time to make the reports

* Keep a current student record that includes a class book for taking
roll, test scores, and a final grade for term or year

* Keep a cumulative record of pertinent information on each student
taking home economics

261

* Keep summary statements of the work of each unit to show the degree
to which the goals have been reached

* Develop and use inventory forms that can be used for several years

* Make an annual report to summarize and evaluate the year's work

* Remember to make duplicate copies and file for easy reference
" Keep a record of all evaluative devices for future re-use

* Keep a record of expenditures for each unit of work and for the
department as a whole

* Keep a record of the FHA program of work and reports, and information
on any other out-of-class activity for which you are responsible

The importance of filling in reports and records is realized when their
value is considered. An accurate and constructive report can provide a
foundation for meaningful learning activities. Sloppy habits have no place
in keeping records and making reports. Laura Ellenwood in her article, "Your
Business Rating," offers the following suggestions for teacher-managers to
check on:

* Date records and reports

* Attach proper signature or signatures

* G i ve all information requested

* Provide exact information
j-

* Make all types of documents legible and neat

* Be specific in what in included

The filing and library duties

These duties of the teacher-manager are a challenge to a teacher's
managerial abilities. To attack this job requires business acumen and does
pose problems — even for the better teacher-managers. Homemaking education
is close to everyday living and has tremendous consumption potential.
Many of the teaching aids offered are from commercial organizations and
have been well done. They make worthy contributions to the school when
they are placed in the proper educational setting. Their proper placement
is the business of the teacher-manager.

The teacher's business regarding the wealth of commercial materials is
complicated. A few suggestions for discrimination in the selection and use
of such materials follow:

* Order only those materials which can be made an integral part of
your planned program

* Estimate needs and avoid having to store surpluses

262

* Provide adequate and accessible storage space

* Label materials plainly

* Regularly discard old, useless materials

In addition to commercial aids, every homemaking teacher has other
extensive teaching aids such as charts, posters, films, bulletin boards,
film strips, exhibits, books, etc. Remember you'll use time well if you
spend time to organize, label, arrange, and use or discard this part of
your business. All materials will ultimately be destined for one of three
places--f i les, storage spaces, or the wastebasket. Develop a classifying
system for filing so that material can easily be found by those who need it.
Do not fail to provide an index for the file and storage system as this will
save time, energy, and blood pressure.

Because most homemaking teachers have a flair for hoarding, a few
words on discarding materials seem appropriate when discussing the busi-
ness management of the department. Usually three years is long enough to
hold correspondence. Books also become out-dated and really need to be
rooted from their spots on the shelves. It is necessary to be very brave
and start throwing away those materials which are not being used. From
Whitenack and O'Mel ias, "Weeding the Library," come these suggestions on
what to discard.

* Books in poor physical condition

* Books that are out-dated as to content

* Books that have not circulated in five years
And this is how to do it

* Begin in the section that needs new material or is overcrowded

* Establish a system for discarding

* Examine books one by one

* Tear the discarded books to prevent their being used again and dispose
of them

* Change the book inventory to show the discards

Budgets and purchasing

Modern business considers present requirements and future expansion when
budgets are planned. Schools are "modern business" and to function and
prosper, the homemaking department as a part of that modern business needs
a well-planned budget. No definite budget amounts, nor "formulas," can be
given but questions to consider in planning for a specific school might be:

* How many pupils are enrolled in homemaking classes?

263

* How often and how long do classes meet?

* What proportion of time will be devoted to each area of homemaking?

* Is the program for junior or senior high school or both?

* What are the physical conditions and arrangements of the department?

* What items are to be included in the department budget?

* Where wi 1 1 be money be spent?

The amount of the budget is usually determined by two methods — (l) per
student cost based on a specified amount of money per year for each pupil
or (2) study of cost method made by keeping an accurate record of actual
costs for several years and collecting information on budgets from other
schools. Probably a combination of these methods would serve both the
novice and experienced teacher-manager as well.

Once the local budget is determined, it is spent in two ways--present
and future. In order for the budqet to cover the cost of expendable sup-
plies, the expendable supply list made and submitted by the teacher should
cover each area taught with an allotted proportionate share of the total
fund. An accurate record of past expenditures is extremely helpful in this
process.

A long-time plan which considers the continued upkeep, development and
expansion of the department is just as important as the expendable present
budget plan. It is wise for the teacher and students with the help of super-
visors and administrators to maintain a three-to-five-year plan. Such a
plan promotes good business relationships and allows for stability in the
yearly budget requests. It distributes cost more evenly over a period of
years. Repair and replacement can be made continously so that uniform
department upkeep is possible.

Detailed suggestions on budgeting, record-keeping, filing, keeping up
with equipment, calendars on school activities, etc. are provided in Vol. II,
No. 9 which can be secured for fifty cents per copy. This issue also
includes suggestions on the selection of books, bulletins, and magazines,
efficient ordering of these on the basis of certain criteria, and ideas on
their effective use. The contents of Vol. II, No. 9, therefore, are not
duplicated in this issue.

Once the department has a budget and a system for keeping account of
the expenditures, there follows the need for spending it. One of the goals
of homemaking education is the management of resources and this includes
money. Some of the most worth-while learning experiences in this area are
provided when students particiapte in the spending of homemaking department
budgets. Some practices which have been found to be satisfying to experienced
teacher-managers are:

* Use charge accounts for ease in daily purchasing and for teaching
this method for spending

264

* Provide as much flexibility as possible in school buying procedures

* Plan for a petty cash fund for economy and freedom in buying

Just how the teacher-manager provides the initiative necessary to obtain
an adequate homemaking budget to facilitate better teaching will vary, for
each school situation has unique problems each year. Nevertheless, it is
the business of the teacher-manager to provide the best possible environment
for the teaching of homemaking, and a budget and wise expenditures are the
keys that open one door to successful managment.

Management of human relationships

"Man is a strange creation, as reflective and brilliantly turned as a
diamond. How, then, shall men get along?"

There are classes in poetry appreciation and music appreciation and
art appreciation. Perhaps there ought to be classes in "people appreciation."
If teachers are to have good relationships with others — school personnel,
students, and community folk — they must appreciate and understand other
people. This, too, is a major management problem of the teacher. There are
no classes in people appreciation but there are some tried and true sugges-
tions which just may help the teacher manage this aspect of her situation.
So try —

* Speaking approvingly of the school and its administration, but
avoiding public talk involving specific personalities

* Patronizing the local community establishments

* Speaking approvingly of the community and supporting school and com-
munity activities

* Interpreting your school to the community as a positive ambassador

* Conforming to local standards in dress and in general social behavior

* Giving credit to your administration, your co-workers, and your
students whenever you can

* Cooperating with others instead of always expecting their cooperation
with you

* Discussing problems only with those persons along the channel system
who are in a position to help solve the problems

* Going through the proper channels for all needed supplies and permission

* Being prompt in producing all that you are expected to produce

* Being warmly human and generous, even though at times you seem to be
imposed upon

265

In the recent issue on "Innovations in Space and Facilities," the
point was made that no individual teacher, except in a few schools, can any
longer think of a laboratory or a classroom as "hers." This fact can
prove disconcerting to a person accustomed to freedom to use space at her
own discretion. To avoid friction with colleagues, probably the wisest
strategy is to get on paper the necessary policy statements which all teachers
using a given space formulate and agree upon before the opening of school.

By now it should be clear that the teacher-manager must first know
something of the basic needs of individuals, and then she needs to create
for herself those conditions which will insure good human relationships.
Through cont inued, constant effort she can interpret, distinguish, and enjoy
those human beings with whom she works.

Managing Teaching Procedures

It does not require prolonged cogitation to conclude that our opportu-
ties for progress, success, and service are only limited by the perspective
of our aspirations and desires to pursue avenues of opportunity which are
freely open to teachers of management everywhere. It is our incumbent duty
ever to keep the principles of good management before us and with us in pre-
cept and example in everything we do — personal management, management of
the homemaking department, and managing our teaching procedures. We need to
develop an "esprit de corps" through fellowship, service, and teaching that
individually and collectively will be good management in action for all who
view our activities.

Some specific suggestions that seem worth keeping in mind

* When managing our teaching procedures we should remember that many
learning activities are necessary accompaniments of doing activities
if pupils are to learn by doing and not just do. Plan these learn-
ing activities and estimate the time they may take

* Time-consuming activities which are essential to learning may be
spread over two or three consecutive days when necessary. For
example, a field trip may consume three periods.

First day - plan the trip and get clearly in mind the learnings

to be achieved
Second day - take the trip, recording observations in terms of

learnings expected
Third day - summarize, draw conclusions, generalize learnings

* Keep in mind the equipment available and guide the making of plans
accordingly. For example, if there are twenty pupils in the class
and only two unit kitchens, only four or six pupils can prepare food
in any one class period and the other pupils must plan to do other
things such as plan meals, work out costs of meals prepared, do

mot ion- and- time studies, etc. at that time

* If there is only one bed in the department, only one or two pupils
can practice "making it" at a time, so other pupils will need to
practice other skills while they wait their turns, such as take
pulse, take temperature, arrange an invalid's tray, get acquainted
with sick room equipment, practice filling a hot water bottle, etc.

266

* Keep in mind the time available and guide the making of plans for
teaching accordingly. Garments requiring time-consuming processes
should not be made in class. Some foods cannot be used in class, e.g.
prepared meals if they require much time or cannot be prepared "the
day before." Only the simplest meal can be prepared, eaten, and
cleaned up in sixty minutes. An average meal may require two or more
days in preparation. If several courses are necessary in a certain
meal , one course may be prepared and served one day, the next the

fol lowing day, etc.

* Students should not be late to other classes, or miss their activi-
ties, or stay after school, or come early, or use a study period to
"finish" laboratory work. If, after spending time and thought in
setting up a reasonable schedule for a food preparation lesson, stu-
dents thoughtlessly dawdle over conversation at the table, the teacher
has negated her management teaching unless she insists that, food
eaten or not eaten, cleaning operations start promptly according to
the time schedule planned. A repetition of this self-disciplinary
procedure is unlikely

* Distinguish between major and minor objectives and plan accordingly.
For example, in the light of modern conveniences and the large variety
of ready prepared and partially prepared foods, preparation may be
reduced to a minimum when service is the focus of study. When pre-
paration of food is the center of interest, service may be eliminated
or postponed until the following day. If it is necessary to develop
speed in certain routine procedures such as dishwashing, a lesson

may be devoted to this alone

* Try to schedule certain activities on days of the week especial lv
appropriate for them and avoid inappropriate days for certain other
activities. For example, encourage home practice reports on Mondays
which follow the days when students have time to practice at home.
Complete score cards, inventory forms, and demonstrations of their
use on Fridays, just previous to the time students can use them at
home. Avoid field trips on Monday or Friday since they need to come
in the middle of a three-day sequence in order to be preceded by a
get-ready lesson and followed by a discussion lesson. Avoid food
preparation lessons in periods following assembly programs since
such programs often "run over" into the next period

* Revise schedules every day if necessary. Rarely can a teacher
judge exactly how long it will take a class or an individual to com-
plete a job. So the good teacher must keep changing her schedule of
lessons as the needs of her students change and as events beyond her
control alter cincumstances

* Keep in mind, or on paper in a convenient place, a variety of sugges-
tions for interesting and educationally worthwhile activities which
can be used in emergencies. Just as a good housekeeper keeps an
emergency shelf well stocked with food so that she is always ready
for unexpected guests, a good homemaking teacher keeps on hand a good
supply of suggestions for class activities and individual activities

267

for use when an unexpected situation reduces a class period to a few
minutes or prevents an individual from participating in the scheduled
activity. Students may help to accumulate a list of suggestions for
emergency activities, and thus may be encouraged to feel responsible
for using every minute of school time is a profitable way. Such a
list might include activities such as the following:

Plan a work schedule for home activities for the weekend

Bring personal expense accounts and departmental accounts up to

date
Take inventory of the staple groceries and list basic supplies

needed
Do Red Cross or similar sewing

Plan menu for family supper and make market order
Inspect signs and labels and replace soiled or torn ones in the

department
Contribute to a set of food models by cutting out suitable pic-
tures and mounting them
Hunt in current magazines for an interesting article on some
phase of class work now being studied. Share with teacher
and/or class

New management problems introduced when machines are used

Machines in the classroom are to be used to supplement the instructor's
teaching, not to supplant the teacher as was once feared. Nevertheless,
fine as they may be, they do add still more "things" to keep track of and
to keep in good working order.

It is a curious fact that pioneer efforts to develop machine aids in
home economics seem to begin with the simplest elements in clothing construc-
tion. For example, have you read the article by Mrs. Ethelwyn Cornelius on
"Machine Aids the Homemaking Teacher" in Journal of Home Economics, December,
1961? In it she describes experiments in Ithaca, New York classes. Recorded
directions on stay stitching, hem construction, neckline finishes, skirt
headbands, and sleeves with gussets were put permanently on tape. These
supplemented the step-by-step illustrative material of actual fabric, mounted
on flip chart pages and co-ordinated with the machine's recording but probably
already on hand. Mrs. Cornelius reports that individuals, who fail to gain
adequate help from the teacher's one demonstration, with earphones and the
flip chart can reteach themselves.

She tells of "one pupil of low ability who had to repeat the recording
four times before she could accomplish the particular construction technique
on her own." To be sure, a lot of preparation time is necessary in recording
these tapes but think of all the time and effort saved thereafter! A few
schools, facing realistically the extra help needed by slow learners, have
found the funds to pay for class periods two hours in length instead of the
usual sixty minutes that average students require. Even so, teachers report
that they have to hurry from one person to another, repeating different di-
rections because of slow learners' inability to use illustrative materials
independently. Wouldn't it be interesting to prepare one or more tapes to
supplement some step-by-step illustrative materials that you have discovered
slow learners are unable to use alone?

268

May we suggest another possibility of co-ordinating recorded directions
with film strips to compare the relative effectiveness of tangible illustra-
tive materials of cloth with excellent colored photographs in a step-by-step
sequence. To do this, your school will need to purchase for $10.00 a boxed
set of the following aids covering "Fashion Sewing the Bishop Way."

Fi lm strips in color 33 1/3 L.P. records

1 Basic Learnings I

II How to Make a Simple Skirt and Blouse II

III Cutting to Fit and Fitting Ill

IV How to Make a Dress with a Quality Look IV

A manual completes this set. It may be purchased from TF I Training Films,
Inc., 150 West 5^th Street, New York 19, New York.

One young home economist, questioning her future ability to "manage"
instruction with teaching machines unless she understood how programing was
done, decided she would set up a sequence of questions and answers on cutting
out a simple first garment of cotton. In spite of the fact that general
principles on semantics and pyramiding of ideas had supposedly been learned
in a class on the psychology of learning, she found the task almost over-
whelming. Doggedly she persisted, using her husband for her try-outs since
he was totally unversed in clothing construction. Over and over again he
was halted by some bit of knowledge that she had unconsciously taken for
granted but that he had never happened to learn.

This experience has convinced her that every minute spent on these very
time-consuming try-outs has been worthwhile to her as a teacher-manager. She
believes that other home economists would agree if only they would do some
experimenting with their students as well as their husbands or boy friendsl
She reports that she has grown in awareness of the importance of order and
system, of speci f ici ty and preci s ion. She is eagerly anticipating using
teaching machines with students, but with the programs prepared by others'.
In the meantime, she is trying to so manage her questions in class that they
at least approach the characteristics of more formally programed learning.

Able technicians are inventing and putting on the market so many new
types of recorders, projectors, and teaching machines that one is no longer
surprised to meet in school corridors student-manned carts, loaded with
machines, film strips, slides, records, tapes, and variously duplicated in-
structional materials and bound for different classrooms. Sooner or later
home economics will have available programed texts so students can learn at
their own rate. Television and radio lessons in homemaking and family living
will become more directly useful in our classes. The forward-looking home-
making teacher will manage all these resources to the best advantage of her
classes. Schedules of all sorts will assume increasing importance. It is
evident that such new teaching procedures will require a different concept
of the word "teacher" and demand good management techniques to a degree never
before known 1

Experimentation with "Boxed Lessons"

For the teacher-manager in this technological age, ready-to-go lessons
are a MUST! For that matter, they improve the management of teaching in any
age.

269

In previous issues on planning space and facilities in the homemaking
department, storage space for ready-to-use bulletin boards and mounted il-
lustrative materials was given careful attention. Such space has usually
been planned on the assumption that instructional materials are always two-
dimensional .

That, as you know, is not true. What is the most efficient way to store
the three-dimensional articles that are essential for teaching occasional
lessons? We have been experimenting with the use of boxes carefully labeled
and stored on shelves that make them readily accessible. Boxes used in a
given unit are, of course, stored together.

How does a teacher determine which lessons are most appropriately "boxed?"

Make a leisurely survey of your entire department with paper and pencil
in hand. As you look, perhaps the first question to ask yourself may be,
"How long has it been since I saw that, to say nothing of using it?" Some
architects exclaim in despair, "There's no such thing as giving a home eco-
nomics teacher as much storage space as she thinks she needs'." Discarding
is a painful process to most women! But it is going to become more and more
fashionable as times--and education — change from year to yearl So make room
for the new as you go along in your survey.

Next jot down a list of all three-dimensional illustrative materials and
examples of articles — fabrics, foods, toys, equipment, supplies, etc. — that
you use in classroom demonstrations, experiments, practical tests, and other
forms of instruction. Articles that obviously belong in the same teaching
unit may be discovered in several places, rather than together. Assembling
likes with likes may well be your first order of business.

Now sit down and organize on paper those teaching lessons that requi re
these hard-to-store articles. For example, you finally collect a surprisingly
complete assortment of samples of floor coverings in a wide price range. If
you are like most of us, you find that, scattered and unorganized, many of
these have escaped your attention of latel But how many of these samples are
real ly requi red? Ask yourself for an honest answer to the following questions,
then act accordingly.

* Considering the ability levels and probable future life of your students,
the community mores and family practices, the length of time available
for study of home economics, should this lesson be taught at all?

* What samples might be appropriate for group study, which for individual
projects?

* What samples are unsuitable for today' s teaching — out-of-style, beyond
the usual student's pocketbook, made of fibers or materials that have
been recently greatly improved or dropped from the market, impractical
in terms of care required?

* If teaching content must be delimited in order to attain mastery of
basic learnings, which samples represent these minimum essentials?

270

Such probing into your philosophy and your curriculum may materially reduce
your storage demands and increase your effectiveness as a teacher-manager.

What goes into a typical "box?"

To give our readers specific help on putting this new idea of "boxed
lessons" into action, we are including several actual inventories of what one
teacher has in selected boxes. To make these examples meaningful and to
broaden your concept of boxed lessons for greater flexibility in your own use,
we are first presenting details of the general organization.

Before we proceed further, perhaps it would be well to clarify one fre-
quent misconception. For far too long, a "lesson" has been assumed to be one
class meeting in length. If students at the high school level are to attain
mastery, practically every "lesson" worthy of secondary study and credit
requires two or more class meetings in today's fifty-minute schedules. Per-
haps the term "teaching unit" would be preferable to use, providing the dis-
tinction was clear between this and a "curriculum" unit.

Following is the form of inventory found most generally useful for all
kinds of boxed lessons.

I dent if i cat ion

Area of homemaking
Grade level
Curr icul urn uni t
Teaching unit

List of illustrative materials in box

Objectives of teaching unit

Assignment

Suggestions for teaching

Suggestions for evaluation

Class time required

Estimated before teaching
Recorded after each time taught

These inventory forms may be dittoed and kept always available. Naturally,
ample space will need to be provided for notations made at various times.
The examples that appear later will give you some idea of ho*/ the space
required will differ for the various parts of the inventory. The back of an
inventory sheet may be used for recording additions, substitutions and other
desired changes. An inventory sheet should be kept stored on top of all
instructional materials in a box in order to be readily available. With such
a record, students can "check in" and replace the materials after use. Since
only a minute is needed to get out the supplies in a box, teachers usual 1 y pre-
fer to assume this responsibility in order that evaluation devices may be pro-
tected "from students'" eyes until ready for use.

271

How are boxed lessons accumulated?

Experienced teachers have long supplemented their everyday teaching by
making some types of teaching materials. The boxed lesson is just one more
such creative approach to better teaching. It might be said that the develop-
ment of boxed lessons is the simple bringing together of some of the best
creative endeavors of the past with perhaps a sprinkle of some new ideas and
the inclusion of many regularly used teaching media for good management.

A person who plans a boxed lesson decides what to use and how to show
it over a considerable period of time. Some teachers keep a box for ideas
and clip and carry possibilities to it continuously. Then, as they do such
brain-less consuming jobs as the dishes and bath tub scrubbing, they mentally
fit pieces and ideas together. This helps them to use what they have to the
best advantage. Such pre-planning cuts down on the actual preparation time.

Those parts of the boxed lesson which take the form of display must
show the basic structure of an idea. The forms used require simplicity and
the details must be quickly and easily comprehensible. The teacher-manager
must separate, select, and organize the several elements of an idea that is
to be shown. Always take care to see that the display still tells the truth.
The use of planned design is also important. Such elements of design as line
and color must be used to help the viewer logically follow the ideas through
the medium used.

What are advantages of boxed lessons?

Boxed lessons help in unit planning as they promote thinking before you
teach and so organize that thinking. The completeness of planning is quite
apt to set the stage for a "spectacular" in good learning. Preparation re-
quires a diligent search for best materials. Boxed lessons have the advantage
of pigeon-holing that material for future use as well as providing a suitable
place to add new related materials. For example, one teacher said she cur-
rently did not have a piece of duralite in her cutlery lesson; but now that
she sees a clear need for its inclusion, she will be on its quest.

When school is located miles from community resources, as many new con-
solidations are, the use of well-chosen models and samples tucked away into
boxed lessonsdoes help to narrow the gap in a concrete way between the written
work and the actual thing it describes. When field trips are on the hard-to-
include list of experiences, boxed lessons may provide a good substitute with
the advantage of remaining always available. Nor is the cost of purchasing
a good collection of examples likely to be any greater than the cost of a
field trip in a school bus.

Boxed lessons further seem to help in defining more definitely the limits
of a unit and are a great aid in the development of scope and sequence within
any given area. It is reasonable to assume that, while boxed lessons need
to be designed for a given level and a special lesson within a particular unit,
they may contain parts which can be used well at another level. For example,
you may use your series of sample cans first as a demonstration with junior
high school classes when they are learning initial marketing management in
their unit on helping with family meals. But these same sample cans may be

272

boxed for a more detailed and advanced study by the tenth grade in the curric-
ulum unit on marketing for foods. Such earlier use will not "steal thunder"
from the advanced lesson, but does help to unify and strengthen the total
pattern of learning.

For the most part, however, students accuse teachers of using the same
illustrative material in too many lessons. Who hasn't heard a chorus of
"We've seen that before!" when presenting some material? To be sure, the
students may need the repetition for learning, but their motivation is great-
ly enhanced if the same ideas appear in a different form.

Integration fostered through boxed lessons

Both vertical and horizontal integration within teaching units, curric-
ulum units, and the grade levels are important to achieve. However, the line
between what should go in one unit and what should go in another is often
indistinct. Preparing boxed lessons is a little like "laying all the cards
on the table." Integration naturally becomes easier to visualize.

For example, let us suppose that you collect all the illustrative
materials in the department that relate to a study of children's play. For
the eighth grade curriculum unit on "Baby Sitting" you might box the toys
that would prove most inexpensive and commonly found in the homes of young
parents in the community, even including some appropriate discarded piece of
equipment from the school's foods laboratory. Such articles might offer
adequate stimulation to youngsters attempting to formulate guides by which
suitability to different age levels could be determined.

On the other hand, where tenth grade students are studying the several
types of learning gained through toys, based on science principles from
physiology, child development, and psychology, a balanced collection to illus-
trate all these types would be needed. In fact, a poster or bulletin board
labeled "Toys for Tots" might show a sketch of a kitchen scale and be placed
over a table on which are displayed this collection of real toys. The
challenging caption on the bulletin board might be "Which of These Toys Will
Provide for Balanced Learning through Balanced Play?"

Examples of Boxed Lessons in One Homemaking Department

In short, "Boxed Lessons," as the name suggests, consist of all the
materials required for the complete teaching of a single, unified, carefully
planned teaching unit. Not only are they efficient to use when three-
dimensional materials are required, but also they save dashing around to
collect copies of dittoed tests, study guides, class secretaries' notes on
facts and basic concepts formulated during class summaries and copied from
the chalkboard, and the teacher's own record of changes in the plan as used
from t ime to t ime.

In no sense are the following examples to be considered as "models."
For instance, these were prepared for class meetings of fifty-five minutes;
your class period may be longer or shorter. The number of students, their
ability levels, the library facilities, the grade allocation, and many other
factors might well suggest changes in specifics. Undoubtedly many changes
will be made by the writers as time moves on. But our experimentation has

273

convinced us that this technique definitely increases efficiency in teaching
procedures and merits a try-out by every teacher. We know even college
teachers who have found the plan helpful! Do study the inventories on the
following pages for your own possible experimentation.

Lessons on Small Equipment

I dent if icat ion

Area of Homemaking: Foods

Level: Grade seven or eight

Curriculum unit: The kitchen as a workshop

Teaching unit: Learning about the kitchen's small equipment

Illustrative materials

Bulletin board on equipment (See photograph I)

One each of small equipment used in the foods laboratory

Objectives of lessons

To learn the correct names of small utensils

To recognize for what each piece of equipment is used

To memorize where each piece of equipment is stored

Assignment

McDermott and Nicholas, Homemaking for Teen-Aqers, Book I, pages 177-179
Jones and Burnham, Junior Homemaking, pages 190-197

Suggestions for teaching

Interest approach — "Aunt Ella Says" bulletin board

Supervised study of assignment, using guide sheets from the box and
requiring written answers to questions on these sheets

Give students paper and pencil. Ask them to number two columns. One
column is for recording the name of the utensil, the second is for
recording its use. Let students grade and correct their own papers,
marking each error with colored crayon and writing beside the error
the correct answer. Request students to drill themselves until they
know every point.

Give each family group a list and location-chart of the small equipment
stored in a unit kitchen. After study of these in the kitchens, ask
them to remove every utensil, then time themselves in replacing. Check
accuracy of placement and time consumed and repeat until a reasonable
level of competence has been attained by each group.

Introduce a potato race to help students understand differences result-
ing from the best choice of a utensil. Provide three student volunteers
with similar potatoes but three very different knives. Class observes
the three girls peel their potato, then draws conclusions.

nk

Suggestions for evaluation

Give "Kitchen Sense Quiz." Correct in class, reteach if necessary.

Have each girl demonstrate in pantomime without a real utensil the safe
and skillful handling of a variety of small equipment. Other students
name the utensil supposedly being used and record strengths and weak-
nesses in its use. Ask students to turn in their papers for grading.

Time required

Estimate: three days

Another Version of an "Aunt Ella Says" Bulletin Board

The purpose of this version, as slightly different from photograph I,
is to serve as a reminder to students in a beginning foods class after the
lesson on small equipment. Because the content is developed from review,
this bulletin board may well be prepared by one or more of the faster
students. They may also make it their responsibility to identify the small
equipment least well known, and use these on the bulletin board.

275

Suggestions for construction of this bulletin board

Use black flannel cut to fit over the entire surface of a permanent board.

Use glossy black pre-cut letters with an adhesive backing. With a warm
iron press these permanently onto a section of aqua synthetic toweling
cut with pinking shears to the shape shown. Title will then roll for
easy storage.

Construct "Aunt Ella" as a pot holder with a gay applique hat, big
rolling eyes, and a smiling mouth.

Fasten pieces of equipment to board. These are utensils taken from a
little girl's dime-store cooking kit, for the most part, in order to
keep proportions satisfactory. These pieces may be changed, as need
dictates.

Lessons on Soaps and Detergents

Ident if icat ion

Area of Homemaking: Management

Level : Grade nine

Curriculum unit: Management of laundry problems

Teaching unit: Soaps and detergents; characteristics and choice for use

Illustrative materials

Bulletin board on soaps and detergents (See photograph II)
Samples of soaps, detergents, empty cartons for analysis of information
on containers, empty jars with covers for experiments, commercial hand-
outs and si ides

Objectives of lessons

To recognize differences between soaps and detergents

To understand scientific facts and principles involved in the chemistry

of laundering, using soaps and detergents

To perceive how one product may be a better choice than another for

successful laundering in a given situation

Assignment

Starr, Management for Better Living - pages 168-200

McDermott and Nicholas, Homemaking for Teen-Agers. Book II - pages 170-202

Fitzsimmons and White, Management for You - pages 247-284

Folders of commercial materials for all, plus additional publications for

the background necessary for a few special reports

Suggestions for teaching

Interest approach-- i ntroduce as coming attraction the bulletin board,
"Wash I t — Bright, White, Right."

276

Assign for outside reading one of the three references listed, adapting
difficulty of content to ability level of individual students. Also,
ask students, after reading their assignment, to listen to some TV
advertisement or find one in a magazine, and write an analysis of it in
terms of information learned from readings. Let volunteers among the
faster students select special projects for which folders of materials
are ready.

Next day show slides "Our Modern Washday" provided by Procter and Gamble
Company. Summarize with class facts and basic concepts essential for
everyone to know.

Carry out an experimental demonstration to let students discover for them-
selves some scientific "cause and effect" relationships. Students write
up experiments according to a familiar outline for such reports.

Include special reports on the history of soaps, the manufacture of
cleansers, and other topics selected by students as each becomes ready
to make her presentation. To increase the value of these reports for
all class members, even bright students may need some individual guidance
in selecting the truly pertinent and meaningful facts from their reading.

Supervise study of class as they try to "pull together" minimum essentials
from all their readings and class notes. Ask each student to prepare
three review or thought questions for a question box, write what she
thinks are the best possible answers, and sign her name.

Select from questions contributed those apparently worthwhile for mastery.,
Lead discussion by calling on the writer of a question to give her answer,
then let group supplement, clarify, and summarize.

Suggestions for evaluation

Grade with a score card analysis of advertisements turned in by students.
Grade with a score card reports on experiments

Give a penci 1 -and-paper objective test on minimum essentials of content
Use check list to evaluate and record worth of special reports

Time required

Estimate: a week or more
Actual time used: five days

Chi 1 dren* s Books

Ident if icat ion

Area of homemaking: Child development

Level: Grade ten

Curriculum unit: Toys and related materials to use with children

Teaching unit: Selection and use of children's books

Illustrative materials

277

WASH IT-

BP,EHTWH'TE1V ,

V

fVu>< WKU. Jt4ir Jprf

Photograph I

Photograph I I

PLAY IT SMART

iPt

\

RFA

LABELS

Photograph 1 1 1

Photograph IV

278

A home-made story telling bulletin board to introduce lessons (see photo-
graph III)

A "story animal" to stimulate creativity in "making up" stories by faster
students

A wide variety of children's inexpensive but worthwhile story books suited
to different ages and uses

Object i ves

To realize the many kinds of books available

To understand the techniques for reading or telling stories

To know which book to use for a certain age and use

Assignment

Goods peed, Mason and Woods, Child Care and Guidance - pages 201-204, and
page 240

Suggestions for teaching

Interest approach — Read or tell a short part of a child's story that the
home-made story telling bulletin board illustrates.

Make assignments in the class reference for outside reading. Also, ask
students to bring a child's book. Explain that in class each will have
an opportunity to read from her book, and that both the selection of
the story and the presentation will be discussed cooperatively, hence a
choice should be made at home and perhaps even some practicing done
beforehand.

After some supervised study on the reference reading for the purpose of
identifying criteria, have small groups prepare score cards for story
reading. Later compare results as a total group and adapt the best points
into one score card for later use in class. If some student cannot locate
a book, one may be provided from the library for her use.

Each girl reads a story and describes the hypothetical situation, includ-
ing age and sex of child, learnings expected from the experience.

Have volunteers present interesting variations in the ways of story tellir
other than the usual reading. Keep demonstrations short.

Assign the home practice of each girl offering a story to a small child,
then writing up the experience in terms of what she has learned in class.

Suggestions for evaluation

Administer a practical test on book selection for different situations,
using the collection of books in the box which have not been seen earlier
Grade individual presentations, using class score card but recording
results of your scoring.
Use a check list to evaluate the reports on home practice.

279

Time required

Estimate: Three days or longer. If class is large, story reading and
telling will take more time.

Labels and Their Logic

Ident if ication

Area of homemaking: Consumer Education

Level: Grade Eleven

Curriculum unit: The purchase of ready-made clothing and household textiles

Teaching unit: How labels help the consumer to shop more wisely

Illustrative materials

A bulletin board made from a colored picture with an actual label super-
imposed upon it (See photograph IV)

A collection of different cotton blouses, slips and wash cloths, and
labels from all sorts of consumer goods related to the curriculum unit

Objectives

To understand the purpose and values of labeling
To recognize what constitutes a good label
To be able to use labels wisely when shopping

Assignment

Harris, Tate and Anders, Everyday Living - pages 308-330
Oerke, Dress - pages 216-231 and 256-257

Suggestions for teaching

Interest approach - tell an interesting anecdote supporting the message
of the bulletin board.

Supervise study of the reading assignments. Expect girls to identify
for themselves essential facts and principles, but give the less able
some guidance as the need arises. Have all students take notes on their
reading.

Have class secretary write on chalkboard as students name the essential

characteristics of a good label from the background of their reading

and experience in shopping. Organize into a score card for grading labels.

Have students make as many numbers on a sheet of paper as the samples
of actual labels in the box. Students score each numbered label as they
are passed around in class. Collect papers, tabulate scores, and discuss
reasons for marked differences in range.

Put on a sample "shopping spree," having students role play the parts
of clerks and customers and using the variety of merchandise in the
boxed collection. Discuss each buying situation constructively.

280
Suggestions for evaluation

Penci 1-and-paper essay test -

1. Justify the government requiring a label on every piece of
consumer goods.

2. Reproduce from memory the score card used in class.

3. Score the four labels duplicated on this test by means of this
score card.

4. Describe a good label for a cotton blouse and explain the three
main ways you would use this label in purchasing such a blouse
for yourself.

Time required

Estimate: Three days or longer depending upon the ability of the group

Managing the "care and feeding" of boxed lessons

When some Illinois teachers in a summer school heard about the experi-
mentation going on at Purdue University, they were overwhelmed (not over-
joyed) with the idea. Perhaps as you have been reading these inventories,
you have felt a little the same way? "Once in a lifetime lessons'." the
Illinois instructors groaned.

However, having expressed their very human doubts, they began to feel
better and agreed to "try one or two just for kicks!" Believe it or not,
they returned the next summer devoted converts to the causel How had this
happened? Perhaps you might like to share two of the recommendations grow-
ing out of their early experiences as "doubting Thomases?"

* Start smal 1 I One teacher reported that she forgot the whole idea un-
til one day a heavy box of house furnishing materials fell on her foot!
In her irritation she took time to take a long hard look at her stor-
age management, and the memory of "boxed lessons" came to mind. Busy
as she was, she determined to reorganize her materials for student
experiments into smaller boxes — but only for the course in home decor-
ation. While her students wrote semester examinations, she sorted
supplies into smaller boxes. Interested and curious, students prof-
fered their help which was gratefully accepted but postponed until
they began the unit the next semester. So great have been the gains

to both teacher and cooperating students that she has set herself the
goal for each semester of sorting and reorganizing one course's les-
sons where three-dimensional materials are numerous but necessary.

* Use process for teaching! More than one teacher reported that even more
important than the saving of her time and sweet disposition was the added
learning of her students. Usually two girls would be assigned a certain
boxed lesson and they wrestled with about the same questions earlier sug-
gested for the teacher on page 269. When the class reached that lesson,
they were delighted to serve as "teacher's aides" for they knew almost

as much about the contents as she did. Moreover, all the rest of the
year, they brought additions for thei r box whenever they noticed a possi-
bility. And woe to anyone who got that box out of order!

281

Teaching Management to Students

Philosophically, there could not be good management in every department
unless the subject of management was taught. Previous issues of The 111 inois
Teacher have carried articles dealing with teaching money management and
teaching time management.

In this issue it has been pointed out that a definition of management
that is quite generally accepted is: a series of decisions making up the
process of using family resources to achieve family goals. The process con-
sists of three more or less consecutive steps — planning, controlling the vari-
ous elements of the plan while carrying it through, and evaluating results
in preparation for future steps. Home management is a mental process through
which one plans, controls, evaluates the use of the family resources of time,
money, energy, material, interests, abilities, knowledge, skills, and com-
munity facilities in order to achieve family goals. Management in all areas
of homemaking involves use of time, money and resources.

How do students learn management?

Habits of management are being continously established during any
activity in which the individual engages. Throughout the student's learning
experiences, habits are being formed of using available resources to
achieve desired ends. Therefore, attention should be given to establishing
desirable managerial practices in all areas of the curriculum. Hence when
the student comes to a home management experience, it is assumed that he
brings with him not only a knowledge of the various subject matter areas
but, also, some managerial practices and ideas regarding same.

Home management involves innumerable decisions in the use of time,
energy, money, supplies and equipment. As students identify their problems,
they will be better able to determine their own stage of growth in mana-
gerial ability. As decision-making is an important part of every student's
training, the decision as to the experiences needed for the group should be
made cooperatively by students and teacher. Evaluation of these experiences
should be done both by the individual and cooperatively by the group.

Since it is hoped that every management learning experience will be
not only a meaningful and practical experience, but also a democratic one,
it should be as true to real-life situations as possible. With this in
mind, many educators are concerned with the theory of teaching home manage-
ment. Is there a best way to go about it?

Societal changes affecting management in homes

There is a need for adapting the management experience to the particu-
lar needs and peculiarities of the various class groups as they are formed;
however, there are many similarities among the diverse groups who will be
engaged in the homemaking program. In contemplating the teaching of manage-
ment it is imperative to examine the cultural scene in which society finds
itself today and draw implications from this for a workable, practical,
meaningful management experience. The changes in our society are reflected

282

in the management of the home,
tions of social diagnosis.

The following chart points up some implica-

Social Diagnosis

Has Instructional Implications for

Families move about a great deal

More working women
One-third of the labor force is
women; more than one-half of
these are married

More free time for more family
members

Equipment, home furnishings
Seeking values that give stability

Improved management practices
Selection of food and furnishings
Organization of responsibilities
assigned to family members

Use of t ime

Achieving family values through

leisure time activities

Family income a major concern
Highest median income for all fami-
1 ies ever before known

Managing well to provide for all
areas, management of money and con-
sumer education

Family changed from a producing
unit to a consuming unit

Vast increase in all kinds of con-
sumer goods; wide range in quality
of products

Distance between producer and con-
sumer greater

Community norms changing

A more permissive emotional and

social cl imate

Increase in technology and knowledge
More automation

Buying practices, new products
Advertising; government protection

More consumer education; establish-
ment of standards
More to manage, so better manage-
ment practices necessary

More self-government, self-discipline,
and self-responsibility
Encouragement for making decisions
and assuming responsibility for these
decisions

Use and care of equipment, new

products

New approach to management and use

of time

It has been said that today's family is the best educated, best equipped,
most married, most divorced, most mobile, most nervous, and most insecure
of any in history. The changes that have taken place in population, econo-
mics, technology, government, education, status of women and other aspects
of our modern life undoubtedly influence the management within the family.

Teaching management as a specific separate unit

One theory on the teaching of management insists that it must be taught
as a specific unit of study. This group wants complete and full exposure
to management and its component parts. Each principle is spelled out and stu-
dents are helped to recognize the constituent parts of management.

283

One apparent danger which seems to lurk in the full acceptance and
adherence to this theory is found in the danger that transition from text-
book lesson to practical experience may not be made since management is a
mental process and only as one manages things can he actually experience it.
If then, management is a separate unit taught in addition to units in other
areas, it may have no vehicles to provide actual experience.

Teaching all home economics as management

Probably one of the newest theories on the teaching of management is
that of those who advocate just one course in home economics—management .
Actually this is not so different. It seems to be more a reversal in ter-
minology or a point of different emphasis rather than being something
totally new. It only advocates that the separate areas as we now recognize
and teach them would become sub-units or vehicles for teaching home manage-
ment. This concept has unity running continously throughout it with the
main emphasis on management, but with learning experiences in the other
areas of home economics to illustrate the principles of management.

Persistent life situations are continuing threads through life, appear-
ing again and again in everyday concerns of the individual. So, this theory
is true to life. To use it would require a considerable re-education of
teachers, but the idea is interesting and many groups are trying it or
modified forms of it. In it is an invitation for both critical and creative
thinking.

Integrating management in home economics units

Perhaps the most widely employed theory or at least the one which many
teachers profess to believe in is that of integrated management. This is
the theory prescribed in the majority of the literature available at the
present. It operates on the assumption that management practices and prin-
ciples are inseparable parts of all home economics areas. Basically this
is true, as all areas do abound with choice-making demands, values, and
resources of one kind or another. The teacher who sees to it that meaning-
ful management is included in all of her classes has successfully integrated,

There is some danger inherent in this method as the teacher may be
giving only lip-service to integrated management and so, literally, fail to
teach management to her students. As with the use of the other theories,
it is imperative to plan objectives and situations coupled with learning
experiences to assure reaching the mnnagement goals set forth. Each phase
of homemaking can make a contribution to the desired goals, although cer-
tain phases lend themselves better for the integration of management than
do certain others. The teacher should use effective learning experiences,
current resources, and various techniques in all of the phases.

In summary

Depending upon how people analyze the facts contained in management
determines in large measure the management theory they choose. Each of the
theories include the over-all ideas of value choices and decision-making.
The separate theories are all practical. Each can chart a safe management

284

course for the teacher to follow. Whether such subject matter areas as
foods, clothing, home nursing, housing, etc. have management integrated
within them, or whether an entire course in management is taught and these
areas serve as vehicles to teach the principles of management, or whether
management is a separate unit among other units, the teacher will still
have the basic principles of management to teach to high school classes
and to adul ts.

Good management in every department involves getting the clear, con-
cise story of all dimensions of management as it unfolds daily at the
scene of action. The good teacher - manager will be prepared to lead stu-
dents, not follow them, with authoritative facts and a good example of
management in her personal life, management of the homemaking department,
management of teaching procedures, and in effectively teaching management.

So let us have student-managers and teacher-managers in home economics
classes! Sir Matthew Hale wrote specifically of managing time but his
general premise about habits of good management can be applied to many
other resources, fortunately.

"Laziness grows in people; it begins in cobwebs and ends in iron
chains. The more business a man has to do, the more he is able
to accomplish for he learns to economize his time."

THE SCHOOL LUNCH ABROAD

Beulah A. Hunzicker
Division of Institution Management
University of Illinois

I was fascinated. I was in the audience at one of the meetings of the
Third International Congress of Dietetics held in London this summer. The
movie I was viewing was "Family of Eight," which showed the method of serv-
ing food to school children in one of the schools of Glasgow, Scotland.

The room in which the lunch was being served had a pass-through win-
dow to the kitchen. There were perhaps ten tables in the room, each
seating eight. These tables were of appropriate height for the grammar
school children using the lunch room. Before the children entered the room,
the places at the table were set with flatware, glass for water and napkin.
The plates were at one end of the table. There was a flower on each table.
The students entered the room in groups or families of eight--six young and
two older children. The two older students had been selected for their
leadership qualities and considered the part they played an honor. They
were proud to be chosen. After the "Families of Eight" were seated, grace
was said at each table. (Presbyterian is the state church of Scotland.)
Then two children from each table, acting as waiters or waitresses, went to
the pass-through window to pick up and bring back to the table the platters
and bowls of food. These were placed at one end of the table before the
older student, who served the plates. Each child received a portion of all
the foods. After the main course was eaten, the plates were removed and
taken to the pass-through window. On the same trip the waiter picked up
the bowl of dessert and the serving dishes and placed them in front of the
second of the older students, who served it.

The teachers were in the room during the meal period. The movie
showed one little boy playing with his spoon. A teacher quietly took it
out of his hand and laid it beside his place. He smiled. At this age cor-
rection is part of life and the child accepts it easily.

It seemed to me this movie demonstrated the British attitude toward
the needs of the small school child--away from home and family perhaps for
the first time. "The Family of Eight" gave to the young child the feeling
of belonging and hence a sense of security. New foods were introduced to
him. He followed the example of the older students and ate the food they
ate, and thus almost unconsciously was trained in good food habits. And
good food habits are the first step to good nutrition. The art and the
grace of di ning were al so being taught by training in table manners. The
conversation, the responsibility of the older students, helped to make this
truly a delightful experience for this "Family of Eight." The time, the
thought, and the money expended to meet the social and psychological as well
as nutritional needs of the child at school impressed me very much. Does
this not make for citizens who feel themselves a part of their community?

285

286

During the Congress two other members and I spent one morning visiting
school lunches in one of the poorer sections of the city of London. Although
this was the second week in July, schools were in session. In most Euro-
pean countries the children are in school approximately ten months of the
year. Our hostess was one of the School Meals Organizers of the London
School Lunch Program. The school lunch program in London is administered
by the London City Council. For advice and assistance in the nutrition
phases of school lunch administration the Council seeks the advice of nutri-
tion experts and dietitians. The day-to-day administration of the school
lunch is under a person known as the "School Meals Organizer," who heads up
the School Meals and Catering Department under the direction of the Council.
In London--and this is true in most of Europe--the person who directs large
scale feeding holds a certificate from a catering school. This is not to be
confused with a dietitian, who holds a bachelor's degree from a college or
university and who works in the nutrition phase of feeding.

Our trip to the London school lunch kitchens and dining rooms was very
stimulating. The espr i t de corps between our hostess, the school meals organ-
izer, and the managers of the individual schools and their workers was excel-
lent. We met the head masters and head mistresses of several of the schools.
These administrative school officers cooperated very well with the school
lunch program, which seemed to be the concern of the entire school staff.

The menus used in the school lunch showed adequate variety and were
similar to our Type A lunch. For the younger children one ounce of protein
food instead of our two ounces was provided. It was surprising to see the
amount of attention given to the menu items. At one school individual
pasties were being made. At another a rather fancy individual salad was
being prepared. I found that milk was not served to the children at the
noon meal but is served during the midmorning break. Most of the children
had water with their meal. There were water coolers in each service area.
The dessert for the school meal was in all of the cases we observed a warm
pudding with a custard sauce. Each child received a full dipper of the
custard sauce, which was made with eggs and a double strength dried milk.
This custard sauce seemed to take the place of the milk in the school lunch
meal .

Most of the schools provide a menu choice, especially for the older
children. It is felt this practice leads to a greater interest in the
school lunch meal and to a larger consumption of food, particularly by the
older girls.

Sampl e menu

Cold Meat Pie
or
Scotch Eggs
Salad with Peas or Beans
Fried and Mashed Potatoes
Milk Pudding and Rose Hip Syrup
Apple Flan
Custard

I

287

The "Rose Hip Syrup" mentioned in the menu is prepared from rose hips,
which are a very rich source of Vitamin C. It is sweet and palatable, and
is generally popular with children. The English school lunch booklet, Meal s
for Children, states that it should be served once a fortnight during the
winter months when the normal diet is deficient in Vitamin C. A dessert-
spoonful to each child can be poured over milk puddings, mixed with stewed
fruit or prunes, or served with trifle or with sponge puddings. Rose hip
syrup should not be heated, as this destroys Vitamin C. During storage the
jars should be put in a cool place, and away from light as much as possible,

The kitchens of the school lunch areas were light and very clean. The
equipment varied from school to school as does our own. They had the stan-
dard mixers, ovens, range top, frying equipment, and always a custard
boiler. The custard boiler was a large steam-jacketed kettle with an insert
making it a double boiler. They were fabricated out of enamel instead of
the stainless steel we are familiar with. One school used a vegetable chop-
per, a piece of equipment we do not have in this country. Because the
children like their vegetables chopped, they chopped them. Most of the
dishwashing was done by hand. We asked about mechanical dishwashers and
learned that our hostess would like to have mechanical dishwashers but the
schools were not able to afford them at the present time. In visiting these
school kitchens I had the feeling that the food service equipment industry
was not as well developed as it is in our country.

In most of the schools the main course of the meal was served from a
cafeteria line very much as ours is, with some of the cooks doing the serv-
ing. Usually there was a separate area for the service of the sweet, the
hot dessert with custard sauce. The child went for his dessert after he or
she had finished eating the main course.

In the first school we visited, we found the food served from a hot
cart in the individual classrooms. The classroom we visited was one of
all boys with a man teacher. Teacher and students ate together, then
gathered up their soiled dishes and put them back on the cart which had
originally held the clean dishes. One of the schools visited had two small
cafeterias and dining rooms instead of one large one. We were told this
was done because it was felt it was better for the younger children to eat
with a smaller group. Most of the schools had more than one serving period.
For the first serving period the tables were "set" with flatware, glass
and napkin before the students entered.

In London, due to the increase in population and present lack of
school facilities, some schools receive their food from a school which has
more adequate preparation facilities. Choice of food is served in these
schools, even though it comes by truck. The trucking of food was done just
before the serving period so that it would be hot and ready to serve on
arr i val .

The cost of the school lunches to the school child is a shilling (14
cents). If he cannot afford to pay the cost, he is not denied the privi-
lege of having his lunch. The money for the school lunch is handled by the
room teacher. The lunchroom personnel handled no money and were very happy
that this respons ibi 1 i ty was not thei rs.

288

At the last school visited our group had lunch, served in the manager's
office at a cost to us of about 1 1/2 shillings. We had the same choice
served to the children. We, too, topped off the lunch with a sweet, Apple
Flan with Custard Sauce. We felt the food was of excellent quality.

The London school lunch program impressed us as a very well-run opera-
tion, with consideration being given to the whole child. And as our hostess
said to us, "Even though we may work slightly differently, we all have the
same human problems arise and kitchen and catering problems are much the same
everywhere."

I also had occasion to discuss school lunch with citizens of other
countries while in Europe. The Swedish school lunch in under government spon-
sorship. Every child, the poor and the rich alike, receives a free school
lunch just as they receive free medical care. Every country I visited was
operating a school lunch.

Thus, the realization of the importance of providing for the growing
child a well balanced noon meal is general. The objective is to furnish
approximately one-third of the day's calories and other nutrients. The food
is varied and preparation is done with care. Each person working in school
lunch anywhere in the world, I believe, feels that he or she is contributing
to the health and well being of the next generation. Well-fed children are
happy children and are more apt at their studies. We can never accurately
measure the contribution of the school lunch to national progress.

ALL PREVIOUS PUBLICATIONS ARE NOW AVAILABLE

Send in your orders for one or more copies of back issues and they will be
filled promptly. See Volume V, No. 3, page 144 for a complete list of titles
in Volumes I, II, III, and IV, and a statement on prices.

The previously distributed issues of Volume V wi 1 1 be mailed to all those
who send in subscriptions for 196i-2 any time during this school year.

The supply of the twenty-five cent brochure, The Pay-Off in Homemaklnq, is
getting low but we shall sell single copies so long as it lasts. We are
now beginning to receive copies of the successful adaptations that teachers
in other communities have printed for distribution in their schools.

U^C IPS' y9^^7^ £~c *

' ° Arc*?? VoK v No> 7

APR

ILLINOIS TEACHER

PRE-EMPLOYMENT EDUCATION BY HOME ECONOMICS
TEACHERS

What Is Today's Employment

Picture? 290

What Are Considerations in Occu-
pational Planning for Women? . . 29^

How Can the Dual Function of
Vocational Home Economics Be
Real ized? 321

HOME ECONOMICS EDUCATION • UNIVERSITY OF1 ILLINOIS

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS BULLETIN

Volume V, Number 7; March, 1962. Published
nine times each year by the University of
Illinois. Office of Home Economics Education,
33^+ Gregory Hall, Urbana, Illinois

PRE-EMPLOYMENT EDUCATION BY HOME ECONOMICS TEACHERS

Mae Josephine Miller, Coordinator of Home Economics,

Mooseheart Schools
Helen J. Evans, Supervisor of Vocational Education,
Bureau of Home Economics, Chicago Schools

"I believe that one of the most pressing needs in the vocational field
today," wrote Arthur Fleming, former Secretary of Health, Education and Wel-
fare, in the Apri 1 , 1961 issue of Industrial Arts and Vocat ional Educat ion,
"is for more experimentation and greater flexibility in the development of
programs and methods." To meet this need President Kennedy has now appointed
a National Commission to reassess present activities and recommend future
policies. Dr. Benjamin Willis, Superintendent of Chicago Public Schools,
has been appointed to serve as Chairman of the Commission.

In his book, What Priority for Education?, President David Henry of the
University of Illinois asks some questions pertinent to all education.

"What j_s the best education for changing times?"

"How does one give a student methodology for new knowledge along with

memory of the old?"

"Can we, as even more changes are pending in the next twenty-five years,

find the methodology for more effective instruction for the creation

of attitudes that will make men and women equal to the new demands?"

President Henry, too, believes that experimentation is required if wise
answers are to be found for these questions.

Should home economists be heeding these clear challenges that "some
more of the same" is not enough? Should we reassess our contributions to
the education of today's student who tomorrow will be both a homemaker and
a wage earner?

Let us look at the record. Recently an Analysis of Programs Completed
Study was made in a carefully computed sample of downstate (non-Chicago)
high schools. On the average, not more than about one- third of the graduates
of these high schools went on to college. Of the female graduates who
tried to go directly into gainful employment, one-third of them did so with
less than the minimum amount of vocational education necessary for any occu-
pation above the level of unskilled labor. Not more than one-third of these
high schools offered the requisite amount of work in vocational business
education, though this is the area where the highest percentage of women
are employed.

At first, home economists reacted with pride to the discovery that
seven-eighths of these schools offered ample work in vocational homemaking
and family living. But second thoughts came as they read repeatedly that

289

290

"Whether women will work outside the home or in it has passed beyond choice.
The majority will work in both places. The girl of today, therefore, must
be prepared for both."

Even more recently home economists, along with most alert educators,
have been shocked into an awareness of the serious situation existing in
the many metropolitan areas studied by Dr. James Conant and reported in his
Slums and Suburbs, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York, 1961, $1.95
paperback. Dr. Conant warns that social dynamite is building up in our
large cities in the form of unemployed out-of-school youth, both boys and
girls, and is demanding radical changes in education.

Whether or not other states face similar conditions we do not know.
But Illinois facts inevitably challenge Illinois educators to think anew
and act anew. Some of us in home economics have been studying the possibi-
lities of deliberately introducing a new dimension into our home economics
classes. This article is a preliminary report on some experiments in this
direction. We hope you, in turn, will carry on with some experiments of
your own.

What Is Today' s Employment Picture?

If paid employment is to be so vital a part of our students' life in
the future, should we not know more than we do about employment of girls
and women? Could we perhaps enrich and motivate study of home economics
for many girls by incorporating into our classes more of the realities of
the world of work?

As you read this you may still be smarting from the "dismal" picture
of family life education described by Norman Lobsenz in the January, 1962
issue of Good Housekeeping. Perhaps you may be even more alarmed by some
local criticisms of your home economics program and feel unwilling to con-
sider what at first glance may appear to be "just another headache'* for you?

Mrs. Margaret Culkin Banning, speaking at a national conference on
"Today's Woman Prepares for Tomorrow's World," offered this answer to our
doubts. "The old argument of home-or-career has been settled in favor of
home- if-possibl e-al ways — the American woman has never been more interested
in homes and families — and of a paying job, which is very rarely a career.
This argument was resolved by economic necessity, advancement in women's
education, conquest of disease, elimination of domestic drudgery, fostering
of female talent, and the simple fact that women are living longer. They
are now living so long that neither housework nor the bearing of children
can possibly absorb all their lives. The average girl who graduates from
college will work outside her home for twenty-five years. Girls with lesser
education will work far longer."

Is womanpower essential?

In the Soviet Union, forty-five per cent of the workers are women; in
the United States at present women make up only one-third of our labor force-
and but one-half of these work full-time. "Ah, but the Soviet Union has put

291

its women to work through necessity," you may say. How many today realize
that we, too, have reached a point of necessity in our industrialized and
automated world? By 1965 we will have 705,000 fewer men between the ages
of twenty-five and thirty than we have today due to the lower birth rate
during the 1930's. Women must fill the gap.

In 1975 for every three persons in the United States today, there will
be more than four persons. Our available manpower is decreasing in the
face of an increasing need for workers just to feed, house, clothe, educate,
and maintain the health of our expanding population. Add to this the
people needed to produce the extras — the ever wider array of consumer goods
that we demand and the materials, equipment, and machines we must have to
maintain our place in a tense, technological world that is engaged in a
titanic struggle for survival. Clearly the wise use of al 1 our human resources,
including women, is a necessity*.

A specialist in employment, James M. Rosbrow, stressed the vital impor-
tance of manpower in his article, "The Challenge of the Sixties: Educating
for Power and Manpower," National Parent-Teacher, June I960. "The key to
much of what we shall accomplish in this country in the decade ahead, and
to the position we shall assume and hold in the world, will be the effective
development and utilization of manpower. At no other time in our history
have the education, training, and guidance of our young people been so
important, not only for their own fulfillment but for our economic and
social progress as a people and our very security among the nations."

Is the shortage merely in number of workers?

The United States is faced with a new kind of labor shortage that
threatens to check its industrial growth. It is not only a shortage of workers
but of ski lis. Neither industry nor education seem to have fully realized
that the tremendous expansion of the economy, plus automation and the in-
creasing complexity of machines, have created an equally great demand for
skilled workers. The Labor Department reports that unfilled demands for
skilled workers have jumped seventeen per cent over last year. It is
estimated that to the nine million skilled workers in the United States
must be added another five million by 1965; otherwise the economy will fall
short of the gross national product expected in that year.

Do girls and women have a place in industrial occupations as well as
in offices and homes? The American Vocational Journal, May, I960, focusing
on the general theme, "Don't Forget the Girls," answers this question with
a most positive YES. Jeanne Miller, Editor of Technical Education News,
McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., makes no attempt to discuss all areas of
training for women in industrial occupations, but suggests enough to impress
every reader of this issue with the tremendous possibilities for skilled
women workers.

To what extent is Illinois offering education for skilled workers?

In the Illinois study only about one-third of all the girl graduates
attended schools in which at least the minimum training in both vocational
business education and vocational home economics could be secured. Roughly

292

the same proportion of the girls did not have the opportunity to prepare
themselves adequately for gainful employment in any occupational field.

A 1959-60 study of per capita costs of day-school instruction made by
the Research Division of the State Board of Vocational Education indicated
that the average cost per student was sixty-two dollars for all non-vocation-
al courses. For all vocational courses in these same schools the average
cost per student was $149 — nearly two and one-half times as muchl Although
the National Defense Education Act and citizen demand are improving the
facilities for many of the non-vocational courses, home economists can well
understand how expensive the vocational courses still are to maintain.
With money comes responsibility.

In fact, most Illinois high schools do not have the funds to operate
a broad vocational program in addition to their general education and college
preparatory programs. For that reason the State Department of Education is
developing an extensive program of junior colleges and post-high school centers
for technical education. The preparation for technical or sub-professional
occupations is called "technical education" to distinguish it f rom "vocat ion-
al education," which is of high school grade, and from "professional education,"
which requires four or more years of study at the college level. So great
is the need for technically trained personnel in business and industry that
an increase of about seventy per cent in the number of persons engaged in
technical occupations by 1970 is expected for the United States as a whole.

What happens to unskilled workers?

Every day and every year the possibility of an undereducated youth get-
ting employment grows less. Actually, today the majority of the unemployed
are unskilled youth and, in spite of a business rebound of encouraging pro-
portions, the rate of unemployment remains stubbornly around seven per cent
for the country as a whole. At the present time, some two million youth try to
enter the labor market each year. By the latter half of the sixties this
figure will have become three million, an increase of fifty per cent. Never
before has the American economy been called upon to absorb into its employment
pattern the twenty-six million that will be seeking work as beginners during
the sixties. Hence the competition will become unbelievably keen.

What is the level of education of present-day job holders? At the top
of any employment list are professional and technical workers. In 1959
these job holders had an average of 16.2 years — more than that required for
a four-year college degree even though technical jobs rarely require more
than about two years of training beyond high school and make up about three-
fourths of total jobs at this level. Clerical and sales personnel showed
an average of 12.5 years; this probably represented about six months of special
training beyond high school. Only unskilled and farm workers had an average
of less than high school graduation.

What is the current trend in the level of education demanded?

Six and one-half million of the young people entering the job market in
the 1960*s will have some education beyond high school, compared with four
million in the 1950*s. And twelve million will have completed high school,
compared with only seven million in the 1950's. The May, 1961 issue of the
Monthly Labor Review, published by the U. S. Department of Labor, provided

293

these accurate statistics concerning all I960 high school graduates in
the nation.

* The I960 class numbered 1,700,000 persons, up more than 200,000
from the size of the 1959 class. Girls outnumbered boys 925,000
to 750,000.

* By October, I960 almost half the members of the class of I960 had
enrolled in college. The proportion of boys exceeded girls by 16
per cent.

* In addition to the 355,000 girl graduates in college, 120,000 were
enrolled in schools offering special training for occupations such as
nursing, beauty culture and secretarial work.

* About 400,000 of the girls sought immediate employment after gradua-
tion. By October, I960 there were eighty-five per cent working at some
kind of a job and the remainder were still hunting for jobs.

* This group included ninety per cent of the single women not in college
and forty per cent of the married women. By October, seventeen per
cent of all the girls who did not enroll in college had been married.

* Only about 50,000, roughly 5.^ per cent, of the total number of
graduates, were full-time homemakers by October.

* Entry jobs for all members of both 1959 and i960 high school classes
clearly suggest that less desirable jobs had to be accepted in i960 than
in 1959. More of the I960 graduates of both sexes were working in
service occupations.

In what field of employment is growth most probable?

Forecasting is always risky business, and never more so than in the un-
predictable sixties. Yet the U. S. Labor Department constantly collects data
from every occupational field, has them analyzed and interpreted by specialists
in Washington, and frequently publishes the figures and conclusions in up-
to-date revisions of its Occupational Outlook Handbook. From the most recent
edition come several reported trends.

Even though the needs of a greatly expanded population mean more jobs,
the number required due to automation will not be as large as might formerly
have been expected. For instance, Rep. Elmer J. Holland, a member of the
House Education and Labor Committee, recently reported a study on the effects
of automation which President Kennedy had requested. Mr. Holland found that
electronic machines eliminated twenty-five per cent of the nation's office
and clerical jobs in the last five years. In the coming five years four
million more such jobs are expected to be eliminated by machines.

Mechanization and automation have displaced workers in other occupations
where girls and women have been commonly employed.

* About 33,000 telephone jobs have been displaced by automation since
1953 and the end is not yet in sight.

294

* About 80,000 electrical machinery factory jobs which offered light
work for women have been replaced by automation in the past eight
years.

* Some 50,000 jobs have been eliminated by mechanization in radio and
television manufacturing over the last ten years, and the trend con-
t inues.

* In New York City alone automatic elevators replaced 40,000 operators
in the last fifteen years.

A common rule of thumb used by many executives in business and industry is
this: if a piece of equipment will replace one employee and costs two to
three times the annual wage of that employee, buy it.

The Occupational Outlook Handbook, the Hoi land Report, and every other
available source agree that the service industry will grow faster than any
other in spite of increased mechanization and automation. There simply are
tasks that machines cannot perform. And many of these jobs are services
directly or indirectly related to home economics. As homemaking tasks left
the home, the woman has had to follow them into industry.

,rln 1961 service expenditures have constituted forty- two per cent of
total consumer outlays, exceeding for the first time the pre-war high at-
tained in 1929," reports Robert Ferber, Director of the Bureau of Economic
and Business Research of the University of Illinois. Even discount stores
feel the need to add services in order to sell goods today1.

What is the likelihood of increased part-time employment?

Part-time employment is more prevalent and widespread today than in
the past, and is expected to leap higher by some thirty per cent during the
sixties to reach sixteen million. Women represent about sixty per cent of
the nation's part-time work force. Part-time work, obviously, is a poor
solution for a woman who requires more income than she can earn even by
full-time work, but for many homemakers it offers an opportunity to do
just ice to two jobs. The greater the skill and education a woman has to
offer, the more likely she is to obtain a satisfactory part-time job.

Europe is fashioning a vast Common Market that will foster mass pro-
duction, once a United States monopoly. So international competition will
become more intense. Employers are increasingly aware of the need for
maximum productivity from every worker, and are looking at part-time women
workers in a new light. They are finding that when women work fewer hours
per day or fewer per week, their energy, accuracy, and general productivity
increase, and absences from work decrease. It seems, therefore, that the
advantages of part-time work in some types of jobs may help to offset
the administrative problems it often imposes.

What Are Considerations in Occupational Planning for Women?

Time after time, when groups of home economics teachers have been asked,
"What unit do you feel you are least successful in teaching?" the majority

295

have replied, "That unit on 'Occupations'!" Recently experienced counselors
at the high school and college levels have expressed similar dissatisfac-
tion and regret. WHY?

Well, home economics teachers have usually given one of two reasons.
Some felt that they had neither the resources nor the time to keep their
information on the employment picture as up to date as was necessary in
such rapidly changing times. They had never heard of the government's
Occupational Outlook Handbook, and knew of no local surveys of occupations
that had been made. As a result they feared that using guidance bulletins
or even encouraging individual students to write letters was too theoretical
to meet real needs. Because recruitment materials for studying home economics
in college were not only among the best but also well understood by the
teachers, the unit was slanted in that direction far beyond what was justified
by the abilities of the class groups.

What contradictions do specialists see as they look at women and work?

Deans of girls and other specialists attempting to counsel women are
now realizing that the difficulties go far beyond these reasons. Contra-
dictions in roles of women are fundamentally due to rapid and radical
changes in society.

Ruth Hill Useem, a research consultant in the Department of Sociology
and Anthropology at Michigan State University, writing in the Journal of the
National Association of Women Deans and Counselors, October, I960 offers
the following puzzling analysis.

"Never has American society, in BUT never have women internalized

terms of its own survival, been so little these societal needs

so greatly in need of using its as personal goals and aspira-

intellectual and social woman- tions."
power

"Never have American women had BUT wanted so little."

so many opportunities open to

them

"Never has a young generation BUT less ready to listen to or fol-
been more in need of guidance low the advice which is given."
from the older generation and
experts

"Conversely," she adds, "never have the older generation and the experts been
less sure of themselves as to what advice to give."

Where can teachers find help?

The single most recent and comprehensive publication available is
undoubtedly Occupational Planning for Women by Marguerite Wykoff Zapoleon,
Harper and Brothers, New York, 1 96 1 , $5.00.

The classical definition of counseling has always embraced the dis-
covery by the individual of himself, the appraisal and understanding of the

296

world in which he lives, and the correlation of these areas so as to form
satisfying life patterns. Until fairly recently major consideration was
given to self-discovery. Mrs. Zapoleon stresses that a far more realistic
approach is imperative today.

"The economic aspects of vocational decisions, neglected in recent
years as emphasis was placed on psychological aspects, are recognized in
a promising framework for a theory of occupational choice by a team repre-
senting economics, psychology, and sociology. This brings the employer into
the equation, a healthy counterweight to the overemphasis on self that intro-
spection, though necessary, encourages in some individuals."

"In this equation, selection of the worker by an employer is equated
with choice of a position by a worker. On both sides of this equation, a
compromise takes place between what is wanted and what is possible. Four
basic factors determine the compromise the worker reaches in his choice.

Information about occupations
Qualifications required to perform the work
Other requirements unrelated to performance
What he seeks — his value orientation

On the employer side, determinants in his selection are also four.

Openings or demand

Qualifications for best performance

Other requirements unrelated to performance

Rewards offered, including pay."

This excerpt typifies the balanced presentations offered by Mrs. Zapo-
leon. For example, she acknowledges that women workers are ill more often
than are men. But she also points out that, on the average, they are absent
for shorter periods and lose less time than men because of industrial acci-
dents. She documents her statements with all pertinent research available
in a field where opinions have too long held sway.

By writing to the Women's Bureau, U. S. Department of Labor, and ask-
ing for a price list of all its publications, you will be able to select
any of these that seem valuable in your situation. This Bureau, too, recog-
nizes the unique problems of Occupational planning for women.

Economics, like every other field of subject matter, is in a state of
flux. The more thoroughly you can keep abreast of new developments, the
better will be your teaching of all home economicsl You cannot afford to
limit your reading to "women" and "work" but must at least attempt to under-
stand the many-faceted aspects of the field of economics. For instance, do
you plan to read that special subject issue on "Money in American Life" in
Atlantic. March, 1962?

The single professional reference that we would like to recommend is
a 1961 publication of the Office of Education, U. S. Department of Health,
Education, and Welfare. If you do not already have a copy, send sixty-five
cents to the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C. and ask for

297

Management Problems of Homemakers Employed Outside the Home by Mrs. Mi 1 dred
Weigley Wood, Dr. Alberta Hill, and Miss Edna P. Amidon, OE-83009, Vocational
Division Bulletin No. 289, Home Economics Education Series No. 33.

Actually, this is a collection of resource materials for teaching
adults. Practically, every secondary teacher who desires to better under-
stand the current and probable future problems of her students should con-
sider pages five through fifteen "must" reading. In this section dealing with
decisions about working outside the home, are presented concise statements
on important considerations in determining when to work, learning experiences
for studying the problems involved, and an excellent bibliography that
includes selected books, bulletins and pamphlets, periodicals, a play, and
a tape recording. We are sure that you will wish to secure many of these
references. Because prices are not quoted, an inquiry concerning costs will
be necessary.

We believe that perusal of the whole bulletin will prove helpful in
giving you a picture of the kind of life that your students will be living
whenever they attempt a dual role. This "picture in the mind" is essential
for every high school teacher who proposes to combine pre-employment emphasis
with family-centered emphasis in her teaching units.

Do girls really expect or desire paid employment after marriage?

So far as expectations are concerned, studies by psychologists indicate
that girls of every socio-economic level eagerly give lip service to the
idea but, once married, inwardly and often disastrously resist working.
Deans of Women in colleges report that this conflict is one of the highest
"costs" of youthful campus marriages. High school girls of less affluent
families confess to advisers or social welfare workers that they perceived
pregnancy as their one way to get out of school and out of having to earn
after marriage. The charming picture on page 75 of The Saturday Evening
Post. December 23, 1961 well represents their overwhelming desire even at
the price of illegitimacy.

Nor is this a very recent development. Two surveys in the Midwest give
some evidence on this point. One hundred young married women with pre-
school children, yet working at full-time jobs, were interviewed in one city
of medium size. The carefully computed sample ranged from a well-paid
principal of an elementary school to an undereducated, unskilled worker in
a factory. Eighty-five per cent of this sample reported that they had
never expected to work after marriage. The remaining fifteen per cent
reported that they had not planned to work full-time after the birth of a
first child. A state-wide survey of mothers of adolescent girls indicated
almost identically the same proportions on the part of these parents.

Mrs. Zapoleon reports that every study of the reasons why women work
finds the leading cause to be the need to make a living for themselves and
often for others. Recent figures suggest that almost twenty per cent of all
families are supported by a woman's earnings. Even in households headed by
a man, many women share heavily in the breadwinning because of illness, aged
parents, inflation, or costs of educating children.

298

Why does this all too prevalent ostrich- like tendency to bury our heads
in the sand exist? Mrs. Zapoleon points out that the constant movement of
married women with children in and out of gainful employment baffles statis-
ticians who try to arrive at firm predictions about how long women may work.
She reports, "A woman working at age twenty who remains single can expect
to work forty-one more years on the average, with no more interruptions in
her work life than those of the average man. A childless married woman
working at age twenty who remains childless can expect to work thirty-one
more years on the average." But how many years women with children will
work and when defies the best of predictors!

As we have seen, she may not expect to work at all after marriage but
nevertheless wl 1 1 . She may plan to work until she starts her family but
she cannot be certain of the date of that birth or even that it will occur.
At least one out of every ten women is involuntarily sterile, and planning
a family on schedule is not as easy as most youngsters think it is.

The fact remains that the earlier girls marry, the more children they
are likely to bear. And as long as our level of economic prosperity con-
tinues, youthful marriages are expected to also continue. In fact, predic-
tions are that, among women who have reached their child-bearing years by
1 975 » thirty-five per cent will have four or more children and twenty-five
per cent will have five or more.

Larger families may require some re-thinking of the techniques and stan-
dards of child care and home management to be taught in homemaking and family
living classes. Of course, such problems will be intensified if these
young mothers must also hold jobs. Estimates are that the present rate of
labor force participation of women under twenty-five years of age will
slightly decrease from today's level but that of women over twenty-five will
increase thirty-seven per cent by 1975. Thirty-one per cent of these women
in 1975 will be part-time workers, mostly among the younger mothers with
smal 1 chi Idren.

What facts are available about working mothers and their children?

In a fluid social situation, efforts to secure these facts are a bit
difficult. It is known that the number of women workers with children of
pre-school age has doubled during the last ten years, increasing from two
million to four million. So large an increase, of course, has led to much
discussion. All kinds of social ills have been ascribed to this change in
women's role, even though much of the work of these mothers was temporary
or part-time.

Elizabeth Herzog in the Division of Research in the Women's Bureau
finally was assigned to collect the facts and has presented them in a
twenty-cent Bureau bulletin, Children of Working Mothers. She discovered
that almost no generalization holds true for all working mothers or all
their children. She validates the fact that many free-floating assumptions
about the evils of mothers working are untested and some are clearly open
to chal lenge.

Surprisingly enough, she discovered that the mother's working, in
itself, is only a secondary one among many factors impinging on her children.

299

There are indications, for instance, that the activities of mother and
father overlap more in families where the wife works, but not that this is
necessarily unfavorable to family life. On the contrary, a number of studies
suggest the opposite. Research suggests that the "quality of the family
life influences the effects of a mother's outside employment more than her
employment influences the quality of the family life." As Dr. Anne Stein-
man expressed it from her study of middle-class women, "The marriage and
the family always come first."

Middle- income mothers have been found to be more likely to do justice
to their two jobs and to achieve adequate supervision of their children
while they are employed. The amount of education of these women correlates
with both their income and their awareness of their children's needs. The
average annual income in 1958 for all working women over fourteen years of
age who were college graduates was $3,^+7. For high school graduates the
figure was $2, 181, and for those who were not high school graduates $845.

What are major recommendations from research?

Obviously, an increase in adult education designed to improve the
earning power of workers would aid women of every educational level. This
way of meeting the income problem is fundamental but slow and uncertain.
Dr. Herzog recommends public action to improve the resources for child care
as one of the chief opportunities for national and local efforts to maximize
benefits and minimize disadvantages of mothers' employment, since the employ-
ment of these women has become of prime importance to the national economy.

A second recommendation made by Dr. Herzog is that ways be found for
reducing the toll taken by mother's dual job, which in turn affects her
family. Investigations show that working mothers average eleven and one-
half hours daily, week in and week out, on the combined tasks of homemaking
and outside jobs. At Glamour's 1953 seminar on women at work, an industrial
physician, Dr. Jean Watkeys, reported that fatigue was the leading cause of
excessive absences. The in-and-out flow of women in the labor force is
believed primarily due to the fact that these transitory workers tried to
crowd too much into each twenty-four-hour period when employed. All this is
costly for employers, and, to borrow a phrase from Dr. David Mace's article
in the January McCal 1 ' s, "consumes without mercy the golden years of youth."

Dr. Herzog's third recommendation, she agrees, has universal applica-
tion. This is that ways be found to strengthen the elements of mental
health that condition the well-being of al 1 parents and their children.
Continuing improvements in labor-saving devices and techniques, of course,
will facilitate dual roles but anxiety about standards and values can take
a far heavier toll than physical labor. Most studies show that stay-at-
home and employed homemakers accomplish the same amount of home work, but
that employed women must be speedier and schedule their home tasks differ-
ently, as well as work longer hours. The strengthening of mental health
is clearly one of the hoped-for outcomes from the lessons described earlier
in the recent bul let in, Management Problems of Homemakers Employed Outside
the Home.

300
How can these and other facts be used in counseling teen-agers?

It has been said that "money talks;" so do figures. We are offering
you here the most recent and accurate figures that seem essential for all
citizens to know and understand. Every time they have been used with boys
as well as girls in family living classes, they have stimulated serious and
sound thinking in the majority. The minority who fretfully question the
implications of these facts are invariably the female of the species.

One point that girls like to emphasize is, "But women get paid such
lousy wages; what's the use of trying to compete with men?" According to
Arthur Fleming in Good Housekeeping, January, 1962, some prejudice against
women workers does still exist. However, he also points out that girls and
women themselves contribute to the continuation of any discriminatory prac-
tices. Teen-agers must be led to understand and accept Mrs. Zapol eon's
concept of balance between the welfare of the worker and the employer, and
the need for compromise on both sides.

Women do generally receive lower full-time wages than men. There are
many reasons besides prejudice! By and large, women fail to take advantage
of additional educational and training opportunities. They move in and out
of jobs so much that they often lack the job seniority and work experience
that are needed to qualify for major advancement. Not only do women expect
to have freedom to work intermittently at times of their own choosing; they
also in many cases prefer part-time jobs which, of course, automatically
reduces the national average of working women's incomes below that of men
who receive full-time earnings.

Some boys in family living classes join the girls in the second objection
that almost always comes up sooner or later in every discussion of women
and work. This objection relates to the unrealistic image of marriage to
which students cling, no matter what may be the conditions in their own
homes. Some boys may still declare boldly, "I want my wife in the homej' but
their numbers are decreasing. Girls, on the other hand, seem to be stubborn-
ly determined that life will be beautiful, once marriage has been attained —
they "quit work to get married."

Perhaps the historically accepted male role as the family provider
makes it easier for boys to recognize the importance of studying the principles
of smart management as applied to the problems of establishing and main-
taining their homes. Certainly their response to lessons on money manage-
ment, time and motion studies, etc., seems to show more interest than is
evidenced by girls. Too many of the latter prefer to still cling to their
dreams!

Yet even the academically talented, who have the advantage of graduating
from college and marry husbands who provide incomes adequate for them to
devote their time and energy to full-time homemaking, report all kinds of
management problems a few years after marriage. Perhaps you have already
read the article, "How 10,000 Young Mothers Feel About Their Marriages, Their
Children, Themselves," Red Book, September, 1961. Their wails of disillusion-
ment and difficulties led Dr. Dorothy Lyle to write the publisher this letter.

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Dear Sir:

Your fascinating article on "10,000 Young Mothers" is — without
spelling it out — the strongest appeal we have seen for bigger
and better home economics teaching programs in the schools of
the United States.

If young mothers need "technical training for the domestic
jobs" and the "know-how of housewifery and motherhood,"
and if their own mothers are no longer providing this train-
ing, let's turn our attention to the thousands of high school
classrooms across the nation where over 2,350,000 teen-agers
will be enrolled in homemaking classes this year.

These classrooms and their teachers need the interest and
support of every American parent, if the coming generations
of young mothers are to find solutions for the problems des-
cribed in your article.

The home economics profession does not pretend to have all the
answers, but it is dedicated to bridging the gap between what
Mr. Hunt describes as "solutions which have long existed and...
woman's life in the modern world."

Sincerely,

Dorothy S. Lyle, Ph.D.
President, American Home
Economics Association

What is meant by "the two lives of women?"

Sooner or later many of the troubled 10,000 young mothers may choose
or be forced by economic considerations to join the labor force. Just last
month there appeared on the market a new text, intended as a two-semester
course for High School Juniors or Seniors, which gives some recognition to
the likelihood that jobs as well as marriage may be a part of girls' future
lives. A glance at the index shows twenty- five pages listed under the topic
of "marriage" and ten under" jobs." That seems to be a commendable innova-
tion even though Mrs. Zapol eon's concept of balance and compromise does not
appear. The text is Thresholds to Adult Living (a happy choice of title, we
think) written by Mrs. Hazel Thompson Craig and is available from Chas. A.
Bennett, Inc., 237 N. Monroe Street, Peoria, Illinois for $5.76.

In her volume Mrs. Zapol eon declares that what is already happening
and will occur even more in the future is that we are establishing a popula-
tion of women who, in essence, are living two lives. One, of course, is
the traditional life role of wifehood and motherhood that has been charac-
teristic of American life for many years. The second life begins around
thirty to thirty-five years when the child-bearing period is completed and the
wife enters the labor market, or re-enters it if she was employed earlier. To
counsel girls for such a future, Mrs. Zapol eon recommends attention to four
aspects of occupational counseling.

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* Taking a total view of her unique situation as a woman before
arriving at any major work decision

* Securing a broad view of occupational possibilities and their
relation to other aspects of her life

* Seeking a joint view with her fiance, considering allocation of
working time in their future home and outside in relation to
mutual goals

* Providing for periodic reviews of progress and revisions of plans
in light of current facts

How many times during her life will an individual need to seek education?

Margaret Mead estimates that the girl in high school today will require
re-education about five times if she is to meet the changing demands of life
in the unknown future. For example, eight million workers last year made
eleven and one-half job changes, and more than half of these changes were in
completely different job categories. We are told that many of the occupations
of today were not predicted a scant twenty years ago and we can safely say
that most of the jobs of the future are not even known today.

In the Fleming article mentioned previously, women were warned that
today anyone who wants a job must invest some time in training for it. More-
over, he states, "Some women believe that, because they received a certain
amount of education or training in their early years, they are automatically
qualified for employment today. This just is not so. Refresher programs
are a must." At a recent State meeting of Business and Professional Clubs,
a speaker urged that during the coming year every member should develop a
new marketable skill or improve in a new direction the ones she now has. At
first this idea seemed fantastic to her well-educated, securely-employed
listeners, but they were less certain about this by the time she had mar-
shalled her evidence before them. On February first sixty unemployed adults
will be paid while receiving retraining to operate power sewing machines for
the glove and mitt factory at Carl invi lie, Illinois. The program will cost
$26,000, was planned by the State Board of Vocational Education, and financed
from funds under the Area Redevelopment Act. Many other examples to support
Dr. Fleming's statement about refresher courses might be cited.

Psychologists have discovered that random aimless activity diminishes
one's capacity to endure stress. The efforts of the Commission on the
Education of Women established by the American Council on Education rest on
the conviction that the entire world has become education-conscious. Dr.
Herzog's concern for mental health may in the future be facilitated by
offering women in each life cycle stimulating opportunities for preparing
themselves for the type of living they can expect in the fol lowing cycle.
Probably the extension of education into homes through television, correspon-
dence, and other modern methods is only beginning.

What over-all changes in high school education seem to be demanded?

The glib acceptance of the popular phrases "quality teaching," "excel-
lence in education" and the like can be dangerous lest we substitute the

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phrase for the achievement. We must raise such questions as, Excellence
in what? For whom? How? When?

Many thoughtful civic leaders as well as educators are trying hard to
find the best answers to such questions for they realize that nations have
fallen because of lacks and errors in education. Working within the frame-
work of reality and utilizing their keenest insight into the problems of
contemporary life and future developments, these thinkers have come up with
some challenging proposals for changes in high schools.

Why the high school must be revived

The above is the sub-title to a recent article that appears to have
great importance for secondary teachers of home economics. To us this sub-
title seems more appropriate than "Live Students and Dead Education" featured
on the cover of the September, 1961, Atlant ic. Dr. Oscar Handlin, a distin-
guished professor of history at Harvard, is a humanitarian who is deeply in-
terested in the underprivileged in America and in a reconsideration of the
function of secondary education to better meet their needs. We urge you to
read the whole article!

However, to give you a background necessary to your further reading of
this issue, we would like you to consider for yourself the implications of
a few brief quotations from his article.

* American schools, particularly the high schools, are entering a
prolonged crisis, obscured by the debate over the ways and means
of financing them.

* The number of high school students is larger than ever before, and
it will continue to increase for years to come.

* The dominant economic trends of our period literally drive young
people into the schools. There is nothing else for them to do.

* The "academically untalented," lacking competence or motivation, will
comprise a rising percentage of the total student body.

* The old forms of vocational education will be even less useful in
the future than in the past; the very same economic changes that
drive more students into the schools also undervalue the handicraft
skills that can be taught there.

* Every dabbler in curriculum begins with the assumption that what is
taught is learned. What is taught simply cannot be equated with what
is learned and retained.

* To recognize that not everything that ought to be learned can or
should be taught by the school is to set the problem of the curricu-
lum within manageable terms.

* Our culture can be grasped at different levels. And the high school
is its critical teaching mechanism.

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* If the high school can supply a solid groundwork of training in the
use of language and of mathematics, the rest of the curriculum need
not be so rigidly specified. Let the students move where interest
and ability draw them.

* What is important is that the high school do well what it can do.

Can and should family-centered and pre-employment emphases be combined?

Dr. Handlin declares that the changes he proposes would not take a major
revolution, only a decisive clarification of purpose. In attempting such a
clarification, we find ourselves going back to our firm belief that there
are elements in thinking and management, in work habits and values that are
common to homemaking and to employment of women. Individual and group growth
in these should give students, in Dr. Handlin's words, "a sense of the value
of their labor and of its relation to others." Dr. Handlin believes
that such awareness will help them lead useful lives as parents and citi-
zens.

To so inject the cold realities of the world of work into the type of
family life education deplored by Norman Lobsenz in his Good Housekeeping
art icle--"Too much is said and written about happy families, all full of
fun and togetherness" — might be a very salutary move IF such teaching exists.
Instead, let's look at a bulletin published by the AVA Home Economics Com-
mittee on Research, twenty-five cents, and entitled Family Focus in Home
Economics Teaching. To illustrate how attention can be centered on the family
in a variety of subject matter units the authors identified three basic con-
cepts essential for effective homemaking teaching.

* Teaching should enable a pupil to understand herself in relation to
her family and all individuals and groups she is associated with.

* Teaching should enable a pupil to understand herself in relation to
her goals as a person, marriage partner, parent.

*

if

Teaching should help a pupil to recognize the reality of family
living in its various stages and to make choices in terms of family
practices and values.

The Saturday Evening Post's survey of 3000 youth gives striking evidence
that "American parents candidly admit they are spoiling and pampering this
new generation. They admit it, cluck their tongues, and keep on pampering.
In such a family setting the Los Angeles boy who stole a radio because he
"just couldn't see mowing fifty lawns to earn it" would be rescued; in the
world of work, results would be quite different — and surely more conducive
to the boy's understanding of himself in relation to others.

Again, a California high-schooler says, "Goals? We've got no goals.
Our parents have achieved them all for us." Dr. Gallup reports that the
youth of either sex is "abysmally ignorant of the economic system that has
made him what he is." The typical young man in the survey thought that about
eighty dollars a week would be ample to support a newly married couple, but
he would be satisfied with one-third less. Girls declared that they would

305

be satisfied with ten to twenty per cent less than that*. Not until such
youth encounter the rigors of employment can they be expected to appreciate
the relation of money to goals and future plans.

Although the AVA statement clearly specifies "recognize the real ity
of family living in its various stages," we doubt if many instructors or
students seriously consider the "two lives of women." Asked about occupation-
al plans, the girls in the Gallup survey say that "teaching, nursing and office
work offer the greatest opportunities for females, but they plan to become
housewives." Moreover, all agree that they are lazy and they like it that
way! Parental practices and values that have cultivated such attitudes are
doubtful models for the future lives of these young women. Apparently parents
are intent upon protecting their youth from the very experiences that made
them strong.

In summary, then, instead of pre-employment education being incompatible
with a family focus in teaching home economics, it offers a much needed new
dimension to our teaching. Possibly both parents and teachers, in their
earnest desire to make youth secure and happy, have failed to study adequate-
ly the forces of the future. According to the Gallup report, happiness is
what they want from life, and "happiness is defined as marriage, home and
family." But we elders know that marriage does not free people from responsi-
bility and that homes and families are pathetically vulnerable to the impact
from social and economic upheavals in which these youth want no part.

The first requisite of changed education is changed teachers

Just in case you have not yet received the new publication, Insight,
distributed as a service to teachers by Science Research Associates, Inc.,
1259 East Erie Street, Chicago 11, we would like to share with you an editorial
from Vol . 1 , No. 2, Fall, 1961 .

From a Russian Diary

We of the "still free" world are now at the point at which
we must find a way to get the best we know about the education
process and put it to work in our classrooms while there is still
time. To make this point more dramatic and therefore more urgent,
I would like to quote from a review of a recently published book
titled The Diary of a Russian School Teacher by F. Vigdorova.

"She works a six-day week, class appointments often contin-
uing until seven or eight o'clock. Evenings are spent visiting
the families of her students. Sundays, she may take her class
of 40 boys on a hike, a museum trip, a visit to an orphanage. In
after-school hours she helps the boys organize as a pioneer group.
They make wastebaskets for classrooms, do simple electrical wiring,
re-bind books. The teaching program itself resembles ours of a
by-gone day; emphasis on copybooks done in ink — and no blots! In
spite of her pleasure in her teaching materials, it is obvious that
her textbooks and such aren't far ahead of those Abe Lincoln used.
The American seventh and eighth grade program as I know it is far
more thorough and adult."

306

Let heaven help us when this teacher and her students, who
count it a privilege to have heat and light in their classrooms,
get harnessed to a more modern curriculum'. Such teachers and their
hordes of eager pupils are more to be feared, I think, than all
Sputniks the Russians have hurled into the heavens.

What, if anything, in this excerpt do you find yourself rather envying?
We wish all our students were as generally eager as is implied about the
Russian youngsters. How can the youth of the Gallup survey be fired with
such enthusiasm?

You have heard that enthusiasm is caught, not taught, of course? To
assist teen-agers to revive their interest in learning, a re-examination of
our own attitudes may be helpful. Have we shown interest in a continuation
of our own growth and development through learning? Do we feel a sense of
excitement in discovering new knowledge in education or some phase of home
economics? Do we express enthusiams as we explore current issues and re-
examine new answers to old questions? Adolescents* interests can be power-
fully stimulated by their teachers' own curiosity and fascination with the
unknown and the unanswered*.

If home economics teachers are to accept the responsibility of making
a contribution to pre-employment education, it will demand the professional
best that they have to offer. Or. Conant, looking at the total employment-
and-educat ion problem, calls for "dedicated teachers," no less! We can have
no illusion about the difficulty of the change-over. Yet our experience
suggests that, once the students catch the idea and recognize the excitement
of coming to grips with reality, their spontaneous interest seems worth the
efforts. John B. Barnes in his The Dynamics of Educational Research points
out that "A constant quest for new knowledge is the golden thread of strength
for teachers. Many other excellent personal qualities (warmth, genuineness,
sociability, optimism, open-mi ndedness, etc.) do not substitute for this
attribute; they augment it but they will never replace it."

Many Illinois high schools are already operating under an extended
school day. Most city systems have extended their school year, in addition
to offering summer sessions of various lengths. Other schools are attempting
to provide a previously unheard-of flexibility of schedule in order to attract
a return of dropouts. Of course, all these changes demand adjustments on the
part of teachers, even though the daily teaching loads may remain about the
same. If our premise that home economics is one of the most promising fields
for contributing to pre-employment education is true, we can expect to be
very much involved with such expansions.

What is the most critically needed change?

Whether teachers like it or not, the high schools have been forced to
become schools for all. Handlin believes that before long almost al 1 boys
and girls over five and under eighteen will be enrolled in some school. That
would practically eliminate our present dropouts. Other educators look at
the record and consider Dr. Handlin's statement only a pious hope.

In the fifties the Illinois Secondary School Curriculum Program through
the State Office of Public Instruction sponsored several factual studies on

307

such problems as the holding power of the schools and the hidden costs of
education. On the basis of such findings experimental programs were carried
on in an effort to inform and involve high school teachers, parents and laymen
in ways to improve various aspects of secondary programs and different fields
of subject matter. Dr. Metta Zahorsky studied the area of homemaking and
family living, for example.

Popular articles for several years have appeared in newspapers and
national magazines. All these were designed to arouse interest in dropouts
among parents and friends of youth. In Canada, McClain's Magazine published
a summary in popular form of a year's study of the dropout problem in the
high schools throughout Canada that indicated that the problem there was
very similar to that in the United States.

Only recently, however, have citizens seemed to become aware of the
seriousness of the dropout problem to our whole economic structure. For
example, Deton J. Brooks, director of research and statistics for the Cook
County Department of Public Aid, has given wide circulation to the fact that,
if the 17,000 students who dropped out of Chicago schools in the 1 960-6 1
school year remain on the assistance rolls for fifty years, the cost to
taxpayers in public aid alone would be $510 million. Another example may
be cited of one school system that lost in one year an estimated total of
three million dollars in state aid to education, which it would have received
if its dropouts had stayed in school.

Cost factors such as these are among the reasons why labor unions,
employer groups, and a large number of public and private social agencies
are stepping up their attempts to solve the problems created for society
by students who leave before graduating from high school. It is very unlike-
ly that any one group or program will meet the entire need but the high school
must make the start.

What is the relation of dropouts to employment?
j-

Today about one out of every three dropouts from school systems leave
during the eighth grade or before; two out of three drop out before the
tenth grade. A recent survey of fifty-eight typical cities showed an increase
of dropouts during the junior and senior years of high school. This survey
was sponsored by the National Council of Jewish Women. The report charged
that "obsolete methods and inadequate resources in public school guidance and
vocational training programs are a serious danger to the nation's economic
growth."

National statistics on I960 graduating classes indicate that when a
dropout was fortunate enough to land a job, it was likely to be on a lower
rung of the occupational ladder. For instance, though six out of ten of
employed female graduates of the June, I960, classes were clerical workers,
only two out of ten female dropouts of 1959 and i960 had such jobs. Two out
of ten female dropouts were factory hands, and more than three out of ten
were waitresses or housemaids. Clearly a high school diploma was a ticket
to a faster job start for new female workers.

Every study ever made has shown a high correlation between the amount
and kind of education and the amount and kind of adult employment. Not only

308

does the educational level bear a direct relationship to job level but also
to stability of employment. Among that part of the labor force which did not
complete high school, unemployment is twice as high as among high school
graduates, and almost four times as great as among those who took even a
little more training beyond high school. State Superintendent Wilkins reports
that 29 per cent of the total unemployed in Illinois this past year were
under twenty-five years of age and mostly in the field of unskilled labor.

In the fifties consideration of the dropout always led to a question
concerning the validity of the assumption that all chi ldren ought to finish
high school. Many secondary teachers are still asking that question. They
find it hard to realize how swiftly and radically times have changed. Today
nearly al 1 employers demand a high school diploma and an eighteen-year minimum
age. At present the Illinois School Code prescribes that youth shall attend
continuation school one eight-hour day weekly until their seventeenth birth-
day. Yet many educators quest ion trying to solve the problem by raising the
legal leaving age to eighteen without building up more understanding on the
part of youth and their parents and their teachers. Requiring sixteen-
and seventeen-year-olds to be either in school or employed is being tried in
some states, for example California and Wisconsin, and is one of the provisions
of the so-called New Education Act in England.

Are dropouts found in rural as well as urban areas?

A recent report of the Labor Department states that young persons in
rural areas leave school to a greater extent than do those in urban areas.
Apparently this comes as a surprise to rural citizens themselves. They just
think of Mary as "staying home for a while" and fail to identify this with
what they think of as "urban unemployment." However, the results on the
national economy are the same.

Mrs. Zapoleon warns, "Rural young people warrant special attention in
vocational guidance because of their limited opportunities for education and
employment. Consolidated schools, better transportation, and the movement
of industry to suburban and rural areas have increased opportunities, but
many rural young people still must migrate to the cities because of the
continuing, almost precipitous, decline in agricultural employment." State
employment services in rural areas find that rural youth are extremely re-
luctant to leave their home community; because of lack of training they
shrink from the necessary compromise between ambitions and abilities that
competition in urban employment demands. Mrs. Zapoleon concludes "The burden
of guiding and preparing young women for homemaking AND for employment on or
off the farm in the rural community or for migration to town or city rests
primarily with the rural high school."

What does research tell us about dropouts of the past?

Many studies have been made of dropouts in an effort to identify the
"typical" dropout. About the only warranted conclusion that can be drawn
from these is that there is no such thing. Rate of dropouts also varies
widely from place to place and from period to period.

Some of the characteristics that are frequently found in school drop-
out s - -^ut_jTQt_aJjwa_^s_ -- a r e :

309

Scholastic retardation and grade failures

Above normal number of schools attended

Little if any participation in school or community activities

Range of I. 0_. from around 60 to around 120

Reading level generally below the I. Q. level

Excessive absence from school

Feeling that school is giving little "he can use"

Serious health problems of self and/or family

Family in economic need and/or providing few social advantages

Family sees little value in education and has a record of other dropouts

Social and/or personal maladjustment

Unrealistic view of his own job qualifications

A discouraged member of a minority group

When potential dropouts perceive themselves confined to a round of
purposeless activities in school, they are likely to react in one of two
ways. Most girls seem to become utterly apathetic and simply endure until
they reach the legal leaving age. Others with more vitality grow hostile
and rebellious, even to the point of juvenile delinquency. Yet in a study
of 1399 dropouts in Detroit, no disciplinary action was reported in seventy-
three per cent of the cases. In fact, ratings in school citizenship were
average or better for seventy-one per cent of these boys and girls.

How should counseling in high schools be changed?

All authorities agree that up to now counseling has been "too little
and too late." It has been largely concerned with guiding the college-bound
in the school population. There is real need for expansion of pupil services
in elementary schools such as only the wealthiest communities are now provid-
ing for their children. It has been recently di scovered that observations of
sixth grade pupils are helpful as a possible means of identifying character-
istics which may predict early dropout.

Authorities now feel strongly that the school should be responsible for
the guidance of every one of its students up to the age of twenty-one. The
need is particularly acute in schools located in slum areas. They contend
that money must be found for a greatly expanded program along the following
lines. The essence of all these services is individualization.

Testing and records: appraisals of general ability, interests, aptitudes,
abilities; developmental histories in home and school

Concentrated guidance program: offered in ninth grade or earlier if
students are potential dropouts; designed to help students of
various abilities and aptitudes make appropriate educational and
vocational choices

Counsel ing: between individual students and guidance specialists, teachers,
lay experts, personnel managers, and workers on jobs

Providing career conferences: drawing upon laymen in local industry
and business as well as representatives from colleges to talk
with individuals and student groups with like expectations

310

Job analysis and occupational surveys: appraisal and predictions about
local employment patterns preparatory to curriculum and course
revisions; analysis of available jobs in terms of individual
capacities and interests

Job placement: making and maintaining employer contacts, investigating
conditions under which students would work; serving as liaison
officer between school and the job; exit interviews before indi-
viduals leave high school; part-time placement services to provide
work exper ience

Fol low-up: appraisal of success of former students for their continu-
ing adjustment and also for continuous curriculum modification;
conferences with unemployed to try to get them to return to school
or continue their occupational education in some other form

Satisfactory guidance service is an integrated one and occurs largely
as each individual shows a need for one or more of these aids. In the best
school systems the program is supplemented by coordinated services of a school
psychologist and a social worker. To achieve their goals these specialists
need to be available during the summer as well as during the school year.

What do psychologists recommend for changing motivations of dropouts?

Not only dropouts but most adolescents sag in their zeal for education
at one time or another. The parents of one girl suddenly discovered this
fall that their Julia had no intention whatever of giving up the summer job
she had enjoyed to return to "that childish old grind" of her junior year.
She was a slightly better than average student and her parents had taken her
graduation from high school for granted. But they were unable to convince
the girl by demonstrating that the work was a dead-end job so far as advance-
ment was concerned. She did not want to advance; she wanted to get married!
Nor was she persuaded by arguments put forward by the high school staff.
However, in November Julia was fired in order that her employer might make
a place for his unemployed neice. Nor could she find any other permanent job.
Rather sheepishly she returned to school the second semester, unable to
graduate with her class but loaded with advice for "dumb kids who quit school I1

According to A. H. Maslow's motivation theory, the reluctant learner
is not lacking in motivation but is directing his efforts toward satisfaction
of needs other than the need to achieve in class. He calls the usual basic
personality needs "lower-order" needs and self-actualization through achieve-
ment in school learning the highest order of need. Basically the job of
teachers and counselors is to analyze each situation as best they can, pro-
vide a setting for school achievement by the individual in at least one
class, then help the student understand that achieving in itself satisfies
a real need and that it results in more of the very approval that meets his
other "lower-order" needs. Many home economics teachers, employing this
technique, have been amazed at the near-miracles wrought by real achievement
because the homemaking learning was commensurate with the ability of a dis-
couraged Latin student, for example.

To illustrate this rather theoretical explanation, let us use the case
of Julia. The counselor was informed of Julia's decision by her mother.

311

From the parent's tearful declaration that she had "done just everything for
that girl!" the counselor got a picture of an unduly protected girl who for
the first time was savoring the joys of independence and was not about to
forgo them, no matter what the loss in school achievement. After Julia
was "at liberty," the counselor invited her to talk to his ninth grade
guidance groups on "The ups and downs of holding a job." He alerted her
teachers to try to find opportunities for independent responsibilities for
Julia as fast as her achievements warrant them. The prognosis so far?
Favorable!

Some disgruntled teacher has quipped, "Half of a teacher's time and
two-thirds of her wit must be spent in making students want to learnt" Even
relatively young instructors gripe about this state of affairs and are cer-
tain that they never acted as their present students do! Like it or not,
however, teachers must accept that student motivation is the key to success
in school and employment. Since the lack of motivation for work of any kind
is so prevalent today, the reasons for this phenomenon become important.

A fundamental reason for lack of interest in self-discipline is sug-
gested in a report on a ten-year research project on illegitimacy. This
valuable book is by the noted sociologist, Dr. Clark Vincent of the National
Institute of Mental Health in Washington, D. C. The title is Unmarried
Mothers, Free Press of Glencoe, 60 Fifth Avenue, New York City, 1961, $6.00.
Dr. Vincent points to our recent "philosophy of fun" as the source of this
and many other social problems. He declares that children are reared by it;
if a child enjoys something, then that something is supposed to be good for
him. Teachers are warned that a child will learn more and faster if he is
"having fun." Personnel relations in business and industry increasingly
stress the necessity of making the work enjoyable and having the employees
feel that they are "just one big happy family." "Not merely the mass media
but many serious writers," he says, "extend this to sexual relations, before
and outside of marriage. Sex is fun but don't get caught."

His findings lead him to believe that irresponsibility and lack of self-
discipline are widespread through the ent i re population, not merely in the
part with limited educational, social, or economic background. Incidentally,
too, Dr. Vincent discovered that these characteristics are not limited to
the very young. The proportion of unmarried mothers who are between twenty-
five and thirty-four years of age has been increasing rapidly.

How can disinterested students be persuaded to stay in school?

This "philosophy of fun" may be at least partly responsible for another
reversal in today's society. Dr. Conant and Dr. Handlin, from their per-
spective of education as it exists at Harvard, tend to believe that (in Dr.
Handlin's eloquent words) "...only the misfits or the children of the very
poor and underprivileged are pushed into the narrowing range of employments
from which there is no exit." Observations in high schools and colleges, as
well as recent studies, indicate that premature withdrawal from school is
definitely not limited to the objects of Dr. Handlin's compassion.

However, more boys than girls do drop out of school. Studies show that
girls are less likely to get restless; they have less difficulty adjusting
to the demands and expectations of school because they conform more readily

312

than boys. When matched with boys of similar ability, girls are more suc-
cessful in classroom work.

Yet teachers wail: "I've had three F.H.A. officers drop out of school
this first semester! How can theythrow away their lives like that?" Of
course, these girls have their reasons — and tragic reasons a few may be.
Usually, however, the reason is an indifferent lassitude, an allergy to
organized tasks. Ruth Hill Useem points out that teachers and counselors
have previously worked on the assumption that their girls had goals; the
educator's role was to help them achieve these. In contrast, today's girls
do not have goals. How can such girls, entirely capable of high school
graduation and, in some cases, even further education, be persuaded to
stay in school?

Up to date only a few school systems have organized programs for tackling
this problem. From a Guidance Newsletter distributed by Science Research
Associates in November, 1957, the following ideas have been briefed.

* In Hastings, Nebraska, identification of potential dropouts begins
In junior high school. Each is assigned to a teacher in the subject
he likes best or does his best work in. Standardized test results
have shown that eighty to eighty-five per cent of these students
have the ability to do high school work. Of 130 students classified
as potential dropouts, forty-three stayed to graduate.

* In Newark, New Jersey, the dropout rate fell from 40.5 per cent

to 26.5 per cent through applying the principle that, if a student is
interested in even one subject or one activity, he often will remain
in school for that reason alone.

* Toaz Junior High School, Huntington, New York, reports that a year's
required course on occupational trends and job requirements led
twenty potential dropouts to enroll in the senior high school the
next year.

* Buffalo, New York schools cut their dropout rate from forty per cent
to six per cent through a comprehensive program of home visits, in-
dividual guidance, help with course planning, and a high school
orientation program that included "big brothers" and "big sisters"
to help individuals.

Even just one teacher can accomplish a lot for special students in
her classes. For example, an over-age boy in a mixed class in home living
had given generously of his time and ability to construct cages for rats
in class experiments. He also found time to feed and care for "his" rats
over week-ends when his classmates in the eighth grade were always far too
busy. Through his interest and responsibilities in this one class he was
finally persuaded to continue in the ninth grade and eventually graduated,
after getting off to a poor start in the elementary school.

Then there is that technique of home visits that Buffalo apparently
used so successfully. Someone has said that "The first test of maturity is
to ask one unpopular question." Let us be very mature by asking ourselves

313

several questions, if we happen to have this privilege in our present
pos i t ions.

* Have we on home visits been alert to home conditions and/or family
comments that might portend an early dropout? (See page 309 for
suggest ions)

* Have we worked into discussions with parents and daughters pertinent
facts on future trends, such as are reported in this article?

* Have we tried to analyze home situations and to suggest preventive
measures that might avoid or reduce girls' lack of motivation?

* Have we accepted occupational planning as of equal importance with
personal and family problems during individual or group conferences
at home or at school?

* Have we been sympathetic with the management problems of students
who are hardpressed by the demands of part-time jobs that are
necessary if they are to remain in school? Perhaps adapted their
problems to classroom teaching or to our home experience requirements?

* Have we shared information gained on home visits with our school
counselors and with other teachers, and solicited their cooperation
in encouraging students to stay in school?

* Have we noted the name of some past dropout now unemployed who might
be persuaded to return to high school under favorable conditions?

How can parents be led to influence potential dropouts constructively?

In his introduction to Slums and Suburbs, Dr. Conant emphasizes
the vital importance of parents. He states and develops at length this
basic concept: "...to a considerable degree what a school should do and
can do is determined by the status and ambitions of the families being
served." A I960 survey of 600 high school seniors who entered the labor
market indicated that parents ranked far ahead of teachers and counselors in
significantly influencing the vocational choice of these youth. Ever since
Florence Corbin of Nebraska made the first study of what influenced girls
to choose home economics as a college major, all investigations have supported
this same conclusion. Indeed, we in home economics and elementary instructors
have been the two groups of teachers more generally realizing the influence
of parents.

Both parents and teachers realize full well that adult-adolescent con-
flicts over work are inevitable. As Dr. Karl Menninger says, "The way in
which a man works is a measure of his maturity." A teen-ager in the Camp
Fire Girls' national study wrote: "I don't like to wash clothes, wash
dishes, dry dishesl I don't like to make my bed or clean my room, and I'll
tell you another thing — I dislike my brothers." Almost all these girls were
tremendously interested in marriage — the sooner the better — in having their
own homes and "several" children. But these same girls were equally unin-
terested in cooking, caring for a house, working with little children. Such
confusion appears to be the height of immaturity!

314

In spite of all this, parents and teachers also know that teen-agers are
eager to prove themselves grown-up and independent. They want to assume real
responsibility and be full participants with adults in the affairs of the
world. They perceive a "job" as offering such satisfaction, hence the motiva-
tion of work in preference to delegated tasks at home or at school.

In a 1958 report on a research project at Purdue University, Coster
found that the low-income student is less likely to enjoy strong parental
interest and support. Unfortunately, the teachers in Elmtown's Youth were
equally uninterested and unhelpful. Sometimes neither teachers nor parents
seem to care what these students are doing. For instance, where was the
parental interest in the unexpected acquisition of the radio by the Los
Angeles boy in the Gallup survey? Yet the same survey indicated that nearly
seventy per cent of American youth turn first to their parents for guidance.
A great increase in the school's contacts with parents for a mutual sharing
of information related to the future of their adolescents certainly seems
indicated.

As an example of this recommended "mutual sharing," let us explore just
one angle of the many-faceted problem of money since we used the illustration
of the stolen radio. Economic need in the family appears to be the first
reason for quitting school teen-agers almost always offer teachers and
counselors. In one city investigators, talking with parents, found that
many parents reported that they felt able to keep their children in high
school until graduation but not to supply the "luxuries" their sons and
daughters thought they must have. But no one should be greatly surprised to
learn that high school students frequently want to leave school and go to
work in order to provide for themselves some of the goods and services most
adults of today are unwilling to do without.

What can the school do to reduce these "hidden costs" of education?
The obvious answer seems to be for the school to meet costs involved in
courses and extracurricular activities. For instance, should the school pay
for food costs in the high school home economics classes? Actually, most
schools already do, or have some plan for eliminating fees for needy students
in the same way that meals are provided to such youth in the school lunchroom.
Should the school pay for the fabric and findings used in teaching students
to sew? Ah, there the problem becomes more complexl A few schools have worked
out a complicated plan whereby public aid funds pay for the materials; when
completed, the garments are distributed to needy clients of some public
agency. But what happens to that al 1- important motivation of students learn-
ing under such conditions?

In low-income families both parents and teen-agers often feel pretty
hopeless about the possibilities of satisfactory future employment. And well
they might as they see older unemployed youth walking the streets! According
to Conant's findings, the situation is particularly acute for Negro students.
He argues strongly that "There is no reason to believe that these students
as a group are inherently or genetically less capable than average students,
but apparently because of some types of experiences in their lives under-
privileged youth, both white and colored, have been unable to develop their
intellectual skills." Basically this is probably the most hopeful conclusion
in his entire volume. But obviously tremendous problems still await solutions.

315
What responsibilities must be assumed by communities?

A special feature on "The Serious Problem of the School Dropout" in
1 1 1 inois Education, January, 1962 strongly emphasizes the importance of
community consideration of the current proposal to raise the minimum school
leaving age to eighteen years in the State of Illinois. Or. Charles Matthews
of the Quincy Youth Development Project warns in his summary, "If any such
revolution in educational objectives, methods and subject matter is to occur,
. . . as is implied by our knowledge of the school dropout, intelligent and
determined moral and financial support will be required from the public."

Perhaps this is the strategic moment to start a concerted attack upon
the problem of educating and involving the public, in spite of the fact that
financial support for even our present programs seems to be increasingly
difficult to secure in some areas. As has been mentioned earlier, State
Superintendent Wilkins is pressing home the economic losses that are inevit-
able from school dropouts. Dr. Matthews recognizes the tax problems but
states, "However, successful programs which prevented early school leaving
and the consequent personal and social loss could well multiply their costs
with returns to the community in the form of better social and personal
health, better workers, and reduced expenditures for welfare and crime."

Lay participation in educational planning is more and more essential,
as well as being a part of our American tradition. All investigations have
recommended cooperative efforts to study and find solutions to the local
school's problem of dropouts or of high school graduates who are unwilling
or unable to continue their education but likewise unable to get jobs. No
phase of the school's program so greatly requires the full cooperation of
the public as that phase dealing with the world of work. On the other hand,
no other part of the school's program is so readily understood by the public.
As employers, members of the public will use the products of the school.
Every executive knows, in terms of "breaking in" new employees, the economic
implication of the research finding that "the early school leaver is the
job jumper." The extensive discussions concerning the difficulty of getting
into college are paralleled by equally concerned talk on how well the local
school is preparing the non-col lege-bound for job competency. Hence employers
are especially interested and capable in assisting in the preparation of
programs that will help students develop such competency.

In speaking of the public, everyone is included — laymen, parents,
employers, workers, little businessmen, industrialists, students, teachers,
service clubs, and private as well as public community agencies and organ-
izations. Techniques for the full utilization of the public includes the
trades commissions made up of workers and employers in the area of each
vocation where pre-employment education is proposed, the familiar (but still
too rare) advisory board, and more informal groups for ad hoc committee
action. It is essential, however, that such groups remain advisory in
character and broad in scope so that they do not, in their enthusiasm, pro-
mote the development of a particular program at the expense of students'
total education. For example, Dr. Matthews recommends that girls receive
pre-employment education and participate in appropriate work-experience
programs but reminds his readers that special attention should also be given
to girls' preparation for marriage and family living.

316

Individually and in groups, citizens can contribute more than money.
Their active encouragement and up-to-date information are invaluable. Here
are a few of the forms these may take:

* Continual reorientation of teachers and counselors to the demands
and problems of business and industry. The Business- Industry Days
that provide for this through talks and field trips for every teacher
in a school system are common in Illinois; perhaps the present urgency
may help planners to improve these experiences, especially if stu-
dents must be kept in school until the age of eighteen.

* Offerings of similar information to parents in widely advertised
open meetings. Leaders in the labor and management groups could
"talk up" the meetings, clergy could promote attendance, and elemen-
tary and junior high school as well as senior high school administra-
tors and teachers could interpret such meetings not only through PTA
organizations but also reach non-members of the PTA through flyers
sent home from school with students.

* Frequent talks to students, not just on "Career Days," to present a
wide variety in job conditions and trends. Where economics is
studied by only a few students in the local high school, as is all
too frequent in Illinois, some applied economics could be included
for the general educational background of the future citizens.

* Provisions for individual and group efforts with the major goal of
raising the aspirations of youth to a point commensurate with their
potentials.

The National Urban League with headquarters in New York City has
developed successful techniques for working with Negro youth that
offer excellent suggestions to teachers and other leaders starting
to work with them.

The well-known Horizon Project in a junior high school in New

York City is an illustration of what a reorganized school program

can accomplish with generous support from the public. It is fre-
quently described in professional journals.

The article on "Big Brothers in America " in a January Saturday
Evening Post gives examples of the effectiveness achieved through
a combination of group and individual efforts. Perhaps it is high
time to organize a "Big Sisters" movement?

"New York City's Privileged Teen-agers" in the February, 1962
issue of The Ladies Home Journal describes in considerable detail
the types of volunteer community services that the "privileged"
youngsters enjoy. These same services are needed in many commu-
nities, large and small.

* Visits to individual parents as recommended by Mr. Wilkins in his
proposals for Boards of Education assuming responsibility for the
selection and preparation of laymen for such visits. Such plans
would seem to be best adapted to rural and small town communities.

317

* Organized community plans for breaking down racial and other barriers
in employment; Dr. Conant remarks that "As we now recognize so plainly
but so belatedly, a caste system finds its clearest manifestation in
an educational system," but sees this as a natural result of employers
in hotels, stores, laundries, etc. limiting their hiring to the white
race, the native citizen, and other undemocratic practices.

Experiences for learning responsibility

Newspapers and other mass media are often loud in their condemnation of
today's youth at every educational level and various socio-economic levels.
Major General Victor Krulak, Commanding the Recruit Depot of the Marine Corps
at San Diego where 20,000 youth pass through his command annually, is the
author of a recent blast in which he declares that, though American youth
may be "basically sound," he finds all of them "ignorant, soft, and irrespon-
sible." For these deficiencies he blames respectively the schools, the par-
ents, and society in general. But, as Mrs. Mill i cent Mcintosh, President
of Barnard College, once commented: "Parents and teachers might well talk
less to young persons about 'taking responsibility' and do more to provide
youth with opportunities for service." Such experiences in learning respon-
sibility may be secured in different ways.

* Until recently many youth, except perhaps the most disadvantaged
groups in metropolitan areas, have been able to find jobs during
school vacations. Opportunities to do this are becoming fewer every
year; the "silver cloud in the lining," however, is that from one-
third to one-half of the student bodies of Illinois high schools are
now studying in summer schools. While part of these programs are
remedial in nature, most are designed for further improving the
college-bound students. Other boys and girls, with less zest for
learning, play about and/or often get into mischief.

* Some ambitious and usually needy students manage to hang onto part-
time work, even during the school year. If this is as maturing and
valuable an experience as it is assumed to be, are teachers giving
through classroom teaching appropriate encouragement to the idea?
Or do they thoughtlessly deplore the inconveniences and losses in
extracurricular participation that a part-time job makes almost
inevitable?

* Dr. Conant describes present work-exper ience programs provided by
high schools in favorable terms. "Formally organized vocational pro-
grams supported by federal funds allow high school students to gain
experience in a field of work which is likely to lead to a full-time
job on graduation." These are the diversified occupations in local
businesses and industries and the distributive occupations in merchan-
dising fields. In both programs the student attends school half-time
and works in a regular job the other half during the last two years

of high school. He receives hourly remuneration for his work, and
has the advantage of cooperative educational supervision from both his
employer and the school's work-coordinator who usually also teaches
him in one course daily.

318

* In cities special technical schools provide general education and
trade training, plus work-experience set up in the school itself.
With so few of these in operation, no clear-cut pattern has emerged
in terms of grade allocation of offerings in homemaking and family
living, of work experiences within the school, and of work experiences
out in the community. The latter may be secured in retail establish-
ments but more often in community centers for care of the sick, the
aged, and young children.

* In all but the very smallest communities there are opportunities for
adolescents to render community service, but at little or no pay.
Invest Your Summer, a bulletin published by the Commission on Youth
Projects, 257 Fourth Avenue, New York City, points out the highly
significant value of community service and ways through which effec-
tive work habits and attitudes can be developed. Since there must
always be some voluntary community service, as well as that done by
professionals, these opportunities often have a strong appeal to
girls who come from comfortable homes and assume that volunteer ser-
vice, rather than paid employment, will be their contribution after
marriage. Often the needy girl cannot afford the clothes, transpor-
tation, and other expenses entailed. As one youngster, almost in
tears with frustration cried, "I'm every bit as noble as Selma and
Doris — only I can't afford to be!"

What changes in the curriculum are recommended by authorities?

Since 1900 the total population has merely tripled but the high school
student membership has been mul t ipl ied fifty times in the same period! As
a nation we are committed to the belief that, while people differ in their
rate of learning and their special aptitudes, interests and circumstances,
al 1 can benef i t from increased and diversified educational opportuni ties.

Dr. Conant believes that "in a heavily urbanized and industrialized
free society the educat ional exper ience of youth shoul d f i t their subse-
quent employment." Dr. Earl Bedell, writing on "Vocational Education for
Divergent Youth" in the American Vocational Journal, January, 1962, sets
high expectations for future levels of education to be attained. He esti-
mates that twenty to twentv-five per cent of all citizens must operate at
a professional level. He believes that sixty to sixty-five per cent must
do technical and skilled work if our economic strength is to be satisfactory.
Never yet have we attained these goals; quite clearly new heights in educa-
tion must be achieved by a far larger percentage of our population than
ever before.

Dropouts and high school graduates who are unemployed must obviously
provide a part of these two groups. To upgrade so large a proportion of
our population offers a truly fearsome challenge to educators! Research in
education has been previously starved for lack of funds. Compare, for
instance, the money expended for armaments research with that for education!
Already some realization of the urgency of this need is being recognized.
More funds will be forthcoming. But the number and quality of research
workers may prove to be a serious bottleneck. Perhaps the resourceful
workers in motivation research for advertising need to be transferred en
masse to education problems.

319

Some investigators have found as high as seventy per cent of the drop-
outs and unemployed have the native capacity to learn far more — but not the
least desire to do so. The challenge for research workers, and later for the
practitioners in the field, will be to distinguish between student capacity
and motivation. Many people are predicting that freedom to assume respon-
sible work, even though under guidance, will prove to be the most effective
motivation discovered. Russian educators are utilizing this technique,
even in the elementary schools.

Dr. Bedell calls the less talented youth "divergent," Dr. Conant "aca-
demically untalented.11 Both authorities state that more jobs must be found
for them to keep them from living their lives on relief. In Germany the
potentials of such youth are individually, patiently, and skillfully developed
to the maximum. In England farming, distribution, and other simple routine
jobs are disappearing so rapidly that Sir George Thomson of Cambridge
University in his The Foreseeable Future seriously proposes: "Will our des-
cendants have to preserve inefficient ways of doing things in order to keep
employment for the less gifted intellectually? A wiser course would be to
use some of these men and women to humanize a civilization grown too mechan-
ical. There are plenty of jobs--tending the aged is one — where kindness and
patience are worth more than brains. A rich state could well subsidize such
work." Outside of Russian innovations, this is probably the most humane and
imaginative proposal yet made. Before you reject it, take some time to con-
sider the possibilities.

A few years ago we might have said that the patchwork type of high
school curriculum revision while obviously not satisfactory, was still the
only practical one because of the vested interests which are adhered to
tenaciously not only by the teachers but also by the parents. The Sputniks
shook up those vested interests and we have had great changes for the college-
bound students in high school. Now we prophesy that the mounting numbers
of the unemployed will hasten the public's acceptance of changes in the
education of the less talented. Briefly, we list here some of the changes
being generally proposed.

* A broad, shared, common base of knowledge is essential for everyone.
The more basic knowledge a women has, the more adaptable will she be
for the changes she will inevitably face. Moreover, many of the occu-
pations of our society which take a relatively limited time to learn
take so little time because of this backlog of basic knowledge.

* School people have always recognized general education as essential
to job effectiveness, but youth often resist this type of offering.
Hence, the academic courses required must be limited in number and
very thoughtfully chosen for such youth. And public demand will focce
teachers henceforth to put forth greater effort and achieve better
results in motivating students to develop up to their maximum potential.

* The responsibility for any job quickly shows students their need for
adequate and written communication if they are to hold that job.

But reading Si las Manner, for instance, is not the answer these days.
Much more appealing because related to employment is the reading for
and preparation of a "Job Hopefuls" booklet on their own qualifications,
as recommended by one English teacher.

320

* To prevent school failures becoming citizen failures, offerings in
Social Studies must be revitalized through also being related to
employment. The fact that unions are now successfully emphasizing
education programs for workers as citizens indicates that, while high
school social science courses had proved difficult and dull, even more
advanced subject matter now is seen as comprehensible and worthwhile.
The basic concept underlying the union offerings is "The cost of a
thing is that amount of life which must be exchanged for it." Girls
and women especially need to understand:

Their rights and privileges in terms of wage and hour standards

Unemployment insurance

Workmen's compensation

Health insurance

Social Security with its frequently changing provisions

Consumer protection laws

Facilities for health, recreation and investment provided by their

employers

Facilities for health, education and recreation provided by their

communi t ies

* To carry on their own business, to function acceptably in most jobs,
and even to read a newspaper halfway intelligently the fundamentals

of mathematics are imperative for slow learners to live in today's and
tomorrow's world. Fortunately government subsidized programs of
research and teacher in-service education are hastening the day when
this goal will be achieved.

* Beyond the fundamentals in these three areas of subject matter,
English, Social Studies, and Mathematics, there seems to be growing a
consensus that courses in homemaking, family living and job training
will be of more worth to low-average and dull-normal students than
would be additional elective courses in academic fields. "Academic,"
as used here, would not include offerings in physical education,
music, art, or driver training.

* This planning leaves to job-related courses the responsibility for
interpreting to students basic science principles through their
practical applications in such courses. For suggestions on how
this may be accomplished read Aleene Cross' article, "Natural
Sciences in the Home Economics Classroom," in the November, 1961,
issue of the American Vocational Journal. Of course, behavioral
sciences are also to be applied.

* Reduction of academic courses permits increased time for nonacademic
elective sequences for the less talented students. Authorities in
both general and vocational education are now coming to agree with
Conant that the present adequacy of these sequences is questionable
and are urging parallel work experience programs in and outside of
school .

* A trend rather than a recommendation may be developing from pilot
programs that introduce to al 1 students early courses designed for
personal living. Examples of these are the highly successful courses

!

321

in personal typing now being taught in the sixth grade and the
rewarding offerings in Home Living in the same grade. Such courses
are in harmony with the philosophy that the elementary curriculum
should meet the common needs of al 1 children.

* A second trend seems promised in the widespread increase in technical
institutes and junior colleges where additional education will be
available to those young women who devoted a good deal of their high
school study to the dual function of preparing for homemaking and
earning. As Conant remarks, qualities of leadership, perseverance,
honesty and commonsense are not limited to the academically talented.
Later study designed to improve their work on the job or their manage-
ment of homemaking may well be in order for many of these women.

How Can the Dual Function of Vocational Home Economics Be Realized?

"Vocational Home Economics has a dual funct ion of preparing girls for
efficient homemaking and for helping to supplement the fam? ly income."
So states Dr. William B. Logan, President of the American Vocational Asso-
ciation this past year, in the February, 1962, issue of the American Voca-
tional Journal. If you have conscientiously read the earlier pages of this
article, you will know his reasons.

We are not only in hearty agreement with Dr. Logan; we would go one
step further. We would say that ALL home economics has this dual function!
For example, the home economics program at Hooseheart Schools is not voca-
tionally reimbursed. Yet these orphans, cared for and educated until after
high school graduation by the Moose Lodge, face the same future "two lives"
that all young women do.

In this final section we propose to present descriptions of pilot pro-
grams that give us confidence that this dual function can be realized through
changed emphases in elementary schools, in home economics classes in junior
high grades, and in the later years of high school. Remember, please,
these accounts are not visionary ideals; they are programs actually in
progress.

"One of the greatest experiments in the history of education"

This is the considered evaluation by General Superintendent Benjamin C.
Willis of the Doolittle Elementary School Project in Chicago. From the
volunteer efforts of half a dozen teachers under the guidance of Dr. Clyde
Arnspiger and Dr. Harold D. Lasswel 1 of Yale University, this project's
demonstrated success has won from the Wieboldt Foundation $450,000 to
finance its extension to all eighteen elementary schools in Chicago's Dis-
trict 11.

Observers of the educational activities in these elementary classrooms
are amazed and excited by the social behavior and scholastic achievement of
children from some of the poorest homes in the city. "What is the key to
the mystery?" they ask.

As home economists, we believe that this experiment is of supreme impor-
tance for al 1 elementary schools, not merely those in poverty stricken slum

322

neighborhoods, although in such an environment the soundness of a theory
certainly receives its acid test! Note how splendid a foundation for home
economics the attainment of the following four purposes would furnish.

* To develop an understanding of social values among elementary school
chi ldren

* To improve the inter-personal relationships among all participants in
the project— pupi Is, teachers, parents, administrators, and consultants

* To help participants better understand and practice the democratic
process

* To provide leadership in the creation of classroom practices designed
to facilitate each of the selected values

What are these values? They are only eight in number, instead of the
usual lengthy catalogue of virtues. But these eight actually permeate every
aspect of education every day through the first six grades! The experiment
is thus making a massive, concerted attack upon a sharply focused problem,
and results are phenomenal.

Dr. Arnspiger and Dr. Lasswell have classified all major social values
sought by man into the following categories in which each person must have
some satisfaction before he can be a completely healthy person in his mind
and his emotions. The school's great challenge is to create an environment
in which every child can achieve his full potential as a person of worth
and dignity and a productive, creative worker because he has gained these
va 1 ues •

* Rectitude— A sense of personal responsibility for his own standards
and behavior everyday, for his moral and ethical practices

* Respect— Recoqn i t i on for himself and others based on merit and con-
sistent with human dignity

* Enl iqhtenment — Knowledge about the past, present, and future relative
to problem-sol ving and important decision-making

* Power — Participation in making decisions which affect his life

* Ski 1 Is — Full development of potential talents which include mental,
manual, social, aesthetic, thinking and communication

* Economic security — Goods and services adequate for basic essentials
of physical 1 ife

* Affection — Love and friendship given and received through family,
individuals, and groups

* Wei 1 -being — Mental and physical health gained through real istic
efforts to overcome the tensions of frustration, fear and anxiety,
ultimately leading to maturity, the major aim of the school

In a 1961 book, Personality in Social Process. Dr. Arnspiger has stated the
underlying theories within the Lasswell social context; a paperback copy

323

may be secured for $3.60 from the Follett Publishing Company. A somewhat
similar book which you may already have in your library has been written for
parents in a simpler style. It is Everybody's Business — Our Chi ldren by
Mauree Applegate, Row, Peterson and Company, Evanston, 1952, $ Perhaps
reading Miss Applegate's book, written in a very popular style, might pre-
cede Dr. Arnspiger's which is recent and valuable but distinctly scholarly.

What we really wish each one of our readers could do would be to visit
Doolittle School to see these theories in action — the excitement of the
teachers, the enthusiasm of the youngsters! One dark morning recently a
primary teacher had bright yellow hair bows for each little girl and the
youngsters looked like little buttercups bobbing their heads as they said a
warm "Bonjour mes amis" and called a cheery "Au revoir" to their visitors.
The internal controls achieved by these children are matched by the amazing
attainments in subject matter. For example, a mathematics group was bub-
bling with enthusiasm as they were plied with such questions as "Who were
the Mayans?" "What numbering system did they use?" and "What system did
the Greeks use?"

Baseline measures with frequent repeats are taken in all schools to test
the major hypothesis of the project: "A statistically significant positive
change will occur in the following areas —

Social value status of school children
Social behavior of school children
Scholastic achievement of school children."

Such scientific records are essential in an experimental project of conse-
quence but before-and-af ter observations offer more than enough empirical
evidence to thrill the teachers and the parents.

As rapidly as possible Chicago hopes to extend the techniques of the
Doolittle Project not only to other elementary schools but also on into
high schools. These techniques involve realistic efforts to relieve the
tensions caused by failure to achieve values through:

Retrial

Re interpretation

Substitution of goals more in line with capabilities of individuals

Quite obviously these techniques can operate at increasingly mature levels
in junior and senior high schools.

Should high schools prepare students for the "culture shock" of work?

Entrance into the adult work world of today is difficult. Kirk Danse-
reau, writing in Teen-Age Culture, the November, 1961, issue of the Annals
of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences, contends that
teen-agers recognize the values of work but are more and more forbidden to
enter the adult labor market and, "in the absence of creative alternatives,
are compelled to go to school even when school is wholly non-functional to
them." What "creative alternatives" can home economics classes offer?

324

D. C. Miller and W. H. Form, specialists in industrial sociology, define
"culture shock11 as the revulsion the young worker feels against:

* The routine of repetitive work

* The fatigue of hard work

* The commands of an authoritarian supervisor

* Dishonest business procedures

* The deviant personal habits of fellow workers

* The insecurity of work

These same specialists report that their research indicates that teen-
agers are further discouraged and confused by five contradictions that they
encounter.

* A young worker must learn to accept responsibility, he is told, yet
he cannot get a job which requires responsibility

* He must work hard, says the norm, yet he notes that employed workers
apparently do not consider this necessary

* He must learn to get along with others, yet he is also urged to be
aggressive to get ahead

* He must learn the value of money, yet he observes that the rich did
not get that way by saving pennies

* He must learn to hold a job, yet he notices that those who get ahead
move around

In light of these realistic facts, one can readily appreciate that
the usual pious platitudes that schools offer do appear non-functional!
Miller and Form believe that these factors have their impact upon both pre-
pared and unprepared new workers, and regardless of the age at which they enter
the world of work. Since school -leaving laws keep most youth in junior
high schools, development of work habits and attitudes seems to be an impera-
tive goal at this educational level. And in practically all home economics
curriculums this goal does appear. Yet probably the most common complaint
of home economics classes by dropouts is that they "didn't learn anything
practical i" Pressed for constructive suggestions, these dropouts in light
of their later disillusioning experiences in both homemaking and jobs, offer
such comments as these:

* "We shouldn't have been allowed to skip out on jobs; no boss--or hus-
band—will stand for that!"

* "My boss has taught me how to manage my short-orders job, and now
I manage better at home, too; seems like we could have learned that
in Foods."

* "My best idea for you would be to make the girls stay at a job until
they get wise to the way they'll have to do the same thing over and
over when they go to work."

* "We could have been made to deliver at a certain time, especially
when sewing; you can't take your own sweet time in business)"

* "Working together was fun but maybe we'd better have worked alone
the way you have to on a job even in your own kitchen."

What work habits and attitudes are most Important to establish?

That habits influence work productivity no one would deny. Moreover,

325

since attitudes are learned, attitudes become habits. Consequently a sharp
separation between the two is very difficult for students in junior high
school to comprehend. Even authorities on work tend to treat habits and
attitudes together.

Several home economics teachers in Illinois have surveyed employers of
their past and present students in attempts to discover the most essential
work attitudes and habits. Urban or rural, large or small business, responses
from employers were surprisingly similar. In general the most sought charac-
teristics were:

* Promptness and dependability versus absenteeism

* Cooperat i veness versus not doing fair share of work

* Physical stamina versus dawdling and complaining

* Orderly management of time, equipment, motions versus disorder

* Pride in a job well done versus no recognition of shoddy work

* Acceptable versus unacceptable personal appearance for the specific job

Are not these characteristics the same ones that we are trying to deve-
lop in our classes in homemaking? But how are we doing? Not too well,
according to these same employers! According to sociologists, all America
has been enjoying a "stampede away from responsibility." Adults as well as
adolescents, employers as well as parents — yes, even teachers are included!
Perhaps some of us need to examine our own habits and attitudes?

How can changes in junior high school students be motivated?

Learning to work is one of the developmental tasks young people face
in growing up. An introduction to the world of work, if appropriate to the
individual growth level, cannot come too early, we are now told. In part
at least, this stems from the fact that youngsters are eager for the status
of adulthood, and a job to them implies such status. The following are a
few of the techniques we have found successful in interesting girls in junior
high schools.

* Help them to discover for themselves the "two lives of women." Ask
for volunteers to collect numerical facts concerning proportion of
employed homemakers from any local sources available:

Neighbors, relatives, friends

Teachers, clerks in a store, or other groups

U. S. Employment Service or similar office

Summarize conclusions from all collections and compare in general
with the statistics furnished in this article.

'<■ Stimulate them to study the kinds of jobs now held by girls who
attended but dropped out and those who graduated from the local high
school. Some high school offices and/or school counselors have this
information already available; in other schools you and the girls
may have to make your own survey but at this age the resulting inter-
est is worth the time and effort.

326

* Encourage students to identify and invite resource persons to talk with
them about various facets of the subject. Some of these may be:

A school counselor or work coordinator

One or more local employers of girls and women

Selected working wives and mothers

Again, the very ideas offered in this article will come out in such
discussions. The great difference is that these ideas they discovered.
We have been surprised by one unexpected dividend from these experiences;
parents galore have reported that their young hopefuls hive voluntarily
expressed the conviction that "Gosh.1 I guess school isn't so bad after
all! Prob'ly I'll stick it out and graduate even!"

Perhaps this is as good a place as any to remind you that parents, too,
need some of the facts that we must face in the future. Indeed, we would
advise you to "get parents into the act," as students say, before you start
a project with their girls. Every school administrator is being vigorously
prodded to do more than he has been doing about dropouts and pre-employment
education, so you are sure to find him a willing ally. Newspaper articles
could readily be prepared from information in this issue and the local facts
accumulated. School board members, thoroughly alerted to the problem, can
try to interpret the facts in the community groups to which they belong.

As always, however, informed students are our best interpreters. Each
girl needs to know in every school innovation what she is doing and why. In
an article on planning needed to handle school criticism in the Winter, 1962,
issue of SRA Insight. Dr. Irving Melbo declares that "In the competition that
now exists for the attention of the human mind, this is perhaps the single
most fundamental point at which the inception of criticism may be prevented."

How can good work habits and attitudes be taught?

We will grant that at first every bit of conviction and enthusiasm that
a teacher can muster will be required to meet the disappointed students'
wails when they find they are neither going to cook nor sew — merely "find
out things." When very soon they discover that these "things" are not even
known by many local adults, they begin to feel important and well-informed.
But they still have their bad habits that employers deplore!

Analysis of our experiences seems to indicate that in teaching, as in
other kinds of work, attitudes and habits are all-important. The lengthy,
continuous struggle that conscientious parents go through in trying to
establish good habits in their children has to be duplicated by instructors
in schools, we have decided. For example, there probably is not a home eco-
nomics teacher living who has not at one time or another used check lists on
good work habits in a foods laboratory and in a clothing laboratory. Excel-
lent check lists, too! But used for how long? Willingness to continue use
long after the idea has lost its charm for teen-agers is an attitude we are
going to have to acquire. Lack of thoroughness in this regard is a habit
we are going to have to change.

Understanding why certain selected attitudes and habits of work need
changing is not enough to do the trick. Logic will persuade neither you

327

nor your students.

Psychologists tell us that, before attitudes are influenced by a teacher,
the teacher must in some degree be an identification figure for the student.
Before any individual can be an identification figure for another, two con-
ditions must be satisfied: (1) the identification figure must have sufficient
status so that adopting his attitudes will be rewarding for the person; (2)
a unique relationship must be established between the identification figure
and the person. Then, alas, they tell us that the factors influencing the
establishment of this relationship are not known as yet.

We are inclined to think that a strong feeling of sharing in a struggle
toward the attainment of a mutually established and accepted goal may be a
vital part of the relationship. Let a student see that you forgot to check
on her results just as she forgot to clean the sink, that both of you have
to pay the price involved in correcting an undesirable work habit--and that
both of ycu bel ieve that you can do it. Do not forget that the near-miracle
results at Doolittle School are being accomplished by the same teachers as
before — but now fired with a clear vision of their common goals and a firm
belief that they can be achieved.

Otherwise, most of the techniques that we have used in trying to teach
good work habits and attitudes to girls in junior high schools are those you,
too, have used but probably not with the dedicated zeal required to "go that
last hard mile" with individuals. Young adolescents naturally suffer from
distraction so that "backsliding" in habit formation may be expected in
varying degrees in different students— "the impossible just takes a little
longer."

A specific example of dual learning in the eighth grade

If you will re-examine the boxed lesson on small equipment reported in
Volume V, No. 6 as used in a beginning class in home economics, you will
perceive a truth that many of us are slow to recognize. Teachers tend to
assume that students have already acquired from their home experiences much
common information and satisfactory work habits. On the contrary, for most
students teaching is essential. "Aunt Ella" rightly emphasized the recog-
nition, selection in terms of purpose, use in terms of effectiveness, and
the care of equipment before beginning laboratory activities. The potato-
peeling experiment was designed to develop the attitude that all this know-
ledge was important. The follow-up teaching, as various tools were put to
work, was designed to establish good work habits related to small equipment.

To illustrate how such a Homemaking lesson can be further enriched by
introducing some basic concepts from the world of work, let us further con-
sider this example of the potato-peeling experiment. In doing this, here
are the steps that an instructor might follow.

* Before the three girls begin their experiments provide the following
observation questions for which each student is to try to discover
answers and write these on the guide sheet a_s each girl demonstrates.

328

Time

1. At what time (see clock) did the experimenter start to peel?

2. At exactly what time did the experimenter finish peeling?

3. What was the total number of minutes used in the peeling?

k. At this rate, how many potatoes could the experimenter peel in

one hour?
5. If an employee were being paid $1.15 per hour of work, how much

would the peeling of one potato add to the selling price at

a cafeteria?

Standards

1. How well were the defects in the potato removed?

2. How much of the potato was lost in peeling?

3. How much of this loss was due to the knife?

k. How much of this loss was due to lack of ski 1 1 of the

experimenter?
5. If you were the manager of a cafeteria, what definite directions

would you give to an employee hired to peel potatoes?

* After each of the three experiments have been demonstrated, students
may require a little additional time for completing their guide sheets
for handing in to be graded.

* The teacher's curiosity will undoubtedly lead her to scan students'
papers as she prepares for next day's lesson. After identifying com-
mon errors and misconceptions, she may decide to use for class dis-
cussion the guide questions for comparing results of the three
experiments.

* Outcomes of the group discussion should (hopefully) be three fundamen-
tal concepts:

Time i s money

Standards are important

Work requ? rements are sim? lar, whether done at school , at home, or

on a job

* Review and drill on such fundamental concepts are essential for
establishing them as firm beliefs and habits. Constant exposure to
these statements on the chalkboard will help but in most classes addi-
tional similar learning activities will be required. Of course, these
learning activities need not be limited to lessons in the foods
laboratory.

* Other comparisons may occur to the more creative students. For
instance, one student made it her business to discover that the
school cafeteria used a machine instead of handwork in peeling pota-
toes, then took delight in springing this fact as a bombshell on the
teacher. With the zest of a fresh interest, teacher and students
investigated the following questions, as raised by the class.

329

1. How many potatoes would the machine peel in one hour?

2. How much, if any, is the labor cost of using the machine for
one hour?

3. What is the electricity cost in operating the machine for
one hour?

4. What is the original cost of a potato-peeling machine?

5. What is the maintenance cost of a potato-peeling machine?

Thus, in very simple terms, students may be introduced to the pros
and cons of automation.

* Ultimately teacher and students should take time to evaluate the
learnings achieved through this total experience in light of the time
consumed. We ourselves discovered not only highly favorable reactions
from students but also from their parents who had apparently been
kept fully informed of this "different but awfully interesting"
teaching.

Work experience to supplement classroom learnings

Home economists have long believed that continued practice of classroom
learnings was necessary for fixing understandings and abilities. Usually
these practice periods were expected to occur in students' homes. Most pro-
grams provide specific guidance through pre-planning of home practice and
later some forms of evaluating and reporting on this otherwise unsupervised
growth.

With an increasing number of mothers employed outside the home — and, for
that matter, of the students themselves — home practices have become more
difficult to motivate and guide. In addition to home experiences, simple
experiences in the work of the school can be provided if opportunities for
these are rotated among the students. To achieve even a simple work exper-
ience program of this type, a few requirements must be met.
j-

* An administrator enthusiastic enough about the values of such a pro-
gram that he will help to develop a flexibility in the use of teachers*
and students' time never before attempted

* Understanding support of parents gained before any such arrangements
are attempted; the media of mass communications in recent weeks have
made parents more than ever aware of the maturing influence of guided
work experience

* Non-academic and academic personnel employed by the school who are
willing to accept and guide the work of girls who, though theoreti-
cally prepared for doing a specific job in the home economics class,
nevertheless can be expected to make errors since a policy of rota-
tion limits the possible length of service of any individual

* A "dedicated teacher" a la Conant (or the Russians) who willingly
does the adjusting and work necessary to accomplish the following
tasks

330

* Locate simple repetitive jobs done in the school regularly for which
directions could be prepared and used all year, and which could be per-
formed during the periods when students are in her home economics
classes

* Submit to her administrator for suggestions and approval this list of
jobs and her proposed ways of providing for class absences without
undue loss of minimal learning in home economics by individuals

* Develop plans, including cooperatively prepared direction sheets on
jobs, with all school employees whom the administrator has indicated
as willing to accept and guide students

* Teach, individually or in groups, direction sheets for the various
types of work experience; include the person who is to have actual
charge of the student on the job in so far as is feasible

* Keep in touch with and support in every way the persons who are
making the plan possible; direction sheets may be improved and the
teaching be focused clearly on major difficulties as student succeeds
student in the same job

* Encourage students who have had their turns at work experience to
share with other class members ways they are finding these learnings
useful at school and at home; many changed attitudes are caught, not
taught, especially from peers

A work experience in action

To give our readers some sense of reality about these experiences, we
have snapped some of them in action in the Mooseheart Schools. On the next
page, Polly, an eighth grader is earnestly, almost grimly, trying to set up
a daily menu board during her 1 5-30 minutes assigned to cafeteria work
instead of attendance at her home economics class. Although this is not her
first experience with this task, the photograph shows up her usual habit
of "doing just well enough to get by" rather mercilessly. Some of the words
and figures on the menu board are "out of line" but she fails to recognize
this. She was deliberately photographed in the middle of transferring the
cafeteria manager's notes to the board to illustrate the hit-or-miss order
in which she attacked the problem, in spite of the organized menu supplied
and the detailed direction sheets.

Do you have youngsters, full of vim, vigor and good will, who still
suffer from similar work attitudes and habits? Even a limited period of
genuine work will motivate changes that no amount of excellent teaching
could accomplish! Did you notice the unique spelling of one of the desserts
on the menu board? Class members certainly did! And the priority that
Polly henceforth gave to spelling was an unexpected dividend from the
experience.

Is so public a display of a student's inadequacies justified? Yes, j_f
two conditions are met: (1) the student has average or better ability and
(2) a correctly spelled and organized menu is provided. If the student in
the photograph had been a slow learner, she would have been given help in her

331

management and her placing until she had these simple problems "licked." For
that reason, the period spent on a single job is likely to need to be leng-
thened for the willing but weak students.

A sequence in the difficulty of work experiences

Exactly the same plan may be used in the ninth grade classes in home eco-
nomics, except that individual differences have now become apparent in students.
The $64 question for teachers and counselors is always: "To what degree are
these individual differences due to limitations in native capacity?" Seeking
the answer to this vital question, a teacher may well consider records of work
experience as well as results from tests.

Jobs of increasing responsibility and difficulty must be located for stu-
dents of average and better ability; less able students may need to repeat some
tasks of the previous year. Specialists report that the slow learners must
experience success, even though jrt _h> on a low- level job, or they wi 1 1 become
either apathetic or (less often) hostile to a degree that militates against
further learning.

332

The second photograph, taken in another school cafeteria, illustrates two
types of jobs that represent this increase in difficulty. Serving at the bever
age urns involves accurate filling of cups and care in following safety rules,
in addition to meeting the public satisfactorily. Accuracy on an even higher
level is demanded at the check-out counter, as well as the ability to use a
machine and meet the public.

The junior high school years offer to many students their last opportu-
nity to master the tool subjects — arithmetic, reading, spelling — and there is
nothing equal to work experiences for motivating serious study of these essen-
tials of general education. Many students of various ability levels are "from
Missouri" and have to be shown the relevancy to a job of competence in these
subjects. Dr. Conant contends that appropriate contacts with the world of worl
definitely stimulate motivation for obtaining further education in all acade-
mic subjects. Obviously, such motivation is a vital element in the present
widespread struggle to keep potential dropouts in school.

Work experiences within the senior high school

This next photograph might just as well have been taken in your high

333

• US

t iwinn *»

JL

>,-

school or any other during a unit on child development in the tenth grade.
According to the twenty-year curriculum study made by Coon, however, far from
al 1 high schools devote enough time to the area of child development to make
a "play group" of any length feasible. One study that investigated such play
groups in high schools indicated that the reason given most frequently for
failure to devote much time to the teaching of child development, to say no-
thing of trying to have children come to the department, was a lack of space
and facilities. The next most frequent reason was lack of time on the part of
the teacher for making arrangements. Not one instructor checked as a reason
"lack of student interest in working with young children!"

First, let us look at this "lack of space and facilities." If you will
examine the two recent issues of the 1 1 1 i no i s Teacher of Home Economics that
deal with space and facilities in homemaking departments, you will note that
various suggestions were made for utilizing space available and that storage
facil ities were recommended for the special equipment and supplies needed when
young children are brought to school for educational purposes. But the lar-
gest and most progressive comprehensive high schools are now incorporating a
nursery school under the direction of a professional in this field; in the tech-
nical high schools in large cities a nursery school is already an established

334

feature on the ground floor, complete with an out-of-door playground. Should
not more schools provide such facilities?

Two arguments are proving to be convincing to school administrators,
parents, and taxpayers. With technology taking so much of the cooking,
sewing, cleaning of clothing, and other manipulative activities out of the
home, curriculum makers are placing the care and nurture of children and family
members at the top of their hierarchy of values, so far as they perceive con-
tributions our field can make to the education of al 1 youth. Today even small
high schools often have two classrooms of generous laboratory size assigned
to home economics. Many authorities are recommending one all-purpose home-
making room with highly flexible arrangements of equipment. The second room
can thus become a nursery school for the children of working mothers with
the primary purpose of providing adequate learning opportunities for all stu-
dents in the senior high school.

The second, and usually decisive argument, is that a nursery school can
also provide to selected girls work experiences that will develop skills up
to the point that students will be welcomed for work under supervision out-
side the school . Money will be spent differently in schools of the future,
we are told. New and increased emphases upon the provision of work exper-
iences in many lines of work will almost certainly require and merit increased
funds. We in home economics should not hesitate to request enlargement of
our facilities for teaching child care and development when they can serve
two such vital purposes.

All potential parents need the best possible understanding of children
if our nation's family life is to be sound and stable in the midst of so many
disintegrating forces. And some girls need to develop sufficient skill in
this area that they can assume later responsibilities for children other than
their own. Here are listed some of the employment possibilities for these
girls. Most of these represent urban employment but the majority of all paid
jobs today are in towns and cities — as are most of the people.

* Assistants to professional directors of community child care centers

* Assistants to directors of private nursery schools

* Assistants on public playgrounds and in children's library rooms

* Caretaker in children's rooms in supermarkets, theaters, restaurants,
depots, airports, motels

* Manager of family day-care home under a social agency

* Assistant in the pediatric ward of a hospital or an institutional "home1

* Sales woman in store departments specializing in children's toys,
books, games, records, clothing, home furnishings

* Worker in a school lunchroom of an elementary school

* Nursemaid for young children of well-to-do families

Quite obviously the development of marketable skills will always require
a training period considerably longer than that permitted in a general course
in family life education. Moreover, often the girls who display the greatest
aptitude and interest in care of children will be found among the slower
learners. Employees need not only to love children but to understand their
growth in terms of mental and physical health and to cope with their behavior
in constructive ways. That is a large orderi Much time spent with children
under professional guidance is essential. The actual time required will vary
with different students in grades ten and eleven.

335

Work experience outside the senior high school

No student should be removed from the rather protected experiences within
the school until she is ready for the "culture shock" of the real world of
work. Since the adjustment eventually becomes inevitable, meeting it under
the sponsorship of the school seems preferable to meeting it alone after gra-
duation. At the recent A.V.A. meeting, instructors of agriculture in high
schools were exhorted to get their boys out onto commercial farms for work
experiences; teachers of business education strongly supported an "increased
use of cooperative work programs as a means of accelerating training and of
providing better transition from school to work."

Limited space in this issue permits a brief description of only one
type of cooperative work program. We have arbitrarily chosen to present work
in hospitals since that is one of the better established and quite generally
available ones. Because a hospital, like a hotel, may be said to be a "home
away from home," skills needed are related to practically every aspect of
homemaking instruction. This list of types of jobs does not include the work
of a practical nurse for which technical training prescribed by law is required.

336

* Nursed aide--in a survey of hospital nursing personnel in sixteen
metropolitan areas, thirty-seven per cent had no training beyond that
gained in high school, twenty- two per cent were certified as practical
nurses

* Worker in food preparation and service in rooms, wards, and employee
cafeterias and dining rooms

* Worker in general hospital service--c1eaning, housekeeping

* Worker in linen room — counting, dispensing, repairing by machine

* Helper in hospital's laboratories

* Ward or floor clerk--demands some competence in typing, also

* Information clerk or recept ionist--typing helpful but not required

* Special aide in office of resident physician

In the photograph on the preceding page, two twelfth graders, with their
home economics teacher, are receiving instructions from a hospital adminis-
trator. For planning and guiding work experience programs, both within and
outside the high school, a home economics teacher must be given ample time
to make the complex set-up a success. Here is a bird's-eye view of some of
her responsibilities as a work-coordinator when a program of hospital -school
cooperation is desirable.

* Secure general approval of the idea from the school administration

* Request the superintendent of schools to open negotiations and make
general arrangements with the hospital administrators

* Propose the general plan to selected students in the twelfth grade
who are interested and competent; secure their reactions, try to find
answers to their questions: (Answers will vary in different situations)

What would I do?
Would I get any pay?

Who would pay for necessary bus fare, meals, uniforms, etc.
Would the hospital provide my food handler's certificate, insur-
ance coverage while at work?
How could my school courses be arranged to provide time for work?

* Serve as a liaison person when the program gets under way--supervising
and evaluating work of students, re-teaching in school to meet indi-
vidual and group needs, interpreting to avoid serious friction

* Keep the public informed, creating an image of the program favorable
to both the hospital and the school and highly appealing to future
employers

Much, much more to share with you!

But we have reached the end of our space in this issuel We trust that
we have interested you enough that you will want to read our Part II entitled
"Some Specific Techniques in Pre-employment Education " which, due to the
urgency of trying to hold students in high school and making them realisti-
cally aware of the world of work, we are publishing as Vol . V, No. 9. The
issue on teaching high school foods experimentally will appear early next year

In the meantime, we are hoping that you yourself will do a bit of experi-
menting with preparing your girls for the "two lives of women" through your
present home economics classes. It's stimulating! It's rewarding! It
gives an unexpectedly fresh pleasure to teaching!

2 z,

ftPR 30 1962

ILLINOIS TEACHER

TEACHING HOUSING IN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS,
PART II

Financing the Purchase of a

House 3^3

Additional Basic Construction

Factors 353

Types of Houses 372

Mobile Homes — A New Concept in

Housing 377

ISSUES IN 1962-3 383

HOME ECONOMICS EDUCATION • UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS BULLETIN

Volume V, Number 8; April, 1962. Published
nine times each year by the University of
Illinois. Office of Home Economics
Education, 33^+ Gregory Hall, Urbana, 1 1 1 inois

TEACHING HOUSING IN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS, PART II

Marjorie Savage, Associate Professor of Home Economics,

Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan

Hilda Geuther, Curriculum Coordinator, Carl Sandburg

High School, Or land Park, Illinois

Can the schools help raise the standard of living? In January, 19^7 ,
Harold F. Clark, Teacher's College, Columbia University, reported in the
N.E.A. Journal on a project in applied economics carried out with the help
of the Sloan Foundation at several universities, teacher's colleges, and
cooperating public schools. The project set out to learn what schools
could do to improve housing in a community and to learn how schools could
help people use the scientific knowledge that was available.

The project at the University of Florida was established in 1940 as
one of several in a nation-wide program to improve housing conditions.
Leaders developed an inventory to determine the greatest needs of the com-
munity. This included ninety-six items which could be classified under the
following general groupings.

* Size of house and arrangement of rooms

* Roof, frame, foundation, and steps

* Interior — walls, ceiling, floors

* Sleeping space

* Kitchen — space and facilities

* Ownership — valuation and attitudes

* Yard and building site

* Heating faci 1 ities

* Lighting — natural and artificial

* Exterior finishes

* Doors, windows, screens, storm sash

* Water supply

* Sanitation

* Age of house

Instructional materials were developed to meet needs revealed by the
survey. The project was effective in raising housing standards. There is
every reason to believe a similar project would be effective today. It
might be accomplished with greater emphasis on housing at the secondary
level. Why have so few of such emphases appeared so infrequently in the
secondary curriculum, as reported in the research sponsored by the Office of
Education, 1939-1959?

Do teachers feel inadequately prepared to teach housing?

Many teachers will want to enrich the basic housing courses they had
in college. There is a wealth of material to be had from public libraries
and in periodicals. It has been estimated that if you read fifteen minutes
a day you could read thirteen books in a year. At this pace you could
become well informed about housing trends.

337

338

I would refer each of you to an excellent little book, Mass Communi-
cations, by Charles R. Wright, Random House, 1959, in which he discusses
five psychological characteristics of humans that affect exposure to new
ideas. Ask yourself which applies to you in relation to housing.

1. Repeated social surveys have revealed the existence of a hard core of
chronic "know-nothings" — people whose social and psychological make-
up makes them especially hard to reach, no matter what the level or
nature of the information you are trying to transmit.

2. There are groups in the population who admit they have little or no
interest in new ideas.

3. People tend to expose themselves to material that is congenial with
their prior attitudes and avoid exposure to ideas or suggestions that
are not congenial .

h. People perceive, absorb and remember content differently.

5. Changes in attitude or behavior following exposure to a new idea may
be differentially affected by the individual's initial attitude.

The materials presented in this issue will not read 1 ike a best seller.
Each year more people at younger ages buy houses with larger mortgages than
in the previous year. It is imperative that young people be given help in
solving the shelter problem.

An overview of the housing field

Housing needs

Economic

Psychological

Social
Sociological aspects of housing

Neighborhood

Communi ty

Governmental activity and control
Psychological aspects of housing

Personal and family values
Financing shelter

Leases

Mortgages

Real estate contracts
Types of housing

Industrialized housing

Handcrafted housing

Factory-bu i 1 1 hous i ng
Types of houses

One -story

One-and one-half story

Two -story

Spl it-level

Duplex

339

Types of houses, continued
Mul t iple unit
Cooperative apartments
Mob i 1 e homes
Bases for deciding to buy, build or rent
Space use

Work area

Ki tchen
Laundry
Home workshop
Relaxation area
Bedroom
Bath
Group 1 iving area
Living room
Dining room
Fami ly room
Structural materials
Sandwich panels
Stretched skin panels
Available components
Reading blueprints
Evaluating ready-built homes
Adequate space
Adequate temperature control
Adequate electrical service
Adequate plumbing
Adequate noise control
Adequate zoning

Housing in relation to five major emphases in the total curriculum

To any teacher seeking to introduce the emphases now being so strongly
recommended by curriculum builders, the area of housing offers a real gold
mine of possibilities. Here are a few of the most obvious suggestions.
Even a cursory glance at these indicates that a great many of the topics
usually included in a study of housing provide rich possibilities for con-
tributing to several of the major emphases.

Human relationships related to housing

Housing as an investment in human satisfactions
Provisions for meeting special needs and interests of:

Immediate family members

Other family members and guests

Those of limited physical and mental abilities
Influence of an aesthetic environment upon family life
Neighborhoods: restrictions and possibilities for growth
Meeting psychological, sociological, and economic needs in community

Libraries Mental Health Association Centers

Medical services Cultural centers such as schools, museums,

Recreation areas and theatres

Religious services

340

Health and fitness influenced by housing
Safety

Sound control
Use of space
Interior finishes
Codes and zoning
Outdoor recreation area
Waste disposal
Special features for housing aged, disabled and ill

Management of resources involved in housing
Time, energy and money expenditures
Equipment: placement, selection and use
Care and repair for maximum economy in use

Consumer economics in housing

Involved in practical ly every aspect of housing

23 per cent of income for shelter

5 per cent of income for upkeep

Generally accepted pattern is 2^ times the total yearly income to be

spent on home and lot
Responsibilities of ownership and tenancy such as financing,
maintenance

Sciences applied to housing

Construction and decorating

Insulating

Temperature control

Sound control

Venti 1 at ion

Water and waste systems

Electric service

Lighting

New products — plastics, fiber glass, stainless steel

Household textiles

Cleaning agents and laundry maintenance

Automatic household equipment and appliances

Springtime is book-ordering time

If Housing is to become the fascinating and important area of teaching
that it can be, the school must provide an ample library for teacher and
students. Let us look together at what you have and what you might have if
this area of home economics is to attain its rightful status in your school,

First, the older texts with which you are familiar and which still con-
tain some sound material may be mentioned. We understand that in studies
made of the teaching of housing in high schools the most frequently used
text seems to be Homes with Character by Hazel Craig and Ola Rush. D. C.
Heath and Company, Boston, have recently brought out a somewhat revised ver-
sion of this book. Most of you probably have already examined a copy of
this 1962 edition. Those who liked the first book will undoubtedly approve
of this one.

341

With careful selection, some materials can still be found in three
1953 texts which you have long had in your department. These are the very
fami 1 iar Today's Home Living by Justin and Rust, Design Your Home for Living
by Tr i 1 1 ing and Nicholas, and Ruth Morton' s The Home and Its Furnishings.
Another 1953 volume which was partially devoted to housing has, however, a
I960 revision. This is Housing and Home Management by Lewis, Burns and
Segner, one of the Macmillan Company's series in high school home economics
texts.

We also like to still use the original conception of planning of hous-
ing that Deane Carter and Keith Hinchcliff first presented in their 19^9
book, Family Housing, and still available from John Wiley and Sons, Inc.,
New York. Theirs is a practical forerunner of the add-a-room type of house
now being predicted by prominent builders.

But there are a great many more recent publications that supplement and
illustrate with up-to-date pictures the basic content of the older books.
We are listing a few selected from a large collection, and are giving you
only a suggestion or two about their possibilities. All unknown to you,
some of these volumes may be in your own public or school library. If you
know for what you are looking, discovering them will not take long. If not,
you will probably have to purchase new or used copies of them. Because
housing books are usually profusely illustrated, they _do seem expensive.
Perhaps you might "make do" with one present sewing machine or stove--and
buy these and other rewarding additions to your housing library. Every
season new ones will be offered to keep up with the rapid pace of change
in the housing industryl

Agan, Tessie. The House: Its Plan and Use. Philadelphia: J. B.
Lippincott and Company, 1956. $6.50.

This book, originally intended for college freshman use, has been found
to be readily understood by high school seniors, and offers a substan-
tial background of knowledge very worthwhile for the abler students.

Beyer, Glenn H. Housing: A Factual Analysis. New York: The Macmil-
lan Company, 1958. $6.75.

This volume, too, has been used in undergraduate classes in college but,
if intellectual challenge is essential to modern teaching of high school
seniors, the analytical content of this book provides first-class
material for developing the ability to think clearly on the many prob-
lems of housing.

Cal lender, John Hancock. Before You Buy a House. New York: Crown
Publishers, Inc., 1953. $2.95.

This book contains what is one of the most comprehensive and stimulating
check lists for the final evaluating of a house that we have seen.
There are 210 simple, highly practical criteria to apply to the neigh-
borhood, 220 for the outside of the house, 450 for inside the house,
and 120 on which to check the builder.

Cherner, Norman. Fabricating Houses from Component Parts. New York:
Reinhold Publishing Corporation, 1957. $7.95.

342

This is a rather technical presentation of truly low cost houses, aver-
age size about 700 square feet, for "do-it-yourselfers." His accounts
of experiments with new kinds of materials and construction and his
basic designs for prefabricated houses are most illuminating, compared
to the costly conservatism of most volumes on house planning.

Dalzell, J. Ralph and Townsend, Gilbert. How To Plan a House. Chicago:
American Technical Society Publishers, 1958. $6.95.
Directed primarily to the building trades, the content is necessarily
technical but so clearly are construction processes presented that a
householder can and should understand them. A teacher of Industrial
Education is likely to have a copy of this book in his department lib-
rary and could be of real help in aiding students to use it.

Faulkner, Ray and Sarah. Inside Today's Home. New York: Holt, Rein-
holt, and Winston, I960 revised edition. $7.50.

Fine contributions are made to type of house, planning and design,
building methods and construction, and planning of work and storage
areas in terms of family needs. The I960 edition, of course, includes
many new developments — one of the book's assets.

Kennedy, Robert Woods. The House and the Art of Its Design. New York:
Reinhold Publishing Corporation, 1956. $6.95.

People living in the house are of paramount importance to this author.
His charts analyzing what these people do in homes look as if they had
been prepared by a home economist. The styles recommended belong to the
simple contemporary type but, to meet all the needs of people, inevit-
ably represent costs at the upper-middle-class level.

Kirkpartick, W. A. The House of Your Dreams: How to Plan and Get It.
New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1958. $5.50.
This is an eminently practical book in spite of its "dreamy" title.
It covers very helpfully the problems of selection and purchase, of
planning and construction. It is invaluable for the drawings that can
readily be shown in the opaque projector or similar device; the book
also has tables that materially increase the organization of its contents
for teaching.

Potter, Margaret and Alexander. Houses. Albemarle Street, London:
John Murray, Publisher, I960. $3.50.

If you have any fears about being able to interest high school seniors
in the subject of housing, you will find this English book an excellent
investment. It presents a pictorial record of the changes in construc-
tion, style and plan of the smaller English home from medieval times to
the present day. The detailed and entertaining drawings are supplemen-
ted by fascinating explanations. The academically talented and the
slow learners find the sketches equally delightful, and the more able
group are able to discover the many tie-ups between the housing of a
people with their history, their economic system, their psychology of
family life. Excellent for developing in students the ability to see
relat ionships.

Rogers, Kate Ellen. The Modern House U.S.A.: Its Design and Decoration,
New York: Harper and Brothers, 1962. $6.00.

343

Again, this book is designed for freshman college classes but with so
many such books proving to be within the ability of senior high school
classes, at least a try-out at the secondary level would seem desirable.
Because this volume is just off the press, we have been unable to use
it sufficiently to express an opinion on this point. The scope is com-
prehensive, the 266 illustrations and the bibliographies are up-to-the-
minute, and the emphasis upon aesthetic values greater than in most
books on housing.

Sleeper, Catherine and Harold. The House for You to Bui Id, Buy or Rent.
New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1958. $6.95.
This is so complete and satisfactory a book that it has been very
popular. So far as we have been able to discover, the 1958 edition is
the most recent. The contents are authoritative, the writing style is
lucid and interesting, and there are innumerable drawings that are
both illuminating and appealing to students. The organization is clear
and well arranged for teaching.

Small Homes Council. Spl it-Level Houses, Circular C2.5

Brick and Concrete Masonry. Circular Fl 7- 2
Plywood, Circular D7.2
Urbana: Small Homes Counci 1 -Bui 1 ding Research Council of the Univer-
sity of Illinois, 1962. Each bulletin is fifteen cents each; cash
should accompany order.

These are the bulletins that have been published since Part I was issued,
Extensive and "far-out-front" research is the basis for every publica-
tion yet the material is so simply stated and well illustrated that
they are easily understood by lay readers. Excellent reference mater-
ial for special projects.

Watkins, A. M. Bui ldinq or Buying the High Qual i ty House at Lowest
Cost. New York: Doubleday and Company, 1962. $4.50.
This book will not be off the press until May, 1962. Hence we have
not had the privilege of examining a copy. But we feel confident in
recommending it not only because of the reasonable price but mainly
because everything else that this author has written has been so emi-
nently practical and worthwhile. For an example of his writing, read
his article. "Shell House: A Blessing with a Few Bugs in It," in the
April, 1964 issue of Harper's Magazine.

Financing the Purchase of a House

The biggest single expense for the average American family is housing.
It has been estimated that twenty-four million families are buying houses.
Of these eight million have bought their houses since the second world war.
With expanded credit the rate is accelerated each year. Ninety-five per cent
of all houses are financed through mortgages. Certain basic information
on this may keep home ownership from becoming a financial hardship.

Questions to be answered by the borrower

One needs to know how to use mortgage financing. Before you approach
any lending institution, be prepared to answer these questions:

344

What are your current debts and bills?

List automobile, furniture, clothing, etc. separately.
What life insurance do you now carry?

List separately life, medical, car, etc.
What is your monthly take-home pay?

Know your gross monthly income.
What family responsibilities do you have?

Children in school, parents or other relatives who depend on you

for all or part of their support?
What are your current monthly household expenses?
What three business places can you give for credit references?
What three persons' names can you give as personal references?
Do you have a copy of last year's income tax return to submit with
your appl i cat ion?

Questions to be answered by the lender

In addition to furnishing the above information to the lender, you
will want certain information about interest rates, terms, settlement costs
and any restrictive terms of the contract. Borrowing is a business propo-
sition. Mortgage is a debt secured by your house and land. Financial
advisers recommend getting three estimates on the cost of financing your
particular debt before making a decision. Ask these questions of the lender,

•

How long will it take to get the loan?

What is the interest rate?

What will the total interest amount to?

How many years can the loan run?

What is the amount of monthly payments?

What do these payments include?

When do payments on loan begin?

When due, how is notification handled?

Will there be penalties for late payments?

Will you be given any period of grace?

Will this period be written in the contract?

How much are hazard insurance payments?

What will this insurance cover?

Can you repay in full ahead of contract?

Is there a penalty for paying ahead? How much?

Can you prepay one or more installments?

How must taxes on the property be paid?

Are there accumulated taxes?

Can taxes and insurance be added to payments?

Is title insurance available?

Types of mortgages

There are three general types of mortgages: the conventional, the
Veterans Administration guaranteed and the Federal Housing Administration
insured. Differences in circumstances and individual needs make these neces-
sary and desirable.

Conventional mortgages are usually worked out on an individual basis
between the borrower and the lender.

,

345

* Most conventional lenders, whether individuals or money-lending insti-
tutions, ask for an initial equity of one-third or a down payment of
one-third. This may vary with the availability of mortgage money and
the competition in the area

* If you own the land free and clear, the price of the land is generally
included as part of the down payment

* It is common practice to appraise at ten per cent below sales value

* Banks will normally loan up to sixty-five per cent of the wholesale
price which is roughly one-half of the retail price

* Savings and Loan Associations work off the retail price and normally
go to sixty-five per cent and may go to ninety per cent under certain
condi t ions

* Conventional loans will take about ten days to complete

Veterans can secure loans that are guaranteed through the Veterans
Administrat ion.

* The guarantee makes it possible to get a loan with little or no down
payment

* The Veterans Administration guarantees up to sixty per cent of the
loan

* These loans have a low interest rate and therefore are sometimes hard
to get since lending institutions can get higher rates on other
contracts

* There must be an inspection of property by government personnel before
a Veterans Administration loan is approved

* Tne inspection and paper work necessary for a Veterans Administration
loan takes at least five weeks to complete

The government, through the Federal Housing Administration, insures
the lender against loss in case of default by the borrower.

* Because of the guarantee, lending institutions generally accept a
smaller down payment

* The percentage of the mortgage guaranteed by the Federal Housing Admin-
istration varies with the mmount of the mortgage; rulings on this
change from time to time

* Provisions can be made to include household appliances under these loans

* A special loan arrangement has been devised to encourage home buyers to
trade in old houses

* F.H. A. -insured loans are made by mortgage bankers, savings and loan
associations, and by banks

3^6

* F.H. A. -insured loans cover only part of the selling price of the house;
the buyer's down payment makes up the difference

The open-end mortgage

Since wants and needs change from one stage of the family cycle to
another, it is well to obtain what is known as an open-end mortgage.

* Under the terms of such a contract, you may pay off the mortgage in
advance of the term specified with little or no penalty

* You can obtain money for improvements, additional rooms or modern
utilities under the same contract

* There may be a charge for an up-to-date title search

* This type loan is repaid by increasing the monthly payment you are now
making, or by extending the mortgage to absorb the added money; this
saves refinancing costs

Trade-in housing

Trade-in housing, when used with an F.H. A. -insured loan, provides for the
house owner who wants to buy a new place and at the same time pay off the
mortgage on the old one. The builder of the new house negotiates a loan,
up to F.H. A. maximums to buy your house. He tnen rents or sells it, risking
little of his own money. Meanwhile, you obtain a loan on the new house you
are buying. The builder and an agency of the government have made it pos-
sible for you to swap houses.

The mechanics of transf err ing a mortgage are relatively simple. The
new owner takes over the payments. If you are the seller, there are cer-
tain legal implications you should know.

* Turning over the mortgage to a new owner does not free the old owner
of the responsibility for repaying the loan

* In some states a mortgage cannot be assumed without the lender's con-
sent; some contracts include clauses allowing the lender to call for
immediate payment of the entire principal and accrued interest when

a change of ownership takes place

Personal value choices

With the editor's permission, we want to share with you ideas from the
September, 1961, Changing Times article, "Long Mortgage. . .Or Short?"

Some people class debt with sin, more or less. "Debt is to be avoided,
for its wages is interest." If this is your philosophy, your proper course
will seem clear. Borrow as little as possible and get out from under as
quickly as possible.

Other people, just as virtuous, regard a mortgage loan as a rare finan-
cial opportunity. "Borrow all you can," is their creed, "and take as long

.

347

as you can to pay it back." Their view rests on half a dozen intriguing
points.

You will never have another chance to lay hands on so much money so
cheaply. Almost any other form of borrowing will cost you more. With
so many fruitful ways to use your cash, why put a penny more than neces-
sary into a house?

Take as much as you can get right at the start. Arranging an increase
later takes time and often involves expense you can avoid by borrowing
to the hilt to begin with.

There is not much point in limiting yourself to a small loan. The
costs of getting the loan are not lower if you borrow less. And some-
times the interest rate is higher on smaller loans.

While the equity created by a heavy cash payment on a house is an
asset, you can not get at it except by selling the house. It will not
even help to secure other loans. Lenders favor more readily accessible
security.

When the time comes to sell, you can sell more easily if the house

carries a hefty mortgage. The buyer will need to put up less cash.

The lower the cash requirement, the more potential buyers you will have.

Finally, a long-term mortgage means lower monthly payments for every
$1,000 you borrow. This keeps your monthly outlay for shelter to a
minimum and frees current income for other kinds of spending or
investment.

Cogent arguments, all six of them. And they have strong appeal for
people who are confident of their economic future, have sensible insurance
protection against unforeseeable disasters, and have compelling urges to
conserve capital for such worthwhile purposes as going into business or
sending the kids to college.

You can grant all those arguments if you like, but they do not neces-
sarily exhaust the subject. There are a couple of contrary facts to consider.

One is that you can pay and pay for years on a big, long mortgage and
wind up having spent thousands to acquire a net loss.

The chart on the next page illustrates how this can come about. Take
a look at it now and bear the picture in mind as you read on.

Those downward curving lines show how the unpaid balance — the outstanding-
debt — on each of three mortgages declines over the years, the twenty-five-
year curve dropping fairly fast, the thirty-year curve more slowly, and the
forty-year curve looping out into the void like a space problem.

These curves represent $12,000 no- down- payment mortgages at 5 1/2 per
cent interest. The straight diagonal line shows the market value of the
mortgaged house as it depreciates at two per cent a year. In other words,

3^8

•JlC.OOO

the chart assumes that the house has a useful life of fifty years, after
which its only value will be that of the land on which it stands.

*>V>oom^^ 1 1 , J 1 1 1 The most dramatic fact reveal-
ed by this chart is that for much
of the 1 ife of the forty-year mort-
gage, debt exceeds the value of
the house. In fact, you would pay
for twenty-nine years before reach-
ing the point where the house was
worth as much as you owed on iti

Obviously, this is risky.
Suppose you sold after twelve
years. Although you already had
paid $8,917, you would still owe
$10,593. And the house would be
worth only $9,564. So you wind up
your twelve years of ownership
with nothing but a bill for $1,029.

This forty-year mortgage, of
course, is an extreme example. But
look at the curve for the thirty-
year loan. There, too, debt exceeds value for the first nine years. But
with the twenty-five-year loan and all shorter ones, the house would be
worth more than you owed on it almost from the start.

Even in the case of the twenty-five-year loan, though, the margin
between debt and value is uncomfortably close. Selling out after paying
$10,626 in twelve years would net you only $1,387. If you had counted
on the accumulation of equity during those twelve years to provide the cash
payment on another bigger and better house, this small net yield might be a
shattering disappointment.

There are, of course, two ways to avoid owing more on your house than
it is worth.

One is to make a substantial down payment when you buy. This creates
equity to start with and moves those curves lower on the chart so that
no gap yawns between debt and value.

The other measure is to take a shorter mortgage, say fifteen or twenty
years instead of twenty-five years or more. A shorter mortgage means
faster debt reduction. You will pay off your debt faster than the
house loses value. To be sure, it also means you will pay more each
month.

The arithmetic is clear. Short mortgages cost less than long ones.
Yet perfectly reasonable people can--and do — insist that the precise oppo-
site is true.

A Massachusetts attorney, for example, recently wrote to Changing Times

349

to argue this point. "Look," he wrote, "you say that I can save $4,717 by
paying $14. 40 a month more. "But that means $172,80 more in a year, $3,456
more in twenty years." So how can you say that short loans are cheaper when
it is so plain that they really are more costly?"

The Massachusetts attorney's calculation is faultless. There is no
difference in arithmetic between his analysis and that just outlined. But
there is a difference in philosophy.

He looks at his mortgage payment only as an item of current monthly
expense, a bill he must pay regularly for shelter. If that is all that con-
cerns you, you would be correct in reasoning just as he does. The longest-
term mortgage you can wangle will minimize your monthly shelter outlay.

But he really is not talking about buying a house. He does not look
forward to the day when his debt will be paid and he will own the house with
no more payments due. Since he apparently worries only about occupying the
house for the least possible outlay per month, his attitude is basically
that of a renter, not a buyer.

This point was raised during congressional hearings on the forty-year
mortgage proposal. And Dr. Robert C. Weaver, the Housing Administrator,
candidly told his Senate questioners: "This is not home ownerhhip in the
conventional sense as you and I have known it. It is something between
home ownership and rental."

Yet, although this in-between kind of ownership may be expensive in
the long run, it does have one great merit. Its low monthly cost may make
it possible for you to provide a better home for your family than you could
obtain by renting.

So you see that a question of attitudes and aims has to be settled be-
fore you can answer the question of long mortgages versus short.

Are you buying with the knowledge that you will occupy the house for
only a short time, never expecting to pay for it? Do circumstances
make the lowest possible monthly outlay for shelter your ruling con-
sideration? Then a long-term mortgage could be a plausible choice
despite inherent costliness and risk.

Or do you really intend to buy the home you mortgage and ultimately
hope to enjoy the advantages of ownership? Then you can save thou-
sands of dollars by choosing a relatively short-term loan that will
build your investment fast, expose you to fewer years of hazard, and
get you out of debt quickly.

So before you make your choice, get clear on your purposes. Then the
arithmetic will make sense for your particular case.

The high price of time

Suppose you are borrowing $12,000 at 5 1/2%. The monthly payment of
principal and interest on that loan for various terms would shape up like
this:

350

Term Monthly Payment

15 years $98.16

20 years 82.56

25 years 73.80

30 years 68.16

35 years 64.56

40 years 61.92

If you were debating a mortgage of thirty years, say, as against one for
twenty years, these monthly rates show that the longer loan would cut your
monthly payment by seventeen per cent.

But while the longer loan costs less each month, you must pay many
more months and pay more in total before the loan is paid off. You borrow
only $12,000, remember. But look how much you pay back.

Term Total Payments

15 years $17,649

20 years 19,811

25 years 22,107

30 years 24,528

35 years 27,066

40 years 29,708

Notice that when you stretch your borrowing to thirty years at this rate of
interest, in effect you more than double the price of the house. If you
took that thirty-year loan instead of the twenty-year one, you would increase
the total interest cost of the purchase by sixty per cent.

The excess over $12,000 is all interest. Put down the interest separately
and see how it compares percentagewise with the principal.

Term Total Interest % of Principal

15 years $ 5,649 47%

20 years 7,811 65%

25 years 10,107 84s/0

30 years 12,528 104£

35 years 15,066 126%

40 years 17,708 148T

Paying 5 1/2% interest sounds moderate. But what do you say to the
news that you are thinking of paying interest that amounts to 10^ of what
you borrow? True, the interest in tax-deductible, but it is an expense all
the same.

When you consider a thirty-year mortgage rather than a twenty-year one,
then you really are contemplating extending your period of indebtedness by
fifty per cent and increasing the interest cost of buying your house by sixty
per cent for the sake of reducing your monthly payment seventeen per cent.

351

Income apportionment

Not only the financing of housing is important; perhaps even more vital
is the understanding of the many, many needs and desires that must be met
through the family income. Students formulated the following list as repre-
sentative of what they thought the income of a young married couple would
have to cover.

Housing
Rent
Taxes
Mortgages
Equipment
Maintenance
Improvement

Furnishings
Purchase
Maintenance

Operating
Gas
Fuel
Water

Electricity
Refrigeration
Telephone
Services
Laundry
Communication
Transportation
Suppl ies
Income taxes

Food

Meat, fish and poultry

Breads and cereals

Milk, cheese and dairy foods

Fruits and vegetables

Del icacies

Meals out

Wearing apparel
Purchase
Maintenance

Health and Personal care
Toilet and grooming aids
Remedies, accessories
Professional services
Birth expenses, baby care needs
Illness and disability
Death and burial

Recreation, advancement and welfare
Admi ss ions
Dues

Instruction
Periodicals and books
Entertaining
Tobacco, 1 iquor
Radio, television
Plants, garden supplies
Hobbies, sports
Pets
Gifts

Church and donations
Vacations

Automobi le

Purchase

License, insurance

Garage, parking

Operation

Repairs

Equipment

Insurance

Accident

Health

Life

Home

Possession

Income protection

Indebtedness

Interest (true)
Principal

Finance charges, fees, credit
investigation, appraisal fees

Savings
Bank

Postof f ice

Savings and loan association
Credit union

Growth investment through stocks,
bonds

352

An eye-opener for students

With the optimism of youth (and ignorance), students tend to have un-
realistic ideas about the housing they will be able to enjoy as adults.
To help them to discover for themselves the meaning of the income apportion-
ment they so blithely list, this problem sheet has been distributed and
filled out by individuals in a class. Afterwards, if not before, a lot of
lively questioning and refiguring will occur.

You Will Spend a Fortune —
How Much of It Can You Afford for Housing?

To be economically sound each person or family must live on less than
he earns. Do you have any idea how much money a family spends in a lifetime?
Try this simple exercise in projecting earnings and expenditures.

What do you expect your weekly take home pay to be?

How much will this be a year?

Assume you will work until you are sixty-five, how
much would you earn if you never have a raise?

Lifetime earnings

Now let us guess as to how this money will be spent:

Food: meals at home, lunches or eating out, entertaining,
cigarettes, snacks

$ Per week x 52 weeks x years = $

House furnishings: furniture, tool s, 1 awnmower, appliances,
dishes, linens, large toys, camera, etc.

$ Per week x 52 weeks x years = $

Insurance: Life, Household, Liability, Health and Accident
$ Per week x 52 weeks x years - $

Clothing: original cost plus dry cleaning or other maintenance

$ Per week x 52 weeks x years = $

Medical and Dental Expenses:

$ Per week x 52 weeks x years = $

Education and Recreation: newspaper, magazine, church, lodge or
club dues, school books and supplies, allowances

$ Per week x 52 weeks x years = $

353
Utilities and services: heat, light, telephone, water, postage
$ Per week x 52 weeks x years = $

Transportation: to place of employment, for shopping, on vacation —
may be public transportation or private car. If car, include
payments, interest, insurance and operating costs

$ Per week x 52 weeks x years -

How much is left for housing? Per week Per year?

What kind of housing will this buy?

Additional Basic Construction Factors

With the costs of housing increasing, the worth of construction factors
is becoming of the most serious importance. In Part I basic concepts with
their supporting facts were provided for the following construction factors.

Insulation
Roofs
Heating

Electrical wiring
PI umbing

In this Part II the most essential and up-to-date content is provided on
air conditioning, sound control, windows, and lighting.

Market for air conditioning

The 1961 issue of House Beautiful 's Bui lding Manual gives interesting
facts concerning the increased demand for air conditioners.

"The number of American homes with central air conditioning has more
than doubled since 1957, from 500,000 to more than 1,000,000. Two things
are primarily responsible for this rapid growth. First, improvement in
design and efficiency has slashed equipment prices to about one-third what
they were in 19^7. Second, Americans have become so accustomed to the
benefits of air conditioning in offices and homes that they are beginning to
demand it in their homes."

"The result is that both the Federal Housing Administration and the
National Association of Home Builders now predict that a home built today
without central air conditioning will be obsolete in ten years. This may
be an overstatement. But it does indicate the importance of air condition-
ing a house to maintain its value in the years ahead."

Choice of an air conditioning system

35^

This choice involves five considerations.

Type of climate and humidity conditions

Type of heating system

Design of home with respect to orientation and heat gain

Local price and time available to purchase equipment

Supply of electrical power

Information necessary before planning purchase

A good many facts must be assembled before adjusting air conditioner
size to a particular room or home.

Size and orientation of area to be cooled

Window sizes and amount of window area

Orientation of windows

Amount and quality of insulation

Number of persons occupying an area

Room dimensions

Capacity of wiring system

Time of day that conditioner is used

Type of building construction

Heat-producing appliances

Amount of air exhausted

Amount of fresh air required

The importance of purchasing the proper size

The reasons for this importance are based upon scientific principles
which students who are studying science may be able to discover in those
classes with the cooperation of science instructors. Often teachers are
glad to have students bring in concrete problems for independent study.
Here are the fundamental reasons that justify such further exploration in
science.

Correct size of an air conditioner is needed for satisfactory control
of both temperature and humidity.

According to a number of authorities, disadvantages of an over-sized
unit are increased cost and inadequate job of denumidif i cat ion.

An over-sized unit may cool the room adequately; however, the
room may feel clammy with inadequate control of humidity.

Undersize equipment will fail to cool a room sufficiently in hot
weather.

Accurate calculation for proper size

There are certain points with which every potential purchaser of an
air conditioner should be familiar. Unless this calculation is made, waste
and dissatisfaction are likely to result.

355

The cooling requirement or heat gain for a particular area is expressed
in units called British Thermal Units, BTUs per hour. A BTU is the
quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of
water one degree F.

Authorities seem to agree that the BTU rating is the only reliable
guide to cooling capacity.

By the use of special charts, a measure of the amount of heat in BTUs
transmitted and required to cool the area may be computed.

BTU rating is usually inscribed directly on the nameplate of the air
conditioning unit.

A one horse-power air conditioner may provide anywhere from 7,000 to
12,000 BTUs which is a considerable range.

The "horsepower" or "ton" rating is less reliable than the BTU rating.

Variation in judgments of specialists

This is to be expected in a relatively new and rapidly advancing field.
Some experts reject any size but that which has been accurately computed.
Others believe that such a rigid "rule" may need to be adjusted to conditions.

Consumer Union states the belief that one should buy an air conditioner
whose rated cooling capacity is within a few hundred BTU of the esti-
mated figure.

If estimated heat gain is very close to cooling capacity of unit, the
following factors should be considered.

Possible variations in number of people, as when considerable

entertaining is done

Added capacity for rapid temperature change, due to intermittent

use

Pricing Factors

Guides on purchase prices of air conditioners also tend to be somewhat
dependent on judgment, except for the general considerations listed.

Generally the following factors enter into the price of an air conditioner.
Dealer inventory
Local demand

Pricing practices among competitors
Time of purchase or season of year
Service guaranteed
Deluxe model or standard

Sometimes the lowest-priced machine is a "loss-leader" and unknown
brand or a stripped-down model of a well-known brand.

The consumer needs to exercise caution in buying an air-conditioner at
a low price from a discount house, a department store, or an appliance

356

dealer as the service involved in estimating cooling requirements
may be very limited.

In the case of buying an air conditioner, it may be well worth the
money to pay for service.

Calculation of heat gain and heat loss may be done by central heating
and air conditioning contractors, who sell air conditioners; however,
the services offered, such as calculating BTU requirement, estimating
electrical needs, and providing guarantees, may increase the cost of
product.

Meaning of warranty and service contract

At the time of sale, the purchaser needs to find out if the dealer
guarantees parts and labor costs in the warranty. While there is usually
some type of guarantee connected with replacement of parts during the first
few years, this does not usually apply to labor costs.

Some dealers are willing to guarantee labor and parts on condition that
they install the unit.

A buyer should read and understand all terms of the guarantee and
warranty prior to buying a machine or signing any contract.

Since cost of installation is added to cost of unit, the consumer
should ask if there are any special charges above those of installation.

In some instances, the manufacturer provides full instructions for a
do-it-yourself installation.

The wise consumer needs to carefully weigh values with respect to these
al ternatives:

Paying the extra charge for installation and guarantee with

service contract

VERSUS

Using the installation kit and taking the chances of having no

dif f icul ty.

The consumer may purchase a separate service contract.

A service contract may be secured from an independent service
company or the dealer who sells the unit.

Most people agree that the consumer gets better service in the
latter situation, as the dealer's men are often factory-trained
and better understand the equipment.

Importance of humidity control

An air conditioning unit cools the air that passes through it, and also
reduces humidity.

357

Authorities suggest that a 10,000 BTU room unit uses about 2,500 BTUs
for constant dehumidif icat ion and the remaining 7500 for cooling — a
practical, comfort-producing level.

The wise consumer will be interested in the ability of air conditioners
to control humidity, which is expressed as the latent "heat factor" in
the manufacturer's literature.

According to Changing Times:

"In a good unit it ranges from .70 to .80, and means that 70%
to 80% of the unit's capacity is used for cooling, the remainder
to reduce humidity."

The physical fact exists that a unit which removes more moisture from
the air will not be as effective in lowering temperature.

A unit with high moisture removing capacities will be necessary if a
family lives in a high-humidity area or is especially sensitive to
humidi ty.

Special humidity controls are available for some air conditioners.

Judging qual i ty

Of the factors listed here, absence of the first three may identify a
stripped model. While the removal of these features will reduce price, they
will limit the effectiveness of air conditioners. Attention to these factors
can increase satisfaction.

Adjustable thermostat control

This feature, which is very desirable in an automatic machine, is
one of the first items to be removed in cutting costs.

A fan with more than one speed

After the room has been cooled, a lower fan speed is less expen-
sive to operate, and provides a little more dehumidif icat ion.

Adjustment of air flow pattern

The presence of movable grilles or adjustable deflectors for

shifting air-flow pattern is highly desirable.

A wise consumer will determine whether or not the air-flow

patterns are suitable for the planned location of the unit.

An efficient air flow pattern forces the air up as well as to the

needed side direction.

Results of violating the above principle are:

Chilling blankets of heavy cold air

Speedy return of air to the ports before spreading throughout

the room

Degree of noise produced

Factors related to production of noise are:

358

kind of installation

A firmly mounted machine will produce less noise,
quality of house construction

A loose-fitting window sash above the air conditioner will

increase vibration and noise level,
construction of machine

If construction is sturdy with tight fitting joints, vibration

is reduced,
use of sound-deadening coating and material between the inside
and outside section of equipment

Kind of rust-proofing applied to metal parts

Some air-conditioners, sold as "loss leaders," may be painted steel.

Since exposed parts outside the room and in the evaporator pan and coil
area are wet when the machine is cooling, these parts need the best
protection against rust.

Valuable protection against rust is secured by the use of these
materials: heavy asphalt coatings, zinc coating and enameling,
plastics, brass, and aluminum.

Filters

The main purpose of a filter is to prevent the coils from becoming
clogged with dirt.

When air in a room is recirculated, it must pass through a filter
before reaching the refrigerating coil.

Manufacturers seem to agree that an air conditioner, especially the
filter, should be kept clean; therefore, the homemaker needs to check
on the condition of filter and follow directions for care of machine.

A dirty filter reduces cooling ability of unit, causes a stale odor,
blocks air flow, disintegrates filter material, and lowers temperature
on co i 1 .

Oirty filters may lower the temperature on the cooling coil so much that
the condensed moisture becomes ice.

The result of such a lowering of temperature can damage the compressor
and refrigeration system.

If the machine has the Underwriters' Laboratory seal on the nameplate,
this indicates that machine has passed safety tests, including dripping
and sweating.

Essential wiring capacity

Air conditioners differ with respect to the amount of power they require.

359

Most engineers agree that any unit consuming more than 12 amperes at
115 volts should not be installed on normal wiring.

The consumer needs to realize that with the higher-amperage models,
there may be an additional expense for a heavy duty circuit.

The consumer may be pleased to learn that every manufacturer has at
least one model that can be used on an existing outlet; however, this
can involve eliminating use of appliances, such as an electric fry
pan and toaster at the time air conditioner is in operation, if all are
located on the same circuit.

A wise consumer will check with the local utility company or electrical
contractor to determine adequacy of existing wiring system and suitability
of various models for the electric-service supply.

Nine ways to cut costs of operation

These valuable suggestions for cutting costs are offered in House and
Garden's Book of Bui ldinq.

South windows - Plan your house so that major window areas face the
south. When the sun is low in the winter, they will admit solar heat
and reduce your fuel bills. Roof overhangs, awnings, or shade trees
will protect them from the high-riding summer sun.

West wal 1 - Protect the west side of the house from the hot afternoon
sun. A new house can be designed with a solid wall, a garage or a
roofed patio facing the west. With an older house, heat from the west
can be reduced by planting trees or high hedges, adding trellises or
installing awnings over the glass areas. Outside protection is far
more effective in combating sun heat than indoor devices such as blinds
or curtains.

Light roof - Choose roofing of the lightest possible color, white if
possible. The virtue of a light roof is its ability to reflect sun
heat — which will make a major difference in your operating costs when
the sun is shining. But of course a light roof will not help on cloudy
humid days, so it will not reduce the needed size of the cooling plant
itself.

Venti lat ion - The space between the roof and ceiling needs ventilation
so that heat will not accumulate there. Also, your kitchen, bathroom
and laundry areas need vents to reduce the moisture in the house.

Insulation - Put in all the insulation you can afford above the ceiling,
in the side walls and beneath the floor. Insulation can pay for itself
by reducing the size of heating and air conditioning equipment you need
and also by reducing fuel bi 1 Is. . . .And, along with the insulation you
should have a vapor (moisture) barrier in walls and floors.

Location of unit - Place your heating-cooling plan in a central location
near an outside wall. This may not save on the ductwork but it will
increase the efficiency of the equipment.

360

Placement of outlets - Be sure to insist upon what is known as a peri-
meter installation, with the outlets placed along the outer edges of
the house beneath windows. This will create a more uniformly comfortable
indoor climate, and you will not have to keep turning the plant on and
off to take care of certain uncomfortable areas.

Inside thermostats - Use the zone system of heat ing- cool ing with a ther-
mostat located in each major section of the house. There is no reason
to provide heating or cooling in areas that don't need it, such as the
living room during the night when you are asleep.

Outside thermostat - Another thermostat located outside to warn the
equipment of weather changes will also cut costs. (No more costly
turning the plant way up or way down.)

Sound control

Demand for acoustical material in the residential market is fairly
recent. Prior to that time the supply of such material was largely for
commercial use. Increase in the demand for acoustical material is seen in
the sharp rise in the demand and sales curve.

Why sound control?

Present importance of sound conditioning is due to the fast tempo of
modern life, the noisy world in which we live, noisy home appliances, and
compact homes of limited size.

Kirkpatrick defines noise in this way: "Noise is a disturbance
causing vibration of the molecules of the air. Sound vibrations also
occur in materials of a greater density than air; these vibrations
set up new vibrations in the air adjoining, resulting in noise."

Sound waves travel more slowly than do light waves.

Results of excessive noise in the home are:

•Emotional tenseness
Difficulties in concentration
Lowered vital i ty
Interruption of sleep
Fatigue and physical exhaustion in cases of prolonged exposure

Three kinds of noise that need to be controlled in the home are:

Noises originating inside a room
Noises originating outside a room
Noises between rooms

Shape of room influences sound control

A cubical room with floors, ceilings, and walls that are
parallel planes is the least desirable form for sound control.

361

It is especially difficult if surfaces are covered with smooth,
hard materials such as plaster, wood, or glass.

On the other hand, odd-shaped rooms with sloping ceilings of different
heights tend to be less noisy because the regular pattern of the sound
waves i s broken up.

In sound control, light weight walls, such as frame and gypsum board,
are less effective than brick or concrete masonry.

What aids in reducing noise?

The presence of sound-absorbing items, such as carpets, draperies,
upholstered furniture, space around books in a case, and people
reduces the volume or intensity of noise by absorbing the sound waves.

Wei 1 -seasoned and well -nailed floors help to reduce noise.

Hard surfaces, such as ranges, refrigerators, and tile floors would
tend to bounce the sound back and forth and not be good absorbers.
Therefore, it is often desirable to mount appliances on rubber mats or
carpet padding as well as to use acoustical ceiling material.

The surface usually treated with acoustical tile inside a room is the
cei 1 ing.

The most important characteristic of acoustical tile is the ability
to absorb a high percentage of the sound waves hitting it, there-
by controlling noise originating within a room.

The consumer will find a large variety of acoustical tile, a
soft fibrous material, on the market.

Certain rooms which usually require acoustical treatment include the
kitchen, a child's playroom, family room, living room, service area,
and bath area. In some situations, the sleeping area requires this
material .

Control of sound originating outside a home

Outside noises are either airborne and get into a room or house through
an open window or door or they arrive by impact and travel through the walls
and frame of a house like a shock wave.

Airborne noise may be reduced in the following ways:

Shutting off unobstructed openings between you and source

of noise

Closing doors and windows

Weather-stripping around doors

Acoustical engineers express the view that reducing the second class of
noise wave, which travels through the walls and framework, is the diffi-
cult one as this job often requires expensive changes in a home.

362

Since structural changes are involved in the process of sound condition-
ing, the homemaker needs to plan carefully before a house is built in
order to avoid unnecessary expense.

Steps which may be taken to eliminate problems are:
Using as little glass as possible

Using trees and shrubbery between source of noise and house
Insulation of ceiling, attic spaces, and walls

Ways to control noise between rooms are:

Filling hollow spaces in walls with a batt or fill-type insulation
Staggering a stud wall to provide continuous pad of insulation
Weather-stripping around bathroom doors
Well-placed closets
Double wal Is

Planning for sound control

Although a homemaker may find it impossible to implement all the
recommendations listed, acoustical engineers give these suggestions in order
to plan for sound control.

Choice of a quiet site would include the sensible idea of locating your
house as far back on the lot as possible.

Other barriers to deflect or absorb sound are: garages or car port
located between houses, and trees or shrubs.

Zoning a house floor plan, a method which separates quiet areas from
noisy ones, contributes to sound control.

Ceilings and floors can be made fairly soundproofed.

Insulation can be used for ceilings and heavy rugs may be used on
the second floor of a two-story house.

Floors should be insulated at the time the house is under construct ioi
Well constructed floors are important.

Sound problems may be improved by attacking the source of noise;
for example, noisy appliances may be quieter if mounted on pads.

Wi ndows

Double hung, casement, strip, picture, awning, jalousie, bay, bow,
clerestory, arched or picture. . .the varieties available and the possible
position in which they may be placed make windows a major factor in selecting
or evaluating a house. Windows as a part of the structure are therefore con-
sidered a part of the house. There is a style to meet every need and variety
to suit every demand.

Harmony with the design of the house, ease of operation in opening and
closing, ease of cleaning, maintenance, and the amount of heat loss to be

363

expected are factors to consider. After floors, walls and ceilings, windows
occupy the next greatest area in a room. This amounts to 30 to 40 per cent
of the exterior wall area of a traditional house and may amount to 70 per
cent in contemporary houses. The following basic facts are worthwhile knowing.

Windows may be both functional and decorative in that they function
to let in light or ventilation or both

The amount of light transmitted depends upon the area and type of glass.
Ventilation depends upon the type of window and its position in the wall

Any window consists of at least a frame and hardware. Many include the
glass. Some may include screens and storm sash.

Window frames may be either wood or metal and should be chosen because
the material is appropriate to the construction of the house. Wood is
a traditional material, steel is regarded as modern. Today you find
each material used in either style house.

A standard window is judged to be a double-hung, or guillotine type
with a wood frame, factory weather stripped, rot proofed and provided
with full length copper screens.

Casement windows are most satisfactory when factory equipped with storm
sash and screens.

"Bay," "corner" or "dormer" refer to position of window in house structure,
Most window types may be arranged in either of these positions.

Hardware and any other moving parts should work well in all types of
weather, fit snugly and lock securely from the inside.

Glass is graded according to clearness and thickness. Grade B is less
expensive than grade A which is clearer. Both grades come in two
thicknesses, 3/32" and 1/8". Polished plate glass is a still finer
grade which comes in a choice of 1/8" or 1/4" thickness.

Welded or bonded glass is used where insulating qualities are desired.
Two panes of 1/8" or 1/4" glass are sealed into a frame with 1/4" or
1/2" air space between.

Most window manufacturers make windows of many sizes in the same style
so that windows for all rooms of the house may be chosen from one source.

Windows are chosen with an eye to how you want them to look from the
inside as well as the outside of the house. The window descriptions
and drawings that follow are adapted from articles that appeared in
issues of House and Garden with permission from the Conde Nast Publica-
tions, Inc., copyright I960.

Double-hung window

This is the most common window type. It has two sashes, one or both
of which slide up and down.

364

In some styles, the sash may come out of
frame for cleaning.

Some sashes are supported at the sides by
springs or weights which minimize the effort
required to raise the sash.

Sashes are not apt to sag since they slide
within frame and are supported on both
s i des .

A casement window

This type consists of a sash hinged at the side to swing either (a)
inward or (b) outward.

Usually two or more sashes, separated by

a mull ion, are used in the frame.

Windows can be opened or closed by either
a crank or push-bar on the frame, or by a
handle on the sash.

An out-swinging window may scoop in air
which would otherwise pass the opening.

An awning window

This is hinged at the top. It is manufactured as a single unit or
as several sashes stacked all in one frame.

7\

J

7[

When open, the sash projects out at
an angle as an ,,awning.,r

Like other projecting windows, it
must be positioned to avoid danger
to persons walking near houses.

A jalousie window

Such a window consists of a series of small horizontal slats, three
to eight inches wide, which are held by an end frame of metal.

The sections operate in unison, similar
to Venetian blinds, and open outward.

Panels are adjusted by a crank operation
to desired angle.

365

Horizontal or sliding windows

These are usually set high off the floor. Frame should include tracks
for screens and storm windows. They are characterized by these facts:

Are most satisfactory when sections lift out for
cleaning.

Preserve valuable wall space.
Commonly used in a ranch house.
Provide both ventilation and privacy.

A picture window

Designed to frame an outside view, it may consist of one large pane
of glass or a combination of one large fixed pane of glass with movable
sections at either side, top or bottom.

It may have movable sections on one or both sides.

It may have a hopper or awning section above or below the fixed glass.
Hopper or bottom-hinged section directs breeze upward.
Center-hinged windows are available for use at either side.
Large sliding window

This window has two sliding sections within one big frame.

The movable sections may be lifted out only
from inside the house.

This type opens a room to a broad view of
landscape or garden.

A centrally located handle controls the
si iding action.

With this style window the screens are
clipped to the outside of the frame.

366

Clerestory window

This is a shallow window set near the ceiling. Decorating should be

inconspicuous. If placed in slope of beamed
ceiling, it should rarely need decorating.

Slanting window

Often called "cathedral," this window
is usually an entire wal 1 of a room. The
angle at the top where window follows the
line of slanting roof causes decorating
concern, but is easily solved.

Glass wal 1

A group of basic window units made to fit together forms a "wall" of

windows. They may be any combination of fixed
panels with awning or hopper sash.

SI idinq glass doors

These are the modern counterpart of
French doors. They create a feeling of
spaciousness by bringing the outside into
view. Except in mild climates, these
should be insulated glass to control heat
loss.

Bow window

A curved window, this is sometimes referred to as a circular bay.

^f^\ It is used in a traditional house to frame a view.

J53Q

DDpa

npSBQ

It is generally delivered to the site pre-assembled

It is traditionally made of wood with mul 1 ions di-
viding the glass into horizontal panes.

367

Bay window

Three or more windows set at
angles to each other in a recessed
area is considered a true bay window.
A bay may be made up of a combination
of like windows or it may combine fixed
and movable units.

Muntins

Removable frames used to change the style of a window are called
"muntins" and may be used inside or out.

Panels may be slipped into place over single
panel of glass to give the effect of a multi-
paned sash.

Muntins are removable for ease of cleaning a
single-paned glass.

Muntins minimize the nuisance of paint on glass
when painting.

Muntin panels can be used in either old or new
windows that correspond in size to the panel
sizes.

Lighting in the home

Two kinds of lighting needed to provide comfort are general lighting
and local lighting.
j-

General lighting, furnished by lighting fixture, lighted valences,
cornices, and luminous ceiling sections, gives comfortable background
1 ight ing to a room.

Local lighting, furnished by portable table lamps, floor lamps, and
wall-bracket fixtures, provides light for specific seeing tasks, such
as sewing and reading.

The amount and distribution of light for each seeing task needs careful
planning.

Basic requirements of portable lamps are:

Provides recommended level of illumination

Directs light where needed

Provide upward light, thereby contributing to general illumination

Has sturdy base

Provides for adequate shielding of light source

Is correct height for efficiency and comfort

Has switch mechanism convenient and safe

368

Influence of height of base on shade efficiency

Portable lamps should have the bottom of shade near eye-height of
user.

When base height of lamp is so located that the shade bottom is
too high, the source of light can be seen and a glare is created.

When the bottom of the shade is too low, there is an inadequate
spread of functional light.

A floor lamp which is taller and spreads light over a large area

is placed behind the user for the purpose of shielding light source.

According to the authorities, a good lamp shade:

Allows for an adequate spread of useful light

Has a white or near-white lining to diffuse or reflect light

Protects eye from glare of bulb

Has adequate depth to conceal bulb and diffusing bowl

Is wide enough at bottom to spread light over large areas

Contributes to upward light on walls and ceilings as a result of
an adequate size top opening

Is sixteen- inch size for table lamps and eighteen- inch for floor
lamps

Has the bottom of socket no higher than one inch above bottom of
shade

Has the lower edge of the shade approximately level with the bot-
tom of bulb socket, so light can be distributed over the largest
useful area

Is translucent or semi -opaque because such shades are most effi-
cient in transmitting light from a given sized bulb

Diffusing bowl

A lamp shade often has a diffusing bowl to increase the quality of
1 ight ing.

In order to get best results from a diffusing bowl, consumer
selects the size of bulb recommended for a particular size of dif-
fusing bow) .

The purpose of a diffusing bowl used under lamp shade is:

To soften the light, thereby lessening eyestrain

To direct light to the ceiling and add to general room illumination

White R-40 bulb, suitable for end tables is its own diffuser as
it projects light upward to provide general illumination; however,
white glass bowls or plastic discs are needed with bulb for desk
use and other seeing tasks.

369

Bulbs

Most people recognize the fact that both fluorescent and incan-
descent lighting are used in many homes today.

The Better-Light Better-Sight Bureau gives the following advan-
tages of fluorescent and incandescent lamps.

Fluorescent:

Provides a line of light instead of a spot, to reduce shadows

and brightness.
Provides three to four times as much light per watt as

incandescent.
Operates relatively cool, therefore gives off much less heat

than incandescent lamps.
Has long life, seven to ten times that of incandescent without

replacement.
Offers several shades of white

Incandescent:

Provides a point source of light that can be focused or directed
to the 1 imi ted area.

Has the same base for several sizes for convenience in increas-
ing or reducing lamp size.

Can be dimmed using simple rheostat.

Has low initial cost for bulb and fixtures.

Is equally satisfactory on AC or DC current.

Starts immediately and reliably; frequent starting does not
shorten 1 ife.

A free bulletin that is a MUST

The Story of Light and Sight: How Good Light Helps You to See, No.
B-1309, is available without charge from the Better-Light Better-Sight Bureau,
The Illuminating Engineering Society, i860 Broadway, New York, 23. This
thirty-two page illustrated publication describes in detail several experi-
ments that are quick and easy, yet surprisingly effective with high school
students. Terms are defined, standards are provided, and investigations
are described for measuring light with a lightmeter, and testing seeing
under various conditions. There is also included a practical check list for
a student to apply to the place where he tries to do his homework.

Lighting for easy seeing and comfort

The percentage of homemakers with defective vision is in the seventy
per cent class — along with the students. It is not surprising, because of
their close-vision food preparation, sewing, ironing, accounting and other
household chores done by indoor lighting.

Just as a watt is a unit of electrical energy, the 1 umen is a unit of
1 iqht emitted or given off by the light source.

370

The amount of i 1 lumi nation falling on a surface is measured in foot-
candles.

Footcandles falling on a surface cannot be seen, but our eyes do see
light reflected from a surface. This reflected 1 iqht is measured in
foot 1 amber ts. Footcandles times reflectance factor equals footlamberts.

Distance affects footcandles. As distance from light source is increased,
the amount of light on a task decreases very rapidly. Placement of
equipment is so important.

The brightness we see is governed by 1) the light output of the source,
2) its distance from the illuminated surface, and 3) the reflectance
of the surface.

We can increase the brightness of a surface by l) increasing lumens,
2) limiting distance, 3) controlling reflectance.

Remember: Producing enough light is no problem today.
Good lighting is balanced lighting.
Lighting without comfort robs a room of its beauty.
Good-looking lighting is not always good lighting.

HOW IS YOUR HOME LIGHTING?

This check list is taken from information prepared by the lighting
Information Committee of the Better Light Better Sight Bureau in cooperation
with the Illuminating Engineering Society. It was published in Home Safety
Review, Winter 1959, and reproduced by permission because safety provisions
are so seldom provided.

Are your garage and yard lighted?

They should be, not only so you can see your way safely between house
and garage and around the yard, but so a would-be assailant will not wait in
the dark for you; it is not likely such a fellow would expose himself to
strong 1 imel ight.

Your best all-round protection is a 150-watt projector floodlamp or a
100-watt lamp in an angle reflector, set under the eaves. You should be
able to switch on the light from the house and garage.

Do you have special lights for porch and entrance steps?

Steps are tricky any time, but more so in the dark. If possible, use
brackets on each side of the door with minimum watts of 40. This figure
and others in this article are minimum amounts of light suggested. These
throw light down on the steps. If you install just one doorway fixture,
put it on the lock side of the door.

For porches, suspend a lantern with a minimum of 40 watts from the
ceiling. Avoid clear glass panels in brackets or lantern; lighted bulbs
behind clear glass are more blinding than helpful.

371

Do stairways have both top and bottom lights?

Dark stairs are treacherous. You should have a shielded fixture with
a minimum 40 watts at both ends of stairs. Control the lights by a three-
way switch so you can turn them on and off from both floors. Mount a semi-
indirect fixture close to ceiling to avoid seeing the bulbs when you descend
stairs. Make sure no bare bulbs are visible when you descend; this sudden
"blinding" can cause a tumble.

Does each room entrance have a light switch?

You should never have to walk across a darkened room; therefore you
should be able to turn on at least one light within a room as you enter.

Does your living room have a ceiling fixture?

This is the most practical way to get soft background lighting for more
visually comfortable use of portable lamps, lighting for game tables in cen-
ter of room without moving portables, convenient overall room light when
you enter and flexibility in room's atmosphere for varying occasions. Have
a minimum 150 watts filaments, or 50 to 60 watts fluorescent for small rooms,
150 to 200 square feet. Generally, hang a fixture not less than 7 feet 6
inches above the floor.

Do you use lamps for sewing and reading?

You need table and floor lamps to light the way to special tasks. Table
lamps should give from 100 to 150 watts filament or 30 to 40 watts fluores-
cent and floor lamps, 150 to 500 watts filament or 32 watt fluorescent.
Set the light source not more than thirty inches away from you. Lamp light-
ing is more comfortable, less spotty and better for the eyes when you keep
walls and floor light too. This cuts down light contrast between your imme-
diate eye work and surroundings.

Do you have night lights?

Stumbling around in the dark is a sure way to encounter an accident.
And flicking on a bright light can be just as bad. You may make a bad move
before your dark-adapted eyes have time to adjust to the bright light. The
solution? Low-wattage night lights plugged into wall electric outlets in
bathroom and hall. Eyes adapted to the dark for more than fifteen minutes
can see objects in very dim light.

Does kitchen have general and specific lights?

Good lighting is a must in the room where you handle sharp knives and
other hazardous tools. You need both general distribution of light and
special lights for work areas—sink, range, counters and dining table.
Ceiling fixtures of 150 watts filament or 80 watts fluorescent will provide
general illumination. For task lighting, 60 watts is sufficient or for
fluorescent, 10 watts per running foot.

Is laundry room well lighted?

You should never try to manipulate an iron, automatic ironer or washing

372

machine in dim light or shadow. Under these conditions, fingers and clothing
are apt to get caught in moving machinery. Always be sure light is directly
over washing and ironing locations. And a single ceiling fixture is not
enough. You need at least two sources with 150 watts filament or 40 watts
fluorescent.

Is workshop well lighted?

You can not tolerate anything but the best lighting in this danger room
where you use all kinds of tools, especially electric saws, drill presses,
sanders. Install ceiling fixture of 150 watts filament or 80 watts fluores-
cent for general lighting. You will also need special lighting directed at
moving machinery. Sixty watts or 10 watts fluorescent for every foot of work
bench is adequate.

Does bathroom mirror have light on both sides?

If the light is above mirror you will have difficulty shaving because
the mirror and the top of your head are illuminated rather than your face.
This produces grotesque shadows under your eyes, nose and chin.

Ideal lighting would encircle the mirror, and this is not too far in
the future. In the meantime, however, use brackets on each side of the
mirror, about five feet six inches from the floor. Use either filament
bulbs of 60 watts or fluorescent tubes of 15 watts. When you can use only
one fixture, make it a shaded one over the mirror. Unless a bathroom is
very small (less than sixty square feet) you need a ceiling fixture also.
But if you have to make a choice between a ceiling light and mirror lights,
pick the latter.

Does shower have a ceiling light?

It is essential, since dim light may contribute to slipping. Light shoul<
be vapor proof, 60 watts filament, and be contolled by switch outside the
compartment.

Types of Houses

In September, I960, the editors of Living For Young Homemakers reported
on a survey of the kinds of houses young America is buying. They found no
well defined preference for any one style or size or price. It was their
observation that there was less concern with the physical aspect of the
house and more emphasis on a way of living. Buyers wanted good design and
good value. They placed emphasis on features such as ample storage, an
ex$ra bath, and up-to-date use of new materials that makes for easy main-
tenance.

Components for economy

Co-ordinated components which permit the builder to use parts instead
of pieces, make possible the features desired at a price the young family
can afford to pay. Some components now on the market and widely used are:

373

Components for the outside wall

framing panels

interior dry wal 1

sheathing panels

pre-hung, pre-glazed windows

pre-hung doors

exterior finish panels

insulation batts

modular brick

modular block

garage doors

cellar door assemblies

Components for the bath

wal 1 panel s
cei 1 ing panel s
tub enclosures
shower stalls
vani tor ies
medicine cabinets
plumbing assemblies

Components for other rooms

Components for the roof

trusses

gable ends

plywood sheathing

skyl ights

composition shingles in strips

pre-fabricated chimneys

Components for the kitchen

wa 1 1 ovens

wall refrigerators

base cabinets

wall cabinets

dishwasher-sink units

surface burner plates

storage wal Is
f i replaces
fixed stairs
disappearing stairs
pre-hung doors

Choices in styles of houses

The nature of the house a family chooses to rent, buy, or build is influ-
enced by geographic area, personal values, size of the family, stage in the
life cycle, availability of housing, and amount of money allocated for this
expense.

Original cost, maintenance, repair and convenience features must be dis-
cussed on the basis of equivalent amounts of floor area. Economic aspects,
safety features, management problems are discussed in relation to a variety
of housing choices.

One-story house

One-story house with expansion attic

Spl it-level house

Two-story house

Duplex

Town house or row house

Cooperative apartments

374

The one-story house

The ranch house is a common example. This type offers convenient one-
floor living, flexibility in arranging activity areas, easy entry and exit,
fewer problems when decorating or making repairs, and freedom to add more
rooms limited only by size of lot.

Initial cost is high because of the foundation, roof and exterior walls
required to enclose the space. Heating and cooling expenses will be higher
because of the exposure and distance both heat and cold must be circulated.
The larger lot required increases the initial cost and adds to taxable value
of the property.

The one and one-half story house

Sometimes referred to as the house with an expansion attic, this type
is designed with a roof steep enough to provide an attic that may be con-
verted into living space.

This type house may be accommodated on a smaller lot, puts twice the
floor area under one roof, allows installation of plumbing one over the
other, concentrates heating and air conditioning equipment, and provides
spcce under the sloping roof for storage. Cape Cod, Northern Colonial,
Dutch Colonial and salt box, are story and a half houses.

i

375

Height of the house makes it difficult to paint and repair without
special equipment. In small models the hall may be eliminated and the
stairway may rise at one end of the living room. It is most satisfactory
when there is one bedroom-and-bath on the first floor.

The split-level house

This plan features rooms on two or more levels. It provides more living
space with privacy and a variety of views than is possible in a one-story
under the same amount of roof.

The split-level house takes up less space on the lot, adapts well to a
rolling site, and is relatively less expensive to build than a one-story
house with the same floor area because it requires less excavation, founda-
tion and roof. It may cost more than a comparable one-story because of the
different floor levels. Some families would find the stairways between
levels a disadvantage. Economical back-to-back or one-over-one plumbing
installation is not feasible in the split-level.

The utility level, higher than the conventional basement, has more
natural light. Floor plans generally provide good traffic patterns, elimi-
nating most cross traffic. The different structural levels create interest-
ing exteriors.

The two-story house

This familiar type makes it possible to double the floor area within
a given enclosure, resulting in savings in land, foundation and roof costs.
This arrangement makes possible economical plumbing and heating installations

The height of the house
makes maintenance and repair
more expensive. Windows should
be selected for ease of clean-
ing; screen and storm windows
for ease of installation.
Stairs may be a disadvantage to
some families. Southern Colo-
nial, Regency and Georgian
are examples of two-story

376

houses in traditional styles of architecture.

The duplex

This name indicates that there are two units under a single roof, shar-
ing a common dividing wall. Each has its own front and back yards but shares

one side wall with its neighbor.
The general effect is that of
a single family dwelling. Sav-
ings result from the elimina-
tion of the side yard and the
openings that would be put in
that wall. Quality of materials
and workmanship should be equal
to comparably priced detached
houses. The party wall should
be sound proof. Reasonable
restrictions will insure attractive exterior maintenance and decoration.
Any style of architecture may be adapted to the exterior of the duplex.

The row house

Also called "town houseV "group house," or "patio house," this type
has its own front, its own back but shares side walls with its neighbors.

The rows commonly include from
four to ten houses, two or three
stories high, with small front
yards and back yards enclosed
for privacy. The cost is less
since side walls are shared
and there are no windows or
doors in the shared walls.
The greatest saving comes in
land cost because there are no
side yards. Row houses appeal
to young marrieds and older couples who each want comfortable housing that
is economical and easy to maintain.

Cooperative apartments

These apartments are owned and managed by a corporation whose share-
holders own one or more apartments. A proprietary lease is given to the
owner of each separate apartment, granting the purchaser the right to occupy
the space for ninety-nine years. "Coops" combine the convenience of apart-
ment life with the satisfaction of home ownership.

Basic maintenance and operational costs are shared. The apartment may
be subleased with management taking over responsibility. It is common prac-
tice for screening committees to select neighbors they believe will be con-
genial and financially responsible.

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Mobile Homes--A New Concept in Housing

Four million one hundred thousand people live in mobile homes. Larry
McKittrick of the Mobile Home Manufacturers Association writes, "If all
mobile home families were brought together in one location, they would form
the third largest city in the United States — second only to New York and
Chicago."

To many this is a new concept of housing. We need to understand the
unique features of the mobile home in meeting family needs, the consumer-
economic factors involved in the purchase, maintenance costs, restrictions
on movement, and services common to desirable mobile home parks.

A mobile home is a movable or portable dwelling built on a chassis that
can be connected to utilities and is designed for year-round living. It is
without a permanent foundation. Mobile homes must be distinguished from
travel trailers.

A travel trailer is a vehicular, portable stuueture built on a chassis,
designed to be used as a temporary dwelling for travel, recreational and
vacation uses.

Families averaged 2.9 persons in the 1,550,000 mobile homes in use in
August 1961. A study of the residents shows:

37 per cent are skilled workers
20 per cent are military personnel
18 per cent are professional people

378

10 per cent are retired people
3 per cent are students

12 per cent are classified as "others" — businessmen, semi-skilled
workers, laborers

* Mobile homes are selected for economy, comfort, and convenience

* The average income of mobile home families is $5,300.00

* The average mobile home owner stays twenty-seven months in one location

* Mobile homes range in price from $3,500.00 to $12,000.00

* Seventy-five to eighty per cent of new mobile homes are financed, some
up to seven years

A mobile home has a living room; kitchen-dinette; one or two bathrooms;
one, two, or three bedrooms. The accent on today's mobile home is placed
on the "home" factor.

* Al 1 of today's mobile homes are fully equipped with sanitary facilities;
living room, dinette, and bedroom furniture; kitchen ranges; work
tables; storage cabinets; refrigerators; draperies. Some have year-
round air conditioning, automatic dishwashers, automatic garbage
disposals.

* Expandable- type mobile homes are becoming increasingly popular. Some
of these feature expandable living rooms boosting the width from ten
to twenty feet.

Plans

Three typical room arrangements in mobile homes of three different
lengths are shown.

* This is representative of a 47' x 10' model with side aisle, front
kitchen and one bedroom. There are 470 square feet of living space.

* The plan on the next page is representative of a 51' x 10' model with
side aisle, front kitchen and three bedrooms. There are 510 square
feet of living space.

.

379

* This is representative of a 55' x 10' model with side aisle, front
kitchen and three bedrooms. There are 550 square feet of living space,

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Some costs and other features

Through a single purchase the consumer acquires a home, furniture and
appliances. If one moves frequently a mobile home may save loss from forced
sale of real estate at depressed prices in order for the family to move
together. When a family decides on a permanent location the mobile home
may be used as a vacation home or as the utility core for a permanent structure.

In 1961 there were more than 16,000 mobile home parks in the United
States with approximately 550,000 spaces. The first parks were opened with
spaces to sell. The average park has about forty-six spaces. A good park
will offer the same community facilities that are found in a good neighbor-
hood. Monthly rentals range from $20.00 to $60.00 with some luxury sites
quoted as high as $450.00.

The cost of a mobile home is at a comparatively lower level than con-
ventional housing.

* The cost of heating is not as great as when 1 iving in a fixed residence,
for example, heatnng expenses are not as great because of the smaller
area being warmed.

* The price of a mobile home is based on the quality of materials and
workmanship involved in the manufacturing process.

* The majority of dealers require customers to furnish one-third to
one-fourth of the retail price as down payment.

* Trends in installment credit buying suggest that the majority of term
sales contracts require monthly payments of $70.00 to $90.00 per month.
These contracts run for forty- two months on new and thirty-six months
on used models.

380

* In mobile homes' installment financing, six per cent discount is paid
on the full face amount at the time the loan is made which indicates
the customer is paying between eleven and twelve per cent true interest
on the money borrowed.

* The physical needs of individual family members may be met by providing
adequate sleeping, eating and living areas.

* A mobile home provides security for families in certain vocational
groups because the family know the home can be moved and the fmmily
stay together.

* Owning a home gives a feeling of recognition to some families; mobile
home owners may achieve this satisfaction from ownership of a wobile
unit.

* If the mobile home is longer than thirty-five feet the owner will need
special permits and be required to meet certain standards when moving
the unit.

* Commercial towing fees are based on size of mobile home and distance
to be traveled in move.

* Commercial towing fees include all insurances and incidental charges
enroute. The fee may or may not include packing, unpacking and stabi-
1 izing charges.

Points to check on mobile homes

Mobile homes should carry the seal of approval showing that they meet
the standards set by the Mobile Homes Manufacturing Association for quality
design and construction.

* The exterior walls should be aluminum or sheet steel, insulated with
spun glass or aluminum foil.

* There should be ventilating fans near the kitchen stove, in the bath-
room ceiling and bedroom ceiling in order to insure proper ventilation.

* Because the mobile home is long and narrow, adequate circulation of
hot or cold air can be accomplished only by a system for heating that
is equipped with a blower. In addition there should be:

Minimum number of controlling gadgets
Thermostatically controlled operation
Quiet operation
Easy access for cleaning and/or servicing

* The plumbing should be checked for correct functional installation.

The water supply system should have a connection of 3A" IPS (iron
pipe size) in order to supply adequate pressure if three outlets
were to be used at one time.

381

* Electrical materials, appliances and equipment should bear the "UL"
(Underwriters' Laboratory) label.

Since the ability of an electrical conductor is directly propor-
tionate to the size of the wire itself, the branch circuits for
lighting should be 14 gauge.
There should be a minimum of three branch circuits.

* Electrical appliances should be purchased from a reliable dealer.
Generally speaking, parts and service are more readily available on
nationally advertised brands.

* Highly polished sheet metal exteriors reflect heat from the sun away
from the mobile home in summer, trap and reflect radiant heat from
interior sources back into the home during winter.

The interior decoration of the mobile home is a matter of personal
choice. Available storage space should be studied in relation to needs.

When considering a used mobile home check for:

Structural deterioration

Structural failure

Failure or damage due to wear and/or accidents

References

There are magazines, books and films on mobile homes available. Several
magazines with national circulation have recently featured articles such as:

"Mobiles Homes with a Deep Rooted Look", in McCal Is, June, 1961
"Home Is a Trailer Look," in Look, June, 1961

"Mobile Home Communities on the Desert or at the Shore," House and
Home, February, 1962

For those who are interested, may we recommend:

Books

Borgeson, Griffith, and Lillian, Mobile Homes and Travel Trailers.
Arco Publishing Co., Inc., New York, 1959, 139 pages.

Trail-R-Club, How to Buy Trailers. Trai 1-R-Club, Box 1376,
Beverly Hills, California.

Movies

Planning for Progress. Modern Talking Pictures, 8330, 216 E.
Superior, Chicago.

Home, Sweet Mobile Home. Modern Talking Pictures, 216 E. Superior,
Chicago.

382
Periodicals

Mobi le Life, Mobile Homes Manufacturing Association, 20 N. Wacker
Drive, Chicago 6.

Mobile Home Journal, Davis Publications, Inc., 450 E. Ohio, Chicago.

Trailer Topics Magazine, Trailer Topics Publishing Co.,
28 E. Jackson Blvd., Chicago.

Keeping up to date on new developments in housing

Who? You! Then watch your students catch the spark! In this era of
overnight changes, a zest for new information is one of the finest outcomes
of any secondary course. In no area is this more essential than in housing.
Where is new information to be found? Primarily in current numbers of the
selected periodicals listed in Part I. Let us illustrate from the April,
1962, issues of two of the less expensive magazines.

In Better Homes and Gardens this month you wi 1 1 find material si mi lar
to the highly selective content given in this issue on temperature control
and lighting. Included in the article on heating and cooling is an authori-
tative statement not previously published but extremely meaningful for your
students. The Federal Housing Administration has just issued this directive
to its field offices. "Within a few years, any house that is not air-
conditioned wi 1 1 probably be obsolescent, so FHA should start encouraging the
inclusion of air conditioning." On page 16 of this same magazine current
costs of twenty-seven "extras" in a new house are given. This list makes
it almost as easy to estimate the additional costs for house "extras" as it
now is for automobile "extras."

The American Home offers many up-to-the-minute suggestions on buying a
lot, plus one serious warning. The topic, "selection of a site," was
omitted in our basic content because costs of custom-built houses have
become almost prohibitive and young families' purchases are increasingly in
tract or subdivision developments where house, lot, and even appliances sell
as one "package," and the comprehensive check list on buying a house, as
already mentioned on page 3^1, in Cal lender's Before You Buy a House pro-
vides basic information. To these more or less standardized ideas, author
Edward D. Fales, Jr. adds the increasingly important concept of the changing
ratio between land cost and building cost. On page 106 a report from the
Federal Trade Commission deals with fraudulent homes ite sales, usually by
mail from advertisements.

Today some magazines also offer invaluable instructional materials for
developing students' ability to think as well as to acquire the latest in
information. Examine the four articles dealing with housing problems found
on pages 26, 122, 128, and 132 in the April, 1962, issue of the Ladies Home
Journal . Even if you are not planning to teach housing until next school
year, be sure to save this particular issue for we plan to experiment with
these articles, then share our experiences with you in a Part III entirely
devoted to methods in teaching housing.

383

ISSUES IN 1962-3

We, the Editorial Board of the 1 1 1 i no i s Teacher of Home Economics, bel ieve
that 1962-3 will be a critical year in the history of home economics. But
we also believe that we have been preparing ourselves and can help our
readers at least a little to meet this year of change.

Our chal lenges

In What's New in Home Economics, April, 1962, Mrs. Amber Ludwig warns
all of us, "Make no mistake about it — these are days that ruthlessly separ-
ate the women from the girls. There are increasingly few refuges anywhere
for the weak, the lazy, and the incompetent." The following appear to be
some of the major challenges we face.

Recent developments of effective content and methods in the academic
areas of subject matter at all grade levels are now being put into prac-
tice in schools, thereby offering stronger competition to enrollments
in non-academic areas.

Recent improvements in teaching facilities for academic areas, thanks
in part to the National Defense Education Act, are becoming generally
available in elementary schools, junior high schools, and senior high
schools.

The contention by the Educational Policies Commission that the over-
all purpose of American education is developing students1 ability to
think is increasingly accepted by laymen and professionals.

School administrators and counselors as well as parents are expressing
an aroused concern that the public schools successfully prepare al 1
students for occupational competence, either by being admitted to
advanced study beyond high school or by work experience programs pro-
vided through the cooperation of schools and communities.

Our opportunities

We believe that we have many evidences that these critically important
challenges are increasingly being recognized by home economists. The pre-
sent ferment in home economics education seems most encouraging. Here are
only a few of these evidences.

In every state in this country, in every province in Canada, teachers,
individually and in committees, are studying how to revise present
curriculums to better meet the challenges to our field.

More and more teachers are realizing the necessity of offering adequate
challenge to students through texts as well as methods of teaching and,
to their surprise and delight, are discovering that available texts
originally designed for advanced study can be successfully used with
students in high schools.

384

There appears to be an increasing perception of the unique contribu-
tions that home economics, through its dual function, can make to poten-
tial and actual dropouts, a problem of national concern currently being
placed upon the doorstep of public schools.

With support must go responsibility; the faith evidenced by schools in
including space and facilities for home economics in buildings now
being planned is demonstrated by the extra 800 reprints needed to meet
the demand from administrators and architects of Vol. IV, No. 7 and
Vol. V, No. 5 that deal with this topic.

Our contributions in 1962-3

By I960 the development of thinking had assumed such major importance
in education that it became increasingly evident that any area of subject
matter that failed to contribute to this goal would be in trouble — serious
trouble. Authors, interested and competent in various areas of subject
matter, went to work to explore the demonstrable possibi J i ties of home
economics teaching contributing to this over-all goal of American education.

Representative high school and college teachers, state and city super-
visors, graduate and undergraduate students for some time have been strug-
gl ing to identify and try out methods of teaching home economics, with its
dual function, to the end that students' ability to think may be developed
to the maximum potential of individuals. Out of all this study and experi-
mentation have come reports on nine areas below. You will note that teach-
ing ejnyjjromnient is included on the premise that educational facilities are
considered to be one method of teaching.

The over-al 1 topic wi 1 1 be Methods of Teach i ng Through Which Students'
Thinking Ab? 1 i ty Can Be Developed:

Child care and development

Clothing and textiles

Consumer buying

Family relationships

Foods

Housing

Money management

Nutrition and health

Space and facilities

All these issues, filled with innumerable examples of specific teaching
methods, have been designed to help every subscriber in 1962-3, in the con-
cluding words of Mrs. Ludwig's article, "to see her rightful role and to
help her play it as it should be played so the world may be a better place
to I i ve."

Editorial Board: Letitia Walsh

Doris Manning
Vera Dean

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JUN I

LI8RARV!

ILLINOIS TEACHER

PRE-EMPLOYMENT EDUCATION BY HOME ECONOMICS
TEACHERS, PART II

Beat Your Own Record 385

Differing Paths in High School

Years 393

Employment Related to Study of

Children 403

Employment Related to Study of

Clothing and Textiles 407

Employment Related to Study of

Foods and Health 410

Employment Related to Study of

Home Management 421

Teachers Prepare to Meet Change . 424

INTERIOR DESIGN 427

HOiME ECONOMICS EDUCATION • UNIVERSITY OF1 ILLINOIS

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS BULLETIN

Volume V, Number 9; May, 1962. Published
nine times each year by the University of
Illinois. Office of Home Economics Education,
33^ Gregory Hall, Urbana, Illinois

PRE-EMPLOYMENT EDUCATION BY HOME ECONOMICS TEACHERS, PART II

Mae Josephine Miller, Coordinator of Home Economics,

Mooseheart Schools
Helen J. Evans, Supervisor of Vocational Education,
Bureau of Home Economics, Chicago Schools

"For a conference on the employment of high school graduates I can give
you only an hour BUT, if you want to discuss our dropout problem, I'll gladly
give you all day!" The speaker was Dr. Benjamin Willis. This remark of
Chicago's General Superintendent of Schools is indicative of the overwhelm-
ing concern Illinois educators are feeling about the absolute necessity for
keeping adolescents at least through high school graduation.

Dr. Willis was talking to Fred W. Englund, personnel director of Car-
son Pirie Scott and Company, and out of the day-long conference developed
a new experimental educational program. It is familiarly known as the EE
program. The two E's stand for "Education" and "Employment."

In this issue we want to describe ways in which home economics teachers
can and are participating in a variety of pre-employment programs. Not only
are they participating; they are deliberately undertaking to work with poten-
tial dropouts and at a job level where success does not require the intel-
lectual capacity that business education teachers are realizing automated
office work now demands. Specific examples from working programs, based
upon the fundamental facts offered in Part I, are provided in this issue.

Beat Your Own Record

Educational psychologists are of the opinion that a goal-oriented pro-
gram for most youth should begin in the early years of junior high school.
The amazingly successful Doolittle Project, described in Vol. V, No. 7,
suggests that common basic goals should even dominate the elementary grades.
Certainly the implication for home economists teaching in junior high
schools seems to be that offerings in grades seven and eight must contribute
more than exploratory, fun-oriented experiences.

Why is home economics in junior high school increasingly important?

One reason for the necessity of a serious contribution at this level
is that all students have been exposed in today's elementary grades to more
new and difficult concepts than were ever dreamed of a few years ago. In
fact, parents declare that their children's studies by the time the moppets
reach the fifth grade are far beyond anything they have learned'. Some ele-
mentary schools in communities where the parents' educational level is unu-
sually high still send home requests that parents refrain from confusing
their children by well-meant efforts to aid their homework. Other parent-

385

386

teachers* organizations have regular study clubs for educating fathers and
mothers in the new content and techniques used in such areas as mathematics,
sciences, foreign languages, and social sciences in the elementary school.

The world of daily crises which today's young adolescents seem to take
in stride still has a noticeable effect upon their maturing. The abler stu-
dents, with accelerated maturing, are asking of themselves such questions
as: "Who am I? What can I become? What should I be doing to prepare myself
for this becoming?" For this reason guidance has assumed a new and vital
role in junior high schools and even in the elementary schools where funds
permit. The less able students, vaguely aware of this need for self-actual-
ization, lack the drive and clarity of mind to think through their own self
concept. They tend to drift, to "fool around," to live for the moment be-
cause they lack goals. But accurate, realistic conceptions of self are
learned. Since they are learned, they are teachable in every classroom.
Home economics laboratories in junior high schools are rich in their possi-
bilities for helping al 1 students gain these realistic conceptions of self.

Of course, there are also two other good reasons for making our junior
high school offerings the very best possible. Mrs. Amber Ludwig, writing
in the April, 1962, issue of What's New in Home Economics, reminds us that
"If you are teaching seventh graders, make the course a meaty one. Remember,
in many schools this is the only home economics course required of every
girl. It may be your only chance to sell her on continuing the subject in
high school." Of still more personal interest should be her urgent plea
to "be sure that each course provides a successively stimulating challenge--
so that she does not get bored or get the idea that home economics is easy.
Easy subjects are f r i 1 1 s, and j_n the face of today' s competition are 1 ikely
to be el iminated."

How do students gain realistic conceptions of self?

A somewhat irate employer, writing in a I960 Amer i can Vocational
Journal , declared that "school interest" seemed to be synonymous with amuse-
ment. He deplored the idea that students could dictate the acceptance or
rejection of learning, pointing out the later reality they would encounter:
"a company or employer cannot be regarded as a philanthropic or benevolent
organization." There must be a fair exchange between productivity and pay!

According to the four authors of the position papers on which the ASCD
I960 Yearbook.: Perceiving. Behaving, Becoming, is based, people are never
unmotivated. They may not be motivated to do what we want them to do but
it can never be truly said that they are unmotivated. According to these
four authors, moreover, student motivation is always directed toward becom-
ing an adequate person. Of course, that is actually what we, too, want for
individuals. The crux of the problem seems to lie in the different percep-
tions of adequacy.

We have long been told that people learn that they are adequate, not
from failure, but from success. However, these same psychologists point out
that today's more sophisticated youngsters are acquiring a feeling of fail-
ure in a different way. To quote the Yearbook, "Goals and expectations set
too low do not provide an experience of success and achievement — only on

387

experience of boredom and apathy. Success experience is a function of chal-
lenge, not repetition. The feeling that one is important, able, worthy, and
successful arises from the successful solution of important problems; not
just any problems, but important problems. Adequacy is the product of chal-
lenge. But what challenges an individual, it must be realized, is what
chal lenges him, not his teacher."

Let us recall Polly of the menu board whom you saw struggling in Part I.
There was no boredom or apathy there! Polly was challenged over and over
again by the strength of her own careless habits. In her own words, "Gee,
I've been goofing for so long that now I can't even tell when I goof!" To
conquer that bal 1-and-chain habit was a very important problem to Polly.
In our role as teacher we must let such a student understand that we value
the courage to be imperfect and keep trying rather than perfectionism and
the ensuing fear of making mistakes.

So the adequate person learns about his strengths and limits by over-
coming difficulties, by meeting challenges. The complete absence of frus-
tration is dangerous. Teachers in Illinois are accumulating much evidence
that such an absence of frustration has existed in our former home economics
teaching in grades seven and eight. One illustration of this is that sixth
graders have been able to cope successfully with instructional materials
formerly taught in later grades! To be strong enough to meet tomorrow's
unknown problems, our students must acquire "frustration-tolerance."

Although good mental health requires that ultimately there must be a
slight balance in favor of success, perhaps home economics teachers need
to take a careful look at this responsibility of providing frustrations.
Noisy and wiggly though they may be, seventh and eighth graders almost never
fail to delight their instructors with their overt enthusiasms. Have we
adults, too, become victimes of Clark Vincent's "philosophy of fun?" Faced
with students' careless habits, have we too often excused them with the ex-
clamation, "But they are so young! Time enough for them to learn good work
habits later!"

This simply is not true. Youngsters know if and when they have actually
achieved. The sooner they can start to learn their own limits, the less
devastating will such knowledge be. One youngster in a seventh grade class
compared her salad with those of other class members and groaned, "Mine
just doesn't have what it takes!" Thanks to nature's healing grace, she was
able to add a moment later, "But the vitamins and minerals in it are just
as good!" She was achieving a frustration-tolerance over her limitation in
artistic ability, and becoming stronger thereby.

How can teachers help students perceive and cope with reality?

This inner core or "self" grows into maturity only partly by self-
discovery, the uncovering and acceptance of what is there beforehand. Partly
it is a creation of the person himself, finding the courage to develop his
particular frustration-tolerance. But also partly the self concept is
learned from the ways in which he has been treated by those surrounding him
during the process of growing up. Instead of a politely superficial compli-
menting of the seventh grader's salad, the new responsibility of a teacher

388
is believed to be a quiet agreement on her limited artistic aptitude if it
has appeared fairly consistently in other lessons and other areas as in
clothing. Psychologists are now inclined to think that there is no better
way to make clear to adolescents that you are genuinely interested in them
as persons than this helping them to see themselves realistically.

Studies indicate that junior high school students are increasingly
asking themselves "What can I become?" If their school grades are satisfac-
tory, they perceive their scholarship record as justifying college attend-
ance. What equally tangible evidence can home economics provide to those
students whose interests or abilities are not college directed? We believe
that self-revealing experiences in management of resources may well be
exactly what the latter group needs. Results are every bit as visible as
a report card but self-evaluated so that there is no temptation to seek a
scapegoat. Perhaps most important of all can be the teacher's stress upon
beating their own record. Comparison of grades is deeply entrenched in
students' minds and difficult to prevent. But new and different learning
experiences in management lend themselves to a new and different outlook.

How can goals for seventh and eighth graders be sharply defined?

In the Saturday Evening Post, April \k, 1962, a St. Louis school adminis-
trator comments about a successful program to a reporter, "You are not going
to find any gimmicks except facing real ity." Just so, possibly the only
difference between our suggestions for learning experiences and those which
are familiar to you may be the degree of facing reality. Sharply defined
goals are the first step in helping youngsters to perceive and cope with
real ity.

Let us first look at a foods class as it might have been in the "good
old days." Many of us can recall it very well. You would have observed an
enormous amount of activity during the preparation period, foods eaten
gleefully even though "on the run," and the clean-up more satisfactory than
might have been expected in the brief period available at the end of the
lesson. We can also recall our painful uncertainty about the worth of the
lesson when we discovered what the students had reported learning from such
lessons— the FOOD, of coursel But teachers' habits and youngsters' expecta-
tions are difficult to change.

Today's emphasis upon clearly defined goals has served to unscramble
just what may be achieved from lessons in a foods laboratory. Teachers and
students have gained motivation for change through recognition of the charac-
teristics demanded by employers, as listed on page 325 in Part I. Younger
adolescents tend to learn best through concrete phenomena, so a visit to
observe a skillful cook in a commercial eating place is an excellent way
for them to gain the concept of good management, if feasible. From some
such observation students can gain a clear conception of the difference
between what the school and home will "put up with" and the efficiency
level demanded in paid employment.

Then a teacher (after some practice) may present two demonstrations
that are in sharp contrast so far as management is concerned. Introduced
by the attention-getting question, "Which one of these cooks would you
hire?" the first demonstration may embody some of the wasteful methods

389

that many students have employed, and the second the maximum efficiency of
which the instructor is capable.

If a single simple dish is prepared, both demonstrations may be given
during one class period. Individuals or committees of students may be given
specific aspects to compare as well as all being asked to list every poor
technique of management in the first showing and every good one that they
observe in the second. These techniques cannot be too numerous and must be
in sharply paralleled contrast. Here is a lengthy list from which to choose
your own students' needs.

* Personal appearance — as affecting efficiency, safety, sanitation

* Posture — fatiguing versus one that would contribute to physical stamina

* Recipe — placed off at one side versus propped directly in front to
save eye motions and read through before starting work

* Procedures — pre-planned versus h?t-or-miss activity

* Storage — one-motion at point of first use versus looking for in
various places and having to move things to reach

* Drawers and doors — some that stick and are then inconveniently left
open versus smoothly opening; all necessary tools, equipment and sup-
plies removed at one time, then closed

* Height of working surface — accepted without thought although unsatis-
factory versus some simple adjustment made

* Selection of tools and equipment — inefficient and unsuitable in size,
type or quality versus t ime-and-mot ion saving

* Sequence of preparation operations — jobs done in reasoned sequence
versus confused order with necessary "backtracking"

* Processes — unnecessary motions or tasks versus eliminating or simpli-
fying these

* Pace — moderate but steady versus rushing about under pressure

* Rhythm — a regular repetition, using smooth, continous free-sweeping
motions versus sharp, spasmodic, straight attacks

* Safety — hazardous selection and use of tools and equipment versus
thoughtful care

* Economy — food and fuel wasted through incorrect methods in prepara-
tion versus care in handling, following directions, controlling
temperatures

* Condition of work surface — messy and inefficient versus neat and
orderly

* Number of utensils used — minimum through proper sequence of use versus
getting out one for almost every process

* Clean-up — pre-soaking, stacking, thorough cleaning, replacing in cor-
rect place versus a hasty scramble, excess detergent and/or cool water,
unsanitary results, soiled equipment left in sink

How should such an analysis of work habits be used?

Do some poor work habits in the above list alert you to mistakes even
your older students are still making? Then, in our opinion, the sooner these
errors are corrected the better. But you may retort, "Surely employment
standards need not be expected of college-bound girls'." Remember that col-
lege graduates, too, will experience the "two lives of women" unless some
catastrophic changes occur. They will be less frustrated if they can

390

recognize in themselves a satisfying skill in the mechanical aspects of
homemaking that are inevitable in even the push-button home of the future.
Moreover, acquiring good work habits tends to develop a desirable general
behavior pattern in individuals. Young and old, persons recognize and
respect skill, not only to facilitate earning an income but as an observable
form of self-actualization.

Some others of our readers may object, "If I were to try to slowly and
laboriously develop any measure of ability in these work habits, it would
take forever with my slow classes!" Actually, although " self -act ual izat ion"
may sound like some vague theory, it is the underlying need of all persons.
If you will examine in your April, 1962, NEA Journal the condensation of
the new thirty-five cent bulletin, Education and the Disadvantaged American,
you will read this pertinent excerpt.

"To achieve contact with each child, the school must make
every effort to help him sense that the school is important to
him. It must provide activities to which he can contribute, through
which he can earn the respect of others, and in which he can improve
his performance."

Our unique opportunity in home economics is to provide just such activities.

To the slow students who so desperately need to believe that they are
becoming adequate, the multiplicity of demands in the usual lesson on food
preparation lack unity, coherence, and emphasis--and therefore lack learn-
ing effectiveness. But make individual improvement in any one work habit a
sharply defined goal of the lesson and note the difference in reaction.
Perhaps the emphasis of the day is on reducing the number of utensils used.
During the previous laboratory lesson, a poll, recorded on the chalk board
by all students, showed that others had used fewer in the same preparation.
Moreover, the teacher had taken time to demonstrate why this difference
had occurred and how to use fewer. Upon repetition of the goal in a simi-
lar laboratory lesson, every slow student is doggedly determined to reduce
the number of utensils! And all or nearly all do beat their own record!

Students who suffer from distractabi 1 ity, students who find sequential
thinking extremely difficult, students whose poor work habits act as a
"ball and chain" on their good intentions glory in such triumphs, no matter
how minor the gain may seem to the teacher. Surprisingly soon, the teacher
finds them demanding such specific improvement goals. One class impatiently
asked a teacher, "But what do we work on today?" A parent reported that
her daughter had drafted a younger sister to observe and record her traffic
patterns at home because she was dissatisfied with the record she had made
at school. Gradually we teachers are coming to realize that seventh and
eighth graders can and will grow in self-discipline and responsibi 1 ity if
we break down a large and confusing job into problems of manageable pro-
portions.

What changes in teaching are implied if good work habits are sought?

If the development of improved work habits is to be taken seriously in
junior high school, clearly certain implications for changes in teaching
become evident. Let us briefly consider what some of these changes may be.

391

* Given the same length of time as before, introduction of an additional
over-all objective automatically reduces the class time that can be
devoted to whatever has been previously taught as a "family-centered"
exploratory course. In line with modern thinking, the product must
share the educational stage with the process. Just as most teaching

of thinking is now concentrated on method, most teaching of work habits
is done through analyzing the process of performance.

* Through tangible, specific results, junior high school students must
be helped to see their own strengths and their limitations. For this
some blurred image of their attainments is completely inadequate.
Courage on the part of both teachers and adolescents is required if

a clear-cut relation between the ideal and the possible is to be accepted
with a supportable degree of frustration. Educating young adolescents
for failure in later years is inexcusable. They deserve the opportu-
nity to develop a positive self concept based on reality.

* Although cooperation is a worthy goal for learning activities at this
age, it cannot begin to compete with "beat your own record," so far
as student interest is concerned. Why? Well, we suspect that every
person has an overwhelming interest in himself, only adults usually
try to conceal the fact. If attention is kept on students' own past
record, an unhealthy competition can be kept to a minimum even though
reality demands that they get an approximate idea of how they compare
with others.

* As public demands that the school prepare every student in appropriate
steps toward employabi I i ty become more intense, the former emphasis
upon much group work is shifting to more individual learning activities.
For example, in food preparation good work habits must be learned,
practiced, and evaluated by individuals if permanent improvement is to
be achieved and maintained.

-* The goal of improving work habits, one by one, provides teachers with
evidence on a learning microcosm small enough that they truly know an
individual. As is pointed out in the 1962 Yearbook of the ASCD,
"teachers and guidance workers do not have to know all the past his-
tory of a student in order to effect behavior change." Accumulated
data merely inform teachers about individuals. The observable struggle
to change a poor habit, to establish a good one makes teachers and
students realize keenly that the school can do much for every adoles-
cent's improvement, even though it has no control over his outside
world.

* As we know individual students better, we shall feel more confident of
the type of simple occupational guidance we may safely offer. Of
course, this should never go beyond the accumulated evidence. Suppose
the girl with limited artistic ability, whom we mentioned earlier,
approaches her teacher and asks, with typical adolescent despair,
"What can a poor dub like me ever do?" Often referral to a counselor
or home room teacher with a broader grasp of the girl's potentials is
wise.

392

* In selecting work habits that are most important for students to learn,
a teacher must keep herself informed on recent research findings. For
example, the formerly recommended practice of sitting to perform most
household tasks is now being questioned by workers in time-and-mot ion
investigations, except when remaining seated is absolutely necessary as
in the case of a wheel -chair homemaker, of course. A selective choice
of tasks to be attempted simultaneously by a worker's two hands is like-
wise now considered advisable.

* The junior high school program in home economics needs to have an
organized practice and maintenance sequence if work habits learned
are to be retained. In a few cases, a desirable habit may be so spe-
cialized that only in one area will there be an opportunity to prac-
tice it. The correct order of washing serving and cooking equipment
is one example. In most cases, work habits can be so generalized that
they can be practiced in two or more areas. Keeping the condition of
a work surface efficient, for instance, is desirable in practically
every laboratory lesson.

How can work habits be similarly guided in areas other than foods?

Work in the clothing laboratory commonly found in junior high school
programs can also be utilized to establish habits and attitudes worthwhile
for all students but of critical importance to the less able, consequently
less independent girls. Less fine motor coordination and less permanent
products in food preparation suggest that this should be the first area
where work habits should be introduced. In clothing the same aspects of
management may often be repeated but involve new learnings because the sup-
plies, equipment and materials are quite different. Put on your thinking
cap and you will readily envision repetition in clothing laboratories of
the following aspects earlier described in their application to food
preparation.

* Healthful posture at work

* Effective storage

* Efficient selection, use and care of tools

* Minimum processes in work

* Competent sequence of operations

* Availability, interpretation and following of guide sheet

* Work surfaces of satisfactory height and size

* Safety and sanitation in use of tools and equipment

* Economy in materials, pattern, pins, etc.

* Pace and rhythm appropriate to tasks

* Clean-up organized and prompt

After the first experiences with efficient work habits in foods, when
adolescents may be "from Missouri" and have to be shown by the teacher,
teachers will soon find that the girls take pride in "discovering" time-and-
motion techniques for themselves. A class, engaged in constructing their
first garment, summarized the following discoveries for which they had evi-
dence on which to recommend them. They are in the seventh graders' own words,
but to the point, we believe.

393

* Have everything ready at school the day you start to work

* Pay attention to the teachers so's to know what to do, how and why

* Follow the order of jobs on the class Progress Chart

* Use just enough pins to hold pattern or material in place

* Do like jobs at the same time

* Sew one seam after another when at the machine

* Use both hands in cutting, stitching, hand sewing

* Keep material on table while you work

* At a fitting, check things in order and when everything is ready

* Look ahead and write your name on chalkboard for quick teacher's help

* Do your visiting outside of class

* Put threads and trimmings in can at side of table

* Use magnet to pick up pins and needles

* Use a small enough needle to do good work and sharp pins and shears

* Don't put things off, brace up and get them done

* Make good use of odd minutes

* Start packing up when it is time but not before

* Pack your tote box neatly, don't wad--wr inkles will have to be pressed

* Whenever a job is finished, mark on Progress Chart

As you can infer, an identical problem had been constructed by these
beginners. Variety in materials and trimmings provided adequate individuality
and interest. This idea, too, may seem a reversal from earlier pronounce-
ments on teaching clothing but authorities are now recommending this, as
you can note in Miss Stringer's helpful article, "Making Minutes Count in
Clothing Classes," Forecast, February, 1962. We believe that this is another
illustration of the two-dimensional curriculum in action where the process
of learning is considered increasingly important.

Sequential learning experiences

In the 1 1 1 inois Scope and Sequence, you wi 1 1 recal 1 that a short unit
on "Management in Growing Up" suggests a further study on saving time and
energy through some such means as drawer, closet and furniture arrangement.
Obviously, introducing such arrangement activities after the food and nutri-
tion unit utilizes Judd's theory (circa 1908) that training in one situation
is likely to be beneficial in another situation if processes and principles
learned in the earlier situation can be used in the new experience. Moreover,
practice at school helps to insure transfer of management techniques to
home problems where not all elements are apt to be identical.

Still later the more complex problem of Individuals planning time for
study, play, home and family activities is recommended. Such a problem
involves more than the physical and mental principles and processes of time
saving. Inevitably, and rightfully, personal and family (even neighborhood)
values have to be reckoned with before choices can be made. Together all
these learning experiences offer a clear-cut example of sequence of difficulty
in teaching management. And only through such carefully planned, sequen-
tial learning come desirable work habits and attitudes.

Differing Paths in High School Years

No matter whether you are in a 2-4 or a 3-3 high school organization,
the ninth grade seems to represent the year of decision for both students

394

and teachers. Why? Because for many age sixteen is approaching— the legal
school -leaving age in Illinois.

In small rural high schools

To be sure, in the small rural high school without junior high school
facilities the home economics teacher is having the fun of introducing new
formal classroom experiences to the ninth graders and may be blissfully
unaware of its lack of challenge to 4-H members or to bright students.
Research in Illinois shows that at the tenth grade level only about half
of these ninth graders will enroll in home economics--the more academically
talented seek college preparatory or business education courses.

This the teacher accepts as a legitimate way of providing for indivi-
dual differences. But study after study has shown that teachers report that
tenth graders are the least satisfying students they teach in rural high
schools. Could the cause for this attitude lie at least partly in the
teachers' feeling that somehow both they and home economics have been
rejected by the students they admired most?

The tragic possibility that perhaps as many as 30-40 per cent of these
lethargic students may fail to return to high school rarely occurs to rural
teachers, so indelibly has the stereotype that all dropouts are urban been
impressed upon Illinois minds. '"Some more of the same" is not what these
potential dropouts need but "new directions in home economics," as we so
often see mentioned in the literature but are inclined to forget in practice!
Experimentation with such new directions is described later, for either
rural or urban students.

In large urban high schools

Somehow urban teachers of home economics seem to be more aware of the
necessity of employment than do rural teachers. Where a rural instructor
may mourn a dropout with "But she wasn't ready for marriage and parenthood!"
the urban teacher is more likely to exclaim, "I wonder where she thinks
she's going to get a job?" Yet most urban teachers take no more construc-
tive steps toward change than do the teachers in small towns where the
facts of life are not so apparent — but definitely are there! Actually, both
rural and urban teachers know that their girls are almost sure to experience
the "two lives of women" reported in Part I. One reason is that the majority
of home economics teachers in Illinois are themselves working wives!

There is no one solution

Or, if there is, the discovery lies in the future. Empirical evidence
suggests that high schools for some time to come will be forced to do their
own experimenting. With national attention now being focused upon the
dropout problem, most educators agree that there is no time to lose in
starting fresh thinking and new attacks upon the problem.

There appears to be general consensus that the earliest study in home
economics should be basic education for all. Speaking at the mid-winter
meeting of the Department of Home Economics of the National Education Asso-
ciation, Dr. J. Lloyd Trump proposed that this aspect of general education

395

deserved a place in the curriculum of every year of a child's instruction,
beginning with kindergarten. But not the usual home economics offered today.
As you probably know, Dr. Trump is Associate Secretary of the National
Association of Secondary School Principals in the National Education Associa-
tion and a highly creative leader in formulating changes for tomorrow's
schools. When schools are different, certainly home economics classes also
wi 1 1 be changed.

We perceive the goal of developing realistic and effective work habits
and attitudes as being an essential part of this basic education. Everyone
needs a task which will bring personal satisfaction and a feeling of accom-
plishment. Tasks will vary with every individual and even during the dif-
ferent life cycles of one person. The self-discipline and self-awareness
developed through the school experiences suggested are invaluable for every
student, according to all guidance specialists.

In the opportunity to develop these outcomes through the tangibles of
home economics lies one of our unique and irreplaceable contributions to
girls' education. In most junior high schools industrial arts study affords
the same advantage for boys. However, Dr. Trump's plan of beginning study
id the elementary school and continuing through junior high school years
would probably encompass some home economics for boys throughout this entire
period. This may well be the "image of the future" but is not in extensive
practice today.

From this point on, home economics offerings in the later high school
years show great diversity— which is as it should be. Speaking at the Cen-
tral Regional Conference on "The High School We Need," Dr. Rita Youmans
made provision for individual differences one of the three MUSTS of tomor-
row's high schools. She stated, "On any score you wish to name — mental
ability, aspiration, emotional development, moral and physical support from
parents— tremendous variability is represented within the comprehensive high
school, even where selective community influences tend to do some screening."

Lucky students, fortunate teachers

Who are these? The students who have the opportunity and the will to
see through the thorough, wel 1 -organized preparation described in Part I.
Their teachers are fortunate because, with ample time, they can feel the
satisfaction of achieving both the goal of preparation for marriage and
family living and preparation for employment, even with slow learners. More-
over they, too, have ample time to "learn as they gtf* in their new venture.

The program described in Part I exhibits these highly desirable condi-
tions, as checked against a recent set of recommendations reported from a
national meeting by Naomi Hiett, executive director of the Illinois Commi-
sion on Chi ldren.

* "There should be centralized control of programs in each community."

In the practical proposals in Part I, this leaderships was cen-
tered in the school, but many agencies and organizations, many
industries and businesses, parents of students and the lay pub-
lic were informed and appropriately involved.

396

* "Numbers and kinds of jobs and numbers of potential dropouts and unem-
ployed youth should be surveyed. "

Obviously this surveying would need to be done regularly and
repeatedly. Someone in the school might be assigned as a voca-
tional counselor and/or coordinator to work with a representative
of the local office of the Illinois Employment Service in making
surveys in order to aviod duplication of functions and efforts.

* "Programs should provide a variety of work experiences covering a wide
range of ski 1 Is."

Sometimes college graduates, as all home economics teachers must
be, quite unconsciously remain unaware of the great variety of
service jobs in which girls can find part- or full-time employ-
ment sooner or later.

* "Priorities of youth to be served should be established, but poten-
tial dropouts should head the list."

In one of our programs specific consideration was given to finan-
cial need and family problems of potential dropouts in quietly
inviting the number for which work experience had been found in
the community. But those who were invited to participate were so
interested that they told their friends, and five times as many
more asked to fill out application forms requesting admission to
the program.

* "Each program should include classification of youngsters, guidance
and counseling, and follow-up of placement in jobs."

In one city the administration expects to expand the present
extensive high school counseling service by employing twenty-
five special administrators and seventy-five vocational counse-
lors just for follow-up on youth ages sixteen to twenty-one.
Smaller schools require less specialization but all such additions
will demand increased funds for education.

In addition, from the educational viewpoint, such a lengthy, systematic,
sequential program of in-school and out-of-school learning offers the maxi-
mum opportunity to slower learners. For this level of ability, time is
vital. But so is motivation of both students and their parents! Our experi-
ence leads us to heartily agree with State Superintendent Wilkins that
parental understanding and support are key factors in initiating and main-
taining such a program successfully. It has also amazed and delighted us
as we have watched students' earlier 1 istlessness, lethargy and lack of ini-
tiative transformed into an intense personal commitment and an active self-
corrective approach to problems encountered in work experiences.

Apparently, achieving such a program is going to be more readily accom-
plished in smaller schools and communities. Its realization in a metropoli-
tan setting seems to be at the other end of the continuum of difficulty. On
the other hand, it may be that appropriate work experiences may be harder

397

to secure in smaller communities since a sizable proportion of the high
school enrol lees will inevitably have to find their adult jobs in cities.
We believe, with the stakes so high and the results so obvious, all schools
must begin immediately to explore the possibilities in their communities,
whatever their size may be.

The experimental program at Chicago's Flower Vocational High School

For sharp contrast we now propose to describe a program that is very
different from the "lengthy, systematic, sequential program of in-school
and out-of-school learning" dealt with in Part I. With mounting unemploy-
ment and public relief load in Chicago, some radical changes were all too
clearly and urgently demanded. Of course, it must be understood that this
is only one of many widely varying programs of vocational education in Chi-
cago, as in most great cities. With inadequate space for describing all
these, let us just pinpoint a few of the differences.

* Some programs are original training; some are for re-training

* Some students are not yet sixteen; some are older

* Some students are full-time; some are holding a part-time or full-time
job while studying

* Some classes are during the school day; others are after school, or in
the evening

* Some offerings are during the traditional school year; others are
during the summer

* Some programs have time limits; others are dependent upon the time when
each student attains employabi 1 ity

* Teaching is done in groups whenever and wherever possible but much
school practice is of necessity highly individualized

* Potential dropouts may come from some year in the elementary school or
from some year in the high school; all are welcomed into a suitable
vocational class

The Great Cities School Improvement Program in Chicago

Even though the program at Flower Vocational High School is only one
small part of Chicago's efforts at improvement, it seems to be one that would
be readily adaptable to most school systems. For one reason, it has had no
special funds appropriated for program development. The greatest need and
the consequent concentration of local and outside funds has been located in
district eleven where most of the population may be considered to be culturally
deprived.

For three years Chicago has been a participant in the "Great Cities
School Improvement Program" sponsored and partially financed by the Ford
Foundation. Visitors will find the office for this project located in the
Dunbar Vocational School at 2900 South Parkway. Mrs. Louise Dougherty is
director of the Project as well as the district superintendent of district
eleven. The Doolittle School, previously described, the new Drake School
where the enrollment is entirely made up of selected youngsters fourteen
years of age or older and still in grade school because of academic diffi-
culties, and a host of other programs typify the possible scope and imagi-
native approaches to urban education desirable in underprivileged areas.

398

One of the most astonishing and commendable features of the Project
programs seems to us to be the recognition and acceptance of the necessity
for involving fami ) ies in the total rehabilitation of students. Home eco-
nomics teachers visit homes and make strenuous efforts to offer the best
possible teaching, whether their students are the daughters or the mothers
who voluntarily attend adult classes. Efforts are concentrated on helping
parents as well as under-achievers and dropouts become more secure in the
home, the school, and the world of work. Full-time home economists work
all year long with parents in their homes and with girls in after-school
programs. Many of the girls' special interest groups have elected to for-
mally affiliate with the 4-H organization. Meetings are held twice a week
and are two hours in length. Parents are invited to become assistant
leaders of groups in order to train them to become sole sponsors after a
time. Clubs of fathers (or father substitutes) sponsor an annual meeting
in September of all Project parents to acquaint them with the opportunities
being given to their children, both in school and out of school.

The students at Flower Vocational High School

Recent study of the voluntary withdrawal pattern at Flower showed that
fifty-eight per cent of those who withdrew did so at age sixteen. Sixty-
seven per cent of the first year withdrawals, sixty-six per cent of the
second year withdrawals, and forty-seven per cent of the third year with-
drawals occurred at this age. Any program designed for a fourth year stu-
dent would clearly not reach these dropouts.

Many of Flower's students enter high school with multiple handicaps.
Forty per cent of the January and June graduating classes in 1961 were the
first in their families to graduate from high school. Reading and arithme-
tic achievement scores on entrance are not commensurate with potential
learning ability. In addition, almost all of the students needing school
help in preparing for and finding a job are Negro girls.

A review of the school records and exit interviews of former students
showed that the image of dropouts frequently held by the public includes
many misconceptions. These dropouts from Flower were not necessarily
truants, delinquents, or economically in need. The school records did
reveal they lacked the social values and motivation essential for success
in school and in society. Values lacking were such as respect gained
through school achievement, affection from family and friends, physical
and mental well-being, and the enlightenment to perceive relationships
between goals and means to attain them. Products of the Doolittle School
will be ^o much better prepared for meeting life's problems!

Further study showed that thirty-six per cent of the students who with-
drew voluntarily were of average or above average learning ability. Since
these are the students with the greatest potential, it was decided to work
with these first. Later programs for developing lower order skills that
can still lead eventually to paid employment will be organized for the less
able students.

The existing curriculum offered vocational training and cooperative
work-study programs for students in the third and fourth years, respectively.

399

With most of the school's dropouts leaving as soon as they were sixteen, a
different program had to be devised for the ninth and tenth years if such
girls were to be helped.

Candidates for the program are selected

First, brainstorming sessions were held with members of the home eco-
nomics department, the counseling staff, the business education staff, the
district superintendent, the director of the bureau of home economics, the
supervisor of vocational education, and representative groups from business
and industry. After much discussion and study, it was agreed to initiate
a new work-study program for the in-coming tenth-graders who were most in
danger of leaving school as soon as the law allowed.

To determine just who these girls might be, since the pilot program
was limited in terms of work outlets, counselors carefully screened the
records of students. In order to achieve an initial success so the program
would not be doomed at the start, yet give the experiment a fair workout, it
was decided to begin with students who had average ability, who had spent
one year of required education in home economics, and who were at least six-
teen years of age. Their financial situation and family problems were also
given consideration.

The students chosen were called in for a conference to determine if
they were interested in such a program. All expressed interest — and so did
many, many more who had not been selected for the pilot program. The lat-
ter were permitted to file application forms for later admission to the
program. From this group a replacement was chosen when one original can-
didate left school during the first two weeks of the semester, even though
a job interview had been obtained for her. Since then, not one of the
group has dropped out of school .

The parents' approval is sought

The next step was to inform parents of the selected students. The fol-
lowing form of agreement was prepared for the parents' signature. All par-
ents approved.

Diversified Occupations in Home Economics

Dear Parents:

We are introducing a new plan whereby students may work and attend
classes under the direction and supervision of the school. We are trying
to capitalize on the skills the girls have learned in Home Economics classes.
Practice under real employment conditions should prove of great value in
preparing for future employment. If you approve of your daughter partici-
pating in this program, will you please sign the following agreement:

Agreement

It is fully understood:

1. That because of the hours of employment it may not be possible for

400

me to complete the usual requirements of four major subjects and two minor
subjects durinq one semester. Therefore attendance at summer school may be
necessary or graduation may be delayed;

2. That I must attend a one period class ''Diversified Occupations in
Home Economics" for one year (two semesters) to obtain one major credit;

3. That one major credit a semester is earned for working on the job;

4. That the quality of my class work including interest and participa-
tion are of paramount importance in obtaining a grade;

5. That working on the job and not attending school will mean dismis-
sal from class with a grade of "D" in both subjects;

6. That chronic tardiness will mean a change of program;

7. That quitting a job or being discharged from a position will mean
dismissal from the class with a grade of "D11 in both subjects;

8. That once a position is accepted, the job in question must be kept
until the end of the semester unless the instructor's permission is obtained
to leave it.

Address Student

Division Division Teacher_

Telephone Date

I have read and understood the foregoing, and I hereby request that my
daughter be enrolled in the program in Diversified Occupations in Home Eco-
nomics under the conditions outlined above.

Parent

Date

The program in operation

Since employers today almost uniformly set eighteen years of age and
graduation from high school as two requirements for employment, at first
jobs for younger tenth graders were inevitably hard to find. Reluctant
employers told school personnel to tell the girls to finish school . How-
ever, employment was obtained for a goodly number as nurses' aides, food
producers in mass group feeding, nursery school helpers, workers in altera-
tion rooms of dress shops and in central dispensaries, in hotel and hos-
pital linen rooms. The nature of these jobs makes it necessary to main-
tain great flexibility in school schedules.

The home economics teacher who serves as work coordinator continues
to search for jobs because, when dealing with potential dropouts, even

401

limited work experience in a real job is invaluable. An unplaced student
follows her regular school program until a job is obtained. Then, if neces-
sary, her program is changed to best fit in with the job. Girls work from
fifteen to twenty hours per week on their outside jobs. Financial arrange-
ments vary, just as they do in adult work, but the supervision of the school
could effectively put a stop to youth exploitation, if any were attempted.
Actually, employers are so eager for a carefully selected and trained labor
supply that they are generous with their own and an employee's time in giv-
ing training on the job.

Most of the girls are earning four major credits, and a few are earn-
ing four and three-fourths. The job experience provides one major credit,
and the one-class period of "Diversified Occupations in Home Economics"
gives one-half a major credit. Thus each girl who is assigned to a job
earns one-and one-half credits in "Diversified Occupations" _i_f she succeeds
on the job. Each girl is supervised and evaluated on the job by her employer
and by the teacher-coordinator. The two supervisors together decide on
the grade. The home economics coordinator for related instruction and group
counseling will study all cooperative evaluation sheets not only as a
record of student performance but also to insure that the work program is
kept on an educational level rather than a repetitive service with limited
learning potential.

Since students make applications for work and go for job interviews
before they are employed, these techniques must be learned during the first
week or two. Afterwards the study in "Diversified Occupations in Home Eco-
nomics" covers three major aspects. Because interaction of personalities
is known to lose more jobs than mere lack of skill, this aspect is dealt
with first. Personal relationships between an employee and an employer,
as well as the relationships of a girl to her co-workers are studied thor-
oughly, often in terms of real situations from which all students may learn.

The work habits and skills taught in home economics classes in junior
high school grades are reviewed and re- interpreted in light of paid employ-
ment. Specific techniques required by individual employers are supported as
the correct ones to use in that job.

Finally, types of personal adjustments necessary to holding a job are
handled in a forthright manner. These adjustments include personal manage-
ment so that physical stamina, an even good nature, acceptable appearance,
and a quiet loyalty to the job are always apparent. The regulations of
Social Security are explained, possible promotions if more education were
to be obtained are pointed out, and the wisdom of planning ahead is developed,
Many girls prior to beginning this study are not in the least aware that
they should and can plan for their future. Afterwards "career planning"
begins to rate right along with "marriage planning!"

What comes next?

The overwhelming demand for this work-study cooperative program seems
to make a limitation of one year imperative. What will our present enrol lees
do next year? No one knows, perhaps not even the girls themselves. But
there are many encouraging signs that most, if not quite all, are "sold" on

402

the need for more education. Why wouldn't they be? They can see for them-
selves that the unskilled worker is already a drug on the market. Co-workers
repeatedly tell them, "Oh, if only I had had the opportunity to graduate
from high school when I was young!" Apparently their work experiences have
given their lives more meaning than ever before and a clearer vision of
their own identities as responsible, hopeful persons.

Many of them can return to school only if they can earn at least a small
income through part-time employment. At the end of this year, however, each
will have a bona fide recommendation from a prominent employer, as well as
the help of the public school's placement service. The outlook is promising
because of the dependable and satisfactory work that they have done. Earlier
we mentioned that not one girl had dropped from the work-study program. We
can add that not one student has merited dismissal.

There is also some evidence that the morale of those unable to be includ-
ed in the early work-study program has been raised. Completion of two years
of study for those who managed to stay in school this year, now entitles them
to admission into the later years' vocational programs in not only diver-
sified occupations in home economics but also the technical programs in nur-
sery school work, commercial foods, commercial clothing and cosmetology.
These existing programs utilize work experiences both in sen ol and out in
business and industry, as was recommended in Part I.

Change breeds other changes

In a three-part feature, "We Waste a Million Kids a Year," appearing
in The Saturday Evening Post recently, the final presentation closed with
this statement about changes needed: "The school will have to change some
cherished patterns and learn the maturity of flexibility." We believe that
Flower's courageous departure from existing patterns is a good example of
having learned the maturity of flexibility.

If you will examine the opening sentence on page 335 in Part I, you
will more fully realize what a radical departure the work experience for
sixteen year olds really was. Somehow educators are going to have to find
the imagination and fearlessness to scrap traditional patterns, no matter
how strongly they may be buttressed by scholarship. For example, the "cul-
ture shock" mentioned in that opening sentence does occur, just as the indus-
trial psychologists and sociologists have established through research.
The younger girls included in Flower's experimental program were painfully
frightened at their interviews. But they, too, found the courage for this
innovation. Sometimes life offers a cruel choice between great difficulties.
Surely no one would question, in spite of the stronger pre-preparat ion being
highly desirable, but that the students and the educators at Flower chose
the wiser coursel

Under the leadership of Flower's principal, Dr. Marjorie Mills, the
home economics staff is now considering a revision of the present units in
the ninth grade that will precede future work-study programs in the tenth
grade. Flower's Vocational High School for girls seems uniquely fortunate
in the fact that Dr. Mills has been a teacher of home economics, as well
as being an experienced and competent administrator. She is able to see

403

the need for combining education for homemaking with that for employment.
She is in a strategic position to interpret to her teachers and her students
the relationships between skills, values and concepts used in the home and
their counterparts in many areas of work outside the home.

Instead of the fairly traditional composite of home economics units now
required, the proposed ninth grade offerings will transfer major emphasis to
acquisition of learnings in aspects of personal development, human relation-
ships, health and fitness, and consumer education. This transfer of emphasis
is based upon the quite generally held belief that two early years of a com-
posite curriculum may be an adequate basis upon which to build more theore-
tical units. For example, preparation of food would be limited mostly to
demonstrations with student participation. These would be used to support
the nutrition in the emphasis upon health and fitness and for experiments in
the emphasis upon consumer education. Work in clothing construction would
be reduced to the minimum basic skills necessary in clothing alteration,
care and repair.

To better prepare ninth grade girls for early work experiences outside
the school, pre-employment counseling will be used to help students identify
their interests and aptitudes, and perceive the relationships between their
already acquired learnings and the many vocational opportunities that will
sooner or later be available. It is hoped that this earlier counseling in
itself may help to encourage potential dropouts to remain in school longer.

On' this ninth grade program of teaching and counseling, required of
all girls, will be built a three-track program to cover the range of abilites
in education. For those sixteen year olds who seem most likely to drop
school, the present experimental program will be repeated in the second
year. Second year students under sixteen years of age will be able to
elect a one-year course in Food and Nutrition or Clothing, according to
their major interest. A one-year course in Home Management and Family Life
will be open to sophoma as who will become sixteen during their second year.
This will automatically open to those completing Home Management the pro-
gram on Advanced Child Care and Nursery Assistants during their third year.

Such flexibility is in no way a reflection of the worth of any course.
It is simply a recognition of the inescapable fact that holding students of
legal age for leaving school must be the first consideration. It acknow-
ledges that the carefully articulated, four-year program in which Flower
was accustomed to take justifiable pride can no longer be given first consi-
deration in the face of statistics on dropouts and unemployment. For on
one thing, at least, all educators agree: to hold students in school, no
matter what curriculum adjustments may be called for, is easier and more
effective than to try to locate and lure back potential returnees 1

Employment Related to Study of Children

With the typical adolescent desire to be of service in some adult
fashion, work experiences in caring for children have been exceedingly popu-
lar. Perhaps, too, some baby sitting in earlier years has created a cer-
tain degree of confidence. At any rate, this ability to have a good time
with children is an invaluable characteristic for anyone who is employed
in caring for groups of youngsters.

W*

Work experiences — in school and out of school

The universality of childhood is well demonstrated if you compare the
illustration on page 333 in Part I with the above photograph in Part II.
Our duplication of the story hour was done deliberately for this purpose.
Requirements in other fields of employment may vary widely; e.g., a bed
must be made according to the standards of a particular hospital. Either
girl in the two photographs will likewise evoke the same rapt attention
when the time comes to read to her own children in her home.

The first illustration was a school practice scene. The second was
photographed at the Margaret Etter Creche in Chicago. This is the second
oldest day-care nursery in the country. In 1885 a working mother could
leave her child in safe hands while she worked long hours in a factory.
The maximum rate was five cents per day per child. Today the maximum rate
is $15 per week, but needy children are cared for without charge and the
rates for others are staggered according to the ability of the parent to pay.

405

Whatever the payment, each child receives complete care by well-trained
teachers from 7:30 to 5:30, a hot lunch, and snacks.

Funds for the Creche are raised by a hard-working gruup of volunteers
numbering among them some of Chicago's most prominent women. Already Irene
Elster, the director, has permanently employed one work-study student from
Flower and has promised to hire more when she expands the program in a new
building. Observing the similarities in the two situations in school and
out of school, one can perceive how easily even a shy and uncertain student
could make the transition from school to the world of work.

Possibilities for employment in the future

The list of job possibilities on page 33^ in Part I is reasonably com-
plete. But a girl who is well -trained and enthusiastic about caring for
children can often locate jobs for herself that do not exactly fit into any
regulation category. For example, some have found jobs in mental hospitals
which, as you know, are being tremendously expanded in Illinois and probably
all over the country. Another rapidly growing program in our state is that
for the education of seriously retarded children. In both such groups the
children merit the services of top-level professionals, everyone agrees.
But there is also the problem of providing loving, watchful and intelligent
(not necessarily professional) care to these handicapped youngsters. For
this a well prepared high school graduate is adequate. In fact, we are told
that sometimes a less highly educated person, able to exercise patience and
self-control because her pressures tend to be less than those of a professional,
may prove to have an invaluable influence upon disturbed children.

Again, some parents prefer, at least for a few years, to keep a handi-
capped child in the home. Even with aid from the government, the costs of
future education and treatment may lead a mother to seek paid employment
outside the home if she is prepared to earn considerably more than the
salary a high school graduate can command. Moreover, working mothers often
contend that they are able to handle their home responsibilities more
equably if they can spend some time outside the home rather than feeling
over- commit ted to their problems. In such a position, the job might com-
bine child care with homemaking activities possible without neglecting the
chi Id.

Two types of day-care services

However, many child development specialists and authorities on social
welfare are speculating (and hoping) that day-care services will be so ex-
panded in all sizes of communities that such services will offer the most
important outlet for girls trained in child care. These services are of two
types. Family day-care homes are likely to appear most often in small com-
munities. These homes are family homes in which children below school age
are placed for daytime care only. They are selected, developed, and super-
vised by child welfare or other social agencies concerned with children.
This employment permits a young woman to earn, yet remain in her home with
her own children. Indeed, authorities prefer that day-care homes have one
or more children around the age of the tot placed since in practice the
majority of day-care homes care for no more than two children. With a child

406

under two, he is usually the only one cared for by a family. On the other
hand, one family day-care home may serve as home base for more school age
children where home circumstances warrant such an arrangement.

Services provided by day-care centers are typified by those described
at the Margaret Etter Creche. Both day-care homes and centers in most
states must be licensed by State or local departments of government. To
obtain a license, the home or center must meet certain basic minimum stand-
dards of good care for children. Buildings used must meet all the require-
ments as to fire and building protection, exits, sanitation, electric wiring,
water supply, sewage disposal, and other health and safety measures.

But licensing alone cannot guarantee good care, protection, and super-
vision for children. Counseling services are an essential part of any day-
care program. An experienced professional is imperative to help parents
to plan for the care of their children, to make arrangements for care out-
side the parents' home, and to insure that such care is good through care-
ful supervision. Often the counselor finds time to keep those persons
dealing with children informed concerning the recent theories of child
development and their implications. A young woman affiliated with such
a program is thus able to grow continously on the job— an advantage that
many other jobs of the lower order skills may lack.

Provisions for continuing growth and progress

A bulletin, Automation and Vocational Guidance, recently published by
the Los Angeles City Schools points out that hereafter an estimated forty
per cent of the nation's workers cannot expect to achieve "vertical move-
ment" in their employemnt, a la the former American dream. Instead they
must be trained for versatility and mobility, for they will move between
jobs of the same type and about the country. For such training both teachers
and students must be constantly alert to change and develop good timing in
making adjustments.

For teachers we would like to warmly recommend to you the periodical,
Chi ldren, an interdisciplinary journal for the professions serving children,
published by the U. S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. The
annual subscription price is $1.25 for six issues. Along with this inexpen-
sive publication to keep you aware of social developments should go constant
study of new books and pamphlets as they are provided by child development
special ists.

We believe that the family and early environment are the most important
factors in the life of any child. No program is intellectually honest if
it does not begin with this fact. Consequently home economics teachers must
first keep well informed themselves and, in turn, try to cultivate a reali-
zation of the importance of these factors in their students. Perhaps some
of us can go one step further by interesting citizens and, in particular,
parents in expanding day-care programs that have legal protections for al 1
chi ldren.

We cannot, in all conscience, be less concerned than are our students
in work-study programs! In closing this section, we'd like to tell you about

407

Nancy. She loved working with children but faced the fact that she was not
college caliber. The only difficulty she had ever encountered in her work
experiences was that her reading ability at the story hour had not measured
up to the standards of some sophisticated moppets. Undiscouraged, she
requested help in locating specialized training in infant care for well
babies. She learned that she could meet the requirements of three such
schools right in the Chicago area, The Augustana Nursery and St. Vincent's
Nursery in Chicago and The Cradle in Evanston. After one year of this
trainnng she will be prepared to succeed in the pediatric ward of a hospi-
tal or in other positions for which she will be qualified. And she will
be happy in making her best possible contribution to the welfare of children.

Employment Related to Study of Clothing and Textiles

Tales of fabulous salaries earned by "designers" permeate the high
school world and seem to get employment related to clothing study off to
a very unrealistic start! An amazingly large proportion of freshman majors
in college home economics declare that costume designing and interior decora-
ting are their vocational aspirations. At the University of Illinois a
recent check of dropouts and transfers in the home economics department
indicated overwhelming evidence that these students were the most certain
to leave before graduation.

Prejudice versus reality

Many work-study enrol lees show desirable aptitude for work in this
field but completely negative attitudes. They will ignore advertisements
like this: "Women! We have openings for experienced power machine opera-
tors or will train. Call in person. Fashion Frocks, Inc." Garment plants
close because employees are unobtainable; dressmakers who will not only con-
struct but alter and repair used garments are equally unavailable.

Automation can readily be adopted by industries for mass produced goods
but has limited utility in service-performing industries. For example,
power machines can produce ready-made garments quickly and economically but
a seamstress is needed to fit and alter one of these garments to an indivi-
dual's measures. Hence, service jobs in this field are likely to offer unu-
sually certain long-time possibilities.

Service jobs are numerous and varied

Dexterity in sewing can be capitalized on in many types of work. Fit-
ters and sewers in the alteration of ready-made garments earn excellent pay
as soon as they become sufficiently skillful to meet a store's standards.
In cities custom dressmaking and tailoring of better garments provide
employment for a still higher order of skill. If a woman is "home-bound,"
she can do altering and home dressmaking for the hard to fit, or become a
specialist in making quality, hand-decorated garments for children. Custom-
made curtains, draperies, and slip covers can likewise be made in business
workrooms or in the home. A few may ultimately graduate to positions as
assistants to stores' interior decorators, upholsterers, bridal consultants,
or window decorators.

408

Finger dexterity and eye-hand coordination gained through sewing prac-
tice are assets for women who assemble small parts in factory work. In the
garment industry power sewing-machine operators not only work on garments
for men, women and children but also in sewing fabrics for the interior of
automobiles and upholstered furniture. Manufacturing companies require fore-
ladies and inspectors, positions which do offer some upward mobility for the
able and experienced.

Cleaning of personal and household textiles provide many jobs. One
may work in commercial laundry-dry cleaning establishments as a sorter,
spotter, presser, and inspector. Any place that combines repair with clean-
ing has a tremendous advantage over its competitors. Some "do-it-yourself"
establishments are seeking to employ part-time advisers for customers using
their machines. Women are employed by hotels and hospitals to take inven-
tories, keep records, and make repairs in their linen rooms.

If training in distributive education or salesmanship can be combined
with advanced study of clothing and textiles during high school attendance,
girls will be qualified for selling patterns, yard goods and findings, milli-
nery and accessories. They may advance to doing commercial demonstrating
and offering advisory service on dressmaking, knitting, and other currently
popular crafts. If training has included the ensembling of costumes, a posi-
tion as a personal shopper or a comparative shopper for a store may be
obtained.

Learning responsibility through work experience

Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company has been outstandingly cooperative in
developing work-study programs ever since that conference with Dr. Willis
which we mentioned at the beginning of this article. Students from Flower
are proud to be a part of the EE program in the alteration workrooms of the
ready-to-wear departments. In the upper photograph one of the lucky girls
is receiving a personal demonstration from the store's executive who directs
the alteration workrooms. In the lower picture another student is working
right alongside a regular employee and having her techniques supervised
even more painstakingly than are those of the permanent employee.

This kind of training on the job costs the store money! However, Fred
Englund, the company's personnel director, points out: "These youngsters
are the consumers of tomorrow. If they cannot become productive due to
lack of jobs, their purchasing power is severly curtailed." Youth, for bet-
ter productivity in real life, need opportunities for assuming responsbi 1 ity
even more than they need the chance to develop the abilities that schools
can provide. And only in organizations outside of school can adult respon-
sibility be fully learned.

What is the relation of education to future employment?

On the whole, as was mentioned earlier, the general prognosis for con-
tinued employment is very favorable. But education standards are rising
steadily. Already three-fourths of all women working in stores have a high
school education and this figure is expected to increase rapidly as younger

409

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410

workers replace older employees. In manufacturing and cleaning establish-
ments where 3.3 million women are employed high school graduation is consi-
dered desirable for beginners and essential for advancements to highly
skilled and supervisory work.

The very fact that jobs are so numerous and varied poses a challenge
to educators. One teacher asked her clothing class to identify from the help-
wanted column in one daily newspaper all openings where a study of clothing
and textiles might be helpful. The fifteen positions located pretty well
represented the entire range possible. Skills expected, work involved,
remuneration for beginners were investigated. Students' rating of their
teacher rose perceptibly when during the discussions they learned that she
had been employed in several types of the jobs under study. The occupa-
tional guidance officer for the school supplied the needed facts about the
trained woman power already available, and where scarcities existed. From
all this data the year's curriculum was tentatively formulated.

In general, women tend to be intermittent and part-time workers.
Actually, in this area of employment where seasonal and other "peak loads"
occur, these characteristics become assets to employers. At a given point
in a person's life, it is not possible to identify accurately what she is
best suited for, nor is it possible to predict that a job for which she has
aptitude will remain stable in content and responsibility so long as she
may wish to work at it. Students must be helped to accept that change will
be typical, stability very rare. Under such conditions re-training must be
expected and welcomed. But certain fundamental skills, t ime-and-mot ion
saving habits, and favorable attitudes toward work will always pay good
dividends.

Employment Related to Study of Foods and Health

Although the work performed on many jobs that fall in this category
tends to overlap, a general division may be made between jobs in food pro-
duction and service and in nursing. Since we all must partake of food
regularly, and sooner or later may expect to become ill, there are probably
more possibilities for gainful employment of women in this area than in any
other. On page 336 in Part I was given a partial list of jobs in hospitals
which were related to home economics learnings.

The well organized field of nursing

Nursing today offers the most efficient organization of a work field
yet developed, so far as we know. Although many variations in specifics
may be found in training programs, three levels of competence have been
clearly defined. The programs that lead to the professional R. N. have to
meet high prescribed standards, are more and more strengthened by a thorough
background in physical and behavioral sciences, and prepare young women to
handle the most responsible aspects of nursing. For advancement, a B. S. and
even an M. S. college degree may be required.

During the forties the American Nurses' Association and the Office of
Education began developing a program for the preparation of practical nurses
for the practice of nursing within a limited range of types of nursing

situations. In most states such programs are well distributed and popular.
Local hospitals and schools provide the course, including both theory and
practice, according to the standards set up by an advisory board of leaders
in nursing and education. These courses are limited to twelve to eighteen
months, are strictly vocational in nature, and are supervised and reimbursed
by State Departments of Vocational Education. The most concise and helpful
booklet that we could locate for your general information on practical nurses
i s Guides for Developing Curricula for the Education of Practical Nurses,
a 1959 publication of the U. S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.
Send sixty cents to the U. S. Government Printing Office, and request Bulle-
tin No. 27**, Practical Nurse Education Series No. 2, plus a list of related
publ i cat ions.

During the fifties still further study yielded a third classification
of work — that of nursing aides. Up until now, at least, this level is not
as uniformly developed as are the two others. The Junior Red Cross has
various experimental programs in cities; Family Service and other welfare
organizations promote the "candy striper" groups. Both types of programs
include only volunteers, limited, if any, financial remuneration is involved,
most of the work is contributed during summer vacation months, and any learn-
ing is picked up on the job. Parents have encouraged the service as one
good way to help a girl to decide whether she should choose nursing as an
occupation. Apparently there exists no connection between these volunteer
programs and local public schools.

Selected references on nursing

In practice, this stratification of nursing knowledge and techniques is
not quite as clear-cut as the neat organization might imply. References
on home nursing ignore the classification; instead, they use the criterion
of what can be done in the home. A little comparison of the contents of home
nursing texts will give such widely differing outlines that authors' judg-
ments seem to have been the major bases for choice making.

D. C. Heath and Company 1 a st year brought out a simple, attractive
text, Home Nursing Handbook. The price is $3.96. The authors, Mary Fleming
and Marian Benson, are experienced home economists and tried out their
materials in large and small schools, so practical usefulness was undoubtedly
one of their main criteria. Where the fundamentals of home nursing are
deemed a desirable part of the home economics curriculum in the earlier
years of high school, this is proving to be a very popular text. It is
effective, interesting, and can be readily comprehended.

A much more comprehensive book appropriate for students in senior high
school is Fam? ly Nursing and Chi Id Care, written by C. Luise Riehl , R. N. ,
assistant administrator in San Jose Hospital, San Jose, California. Much
of Mrs. Riehl's wisdom and spirit of service shine through the technical
material. Consciously or unconsciously, she makes out a good case for
entering the nursing profession. Students will master the contents with
different degrees of success, but for all it provides a sound and up-to-
date background. The organization of common procedures is easily trans-
ferred later to the vocational preparation of nurses' aides. This book
is published by Chas. A Bennett Co., Inc., Peoria, Illinois, I960. $6.00.

412

4.3

A

1 • " • ■ «. = ..» O

For two dol lars you can buy a Handbook for Nursing Aides in Hospitals
from the American Hospital Association, 8^0 North Lake Shore Drive, Chicago 11,
Illinois. It is a loose-leaf notebook type of publication of 185 pages, cle-
verly and voluminously illustrated, printed in blue and black, and written
in the simplest possible way. Margaret B. Arnstein, R. N., M. P. H., Chief,
Division of Nursing Resources, U. S. Public Health Service, directed its pre-
paration. Of late there has been a good deal of questioning whether the
typical middle-class high school teacher truly communicates with slow learn-
ers among her disadvantaged students. To examine this Handbook with such a
question in mind might be a salutary experience for many of you, as it has
been for us. For example, in Chapter I directions for caring for patients'
flowers are given. Would you customarily include this? "Don't put flowers
near or on a hot radiator; heat kills them." The whole manual is the "voice
of experience" speaking!

For your own enlightenment and to make sure that you understand defi-
nitely what practical nurses are taught and qualified to do in the way of
nursing, we would like to recommend one more book. This is S i mp 1 i f i ed
Nurs?ng--The Essentials of Practical Nursing by El la M. Thompson, B. S.,
R. N., Associate Executive Director of the National Association for Practi-
cal Nurse Education and Service, and Margaret LeBaron, R. N., Director of
the St. Anthony Hospital School of Practical Nursing, Denver, Colorado.
New York: Lippincott, I960. $5.00. This book is designed for the over
600 approved schools of practical nursing in different parts of this country.

Of course, you probably have other texts on home and hospital nursing
on your shelves at school. For example, all the publications, including
instructors' manuals, of the American Red Cross are well known and valuable
references. The special Civil Defense Supplement in the April, 1962 issue
of What's New in Home Economics reminds us that much research is being car-
ried on to develop nursing techniques that will facilitate chances of survi-
val. These, in turn, may alter today's accepted practices. The lengthened
life span suggests that care of an aging population will not only increase
the need for nursing but also the outlets for practical nurses and well-
trained nursing aides to give the elderly proper care. By 1980 one out of
every ten persons wi 1 1 be sixty-five years of age or olderi

What preparation can high schools give for various types of hospital jobs?

Answers to this question must be evolved through the cooperative efforts
of personnel from the hospital or nursing home and from the school. Obvi-
ously, preparation in pre-employment education is determined by job analysis.
In the preceding photographs were pictured Flower students performing duties
selected as appropriate to their level of ability and training. This level
depends not alone on the student; it may also be influenced by the geogra-
phical location of a hospital, the philosophy of the hospital administration,
and the shortage of trained nursing personnel in a particular institution.

In the first illustration a nures's aide is receiving instruction on
giving a patient a back rub at Walther Memorial Hospital in Chicago. The
teacher is a registered nurse. Practice at school is not the same as actu-
ally giving a back rub to a sick person, and the beginner is deeply grate-
ful for the kind but watchful attention of her supervisor.

415

The girl handling instruments with such precision and care is packaging
these for sterilization. Right before her is a book of drawings and instruc-
tions to guide her in identifying some 500 instruments and then wrapping each
correctly before they are placed in an auto-clave for final sterilization.
This student is working at Presbyterian-St. Luke's Hospital.

At Mother Cabrini Memorial Hospital a competent young aide is engaged
in the serious business of taking the respiration and temperature of a
patient. In Your Adolescent at Home and in School , Lawrence and Mary Frank
state, "Responsibility is a pattern that is caught rather than taught. It
comes from a response to other people's needs, a sensitivity to the occa-
sions when others need help." In no type of work experience is the truth of
this statement more evident than in hospital employment.

The fourth picture was taken in the dietary department of Presbyterian-
St. Luke's Hospital. It might, however have been photographed almost any-
where in a food production situation for group feeding. Here, too, a super-
visor works closely with students under her guidance.

Jobs related to foods offer a- wide range in difficulty

As you study the types of openings, you cannot fail to realize the truth
of this statement. However, no organization of foods jobs classified as to
increasing difficulty seems to be available. Graduation from high school
is becoming a uniform requirement. After employment is secured, promotions
appear to be as dependent upon the attitudes of workers as upon their tech-
nical knowledge and skill. For example, a peripatetic waitress who is con-
stantly "off again, on again" in jobs is unlikely to merit or receive pro-
motions. In general, as responsibility increases, so does the difficulty
and the pay of jobs. No one under eighteen in permitted to work with a
hazardous piece of equipment.

Every community offers some variety of foods jobs; many are commonly
found in most localities, a few may be almost unique to one place. To
assist you in discovering both types, the following suggestions are made.
The list is by no means complete.

* Cooking in drug store or variety store luncheonettes, day-care centers,
school lunch rooms, cafes, cafeterias, delicatessens, commercial
bakeries, hotels, tea rooms, for airlines, vending machines. In large
establishments speci 1 izat ion areas may be for preparation of salads,
meat, vegetables, pastries and desserts. The head cook or chef is
frequently a man

* Food service as counter girl, waitress, head waitress, hostess in the
many kinds of establishments providing food to the public

* Selling foods in commercial establishments — supermarkets, small or spe-
cialized stores selling bakery goods, dairy products, candy, gourmet
foods, and wherever the rapidly increasing vending machines have not
taken over. Women are needed to keep shelves supplied and in order

in self-service stores, for checking out foods, taking in money and
making change, for waiting on customers where self-service is not
expected, for education and "hard-selling" the public on specialty foods

416

* Acting as assistant to or even as the manager of small shops, luncheon-
ettes, school lunch rooms, company cafeterias, commercial cafes,
resorts and camps

* Catering — occasional and regular, specialized or general, at home or
outside the home

* Demonstration work for manufacturers or dealers — food products, food
appl iances

What preparation can high school give for various types of food jobs?

As in the areas of Child Development and Clothing, fundamental concepts
and abilities should be gained first in home economics courses geared to
the dual purposes proposed by the AVA. Later more intensive training in
accordance with local surveys and job analyses is expected by employers
cooperating with a school's work- study programs. Further training usually
parallels the actual work experiences related to foods. In every course
offering, however, the ways that homemaking can be managed along with part-
or full-time employment must be emphasized. Compromises are difficult but
can be made intelligently before the emotions of real life get involved.
Individual misunderstandings and prejudices can be clarified and evaluated
through group thinking under skilled guidance. And who in a school is bet-
ter qualified to interpret dual roles than the home economics teacher who
never loses sight of the importance of the family as well as the job?

To aid home economics teachers to teach commercial foods, we have
selected two references that are highly recommended as being both compre-
hensive in scope and of practical usefulness. The third is a bulletin pub-
lished by the Office of Education, Distributive Education Branch.

* Food Service in Institutions. Bessie West and Lavelle Wood, John Wiley
and Sons, Inc., New York, is the book most commonly used as a basic
text in beginning courses in college. A revised edition is being
published this fall, we are told, hence no price can yet be quoted

* Profitable Food and Beverage Operations, Joseph Brodner, Howard Carl-
son, and Henry Maschel , 1959, Ahren's Publishing Company, Inc., New
York, deals in detail with the economic problems of food preparation
and service. So high a proportion of all small businesses fail to sur-
vive that attention to these problems is of acute importance. Price

is $7.00.

* Food Service Industry: Training Programs and Faci 1 i t ?es,, Vocational
Division Bulletin No. 298, Distributive Education Series No. 32, 1961,
U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C, 65 cents.
This bulletin treats all food-related jobs from the point of view of
salesmanship; offers excellent teaching ideas within this limitation

Emphases upon productivity and profit

Most home economics teachers have been shocked into awareness more than
once by students' unrealistic attitudes toward these vital elements in a
food situation. One of our students, who had been assigned the task of

417

putting away excess foods after a buffet luncheon patronized by teachers,
briskly dumped everything into garbage containers before she was observedl
And how they dislike computing costs of servings!

No matter what the prepared food may be in a lesson, we are unfair to
employers cooperating in our work-study programs unless we doggedly stay
with these problems of productivity and profit until students become sensi-
tized and competent. In the "good old days" qual ity in products was at
least given lip service but efficiency in production ignored because we were
picturing all our students as full-time homemakers with no special premium
put upon saving of time, motions, and other resources. Today even home-
makers know better! Farm Journal , May, 1962, reported the opinions of
1572 parents of students studying Agriculture and Home Economics in Land
Grant Colleges. They asked for more and better research in the following
areas arranged in decending order; e.g., management of time, strength, money
led all the rest.

* Home Management

* Fami ly Relations

* Human Nutrition

* How to Buy More Intelligently

* New Fibers and Fabrics

* Housing and Furnishings

"Beat your own record" should, then, be resurrected from junior high
days. Studies of the total cost of servings in light of food used, labor
invested in preparation, service and supervision, over-head costs of housing
and maintenance, advertising (if any), and any other expenses should deter-
mine present costs first. Then every imaginative way to reduce expenditure
that students may suggest may be tried out and accurate records kept. Teach-
ing aids such as product score cards and cost record forms will be found in
texts.

Let us consider only one example of the many that plague the restaur-
ant business. Most students readily understand that the success with which
a restaurant operates will determine the wages that their employees will
receive--or even if they will receive any for long! Yet it is hard for
them to believe that dishwashing costs can amount to much! One teacher
gave her class this challenge:

11^ cents of every dollar spent on dishwashing is used to replace
breakages. In what ways might this expenditure be reduced?

Amazing ingenuity was displayed by a previously careless group. After
thoroughly debating the probable consequences of threatening penalties for
breakage versus incentives for keeping it low, they decided upon a positive
approach — "use your head to keep it low so more of the dollar will be left
for wages." Under this stimulus teen-agers experimented on ways and means
with more enthusiasm than they had ever before exhibited about dishwashing.
They developed ways to eliminate unnecessary handling, to sort and wash
"like with like," to handle speedily without destructive "collisions," etc.

After all these efforts to reduce the percentage that had to be allot-
ted to breakage, they happily assumed that all the rest of the dollar would

418

be for wages. Instead, they discovered that about seven cents is used for
detergent and hot water, and lli cents for expenses indirectly related to
the job such as equipment's cost and maintenance, space rental where work is
done, and other "overhead." Could these costs be reduced? If so, how?
They set to work with a will to find some new and better answers.

Requiring that all quantity cooking be sold also stimulates responsi-
bility for results. Products may be sold in many ways, depending upon the
local situation: the school lunchroom, at coffee breaks for teachers or the
public, on order from citizens, or even on special catering projects for indi-
viduals or community groups. More than self-pride becomes involved. Students
preparing quick breads for a coffee break compared the difference in cost
when fresh milk was used and when powdered milk was substituted. The "doubt-
ing Thomases" also ran an experiment to determine whether one product could
be distinguished from another after baking. So convincing were the results
that they immediately began to inquire about other alternatives that might
increase the economy, even farm girls who had been extremely prejudiced
against dried products. The small savings that did not seem worth bothering
about in the home, when magnified by 100 servings, became impressive to even
the least mature student.

An example of success from a small rural community

This teacher taught vocational homemaking in a village on the outskirts
of a city of 100,000 population. Her students were apparently allergic to
work and had little ambition. Yet, with or without a diploma, they fully
expected to get jobs in the city but at a low level of skill. Somehow the
instructor just could not see them in the role of a paid employee unless
their attitudes were vastly changed from those displayed at school.

Her first step was to make a quiet survey of the twenty employers who
most frequently hired local girls. She asked them to check on three levels
of importance some fifteen characteristics of workers. Almost to a man,
the employers added a characteristic in the space left for criticism: the
very same attitude of "couldn't care less" which she, too, had found so
frustrating. That employers estimated the cost of training and turn-over
for one employee at anywhere between $50 and $300 appalled the thrifty
school ma 'am!

To determine the students' points of view, she asked them to check the
same list of characteristics with their relative importance as the employers
had used. Results were even worse than she had expected! For instance,
ninety-eight per cent of the employers had placed promptness in arriving at
work in the essential category. Fifty-eight per cent of the students rated
it as of little or no importance on the job. When she tried out the check
list on a few parents, she found their attitudes resembled their children's
far more than those of employers.

This story might have ended right here if everyone in the village had
not become suddenly aware that jobs demanding only the lower order of skills
were decreasing at an alarming rate! Moreover, older women were being given
preference for whatever jobs were available. With the cooperation of the
school administrator, the other high school teachers, and the cooks in the

419

school lunchroom, plans were made for changing girls' attitudes toward work.
When the organizational arrangements were complete, all parents were invi-
ted to an open house at which the administrator, the homemaking teacher,
and a well-known employer from the neighboring city spoke. The following
day the students in all three homemaking classes were given detailed explana-
tions of their opportunities. Everyone on the teaching staff expected that
work without pay would be very unpopular with these girls. They could not
have been more mistaken!

With the typical American spirit of "coming through in a pinch," stu-
dents rallied around the idea to an amazingly high degree. After all, they
had observed even high school graduates sitting at home without jobs that
summer! Because details of such arrangements must vary with each local
situation, only the general procedures seem worth reporting here.

* All work experiences had to be obtained in the school lunchroom, even
though the school personnel realized that changing attitudes toward
work would be necessarily slow with such limited facilities

* The cooks, who fortunately were above average in intelligence and
skills due to the fact that non-commuting jobs could command the ser-
vices of the best residents, had to be trained to cooperate with the
teacher in supervising work experiences. They found two bulletins
expecial ly helpful :

The Youth You Supervise, Bulletin 17^, U. S. Department of Labor,
Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C, 1956, 10 cents

Modern Supervisory Techniques Resulting in Good Human Relations,
Division of Vocational Education, Department of Education, Com-
monwealth of Massachusetts, Boston, 1956, Free

* Although no one had then heard of Dr. Paul Dressel's exhortations to
reduce educational objectives, then achieve them, two characteristics
were selected for emphasis in grades nine, ten and eleven respectively

* An unceasing, concerted effort was made by all teachers of ninth
graders to influence students toward these essential characteristics:
(1) promptness and dependability and (2) acceptable personal appear-
ance. Need for the second objective was all too clear. When seventy-
seven per cent of the students considered taking an occasional day
off no one's business except their own, while ninety-six per cent of
the employers reported unnecessary absence as one of their major reasons
for firing workers, the survey made this objective also imperative

* Building on the learnings from Homemaking I, the teacher worked all year
on the two next over-all objectives. These were (1) orderly manage-
ment of time, equipment, motions and other resources and (2) physical
stamina versus the usual dawdling and complaining. In helping to
achieve progress in the second objective, the teacher of girls' phy-
sical education was especially helpful

* The eleventh and twelfth grade girls enrolled in Homemaking III were
checked relentlessly on failures to cooperate with other workers, yet

420

had their successes sufficiently commended that they began to recog-
nize and be proud of a job well done

* Every year the same objectives were made crystal clear to each student
as she had her opportunity to work in the school lunchroom; the cooks
were fair but were authorized to dismiss any student who, in the con-
sidered judgment of the home economics teacher, the school adminis-
trator, and themselves, failed to measure up to employment standards.
After two students had made that fatal mistake and everyone in the
school learned about the episodes, the rule never again needed to be

i nvoked

* Jobs in the school lunchroom were tentatively organized by grades in

a sequence of difficulty; experience indicated that in the upper years
this order often had to be juggled somewhat to provide for individual
differences in students

* As always, the support of the school administrator was a crucial ele-
ment in the success of the program. Two of his decisions seemed to be
of special importance.

He added to students' report cards the two general behavior pat-
terns being sought in their particular grade and requested all
teachers who could obtain evidence on these to rate the individual
as "unsatisfactory," "growing," and "commendable"

He made strenuous efforts never before attempted to find jobs
for all graduating seniors who desired work, assembling a folder
of credentials for each, contacting possible employers, follow-
ing up on graduates in their employment

One more angle of this experimenting seems worth recording. When the
eleventh graders in Homemaking III began to plan their fourth-year schedule,
they petitioned for a class in Homemaking IV where the necessary skills for
other types of work related to home economics could be taught. This was
granted and has become a permanent part of the curriculum. The teacher felt
she had all she could do in supervising the work experiences in the lunch-
room, <*nd warned the enrol lees that pre-employment skills could be taught
in the classroom but that the school could take no responsibility for out-
of-school work experiences.

The formerly lackadaisical students apparently had acquired more ini-
tiative and resourcefulness than many had believed possible. The school
and their homes provided opportunities for their early practice in respon-
sibilities in the clothing, home furnishing, and child care areas. After
that, individuals decided when and in what areas their abilities were worth
pay, then they themselves went out and rustled up their own small jobs--
not at union pay, to be sure, but encouraging! For example, after the
administrator's office, the students' library, and the teachers' restroom
had been refurbished economically but effectively, plus a few home improve-
ments, the twelfth graders used these to "sell" potential customers of
slip covers, draperies, reuphol ster ing projects.

421

Employment Related to the Study of Home Management

When former students of home economics are asked to rate the values of
their school learnings, either at the high school or the college level, the
area of home management is usually reported as least satisfactory. These
opinions of our "consumers" would seem to indicate that home management
should rate more and better teaching. Perhaps because good management
demands straight thinking on complex problems, improvement in this challenge
has been slow. Yet no one would deny that homemaking decisions every year
become more difficult.

The need is great

Because of this very difficulty, increased even more when a homemaker
attempts to do justice to two jobs, some radical new thinking seems to be
called for in teaching. However, the very homemakers who complained most
about the inadequacy of their training in home management agreed that they
probably had not taken advantage of even the teaching that was offered to
them in school. But they also declared that they were now far too busy to
attend adult classes in the subject.

Slowly teachers engaged in work-study programs are beginning to believe
that pre-employment experiences or real employment outside the home are the
most effective means of making individuals aware of and competent in the
skills of management. Immediately educational questions arise. Are there
any jobs where general home management skills are needed? What students
could be persuaded to enroll in a program designed to train household assis-
tants? How could work-study programs be organized?

Forecasting is always dangerous in a period of rapid change. Never-
theless, certain facts are emerging all over the country which suggest that
jobs related to home management may become more numerous in the sixties.
As more and more women seek permanent employment outside their homes,
research by home management specialists is pointing up the fact that, for
a woman to carry two full-time jobs and do justice to both, is for many
practically an impossibility over a continuous, long-term period. Illinois
school administrators, for instance, with the great majority of their female
teachers carrying the responsibilities of a home and family, complain that
they are plagued with absenteeism, clock-watchers, unwilling committee mem-
bers, unprepared instructors. In jobs of less than professional level,
women employees manage through taking only part-time or non-continuous
employment. Of course, such employment limits their incomes and chances
for promotion, but many health specialists believe that some kind of adjust-
ments are necessary. If skilled household workers were available, more
women could satisfy their employers at every level, yet retain their health
and not short-change their families.

A survey of possible types of jobs may turn up either the existence of
or the potential need for some of the following jobs, or for similar employment

* Skilled household assistant in the homes of full-time employed home-
makers

422

* A visiting housekeeper sponsored by some community agency in a home
where:

Family members cannot take care of themselves due to age

A mother is temporarily ill or convalescing after a hospital stay

A handicapped homemaker is unable to perform all tasks necessary

* A "substitute homemaker" in a one-parent family

* A director of chambermaids in a hotel floor

* A housekeeper in a public or private nursing home

* A director of jani tresses in school or office buildings

* A matron in public institutions and other public places

* A manager of a tourist home, motel, guest houses at a resort

* A semi-professional housekeeper in a wealthy home

* A manager of an employment bureau for many types of household and insti-
tutional workers

The omission of the old-time "hired girls" is not accidental. Yet the
leading occupations of rural farm and non-farm women reveals a different
distribution from those of employed women in urban centers. Household
workers in private homes, the country over, rank third high in rural areas.

New movements are astir

Mirra Kamorovsky contends that the urban household is too small to be
efficient, and that economies could be affected by a series of neighboring
businesses in homes, each specializing in some household function. Myrdal
and Klein recommend larger numbers of "collective houses" or apartment
buildings in which services such as cooked meals, laundry, day nurseries,
and housed eaning could be obtained at a reasonable price by the families
living in them. Times are certainly on the move!

Dr. Marjorie Gooch, Division of Public Health Methods, Public Health
Service, U. S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Washington 25,
D. C. seems to be coordinator of programs for homemaker services developed
cooperatively with three of the constituent units of the Department — the
Public Health Service, the Children's Bureau, and the Bureau of Public
Assistance. Any school or community interested in developing some form of
visiting housekeeper service might well contact Dr. Gooch early in the plan-
ning. The 1962 revised and complete Directory of Homemaker Services describes
all such programs briefly, thereby providing many practical suggestions to
beginners.

Two ten-cent bulletins from the Superintendent of Documents, U. S.
Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C. are examples of the increas-
ing attention now being given to household workers. Homemaker Service,
1958, describes community programs of services for families with children,
for expectant and new mothers, for the chronically ill and disabled, and for
the aging. You will applaud especially this paragraph.

"Homemaker service is built on several premises. One is
that the family is important to our society. Another is that com-
munity life is strengthened when home life is strengthened."

The second bulletin is dated September, 1961, and is entitled Good News
for Household Workers." The "good news" is that such workers can get

423

social security if they work in a private home providing one employer pays
wages of fifty dollars or more during a three-month period.

After reading the current arguments about Medi-care, you may be sur-
prised to have us strongly recommend that you write to the Woman's Auxiliary
to the American Medical Association, 535 North Dearborn Street, Chicago 10,
Illinois for their complimentary materials on homemakers services. Here is
what you can get.

Visiting Homemaker Service--a pamphlet

AMA Homemaker Services Bulletin--a periodical (including back issues)

AMA Homemaker Services--a pamphlet

AMA Homemaker Service Exh i b i t — for community meetings

Home Again — a black and white film with sound starring Martha Scott

and produced by the Mental Health Film Board
How to Plan a Community Homemaker Service — the most recent and practical

pamphlet we have seen

In February, 1962, Teen Times strongly recommended to FHA and FNA members
and advisers a thirty-cent booklet, Youth Takes the Field. It seems to us
that the Community Homemaker Service described in such helpful detail in
the last mentioned pamphlet would be one of the rewarding forms of social
action. Students and schools could provide for the recruitment and train-
ing of workers, and participate in the organization and financial planning
for which adults in the community would be mainly responsible.

One significant statement from this pamphlet merits emphasis. That is:
"Age of trainees is relatively unimportant." Indeed, persons with experience
in administering such programs report that usually youth, if equally well
prepared, are more patient, more flexible, and better liked than older
women who are set in their own homemaking patterns. For a spend id course
of study send $1.00 to The New Jersey Department of Health, Chronic Illness
Control Division, Trenton 25, New Jersey, and request a copy of Visiting
Homemaker Service Training Course Manual . For each lesson, a 1 ist of
reference material, including visual aids and illustrative materials, is
provided.

Your responsibility as a citizen as well as a teacher

You will note that we are offering no suggestions for teaching jobs
related to home management. In the previous areas ideas and photographs
have come from actual programs in action. In this area we have no exper-
iences, successful or unsuccessful, to offer you. But we hope to get some
before too long.

Why have experiences in pre-employemnt education in the area of home
management been conspicuous by their absence? The blunt answer is that girls
are unwilling to admit that they are likely to take household employment.
In every job-preference scale, there is the underlying assumption that it is
better to be employed by an enterprise than to do the same work for an indi-
vidual. The numbers of women engaged in private household service has been
steadily declining in this country, in spite of these workers in rural
areas. Nor is the United States alone in this trend. In a five-year study
made by the Twentieth Century Fund and published in a book, Europe's Needs
and Resources, the strongest evidence offered that European countries are

424

very prosperous is a maid shortage that springs from the increased economic
opportunities and from the breaking down of a rigid class society.

The time is long since past when the traditional family in an agrarian
civilization controlled its own destiny. Today, and even more tomorrow, the
family will develop its plans through group action. In the same way it
seems to us that we must alter our teaching in this area. Let us accept
the possibility that the community action in New Jersey may well, in its
general pattern, represent the future in other states, also. When you
study How to Plan a Community Homemaker Service with all its excel lent
detailed forms for achieving equitable results for both employers and em-
ployees, we believe you will be as admiring of the New Jersey innovations
as we are.

However, before all of these innovations can become reality, the bul-
letin lists many steps which must be taken by community groups. The crises
of small, mobile families cannot be met with former methods. Yet crises and
the need for homemaker services will always be with us. As believers in the
importance of family life, should we not consider taking a position of
leadership in developing such a program in our own communities?

As we see it, a public program will have to be well under way and jobs
practically certain before there will be much use of trying to start an
educational program. In the previously recommended periodical, Chi ldren,
March-April, 1962 issue, page 70, you will find an inspiring photograph.
It pictures a youthful homemaker from our Cook County Department of Public
Welfare with one of the children of a family for whom she is temporarily
serving as mother substitute, thus helping the family to remain together
during a family emergency. Let us think about our responsibilities, then
join others in thoughtful social action.

Teachers Prepare to Meet Change

Everybody's doing it! Not only teachers of home economics but also those
of all other areas of subject matter! Not only educators but other profes-
sional workers such as doctors, druggists, research scientists! Not only
white collar workers but even more blue collar workers as automation moves
relentlessly into offices and factories! Not only parents and other adults
in their daily living but children who will be forced to meet an increasingly
accelerated rate of change!

To meet change takes courage. Educators, especially, really have no
choice. All over Illinois, citizens are faced with billboards in full color
and in a vivid dramatic design on which are the words: EDUCATION— H I GHWAY
TO NATIONAL SECURITY. Someone has said, "Democracy is deeper than liberty;
it is responsibility." Ours, then, is the responsbbi 1 i ty.

Courage has compensations

California has one of the most "exploding" populations in the nation,
yet imaginative innovations in pre-employment education for its heterogeneous
high school groups have given it the fifth-lowest dropout rate in the country.
This impressive rate is only one of the evidences educators have accumulated.

425

We wish every one of our readers could see in the Cal ifornia Journal of
Secondary Education, January, 1961, the extensive evaluation of the work
experience program in Santa Barbara County, as reported by the Director, Clar-
ence Bielstra. One- fourth of all high school graduates in the county had par-
ticipated in a work experience program. More girls (66%) than boys were in
the various wel 1 -organized programs. Asked about the value of these programs,
98% of the parents, 90% of the employers, and 83% of the teachers considered
work experience an essential and very useful part of the total school program.

Mr. Bielstra pointed out some of the many advantages in his summary.

* Millions of dollars worth of educational facilities now provided by com-
munity enterprises could not possibly be financed by school budgets

* Even if such wide variety could be financed by the schools, there would
be a great loss in good school -community relations and understanding

* The program clearly dignifies work and gives new insight into our eco-
nomic system for both non-college and college preparatory students

* It serves these purposes for the dull, the normal and the gifted with-
out reducing their participation in either academic or non-academic
subjects in the high school curriculum

Mr. Bielstra attributes the success of the complex, three-track program to
its being well-planned, well-supervised, and wel 1-eval uated. He hopes to
find time for more students to take work experiences by removing obsolete
and/ or unnecessary learnings now in the curriculum.

Teachers take steps to meet change

Do you know what state has the lowest dropout rate of all? Our neigh-
boring state of Wisconsin has only seven per cent of its students drop out
as dissatisfied customers of education! Back of this phenomenal percentage
lies a long history of outstanding vocational and adult education. This
statistic did not just happen!

From programs in Wisconsin and other states clues to necessary steps
can be gained by the home economics teacher eager to accept President Logan's
challenge of the dual role of vocational homemaking.

* Become alert to the demands of future employment of each student. One
of the authors, for example, was requested to administer a Nursing Test
to a student who was seeking entrance to a distant hospital. As the
teacher scanned the test she became awars of her neglected opportunities
for enriching her program for the potential nurses in her classes

* Read pertinent materials to increase her own understanding of the world
of work. For instance, one of the most complex problems on which to
secure an unbiased viewpoint is that of the relations between labor and
management, yet conflicts may appear early in a school's efforts to
establish a work-study program. We believe one of the best references
we can recommend is Labor-Management Dynamics, written by social studies
teachers and labor and management consultants in Detroit and designed
for study by high school students. Send $3.50 to the Detroit Board of
Education, Detroit, Michigan to secure a copy.

426

* Study recent publications in Educational Psychology that deal with the
newest theories and research findings on the learning of skill perform-
ances and problem solving. Examine every book available to be sure
that skills are included; psychologists, like other educators, have
been a bit tardy in recognizing their importance. Today, however,

they define "skill" as a complex organization of behavior which includes
cognitive, attitudinal, evaluative, as wel 1 as performance processes.

* Obtain your own experience in the types of employment most unfamiliar
to you but offering the best local opportunities to your students. We
recognize this as one of the most difficult suggestions to put into
practice, but also in our opinion probably the most rewarding. No
amount of reading, helpful as it may be, can give you the "feel" of the
job any more than work-experiences in school can take the place of out-
of-school ones for students. You will earn very little money but will
receive a completely new and stimulating perspective on people, on
standards of marketable skills, -- and on what it means to stand all
day on aching feet.

* Experiment to study and improve your own teaching techniques. Any
teacher in a newly developing program must know how to fail. But she
also has to know how to return the next day with strong purposes and
renewed zeal. The active analysis of problems and a self-corrective
approach wi 1 1 free a teacher to be a producer of theory. Possessed of
sound theory, an individual can face problems of practice as they arise.
For example, all psychologists point out the necessity of three theoret-
ical steps in learning skills.

1. Demonstration facilitates learning when the appropriate responses
are clearly indicated and described, and when the response,
broken down into elements, is not too complex for the learner.

2. Reinforcement strengthens appropriate responses and is most use-
ful in facilitating learning when applied frequently and promptly.

3. Spaced practice that provides sufficient time for the learners to
attempt responses is more efficient in facilitating learning than
is massed practice, except under some special condition.

How to accomplish these steps in teaching in the most effective way will
have to be developed by each teacher. Moreover, technological advances
in both industry and education will almost certainly keep changing the
skills to be learned.

Finally, let's limber up our imagination! One teacher is planning to
take photographs in preparation for a film strip related to various jobs in
foods and health positions in local establishments to take the place of the
"motivational" field trip at the beginning of pre-employment education in
her home economics classes. Another has purchased a movie camera to film
operations for later close study to develop improvements, in the way that
basic skills in industry have been developed by teachers in Trades and
Industrial programs.

We are reading constantly that "the chips are down," that all education
must make improvements--and fast. Perhaps we need to recognize the applica-
bility of the quip, "There is nothing wrong with having made mistakes--but
don't respond to encores."

INTERIOR DESIGN
Willis Clarendon Kauffman, Assistant Professor of
Home Furnishings, University of Illinois

There is nothing static in the field of interior design. It is charged
with endless variety and is a constant challenge to ingenuity. Each pro-
ject brings new problems of design, work organization, and execution, yet
each is solved using basic concepts and principles of design. It is this
possibility of endless variation that is so distressing to the people who
are looking for tricks or formulas. And it is a fact that each situation is
in a sense a new situation, that "new things" in interior design take their
place as details rather than major considerations. Specific answers can be
found only in specific situations.

The teacher in the area of interior design must of course be aware of
the various developments, and alert to the introduction of new materials in
his field. To be otherwise he would be derelict in his responsibilities as
a teacher and a professional. The important thing, however, is to know how
new materials and techniques relate to the total design situation. If we
understand the role of materials and technique in contributing to the final
form of an object, it is a relatively simple matter to assess them as to
their validity in a design solution. Assessments must be made in a specific
design solution. We cannot relegate the whole class of synthetic materials
or machine produced goods to either "good" or "bad" categories without con-
sideration of all the specifics.

Machine techniques of production and synthetic materials are probably
the two most important factors that have contributed to a "new look" in
interior decoration. Considerable detailed information of a relatively
technical nature can be obtained from manufacturers, trade and technical
journals, and research publications. Learning where to obtain this infor-
mation is probably more important than trying to learn all of it because,
in most cases, both modern machine techniques and synthetic materials are
used to simulate traditional methods and materials. So we return again to
the fundamental factors in evaluation of a finished product — how is the mater-
ial worked in relation to its function and final form?

f would say that the paramount concern of the teacher in teaching inter-
ior design is to be able to delineate the principles of design and show how
they are used to solve design problems. This can only be done when the crea-
tive and intellectual abilities of the student are developed through partici-
pation and application of things that are understood and useable. In other
words, the student has to learn how to make independent judgment based on
an understanding of the standards or principles involved. The student must
be subjected to more than merely a vicarious or passive experience.

This means that the teacher has to be constantly alert and sensitive to
the qual if ications of the individual student, and must be able to recognize
ideas and expressions when they occur. Consequently, the teacher must be
able to perform in the subject area as well as have breadth and understanding
of related subjects. Otherwise the teacher will be teaching merely about
interior design.

427

428

INDEX TO THE FIRST FIVE VOLUMES OF
THE ILLINOIS TEACHER OF HOME ECONOMICS

An index to guide readers to desired articles in these, our first five
volumes, seemed to be appropriate in this issue. We hope that you find it
useful .

Foods and Nutrition

Vo

Vol

Vol

Vol

Vol

Vol
Vol

Vol
Vol

1. I

III
III

III
IV

IV
V

No. 3 Streamlined Teaching of Foods

No. 5 Teaching Foods and Nutrition in the Space Age

No. 5 *Recent Research on Meat, pp. 44-48

No. 2 *Keeping up to Date in Nutrition, pp. 96-100

No. 5 ^Frequently Asked Questions with Answers about Food

Preparation, pp. 247-250
No. 6 Teaching Foods and Nutrition

No. 2 An Organization of Content for the First Level of Instruc-
and 3 tion in Foods and Nutrition

No. 5 *How the School Lunch Can Help Teach Nutrition, pp. 2^5-246
No. 6 *School Lunch Abroad, pp. 285-288

Clothing and Textiles

Vol
Vol
Vol
Vol
Vol

Vol
Vol
Vol
Vol
Vol

II

II
II

V
V

and

No. 8 Toward Results That Count in Teaching Clothing

No. 3 ^Explorations in Clothing Comfort, pp. 45-48

No. 7 ^Textile Fibers, pp. 43-47

No. 2 Teaching Clothing Selection

No. 3 *Some Questions and Answers on Laundering Practices

Wash and Wear Clothes, pp. 145-150

No. 4 *The Research Approach in Teaching, pp. 198-200

No. 6 *New Textile Labeling Law Requires Shoppers' Study, pp. 251-258

No. 1 The "What" in Teaching Textiles

No. 3 ^Textile Fibers, pp. 147-150

No. 1 Teaching Clothing Selection Today

Chi Id and Fami ly

Vol
Vol
Vol
Vol
Vol
Vol
Vol

I
I
II

V

Housing

Vol
Vol
Vol
Vol
Vol
Vol
Vol

II

II

IV

IV

V

V

No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.

No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.

7 The Play School in Teaching Child Development

2 Toward the Improvement of Family Life through Education

2 *Three Approaches to Study of Family Life, pp. 43-48
4 '^Developmental Time- Table, pp. 42-48

8 *Mate Selection and the Romantic Love Myth, pp. 395-399
4 *Play, Its Value to the Young Child, pp. 194-198

3 *Decisions — Planned or Chance, pp. 1 40-143

6 *Explorations in Housing, pp. 45-48

9 *This Is the Way We Choose Our Washer and Dryer,

7 *Home and Furniture Design — Materially Speaking,
6 Teaching Housing in Senior High School, Part I
9 *Art in Home Economics, pp. 433-437

8 Teaching Housing in Senior High School, Part II

9 ^Interior Design, p. 427

PP
PP

55-59
346-349

429

Management

Vol. I No. 5 Improving the Teaching of Money Management

Vol. II No. 6 Toward More Satisfying Living through Better Time

Management
Vol. Ill No. 3 Teaching Economics Concepts within the Homemaking Program
Vol. V No. 6 Good Management in Every Department

Educational Facilities

Visual Aids Do Help

A Look to the Year Ahead

Planning Homemaking Departments

Innovations in Space and Facilities for Homemaking

Programs

Vol.

II

No.

8

Vol.

II

No.

9

Vol.

IV

No.

7

Vol.

V

No.

5

Evaluation

Vol.

1

No.

9

Vol.

II

No.

3

Vol.

III

No.

5

Vol.

III

No.

9

Vol.

IV

No.

9

Vol.

V

No.

k

Evaluation as insurance

Evaluation of Observation and Thinking

Improved Teaching through Improved Essay Tests

Help Yourself to Success

Changing Tests for Changing Times

Ways and Means Toward Recognized Ends

Providing for Individual Differences

Vol. I No. 1 Discipline: Problem and Opportunity

Vol. II No. 1 Cooperative Planning Pays Dividends

Vol. II No. 7 Adventuring in Human Relations

Vol. Ill No. k The Challenge of the Junior High School Home Living

Program
Vol. Ill No. 8 Let's Talk It Over — Slow and Fast Learners
Vol. IV No. 8 Special Home Economics Offerings for the Academically

Talented

Program Enrichments

Vol.
Vol.
Vol .
Vol.
Vol.

No. 2 New Dimensions in Adult Education

No. k Boys and the Homemaking Teacher

No. 6 Co-Curr icular Activities — Boon, not Burden

I No. 4 Television for Teaching Adolescents and Adults

II No. 1 Teaching Democracy through Future Homemakers of America

Pre-employment Education

Vol. V No. 7 Pre-employment Education by Home Economics Teachers, Part

Vol. V No. 9 Pre-employment Education by Home Economics Teachers, Part

Val ues

Vol. Ill No. 7 Teaching Values through Home Economics

Vol. IV No. 5 Developing Understandings about Values through Films

Vol. V No. 3 Venturing in Democratic Values through Role-Playing

430

Creativity in Teaching

Vol. Ill No. 1 ^Thinking— A Preview and a Promise, pp. 43-48

Vol. IV No. 4 Developing Creativity through Home Economics Teaching

Vol. V No. 2 Try Something Different This Yearl

* This * indicates an article written by a subject-matter specialist in
the Home Economics Department at the University of Illinois.

Some Selected References for Reading on "Thinking"

So much interest in " think ing"' seems to have been generated by our pro-
posed over-all emphasis upon that goal for next year's issues that we have
been requested to provide a highly selective reference list for some back-
ground reading. If you can share this reading with one or more others,
you will find the exchange of ideas clarifying and stimulating.

American Home Economics Association. New Directions: A Statement of
Philosophy and Objectives. Washington, D. C: The Association, 1959.
10 cents.

Brown, Marjorie, Home (Learning) Experiences. St. Paul: University
of Minnesota Campus Book Store, 1961. 60 cents.

Bruner, Jerome S. A Study of Thinking. New York: Wiley, 1956. $6.00.

Burton, Wi 1 1 iam Henry. Educat ion for Effect i ve Thinking. New York:
Appleton-Century-Crofts, I960. $6.00.

Colorado Symposium. Contemporary Approaches to Cognition. Cambridge:
Harvard University Press, 1957. $4.00.

Committee of University Examiners. Taxonomy of Educational Objectives:
Cognitive Domain. New York: Longmans, Green, 1956. $1.75.

Educational Policies Commission. The Central Purpose of American
Education. Washington, D.C.: National Educat ion Association, 1961 .
35 cents.

Hall, Olive and Beatrice Paolucci, Teaching Home Economics. New York:
Wiley, 1961. $6.95.

McDonald, Frederick J. Educational Psychology. San Francisco:
Wadsworth, 1959. $6.95.

Russell, David H. Children's Thinking. Boston: Ginn, 1956. $8.00.

Simpson, Elizabeth and Louise Lemmon. Teaching Processes of Thinking
in Homemaking Classes. Washington, D. C: National Education Associa-
tion, 1959. 50 cents.

Smith, B. 0. and R. H. Ennis. Language and Concepts in Education.
Chicago: RandMcNally, 1961. $5.75.

431

Wellington, C. B. and Jean. Teaching for Critical Thinking. New York:
McGraw-Hill, I960. $6.50.

Something New Under The Sun
Gentlemen:

I am doing my student teaching at the Ben Lomond High School in Ogden,
Utah and I wish to present my supervisor with a subscription to your maga-
zine, The Illinois Teacher.

I have enclosed a check for $3.00 and would appreciate your beginning the
subscription right away. Her address is:

Mrs. Shirley Hyer, Ben Lomond High School

800 Jackson Avenue, Ogden, Utah.
Could you please start the subscription with the issues published last fall?
You have a fine magazine and I am sure my supervising teacher will enjoy it.

Thank you,

(Signed) Marcia Kasmussen

This letter proved to be only the first of many as the idea of giving
supervising teachers a subscription spread. Marcia Rasmussen's State Super-
visor, Miss C. Aileen Erickson, informs us that student teachers in Utah
are encouraged to express appreciation for all the many efforts supervising
teachers put forth in their behalf. This appreciation can take any form
desired. Nice idea, don't you think?

Hail and Farewell from Editorial Board Members

An entirely new Editorial Board will assume responsibility for the nine
issues described last month for 1962-3. We thought you might like some news
notes on those Board members you have known.

Dr. Dorothy Keenan left us last September to become a member of Dr.
Anna Carol Fults' staff in Home Economics Education at Southern Illi-
nois University, Carbondale.

Mrs. Doris Manning, who took Miss Keenan's place for this year, goes
next September to the Home Economics Department of the University of
British Columbia in Vancouver.

Miss Emily Howald has completed her year of graduate study successfully
and, though offered further fellowships to complete her doctorate, has
chosen instead to join Foote, Cone and Bel ding, a leading advertising
agency in Chicago.

Miss Vera Dean is leaving us in September to follow in Miss Howald's
footsteps except that her master's degree will be in Home Economics
Educat ion.

432

Miss Letitia Walsh leaves in September to spend several months in a
trip around the world with a friend after which she expects to live
in Cal ifornia.

We all join in thanking you for the doubling of subscriptions this
year, for your patience with mailing errors, and for your wonderfully
encouraging expressions of appreciation. May we bespeak the same loyal
support for our successors in 1962-63.

**************************************

Now ready for your purchase— A MANUAL FOR STUDENT TEACHING IN HOME
ECONOMICS — by Dr. Mary E. Mather, Associate Professor of Home Economics
Education, University of Illinois. A manual designed for student teachers,
cooperating or supervising teachers in high schools, and for teacher educa-
tion personnel in colleges and universities. Order from Interstate Printers
and Publishers, 19 Jackson Street, Danville, Illinois. $1.50 list price.

**************** *** ********************

SEND IN YOUR 1962-63 SUBSCRIPTIONS

We had rather hoped to learn the decision of Congress concerning any

increase in postal rates before setting the price of the nine issues of

the 1962-63 1 1 1 inois Teacher of Home Economics. When this proved to be

impossible, a decision was made to keep the 1961-62 rates.

$3.00 for

the nine issues in 1 962-63, Volume VI, as well as for

each

of the previous volumes

$0.50 for

a single copy of any issue in Volumes 1, II, III. IV,

V, or VI

The present Editorial Board will be on campus during the summer of 1962
and would appreciate receiving as many subscriptions as possible any time in
June, July, or August in order to make the work of the new Board as easy as
possible when they take over on September I, 1962. We are making a special
effort to make it possible for issues to be started promptly to subscribers
on September 1, again to facilitate the change-over of Boards.

For some time we have been requested to permit teachers outside the
United States and Canada to subscribe to the 1 1 1 i no i s Teacher of Home Economics.
We have finally received approval for the sale of annual subscriptions at the
rate of $4.00 for one volume, but not for purchase of single issues. You
understand, of course, that the extra dollar is necessitated because of the
cost of foreign postage. Previous volumes also may be secured at this same
rate of $4.00. Issues of Volume VI will be mailed monthly, as in this
country.