Parent-teacher associations of Washington

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PARENT-
TEACHER
ASSOCIATIONS

of Washington

Bulletin No. 31

ISSUED BY ^Vj

Mrs. Josephine Corliss Preston

Superintendent of Public
>\ Instruction JJ

Parent-Teacher Associations

of Washington

ISSUED BY

MRS. JOSEPHINE CORLISS PRESTON

SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC
INSTRUCTION

Olympia, Washington

PRANK M. LAMBORy«^eB^»>PUBLIC PRINTER

FOREWORD

(By Mrs. Josephine Corliss Preston, Superintendent of
Public Instruction)

The growth of the Parent-Teacher movement in the State of
Washington has been rapid. Circles have been formed in most of
the schools of the larger cities, and even in the schools of many rural
communities. Councils have brought the Circles together for exchange
of thought and inspiration, while County Divisions have served the
purpose of federating the isolated country Circles and spreading the
gospel of helpfulness, of cooperation, of sincere devotion to the wel-
fare of the citizens of tomorrow.

The schools of this state are making great progress toward the
goal of efficiency in moulding aright the men and women of tomor-
row. The school and the teacher mould and shape the character of
every pupil, ever stri^Tng__tq"produce the perfect citizen, but the
greatest good for humanity will never be accomplished until the
co-ordination of the home and school activities and the complete
cooperation of the parent and teacher has been brought about.

The "school marm" of yesterday's romance and idle tales has
gone. In her place we find the specially trained, enthusiastic teacher
who has caught the vision of service- and is anxious to serve humanity
in the field of education. The "little, old, red school house" is now
but a tradition in most communities. Neat school buildings, many
of them scientificially constructed, lighted and heated specially for
school purposes, are scattered throughout the state from the Upper
Skagit to the Columbia, from the Pend Oreille to the Pacific.

The Parent-Teacher Association is, perhaps, the greatest new
influence that has come into the field of education in the last decade.
Its power for good is inestimable.

Where Parent-Teacher Circles are strong, the great.es^_harmojm
exists between the school and the home, the teacher and the parent.
Where the parents of the school children have interested themselves
in the school and the teacher, the school is found working under con-
ditions which approach nearest the ideal of efficiency in education.
In districts where parents and teachers work at cross purposes, the
usefulness of the school inevitably is threatened.

The great Parent-Teacher movement is nation-wide in scope. The
Circles in the different schools are linked together in Councils when-
ever the Circles are so located that the representatives in the Councils
may attend the meetings without too great difficulty. In the rural
county districts, the Circles are bound together in County Divisions.
The Divisions serve the same purpose as the Councils in the cities.
The Washington State Branch of the National Congress of Mothers
and Parent-Teacher Associations is composed of representatives from
the Councils or similar bodies, and it, in turn, is represented in the
national organization. The scheme of organization is simple but

4 Parent -Teacher Associations of Washington

effective and the power wielded by the national body in the interest
of child welfare is great and constantly growing greater.

The material for this publication was compiled and furnished by,
some of the best known Parent-Teacher Association leaders in the
state. Mrs. J. C. Todd, President of the Washington State Branch of
the National Congress of Mothers and Parent-Teacher Associations,
Mrs. H. L. Copeland, state chairman of the Parent-Teacher Associa-
tion, Mrs. William F. Dodge, corresponding secretary of the state
branch, and Mrs. Robert F. Coffy, the treasurer, prepared most of the
material. Mrs. Frederic Schoff, President of the National Congress
of Mothers and Parent-Teacher Associations, and director of the Home
Education Division, Bureau of Education, Department of the Interior;
William F. Geiger, superintendent of the Tacoma schools, and M. E.
Durham, superintendent of the King County schools, also furnished
material of value in promoting this work.

The state department of public instruction gladly helps in carry-
ing the message of the Parent-Teacher Associations to the schools of
the state by authorizing the publication of this bulletin.

TEN REASONS FOR PARENT-TEACHER ASSOCIATIONS

1. Home and school are equal agencies in the education of the
child; there is, therefore, urgent need that they should work together
in harmony and mutual understanding; neither can work effectively
in ignorance of the other or at cross purposes with the other.

2. The Parent-Teacher Association informs the home of the aims,
purposes, methods, plans and devices of the school, so that there may
be intelligent, sympathetic, prompt and open endorsement and co-
operation between home and school.

3. The Parent-Teacher Association enlarges the teacher's op-
portunities by making possible a knowledge of the child's home e^
vironment and influence and the view point of the parents.

4. Improvements for school buildings and grounds, added equip-
ment and facilities for school work or school play should be of quite
as much moment to parents as to teachers; the intelligent demand
of a Parent-Teacher organization is most effective in securing these
things.

5. Many problems connected with the training of children are
identical in home and school; the opportunity afforded by the Parent-
Teacher meetings for full discussion of these problems, with all points
of view presented, leads to wiser methods of dealing with children on
the part of both parents and teachers.

6. Matters difficult of friendly adjustment when taken up as
.specific or personal instances may be dealt with as general problems
.in the Parent-Teacher meetings without offense to any and with
Benefit to all.

Parent -Teacher Associations of Washington

7. The Parent-Teacher Association may combine the energy of
an entire community for a constructive work, by bringing to the
front problems of civic betterment, betterment of lives and living,
passing by local, racial, family, church, political differences and
prejudices.

8. The Parent-Teacher Association occupies the middle ground
between home and school. The needs of the child, continually passing
between home and school to be educated, call for a single purpose in
a joint process, therefore the responsibility to initiate betterment is
a joint function of home and school.

9. The world has no greater need than that of wiser, better
trained parenthood; this need is not yet recognized in school and
college courses; the Parent-Teacher Association, therefore serves as
almost the only study class open to parents who wish to learn more
of the duties of their calling. It raises the standards of home life
through the education of parents.

10. Parent-Teacher Associations are an intense power for good.
They strengthen the hands of the educators; they lead in every good
movement for the schools; they make for the improvement of all
material conditions; they are boosters for the schools; they are a
comfort and joy to every one in authority educationally, and they
place every home behind every phase of school life.

THE TEACHER IN OUR MIDST

Parent-Teacher Associations have three main reasons for exist-
ence.

First. To give fathers and mothers the opportunity better to
educate themselves for intelligent home-making and child-nurture.

Second. To enable parents to learn what the schools are doing
and how they are doing it in order that the home may offer effective
cooperation and that the schools may also cooperate with the home.

Third. To study community conditions affecting the welfare of
the young with the purpose of arousing a sentiment of community
responsibility.

The movement to. foster a closer relation and deeper sympathy
between the home and the school is nation-wide and stands for the
nurture of the best moral and material conditions in both. The rapid
spread of the movement and its endorsement by leading educators,
is evidence that it is a logical part of the present day forward move-
ment for higher standards of efficiency along all lines.

The great work that is being done for the conservation of child-
hood and the raising of the standards of home life, is largely due to
the cooperation of earnest, devoted teachers. They caught the vision,
they embraced the faith and purpose of the leaders of this move-
ment, and by their large-minded, large-hearted response to the call

(i Parent-Teacher Associations of Washington

for cooperation, have helped to rouse the whole country to a sense
of its duty to childhood.

That this cooperation shall not be one-sided there should be
conscious effort on the part of the community to look after the in-
terests of the teacher. A sympathetic desire to see her happy and
healthy will do much to increase her efficiency. Show your apprecia-
tion of what she is doing for your children, by stimulating personal
acquaintance, mutual understanding, cooperation instead of criticism
in solving the problems that come up — in other words, receive her
into your-ke^rt^Jind homes.

A PRAYER FOR ALL TEACHERS
(By Walter Rauschenbusch)

We implore Thy blessing, O God, on all the mem and women who
teach the children and youth of our nation, for into their hands we
daily commit the dearest that we have. We know that they are the
potent friends and helpers of our homes, and that as they make our
children, so shall future years see them. Grant them an abiding
consciousness that they are co-workers with Thee, Thou great Teacher
of humanity and that Thou hast charged them with the holy duty of
bringing forth from the budding life of the young the mysterious
stores of character and ability which Thou hast hidden in them.
Teach them to reverence the young lives, clean and plastic, which
have newly come from Thee, and to realize that generations still
unborn shall rue their sloth or rise to higher levels through their
wisdom and faithfulness. Gird them for their task with a double
measure of Thy patience and tranquility, with a great fatherly and
motherly love for the young, and with special tenderness for the
backward and afflicted. Save them from physical exhaustion, from
loneliness and discouragement, from the numbness of routine, and
from all bitterness of heart.

We bless Thee for the free and noble spirit that is breathing with
quickening power upon the educational life of our day, and for the
men and women of large mind and loving heart who have made that
spirit our common possession by their teaching and example. But
grant that a higher obedience and self-restraint may grow in the new
atmosphere of freedom. We remember with gratitude to Thee the
godly teachers of our own youth who won our hearts to higher pur-
poses by the sacred contagion of their lives. May the strength and
beauty of Christ-like service still be plainly wrought in the lives of
their successors that our children may not want for strong models
of devout manhood on whom their characters can be moulded.

Do Thou reward Thy servants with a glad sense of their own
eternal worth as teachers of the race, and in the heat of the day do

Parent-Teacher Associations of Washington 7

Thou show them the spring by the wayside that flows from the
eternal silence of God and gives new light to the eyes of all who
drink of it.

HOW TO ORGANIZE A PARENT-TEACHER CIRCLE

The call for the organization of a Parent-Teacher Association
may come from one of two sources. The school, through its superin-
tendent, principal or teacher, may issue an invitation to all interested
in the school, to meet for the purpose of organization. Or, the invi-
tation may come from the parents of the community. In either case,
there should be a group — even if small — of persons who are deeply
interested in the betterment of childhood, who have an insight into
its needs, and a vision of its possibilities, and who realize the need
of cooperation between the two greatest factors in the child's life,
the home and the school.

It should be made clear that the invitation is general, that any
one interested in the purposes of the organization, i. e., to foster a
closer relation and deeper sympathy between the home and the school,
to secure the cooperation of parents and teachers in all work in the
interest of the children in the school, and to study the welfare of the
children in the community, is invited and urged to attend the meeting.
Wide publicity should be given the meeting and its purposes. Every
means of advertising the meeting should be used.

A short program of general interest should precede the presenta-
tion of the purpose of the meeting. When the nature and scope of
the work of the organization has been presented and the aims and
purposes of the Parent-Teacher Association are well understood, a
temporary President and Secretary may be elected, and if so desired,
the formal and permanent organization effected by using the sug-
gested Constitution, adapting it to the needs of the organization.

After the adoption of the Constitution and By-Laws, elect and
install the officers for which it provides. The organization should be
simple but adequate.

Formal organization is the only way to get business done definitely
and with dispatch. It definitely places the responsibility to plan and
to initiate school betterment. It makes more forceful any action that
may be taken. It unites the ideas and opinions of the individual into
public sentiment and action — "In the council of many there is wisdom."

Every Parent-Teacher Association is part of a great educational
movement inaugurated by the National Congress of Mothers and
Parent-Teacher Associations which is receiving the endorsement and
active cooperation of educators. Every Circle, no matter how small
or obscure is a part of this great movement. Do not be content with
being an unknown cooperative force, but become a conscious, en-
thusiastic support through membership in the State Branch.

8 Parent-Teacher Associations of Washington

Largeness of view, breadth of participation, re-enforcement of
purpose, strengthening of hope, confidence of success — these and other
helps to success — come from entering into the county-wide and state-
wide plans and projects that open and become possible to a state-wide
cooperative group of associations. Hence it is wise to recognize that
each association must be active in two fields or lines, namely, the
local field and the general state-wide or nation-wide field.

CONSTITUTION

For a Parent-Teacher Association in the Washington State Branch of
the National Congress of Mothers and Parent-Teacher Associations

Article 1 — Name

This organization shall be known as the Parent-Teacher Associa^

tion of the School of and shall

be a member of the Washington State Branch of the National Congress
of Mothers and Parent-Teacher Associations.

Article 2— Object

The object of this Association shall be to study child welfare, to
foster a closer relation and deeper sympathy between the homes and
the school of this community and to secure the cooperation of the
parents and teachers in all that pertains to the welfare of the children
of this school in the home, school and community.

Article 3 — Membership

Anyone interested in the purpose for which this Association is
organized may become a member upon payment of the dues herein^
after provided.

Article A — Officers, Their Election and Duties

Section 1. The officers of this Association shall be a President, a
Vice- President, a Secretary, and a Treasurer, who shall be elected
annually, by ballot. No one shall be eligible to the same office for
more than two consecutive years.

Sec. 2. Nominations for office shall be made by ballot, the two
nominees for any office receiving the highest number of votes being
candidates for that office.

The election of officers shall take place at the regular annual
meeting, a majority of all votes cast being necessary to elect.

Vacancies shall be filled by the Executive Committee.

Officers shall assume their duties the first day of July and shall
continue in office until their successors are duly elected and qualified.

Parent-Teacher Associations of Washington

Sec. 3. The duties of the President of this Association shall be to
preside at all meetings and be an ex-officio member of all committees.

The Vice-President shall act in the absence of the President.

The Secretary shall keep a record of the proceedings of all meet-
ings and receive all monies of the Association, making accurate record
of same before turning funds over to the Treasurer. The Secretary
shall also have custody of all books and records relating to the trans-
actions of the Association excepting those pertaining to the office of
the Treasurer.

The Treasurer shall receive from the Secretary all monies of the
Association and pay out same only on written order, voted by the
Association and signed by the President and Secretary.

Sec. 4. There shall be an Executive Committee consisting of the
officers of this Association, the Principal of this School, and the chair-
men of the standing committees. Five members shall constitute a
quorum.

Article 5— Meetings

Section 1. A regular meeting of this Association shall be held
each school month unless otherwise provided by the Association.

Sec. 2. The annual meeting will be held on the

of May.

Sec. 3 members shall constitute a quorum.

Article 6 — Discussions

The effort of this Association is educational. It is non-sectarian
and non-partisan. Neither religion nor politics shall be discussed nor
shall any political candidate nor any commercial or religious enter-
prise be endorsed.

Article 7 — Amendments

This constitution may be amended, added to or repealed at any
regular meeting of this Association by a two-thirds vote of those
present, provided written notice of the proposed amendment shall have
been read at the next previous regular meeting and such amendment
shall have been submitted to and approved by the Constitution Com-
mittee of the Washington State Branch, N. C. M. & P.-T. A.

BY-LAWS
By-Law 1 — Dues

The annual dues in this Association shall be cents,

ten cents of which shall be paid, prior to March 31st, to the Treasurer
of the Washington State Branch of the National Congress of Mothers
and Parent-Teacher Associations for State and National dues. (See
note No. 1.)

10 Parent-Teacher Associations of Washington

By-Law 2 — Meetings

The regular meetings of this Association shall be held the.
of each school month. (See note No. 2.)

By-Law 3 — Committees

The president of this Association shall, with the approval of the
Executive Committee, appoint the following standing committees:
(See note No. 3.)

By-Law 4 — Amendments

These By-Laws may be amended at any regular meeting by a two-
thirds vote of those present, provided notice of the proposed amend-
ment shall have been given at the next previous regular meeting.

Note No. 1. Twenty-five cents is the amount quite uniformly
adopted for dues in Parent-Teacher Associations. Circles paying a
fee to a Council for Parent-Teacher Associations or to a County Di-
vision of the State Branch should so provide in Section No. 2 of this
By-Law.

Note No. 2. In cases where the date for the regular meetings is
set late in the month many circles provide in this By-Law for the
omission of the December meeting.

Note No. 3. Every circle should have a Program Committee and
a Membership Committee and should, as far as is practicable, follow
the Departments of the State Branch with parallel committees.

These By-Laws are merely a suggestive outline. They should
cover all standing rules of the Association not covered by the Con-
stitution, arranged to fit each individual circle.

THE ADVANTAGES OF A COUNCIL OF PARENT-TEACHER
ASSOCIATIONS

(By William F. Geiger, Superintendent of Schools, Tacoma, Wash.)

•Some one has very fittingly said that in the United States all good
thingste^nti to join hands and become national movements. This is
undoubtedly following out the idea of our forefathers when they
formed the national government. We are all familiar with the old
saying "In union there is strength." The first advantage, therefore,
of a council of Parent-Teacher Associations is to give strength to all
of them, and special help and encouragement to the weaker members
of the council.

In these days of individual thinking and many ideas, frequently
much valuable time is lost because of conflicting views, sectionalism
and cross purposes. A council where representatives from all sec-
tions of the city meet on common ground tends to do away with mis-

Parent-Teacher Associations of Washington 11

understandings and promotes harmony. Harmony is necessary to the
success of any institution.

Such a council is along the lines of the most helpful development
of the times. For many years, undoubtedly since the very beginnings
of education, those outside the school have attempted to help the
public schools but only in the last few years has this help been
definitely organized. We see the remnants of this old style of help
in the establishment of special schools or special courses or special
endowments in some communities. Now permanent organizations,
whose sole object is to help the schools, have been organized and
definite help has been offered. A council of the Parent-Teacher Asso-
ciations in any community is able to act as a sort of clearing house
for the many schemes that are suggested for cooperation with the
school authorities, thus unifying and making purposeful the work of
all its members.

Oftentimes much valuable energy is worse than wasted on mat-
ters of little concern. Such a condition is easily possible in a single
Parent-Teacher organization. This danger is reduced to a minimum
where the various associations of the city are organized in a council.
The representatives in this council frequently view the needs of the
entire city or school system, as a whole, and select quite intelligently
those problems which are of most immediate concern, making them
the problems of the various circles for the current month or year.
As the opinions of many minds are generally more balanced than the
opinions of an individual, so the opinions of a council body are apt
to be better balanced than the opinions of its individual members.
The council furnishes intelligent leadership for the P.-T. A.'s of the
city.

A P.-T. A. council tends to make a progressive community and jj^
progressive school system. Human nature is ever interested in what
its neighbor is doing. The new activities being tried out at one school
are discussed in the council and frequently committees from other
schools will visit the scene of the new activity and carry away in-
spiration and ideas which are loosed in their own districts. The
development of the noon lunches in many schools is a practical illus-
tration of this point.

All the Parent-Teacher Associations of a community or city, drawn
together by the common bonds of their common interests, tend to
promote a fine spirit of service. The schools of our cities, which are
the homes of the spirit of youth, make an impelling appeal to all
classes of citizens interested in the advancement of humanity. They
are particularly attractive to parents banded together in the interest
of better education. A Council of Parent-Teacher Associations, be-
cause of its organization, tends to promote a more efficient service for
the schools from all its members.

Parent-Teacher Associations^ of Washington

CONSTITUTION FOR A COUNCIL OF PARENT-TEACHER ASSO-
CIATIONS IN THE WASHINGTON STATE BRANCH OF THE
NATIONAL CONGRESS OF MOTHERS AND PARENT-
TEACHER ASSOCIATIONS

Article 1— Name

This organization shall be known as the Council

of Parent-Teacher Associations of the Washington State Branch of the
National Congress of Mothers and Parent- Teacher Associations.

Article 2— Object

The object of this Council shall be to further the purpose and
unify the effort of the Associations of this city, to bring about their
cooperation and to further the extension of Parent-Teacher Associa-
tions in the schools of this district.

Article 3 — Representation and Vote

Section 1. Any Parent-Teacher Association, duly organized and in
membership with the Washington State Branch of the National Con-
gress of Mothers and Parent-Teacher Associations, may be represented
in this Council by its officers and the chairman of the program com-
mittee.

Sec. 2. Representatives from the Associations which have paid
the required fee and the officers of the Council shall be entitled to
vote.

Sec. 3 persons with voting privilege shall con-
stitute a quorum. (See note No. 1.)

Article A — Officers, Their Election and Duties

Section 1. The officers of this Council shall be a President, two
Vice-Presidents, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, Fi-
nancial Secretary and Treasurer, who shall be elected annually, by
ballot, from the representation on the date of election.

No one shall be eligible to the same office for more than twa
consecutive years.

Sec. 2. Nominations for office shall be made by ballot, the two
nominees for any office receiving the highest number of votes being
candidates for that office.

The election of officers shall take place at the regular annual meet-
ing. A majority of all votes cast shall be necessary to an election.

Vacancies shall be filled by the Executive Committee.

Officers shall assume their duties the 1st day of July and shall
continue in office until their successors are duly elected and qualified.

Sec. 3. The duties of the President of this Council shall be to pre-
side at all meetings and be an ex-officio member of all committees.

Parent-Teacher Associations of Washington 13

The Vice-Presidents shall in their order act in the absence of the
President.

The Recording Secretary shall keep a record of the proceedings
of all meetings and have custody of all books and records relating to
the transactions of the Council.

The Corresponding Secretary shall attend to all correspondence
of the Council.

The Financial Secretary shall receive all monies of the Council,
make a record of the same and turn all funds over to the Treasurer.

The Treasurer shall receive from the Financial Secretary all
monies of the Council and shall pay out same only on written order
voted by the Council and signed by the President and Recording Sec-
retary, making an accurate record of the same and preparing a writ-
ten report for each annual meeting and for such other meetings as
the President shall require.

Sec. 4. There shall be an Executive Committee consisting of the
officers of this Council together with three members, nominated and
elected by ballot at the first regular meeting of the year and from the
representation on that date. Five members of this Committee shall
constitute a quorum.

Article 5— Meetings

Section 1. A regular meeting of this Council shall be held each
school month unless otherwise provided by the Council.

Sec. 2. Special meetings shall be called by the President.

Sec. 3. The annual meeting shall be held on the of

May.

Article 6 — Discussions

Following the purpose of the Associations represented, this Coun-
cil is non-sectarian and non-partisan. Neither religion nor politics
shall be discussed nor shall any political candidate nor any com-
mercial or religious enterprise be endorsed.

Article 7 — Amendments

This constitution may be amended, added to or repealed at any
regular meeting of this Council, by a two-thirds vote of those present,
provided written notice of the proposed amendment shall have been
read at the two next previous regular meetings and such amendment
has been submitted to and approved by the Constitution Committee
of the Washington State Branch, N. C. M. & P.-T. A.

Note No. 1. Bight persons with voting privilege shall constitute
a quorum in Councils where there are five (5) or less Associations
represented, fifteen (15) where there are from six (6) to ten (10)
Associations and twenty (20) where there are more than ten (10)
Associations.

14 Parent-Teacher Associations of Washington

BY-LAWS

The By-Laws should cover all other standing rules of the Council,
One should cover the regular meeting dates of the Council. If this is
set late in the month the Council may desire to omit the December
meeting and provision should be made in a second section of this.
By-Law. Another should cover any arrangement the Associations
represented may make for contributing to a fund in the Council.

One By-Law should cover any department or committees appointed
in the Council to further any special line of effort in the Associations.
As far as it is practicable, a member or committee should be ap-
pointed to correspond to the departments of the State Branch to serve
as a connecting link between the work of that department and the
effort in the Associations, looking to the time when these members or
committee chairmen will constitute the State Committees, a chairman
only being appointed by the State.

The amendment By-Law should place it out of the power of any
one meeting to modify these rules.

ORGANIZATION FOR RURAL CIRCLES WITHIN A COUNTY
(By M. E. Durham, Superintendent of King County Schools)

The work of the National Congress of Mothers and Parent-Teacher
Associations is most potent for good to the schools. The more care-
fully and systematically we can carry out its work, the greater will be
the cooperation between the home and the school.

The function performed by the State organization is limited with
its one meeting a year. It does not get into as close touch with the
Circles, nor bring them into as close touch with each other as de-
sirable, hence the importance of the smaller federating groups within
the State Branch. This is accomplished by a Council for circles that
are located near each other. For circles in scattered rural districts a
County Division is an important feature.

The purpose of a County Division, like that of the Council, is to
bring the individual circles into closer relation for mutual strength
and inspiration; for unity of effort and harmony of purpose. The work
should be so planned that district meetings will be held in addition
to the annual meetings of the entire organization.

The larger meeting brings representatives from all parts of the^
county to exchange ideas and methods and to gather inspiration. The
district meetings draw the smaller groups into still closer relation to
each other. It is possible for a larger number of members of the local
circles to attend a division meeting. The privilege of participating in
the discussions is certain to give great benefit to those who attend.

Parent-Teacher Associations of Washington 15

The division meetings serve the same purpose for uplifting, in-
spiring and refreshing the vision and information as state or national
conventions. They are the means of greater cooperation and single-
ness of purpose in county affairs.

CONSTITUTION FOR A COUNTY DIVISION OF THE WASHING-
TON STATE BRANCH OF THE NATIONAL CONGRESS OF
MOTHERS AND PARENT-TEACHER ASSOCIATIONS

Article 1 — Name

This organization shall be known as the

County Division of the Washington State Branch of the National
Congress of Mothers and Parent-Teacher Associations. ,

Article 2 — Object

The object of this Division shall be to further the purpose and
unify the effort of the Circles represented, to bring about their co-
operation and to further the extension of Circles organized for child
study and child welfare in this county.

Article 3 — Representation and Vote

Section 1. Any Circle, duly organized and in membership with the
Washington State Branch of the National Congress of Mothers and
Parent-Teacher Associations may be represented in this Division, upon
payment of the fee hereinafter prescribed.

Sec. 2. Circles, which have paid the required fee, are entitled to
representation in this Division by their president, or her representa-
tive, and one delegate for ten (10) or more members. They shall be
entitled to an additional delegate for fifty (50) members and for each
fifty (50) members thereafter. These and the members of the Execu-
tive Committee shall be entitled to vote in the meetings of this
Division.

Sec. 3 persons with the voting privilege shall

constitute a quorum. (See note No. 1.)

Article 4 — Officers, Their Election and Duties

Section 1. The officers of this Division shall be a President, two
Vice-Presidents, a Recording Secretary, a Corresponding Secretary, a
Financial Secretary and a Treasurer, who shall be elected annually,
by ballot.

No one shall be eligible to the same office for more than two con-
secutive years.

Sec. 2. Nominations for office shall be made by ballot, the two
nominees for any office, receiving the highest number of votes being
candidates for that office.

16 Parent -Teacher Associations of Washington

The election of officers shall take place at the first meeting of the
regular annual session of this Division, a majority of all votes cast
shall be necessary to an election.

Vacancies shall be filled by the Executive Committee.

Officers shall assume their duties the first day of July and shall
continue in office until their successors are duly elected and qualified.

Sec. 3. The duties of the President of this Division shall be to
preside at all meetings and be an ex-officio member of all committees.

The Vice-Presidents shall, in their order, act in the absence of the
President.

The Recording Secretary shall keep a record of the proceedings of
all meetings and have custody of all books and records relating to the
transactions of the Division.

The Corresponding Secretary shall attend to all correspondence
of the Division.

The Financial Secretary shall receive all monies of the Division,
make a record of the same and turn all funds over to the Treasurer.

The Treasurer shall receive from the Financial Secretary all
monies of the Division and shall pay out same only on written order
signed by the President and Recording Secretary, making an accurate
record of the same and preparing a written report for each annual
meeting and for such other meetings as the President shall require.

Sec. 4. There shall be an Executive Committee consisting of the
officers of this Division together with three (3) members, regularly
nominated and elected at the regular annual meeting from the mem-
bership at large. Five members of this Committee shall constitute a
quorum.

Article 5 — Sessions

Section 1. There shall be two regular sessions of this Division

annually, held the

Sec. 2. The annual sessions shall be held the

Article 6 — Discussions

Following the purpose of the Circles represented, this Division is
non-sectarian -and non-partisan. Neither religion nor politics shall be
discussed nor shall any political candidate nor any commercial or
religious enterprise be endorsed.

Article 7 — Amendments

This Constitution may be amended, added to or repealed at any
regular meeting of this Division by a two-thirds vote of those present,
provided written notice of the proposed amendment shall have been
read at a previous regular meeting and such amendment has been

Parent-Teacher Associations of Washington 17

submitted to and approved by the Constitution Committee of the Wash-
ington State Branch, N. C. M. & P.-T. A.

Note No. 1. Eight persons with voting privilege shall constitute
a quorum in Divisions where there are five (5) circles represented,
fifteen (15) where there are from six (6) to ten (10) circles, twenty
(20) where there are from ten (10) to twenty (20) circles and twenty-
five (25) where there are more than twenty (20) circles.

The By-Laws should cover all other standing rules of the Division.
One should state the fee to be paid by the Circles to the Division,
whether a flat fee per circle or a per capita tax.

One By-Law should cover any departments or committees ap-
pointed in the Division to further any special line of effort in the
Circles. As far as practicable a member or committee should be ap-
pointed to correspond to the departments of the State Branch to serve
as a connecting link between the work of the department and the
effort in the circles, looking to the time when these members or com-
mittee chairmen will constitute the State committees, a chairman only
being appointed by the State.

The amendment By-Law should place it out of the power of any
one meeting to modify these rules.

COVENANT FOR PARENTS AND TEACHERS
(From program of Lowell P.-T. A. of Tacoma, Wash.)

Striving for higher ideals for ourselves and our children; mindful
that achievement comes only through effort and co-operation; in the
spirit of loyalty and sincerity, I pledge myself to the loving and
untiring service of Child Welfare, in my home, my school, and my
city (community).

"Lord give the mothers of the world
More love to do their part;
That love which reaches not alone
The children made by birth their own,
But every childish heart.
Make in their souls true motherhood,
Which aims at universal good."

18 Parent-Teacher Associations of Washington

TO THE PARENT-TEACHER ASSOCIATIONS OF WASHINGTON

The Washington State Branch of the National Congress of Mothers
and Parent-Teacher Associations stands for the united effort of the
Associations within its membership in child study and for child welfare.
The purpose of the organization is to bind together these in-
dividual circles for strength and inspiration and to stimulate their\
growth and organization; to suggest lines of thought and study and \
to promote that which makes for harmony and helpfulness in their
•cooperative effort.

This state organization is one of many that are in their turn
bound and strengthened by the National organization, making all the
Associations and the individual members a part of a nation-wide move-
ment calling together fathers, mothers and teachers and all who can
see that in caring for the conditions of the children of today we are
caring for the nation of tomorrow.

All Parent-Teacher Associations are admitted as members of the
Washington State Branch of the National Congress of Mothers and
Parent-Teacher Associations on payment of ten cents per capita to
the treasurer of the State Branch. Half of this goes to the National
Congress and half is retained in the State Branch to defray the ex-
penses of printing and postage in the work of stimulation and exten-
sion. No salaries are asked or can be paid out of the small fund thus
provided. All work is volunteered and the workers selected from -— ^
among the membership of the circles.

Anyone interested is invited to write for information and litera-
ture. We will gladly respond.

MRS. J. C. TODD, President,

502 Sheridan Ave., Tacoma;
MRS. WILLIAM F. DODGE, Cor. Sec.,

5201 South I St., Tacoma;
MRS. ROBERT C. COFPY, Treasurer,

1509 23rd St., Everett,

Washington State Branch, National Congress of
Mothers and Parent-Teacher Associations.

MESSAGE TO PARENTS AND TEACHERS OF THE STATE OF

WASHINGTON

(From Mrs. Frederic Schoff, President National Congress of Mothers

and Parent-Teacher Associations, Director Home Education

Division, Bureau of Education, Dept. of Interior)

Doubling the educational uses of the school system while lighten-
ing the work of superintendents and teachers might seem impossible
had not the NATIONAL CONGRESS OF MOTHERS AND PARENT-
TEACHER ASSOCIATIONS proved that it can be done, and that it is
being done in every progressive school district.

Parent-Teacher Associations of Washington 19

The education of children begins with birth and continues until
maturity.

The educational work of schools is about one-eighth of that which
is done in homes. Together, parents and teachers share the education
of the children.

That all parents in every community of the United States may
have the opportunity to study the methods which develop their chil-
dren most fully in body, mind and spirit, the National Congress of
Mothers and Parent-Teacher Associations in cooperation with the
Bureau of Education is promoting the organization of all parents
through Parent- Teacher Associations or Mothers' Circles in every
school, for three good objects, viz.:

First. Study of the greatest of all sciences — Child Nurture and
Home Making.

Second. Cooperation with teachers in the school work.

Third. Study and Promotion of Child Welfare in the Community.

For over twenty years the Congress of Mothers has been helping
the homes to do better work by awakening parents to the fact that
instinct is not a sufficient guide in bringing up children. The Bureau
of Education has given active cooperation since 1913.

By education in infant hygiene the death rate among infants can'
be reduced seventy per cent.

By right home training before school age moral habits take deep
root, by cooperation with teachers children progress more rapidly"
and school discipline is made easier.

By right home training the faults of children are intelligently
treated, the causes are sought and the right trend is given to the
child's will.

For the wayward children in school (who are often wayward
through causes over which they have no control) the Parent-Teacher
association has found ways of extending sympathetic guidance. This'
part of the work alone can prevent the continuance of bad habits in
children, which eventually make the criminal. Prevention at the time
when character is forming is what counts.

In Union there is Strength. Teachers have County and State
Conventions, and an annual National Education Association. Parents
with teachers unite in County and State organizations, all of which
are branches of the National Congress of Mothers and Parent-Teacher
Associations, with headquarters at 910 Loan & Trust Bldg., Wash-
ington, D. C. By united study of child welfare in home, church, school
and state, the weak places are helped, the strong give inspiration to
the weak and great movements for child welfare have been in-
augurated and promoted in a nation wide manner.

Into this work for better opportunities for every child, the National
Congress of Mothers and Parent-Teacher Associations bids you wel-
come. There is no work so fundamental, so far reaching in its
results, so greatly needed for the future of society and the making

20 Parent-Teacher Associations of Washington

of higher national standards. Learn what others are doing, widen
your own horizon, come in touch with the greatest men and women
who have delved into the mysteries of childhood and youth, and
whose wisdom is of service in every home. Believe in childhood's,
possibilities, and through the guide posts that are available assume
a little share in the great privilege that is ours of giving to parents
a deeper insight into childhood's needs, to every child the chance to.
become physically strong, mentally keen and clear sighted, spiritually
animated by high unselfish ideals of duty and of the great purposes,
of life.

The National Congress of Mothers and Parent-Teacher Associa-
tions empowers the Washington State Branch to carry out the aims,
and objects of the Congress in the State of Washington, and will
appreciate all the cooperation given by individuals or organizations.
CHILD WELFARE MAGAZINE, the official organ of the National
Congress of Mothers and Parent-Teacher Associations, with other
publications of the Congress will give explicit suggestions, gleaned,
from long experience in many states.

Rural, urban and city communities are allied in this movement.
Government bulletins helpful to home and school are available,
Washington has already become a leading state. May the progress,
continue until every home in the state knows of the National Con-
gress of Mothers and Parent-Teacher Associations.

TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION.

Suggestions of topics for discussion are submitted with the hope
that they may be the means of encouraging a closer relationship
between the homes and schools of the State of Washington.

Public interest in the schools is valuable, not only as a help
in solving special problems, but as an impelling force in placing on
a firm foundation the new kinds of education. Homes and schools
must be drawn into closer and closer bonds of sympathy and co-
operation with each other.

SUGGESTIVE TOPICS FOR PARENT-TEACHER ASSOCIATIONS
GRADE SCHOOLS

PHYSICAL

The Child's Physical Health.

The Meaning of Fatigue, Irritability and Nervousness in Children
of School Age.

The Influence of Clothes — on Health, on Character.
The Value of Work and Play.
The Fears of Childhood.

Parent-Teacher Associations of Washington 21

Dietetics for Children.

Care of Children's Eyes, Ears and Teeth.

Home and School Sanitation.

School Athletics.

Dangerous Vices of Young.

The Sex Problem as Related to the Pre-Adolescent School Child.

The Cigarette Evil— What Effective Measures May Be Exercised
by the Home and School.

The School Lunch — Value of Hot Lunches.

Vacation Employment — Changing the Vice of Idleness into the
Virtue of Industry.

The Municipal Playground — How Make it Attractive and Beneficial
to the Child.

Shorter Hours for Younger Children.

EDUCATIONAL

Co-operation between Home and School in Attendance, Punctuality,
Obedience, Loyalty and Morals.

Home Study for Pre-Adolescent Children.

School Savings Account.

Why Should Public Kindergartens Be Established as Universally as
Public Schools?

The Value of the Beautiful.

^frhfluence of Good Reading in Molding Character and How to
Brevent Reading of Trashy, Sensational Books.

The Newspaper in the Home — What Is its Value for Children and
How Can It Be Supervised?

The Education of Boys and Girls as Future Home-Makers.

How Can We Make the Most of Our School Buildings?

The Value of Cooperation between the Public Library and the
Public Schools.

The Value of Manual Training.

School Credits for Home Work.

Vocational Guidance.

The Habit of Good English.

Pictures in the School Room.

MORAL AND RELIGIOUS

Religious Training of Children in the Home.

How are Untruthfulness, Deceit, and Dishonesty Inculcated in
the Home?

The Power of Precept and Example on the Moral and Religious
Life of the Child.

>^Phe Influence of Environment on the Physical, Mental and Moral
^ture.

22 Parent-Teacher Associations of Washington

Moral and Intellectual Degeneracy Resulting from the Use of
Cigarettes.

Do Parents Rely too much on Sunday Schools for the Religious
Training of their Children?

al Rights of Children.

Imagination and Untruthfulness.

Is There Such a Thing as a Depraved Child?

CIVIC

v'tJse and Abuse of Motion Pictures — How Controlled.
' Civic Teaching in Home and School.

Training Children for Future Usefulness.
Self-government vs. Government by Authority.
American Citizenship Safeguarded by American Homes.
What Is the Foundation of Good Citizenship?

How Can We Make the Work of Our School Relate to the Industry
of our District?

.^The Duty of Home and School in Teaching Community Pride and
Royalty.

How Can We Make Our Town or City More Beautiful?
Respect of Property Rights.
><Jlean School Houses and Grounds.
' The Value of Home Tasks.

HOME AND SCHOOL

Relation of Home Discipline and School Discipline.

Good Will between Home and School.

Draining Children in Good Manners and Politeness.
./School and Home Visitation.

Pre-adolescent Children and the Mysteries of Life.

Financing the Home — The Mother's Responsibility.

.What Part of the Child's Education Should Fall upon the School —
Wnat Part upon the Home?

Teaching Children the Value of Money.

.yhe Problem of Punishment.
'"The Father's Place in the Home.

Family Loyalty: What It Is — What It Does.

How Can Home Help the School?

Should a Mother Become Acquainted with the Home Life of the
Associates of her Children?

How Can Our School Rooms Be Made More Attractive?

What Should Teachers Expect from Parents — vice-versa.

Habits— When Should the Cultivation of Regular Habits Begin?

Parent-Teacher Associations of Washington 23

SUGGESTIVE TOPICS FOR PARENT-TEACHER ASSOCIATIONS IN
THE HIGH SCHOOL

Industrial Training for the Adolescent Youth.
.^Vocational Guidance for Youth.

and Loafing.

The Young and Religious Good Fellowship.
^/The Social Needs of Young People — How Met and How Controlled.

Home Management of the Adolescent Boy and Girl.

Training for Marriage and Parenthood.

Social Life of Parents in Relation to Youth.
^^Press and Democracy among High School Students.

Adolescent Love — How Directed and Safeguarded.

The Adolescent and the Dance Problem.

Youth and the Problem of Athletics.

The Cigarette Problem — How Can Home and School Unite to
Wipe out this Evil?

Evils that Lure the Young Girl.

How much Home Study Should Be Required of High School Pupils?

Problem of School Lunches — The Tea and Coffee, Candy and Soda
Habit.

School Headaches — Are They Due to Conditions in or out of School?

The Boy and Girl Question — How Can the Most Normal Conditions
Be Secured?

College and Its Relation to High School.

Patriotism.

Civic Training for the Adolescent.

What Diversions and How Much.

Respect of Property Rights.

SUGGESTIVE TOPICS FOR PARENT-TEACHER ASSOCIATIONS IN
THE RURAL SCHOOL

What Farm Life Experiences Contribute Most to the Development
of Good Character?

How Is the Rural Mother to Solve the Problem of Household Help?

Teaching Health and Sanitation in the Rural School.

What Are the Advantages of Consolidation of Schools?

How May the Rural Teacher Be a Community Builder?

The Rural School as a Social Center.

How Can the Rural School Be Made Attractive?

Home and School Sanitation.

How May We Help the Child to Make the Most of his Time and
Energy?

Beautifying the School Grounds.

The School Playground, Equipment.

Public School in America — History, Organization, Aims, Results.

Parent-Teacher Associations of Washington

Hot Lunches and Their Relation to Better Work.

Clean School Houses and Grounds.

How Shall Vulgarity Be Met?

How Shall Parents Meet Complaints about School Affairs?

Pictures in the School Room.

Better Teachers — Better Salaries.

What Constitutes a Good Mother — Father?

Women on School Boards.

Drinking Fountains and Wash Basins.

Consolidation.

School Finances.

The Community Influence on the School.

HOME USE

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