Together For Children (1940s)

here is a typical American scene boys and girls trudging off to school this is a picture you're likely to see anywhere along a country road in a small village or on streets of a crowded City the idea of youngsters going to school is typically American we pride ourselves on the fact that American youngsters whoever they are or wherever they live can have an education this idea of public education for everyone is not something that happened overnight public education with adequate facilities and thoroughly qualified teachers is an idea that has grown up as our democracy has developed today most youngsters in New Jersey go to school and clean Anna Terry and well-planned buildings most of them have teachers who are well prepared and look upon their occupation as a lifelong respected profession for today that citizens of New Jersey appreciate the importance of an adequate educational system but it has not always been thus the school and the teacher of today are a far cry from those of a hundred years ago when teaching first began to be a profession in the middle of the last century our nation was still young the slavery issue was yet to be decided frontiers were moving ever westward covered wagons were carrying settlers to the Rocky Mountains to the Great Northwest and to California the Telegraph have just been invented this new way to carry messages made possible the atlantic cable europe was moving closer the railroads were bringing distant places nearer Franklin Pierce was in the White House Lowell was mid weight as long career whittier had written about half his work Holmes was teaching at Harvard Horace Mann the father of American public education was still living in Lincoln practicing law in Springfield in those days two Americans were concerned about education groups of citizens meant to plan new schools and hire new teachers America's youth then needed education for the feet that trudge to school in those days may have belong to young Tommy Edison or Grover Cleveland of coldwell or George Dewey the later hero of Manila for the feet of school children carry the future fathers and mothers the president's the leaders in all walks of life the future of our nation walks on the feet of its schoolchildren the Clara Barton school was active in 1853 this Newark school was a one-room affair like those in rural areas the schools of this era were modest and drab a shelter from the elements a place to sit down these were the basic requirements provisions for health and sanitation simply didn't exist official reports of conditions reveal a shocking lack of equipment we consider elemental and indispensable in school planning today teaching in those days was not a profession but rather a temporary job serving as a convenient stepping stone something better memorize and recite alone and in unison these were the accepted methods of teaching there was little from individual differences in ability and interest the subjects these children studied had little or no relation to life around them the teacher hadn't seen the inside of a college and perhaps not even of a high school young eyes were severely tested in those days with miserable lighting and old and poorly printed books in very fine type Childish energy was not confined to books the curriculum failed to hold the child's interest and discipline was as severe as a curriculum was rigid the Hickory stick was standard equipment and was frequently used the dots in the corner was a common sight though many did speak out against the grocer forms of physical punishment the teacher often had to collect his own salary by presenting rape bills to the parents of his pupils and in times when money was really scarce payments were often made in garden produce a call to start a professional education organization in New Jersey was issued in 1853 in the old Bayard Street School in New Brunswick David Cole was one of the education leaders in those days and John Whitehead Frederick William record John boudin Thompson the official minutes of those early meetings still exists part of those meetings there came an organization with a constitution which has continued in existence ever since 1855 the trenton normal school was established and soon professionally trained teachers with handsome diplomas or graduated by 1870 there had been some changes in the school's buildings were a little larger but there were still serious safety and sanitation hazards in far too many of them by this time many more women were becoming teachers some had been to Normal School but many had had no schooling beyond high school group recitation was still quite generally the order of the day the 3 r's were still the backbone of the school experience for most youngsters this represented the only schooling they would ever have the influence of Pestalozzi was soon to be felt in new methods hand work was introduced more widely at this time and even Fred Earl's kindergarten came to New Jersey with the turn of the century the high school was beginning to reach its majority the feet the trudge to school included those of more and more older youngsters high school graduates were proud group in those days there were so few of them the high school buildings of 1900 few modern conveniences and many are still in use today high school became less and less a mere preparation for college and more and more the terminal education of hundreds of young people this meant new subjects in the curriculum manual dexterity had in itself high educated value but a beginning was made in the enrichment of all subject fields for better American citizens whether College trained or not as new subjects were added to the curriculum the need increased for teachers with special preparation this meant that new teacher education colleges must be planned the 50th anniversary of the new jersey education association in 1903 was marked by educators of the day some of the leaders in those days were James Monroe green Elizabeth almira Allen William behringer Addison Poland Paul G phythian Charles B Boyer and a newcomer John H Mozart later to become state Commissioner of Education the state legislature made it possible for more and more New Jersey high school graduates to become teachers and supplies the buildings for this expansion the next two generations were to see great changes in public education modern transportation made possible the pooling of local resources into the consolidated school with better facilities for all thousands more poured into the junior high school in the senior high school this meant that teachers face class having much wider ranges of ability teaching required more skill more knowledge and much more specialized training with more knowledge about human growth and development to school found new responsibilities in looking after the physical health of their charges scientific studies of human behavior laid the groundwork for newer and more effective methods of instruction individual differences in ability to learn were measured and classification of pupils according to their rate of progress became possible this added insight into pupil ability furnish the teacher with better understanding plans for the modern buildings required new approaches to school design and layout the need for better lighting improved sanitary conditions different subjects and better teaching devices required a functional approach to school construction to the end that better education would result within the last few decades there have been tremendous fides in school buildings most youngsters today can look forward to a safe comparable happy and profitable time in school the school building has become the accepted monument to local civic pride it is a living evidence of adult concern for the future of their children but the picture is not all rosy there are in use today in new jersey schools that were built a century ago others have serious health and safety and many have limited or worn out equipment still other schools the lad acuerdes buildings are required to serve two or three times as many pupils as they were designed for the result is youngsters who are unsupervised much of the day special schools to serve the handicapped are now recognized as necessary specially trained teachers staff these schools so that education for all can be a reality education has been extended to the upper age groups adults who left school early or who need new skills or hobbies can now find them in the evening in many cities of the state college graduates can now look upon teaching as an honored profession in new jersey 28,000 teachers serve the public schools dedicated to a life of service to you these teachers keep abreast of new methods through state conventions and the in-service training recently the state organization moved into new headquarters in trajan this building owned by the Association marks another milestone in the progress of teaching as a profession committees are constantly busy studying the needs of the profession and recommending improvements to their colleagues the local Board of Education the legal controlling body there are five hundred and fifty in New Jersey is sensitive to the opinions of the public at large as represented in PTA another ization American citizens generally realize that the schools are their responsibility and it is this realization that can make our schools great the material progress of our nation during the past century has been breathtaking our cities have grown toward the sky we have spanned the continent with railroads and highways transportation to any corner of the land can fast and comfortable we fill the air with planes many of which travel with the speed of sound we have split the atom and are beginning to learn how to harness its energy huge machines have come to do the work of our hands automobiles line our highways complicated machines do our counting our factories turn out an endless stream of goods more labor saving devices new homes by the acre our capacity to produce seems to have no bounds but if our way of life is to survive youngsters must still go to school they may travel faster and in a greater variety of ways but the essential responsibility of society is basically the same as it was a hundred years ago the youngsters will go to school today and in the years to come will face a much more complex world than did their forethought to keep pace with this changing world the schools must furnish experience and training in a wide range of subjects and skills the 3 R's have multiplied into a compound alphabet fundamental processes are still important and are given to attention in the modern school because we know more about how children learn and behave the fundamental skills of read writing and arithmetic can be talked much more efficiently the process of learning these skills is tied in closely to everyday living teachers know how to capture interest and tie it into the learning process hundreds of excellent books are available to help the teacher and student in the pursuit of knowledge books nowadays are attractively bound printed to save the eyes and illustrated to stimulate imagination and interest but in addition to book learning the child must know how to use his hands he needs to respond to the creative urge to discover hidden artistic talents to learn arithmetic by manipulating things that arouse his interest who can foretell the magnitude of the problems these youngsters will face who can say what combination of experiences will best prepare them who would even suggest that they should have anything but the very best that our resources and skill can furnish is there anything in the world more important and the preparation these youngsters will have future to observe and understand how living things grow and develop to think clearly reason logically and a grasp the nature of spatial relationships to analyze the properties and behavior of chemical substances to learn the art of preparing appetizing meals to learn the inner workings of radio and television and get an idea of practical electronics to study scientifically the combustion engine of the automobile for its greater care and longer life than to drive a car skillfully as safely for the automobile is at once a boon and one of our worst killers but besides the personal skills there must be a sense of belonging to a group team play and cooperation are essential in modern society student participation in school activities develops the responsible leadership required for the mature citizen of tomorrow our task plus the progress of the next century in education with the resources at our disposal what promise can we give for the future what opportunity for these the greatest of our resources to grow into a better in a safer world is there any greater responsibility than to move forward together for children