tigre rectangle tigre rectangle terman, l. (1919). the intelligence of school children: the use of mental tests in school grading and the proper education of exceptional children. cambridge, ma: houghton mifflin. thomas, f. w. & lang, a. r. (1937). principles of modern education. cambridge, ma: houghton mifflin. u. s. department of education. (1991). america 2000: an education strategy. washington. d.c.: u. s. department of education. williams, j. h. (1924). graphic methods in education. cambridge, ma: houghton mifflin. williamson, 0.1. (1936). provisionsforgenerai theory courses in the professional education of teachers~ new york, ny: teachers college, columbia university. wilson, h. b .• kyte. g. c., luu, h. (1924). modem methods in teaching~ new york, ny: silver burdett. toward interdisciplinarity: approaches to the disciplines from the 1890s kathleen cruickshank with the increasing interest in interdisciplinary and integrated curriculum, techniques for assisting teachers and curriculum directors in approaching what is generally regarded as a new innovation have begun to proliferate. · on the whole, these approaches appear to be largely techniques, but neither this aspect nor the notion of interdisciplinary teaching is new. the purpose of this paper is to explore some of the theoretical work in interdisciplinary curriculum which was done a century ago and to stimulate thinking about interdisciplinary curriculum which moves beyond the purely technical. until the second half of the 19th century, the dominant view of the academic subjects had been as a means toward disciplining the various faculties of the mind. curriculum content was to be based upon a combination of disciplines which would ensure the harmonious development of the total mind, but the subjects were to be taught separately in order to best train each of the separate faculties. in the last decades of the century, several new approaches to curriculum appeared, in part to deal with the proliferation of new sub­ jects of study, in part as an antidote to heavily criticized rote teaching through which many students seemed incapable of substantive learning. the first systematic attempt to relate those parts into a coherent whole appears to have been that of william torrey harris, developed during his tenure in the st. louis public schools in the 1860s and 1870s. the basics of elementary education he considered to be reading and writing, arithmetic, geography, history, and grammar. reading was the key study, through which one "issues forth from the circumscribed life of the senses, 111 and which "emancipates the pupil from the thralldom of dependence on the spoken word," offering him "all that has been observed and comprehended in the world, and . . . all the wisdom that has been derived from human error and suffering. ii' in an 1869 article, he placed reading and literature at the center, from which the other branches were to branch out, but by 1888 harris had formulated the "five windows of the soul" metaphor f o r which he would become known.' the unity of the hegelian world-view served as his context, history being the account of the institutions man creates as a manifestation of the "essential and eternal in the human will, ii and of iihow men have attacked and defended their substantial will as embodied in those institutions. i" history was one of the five windows in the five­ sided "dark tower of ignorance ii of illiterate man, the others being arithmetic, geography, grammar, and literature. arithmetic opened the window of the soul toward the inorganic phase of nature, geog­ raphy toward the organic phase and its relations, iifirst to the inorganic nature which it presupposes, and secondly, to the triple world of man above it, for whom it offers its service. ii ' that triple world consisted of human will, intellect, and sensibility, viewed through history, grammar, and literature respectively. the purpose of education was to iifit individuals for ... interchange of all with all, ii that each might be "brought on the way toward comprehending the experience of his fellow­ men, and .. . rendered capable of lifting himself into a helpful relationship toward all. ii' the key to the intellect for harris was grammar, which revealed ii the logical constitution of the mind. ii' it was the introduction to psychology and all philos­ ophy, training the mind lito see its own processes, to make careful discriminations, to define logically, to layout work and arrange for division of labor,li and, above all, cultivating directive power in the soul. ii' grammar also led to philology and connected as well with that language study which consisted of the ii acquirement of higher vocabularies, " i . e. the special vocabularies used in literature and the other disciplines. in the focus on logic, grammar joined with history to create the social and political sciences in harris' 1869 formulati on, then out of their intersection with physical geography came the first principles of political economy. in 1888 he merely pointed to jurisprudence, sociology, politics, political economy, archaeology, and ethnology as emanating from history. geography, which he had conceived in 1869 as providing the techniques for natural history through physical geography, was in 1888 more specifically the door to meteorology, astronomy, geology, botany, and zoology, the disciplinary descendants of natural history. arithmetic developed into geometry and algebra, "natural philosophy, ii and chemistry. natural philosophy appeared in both the 1869 and 1888 versions, but in 1869 harris noted that it provided the techniques of the "quantitative or mathematical sciences of nature ll whereas natural history, emanating from physical geography, provided the techniques for the "qualitative branches of natural science. ii " thus the natural sciences appear at the intersection of mathematics and geography, as the social and political sciences appear at the intersection of grammar and history. out of the political and social sciences in combination with physical geography comes bridging differences in culture and class: the bryn mawr summer school for women workers in industry ellen durrigan santora university of alabama for women, ibe years following world war i were indeed changing times. new challenges and opportunities came wilb successive waves of immigration, industrialization, urbanization, and democratization. for some women, ibe times furobbed with the pain of social and economic injustice; for others, it pulsated with the possibilities aliorded by increased opportunities for higher education and the ratification of the nineteenth amendment. between 1900 and 1920, the percentage of women working outside the home had increased from 18.8 to 24 percent. i during ibe same period, college educated, middle and upper class women began to move into the public sphere proclaiming ibeir mission as social workers and social reconstructionists. in 1921, at the initiative of the president and board of trustees of bryn mawr college, ibe bryn mawr summer school for women workers in induslly began its first session. the school offered young working women an education "in order that they may widen their influence in the industrial world, help in the coming social reconstruction and increase the happiness and usefulness of their own lives.'" during the seventeen years of its residency at bryn mawr, the school represented, in every aspect of its program, a meeting of laboring and privileged classes. just as its cross-class coalition defined the administration of the school, so too did cultural diversity characterize the school's working class students. women workers came from the northeast, the far west and the south, from the north central states, the mountain states, and the appalachian region. they represented a cross section of both old and new immigrants -rnssians, scandinavians, italians, lithuanians, poles, austrians, rumanians, czechs, slovaks, and eastern european jews in addition to scots, irish, and english.' african-american women were admitted for the first time in 1926.' there were both union members and those who were not.' representing more than forty-eight different trades, some were employed as waitresses and laundresses, while others worked for railroads, munitions factories, garment makers, and the tobacco induslly; half worked in ibe needle and textile trades ' a few came with a high school education; others had not attended school past the eighth grade. a handful were married, most were single.' in addition to diversity in hometowns, ethnicity, and work situations, students also represented a spectrum of political persuasions ranging from communism and leftist-oriented labor activism to conservative, family-oriented, christian evangelism' as a result, for many the summer school was a time for counecting their own experiences and perspectives with those of others. as a middle class white teacher, my interest in the summer school for women workers came from my own experience in teaching racially and ethnically diverse students and my special concern for the way in which traditional teaching seemed to exclude female students from full participation in both history-social science classes and society as a whole. when i first viewed the women of summer, a documentary about the school, as a female history teacher i was drawn to the cultural diversity within this community, 53 ibe sense of empowerment felt by its abnnnae, and especially to its shared understandings and habits of critical inquiry' could it provide historical clues to ibe preparation of cultnrally diverse students for increased participation in ibe political, social, and economic communities in which ibey lived and worked? could it bear lessons ibat would increase female participation in. discipline too often dominated by male students? what constituted ibe seemingly instinctive ability of ibe school's director, jane worfuington smith, and her stali to promote cross-cultural communication as a melbod of democratic empowerment? what resources were used to bridge barriers of class, ethnicity, and political persuasion, and in so doing create a sense of empowerment, unity and cross-cultural solidarity?" background the first two decades of the twentieth cen~ were times of great change. the rapid industrialization and mbanization of american society created tensions over extremes of wealth and poverty, a gendered division and hierarchy of waged labor, race and ethnicity and a resulting exclusivity of rights and power both in an out of the workplace. as historical forces, these thornes laid the foundations for the summer school for women "workers. during this period of great economic expansion, the dllinbor of gainfully employed american women doubled reaching a.pproximately ten million by 1918-" by 1920, 17.2 percent ofeluopean american women were employed. most worked to sustain themselves and their farnilies." married african-american women were eight times more likely to work than married white women. 1:> by 1900, 75 percent of the nearly 1.25 million female factory workers were foreign born or the daught ers of foreign born parents.14 ln part because lhey were willing to work for lower wages than white workers, these immigrants and !heir off-spring encountered widespread prejudice extending beyond the workplace into most other areas of their lives. employers capitalized on this, fragmenting workers' solidarity and decreasing t:he strength of their unionsy labor activism for women industrial , ... orkers lagged well behind that of men. as of 1900, only 2.2 peroent of all union memberships were women." the american federation of labor locals, handicapped by their vision of a "f:un.ily wage" and their conviction that a woman's place was in the home, were not amenable to accepting female memberships." in 1903, the women's trade union leagne (wtul) was ",sttbllshed by middle and upper class, educated women to aid in the formation of unions that would be responsive to the needs of women, particularly immigrant women.18 with the support of the wlul, between 1909 and 1915 women garment workers of the dortheast and midwest burst forth with an unprecedented labor nrilitmcy ignited by ib, walkout offrorn 20,000 to 30,000 young s~,ist makers, most 0: them russian jewish and italian women pro"",ting low wages anc sweatshop conditions." title 19 refining racial accommodationism in the jim crow south: the case of joseph w. holley, accommodationist or a black apostle of white oppression? thomas v. o’brien the ohio state university at mansfield the goal of this paper is to interrogate the meaning of accommodationism, a tactic used by black educators in the segregated south who interacted with whites to bring about improved school opportunities, and more equity for the black masses. to reach this goal, the paper explores the life and work of joseph w. holley (1870-1958). holley is considered the most conservative black educator of his era. in 1903 holley founded a private bible and manual training school in albany, georgia. under his leadership the school eventually became a college and part of the public university system. in his 43 years as president holley called for differentiated curricula for the races, promoting industrial training and later vocational education. holley accepted segregation as the way of life in the jim crow south and made sure that the programs at his school in albany conformed to the region’s racial etiquette. as inroads were made toward disrupting segregation in the 1930 and 40s (missouri v. ex. el gaines, 1938), holley took his stand with conservatives, and spoke out against racial mixing. moreover, holley was late to embrace the logic of plessy v. ferguson (1896), which called for equal but separate accommodations for the races. in the 1950s, after he had been forced to step down as president of the school he founded, he became well known as a black segregationist. accommodationism is routinely associated with the approach used by booker t. washington, founder of tuskegee institute. washington’s accommodationism is routinely contrasted with the confrontational tactics of w.e.b. du bois. the literature on black schooling in the jim crow south is rich with examples of accomplished accommodationists (gilmore, 1996, leloudis, 1996, fairclough, 2001; harlan, 1983; bond, 1939; litwack, 1998). there is very little scholarship, however, about black educators who publicly embraced a similar curriculum, but may have operated for different goals and purposes. while nearly every african american educator in the region had to “put on ol’ massa,” not all black educators privately rejected their public rhetoric or intended to mislead. some, it seems, may have even believed in the racial superiority of whites, and implemented a curriculum, and taught and operated their schools on such assumptions. holley may have been one of them. nevertheless, a number of scholars have described holley as an extreme accommodationist (grant, 1993; cell, 1983; litwack, 1998). the historical record of holley’s life and work presents an opportunity to determine the suitability of this portrayal and label. a note on sources holley’s correspondence and papers pertaining to his work as an educator and school founder have been located in a number of places including at the rhode island historical society, albany state university, the georgia archives, the albany and macon public libraries, the atlanta university center, the university of georgia, phillips academy-andover, and fisk and lincoln universities. i have visited each of these sites. holley also wrote five short books in his last 10 years --between 1948 and 1958 (an autobiography, a monograph on his views on slavery, two pieces describing his religious views, and a book on segregation and education)—which i make use of to understand his social theorizing. holley called for blacks to be practicing christians and to be industrious, and on these fronts he was well within the borders of accommodationism. (indeed, calls for “true” christian practice were even within the borders of more radical spokesmen for racial uplift, blum, 2005). holley cited w.e.b. du bois in his rationale for a high quality christian training: “honesty, truth, and purity are seldom taught, for neither preacher nor people have come to realize that these virtues are essential to a christian life . . . . what kind of school is needed for this problem? certainly the basic need here is a training of the heart as well as the mind and hand” (holley, 1948, 56) like other accommodationists, holley accepted the reality that blacks should be educated separately from whites. unlike them, however, he argued, sometimes forcefully, that blacks should fill subordinate roles in society. the races came from vastly different backgrounds, holley maintained, and were destined to have different futures. placing both groups in one system, he argued in 1936, and offering them similar types of school experiences as whites, and--as reformers from the northern philanthropies were advocating-was ill advised. it “would be unfair to both races to establish and operate mixed schools here in georgia,” he declared. what if two young men had studied agricultural economics? he asked. the white lad could find appropriate work in a bank, but the black lad could work only as a custodian or run the elevator. “it’s not fair for my boy to fit himself for service in a field where the door is closed,” asserted holley. instead, a system of black schooling should be based on blacks’ “special needs.” “courses of study designed for the white children of new england are not suited for the needs of negro boys and girls in georgia. the great mass[es]… need to be trained in agriculture, the mechanical arts, the trades and industries, and in the art of homemaking” (holley, 1948, 88. holley’s 1936 “statesboro” address is reprinted on pages 88-90.) holley’s argument for such a program contained an economic rationale: “we must plant ourselves firmly in the soil and in the fundamental and basic industries of the country, or we will be lost in the battle for economic security.” (holley, 1955, 17). “economic prosperity,” he wrote, “is the desideratum for the student-products of our school system.” (holley, 1955, 25). 20 elements of holley’s argument reflected his call for efficiency: black students must be prepared “to earn a better living. to accomplish this,” he continued, “we must give them selective training in those vocations which they are most needed. the field of cultural pursuits offer very little, presently, in terms of economic security; they are overcrowded, or they are being superceded by competing interests” (holley, 1955, 26). holley’s words also smacked of white supremacy: “the educational requirements of the people who are only a few hundred years out of the jungle are not the same as those who have had thousands of years of civilization. their future prospects are not the same. . . . the question is not one of human equality, but of difference in basic needs” (holley 1948, 87-8). a number of indicators suggest that holley was sincere in his belief in white superiority. first, he used this type of rhetoric often with both blacks and whites. second holley genuinely felt that christianity was the source of civilization, and that europeans and their descendants had embraced it for a much longer period than africans and their descendents. while visiting africa in 1928, for example, he wrote: “it is a gracious providence that has delivered the american negroe [sic] from such a background, as we have seen him living in absolute filth in their native huts our sympathies have certainly gone out to them. we long to see the day come when they will be able to realize the more abundant life on this earth (holley to hazard, 1928). third, there is no record that i can find that holley thought otherwise. no private diary entry, no commentary from a peer, nothing. to the contrary holley seemed to embrace white supremacy: a.c. searles, a student at holley’s institution gnac in the 1940s, occasionally served as holley’s chauffeur. alone at one point with holley, searles asked, “since there ain’t nobody here but us, tell me the truth. you don’t believe deep down in your heart all those things you say to white folks to raise money, do you?” holley’s reply disappointed searles: “i certainly do, replied holley, “the good white folks are the best friends the negroes ever had” (holley quoted by searles in fairclough, 2001, 34-5). one could argue here that holley was “wearing the mask” to sure up his relationship with his principal benefactors, and thus serve his people. even alone with a black student, holley may have chosen to reply as he did to keep his cover. but unlike other black educators of the time who functioned as double agents, the archival evidence suggests that holley prized his own success over that of the black community he ostensibly served. his ultimate loyalties were to the status quo and to those who supported and promoted his enterprise. holley had overcome tremendous odds in establishing a school in albany, but holley was convinced of the inferiority of the black race. he believed blacks to be defective personally, socially and culturally, uncivilized without christianity, and in possession of lower intellectual capacity than whites. in reaching these conclusions, holley made a grave mistake in confusing the conditions of poverty and oppression with the causes. accommodationism in the jim crow south assumed a variety of forms. accommodationists “put on ol’ massa” for the collective good of the blacks masses to win favors and concessions from whites in order to improve the education, health, and well-being of blacks. accommodationists, such as booker t. washington, william councill, beulah rucker oliver, and lucy laney, for example, believed very little of their own rhetoric, which was designed to mislead. while most accommodationists stressed economics over politics in their public rhetoric intended for whites, there was a political promise of a broad education that drove their actual activity “on the ground” (butchart, 2004). this study finds characterizations of holley as an accommodationist—or even as an extreme accommod ationist” --unsupported by the historical record. holley publicly and privately believed fundamentally in white superiority and promoted a curriculum congruent with this belief for blacks. holley’s case helps clarify the term accommodationism. it also provides a useful counterexample to those black educators described in the literature who functioned with clarity of vision, operating for uplift and the common good of the black masses. in doing so, it puts in high relief the tough, cautious work of other black educators who sought equality and opportunity for those in their communities. their work takes on even more meaning when we explore holley’s story (butchart, 2004). the holley story also gives us insights into less praiseworthy educators, who, i feel, we must get to know well. understanding educational misdeeds, some might argue, is an inefficient use of an educational historian’s time and energy. the focus, some contend, should be on curricula that work, on “best practice,” and on stories of success. in contrast, i suggest—in closing—that critiquing flawed human activity, and figuring out how and why they operated as they did, provides researchers, scholars, and policy makers with critical information about the obstacles to “what works” so they can act to not only to make progress possible, but to also make it more probable. references blum, edward, j. (2005). “religion and the sociological imagination of w.e.b. du bois.” sociation today, spring, 3(1), www.ncsociology.org/sociationtoday/v31/blum.htm bond, horace mann (1939/69). negro education in alabama: a study in cotton and steel (new york: atheneum. butchart, ronald, (2004). private communication via email, july. cell, john w. (1993) the highest stage of white supremacy: the origins of the way it was in the south. fairclough, adam (2001). teaching equality: black schools in the age of jim crow. athens, ga: university of georgia press. harlan, louis, (1983). booker t. washington: wizard of tuskegee. new york: oxford. http://www.ncsociology.org/sociationtoday/v31/blum.htm 21 holley, joseph, h. (1948). you can’t build a chimney form the top. new york: william-frederick. holley, joseph, h. (1955). education and the segregation issue. new york: william-frederick. holley to hazard, (1928). extract from letter of j.w. holley, october 10, 1928. carline hazard papers, misc. a-h, box 1, folder 38, university of rhode island special collections. gilmore, glenda, e., (1996). gender and jim crow (chapel hill: university of north carolina press. grant, donald, l. (1993), the way it was in the south: the black experience in georgia. (new york: birch lane press, 1993), 241, 357-8; leloudis, james l. (1996). schooling the new south: pedagogy, self and society, 1880-1920 chapel hill: university of north carolina press, 1996 litwack, leon f. (1998). trouble in mind: black southerners in the age of jim crow (new york: knopf. missouri v. ex. el gaines (1938). plessy v. ferguson (1896) publication draft – ssch – 2004 building walls: limiting innovation through self-imposed boundaries lynn m. burlbaw texas a&m university abstract: this paper explores the behavior of teachers when faced with an open-ended assignment in which they are to prepare something given minimal instructions and materials. the purpose of the assignment was to heighten teachers’ awareness to the limits they place on their own actions. teachers are reluctant to step very far from their perceptions of “what is wanted” and, as a result, narrow their options for action. i laughed and thought, so this is what it’s like in the more liberal-arts environment! being from an engineering background where most things are cut and dried, i was initially happy to be involved in a creative assignment. and then i immediately panicked because i wasn’t used to having complete freedom. how do people respond when they are given what appears to be complete freedom to structure a task? the above statement was made by a student enrolled in a master’s level course when asked to reflect upon an open-ended assignment given on the first day of class. this paper explores student (most of whom were public school teachers) reflections on a non-structured open-ended assignment. the purpose of the assignment was to assist teachers in beginning to think about the limits they and others place upon their classroom activities as they design curriculum for their students. what is taught in schools, in spite of literature about the influence of textbooks, is to some degree limited by outside influences (e.g., special interest groups, federal and state government, etc.) including community mores and values. state and federal agencies, local school boards, and individual schools often set broad educational goals applicable to all courses and toward which all teachers are expected to direct their instruction. ... subject matter content is increasingly dominated by the standards movement. although it is still possible in some subject areas on in some locales for the teacher to make major decisions regarding the subject matter to be taught, testing programs aligned with national, state, and local standards make it imperative to teach to the tests. (gunter, estes and schwab, 2003). dale (1998) suggests that teachers are limited by social conditions surrounding their teaching, “conscious deliberation, that is, the teacher’s awareness when he or she chooses what to do in the classroom, is superficial. the decisions teachers make when performing, in the act of teaching, have their background in the rationale of teaching, the underlying cultural code of teaching”(255). dale continues, addressing what guides teachers, writing the national curriculum provides guidelines which the teachers, together with their colleagues, have to interpret and analyze, and then construct the aims for their own specific teaching based on these interpretations and analyses. the have also to choose the concrete content for the actual teaching and organize the content in adequate learning sequences/episodes. (1998, 257) in 1980, klein, in summarizing the findings of her study of perceived sources of influence on the curriculum, wrote, “there are two sources which all teacher in our sample consistently reported as having high influence across all subject areas: ‘teachers’ own backgrounds, interests and experiences’ and “student interests and abilities” (klein, 1980, 5). ben-peretz (1990) suggests that teachers might not, or should not, be automatons that blindly “install” or “administer” curriculum teaching suggestions found in textbooks and teacher guides. mccutcheon (1988) wrote that teachers adopting a deliberationist attitude are mature and secure enough with their roles as teacher to have abandoned a starryeyed, romantic love of teaching and progressed to seeing teaching as challenging, difficult, enjoyable work where problems exist that are murky but can be resolved. . . . this further implies the development of curriculum materials that engage teacher in deliberation rather than materials that assume teachers are a direct pipeline from the expert developers to students’ minds. (202) ben-peretz (1990) later argues for teachers who see the “curriculum potential” in materials and exploit that potential for the benefit of students. while this is an admirable goal or exhortation, one has to question the basis from which teachers will make decisions to go beyond the prescribed curriculum and wonder how teachers see themselves as they “break the mold” in teaching beyond the text. however, teachers do not have complete freedom in choosing how to implement or interpret national standards or local curriculum. 2 schools are free to introduce new practices in their classrooms as long as they don’t violate parents’ mental models about what should go on in “good” schools and classrooms. ... because school boards and educators are acutely aware of what classroom practices fall within these influential parents’ zones of tolerance and which practices will raise questions, they have in many cases self-censored their willingness to introduce practices which push against parents’ expectations (konzal, 1997, 5-6). additionally, parents have challenged the use of various school guidance materials (peterson and poppen, 1992). teachers then must be aware of external forces directing and preventing them from making certain curriculum decisions. however, do teachers, and if they do, are they aware that they limit their own latitude when they select curricular materials and activities for use in their classroom? this paper reports on a study that looked at what limitations teachers place on themselves as they attempt to complete a task. in an effort to identify and address teacher self-censorship as curriculum work, a beginning of course exercise was devised to be completed by teachers enrolled in a master’s level course in curriculum development. the course is a required course for all master’s level students and is used as a foundational leveling course for doctoral students who have not completed a course in curriculum development in their master’s program. the data for this report was collected over three summers during which the students attended class five days a week for five weeks. some of the students (six) in the study group were familiar with the instructor’s teaching style and philosophy (they had either completed another graduate course or undergraduate course with the instructor). some of the responses reflect this prior experience and will be noted in the analysis. at the end of the first day’s class, the students were given an assignment consisting of a brown manila envelope with the following message on the outside the complete directions (i.e., all that you will be given) for your first assignment are in this envelope. the assignment will be due at the beginning of class tomorrow. inside the envelope the students found a single sheet of white typing paper (8.5 x 11 inches) and the following statement taped to the inside of the envelope’s flap: without consulting any of your classmates, use the sheet of paper in this envelope to prepare something and bring it to class tomorrow. the instructions were designed to give students as little hint as possible regarding the type of “something” they were supposed to prepare.” the words “something” and “prepare” were carefully chosen so students would not think the task was to be creative (e.g., the verb “create” might suggest that students were expected to do something creative or out of the ordinary) or limited to something related to the course, either by title or by reading the course texts. the assignment also did not ask for connections to writing or preparing curriculum because i did not want to suggest that they should have a body of knowledge they should draw on to complete the assignment. at the beginning of the second day’s class, students were given 15 to 20 minutes to respond to a five-item assignment analysis questionnaire (see appendix a) relating to the product and the process involved in completing the assignment. after completing the questionnaires, which were collected by the instructor, students were asked to share their “somethings” with their colleagues by standing at the front of the classroom and describing or demonstrating their assignment. some students volunteered the reasoning they used to complete the assignment. the second, third and fourth questions are the focus of this paper, those questions dealing with perceived expectations and limitations and self limitations. in order to give context for student responses, a brief summary is given here of the types of “somethings” prepared in response to the directions. products made the products made have been divided into two categories with a number of sub-categories. the two categories are 1) used the paper as a presentation medium and 2) modified or manipulated the shape of the paper. in the first category, 25 students1 used the paper to present a written message. of the 25, ten prepared messages that were self-contained (e.g., a computer print out of a tiger with a poem, a quote by mark twain, recipes for favorite food, and a dance team routine). the remaining fifteen products were in some way related to the course. nine others, responding to a thought that the product ought to be useful in completing a course requirement, made items such as a scope and sequence, a curriculum document cover, a table of contents, etc. six of the students included concept maps related to curriculum, both the idea of curriculum and the course for which they expected to write curriculum. 3 many of the students modified the shape of the paper by cutting, folding, or crumpling. one student described her project, saying, “i made an origami bird by cutting a square out of the paper and making various folds i thought about a poem i had learned as a child and looked it up in the library” (216). other examples of cut or folded products are a snowflake, a folded paper helicopter, several paper airplanes, a hat, a boat, and a drinking cup. one student cut the paper in a spiral pattern and made a quarter-inch strip of paper 47 feet long. another student, a doctoral student in language arts, cut the paper to make a “little book” in which she wrote “important things.” a master’s level student, citing illness from the evening before, submitted a blank piece of paper with the explanation the assignment was done to prove a point and was an analogy for something. then i tried to psyche out what the analogy might be. i also thought about my 9th grade english (sic) class and a similar situation. we were supposed to draw a pic (sic) from huck finn someone turned in a blank page and it was huck and jim going down the river through the fog they got an a. (1-17) another student (a doctoral level science teacher) also submitted a blank paper but stated that he would use the paper to demonstrate the differences in air resistance when dropping a sheet of paper and the same sheet when crumpled into a ball. analysis procedure the questionnaires collected from the students were numbered for ease of record keeping. student responses to the questions were read and key words or phrases were typed into a table that was printed for analysis. categories of responses were developed by reading the responses and clustering like responses. each response of a particular type was highlighted with a different colored marker. after all responses had been highlighted, the categories were summarized. some responses fit into more than one category; these responses are discussed as a sub-set of a category. text of particular interest was highlighted and typed into the table with the responses. direct quotes are identified by the coded questionnaire number rather than student name. question two: expectations about assignment the second question asked students to write about what they thought was the purpose of the assignment. twenty-six students said that the assignment seemed to either be something for the course related to curriculum development or to benefit public school students. eight thought it was designed to measure or foster creativity, seven thought it was an icebreaker to be used as show and tell for the next day’s class. five thought it was to be used to gain insights into the personalities of the students enrolled in the course. several thought it was just “something to do until the students had read the text.” one student, a former student of the instructor, approached the task in this manner. i felt relaxed because i know the expectations of dr. -------. i knew i could do anything i desired and that, being the fair man you are, my grade would probably be determined on if i completed it. (3-6) there is only a slight degree of correlation between the responses given to this question and the products made or the responses made to questions three and four. question three: limitations placed by instructions responses. three broad categories developed as the responses to this question were analyzed and the majority of the responses fell into these categories: none, the paper, and inability to talk to classmates. twenty-three students responded with a variation of “none’ or “nothing” with two adding the phrases “but couldn’t be too simple” (2-13) and “but creativity” (3-19) fifteen referred to the single page of paper, with additional comments relating to its “whiteness” or its size. two students did not feel compelled to use only the single sheet provided but added other sheets of white paper to the project. eleven students cited the inability to talk to peers as a limitation given by the instructions. these three limitations are reasonable in that the instructions were designed to give neither direction nor limitation, required the use of a single sheet of paper, and admonished students to not talk to their peers. two other responses appeared several times, time (5 times) and variations on the theme of vagueness or ambiguity. one student wrote “you call “prepare something” instructions?! 1 think knowing what you expected would have helped. also knowing a reason for the assignment” (2-12). from the responses, i have concluded that the instructions contain the proper degree of direction and vagueness so as to not guide the student into preparing a specific “thing” to complete the assignment. only two students read more into the instructions by thinking that the instructions were directing them to do something related to the class. this response 4 (something related to curriculum or the class) appears numerous times in the section on self-imposed limitations (see below) question four: limitations placed upon self after reading through the limitations placed upon self responses, six categories became evident: 1) the product was to relate to the course, 2) the utility or appropriateness of the product was measured against the maker would think were others’ values or expectations, 3) it was to be made solely with the single sheet of paper, 4) creativity was required, 5) it would be completed with current skills and knowledge, and 6) a miscellaneous category with mentions of time and resources and the need for the product to have meaning for the creator. of these six, the first two accounted for over half of the responses. nineteen students said they felt that they should make something related to the course, either curriculum specifically or the course in general. statements such as “something to stimulate thinking about curriculum” (2-3), “limited to aspect of curriculum development” (1-5) or relevant to class (e.g., 1-1, 1-2, 2-9, 2-11), and “limiting to teaching and interesting to classmates” (2-5) illustrate this category. one student who outlined a lesson on “ladybugs” wrote, “i took this assignment to be a “lesson” simply because it is an education course -1 guess it could have been almost anything” (1-14). two types of external measures were used when determining what should be made in response to the assignment. a number of students thought about things that would be of interest to their classmates. others were worried about what others would think of their work, either the instructor or their classmates. some of their comments were “worrying about what other people would think about my ‘something.’ i worried about that more than what you would think.” (212, emphasis in original) and “i didn’t think i could be totally free and make something simple or you’d think i was lazy.” (2-13) and “i was afraid that i would do something totally different from anyone else but i guess that is okay, i tried not to read too much into the instructions and go with what i felt that i should do.” (2-1) and i didn’t want to do anything too “off the wall” “i would come up with an idea, but then i would think, no, that’s not what he wants. so i tried to stay conservative.” (319) and finally, “[c]ould this be what he was looking for?” i wonder if this is right?” (3-13) from these responses, one can see that perceptions of instructor and peer expectations were a factor in the decision making process for many of the students. how the students interpreted “correctness” or “appropriateness” does not follow a pattern. products from these students were, in the order listed above, a small, important things book, a concept map, a cut snowflake, a page of tessellations, a rolled paper straw, and a poem (3-15). if anything characterizes most of these products, they were more elaborate and required more physical work than did some of the other products such as those related to course content which could be characterized as text on the paper. several students wrote that the product was to be made solely with the single sheet of paper. these products were both constructed and text-based. several thought the paper had to be used as it was, i.e., one could not add to it, either ink, pencil, or coloring, and therefore folded the paper. one student made a paper airplane and wrote “i was thinking about coloring my airplane but i decided i should limit myself to just using what was provided in the envelope” (2-6). as stated earlier, one of the most interesting was a 5-foot strip of paper made from the sheet by cutting a ¼” strip beginning on the outside and spiraling into the center. this student justified her activity, saying, “none (referring to limitations). when instructions are open to interpretation, you can only move in a direction you think is okay!” (1-4; emphasis in original) other students thought that creativity was required (test of creativity (3-9); “writing or drawing was not creative enough so altered the paper with cutting” (snowflake) (1-6). one student combined the notion of external approval and creativity in writing, “the item made had to have a use or purpose. i kept trying to think what the trick was, which at first limited me. it had to be unique and not something one would normally think of.” (1-7) this product was a crumpled paper ball used to break the ice in a large group by tossing the ball to individuals. one student this way expressed the lack of personal creativity related to class assignments. 5 well, i avoided it as long as i could because i really didn’t know what i was going to do . . . . relief it wasn’t at all what i expected, but also a little anxious because the instructions were so general. i kept telling myself that it was supposed to be fun and just to relax about the whole thing but i couldn’t help wondering about what i was going to do.... i am so used to getting very specific instructions that i didn’t know where to begin to respond to such openended instructions. ultimately, this student chose to copy a poem that she liked (molder of dreams) from a book to share with the class. several students thought they had to complete the assignment with current skills and knowledge. one of the most interesting rationales for the product (using the paper to demonstrate differences in air resistance between a flat sheet of paper and a sheet of paper wadded into a ball) came from a science teacher. most of my time was spent thinking about what could be done with a blank sheet of paper. my first thought was to create some sort of origami figure, but my attempts were unsuccessful, so i decided ito] use the paper to illustrate gravity and the effect of air resistance. i chose to limit myself to areas and skills that i felt competent in. i could have painted a watercolor on the paper, but since i have no experience in that area, i would have been embarrassed to share it with others. (3 10) this student’s first thoughts about the assignment were “i thought that this sort of ambiguous, creative assignment is the type that i most dread.” (3 -10) ten students wrote that the amount of time allowed for the assignment or the amount of time they chose to devote to the task were limiting factors or that the product had to be meaningful or beneficial to either themselves (31) or to the class (1 16). the type of product made with these rationales ranged from copied poems to elaborate concept maps of courses and curriculum development. some of the students responded that they put no limitations on their activity. their products tended to be reprints of extant works (i.e., poems copied from books (1-24, 2-15), and a problem solving activity taken from a school file (2-4)). maybe for these students, the vagueness of the instructions did not convey a sense of value to the assignment. i wrote a brief scope and sequence of a possible reading lesson. i felt elaboration was not necessary. i assumed this from the un-elaborate instructions given me. (1-18) this might have been the whole rationale for this student response but the student’s work for the whole course could be described as bordering in “minimalist.” discussion some of the responses and products could be considered predictable. one should not be surprised by the focus on curriculum or course related products; after all, the students were enrolled in a curriculum development course. this could be attributed to taskcenteredness on the part of the students but lack of time for thinking and gathering materials probably is more explanatory. also, a function of the nature of the course students were enrolled in, a five-week summer course meeting every day, makes responses related to time understandable. students had less than 24-hours to complete the assignment, a time frame not conducive to learning new skills or gathering materials from home or the store. additionally, many of the students who enrolled in the course were also enrolled in one or two additional courses. six or nine hours of course work in a five week summer session puts a strain on both time and creativity. this is not to say that students who were the most creative had the lightest summer schedule. the vagueness of the assignment could explain some of the student products although for other students it was not a problem. the lack of creative response and uneasiness with the ambiguous nature of the assignment can be explained when one understands that the majority of academic tasks given students, whether at public school, undergraduate, or graduate levels, are intended to lead students to a particular solution. students who had previous experience with the instructor were less inhibited in their responses; but their products (2-15, 3-6) were no more elaborate than those made by students who were encountering the instructor for the first time. maybe they were not compelled to do anything because they knew the instructor did not have a particular product in mind. the significant finding for this author is the large number of students, 35 out of 62, who, when given what appeared to be total freedom with certain materials, chose to base their decisions either on previous content and knowledge or made decisions based on what others, either the instructor or peers, would think about them or their product. only six students cited practicality or personal meaningfulness as limiting filters placed on their preparation activity. only one student used the assignment as a forum to 6 present information on something of great personal interest. i thought that i might create a lesson plan as this is a course in curriculum development but there were no instructions to that effect, so i decided to get on my soapbox and try to enlist the classes help in alerting the community regarding the appalling state of education in texas. ... i decided to use my page as a soapbox instead. the audience was too tempting! (12) this student created an information flyer on the state of adult literacy in texas and, after reading it, distributed it to the class. subsequent class discussions about the patterns found in the limitations caused some discomfort for the students. many were uncomfortable with their self-limiting decisions but could rationalize the situation. variations on the themes of “no real free will in schools” and “you do what you have to do to keep your job” indicate that many teachers readily accept what they perceive as societal limits on their decision making process, even if they do not like the situation. if curriculum and school reformers wish to see initiative and innovation on the part of teachers, additional study of teacher self-limitation should be conducted. the interpretations of the results of this study are hampered by the nature of the data collection (limited time, pen and pencil self-report) and could be enriched through interviews conducted after written response. additional information could be learned by examining teacher thinking about limits if the product preparation was not limited by a 24hour preparation period. summary this paper reports results of a class activity given to teachers to explore limits they place on themselves as they prepare a product given nondirective instructions. several types of limitations were perceived by the teachers, some in the instructions and some in their own interpretation of the task. the majority of the teachers chose, even while admitting that the instructions were nonlimiting, to make products related to the course or in response to what they thought someone else would think if their product. very few students used usefulness to self as the limiting criterion. these findings may add support to the knowledge of why many teachers rely heavily on textbooks and teacher lore when making decisions about curricular choices in the classroom. note: 1 information was collected from 60 students. percentages of students making particular responses were not calculated in that some students gave more than one response to a question. references ben-peretz, miriam. (1990) the teacher-curriculum encounter: freeing teachers from the tyranny of texts. albany: state university of new york press. dale, erling lam. (1998). the essence of teaching, pp. 255-264. in gundem, bjorg b. and stefan hopmann., eds. didaaktik and/or curriculum. new york: peter lang. gunter, mary alice, estes, thomas h. and jan schwab. (2003). instruction a model approach 4th edition. boston: allyn and bacon. klein, m. frances. (1980). teacher perceived sources of influence on what is taught in subject areas: a study of schooling in the united states. technical report series no. 15. university of california, los angeles. eric document reproduction service ed 214885. konzal, jean l. (1997). what is the likely impact of parental beliefs, attitudes, and knowledge on changing instructional practices in the secondary school.” paper presented at annual meeting of american educational research association, chicago, il: march 1997. mccutcheon, gail. (1988). curriculum and the work of teachers, pp. 191-203. in beyer, landon e., and michael w. apple, eds. the curriculum problems, politics, and possibilities. albany, ny: state university of new york press. peterson, maria, and william poppen. (1992). challenges to and censorship of school guidance materials. eric digest. ann arbor, mi: eric clearinghouse on counseling and personnel services. ed 347479. title 1 "special education for exceptional children": the history of the special education program at the science academy of south texas 1957-2003 anna rudolph canter the university of texas at austin the science academy of south texas, one of four magnet schools in the south texas independent school district (stisd), opened in 1989 specifically to bring educational opportunities in mathematics and science to students in the rio grande valley of south texas. stisd is the only all-magnet school district in the state of texas and the science academy is the only mathematics and science magnet school in the rio grande valley. stisd serves a tricounty area—hidalgo, willacy, and cameron counties, which include brownsville, mcallen, harlingen, and the small towns in-between. unlike many magnet schools, the science academy was created not to desegregate the school districts in the lower rio grande valley (the valley), but, rather, to offer students in the valley educational opportunities and curricular offerings not found in their home schools. stisd was created originally to give special education students in the valley a place to receive training and an education. consequently, stisd's goal always has been to provide unique educational opportunities to all students, regardless of abilities or disabilities. the district began educating special education students as its primary goal, and that history continued with the opening of each school in the district, including the science academy. the precursor to stisd, the rio grande independent rehabilitation district (rgird), was initiated in 1964 by a small group of valley citizens to provide special education programs for valley children who previously were unable to be educated in the public schools.1 in order to continue to help serve students, the rgird joined with the rio grande association for the mentally retarded and established a diagnostic and evaluation center as well as a residential day school. the district bought the south texas habilitation center in hidalgo county and updated its buildings to house a residential program and a training program for its students.2 opening for its first school year in 1957, the south texas habilitation center was a regional training school for retarded young people between the ages of sixteen and thirty. vocational training in homemaking, agriculture, and industrial shop was offered to its students. the center was created as a pilot training program "to provide vocational training to retarded young people to enable them to return to their own communities whenever possible, to take their places as useful, adjusted members of society, and to be either partially or fully self-supporting."3 the school continued to grow as more students were recommended to the program, and by 1966 a residential-day complex was created at the edinburg school.4 by 1968, harlingen also had a residential day complex.5 as time progressed and federal and state mandates required that handicapped students be educated in the "least restrictive environment" (lre) possible, the student population in the district changed from a mildly handicapped population to a more severely handicapped population.6 as these laws were put into effect, the two segregated campuses in edinburg and san benito, which offered educational services exclusively to handicapped students, were beginning to see fewer and fewer referrals from the surrounding school districts. the students that were referred to the district by the home districts changed in that more severely disabled students comprised the most frequently referred case for which the home district sought help. as these changes occurred, stisd switched its focus of education for handicapped and special needs students to a focus of educational opportunity for all students with the creation of the south texas high school for health professions in 1984 and the science academy in 1989. in a "five year vision plan" created by stisd in 1991, the district explained its goals for special education students and the lre. the goal for which we reach as well as its inherent importance to the handicapped student we serve must be kept clearly in mind: the basic intent of lre, and apparently the commitment of stisd, is to explore ways in which the meaningful interactions between students with disabilities and their peers can be developed, maintained, and enhanced….in addition, integration efforts should enhance the interaction between a student and the people who live in his/her local community (example: neighborhood school concept). finally, integration efforts should allow for the iep (individual education plan) team to successfully arrange regular classroom, non-classroom, extracurricular and community activities which promote the competence and integration of each student. it is noted that integration in this sense has both placement and curriculum implications.7 stisd viewed itself as a "leader of public schools" which through its work with the educational community identified educational needs within the valley and then created clear, simple goals to address those needs.8 one of the needs that the valley school districts identified was help in providing educational programs to its special education students. before lre, valley districts did not want to create special programs for their special education students. principal ed argueta explained: they didn’t have the programs, they didn’t have the teachers, they didn’t have the ability, they didn’t know 2 the law, they didn’t know the regulations. and south texas isd was created with that in mind initially, and we were the resident experts of how to deal with these students, and we had the facilities. now the government says you have to have a very good reason why you cannot serve these students within your home district. so districts now find it very hard to get rid of a student from their district. they have to really have somebody that has unique needs that the district can say, “there’s no way that i can meet these needs."9 once lre mandates were established, the school districts were required to have the facilities and programs to accommodate the needs of every student regardless of handicap. as a result, local school districts turned to stisd for help in creating such programs. stisd formed an itinerant team in order to help districts meet the needs of their special education students. helping other districts meet students' needs: the itinerant team and satellite units in 1989, the stisd school board established an itinerant team to help other valley school districts comply with lre regulations. this team of special education professionals were contracted out to other districts throughout the valley to provide psychological and instructional services. "the team promotes education in the least restrictive environment and provides special education programs to handicapped students who cannot be served by their district without additional help."10 during the 1990-91 and 1991-92 school years, twenty-seven of the twenty-eight districts in the valley contracted the itinerant team's services. at the time, the itinerant team was limited to psychological assessments, behavior management training, counseling, deaf infant and parent training services, and staff development training.11 stisd's goal in helping the valley school districts was to "develop a more proactive and positive attitude towards special education services and least restrictive environment concepts for all children."12 another way that stisd helped valley schools educate their special education students was through the establishment of the satellite units. in 1991, superintendents from all over the valley met and discussed pressing needs for the districts. out of those discussions emerged the need to work with emotionally disturbed (ed) students in their home districts. because these students were severely ed, they could not be integrated into the regular education program; lre required that the home districts meet the needs of these students. so, inter-district agreements were initiated between stisd and other valley school districts.13 superintendent schraer approached glenda quintanilla to have her supervise the satellite units. quintanilla, a special education teacher, joined the faculty of med high in 1989 and moved to the science academy when it opened its new facility in 1992.14 at the time the satellite unit supervision was to be a two week commitment, but that two weeks turned into the 1992-1993 school year. in addition to her duties at science academy, quintanilla was responsible for setting up the satellite units. she hired assistants for the program to help work in each unit. at the time the satellite units began, raymondville, lyford, la feria, and mercedes had stisd units on their campuses.15 because they were unable to find another supervisor, quintanilla continued in this role until the end of the year. the satellite units became a successful program and a principal and a supervisor were hired to run the program fulltime for the 1993-94 school year. quintanilla thoroughly enjoyed her time working with the satellite units. i traveled to the districts. i was on the phone constantly, whatever they needed, the teachers needed, we would get. we had the students; they were served at their home district with our teachers, our materials, our buildings. whatever they needed, we took to them. the districts said we need help with their ed students, so south texas came to the rescue, again. (her emphasis.) 16 the satellite units' success continued through the 1992-1993 school year when port isabel, rio hondo, and mission began using the services.17 by the 1996-1997 school year, however, declining enrollment forced stisd to consolidate two units. five more satellite units were closed by the spring of 1997. by 2002, two units continued to be open.18 dwindling enrollment leads to changes the satellite unit program was not the only one that had to make major changes during this time. as a result of lre and dwindling referrals to the schools in edinburg and san benito, stisd dissolved the edinburg school, renovated the existing facilities. and opened the teacher academy in 1991. the san benito school remained a special educationfocused school until its focus was changed to south texas academy of medical technology (med tech) in 2003. the students who attended edinburg's self-contained special education programs remained at teacher academy, while the other special education populations were distributed between med high and science academy.19 by the fall of 1993, the new group of special education students were officially science academy students.20 science academy's special education students even though a group of special education students were new to the science academy in 1993, special education students had always been part of the school. when the new facility opened in 1992, a special education wing was designed and built specifically for the special education faculty and students. in fact, the first science academy yearbook, the catalyst, includes a page devoted to the special education faculty and students. a story about the special education program is included with pictures of seven special education students and a picture of the four staff members. ever wonder what goes on in the classes beyond the double doors in the first hall? the four rooms are occupied by the special education classes. we are all 3 acquainted with the familiar faces of frankie and annabell, but what do their classes consist of?21 quintanilla's first students at med high and then science academy were emotionally disturbed (ed) and learning disabled (ld) students. the special education department consisted of the self-contained program and a pull-out program for emotionally disturbed (ed) and learning disabled (ld) students. these students were mainstreamed into four courses at science academy and spent the remainder of their day with a specialized staff member. "the objective of the special education program is to try and mainstream the students so that they may learn to cope with a regular education setting."22 the self-contained special education program: on the job training quintanilla's program for the self-contained special education students at med high/science academy was community based education, also called on-the-job training (ojt). for ojt, students had two training sites within the community where they would work before and after lunch. students were transported to and from school on stisd buses, and quintanilla organized and supervised the students. two of the other staff members accompanied students to the job sites. when i started at med high, all i had were kids out in the community. i had them full time. they were mine from the minute they stepped off the bus until they got on the bus in the afternoon. we did a lot of ojt on campus, at the library, at the main office. we had students working at central office, and they were working and getting paid. i had a couple of students that would get a monthly check. i had students training at the cafeteria, on the custodial staff, i had them everywhere on campus. we did that for a while, and then we ventured out into the community when we got brave, and i figured they were ready to go out and start working in the community.23 even though some students were paid by the training sites, a salary was not a program requirement. in 1989, the ojt program for med high and science academy had thirteen students enrolled, and eight were placed in training sites within the community: alegro's flower shop, mercedes upholstery, farmer's market, montoya's service station, and a few others. six other students worked around campus and in stisd offices.24 during the 1992-93 school year, training sites included the cortez coffee shop, new creations car wash, and the city of weslaco.25 even though the special education population has continued to dwindle over time, ojt still continues to the present. during the 2002-2003 school year, ojt had two students in the program, one working at wal-mart and the other at a local restaurant. vocational courses for self-contained special education students when ojt began, students were separated from the general education courses that the science academy offered. however as time progressed and the student population changed, the special education department had to adapt to the different needs of its students. as a result, vocational courses and inclusion courses for the self-contained special education students were begun. in the early 1990s, vocational instruction was offered for special education students in trades and industry, horticulture, and home economics. the goal of the community-based instruction program was "to help handicapped students develop independence in their daily lives, and vocational adjustment classes provide students with either vocational, job training or full or parttime employment."26 vocational inclusion courses one of the programs that was implemented at science academy was the inclusion program between manuel vega's vocational students and the students in dale coalson's technology courses. vega taught in the special education department and mainly worked with ed and ld students who were unable to be mainstreamed into regular education courses; vega's courses consisted of life skills and industrial trades courses, emphasizing construction/building. when coalson and vega realized that there were overlaps in content in their respective courses, they decided that some of vega's students would attend coalson's courses. our philosophy was this: when you can plug curriculum into these kids, do it. when it's not appropriate, pull them out. let's say i was teaching introduction to drafting, and vega had four kids who were able to listen in on that, they had the skills, they sat in my class with the rest of the kids, they did the assignments, they had an aide who came with them and helped assist in modifications. when we got to the point where the regular ed kids started going right past them, we pulled them out. they didn't just sit there; we worked as long as we could get something out of that instructional lesson, then we stopped. and then we'd find another avenue, and put them back in. and in between there, they had their own instruction that they were doing. it was a fantastic inclusion program.27 another way that the special education inclusion students would work with the regular education students was through the production laboratory at science academy. from the faculty's visits at rice university through the rice summer program, teachers and staff visited many of the engineering and design laboratories at rice. they found that the engineering graduate students who had a budget for their projects would hire machinists to actually build the graduate students' plans and designs. the technology teachers took this idea back to science academy. 4 we said, we'll do that in high school. and for a while, we had that working. we taught special ed students [in the technology courses], and we got a lot of recognition for that. usually these two don't meet. we had [regular education] kids who could design wonderful things, and then would go work with the industrial trades kids, and they, some of them were from really terrible homes, had some really serious problems, but they can build. and you get these two people talking across the table where they would never meet in a high school.28 unfortunately, the population of special education students at science academy dropped substantially as the other school districts in the valley began to implement their own special education programs as a result of lre. another educational result of the special education inclusion courses occurred when the special education students became "teachers" in the regular education technology courses. the special education students, as a result of their courses with vega, were very good at using power tools; coalson's students, however, were not as adept. vega's students taught the general education students about tools and tool safety because in many instances, the special education students knew more about the tools than the teachers. vega's kids would teach my kids safety. they would bone up, "you're going to teach the band saw." they'd learn every single tiny part, because they wanted to impress those girls that they knew their band saws. it worked. it was a cool program.29 unfortunately, these inclusion programs for selfcontained special education students were discontinued in the late 1990s as the special education enrollment declined. instead of completely abandoning the vocational courses, however, the architectural science program evolved from the inclusion course that coalson and vega had created. instead of vega's students taking part in coalson's courses and teaching tools to the regular education students, the special education students used their knowledge and expertise of carpentry and tools and began work with habitat for humanity. 30 at present, two vocational courses exist for the special education department: general mechanics (auto repair) and architectural science. the science academy print shop: the gutenberg press the success of vega's and coalson's inclusion program prompted discussions among mark schroll, one of the technology teachers, quintanilla, coalson, and principal jeff hembree as to what other types of programs could be created for the special education students that would provide direct involvement with general education science academy students. with the blessing of the other teachers, schroll proposed that a science academy print shop be created where general education students would have a formal method for obtaining copies and transparencies for school projects and presentations. the print shop would be used as a training facility and work-site for the community based instruction program. the general idea is to extend the "real world" aspect of the students' training by offering printing services to the students and faculty of the science academy. it is to be emphasized that the services offered by the formation of the print shop are only an extension of a class activity and are not the primary function of the print shop.31 the print shop, which became known as the gutenberg press, became an essential part of life at science academy. as general education students' needs arose for bound copies of presentations and other related services, the gutenberg press adapted to meet those needs. with the help of quintanilla and other special education staff members, the special education students created transparencies, printed and bound books, hole punched, collated, stuffed envelopes, and almost everything else that a basic print shop did. "we were a mini kinko's and it worked well. we did a lot for the students, we did a lot for the administration building, all the applications that are sent out to colleges and universities, we printed, stuffed, and labeled. my students did that."32 the gutenberg press was such an important part of life at science academy that the yearbook the catalyst has a page devoted to the press for each of the years that the program ran. by the 2000 school year, the population change in the special education program along with the readily available mass-market print shops near the mercedes campus and the rest of the valley forced the school's print shop to close. quintanilla's focus then turned full-time to meeting the needs of the special education students who were enrolled in general education courses but needed extra help or modifications. out of this need, the content mastery center was created. quintanilla became a contact teacher for mainstreamed special education students and ran the content mastery center. special education programs for ed and ld students in addition to organizing the ojt program for science academy, quintanilla is also responsible for running the other special education programs for the mainstreamed students who receive special education services. each special education student at science academy has specific needs that must be met in order for him/her to be successful despite his/her disability. most students who are mainstreamed into the regular education courses at science academy are considered ld students, which includes dyslexic students, students with auditory impairments, speech impairments, mobility impairments, and other learning disabilities. ed students also make up some of the mainstreamed special education students. all mainstreamed special education students have a contact teacher, a special education teacher who keeps in contact with the students' teachers and parents. quintanilla and josie garcia are the main faculty in the special education department and as a result, are contact teachers for the special education students. as contact teachers, quintanilla and garcia monitor students by periodically checking in with a student's teachers to find out 5 about the student's progress as well as sending individualized reports home to parents. these individualized reports help to keep students, parents, and teachers aware of each student's progress as well as providing an opportunity each time for students to receive specific help if they need it. another way that the mainstreamed students can receive help is through the content mastery center at science academy. content mastery the content mastery center (cmc), housed in quintanilla's classroom, is where mainstreamed special education students get help from quintanilla and her staff of aides. [mainstreamed special education students] are 100% mainstreamed, in the regular program, doing what your "average intelligence student" is doing, but with disabilities. in other words, josie is regular but i have learning problems. i'm still sitting next to her in the same class, doing everything she is doing. i just need extra help, and that's when they come to us. i have two assistants, and we all help them. we help them finish those projects, learn the vocabulary, if they need extra time to find the definitions, or get on the internet, if they are working on something that requires internet assistance.33 all special education students have an individual education plan (iep) that lists the various modifications each student is required to have. teachers have copies of the modifications and know if a student needs extra time working on a project or test, or other modifications which may require a student visiting the cmc classroom. quintanilla and garcia are responsible also for training the science academy staff in the areas of special education. various topics of training sessions include how to modify lessons and assignments and how to work with emotionally disturbed students. if a teacher needs help modifying an examination or assignments, garcia and quintanilla are available. "the most important thing is that the teachers need to know that we are a resource."34 in some cases, special education students have transitioned out of the special education department. these students learned how to modify and adapt to the regular education classroom so well that they do not need support services such as cmc. however, quintanilla continues to monitor these students. during the 2002-2003 school year, she had three students who received no other services from special education other than her three-week progress checkups. quintanilla continued checking in with these students so that if a problem ever arose, she and garcia would be able to help students get back on track and excel in their academics. higher learning opportunities for all most important for quintanilla and garcia is their belief that even if a student has a learning disability, "that doesn't mean that you are dumb. it means that you just need a little extra help."35 as a result, all students in the special education department are encouraged to attend college—as are all students at science academy—whether it be a local community college or university, or, in the case of the selfcontained special education students, the texas state technical college (tstc). the self-contained students' program is directly linked to the program at tstc; if a student finishes learning his/her trade at science academy, they have the opportunity to continue their training at tstc. many of the skills that the students learn at science academy are also taught at tstc, which allows students an easier transition into their new learning environment.36 quintanilla and garcia believe another of their responsibilities for their students is to give students the knowledge of how to find services if they need help—they want their students to learn to be as independent as possible even with their disability or learning disability. in order to help facilitate a smoother transition to college for students. garcia arranged for the various agencies such as the texas rehabilitation commission to visit with students and inform them on the types of services and assistance for which they are eligible. in march of 2002, garcia took her students to the office of support services at tstc and to the learning center at the university of texas-pan american to show students where they can go for help and to acquaint them with the types of support services that are available to them at those campuses. helping other districts the strength of the special education department at science academy is their personal touch—from monitoring students who have transitioned out of the program to encouraging each and every special education student to pursue higher learning. "we accommodate a lot, and maybe because we are a magnet school, we have more of a personal touch. that is what makes it unique. you are not a number. anywhere else, you are a number. any other district, you are a number. not here. here the students are not numbered; they have names and faces."37 the desire to help students is not unique to the science academy; it is the fundamental goal of stisd, just as it was for the rehabilitation district begun in the 1960s. all students deserve to have the opportunity to learn. even to this day, if a district in the valley cannot accommodate the needs of one of their special education students or need help, they call on stisd. i don't think south texas isd has ever said no [her emphasis]to a need. but if mercedes isd calls and says, "[superintendent] guerra, we need something, we can't provide it," even if we don't have it, we will create it. we will help that student. we will find a way to do it. they'll get the resources, they'll get the teacher, whatever is needed. and i have seen that in the thirteen years i have been here. we won't say no to our other districts. that has been our mission. we are here, we are a magnet school, we are here to serve the needs of the students, and we have always done it. it has never been a question that we are not going to do it. we have always helped.38 the dedication to helping students is not limited to helping special education students, as was the original goal of 6 stisd. instead, stisd and science academy strives to help each and every student it serves, regardless of a student's special needs. bibliography archival material mercedes, texas biblioteca las americas archive science academy of south texas archive south texas independent school district archive yearbooks: south texas high school for health professions the journal: split personality, 1990. the journal: the secret’s out, 1991. the journal: revolutions, 1992. science academy of south texas the catalyst, vol. 1, 1993. the catalyst, vol. 2, 1994. the catalyst: diversity, vol. 3, 1995. the catalyst: sci-language, vol. 4, 1996. the catalyst: revolution, vol. 5, 1997. the catalyst: off the wall, vol. 6, 1998. the catalyst: explosive times, vol. 7, 1999. the catalyst: now is the time, vol. 8, 2000. the catalyst: renaissance, vol. 9, 2001. oral history interviews argueta, edward. principal, science academy. taped interview with author, may 27, 2002, science academy main office, mercedes, texas. coalson, dale. technology teacher, science academy. taped interviews with author, november 2, 2000 and may 9, 2002, science academy, mercedes, texas. quintanilla, glenda and josie garcia. special education teachers, science academy. taped group interview with author, december 20, 2002, science academy, mercedes, texas. schroll, mark. technology teacher, science academy. taped interviews with author, november 2, 2000, may 29, 2002, and december 18, 2002, science academy, mercedes, texas. 1 memorandum: "report on thirty-year celebration committee." 2 school board minutes, april 27, 1966, in stisd archive. 3 "south texas habilitation center, edinburg texas, scrapbook 1957-1958," in biblioteca las americas archive. 4 school board minutes, september 14, 1966, in stisd archive. 5 school board minutes, july 10, 1968, in stisd archive. 6 "capital improvement plan—stisd, 1985-1989," in "capital improvement plan" in stisd archives. 7 "stisd: five year vision 1990" in "five year plan" in stisd archives. 8 ibid. 9 argueta interview. 10 "stisd performance report 1990-91," p. 8. 11 "stisd: five year vision 1990." 12 ibid. 13 ibid. 14 glenda quintanilla and josie garcia (special education teachers, science academy) taped interview with author, december 20, 2002, science academy, mercedes, texas. 15 "stisd 1991-1992 performance report" p. 11, in "1991-1992 performance report" file in stisd archives. 16 quintanilla interview. 17 ibid. 18 boardworks, april 22, 1997, in "boardworks file" in stisd archives. 19 in 1993, because of lack of interest in the school's focus, it changed from a teacher academy to the south texas business, education and technology academy (beta). the school is the only magnet school in stisd that offers education at the 7th and 8th grade levels as well as 9th-12th. 20 science academy campus report, august 17, 1993, in august 1993 school board minutes, stisd archives. 21 "special education," the catalyst vol. 1, (1993) p. 32, in biblioteca las americas archive. 22 ibid. 23 quintanilla interview. 24 science academy campus report, november 10, 1989, in november 1989 school board minutes, stisd archives. 25 "special education," the catalyst (vol 1). 26 "stisd 1990-1991 performance report," p. 7.; "stisd 1991-1992 performance report," p. 8, in "1991-1992 performance report" file in stisd archives. 27 coalson interview, may 9, 2002. 28 schroll interview, may 29, 2002. 29 coalson interview, may 9, 2002. 30 ibid. 31 "the print shop proposal (revised)," n.d., in science academy administration files, 1994-1995 box, science academy archives. 32 quintanilla interview. 33 ibid. 34 ibid. 35 ibid. 36 ibid. 37 ibid. 38 ibid. "special education for exceptional children": the history of the special education program at the science academy of south texas 1957-2003 dwindling enrollment leads to changes science academy's special education students the self-contained special education program: on the job training vocational inclusion courses another way that the special education inclusion students would work with the regular education students was through the production laboratory at science academy. the science academy print shop: the gutenberg press content mastery higher learning opportunities for all archival material oral history interviews title 13 developmental theory and the progressive curriculum: lessons from an unheralded success story susan jean mayer harvard graduate school of education abstract jean piaget’s fifth text, the moral judgment of the child, remains his single most influential text within the world of educational practice. this paper explores general perceptions and expectations of moral versus academic development in order to illuminate possible reasons for both piaget’s and his readers’ relative clarity regarding the need to foster students’ autonomous reasoning in the moral realm. subsequent analysis of relevant classroom realities then suggests that, in contrast to piaget’s primary focus on intellectual reciprocity, cultural constraints may also support developmentally oriented educators in nurturing their students’ moral reasoning. relative to the world of educational practice, the moral judgment of the child serves as piaget’s masterwork.1 based on novel empirical findings he had established with colleagues at the jean jacques rousseau institute, and on his pointed critique of influential works in sociology and social psychology of the time, piaget argued that human morality arises from the species’ developmentally sensitive ability to reason morally and that moral education must therefore concern itself with the active nurture of this natural capacity. children must be challenged to reason themselves, in increasingly nuanced fashion, about moral issues as they encounter them in the world. reviewers greeted the moral judgment of the child, piaget’s fifth work in the field, with great enthusiasm; several termed it the most significant of the first five (mayer, 2003). particularly among educators, this warm reception can in large part be attributed to the work’s compelling mix of findings, theory, and educational recommendations, a mix not otherwise seen within piaget’s oeuvre. although piaget typically deferred to the expertise of educators when queried about his recommendations for educational practice, he chose to propose pedagogical principles in the moral realm, linking them both to his findings and to a critique of existing theory. the considerable influence piaget’s claims about moral education have exercised within developmentally oriented contexts, however, raises the question of what other factors may have supported a broad cultural integration of this work.2 educational practice has never followed directly on the heels of established psychological findings and theory; certainly, the relationship between developmental theory and progressive educational practice can not be thought a simple one. 3 for what complex set of reasons, then, did the pedagogical implications of developmental theory seem relatively clear, both to piaget and his readers, in the moral realm? this paper begins by briefly reviewing piaget’s findings and claims and the critical reviews they received in the english and american scholarly press. it then presents three possible explanations for this relative clarity: 1) western democratic societies are founded on the principle that a human propensity for moral reasoning exists and citizens therefore have a vested interest in believing that such a propensity can, in general terms, be nurtured; 2) the notion that all students must learn to wrestle with concrete issues in the academic areas may seem less obvious to many; 3) the essential questions, logics, and conclusions of the moral domain may seem more readily available, or comprehensible, than those of the various academic areas. finally, discussion of relevant classroom realities generates the tentative conclusion that three common dynamics of classroom life may also implicitly support educators both in fostering their students’ ability to reason independently about moral issues and in seeing such work as essential: 1) the wealth of pressing issues or dilemmas in which the children are themselves invested; 2) the teachers’ own practical expertise with the underlying purposes, premises and logics of the domain; and 3) the presence of fundamental performance standards throughout a student’s school career. this last point, then, invites the hypothesis that the tension generally active between established performance parameters and the reasoned negotiations piaget advocates may help to fuel the kind of moral growth that educators recognize as acceptable. if so, piaget undertheorized the role that existing cultural constraints play, via authority figures, in inspiring intellectual accommodation to established moral and ethical principles. piaget’s findings and claims as one would expect and many will remember, the research of piaget and his seven collaborators identified developmental phases in a child’s understanding of moral questions, in this case, two.4 younger children tended to judge level of culpability according to amount of damage done, regardless of intention, older children the reverse. piaget argued that these and other findings indicated the existence of two moralities, an earlier ‘heteronomous’ one, which defers to established authority, and a later ‘autonomous’ one, which seeks to cooperate on equal terms with others in judging what is right. an intermediate phase, “during which rules and commands are interiorized and generalized” (p.195), was also theorized. piaget also discovered a tendency among children to embrace one of two types of punishment -either ‘expiatory,’ based on a felt need for retribution, or ‘reciprocal,’ based upon reasoned negotiation -and correlated these two opposing inclinations to the two types of morality. having presented these findings, piaget offered a critique of the work of emile durkheim, pierre bovet, and james mark baldwin in relation to them. piaget argued that, 14 though these theorists had in various ways begun the work of distinguishing between the role of authoritarian constraint and that of democratic cooperation in the construction of moral sensibility, their preexisting distinctions were underspecified. he further claimed that this was especially clear when one considered the educational implications of these earlier theories, none of which stressed the nurture of children’s autonomous moral reasoning sufficiently; indeed, he maintained that durkheim’s theory implied an unequivocally authoritarian model.5 piaget believed that his research, in demonstrating a developmental progression from ‘heteronomous’ to ‘autonomous’ morality, indicated the need for a radically new approach to moral education -one that would build upon maturing children’s natural inclinations to reason through the moral questions that life presented. children must be given opportunities to claim the underlying means and purposes of the moral realm on their own terms and in relation to the practical issues they faced in their lives. the critical reception when the moral judgment of the child was first published, new statesman and nation called it “the most brilliant and persuasive of professor piaget’s studies of the child’s mind.” that statement well represents the contemporary academic response in great britain and america.6 william white, co-founder of psychoanalytic review, who had reviewed all four of piaget’s previous texts in tones ranging from disparaging to neutral, seems to have reconsidered his stance entirely. he wrote, “this volume of piaget’s, like all of the preceding ones, is illuminating, exceedingly helpful, interesting, provocative, and informative,” and added “it can not be too strongly emphasized that if we are going to develop any program for the child that we should inform ourselves about him beforehand, that we should know something of his development, that we should realize that there are these various stages in the unfolding of the psyche. . .” (white, 1933, p.215). white had apparently come to see all of piaget’s research in a more sympathetic light. in his review in progressive education, randolph smith of the teacher’s college child development institute stated, “[t]he book contains ample evidence, out of the mouths of children themselves, indicating the desirability of early and continuous social experience with contemporaries if the more mature forms of social judgment are to be developed” (smith, 1933, pp.237-8). a review in journal of educational psychology refers to the moral judgment of the child as “the most valuable of this significant series” and says it “should be pondered long and seriously by our moral guardians, whether parents, teachers, or ministers” (schoen, 1933, p.157). another in the personalist calls the work “an outstanding contribution not only to experimental ethics but also to educational theory.” susan isaacs, the closest and most prolific critic of piaget’s five early works, termed piaget’s critique of emile durkheim “most satisfying in its penetration and vigorous hold upon a living empiricism,” and said of the work overall: in none of his other books have his conclusions grown so inevitably from the vital nexus of actual fact. one of the great qualities of this book is the masterly way in which point after point of the material is taken up and used to qualify, elaborate or sustain his tentative hypotheses. one sees conclusions actually growing before one’s eyes, out of the living movement of the children’s minds (isaacs, 1934, p.94). overwhelmingly, then, reviewers of the moral judgment of the child agreed that the work successfully blended empirical research with theoretical critique and found its practical implications for education compelling. for these reasons, many found it piaget’s most significant and convincing work to date. piaget’s fundamental and original claim regarding the existence of two moralities was seen to have grown in compelling fashion from recognizable empirical realities and to reveal the need for the dramatically new approach to moral education that he proposed. potential reasons for this relative clarity even today, uncertainty regarding the implications of developmental theory for the academic subjects lingers, particularly at the secondary level, where a perceived need for verbal mastery of key cultural understandings still generally trumps concerns for students’ depth of understanding. for what reasons, then, might educators more broadly agree that all children do need to internalize the fundamental logics and rationales of moral reasoning through an active engagement with the concrete moral challenges they face in their lives? what might distinguish the nature of moral understandings from that of academic understandings in people’s minds? this paper presents three possibilities. first, because western societies are democratic, their citizens have a vested interest in believing that a human propensity for moral reasoning exists and that such a propensity can be nurtured through appropriate schooling. in general terms, the governing structures of such societies require that citizens grasp basic moral premises and tackle novel moral issues through the application of reason. in contrast, people may be less likely to assume that everyone shares a propensity for mathematical or historical reflection or for artistic expression. indeed, some educators may believe that only a select number are able to think originally in these domains. second, the idea that all students must develop an ability to wrestle with practical issues in the academic areas may seem less obvious to many. the central relevance of morality to all democratic social relations leads to a prioritizing of certain central understandings and to their permeation, in fact, of democratically oriented classroom cultures. interpersonal issues rife with moral implications continually arise and, if a teacher is not to be preoccupied with them continually, children must learn to reason about what is right and fair together. this, in turn, may nurture a deeper sense of moral understandings as socially constructed (and reconstructed), causing educators and guardians to see 15 children’s accommodation of the underlying logics of moral behavior as essential to their ability to apply moral understandings effectively. if so, this may lead people to view some working set of premises and practical capabilities as constituting the worthy knowledge in this domain. third, the fundamental questions and rationales of the moral domain may seem more readily available, or comprehensible, than those of the various academic areas. the basic moral premises of one’s society inform and enable all social relationships and may therefore strike many as intuitively obvious. perhaps such premises, their constituent logics, and their practical implications have been so thoroughly inculcated among adult educators that they come to seem readily discoverable through a child’s autonomous exploration of the world. in reviewing these possibilities, it is worth considering the extent to which the power of piaget’s practical analysis in the moral judgment of the child reflected a prior clarity about the significance of his findings for education in this domain. relevant insights and analyses may well have been fostered by the active contemporary debate among sociologists and psychologists regarding the need for a new basis for moral authority in a post-darwinian world. a paradigm shift (kuhn, 1962) among those social scientists and educators concerned with theorizing the basis of morality and its implications for moral education, then, may have been due. although this paper is not intended to confirm this hypothesis, it is useful to bear it in mind when contrasting pedagogical assumptions in the moral domain with those current in others. what contemporary questions and concerns may have prepared piaget’s readers for his bold pedagogical prescriptions? might some set of shared commitments continue today to inform current understandings of the pedagogical implications of developmental theory within the moral domain? fernando vidal’s intellectual biography of piaget’s early adulthood establishes the cultural and personal circumstances within which piaget came to feel a pressing need to reconcile his belief in a protestant god with the dictates of evolutionary science (vidal, 1994).7 as piaget himself characterized it at the time, these theological struggles only subsided in response to his ecstatic embrace of an immanent god.8 human reason, in its demonstrable power to master material reality to compelling end, came to represent this immanence for the adolescent piaget. within two years, piaget had cast off the religious framing, yet still sought to establish a biological basis of morality, a goal he linked with establishing the biological roots of reason (vidal, 1987, 1994; chapman, 1986, 1988). in the moral judgment of the child, written fifteen years later, piaget speaks of experiencing “the higher and purely immanent feeling of obligation, which is the product of rational necessity” (1965/32, p. 370), and states that only those who are deaf to this internal call could ever imagine abject deference to external authority to be a reflection of moral feeling. in this language, one hears the theological roots of piaget’s commitment to locating moral authority within and to characterizing it as a function of independent reason. certainly, his oft-quoted observation from the moral judgment of the child, “logic is the morality of thought just as morality is the logic of action” (ibid, p.398), powerfully conveys his enduring attachment to the equation he had posited as a young man between lucid reason and moral right. although piaget concurred with those who claimed that morality is an inherently social phenomenon, he objected to the notion that moral law exists outside of or prior to the specific human relations that construct it. that morality depends upon people reasoning together in relation to evident realities, he felt, could be seen in the ways in which the older boys he studied came to view the origins and status of the rules of the game of marbles as contingent rather than absolute. as piaget put it, “social laws are unfinished and their progressive formation presupposes the unfettered cooperation of personal reason” (ibid, p. 370). to the extent piaget intended to distinguish between social and physical laws in this last quotation, he would likely have viewed such a distinction as a matter of degree rather than of kind. for piaget, all knowledge resulted from the collaborative investigation and theorizing of material, social, and psychological structures, and all forms of knowledge were interdependent and progressive.9 the relative ease with which piaget’s prescriptions for moral education were understood and appreciated, however, suggests that piaget may have underestimated the degree to which an opposition between social and physical laws functioned within the popular imagination. if educators perceive certain types of culturally established understandings, say in math or science, as more absolute than those in the moral realm, they may be less likely to invest themselves in nurturing the quality of reasoning required for genuine participation in those domains. as noted above, if the premises and logics of other fields also seem more complicated, or less readily apparent through one’s interactions with the world, such participation may come to seem the legitimate province of only a few. educators may therefore tend to consider students’ active intellectual engagement in the reasoning of these fields nearly impossible and therefore irrelevant -both for them and for society at large. a generative convergence of three common classroom dynamics consider the depth of understanding developmentally oriented educators and guardians seek to foster in even very young children in the moral domain. by pre-school, students are expected to appreciate fundamental moral purposes, such as getting along peaceably with their classmates, and are taught to bring organizing premises and logics to bear in the dispensation of moral issues that arise in a classroom. (if sharon expects tyler to account for her feelings, than she must account for tyler’s.) by first grade, students are expected to be able to reason through minor moral dilemmas themselves, by taking each other’s perspectives and the larger social context into consideration. inevitably, relevant issues continually present themselves in any democratically oriented group setting: 16 space and material must be shared, others’ feelings must be appreciated, and harmful behavior must be contained. the intellectual struggles demanded in these situations are as necessary to relationship as are the struggles required to learn one’s first language. as piaget himself pointed out, it is a child’s feelings of warmth toward, interest in, and respect for elders and peers that inspire the first moral leanings. to a large extent, then, the development of these leanings is undertaken not just willingly, but without question. it is work that must be done if one does not want to be socially isolated. a sense of practical necessity has naturally informed the authority figure’s relationship with the moral realm as well. as adults, and as children before that, they have also been called upon to make sense of their culture’s moral understandings relative to the experiences of their own lives. perhaps in general terms, then, teachers can be thought to possess greater practical expertise in bringing the constituent logics and premises of moral reasoning to bear in resolving concrete issues than in the academic subject areas. in contemporary pluralistic democracies, basic moral precepts are no longer recited from a book, and it is not to a book that most educators will turn in order to resolve the moral issues classroom life presents. finally, in reflecting on the nature of the social realities that the child must accommodate in the moral realm in order to sustain peer and authority relationships, one sees that these are not only socially constructed, but that certain basic agreements are socially necessary. even those most committed to reasoning out all matters with children will recognize the need to uphold behavioral standards that keep people safe and make relationship and communication possible; moral reasoning therefore tends to occur in contexts where such standards are in place. a child may be encouraged to come to terms with these standards in a manner he or she finds meaningful, but he or she is required to respect them regardless. if authority figures do appreciate their necessary role in negotiating various moral dilemmas, they are more likely to play this role effectively. a tension is thereby activated between the child’s emergent understandings and culturally established ones. the shifts of perspective this requires of the child may serve to challenge and to foster the child’s thinking.10 if so, such activity likely bolsters educators’ and guardians’ sense of themselves as capable of educating effectively based upon this belief. this logic would suggest the need to extend and elaborate the role piaget theorized for authority figures in moral education. although piaget acknowledged that adult authority may constitute “a necessary moment in the moral education of the child” (p.319), this argument would indicate that adult authority actually plays a central and continuing role in constructing the circumstances within which even older children are able to appreciate the culture’s moral reasoning and to incorporate it into their own lives. conclusion “in the moral as in the intellectual domain we really possess only what we have conquered ourselves” (p. 366), piaget said. from this statement, as well as from all that he said about education throughout his career, we know he thought his recommendations for moral education -which emphasized children’s independent intellectual efforts to make sense on their own terms -applicable to all areas of knowledge. nonetheless, the recounting of established academic understandings, what piaget termed “verbalism” and reviled as a pedagogical aim, remains an acceptable and even principal educational outcome in many academic disciplines, particularly at the secondary level. i have proposed that three factors -our vested interest in believing everyone can reason morally, our cultural prioritizing of foundational moral understandings, and our sense that moral understandings can be uncovered through interactions with each other and the world -together support a willingness among developmentally oriented educators and guardians to engage children in moral reasoning. in contrast, a relative discomfort with the fundamental purposes, premises, logics, and their material and theoretical bases in the various academic realms, as well as a sense that reasoning in these areas is less necessary and that not all are truly capable may tend to perpetuate traditional teaching methods in these areas. in addition, reflection on the classroom context has suggested that several classroom dynamics may implicitly support teachers’ effectiveness in this domain. i have argued that the ready availability of pressing and situated moral issues leads to a practical expertise on the part of teachers and eventually students. this expertise may, in turn, foster a teacher’s willingness to engage central and reoccurring questions over time and in a variety of circumstances, leading to a depth of understanding regarding the relevance of certain concepts for daily life. finally, i have proposed that an implicit tension is generally in place in the domain of moral education between the personal investigations and peer negotiations that piaget advocates and the culturally rooted performance parameters authority figures generally insist upon. this tension may help to support the kind of growth that educators and guardians recognize as acceptable. if true, such a conclusion suggests that piaget under-theorized the role that established performance standards play in inspiring intellectual growth in the moral realm. bibliography a chapman, m. (1988). constructive evolution: origins and development of piaget’s thought. cambridge: cambridge university press. chapman, m. (1986). “the structure of exchange: piaget’s sociological theory.” human development, 29(2), 181-194. gruber, h. & vonèche, j. (1977). the essential piaget. new york: basic books. kuhn, t. (1962/96). the structure of scientific revolutions. chicago: the university of chicago press. mayer, s. (2003). the character of and academic response to jean piaget’s clinical method in its early years. qualifying paper. harvard university. 17 piaget, j. (1923/1959). the language and thought of the child. london: routledge & kegan paul ltd. piaget, j. (1928/1951). judgment and reasoning in the child. london: routledge & kegan paul ltd. piaget, j. (1930/1969). the child’s conception of the world. london: routledge & kegan paul ltd. piaget, j. (1927/1969). the child’s conception of physical causality. london: routledge & kegan paul ltd. piaget, j. (1932/1965). the moral judgment of the child. london: routledge & kegan paul ltd. piaget, j., (1970). structuralism. new york: harper torchbooks. vidal, f. (1987). jean piaget and the liberal protestant tradition. in m.g. ash & w. r. woodward (eds.), psychology in twentieth-century thought and society, (pp. 271-294). cambridge university press. vidal, f. (1994). piaget before piaget. cambridge and london: harvard university press. vidal, f. (2000). entry on jean piaget. in a. kazdin (ed.), encyclopedia of psychology. pp. 193-196) new york: oxford university press. vygotsky, l., (1978). mind in society: the development of higher psychological processes. cambridge, ma: harvard university press. bibliography b reviews of piaget’s first five works in the field blumer, h. (1930/31). [review of the child’s conception of the world] american journal of sociology, 36:1/6, 150. chadwick, m. (1926). [review of the language and thought of the child] international journal of psychoanalysis, 7, 518. chrisof, c. (1938). [review of la naissance de l’intelligence chez l’enfant] american journal of psychology, 51, 200. fernberger, s.w. (1927). [review of the language and thought of the child] psychological bulletin, 24, 506. gould, m.c. (1928). [review of la representation du monde chez l’enfant] american journal of psychology, 40, 658. hazlitt, v. (1932). [review of the child’s conception of physical causality] pedagogical seminary and journal of genetic psychology, 40, 243-249. issacs, s. (1929a). [review of the language and thought of the child, the child’s conception of the world, and judgement and reasoning in the child] pedagogical seminary and journal of genetic psychology, 36, 597-607. issacs, s. (1929b). [review of the child’s conception of the world.] mind, 38, 506. issacs, s. (1966). intellectual growth in young children. new york: schocken books. (originally published in 1930). issacs, s. (1931). [review of the child’s conception of causality] mind, 40, 506. issacs, s. (1934). [review of the moral judgment of the child] mind, 43, 85. issacs, s. (1972). social development in young children. new york: schocken books. (originally published in 1933). leonard, s. (1929). [review of the language and thought of the child] english journal, 18 (jan/dec), 520. mitchell, l.s. (1927). [review of language and thought of the child] progressive education, pp.136-139. murray, e. (1931). [review of the child’s conception of the world] american journal of psychology, 43, 154. peterson, j. (1929). [review of la causalite physique chez l’enfant] american journal of psychology, 41, 481. peterson, j. (1932). [review of the child’s conception of physical causality] american journal of psychology, 44, 612. peterson, j. (1935). [review of the moral judgment of the child] american journal of psychology, 47, 523. [journal review of the book the moral judgment of the child] (1932/33). child study: a journal of parent education. 10, 175. schoen, m. (1933). [review of the moral judgment of the child] journal of educational psychology, 24,157. searles, h. (1934). [review of the book the moral judgment of the child] personalist, 15:4, 363. smith, r. (1933). [review of the moral judgment of the child] progressive education, 10, 237. stone, c. (1929/1930). [review of judgment and reasoning in the child] journal of abnormal psychology and social psychology, 24, 239. stone, c. (1930/1931). [review of the child’s conception of the world] journal of abnormal psychology and social psychology, 25, 93. stonier, g. (1932). [review of the moral judgment of the child] the new statesman and nation, 33, 605. warden, c. j. (1931). [ review of the child’s conception of physical causality] pedagogical seminary and journal of genetic psychology, 39, 296. weber, c. (1927). [review of the language and thought of the child] american journal of psychology, 38, 299. white, w. (1927). [review of the language and thought of the child] psychoanalytic review, 14, 359. white, w. (1929). [review of the language and thought of the child and judgment and reasoning in the child] psychoanalytic review, 16, 312. white, w. (1929). [review of the child’s conception of the world] psychoanalytic review, 16, 411.. white, w. (1931). [review of the child’s conception of physical causality] psychoanalytic review, 18, 85. white, w. (1933). [review of the moral judgment of the child] psychoanalytic review, 20, 215. woolley, h. (1932). [review of the child’s conception of the world] mental hygiene, 16, 315. 18 notes 1 this paper is based upon another entitled “an elaboration of the pedagogical vision implied by piaget’s call for moral reasoning,” which i presented at the jean piaget society annual meeting in 2004. 2 historian fernando vidal’s biographical entry on piaget (vidal, 2000) cites piaget’s pedagogical influences in both moral and science education. i would argue, though, that piaget’s influence in the scientific realm has been somewhat anomalous, relying as it largely has on the elaboration of piaget’s experimental protocols themselves. 3 “progressive” pedagogical approaches, defined here as those that have attended to children’s own forms of reasoning and that have encouraged children to make sense of various realities on their own terms, clearly informed classroom practice (in progressive schools) prior to the advent of piaget’s research. educator lucy sprague mitchell, who favorably reviewed piaget’s first work, language and thought of the child, for progressive education in 1927, termed it “a relief to the layman” and closed with the following “. . . i believe no one of his major conclusions is new to teachers who have been observing children’s behavior objectively in their successive growth stages and who regard their work as the establishment of an environment suited to meet these needs of growth.” 4 in piaget’s investigations into the development of scientific and mathematical concepts, he generally identified at least three stages. 5 see particularly pp. 353-371, where piaget discusses the implications of durkheim’s theory for the authoritative relation. 6 (mayer, ibid) i located eight reviews of the moral judgment of the child and thirty-three, all together, of the first five works in the field (see bibliography b). 7 see particularly chaps. 5-10. 8 see gruber and vonèche, (1977), pp.26-37. these excerpts from piaget’s prose poem of the time, ‘the mission of the idea’ powerfully demonstrate the quality of piaget’s attachment to this vision. 9 see piaget’s brief work, structuralism (1970), particularly the final chapter on “structuralism and philosophy.” see also gruber and vonèche for a concise treatment of piaget’s epistemological commitments (1977, pp. 735-743). 10 those familiar with psychologist lev vygotsky’s zone of proximal development (1978) will note some resonance between this claim and the arguments with which vygotsky supports that theory. publication draft – ssch – 2004 the reagan-era right and the fight for ‘religious’ equality in the classroom robert daniel rubin indiana university, bloomington abstract: the 1980s witnessed the resurgence of religious conservatism in politics and law. for decades, the supreme court had required a “wall of separation” to insulate students from organized prayer, bible reading, and the promotion of religious values in the public-school classroom. reagan administration officials and their supporters sought to crumble that wall by advocating the insertion of religion into textbooks and classroom exercises. in the 1982 case jaffree v. board of school commissioners, evangelical christian lawyers attacked the “wall of separation” theory by arguing that the very secularism that purportedly ensured religious neutrality did itself constitute a religion—the “religion” of secular humanism. the judge hearing the case agreed, asserting that the first amendment’s prohibition against an establishment of religion required the schools to treat theistic and secular “religions” equally. key conservative officials applauded the ruling, which helped advance the new right’s movement to christianize america’s public schools. in november 1982 a pair of evangelical lawyers, tom kotouc and bob sherling, questioned witnesses at an extraordinary trial. jaffree v. board of school commissioners of mobile county (554 f.supp. 1104 [1983]) pitted a religious agnostic and father of three public school children against the school board of mobile county, alabama, which stood accused of violating the first amendment’s ban on government endorsement of religion. at trial the mobile school system defended its teachers’ practice of leading students in prayer during school hours. kotouc and sherling’s clients, a group of six hundred evangelicals from alabama, entered the case as intervenors— concerned citizens who supported the schoolteachers’ and students’ rights to pray aloud, in organized fashion, at any time throughout the school day. yet, although the intervenors were designated as codefendants alongside the school board, their lawyers did not simply follow the school board’s lead. the intervenors at once complemented and complicated the school board’s position by charging that, if mobile public schools had discriminated against anyone, it was the christian majority of students who wished simply to practice their faith openly and sincerely. according to the intervenors, the curricula and textbooks used in the schools privileged the secularist minority. and that, they argued, violated the first amendment by establishing a religion—the religion of secular humanism. the intervenors in jaffree v. board were implementing a twenty-year-old argument that the textbooks and pedagogical methods employed by america’s public educators were propagating a liberal, secular-humanist “religion” alien to the majority of american citizens. now, during the reagan era, activists, politicians, and critics were refining this narrative and demanding that government and law reflect its premises. the new right of the late 1970s and 1980s emphasized the virtues possessed by “ordinary” citizens—as opposed to the selfish, decadent cosmopolitanism of the “cultural elite”—and championed the right of elected representatives within individual states to regulate family and community life (macedo 1987). the campaign to restrict the influence of secular humanism in the public schools encapsulated both the new right’s political majoritarianism and its moral traditionalism. critics of the textbooks, teaching methods, and anti-prayer policies of the nation’s public schools imagined large swaths of the united states populated by a conservative, “moral” majority. throughout the south and west especially, where biblical norms enjoyed their greatest influence, lay those states on which new right curricular reformers pinned their hopes (provenzo 1990; detweiler 1999). alabama was one such state. ishmael jaffree, an african american lawyer and religious agnostic, had arrived in alabama from cleveland, ohio, in 1976. having long concluded that the devout christianity of his childhood was false and destructive, jaffree determined to raise his children as free thinkers who grounded their beliefs in reason and evidence rather than religious doctrine. he expressed surprise on learning that many mobile public school teachers were leading their students—including three of his own children—in the daily recitation of grace. jaffree’s surprise turned to outrage when his children’s teachers, their principals, and the superintendent of schools turned a deaf ear to his complaints. in june 1982 jaffree filed suit in federal court against the mobile school system (newman 1985b; irons 1990, 357–78). neither the teachers’ religious exercises nor their insensitivity to his complaints should have surprised jaffree. since world war ii, mobile had become the most religiously-conservative city in this religiously-conservative state. few mobilians saw anything wrong with classroom prayer or wished to see it purged (flynt 1998, 566–67; 2004, 3, 7–8). after the lawsuit became publicized that summer, local residents let jaffree know how staunchly they resented his efforts. his attempts to portray those efforts as a campaign in defense of minority civil rights failed to win him any support among black mobilians, who responded as members, not of a racial minority, but of a god-fearing, christian majority jealous of its right to exercise its faith freely (williams 2002, 15, 20; rieff 2001, 192–95). nor was opposition to jaffree limited to mobile. alabama 22 governor fob james, a conservative democrat who strongly supported president reagan and his traditional-values agenda, had always considered classroom prayer a legislative priority. the governor capitalized on jaffree’s lawsuit by declaring his support for “those brave schoolteachers” and by winning overwhelming passage of a school-prayer bill, which featured a short prayer—written by the governor’s adult son—for teachers to chant with their students. by the time the trial began in november, ishmael jaffree was known throughout alabama as the ungrateful god-hater who would use the courts to silence children’s prayers (leviton 1985; montgomery advertiser 1982a,b, d; newman 1985a). foreground at the trial of jaffree v. board of school commissioners of mobile county was a political-constitutional argument common among 1980s conservatives. the mobile school board denounced supreme court “judicial activism” and defended the right of local communities and state legislatures to establish religious classroom procedures. for its expert witness the board called constitutional scholar james mcclellan, a writer and editor with close ties to the reagan justice department and senate conservatives. mcclellan insisted that the school board could not possibly have violated the first amendment’s ban on religious establishment because the first amendment did not properly apply to the individual states. the framers, including the authors of the first and fourteenth amendments, never intended to prohibit state governments from establishing religions, he informed the court. mcclellan defended states’ rights against encroachment by the federal government, and he defended the lawmaking prerogatives of legislatures— the people’s elected representatives—against trespass by unelected federal judges. like other key new right constitutionalists, mcclellan believed that judicial supremacy over legislatures tended to obstruct popular rule. the court’s prohibition against religious expression in public schools “is undemocratic,” he told the court, because it allows “a small, select minority” to “impose their view on the people.” democracy demands the right of the people to “encourage morality,” and the federal courts have no business standing in the way (jaffree v. board 1982, 525–30, 598–600). mcclellan’s appeal to the right of ordinary citizens to enact moral public policies advocated more than just a conservative constitutional theory, more than simply a diminished jurisdiction for federal judges over state religion laws. mcclellan echoed a standard reagan-era refrain: that the cultural elite, the “intellectual class,” lacked the moral compass necessary for rendering good public policies (bork 1990, 7–17, 241–50). ordinary citizens, in mcclellan’s narrative, comprised a kind of moral majority and thereby warranted greater political influence than they generally enjoyed. as sources of good and decent values, local communities deserved control over the public institutions at the center of their lives. by tying conservative constitutionalism to conservative morality, the board enabled its codefendants, the intervenors, to expand the trial’s focus beyond the constitution, and even beyond classroom prayer. the intervenors forged past where prayer supporters had tread in previous cases. they focused little of their argument on what the constitution did or did not allow. the intervenors aimed to persuade the court that, inevitably, one or another fundamental worldview would shape all teaching materials and methods. any given textbook or pedagogical theory, they said, would reflect one or another comprehensive morality—one way of parsing right from wrong, knowing what was true and what was false, deciding how to act and how not to act. the intervenors asserted that textbooks and curricula necessarily would be religious because particular religions directed all that was said and done in the classroom. and any worldview that ignored god and considered human beings the arbiters between right and wrong was, they claimed, as much a “religion” as one that acknowledged god as the source and purpose for all existence. the christian conservatives who intervened in jaffree v. board defended the schoolteachers’ religious rights, not by denying the applicability to the states of the first amendment, but by reinterpreting “religion.” to prohibit christianity was to establish an alternative religion, they maintained. to silence children’s prayers was to advance the religion of secular humanism. to be sure, the defendant parties emphasized different aspects of the new right critique of liberalism. the school board registered frustration at the intervenors’ depiction of the educational establishment as anti-christian (jaffree v. board 1982, 656–57, 680–86, 692–93, 712–16). still, the two parties ultimately forged complementary arguments that conjointly refuted jaffree’s secularist stance. lawyers for the school board and for the intervenors applauded testimony offered by one another’s witnesses, with the intervenors citing mcclellan’s published writings to help make their case (jaffree v. board 1982, 560–66, 571, 578, 640). christian antiliberalism was easily enough knotted together with constitutional majoritarianism to strangle the plaintiff’s hope of eradicating religion from mobile classrooms. the portrayal of the secular classroom as a “religious” environment inhospitable to christian values was not new. the jaffree intervenors built on a profound and sweeping challenge to liberal curricular norms, one brewing since the early 1960s, the ostensible high point for the liberal, pluralist worldview in american culture and politics. during those years the calvinist cultural critic rousas john rushdoony posited that the nation’s educational 23 establishment had been captured by enlightenmentbased enemies of christianity. education, according to rushdoony, necessarily advanced a single system of values—one or another “religion.” either biblical christianity or its secular antithesis would always be promoted in american schools. rushdoony contended that, for much of the twentieth century, public schools had served as organs for the religion of secular humanism, a religion incompatible with biblical christianity. he considered this situation intolerable, and he called on “true” christians to begin changing society, to reassert the dominance of christianity over the human-centered faith established by america’s educators (rushdoony 1961, 1963). rushdoony’s influence was extraordinary. his writings gave rise to a christian-right critique of liberalism that depicted secular humanism as the everspreading stain needing to be removed from the fabric of american education, culture, and law (mcgraw 1976; duncan 1979; schaeffer 1981; hitchcock 1982; lahaye 1983). his scholarship also influenced televangelists such as pat robertson and james kennedy, who frequently hosted rushdoony on their programs. perhaps his most significant impact was on first amendment scholar john whitehead. with rushdoony’s assistance, whitehead created the rutherford institute, one of the nation’s foremost supporters of evangelical legal actions against the public schools (clapp 1987; provenzo 1990, 4–11; clarkson 1998). whitehead and other pioneers in christian-conservative “cause lawyering” found in rushdoony’s esoteric speculations the ideological basis for a new movement: the christianization of the public schools (den dulk, 2005). in his introduction to john whitehead’s 1977 book the separation illusion, and in a subsequent essay, rushdoony asserted that the authors of the first amendment’s religion clauses had not intended to purge public institutions of christianity, but only to protect christianity from interference by the secular state, in order that christianity—and not the state— could dominate all of society (whitehead 1977, 9–10; rushdoony 1978). informed and inspired by his mentor’s essay, whitehead drew upon its ideas in a highly influential law review article he published months later (whitehead and conlan, 1978) and in a legal brief he submitted for the 1981 widmar v. vincent case, in which the supreme court began to revise its longstanding doctrine requiring the secularization of public education (454 u.s. 263). through these and other avenues rushdoony immeasurably influenced christian-conservative education reform. the new right attack on public education had another important forbear: texans mel and norma gabler, the preeminent critics of textbooks used in american schools. beginning in 1962, the gablers began organizing opposition and speaking out against textbooks that they believed promoted a big federal government, downplayed states’ rights, ignored america’s christian foundations, and advanced secular humanistic values alien to the majority of citizens (hefley 1976). the gablers disseminated information widely through christian organizations and helped spark a grassroots movement to make public-school textbooks “safe” for christians. through their long and tireless advocacy, the gablers catalyzed the christian right’s push for influence over the nation’s public schools (martin 1982; provenzo 1990, 20–24, 32–40). alabama governor fob james, along with his wife and son, subscribed wholeheartedly to that effort. from the beginning of his administration in 1980, the governor had sought to purge alabama public schools of books that denigrated god, country, or traditional christian values (mobile press 1981; birmingham news 1981, 1982; mobile register 1982). bobbie james, the governor’s wife, made it her personal priority to protect the place of prayer and “creation science” in the classroom (mobile press 1981; montgomery advertiser 1982c). speaking to state legislators debating her husband’s school prayer bill in the summer of 1982, she reminded her audience of the “need to acknowledge god as sovereign over our public schools,” lest heathen forces continue to determine curricular policy (montgomery advertiser 1982b, 2). zealotry was a james family affair. first son fob iii, who wrote the governor’s bill and its appended prayer, told the house and senate committees that the school-prayer battle was an episode in a war between civil and religious authority. “our supreme court has allowed a few atheists to deprive our people of the god who created them,” the governor’s son insisted. “unless people have god above government, then government is god.” preparing to pass his father’s bill, the alabama legislature stood poised to “confront the supreme court of the united states” (montgomery advertiser 1982b, 2; mobile press 1982). after being named in jaffree’s complaint, gov. james assigned a lawyer from his administration to recruit, organize, and represent a group of evangelicals to intervene in the jaffree case. that lawyer, thomas kotouc, was affiliated with the rutherford institute and had long sought to defend the “religious freedom” of christian students. kotouc partnered up with bob sherling, a mobile lawyer driven by similar inclinations (kotouc 2002, 2–3, 7; smith 2002, 6–7; mobile press register 1982; sherling 2000, 6; wilkinson 1987, 112). the two devised a legal strategy and advanced an ideological vision that built on the arguments of rushdoony, whitehead, tim lahaye, the gablers, and others. the jaffree intervenors argued that the real victims of religious discrimination were not ishmael jaffree’s three children but the countless boys and girls forced by mobile public schools to endure and assimilate teachings from a religion that violated the core 24 precepts of the “traditional” biblical christianity that their own families lived by. the mobile schools— like all american public schools—had systematically promoted the secular-humanist worldview, an ideology so coherent and extensive so as to function as a religion. indeed, the intervenors argued, for purposes of the first amendment, secular humanism was a religion. that it embraced neither god nor theology was irrelevant. according to the intervenors, the effect of promoting secular humanism while silencing alternative worldviews was so pernicious that it rose to the level of religious establishment—a clear violation of the letter and spirit of the united states constitution. while the plaintiffs and the primary defendants called only a few witnesses, the intervenors summoned a parade of scholars, preachers, and teachers to testify to the secular-humanist indoctrination that took place in mobile schools. employing a strategy popularized by the gablers (gabler and gabler 1978), the intervenors called witness after witness to examine textbooks used by the schools and accused their authors of advancing antichristian beliefs, such as that human beings are morally autonomous, responsible for generating their own moral values. first to take the stand was r. j. rushdoony, who reiterated his stock assertion that government-run schools indoctrinated children with secular-humanist propaganda. mobile county, he warned, was proselytizing secular humanism with great effectiveness. like the intervenors’ other expert witnesses, rushdoony charged that the textbooks employed by mobile schools advanced the humanistic worldview while they ignored or disparaged the christian worldview. two psychology books presented the humanistic notion that sex roles were culturally learned but not the christian idea that sex roles were assigned by god, he complained; a science book explaining evolution made no reference to the corresponding christian account of human origins; a short story’s author endorsed moral relativism by failing to reproach a character who had lied. especially relevant to the intervenors’ case was rushdoony’s objection to a social-studies book proclaiming that “morals are rules made by people.” that assertion, in his estimation, blatantly promoted the humanistic view that morality has no transcendental basis—a religious view in direct conflict with the christian perspective (jaffree v. board 1982, 344–60). rushdoony charged that the moral relativism saturating these schoolbooks derived from a pedagogical theory and method known as values clarification, which had gained widespread currency in the 1960s and 1970s through values and teaching, a well-known educator’s manual first published in 1966, and through the work of developmental psychologist lawrence kohlberg. central was the theory’s contention that schools must provide children with moral education by awakening children to their own personal values. genuine moral education, according to kohlberg, requires “aiding children to take the next step in a direction toward which they are already tending, rather than imposing an alien pattern on them” (kohlberg 1967, 300). to flourish in a pluralistic society, citizens must autonomously choose the values they will live by. raths and his colleagues conclude that “if children—or adults, for that matter— are to develop values, they must develop them out of personal choices” that “involve alternatives . . . prized by the chooser” and remain “freely available for selection” (raths et al. 1966, 33). critics of secularism in the public schools have pointed to values clarification as an egregious example of the secular state usurping the inalienable right of parents to determine their children’s moral development. according to ethicist richard a. baer jr., proponents spuriously present values clarification as morally neutral, when, in reality, it casually assumes and advances specific moral positions, such as “that the individual is free to make value decisions in an open and rational manner” and “that each person is the final arbiter of moral truth, of what is right and wrong, and of what is proper for his own life.” baer contended that these positions reflected an ethical relativism that, although not embraced by most americans, was being widely instilled in children (baer 1977, 1982). on the basis of his dire concern, richard baer made for a compelling witness in jaffree. baer informed the court that humanism “functions as a kind of religion” that is “contradictory to the basic views of jews and christians.” propagated in textbooks, often without competing religious viewpoints, humanism serves as a tax-supported national religion. he insisted that humanism’s ethical theory, based on radical subjectivity and moral relativity, cannot be reconciled with theistic morality—the two religions necessarily conflict with one another. a genuine neutrality would require the public schools to present both theistic and humanistic worldviews, baer maintained, while, in practice, american schools presented only the latter. in “a pluralistic society” such as ours, this was unacceptable. “if we make the kind of judgment that it is improper for children to pray in school . . . or to have bible readings . . . but at the same time permit a range of other [practices] that are religious in nature,” baer told the court, “then we have a very serious question of evenhandedness.” he charged that liberals had “been so blind to the fact that secularism is not religiously neutral that” they had “pushed for a very one-sided victory” over theistic religion and thereby trammeled over the rights of believers (jaffree v. board 1982, 783–808). richard baer’s testimony in jaffree v. board reiterated the new right critique of public education policy. the problem, as baer saw it, wasn’t simply that traditionally-religious citizens lacked influence 25 over textbook selection and policy enactment. equally problematic was the ideology behind those textbooks and policies, which, baer argued, espoused a radical subjectivity and moral relativity not only alien to most americans’ values but dangerous to society’s foundations. by asserting “that all things are a matter of personal preferences and tastes,” values clarification could only portray “freedom, justice, democracy, and so on as, finally, matters of personal whim and judgment.” in baer’s estimation, curricular materials informed by values clarification corroded the underpinnings of the republic. they promulgated a “religion”—secular humanism—that taught individuals to deconstruct their moral compass with no sure way to rebuild it. he charged that “books like values and teaching” prescribed a “constant inculcating of doubt and skepticism [toward] traditional approaches to values” and “create[d] a mood of doubt in the child . . . towards the kind of things that many of us are trying to teach our children at home.” children’s values, baer insisted, needed carefully to be shaped by traditional morality. for their own and for society’s sake, children needed to be given, not constant options, but firm guidance. baer maintained that the problem with secular humanism wasn’t simply that it enjoyed a monopoly in the classroom, but that it promoted a flawed and dangerous worldview that shouldn’t even be allowed in the classroom. because values clarification “is indoctrination and not education,” he told the court, “the method overall should be abandoned in the public schools” (jaffree v. board 1982, 788–90, 810). the intervenors’ position—that secular humanism was a cohesive worldview that corroded society’s foundations, offended the majority of citizens, and depended on a culturally-elite educational establishment for support—found a receptive audience in the trial judge. mobile native brevard hand, an appointee of pres. nixon in 1971, had long favored states’ rights and legislative dominance over judiciaries (reese v. dallas county 1973; clark v. marengo 1979). judge hand believed that federal judges should, whenever possible, avoid stifling “democratic” expressions of morality contained in state laws. he believed also that democracies needed to inculcate traditional morality into their youngest members (hand 1976; mobile register 1986). honoring what he took to be the founding fathers’ original intentions, hand ruled, in jaffree v. board (554 f.supp. 1104 [1983], 1118 n 24, 1127–28), that the first amendment did not prohibit religious exercises in the classroom. religious minorities had no choice but to endure the indignities and inconveniences that went along with marginality. he held that the supreme court, in its controversial decisions prescribing secularism in the classroom, had “amended the constitution to the consternation of the republic and . . . . den[ied] to the people their right to express themselves.” at james mcclellan’s urging (jaffree v. board 1982, 556, 603), hand disregarded supreme court precedent on school prayer, which he dismissed as “wrongly decided.” his brazen ruling would please and inspire conservatives from senator jesse helms (congressional record 1983) to attorney general edwin meese (meese 1985, 5–6). although it was overturned on appeal, the ruling echoed a call— sounded often on the new right—to limit the power of federal courts over public-school policy. into his decision hand wove an important subtext. if, in fact, the first amendment did apply to the individual states and did require purging the classroom of religious exercises, hand wrote, then all religious exercises must be eliminated. he promised that, in the event his ruling was overturned, he would revisit the case and address those issues “raised by the evidence produced by the intervenors dealing with other religious teachings now conducted in the public schools to which no attention has apparently been directed and to which objection has been lodged by the intervenors.” although the school board’s constitutional arguments had primarily shaped hand’s opinion, the intervenors had persuaded him that the religion of humanism exerted a dangerous impact on the schools. he complained about how case law had turned a blind eye to humanism’s inordinate influence. the intervenors, hand determined, had established that the “curriculum in the public schools of mobile county is rife with efforts at teaching or encouraging secular humanism—all without opposition from any other ethic—to such an extent that it becomes a brainwashing effort” (1129–30). the eleventh circuit did reverse hand’s ruling (jaffree v. wallace, 705 f.2d 1526n [1983]), and the supreme court upheld the reversal (wallace v. jaffree, 472 u.s. 38 [1985]). when the case was remanded back to hand, he realigned the parties, changing the intervenors into plaintiffs against the school board and state. smith v. board, the sequel to jaffree, featured an even longer parade of conservatives charging the educational establishment with systematically inculcating the religion of secular humanism into the nation’s most vulnerable citizens. once again, judge hand ruled for the antihumanists. “for purposes of the first amendment,” hand declared, “secular humanism is a religious belief system, entitled to the protections of, and subject to the prohibitions of, the religion clauses.” recalling the arguments of richard baer, he complained not only that secular humanism enjoyed a religious monopoly in the classroom, but that its content was so dangerous so as to threaten children’s—and ultimately society’s—wellbeing. “teaching that moral choices are purely personal and can only be based on some autonomous, as yet undiscovered and unfulfilled, inner self is,” he warned, “a sweeping fundamental belief that must not be promoted by the public schools” (smith v. board, 655 f. supp. 939 [1987], 982, 987). not surprisingly, hand was again 26 overturned (smith v. board, 827 f.2d 684 [1987]). but, once again, the judge sounded a ringing condemnation of liberal, secular education and the judicial principles that enforced it. in jaffree and its sequel, religious conservatives staged a drama long in the making. informed by activism and ideas sketched out over several years, a group of alabamians—including the governor, two lawyers, three schoolteachers, and a federal judge—performed one of the central actions in american politics of the 1980s—the attempt to christianize the public schools. events such as the jaffree and smith trials reveal the contours of the new right’s campaign against secular education, a campaign that registered a significant historical shift. the impact of that shift only continues to grow with time’s passage. references baer, richard a., jr. 1977. values clarification as indoctrination. educational forum 41 (january): 156– 57. ________. 1982. parents, schools, and values clarification. wall street journal, 12 april. birmingham news. 1981. 30 april, f2. ________. 1982. 7 february, a1, a8. bork, robert h. 1990. the tempting of america. new york: free press. clapp, rodney. 1987. democracy as heresy. christianity today, 20 february, 17–23. clark v. marengo. 1979. 469 f.supp. 1150. clarkson, frederick. 1998. radical reconstruction. in these times, 8 march, 16. congressional record. 1983. 129 (98th cong., 1st sess. vol. 129, 869–70. den dulk, kevin r. 2005. in legal culture, but not of it. paper delivered at conference on cause lawyers and social movements, march, at university of california, los angeles, march 2005. detweiler, fritz. 1999. standing on the premises of god. new york: new york university press. duncan, homer. 1979. secular humanism. lubbock: christian focus on government. flynt, wayne. 1998. alabama baptists. tuscaloosa: university of alabama press. ________. 2004. interview by author. manuscript, 24 aug. gabler, mel, and norma gabler. 1978. a parent’s guide to textbook review and reform. washington, d.c.: heritage foundation. hand, w. brevard. 1976. the religious foundation of good government. speech delivered, 27 june, at the government street methodist church, mobile, al. speech file 1, w. brevard hand papers. united states district courthouse, southern district of alabama, mobile, al. hefley, james c. 1976. textbooks on trial. wheaton, ill.: scripture. hitchcock, james. 1982. what is secular humanism? ann arbor: servant. irons, peter. 1990. the courage of their convictions. new york: penguin. jaffree v. board of school commissioners of mobile county. 1982. trial transcript. civil case no. 82– 0554–h, box no. 1, accession no. 021–93–0423, location no. c0681974 san (federal records center, east point, ga.). 15 november. kohlberg, lawrence. 1967. moral and religious education and the public schools. in essays on moral development, by lawrence kohlberg. vol. 1, the philosophy of moral development. san francisco: harper & row, 1981, 294–305. kotouc, thomas. 2002. interview by author. montgomery, al., 22 march. lahaye, tim. 1983. the battle for the public schools. old tappan, n.j.: revell. leviton, joyce. 1985. a former child evangelist wins a supreme court fight against prayer in public schools. people, 24 june, 36–38. macedo, stephen. 1987. the new right v. the constitution. washington, d.c.: cato institute. martin, william. 1982. the guardians who slumbereth not. texas monthly. november, 144–49. mcgraw, onalee. 1976. secular humanism and the schools. washington, d.c.: heritage foundation. meese, edwin, iii. 1985. speech before the american bar association, 9 july, washington, d.c. in major policy statements of the attorney general. washington, d.c.: united states government publications office. mobile press. 1981. 19 march, 1, 6. ________. 1982. 23 june, 10. mobile register. 1982. james disgusted with textbooks. 23 january. mobile register. 1986. 6 october, b3. mobile press register. 1982. 25 september, b2. montgomery advertiser. 1982a. 17 june, 13. ________. 1982b. 23 june, 1–2. ________. 1982c. 30 june, 13. ________. 1982d. 13 july, 1–2. newman, joseph. 1985a. the new right and education. (mobile) harbinger. 1 october, 12. ________. 1985b. interview with jaffree. (mobile) harbinger. 15 october, 11. provenzo, eugene f., jr. 1990. religious fundamentalism and american education. albany: state university of new york press. raths, louis e., et al. 1966. values and teaching. columbus: merrill. continued on page 40. 27 reese v. dallas county. 1973. civil case no. 750373-h, accession no. 021-78-8297, location no. 181963 san. federal records center, east point, ga. rieff, burt. 2001. conflicting rights and religious liberty. alabama review 54 (july): 163–207. rushdoony, rousas john. 1961. intellectual schizophrenia. philadelphia: presbyterian and reformed publishing. ________. 1963. the messianic character of american education. vallecito, ca.: ross house. ________. 1978. the state as an establishment of religion. in freedom and education, edited by donald p. kommers and michael j. wahoske. notre dame: center for civil rights. schaeffer, francis a. 1981. a christian manifesto. wheaton, ill.: crossway. sherling, bob. 2000. interview by author. mobile, al., 14 november. smith, douglas. 2002. interview by author. montgomery, al., 21 march. whitehead, john w. 1977. the separation illusion. milford, mich.: mott. whitehead, john w., and john conlan. 1978. the establishment of the religion of secular humanism and its first amendment implications. texas tech law review 10 (winter): 1–66. wilkinson, francis. 1987. judge hand’s holy war. american lawyer 9 (may), 112. williams, ron. 2002. interview by author. mobile, al., 19 march. publication draft – ssch – 2004 behind-the-scenes ally: the geb, southern black high schools, and inter-war curriculum reform matthew d. davis university of missouri-st. louis during the 1920s, southern black teachers organized and agitated for improved schooling in their communities. accreditation of black high schools, using the same standards set for schools attended by whites, constituted a primary agenda item for these activists.1 the national association of teachers in colored schools (natcs), later the american teachers association, led the fight. less than a decade later, in 1932, the southern association of colleges and secondary schools (sacss) published its first list of accredited black high schools across the south, twenty in all.2 a “five-year effort” by the natcs climaxed in what historian adam fairclough has called “a clear rejection of white supremacist assumptions.”3 this natcs’ accomplishment, to gain strong accreditation status for high schools in african american communities, was profound and correctly has been lauded by historians.4 this received narrative, however, largely has missed the significant allied activities of the general education board in the same endeavor. the geb, the behemoth among philanthropic organization interested in southern black education, worked behind-the-scenes, both politically and administratively, throughout the interwar period as an ally of the natcs for the accreditation of black high schools. these activities may seem to be contradictory in light of much that has been written about the geb.5 its ideological origins in washingtonian industrial education appears to negate the possibility that its officials could promote academically robust curriculums for black schools. still, it did, and its advocacy was so fashioned as to be both persistent and strategic. this essay illuminates the important but overlooked role played by the geb in a major curriculum reform effort, southern black high school accreditation. further, in this endeavor, the geb, despite the routine unfavorable characterization of the organization and in contrast to the purportedly more “liberal” julius rosenwald fund (jrf), constituted a powerful ally to the black educational community in this endeavor. importantly, the geb carried its own goals within its allied actions, at times distinct from those articulated by the black professional educators. the geb’s “white supremacist assumptions” remained salient throughout the interwar period. the board, throughout the deliberations about and the effective implementation of this curricular reform, never discarded its primary paternalistic position. on the other hand, southern black high school accreditation became a curriculum policy reality, in no small measure, because of the geb’s influence and support. the natcs and a curriculum reform dance william a. robinson delivered a report at the 1926 national association of teachers in colored schools conference which had long-lasting implications. after outlining great disparities between white and black schooling in the south, a phenomenon that his audience knew all too well, robinson announced the need for a regional accreditation system for black institutions to partially remedy the blighted educational circumstances. apparently, robinson left no record of his expectations; surely the successful results from the natcs’s “five year effort” must have been a pleasant surprise. certainly, the white educational establishment had rarely responded so quickly to a call for change from black professional educators. in part, as historian melanie carter outlines, this was due to a “southern etiquette” dance with partners from the natcs, the association for colleges for negro youth (acny), the u.s. bureau of education, and the southern association of colleges and secondary schools. still, the nacts asserted its willingness to take the lead throughout this dance. 6 subsequent to the initial robinson report of 1926, a succession of natcs presidents kept the fire stoked under the feet of the various dance partners. reports, publications, and correspondence flowed from natcs leadership. the u.s. bureau of education released a new report on southern educational condition that mirrored the results and rhetoric of the robinson reports (presented annually during this period at the natcs conferences). the nacts successfully countered an early proposal by the sacss to turn over to the acny the accreditation of black institutions. moreover, by 1932, the natcs’s perseverance was honored with the release of the 1932 sacss list of accredited negro high schools.7 thus, the natcs deserves full credit for its leadership of the dance toward accreditation of black high schools. however, it neglects the ways in which the geb organized and supported the dance. the geb, curriculum policy contexts, and high school education for blacks the general education board gained life in 1902 specifically to foster the reconstruction of southern public education. the entry point of interest for john d. rockefeller and his partners on the board was their railway “tourism” through the dismal landscape of southern black schooling. however, despite their primary moral focus on the education of blacks, geb board members from the south convincingly influenced their fellow trustees that the 22 climate in the south at this time was inauspicious for direct attention to black education. rather, they advocated a “trickle down” policy, one that viewed early gains for white schooling as a vital and necessary precursor to subsequent improvement for blacks’ education.8 thus, when the geb implemented its first systemic reform effort in the south, the board focused on reform of public secondary schooling, an institutional setting for whites only.9 the need for public high schools in the south for both whites and blacks at the turn of the century was dire; massive obstacles of indifference and finance existed. geb leaders devised a plan to “seed” the growth of white secondary schools by establishing professors of secondary education at the leading public university in twelve southern states. begun in 1905, this initiative was completed just five years later; twelve geb-funded professors were in place. the geb continuously supported these positions until 1926. the professors’ pioneering work was complimented from 1919 to 1926 by state agents for secondary education in each of these twelve states. these individuals, in contrast to the professors’ attention to more schools, focused on better schools; as well, these state department men toiled within existing and growing state bureaucracies designed to aid local provision of education.10 unfortunately, the primary purview of these professors and their colleagues in state departments of education explicitly did not promote black high schools. however, this circumstance of absence was accompanied by a few pointed reminders of those their actions marginalized. first, in a 1905 speech, bruce r. payne, the university of virginia’s professor of secondary education (the first funded by the geb) and the future long-time president of george peabody college for teachers, “challenged the accepted notion that negroes were incapable of absorbing a high school education.”11 later, in 1910, in response to a headquarters query, b.w. torreyson, the professor of secondary education at the university of arkansas, forwarded to geb headquarters a list of his state’s public negro high schools with details of each school’s characteristics.12 indeed, this institutional request for information about “advanced” black schooling suggests a significant turning point in geb policy leadership regarding southern black education. quietly, the geb overhauled its policy; henceforth, the board would directly support southern black education. this new geb policy imperative was most readily reflected in the foundation’s second major systemic reform effort, the state agent for negro education program, begun in 1910.13 this program, one that installed state agents for negro education in all of the southern states by 1920, represents the geb’s most impressive and direct action to improve southern black education. the geb’s support of the state agent program continued until the early 1950s. importantly, it served as the foundational platform for the geb’s and nearly all philanthropic support of southern black education for more than four decades. geb officials charged each state agent to promote public black education and to supervise teachers and principals in the state’s schools for african americans. in addition, the agent’s purview included oversight of jeanes teachers and rosenwald building agents.14 for more than forty years, these state agents for negro education (forty in all) were “virtually assistant [state] superintendents”15 and became “gatekeepers” for southern education initiatives for all major philanthropies. jackson davis, a virginian, stands tall in any understanding of the work and influence of the state agent program. in 1910, davis became the south’s first state agent for negro education. in that role, he exercised oversight of virginia’s program for improved education for black children and youth. five years later, he accepted direct employment with the board and became its field agent for the entire southern region. at the time of his death in 1947, he had risen to become the geb’s associate director and vice president. while still a state agent, davis interviewed and “trained” all others similarly employed in southern state departments of education. his “supervision” of the entire corps of state agents continued unabated until his death and his vision guided and directed their endeavors.16 davis, as adam fairclough recently opined of the geb in general, was “very much attuned to the art of the possible.”17 davis, like payne earlier, envisioned proper high schools for negroes. davis, quite possibly alone among white southern educators, understood something more: the system-wide respect of black high schools that met the rigorous southern association of colleges and secondary schools’ accreditation requirements set for high schools attended by whites. the geb and black high school accreditation leaders of the major philanthropies involved in the improvement of southern black education met on 30 april 1925 at the geb offices in new york. the deliberations of this “interlocking directorate” of white executives focused directly upon the development of black high schools.18 apparently, little of substance resulted from the meeting. certainly, little by way of consensus could develop quickly. actively opposed to the idea or only “footdragging” were the representatives from the slater fund. james dillard, the fund’s leader, was among the oldest and the most respected men at the meeting. early in the 20th century, dillard had pioneered the concept and operations of “county training schools,” secondary institutions that were inferior to high schools. 23 dillard was not pleased with plans to transform county training schools to largely academic high schools.19 officials of the julius rosenwald fund officials, at least those from its chicago headquarters, appeared to be altogether confused about the symbolic and substantive differences between varieties of secondary schools.20 (more definitive direction, or misdirection of this fund would await the arrival of edwin embree as jrf president in 1928.21) even the top geb officials seemed curiously tentative about taking the out-front position on negro high schools.22 indeed, the geb’s annual reports were generally silent about the state agents’ advocacy of negro high school accreditation throughout the interwar period.23 this group of influential officials, the “interlocking directorate,” therefore, stalled on the issue of negro high schools. on the other hand, the state agents for negro education, led by jackson davis, had been tackling the issue of negro high school improvement for at least four years. by 1925, their actions were deliberate and robust. the origins of davis’ conviction about black high schools and their improved curriculum are hazy. he certainly began to keep tabs on the number and character of black high schools as early as 1916.24 perhaps his interest in high schools for negroes developed out of his professional friendship with w.e.b. dubois.25 whatever his motivations, and working behind-thescenes, davis led the cadre of state agents for negro education into the campaign for black high school accreditation in the south. davis’ agenda for the 1921 state agents conference suggests that this event was the venue for his unveiling of a new policy end-in-view for improved negro high schools.26 near the end of the conference he asked state agents to respond to two questions. first, “has anything been done to classify the negro schools?” second, “to what extent are training schools meeting state requirements as junior and senior high schools?” little comment is recorded for either question;27 “classification” and “standards” raised in relation to negro schools may have seemed “beyond the pale” for these men who fought daily for the mere presence of black schooling in southern communities. davis’ distance from the front lines likely accorded him increased latitude to dream. unfortunately, the brevity of the conference “notes” permits only speculation about the state agents’ reactions to davis’ questions. leo favrot, davis chief assistant, offered the only substantive response that was noted. favrot raised his concern about the conversion of county training schools to “conventional high schools.”28 likely, the group, and favrot himself, missed the irony of labeling negro schools as “conventional” that met rigorous state and or regional accreditation standards. on the other hand, the profundity of the concern, even for symbolic reasons, must not be missed. historians have routinely perceived the county training schools as an immutable icon for the work of the geb and other groups involved in the improvement of southern black education. favrot appears to have understood what historians have missed. davis had unveiled a new policy imperative: a broader mission and an advanced status for negro high schools. when the state agents once again assembled in 1923, davis sought increased deliberation about negro high schools. near the middle of the conference, davis asked: “to what extent are training schools meeting state requirements as junior and secondary high schools?”29 oral responses were not recorded, but a compilation of statistics, by state, was listed. each state agent had come prepared with their reports, undoubtedly aware of davis’ desires. as a group, the results revealed only meager or uncertain movement toward the goal of standards-meeting negro schools. davis turned up the heat on the state agents for their 1925 conference. davis moved the discussion of negro high schools to the top of the group’s agenda with accreditation of these schools explicitly stated and leading the list of discussion prompts.30 the conference notes for that year detail each state agent’s remarks. they identified many obstacles and only a few state agents reported real progress.31 still, davis’ actions had made one thing crystal clear to the state agents: raising the standards of negro high schools under their care would be a primary focus of their work. davis took his campaign for the accreditation of high school for negroes “on the road” during 1926. he called no official conference that year with his state agents for negro education. this was the year that the natcs embarked on their “five-year effort” to garner accreditation of high schools attended by southern african americans.32 however, from 1927 to 1930, davis and his state agents met for official conferences four times.33 apparently, deliberations over negro high school accreditation continued unabated. the 1930 conference record notes the advocacy by n.c. newbold, long-time north carolina state agent,34 for equal standards of accreditation for negro and white high schools.35 likely, newbold used his voice to advocate equal standards throughout this period. he was lauded by the geb president during the closing remarks of the 1929 conference “for his responses to the challenge to find the next step in negro education.”36 likely, this remark carried intent beyond simple praise of newbold; it probably was a pointed reminder for the other state agents. the actual accomplishments of newbold and his colleagues in this high school accreditation endeavor remain hazy. however, their efforts are more easily recognized. davis’ supervision of these men, a process which included spending substantial time with each of them every year, would have used effort toward the end-in-view as one of the benchmarks of his assessment of the state agents’ work. to be sure, 24 the state agents were answerable to their respective state superintendents. nevertheless, the geb’s continued financial support of their roles certainly accorded davis a voice in each state agent’s continued employment. the remarkable stability of the state agents’ collective tenure underscores the alignment of their efforts with davis’ policy preferences.37 by inference at least, the state agents worked diligently toward accreditation of black high schools in their states. thus far, this narrative of geb involvement in the encouragement of the development of four-year academically robust black high schools reveals a distanced or indirect allied character to the geb/natcs relationship. however, two features of the nacts “five year effort” illustrate more direct connections between the two groups. first, w. a. robinson, an african american and, not inconsequentially, assistant state agent in north carolina, authored the research reports that were foundational to the nacts push for high school.38 presumably, robinson’s research efforts were a part of his official duties in a geb-funded position. second, the plan eventually developed in 1930 to facilitate the technical procedures of black high school accreditation situated each state agent as the “shepherd” of the process. from the distribution of applications and, importantly, by providing the requisite fees to launch the accreditation process to “signing off” on the application, to the southern association of colleges and secondary schools, the state agent “walked with” each individual black school that sought accreditation.39 to what extent this gatekeeper function might have been abused by individual state agents awaits more focused state and local studies. however, in general, state agents appear to have taken this new function in stride as a part of their routine ally-in-action relationship with black schools. to implement the new accreditation procedures, the southern association of colleges and secondary schools created a new position, executive agent. from 1930 to 1938, the geb underwrote the salary of this individual.40 two men served as the executive agent of the southern association during those eight years. both had deep ties to the geb in general and to jackson davis in particular. arthur d. wright was the inaugural executive agent.41 however, wright, a classmate and fraternity brother of davis at the college of william & mary and, also, davis’ successor as virginia’s state agent, resigned the executive agent position after only one year in order to assume the dual presidency of the slater fund and jeanes foundation.42 to replace him, the southern association tapped fred mccuistion, a former arkansas state agent who later followed davis into the position of geb associate director.43 these geb-affiliated men represented personal manifestations of the geb allied activity on black high school accreditation that persisted to the end of the inter-war period. philanthropies as allies: geb/jrf contrast historical memory of southern black schooling, or at least historians’ representations of such memory, has marginalized actions by the geb as patriarchal, conservative, and cautious.44 in this view, the geb becomes the “heavy hand” among philanthropies, a northern enterprise distanced from the pains of southern black lived reality, and the principal purveyor of a self-help ethic to black communities. in contrast, actions undertaken by the julius rosenwald fund are characterized routinely as more progressive than those of the geb, more directly enabling and relevant to southern blacks. the rosenwald fund is lauded, among a myriad of support to southern black communities, for provision of schoolhouses throughout the south for black students and of fellowships for black adults to study in northern institutions.45 furthermore, positive historical treatment of edwin embree, the fund’s president for its last twenty years, adds to this lore surrounding the fund. a chief element of embree’s progressive personae is his long time friendship and research collaboration with fisk university’s scholar/president charles s. johnson. 46 however, embree’s advocacy for urban black high schools as the rosenwald fund’s president represents an errant mark on embree’s, and, as well, the jrf’s progressive report card. indeed, a closer look at this jrf advocacy illuminates a too-long-hidden facet of geb progressivism. shortly after embree assumed the rosenwald fund’s presidency in 1928, he lent his voice to a new fund initiative: high schools for urban blacks in the south.47 substantive pragmatism underscored this effort of the fund. previously, the various philanthropies interested in the advancement of southern black education had focused on rural children and youth. by 1928, however, substantial numbers of blacks had migrated to southern cities, some on their way north during the “great migration,” others to presumably better southern lives. with its new initiative, the rosenwald fund, led by embree, sought to make an impressive foray into the provision of black schooling. however, its efforts met with fierce opposition from southern urban blacks. brief details of two early embree and jrf experiments with urban high schools illuminate the fund’s missteps. in 1929, the jrf-planned paul laurance dunbar high school opened in little rock, arkansas. it was to be an industrial high school. however, during the school’s construction, the local black community successfully altered the original fund plans. as analyzed by james anderson, “the black citizens, taxpayers, and educators outmaneuvered the” fund.48 the second industrial high school planned by the fund for new orleans, louisiana, never got beyond the blueprint stage. in this case, the rosenwald fund 25 authorized $125,000 in 1930 to build a “model black industrial high school.” the school’s “architectural sketch,” revealingly omitted any academic space. a variety of forces, including intense protest by the new orleans’ black community, kept the high school from being built.49 a key element in both these illustrations of the rosewald fund’s short-lived experiment into urban black high school provision is its evasion of the desires for robust academic high schools collectively articulated by urban black communities for more than a decade. listening and acting: the geb as ally general education board officials, unlike those who led the julius rosenwald fund, listened to those they wished to help, southern african americans. without doubt, geb leaders always did not adopt such a stance. the movement to accredit high schools for blacks, however, offers another and nuanced story about the relationships of allies. black educational leaders during the interwar years recognized that accreditation of black high schools as academic institutions was an essential step toward more robust education of black youth. they also understood that such accreditation held a position of heightened status throughout the south. very importantly, jackson davis and the network of state agents for negro education listened to the voices of black aspiration for the recognition of highly qualified academic high schools for blacks. these southern white men set out to translate these hopes into a realizable possibility. moreover, as allies, the gebfunded officials did not usurp public leadership from black leaders and groups. rather, they worked diligently and successfully behind the scenes such that procedures for the accreditation of black academic high schools became institutionalized rather than an empty dream. in this work, the geb resources and influence enabled the development of a conspicuous curriculum reform for black high schools in the south. 1 adam fairclough, better day coming: blacks and equality, 1890-2000 (new york, 2001), 170. 2 h. council trenholm, “the accreditation of the negro high school,” the journal of negro education 1 (apr. 1932): 34-43. 3 fairclough, better day coming, 170. 4 see, for example, melanie carter, “from jim crow ro inclusion: an historical analysis of the association of colleges and secondary schools for negroes, 1934-1965,” phd diss. (the ohio state university, 1996). 5 a partial list of works whose narratives on the geb focus’s upon its intrusive ideological imperative of industrial education include: henry allen bullock, a history of negro education in the south: from 1619 to the present (cambridge, 1967); william a. link, a hard country and a lonely place: schooling, society, and reform in rural virginia, 1870-1920 (chapel hill, 1986); anderson, the education of blacks in the south; william h. watkins, the white architects of black education, ideology and power in america, 1865-1954 (new york, 2001). a notable exception to the norm that suggests slightly more progressive ideals to the geb is found in eric anderson and alfred a. moss, jr. dangerous donations: northern philanthropy and southern black education, 19021930 (columbia, 1999). 6 carter, “from jim crow ro inclusion,” 63. see also thelma d. perry, history of the american teachers association (washington, d.c., 1975), 166-176. 7 ibid. see also trenholm, “the accreditation of the negro high school.” 8 see fn 3 above. 9 this assertion of a first systemic reform effort refers to the geb’s cautious entry into philanthropic support through individual giving that took place prior to this focus upon secondary schooling. 10 fosdick, adventure in giving, chapter 3: “high schools for the south,” 25-38. 11 fosdick, adventure in giving, 30. 12 torreyson to buttrick letter, 2 april 1920, floder 2861, box 275, sub-series 2, series 1, geb archives, rockefeller archives center, sleepy hollow, new york (hereafter designated rac). 13 the southern education board was the primary support (using geb money) of the first state agent for negro education. however, for a myriad of reasons, likely including a desire to distance itself from such direct support, the seb handed over direct support of the state agent in 1911. importantly, the geb eschewed the masking of the position’s purpose by adding the word negro to the title. 14 matthew d. davis, “advocates and overseers: state agents of negro education in the pre-brown south,” paper presentation, aera, april 2004, san diego. 15 henry allen bullock, op cit, 135. 16 matthew d. davis, “’attuned to the art of the possible:’ the geb’s jackson davis,” american educational history journal (in press). 17 adam fairclough, “the general education board, black teachers and civil rights,” rockefeller archive center newsletter (spring 2002): 3. 18 anderson, the education of blacks in the south, 205. various correspondence, file 2008, box 209, sub-series 2, series 1, geb archives, rac. 19 dillard wrote to backman, in apparent anger, that the field work to be performed by caldwell and him might preclude their involvement in the meeting. see dillard to bachman letter, 3 april 1925, ibid. in fact, they did attend the meeting. apparently, a summons to 60 broadway was not taken lightly. 20 see various correspondence, file 8, box 129, julius rosenwald fund papers, fisk university archives. 26 21 on embree’s arrival at and reorganization of the julius rosenwald fund, see, for example, anderson and moss, dangerous donations, 199. 22 their collective respect for dillard was deep; direct confrontation of him over this issue might have been nearly impossible. 23 only brief notices are listed in the annual reports; the remarks mask the work to assign accreditation status to high schools. see, for example, annual report of the general education board, 1929-1930 (new york, 1930), 31; and annual report of the general education board, 1933-1934 (new york, 1934), 53. 24 jackson davis, “summary of statistics, negro public high schools in the southern states, 19151916,” file 2861, box 275, sub-series 2, series 1, geb archives, rac. 25 david levering lewis, w.e.b. bu bois: biography of a race, 1868-1919 (new york, 1993), 548. 26 “notes made at the conference of state agents for negro rural schools held at battery park hotel, ashville, north carolina, november 26, 27, and 28, 1921,” file 2000, box 208, sub-series 2, series 1, geb archives, rac. 27 “notes made at the conference of state agents for negro rural schools held at battery park hotel, ashville, north carolina, november 26, 27, and 28, 1921” (pages 11 and 12), file 2000, box 208, subseries 2, series 1, geb archives, rac. 28 ibid. 29 “conference of state agents for negro rural schools held at hampton institute, hampton, virginia, may 6-9, 1923,” file 2000, box 208, subseries 2, series 1, geb archives, rac. 30 “suggested program: conference state agents for negro rural schools,” file 1998, box 208, sub-series 2, series 1, geb archives, rac. 31 “conference of state agents of rural schools for negroes held at gulfport mississippi, january 7-8, 1925,” file 2000, box 208, sub-series 2, series 1, geb archives, rac. 32 h. council trenholm, “the accreditation of the negro high school,” the journal of negro education 1 (apr. 1932): 34. 33 “conference of state agents of rural schools for negroes, june 5 and 6, 1930, atlantic city, new jersey,” p. 30, file: “misc. – jeanes foundation,” box 15, mss 9498, james dillard papers, special collections library, university of virginia library. 34 newbold is extensively discussed in james l. leloudis, schooling the new south: pedagogy, self, and society in north carolina, 1880-1920 (chapel hill, 1996), 183-228. 35 ibid, p, 26. 36 “conference of state agents of rural schools for negroes, june 4 and 5, 1929, atlantic city, new jersey,” p. 21, file: “misc. – jeanes foundation,” box 15, mss 9498, james dillard papers, special collections library, university of virginia library. 37 ten of the fifteen state agents stayed in office between 1925 and 1930. and nine of these ten served at least sixteen years as state agent. see smith, builders of goodwill, 175-178. 38 trenholm, “the accreditation of the negro high school.” by the early 1930s, all southern states save south carolina officially employed african american men in these roles. see smith, builders of goodwill. in all likelihood, these individuals were the only blacks employed by most of the southern state departments of education. 39 trenholm, “the accreditation of the negro high school.” 40 “southern association of colleges and secondary schools – committee on approval of negro schools,” november 1938, file 3385, box 316, sub-series 2, series 1, geb archives, rac. 41 letter from “standing committee on approval of night schools” …”to the negro colleges and universities of the south,” 6 may 1930, file 3383, box 326, sub-series 2, series 1, geb archives, rac. 42 “mu pi lambda fraternity” photo page, college of william & mary annual (n.d., n.p.), file: davis records at the college of william & mary (1 of 3), box w/3072-e, mss 3072-f, jackson davis papers, , special collections library, university of virginia library. smith, builders of goodwill, 38. darlene joy conley, philanthropic foundations and organizational change: the case of the southern education foundation (sef) during the civil rights era (ph.d. diss., northwestern univ, 1990), 104. 43 fred mccuistion fellowship cards, general education board archives, rac. 44 see fn 3 above. 45 due, largely, to jrf funds, “(b)y 1930 over half million rural black children studied in clean, well-lit, one-to-six-room brick or clapboard buildings.” judith sealander, private wealth & public life: foundation philanthropy and the reshaping of american social policy from the progressive era to the new deal (baltimore, 1997), 69. on jrf fellowships, see jayne rae beilke, “to render better service: the role of the julius rosenwald fund fellowship program in the development of graduate and professional educational development opportunities for african americans,” phd diss. (indiana university, 1994). 46 see, for example, patrick j. gilpin and marybeth gasman, charles s. johnson: leadership beyond the veil in the age of jim crow (albany, 2003). 47 the jrf short-lived experience with urban high schools for blacks is carefully detailed by anderson in the education of blacks in the south, ch. 186. unfortunately, anderson, throughout the chapter, conflates the actions of jrf and other philanthropies, particularly geb. 48 ibid, 211. 48 ibid, 218-221. publication draft – ssch – 2004 this happened in america: harold rugg and the censure of social studies ronald w. evans san diego state university abstract: this article provides a brief overview of the rugg story, but focuses primarily on the rugg textbook controversy (1939-1941), the firestorm of criticism that led to the demise of the bestselling rugg social science textbook series and served as a prelude to what was to become a broader and longer lasting series of attacks on progressive education generally, and social studies in particular. in the late 1930s and early 1940s rugg was censured by a media storm fed by conservative patriotic and business groups who, in an un-american fashion, did not want school children, or their parents for that matter, raising questions about the basic structures of american life and the capitalist economic system. among the implications discussed is the author’s belief that it is especially important to keep alternative visions of social studies alive and to make sure that critics of a liberal or issues-centered curriculum are met with a stout defense. harold o. rugg was one of a small group of leaders of the progressive education movement centered at teachers college, columbia university, and a leader among the social frontier group that emerged in the 1930s to argue that schools should play a stronger role in helping to reconstruct the society. he was the author of an innovative and best selling series of social studies textbooks which ultimately came under attack from patriotic and business groups in the prelude to the united states involvement in world war ii. the story of his rise and fall encapsulates a significant and central story in the history of american education. the rugg story reveals a great deal about the direction of schooling in american life, the many alternative roads not taken, and the possibilities for the future. rugg's story remains important today chiefly because it reminds us that social studies as a broad and integrated field of study has potential for the development of thoughtful and caring citizens, and that it is possible for a social studies reformer to influence the course of events. rugg's work had a real impact, not only on rhetoric among theorists but on schools. his work brought an integrated and issuescentered approach to the field and to a large segment of u.s. school children during the 1930s, and thus influenced the education of a generation of u.s. citizens. his textbooks and materials sold millions of copies and ultimately inspired a controversy that changed the course of the curriculum. rugg created an avant-garde social studies program which was pedagogically advanced, instructive for those with an interest in issues-centered education and/or in teaching for social justice. he developed an approach that integrated the social sciences and history in an issues-centered program focusing on understanding and social transformation. to this day his program serves as a useful prototype for a unified social studies program focused on issues and societal problems and aimed at education for social justice. rugg envisioned an entire social studies curriculum centered around "the american problem," and aimed at leading a thousand year march to a "cooperative commonwealth." rugg's story is a reminder of the potential power of social studies reform - his materials were pedagogically sophisticated and somewhat daring, and they asked tough questions on topics that need to be addressed in a democratic society: the role of business in controlling government, the role of government in regulating business, the influence of men of wealth and property on the constitution and our form of government, the role of government in providing for the general social welfare, immigration, issues related to racial diversity, the role of the united states in world affairs, and a myriad of others. furthermore, rugg's work was built on a thoughtful rationale that combined student interest with social worth—a powerful combination that still has appeal. the rugg story is also important today because social studies as a broad, interdisciplinary and issues-centered field is currently endangered: reports on classroom practice find a pattern of instruction focused on content acquisition and a fact-myth-legend approach to history; the revival of history and mania for standards and high stakes tests are increasing an emphasis upon traditional history and narrowing the range of issues and questions discussed in schools. in the late 1930s and early 1940s rugg was censured by a media storm fed by conservative patriotic and business groups who, in an un-american fashion, did not want school children, or their parents for that matter, raising questions about the basic structures of american life and the capitalist economic system. the attack on rugg, on his ideas, textbooks and school materials was perhaps the first major battle of what i have termed "the war on social studies" (evans 2004). it is a war many educators of progressive mind are still fighting. recent literature on rugg illustrates a continuing interest in the rugg story and focuses mainly on various aspects of the textbook controversy (i. e., poland and boesenberg, 2001; riley & slaterstern, 2002; zimmerman, 2002). the rugg textbook controversy is of continuing interest for at least two reasons. it embodied several of the major strands of curriculum reform and influences, and, it was a major watershed in the history of social studies education in this country. as i have argued elsewhere, prior to the rugg textbook controversy it seemed that reflective 16 and critical approaches to social studies were in ascendance (evans, 2004). the rugg dust up marked the start of a long decline for progressive education and the beginning of a return to the disciplines. revisiting rugg’s story will underline several of the main themes of his work and highlight the fact that rugg was instrumental, a seminal thinker in the world of social studies theory and practice. in short, we can learn a great deal from his rationale, his program, and his experiences, all of which came to a head in the conflagration over the rugg textbooks. the rugg social studies program rugg's theory of social studies, which melded history and the social sciences into one continuous course, focused on helping students develop a deeper understanding of the industrialized world. in his initial publication after arriving at teachers college, rugg wrote that material should be selected by the criterion of “social worth.” to be included in the course material must contribute, “… to an interest in and appreciation of the outstanding ‘problems’ and ‘issues’ of contemporary civilization” (rugg, 1921a, p. 189). rugg argued that the vast majority of our people rarely deliberate thoughtfully on political and social matters, and that “critical judgment, instead of impulse, must be the basis upon which our social and political decisions are made.” it was, rugg held, the primary responsibility of the social studies curriculum to provide students with “knowledge about the issues of contemporary life and how they came to be what they are ... translated into tendencies to act intelligently upon them” (rugg, 1923, p. 1-2). in the early 1920s rugg and his entourage developed a series of junior high social science pamphlets which embodied these ideas. the pamphlets were problem-centered and pedagogically advanced: virtually every topic was introduced through a contemporary issue or problem connected to students' lives; the writing was lively and engaging; open-ended discussion questions were prominently featured in "open forum" and "group discussions"; the pamphlets made frequent use of photos, drawings, and cartoons; and, provocative topics were given full coverage, including potentially controversial topics such as the influence of business on government, and the influence of men of property on the development of the u.s. constitution. the pamphlets were revised and published in textbook form beginning in 1929. for the ten-year period from 1929 to 1939, the series sold 1,317,960 copies at approximately $2.00 each, and over 2,687,000 workbooks. rugg and his associates had created a unified social studies program and his books attracted worldwide attention and imitation. through force of will, brilliance, hard work and fortunate timing he had become the leading social studies educator in the united states (winters 1967). at their peak, the rugg materials were being used in more than 4,000 school districts nationwide (bagenstos 1977). the series had become a huge financial success, and represents the zenith of issues-centered social studies materials entrée into classrooms in the twentieth century. the gathering storm rugg's writings underwent a shift in the early 1930s with a more pointed advocacy of social reconstructionism and the goal of moving toward some form of "collectivism." it was, in part, these writings and subsequent media coverage of his speaking engagements which attracted the attention of self-appointed censors to rugg's work. his success as an author, combined with his affiliation with unpopular causes, made him a target for criticism. in 1934, rugg was listed as a "communist" in elizabeth dilling's (1934) the red network. during 1935 rugg spoke out against american legion attempts to censor a classroom magazine, scholastic, because of its perceived liberal bias. for the balance of the decade, in a series of major speeches, rugg attacked patriotic societies, the advertising federation of america, the national association of manufacturers, the united states chamber of commerce, and the new deal itself. by 1939, against the backdrop of dictatorship and war, controversies over the rugg textbooks spread like wildfire, and the american public was treated to a spectacle that received continuing national media coverage. the bulk of the attacks came from a combine of business writers and publicists, retired military of the american legion, professional journalists, and a few loose cannons. the flames were fanned by extensive coverage in the hearst press. bertie c. forbes, in his own magazine, attacked the rugg textbooks in an article titled "treacherous teachings" in which he charged rugg with being against private enterprise and urged boards of education to "cast out" the rugg books (forbes, 1939). the advertising federation of america, led by alfred t. falk, attacked the books for carrying "antiadvertising propaganda." merwin k. hart, president of the new york state economic council, charged rugg with "making a subtle sugar-coated effort to convert youth to communism," and suggesting that capitalism "has been a failure and that socialism should be substituted in its place" (myers, 1940, p. 17). controversies over the books in a number of cities and towns followed a typical pattern: a complaint, followed by the appointment of a committee to investigate, then debate and, frequently, 17 public hearings. in a number of well-publicized cases, rugg appeared in person to defend the textbook series. the outcome of the controversy varied from place to place. binghamton, new york, and englewood, new jersey, had major controversies covered extensively by local and national media. in a number of cities and towns, including binghamton, the books were removed. in bradner, ohio, the superintendent ordered the books taken down to the furnace room and burned. the next round of controversy was generated by two articles which appeared in widely read, nationally circulated magazines. the first of these was an article by augustin g. rudd published in the april, 1940, issue of nation’s business, titled, "our 'reconstructed' educational system." rudd posited that the "entire educational system" had been "reconstructed" with textbooks and courses teaching "that our economic and political institutions are decadent" (rudd, 1940, p. 27). he blamed the widespread teaching of "social science," ... [instead of] ... history, geography and u. s. government" and cited the rugg textbooks as the major culprit. he argued that rugg "subtly but surely implied a need for a state-planned economy and socialism" and aimed "to undermine the faith of children in the american way of life" (rudd 1940, p. 94). the second article, by orlen k. armstrong, titled, "treason in the textbooks," appeared in the american legion magazine for september, 1940, and was distributed to one million homes. the article contained a bitter denunciation of the writers and teachers of the "new history," and charged that rugg sought to "cast doubt" upon the "patriotism" of the founding fathers and the constitution and "to condemn the american system" of private enterprise and inculcate "collectivism" (armstrong, 1940, pp. 51, 70). armstrong attacked fused courses like rugg's and described them as "propaganda for a change in our political, economic, and social order" (armstrong, 1940, p. 9). meanwhile the entire controversy garnered increasing national attention. according to an article in time magazine, by the end of the spring term in 1940, the rugg textbooks had been banned from a half-dozen school systems. critics objected to the rugg texts, the article reported, "for picturing the u.s. as a land of unequal opportunity, and giving a class conscious account of the framing of the u.s. constitution" (book burnings, 1940, pp. 64-65). the storm unleashed the next major development in the rugg story raised the stakes considerably as it involved the activities of the national association of manufacturers (nam), a mainstream organization with considerable resources. on december 11, 1940, the new york times reported that the nam announced that it would initiate a survey of textbooks then in use in the schools to see if it could find evidence of subversive teaching. ralph robey, an assistant professor of banking at columbia university, and a columnist for newsweek, was hired by the nam to prepare a series of abstracts of some 800 current social studies textbooks to show the author's attitudes toward government and business. on saturday, february 22, 1941, a headline at the top of the front page of the new york times read: "un-american tone seen in textbooks on social sciences: survey of 600 used in schools, finds a distorted emphasis on defects of democracy, only a few called red." the article reported that a "substantial portion" of the social science textbooks used in schools "tend to criticize our form of government and the system of private enterprise" (fine, 1941, p. 1). the article cited the controversy over the rugg textbooks and noted that several school systems had banned his books from the classroom (fine, 1941, pp. 1, 6). the story, including the reference to the rugg controversy, appeared on the front page. internal memoranda from the files of the nam suggest that many in the organization's offices were rather squeamish about the entire enterprise, and feared that it could result in negative publicity for business and the nam. as it turned out, these worries were well founded. protests, corrections, and replies to dr. robey's findings came quickly. leaders of the national council for the social studies (ncss) made immediate contact with leaders of the nam asking whether it "repudiates or endorses" robey's statement (hunt, 1941a). nam president, walter d. fuller responded that robey's criticisms were his "personal opinion only" (fuller, 1941). later, after a storm of stories and editorials in the press, the nam attempted to further distance itself from the controversy (hunt, 1941b, p. 328). the aftermath the defense against the attacks on the rugg textbooks was mounted on several fronts. the academic freedom committee of ncss issued a statement and prepared "a packet … on freedom of teaching in the social studies area," which included a 66 page booklet on fending off attacks on textbooks (curti, 1941). the council of the american historical association asked professor arthur m. schlesinger to draft a statement regarding controversial issues in textbooks. the statement, approved by the council, gave strong support for the inclusion of controversial questions in "the historical account," and for encouraging a "spirit of inquiry" in young people (american historical association, 1941, p. 488). rugg himself was undoubtedly the chief advocate for the defense of social studies, and the rugg textbooks, against the attackers. numerous friends and colleagues also rushed to his defense. one of the most active groups were the american 18 committee on democracy and intellectual freedom (acdif, 1941), the association of textbook publishers, and rugg's associates on the journal frontiers of democracy. even john dewey came to rugg's defense in an opinion editorial which appeared in the new york times (dewey, 1940). dewey defended rugg on the grounds of intellectual freedom even though he didn't always agree with rugg's ideas or actions, and clearly did not think of rugg as a major thinker (dewey, 1944). rugg gave an able defense of his work, and attempted to meet every attack directly, appearing in person whenever it was possible. rugg's confrontations with his accusers followed a familiar pattern. first, he would be accused of being a communist, then he would be criticized over his plan for a “socialistic” society in the great technology (1933). when pressed, critic after critic would admit that they had not read the books. under siege on every side, rugg wrote an autobiographical work to tell his side of the story. based on a confidential memo (rugg, 1940), that men may understand was published in april, 1941, and received generally favorable reviews. publishers weekly endorsed the book and joined rugg in attacking his critics, accusing dilling, forbes, and hart of working on "the prejudices of the american people" and calling rugg's book "a vigorous and adequate reply to his critics" (publishers weekly, 1941, p. 1533). discussion of the attacks continued in the professional literature. one article, written by a school superintendent, argued that many of the attacks were part of a deliberate effort to undermine "public confidence in the schools so that school appropriations may be reduced" (dannelly, 1941, p. 32). another author provided a larger historical context for the attacks and suggested that they were part of a larger "war on social studies" (gould, 1941, pp. 83-91). the real animus of the critics, he wrote, "is against the whole modern conception of the social studies as a realistic approach to life" (gould, 1941, p. 90). in opposition to the critics, he argued that young people have "the right to know what the world is all about and to learn what can be done about it" (gould, 1941, p. 91). as it turned out, february 22, 1941, the date of the robey story, was a watershed in the war on social studies. tension had been building while the movement for integrated social studies and a focus on issues and problems with a meliorist or reconstructionist purpose gathered steam. after the robey article, the tide turned. by 1943 american legion officers believed they had ousted rugg’s textbooks from approximately 1500 communities (shumaker, 1943). by the middle of the decade, the rugg textbook series had virtually disappeared. though he never admitted it publicly or with colleagues, the loss of his textbook series and the leadership and prestige it had given him left rugg deeply hurt, largely alone, ostracized from his previous leadership role (evers, 2003; alling, 2005). rugg continued to teach and write but focused on scholarly work and college level textbooks, giving up his efforts to revolutionize social studies in schools. many years later, rugg briefly commented on the “diabolical” and “fascist groups” behind the textbook controversy such as merwin k. hart and the new york economic council. he noted that it was only when extremist groups “got the american legion to work with them” that they “succeeded, in three years time, in putting my books out of the schools” (rugg, 1956). despite the controversy, rugg continued to maintain his beliefs, and continued to support education for social reconstruction, though his public profile was forever altered and subdued. on may 17, 1960, rugg died of a heart attack at his home in woodstock. reflections several questions deserve further comment. previous reviewers of the rugg materials have disagreed over the degree to which the textbooks reflected rugg’s social vision. one writer called the text series “quite moderate,” and suggests that they did not reflect his “more radical views” (stanley, 1982). another pair of authors concluded that, “there can be little doubt that the books clearly echo his own socioeconomic orientation” (carbone & wilson, 1995). my own look at the rugg texts suggests that they were progressive in orientation and relatively moderate in outlook, given the rhetoric of the times. they also contained a great deal of narrative history and dramatic stories well told, as well as stimulating photos and cartoons. they were, decidedly, oriented toward raising serious questions in the minds of students about the social and economic institutions of the nation. yet they were typical of many progressive texts of the era. it is also interesting to consider the origins and true nature of the controversy. though at least one scholar has argued that there was a grassroots rebellion against the rugg textbooks (zimmerman, 2002), my research strongly suggests that the movement to oust rugg’s texts from schools was orchestrated by a small group of interconnected critics, led by the american legion and business leaders. perhaps a more important question is, what was behind the textbook critics’ animus toward rugg? what would motivate such a sustained, expensive and determined campaign? criticism of the rugg social studies textbooks and program materialized from the concerns of several individuals and groups who held a competing definition of “the american way” and a vision of america’s future quite different from the one advanced by harold rugg and other “frontier thinkers.” the american legion’s critics and their campaign against rugg perhaps best exemplifies this. 19 rudd, marshall, west, fries, shumaker, chaillaux, armstrong and other legionnaires had a sincere belief in a traditional and conservative version of the american way, one that lionized america’s founders and heroes, one that perpetuated and celebrated the cultural mythology of the nation they loved and had fought for. it is important to keep in mind that the context of the depression, the advent of the new deal, the rise of totalitarianism in various forms, and the general tensions generated by all of these factors were instrumental in the focus of critics on social and economic issues in “subversive” textbooks. during the early and middle parts of the 1930s, in the depths of the depression, american capitalism was coming under fire and was seriously questioned like never before. rugg’s books seemed to exemplify that questioning stance. by the late 1930s the context for questioning american institutions, and capitalism in particular, shifted dramatically. what had been permitted during the heights of the nation’s economic misery was suddenly out-of-place in a world in which survival itself was in question. patriotic americans became more concerned about the threat of subversion. the rugg textbooks were a convenient sacrificial lamb. moreover, the forces supporting educational reaction were well-entrenched, highly organized, and quite powerful. several of rugg’s critics exemplified and frequently expressed the ideological and cultural fundamentalism that lay behind their attacks. the american legion had a long history of promoting their fundamentalist view of “americanism” which stressed a rather extreme faith in traditional american institutions, as if they should remain constant and unchanging, and fear of any perceived threats to the status quo (gellerman, 1938). an equally strong example of reactionary thought, the national republic magazine, reads as a primer on cultural fundamentalism, supporting traditional american institutions including constitutional representative government, laissez-faire capitalism, christianity, and traditional education, and opposing any movements “inimical to american ideals, traditions and institutions.” among these “inimical” movements were socialism, communism, atheism, subversion, and “ruggism” or any other form of non-traditional social studies. aside from the question of its origins and its focus primarily on rugg, the textbook controversy also raised troubling questions about academic freedom, about the role and influence of textbook criticism, and about the supposed “neutrality” of education on social questions. to be sure, schools and school textbooks had never been neutral. since the founding of the american common school they had advanced a traditional love of country, support for american institutions, and a conservative patriotism (elson 1964). one of the questions raised by the rugg textbooks was whether schools and textbooks should raise difficult fundamental questions about american structures and institutions? it was clear that many critics did not want alternative or critical ideas presented or discussed in schools. the controversy also raised difficult questions about the fine line between balanced discussion of issues and social criticism, about the relationship between a textbook author’s point-of-view and the portrayal of issues and institutions, past and present, contained in texts. indoctrination of some sort was inevitable, especially in the early grades. but how far should it go, and what were its limits? the rugg textbook controversy also brought the social studies wars over curricular issues to the forefront. critics and patrioteers were unified in their condemnation of the new approach to social studies represented by the rugg program and textbooks. instead of an integrated, “omnibus” social studies that opened the door to the social sciences and allowed space in the curriculum for some discussion of critical questions, they wanted a return to traditional history, taught in a traditional manner and centered on developing an appreciation for the american past and a deep love and respect for american institutions. the rugg textbook controversy also raised key questions of curricular hegemony. was the curriculum the sovereign province of teachers, administrators, curriculum supervisors, professors of education, textbook authors and other “experts,” was it something to be decided by parents, taxpayers, and the american public, or would it ultimately be controlled, or at least framed or hemmed in, by the most persistent, vocal, well organized and financed critics? to what extent would it be limited by clouds of suspicion, hearsay and innuendo? this question in particular, the question of who controls the curriculum, was deeply related to the broad progressive challenge to give experts increased control in a variety of areas of american life, while at the same time giving the average citizen leverage and access in both political and cultural institutions. some years after his retirement, rugg captured the essence of his attempt to change social studies in schools, suggesting that the schools should insist on a curriculum that asks children, “what do you think?” in reflecting on that question, he mused, “why, it’s revolutionary! … an authoritarian world will not allow that question to be asked” (rugg, 1956). in this brief statement, rugg summarized both the pedagogical move at the very heart of his social science curriculum, and the essence of his critics’ perspective. in the present era, it is especially important to keep alternative visions alive, to nurture deep dreams of justice and fair play, and to make sure that critics of a liberal or issues-centered social studies are met with a stout defense. the attacks on rugg, and especially 20 the sustained campaign carried on by the american legion, present early examples of the power of interest group financing and organization. recently, the revival of traditional history, supported by similar forms of interest group financing, has had a significant influence on the direction of the social studies curriculum (evans, 2004; ross & marker, 2005; stehle, 1997; selden, 2004; singer, 2005). given the interest strong interest among the professoriate in critical and social justice approaches to education, the current context of continuing national support for standards, centralized curriculum making, and high-stakes testing, and the present climate of national and international crisis, it behooves us to be aware of, or be defeated by, the successes, the failures, and the mistakes—the "lessons”—of harold rugg. references acdif press release (1941). 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(1964). guardians of tradition: american schoolbooks of the 19th century. lincoln: university of nebraska press. evans, r. w. (2004). the social studies wars: what should we teach the children? newyork: teachers college press. evers, a. (2003). interview with alf evers, woodstock resident, town historian and author, and a personal friend of rugg, woodstock, new york, june 14, 2003, conducted by the author. fine, b. (1941). "un-american tone seen in textbooks on social sciences." the new york times, 22 february (late city edition), pp. 1, 6. forbes, b. c. (1939). "treacherous teaching." forbes (15 august), p. 8. fuller, w. d. (1941). walter d. fuller telegram to wilbur murra, 24 february 1941, file 1, box 2, series 7, committee records, academic freedom committeecorrespondence, ncss archives, milbank memorial library, teachers college, columbia university. gellerman, w. (1938). the american legion as educator. new york: teachers college, columbia university. gould, k. m. (1941). "the war on social studies." common ground (autumn): 83-91. hunt, e. m. (1941a). "dr. robey versus the nam?" social education, 5 (4): 288-292. hunt, e. m. (1941b). "the nam restates its policy." social education, 5 (5): 328. myers, a. f. (1940). "the attacks on the rugg books." frontiers of democracy, 7 (55): 17 21. nelson, m. r. (1977). "the development of the rugg social studies materials." theory and research in social education, 5 (1): 64-83. publishers’ weekly. (1941). “editorial: rugg serves freedom of education,” publishers weekly, 139, (april 12, 1941), p. 1533. riley, k. l. & stern, b. s. (2003/2004). ‘a bootlegged curriculum’: the american legion versus harold rugg. international journal of social education, 18, no. 2: 62-75. ross, e. w. & marker, p. m. (eds.) (2005). social studies: wrong, right, or left?: a critical response to the fordham institute’s where did social studies go wrong? the social studies, 96 (4, 5). rudd, a. g. (1940). "our "reconstructed" educational system." nation's business, april pp. 27-28, 93-94. 21 rugg, h. o. (1921a). how shall we reconstruct the social studies curriculum? an open letter to professor henry johnson commenting on committee procedure as illustrated by the report of the joint committee on history and education for citizenship, historical outlook, 7 (no. 5, may), pp. 184-189. rugg, h. o. (1923). problems of contemporary life as the basis for curriculum-making in social studies. in h. o. rugg (ed.). the social studies in the elementary and secondary school. twentysecond yearbook of the national society for the study of education, part ii. bloomington, il: public school publishing co. rugg, h. o. (1933). the great technology: social chaos and the public mind. new york: john day. rugg, h. o. (1940). confidential analysis of the current (1939-1940) attacks on the rugg social science series, prepared by harold rugg in mayjune 1940,“ harold rugg” folder, box 58, william f. russell papers, milbank memorial library, teachers college, columbia university. rugg, h. o. (1941). that men may understand: an american in the long armistice. new york: doubleday and doran. rugg, h. o. (1956). rugg speaking at the new york geriatric society, cold spring, new york, june 15, 1956, cold spring tapes, tape #1, side 1. selden, s. (2004). "the neo-conservative assault on the undergraduate curriculum." paper presented at the annual meeting of the american educational research association, san diego, april, 2004. shumaker, r. w. (1943). r. worth shumaker to john e. thomas, august 4, 1943, legion dead-letter files. cited in jones, o. e. (1959). activities of the american legion in textbook analysis and criticism. doctoral dissertation, university of oklahoma, norman, p. 82. singer, a. (2005). strange bedfellows: the contradictory goals of the coalition making war on social studies. the social studies, 96 (5): 199205. stanley, w. b. (1982). a reinterpretation of harold rugg’s role in the foundation of modern social education. journal of thought, 17, 85-94. stehle, v. (1997). "righting philanthropy." the nation, 30 june, pp. 15-20. winters, e. a. (1967). man and his changing society: the textbooks of harold rugg. history of education quarterly, 7, 509-510. zimmerman, j. (2002). whose america?: culture wars in the public schools. cambridge: harvard university press, 2002. title 7 global education in the united states: a retrospective, 1976-2000 thomas a. kessinger xavier university "the flattening of the world…has presented us with new opportunities, new challenges, new partners but also, alas, new dangers, particularly as americans…it is imperative that we be the best global citizens we can be…" (p. 468). thomas l. friedman (2005) introduction the subject of "global education" has ebbed and flowed in the united states over the past thirty years even though the movement's roots date back to the 1960s. this manuscript offers a look at various notions and definitions of global education, then identifies advocates for global education, and—in the process—reviews the literature of the movement from 1976-2000. according to kniep (1985a), increased interest in global education first began in the united states in the 1960s. popular thinkers as well as scholarly writers raised the issue of globalization. events such as the consideration of north american free trade caused people to consider the international environment. fuller (1970) used the metaphor "spaceship earth" to convey a vision of the planet and its inhabitants as a closed system requiring all working together for survival and maintenance. earlier mcluhan (1964) detailed how the media have transformed the world into a "global village." reischauer (1974) and others told of the world in the process of becoming a single great mass of humanity—"a global community" (p. 3). technology and progress were encouraged and desired until carson (1962) wrote her best seller detailing the negative effects of pesticides. ehrlich (1968) talked extensively about unmanageable world population growth. toffler (1970) recounted the unsettling way that change occurs before its impact can be absorbed. so, as writers penned their warnings and as world events occurred and changed public awareness and opinion, global education began to take form. as a result, some states and professional organizations developed position statements on global education. definitions of global education in the literature there are many definitions of global or international education. in fact the encyclopedia of educational research (1982) indicated global and international education are often interchanged and (either one) is "the purposeful movement of ideas and scholars across cultural and geographic boundaries…" (p. 946). there is not a precise and meaningful definition of global education for every situation. goodlad (1979) wrote there are no "readily available, comprehensive, self-contained definitions, descriptions, and analyses of what global education is" (p. 3). according to smith (1994) in his "brief history" of the field: during the past four decades global and international studies education moved from the periphery into the mainstream of american elementary and secondary education. hundreds of global and international studies projects launched teacher education programs and published thousands of articles, books and supplemental materials….rationales, frameworks, and lists of goals and objectives abound which take on the task of defining what is meant by global education. (p.16) the literature includes the following terms related to global education: global awareness, international awareness, worldly-minded, global perspective, global understanding, global knowledge, international education, global or world studies, and cross-cultural studies. earlier, lamy (1983) reported that: global or international education has been defined, in general terms, as all education which has anything to do with the interactions between sovereign states or non-state actors (e.g., transnational enterprises, international organizations) with international concerns. a more specific definition is dependent upon the goals, priorities, values, and purposes of the defining party. (p. 10) in spite of the variety of definitions, however, the key term is global education. one can approach a working definition of global education for use here in this paper by looking across some other offerings. the michigan department of education (1978), an early pioneer and major proponent of global education, focused on two aspects of the subject and defined global education as: …the lifelong growth in understanding through study and participation, of the world community and the interdependency of its people and systems—social, cultural, racial, economic, linguistic, technological, and ecological. global education requires an understanding of the values and the priorities of the many cultures of the world as well as the acquisition of basic concepts and principles related to the world community. global education leads to implementation and application of the global perspective in striving for just and peaceful solutions to world problems. (p. 3) in this definition global perspective and global understanding or knowledge are stressed. other writers emphasized the same components of global education. the following paragraphs will highlight "global perspective," the first of two major parts of global education. 8 global perspective the literature includes a number of studies in which the global perspectives of educators have been examined (for example, findlay, 1988; kolo, 1993; meeks, 1992; o'malley, 1983; richards, 1979; stamp, 1994; wieber, 1982). o'malley's work (1983) emphasized educators' (specifically administrators') global perspectives in focusing on a related term, "worldmindedness." she defined this "as a value orientation toward the human race rather than knowledge or interest in international relations" (p. 2). she summarized who the world-minded person is by writing i submit the following: this person has become or is becoming an integrated individual, skilled in the art of human relations and conscious of the wide variety of behaviors in the world, rooted in family, country and culture but, at the same time, able to identify with people of other countries and cultures. informed about the contemporary world scene, the world-minded individual is concerned about improving the conditions of the human family. buttressed by a positive faith or philosophy of life whose basic tenets can be seen in a universal sense, the world-minded person believes that global cooperation and education are desirable as well as possible and wants to promote them. (pp. 23-24) later, meeks (1992) in his texas study attempted to show the relationship between educators' global perspectives and their willingness to adopt components of global education. he concluded that these educators "see the value of including elements of global education into the curriculum to meet the demands of a changing world" (p. 63). furthermore, he found global perspective is "an attitude which educators possess in varying degrees" (p. 63). finally, he offered a list of suggestions to enhance educators' global perspectives. a.h. wilson (1994) stated: "teaching toward a global future, then…requires teachers who will teach toward openmindedness. to do that, teachers require…perceptual understanding…(p. 54). other researchers, bruce, podemski, and anderson (1991) have recommended including a "global perspective" or perceptual understanding in teacher education programs. however, they noted the possible confusion of global perspective, global education and international education. "teacher educators may be unaware of what global education means and how it differs from similar educational topics, such as international education. moreover, definitions of the terms international education and global education overlap" (p. 22). indeed kobus (1983) acknowledged some confusion over the three terms, international, global education, and global perspective, which were being employed interchangeably. she, as referenced by meeks (1992), identified some discrepancies in the meanings of the terms: this choice of designation is a significant one because it is the point of divergence in defining the field and therefore in planning curriculum, programs and teacher inservice training. both international and global education imply a specifically delineated structured discipline typically assigned to social studies. international education is based on the study of various geographical and cultural areas of the world; global education incorporates this content but views world areas as parts of larger, interacting, interdependent systems expressed and studied through global issues. a global perspectives approach, on the other hand, is based not on implementing new courses or extensively redesigning curricular content, but on the infusion and integration into the curriculum at all levels of an awareness of emerging global concepts such as those of change, conflict, communication, and interdependency. furthermore, global perspective implies dealing with affective content and stresses student acquisition of competencies which incorporate essential knowledge, skills, and attitudes. (pp.10-11) according to tucker and cistone (1991), a global perspective transcends courses on world geography and world history; "it requires a holistic approach that gives students an understanding of themselves and their relationship to the world community" (p. 3). as noted by merryfield (1991) in a status report involving american teachers, the national council for the social studies in 1982 called for global perspectives in all social studies education, defining "global perspectives as developing the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to live effectively in a world possessing limited natural resources and characterized by ethnic diversity, cultural pluralism, and increasing interdependence" (p. 11). indeed promoting a "global perspective" is a key goal of global education according to numerous researchers (alladin, 1989; l.f. anderson, 1992; case, 1993; iglitzin, 1984; kniep, 1985b; k.a. tye, 1990). hanvey (1976, reprinted 1979) authored the classic work to date: an attainable global perspective. in it he offered the landmark five dimensions of the global perspective paradigm: 1. perspective consciousness—the "recognition or awareness on the part of the individual that he or she has a view of the world that is not universally shared…and that others have views of the world that are profoundly different from one's own" (p. 4). 2. "state of the planet"—the "awareness of prevailing world conditions and developments, including emergent conditions and trends, e.g., population growth, migrations, economic conditions, resources and physical environment, political developments, science and technology, etc." (p. 6). 3. cross-cultural—the "awareness of the diversity of ideas and practices to be found in human societies around the world, of how such ideas and practices compare, and including some limited recognition of how the ideas and ways of one's own society might be viewed from other vantage points" (p. 8). 9 4. knowledge of global dynamics—"some modest comprehension of key traits and mechanisms of the world system, with emphasis on theories and concepts that may increase intelligent consciousness of global change" (p. 13). 5. awareness of human choices—"some awareness of the problems of choice confronting individuals, nations, and the human species as consciousness and knowledge of how the global system expands" (p. 22). significantly, and certainly with a large measure of humility, hanvey described his account as: "a beginning effort to define some elements of what we call a global perspective—to flesh out some of the things that we need to know and understand if we are to cope with the challenges of an increasingly interdependent world" (p. 1). case (1993) assumed hanvey's model and identified the perceptual aspect that "describes an orientation or outlook…global perspective refers to the capacity to see the 'whole picture' whether focusing on a local or an international matter" (p. 318). furthermore, according to case (1993), the perceptual serves as the basis of the observation that global education is a way of looking at the world. earlier tye (1990) in his introduction to the association for supervision and curriculum development's global education: from thought to action, said global education "involves perspective taking—seeing things through the eyes and minds of others—and it means the realization that while individuals and groups may view life differently, they also have common needs and wants" (p. 5). integration of understanding with global education although "perspective" is a major dimension of global education and one which has filled the literature, another aspect is understanding or substantive knowledge. in a statement issued by the michigan department of education in 1978, both perspective and understanding of knowledge were included. hanvey (1979) offered a definition that includes both perspective and knowledge. this statement has had a significant influence on the field of global education. in it he stated: education for a global perspective is that learning which enhances the individual's ability to understand his or her condition in the community and the world and improves the ability to make effective judgments [author's italics]. it includes the study of nations, cultures, and civilizations, including our own pluralistic society and the societies of other peoples, with a focus on understanding how these are all interconnected and how they change, and on the individual's responsibility in this process. it provides the individual with a realistic perspective on world issues, problems and prospects, and an awareness of the relationships between an individual's enlightened self-interest and the concerns of people elsewhere in the world. (p. i) a decade later, tye (1990) said global education also "involves learning about those problems and issues that cut across national boundaries, and about the interconnectedness of systems— ecological, cultural, economic, political, and technological" (p. 5). wilson (1994) and case (1991) indicated global education can be divided into four sub-areas, two of which are perceptual [or global perspective] and substantive knowledge. wilson (1994) noted that "a knowledge base is critical for teachers, beginning with what is going on wherein the world, the locations of places on a world map and a familiarity with current events" (p. 54). kniep's (1986) account of global education primarily reflected the substantive dimension as well, although he referenced the perceptual dimension at several points. for example, he mentioned that global education will change students' perspectives on their own worldview and contribute to a sense of interconnectedness (pp. 438-439). however, the title of his article revealed his major point of emphasis: "defining a global education by its content." he identified four elements that serve as the core of global education: human values, global system, global issues and problems, and global history. likewise wieber (1982) emphasized the knowledge component as he assessed the global knowledge of sixty-two teachers in a study of an american-sponsored overseas school. he identified a group of thirteen global issues (energy, food, health, population, race and ethnicity, arts and culture, distribution of natural characteristics, international monetary and trade arrangements, human rights, wards and armaments, environment, relations among states, religious issues), defined each one, and surveyed the teachers regarding what they knew about each issue. tye and tye (1992) offered another and current definition of global education which closely resembles earlier attempts. in fact, the first part of the definition is the same as what was included in tye's (1990) work; namely: it "involves learning about those problems and issues that cut across national boundaries, and about the interconnectedness of systems—ecological, cultural, economic, political, technological" (p. 5). indeed the knowledge component of global education is equally important to the perceptual or perspective component reviewed earlier from the literature. rationale for global education the field of global education is popular in the literature; and, global knowledge is an important dimension of global education. researchers have advanced reasons why global education is timely and why it should be taught at all levels in schools in the united states. c.m anderson (1979) submitted that global education was important for the following reasons: 1. the u.s. is rapidly being drawn into a complex global society with an even greater interdependence among nations and peoples. 10 2. there is an urgent need to educate citizens in this country to global understandings [knowledge] and responsibilities. 3. there is little or no evidence to indicate that americans are becoming more internationally minded. indeed many observers seem to think that americans are becoming more provincial. 4. the schools are the most logical place to begin preparing americans to function successfully as citizens of a country that must provide world leadership. 5. the educational enterprise, from the u.s. office of education [now the department of education] to state departments of education, to the colleges and universities, to secondary and elementary schools, to preschools are, with few notable exceptions, almost totally provincial in outlook and programs. 6. there is a need for a dramatic shift in emphasis, so that students at all levels and in all disciplines will have an opportunity to develop the understandings [knowledge] and skills required to be literate in a global society. (p. 111) the president's commission on foreign language and international studies (1979) stated: "international content should be a part of the teaching of all subjects, and within the capabilities of all teachers. this requires priority in both curriculum development and the professional development of teachers" (pp. 2-3). since anderson and others' pleas, some educational entities have attempted to promote global education at various levels at selected institutions. l.f. anderson (1990) also went beyond a definition in his research. he set forth a rationale that includes a threefold argument in support of global education: (1) in the past two decades three basic historical changes in the social structure of the world have converged; (2) because of this conjuncture of historical trends, american society became more globalized in the 1970s and 1980s and will likely become even more so in the 1990s and beyond; and, (3) education mirrors society in the sense that social change generates educational change. (p. 14) in other words, anderson emphasized that global interdependence is rapidly increasing, american society (especially the economy and culture) is more globalized, and education must change and become more globalized. to not make education more global would be "intellectually stupid and socially irresponsible because we would be putting at risk the children we love, the students we teach, and the nation we cherish" (p. 33). in his discussion, he noted the global interdependence in economics: the world's once largely separated local, national and regional economies have been progressively incorporated into a single global economy….a rapidly growing portion of humankind has become dependent as both workers and consumers on these world markets….international organizations have developed that make and shape trade, monetary, and credit policy at the global level, for example, the general agreement on tariffs and trade [gatt], the international monetary fund, and the world bank. (p. 15) the world's nations are growing increasingly interdependent as evidenced by theeuropean community, the north american free trade agreements, and organization of petroleum exporting countries. for the united states, according to reich (1992), "the global economy is tightly linking our citizens to the citizens of other nations—linkages as strong as, if not stronger than, the economic connections binding us to one another within our borders" (p. 320). global education, according to osunde (1984), emphasized the idea of "global society and the interdependence of nations and peoples" (p. 149). indeed the present generation lives in a world society marked by a plethora of interdependent activities. consequently, the reality is the united states is becoming more globalized, and the world is becoming more interconnected and interdependent. global education in the united states the united states has no real choice in deciding whether or not to globalize education. as c.c. anderson (1982) stated, "the only real issues are how, and with what degree of quality, and how rapidly will american education become more globalized" (p. 161). today more and more colleges seem to be demanding or encouraging that students opt for global education-related courses in the undergraduate programs. according to pickert (1992), colleges and universities in the u.s. are incorporating their goals for international education into campuswide strategic plans and enriching academic disciplines with a comparative and international view. institutions are revising curricula to alert all students to the languages and cultures of other countries, while creating faculty development opportunities that stress an international outlook. (p. 61) according to swift (1980), global education is a natural, holistic, interdisciplinary way or relating the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and experiences young people will need to live in tomorrow's global community. global education aims to increase student awareness of cultural, political, and economic interdependence in the world of the past, present, and the future. gilliom (1981) maintained that global education must be designed to cultivate a worldview and to develop knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to live effectively in a culturally diverse world characterized by increasing economic and social interdependency. moreover, students need to learn that there is more to the united states than being a part of a family, state, and nation. since nations are functioning much more interdependently today than ever before—as exemplified by 11 the iraqi freedom coalition force, the g-7 or 8 group of nations, the european community, gatt, the expansion of nato—it is time students learn about these group as fellow participants in shaping a larger human culture. turner (1974) accurately foresaw this phenomenon in an earlier work. students should be given the opportunity to explore the realm of other ideals and values by being exposed to various thought patters and philosophies (c.c. anderson, 1982). global education should be given an important place in colleges and universities, particularly teachers' colleges and schools of education. since much of educational policy has been based on public expectations, the public—through state legislatures and other law-or policy-making bodies—should expect the colleges and universities to teach global concepts to students; and these same legislative bodies should require a more global citizen as a result of public schooling experiences. according to l.f. anderson (1992), as the world becomes more interconnected and as society in the united states becomes more deeply integrated into the world system, pressure will be brought to bear on education in the u.s. to globalize its curriculum. the president's commission on foreign language and international studies (1979) had recommended that if america's children are to function successfully as adults in the twenty-first century, they must grow up "with more knowledge about our interdependent world, keener awareness of other peoples, and greater sensitivity to those people's attitudes and customs" (p. 48). private initiatives promoting global education there is a need for global education as evidenced in the literature as well as from contributions offered by two private groups, the national council for the social studies and the american forum for global education. both groups put forth major efforts to help educators and policymakers determine what should be in a viable global education program. the national council for the social studies (1994) prepared a major source document, curriculum standards for social studies, that impacts the aims and purposes of social studies and global education programs. these standards define what students should learn in social studies programs in grades k-12. the standards are noted in the following ten general strands or themes (see p. 15): i culture ii time, continuity, and change iii people, places, and environment iv individual development and identity v individuals, groups, and institutions vi power, authority, and governance vii production, distribution, and consumption viii science, technology, and society ix global connections x civic ideals and practices indeed some of these strands relate directly (for example, “global connections”) and others indirectly to global education. “global connections” are defined below. the realities of global interdependence require understanding the increasingly important and diverse global connections among world societies and the frequent tension between national interests and global priorities. students will need to able to address such international issues as health care, the environment, human rights, economic competition and interdependence, age-old ethnic enmities, and political and military alliances. (p.xii) all ten strands are interrelated, and they draw from all the social science disciplines and other related fields of scholarly study. in other words, "global connections" is related to: culture; time, continuity, and change; power, authority, and governance; production, distribution, and consumption; and, civic ideals and practices. to fully understand one strand, one has to understand the other related strands. the other major contributor to setting standards was the american forum for global education whose authors, collins, czarra, and smith (1996), presented guidelines for global and international studies education. this document was intended for a national audience who—even though academic standards for global and international studies had previously been identified and noted in some disciplines [social studies]—still did not know “which global issues should be included or what u.s. students should be expected to know and understand about the world” (p. 1). furthermore, these authors were concerned with other key issues: what skills and attitudes will our students need to confront future problems, which most assuredly will be global in scope? how are global and international dimensions of learning being addressed by the new [discipline-based] academic standards? what do scholars from the international relations disciplines and experienced practitioners of global education believe students should know, and how can these insights best be incorporated into existing standards? what global and international education guidelines are appropriate for pre-collegiate education? how will schools implement these guidelines when confronted with so many other problems? what should students know about the united states and its connections to the world? (pp.1-6) conclusion today, as evidenced in the literature, it is generally agreed that global education is relevant and necessary. recall boyer (1983) said: if education cannot help students see beyond themselves and better understand the interdependent nature of our world, each new generation will remain ignorant and its capacity to live comfortably and responsibly will be dangerously diminished. (p. 4) 12 references alkin, m.c. (ed.). (1992). teacher education. in encyclopedia of educational research, vol. 4. new york: macmillan. alladin, i. (1989). teaching for global awareness. alberta teachers' association magazine, 69, 6-11. anderson, c.c. (1982). global education in the classroom. theory into practice, 21(3), 168-176. anderson, c.m. (1979). will schools educate for global understanding and responsibility? phi delta kappan, 61(2), 110-111. anderson, l.f. 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(1983). defining global education. educational research quarterly, 8(1), 9-22. mcluhan, m. (1964). understanding media: the extensions of man. new york: mcgraw-hill. meeks, g.b. (1992). the relationship between educators' global perspective and their receptivity to the inclusion of elements of global education in the curriculum (doctoral dissertation, university of north texas, 1992). dissertation abstracts international, 53, a2667. merryfield, m.m. (1991). preparing american secondary social studies teachers to teach with a global perspective: a status report. journal of teacher education, 42, 11-20. michigan department of education. (1978). global education. lansing, mi: author. mitzel, h.e. (ed.). (1982). global education. encyclopedia of educational research (5th ed., vol. 2). new york: the free press. national council for the social studies. (1994). expectations of excellence: curriculum standards for social studies [ncss bulletin 89]. washington, dc: author. o'malley, e.m. (1983). global awareness of administrators in higher education in the state of oregon (doctoral dissertation, portland state university, 1983). dissertation abstracts international, 44, a2315. osunde, e. (1984). global perspective in the social studies curricula of african public schools. the social studies, 75, 149-152. pickert, s.m. (1992). preparing for a global community: achieving an international perspective in higher education. ashe-eric higher education report no. 2. washington, dc: the george washington university. president's commission on foreign language and international studies. (1979). background papers and studies/strength through wisdom. washington, dc: u.s. gpo. reich, r.b. (1992). the work of nations. new york: vintage books. 13 reischauer, e.o. (1974). toward the 21st century: education for a changing world. new york: vantage books. richards, c.p. (1979). the degree of worldmindedness exhibited in schools with varying emphasis on global education (doctoral dissertation, michigan state university, 1979). dissertation abstracts international, 40, a4877. smith, a. (1994). a brief history of pre-collegiate global and international studies education. in j. fonte & a. ryerson (eds.), education for america's role in world affairs (pp.1-21). lanham, md: university press of america. stamp, k.l. (1994). global education attitudes and practices in iowa's high schools (doctoral dissertation, university of northern iowa, 1994). dissertation abstracts international, 55, a3059. swift, j. (1980, december). global education: what's in it for you? english journal, 69(9), 46-50. toffler, a. (1970). future shock. new york: random house. tucker, j. & cistone, p.j. (1991). global perspectives for teachers: an urgent priority. journal of teacher education, 42(1), 3-10. turner, p.r. (1974). why johnny doesn't want to learn a foreign language. modern language journal, 58, 191196. tye, k.a. (1990). introduction: the world at a crossroads. in k.a. tye (ed.), global education: from thought to action (pp. 1-9). alexandria, va: association for supervision and curriculum development. tye, b., & tye, k. (1992). global education: a study of school change. albany, ny: suny press. wieber, d. l. (1982). as assessment of global knowledge of k-12 teachers in an american-sponsored overseas school. (doctoral dissertation, michigan state university, 1982). dissertation abstracts international, 43, a3806. wilson, a. h. (1994). teaching toward a global future and the future of global teaching. in m. r. nelson (ed.), the future of the social studies. boulder, co: social science education consortium. 1 a longstanding commitment to lab schools and constructivist-based curriculum: one university’s story gloria gresham, linda black, kimberly welsh stephen f. austin state university abstract stephen f. austin state university, a small regional educational institution located in east texas, has a long tradition of dedication to education. since the inception of the university in 1923, laboratory schools were a critical component of the college of education. this historical case study documents the history of the development of the lab schools and identifies the curriculum practices demonstrated by those schools that led to academic success. alongside the towering pines in deep east texas, stephen f. austin state university (sfasu) is nestled in a small community that exhibits a long history of dedication to education. since 1923, sfasu has instituted laboratory schools with the purposes of research and teacher preparation. throughout the years, the laboratory schools achieved excellence as reported by parents of students who attended the labs and by state and national accreditation bodies. this excellence was voiced by a parent who described the early childhood lab (echl), one of the lab schools operated by sfasu. it was the premier site. we were blessed to have it. i knew it at that time; i know it today. when you walk into another world and think bout your child going into care of some kind or school of some kind, to think that we had this. it was incredible. it was the premier. you don‟t do better than what we had. additionally, the echl and charter school, two lab schools instituted at sfasu, have achieved recognition by state and national entities. the echl was among the first early childhood programs to earn accreditation from the more rigorous standards set by the national association for the education of young children (naeyc). the echl was also designated as a texas rising star provider, a childcare provider that exceeds the state minimum licensing standards for child care facilities according to the texas workforce commission. in addition, the sfasu charter school has achieved the state of texas accountability rating of either recognized (the second highest rating) or exemplary (the highest rating) according to the state accountability standards since its inception. in order to document the history of the development of the lab schools and to identify the curriculum practices demonstrated by the schools that led to academic success, a historical case study of the university‟s lab schools was conducted (merriam 2009). since the researchers desired to attain a deep understanding of the practices implemented over time in the lab schools, the case study was a method that provided “intensive descriptions and analyses of a bounded system” (merriam 2009, 19). data collection was primarily qualitative in nature and focused on interview data and document review. administrators, teachers, and parents with knowledge of each lab school were interviewed. university artifacts including board minutes, photographs, sfasu historical accounts, newspaper articles, and records from 2 the university were examined. the researchers gathered additional, informal information through conversations with other individuals who had memories of and/or involvement with the lab schools. the study revealed rich data documenting a historical overview of the development of the lab schools and curriculum practices implemented that were dedicated to constructivist-based instruction. nacogdoches and a history of community education on the official sfasu university website, university historian, dr. jere jackson, wrote about the history of nacogdoches and the community‟s sense of the importance of education early in its history. “the sense of scholarship and educational responsibility” was instilled in the community by the spanish friars who established the mission of our lady of nacogdoches (jackson nd., “the university tradition in nacogdoches”). by the 1840s, the citizens of nacogdoches wanted to procure a university to provide higher education for the students of east texas. in february 1845, the republic of texas granted a charter to the town of nacogdoches for a preparatory school to be built which was named nacogdoches university and which also taught some college subjects. however, over the next sixty years the school did not prosper. as a result of financial hardship during the civil war years, changing ownership by several entities, and finally the loss of the state charter, the school was closed in 1900. the vacated building and grounds were deeded to nacogdoches independent school district (nisd) in 1904. by 1906 the citizens were determined to re-establish an institution of higher learning and town leaders lobbied texas legislatures during the next nine years to establish a normal school for the training of teachers (jackson nd., “the university tradition in nacogdoches”). eventually, the argument that east texas lacked a higher education facility as well as a normal school persuaded legislators in 1917 to create provisions for locating a normal school in east texas (craddock 1973). nacogdoches city leaders again lobbied the legislature and won the rights to establish a teachers college in nacogdoches. stephen f. austin state teachers college opened in september 1923, convening in the old university building, a stately four-room structure that formerly housed nacogdoches university. the location was temporary, and in the late spring of 1924, the college moved to the austin building that currently houses the university‟s administrative offices. subsequent changes in name and status came in 1949, when the 51 st state legislature, changed the name stephen f. austin teachers college to stephen f. austin state college and in 1969, when the 61 st texas legislature approved university status and changed the name again to stephen f. austin state university (sfasu) (craddock 1973). even though other degree programs have been added, teacher preparation was the mission of stephen f. austin from the inception, and the university continues today as a major force in texas teacher preparation. the history of the sfasu lab schools from its inception, the college of education at sfasu embraced laboratory schoolspreschool, elementary, or secondary schools attached to universities for the purposes of research and teacher preparation. the sfasu lab school, the demonstration school, was one of several teacher training centers and laboratory schools established throughout the country during the 1920s and 1930s as educators experimented with ideas of progressive education. the sfasu lab schools have always had a two-part mission that reflected progressive educational theory: (1) 3 to better prepare teacher educators and (2) to provide an exemplary instructional program for children where theory was modeled for teacher candidates. over the years, the sfa college of education established six lab schools spanning the period from 1923 until the present. the demonstration school the first lab school was established for the 1923-24 school term and named the demonstration school (craddock 1973). craddock (1973) described the purpose of the demonstration school. as part of the education department, the demonstration school was proposed to serve as a practice school for college students who planned to be teachers. this gave prospective teachers an opportunity to put education theories into actual practice (13). initially, the demonstration school housed 25 first and second grade children and was located in the southwest corner of the central grammar school (craddock 1973; hallman 2001). in 1924, the demonstration school moved to the newly completed austin building‟s lower level, and in 1926, relocated to its permanent home, the rusk building (hallman 2001). by this time, the demonstration school grew to house grades one through seven with a staff to include a director, a supervisor, and 10 teachers. the june 24, 1927, minutes of the sfasu board of regents documented a description of the school, “the first floor provides classrooms for the demonstration school, a small gymnasium, with showers, for the students of the demonstration school…” grades eight and nine were added the year after the move to the rusk building (hallman 2001). a commitment to producing quality teachers was evidenced from the beginning. hallman (2001) reviewed a 1923 article from the nacogdoches daily sentinel newspaper which described the process of using both practice and “critic” teachers in the demonstration school. each room is handled directly by a critic teacher who is responsible for the children and devotes all her time to them. she teaches them except for the few minutes each day they are taught by practice teachers. all practice teaching is done in the presence of the critic teacher who is responsible for the instruction of her children and the criticism and training of the students. in 1950, an agreement was reached between sfasu and nacogdoches isd which disbanded the demonstration school and led to student teachers going out into the city of nacogdoches schools to receive onsite training (sfasu, “demonstration school (sfa)”). for a brief period of time, this change in practice left sfasu with only one lab school, the nursery school. the nursery school lab school in 1936, the college of education implemented a nursery school. under the direction of the home economics department chair edna wilkin, a nursery school was instituted in a “beautiful four-bedroom colonial house located on the south side of the campus called the home management house” (sfasu, “history of human sciences”). the building was made possible due to the creative financing of the university‟s first president, alton w. birdwell. alton birdwell “was a member of the texas board of normal examiners [and] traveled around the state working with teacher institutes. 4 he consulted in nacogdoches on normal schools many years before he was first designated president of sfa normal school in 1917” (jackson, “final years of the old university”). during the depression year of 1936, money was scarce, and the sfasu board of regents determined that faculty should receive only a portion of their summer salaries. president birdwell used the money not paid to faculty to build the home management house. later, the daily sentinel, on may 19, 1948, published an article stating that the nursery school operated in the summer as a, “laboratory for the college girls who enroll for the course entitled child care and training (sfasu “sfa nursery school”). the nursery school served infants one day per week and toddlers through 4-year-old children in a half-day format, with the instructional day beginning at 8:30 a.m. and ending at 12:15 p.m. this lab school was later relocated to the human sciences north building and was one of two lab schools serving early childhood learners after the kindergarten was implemented (sfasu, “echl history and mission”). the kindergarten lab school as an increasingly larger percentage of women joined the work force beginning in the 1960s, the need for adequate childcare for families also increased. additionally, the nation as a whole was focusing on early childhood education. in the late 1960s, the state of texas created an elementary certification endorsement for kindergarten to meet the urgency for early childhood educators. the sfasu college of education responded to the critical need by instituting a kindergarten program for teacher candidates as well as a kindergarten lab school. dr. eugene howard, a specialist in early childhood, was employed by the university to facilitate the creation and implementation of a kindergarten program. in 1969, the kindergarten opened for the purpose of preparing teacher candidates in early childhood practices. janice pattillo, the first kindergarten teacher, taught this class in the manse of the local westminster presbyterian church. in 1970, in its second year of operation, the university purchased an old, oneroom building on baker street from the church of christ and relocated the kindergarten. the kindergarten remained there until 1974 when a new facility was built just north of the human sciences north building on raguet street (sfasu, “echl history and mission”). children in the kindergarten attended a half-day format, mornings only. later the program grew to include two classes, offering morning and afternoon sessions, in order to serve the growing number of future kindergarten teachers. college students seeking a kindergarten endorsement observed in a one-hour lab that corresponded to course content and also planned learning activities and taught the children in the lab. in 1974, the new early childhood laboratory opened its doors to the expanding early childhood program where the nursery school and the kindergarten were combined to form the early childhood laboratory. early childhood laboratory (echl) in 1974, the echl opened with dr. eugene howard as program coordinator and ann sartin-wendell as the first director. kindergarten was offered in a half-day format with morning and afternoon sessions. childcare was provided while children were not in the formal kindergarten instructional setting. in addition to the kindergarten class, the echl housed one room for infants and another for toddlers. in the third year of operation, the kindergarten moved to a full-day program with one class of 4 ½ to 65 year-old age groups and another class that served 3to 4 ½ year-olds. afterschool care began at 3:00 p.m. and ended at 5:30 p.m. and served between 35 and 40 children on a regular basis. from the parents‟ view point, the children were successful in the lab school, and many wished their children could attend the echl all the way through their elementary school career. to meet this request and offer additional opportunities for university students, in l979, a primary class was added. according to a former echl teacher, the primary classroom was multiage, serving older kindergarten and first grade students. in 1984, the echl building was expanded to house infants through primary grade students. in the fall of 1995, nacogdoches independent school district (nisd) superintendent james g. partin and dean of the college of education, dr. thomas franks collaborated and with the approval of the nisd school board and sfasu board of regents, placed a second grade classroom in the echl to relieve district overcrowding. superintendent partin had strong ties to the university where he had attended the demonstration school as a child, and the school district was also an active partner with the college of education in other educational endeavors. second grade students were bused on a daily basis from raguet elementary to attend class at the echl. dr. carol harrison, then principal of raguet elementary, described the collaboration: the raguet campus was running out of space when nisd officials began talking with sfa officials last spring about the possibility of moving one of the public school classrooms to the lab. anytime we can do something with sfa, we can‟t lose. this is a place where i can send teachers for new ideas, and i was confident in sending my 22 students (goodrich 1996). the merger lasted until the fall of 1998 when a more complex arrangement between sfasu and nisd was instituted, one that had multiple goals: to provide area parents a choice of educational options for their children, to increase opportunities for future teachers to work with older children, to demonstrate exemplary instructional practices, and to relieve overcrowded schools in nisd. echl and nisd/sfasu charter school major education reform in the texas education system occurred in 1995 when the texas legislature overhauled the texas education code (texas education agency 2007) enabling the state board of education to grant charter schools as an alternative to public education. during this time, parents of students attending the expanded echl voiced the desire to have their children remain in the lab experience beyond the second grade. former nisd superintendent, james g. partin described parent interest and events leading up to the development of the nisd/sfasu charter school campus: they [parents] were concerned about their children transitioning into a more traditional classroom setting in public schools. there was parental concern expressed to the school district, and there was a concern of the public school to find a more effective way of teaching that would improve performance on state assessments. around this time there was the state movement toward professional development and technology. a number of university personnel and surrounding public school districts had been involved as placement centers for student teaching and other types of field experiences. 6 several faculty members and public school administrators traveled to san diego state and looked at their professional development center. this group saw a partnership between the public school where a lab setting was displayed; university professors and public school teachers worked together to prepare teacher educators. the situation was impressive. as far as the parental and public school concern, the vision began to develop. what if there was a cooperative lab setting that provided the training facilities for the university students and at the same time provide a model of effective teaching practices that public school teachers could observe first-hand and implement in their own classrooms? it was a way of improving instruction in the public school setting. from 1995 through 1997, discussions took place between sfasu and nisd administrators concerning the implementation of a professional development center and university/public school cooperative charter that could fulfill the needs of both institutions. after much discussion and deliberation, the nisd school board and sfasu board of regents approved the merger, and on august 14, 1998, the nisd/sfasu charter campus opened as an extension of the echl with the mission of creating a learning environment that would include a constructivistbased curriculum that would support the vision of early childhood faculty to foster student development of autonomy, openness, problem solving, and integrity through a learning centers approach. initially, the echl and nisd/sfasu charter campus provided classrooms serving children from the two months of age through third grade; fourth grade was added next, and finally fifth grade was included. according to the texas education agency, 84 charter schools were operating in texas in 1998 with the nisd/sfasu charter school being one of those schools (texas education agency). the newly formed school was under the direction of dr. mary nelle brunson, sfasu elementary education early childhood professor. brunson described the unique position of the sfasu lab school at the time saying, “nacogdoches, dallas, and houston are the only cities in texas that currently operate district charter schools. the nisd-sfasu charter campus is the only university and school district charter school collaboration in texas” (brunson n.d.). over the next nine years, district budget constraints, as well as a change in the philosophy of district administrators, produced a strain on the relationship between sfasu and nisd. this finally resulted in a suspension of the collaboration between the school district and the university and led to the establishment of an independent echl and sfasu charter school. echl and sfasu charter school even though the nisd/sfasu charter campus was successful according to student scores and parent opinions, coordinating programs and finances between the two entities was cumbersome and fraught with differences of opinion on major issues. after much discussion, reflection, and research by nisd and university administrators, a new course of action was forged. through a joint decision, nisd and sfasu officials determined that an open-enrollment charter school was the right move. the nisd school board and the sfasu board of regents approved the request to apply for a university charter school from the texas education agency. on january 18, 2008, the texas state board of education unanimously approved the sfasu application for a university open charter school to 7 begin in the fall of 2008 (sfasu, ”state approves sfa university charter school”). the opening of a university charter meant expansion, and expansion provided the creation of a more diverse student population pool, one that more closely mirrored the neighboring public school population, thus providing a more realistic environment for teacher preparation. in july 2006, the state approved the tuition revenue for the construction of a new building that would house the echl, sfasu charter school, and department of elementary education. the building was named the early childhood research center. moving to a new building would allow more interaction between the echl and charter school students, university students, and elementary education faculty and also permit university faculty to conduct valuable research using the lab school setting. on december 19, 2008, the sfasu office of public affairs announced in an article displayed on the sfasu website, that the sfasu charter school was seeking applicants to fill approximately 70 student openings available for the 2009-2010 academic year. as stated in this article, “the charter school‟s capacity will increase from 154 to approximately 220 students.” (sfasu, “sfa charter seeks additional students”). the opening of the new early childhood research center took place july 19, 2009. the echl continued to operate as it had in the previous facility, but the sfasu charter school doubled its enrollment in the fall of 2009 offering two of each grade level: kindergarten, first grade, second grade, and third grade classrooms. children in the echl and sfasu charter school were exposed to curriculum grounded in constructivist theory as had all children since the implementation of the original demonstration school. constructivist-based curriculum interviews with former lab school teachers and students as well as relevant historical documents paint a portrait of the influence of the grounding principles of dewey, vygotsky, and piaget on the curriculum of the lab schools: (a) children learn through constructing personal meaning based on their past and present experiences; (b) they learn through a social context; and (c) they develop individually by exploring their environment through inquiry (field, 2005; learning theories, “social development theory,”; wadsworth, 2003). the instructional focus of the lab schools was designed to meet the needs of the whole child. though not explicit in the demonstration school and the nursery school, four personality goals (still in existence) were formally articulated when the kindergarten program began in 1969: autonomy, openness, integrity, and problem solving. one department of elementary education faculty member described the intent of these curriculum goals: there was a desire for students to be autonomous in terms of their way of thinking so that they trusted their thinking and were free to question. we wanted to develop openness to new deas and to other people. integrity not just honesty, but we wanted to help children develop a sense of values and be value-driven so that they reacted to problems or situations based on their developing sense of values. we wanted to develop problem solving or being able to have the skills and strategies they needed in all the academic areas so that they could be self-confident. not desiring to implement a purchased or “canned” curriculum but needing guidance in planning developmentally appropriate activities 8 for young children, dr. eugene howard, faculty member and coordinator of the early childhood program in 1969, created a comprehensive document that outlined wide-ranging and specific characteristics, skills, and developmental milestones; he named it the “integrated approach design.” teachers referred to it as “iad,” and this instrument embraced the program goals of autonomy, openness, problem solving, and integrity. some 40 years later, the echl continues to use the “iad” as its planning footprint. actual documentation of specific instructional practices was uncovered beginning with the first kindergarten. artifacts provided only a glimpse of the instructional programs of the demonstration school and nursery school. a photograph provided by the east texas research center indicated that teachers at the demonstration school facilitated instruction and worked among the students. a former demonstration school student revealed that she believed effective, creative instruction was displayed at this school: we, as students, had the best of both worlds; we had the best teachers available anywhere. we were constantly being exposed to new theories of effective teaching, and we had young, attractive practice teachers who were lots of fun and who seemed to us to be our contemporaries. children learned about their environment through interaction and inquiry, indicating that the constructivist philosophy influenced the instructional practices of the nursery school. for example, a description of the nursery lab school in a 1948 daily sentinel article discussed how students were encouraged to experience their environment and develop autonomy: the school gives the child a first introduction to the “away from home” world and acquaints them with the joys and problems of contacts with others their own age. it also offers them experiences that will promote skills, knowledge and satisfaction and helps them develop feelings of independence, confidence, and success in themselves (sfasu, “sfa nursery school enlarged”). interviews with former teachers and students articulated that learning centers were an instructional delivery approach used to foster the four program goals: autonomy, openness, integrity, and problem solving. making choices was also instrumental in helping children solve problems. a former teacher communicated that if a child wanted to go to the art center but there were already the allotted number of children in that center, he must rethink his plan, choose another center, and wait for a friend to leave the art center. as the echl evolved and changed to add the nisd/sfasu charter school and later the sfasu charter school, the learning centers approach remained an important component of the instructional program. learning centers were well-defined spaces with organized materials to teach content and/or specific skills (pattillo and vaughan 1992). multiple centers were provided in the classrooms, and centers differed according to grade level. pre-primary centers included art, blocks, construction, discovery, dramatic play, library, muscle (gross motor), music, and table games. primary centers included art, blocks (first and second grade classrooms only), discovery (which grew into the science center), handwriting, library, math, reading skills, spelling, and social 9 studies. all center set-ups were based on the assessed needs of individual children. in the early years of the kindergarten and the echl, literacy was encouraged through language experience and key words (veatch, sawicki, elliott, flake, and blakey 1979), rebus charts, and rug time. wanting to provide a more constructivist method of learning to read, teachers avoided basal readers and phonics-driven reading programs. language experience charts, based on the personal stories dictated by children, were recorded by the teacher and read chorally. a former primary teacher described dictation: each child had his/her own spiral notebook. on a somewhat regular basis, the child would dictate words to the teacher who acted as the child‟s secretary, recording precisely what the child said. it was important for the child to see that his/her words could be recorded. children learned to associate the written word with the spoken form (mccormick, 1988). rebus charts, allusional devices that use pictures to represent words, had been used in educational settings for quite some time, but the teachers of the kindergarten and echl created their version of rebus charts and called them symbol charts; later the name changed to directional guides. symbol charts directed student activity in learning centers to encourage children‟s independence; they did not rely on the teacher‟s presence. one teacher explained, “rebus charts had been around forever, but we took it to a different level so that we could post them in the different learning centers to give children guidelines. they could turn to the picture and print provided to find out what to do.” students were also instructed in reading through large-group time called rug time. during rug time, teachers first used music time to introduce children to words through the use of song cards. one former echl teacher explained: we created attractive song cards with a song title, picture related to the song, and the staffed music. when we introduced a new song, we‟d ask children to look at the picture and tell us what they thought the song was about. predicting is an important precursor to reading. we‟d show them the title and read it. it didn‟t take long for them to learn to sing the song or “read” the title (and picture) and know what song we‟d sing when they saw a particular song card. story time was also a part of the daily schedule to encourage children‟s reading. infants and toddlers heard nursery rhymes, looked at and labeled pictures, and heard simple stories. prekindergarten children participated in retelling stories, as did kindergartners. first through fifth grade students listened to teachers read story books, chapter books, and informational text. terminology changed and story time became read alouds. according to fountas and pinnell, interactive read alouds include “a teaching context in which students are actively listening and responding to an oral reading of a text” (2007, 163). literacy instruction at the charter school also included instructional strategies such as grand conversations, guided reading, reading workshop, and writers‟ workshop where children engaged in more authentic reading and writing. fountas and pinnell (1996) viewed guided reading as an instructional setting that allowed teachers to work with a small group of children to help them learn effective strategies for processing text with understanding. grand conversation was a discussion of a book in which students 10 deepened their comprehension and reflected on their feelings during the responding step of the reading process (eeds 2007). reading workshops as described by bennett (2007) were predictable structures that allowed for “deep reading, brilliant writing, mind-changing conversations, inspirational epiphanies, and connections of knew to the known” (9). in language arts instruction, comprehension strategies such as monitoring for meaning, questioning, using prior knowledge, determining importance, creating mental images, inferring, synthesizing, and using “fix up” strategies were encouraged and vertically aligned from kindergarten through grade five (keene and zimmermann, 2007). a charter school teacher reviewed her intent in language arts instruction: i want them reading. i want them to feel free to choose their own books, to enjoy what they want to read, not just what i impose on them to read. also i want them to have a variety of books and learning experiences. i think it is important to have an opportunity to write in different genres. we research. we write essays and poetry. we have a variety of ways to learn. just as important to the whole child‟s development were mathematics, science, and social studies instruction which also followed the constructivist workshop model. problem solving and use of mathematical strategies where students used what they knew to solve problems were encouraged. science and social studies followed an inquiry process where children observed, questioned, hypothesized, designed and conducted experiments, compared predicted results to actual results, and reflected upon the results (southwest center for education and the natural environment). kamii games (math games inspired by noted constructivist constance kamii), as well as other commercial games, and teacher-made games were located in math centers along with data sheets used for recording findings. creating opportunities for cognitive dissonance were encouraged. one echl teacher described how dissonance was created: we were taught to think about creating moments in the simplest ways, to create cognitive dissonance.cognitive dissonance [involved] moments where things were just not like they are supposed to be. when students were off balance, they did their best thinking. echl children‟s explorations in the science discovery center were vast; they investigated the properties of solids and liquids, used their senses to examine objects, cared for classroom pets (rabbits, hamsters, gerbils, birds, spiders, and fish, to name a few), and often just wondered. older children in the charter school continued to explore and investigate in their science centers. predictions were made, experiments were conducted, and results were recorded. social studies for young children centered on „self‟ and „family.‟ as children grew older, they learned about their community. read alouds were primarily based on the day-to-day events of a young child‟s life involving families, working parents, siblings, and eventually the community. dramatic play set-ups included the home center, area restaurants and bakeries, and other businesses children frequented. ice cream parlors were always popular. these set-ups provided an appropriate venue for children to assume adult roles and interact with peers that contributed to social competence or social studies. a former kindergarten teacher recalled a time when 11 children were in the “sfa flower shop.” the teacher placed an order for a flower delivery only to be told there was an extra charge for deliveries. this information spoke to the kinds of experiences children came to school with, experiences that helped them make sense of the adult world. older children explored the larger world by reading and researching topics of interest. one sfasu professor remembered a time when she visited a classroom, and students were working on their self-chosen research topic. the intensity of their [the children‟s] focus was astonishing! i walked into the fourth grade room classroom and was quite impressed with the fervor in which students worked. their investigations took them well beyond the typical “read the chapter and answer questions at the end” approach to teaching. students were digging deeply to become experts on their topic, and experts they became. social studies involved students delving into subjects they wanted to learn about and this was their motivation. these students will grow up to be quite the researchers. focused student commitment and learning through choice and personal experience in all of these many activities were evidences of constructivist-based curriculum implementation. conclusion stephen f. austin state university‟s college of education has a tradition of commitment to teacher preparation fostered by connecting content courses to field experiences in laboratory schools. this method of clinical practice ensured that future teachers participated in authentic experiences where research-based instruction was guaranteed. clinical practice was emphasized as a way to reform and improve teacher preparation. “the clinical preparation of teachers: a policy brief” disseminated in 2010 by the american association for colleges of teacher education (aacte) required a clinically-based approach to teacher preparation and encouraged teacher preparation programs to require at a minimum 450 hours of clinical practice. since 1923, laboratory schools at sfasu have historically served as clinical teacher training sites. by 2012, elementary education students graduating from sfasu with a certification in elementary education, now graduate with approximately 650 clinical hours devoted to working with children in authentic classrooms. not only do future teachers have hands-on experience in working with children, but they witness and learn to implement curriculum grounded in constructivist theory. the intent of the lab schools at sfasu was to also develop learning environments where children are the center and to encourage children to be autonomous, open to new ideas, problem solvers, and people of integrity. the sfasu lab schools implemented from 1923 to the present day were places and spaces designed for children. sustaining lab schools demonstrated one university‟s commitment to educating teachers in constructivist curriculum. references aacte. “the clinical preparation of teachers: a policy brief.” http://aacte.org/pdf/ government_relations/clinicalpreppapers bennett, s. 2007. that workshop book: new systems and structures for classrooms that read, write, and think. portsmouth, nh: heinemann. brunson, m. n. nisd/sfasu charter news, n.d. 12 craddock, b. h. 1973. the golden years: the first halfcentury of stephen f. austin state university. waco, tx: texan press. eeds, m, and r. peterson. 2007. grand conversation (updated edition): literature groups in action. new york: ny: scholastic, inc. field, r. “john dewey (1859-1952).” http://www.iep.utm.edu/dewey/ fountas, i. and g. s. pinnell. 1996. guided reading: good first teaching for all children. portsmith, nh: heinemann. fountas, i. and g. s. pinnell. 2007. the continuum of literacy learning grades k-2: a guide to teaching. portsmouth, nh: heinemann. goodrich, r. „sfa early childhood lab: a bigger success than we had even hoped for.” daily sentinel, january 14, 1996. hallman, p. “85th anniversary year sfa on washington square: college opens with a demonstration school.” stephen f. austin state university. accessed july 17, 2011. http://www.cets.sfasu.edu/story/founders/a ug30/demo_school.html hallman, p. j. 2001. history: college of education 1923-2001. nacogdoches, tx: stephen f. austin state university. jackson, j. “the college expands in 1925-26: the rusk building.” stephen f. austin state university. http://cets.sfasu.edu/story /founders/sept13/rusk_building.html jackson, j. “the final years of the old university.” stephen f. austin state university.http://cets.sfasu.edu/story/ founders /oldu_normals.html jackson, j. “the university tradition in nacogdoches.” stephen f. austin state university. http://www.cets.sfasu.edu/s tory/markers/ university-tradition.html keene, e. o. and s. zimmermann. 2007. mosaic of thought second edition. portsmith, nh: heinemann. learning theories. “social development theory (vygotsky).”http://www.learningtheories.com/vygotskys-social-learningtheory.html mccormick, t. w. 1988. theories of reading in dialogue: an interdisciplinary study. new york: university press of america. merriam, s. b. 2009. qualitative research: a guide to design and implementation. san francisco, ca: jossey-bass. pattillo, j. and e. vaughan. (1992). learning centers for child-centered classrooms. washington, dc: a national education association publication. “sfa nursery school enlarged.” daily sentinel, may 19, 1948. stephen f. austin state university. “early childhood lab earns naeyc accreditation: program among first to complete more rigorous accreditation process.” stephen f. austin state university. http://www.sfasu.edu/ 2089.asp stephen f. austin state university (n.d.). “echl history and mission.” stephen f. austin state university. http://www.sfasu.edu /echl/113.asp stephen f. austin state university. “demonstration school (sfa).” stephen f. austin state university. http://libweb.sfasu. edu/ proser/etrc/collections/archives/ua99/ stephen f. austin state university. “history of human sciences at sfa.” stephen f. austin state university. http://www.sfasu.edu/ education/departments/humansciences/histo ry.asp stephen f. austin state university. “perry signs tuition revenue bond bill to fund sfa http://www.sfasu.edu/ 13 education center, upgrade academic buildings.” stephen f. austin state university. http://www.sfasu.edu/pubaffairs/ pressreleases/july2006/12.asp stephen f. austin state university. “sfa charter school seeks additional students.” stephen f. austin state university. http://www.sfasu.edu/2063.asp stephen f. austin state university. “state approves sfa university charter school.” stephen f. austin state university. http://www.sfasu.edu/pubaffairs/pressreleas es/january2008/18-charter_school.asp southwest center for education and the natural environment. “the inquiry process.” http://scene.asu.edu/habitat/inquiry.html. texas education agency. “an overview of the history of public education in texas.” http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index4.aspx?id=1 48 texas workforce commission. 2008. “texas rising star provider certification.” http://www.twc.state.tx.us/svcs/childcare/pr ovcert.html veatch, j., sawicki, f., elliott, g., flake, e., & blakey, j. (1979). key words to reading: the language experience approach begins. (2 nd . ed.). columbus, oh: charles e. merrill publishing company. wadsworth, b. j. (2003). piaget’s theory of cognitive and affective development 5 th edition. boston, ma: allyn & bacon. espana nuestra: the molding of primary school children for a fascist spain ronald w. wilhelm much of the history of education in spain can be characterized as one of intense, often violent struggle among proponents of opposing ideologies. as various socio-economic sectors in spain have matured, conflicted, and coalesced, spanish educational history has been riddled with evidence of intrigue, alignments, dissolutions, and realignments of various political factions. spanish educational institutions did not escape the conflicts in the 1800s between the landed oligarchy and the church hierarchy united against the growing liberal industrial sector to determine the structure of the spanish state and the direction of economic development. the subsequent emergence of agricultural and industrial workers' organizations espousing marxist and anarchist doctrines added yet more pressures. the institutions of social organization suffered under such stress that, by the early decades of this century, the nation exploded in a civil war as the only means to establish a new social order. ideology, as a principal vehicle to promote group interest (whether that be anarcho-syndicalist, communist, carlist, or national-syndicalist), became increasingly important to all sectors in spain; so much so, in fact, that when the society dissolved into civil conflict, education was converted by both nationalists and republicans into an ideological instrument of war. once the armed conflict had been decided, the francoist high command united, by decree, several nationalist factions, including the carlist monarchist comuni6n tradicionalista and the dominant, fascist falange espanola de las juntas de of ens iva nacional sindicalista (ellwood, 1990). in order to secure its victory, the new francoist coalition intensified its efforts to lay the foundation for the "new state" by instilling in spanish youngsters ideological values heavily influenced by thought. the ideological role by education during the became institutionalized early in the post-war years. the usually unnoticed role of school curriculum and textbooks, in in the promotion of a given group's ideology emerged in franco's spain as 67 clearly overt. the present analysis of a single item of the period indicates that, as jean anyon suggested, "textbooks not only express the dominant groups' ideologies, but also help to form attitudes in support of their social position" (1979). perhaps no better example of textbook promotion of the fascist ideology can be found than espana nuestra, published in 1943 for use in the elementary schools of generalisimo francisco franco' s "new state." the study presented here analyzed the content of espana nuestra in order to identify the elements of its specific ideological thrust. of particular interest were attitudes toward and definitions of national­ syndicalism, national-catholicism, as well as attitudes toward monarchy and democracy, and the heroes, allies, and enemies of the "new" spain. ideological descriptions, definitions, and symbols were examined in terms of how they legitimated the power, actions, and needs of the hegemonic group in post-civil war spain. ideology, education and the consolidation of victory espana nuestra can be seen appropriately as but one minor element in the process of redef ining spanish society--a process that actually began during the civil war. as the nationalists gained territory from the republicans, they reorganized the education system, which, they believed, had, under the republicans, been one of the causes of the "retreat of traditional values." the movimiento nacionalista was eager to restore the catholic church as the preeminent custodian of a "confessional education,· that is, one in which catholic dogma and morality would once again be a major subject in all schools, both public and private, and in which the church retained the right to the education offered in all centers of the "traditional" values by the nationalists in elementary education included militarism, catholicism, and civic-mindedness. this same code of values facilitated the militarization of spanish culture after the war. the nationalist that such a continued militarization of society was necessary in order to defend their victory over the enemies of spain (often defined as a "communist­ jewish-masonic conspiracy") with the best defense being youth educated in traditional values of the sixteenth century (fernandez soria, 1984). franco and the movimiento nacionalista, dominated by the falangist party, correctly understood the necessity of the use of ideology in the consolidation of power and, thus, sought to transform the spanish education system. this task was accomplished by instituting a series of edicts, purges, and a new curriculum which was centered upon books such as espana nuestra. teachers who were militants or sympathizers of the republican frente popular, members of secret societies (freemasons), or even those who could have done something but did nothing to stop the "anarchists" were dismissed from service. over fifty percent of spain's teachers were affected by these purges. at the time of the nationalist triumph in 1939, all teachers were required to take an exam of patriotic and religious content in order to be employed. students were required to present statements of their religious and patriotic conduct signed by civilian, military, and church authorities before they could matriculate (de puelles benitez, 1980) • by decree, at least fifty percent of the vacancies left by the purges were to be filled with nationalist ex-combatants who met aptitude standards for teachers. another twenty percent of the educational administration positions were to be filled with those disabled in the war. thus, an education system directed by those who fought for the "new state" in the trenches insured the institutionalization of the ideology that had driven the movimiento nacionalista during the war (fernandez soria, 1984). one such soldier of the "ideological trenches" was the author of espana nuestra, ernesto gimenez caballero, acknowledged as one of the prominent ideologues of national-syndicalism. prior to the civil war, he was instrumental in promulgating the feasibility of fascism for spain through his and writings, many of published in a magazine, la literaria, which he founded. he was credited as the "intellectual 68 progenitor of the movimiento nacional" with adapting the doctrines of italian fascism to spain (foard, 1975; payne, 1987). during the war, he continued to promote the building of a fascist spain through his work as an advisor to franco and through his contributions to the journals jerarquia and vertice, both organs of falangist propaganda (fernandez soria, 1984; gimenez caballero, 1979). envisioning himself as the "spanish goebbels, .. gimenez caballero' s tireless efforts to win the spanish masses to his version of fascism often placed him at odds with his own falangist party and with franco himself (foard, 1975). following the war, he used his literary talents to create for the youth of spain a history textbook, espana nuestra, that would exalt catholic and militarist values, and the spanish language as a "reflejo constante del alma nacional" (gimenez caballero, 1943). organization of the text the book, espana nuestra, is a history of spain written for students in the elementary grades. its style follows a pattern, identified by fernandez soria (1984) in other nationalist works, in which glorious and critical moments in spanish history were interpreted as coinciding with a given falangist doctrine such as militarism, catholic morality, or national unity. on the other hand, tragic moments in history were related to ideological elements of the opposition such as religious freedom and political liberalism. indeed, the author himself expressed this bias clearly in the introduction to the text. no hay ninguna concesion para el terrible enemigo que ha conducido a nuestro pueblo a la guerra civil mas espantosa: al separatismo de dos espanas y de dos cast as de espanoles. en cambio, hasta los mas remotos sucesos de nuestra patria estan siempre referidos al movimiento unificador de nuestro falangismo ... (intro. ) i,: for this camisa (literally "old shirt," founding member of the ), fascism, as practiced in spain and italy i represented the "political manifestation of the revolt of the latin peoples the cultural imperialism of their northern neighbours" (foard, 1975). gimenez caballero the book into six epilogue. each of the six main parts consisted of a varying number of subdivisions for an overall total of each chapter with three sets of exercises: oral, written, and arts, which the author drawing, and written exercises for facts, as well as sion, analysis, the "espana: una, grande, occurred sporadically throughout the text, summarized the central themes of fascist ideology. these recurrent themes followed closely the essential norms of the falangist movement, published as "los 26 puntos" and adopted by franco's "nuevo estado" (vep, 1941). in his introduction, gimenez caballero indicated clearly the principles that guided his work and served as the conceptual framework for five major sections in the text. .•• que las bases de esta nuestra espana [sic) son dos sentimientos fundacionales: el religioso y el heroico. cuyas consecuencias llevan a una exaltacion incesante de los valores catolicos y militares de espana. unicos capaces de justificar con exactitud y grandeza el destino universal de espana, la clave de su paisaje, el genio de su lengua, el impetu de sus fundadores y el fruto de sus obras. (intro.)3 the final portion of the book was composed of a vocabulary list for use in reading and completing the end-of-chapter exercises. the book contains 145 simple, pen-and-ink illustrations, each occupying a space approximately 7 cm by 10 cm. the sizeable number of drawings in a book of 261 pages can be attributed to gimenez caballero's belief that, for educational purposes, the visual of an illustration than (1979) • in his introduct indicated that the book for the children and the author intended diverse and text content exercises. consisted of also, as a teachers in the their children. mixed purpose an unevenness in and while fables 69 events for the very young, contained abbreviated figures, such as artists, that exercises were to and/or the the illustrations in ideology and prose imagery gimenez caballero wrote his lessons in a first person, conversational style addressed to young readers. throughout the text, he used anthropomorphic images and fables to explain events from geology to human emotions to the origin of the spanish language. several examples, which follow, illustrate this point. the story of little red riding hood introduced a section on four visions of the spanish countryside (pp. 69-112). the author c6mpared the effect of little red riding hood' s fear on her perceptions of the woods with the effect of nationalist soldiers' fear in combat on their perceptions of the surrounding countryside. later in the same section, the geography of spain was presented in terms of the search, by the desert, as a savage knight, for and, finally, marriage to his lost love, the rain, a princess whose court was in spain. the mining industry was explained, not in terms of the miners' organizations and struggles, which were a recent part of spanish reality when the book was but rather by the story of "blancaflor" (snow white and the seven dwarfs). in addition, young students learned that the pyrenees mountains resulted from violent battles between french mountains and is oric castilian ranges ( ercitos de rocas de lavas") when was a (p. 34). some an the because of his own , gimenez caballero his most for of • for , the dialect were and newborn chicks. was described as the words which were set butterflies each time children discovered and used new terms. latin was presented as the father of the spanish (castilian) language, with the nation of spain, its mother, and the other romance languages and dialects, its siblings (pp. 127-128). with the death of the father (the fall of the roman empire), the widowed mother was forced to raise her children alone. in another passage more closely related to the falangist ideology of restoration of spain as a world imperial power i the language was presented as a mother, sent by god, to embrace her children throughout the world so that they might understand one another (pp. 116-117). lest the readers miss the importance of the spanish language, the author admonished: iescuchad bien esto y para siempre, n~nos espanoles! jel que de vosotros olvide su lengua espanola o la cambie por otra dejara de ser espanol y cristiano! ipor traici6n contra espana y pecado contra dios! iy tendra que escapar de espana! y cuando muera, su alma traidora lira al inf ierno ! (p. 11 7 ) 5 the impact of such an admonition on young spaniards in provinces other than castile and whose first language was not the castilian dialect is not difficult to imagine. gimenez caballero later underscored his warning with a tale of a basque grandfather ("el abuelete vasco") who held fast to his allegiance to spain and castilian spanish even when under pressure from basque separatists, who eventually left him in frustration and went off "bufando con los rojos" (pp. 122-124) . ideology and visual imagery symbols of the falangist movement, some of which were revived from fifteenth century monarchies, were inserted independently or interwoven with illustrations throughout the text. these symbols were first proposed by gimenez caballero for the national-syndicalist movement in 1929 in an article entitled "carta a un companero de la joven espana" (1985 . by 1943, the young readers of nuestra would have been very with the symbols of the so the author needed only romanticized accounts of significance and origin. the illustration on the front cover of the book combines several symbols 70 in an image which summarizes the goal intended by gimenez caballero in writing to the youth of spain. hialerta jovenes centinelas de espana i" (p. 67).6 a young boy wearing the red beret and blue shirt of the falangist movement holds a rifle and watch over (a map of) spain, whose five kingdoms (symbolized by five black arrows) are united and bound together under the yoke of an imperial monarchy. in developing the mystique of the arrows (flechas) and the yoke (yugo), the author explains they were symbols from the imperial and unified spain of the catholic monarchs, queen isabel and king ferdinand ii; the bundle of arrows symbolizing isabel's uniting of the kingdoms of spain and the yoke symbolizing ferdinand's bringing order to the world. arrows, as symbols, appear independently eight more times in illustrations in the text and the yoke, three. in addition to the cover illustration, the falangist symbol of five arrows bound together under the yoke ("el haz y el yugo") appears five more times, usually to signify the end of a major section of the book. gimenez caballero uses ascending and descending arrows in an illustration to represent the history of the rise and decline of spanish destiny as the summit of a sierra (p. 41). beginning with the first century "unification of spain with the roman empire," the arrows point to an ascending destiny, passing on to "spanish-gothic unification" of the six century, then to the wars of the "great reconquest" from the eighth to the fifteenth century, and culminating with the "unified and imperial" spain of the catholic monarchs. at this point the arrows start their descent through the "disaster of the invincible armada" in 1588, to the "loss of empire" from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries, down to the "loss of spanish unity" during the republican government from 1931-1936. here the dates 18 julio 1936 to 1 abril 1939 (the dates encompassing the spanish civil war) are accompanied by an arrow that i not to the nadir of disintegration, but toward the and two other s i the red beret and the blue ,were to the author, from the beret­ of castile were book as the defenders of all both were related to the contributions of agricultural laborers in terms of production and defense. another prominent falangist symbol, appearing in two illustrations, merits attention: the open-hand, roman salute, similar to the one used in mussolini's italy and in nazi germany. in the text's first section on the images of spain (pp. 11-25), the reader encounters an outline map of spain over which was placed the open palm of a hand, "en seftal de paz y de saludo al mundo" (p. 19). the narrative explains that, historically, the germanic peoples to the north saw spain as a nation which extended its hand in peace and salutations to the world and to germany in particular. the narrative further suggests that the name "espafta" was derived from an old german word, spanne, meaning the span of an open hand. in one other illustration entitled "el pufto cerrado y la mano abierta," gimanez caballero cleverly juxtaposed the closed fist, often associated with communist salutes, with the falangist salute to illustrate an explanation of the evils of envy (p. 210). the open palm appears surrounded by five stars and next to a cloud hovering over a hairy, brutish clenched fist entwined by a serpent. the narrative explains, "por eso el comunismo es la politica de la envidia y hace que el comunismo enrosque la mano--cierre el pufto--con el rencor de una cabeza de serpiente" (p. 201).7 gimanez caballero uses these images to pay subtle tribute to nationalist allies, hitler's germany and mussolini's italy. images of national-catholicism molding a unified, fascist spain so recently divided by the civil war called for the promotion of nationalism as the principal ideological concern. for the comuni6n tradicionalistas, spanish nationalism was intricately interwoven with catholicism. thus, the nation was to be unified, not in the diversity of its regions, but in steadfast obedience to catholic dogma and the state. in the first section espana nuestra, which dealt with of spain, catholicism and were united ically in a "medal" that students were instructed to make and wear. each child's medal consisted of a photograph of his/her mother pasted on a small outline map of spain. the and photograph, then, were to a ribbon that 71 the students had painted red and gold, the imperial colors of the spanish flag. the following coloring instructions subtly inculcated the fascist ideology of militant nationalism in union with catholicism: ... color de sangre como la que habais visto verter quiza a vuestros padres, a vuestros hermanos mayores, a vuestros amigos grandes, en las trincheras del caudillo. y con color de oro, con el color del pan que dios os da todos los dias, con el amarillo de la tierra espaftola donde triunfaron nuestros combatientes (p. 22-23).8 on the reverse side of the map, the children were instructed to draw a cross. the medal was then to be worn inside the students' blue shirt held over the heart by the pin of the falangist symbol ("el haz y el yugo") on the outside of the shirt. the ideological message to young learners emerged clearly: spain was one's mother! given the still fresh memories of civil strife, such strong imagery must have been a powerful force in the development of political socialization. but, gimanez caballero was relentless in molding young defenders for the caudillo's spain. he followed the construction of the medal with an admonishment to young male readers. ... si alguien ante ti se rie 0 insulta el nombre de dios, 0 de espafta, 0 de tu madre, ino vaciles! con tus puftos, con tus dientes y tus pies, arremete contra al. y si no 10 haces, lcobarde! ya no podras llevar esa medalla de papel sobre el corazon, ni las flechas en la camisa. (p. 23)9 apparently little girls were to respond to such insults in a manner more appropriate to their sex according to the traditionalist view of women. llora con pena, amarga, infinita, callada. y veras como quien ha insultado tu tesoro se pone palido, y babucea. y te intenta hacer una caricia, y se a con la cabeza a y en silencio vencido por la fuerza de tu pena ~ por el valor de tu • (p. 23)~ in espafta nuestra, young students were to learn that the destiny of christ was also the of "morir y resucitar. dar su sangre para que se unan todos los pueblos y todos los paisajes del mundo" (p. 29) .11 pupils studied an outline map of spain upon which a crucified christ had been placed with arms outstretched across the pyrenees and feet extending down to gibraltar (p. 30). gimenez caballero called upon spanish youngsters to suffer and sacrifice as did christ. then, the author joined militaristic nationalism and catholicism in an ideological twist to the suffering servant theology: "por eso--ninos mios--es preciso imagineis a espana como un perpetuo combate y mireis su vida con mirada militar" (p. 29) .12 being a suffering servant in christ's image meant that one not only must serve but also defend spain in military conquest. unity in christ justified spain's return as a world imperial power. images of the new spain's allies and enemies in addition to such catholic nationalism, which readers encountered repeatedly throughout the text, gimenez caballero took great care to instruct spanish children about spain's historic relations with other european powers. the images used to inform readers about international relationships illuminated a unique aspect of the author's version of fascism. some ten years prior to the publication of espana nuestra, gimenez caballero became increasingly marginalized from falangist leadership circles because he advocated an international fascist movement (foard, 1975) • the falange, on the other hand, sought to unify spain under a decidedly nationalist, catholic state in order to return her to the "destino universal" of world empire. in espana nuestra, gimenez caballero pursued his version through a series of prose and graphic images that clearly identified spain's enemies and friends. of particular interest, given the political alignment of europeans at the time the text was written during world war ii, were descriptions of the relationship between spain and italy. the author presented rome, not as an invader of spain, but rather, as a mother--one who provided a , laws, methods in agriculture, commerce and civil defense, and built the infrastructure for spanish culture (p. 50). spain, on the other hand, was a loyal daughter and rightful heir to the empire. "espana--hija--fiel de roma toda la historia--realiza, al fin, en el siglo xvi, otra vez la unificaci6n del orbe, la fusi6n de razas y credos" 72 (p. 59).13 the roman empire, by uniting the world under one rule, prepared "la venida de cristo." in addition to the references regarding rome and italy already cited, readers of espana nuestra learned that germans, too, were allies. "y ante el heroismo frente a napole6n y la grandeza del castellano, dec ian los alemanes que los espanoles eramos sus hermanos" (p. 140) .14 the author suggested that the goths provided spanish royalty with two essential characteristics: "una raza aria, aristocratica y los atributos regios, copiados del mundo romano" (pp. 173-174) .is if germany and italy were spain's allies, then who were the enemies against whom young spaniards must be ever vigilant? the guideposts of the falangist movement, "los 26 puntos" stated, "toda conspiraci6n contra esa unidad es repulsiva. todo separatismo es un crimen que no perdonaremos" (vep, 1941) .16 throughout espana nuestra, the author identified various elements as contributors to division and separatism in spain. most of them were subsumed under the term "los rojos" (the reds). historical events, even those from centuries past, were reinterpreted in terms of recent struggles during the spanish civil war with los rojos. for example, carthage, identified as the first great enemy of spain, was likened to "la rusia bolchevique" (p. 49). the moor invasion of spain was presented as a struggle between christians and "aquellos rojos orientales" (p. 54). the strategies of the wars (the "gran reconquista") to drive the moors from spain were equated with those used during the spanish civil war against "los barbaros rojos" (p. 55). the devastation caused by napoleon's invasion of spain was comparable only "a como nos los destrozaron los rojos" (p. 64). a child, dominguito del val, martyred in 1250 a.d. was compared with "esos ninos nuestros que murieron bajo la metralla y el hambre de los rojos" (p. 153). a spanish bishop of the church in rome was described as having "los primeros (p. 165). the historic battle of lepanto in a.d., soliman, the turk, was referred to as "el stalin de entonces" (p. 170). in one particularly strong communism, dubbed the envy," was in an accompany ing illustration as a viper (p. 201). in other passages, which emphasized national-syndicalism, the author carefully explained that he chose to use the term artesano rather than obrero because the former was a syndical term for a manual laborer, which ..... lleva en si una idea de amor y de arte, de individualizaci6n, para regenerar masas gregarias de 'trabajadores en serie' que la maquina y la industria pesada habian convertido en esclavos y cosas" (p. 196) .18 the term obrero was not employed because .. con tanto odio y violencia ha sido profanado por el socialismo" (p. 196) .19 likewise, the author chose to use labrador rather than campesino when discussing agricultural workers because the former term was "mas nacional it than the latter, which was used by marxists (p. 194). while "la rusia bolchevique" received the brunt of gimenez caballero's vehemence, france and great britain did not escape it. the author lamented the results of the french influence on castilian. "la lengua de espana, atacada como por cain por su hermana la lengua francesa, comenz6 a morir sutilmente de envenenamiento. moria de infecci6n, plagada la sangre de unos bichitos 0 carcomas llamados galicismos, francescismos" (p. 139).20 british influence on castilian spanish is described as ..... iotra nueva enfermedad grave: el anglosajonismo y el nordismo" (p. 141).~ the "grave new sickness" involved the use of english terms by intellectuals and nobility. "y hubo la 'nurse' y la 'miss' para los ninos. y el 'flirt' para los j6venes. y los 'clubs' para los mayores. y el 'five o'clok tea,' y el 'bridge,' y el garden-party' (pp. 141-142).n for gimenez caballero, this new sickness appeared to be a recrudescence of "parlamentarismo," which had invaded political thought and brought on the carlist wars--nineteenth century conservatism's attempt to "liberar a espana de sus invasores parlamentarios, liberales, intelectuales y revolucionarios. para lograr que espana sea vez una, grande y libre" (p. 140). as be in a work by a fascist ideologue, jews also were identified as the enemies of spain. jews were as conspirators consorting "elementos franceses" in the separatist revolt in cataluna in 1640 (p. 138) or with russia to fill the and working classes 73 with "odio social" and "separatismos regionales" (p. 66), or with the freemasons to assassinate priests and monks in the nineteenth century (p. 154) . they were also presented as murderers of children, like dominguito del val (p. 153), and as exploiters who stole from the serf class (p. 195). that jews posed a problem for a unified spain seemed clear to gimenez caballero, but his work also inferred a solution, one not inconsistent with hitler's final solution. los reyes cat6licos traen a espana el supremo organismo que ha existido de unificaci6n y depuraci6n nacional: el santo tribunal de la inquisici6n (1478) 0 ministerio general de seguridad estatal. gracias al cual se logra la unidad religiosa, vigilando y castigando a judios y herejes. (p. 217)24 in order for the francoist "new state" to survive such a panoply of enemies from within and without, the citizenry of spain, according to gimenez caballero, had to adopt a vigilant and militarist world view. images of militant nationalism perhaps, not surprisingly, a dominant theme of the text was the militaristic aspect of falangist nationalism. the philosophical source of falangist militarism, as defined by gimenez caballero, was derived from the writings of seneca, ..... a quien se debe la concepci6n de que 'la vida es milicia'" (p. 51).25 in one of two chapters dealing with the economic bases of spain (pp. 85-91), which the author called "services" to the nation, readers encountered a description of a mule as an animal ..... que sube el pan y las balas a nuestros soldados" (p. 88).~ in describing the shepherds of castile, the author wrote: y--en un momento de peligro--el cayado 0 la garrocha se transforman en fusil. su ojo, habituado a la lejania, precisa la bala. y sus se hacen viveres de todo un para que ese ejercito s avanzar, moverse y vencer a las ciudades inm6viles, a las huertas comodonas, a los obreros que impunan martillos, a los payeses que impunan hoces. (p. 84)27 in the section dealing with the or geography of spain (pp. were identified in terms of their historical military value. hel rio ebro es el baluarte contra la invasion musulmana en arag6n, y el de zaragoza contra napole6n, y el de nuestros combatientes nacionales contra los rojos" (p. 83).28 a discussion of spain's mineral resources included, "espafia tiene sustancias y piedras minerales ... y hast a explosivos para matar a la gente mala que no quiere a espafia" (p. 94).29 even the citrus groves were interpreted as representing the colors of the spanish flag: "los naranjales de espafia, con su encarnado, y los limones, con su amarillo, significan nuestra bandera frutal ante las naciones" (p. 92).30 the intellectuals who founded the academia de la lengua were portrayed as "guerrilleros de la erudici6n y las letras" in a war against french influence over castilian spanish (p. 140) • gimenez caballero joined a militant nationalist ideology with theology in his discussion of the defense of hispanidad. he explained that fe (faith) meant f. e., or the falange espanola, and that since july 18, 1936 (the date of the movimiento nacionalista's revolt against the republican government) , " ... la fe reedifica triunfal sus obras en espafia" (p. 208).31 the eucharist was explained in terms of spain's farm laborers who produced bread and wine, which "los heroes tuvieron que comer para guerrear" (p. 194).n approximately twenty percent of the textbook's illustrations contain militaristic themes. four illustrations, for example, refer specifically to falangist military exploits during the civil war; another from the same period is entitled "revoluci6n marxista." sixteen questions from the end-of the chapter exercises related directly to symbols of the falangist movement. over one hundred questions, ranging from "escribid sobre los avances y frentes nacionales en la guerra de 1936 a 1939" (p. 40)33 to ""que juegos teneis de ~uerra vosotros los muchachos?" (p. 85) , are related to militaristic themes. if spain were to the glory of world empire, she would need a warrior king, decisive in battle and skilled in itics. in this regard, the author's treatment of hel caudillo," as franco was affectionately known, merits attention. a series of comparisons with legendary heroes of 74 spain, gimenez caballero is able to expand the image of generalisimo franco beyond that of a mere military figure to that of the caring father and generous provider and defender of a nation. the author explains, "los caudillos son aquellos jefes que van a la cabeza de sus pueblos en las guerras y triunfan ... ' mussolini en italia, hitler en alemania, oliveira en portugal, franco en espafia. la palabra caudillo significa 'cabeza, gui6n, capitan'" (p. 164).35 of note again here is the relationship drawn between franco and other fascist leaders of the day. to franco befell the task of breathing life into the "genio de espafia" . gimenez caballero called upon heroes both real and legendary from spain's romanticized past in an effort to glorify and almost deify franco. the caudillo was heralded in espafia nuestra as "el heroe de romance como el cid" whose destiny was the reconquest of the spanish empire. he demonstrated the decisiveness of pizarro, the spanish conquistador. as a military strategist, he rivaled "el gran capitan," gonzalo fernandez de c6rdoba, conqueror of the moors. in the epilogue (pp. 231-236), "la fabula maravillosa de espafia," franco appeared as the caudillo arriving mounted on a white stallion to save the princess, spain, from a deep stupor caused when she ate a fruit poisoned by her evil step-mother, who was envious of spain's power and beauty. "franco es el caudillo nuevo y tradicional de espafia" (p. 172).m the impossible dream the ideological perspective uncovered in this analysis of the textbook provides insight into education in francoist spain following the civil war. more importantly, it illuminates some of the ideological processes by which the victors of the spanish civil war consolidated and justified their power to a new generation of spanish youngsters. gimenez caballero, when interviewed in 1977, spoke as a poet of the conditions in a society which produce fascism: hel fascismo se produce en los paises que han tenido una historia, una tradici6n, y que se ven desposeidos de ellas, que se quedan anulados en la historian (1979). clearly his work in espana nuestra constituted one attempt to rekindle in the youth of spain what he called the genio or the essential nature and of her people. yet, his chosen for molding minds was encumbered an that looked beyond spain's borders, and thus, beyond falangist nationalism, for strength. gimlnez caballero desperately envisioned a new generation of spaniards, emboldened by his effort in espana nuestra, to restore spain to her sixteenth century grandeur as an imperial power. he called upon his young readers to be vigilant defenders of franco's "new state" but armed them only with rhetoric, religiosity, and a romanticized revisionist history. notes 1 this and all subsequent passages quoted from the text are in their original form. my translation of the passage to english appears by the corresponding number in the notes. 2 there is no concession for the terrible enemy which has brought our people to a most frightening civil war: the separatism of two spains and of two casts of spaniards. on the other hand, even the most remote successes of our fatherland are always related to the unifying movement of our falangism ... 3 .•. that the bases of this nuestra espana are two fundamental feelings: religious and heroic, whose consequences lead to an unceasing exaltation of the catholic and militaristic values of spain, the only ones capable of justifying with preciseness and greatness the universal destiny of spain, the key to her countryside, the genius of her language, the impetus of her founders, and the fruit of her works. 4 write about the eagle as a bird of prey and as an imperial symbol. 5 listen well and forever, spanish children! he of you who forgets his spanish tongue or exchanges it for another ceases to be spanish and christianl for (committing) a betrayal of spain and a sin against god i and he must leave spain i and when he should die, his traitorous soul shall go to helll 6 be alert, youth, sentinels of spain. 7 for that (reason) communism is the politics of envy which makes communism twist around the hand--closing the fist--with the rancor of the head of a serpent. 8 ••• color of blood like that which perhaps you may have seen your fathers, or your older brothers, or 75 your older friends shed in the trenches of the caudillo. and with the color of gold, with the color of the bread which god gives us everyday, with the color of the yellow spanish soil upon which our combatants triumphed. 9 •.• if someone laughs at or insults the name of god or of spain, or of your mother before you, do not vacillate! assail him with your fists, with your teeth and your feet. and if you do not do it, coward! you shall not wear that paper medal over your heart, nor the arrows on your shirt. 10 cry with grief, bitterness, unceasingly, quietly .. and you shall see how whoever has insulted your treasure will grow pale and shrivel. and he will try to caress you and will draw away with head lowered in silence vanquished by the strength of your sorrow and by the valor of your grace. 11 to die and to live again. to give her blood so that all the peoples and nations of the world may unite. 12 for that (reason)--my children--it is correct that you should imagine spain as (in) a perpetual combat and that you should view your life with a military vision. 13 spain--daughter--loyal to rome throughout history--realizes, at last, at the end of the xvi century, once again the unification of the globe, the fusion of races and beliefs. 14 and in face of the heroism while confronting napoleon and the greatness of the castilian, the germans said that the spanish were their brothers. 15 ... an aryan race, aristocracy and the regal attributes copied from the roman world. 16 every conspiracy against that unity is repulsive. all separatism is a crime which we will not pardon. 17 ... those of our children who died under the machine gun and hunger of the reds. 18 ... carries an idea of love and of art, of individualization, to regenerate the collective masses of "workers in series" who the machine and heavy industry had converted into slaves and things. 19 ... with such hate and violence has been profaned by socialism. 20 the spanish language, attacked as (happened with) cain by her sister french tongue, began to die subtly of poison. and she died of infection, her blood plagued by some vermin and beetle larvae called "gaulisms, frenchisms." 21 ... another new, grave illness: anglosaxonism and nordism. 22 and there was the "nurse" and the "miss" for the children. and "flirt" for the youth. and "clubs" for adults. and "five o'clock tea," and "bridge," and garden-party." 23 ... to free spain from her parliamentarian, liberal intellectual and revolutionary invaders. so that spain might once again be united, great and free." 24 the catholic monarchs bring to spain the supreme organism of unification and national purification which has (ever) existed: the holy tribunal of the inquisition (1478) or general ministry of state security. thanks to which religious unity is achieved (by) watching and castigating jews and heretics. 25 ... to whom is attributed the concept that "life is militia." 26 ..• which carries (into the mountains) the bread and bullets to our soldiers. 27 and--in a moment of danger--the shepherd's hook or crook is transformed into a rifle. his eye, accustomed to (seeing) at a distance, aims the bullet. and his cattle become victuals for an entire army, so that that army can always advance, move and conquer immobile cities, commodious orchards, workers who hold hammers, ignorant peasants who hold sickles. 28 the ebro river is the bulwark against the muslim invasion in aragon, and the (river) of zaragoza against napoleon, and of our combatants against the reds. 29 spain has substantial mineral deposits ..• and even explosives to kill the bad people who do not love spain. 30 the orange groves of spain, their red, and lemons, with yellow, signify our fruitful before the nations. with their flag 31 ... faith triumphantly reconstructs her works in spain. 76 32 the heroes had to eat in order to do battle. 33 write about the advances and nationalist fronts in the war of 1936 to 1939. 34 what war games do you boys have? 35 caudillos are those chieftains who go at the head of their people in wars and triumph ... mussolini in italy, hitler in germany, oliveira in portugal, franco in spain. the word caudillo means "head, guide, captain." 36 franco is the new and traditional caudillo of spain. 37 fascism is produced in countries which have had a history, a tradition, and have been dispossessed of them, (and) which are left obliterated in history. bibliography anyon, jean. "ideology and united states history textbooks." harvard educational review 49 (1979) 361-386. de puelles benitez, manuel. educaci6n e ideologia en la espana contemporanea. barcelona: editorial labor, s.a., 1980. ellwood, sheelagh m. "falange espanola and the creation of the francoist 'new state'." european history quarterly 20 (1990) 209-225. fernandez soria, juan manuel. educaci6n y cultura en la guerra civil. valencia: imprinta martin, 1984. foard, douglas falangist: caballero." contemporary 1975) : 3-18. w. "the forgotten ernesto gimenez journal of history 10 (january, gimenez caballero, ernesto. memorias de un dictador. barcelona: editorial planeta, 1979. gimenez caballero, ernesto. espana nuestra, el libro de las juventudes espanolas. madrid: ediciones de la vicesecretaria de educaci6n popular, 1943. gimenez caballero, ernesto. retratos espanoles. barcelona: editorial planeta, 1985. payne, stanley g. the franco regime 1936-1975. madison: university of wisconsin press, 1987. vicesecretaria de educaci6n popular. fundamentos del nuevo estado. madrid: ediciones de la vicesecretaria de educaci6n popular, 1941. urban legends: representing the urban teacher in urban teacher film (1955-2007) joseph flynn, carla cooper shaw, and nina dorsch northern illinois university abstract this study examines the trends in representations of urban teachers in urban teacher films from 1955-2007. using a textual analysis (mckee 2005), ten films that focused on the lives of urban teachers were analyzed. the findings show clear trends and the development of a ―grand narrative‖ about urban teachers and teaching. understanding these trends and narrative can help challenge the assumptions preservice teachers have about urban teaching that result in avoiding those school contexts. introduction film possesses a psychological and political force, derived in part from its nature as visual stories and western audiences’ conditioning to particular story structures, themes, and values (shaw and nederhouser 2005; zavarzeduh 1991). the subconscious power of movies also comes from the vicarious experiences they provide (bandura 2002; author and nederhouser 2005). just as beliefs about teaching are often formed at a subconscious level during childhood, impressions about teaching may be developed subconsciously while viewing films, especially as represented across the genre of teacher films (shaw and nederhouser 2005). the power of film has been harnessed as a teaching tool in teacher education (dalton 1999; giroux 1997). film offers members of a teacher education course a common text and examples to critique, rather than sharing idiosyncratic stories from their personal and pre-professional lives (trier 2001). wrestling with a common text provides the opportunity for the whole class to reflect on personal experiences and assumptions about the nature of teaching and teaching in urban schools particularly (grant 2002). through film, students find that images of experiences and ideas will resonate and conflict with their own, and in the process of exploring these issues, students gain new insights about sociocultural and political issues, identity, pedagogy, and teaching practices. brunner (1994) used school films to offer preservice teachers stories with which to think about schooling in concrete ways. as she explains, ―making a leap from abstraction to situation can be difficult without a bridge… [school films] can provide such a link and may be the key to making meaning‖ (p. 71). trier (2001) also used school films to help preservice teachers consider the personal and professional lives of teachers. using a combination of articles and key scenes from school films, trier provided his students with experiences they otherwise were not able to have. not only did this kind of engagement offer a common experience, it also facilitated his students’ understanding of a source of cultural myths. as trier put it, ―their own images … were probably derived from having watched such films…‖ (p. 128). similarly grant (2002) showed preservice teachers filmic representations of urban schools, as portrayed in dangerous minds (1995), stand and deliver (1988), and 187 (1997). grant led her students in critically examining representations of urban teachers and schools in order to challenge 85 preservice teachers’ assumptions about teaching and learning in urban contexts. as she states: the stories in these movies, although they contain grains of truth about schools and teaching, also reflect and affirm many of the myths and distorted understandings that future teachers have about urban students, urban teachers, urban schools, and urban communities (p. 79). grant’s observation highlights school films as a potentially influential source of cultural myths about urban teaching. the challenges of teaching in urban schools are many and well documented (e.g., american federation of teachers 2007; fischman, dibara, and gardner 2006; kincheloe 2007; marvin 2006; smith and smith 2006). urban schools are often hard to staff with ―highly qualified teachers,‖ especially in disciplinerelated shortage areas, such as special education and secondary math and science (illinois state board of education 2005). so challenging is the role of the urban teacher that haberman (1995) devised a star selection process based on 14 functions of effective teachers in urban classrooms, including building relationships with students, approaching teaching with stamina, and remaining focused on student learning. these teachers are undaunted by at risk labels applied to students of color and poverty. with their success in urban classrooms, star teachers represent an ideal to which teachers might aspire. more pervasive, and perhaps compelling, in the minds of potential urban teachers than the functions of star teachers are the cultural myths that shape teachers’ and society’s views of effective teaching (britzman 2003). britzman notes, ―cultural myths provide a set of ideal images, definitions, justifications, and measures for thought, feelings, and agency that work to render as unitary and certain the reality it seeks to produce‖ (p. 222). that is, cultural myths are ideal images that are so pervasive they become expectations that are internalized. the question is not necessarily whether or not these myths are true or false, accuracies or distortions, but the expectations they emit become sacrosanct in the minds of viewers and thus shape individual expectations about what teaching is and what it takes to be a good urban teacher. britzman’s ethnography of preservice teachers uncovered three cultural myths that act as barriers to acquiring new knowledge and perspectives about teaching and learning: (1) everything depends on the teacher, (2) the teacher is an expert, and (3) teachers are self-made. these myths have informed prospective teachers’ notions of good teaching and are extremely resistant to change. the last myth, in particular, can be seen as having the most potential to influence would-be urban teachers. for the novice teacher, this cultural myth gives rise to a belief in ―a kind of social darwinism … in which only the strong survive‖ (p. 230). the myth of the selfmade teacher leads into the myth of the teacheras-hero (marshall 2007), and these myths likely are furthered through popular film. how, then, do school films portray teachers in urban schools? this question guided the current investigation, the purpose of which was to identify trends, if any, in the portrayal of urban teaching. under this guiding question a few other essential questions arose. do the representations of the urban teacher follow a particular set of trends? what approaches to curriculum and instruction are largely evident in these films? what are the prevailing stories that are furthered through this genre of film? because many pre-service teachers have seen these films 86 and the representations can sharply influence how individuals construct expectations, pedagogy, and practice, these questions merit examination. method as teacher educators who teach courses about the representations of teachers in film and utilize film for cultural analyses in courses for pre-service and inservice teachers, we sought to conduct an analysis of trends in the ways filmmakers—and by extension moviegoers, including prospective and practicing teachers— have represented urban teaching in the united states over the past half century. to identify trends, a text analysis was conducted. text analysis, according to mckee (2003), is an appropriate method for seeking ―to obtain a sense of the ways in which, in particular cultures at particular times, people make sense of the world around them‖ (p. 1). in text analysis, a variety of documents, productions, and objects can serve as texts, so long as they are ―… something we make meaning from‖ (p. 4). deciding the criteria for choosing films to examine was not as simple as one would assume. although many films are set in schools, relatively few feature teachers in urban school contexts as the protagonists. filmographies constructed by bulman (2005), dalton (1999), and nederhouser (2000) reveal that school films typically focus on the experiences of students, not teachers. three criteria, consistent with the study’s focus on myths of urban teachers, guided the selection of films for analysis. first, the story must be set in an urban school. to qualify as urban, the setting must include customary images of the inner city, such as explicit indications of poverty in both the school and the surrounding community, such as dilapidated or burnt-out buildings, minimal resources, housing projects, and gang-related grafitti. in representations of urban schools, students often, though not always (e.g., to sir, with love), are predominantly latino and/or african american. these attributes eliminate some movies which at first glance appear to be set in urban schools. teachers (1984), for example, contains images commonly associated with innercity schools—low achievement, chaotic classrooms, apathetic teachers, unruly students, incompetent administrators—but the students of teachers and their community do not show clear indications of poverty. rather, teachers, which was released one year after a nation at risk (national commission on excellence in education 1983), satirized the lamentable condition of u.s. education, in general, in the 1980s. if we were examining the general representations of teachers then teachers would without doubt be a key selection; however, since this study deals specifically with the representations of urban teachers, there are no clear indications, based upon our criteria, that qualifies this particular film. second, the protagonist must be a teacher, rather than an administrator, coach, or student. finally, to reflect film’s potential to impact the development of cultural mythology, the movie must be a feature-length film rather than a documentary or film short. the texts included in this inquiry, listed by release date, include: blackboard jungle (1955), to sir, with love (1967), up the down staircase (1967), stand and deliver (1988), dangerous minds (1995), 187 (1997), music of the heart (1999), half nelson (2006), the ron clark story (2006), and freedom writers (2007). text analysis took place in two broad stages. first, trends related to components of teacher identity and elements of story structure were identified. then, based on the trends that emerged, a deeper narrative analysis was 87 conducted. initial analysis of trends employed a version of text analysis similar to that used by nederhouser (2000) in her analysis of 100 teacher movies. nederhouser analyzed each film and its featured educators according to particular fields derived from a review of the literature related to images of teachers in film (e.g., burbach and figgins 1991; burbach and figgins 1993; swetnam 1991) and categories that emerged during viewing. we agreed upon both a priori and emergent fields, basing our decisions for field selection on relevant literature (burbach and figgins 1993; dalton 1999; grant 2002; nederhouser 2000; swetnam 1992), extensive viewing of school films, and experience using this genre of films as a teaching tool. the a priori fields included: release date, ethnicity of teacher, ethnicity of students, gender of teacher, true story, and career stage. after identifying a priori fields, we individually screened the ten films, taking notes and making preliminary conclusions related to the targeted fields. then we engaged in lengthy discussions about the movies, closely comparing and contrasting our individual interpretations. we reached consensus regarding the analysis of each film and in so doing enhanced validity. according to bernard (1994), ―validity itself [of text analysis] depends on the collective opinion of researchers‖ (p. 43). during this deliberation we identified additional fields that were evident across all the films: approach change, epiphany, cost of teaching, and benefit of teaching. figure 1 shows all fields, both a priori and emergent— with definitions, when needed, and coding options. figure 1: a priori and emergent fields—with definitions, when needed and coding options field* definition (if needed) coding options qualitative coding options (if applicable) release date n/a n/a n/a ethnicity of teacher n/a african american latino white n/a ethnicity of students n/a african american latino white mixed n/a gender of teacher n/a female/male n/a true story n/a yes/no n/a career stage n/a neophyte/veteran n/a approach change teacher’s change in curriculum or pedagogy, or both, and/or in interaction, or relating to students based on caring and concern yes/no curriculum approach  intellectual traditionalism  social behaviorialism  critical reconstructionism  traditionalism interaction: varies epiphany the moment that catalyzes insight on the teacher’s part. from this point forward the teacher responds in a markedly different way to students. yes/no varies cost what the teacher loses yes/no varies *a priori options italicized. 88 we were aware that many of the cinematic teachers underwent changes in their curricular approaches ,and we wanted to explore those changes. curriculum is a complicated, contested terrain with numerous approaches and strategies (flinders and thornton 2004; pinar 1995). in order to see how curriculum and pedagogy play out on screen, schubert’s approaches to curriculum (1996) was particularly helpful. he delineates four approaches to curriculum and instruction that are concise and helpful in thinking about the approaches utilized by cinematic urban teachers. first, he posits the intellectual traditional approach. this approach is seen through an emphasis on the classics, intrinsic rewards, socratic dialogue, and critical thinking. next, he constructs the social behavioral approach. measurement of learning, extrinsic rewards, and training in life skills mark this approach. the experiential approach uses active, hands-on methods to connect student learning with their lives and communities. schubert’s final approach is the critical reconstructionist approach. critical interpretations of content, empowerment of oppressed groups, and libratory pedagogy are characteristic of this approach. we added a fifth approach, the traditional approach, characterized by conventional content and methods, such as lecture and drill, as a sort of baseline approach typically seen in urban school films and reminiscent of the methods used in urban schools in the wake of no child left behind (darling-hammond 2007; neill 2005). any teacher can display a combination of these approaches at any time. how teachers’ approaches to curriculum are represented in film is no different. as a matter of fact, most of the teachers examined in the selected films displayed either a transition from one approach to another, or consistently displayed a combination of approaches. for example, mr. dadier of blackboard jungle (1955) began his teaching utilizing a staunchly traditional approach. as the film nears its climax his approach began to fuse a social behavioral approach with an experiential approach, as seen in figure 2, which presents qualitative coding of the emergent fields. in the process of completing figures 1 and 2, predictions about trends arose. once the matrices were complete, we began testing predictions by cross-referencing particular fields, as nederhouser (2000) did in her analysis of trends. from this cross-referencing phase of the analysis process, findings regarding trends in the films’ depictions of urban teaching emerged. a distinctive narrative structure became apparent in which the protagonists experience chaos, an epiphany, and then transformation. by virtue of its prevalence and persistence among the films under investigation, we came to see it as a dominant cultural discourse, a grand narrative, worthy of further examination. at this point, the second phase of text analysis began. delving more deeply into narrative structure we uncovered significant trends in the representations of approach change, gender, race and ethnicity of teacher and students, career stage, and costs. findings to derive the study’s initial findings, selected fields were cross-referenced, with combinations of fields constituting permutations. for each permutation, the field of title was held constant. when a permutation yielded 50-60%, 70-90%, or 100% of the movies under consideration, a moderate, strong, or very strong trend, respectively, was deemed to exist. the order in which the following permutations and their results are presented approximates the researchers’ process of discovery. 89 figure 2: data summary of qualitative coding options title (gender of teacher) release date approach change* epiphany cost benefit blackboard jungle (male) 1955 traditional>social behavioral+experiential discovery of students’ robbery plot; discovery of a student’s musical ability physical safety discovery of teaching as true calling to sir, with love (male) 1967 traditional>social behavioral+experiential discovery of sanitary napkin in furnace dignity discovery of teaching as true calling up the down staircase (female) 1967 traditional>experiential discovery of how intimidating students can be  personal relationships  physical safety discovery of teaching as true calling stand and deliver (male) 1988 experiential>traditional shock of the chaotic first day of class physical health vindication of methods dangerous minds (female) 1995 traditional>social behavioral>experiential+ intellectual traditional shock of the chaotic first day of class  personal life  money discovery of teaching as true calling 187 (male) 1997 experiential discovery that his watch has been stolen by a student  relationships  sanity  life none music of the heart (female) 1999 curriculum: traditional interaction: brusque>caring discovery that student has a physical challenge none  discovery of teaching as true calling  personal salvation  vindication of methods half nelson (male) 2006 no substantive change none none relationship with student as salvation the ron clark story (male) 2006 curriculum: traditional+social behavioral+experiential interaction: defensive>vulnerable girlfriend’s remark  heath  dignity  vindication of methods  romantic relationship freedom writers (female) 2007 traditional>experiential interception of student-drawn racist caricature  marriage  time  money discovery of teaching as true calling * (>) indicates a change. (+) indicates a combination of approaches. 90 perception of reality in portrayal of urban teachers interested in the extent to which urban school movies may be seen as reflecting reality, we checked the permutation, title x true story. five of the 10 movies are based on accounts of real teachers, suggesting a moderate trend. this trend is presented in figure 3. this moderate trend is highly important because it offers legitimacy to the stories told and the images of urban teachers represented. furthermore, it calls into question exactly what identities are in fact being constructed and do they actually reflect the reality of the teaching force today? figure 3. trend: perception of reality in portrayal of urban teachers trend strength (ratio: percentage) movies portraying urban teachers are based on real teachers’ accounts. moderate (5/10: 50%) components of teachers’ identities we then investigated permutations pertaining to components of teacher characters’ identities. title x gender revealed that in 60% of the films, males portray teachers, suggesting a moderate trend. the reality of this is that female teachers are approximately 75% of the full-time teaching force (national center for educational statistics 2009). the notion that most films portray the stories of men in urban teaching contexts further highlights urban schools as dangerous environments and plays to stereotypes of both place and gender. although this may add drama, the stories of neophyte teachers struggling to find their way are even more compelling. title x career stage yielded 70% of the movies as portraying neophytes, a strong trend. arguably, ron clark—as a veteran teacher, but a neophyte urban teacher—fits the trend as well, thereby slightly strengthening it. with the exception of music of the heart, which also covers roberta gaspari’s later career, these films are devoted exclusively to teachers’ first years in urban classrooms. title x teacher ethnicity identified 70% of films with teachers who are white, indicating a strong trend. to explore the relationship between teachers’ ethnic identities and those of their students, we checked title x teacher ethnicity x student ethnicity. in 80% of the movies, teachers are of a different ethnicity than the majority of their students, indicating a strong trend. these movies are to sir, with love, up the down staircase, dangerous minds, 187, music of the heart, half nelson, the ron clark story, and freedom writers. with the exception of mark thackeray and his students in to sir, with love, these eight teachers are white and their students are of color, predominantly african american and/or latino. trends associated with components of urban teacher identity are presented in figure 4. figure 4. trends: components of teachers’ identities trend strength urban teachers are portrayed as male. moderate (6/10: 60%) urban teachers are portrayed as neophytes. strong* (7-8/10: 70-80%) urban teachers are portrayed as white. strong (7/10: 70%) urban teachers (white) and their students (of color) are portrayed as being of different ethnicities. strong (8/10: 80%) * the ―strong‖ strength remains the same whether or not ron clark is included as a neophyte. 91 approach change and epiphanies, costs and benefits trends related to gender, career stage, teacher ethnicity, and student ethnicity highlight relatively static, immutable components of identity. to investigate whether teachers change as the stories progress, we checked title x approach change. in eight of the 10 movies, teachers change their approaches, indicating a strong trend. figure 2 summarizes the nature of these changes. jaime escalante in stand and deliver, for example, starts experientially. in the first teaching scene, he facilitates students’ understanding of fractions by cutting an apple with a butcher knife, and soon after he takes students on a field trip. once he gets students’ attention through experientialism, he adopts a more traditional approach—goading students into chanting, ―a negative times a negative equals a positive,‖ and explaining how to solve problems on the board. more often, a teacher hits on experientialism after traditionalism has failed. that is, the teacher who employs a banking method (freire 2000), whereby the teacher sees students as depositories for the wisdom she wants to dispense, finds this approach to be unproductive, marginalizing the teacher from the class community. louann johnson in dangerous minds, for instance, starts traditionally with an unsuccessful attempt to get students to conjugate verbs. she soon moves to social behaviorism as she tosses candy to students who participate. when participation becomes the norm, she abandons this tangible reward. to students’ objections, she replies, ―learning should be its own reward.‖ this pithy edict is a key tenet of intellectual traditionalism (schubert 1996). to bolster the message, she engages students in the experientialist bob dylan-dylan thomas contest in which students experience the thrill of research and of finding reflections of their own lives in the poets’ words. at some point in the teachers’ development, usually later, experientialism comes to play a strong role, often in combination with other approaches. it is noteworthy that despite students’ impoverished backgrounds, teachers whose approach changes do not employ critical reconstructionist approaches which would encourage the students to challenge the social, cultural, and economic factors that shape their lives. to explore what prompted changes, we considered epiphanies, or moments in which teachers experienced seemingly sudden insights that marked turning points in their approaches. checking title x approach change x epiphany, we found that in all eight movies in which teachers change approaches, epiphanies take place, indicating a very strong trend (figure 2). in most cases, these stimuli provoked teachers’ perception of their students’ humanity—the felt understanding of students’ reality and perspectives. for erin gruwell in freedom writers, who has tried approach after approach to little avail, insight comes with her interception of a student-drawn racist caricature. in to sir, with love, the moment arrives for mark thackeray, who has been struggling to maintain a temperate demeanor with his insolent students, when he discovers that students have put a sanitary napkin in the classroom furnace. as noted in figure 2, roberta gaspari of music of the heart and ron clark of the ron clark story do not change their approach to curriculum and instruction. they do, however, evidence change of another sort—how they relate to students. soon after roberta begins teaching violin she regularly teases and taunts her students. as she prods one little girl to stand up straight, roberta pokes the student’s leg and discovers that she wears leg braces and has a physical disability. after this epiphany, roberta’s approach to 92 interacting with students becomes more obviously caring. comparably, ron clark, who has tried approaches that presumably worked in his previous school but are failing with his urban students, feels helpless in the classroom. a friend’s comment—―you feel helpless? they feel that way everyday.‖—serves as an epiphany. thereafter, he takes pains to make his own vulnerability apparent to his students. it can be argued that all teachers who change approaches to curriculum and instruction also change how they relate to students, and both changes contribute to positive outcomes. for roberta gaspari and ron clark, however, their changes in relating to students seem sufficient for transforming the trajectories of their stories. leading up to their epiphanies, teachers struggle prodigiously—with themselves, students, fellow teachers, administrators, and other naysayers in their lives,–and must begin to weigh the costs of being urban teachers. to explore the costs paid by teachers as a result of devotion to career, we checked title x approach change x cost. the result indicates a strong trend, with 88% of the filmic teachers who evidence changes in approach paying substantial costs (figure 2 and figure 5). in blackboard jungle, for example, rick dadier’s physical safety is compromised when he is beat up by students. louann johnson of dangerous minds apparently has no time for a personal life, and she, like erin gruwell, pays out of pocket to enhance students’ learning opportunities. to further explore costs, now as they pertained to gender, we checked title x approach change x cost x gender. of the teachers who change approach, four are male and four are female, and most pay substantial costs. on the surface, then, no trend emerged regarding differential costs paid by male and female teachers. figure 3 reveals that males and females tend to pay different kinds of costs. three of the four male teachers experience threats to their physical health or well being: rick dadie of blackboard jungle is attacked by students, jaime escalante of stand and deliver suffers a heart attack, and ron clark comes down with pneumonia. throughout their travails, these men enjoy the affection and support of significant others. in contrast, each of the three female teachers takes a hit in their personal lives, and they take it without the support of romantic partners. sylvia barrett of up the downstair case and louann johnson of dangerous minds have no scenes whatsoever suggesting personal lives unrelated to school. freedom writers contains scenes of erin gruwell’s personal life, but she begins her first year of teaching with a husband and ends it without him. because three, or 75%, of the male teachers under consideration experience costs associated with physical health and well-being, a strong trend is indicated. because three, or 75%, of the female teachers under consideration pay costs related to their personal lives, a strong trend is indicated. roberta gaspari of music of the heart, unlike the other three female teachers, does not pay a cost to her personal life due to devotion to teaching. on the contrary, her immersion in teaching appears to provide an escape from romantic entanglements and their potential for failure, and her relationship with her sons continues to grow. what, we wondered, do teachers gain from their struggles and sacrifices? what is the pay-off? to explore benefits, we checked title x approach change x cost x benefit. the result indicated a very strong trend, with all seven teachers who change approaches and pay substantial costs also gaining substantial benefits, which are summarized in figure 2. if roberta gaspari, who does not pay a substantial cost, is taken into account by checking title x approach change x benefit, a very strong trend emerges, 93 with all eight teachers gaining significant benefits. the major benefit for six of these eight teachers is the discovery of teaching as their true calling, indicating a strong trend. jaime escalante and ron clark appear already to have arrived at this conviction, but they do find vindication of their controversial methods by story’s end. in both cases, vindication comes in the form of students’ scores on standardized tests. ron clark gains an additional benefit—a girlfriend who seems won over largely by his devotion to his students. roberta gaspari finds personal salvation in teaching and like escalante and clark, finds vindication of her contested methods. for her, vindication comes with the success and expansion of her music program. trends related to approaches, epiphanies, costs, and benefits appear in figure 5. figure 5. trends: approaches and epiphanies, costs and benefits trend strength urban teachers are portrayed as changing approaches, favoring experientialism. strong (8/10: 80%) urban teachers who change approaches are portrayed as also experiencing epiphanies. very strong (8/8: 100%) urban teachers who change approaches are portrayed as paying substantial costs. strong (7/8: 87.5%) urban male teachers who change approaches are portrayed as paying costs related to physical health and well being. strong (3/4: 75%) urban female teachers who change approaches are portrayed as paying costs related to their personal lives. strong (3/4: 75%) urban teachers who change approaches and pay substantial costs are portrayed as gaining substantial benefits. very strong (7/7: 100%) trend strength urban teachers who change approaches are portrayed as gaining substantial benefits. very strong (8/8: 100%) urban teachers who change approaches are portrayed as discovering teaching as their true calling. strong (6/8: 75%) the emergence of the grand narrative prompted by the consideration of approach change and the related fields of epiphany, cost, and benefit, we turned our attention to story structure. a particular and repetitive story arc began to materialize, initially termed story arc 1. story arc 1 hinges on the interaction between cycles of teacher perception and student reaction. that is, initially the teacher is a push-over, totalitarian, or clearly afraid. students react with mistrust, resistance, and rebellion, and the teacher comes to see the class as an unruly, uncontrollable mob. the teacher’s struggles are punctuated by an epiphany, which leads her to view students as individuals with unique needs; consequently, her approach changes. once students perceive that the teacher respects them, they respond in kind. the teacher nurtures a respectful classroom culture and a learning community coalesces, one that supports dramatic improvement in student learning. in essence, the teacher’s perception and students’ reactions become interdependent; their energies feed off each other, creating a positive feedback loop. stimulated by an epiphany, the process of change entails costs for most teachers and benefits for all. checking title x story arc we ultimately found that 80% of the films follow story arc 1, indicating a strong trend. only the films 187 and half nelson diverged from story arc 1. to flesh out story arc 1 as it relates to components of teacher identity, we checked title 94 x story arc 1 x gender. of these eight films, four portray male teachers and four portray female teachers. at first glance, the data seem to suggest a trend toward even portrayal of male and female teachers within story arc 1. however, by looking at the whole pool of 10 movies, different trends emerge. of the stories of the six male teachers in all 10 films, four, or 67%, follow story arc 1, suggesting a moderate trend. of the stories of the four female teachers in all 10 movies, all, or 100%, adhere to story arc 1, indicating a very strong trend. further fleshing out story arc 1 with regard to teacher identity, we checked title x story arc 1 x career stage. of the eight films, seven portray teachers as neophytes, indicating a strong trend. if ron clark also is considered to be a neophyte in an urban school context, then the trend becomes very strong. as indicated in figure 2, the two veteran teachers, trevor garfield of 187 and dan dunne of half nelson, do not change approaches with the majority of their students. looking at teachers’ ethnicity within story arc 1, we checked title x story arc 1 x teacher ethnicity. in the eight movies conforming to story arc 1, six of the teachers are white, indicating a strong trend. to investigate the relationship between teachers’ and students’ ethnicities within story arc 1, we checked title x story arc 1 x teacher ethnicity x student ethnicity. in six of the eight films, teachers’ ethnicities are different from the majority of their students’, indicating a strong trend. these movies are to sir, with love, up the down staircase, dangerous minds, music of the heart, the ron clark story, and freedom writers. trends related to the prevalence of story arc 1 and components of teacher identity appear in figure 6. because approach change with epiphanies is the pivot on which story arc 1 turns, it is logical to assume that the trends identified for teachers whose approach changes also apply to teachers whose stories conform to story arc 1; these teachers are one and the same. our assumptions were confirmed. trends related to structural elements of story arc 1 are presented in figure 7 on the next page. figure 6. trends: prevalence of story arc 1 and components of teacher identity trend strength stories of urban teachers are portrayed as following story arc 1. strong (8/10: 80%) stories of urban male teachers are portrayed as following story arc 1. moderate (4/6: 67%) stories of urban female teachers are portrayed as following story arc 1. very strong (4/4: 100%) urban teachers whose stories follow story arc 1 are portrayed as neophytes. strong / very strong * (7/8: 87.5% / 8/8: 100%) urban teachers whose stories follow story arc 1 are portrayed as white. strong (6/8: 75%) urban teachers, whose stories follow story arc 1, and their students are portrayed as being of different ethnicities. teachers are white; students are of color, predominantly african american and latino. strong (6/8: 75%) * the ―very strong‖ strength reflects ron clark’s inclusion as a neophyte. 95 figure 7. trends: structural elements of story arc 1 trend strength urban teachers whose stories follow story arc 1 are portrayed as changing approaches. very strong (8/8: 100%) urban teachers whose stories follow story arc 1 are portrayed as experiencing epiphanies. very strong (8/8: 100%) urban teachers whose stories follow story arc 1 are portrayed as paying substantial costs. strong (7/8: 87.5%) urban male teachers whose stories follow story arc 1 are portrayed as paying costs related to physical health and well being. strong (3/4: 75%) urban female teachers whose stories follow story arc 1 are portrayed as paying costs related to their personal lives. strong (3/4: 75%) urban teachers, whose stories follow story arc 1 and who pay substantial costs, are portrayed as gaining substantial benefits. very strong (7/7: 100%) urban teachers whose stories follow story arc 1 are portrayed as gaining substantial benefits. very strong (8/8: 100%) urban teachers whose stories follow story arc 1 are portrayed as discovering teaching as their true calling. strong (6/8: 75%) perception of reality in portrayal of urban teachers whose stories follow story arc 1 at this point, we returned to our interest in the extent to which these movies may be perceived as conveying the reality of urban teaching—this time, with regard to story arc 1. by checking title x true story x story arc 1, we found that all five movies based on real teachers’ stories fit within story arc 1, indicating a very strong trend. our hypothesis about the persistence of story arc 1 was confirmed by checking title x release date x story arc 1. results reveal that over time, story arc 1 has proven robust. for over half a century—from blackboard jungle in 1955 to freedom writers in 2007—story arc 1 has provided the structure for eight of the ten films, indicating a strong trend. figure 8 presents trends related to the perception of reality in portrayals of urban teachers whose stories follow story arc 1. figure 8. trends: perception of reality in portrayal of urban teachers whose stories follow story arc 1 trend strength stories based on real teachers’ accounts follow story arc 1. very strong (5/5: 100%) over time, story arc 1 provides the structure for portrayals of urban teachers. strong (8/10: 80%) conclusion the prevalence of story arc 1 across films and across time suggests a sort of grand narrative that may serve as a source of cultural myths or urban legends, potentially shaping the ways preservice teachers, and the general public, perceive the reality of urban teaching. in this reality, urban teachers’ personal struggles hover around issues regarding the struggle to make time for family and self, health, personal safety, and determining whether or not they really want to do this job. urban teacher images are consistently juxtaposed against contexts that are seemingly insurmountable. they address issues like violence, teen pregnancy, low academic 96 achievement, and uncooperative, uncaring parents—issues rarely dealt with in suburban school films (bulman 2005; mccarthy et. al. 2004). the urban teaching context is depicted as a dead end of depravity that causes the viewer to feel much more enthralled by the seemingly superhuman teachers. in effect, the grand narrative may contribute to the reluctance to teach in urban schools because pre-service teachers look at the accumulation of images furthered through the grand narrative and wonder if they have the stuff to hack it. while discussing the films, we often questioned how many of our students, who are largely white, middle-class females, have no desire and even a fear of teaching in urban schools. the representations furthered through the grand narrative, without a vigorous critique, are difficult to see around. grant (2002) points out teachers in such films more often than not are constructed as saviors who are the center of learning, deeply involved with students’ personal lives, naturally authoritative, more enlightened than parents, and all-sacrificing for students and the profession. her point is that the films do not adequately portray the complexity of urban teachers and schools, and they ―disregard the powerful political, economic, and social forces at play‖ (p. 85) in those contexts. keser (2007) in a spot-on review of freedom writers argues: despite its compassion for kids born into situations they didn’t make and the dog-eat-dog struggles happening on their doorsteps, the movie keeps mum when it comes to the real culprits—the brutal economic outlook for underclass members plus the systematic crippling of public education via underfunding. the untoward sympathy for the heroine plays badly next to its scant concern for the students’ need to support themselves in dead-end mcjobs, nor is there much sign of behavioral pitfalls like drug and alcohol abuse (or even cursing). (retrieved november 17, 2009) the reality of teaching in urban high schools, any high school for that matter, is that teachers teach multiple classes and can engage upwards 100-120 students daily. clearly, the heroic actions of teachers in this genre are simply unsustainable as represented (keser 2007), especially since these teachers operate largely in isolation from their colleagues and have little experience with pedagogy and practice. the grand narrative represents many truths about teaching in urban contexts: repercussions of poverty, violence, inept administrators, naysaying careerist colleagues, progressive methods, etc. however, films of the grand narrative largely focus on the power of singular, heroic individuals in the interest of driving story and drama. again, this is especially difficult since many of these stories are based on real teachers. the cultural myths that pervade the grand narrative, as briztman (2003) pointed out, create expectations for the uninitiated that foster a sense of fear and loathing about teaching in urban contexts while never actually showing what a typical day looks like from the perspective of real (rather than reel) teachers, nor do these films show how teachers create coalitions of likeminded professionals for ideas, support, and action. moreover, the grand narrative eclipses stories of teachers, administrators, and parents (i.e. communities) who work together to bring change in challenging contexts for all students and not just a few in one class. as moore (2007), a teacher in new york city, cautions in another critique of freedom writers, ―… the most dangerous message such films promote is that what schools really need are 97 heroes. this is the myth of the great teacher‖ (p. 1). uninitiated in the real world of urban teaching, pre-service teachers likely interpret these films as portraying reality, given the very strong trend that all five films based on real teachers’ accounts follow story arc 1 (refer to figure 3). whether these dramatized accounts are perceived to be myth or reality, the grand narrative has proven compelling to moviegoers and profitable for moviemakers. in moore’s reference to the urban teacher as hero, we find a hint of the reason behind the grand narrative’s appeal. the mythical hero’s journey, then, warrants further examination. in addition, the story structures of the two films in this study that do not conform to the grand narrative are worthy of exploration—for they possess potential as counter narratives that can be equally as powerful and insightful as the grand narrative. references american federation of teachers. 2007. meeting the challenge: recruiting and retaining teachers in hard-to-staff schools. washington, dc: american federation of teachers. bandura, albert. 2002. social cognitive theory of mass communication. in media effects: advances in theory and research, ed. jennings bryant and dolf zillman, 121-153. mahwah, nj: lawrence erlbaum associates, 2002. bernard, h.r. 1994. research methods in anthropology: qualitative and quantitative approaches, 2 nd edition. walnut creek, ca: altamira. britzman, d. p. 2003. practice makes practice: a critical study of learning to teach. new york: state university of new york press. brown, j.l. and c.a. moffett. 1999. the hero’s journey: how educators can transform schoolsand improve learning. alexandria, va: association for supervision and curriculumdevelopment. brunner, diane. 1994. inquiry and reflection: framing narrative practice in education. ny:state university of new york press. bulman, robert. 2005. hollywood goes to high school: cinema, schools, and american culture. ny: worth publishers. burbach, h. j.,and m.a. figgins. 1991. "screen images of principals--a new vision is needed." naasp bulletin 75: 52-58. burbach, h.j., and m.a. figgins. 1993. "a thematic profile of the images of teachers in film." teacher education quarterly 20: 6575. campbell, j. 1949. the hero with a thousand faces. princeton, n.j.: princeton university press. dalton, mary. 1999. the hollywood curriculum: teachers and teaching in the movies. ny: peter lang publishing. darling-hammond, l. 2007. evaluating no child left behind. the nation, (may 21), www.thenation.com/doc/20070521 /darlinghammond. fischman, w., j.a. dibara, and h. gardner. 2006). "creating good education against the odds." cambridge journal of education 36: 383-398. flinders, d. and s. thornton, eds. 2004. the curriculum studies reader, 2 nd ed. ny: routledge. freire, paulo. 2000. pedagogy of the oppressed, 30 th anniversary ed. ny: continuum. giroux, h. a. 1997. channel surfing: race talk and the destruction of american youth. ny: st. martin's press. grant, p. a. 2002. "using popular film to challenge preservice teachers' beliefs about teaching in urban schools." urban education, 37: 77-95. haberman, m. 1995. star teachers of children in poverty. west lafayette, in: kappa delta pi. illinois state board of education. 2005. educator supply and demand in illinois 2005: annual report. springfield, il: illinois state board of education. 98 kincheloe, j.l., ed. 2007. urban education: a comprehensive guide for educators, parents, and teachers. blue ridge summit, pa: rowan and littlefield education. marvin, l. 2006. "dancing between two worlds: a portrait of the life of a black male teacher in south central la." international journal of qualitative studies in education 19: 221-242. mccarthy, c., a. rodriquez, s. meecham, s. david, c. wilson-brown, h. godina, k.e. supryia, and e. buendia. 2004. race, suburban resentment, and the representation of the inner city in contemporary film and television. in off white: readings on power, privilege, and resistance, eds. l. weis, l. powell pruitt, and a. burns, 163174. ny:routledge. mckee, a. 2005. textual analysis. london, uk: sage publications. moore, t. 2007. classroom distinctions. the new york times, march 3, opinion section, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/19/opinion/19 moore.html. national center for education statistics. 2008. school and staffing survey. washington, d.c.: national center for education statistics. http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/sass/tables/state _2004_19.asp. nederhouser, d. d. 2002. reel teachers: a descriptive content analysis of the portrayal of american teachers in popular cinema. phd diss., northern illinois university. neill, m. 2005. the no child left behind act is not improving education. in education: opposing viewpoints, ed. m.williams, 162168. farmington hills, mi: greenhaven press. pinar, w. 2004. what is curriculum theory. mahwah, nj: lawrence erlbaum associates, inc. schubert, w.h. 1996. "perspectives on four curriculum traditions." educational horizons 74: 169-176. shaw, carla cooper, and d. d. nederhauser. 2005. reel teachers: references for reflection for real teachers. action in teacher education 27:85-95. smith, d.l. and smith, b.j. 2006. "perceptions of violence: the views of teachers who left urban schools." high school journal 89: 3442. swetnam, l.a. 1992. "media distortion of the teacher image". the clearing house, 66: 3032. trier, j. d. 2001. "the cinematic representation of the personal and professional lives of teachers." teacher education quarterly, 28: 127-142. zavarzeduh, m. 1991. seeing films politically. buffalo, ny: state university of new york press. manual training in the u 35 anticipating, influencing, and implementing the use of the manual training curriculum in schools: making a case for acknowledging missionary educators’ accomplishments in hawai‘i carl kalani beyer abstract the purpose of this article is to demonstrate that the use of manual training curriculum in the schools of hawaii anticipated, influenced, and implemented american use of this curricular practice continuously from 1835 until this curriculum was replaced by vocational education in the 1920s. the objective of this article is to fill a gap in american curriculum history and to promote the accomplishments of american missionary educators in hawai„i. introduction the thesis of this article is that for 85 years missionary educators anticipated and influenced the use of the manual training curriculum in schools of hawai„i. this study will demonstrate that beginning in 1835 when american missionaries to hawai„i introduced the manual training curriculum at the hilo boys‟ boarding school, there has been a continuous use of this curriculum, which included influencing the development of industrial education in the united states, and expanding this curriculum to other missionary and public schools in hawai‛i until vocational education supplanted this form of education of the mind and hands in the 1920s. education of the mind and hands is a general term used to encompass any of the following curricula: manual labor, industrial arts, industrial education, manual arts, manual training, vocational education (hall 1973). however, when one investigates the history of manual training in the united states, there is no mention of its use in the island kingdom or even after its annexation to the united states in 1898. the objective of this article is to fill the gap in curriculum history by acknowledging the accomplishments of these missionary educators. in addition, it is this author‟s contention that this accomplishment should be considered a part of the american educational experience for two reasons. first, when western education arrived in hawai„i, the primary sponsors were american protestant missionaries. they developed an educational system in hawai„i that mirrored what was being used in the united states. second, through letters (written and received) and subscribing to american education publications, or by their children‟s presence in the united states, where many were educated for their college education, the missionary educators shared what they were doing and kept abreast with the newest educational practices being implemented in the united states. my research relies on substantial evidence, primary and secondary, demonstrating that the use of manual training in hawai„i more than mirrored what was taking place in the united states, it anticipated and even influenced american use of this curricular practice. moreover, it is the intention of this author to demonstrate that in using manual training, the educators in hawai„i deserve to be recognized as not mere borrowers but innovators. most of the implementation of manual training in hawai„i was based on local conditions and, as such, anticipated on their own some of the same elements of this educational system in the united states and europe. 36 in the 1880s, when a new form of manual training curriculum was spreading throughout the united states, it made its way to hawai„i. this version of manual training curriculum was a more systematic form. it had been developed in sweden, russian, and finland (vaughn and mays 1924). while it was called manual training, it was meant to supplant earlier uses of this curriculum by providing manipulative experiences instead of learning just through the use of tools. as will be discussed in the section on upgrading manual training in hawai„i after the 1880s, educators in hawai„i were quick to adapt the new version by either adding elements to their existing use of manual training or in two cases (where they established new schools) by importing the new manual training curriculum wholesale. while the proponents of this new manual training were certainly aware that manual training had existed in the united states for a long time, they chose to ignore previous uses of manual training, which created the perception that their version of the manual training curriculum was new (author 2010). their version of manual training was promoted as the best way to provide the general industrial training that would meet the rapidly changing demands brought on by industrialization (struck 1930). calvin woodward (1890b), one of its supporters, was particularly concerned that the usual method of education steered students away from employment requiring hard labor. teaching character was an important component of manual training, as was the idea that schools provide reallife experiences and modify student conduct in accordance with predetermined aims and ideals (vaughn and mays 1924). after the hawaiian monarchy was overthrown in 1893, hawai„i was primarily under the control of the second-generation missionaries. using the new focus on a more systematized manual training, the second-generation missionaries involved in education revised and implemented this curriculum throughout the public schools of hawai„i. by the early years of the twentieth century and continuing through the 1920s, it was the preferred curriculum in both the private and public schools of hawai„i. as a result, in terms of length of time and continuity, the use of manual training in hawai„i was more preponderant than what was practiced in the united states. early history of manual training curriculum the manual training curriculum was widely used by educators in europe as early as the eighteenth century. johann pestalozzi is generally credited as being the father of this curriculum (barlow 1967; bennett 1926; comings 1915; hall 1973; keller 1948; struck 1930; vaughn & mays 1924; woodward 1890b). it was pestalozzi‟s philosophy of “learning by doing” that led him to sponsor a curriculum whereby books were supplemental to experience. this led him to create a form of instruction, which was based upon supplying the mind with ideas through both sense perception and observation and handling of objects. pestalozzi contended that children developed mentally through impressions and experiences, not through words. according to charles bennett (1926), an early twentieth century proponent of manual training, pestalozzi “took up the slogan, „back to nature,‟ and demanded that objects and activities of all sorts be used to train the sense-perceptions, believing that all knowledge came through the senses” (22-23). primarily, pestalozzi‟s desire to develop the manual training curriculum resulted as a reaction to the formal study of latin and greek grammar that predominated as the major form of education throughout the eighteenth century. although this article is about the manual 37 training system, pestalozzi advocated both manual labor and manual training systems. the manual labor system involved the inclusion of working with the hands as part of the curriculum; the manual training system involved instruction of the hands through the specific use of tools. both systems were often referred to as education of the mind and hands. while other educators utilized these systems as a means to prepare students for profitable employment, pestalozzi intended that these systems combine their special focus with moral and intellectual instruction. he was very aware of the need for education to connect to the advances being made by industry; nevertheless, he preferred an education where industry became a means to providing a general education (barlow 1967). the first opportunity to implement pestalozzi‟s ideas on education occurred when philip emanuel von fellenberg, an associate of pestalozzi, established two schools in hofwyl, switzerland. his experiment elaborated on his mentor‟s philosophy by bringing together upper and lower class students. the academy was intended for the sons of rich families; the farm and trade school provided instruction for poor children (barlow 1967). while fellenberg provided opportunities for the young people of the different social strata to get together, the education for each class was different. manual labor was used as a means to provide physical training for his upper class students, and a means of paying for instruction and living expenses for his lower class students. the curriculum for the upper class students was a classical education; the curriculum for the lower class students involved using manual training instruction connected to agriculture and industry with a common school academic education (keller 1948). manual training in hawai‘i prior to the 1880s western education arrived in hawai„i with the advent of missionaries sent by the american board of commissioners for foreign missions (abcfm) in 1820. at first, the american missionaries focused on educating adults in order to prepare them to accept christianity and read the bible for themselves. the missionaries preferred to provide an education based upon equal opportunity but due to the social structure of the hawaiian culture, education was impacted by the students‟ social class. thus, in 1831, lahainaluna high school was established as a teacher-training center to both resolve the dilemma posed by the lack of adequately prepared teachers and to provide a school for the sons of chiefs. it was also determined that the school would use the manual labor system as far as possible. thus, education of the mind and hands began in hawai„i (alexander 1902; alexander and atkinson 1888; westervelt 1911). during the second decade of the missionaries‟ presence in hawai„i, they reorganized their educational endeavors by shifting from adult to child education and by improving the training of teachers (frear 1920). in 1833, when the school system for adult hawaiians began to fall apart, the missionaries at most of the stations began to create schools for adolescents. two school systems evolved as the missionaries identified the need to remove the best adolescents from the common schools to special boarding schools. the rationale to create these boarding schools was to provide an education for select students under the continuous influence of the missionary educators. this decision arose as the result of arguments made by reverends richard armstrong and david lyman at the general meeting of 1835. both men believed that education needed to be both practical and delivered in an isolated environment away from the bad influences of other white men 38 and the hawaiian culture. as a result, it was agreed to board students at the hilo school, begin a boarding school for girls at wailuku, maui, and shift from educating adults in a day situation to children as boarders at lahainaluna high school. the high school continued to educate members of the chiefly class but the best students from other schools could finish their education there as well (extracts 1835). initially, all three schools had a common school curriculum in addition to using some form of manual labor and/or manual training system. when armstrong and lyman spoke about wanting a “practical” education at all the select schools, they were referring to using some form of education of the mind and hands. consequently, it was hoped that the select schools would also implement this meaning of “practical” into their curriculum. even though the curriculum at lahainaluna high school included manual labor, in time its academics became formal. in 1837, mirroring the need to upgrade the curriculum of the school by introducing a formal school curriculum, the school was renamed to be a seminary so that preachers as well as teachers could be trained at the school. eventually, students desiring to enter into the ministry were provided training in the classics after they had finished the required four-year course of instruction (wist 1937). when an economic depression hit the united states in 1839, the abcfm could no longer finance all the endeavors of the hawaiian mission. as a consequence, the hawaiian government was given control over the common schools and most of the select schools to form the public school system. a few of the select schools, which received sufficient financial support and boarded students remained independent from the public school system and continued to be operated by the american missionaries (extracts 1835). six years later, when the abcfm could no longer afford to finance lahainaluna seminary, the school was also turned over to the public school system. it continued to be a boarding school for the best public school students and until 1890 was the only public high school in the kingdom (lecker 1938). hilo boys‟ boarding school was the first school in hawai„i to use the manual training curriculum. this school truly epitomized pestalozzi‟s model as it combined both the manual labor and manual training systems in its curriculum. david beldon lyman was the founder of the school. he arrived in hawai„i in 1832. due to being the oldest of eight children born to a new england farm family, he was both religious and industrious. he graduated from williams college and from andover theological institute, where he experienced manual labor as a part of his education. within three months after the abcfm selected him, he married sarah joiner, and headed for hawai„i. in 1835, after preaching and teaching in the hilo district, he decided it would be best to develop a boarding school for young students so that habits of christianity and industry might be inculcated at an early age (missionary album 1969; gordon 1936). mildred gordon (1936) says he “was very practical, reserved in personality, a good farmer and carpenter who enjoyed seeing the practical results of his work” (18). his upbringing, education, and experiences led him to fit education to the ability of his students. for over fifty years under his leadership, hilo boarding school proved to be unique, not only in hawai„i, but worldwide; it was an early innovator in preparing students for a trade, in making the training of the hands as important as the training of the mind, and in introducing music as an important and natural part of school work (gordon 1936). 39 the objective of hilo boys‟ boarding school was to take commoner males and prepare them to be good teachers and preachers with both piety and good character. a pamphlet on the hilo boarding school summarized its mission: it aimed to take hawaiian youth in their natural uncultured state and by dint of unsparing painstaking effort to impart to them such mental and moral furnishing as they were able to receive and appropriate in combination with a wholesome physical training in the ways of social and civilized life (hilo boarding 1911, 8). throughout the entire history of the school, the manual labor and manual training curricula played a prominent role. agriculture was included in the curriculum from the beginning to help the school be self-sufficient. the boys‟ involvement in raising their own food cut down on the expenses of the school, which often led to the school making money (oleson 1911). but it was also believed that laboring in the fields was good education for the students. the argument for manual labor was “that such work was valuable not only for the health of the students, but contributed to the good discipline of the school, as well as being valuable in forming habits of thrift and industry” (gordon 1936, 61). the curriculum kept the boys busy from morning until night (lyman 1902). due to lyman‟s ingenuity, the school acquired tools and instituted a form of manual training that involved designing and using tools to complete a project. using tools to tend the farm at the school was the primary means to teach the boys how to use tools but eventually other manual training skills were added. in 1840 and 1844, tailoring and dairying were added to the curriculum. the school struggled financially after 1850, when the abcfm withdrew its financial support (terry 1911). an all-around training much like growing up on a farm was developed in order to compensate for the lack of funds to acquire machines and tools. this was accomplished through short courses offered by the home crafts department, a curriculum entirely distinct from the school‟s manual labor courses. it included training in knot-making and splicing of ropes, window glazing, soldering, general repair work, care of horses, wagons and farm implements, leather work, sharpening tools, concrete work, laying water pipes, repairing faucets, and installing and repairing electrical lines (lyman 1920). the curriculum at the hilo school had an impact on american education as early as the 1860s. the system to which the lyman‟s combined manual labor and manual training into the curriculum at the hilo school influenced the way samuel chapman armstrong approached industrial education at hampton institute (author 2007). armstrong was born in hawai„i to the missionary couple, reverend richard and clarissa chapman armstrong. his education and experience in hawai„i prepared him for the work he implemented at hampton institute primarily because he had firsthand experience with the hilo school as his father‟s secretary. richard armstrong was the minister of public instruction and samuel kept the records for his father‟s observations during the official tours of the various schools of the islands. edith talbot (1904), a biographer of samuel armstrong, stated that among all the schools he observed, the work being done by reverend lyman at hilo boys‟ boarding school impressed him the most. in practice, the manual labor and manual training system at hampton institute was much like what lyman had instituted at the hilo boys‟ boarding school; it used manual labor to give students a 40 chance to meet bills for board and clothing, to develop high standards of discipline, and to enhance students‟ energy level. this system also helped students meet the mental rigors of the curriculum (armstrong and ludlow 1874). lahainaluna seminary and hilo boys‟ boarding schools were not the only schools using some form of education of the mind and hands before the 1880s. the boys‟ schools at waialua on the island of oahu, kohala on the island of hawai„i, and waioli on the island of kauai were select schools whose founders continued to operate independently of the public school system with little support from the abcfm (report of kohala 1865-1870; report of waioli 1861). their education mirrored that of hilo boys‟ boarding school since they used a common school academic curriculum along with education of the mind and hands. however, while they developed the same reliance on the manual labor system as the hilo school, they did not acquire the tools and machinery necessary to incorporate the manual training system (cheever 1856). in addition, early in the promotion of select schools, there were two female schools that used the manual labor curriculum similar to what was practiced at the boys‟ schools: wailuku female seminary and hilo girls‟ school; founded in 1835 and 1838 respectively (coan 1840; extracts 1836; kleinberg 1990; piercy 1992). even though both schools were closed by 1850, beginning in the 1860s, four new female seminaries were established: waialua and kawaiahao on the island of oahu, kohala on the island of hawai„i, and maunaolu on the island of maui. at this time the original sandwich island mission, which was headquartered in boston, was replaced by the hawaiian evangelical association (hea). under this new organization, female seminaries were promoted based upon the model being used in the united states. the instruction at these american female seminaries tended to be learning by doing in connection with practical arts of the household. very often the schools included manual labor as a means to inculcate industriousness and to help defray the expenses of the school and/or the students. by the time the hawaiian female seminaries were founded, american female seminaries were utilizing manual training in their curriculum as well (author 2003). the first female seminary to be established was the ka‟u seminary located on the island of hawai‟i. because of the isolated location of the seminary, it was difficult to attract many students to the school. as a consequence, tuition and board was free, as long as the girls were placed under the parental care of the teachers of the school until the girls were married or obtained employment (annual reports 1863; female boarding 1871). after struggling to fill the school, in 1865, the hea decided to transplant the school to waialua, oahu. the school was designed to provide training, according to an instructor at the school, “to fit them [the girls] for missionaries and teachers, and to be the mothers of a part of the future redeemed hawaiian nation” (jones 1880, 436). the curriculum included geography, arithmetic, surveying, astronomy, singing, bible history, and the bible in general. manual training consisted of instruction in cutting and sewing dresses, in washing, ironing, cooking, cleaning house, and painting (report of education 1866). based upon a report of the education committee of the hea on the need for a female seminary in honolulu, kawaiahao female seminary was established in 1861. the authors of this report wanted this school to be primarily religious, a boarding school with a day school department, taught in both english and hawaiian languages, supported by tuition paid by parents or 41 guardians of the students, and be a manual training school in order that the girls be trained and practice in all that pertains to housekeeping and the domestic arts (report of education 1866). due to its location in honolulu, private citizens, the abcfm, the hea, and the hawaiian mission children‟s society (hmcs) poured more money into the school. the hawaiian mission children‟s society had just been created to formalize the existence of the missionary faction (hawaiian mission 1854). new buildings were constructed, enabling the school to offer an industrial education program and increase its enrollment. between 1881 and the end of the century, the enrollment grew from 57 to 127 students (kawaiahao seminary 1885). originally, kawaiahao seminary was both a day and boarding school but from 1871 on, it became an exclusively a boarding school. at first the school was designed to prepare hawaiian girls to become “suitable” wives for men who were at the same time preparing to become missionaries and work in the south seas. this objective took the back seat to industrial education as new industrial departments were added. this included sewing, washing and ironing, dressmaking, domestic arts, and nursing. the mainstay of the curriculum involved furnishing complete elementary courses, including music, both vocal and instrumental, and training in the household arts (chamberlain 1889). the third female seminary for hawaiians was established in kohala on the west side of the island of hawai„i. originally, reverend elias bond and his wife, ellen howell bond, had founded both boys‟ and girls‟ boarding schools in kohala during the 1840s. but due to the pressures of other work, they were both forced to close their respective schools (missionary album 1969; piercy 1992). when the kohala female seminary was re-opened in the 1860s, the aims and ideals of the school was to “furnish a wholesome christian home training, together with a practical education such as will fit the girls to become housekeepers, wage earners, and generally good citizens” (k. bond 1954, 1). the girls were allowed to do work in lieu of the tuition and room and board fees, which also minimized the costs for the school. the tuition was $25 per semester throughout the nineteenth century. this involved washing and ironing clothes, cooking, baking taro twice a week, and raising the potatoes, taro, and other vegetables. the curriculum included arithmetic, history, language, geography, reading, spelling, civics, and the bible. the industrial program included lauhala mat weaving, sewing, cooking, crafts, music, hygiene, and gymnastics (e. bond 1923; k. bond 1954). the graduates of the kohala female seminary were preferred as employees by the manager of parker ranch, which once was the largest singly owned ranch in the united states (williams 1923). the last of the female seminaries that was begun by the missionaries was at first called the makawao family school. reverend claudius b. andrews and his wife, anne seward gilson andrews, began it in 1861 in a location above makawao village on the island of maui. when the site was changed, the school was renamed to be the maunaolu female seminary. the founders wanted to create a school where the girls were taught as if they were their own daughters. throughout the years, the curriculum included the usual academic courses in reading, mathematics, literature, history, language (all instruction was in english), geography, spelling, civics, and the bible. the industrial departments included sewing, domestic arts, and culinary. during the last two decades of the nineteenth century, the school was nicknamed the mt. holyoke seminary of the hawaiian islands due to the connection of 42 its instructors with that american seminary and the large number of hawaiian minister‟s daughters in attendance (turner 1929). while the educators at these missionary schools were heavily involved in some aspect of education of the mind and hands, the public schools were primarily involved in training their students just to be literate. after 1850, as few hawaiians were acquiring parcels of land under the māhele land division, missionary and hawaiian leaders agreed that in order to help hawaiians become selfsufficient, independent, and economically successful, they also needed to be educated in the skills of agriculture and industry. in the annual reports of the hea for 1855, the missionaries spelled out their understanding of the importance of teaching them industrial skills: the connexion [sic] therefore between our schools and labor is most intimate and important. the two must go together. it is too often the case…that our native youth, both male and female, acquire some intelligence at school, and then at the age of fourteen or fifteen leave school only to live in idleness and vice. what is wanted is to introduce them to the useful trades; to induce them to engage in the cultivation of the soil, or some branch of regular and useful labor (5). as a result, beginning in the 1850s, through successive presidents of the kingdom‟s board of education (a position that replaced the previous minister of public instruction), manual labor and manual training was slowly infused into public school education. due to the efforts being contingent on the availability of funding the results varied from school to school. manual training comes to hawai‘i in 1880s coinciding with the advent of the new form of manual training spreading throughout the united states, the missionary educators shifted from combining manual labor with manual training to strictly using the manual training system. all the missionary female seminaries expanded their use of industrial departments (author 2003). probably because they were incapable of making the transition, kohala and waioli boys‟ school were released to join the other government english select schools (report of kohala 1865-1870; report of waioli 1861). waialua boys‟ school had closed in 1845 (armstrong 1846). upon the selection of reverend william oleson to become principal of the hilo boys‟ boarding school, a more systematic version of manual training began to replace the previous curriculum. oleson was the first new missionary recruited to hawai„i in nearly 30 years. he was selected because he was knowledgeable of the manual training curriculum beginning to take hold in the united states. during his tenure as principal (1879-1887), the school began a new era. under his leadership the endowment fund was increased, new industrial courses were added, and the first major new education building in 10 years was erected (gordon 1936). during the latter two decades of the nineteenth century, as the missionaries began to pursue a more systematic form of manual training, hilo boarding school truly became an industrial school. in 1886, william w. hall gave the school carpenter tools. a year later, a printing press and a wood lathe were donated and the government appropriated $1,500 for an industrial arts building. in 1890, funds for a blacksmith shop and three sewing machines were acquired. in 1892, charles c. kennedy donated a steam boiler and another party donated an engine lathe. that same year a fifteen light dynamo was 43 purchased for lighting, making the school buildings the first to have lights in all of hilo. in 1894, the school started an ice plant. in 1895, the school added a coffee huller and pulper. finally, after years of farming done entirely by hand, a plow and mower were purchased (gordon 1936). gordon (1936) highlights the advances that hilo boarding school promoted and the good it provided for hilo: in many ways the hilo boarding school was the advance guard for new industries in the community, such as printing, the making of ice, dairying, and the manufacture of electricity. the boys trained to take part in these new industries. when the community could take over an industry as a regular business enterprise, the school relinquished the project as a community enterprise (59). expanding manual training after the 1880s during the last decade of the nineteenth century, manual training spread from its base at hilo boys‟ boarding school to encompass two new manual training schools for boys and the spread of this form of curriculum to the public schools. the first effort in the diffusion of manual training was the establishment of the kamehameha school for boys. bernice pauahi bishop, heir to the vast lands of the kamehameha dynasty, before her death in 1884, established through her will the design to create two private schools, one for boys and one for girls. the students were to be hawaiians by preference. instruction was to be in english. as per her wishes, the course of study required several hours of manual labor every day (kamehameha‟s memorial 1895). the schools were considered an extension of the education work being done by the missionaries because most of the people connected with it were members of the missionary faction, including its founders, board of directors, first president, and first and second principals. reverend oleson was recruited from the hilo boys‟ boarding school to serve as the school‟s first principal. his first assignment was to study current educational methods in the united states, particularly those used at hampton institute (kamehameha‟s memorial 1895). due to the connection to which samuel armstrong maintained with educators in hawai„i, he was asked to recruit staff members for the school. he discovered theodore richards at camp chocarun for boys in new hampshire. richards would later become the second principal of the kamehameha boys‟ school (thompson 1922). calvin woodward, one of the proponents of the new manual training in the united states was also involved in helping provide teachers as indicated by a letter exchanged between him and armstrong (woodward 1890a). the school was commonly known as the manual department or “the manual” due to its adherence to the manual training system. several of the boys came over from hilo boarding school with their principal to provide a nucleus of boys familiar with his program. the academic department offered a common school curriculum, with special emphasis on language training. the six-year program included written and mental drill in arithmetic, algebra and geometry, language exercises in dictation, original composition, oral and written use of idioms, synonyms, business forms, orders, bills, and accounts. other academic pursuits included physical geography, historical narratives, reading, and penmanship. there was also an emphasis on moral instruction. the industrial programs included free-hand drawing and designing, mechanical drawing, source and manufacture of useful articles, and machine use. in addition, 44 daily instruction was given in vocal music. finally, the manual training department furnished a complete course of instruction in carpentry, black-smithing, piping, wood turning, and press work (thompson 1892, 1893). later, the school added a normal department due to the need for preparing hawaiian teachers for positions in country districts where the need for teachers was the greatest (thompson 1895). the kamehameha girls‟ school was begun in 1894, seven years after the boys‟ school was established. it was not technically a seminary or founded by missionaries, but all the girls enrolled were hawaiian, and its curriculum was very similar to what was used at the missionary sponsored seminaries (hudson 1935). at the end of the century, all the female seminaries began to lose students to the newly founded kamehameha school for girls. at about the same time that the kamehameha school for boys was being established, second-generation missionaries were planning the kauai industrial school. this school was originally conceived as a coeducational industrial school, near the city of lihue, on the island of kauai, because this island did not have any school providing an industrial education like the rest of the major islands. second-generation missionaries, juliette smith and her brother jared smith, were the founders of the school (statement of kauai 1900). the school was to be built on 30 acres of land suitable for agriculture and housing 75 pupils. the staff was to include the principal, two teachers, a matron, and a superintendent of manual and mechanical shop. benefactors paid the salary of the teachers. tuition for the students was 25 dollars per year (report of kauai 1900). the curriculum included the boys working in the schoolroom for five hours each day; one and a half hours were spent in the shop and three and one half hours were spent working on the grounds. the latter time was spent chiefly in raising sweet potatoes, bananas, papayas, and sorghum. the main mechanical industries were blacksmithing and carpentry. by 1891, the school followed a more detailed curriculum for the three years enrolled. each year students took courses in english, arithmetic, music, and recitations. the first year added courses in physics and algebra, the second year added courses in printing and physiology, and the third year added a course in physiology. after school, all classes participated in baseball, croquet, or tennis (smith 1889). due to economic hardships to the sugar planters, the main philanthropists funding the school, and jared smith‟s death in 1898, the school closed in 1899 (alexander 1898). when the monarchy was overthrown in 1893, second-generation missionaries gained ultimate political power and as a result more members of the missionary faction became administrators and teachers in the public schools. having learned the value of the manual training curriculum for educating hawaiians throughout the nineteenth century, the second-generation missionary educators began to introduce a required manual training curriculum into the public schools as well. in 1894, william r. castle became the first missionary son to serve as president of the board of education. in his report for that year, he discussed the effort to introduce manual training skills into the public schools without the acquisition of expensive tools and machinery (castle 1894). by 1898, the minister of public instruction (the republic of hawai„i officials changed the title of the education position back to what it had been before 1860), william d. alexander (another missionary son), directed the public schools to follow a more extensive curriculum for manual training. he developed a curriculum for all students to receive 45 manual training from fourth through eighth grades. similar to castle, he preferred the course work of manual training, rather than a full-blown manual training program as was being followed at the female seminaries, hilo boys‟ boarding school, the kamehameha schools, and kauai industrial school. this curriculum involved hawaiian male students making and using weather vanes, seed envelopes, and agricultural tools and hawaiian female students weaving baskets and sewing clothing. the purpose of the curriculum was to prepare its pupils for industrial or agricultural occupations (alexander 1898). the best example of missionary adherence to the manual training curriculum was the conversion of lahainaluna seminary from a formal school into a manual training school like the kamehameha school for boys. when the second-generation missionaries took control of the public schools, manual training was introduced at lahainaluna seminary. in 1899, william d. alexander pronounced that the school was a manual training school. money was appropriated to re-build the school since the original buildings were in disrepair and to construct the necessary shops to provide a topnotch manual training program. the new buildings were dedicated in 1904, and the school was officially re-named as lahainaluna technical high school. the once formal curriculum of the school was altered to include courses in bookkeeping, typewriting, mechanical and architectural drawings, sanitation and civics, commercial arithmetic and business english. charles macdonald, the principal of the school, stated, “the object of the manual training was to fit the lads to earn a living in the conditions obtaining in hawai„i” (macdonald 1931, 44). alatau atkinson (1905), one time inspector general of the public schools, best exemplified the alteration of the training when he delivered the address at the formal opening of lahainaluna technical high school in 1904: lahainaluna is essentially the training place for the poor man….to train a man we must not merely train his intellect, we must train his hand with equal care. we must make him understand the dignity of labor. we must teach him not theoretically, we must teach him practically (2-3). conclusion this study establishes the important role played by missionary educators in hawai„i in using the manual training curriculum. it should be quite apparent from this study that due to utilizing the manual training curriculum continuously over a long period of time the missionary educators in hawai„i should be accorded a primary place in the history of this curriculum both in hawai„i and the united states. even when the manual training system was replaced in the public schools with vocational education and the female seminaries converted their curriculum to the academics of a private high school in the 1920s, kamehameha schools, hilo boys‟ boarding school, and the lahainaluna technical high school continued to utilized manual training well into the 1960s. one of the most vital elements of this evidence is the fact that samuel chapman armstrong borrowed his initial ideas for his industrial education system at hampton institute from the hilo model. what was practiced at the hilo school and designed by reverend david lyman in the1830s was unique in comparison to what was being done at this time in the united states. until hampton institute was begun in 1865, no other experiments in the united states even came close to matching the work being accomplished at hilo boys‟ boarding school. in 46 addition, the symbiotic relationship of preparing the best students at the hilo school to be further trained at lahainaluna seminary was also unique in comparison to what was being done at this time in the united states. in fact, it was more like what fellenberg had introduced in hofwyl, switzerland. the experiments with manual labor, manual training, and a common school curriculum at hilo boys‟ boarding school for commoner students (equivalent to the lower class) and the experiments with manual labor and a formal curriculum at lahainaluna seminary for the sons of chiefs (equivalent to the upper class) mirrored fellenberg‟s schools for the lower and upper classes. furthermore, lahainaluna seminary was like academies in the united states where formal education was combined with a manual labor system to train its brightest members to serve as missionaries. while the female seminaries for hawaiian girls were not unique to hawai„i, the efforts by missionary educators in hawai„i served as another example of how they learned and modified what was taking place elsewhere to meet the educational needs of their hawaiian students. manual training arrived in hawai„i many years before it began to spread throughout the united states in the 1880s. however, the new version of manual training arrived in hawai„i at about the same time that it was being promoted in the united states. the systematizing of manual training at hilo boys‟ boarding school, the establishment of manual training at both the kamehameha school for boys and the kauai industrial school, the addition of manual training departments at the female seminaries and the kamehameha school for girls, the shift in curriculum that led to formation of the lahainaluna technical high school, and the introduction of manual training into the public schools are examples of this diffusion. through all these efforts, the educators borrowed ideas solicited by reading literature, visiting schools, or communicating with the practitioners of manual training in the united states. compared to most school systems in america, the program in the islands was implementing a more extensive use of manual training. even when some american school districts were committed to manual training, at most, they only had one high school offering that curriculum. during the early years of the twentieth century, hawai„i could claim six manual training private schools: two male schools (kamehameha school for boys and the hilo boys‟ boarding school) and four female schools (kawaiahao, kohala, and maunaolu female seminaries and the kamehameha school for girls). the kamehameha schools were the best financed and made the most extensive use of the manual training model current in the united states. it is apparent how more advanced this curricular practice was in hawai„i when lahainaluna technical high school, a public school, is added to the six private schools, and one takes into account the required teaching of manual training 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universities press. terry, w. s. 1911. the financial side of hilo boarding school. in hilo boarding school for boys: seventy five years of progress, 21-25. hilo, hi: hawaiian historical society. thompson, u. 1892. argument for enlarged studies. handicraft iv (9): 1-4. thompson, u. 1893. on manual training and apprenticeship. handicraft v (6): 1-4. thompson, u. 1895. normal department. handicraft vii (4): 1-4. thompson, u. 1922. reminiscences of kamehameha schools. honolulu, hi: bishop museum press. turner, c. l. 1929. the story of maunaolu seminary. honolulu, hi: the friend. vaughn, s. j., and a. b. mays. 1924. content and 49 methods of the industrial arts. new york, ny: the century co. westervelt, w. d. 1911. the first twenty years of education in the hawaiian islands. honolulu: annual report of the hawaiian historical society. williams, t. c. 1923. the alumni of kohala girls' school. the friend xciii (7): 166. wist, bernard o. 1937. american foundations of public education in hawai„i: the socioeconomic factors which were influential in the shaping of an american public school system in hawai„i. ph.d., diss., yale university. woodward, c. m. 1890a. letter to s.c. armstrong, 12 february. in smith papers, hawaiian mission children’s' society collection. honolulu, hi, 1890. woodward, c. m. 1890b. manual training in education. london: walter scott. robert owen and the psychological monitor 45 robert owen and the psychological monitor stephen tomlinson university of alabama socialism, as robert owen and his followers conceived it, was an experiment in human engineering. believing that the ignorance and selfishness of traditional society could be replaced by a new moral world, they devised disciplinary practices that taught obedience to the dictates of reason, kindness, and cooperation. the most powerful weapon in this pedagogic armory was the “eye of the community.” an integral part of the infant school curriculum, as it was of community life, the moral force of approbation and disgrace that flowed from the public scrutiny of behavior proved highly effective in the psychological control of the population. this paper explores the origin and development of owen’s “monitor” and demonstrates how it became a central tool in the educational schemes developed at orbiston, the first socialist community established in britain. on the title page of a new view of society, robert owen announces the fundamental axiom of his social philosophy. any character, from the best to the worst, from the most ignorant to the most enlightened, may be given to any community, even to the world at large, by applying certain means; which are to a great extent at the command and under the control, or easily made so, of those who possess the government of nations (owen 1967, 1: i). the means to which owen so confidently alludes had been perfected in his twenty-year effort to reform the habits of laborers working in his cotton mills. first in manchester, during the 1790s, and then after the turn of the nineteenth century, in the industrial village of new lanark, owen proved himself one of the most successful managers in the textile business, revolutionizing manufacturing through the institution of standardized practices that recorded and controlled every aspect of the production process. central to this scheme was a psychological regulator he named the “silent monitor,” a four-colored block of wood suspended above the machinery to publicly display each operative’s level of productivity. “gradually the blacks were changed for blue, the blues for yellow, and the yellows for white (owen 1967, 1:277).” soldiering and theft were greatly reduced; productivity and profits soared. “never perhaps in the history of the human race,” owen boasted, “has so simple a devise created in such a short period so much order, virtue, goodness, and happiness, out of so much ignorance error and misery (owen 1967, 1:136).” he even claimed that a distinctive “expression of countenance” corresponded to the color shown, as under the public eye workers gradually learned to comply with the moral order (owen 1967, 1:136). the situation at new lanark, where owen owned the village in which the majority of his workers lived, provided for an even more extensive use of disciplinary practices. waste and ashes were collected, the streets cleaned, pigs and poultry banned, and houses washed and whitewashed regularly. inspectors even checked for bugs! at 10:30 a curfew was imposed and the village was patrolled for drunks. first time offenders were fined, repeated intoxication led to expulsion. owen even imposed financial penalties on men responsible for illegitimate births. one popular measure among the workers was the opening of a factory store, the first co-op, where goods were sold at prices well below those of local retailers. if the villagers resented owen’s intrusions in their private affairs, they nonetheless grew to accept his paternalism in exchange for higher wages and the real advantages of life at new lanark. but the complete transformation of human nature demanded even more radical measures. workers and their families had to be educated at the showpiece of owen’s industrial village, the institute for the formation of character. here classes were offered in a variety of practical and informative subjects; there were meeting rooms, a library, weekly concerts and dances. but the most remarkable feature of the institute, which drew the attention of observers from across europe, was the infant school. believing that the child’s “temper or disposition is correctly or incorrectly formed before he attains his second year,” owen gathered children just as soon as they could walk, convinced that by applying the right pedagogic methods at the time when the mind is most pliant, the young could be fashioned into moral, reasonable, and productive citizens (owen 1967, 1:317). adopting this concept, though not owen’s social philosophy, many political and church leaders came to see the early education of working class children a panacea for the social ills of the new urban-industrial world. by the mid 1820s, under the energetic leadership of samuel wilderspin, the infant schools movement swept the country (mccann and young 1982). while these efforts to ensure the quality and efficiency of production made owen one of the wealthiest industrialists of the day, it would be wrong to assume he was driven by a lust for capital. unlike so many of his fellow manufactures--with whom he fought to institute laws regulating child labor–owen was more concerned with the moral advancement of the workforce than the quest for profit. by 1813, under the influence of william godwin and other radical thinkers, owen published a new view of society, expanding his ideas on the control of behavior from the sphere of industrial production to the formation of a more just community. five years later, in report to county of new lanark, his thought matured into the advocacy of independent, self-supporting socialist communes, “villages of cooperation,” where, eschewing the capitalist economy and the perverse character traits it fostered, members would learn to think rationally and work for the common good (owen, 1969). 46 philosophical antecedents godwin, in particular, seems to have exerted a great deal of influence on owen. in common with priestly, though combining and even more strident critique of government (inherited from rousseau), he combined the environmentalism of holbach and helvétius with the tradition of english dissent to formulate a moral necessiterianism in which mind and character would gradually be perfected by the inevitable force of truth and reason. the chief impediments to progress were institutions such as the church and aristocracy that created a dependent child-like population. but education was more powerful than government, and godwin was convinced that freed from state control, schooling could shape all children into independent citizens able to act upon the central maxim of his utilitarian social philosophy, that personal well being coincides with the happiness of all. perhaps the greatest of ancient errors was the belief that people inherited different abilities according to their station in life, a notion cemented in the predestination thesis of the calvinist worldview. godwin was adamant "that the actions an dispositions of mankind are the offspring of circumstances and events, and not of any original determination that they bring into the world (simon 1972, 32).” reason, character, and virtue all flowed from the association of sensible impressions. there was "no essential difference between the child of the lord and of the porter," and if switched at birth, each would naturally learn to fulfill their appointed roles in life (simon 1972, 33). priestly had interpreted the american and french revolutions as instruments of providence, historical events that, by instituting radical principles, would bring about a time of peace and christian piety. godwin took this argument a step further. extending the nonconformist commitment to free thought and independent action, he rejected all forms of political organization that placed private interests before public virtue – love of country, friends, even family were not to interfere with moral duty. he envisioned a society free of specialization and hierarchical divisions. unencumbered by excessive wealth or poverty, people would live off the land in small face-to-face pastoral communities that promoted intellectual independence, and, through intimate social arrangements, moral dependence. the community was to behold the behavior of all in its gaze. “there is no terror” he asserted, “that comes home to the heart of vice, like the terror of being exhibited to the public eye . . . [and] no reward worthy to be bestowed upon eminent virtue but this one, the plain, unvarnished proclamation of its excellence in the face of the world.” sociability, not coercion, had to be the engine of social reform (godwin 1793, 1:644). it was not until the severe social distress of the late 1810s that owen started to advocate the kind of economic and political arrangements proposed by godwin. painted as an atheist and a subversive by industrialists and property owners opposed to his factory reforms, owen’s plan to construct alternative, small scale agricultural communities in order to combat the widespread unemployment and famine resulting from the failure of capitalism in the years after the napoleonic wars was widely received with a mixture of incredulity, ridicule, and fear. such responses were not surprising, for in addition to replacing money and the ethic of self-interest with labor notes and cooperation, owen also proposed a radical revision of even the most basic social institution, the family. openly opposed to the traditional marriage contract – which, he argued, reflected unions based on financial gain rather than bonds of affection – he painted the traditional home as a breeding ground of vice and self-interest. it was here that children acquired all the most mean and ignorant selfish feelings that can be generated in the human character. the children within these dens of selfishness and hypocrisy are taught to consider their own individual family their own world, and that it is the duty of all within this little orb to do whatever they can to promote the advantage of all legitimate members of it. with these persons, it is my house, my wife, my estate, my children, or my husband . . . thus is every family made a little exclusive world seeking its own advantage, regardless, and to a great extent in opposition to all other families (claeys 1989, 78). natural pedagogy to secure genuine communal spirit, the whole of society had to become the child’s family. as plato had argued in the republic for the education of the philosopher kings, so owen demanded the separation of children from their parents in order to foster a truly social personality. transferred to dormitories as soon as they could walk, the children of his utopia would be educated in infant, primary, and industrial schools that taught communitarian values, rational attitudes, and socially useful skills. drawing upon the natural pedagogy developed by english followers of rousseau, owen designed a progressive curriculum that stressed play, sense learning, and scientific knowledge. comparing discipline in the old and the new systems, he promised to substitute reason and kindness for ignorance and brutality. punishment and emulation would be replaced by intrinsic motivation, and the meaningless memorization of words superseded by the goal of understanding the natural and social worlds. above all, children would learn to live "without party." free of class distinctions, they would discover that their personal well being coincided with the good of the community. the central site of these moral lessons was the playground, a miniature society free from the disciplinary constraints of the classroom, where every spontaneous act of pride, greed, and aggression could be monitored and corrected. owen’s goal was to develop an internal monitor, a social conscience that would guide the child from within -and his instruments, the lockian mechanisms of praise and disgrace. shame, in particular was a powerful motivator. on of the most effective techniques owen developed was to focus the power of the eye on offenders by having the entire class sit in judgment over their peers. as james simpson, director of the edinburgh infant 47 school later explained some years later, children “rarely failed to take a just view of the matter and give a just punishment (simpson, 1836, 239).” typical among simpson’s many anecdotes was the story of j.h., a boy who, having spied another child's lost penny under the stove, returned two hours later to claim his prize. when his crime came to light, j.h. was put on trial before the school. humiliated before his friends, his embarrassment proved far more effective than the “few pats on the hand” to which he was sentenced. asked some time later what he had learned from his experience, the boy replied that he had never stolen since. why? because “i listened to the thing in my breast, and that told me it was a crime (simpson 1836, 241).” other socialists were quick to recognize the power of owen’s disciplinary practices. adapting the silent monitor to the classroom, t. e. craig produced an abacuslike board of colored cubes that displayed every student’s behavior at the front of the classroom--and kept a register of these readings in his “classometer.” together, craig reported, these devices “powerfully stimulated the pupil to moral and intellectual exertion and rectitude of conduct, by appealing to those faculties of the mind which are the best instruments in the hands of a judicious teacher for the rational development of the superior faculties (stewart and mccann 1967, 1:162).” simpson produced a similar register of daily behaviors tied to the activity of the student’s phrenological organs. and george mudie, editor of the economist (1821-1822) and a founder of the london cooperative and economical society, explained how members earnest on psychological improvement would team up to monitor one another and admonish any faults that might endanger the “general harmony and mutual esteem and goodwill (podmore 1924, 353).” orbiston: the first society of adherents to divine revelation perhaps the most interesting application of owen’s ideas on pedagogy and the formation of character was orbiston, the first socialist community established in britain. situated 16 miles west of new lanark, orbiston drew 300 men, women, and children to live and work under owen's theories. based upon the agricultural, architectural, economic, and educational principles laid out in owen's report, the society’s leader abram combe formed the community around seven departments of industry and public works (cullen 1971). the latest technology, scientific practices, and rational methods would ensure productivity and social order. deep spade cultivation and other modern farming techniques would help produce food more efficiently; a clothing section would manufacture cheap tunics; and a common kitchen, dining room, laundry, and central heating system would avoid unnecessary duplication of domestic recourses. the non-profit general store would sell products for labor notes and a sense of solidarity would be fostered through open management, communal meeting halls, and integrated living spaces. as at new lanark, however, the nucleus of system was the regulation of character. once admitted adults would gradually be adapted to the superior habits required for full membership, while children would be schooled from infancy according to the principles pioneered by owen. in contrast to owen, combe found a deep religious significance in this quest to fashion mind and character. he would engineer a truly christian personality. fusing owenism and new testament ethics into a liberal creed he provocatively named "the doctrine of divine revelation (according to reason)," combe identified the laws of nature and morality as the instruments by which god's will was to realized on earth. christ was the first and greatest teacher of this secular gospel, and owen its leading prophet. the key to human happiness was the elimination of all ideas, ceremonies, and practices that contained unnatural or irrational beliefs. whatever was contradicted by experience or could not be understood by reason, had to be the product of the human imagination, a power most evident in religious myths and social traditions that distorted reality to match human desires. by ordering life according to the truths of reason and nature orbiston would not only solve the problem of poverty, it would also demonstrate to the world "the utility and inestimable value of the practical precepts of christianity." it would, combe insisted demonstrate that union is better for all, than division and opposition is for any . . .. that all children may be trained to prefer temperance and industry to dissipation and idleness, and charity and good-will to anger and animosity . . . that at least nine tenths of the misery that has so long afflicted humanity, is not a necessary consequence of the work of our creator in our nature; formation; but that it proceeds from the removable ignorances of man, on account of which he has been induced to listen to the evidences of his own imagination, in preference to the knowledge which god has revealed to his sense and to his understanding (combe 1823a, 61). to enter orbiston applicants had to accept eleven articles of agreement. the first indicated that no distinctions would be recognized “except those of nature and which arise from superior habits and attainments (combe 1825, 33).” men and women, it stated, were to be regarded as having equal rights in all respects. in practice, however, orbiston was very much a male dominated society. there were separate meetings and facilities for the two sexes, and combe stipulated that women would only be allowed half the credit men received at the store. old society, he charged, had corrupted female nature, training women “to live entirely secluded form their fellow creatures, in a state of sloth and negligence, and in the daily practice of many pernicious habits” and “irrational notions (register 1827, wednesday march 14th 1827, 30).” other articles explained that members had the freedom to work as and when they pleased; that everyone would determine the monetary value their own labor; that the education of the children would be paid for by the community; and that orbiston would be run by elected general manger – seemingly styled on owen -who, while 48 not subject to the majority’s wishes, could be removed if he or she lost the confidence of the group. finally, article xi required that all applicants had "to give, to the spirit of religion, of loyalty, and of ambition, which exists in the human mind, the direction which experience proves to be most conducive to the general welfare and happiness of mankind (combe 1825, 34)." here was combe’s license to manufacture character in accord with the principles of the new system. the members of the orbiston community would become adherents to divine revelation, as slowly but surely they learned to follow the dictates of reason and experience. and the method? “all that is requisite” in regulating human desire, combe confidently asserted, was to let “individuals know the nature of the impressions which their conduct makes upon the community,” or rather, as he later qualified his argument, “the rational portion of society (combe 1825, 47).” “the eye of the community, and the inward feeling produced, will soon either create a change of conduct, or make the individual retire form the society (register, ii, wednesday january 31st, 1827, 9-10).” in his analysis of motives combe demonstrated his willingness to infuse owen’s teachings with the hereditarian insights of phrenology – he was, after all the brother of britain’s leading advocate of the new science, george combe. "the phrenological mode of arranging the faculties" he argued, promised to revolutionize education, teaching children "in a few hours, to have a more correct idea of the powers of the human mind, than those 'philosophers' have been able to obtain, by their own system, devoted to this one object." combe, the sphere for joint stock companies, 2829) yet his own classification of instincts remained somewhat heterodox and obviously colored by his overriding commitment to the plasticity of human nature. under ambition he identified seven basic instincts (the love of approbation and desires for knowledge, propagation, nourishment, exercise, comfort, and accommodation). the key to happiness was to tie these natural impulses to the concrete realities of life, as revealed by experience, rather than the artificial desires manufactured by the imagination. introducing his own version of the monitor, combe explained how each member’s character would be quantified on a scale of goodness. if positive and negative habits on a given trait balanced, a score of 4 would be awarded, yielding a composite of 28 for all seven instincts. this number would then be recorded and each individual ranked in the society. as a person's behavior improved a committee of peers would then vote to elevate his of her standing -the same practice would also be adopted with children, rendering, combe believed "all other rewards and punishments unnecessary (combe 1825, 53)." at first a natural aristocracy would rule the community. but as character improved, and individuals rose in rank, a society of equals would emerge. the extent to which these procedures were followed is unclear, but there is ample evidence in the pages of the orbiston register to show that public praise and disgrace were frequently and effectively used to shape behavior in the community. discipline and pedagogy combe knew that the long-term future of the community rested with the education of the children. aware of the old adage, that youth, like the softened wax, with ease will take those images which first impressions make he embedded the owenite principle that infants should be separated from their parents at age 2 into the very structure of the orbiston estate (register, 24, wednesday december 13th 1826, 180). on either side of the main building dormitories were to be constructed with accompanying rooms to house "the infant children of both sexes, and the females under 18 years" at one end, "the children above six years of age, and males under 18 years, at the other (combe, 1825, 68)." breaking down the family was both a pivotal and a controversial axiom of the community. in addition to promoting a sound constitution, "good tempers and habits," the curriculum would ensure facility “in reading, writing, and accounts . . . the elements of most useful sciences; including geography and natural history," and a practical knowledge of agriculture and domestic economy, plus" a trade useful for employment and the improvement of mental and physical powers ("rules and regulations” 1822, 53).” children would be eased into the work of the community, an hour a week at age eight, two at nine, and so on until they reached full-time labor at fourteen – he did not think anyone should toil more than six hours a day. finally, the child was to acquire a knowledge of himself and human nature," so as to "form him into a rational being, and render him charitable, kind, and benevolent to all his fellow creatures." (register, ii, wednesday march 14th, 1827; 30) as for pedagogy, combe embraced the methods employed at new lanark and promised to establish a normal school in order that the science of character formation could be refined and developed for other communities. secure in the revealed truth of god’s moral government, combe was in no mood to wait for investors. on march 18th 1825, with the sale of stock just beginning, 100 men were hired to construct the main building using stone mined from a quarry just 500 yards from the house. the dining room, kitchen, bake house, and the majority of one wing were completed in only six months. next came the erection of the workshop, a five floor complex situated close by on the banks of the river, containing space for blacksmiths, weavers, carpenters, wheelwrights, printers, painters, shoemakers, and tailors. as the work progressed combe commenced publication of the weekly register, to teach his doctrines to new members and provide the world an accurate account of his momentous experiment. the first issue, on november 10th, explained the meaning of the term divine revelation – distinguishing the truths of reason and sense from the contents of the bible – and laid out the principles the community would follow. there was an account of the building’s progress addressed to the london cooperative society and some discussion of drinking among the workers. the second number contained a light hearted dig at hamilton’s organ of wit for his reaction to hearing that orbiston had been nicknamed “babylon” by the locals; an 49 exposition of how each individual could wield the principle of divine revelation as the “line and plummet” of truth; a justification for the society’s name; and some discussion of the character of the people applying for residence. this was to become an important issue for combe in the following weeks as he struggled to reconcile his principles with the obvious dangers of admitting applicants of low character and ability. unwilling to blame anyone for the effects of the old system he simply refused to turn anyone away who professed a sincere desire for membership. those that faked interest, he consoled himself, would soon leave as they found the eyes of the community upon them. more positively, he distilled his views on knowledge and character formation into a series of seven lessons so that adherents would understand where their interests lay and how they might bring their physical and mental desires under rational control. a catechism was printed so that all who entered could assent to the community’s principles. if an applicant did not agree with a particular item, they could submit their reasons in writing, but given the background of the majority who came to orbiston, it is doubtful that many took this step seriously. in the third number, published as the roofers were busy laying slates and the carpenters modeling the interior, combe tackled the thorny issue of who was to pay for the ambitious educational plan laid out in the joint stock proposal, given that many would enter the society without children. his solution was to advance each child a loan repayable, with interest, through future labor within the community. this would this be a sound investment for friends of the experiment, and, he was certain, a small debt of perhaps six months of labor the rising generation would gladly pay for the good of the society. by april, as first stage of the project neared completion, combe dismissed the workers and opened orbiston to anyone willing to help finish the construction and start life under the new system. this proved to be something of a mistake, for as the register indicates, without proper training, residents were still struggling with the building a year later. originally the plan had been to advertise for members, but as word of the site spread, people flooded to orbiston on their own accord, and to hamilton’s disgust, none were turned away. combe himself recognized that most “had come to avoid the evils of the old system, rather than obtain the advantages of the new” (register, 16, saturday, august 19, 1826; 121). some were physically incapable of hard work, others had no trade or useful skill. there was also great deal of confusion over the system of payment. at the end of the first week, for example, several new members approached combe demanding payment for the week they had been allocated to organize their apartments. calling a general meeting he explained that everyone was to join a department according to their talents and interests and everyone would be paid for the value of the labor they chose to perform. but a month on this system proved a disaster. after an initial burst of enthusiasm listlessness and discontent quickly pervaded the community; work went undone and, fueled by factional divisions, members started avoiding the dining rooms and communal spaces. at first combe thought it best to wait until individuals came face to face with the consequence of their actions, after all, that was how god governed the world. but after discussions with more orthodox owenites within the society, he hit upon the idea of reorganizing orbiston along military lines. the community, he reasoned, was rather like a group of raw recruits who needed to be drilled in squads and organized into companies before they could operate as a whole. but combe’s new scheme did not get off the ground. with only a few squads formed, he overexerted himself digging in the fields and suffered a physical collapse. forced to return to edinburgh and the care of his brother andrew for two weeks, he faced up to the task before him. the population was course, boisterous and plagued with revolting habits. drinking and the use of tobacco were on the rise, and dunghills were appearing below windows, even though the proprietors had employed a local man to empty pots. calling the population a herd of animals, the resident and proprietor captain robert o’brian, wrote to combe cautioning him that “complete failure was now inevitable, unless we dismissed a great proportion of the present inhabitants, and supplied their places with a selection of superior workmen.” (registrar, 16, august 19th, 1826, 125.) given these remarks, it is understandable why o’brian was so annoyed when combe publishing his letter in the register. to make matters worse, property values had dropped in the slump of 1826, and orbiston was mortgaged way beyond it value. such conditions presented a sever test. but combe did not waiver in his commitment. orbiston would meet both challenges; reforming the character of the most retched and promoting the interests of the capitalist even in an economic recession. valuing union and mutual cooperation over the principle of equal distribution, combe considered ways to stimulate members to work. his chance came when a number of tenets asked permission to establish an iron foundry. believing it was inappropriate that they should sink their labor and capital into such a project without any opportunity of reward, combe suspended the community’s rules and turned the group into an independent company where workers earned double stock from the profits of their labor. not everyone was happy with the introduction of individual enterprise, but given the pressures on the community, combe carried the day. the change was instantaneous. in a few weeks the industry and intelligence of group surpassed his fondest expectations. similar plans were devised for other departments, and in short order the gardeners, shoemakers, printers, weavers, masons, and carpenters all had their own companies. by late august combe was nearly ecstatic about the possibility of commercial success – the community would soon be able to afford holiday homes in edinburgh and the highlands, and workers might even retire at age 35. recognizing that success still rested with the development of character, combe redoubled his efforts to mold new citizens, only now he took a more piecemeal approach imploring sobriety and pleading with parents to curb the loud and boisterous behavior of their children. combe was greatly aided in this endeavor by catherine whitwell, one of the teachers who had worked at the school in new lanark. a committed owenite with strong religious sentiments; she brought energy and 50 experience to the task of schooling the community’s younger children. she also lectured on the christian duty of parents, revealing to the society that the entire history of vice and virtue could be accounted for by the character training individuals received by their seventh year. this was an important lesson. with one half of the building yet to be constructed, and parts of the existing wing still unfinished, many of orbiston’s 86 children were still forced to sleep in their parents quarters. those who were housed in the dormitories lacked adequate supervision: washing facilities were inadequate, and, according to later accounts, many were dressed in dirty or torn clothing. add to this the problem of loud and rowdy games in the corridors and hallways, truancy and rebelliousness in the schools and it becomes obvious why, given the community’s diminishing recourses, education became such a pressing problem. of great concern was the behavior of a few older boys whose unruly actions had been observed and reported by a correspondent from the glasgow free press. these lads, henry kirkpatrick, the new editor the register explained, were in the most unfortunate position of “having been born a little too soon.” because of its disorganized state, the community had done nothing to address all the bad habits they had acquired from their infancy and childhood in the old word. but now, as reason was developing, positive efforts were underway. miss whitwell had undertaken evening instruction in good habits and morals, “writing and arithmetic, geometry, drawing, music and dancing, geography, general history, etc.,” and alexander campbell, a glasgow carpenter who later joined the ham common socialists, was superintending them during the day (donnachie 1971, 28). campbell reports that after explaining the essentials of order to twenty of the boys, they agreed to record all cases of misconduct in a book and elected superintendents to report on their behavior at each general meeting (register, 24, wednesday december 13, 1826). their conduct, campbell later reported, continued to improve. they met every sunday to discuss the events of the previous week and the majority was gainfully employed learning useful trades. “so ardent were they in their proceedings,” he cheerfully concluded, “that i am completely convinced that these boys, under proper management, will, in the course of a few years, be the most useful members of the community (register, 25, supplement, wednesday december 27, 1826, 200.).” every day, kirkpatrick continued, brought new and exciting evidence that their great experiment in human nature was a resounding success. the “power of public opinion, so concentrated as it necessarily is under our present arrangements,” was improving both young and old. drunkenness, swearing, and smoking were all reduced; industriousness and virtue were on the rise. he was “very much inclined to think, that no character whatever could long resist the improving effects of this manner of living together (register, 24, wednesday december 13, 1826; 181.).” abram combe, by now restricted to his bed in edinburgh after a second collapse, also had reason to be hopeful. in his absence the community, under hamilton’s stewardship, had taken a radical turn. crashing a meeting called to consider whether the joiners and carpenters should form a company patterned after that of the foundry men, several of the more orthodox owenites challenged the ethicacy of policies that undermined the philosophy of the community. defenders of individualism argued that “the minds of some members were not yet prepared to go the full length of the system” and that without the stimulus of profit it would be impossible to maintain productivity (register, 24, wednesday december 13, 1826; 181.). the owenites responded that “the generous motive would always far surpass the selfish” and that if anyone were found remiss in his duty, the eyes of the whole community would be upon them (register, 24, wednesday december 13, 1826; 181.).” in the end collectivism won the day, and a proposal was accepted, with some opposition, that any surplus should be shared by all members, “according to the time occupied by each.” combined with the promise that expenditure would be trimmed and funds saved in order to purchase the community, the proprietors cautiously embraced the tenant’s declaration. to prove their commitment to this new order, members had to assent to owen’s doctrine that “character is formed for and not by the individual” and meet the test of reelection in a secret ballot. while nobody was ostracized in this process, this bloodless revolution was not without its wounds. combe also supported the move to equal distribution, but thought it rather precipitous, and cautioned the group not to force its will on the approximately one-third of the society who opposed the new system. they had to learn the value of this principle for themselves. even so, he was insistent that greater order be brought to the enterprise and, extending his earlier notion of squads, instituted a system of supervision, which broke all work down into divisions and branches. in weekly meetings directors and superintendents would report on productivity, expenditure, and the performance of all the workers. anger with the new regime and the course of the community’s affairs boiled to the surface when the outspoken o’brian submitted a fiery letter to the register. published in the first issue of the new year, he declared himself and his friends fundamentally opposed to equal distribution (a scheme, he charged, that had been instituted to profit the elite who directed the community), the selection of tenants, and the care and education of children. he also resented being “impressed, into a society under the nick-name of adherents to divine revelation, where nothing was meant, than natural religion, to the exclusion of revelation, as received amongst mankind (register, ii, 262, wednesday january 17th, 1827, p. 2.).” evidently considering himself a cut above the “brawny labourers” whose idle ways, course language, and rude manners had subverted the entire experiment, he feared for the mind and morals of his children. indeed, education was dear to o’brian’s heart. without casting any aspirations on catherine whitwell, “whose zeal, disinterestedness, good feeling, perseverance, and talents” were beyond question, he deplored the lack of organization and investment in what was after all the community’s most important division (register, ii, 262, wednesday january 17th, 1827, p. 2.). o’brian had a bold solution. establish a boarding school, “a manufacture of mind,” for between one and two hundred fee paying students. the money generated would then fund all the 51 expenses of rearing orbiston’s children, including a “school of labour” – he had no “objection to the amalgamation of the two classes of children, as soon as their habits of cleanliness and acquirements justified such mixture (register, ii, 262, wednesday january 17th, 1827, 5.).” both could be run by the same teachers, and he had in mind a fully qualified assistant for miss whitwell and two gentlemen from switzerland who had studied with pestalozzi for 9 and 12 years. the sticking point, he explained, was that to accommodate the new inmates, the society’s children would have to vacate their dormitory and sleep in the attic until the new wind of the building was complete. combe, who admitted his neglect of the of children while he struggled to assure the economic security of the society claimed that he “felt a considerable aversion to hire teachers at a high salary, both because our funds required to be managed with economy, and because i thought a that men who required to be tempted with money to engage in such an undertaking, were by this very circumstance disqualified for this office (register, ii, 28, wednesday february 14th, 1827, 18.).” it should be noted however, that the society did have several other paid employees, including the director of the agricultural department. as for o’brien’s views on the admission of tenants, combe responded that it was he who was unacceptable. orbiston had been established “to banish poverty and vice, and to ascertain to what height the lowest of the working classes could be raised by their own industry, under a system of justice and equity.” register, ii, 28, wednesday february 14th, 1827, 15. how could this object be achieved if he was forced to “look upon a poor or even vicious individual as unworthy of admission?” register, ii, 28, wednesday feburary 14th, 1827, 15. “i am still compelled to think i acted judiciously in rejecting none of the applicants,” he concluded. register, ii, 28, wednesday february 14th, 1827, 15. such public battles did not help heal the divisions within the community, which as time passed, appear to have solidified into three distinct camps: the owenites who ruled the management committee and through the press controlled the official voice of the community; the defenders of individualism, who grew increasingly unhappy with the new order, its methods of control, and its austerity measures; and the laborers, who less concerned with ideological struggles, remained in the community to meet their immediate needs. orbiston limped along. generally reports were optimistic. the register boasted of the society’s increasing refinement – it theatre, coral music society, and public lectures. with over a thousand pear and apple trees planted, a dairy and piggary established, the agricultural department proudly demonstrated that it could easily support 100 families on 300 acres of land. the press even apologized for its failure to publish the register due to a backlog of orders. when after months of suffering, abram combe finally succumbed on august 11th, 1827 he died believing that orbiston “was established beyond the point of failure (podmore 1924, 371).” “if any epitaph is written on me,” he pleaded, “may it simply be . . . that his conduct in life met the approbation of his own mind at the hour of his death.” orbiston register, ii, 34 wednesday september 19th, 1827,. 69. owen, who was visiting from new harmony, arrived at combe’s bedside just six hours later. with william combe now in charge of finances, it became evident that hefty interest payments left little profit with which to pay off the community’s £40,000 debt. the foundry, for example, reported only a small surplus of £232. fueled by o’brien’s warnings that the community was on the verge of breaking up several proprietors refused to meet their financial obligations, and funds became scarce. in march william combe wrote to hamilton complaining of the society’s lack of funds. without an immediate infusion of cash, he warned, “the consequences may be very serious (donnachie 1971, 156).” money was advanced to carry the group until harvest time, but was evidently either insufficient or poorly managed. as gloom spread, the orbiston’s problems were further exacerbated by the rise of soldiering, the reporting of false hours, and the pilthering of food from the society’s storehouse – presumably given or sold to family and friends in the locality. preaching more self-denial and generous conduct the register asked how, under such burdens, the group could ever hope to create stock? workers started to lose confidence in the enterprise, and the value of the stock plummeted – robert hicks left selling his shares at 50% of their original value. as austerity measures were increased and the prospect of acquiring any real wealth diminished, life under the eye of the community proved too much for many residents. positive till the end, the final issue of register followed george combe’s “memoir of mr. abram combe” with a bucolic picture of residents eagerly and cheerfully reaping in the corn. there was with none “of that brutal swearing and obscene jesting which are most commonly so disgusting in the in the harvest field,” but a polite and intelligent discourse “on interesting topics related to the community (register, ii, 34, wednesday september 19th, 1827, 71.).” the whole tenor of the place had changed. men, women, and children all showed striking improvements in character. where once residents spent their sundays idling in their rooms, they now found on the benches clean and well dressed, quietly “reading books or contemplating the beauties of the scenery, being evidently pleased and satisfied with the circumstances in which they are placed (register, ii, 34, wednesday september 19th, 1827, 71.).” the whole affair finally came to a head as the society defaulted upon its mortgage payments and the scottish union insurance company elected to call in its £16,000 loan. this meant the immediate liquidation of the company and all its assets. just three months after abram’s death, an eviction note was served to the residents. taking charge of the auction, george combe sold the community’s produce and machinery without reserve, and place the building a property up for sale. of little use to other manufacturers, orbiston remained on the market for over two years until it was purchased by a neighboring landowner for only ₤15,000. a longtime opponent of the experiment, she immediately had the building razed. not a stone remains to mark the site. several members of the foundry company wound up in debtor’s prison and william combe fled to america, where as his brother george later put it, “he 52 displays the same want of energy on the other side of the atlantic that formed so striking a feature of his character on this (cullen 1971, 324).” in 1841 owen presented a development of the principles and plans on which to establish self-sustaining home colonies. as his subtitle indicated, the father of socialism was still convinced that “ignorance. poverty, and crime” could be permanently removed and the material benefit of all classes assured, “by giving a right application to the now greatly misdirected powers of the human faculties (owen 1841, app 1).” to support his argument, owen included in his appendix a chapter from george combe’s moral philosophy (combe, 1846). owen clearly approved of combe’s analysis of the old world – his critique of capitalism and the social institutions that brutified the minds of the population. turning men and women into “labouring animals” was hardly god’s plan for humankind. throughout history, combe observed, certain individuals have glimpsed a more natural state in which justice and benevolence could reign. plato’s republic was perhaps the first example of such a utopia, others had been envisioned by leaders of religious sects, such george rapp of the harmonites in indiana. more recently, owen had drawn on the social sciences in his efforts to engineer the same end. blessed with favorable conditions and a strong leadership that ensured complete solidarity to religious principles, the harmonites had enjoyed great prosperity and the delights of life governed by the moral and rational faculties. owen’s scheme proved less successful. by opening his doors to all who professed his principles he admitted men and women who were constitutionally incapable of acting “in accordance with the dictates of the moral sentiments and intellect (owen, 1841, app 7: 7).” the same was true of abram’s experiment. without “efficient direction or superintendence . . . and no habitual supremacy of the moral and intellectual powers . . . to animate [operatives] with a love of the public good . . . the result was melancholy and speedy.” (owen 1841, app 1:9) combe reiterated this conclusion in his private correspondence. “the great error in orbiston” he told william, “has been the putting the cart before the horse (gibbon 1878, 1:206).” “to produce union and cooperation there must be harmony of principle,” and this demanded “highly enlightened and moralized” individuals (gibbon 1878, 1:206).” a person of “great and commanding mind, who is thoroughly persuaded of its truth he,” could hold individuals together by strong religious enthusiasm, but this was not abram’s nature. (gibbon 1878, 1:206). there was a great difference between feeling in favor of union and co-operation, and intellectually understanding the principles of human nature and percieving how to suit external circumstances to its wants. i have considered our late lamented brother abram, and the founder of orbiston more in the first condition than the last. in short, as reason and benovelence were to form the bonds of union, the establishment should have been delayed until, by educaion or by books, a sufficient number of individuals had been prepared -by the ascendency fo these principles in their minds – for carrying their principles into practical effect (gibbon 1878, 1:206). “a higher, purer, and happier state of society” was possible if, as “the success of mr. rapp” demonstrated “the animal propensities [could] be controlled by the strength of moral and religious principle (owen 1841, app 1:10).” owen agreed, pointing to the success of 15 other communities in north america that had banished private property. combe was more circumspect. before submitting to “poetical fancies” on the basis of “this almost solitary example,” he suggested a careful examination of human nature to determine “whether such capacities were “laying dormant within us (owen, 1841, app 1:10).” his conclusion was less optimistic. men and women would advance to this moral end, but it would take generations lived in accord with the laws of inheritance and exercise. nonetheless, it was to owen’s disciplinary pedagogy, suitably infused with phrenological theory and his brother’s practical christianity that combe and his co-worker, james simpson, turned in the effort to promote this happy state. together with samuel wilderspin, thomas wyse, william rathbone, and other members of the prestigious central society, combe and simpson spearheaded the national campaign for infant schooling and a secular system of national education that swept the country in the decade after the debacle at orbiston. but that is another story (tomlinson 2001). references claeys, gregory. 1989. citizens and saints: politics and anti-politics in early british socialism. cambridge: cambridge university press. combe, abram. 1823. observations on the new and old views, and their effects on the conduct of individuals: as manifested in the proceedings of the edinburgh christian instructor and mr. owen. edinburgh: james auchie. combe, abram. 1823. metaphorical sketches of the old and new systems: with opinions on interesting subjects. edinburgh: j. auchie. combe, abram. 1825. the sphere for joint stock companies; or the way to increase the value of land, capital, and labour: with an account of the establishment at orbiston in lanarkshire. edinburgh: bell & bradfute. combe, george. 1846. moral philosophy: or, the duties of man considered in his individual, social, and domestic capacities. new york: w. h. colyer. cullen, alexander. 1971. adventures in socialism: new lanark establishment. new york: ams press. the register for the first society of adherents to divine revelation at orbiston. 1827. orbiston, lanarkshire: orbiston press. 34 vols. "rules and regulations of a community," proceedings of the general meeting of the british and foreign philanthropic society. 1822. london: a. taylor. donnachie, ian. 1971. “orbiston: a scottish owenite community 1825-28,” in robert owen of new 53 lanark, 1771-1858, ed. j. butt, i. donnachie, and j. hume. glasgow: department of economic history, university of strathclyde. gibbon, charles. 1878. life of george combe: author of the constitution of man. 2 vols. london: macmillan. godwin, william. 1793. an enquiry concerning political justice, and its influence on general virtue and happiness. 2 vols. london: g. g. & j. robinson. owen, robert. 1857/1967. the life of robert owen; written by himself, with selections from his writings & correspondence. 2 vols. london: a. m. kelley publishers. owen, robert. 1969. a new view of society and report to the county of lanark. london: penguin. owen, robert. 1841. a development of the principles and plans on which to establish self-sustaining home colonies. london: the home and colonization society. podmore, frank. 1924. robert owen: a biography. london: d. appleton and company. mccann, phillip and young, francis. 1982. samuel wilderspin and the infant school movement london: croom helm. simon, brian. 1954. the radical tradition in education in britain london: lawrence and wishart. simpson, james. 1836. the philosophy of education: with its practical application to a system and plan of popular education as a national object. london: a. & c. black. tomlinson, stephen. 2001. "the secular school" in curriculum history 2001, ed. l burlbaw. college station, tx. title 59 indonesian islamic schools’ curriculum history: from independence to the new order muhammad zuhdi mcgill university the main objective of this study is to examine the evolution of islamic schools’ curriculum in indonesia 1945 – 1990. using the social constructionist perspective as an approach, this research is trying to see the significance of political and social changes to the development of islamic schools’ curricula throughout the country’s history. this study examines the curriculum of islamic schools in indonesia. by islamic school i mean a formal education institution in which islam is the only religion officially taught as a belief, and which maintains islamic practices as part of the school’s regulations. in indonesia, there are currently three types of formal islamic schools: the pesantren (religious and traditional boarding school), the madrasah (religious day school), and the sekolah islam (a day school that combines secular curriculum and religious teachings). the existence of islamic educational institutions in indonesia has a long history, beginning before the independence of the country. various types of institutions such as masjid (mosque), pesantren (mainly in java), surau (in west sumatra), and madrasah have functioned as educational sites wherein indigenous indonesians have been taught to become “good muslims” for centuries. according to 2001/2002 national education statistics, the total number of madrasahs (mainly private) offering elementary to high school level instructions is 37,362, which constitutes 17.06 % of total schooling (ministry of national education, 2002). however, this figure does not include a number of private islamic schools (not registered as madrasah) that are supervised by the ministry of education, as well as nonrecognized religious schools. although islamic education has a long history and has made its own significant contribution to society, formal recognition from the government was not granted until 1975 through the creation of the three-minister decree concerning the status of madrasah. later, this decision was maintained by the 1989 national education act, the first act that explicitly referred to the madrasah as part of the indonesia’s national education system. the main reason for the inclusion of islamic schools as part of the secular education system was the country’s long history of islamization and the role that islamic education had played throughout the country’s history. this history has resulted, albeit belatedly, in the government’s accepting the responsibility of improving the quality of education in those schools, without transforming them into secular schools. the changing political circumstances throughout the country’s history have had a huge impact on the evolution of the islamic schools, especially their curricula. following independence, the government maintained the islamic education institutions under the supervision of the ministry of religious affairs (referred as mora). since then, the state has been directly involved in the development and supervision of some of these institutions. in addition to this political influence, the evolution of indonesian islamic schools has been also influenced by changes in society. the demand for more open-minded islamic schools has thus resulted in alterations to the curriculum in various islamic institutions. research framework for the purposes of this research essay, curriculum is understood as subject matter, that is to say, “the curriculum is equated with the subjects to be taught” (schubert 1986, 26). there are a number of reasons for using this definition. first, without intending to simplify the meaning of curriculum or the process of education, the content of curriculum or subject matter can be used to analyse the ideology and philosophy that exist behind a curriculum. second, studying the curriculum as content or subject matter is somewhat more feasible than studying the practical classroom curriculum as far as a historical study is concerned because unlike the latter, the content is usually documented. lastly, the study of curriculum as subject matter is the traditional approach used in the history of education in indonesia. among the most important goals of this study is that of discovering the reasons behind the selection of some subjects and the exclusion of others in religious schools’ curricula. these inclusions and exclusions not only reflect how the curriculum-makers view the importance of certain areas of knowledge, but they can also help us to see the ideological and political backgrounds behind those decisions. therefore, it is important to raise questions such as “who decides the subjects to be taught?” and “what were the considerations in deciding which subjects?” ivor goodson (1994) proposes certain directions for doing research in the field, two of which i use as general guidelines for my research. the first is the importance of the written curriculum document. curriculum documents can provide me, as a researcher, with a great deal of information about how their authors view education and the importance of knowledge and skills, through examining both the rationale and the contents of the curriculum. the main reason for concentrating my study on the written curriculum is that, as goodson (1994, 19) argues, “the written curriculum is the visible and public testimony of selected rationales and legitimating rhetoric for schooling.” the second crucial point that goodson makes is the use of the social constructionist perspective in conducting a study of curriculum history. the basic assumption of the social constructionist perspective is that knowledge is never free from interests, politics and human experience. it is 60 something that is constructed based on individuals’ experiences, together with their ideological, political and cultural interests (schwandt 2000, 198). hence, a curriculum is not something taken for granted; it is created and constructed by certain people to be ‘taught’ to others. according to goodson (1994, 19), “the school curriculum is a social artefact, conceived and made for deliberate human purposes. it is therefore a supreme paradox that in many accounts of schooling the written curriculum, this most manifest of social constructions, has been treated as a ‘given’.” the assumption of the curriculum as a social artefact is important in studying curriculum history, as far as the social constructionist is concerned, since this will enable one to view the relationship between the curriculum and its external factors. although the social constructionist view of curriculum – which proposes students’ involvement in curriculummaking (see gergen 1995, 32) – is different from the definition that i have chosen, it nevertheless offers a point of view that can help one to construct an understanding of the factors that influence curriculum decisions. one of the assumptions of the social constructionist orientation is that “the terms in which the world is understood are social artefacts, products of historically situated interchanges among people” (gergen 1985, 267). it is from this standpoint that the evolution of curriculum in the indonesian context will be explored; not as documented and silent texts, but as a source of information on how ideology, politics, and social changes influence curriculum. early development of indonesian islamic schools’ curriculum (1945 – 1975) when the first indonesian government established its national education system, this system was secular in nature. existing schools incorporated into this system had to be secular in order to receive government’s funding. this of course left a vast number of islamic schools – such as pesantrens and madrasahs – outside this network. these schools received no support from the government, even as they continued their efforts to educate a great number of indonesian children. on march 1, 1946, suwandi, the country’s second minister of education, set up a commission known as panitia penyelidik pendidikan (committee for the investigation of education) to examine the state of affairs of national education. one of the areas that interest them was the existence of islamic schools, thus the committee made the following observation: “madrasahs and pesantrens which have became sources and sites of education for the indigenous indonesian population, and whose existence has been widely accepted among the indonesian people, deserve to receive the government’s attention and even some kinds of subsidies” (steenbrink 1985, 96; lee kam hing 1995, 34). this clearly indicates that islamic educational institutions, despite the fact they were not formally recognized at the time, had been and remain – in the era immediately following independence – significant factors in the development of indonesian education. the fact that islamic educational institutions brought learning to so many young indonesians in rural areas made their existence invaluable. yet, the problem was that most of them did not have structured approaches to subject matter, let alone a curriculum. in view of the facts that these institutions focused mainly on religious instruction, the government decided to place them under the supervision of the ministry of religious affairs (mora), instead of the ministry of education. therefore, in the initial formation of the mora in 1946, its mandate included responsibility for religious education (yunus 1992, 363). since then, indonesian education has been administered under two umbrellas: the ministry of education and the mora. later, to avoid confusion over the definition of “religious school” and “non religious school,” the ministry of education, together with the mora, made the following categorization: an institution constituted a secular school if less than 50% of its curriculum was devoted to religious instruction, and a school was to be classified as a religious school if it had a curriculum including more than 50% religious instruction (lee kam hing 1995, 75). hence, the first is administered under the ministry of education, while the second is under the mora. the issue of the composition of curriculum also proved crucial for obtaining government subsidies. in 1952, the mora issued a decree concerning financial and other kinds of subsidies for madrasahs and other private islamic institutions. two of the requirements for obtaining the subsidy were that, in addition to religious instructions offered, an islamic school should include the teaching of some non-religious subjects in its curriculum, the minimum requirement of: reading, writing and arithmetic for the threeyear elementary schools, plus geography, history, basic sciences and health for six-year elementary schools; and the allocation of at least 30% of its total study hours per week for non-religious subjects (sosromidjojo 1952, 265). the issue, however, did not lead the mora to create standardized curricula for madrasahs and pesantrens. beside the above issue, the mora paid little attention to the creation of curriculum for islamic schools during its initial development. this implies that the responsibility for this task remained in the hands of muslim educators in each school. the main concern of the ministry was to provide a sufficient number of teachers to teach religion in secular schools. therefore, the first curriculum developed by the ministry was the curriculum for the sgai (sekolah guru agama islam/high school for islamic teachers), which later came to be known as pga (pendidikan guru agama/education for islamic teachers). students of these schools were mainly graduates from the madrasahs and pesantrens, who would be appointed to teach religion in public schools upon their graduation from the sgai or pga. at this point, it can be said that although the government acknowledged the existence of islamic schools, there was no initiative to reform these institutions, and especially the curriculum. these institutions were solely dependent upon the expertise of their leaders. as a result, the curriculum of madrasah as well as its grading system varied from one institution to another. hence, the 1952 national 61 education act did not recognize madrasah and pesantren as part of the national education system. in 1958, the mora initiated the creation of the kurikulum madrasah wajib belajar (religious school compulsory education curriculum) in an effort to standardize and promote the improvement of the madrasah system throughout the country (zuhairini et al. 1984, 80), especially at the primary level. it was expected that this model would encourage the private madrasahs to renew their systems. however, this program was unsuccessful in its implementation, and the private schools continued to run their own curriculum. the failure of the program inspired the government to create the madrasah negeri (state-sponsored madrasah) system with a clearer mandate and structure. the schools were organized in a fashion similar to that of the secular schools: thus, the madrasah ibtidaiyah negeri (elementary state madrasah) was on roughly the same level as the sekolah dasar negeri (public elementary school), the madrasah tsanawiyah negeri (junior secondary state madrasah) on that of the sekolah menengah pertama (public secondary school), and the madrasah aliyah negeri (secondary state madrasah) on that of the sekolah menengah atas (public high school). it is notable that most of the state-sponsored madrasahs were located on the property of private institutions. the turning point: the 1975 three-minister decree the country’s changing leadership in the late 1960s also had an impact to the development of islamic schools. the ‘new order’i government under suharto’s leadership believed that one of the best strategies for improving the quality of life of the indonesian people was to enhance the quality of education. they furthermore presumed that the enhancement of the education system would only be possible if there is a single education authority responsible for all forms of schooling, instead of having various ministries run specific schools for their own purposes. for this reason, the government released a presidential instruction in 1972 require all formal education to be administered by the ministry of education. as no exceptions were mentioned in the instruction, the status of islamic schools was left unanswered. it was understood that they should be administered by the ministry of education, yet many muslim educators found this decision unacceptable. for them, the policy was an oversimplification of a complex situation that existed in the indonesian education system in general, and in islamic education in particular. since the decision did not specifically acknowledge the existence of islamic education institutions, they assumed that the government was trying to eliminate them through application of the so-called “pendidikan satu atap” (single umbrella education) policy. for this part, muslim leaders maintained that islamic education should be supervised by the mora, because it was the only government institution with the expertise necessary for evaluating the competency of the islamic schools. while acknowledging the weaknesses of the islamic educational institutions, a number of muslim educators approached the government asking it to exclude these schools from the presidential decree and make a special regulation for them. furthermore, they proposed the idea of reconstructing the curriculum of islamic educational institutions to meet government expectations, rather than merging them with secular schools, which would have been a sharp political disappointment to the muslim people (pondok modern gontor 1996, 168). in response, the government released a joint decree signed by three ministers: the minister of education, the minister of religious affairs, and the minister of internal affairs. the so called skb 3 menteri (three-minister joint decree) proposed the standardization of the curriculum of islamic schools, through the installation of a national curriculum for all madrasah. the madrasah negeri, which had been instituted prior to this decision, became the model for private madrasahs. this decree was followed by mora's decisions in 1976 to reform the composition of madrasah’s curriculum to comprise 30% religious instruction and 70% non-religious subjects, including languages, social studies, math, natural sciences, arts education, and the national ideology. additionally, the new curriculum also introduced five programs of study (majors) within the islamic high schools: natural sciences, social sciences, language and culture, religion (islam in general), and islamic jurisprudence (see zuhairini et al. 1984, 84-6). this was a very significant decision that not only changed the structure of the curriculum of the madrasah, but more importantly gave muslim students more opportunities to explore branches of knowledge other than religion. this decision can also be seen as the result of a political negotiation between the government, which wanted the people to be sufficiently educated, and the muslim leaders, who felt responsible for maintaining the faith of the muslim people. although many muslim leaders viewed the 1975 joint decree as accommodating the demands of muslim people and as testimony to the success of political negotiations between muslims and the government, not all of them agreed that the new curriculum ensuing from the joint decree met the needs of muslim students. as a result, the curriculum of islamic schools throughout the country continued to exhibit local variations, some of which can be seen in the following selected responses to the 1975 decree. the responses first case: accommodation with combination pesantren tebu ireng in jombang, east java is an example of the positive response to the national curriculum for madrasahs following the 1975 three-ministry decree. actually, even before the introduction of the 1976 curriculum for madrasahs, tebu ireng had restructured itself to offer its students more non-religious subjects. realizing that some of their students needed more “secular subjects” within a religious environment, since the early 1970s tebu ireng been offering two different kinds of schooling: madrasah, for those who wanted to perfect their religious knowledge, and 62 sekolah, for those who wanted to learn more non-religious subjects. in addition, tebu ireng also maintained the classic pesantren education after school hours, in keeping their original mandate. the enactment of the 1975 joint decree put tebu ireng in a difficult situation and forced its board to review their educational program. the difficulty was that, on the one hand, the national curriculum for the madrasahs had less religious instruction than theirs, so adopting it would make their madrasah no different from their sekolah. on the other hand, ignoring the national curriculum meant their certificate would not be recognized by the government, which would disappoint the students and their parents. this difficulty, however, did not prevent them from adopting the national curriculum. in the first thirty years of its history, under the leadership of kh hasyim asy’ari (a noted islamic leader in indonesian history), tebu ireng was meant to be a pesantren that educated young muslims in order for them to become religious leaders. therefore, the teaching materials focused heavily on islamic knowledge. in its later development, however, and especially following the 1975 decree, the orientation of pesantren tebu ireng (one of the biggest traditional education institutions) shifted from being an institution for religious experts to being an institution for all people dhofier 1994, 113). second case: independent school one of the most notable cases of an educational institution retaining its independence during the introduction of the national curriculum was pondok pesantren gontor in ponorogo, east java. this pesantren was founded by three brothers: kh ahmad sahal, kh zainuddin fananie, and kh imam zarkasyi. although each of the three made his own contribution to the development of gontor, zarkasyi was notably the most influential of them all. his achievements were acknowledged by the government in the form of an appointment as the chairman of the mp3a (religious education council) under the ministry of religious affairs in the late 1950s. zarkasyi’s involvement in the government’s committees on religious education, however, did not compromise the independence of gontor. zarkasyi refused to implement the 1975 curriculum, as he believed that the one on offer at gontor was better than what the government proposed. zakiyah daradjat (1996, 633) notes that zarkasyi did not agree with the idea of standardizing the pesantrens, and hence he did not allow his students to take the national examination for madrasah aliyah (high school level) in order to acquire the government-recognized diploma. the main reason however for zarkasyi’s decision, according to daradjat, was the government’s imposition of pancasila (the national ideology) as a compulsory subject. as a result, gontor was not recognized as a formal educational institution according to the 1975 joint decree. that decision also had consequences for the status of the alumni of gontor. while the students agreed that the different curriculum at gontor was worthwhile, many of them needed a government-recognized certificate either to study in a public university or to find a job in public institutions. fortunately for them, the system allowed them to take the national examination in other schools while maintaining their status as gontor students. third case: between religious and secular school as an educational institution using the national secular curriculum, al-azhar was not directly affected by the 1975 joint decree. however, as an islamic school, al-azhar, founded in the late 1960s, reflected the shifting features of the islamic schools. unlike other islamic schools in indonesia, al-azhar was neither a madrasah nor, despite being run by a foundation called yayasan pesantren islam al-azhar (al-azhar islamic school foundation), a pesantren (busyairi, 2002). it chose moreover to adopt the ministry of education’s curriculum rather the one created by the mora. however, al-azhar could not be categorised as a secular school either since it devoted a greater amount of time to religious education compared to some other schools run by islamic organizations. located in the strategic south jakarta area, al-azhar offered the new muslim middle class family a new model of islamic school, which combined the secular curriculum with guided religious practices. the increasing numbers of the muslim middle class in the late 1980s in indonesia, following the rise of indonesian economic development, had a significant impact on the growth of al-azhar. this is because families at this level preferred to send their children to a non-denominational school, while still maintaining religious practices. this is also another indication of the shifting role of islamic schools, from parochial to “more secular.” in other words, indonesian muslim society had demonstrated a need for more schools that give students non-religious subjects combined with some religious values and practices, and fewer schools that prepare students to become religious experts. the new development of the islamic schools the idea of political, economic and defence stability promoted by the new order government, followed by successful explorations for petroleum in various parts of indonesia and sky-rocketing oil prices in the world market in the late 1970s, brought about considerable economic development in the country. subsequently, this development improved the per-capita income of indonesian people and hence swelled the muslim middle class from the late 1980s onwards. the emergence of the indonesian muslim middle class gained political momentum with the birth of icmi (organization for indonesian muslim intellectuals) in 1990 (syamsuddin 2001, 78). this organization united a great number of indonesian muslim scholars, as well as technocrats, in pursuit of the advancement of the people of indonesia, especially its muslim citizens.ii although the organization was not founded as a political party, its contribution to the formation of the 1993 cabinet and parliament members was nevertheless considerable. b.j. habibie, the first chairman of icmi and one of the ruling 63 cabinet’s senior ministers, was the most influential figure in bringing a number of muslim scholars and technocrats into the cabinet. the contribution was even stronger when b.j. habibie himself was appointed as vice-president in 1998, a few months before the fall of the new order regime. the birth of icmi and the growing role of the indonesian muslim middle class in the political and economic arenas were all indications that the issue of religion (i.e. islam) retained a significant aspect in the development of these sectors. this development, furthermore, had a considerable effect on the future of indonesia’s islamic schools. the implementation of the 1989 education act is another evidence of the increasing role played by indonesian muslims in the political arena. sirozi (1998) shows how muslim leaders reacted when the first draft of the 1989 bill proposed by the ministry of education did not specifically mention the position of religious education. panji masyarakat, a nation-wide muslim magazine, reported the discussion of the bill among muslim leaders in an article entitled “sebuah ruu tanpa iman (a bill without faith)”. the article reflected a strong desire on the part of the muslim leaders that both government and parliament revise the bill before ratifying it (panji masyarakat, july, 1988). sirozi (1998, 188) concluded that muslim leaders build their arguments based on two rationales: “moralistic”, which stresses the importance of religious values, and “historical”, which implies the roles that muslim educators have played throughout the history. at least three elements of the 1989 education act show evidence of the increasing role of muslims in the political arena: first, the inclusion of the words iman dan taqwa (religious devoutness) as part of the general statement of the goals of national education; second, the recognition of the existence of islamic schools in keeping with the 1975 three-ministry decree; and third, the obligation of religious instruction at every level of formal education. the new islamic schools the changing political and social atmosphere that accompanied the country’s economic and political evolution under the new order government brought with it a number of developments critical to the well-bieng of islamic schools. first, thanks to their strong position in politics, the muslim middle class has been able to maintain the status of the islamic schools as part of the national education system. there has been even stronger political support for this recognition since the passage of the 1989 educational act, which recognized the madrasah as equal to secular schools. second, the constituency of the islamic schools has been broadened from including only “conservative religious” families to welcoming middle class and religiously moderate families as well. more parents are willing to send their children to the religious schools, in the belief that their children need religious values to protect them from the negative aspects of the secular world. third, in their early development, the main goal of the islamic schools was to train young muslims to become, simply put, clerics. the changing constituency has forced many muslim schools to change their educational goals, from producing ulama (clerics) to producing students with a broad understanding of various scientific disciplines and a strong commitment to religious life. although there is no statistical data available regarding the exact number of new islamic schools, the record from al-azhar foundation can serve as an indicator. as mentioned earlier, al-azhar is a model of school that combines the secular curriculum set by the ministry of education and their own religious instructions and practices. the record indicates that in 1971, the al-azhar foundation had only four formal schools at the elementary and junior secondary levels. in 1989, the total number of schools had grown to 14, including a number of high schools. this number continued to grow significantly to 31 schools in 1995 (busyairi, 2002). azra (2000, 74) notes that in the last twenty years, al-azhar has become the model for a number of newly developed islamic schools. general conclusion from an early point in indonesian history, religious leaders have been important actors in indonesian education, most often through the creation of various educational institutions. although their main goal was to educate students to become good muslims, nonetheless many of those institutions taught their students a variety of knowledge and skills apart from religious instruction. therefore, following independence, the government could not ignore the existence of islamic institutions in any discussion of the national education system. in other words, the government had no choice but to accept those institutions as part of the national education system. as a result, there have always been political negotiations regarding the place of religion (especially islam) in any policy on national education. furthermore, the creation of the 1950 and 1989 education acts indicated the similar fashion. these phenomena indicate that the issue of religious education remains a very crucial issue in indonesia. for a great number of indonesian people, religion is an important aspect of their life, especially when it comes to facing the issues of globalization and secularization. this is not only reflected by the changes in the education law, but also by the changing trends of schooling. for indonesian muslims, as for others, formal education is the best way to provide future generations with the necessary knowledge and skills for their future lives. moreover, many indonesian muslims seem to agree that, in addition to knowledge and skills, religious instruction is another important aspect of education. with religion itself still an important aspect of their lives, they believe that religious education will provide young people with the values and beliefs that can help them cope with an increasingly globalized and secularized society. therefore, the majority of muslim people, especially their religious leaders were resistant to any efforts to secularize the islamic schools, although they were more and more open to restructure their curriculum to a more “secular” way. the changing features of indonesian islamic schools throughout the country’s history indicated that both of the 64 politics and social changes have a significant influence to the evolution of curriculum. the government through the mora has made invaluable efforts to support the modernization of various islamic educational institutions, not only those of state’s schools, but also private institutions. additionally, the changes in the society, most notably the increasing number of the muslim middle class, influenced the way islamic schools view the importance of knowledge. these phenomena clearly reflect what kliebard (1992, 158) says that “the relationship between a society and curriculum is reciprocal”. references azra, azyumardi. 2000. pendidikan islam: tradisi dan modernisasi menuju millenium baru [islamic education: tradition and modernization towards the new millenium]. jakarta: logos busyairi, badruzzaman. 2002. setengah abad al-azhar [a half century of al-azhar]. jakarta: yayasan pesantren islam al-azhar daradjat, z. 1996. gigih memperjuangkan madrasah [great efforts for madrasah]. in imam zarkasyi di mata ummat [people’s tributes to imam zarkasyi], edited by panitia penulisan biography kh imam zarkasyi, 630-35. ponorogo: gontor press. dhofier, zamakhsyari. 1994. tradition and change in indonesian islamic education. jakarta: office of religious research and development, ministry of religious affairs. gergen, k. j. 1985. the social constructionist movement in modern psychology, american psychologist, 40, no. 3: 266-75. _____. 1995. social construction and the educational process. in constructivism in education edited by l.p. steffe and j. gale. 17 – 39. hillsdale: lawrence erlbaum. goodson, i. f. 1994. studying curriculum. toronto: oise press. kliebard, h. m. 1992. constructing a history of the american curriculum. in handbook of research on curriculum, edited by phillip w. jackson, 157-84. new york: macmillan. lee, kam hing. 1995. education and politics in indonesia 1945-1965. kuala lumpur: the university of malaya press. ministry of national education. 2002. indonesia educational statistics in brief 2001/2002. jakarta: mone panji masyarakat. 1988. sebuah ruu tanpa iman [a bill without faith]. panji masyarakat (indonesian monthly magazine). july, 1988. pondok modern gontor. 1996. kh imam zarkasyi dari gontor: merintis pesantren modern [kh imam zarkasyi from gontor: initiating the modernized pesantren]. ponorogo, east java: gontor press. schubert, w. h. 1986 curriculum: perspective, paradigm and possibility. new york: macmillan. schwandt, t. a. 2000. three epistemological stances for qualitative inquiry: interpretivism, hermeneutics, and social constructionism, in the handbook of qualitative research edited by n. k. denzin and y. s. lincoln, 189-213. thousand oaks, cal.: sage publications. sirozi, muhammad. 1998. politics of educational policy production in indonesia: a case study of the roles of muslim leaders in the establishment of the number 2 act of 1989. phd thesis. melbourne, australia: monash university. sosromidjojo, r.m. 1952. pendidikan dan pengajaran agama [religious education and instruction]. yogyakarta: badan wakaf uii. syamsuddin, m.d. 2001. islam dan politik era orde baru [islam and politics in the new order era]. jakarta: logos. stenbrink, k. a. 1986. pesantren, madrasah, sekolah: pendidikan islam dalam kurun modern [pesantren, madrasah, sekolah: islamic education in the modern era]. jakarta: lp3es. yunus, mahmud. 1992. sejarah pendidikan islam di indonesia [the history of islamic education in indonesia]. 3rd ed. jakarta: mutiara sumber widya. zuhairini, m. kasiram, a. ghofir, r. i . santoso, a. m. fadjar, and m. fatawi. 1986. sejarah pendidikan islam di indonesia [the history of islamic education in indonesia]. jakarta: proyek pembinaan prasarana dan sarana perguruan tinggi agama, departemen agama ri. i ‘new order’ is the official name for suharto’s long run government to distinguish them with the previous leadership which is called the old order. the new order era ends in 1998 when suharto left the presidential position. ii some of the muslim scholars (including then former president abdurrahman wahid) refused to join this organization as they believed that such an organization will only promote sectarianism among the religious people which is absolutely dangerous for a multi-religions state like indonesia. indonesian islamic schools’ curriculum history: from independence to the new order research framework ivor goodson (1994) proposes certain directions for doing research in the field, two of which i use as general guidelines for my research. the first is the importance of the written curriculum document. curriculum documents can provide me, as a researcher, with a great deal of information about how their authors view education and the importance of knowledge and skills, through examining both the rationale and the contents of the curriculum. the main reason for concentrating my study on the written curriculum is that, as goodson (1994, 19) argues, “the written curriculum is the visible and public testimony of selected rationales and legitimating rhetoric for schooling.” curricula for the country: farmers’ institutes in indiana, 1890-1910 glenn lauzon indiana university northwest abstract what are farmers’ institutes? why do they matter? co-organized by the experiment stations of land-grant universities and local farmers’ associations, farmers’ institutes were widespread nationally, from the 1880s to the 1910s. today, they are almost forgotten. through a case study of indiana, this paper reveals farmers’ institutes’ formation, institutional design, and curricula; in doing so, it offers sightlines into significant aspects of education and learning in the progressive era. introduction the farmers’ institute was modeled on the county institutes for teacher training that became widespread in the midwest after the civil war (fuller 1982). its two-fold mission was to improve agriculture and rural life, by educating people to become better farmers and members of society. at the turn of the twentieth century, the typical farmers’ institute was a one or two day event held in a large hall at a county seat or rural town. the program consisted of lectures and discussions on scientific agriculture, practical farming, household economy, and the cultivation of rural life. professional men and women and leading farmers lectured the audience for half an hour or so, sometimes using diagrams and specimens as props, then opened the floor for discussion. in the discussions, farmers sought clarification, challenged the speaker, or explained how their experiences validated the speaker’s propositions. during breaks, farmers scrutinized exhibits of corn, butter, and other farm products, while trading opinions with neighbors about the exhibits and the scores awarded by expert judges. music and food were provided during the day; literary exercises and formal addresses took place in the evening. by most accounts, when managed well, the farmers’ institute was entertaining and instructive (shannon 1945). maturing and peaking in popularity between 1887 and 1914, the farmers’ institutes’ moment in history was shaped profoundly by two landmarks of federal legislation. the first, the hatch act, initiated the creation of agricultural experiment stations in connection with the land-grant colleges, charging them to diffuse “useful and practical information,” in addition to conducting scientific investigations (knoblauch et al. 1962, 219). the hatch act spurred ongoing efforts of land-grant universities and state boards of agriculture to promote some type of lecture-discussion series among farmers. supported by state legislative appropriations and increasingly effective partnerships between central authorities (university or state) and county-level farmers’ associations, the institutes grew quickly. a national association and the agricultural press circulated innovations and experiences, fostering standardization and success. institutes continued growing until 1913, when over three million people attended nearly 9,000 institutes nationwide (moss and lass 1988). at that point, the smith-lever act effectively incorporated the farmers’ institutes into an agricultural extension system sponsored cooperatively by land-grant universities and the united states department of agriculture (usda). despite the farmers’ institutes’ success, 60 and their connections to higher education and the federal government, they are almost forgotten. in the past 40 years, only two articles directly address farmers’ institutes: one describing “cooking schools” for women (mink 2008), the other outlining the federal government’s role (moss and lass 1988). they are not identified in survey histories of higher education and agriculture, despite having a foot in each realm (lucas 1994; cochrane 1979). in the land-grant universities’ formative years, for good and ill, farmers’ institutes were influential in shaping public attitudes (scott 1963; marcus 1986). nonetheless, treatments of land-grant universities fail to mention them (johnson 1981). one surmises that the institutes’ failure to fit contemporary categories—neither agricultural research, nor higher education for adults, nor schooling for youth—is largely responsible for historians’ neglect. this paper represents a recovery effort. its primary aim is descriptive, to reveal the farmers’ institute’s features and developmental trajectory. based on this descriptive analysis, this paper’s secondary aim is evaluative, to indicate the farmers’ institute’s significance for educational developments in the progressive era. these aims are carried out through a case study of farmers’ institutes in indiana during the two decades straddling the turn of the twentieth century. indiana has been selected for three reasons. first, farmers’ institutes were most popular in states bordering the great lakes. second, indiana’s approach to farmers’ institutes synthesized key features of prevailing models. in most states, the institutes were managed by a state board of agriculture or a land-grant university, which received a direct appropriation from the state legislature. in a few states, institutes were subsidized partially by state appropriations given directly to local farmers’ associations who managed their own institutes (scott 1970). in indiana, state appropriations and decision-making authority were vested in a land-grant university’s committee; that committee granted considerable autonomy to local associations for conducting and financing their institute program. this balance of central authority and local autonomy may well account for the third reason why indiana has been selected: its institutes remained popular, operating in rural communities long after some other states’ institutes ceased. as late as 1960, annual institutes were still being held in one-fourth of indiana’s counties (thompson and madigan 1966). interpreting durability as an indicator of quality, indiana is well-suited for revealing the farmers’ institute’s nature and significance as an educational institution. forming a farmers’ institute system in indiana in the 1880s, the prospects for a lecture series among indiana’s farmers were not promising. there was no shortage of agricultural organizations in indiana. the difficulty lay in getting farmers to join and to attend meetings. perhaps 15 percent of farmers belonged to county agricultural societies, the grange, or independent local clubs. controlled by the county seat’s business men, agricultural societies were preoccupied with fairs; unless they were protesting against gambling, drinking, and sideshows, farmers rarely attended their meetings. the grange, too, had lost the farmers’ good will. in the early 1870s, as the grange spread, farmers enlisted it in a campaign to defend their interests against 61 railroad monopolies, middlemen, and merchants. struggling to restrict the membership’s ambitions, by the late 1870s, grange leaders succeeded in turning the local organization into a club for mutual education and socializing, primarily. most farmers dropped their memberships, having little appreciation for self-study clubs; outside the grange, only a few local independent clubs persisted (lauzon 2011). as an educational event, the closest kin to a farmers’ institute in indiana were the annual meetings of “industrial associations.” members of these associations adopted a particular agricultural pursuit as a specialty for investigation, experimentation, and commercial exploitation. collectively, the industrial associations represented a very small segment of the population—combined membership was less than 300—but it was the most influential part (clover top 1891). attended by the state’s wealthier businessmen and farmers, the industrial associations’ annual programs of lectures and discussions took place in indianapolis, in january, just prior to the convening of the general assembly. their memberships overlapped with the state board of agriculture and the state grange. in the overlapping memberships of farmers’ associations, men of like minds found common cause. communities in michigan and ohio were sponsoring institutes for their farmers in the 1880s. why could not indiana do likewise? prominent farmers called repeatedly for the state board of agriculture to lobby the general assembly to provide public financing. preferring appropriations for the state fair, the state board of agriculture’s lobbying committee ignored farmers’ request until 1887. deadlock over partisan appointments prevailed in that legislative session. unable to secure public funding, leading farmers called on each member of the state board of agriculture to organize an institute in his district, for a projected total of sixteen institutes. at least 13 institutes were held. everywhere, large crowds showed up and agricultural discussions proved lively. calling for institutes in their own communities, farmers had no difficulty securing financial support from the next general assembly (lauzon 2011). indiana’s general assembly gave purdue university an annual appropriation of $5,000 to hold institutes in the winter months to instruct “farmers and others” in “the results of the latest investigations in theoretical and practical agriculture and horticulture.” specifying little else, by default the legislature left to a university committee the duty of devising a system to coordinate, conduct, and supervise farmers’ institutes throughout the counties (“farmers’ institutes” 1892). the committee consisted of purdue university’s president, a professor in charge of the experiment station, and another who served as superintendent of farmers’ institutes. initially, they worked within the hub-and-spoke network formed by the state board of agriculture and county agricultural societies. adopting the plan used in the demonstration trial of 1888, they asked each member of the state board of agriculture to coordinate institute-hosting in his district. two years’ trial yielded “intelligent supervision” in about half of the counties only. consequently, the committee eliminated the state board of agriculture’s role. appointing a chairman for each county—typically nominated by a county society or local club—they “placed the responsibility for the success or failure of each 62 institute where it properly belongs, namely, within the county” (“farmers’ institutes” 1892, 465). the man appointed as superintendent of farmers’ institutes, professor william c. latta, could have tried to wield considerable authority over the county institutes. that he did not is a testament to his unique qualifications. from his boyhood on a farm in north-central indiana, latta acquired the ethos of hard work and practicality characteristic of successful farmers, along with the ethos of personal responsibility to public service associated with devout methodists. latta obtained the best schooling in scientific agriculture available, by way of the michigan agricultural college. at college he learned about farmers’ institutes and the necessity of cultivating collaborative partnerships with farmers’ associations. three decades of living in indiana made him well aware of regional variability in agricultural and marketing conditions. he was well aware, too, that local farmers resented nonresident non-farmers who condescended to instruct them about their business. few people were suited better than w. c. latta to promote agricultural education in indiana (whitford and martin 2005). the system professor latta developed had circumscribed (but highly effective) central authority and broad local autonomy. required to organize two-day institutes in 92 counties between november and march, he developed a schedule of institute dates, assembled a roster of traveling speakers, and synchronized their engagements in adjacent counties so that they could attend three two-day institutes per week by traveling from one county to the next on the evening train. before the institute-hosting season began, professor latta distributed the schedule to agricultural newspapers and sent county chairmen circulars with suggestions, along with record-keeping forms. during the season, latta resolved scheduling issues created by snowstorms, illness, and delayed trains, while handling receipts to reimburse local expenses with state funds. during the spring and summer, he canvassed institute chairmen for their opinions about topics and speakers in preparation for the upcoming institute season (“farmers’ institutes” 1892). professor latta gave county chairmen broad discretion to work with local agricultural associations to plan and host their institute. a broad range of questions were answered locally: in what town and facility to hold the event, what topics and local speakers to place on the program, what entertainments and supplemental events to include, and how best to make use of the county’s portion of the legislative appropriation. when chairmen sought latta’s advice (or his aid with a local dispute), he urged them to seek the opinions of “thoughtful, conservative and successful men both in town and country” (latta 1894b). when given, his opinions were tempered, clarifying issues more so than delivering a verdict. characteristically, latta would remind a chairman that, since he was a man of the community, he was more qualified to judge what was best. latta even cautioned traveling speakers (who represented the statewide management at institutes) that it “is always best to defer to the local authorities” when problems arose, and that they should “use a good deal of tact” when correcting chairmen’s questionable judgments (latta 1894a). these self-imposed limits on his controlling authority reflected latta’s conviction that the farmers’ institute had to be planted and grown in indiana’s rural 63 counties. to the extent that it reflected popular preferences, it would thrive or die. cultivating the public’s good will was essential for the man chosen to serve as an institute chairman. indiana’s $5,000 annual appropriation was hardly over-generous, less than one-half of that provided by some states in the 1890s. to defray local expenses, each county received $25 in state funds. to host a successful institute, a county chairman had to draw upon local resources. newspapers announced institute dates and programs at no cost. town businesses paid to print programs (complete with advertisements). sessions were held in courthouses and churches. the home talent rarely charged fees. schoolchildren and glee clubs supplied music. improved seed varieties, along with agricultural newspapers, were distributed free of charge (mcmahan 1893).home talent rarely charged fees. schoolchildren and glee clubs supplied music. improved seed varieties, along with agricultural newspapers, were distributed free of charge (mcmahan 1893).home talent rarely charged fees. schoolchildren and glee clubs supplied music. improved seed varieties, along with agricultural newspapers, were distributed free of charge (mcmahan 1893). relying upon local initiative and rousing the volunteer spirit were not “boom methods.” professor latta and others sought “steady and healthy” growth (“farmers’ institutes” 1899, 993). their approach was well-suited to a rural community that had been made skeptical, by repeated exposure to gimmicks and puffery that, supposedly, would improve agriculture (hayter 1973). the way to earn farmers’ trust was to build credibility over time, through personal testimonials, direct experiences, and constancy. by the mid-1890s, in counties with well-run institutes (and at least one thriving farmers’ club), institutes were overflowing “the largest halls that can be secured” at county seats (“farmers’ institutes” 1895, 409). by the decade’s end, an average of 300 people per county attended institutes yearly, with a state-wide aggregate of about 27,000 attendees (“farmers’ institutes” 1906-07). without overstating matters, professor latta claimed that institute work had “gained a firm foothold” among indiana’s “most substantial farmers” (“farmers’ institutes” 1897, 602). for an educational campaign among farmers dispersed across the hoosier countryside, the institutes’ steady growth in their first decade was impressive. it should be noted, though, that attendance estimates included town-dwellers, and that indiana boasted over 200,000 farms. every county had its share of men who were diehard opponents of “book-farming” as well as its share of men who thought “they knew all about farming and could not learn from others” (harlan 1893). throughout indiana, “the average and poor farmers [had] yet to feel the energizing influence of a closer contact with their most wide-awake fellow farmers” (“farmers’ institutes” 1892-3, 472). this was particularly so for farmers who were separated from central towns by poor roads and difficult terrain. persuading a farmer to travel for miles in the winter cold to attend a “book-farming” meeting was a hard sell. taking institutes into rural townships formed the next phase of the farmers’ institute’s development as an institution of agricultural education. extending the institute system county institute chairmen’s cooperation 64 with local farmers’ clubs was necessary to host an institute at the county seat. local farmers’ clubs—usually consisting of several families—met monthly at members’ homes. with relative ease, farmers could organize more elaborate events, such as club picnics or one-day township fairs. almost immediately, institute chairmen began organizing additional meetings in the help of local clubs. inevitably, the home counties of purdue university and the farmers’ guide (indiana’s leading weekly agricultural newspaper) led the way, holding “some six or eight independent meetings at outlying points,” thereby “bringing the work within the reach of every farmer in the county.” by 1898, some 15-20 counties were “holding such meetings with excellent results” (“farmers’ institutes” 1898, 590). a campaign among the institutes of 1900-1901 convinced the general assembly to double the annual appropriation for farmers’ institutes to $10,000. professor latta planned to use most of the increased funding to host supplemental institutes “near the boundaries or corners of the counties,” to reach farmers for whom meetings at county seats were “comparatively inaccessible” (“farmers’ institutes” 1900, 671). latta expected about 50 supplemental institutes to be held in the inaugural season (latta 1901). despite a few “misunderstandings” about distributing public funds, 93 supplemental institutes in total were held, 70 two-day events and 23 one-day events devoted exclusively to dairying (“farmers’ institutes” 1901). the township-based institutes proliferated. during their second season, their number nearly doubled. farmers’ demands for more institutes compelled professor latta to adopt a formula that allocated institutes based on the counties’ square mileage. by the winter of 1906-07, a combined total of 273 county and township institutes were attended by 50,000 hoosiers. since the township institutes rotated from place to place each winter, there were few places where a man could claim that inadequate roads prevented him from attending. intended to supplement the county institutes, the township institutes supplanted them, by taking the message of agricultural improvement “directly into good farm neighborhoods” (“farmers’ institutes” 1906-07, 719). had it compelled chairmen to rely on too many non-farmers to serve as speakers, the increase in meetings could have undermined the institute’s credibility. a “plan of securing effective institute speakers” that professor latta claimed was unique to indiana prevented that from happening. purdue university had never supplied enough “scientific experts” to fill the demand. necessity compelled latta to cultivate “practical workers from the ranks of the everyday farmers.” each year he compiled a list of traveling speakers and their topics. the list contained experienced speakers as well as some “who have never addressed a meeting outside of the home county.” to get on the list, a person had to speak at local institutes (at no cost) and be recommended by a county chairman. once listed, a person traveled and earned speaking fees largely to the extent that he was invited (“farmers’ institutes” 1903, 665). making exceptions for scientists and a few specialists, to be successful with farmers a person had to be a solid farmer and an effective public speaker. of the two qualities, the former was “the one fundamental qualification”: “no amount of training of tongue or pen can take the place of a successful experience in the 65 growing of crops and livestock” (latta 1900). whatever the topic—whether corn-planting or cattle-feeding—farmers demanded applications and results. they insisted that speakers testify about practical experiences, and pressed for particulars in question-and-answer sessions. speakers might be denounced still as “humbugs” who “really knew nothing about farming,” except what they “had prepared out of books to suit the occasion” (husselman 1899, 275). some farmers went so far as to pay unannounced home-visits to confirm that a speaker “is a farmer, lives on a farm and conducts farming operations” (doubting thomases 1899, 567). not even men who had reputations that reached beyond indiana by way of written pieces and advertisements in agricultural newspapers were immune from suspicion of chicanery. farmers’ skepticism stemmed only in part from speakers’ seemingly exaggerated claims of yields, profits, and accomplishments. the fact that they were speaking in front of an audience of strangers cast doubt on their claim to be genuine farmers. farmers’ own aversion to speaking in public forums limited the institutes’ appeal, initially. people were inclined to think of the speaker’s work as reading prepared texts interlaced with literary and historical allusions while audiences “seldom took an active part in discussing the subjects.” to break the crust of formality, institute chairmen were told to discourage the “mere reading of a paper without any fixing of the points by informal discussion” (latta 1896a). to bolster participation, chairmen borrowed from the grange the query box technique. into a box, farmers placed slips of paper containing questions; later, the speaker drew questions and invited others to respond. in addition, speakers were encouraged to reserve one-fourth of their allocated time for discussion and to give informal presentations. it was hardly unusual to find a speaker reading a prepared text, word-for-word, but the next speaker might speak from an outline, use diagrams, charts, and a blackboard, and permit spontaneous questioning. as the corps of institute speakers gained experience, “the methods of the school room” became increasingly common (“farmers’ institutes” 1903, 665). for even the best speakers, the farmers’ institute audience could be a tough crowd. it contained farmers and non-farmers, people who were college-educated and others who were functionally-literate only. some people sought entertainment, others useful instruction. some people insisted that speakers talk about their own farms, while others denounced such talk as “boasting” and anecdotal stories (latta 1899c). while most people wanted practical farming tips, in every community, a few people’s knowledge of agricultural science rivaled that of the experts. to meet the conflicting demands, the institute program included at least one experienced state-sponsored traveling speaker who led a few sessions and was joined by the home talent, people from the community who talked about local farming conditions during daytime sessions, and performed literary exercises in the evening. through the blending of emphasis and style, the institute appealed to a broad audience and, simultaneously, reflected the local community. developing and broadening the institute program to better discern and meet the needs of indiana’s rural communities, in 1898, chairmen 66 and other people involved in farmers’ institutes began gathering annually. known as the conference of institute workers, the meeting was essentially a model farmers’ institute. based on their observations and experiences, people suggested topics to professor latta, who solicited speakers and developed the program. some sessions were devoted to the practical side of institute work. these sessions were divided into several informal talks (each 10-15 minutes) on issues such as choosing subjects for the program, enlisting the support of local businesses, advertising the institute, or improving the means of instruction; following the series of talks, a general discussion was held. the immediate objective was to make participants aware of ways to interest local farmers in institute work more efficiently and effectively. the conference of institute workers’ program included sessions featuring high-profile authorities from indiana, other states, land grant universities, and government agencies. typically, such sessions presented three different perspectives. at a session devoted to the beef industry, for instance, a slaughterhouse representative revealed the “outlook for beef cattle in indiana”; afterwards, two farmers described their experiences using “silage in beef making,” followed by a university of wisconsin scientist who explained “feeding problems” various forages posed for animal health. similarly, at another session, after two prominent hoosiers explained how improved roadways would benefit farmers and municipalities, respectively, the chairman of the national commission for highway improvement’s gave his rationale as to why the state government’s financial support was necessary (“farmers’ institutes” 1899). the conference of institute workers’ sessions were educational and promotional. on the educational side, bringing in the experts and examining a topic from three sides was “a powerful means of opening the eyes and enlarging the ideas” of an audience (latta 1899a). on the promotional side, the conference of institute workers was not just any audience. as the conference closed, participants declared their collective opinion on particular issues. acting on the resolutions, traveling speakers revised their topics and presentations for the upcoming institute season. in townships and counties, the chairmen were ultimately responsible for selecting both topics and the speakers. as such, whether the topic was “good roads” or “rural schools,” the conference of institute workers was “a golden opportunity to sow good seed” on the right kind of soil (latta 1899b). speakers and chairmen could make an issue a prominent subject of conversation among indiana’s farmers, and through them, its legislators. initially, the conference of institute workers directed its efforts to increasing the institutes’ public funding. a bit slower to take root and grow, the conference sought to increase the number of farmers’ wives and children at institute meetings. significant for boosting the attendance of adult male farmers, prioritizing women and youth’s inclusion brought their interests onto the program, broadening the farmers’ institute’s scope and refashioning its educational purposes. women had always been involved in farmers’ institutes, most often by participating in musical interludes and literary exercises. only the occasional woman delivered a lecture on women’s issues, such as the well-managed 67 kitchen, the wife’s duties in the farm home, or properly educating the farmer’s daughter. committed to women’s equality and to growing institutes, professor latta repeatedly informed chairmen that “in not employing the ladies” they were making a “great mistake.” at the least, he insisted, one lady ought to give a paper in the evening, to “give tone to the institute and help to draw out a good attendance” (latta 1896b). beyond that, latta urged chairmen to feature topics of interest to women. by the late 1890s, roughly 20 counties were holding separate sessions for women (“farmers’ institutes” 1899). professor latta made women’s issues part of the overarching agenda of the conference of institute workers. he designated a full session (one of five) at the second annual meetings as a women’s session, importing two women from michigan and illinois to tell the audience about the “needs of the farmers’ wife and daughter” and “industrial education for women” (“farmers’ institutes” 1899). the following year, indiana’s most prominent farmer’s wife, the wife of governor james mount, addressed a session on “the farm home.” meanwhile, professor latta, acting on his own initiative, hired a woman from wisconsin to travel to farmers’ institutes for several weeks demonstrating cooking techniques and delivering lectures on nutrition and kitchen management. her mission was to supply knowledge of domestic science and economy to indiana’s farm women and to create a demand for more of it. building on the interest the lady-lecturer generated, professor latta sponsored a women’s conference in 1901 for women who were involved in institute work. many of the thirty or so women who attended the women’s conference went to the annual conference of institute workers several weeks later and secured its commitment to bolster women’s work in the local farmers’ institutes (“farmers’ institutes” 1901). professor latta sponsored another lady-lecturer to travel to nearly half of indiana’s counties. she complained about talking to “empty seats” in some places, but her promotional efforts were effective (latta 1902). the conference of institute workers called for every institute to dedicate at least one session to “home topics, such as health, clothing, furnishings, food, standards of living, the use of money, etc.” institute chairmen were instructed to appoint committees of women to help prepare the program and to encourage women to form home-makers’ clubs. the conference of institute workers also requested professor latta to hire expert lady-lecturers and to give financial aid to summer meetings (“farmers’ institutes” 1904). the next winter, when another lady-lecturer toured indiana, she could not meet the demand for engagements, despite being employed for the entire season and attending 72 different institutes (“farmers’ institutes” 1905). the lady-lecturers’ successful winter tours depended, in large measure, on promotional work the previous summer. in some places, farmers’ clubs held annual picnic gatherings. with professor latta offering to solicit and reimburse speakers (especially lady-lecturers), the earliest “summer institutes” grew out of these picnic gatherings. at the summer picnic institutes, adult men and their farming concerns were conspicuous by their absence. instead, farmers’ wives encountered an educational fare of food preparation and kitchen management, poultry-keeping, and 68 child-raising, intermixed with kids’ games, socializing, and food from picnic baskets. together, the touring lady-lecturers and summer picnic institutes gave a powerful boost to interest in using educational means to improve farm women’s conditions. it became standard practice almost immediately to hold at least one women’s session during the winter season’s farmers’ institutes (“farmers’ institutes” 1906-07). the priority given to women’s work reflected a growing conviction that the institutes ought to have a broader purpose than presenting farmers with “results of the latest investigations in theoretical and practical agriculture and horticulture.” in practice, farmers’ institutes had always encompassed more than their legislative mandate. professor latta, for his part, made no effort to discourage topics such as the mutual interdependence of town and country, rural free delivery, road improvement, and the status of farmers. these were not strictly agricultural topics, but people assumed that they belonged on the program. by the late-1890s, the same could be said about the needs of farm women, district schools’ neglect of agriculture, or tips to make farm life more appealing to youth. as the twentieth century opened, farmers’ institutes centered on practical farming, but gave a good deal of attention to the household, farm life, and rural community. when president theodore roosevelt appointed a commission in 1908 to investigate “country life” he popularized a label that captured the curricular varieties in farmers’ institutes. in its report, the country life commission devoted much attention to rural schools and farm youth (country life commission, 1975). local and state farmers’ institutes were well ahead of the national commission. in 1899, indiana’s conference of institute workers featured the state superintendent of public instruction’s advice on “how to make the rural schools most helpful to agriculture” (“farmers’ institutes” 1899). two years later, the conference resolved that institute chairmen should use part of their sessions to awaken public interest in introducing “nature study and the simpler elements of agriculture” into the district schools (“farmers’ institutes” 1901). after two more years, the conference gave its full promotional muscle to farm youth. in a session titled “farmers’ institutes and the rural schools,” the state superintendent of public instruction and four county superintendents presented ideas and examples of collaboration between institutes and district schools. the conference as a whole approved a committee report that made two revealing recommendations: holding joint sessions of farmers’ and teachers’ institutes, and inviting schoolteachers and county superintendents to supervise half-sessions spotlighting the agricultural work of local youth (“farmers’ institutes” 1904). broadly speaking, by promoting youth’s involvement in the institutes, the conference hoped to instill “a higher appreciation of farm life and farm business.” concerns about the out-migration of youth from rural communities were endemic in the early twentieth century. the conference faulted adult farmers for their habit of magnifying the allurements of other professions by continually disparaging their own. the remedy was straightforward: adult farmers needed to show “pride in their vocation” and to encourage their children to take pride in it, too (“farmers’ institutes” 1904, 69 785). as a public forum in which people could display their work-related learning and accomplishments, a farmers’ institute was well-suited for achieving that aim. offering a prize for writing and reading an essay on a farm-topic was unlikely to enthuse youth. far more excitement was generated when local institutes began holding competitive exhibits of farm and home products made by youth. although county fairs and farmers’ clubs had been holding agricultural exhibits for decades, few exhibits were educational in a systematic sense before the turn of the twentieth century. to be sure, it was possible for a person to learn by observing products of the field and kitchen on display at the county fair, particularly if the exhibits’ merits were discussed with others. that sort of learning was undirected and incidental. by design, exhibits at farmers’ institutes were different. at a minimum, scorecards identifying criteria and numerical point allocations accompanied the exhibits. directing observers’ attention toward particular features and indicating their relative significance via point values, the scorecards were educational devices in their own right. widely-distributed at institutes and in agricultural newspapers, scorecards set standards, frames of reference that people used to discuss the exhibits’ merits and demerits. the scorecards formed the basis of an additional educational feature that was absent, typically, from a nineteenth-century county fair: public judging. for most fair exhibits, a judge or committee awarded prizes without ceremony, and without offering rationales. at a farmers’ institute, judging was used to educate the audience. two basic styles emerged. in the more common style, judging was an “object lesson.” an expert judge evaluated the exhibit using the scorecard, then, criterion by criterion, identified the point values assigned and explained his reasoning. in the alternative “class exercise” style, a small group of people (youth exhibitors, typically) evaluated items on display using a scorecard; an expert judge then reviewed their scores and explained why his judgments differed (“farmers’ institutes” 1903). regardless of the style, the intent was to guide people’s observation, thinking, and judgment, and both the exhibitors and spectators were the targeted students of an expert. for the youth who prepared an exhibit, the judging exercise culminated a year’s worth of learning. an upcoming contest would be announced at a farmers’ institute meeting and an informational circular distributed. the scorecard set the benchmarks for success; the circular outlined the rules for participating. competing youths learned and worked largely in self-directed fashion, as they saw fit seeking information and guidance from other people, agricultural newspapers, and bulletins issued by agricultural experiment stations. in places where county fair associations joined with farmers’ institutes to sponsor contests, youths had two opportunities to exhibit. they could show at the county fair and then again at the farmers’ institute, if they wrote a report of production processes and results. for showing at the county fair, youth won small cash prizes; farmers’ institutes also offered first-place winners scholarships to a week-long agricultural short course held at purdue university during the winter (“farmers’ institutes”1903). opportunities for youth to exhibit might be available at district schools as well, especially for boys who were interested in 70 growing corn. by 1905, at least nine county school superintendents were cooperating with farmers’ institutes and the state-wide corn growers’ association to organize corn contests and clubs for boys (“farmers’ institutes” 1905). directly and personally involved, county school superintendents solicited financial support (for seed corn and prizes) from township businesses, held informational meetings with parents, distributed seed corn and instructed youth in planting and tillage, inspected the boys’ corn plots during the summer, and worked with teachers to host one-day “fairs” at district schoolhouses (haines 1905). success with boys’ corn clubs fueled interest in similar clubs for girls in making bread and butter. at farmers’ institutes, youth displays and judging began receiving full sessions; district schools began closing their doors for the day so that all children could attend (latta 1907). by 1908 boys’ and girls’ competitive exhibits were being held in more than one-third of indiana’s counties, and it seemed obvious that they would be central to the future of farmers’ institutes. for the long-range future, the contests were “reaching the farmers of tomorrow,” inspiring and equipping youth to apply agricultural science on indiana’s farms. for the immediate future, institute chairmen had “a prime means of interesting the old folks.” it simply could not be denied: “where the boys and girls have come out successful institutes have been held” (latta 1908). local communities experimented with an expanding array of contests: wheat, oats, potatoes, poultry, pickles, preserved fruit, aprons, and more. adults’ enthusiasm for youth contests and club work lay behind the indiana general assembly’s third—and penultimate—major action affecting farmers’ institutes. the farmers’ institute legislation of 1907 did three main things: it sanctioned the expanded scope and purposes of institute work; it instituted standing county-wide organizations; and, it offered the prospect of direct public funding to meet local expenses. the legislature’s endorsement of farmers’ institutes’ role in cooperatively-sponsoring boys’ and girls’ contests was the most significant feature. to assume that role, however, the other two components seemed necessary. after all, initiating and sustaining youth work throughout the growing season required some kind of institutional and financial support. as envisioned in the law, counties that formed standing associations and raised at least $100 in annual membership fees were eligible to draw matching funds from the county treasury. the money was to be used to cover local expenses incurred in hosting institutes and contests for youth (“farmers’ institutes” 1906-07). with an invigorated mission, sources of funding, and a permanent infrastructure, the farmers’ institute seemed to be on the verge of expansion. when he hailed the 1907 legislation’s potential for moving “indiana into the foremost rank in the farmers’ institute work,” professor latta was surely correct. equipped with, potentially, up to $18,400 (from membership fees and county treasuries) annually to cover local expenses, surely farmers’ institutes could do a great deal more good for indiana’s rural communities (“farmers’ institutes” 1906-07, 741). professor latta could not have anticipated that, in the next decade the farmers’ institute would be relieved of much of its educational burden. through the combined impact of legislation passed by indiana’s general 71 assembly and the united states congress, farmers’ institutes were incorporated into a system of agricultural extension that included (among other agencies) the 4-h, the farm bureau, and the county demonstration agent. for the rest of the twentieth century, these institutions were generally associated with agricultural extension, even though in some communities farmers’ institutes continued for decades. conclusion by the early twentieth century, the farmers’ institute was well-established in an educational niche that overlapped roles played by the weekly agricultural newspapers (self-study), local granges and farmers’ clubs (monthly mutual education), and county fairs (annual exhibits of innovations and excellence). comprised of an interdisciplinary curriculum and the best pedagogies, at its finest, the farmers’ institute gave participants an encounter with recent scientific investigations, an array of practical applications via oral explanations, demonstrations, and exhibits, and ample opportunities for exchanging ideas among an assembly that included experts, practitioners, novices, and youth. educational experiences resembled those of a university level classroom, a chautauqua, a farmer’s club, and a county fair. the farmers’ institute was an innovative educational agency. it was also highly adaptable, particularly in light of the conference of institute workers’ role in sifting local experiments and redeploying ideas into the townships. that, of course, raises the question: why was the farmers’ institute supplanted by other institutions of agricultural extension? earlier generations of agricultural historians claimed that farmers’ institutes fell victim to their success. instrumental in awakening farmers’ interest in agricultural science, the institutes “outlived their usefulness,” as farmers began demanding instruction that was more advanced, specialized, and specific to the problems of their home farms (scott 1970, 136; true 1969). that claim holds merit insofar as it goes, but it is insufficient. even if some farmers’ agricultural learning outpaced the institutes’ carrying capacity, the institutes were discovering new purposes. moreover, if a sizable proportion of farmers had grown discontented, institute-attendance would have declined. attendance actually increased steadily, a fact that can be verified by the statistics found in the usda yearbook. that situation changed after congress passed the smith-lever act of 1914, when some state governments and universities’ agricultural departments stopped sponsoring farmers’ institutes and channeled resources into other forms of agricultural extension. it may be useful to envision the farmers’ institute as the watershed of the nineteenth century’s educational efforts in agricultural improvement. agricultural education institutions that had existed for several decades did not pave the way toward, or culminate in, the farmers’ institute. rather, a miscellany of organizational features, instructional purposes, and teaching strategies were brought into the farmers’ institute. several streams of educational effort flowed out, carrying a fairly coherent agenda into federal policy (notably, the country life commission and smith-lever act), into the land-grant universities (agricultural programs and extension courses), into rural schools (nature 72 study and vocational agriculture), and into rural communities (4-h clubs and county extension agents). arguably, the farmers’ institutes’ greatest crop was a coalition of people who learned how to use mechanisms of public policy to redesign the institutional and educational context that surrounded it. that learning did not take place in instructional sessions devoted to livestock or farm life. rather, it was generated by an institutional infrastructure that stretched across geographic space, bringing farmers into interchange and coordination with farmers in other places, experts in land-grant universities and the usda, and decision-makers in all levels of government within the federal system. as an educational form straddling the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the farmers’ institute is fairly typical of the progressive era’s early years, particularly in its supporters’ growing preferences for formalized instruction, government-affiliation, and permanent funding sources. as such, the farmers’ institute offers a glimpse into the kinds of educational efforts reform-minded people directed toward their adult counterparts. the farmers’ institute may serve, also, as a useful counterpoint to prevalent conceptions of how education and reform operated in the progressive era. as a delivery system for conveying ideas and ideals, the farmers’ institute relied upon voluntarism and suasion, in sharp contrast to say, urban vocational schooling or citizenship training for recent immigrants. a final point about intergenerational learning: the farmers’ institute carried the nineteenth century’s tradition of self-improvement through the pursuit of useful knowledge into the twentieth century. applying rationality and emergent scientific knowledge to pressing concerns in everyday life formed its main mission. more often than not, adult learners became convinced of both the value of science and the potency of education. that they did so by participating in an educational institution that incorporated youth was significant; the experience surely shaped the rising generation’s normative expectations for dealing with contemporary social problems, deploying scientific expertise, and educating youth to participate in civil society. in light of the sightlines it offers into these dimensions of american society in the early twentieth century, what seems remarkable about the farmers’ institute is its absence from the history of education. references clover top. 1891. house bill 209. indiana farmer 26 (6): 11. cochrane, w.w. 1979. the development of american agriculture: a historical analysis. minneapolis: university of minnesota press. country life commission. 1975. report of the commission on country life. 1911. reprint, new york: arno press. doubting thomases. 1899. the farmers’ guide, 9 september, 567. farmers’ institutes. 1891-1907. in indiana state board of agriculture annual reports. indianapolis: state board of agriculture. fuller, w. 1982. the old country school: the story of rural education in the middle west. chicago: university of chicago press. harlan, h. 1893. farmers’ institutes: howard county. indiana farmer 28 (7): 1. haines, j. f. 1905. experience with boys’ corn club. in indiana state board of agriculture 73 annual reports. indianapolis: state board of agriculture. hayter, e. w. 1973. the troubled farmer, 1850-1900: rural adjustment to industrialism. dekalb: northern illinois university press. husselman, c. 1899. some people (?). the farmers’ guide, 6 may, 275. johnson, e. l. 1981. misconceptions about the early land-grant colleges. the journal of higher education 52 (4): 333-351. knoblauch, h. c., e. m. law, and w. p. meyer. 1962. state agricultural experiment stations: a history of research policy and procedure. washington, d. c.: united states department of agriculture. latta, w. c. 1894a. letter to r. mitchell. 9 april. farmers’ institutes letter book. college of agriculture, cooperative extension service records, 1890-2010. archives and special collections, purdue university libraries: 104-106. _____. 1894b. letter to c. a. somers. 1 may. farmers’ institutes letter book: 192-193. _____. 1896a. letter to r. l. mayers. 16 january. farmers’ institutes letter book: 427. _____. 1896b. letter to t. g. day. 18 march. farmers’ institutes letter book: 773. _____. 1899a. letter to w. a. henry. 15 september. farmers’ institutes letter book: 161. _____. 1899b. letter to e. woolens. 27 september. farmers’ institutes letter book: 227. _____. 1899c. letter to e. f. mcmahan. 22 december. farmers’ institutes letter book: 751. _____. 1900. letter to e. h. collins. 21 february. farmers’ institutes letter book: 103. _____. 1901. letter to r. l. birch. 15 july. farmers’ institutes letter book: 996. _____. 1902. letter to n. kedzie jones. 26 november. farmers’ institutes letter book: 835. _____. 1907. letter to j. b. lyons. 11 june. farmers’ institutes letter book: 16-17. _____. 1908. letter to w. s. coulter. 19 january. farmers’ institutes letter book: 940-941. lauzon, g. p. 2011. civic learning through agricultural improvement: bringing the loom and the anvil into proximity with the plow. charlotte, north carolina: information age publishing. lucas, c. j. 1994. american higher education: a history. new york: st. martin’s press. marcus, a. i. 1988. the ivory silo: farmer-agricultural college tensions in the 1870s and 1880s. agricultural history 60 (2): 22-36. mcmahan, h. f. 1893. union county. indiana farmer 28 (7): 1 mink, n. 2008. cooking in the countryside: the rural reform of taste and the wisconsin farmers’ institute’s cooking schools. wisconsin magazine of history 92 (2): 2-13. moss, j. w., and c. b. lass. 1988. a history of farmers’ institutes. agricultural history 62 (2): 150-163. scott, r.v. 1970. the reluctant farmer: the rise of agricultural extension to 1914. urbana: university of illinois press. scott, r.v. 1963. early agricultural education in minnesota: the institute phase. agricultural history 37 (1): 21-34. shannon, f. a. 1945. the farmer’s last 74 frontier: agriculture, 1860-1897. new york: farrar and rinehart, inc. thompson, d. o., sr., and w. l. madigan. 1966. one hundred and fifty years of indiana agriculture. indianapolis: indiana sesquicentennial commission. true, a. c. 1969. a history of agricultural education in the united states, 1785-1925. 1929. reprint, new york: arno press and the new york times. whitford, f. and a. g. martin. 2005. the grand old man of purdue university and indiana agriculture: a biography of william carroll latta. west lafayette, indiana: purdue university press. title 25 the history and evolution of the english as a second language (esl) curriculum in quebec may tan mcgill university language is intrinsic to the expression of culture. as means of communicating values, beliefs and customs, it has an important social function and fosters feelings of group identity and solidarity. it is the means by which culture and its traditions and shared values may be conveyed and preserved. language is fundamental to identity. (http://www.racismnoway.com.au/library/understanding/inde x-the.html) from the above quotation, we can see how charged language is with meaning for its speakers. as a vehicle for values, beliefs, culture, identity and tradition, language can easily be, and often is, an object of struggle. cummins (2000) has demonstrated how debates and power struggles are ongoing in contexts as varied as japan, israel and the united states over the right to, or the necessity for, bilingual education. on the other hand, from a more pragmatic perspective, language can often be regarded as a tool for socioeconomic development. this is happening, for example, in a developing country like china where learning english is seen as a key component for speeding up transfer of technology on a national scale and accessing job opportunities on a more personal dimension (chau, 2005). however, in situations where the learning of a language is imposed by one group upon another, it can potentially become a tool for control and assimilation. bourdieu’s (1982) analysis of the use of standard french illustrates, for example, how even the imposition of a specific form of language can create possibilities of symbolic domination. the teaching and learning of english in the province of quebec, canada, is situated at the confluence of these issues concerning cultural survival, identity and the desire for economic development. the development and implementation of the esl curriculum illustrates how history, economic necessity and sociopolitical concerns work to influence the school curriculum. as goodson (1995) has already noted, curriculum does not develop in a social or historical vacuum: quebec’s history, first as a french colony and subsequently, as a british colony, has greatly influenced the evolution of its educational system and has had a significant impact on language issues as well. therefore, in the following sections, a retrospective of its language history, the development of its educational system and language debates arising from these antecedents will be elaborated upon before issues touching on the teaching of english as a second language (esl) is discussed. a brief retrospective of the french and english language in quebec history the province of quebec was first founded as a colony of france in 1608. in this colony, known as nouvelle france (new france), french was the principal language of law, daily life, trade and religion (lacoursière, 1995). in terms of educating the young, religious orders such as the ursulines and the jesuits were of paramount importance; in fact, the first schools in the territory were established and entirely staffed and run by these orders. this situation changed with the conquest of new france by the british in 1760. the territory was divided into upper canada, which was mainly populated by the english protestants and lower canada, which consisted mainly of the french catholics. after the conquest, french lost its official status. however, the british rulers were forced to make concessions to the local language in order to govern the territory. as plourde, duval and georgeault (2000) note, until the 1830s, french speakers formed the majority of the population. aware of this demographic fact and the difficulty of governing a population that spoke almost exclusively french, the british crown, although anxious to convert their new subjects to the protestant faith, allowed the continued practice of the roman catholic religion. the majority of the religious orders were also permitted to continue their activities, but were obliged to sever all ties with their european counterparts. however, the royal proclamation of 1763 stipulated that the catholics were free to practice their faith only within the limits of british law (lacoursière, vaugeois & provencher, 1970). the governor could and did intervene in the selection of church leaders at the episcopal and parish levels. in effect, the catholic clergy and elites of french canadian society formed an unspoken (and uneasy) pact with the british administrators: the former maintained their social roles and positions under the new regime, and served as the principal interlocutors between the population and the government. according to voisine (2000), in the post-conquest epoch, it was not unusual to have priests explaining official government documents to their congregation during the sunday sermon. the secular leaders and clergy of the french community were active in the defense of their language, which they saw as being closely linked with the survival of racial and religious identity. they fought for the right of french canadians to be educated in french within catholic schools and seminaries. they also won the right to be heard and represented in french in the courts of law and to be judged under the french civil code, rather than british common law. however, in the major urban centers such as montreal and quebec, the french language was in constant contact with the english language. major commercial interests were in the hands of the british, and immigration from the american colonies was increasing the numbers of english-speaking, protestant residents in these areas. the british government hoped, with the combined effect of economic and demographic pressure, to begin assimilating the local population. the cohabitation of the two languages did start to affect the french spoken in quebec. “anglicisms” (words borrowed from english) began to creep into french, http://www.racismnoway.com.au/library/understanding/index-the.html http://www.racismnoway.com.au/library/understanding/index-the.html 26 much to the dismay of french purists. in many ways, this was viewed as another kind of invasion. only this time, it was an assault on the language and culture (homel, 1992). it is within this context that the particular variety of quebec french, known as quebecois, developed. maurais (2003) remarks that when speakers of a minority language realize they do not speak a “pure” language, they might no longer value what they perceive to be a “debased” language. therefore, it is more likely, and tempting, for them to adopt the dominant language as their own. this is compounded by the ideological discourse often accompanying social and economic domination, which regards the dominated group as intellectually inferior and less civilized. in this hostile environment, many french speakers had no choice but to learn the english language for reasons of economic survival: if they wished to obtain employment in most companies, they had to know english. although french was used out of necessity in government and to conduct legal affairs, it did not have any official status in the colony. it was not until the british north american act of 1867 was passed that the french language regained its legal and political status as one of the two official languages in the canadian confederation. development of the quebec educational system the development of the education system in quebec, from its days as a colony to its present day reality, has been marked by two major historical events: the passage of the british north american act mentioned above and the advent of the quiet revolution. the historical basis of the confessional (denominational) system as mentioned earlier, in the colony of new france, schools and other educational institutions were almost exclusively run by the catholic church and staffed by members of the clergy. in 1867, after the british conquest, the british north american act designated education as the exclusive responsibility of the provinces. however,according to milner (1984, p.28) the protestant english –speaking minority, fearful of the threat of assimilation by a predominantly catholic, french-speaking majority, insisted that a clause be included to limit the legislative powers of the province (section 93 of the bna). this act reinforced and protected the right of each group to be educated in their own faith and language. in concrete terms, this meant that separate school boards were set up for each denomination: catholic school boards, which mainly used french as the language of administration and instruction and protestant school boards, which principally used english as the language of administration and instruction. while this safeguarded the cultural, linguistic and religious elements in these two founding communities, it also created a system that would be extremely recalcitrant to change and reform. this was especially true of the catholic school boards. these were usually controlled by ultramontain (ultraconservative) clergy. the catholic church at that period glorified rural life and encouraged the french population to stay on farms in rural areas so as to shield themselves from the threat of protestant assimilation. in these remote regions, education was more of a luxury than a necessity. the clergy also spoke out firmly against science and modern ideas. even as late as in 1960, a school official once boasted that in catholic schools, “you will find no traces in our schools of progressivism…the exaggerations of the dewey school…would not apply to our french schools.” (magnuson, p.95) in its ideology, education was a means of producing priests and an elite to guide the people. it was staunchly against state intervention in the realm of education. in the view of the catholic church, education was a question of moral and spiritual guidance: something too important to leave to the whims of politicians. until 1956, free public secondary education was not available to the quebec population and the primary schools did not or could not prepare their students for university. although the british government passed a law in 1801 called the royal institution law, which aimed to multiply free schools for the instruction of the young, the cardinal plessis had recommended that the catholic parishes not take advantage of this law for fear that good catholics would be converted to protestantism (galarneau, 2000). what this translated into, in practical terms, was that in the first half of the twentieth century, the french catholic school sector was behind every other canadian province in terms of spending per student, teacher training and school completion of students. the english protestant sector evolved in a different manner. schools were nominally religious, and “stressed several aims, including a grounding in subject matter, development of character and preparation for citizenship.”(magnuson, p. 95) the english canadians were economically better off and had fewer children. therefore, with more financial resources and a smaller school population to serve, the protestant schools were able to offer “kindergartens, better equipped schools, higher qualified and better paid teachers, all of which added up to a higher pupil retention rate.”(p.79) the great disparity between the two sectors would continue until the french catholic sector was able to break out of the grip of the catholic church at the outset of the movement called the quiet revolution. the following section sets out to examine how it affected the educational system in quebec. the quiet revolution and its impact on education in quebec the quiet revolution is a term used to designate a period in quebec history, in the 60s when it underwent rapid political, economic and social changes (lacoursière, histoire populaire du québec, v. 4, 1997). according to porter (1965), from 1945 – 1960, the quebec economy grew rapidly, becoming a major supplier of natural resources to the north american industrial economy. politically, it was however, under the grip of the ideologically conservative union nationale party led by maurice duplessis. during the reign of duplessis, the state did not actively participate in the 27 province’s economy. very few francophones formed part of the economic elite and, under the constant admonition of the church to remain poor and humble, many quebecers resigned themselves to a fate of poverty and menial jobs. raynauld (1961) found that at that time, english canadians controlled 43% of the manufacturing sector, while foreign firms controlled 42% the rest, a meager 15% was in the hands of french canadians. however, when the lesage government was voted into power in 1960, it’s slogan was “maître chez nous” (masters in our own land). the liberals under lesage were an actively interventionist government. as part of its effort to reassert the rights of quebecers over their resources and have a say in the decisions concerning the economy, the state began to invest heavily in local companies and to encourage the establishment of small and medium enterprises. it instituted the separation of church and state, nationalized electricity production and reformed vital sectors of the economy such as public services, health and education. (those interested can watch quebec inc. la petite histoire d’une grande revolution a documentary by gil courtemanche (2003) where key actors describe the momentous events of the period.) this period also saw the flowering of a latent sentiment among the french quebecers that they constituted a nation, a people, in their own right. based on an ethnic sense of identity grounded in a common history and language, those who believed in this idea claimed the necessity of making the province an independent country, where quebecers could live, work and study in french. in place of former feelings of shame and embarrassment at the particular variety and dialect of french that was spoken in quebec, artists, singers and writers proudly began using quebecois (quebec french) in literature, popular songs and theatre. these sentiments of nationalism would lead to the founding of a new party on the political landscape, the parti québecois (translated as the quebecer’s party, commonly known as the pq) which would actively fight for the independence of quebec from the rest of canada. this party was elected to power in 1976 and would bring in key legislation to promote the use of french in all arenas of work and public life. along with these changes, came demands from concerned politicians, intellectuals and parents for a review of the educational system. the first ever ministry of education in quebec [meq] was set up under the liberal lesage government despite the protests of religious authorities. the parent commission, which was set up to study the state of education and did so from 1961 to 1966, produced five reports which would be crucial for the new direction which education would take in quebec (smith & donahue, 1999). one of their recommendations was the establishment of provincial guidelines for the teaching of subjects in school in 1971. this was, in effect, the precursor of the present ministère de l’éducation du québec (meq) programmes which define the general, overall orientation of education and also the content and structures of specific subjects as well. development of the formal esl programme in quebec prior to the curriculum guidelines of 1971, the teaching of english in quebec was based on the grammar translation method (little, 1994), which emphasised rote memorization, grammar rules and vocabulary as well as the translation of written texts. moreover, due to the historical issues surrounding the survival of the french language and culture, the teaching and learning of the english language met with resistance in the french community: “english was also taught but with mixed emotions. it was deemed necessary on economic grounds but was regarded with suspicion on ideological grounds…” (magnuson, 1980; p.52) the first esl curriculum issued in 1971 by the meq was strongly influenced by the audiolingual approach. it stressed mastery of grammar and syntactic rules as well as the development of good language habits. intended as a loose set of guidelines, it did not lead to satisfactory results for learners. the “general inability of pupils to communicate effectively outside the classroom” and “the community’s clear desire for more pertinent and detailed programs” were cited as the underlying reasons for a new version of the esl programme in 1981 (meq esl elementary school curriculum, p. 13). more structured and rigorous than its predecessor, it imposed a minimum core of basic knowledge and skills that pupils were supposed to have acquired on completion of elementary school. in this version of the esl curriculum, which was largely inspired by the communicative approach, english learning was situated in the local and north american context. at the elementary level for example, its general overall aim was to foster positive attitudes and openness towards english and english speakers in the students’ environment. more specifically, its focus was on communicative competence. therefore, teachers were advised to emphasis meaning rather than form. oral performance took predominance over written production, but nonetheless, students were expected to acquire listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. in the programme, each skill was subdivided into specific objectives to be attained for each skill at a specific grade.(see appendix 1 for sample of skills and objectives.) in some schools, at the request of parents anxious to ensure that their children would master english, immersion programs were set up to speed up the learning process. (the interest in immersion programs was sparked by research in second language learning which suggested that children learn another language faster and better in naturalistic, language rich environments) this esl curriculum served as the basis for esl teachers in elementary and secondary until a new curriculum was proposed in the year 2000 by the quebec education ministry under the auspices of an educational reform called “la grande réforme”. la grande réforme la grande réforme is an ambitious school reformation project which aims to equip the youth of quebec with the necessary knowledge, social and cognitive competencies1 to become active, aware citizens of quebec society and of the 28 world. a series of reports on the state of education paved the way for this reform (see the quebec education program [qep], meq, 2000, p.3). the reform recommends that as many connections as possible should also be made between different cycles and levels of education. as such, learning targets are defined as subject competencies and also cross-curricular competencies. the focus of student learning should not only be on the acquisition of knowledge, but also on how that knowledge can be used in real life as well. learning and evaluation is learner centred. the role of teachers is clearly stated as being that of mediators between knowledge and students. teachers are in class to provide a stimulating learning environment. they should also be there to motivate, encourage, guide and support students at all stages of their learning process. students are the principal agents of their learning. parents are viewed as partners of teachers and the school in the endeavour to educate children. teachers are encouraged to communicate with parents and to keep them informed about what is happening in classrooms. it could be said then that the new reform attempts to make the process of learning more permeable, inter-related and therefore, more coherent for students across grades and subjects. la grande réforme vis-à-vis the esl curriculum following the changes affected by la grande réforme, students will have one more year of esl at elementary level because esl instruction begins in grade three rather than in grade four as was the case in the past. the transformation which the esl curriculum has undergone under the present reform however is not one which involves drastic change. the new curriculum2 grafts onto the communicative approach, already present in the previous curriculum, other approaches based on cognitive psychology and social constructivism. however, while meaning and notions or functions were formerly taught implicitly, the present esl programme recommends that the semantic and syntactic structure of english be made explicit to the learner (see appendix 2, p. 102 of qep english as a second language curriculum guidelines). the programme also insists that the english language be presented to learners in varied forms, media and contexts representative of the linguistic and cultural environments where english is used. the use of computers as a teaching tool is highly recommended in order to familiarize students with a technological, multimedia environment. the new programme places more emphasis on developing the capacity of understanding written texts and being able to produce written texts than its predecessor. in this new programme, the use of french, the first language of the majority of learners in quebec, in the classroom is clearly situated: “teachers should use it solely as a means of providing corrective feedback and to make students reflect on their learning”(the qep, 2000, p.153 ) it also explicitly recommends that since esl starts only at grade three, teachers should try to draw upon the cognitive capacities that learners have already acquired in their native language, french, and other subjects. the three essential competencies which the new programme targets are the ability to: 1) interact orally in english 2) reinvest understanding of oral and written texts 3) write appropriate texts. from the brief summary of the new esl programme, it could be said that for teachers and learners, it represents an expansion and re-orientation of the esl programme formerly in place. best practice versus political concerns the descriptions given above of the constant changes that the esl curriculum has undergone in quebec since the inception of its ministry of education, indicate that teaching guidelines and recommendations, in terms of methodology, have often kept pace with developments of what can be considered ‘best practice’ in language pedagogy. these best practices are often derived from the research done in the field of linguistics and applied linguistics. however, apart from methodology and pedagogy, as sarkar (2005) has noted, questions around the teaching of esl in schools continue to attract intense local attention because they are linked to linguistic issues the continued survival of the french language in the province of quebec. the prevailing policy concerning the esl curriculum is also subject to shift according to the political party in power at a specific time. language issues surrounding french in quebec “le québec est un ilôt de français entouré par une mer d’anglais". the statement can literally be translated as, “quebec is an island of french surrounded by a sea of english”. its colonial history and geographic location has placed quebec in a rather perplexing situation. macmillan (1998) describes the case of quebec in the following manner: “a local majority language perceived to be perpetually threatened by the language of its minority” (p.4). this is because, despite being a majority within the province, french speakers are a minority in canada, constituting 25% of its population. in canada, both french and english are recognised as official languages under its constitutional act. however, quebec is the only predominantly french-speaking (francophone) province in canada. it is also the only geographic area in north america whose population officially uses a language other than english in its public institutions such as parliament, courts, medical establishments, schools and so on. the use of french in private and public life has continued despite the fact that quebec became a british colony in 1763. on the other hand, maurais (2003), quoting the conseil de la langue française (council for french language in quebec), emphasizes that of canada’s two official languages, only french is threatened, even in québec…[conseil, 1988: 21 & 25] why do francophones (french speakers in quebec terminology) feel that there is a threat to the continued survival of french, in spite of language laws such as the french language charter (commonly known as bill 101) that make the use of french mandatory on public signs, in the 29 delivery of public services and in schools? the historical factor cannot be underestimated – although the british north american act (bna) of 1867 guaranteed separate school systems for french and english speaking communities, the balance of political and economic power has definitely been in favour of the latter community. spolsky (2004) has pointed that up until the early 1960s, in montreal there was an apparent “imbalance between the widespread public use of english in signs and large stores, and the fact that 80 percent of the population spoke french.”(p. 5). other reasons are the proximity of neighbouring canadian provinces such as ontario and even more importantly, the economic weight and cultural influence of the united states. kachru (1981) discusses the growing impact of american english and mentions how it is slowly becoming the world’s language. the linguistic pull towards american english is even more intense for quebec since it is located just across the us border and is directly subject not only to the economic imperatives of trade with the us (outside canada, the united states is, in fact, quebec’s biggest trading partner) but also the cultural influence of american television, radio, film, advertising and so on. these are powerful factors that work towards assimilation of francophones into a linguistic environment which is principally english. from the 60s onwards, the arrival of new immigrants who have neither french nor english as their mother tongue (the term, allophones, is usually used in quebec to describe this group) has constituted another force that threatens to change the linguistic balance within the province. plourde (1988) gives us the example of st-leonard, a neighbourhood in the city of montreal. until the early sixties, 99% of the residents of st-leonard were francophones. by the end of that decade, the population had grown tenfold, but the proportion of francophones had dropped to 60%. before the implementation of bill 101, many immigrant parents chose to send their children first to bilingual primary school and then eventually to english secondary schools and colleges. as a result, these children would eventually be integrated into the anglophone (english-speaking) community. they did so because they considered english to be a key component to achieving success in north america. globalization is another element which impacts on the survival of french in quebec. according to maurais (2003), globalization opens the door to linguistic domination: the fear is that, “…economic globalization will lead to the hegemony of a single language – english to be precise.”(p.92). rassool (2000), in speaking of ‘world languages’, of which english is probably the foremost in this age of media and technology, comments on the hegemonic value and powerful signification of , “the ubiquity of american films and the global marketing of english language-based popular culture [and]…the dominance throughout the world of english broadcasts via cultural sites such as the bbc world service, cnn television, and the voice of america.”(p.58 ). although french itself, due to fance’s colonial past, might be considered a world language (albeit on the wane), ager (1999) posits that linguistic insecurity, based on the belief that the french language was threatened both within the country and also from without, is the rationale that drives the agenda of language-management policies in france; this also seems to be the case in quebec. in quebec issues of language are very closely tied to the concept of ethnic/racial identity and nationhood as well. rené levesque, one of the most influential figures in the quebec nationalist movement had once commented that “everything else springs from the fact that quebecers speak french”. british documents of the post –conquest period speak about the french-canadian race and the english race. influential public figures in quebec, such as lionel groulx, continued to use this term at the turn of the twentieth century. in recent years however, the term race has been replaced by the notion of a peuple (people, in french) and there have been attempts to distance movements that promote frenchuse from arguments based on the racial concept. instead, organisations that support the maintenance and increased use of french in schooling and public life now tend to focus their arguments around the building of a civic nation (ceq [quebec teacher’s union], 1992). ager(1999) summarises the three motives that characterize language policy formulated around the world in the following manner: “insecurity or fear of others, identity or pride in one’s own community, and the creation or projection of an image, or the desire to ensure that others adopt or at least recognise the force of that identity.” (p.8) these concerns tend to manifest themselves mainly in three ways when controversies regarding the esl curriculum and its implementation arise. debates surrounding the teaching and learning of esl the first of these involves the question of when esl courses should first be introduced in school. under the 1971 and 1981 curriculum guidelines, students started learning esl at grade four and continued until grade eleven. however, as many parents had voiced dissatisfaction over their children’s lack of proficiency in english after terminating secondary school, esl starts at grade three under the reformed curriculum. at the very start of the reform in 2000, the pq minister of education, louise beaudoin, the minister of education, was petitioned to start the teaching of esl to francophones and allophones in grade one. there is some evidence that “younger is better”, especially when it comes to acquiring a native-like accent, in the research on language acquisition (oyama, 1976; thompson, 1991). the minister, however, argued that while there was no doubt that quebec should improve its teaching of english as a second language, but this could not be at the expense of young francophones who had to master their mother tongues first (the gazette, august 15, 2000). she seemed to be drawing upon theories such as those proposed by laponce (1987) that suggest it is not beneficial, if not actually harmful, to the linguistic development and identity formation of the child to learn a second language at too early an age. a second language should be learned after mastery of the first language had been thoroughly established. he postulates that if two languages are learned simultaneously, a conflict of ethnic identity results, leading to tensions between language and social roles. if neither of the languages becomes dominant, the intellectual development of the child 30 could be slowed down. in 2002, however, the liberal party came to power. the liberal minister of education, pierre reid, swung in the opposite direction: in fact, raised an outcry from concerned parents and teachers when he announced that the planned implementation of esl courses beginning at grade one (le devoir, 2003) would have to be postponed to 2004 due to budgetary constraints. the second major issue concerns the modality of esl courses offered. in most schools in the french system, children receive one hour of esl instruction per week at the primary level. this hour is often broken into two thirtyminute periods. at the secondary level, students can receive between 150 to 200 minutes of esl instruction weekly. this method of spreading out instructional time over a long period is often called the “dripfeed” method. on the other hand, more and more parents, concerned that their children will not be competitive on the north american job market without mastering english, are pressuring the quebec government to run more intensive esl or immersion programs. these two alternative modalities of delivering esl to students allow children to experience a part of their school year entirely in english, while being schooled exclusively in french for the rest of the year. at present, only 10% of french school boards offer a special intensive esl program for grade six students. finally, there is the issue of who can have access to publicly funded schooling in english. under the quebec french language charter, which was enacted in 1977, bill 101, english public schools could only enrol children who had at least one parent who had gone to school in english at primary level in quebec or canada. this effectively excluded the majority of immigrants and french mother tongue speakers from access to an education in english. the parents from these groups have to send their children to private school if they wish their children to be schooled in english. this is seen by certain parents as discriminatory and unconstitutional – quebec anglophones have the right to choose between english or french schools, but francophone parents do not. they accused the state of practicing what gaarder [as cited in bratt paulston (1981)] has labeled “elitist bilingualism”. this kind of bilingualism is a mark of prestige among the intellectuals and learned in many societies, and involves choice. in quebec, francophone parents who have the means can send their children to language camps, private lessons or summer school abroad in order to learn english, the language of success and opportunity. the less financially privileged on the other hand, must usually content themselves with the dripfeed esl courses available in public schools. a group of francophone parents took their case up to the supreme court of canada, which ruled that the charter was overly rigid, but constitutional (the globe and mail, 2005). at question here is whether the right to educate one’s own children in the language of choice is an individual right or a collective right: should personal choice and individual interest in social mobility take precedence over the survival of a community’s ancestral language? according to larivée (2003), due to the competitive nature of languages in contact, inherent in the possibility of choice is conflict and tension because one person’s choice can lead to denial of opportunity for another. furthermore, for an entire community, the corollary/consequences of such choices can mean linguistic assimilation or linguistic and cultural survival. witte and van verhoven (1999) discuss the dilemma that arises in such situations: “according to the supporter of the dominant language group, the process should certainly not be inhibited. every individual should have the right and opportunity to work his way up and become integrated in the language group with the greatest prestige, which functions best at a social level…for those who do not project their cultural identity solely on language, there is some loss of language, but no loss of identity. for those who support the view that “the language is the people” this process of the shift in language does result in internal conflicts for the individuals concerned and also to serious problems of identity.” (p.21) the same question is compounded for members of nonanglophone or non-francophone immigrant communities, although it could be argued that the element of identity loss comes into play regardless of whether they opt for english or french. as macmillan (1998) has remarked, “rights to official (french and english) language minority education are properly designated as fundamental because they are so designated in the [canadian]charter [of rights and freedoms]. the precise status of other languages remains unclear.” (p.48) this constitutional bilingualism stands in stark contrast to the linguistic reality of young allophones living in montreal, a multi-ethnic, multilingual, pluricultural metropolis of quebec. since quebec, like the rest of canada, relies heavily on immigration to maintain its population base, the choices that these new citizens make will be crucial in determining the future outcome of these linguistic debates. conclusion from the description and discussion of the esl curriculum in quebec, it is evident that the complex legacy of a colonial past continues to weigh heavily in the present educational context. the teaching and learning of the english language, which is at once the language of colonization and assimilation as well as the key to economic opportunity in the global economy, provokes intense reactions, within the francophone community. as the contemporary demographic, socio-economic and political landscapes continue to change, it is almost a certainty that the ongoing dialogue and contest over the “when”, “how” and “how much” of teaching esl in quebec schools will continue to evolve. references ager, d. (1999). identity, insecurity and image: france and language. clevedon: multilingual matters, ltd. bourdieu, p. (1991). language and symbolic power: the economy of linguistic exchanges, ed. by john b. thompson, transl. by gina raymond & matthew 31 adamson. cambridge: polity, in association with basil blackwell. bratt paulston, c. (1981). bilingualism and education. in charles a. ferguson & shirley brice heath (eds.), language in the usa.. cambridge: cambridge university press. chau, m.h.f. (2005). cramming or teaching: the washback effect of the toefl in china. work in progress presented at the 27th annual language testing research colloquium, ottawa. ceq [quebec teacher’s union] (1992). integration, not assimilation . in w. dodge (ed.). boundaries of identity: a quebec reader. toronto: lester publishing ltd. conseil de la langue française (1988). le projet de loi fédéral c72 relatif au statut et à l’usagedes langues officielles au canada. quebec : le conseil de la langue française. courtemanche, g. (writer) & renaud, m. & courtemanche, g. (directors). (2003) quebec inc. la petite histoire d’une grande revolution. [in producer, teleseries title] quebec : téléquebec. cummins, j. (2000). language, power and pedagogy : bilingual children in the crossfire. clevedon: multilingual matters, ltd. galarneau, c. (2000). chapter 4 : une langue qui résiste (l’école, gardienne de la langue). in michel plourde, hélène duval & pierre georgeault (eds.), le français au québec: 400 ans d’histoire et de vie. québec: les editions fides et les publication du québec. 99 103 goodson, i. f. (1995). the making of curriculum: collected essays. washington, dc: falmer press. homel, d. (1992). the way they talk in broke city. in william dodge (ed.), boundaries of identity: a quebec reader. toronto: lester publishing limited. 85 90 kachru, b. b. (1981). american english and other englishes. in c.a. ferguson & s.b. heath, language in the usa. cambridge : cambridge university press. lacoursière, j. (1997). histoire populaire du québec: 1896 à 1960 (tome 4) sillery, quebec : septentrion. lacoursière, j., vaugeois, d. & provencher, j. (1970). canada·québec : synthèse historique. montreal : éditions du renouveau pédagogique inc. laponce, j.a.(1987). languages and their territories. (translated by anthony martin-sperry) toronto: university of toronto press. le devoir. (2003, may 9). pierre reid n’exclut pas des compressions en éducation (byline: marie-andrée chouinard). le devoir. montréal: journal le devoir. p. a1 & a10 little, j. (1994). english language teaching in quebec schools : 1760 –1874. unpublished masters dissertation. mcgill university: montreal. macmillan, c. m. (1998). the practice of language rights in canada. toronto: university of toronto press. magnuson, r. (1980). a brief history of quebec education. montreal: harvest house maurais, j. (2003). equality, maintenance, globalization: lessons from canada. in humphrey tonkin and timothy reagan (eds.), language in the 21st century amsterdam: john benjamins publishing company. milner, h.(1984). la réforme scolaire au québec. (traduit de l’anglais par jean-pierre fournier). : montreal: éditions québec amerique ministère de l’éducation du québec [ministry of education in quebec] (2000). the quebec education program. quebec : meq. oyama, s. (1976). a sensitive period for the acquisition of a non-native phonological system. journal of psycholinguistic research 5, 261 – 84. plourde, m (1988). la politique linguistique du québec (1977 -1987). québec : institut québécois de recherche sur la culture plourde, m., duval, h. & georgeault, p. (2000). le français au québec: 400 ans d’histoire et de vie. québec: les editions fides et les publication du québec. porter, j. (1965). the vertical mosaic. toronto : university of toronto press. racine, r . & renaud, m.(producers), and courtemanche, g. & renaud, m.(directors) québec inc. – la petite histoire d'une grande révolution une réussite économique unique au monde. l’œil ouvert. quebec : télé-quebec. raynauld, a. (1961). croissance et structures économiques de la province du québec. québec: ministère de l’industrie et du commerce. sarkar, m. (2005). language education policy in quebec : access to which majority language and for whom? in stephen may, m. franken & r. barnard (eds.), led 2003 : refereed conference proceedings of the 1st international conference on language, education and diversity. hamilton: wilf malcolm institute of educational research, university of waikato. smith, w. j. and donahue h. m. (1999). the historical roots of quebec education. montreal: office of research on educational policy, mcgill university. spolsky, b. (2004). language policy. cambridge: cambridge university press. the gazette (2000, august 15). minister rejects grade 1 english (byline: elizabeth thompson). the gazette. montreal: the gazette. p. a1 the globe and mail. (2005, april 1). supreme court averts quebec language fight (byline: ingrid peritz). the globe and mail. toronto: the globe and mail p. a1 the globe and mail. (2005, april 1) ruling dismays francophone parents (byline: kirk makin and rhéal séguin). the globe and mail. toronto: the globe and mail p. a6 thompson, i. (1991) foreign accents revisited : the english pronunciation of russian immigrants. language learning 41, 177 – 204. 32 vaugeois, d. (2000). chapter 3: la langue d’un pays conquis (une langue sans statut). in michel plourde, hélène duval & pierre georgeault (eds.), le français au québec: 400 ans d’histoire et de vie. québec: les editions fides et les publication du québec. 59 – 91. voisine, n. (2000). chapter 4 : une langue qui résiste (l’église, gardienne de la langue). in michel plourde, hélène duval & pierre georgeault (eds.), le français au québec: 400 ans d’histoire et de vie. québec: les editions fides et les publication du québec. 93 – 97 witte, e. & van velthoven, h. (1999). language and politics : the situation in belgium in an historical perspective. bruxelles : vub university press younk, k. (2003). one province’s conception of curriculum integration: transforming educational reform ideals into the quebec education program. unpublished masters dissertation. mcgill university: montreal. 1 a competency is defined as a set of behaviours based on the mobilization and effective use of a set of resources (qep, p.5) 2 the description given applies only to the esl programme for cycle one, two and three of the elementary school. at the time of writing, the esl programme for secondary schools had not been finalised yet. action research: an early history in the u. s. arthur w. foshay action research is a strategy that seeks to improve the quality of action through systematic examination of the processes and the consequences of action. in the united states, as applied to education, it may be said to have had its beginnings in 1926, with the publication of a book by b. r. buckingham, then director of the bureau of educational research at the ohio state university, called research for teachers. writing out of the "certainties" of the scientific movement in education of the twenties, buckingham instructs teachers in the use and interpretation of standardized tests, and offers some advice on tool-making. the book had very little influence; it went out of print shortly. during the thirties, extensive curriculum revision was attempted. the most prominent leader of this work was h. l. caswell, first at peabody college in nashville, tennessee, then at teachers college, columbia university, in new york. during that decade, caswell made a number of discoveries, which he later summarized in his 1950 book, curriculum improvement in public school systems. one of these was that teachers would not adopt innovations from outside their classrooms. they had to "own" (nelson haggerson's term) an innovation before they would try it. this has been rediscovered by bowe, ball, and gold, in a recent report of research on the consequences in the united kingdom of the educational reform act of 1988. they found that educational reforms must suffer "contextualizing" -i.e., being given a "local habitation and a name"--in the course of being adopted, even under official mandate. teachers believe their own eyes, not someone else's. caswell put this early finding to work when he founded the horace mann-lincoln institute of school experimentation, first by creating what is now called a "school network" that extended across the country, and second by urging the staff of the new institute to undertake classroom experimentation. shortly after the end of world war ii, stephen m. corey became executive officer of the new institute. influenced by caswell, corey took advantage of the work of john collier, director of the u. s. bureau of indian 51 affairs, who had developed what was called "operations research", an approach that sought to improve action by applying systematic data-gathering to decisions in the field. the approach was immediately adopted by the military, and it attracted the attention of those involved in action in many fields. corey made an important addition to operations research, however. remembering the reluctance of classroom teachers to try someone else's practices, corey suggested that the teachers be drawn in to the design of the classroom research, and that they participate in the gathering and interpretation of whatever data were collected. this approach he called cooperative action research, and that name held. members of the institute staff proceeded to do research with teachers, resul ting in several publications: developing a curriculum for modern living, by florence stratemeyer, and ways of studying children, by ruth cunningham, both with members of the denver school staff. another was children's social values, an action research study, which i did in partnership with kenneth wann and the faculties of six elementary schools in springfield, missouri. the cooperative action research movement was summarized in a 1953 book by stephen m. corey, action research to improve school practices. corey documents the origins of the idea, explains why it is necessary to conduct classroom experimentation with teachers if one seriously intends to have an effect on school practice, and provides illustrations of the process. a number of articles on action research appeared in the professional journals between 1949 and 1957. the 1957 yearbook of the association for supervision and curriculum development (ascd), "research for curriculum improvement", which i edited with james hall, was largely devoted to action research. it contained chapters several well-known curriculum of that time: corey, matthew miles (at that time a member of the horace mann-lincoln institute), ross hilda taba, mckim, herrick, among others. the chief limitation of cooperative action research, from the point of view of the educational researchers of that time, was that it was not possible to generalize from the examined population to others, because no attempt was made to see whether the examined population was representative of a larger population. in addition, since much of the research was designed and carried out by classroom teachers, who are not trained in research, the data often were flawed. for these reasons, the movement was ridiculed in the publications of aera, and it did not spread. it disappeared as the members of the institute staff scattered with the passage of time. during the eighties, elements of the process reappeared, though with different names: "networking", "classroom research", "site-based management and inquiry", and, finally, under its original name, "action research" • it may be useful to consider what was learned about this process during its lifetime in the fifties. for one thing, it did not turn out to be classroom experimentation. the work was descriptive, not experimental. what the teachers wanted, and could do well, was to examine, systematically, certain aspects of the children's behavior. the results of these examinations were not, directly, changes in school practice. the results were improved theory, or perhaps better, improved questions about children's development. for example, stratemeyer's work in denver contributed the concept of "persistent life situations" to the literature of child development, such as the changing answer (with development) to the question "what shall i eat?", or "how shall i deal with the opposite sex?" stratemeyer proposed that questions such as these be addressed directly in the classroom, since they are of such basic importance. again: in springfield, we found that the teacher played a much greater role in the children's self-esteem than we had supposed. one of the most durable contributions to practice made by these projects can best be called "tool-making". cunningham's ways of studying children was just such a compilation of tools for gathering useful information about children's social development, their attitudes, and their achievement. when i returned 52 to springfield five years after the completion of the project there, i found that what remained in use was the sociometric devices we had found and developed. it is safe to say that nothing remains in denver of stratemeyer's work, though the ideas she put forth have entered curriculum theory in various forms. the other contribution, which was limited to the members of the participating staffs, is an array of interesting and pleasant professional memories. the staffs clearly were pleased to carryon hours of professional thought and talk with the university consultants--but the talk ended when the consultants left; conversation in the teachers' lounges returned to gardening, an occasional anecdote about a difficult child, and personalities. not so for the consultants. they remembered and reported what had been discovered. however, since the findings could not be generalized to unexamined populations, they were generally ignored. nevertheless, the findings remain intriguing, for example, one elementary school staff in springfield "hunched" (hypothes ized) that children's social interactions became more complex as they grew older. they defined "complex" as the number of steps required to bring the interaction to completion. the hypothesis was rejected when a teacher observed a seven-year-old girl going through at least thirty steps, and taking more than a month, to prevent another girl from being invited to a third girl's birthday party. or, again, we had speculated a good deal about attitude change. gordon allport had defined attitudes as follows: an attitude is a disposition to find a given referent aversive or valuable. a child may like or dislike math, for example. moreover, any attitude has a degree of strength, or intensity. a child likes or dislikes math (a referent) in some degree--from much to little. or perhaps the child doesn't care one way or the other--he is apathetic. thus, attitudes have valence (direction), and . we that a change in from, say, an aversion to a value would be gradual. the aversion would become weaker and weaker, until the attitude ic, whereupon its referent acquire-gradually value. not so. what we found was that it was very, very difficult to change an attitude at all, but that if it did change, it flipped; the valence might change, but the intensity remained constant. the change matched exactly what we had heard about religious conversions. the child who changed liked the referent as much as he/she had disliked it, and presumably vice versa. in another study, we contrasted physical and verbal aggression, supposing that response to verbal aggression would increase as the children grew older. not so. second graders responded to verbal aggression more than did the sixth graders. in these studies during the late forties and early fifties, we were much influenced by the social psychologists who had followed after kurt lewin, who had found american classrooms to be as authoritarian as nazi germany, whence he had recently fled. these psychologists were primarily concerned with group behavior, and we were, too. hence the teachers' desire to study the social behavior of children in springfield, and cunningham's book about the group behavior of boys and girls. so influenced, we used the tools that had been developed for such study: projective devices, such as unfinished stories, and attitude questionnaires, such as "things that make me feel important", or "things that make me want to strike back". we also used what herbert stolz once called "systematic, incidental observation", and sociometric analyses. we never did get round to experimentation to improve academic performance. the prevailing talk in educational circles of that time was heavily influenced by the external situation: the war against dictatorship had just ended, and we were deeply concerned with the preservation and improvement of democracy at home. the cold war was just beginning. i had to include an explanatory paragraph in my social values book to defend it against the right-wing extremism that had appeared in pasadena, in ohio, and in mccarthyism. springfield, missouri, where the project was undertaken, was in the american bible belt--a seat of religious fundamentalism--and the teachers there consequently cared deeply about questions of social morality. it showed in the schoolyard, where, instead of playing "cops and robbers", the children often "jesus and the pharisees". seems hard to believe, but i was told that it was common. 53 as i observe the present scene, i find almost no residue from the cooperative action research movement of the forties and fifties. it may be well, therefore, for me to offer a purely subjective account of what those who now attempt action research should bear in mind. first, remember that teachers have so far found educational research of little use as applied in the classroom. it follows that action research, if it is to improve the quality of action, has to come from the inside out, not the top down or the outside in. it has to originate in classrooms, not in constructed lab situations. second, remember the function of theory: it exists to clarify reality. it follows that outside consultants can bring theory to bear on actuality in the classroom, provided that the theory clarifies the actuality. for example, we found allport's definition of attitudes very useful in understanding the attitudes of the children we faced in springfield. third, keep it simple, or the teachers will be skeptical. for example, i once worked with some teachers in a suburb of columbus, ohio; they worried that children in the third grade couldn't seem to deal with "word problems", such as "johnny went to buy a dozen apples at five cents each. what did the apples cost johnny?" i suggested that the teachers assign as homework that the children make up their own word problems. it worked. the children enlisted their parents. some of the problems they brought in could not be solved because there wasn't enough information (johnny went to the store to buy some apples. how much did they cost?) some were complicated with useless detail; some were too simple; and so on. the performance of the children on the "word problems" in the textbook improved dramatically. nobody quantified anything to support the conclusion that it worked. it was obvious. fourth, learn how to be an effective classroom consultant. the human relationship between a consultant and an classroom teacher requires direct attention by the consultant. the relat will always be polite, but the teacher can be to test the consultant's sincerity constant for one thing, teachers usual with the assumption that university consultant hasn't been in a classroom for years, and knows nothing of the realities of teaching in the lower schools. don't parade your knowledge. instead, seek the teacher's opinions, and pay close and respectful attention to them, because the teacher knows the immediate situation better than you ever can. fifth, learn how the teacher thinks. i once was asked to find out how a certain kindergarten teacher managed, year after year, to produce such independent children. the children entered more or less infantile, and emerged self-respecting young people, full of initiative and independence. i asked her how she did it. her response was to tell me story after story about individual children she had known. she was about sixty years old, and she seemed to remember every child she had ever faced. i didn't know how to listen to her stories, so i learned nothing that way. i sat in her classroom every morning for a month, and it finally dawned on me that she gave the children no alternative to being independent. if there was noise in the hall during a class planning session, she asked "does anyone else hear the noise in the hall?", and one of the children got up and closed the door. when a boy brought her a boat he was carving and asked if it was all right, she asked, "are you satisfied?", and he returned to work on it some more. when a child asked her to tie his shoe, she asked "if i tie the second knot, can you tie the first?" of course the children became independent. they had no alternative. i was looking for technique, and i finally saw some. if i had learned how to listen to her anecdotes, i might have learned much more than i did. i might have gone beyond technique to ideas. but i didn't, and i'm the poorer for it. finally, be modest in reporting action research. we live in a time when exaggerated claims for educational accomplishments are almost the norm. if our main audience--teachers in service--is to pay attention to what we report, we have to explain to them how they may verify what we say, and we must include the false starts and the mistakes in the report. education is not yet a science; there is very little that we know without doubts. action research continues to be promising, but-we must be aware of its limitations as well as its possibilities. 54 references bowe, richard, and stephen j. ball, with anne gold. reforming education and changing schools. london and new york, routledge, 1992. buckingham, b. r. research for teachers. new york, silver burdette and company, 1926. caswell, hollis l., and associates. curriculum improvement in public school systems. new york, bureau of publications, teachers college, columbia university, 1950. collier i john. "united states indian administration as a laboratory of ethnic relations." social research, 12:265-303, may 1945. corey, stephen m. action research to improve school practices. new york, bureau of publications, teachers college, columbia university, 1953. cunningham, ruth. ways of studying children. new york, bureau of publications, teachers college, columbia university, 1949. foshay, arthur w., editor. research for curriculum improvement, the 1957 yearbook of the association for supervision and curriculum development. washington, d. c., the association, 1957. foshay, arthur w., and wann, kenneth d. children's social values, an action research study. new york, bureau of publications, teachers college, columbia university, 1953. foshay, arthur w. "considerateness and agression." educational research bulletin, v. 32, no. 4 (april 8, 1953), pp. 27-58. stratemeyer, florence, and associates. developing a curriculum for modern living. new york, bureau of publications, teachers college, columbia university, 1947. prelude to professional identity and organization: american public school curriculum workers and their annual meetings, 1927-1929 o. l. davis, jr. in february, 1927, a larger than usual number of school curriculum workers met informally at the dallas meeting of the department of superintendence. as had done at their previous two meetings, they talked about curriculum projects in their school systems. the small group also took an unusual action. it requested the research division of the national education association to survey curriculum work being undertaken by city schools across the united states additionally, it asked the research division to serve as a clearing house for curriculum research studies completed in school systems enrolled in the department's cooperative plan of curriculum revision.! their short meeting completed, the curriculum workers agreed to meet at the following year's convention of the department of superintendence. the 1928 meeting would be in boston. a. k. loomis2, denver's director of curriculum, continued to serve as the group's convener. the informal sessions of curriculum workers at the 1927 meeting occurred within the fulsome context of continuing emphasis accorded to local school curriculum revision by the nation's school superintendents. during the three previous years, for example, successive yearbooks of the department of superintendence focused attention on public school curriculum improvement.) furthermore, at this convention, the national society for the study of education formally presented its 26th yearbook, the foundation and techniques of curriculum construction. 4 more than 1, 000 school administrators attended the meeting at which this landmark two-volume yearbook was presented. two nights later, an audience of approximately 6, 000 attended a forum on the junior high school curriculum. s the curriculum revision "movement," a "grass roots," ical enterprise, was underway and the nsse yearbook appeared only to contribute to its attractiveness rather than to offer any order to the emerging curriculum field. still, the entire dallas meeting could only have heightened school administrators' sense of the vital of local school curriculum revision. within this environment, increased 29 enthusiasm for their special work was an easy yield for the small, informal band of public school curriculum administrators. these school curriculum workers had begun to meet regularly in 1925, only two years before the dallas meeting. l. thomas hopkins, then the de facto administrator of denver' s curriculum revision program as well as a faculty member at the university of colorado, arranged that initial meeting and recalled that the group was small enough to sit around a single large table with room to spare. 6 these few curriculum workers, with hopkins the single exception, were school administrators charged with system-wide curriculum revision responsibilities. also, they were all men. informality characterized these meetings of school curriculum workers. the group never organized formally and also never had an "official" name. it never assessed dues. membership was casual in the extreme. in fact, "membership" may have been asserted by attendance at the short yearly meeting. not included as regular meeting participants were prominent university professors like franklin bobbitt and w. w. charters7 who were popularizing curriculum reform through their graduate courses in their school consultations. an advance agenda for the first meetings was not set. this structural informality may have been important to those early sessions. never a separatist schism from other superintendents and their administrative assistants, this informality permitted easy association of those who began to know themselves mainly as curriculum workers. importantly, the informal meetings nourished the development of their professional understandings. in this process, school curriculum work developed a ional identity and an specialty independent of e superintendency. organizational , however, could not sustain the needs of the growing curriculum field. in fact, this informal group continued for five more years, until 1932, when it with another, and formally structured form the for nevertheless, the meetings of this informal group, even for a few years, served as prelude to the emerging american professional specialty of curriculum practice. plans for the 1928 meeting: questions back of routine curriculum problems a. k. loomis began to plan the 1928 boston meeting of public school curriculum workers in november, 1927. in a letter to jesse h. newlon,9 his former superintendent in denver, loomis inquired about the appropriateness of inviting a small number of people active in city schools' curriculum work to participate in the meeting. 1o he also suggested that the meeting feature discussions of two questions earlier raised by newlon.!! both questions arose from the 26th nsse yearbook published the previous year. they lay "back of the problems" routinely considered by most curriculum directors. "should the curriculum be made in advance?", although newlon opined that it "may not be a question of great importance for a city school system at this time," clearly warranted fundamental consideration. william heard kilpatrick had answered the question with a strong negative response in his yearbook chapter12 and newlon, then only three months into his new post at lincoln school and teachers college, recognized the merits of kilpatrick's position, at least in experimental schools. newlon also urged consideration of a second question, "are you satisfied with the subject matter divisions that obtain in the elementary grades?" this question was stimulated by harold rugg's contention that current subject divisions should be jettisoned and substituted with a "resynthesis of knowledge" .13 newlon obviously hoped that curriculum workers would begin to rethink conceptions and functions of "content" and "subject matter" which framed their curriculum decisions. loomis initially proposed that one of the boston sessions include both these questions with five minute responses by three or four individuals. newlon courteously replied that consideration of each question would require at least the participation of several (2-4) persons each of whom would speak for a 30-40 minute period. 14 in order that the expected discussions be accommodated, he also suggested that loomis increase the number of sessions at the 30 curriculum workers' meeting. loomis responded with a detailed program outline for two 2-hour sessions on saturday, february 25. is newlon would open the morning session with an address, "should the curriculum be made in advance?" respondent "discussions" of 5-minutes would be offered by four school curriculum workers: john coulbourn of baltimore, ethel salisbury of los angeles, walter d. cocking, formerly of st. louis, and thomas d. gosling of madison, wisconsin. the second half of the morning would feature an address by the university of chicago's william s. gray on the topic, "what is subject matter and what is its function?" then, george wheeler of philadelphia, john w. studebaker of des moines, richard e. rutledge of oakland, and velda c. bamesberger, formerly of oklahoma city, would present short discussions of the question. the afternoon session, likewise, would be packed with consideration of two major questions. ernest horn of the state university of iowa would present a 3d-minute address on the question, "should the subject matter divisions in the elementary grades be changed?" proposed discussants included michael j. downey of boston, l. l. nolin of san francisco, charles a. brown of baltimore, and arthur dondineau of detroit. concluding the intensive day would be l. thomas hopkins' principal remarks on "what can the elementary schools do in character education?" followed by commentary by t. v. goodrich of lincoln, nebraska, julius e. warren of springfield, massachusetts, emil lange of long beach, and florence b. stratemeyer of teachers college, columbia university. newlon may have been replaced on the program, a final copy of which has not survived. he requested that loomis not use him because he thought "it would be better for you and for the movement" for him to remain in the background. 16 newlon, only recently removed from public school leadership, understood that the group of school curriculum workers or "the movement" was fueled by school interests and composed mainly of school curriculum administrators. he clearly sensed the looming tension between the practical and the theoretic or between "public school men" and professors. loomis also must have understood the political sensitivity of this nevertheless, he positioned professors (newlon, gray, horn, and hopkins) to make the only major presentations at the meeting. too, he included as discussants, in addition to stratemeyer, both cocking and bamesberger, then in residence at teachers college, columbia university, but identified as "formerly of" their previous school systems. newlon's continuing influence with loomis, moreover, certainly influenced the nature if not the structure of plans for the 1928 boston meeting of school curriculum workers. newlon was less persuasive on loomis' decisions about individuals to be invited to the meeting. in his first letter to newlon about the meeting, loomis suggested names of eighteen school administrators then involved in curriculum research and seven others, mainly university professors, who might be invited to join the boston meeting. newlon' s specific advice on membership was to include only individuals active .. in directing curriculum revision work the same as you do in denver" and .. not load up your conference with a lot of people who have only a nominal interest in the work." no direct evidence is available as to whom loomis extended invitations. on the other hand, loomis' final program failed to include from his first list only three of the school administrators (m. a. dalman of indianapolis, a. l. hartman of montclair, n. j., and worcester warren of bridgeport, connecticut) and two of the others (herbert b. bruner of teachers college, columbia university, and margaret m. alltucker of the nea research division). these twenty-five individuals plus loomis may well have constituted the substantial part of the attendance at the boston meeting. this group consisted mainly of school curriculum workers. the four university professors included were ones actively involved in school curriculum revision efforts. exclusion of the growing number of university professors interested but not involved full time in school curriculum reform activities must be recognized, in retrospect, as a major contribution to the forthcoming gle for the field's ional identity. the program for the 1928 boston meeting of school curriculum workers was densely crowded with presentations and discussions. it did not include time for the curriculum workers to share results of their individual schools' curriculum 31 research and revision efforts. this trade-off may well have been palatable by the availability of the report to them requested of the nea research division at their previous year's meeting. this report of curriculum research and revision practices clearly reflected the period's favorable sentiments about scientific inquiry. 17 practically and symbolically i the report undoubtedly offered support to their work. also, with the report available for reading, the public school curriculum workers could spend their boston meeting time on matters other than "shop talk." creative activities for meeting: a program agenda for a new organization curriculum field the 1929 and plans for the following the intellectually packed meetings in boston, the small group of school curriculum workers edged a bit further away from its informal organizational policies. it established an executive committee of unknown membership although a. k. loomis continued as its program organizer and convener. unknown to these school curriculum workers, a few university curriculum specialists began to plan for what could only become a competing organization. both groups pointed for the 1929 meetings in cleveland. as he had done the previous year, loomis wrote to his friend newlon about plans for the public school group's next meeting. he noted that the executive committee desired that "creative activities" be the focus of the next year's sessions. further, the committee identified fifteen individuals who might discuss dimensions of this topic. at least half of them, people like newlon, cocking, dondineau, gosling i alltucker, lange, and loomis, had been active in the group for one or more years. several others, mostly women and newcomers to the group, included prudence cutright of minneapolis; elma a. neal of san antonio; rose wickey of , missouri; ethel i. los ; charles c. of kalamazoo; and mildred of raleigh. significantly, these women were central office administrators, assistant superintendents or curriculum directors. newlon, in his reply to loomis, approved the plans for the cleveland meeting .19 following his consistent position over several years, he urged loomis to restrict the size of the group to thirty or fewer persons, ones "actively concerned with curriculum construction and giving practically all their time to such work." newlon also nominated three individuals to jokn the forthcoming meeting. he thought that john r. clark, principal of lincoln school's high school division "clearly belongs in the group." he also suggested "a miss mcgregor of rochester," the editor of that school system's curriculum revision work. newlon's third nominee was paul r. hanna, "a young research associate who has come into the lincoln school." the february, 1929, sessions in cleveland for the school curriculum workers apparently occurred as planned although no record of them is known to exist. this silence partially may be explained by a concurrent development, a proposal to establish a solid national organization for the curriculum field. this new society began to take shape, in fact, during the months that loomis planned the 1929 meeting for his small group of school curriculum workers. henry harap led the efforts to found the new organization. then an associate professor of education at western reserve university in cleveland, harapw shared his perception of the need for such a national organization of curriculum workers with w. w. charters and harold o. rugg, two university professors prominent in the promotion of school curriculum revision efforts. both men encouraged harap and suggested that he canvas prospective members. in early december, 1928, he wrote to a number of individuals to inquire of their possible interest in the proposed organization.~ his justification of a new organization was sharply rendered. "if the curriculum making movement is to be more than a fad, it needs to be organized for permanent action," harap wrote. implicitly recognizing the contributions to the curriculum field by yearbooks of the department of superintendence and the national society for the study of education, he noted that both associations were then other concerns. he or was unaware of the annual, meetings of school curriculum workers. harap further claimed that, beginning in 1918, the number of curriculum 32 investigations rose until output peaked in 1926 after which they declined. this phenomenon should "serve as a warning to those of us who are deeply concerned over the work that still remains to be done." harap's ready answer to the problem was a national organization of curriculum workers. his "initial list of curriculum workers" contained names of 44 individuals. only twelve were identified with school systems; of the others, 31 were college or university faculty members and one, margaret alltucker, was an nea staff member. moreover, just five of the school administrators (cocking, lange, loomis, rutledge, and wickey) and six of the others (alltucker, bruner, hopkins, horn, newlon, and stratemeyer) are known to have been involved in the informal meetings of curriculum workers convened by loomis during the previous two years. only four of the school administrators who made harap's list had responded to the national survey of curriculum work conducted by the nea. the other eight school administrators were from cuyahoga county (greater cleveland), ohio; cleveland; santa monica; pittsburgh; chicago; denver (superintendent a. l. threlkeld); kansas city, missouri; and winnetka (carlton w. washburne). furthermore, only three women (alltucker, wickey, and stratemeyer) were included. harap's vision of curriculum workers, quite obviously, differed markedly from that which guided loomis and newlon during the previous years. "if a new society of curriculum workers is formed," newlon replied to harap, "i want very much to be a member of it."22 newlon's endorsement carried with it, however, his sensitive understanding of the implicit political "take over" of the curriculum revision "movement" by university professors. newlon pointed out that the informal group of school curriculum workers ·with a few others" had met for several years and that loomis, denver's curriculum director, served as its chair. newlon admitted that he saw no need for two ions and that harap invite loomis to his invitation to the sessions already scheduled for cleveland. the resultant of should embrace both the workers in schools and in the schools of education." newlon also j that some individuals on list were "not concerned with curriculum work." pointedly, he excluded threlkeld, his former assistant superintendent in denver, but called attention, in general, "to some of the college professors and others whose interests are not in the curriculum field, as are yours." harap did not heed newlon's advice. an overwhelming number of those contacted by harap about a new national organization responded affirmatively. subsequently, harap invited those having expressed interest to nominate individuals to serve as a steering committee to establish the organization. the seven member steering committee met in cleveland on february 25, 1929, and formed a permanent organization. its first name may have been the national society of curriculum workers; within a year, it was the society of curriculum specialists. b the organizing committee selected the university of chicago's w. w. charters to chair the new group and harap as its secretary. as a final act, it set the society's first meeting for the 1930 annual meeting of the department of superintendence. within the next year, 49 individuals became members of the society;~ all were university professors. 25 three years later, the society was commonly known as "the college group". organization of a new professional specialty for curriculum workers: informality overcome; identity asserted effectively, the new society quickly overshadowed the informal group of public school curriculum workers. it also may have appropriated, for a short time, their self-styled if informal designation of themselves, "curriculum workers," as a key element of the new organization's formal name. the public school curriculum workers, known by this time as the "public school division," met with the society in 1930 and 1931. in 1932, the two groups publicly merged to become the society for curriculum study. 26 the informal group of public school curriculum workers could not serve the interests of the emerging and enlarging curriculum field. likely, it was too small; it certainly lacked a sense of permanence. still, during its existence, it contributed to its members' sense of ional as school curriculum workers. at its annual 33 meetings, colleagues shared ideas and descriptions of work in progress. especially, they provided one another professional support during years when practical school curriculum revision struggled for success and visibility. its meetings helped sustain the notion that school curriculum work was viable, not simply administratively desirable. especially, its participants understood themselves to be members of a larger undertaking, the creation of what newlon called the curriculum "movement to. for them, their curriculum work was practical, not theoretical. these individuals, their work, and their informal meetings created an impressive prelude to the development of a new professional specialty. it was known, simply, as "curriculum work". this emerging professional specialty and its new organization continued to focus on curriculum revision, later termed curriculum development. 27 in the absence of centralized authority in american education, the new society, like other professional associations, offered an expanded influential authority of peers and practice. the curriculum field had been asserted into existence. still, it differed from what it might have been. one aspect was particularly obvious. the influence of university professors and scholars swiftly replaced their earlier near absence from the community of school curriculum workers. such a development was not simply a deliberately planned exercise of power politics. to be sure, neither charters nor harap, the society's first officers, had participated in the yearly discussions of the informal group of public school curriculum workers. they may have believed that they and other university curriculum specialists had been excluded from these annual meetings. certainly, newlon had cautioned against involvement of professors in the early meetings, as well as school administrators not directly involved in curriculum work. nevertheless, the history of the soc for curriculum study highlighted the productive association of both school and university curriculum workers. one ameliorative influence in the rapidly changing curriculum enterprise surely helped redraw uncertain boundaries of location of and involvement in curriculum work. newlon, cocking and a number of other prominent early school curriculum workers joined college and university faculties. they, university colleagues similarly disposed (e.g., hopkins, horn, stratemeyer), and other university recruits to the curriculum field (e.g., hollis l. caswell, ralph tyler, hilda taba) continued to work cooperatively with associates in the schools on practical curriculum problems. the society for curriculum study and its successor, the association for supervision and curriculum development,u stressed their organizational openness to individuals regardless of their occupational roles in school curriculum work. 29 the resultant association, and only tenuous collaboration, of individuals in newlon's typification of "curriculum workers in the schools and in the schools of education" contributed an impressive dimension to the emerging professional identity of the curriculum field. 34 notes 1 (nea research division), "coordination of activities of curriculum directors in city school systems," undated (19277), 32 pp. (mimeo.). copy in the jesse h. newlon papers, special collections, penrose library, university of denver (hereafter cited, newlon papers). the cooperative plan of curriculum revision, authorized in 1925, grew out of the work of the department of superintendence's commission on the curriculum which had begun work in 1924. about 300 school systems of different sizes were members of the cooperative plan. see, department of superintendence, the nation at work on the public school curriculum, fourth yearbook (washington, d. c.: the department, 1926), chapter ii, pp. 21-27. 2 loomis joined denver superintendent jesse h. newlon's administrative staff in 1925 as director of the curriculum department. his new full-time position legitimated both the success of the curriculum revision project and the importance of system-wide curriculum work. loomis' position replaced the part-time appointments of l. thomas hopkins and his associates, w. d. armentrout and frederick l. whitney, both professors at colorado state teachers college, greeley. see jesse h. newlon, review of four-year period, august, 1923 to july, 1927. twenty-fourth annual report of super intendent of schools, section 1. (denver: the board of education, 1927), p. 18. 3 these department of superintendence yearbooks included the elementary school curriculum (washington, d. c.: the department, 1924) i research in constructing the elementary school curriculum (washington, d. c.: the department, 1925); and the nation at work on the public school curriculum (washington, d. c.: the department, 1926). the next two yearbooks continued this emphasis: the junior high school curriculum (washington, d. c.: the department, 1927) and development of the high school curriculum ( d. c.: the department, 1928) . 4 harold o. rugg (chairman), the foundation and techniques of curriculum construction, parts i ii of the yearbook of national the education ( , il: school publishing co., 1926). 5 "minutes of the dallas meeting of the society, february 26, and march 1, 1927," in lewis m. terman (chairman), nature and nurture, part ii of the twenty-seventh yearbook of the national society for the study of education (bloomington, il: public school publishing co., 1928), 358-360. 6 hopkins, a former massachusetts superintendent of schools, began his role, carrying the title of consul tant, with denver' s then struggling curriculum revision program in september, 1923. see l. thomas hopkins oral history interview and his "my curriculum viewpoint," unpublished paper (mimeo.), august, 1978, p. 3, hopkins papers, oral history in education collection, college of education, the university of texas at austin. in 1929, hopkins became director of research at lincoln school and associate professor of education at teachers college, columbia university. 7 hopkins acknowledged charters' assistance in arranging the first meeting of curriculum workers. charters is not listed as a participant in any of the meetings. see hopkins, "my curriculum viewpoint," hopkins papers. 8 see j. galen saylor, "ascd and its beginnings." in william van til, ascd in retrospect (alexandria, va: association for supervision and curriculum development, 1986), 6-7. 9 newlon became denver's superintendent of schools in august, 1920, after having been superintendent of lincoln, nebraska, public schools. with substantial financial support of the board of education, he initiated denver's program of extensive curriculum revision two years later. this program brought international attention to newlon and the denver schools. newlon resigned his superintendency effective august 31, 1927, to become professor of education and director, lincoln school, teachers college, columbia university. see gary l. peltier, jessie h. newlon as superintendent of the denver public schools, 1920-1927. unpublished doctoral dissertation. denver: university of denver, 1965. 10 letter from a. k. jesse h. newlon, november newlon papers. loomis to 5, 1927, 11 letter from jesse h. newlon to a. k. loomis, october 20, 1927, newlon papers. 35 12 william heard kilpatrick, "statement of position," chapter x in harold o. rugg (chairman), the foundations of curriculum-making, part ii of the twenty-sixth yearbook of the national society for the study of education (bloomington, il: public school publishing co., 1926), 119-146. 13 harold o. rugg, "curriculum­ making: points of emphasis," chapter xi in ibid., 147-162. 14 letter from jesse h. a. k. loomis, november newlon papers. 15 letter from a. k. jesse h. newlon, november newlon papers. newlon to 12, 1927, loomis to 25, 1927, 16 letter from jesse h. newlon to a. k. loomis, december 5, 1927, newlon papers. 17 see, for example, raymond e. callahan, education and the cul t of efficiency (chicago: university of chicago press, 1962), and herbert m. kliebard, the struggle for the american curriculum, 1893-1958 (london: routledge & kegan paul, 1986) . 18 letter from a. k. jesse h. newlon, november newlon papers. 19 letter from jesse h. a. k. loomis, november newlon papers. loomis to 17, 1928, newlon to 21, 1928, 20 harap gained early prominence for his 1920's work in consumer education. the organizer of the national society of curriculum workers or society of curriculum specialists, he was its first secretary and, later, its chairman. he edited its news bulletin and, after the formation of the society for curriculum study in 1932, its curriculum journal from 1932 to 1943 when the society merged with the department of supervisors and directors of instruction and this journal was superseded by educational leadership. in 1937, he became professor of education and associate director, division of surveys and field services, george peabody college for teachers. see harap papers, oral in education collection, the university of texas at austin. 21 letter from henry harap to jesse h. newlon, december 6, 1928, newlon papers. included with this letter was harap's "initial list of curriculum workers" . 22 letter from jesse h. newlon to henry harap, december 18, 1928, newlon papers. no other replies to harap's inquiry are known to exist. 23 saylor's account uses the name, national society of curriculum workers. see saylor, ibid., p. 7. however, no issues of the soc iety , s news bulletin (1930-32) identified the group by that name. beginning with its february 19, 1931, issue (vol. 2, no. 2, p. 1), the news bulletin carried the name, society of curriculum specialists, as its sponsoring organization until after the merger of the society (the college group) with the group of public school curriculum workers to form the society for curriculum study. see news bulletin 3 (may 2, 1932), p. 2. 24 saylor, ibid., p. 7. 25 at least, harap remembered the membership in this way. see henry harap, "the background of ascd," unpublished paper (mimeo.), november 10, 1958. 2 pp. harap papers. 26 saylor, ibid. harap, the society's chairman, negotiated the merger with the representative of the "public school division," l. frazier banks of the birmingham, alabama, schools. on only one key point of the merger agreement, acceptance of the society's dues structure, did banks believe he must consult with his group's executive committee. quite possibly, the informal group of public school curriculum workers had never assessed dues. harap, ibid.; also, news bulletin 3. 27 only slowly did the concept of "curriculum development" arise. an early use of this term and its meanings appear in hollis l. caswell, "curriculum revision in rural schools," virginia journal of education, 25, 1932, 301-303. after publication of the book by caswell and doak s. campbell, curriculum development (new york: american book co., 1935), the term's popularity swelled. 28 in 1943, the society merged with the nea' s department of supervisors and directors of instruction to form the department, later, the association for supervision and curriculum development. saylor, ibid., 10-13. see, also, o. l. davis, jr., "symbol of a shift from status to function: formation of the association for supervision and curriculum of educational 36 35 (may, 1978), 609-614. 29 this history notwithstanding, tension between the interests of both groups in the association for supervision and curriculum development has continued to the time. embedded in this tension are contested perceptions of the legitimacy of different functions of curriculum work and of various roles of curriculum workers. university curriculum professors were very prominent in the organization until only very recently. clearly, they are much less visible and active in the association now. recent explorations of elements of this tension in ascd, the organizational descendant of both the informal group of public school curriculum workers and the group of university curriculum specialists include o. l. davis, jr., "ascd and curriculum development: the later years." in william van til (ed. ) ibid., 83-93; his "curriculum professors' curriculum work, or can we expand our practice while we teach?" teaching education 4 (spring, 1992), 43-49; his "before we were members. .looking for ascd's future in its past," unpublished assembly address, ascd annual conference, washington, d. c., march 28, 1993; and ascd review council, "ascd and higher education: an analysis and reflections" (washington, d.c., march, 1993), 12 p. (mimeo. ) the quest for a unitary curriculum ann l. winter sokoloff princeton regional school district, nj abstract contemporary educators are rediscovering the need for a more unitary curriculum, often without cognizance of the long struggle for curriculum synthesis as evidenced in the curriculum literature. in the face of increasing knowledge specialism and fragmentation and an increasingly multicultural society, the need for a more unitary curriculum as exemplified in the unit of work is examined. the concept of democracy has received renewed recognition through worldwide events with the close of the twentieth century. this renaissance of democratic ideals and values on a global scale impelled american educators to give renewed attention to the function of public education in a democratic society. paradoxically, although the subjectcentered curriculum continues to dominate in an era of national and statewide standardized achievement testing as the chief measure of school quality (epstein 1996), renewed attention is being given to the contributions of john dewey and other experimentalist-progressive educators who promoted the idea and practices for building a more unitary curriculum. dewey saw very clearly that the form of the curriculum must follow its function. in effect, dewey turned the concept of the curriculum ―essentials‖ on its head when he declared, the scheme of a curriculum must take account of the adaptation of studies to the needs of the existing community life; it must select with the intention of improving the life we live in common so that the future shall be better than the past. moreover, the curriculum must be planned with the reference to placing essentials first, and refinements second. the things that are socially most fundamental, that is, which have to do with the experiences in which the widest groups share, are the essentials. the things that represent the needs of specialized groups and technical pursuits are secondary. (1916, 191) contemporary educators are rediscovering the need for a more unitary (interdisciplinary) curriculum, often without cognizance of the long struggle for curriculum synthesis as evidenced in the curriculum literature. unitary curriculum has a rich heritage in the integrated units of work practiced at the dewey‘s laboratory school in chicago and other progressive schools. initially, the development of the unit-of-work involved the identification and formulation of realistic problems, themes, topics for study and devising the ways and means of investigation into a variety of relevant sources of data. this required articulation of the curriculum both vertically, through the grades, and horizontally, across the subject areas. the unit-of-work ―orchestrated a carefully considered body of related activities of significance to the pupil and so planned as to develop insight, skill, understanding, and control of some important aspect of human experience‖ (leonard 1955, 436). the integrated unit-ofwork purported to connect the curriculum to the 126 nature of the learner and to the life of the learner in and for a free society. the unit-of-work emphasized student engagement in the actual application of knowledge through investigative activities involving projects that related to life experiences. in the face of increasing knowledge specialism and fragmentation, the need for a more unitary curriculum as exemplified in the unit-ofwork is evident. in an increasingly multicultural society, the need for a more unified curriculum is increasingly paramount—a curriculum that takes full account of the nature of the learner in harmony with the democratic prospect. contemporary educational leaders need to recognize the rich body of knowledge in the curriculum field. origins the unit-of work as a curricular approach evolved during the experimentalist-progressive movement in the united states. understanding the impetus for the progressive movement in education provides insight into the development of the unit-of-work curricular approach. according to cremin (1964), the progressive movement in education began in the 1890‘s with joseph rice precisely because he saw it as a movement. rice, a young new york pediatrician, fueled the movement with his monthly articles on american public school systems, published in 1892 in the forum, a new york monthly. after touring 36 cities, visiting their public school systems and talking with 1,200 teachers, rice publicized his dismal findings (cremin 1964). the american schools were dimly lit, poorly heated, frequently unsanitary, and overcrowded. public apathy, political interference, corruption, and teacher incompetence were prevalent in the schools. the students were subjected to endless drill, rote repetition, and meaningless language exercises (cremin 1964). yet, rice‘s publications faced strong opposition. the national reports and policies issued by the national education association in the 1890‘s supported the subject-centered, traditional modes of education (tanner and tanner 1990). the progressive movement in education spearheaded by rice emerged in the midst of strong opposition against the politically controlled, mechanical system of american public education. while rice provided the ―rallying cry‖ for the progressive movement in education, other visionaries during the last half of the 19 th century developed new approaches to curriculum reform. the unit-of-work exemplified one of these new approaches to curriculum, which took shape in the newly established laboratory and demonstration schools, spearheaded by kilpatrick and dewey in chicago during the early 1900‘s. today‘s progressive educational ideas represent an important renaissance of the progressive movement from the opening of the 20 th century. progressive educational ideas uniquely address educational issues in historical and modern day american democracy. the dominant practices from both time periods include discipline-centered curriculum that hinders american students by: emphasizing testing and measuring statistical data, developing curriculum without considering students‘ interests, and ignoring the need to foster a sense of democratic stewardship in young americans (eisner 1994). the resulting educational issues associated with american democracy include: increasing knowledge specialization that produces an overcrowded, fragmented curriculum in our schools, and an increasingly multicultural society. arthur schlesinger describes the problems associated with an increasingly multicultural 127 society in his book, the disuniting of america (1992). as contemporary progressive educators rediscover the need for a more unitary curriculum, they address the current educational issues in american democracy: overcrowded, fragmented curriculum in our schools that lacks the unifying form needed in an increasingly multicultural society. during the past few decades, contemporary progressive educators demonstrated a renewed interest in a form of curriculum called the integrated unit of work (beane 1991). dewey, one of our nation‘s curriculum leaders, clearly saw that the form of curriculum must follow the function of a democratic society. the integrated unit-of-work developed at his laboratory school in chicago not only connects the curriculum to the nature of the learner, but connects to the life of the learner in and for a free society. this form of curriculum emphasizes student learning through hands-on investigative activities involving projects related to life experiences. dewey was just one of our nation‘s curriculum leaders that supported the integrated unit-of-work because it complements the curriculum paradigm that evolved throughout the 20 th century. dewey argued that curriculum development should include three fundamental factors that interdependently make up what he called the educative process: (1) the learner (― the immature, undeveloped being‖); (2) society (―certain social aims, meanings, values incarnate with the matured experience of the adult‖); and (3) organized subject matter (―the specialization and divisions of the curriculum‖) (dewey 1902, 181-185). simply put, the structure and function of the curriculum must be in harmony with the nature and needs of the learner and the life of the learner as a member of a free society (tanner and tanner 1995). dewey‘s fundamental factors in the educative process were formulated from the work in his laboratory school at the university of chicago. dewey‘s fundamental factors or sources of curriculum development were further developed and refined by inglis (1918), rugg (1926), bode (1927), giles, mccutchen, and zechiel (1942), taba (1962), tyler (1949) and tanner and tanner (1995). they were used to guide the program of curriculum development and evaluation by the staff in the eight-year study (1932-1940) that will be discussed later. the paradigm can be utilized to evaluate approaches to curriculum development. the paradigm calls into consideration the most profound philosophical, social, and psychological questions, such as: what knowledge is of most worth? how is this knowledge to be reconstructed as curriculum? how is it to become transformed as working power for the individual learner in the school and society? how is it to affect a significant bearing on societal improvements? (tanner, l. 1982, 410). the unit-of-work approach to curriculum development addresses dewey‘s three fundamental factors in the educative process, namely: (1) the nature of the learner, (2) the values and aims of a democratic society and (3) the selection, organization and treatment of knowledge in that thing that is called the curriculum. dewey‘s three fundamental factors in the education process, the learner, society, and the organized subject matter, act as both sources and influences upon the development of curriculum. differences in how each of the three factors is conceived are linked to the priorities and biases of differing schools of educational psychology and philosophy. 128 dewey supported cognitivedevelopmental psychology that garnered support from progressive educators throughout the 20 th century. dewey (1910), piaget (1950), havighurst (1972), and others recognized that the learners‘ mental growth is developmental and changes qualitatively and re-forms throughout the maturational process. the tanners (1995) offered support to dewey‘s, piaget‘s, and havighurst‘s developmental stages and their connection to curriculum development. they presented a threedimensional schema showing the interdependence of the various cognitive, affective, and biosocial developmental processes (tanner and tanner 1995, 288). dewey opposed the traditional, rote memorization methods of that day based on the theory of mental-discipline. the theory of mental-discipline was built on faculty psychology, which held that the mind consisted of separate faculties, or powers, that were developed and improved by exercise (tanner and tanner 1990). the theory of mental-discipline ascribed to the belief that students‘ minds had innate mental capacities that needed to be exercised like a muscle or filled to capacity like vessels; thus students‘ innate intellect differed only in quantity and not quality. teachers taught a body of facts from separate subjects to their students. with varying mental capabilities, the students memorized the facts and regurgitated them in recitation and examinations (tanner & tanner, 1990). dewey felt that if education was to advance knowledge and educational practices, it must utilize the scientific method of inquiry or problem method of investigation. the problem method of education is an evolving process rather than a fixed means of instruction (dewey 1910). dewey‘s problem-solving method elaborated on ward‘s (1883) more general ideas about curriculum development presented in dynamic sociology and made them functional (tanner and tanner 1995). dewey identified the following essentials of reflection for the problem method: they are first that the pupil have a genuine situation of experience-that there be a continuous activity in which he is interested for its own sake; secondly, that a genuine problem develop within this situation as a stimulus to thought; third, that he possess the information and make the observations needed to deal with it; fourth, that suggested solutions occur to him which he shall be responsible for developing in an orderly way; fifth, that he may have the opportunity and occasion to test his ideas by application, to make their meaning clear and to discover for himself their validity (dewey 1916, 150; dewey 1910, 7278; tanner and tanner 1995, 169). dewey‘s problem method of investigation was utilized in the development of the units of work at his chicago laboratory school (mayhew and edwards 1936; tanner, l. 1997). separate and not equal by contrast disciplined-centered curriculum represented separate and isolated subjects with subject matter organized as ―content‖ to be ―recalled‖ by the learner for recitation and testing. it mitigated the curriculum paradigm (the fundamental factors in the education process): (1) the design and structure of the curriculum to meet the macrocurricular function of general education in a free society and (2) to meet the nature and needs of the learner (dewey 1902; giles, mccutchen, and zechiel 1942; tanner and tanner 1995; alirangues 2003). the curriculum paradigm has been useful in 129 establishing the criteria for evaluating the efficacy of educational reform proposals and in determining the causes of failure of various reform efforts (tanner and tanner 1995; presseisen 1985; hlebowitsh 1987). in her study, unlearned lessons, presseisen (1985) surmised that the majority of educational reforms failed because they violated the fundamental factors in the paradigm and ignored past findings in the curriculum field. this is also consistent with peter hlebowitsh‘s 1987 study that found many of the reforms failed because they ignored or neglected the nature of the learner and aligned the curriculum to narrow nationalistic purposes rather than the problems and prospects for a democratic society. in fact, history is full of lessons that reveal the effects of curriculum that violates the curriculum paradigm. for example, the launching of sputnik i in 1957 by the soviets left the americans racing to establish their superiority in the space race. the curriculum was turned to defeating the soviets in the drive for global political and military dominance. the emerging discipline-centered curriculum heavily favored the sciences and mathematics over all other subjects. there was a redirection of guidance programs to talent search for gifted students in math and science; an emphasis on knowledge specialization, purity and abstraction by the university-scholar-specialists to the neglect of practical knowledge relating to the life of the learner in and for a democratic society. vocational education, physical education, and the arts were devalued as a result of the narrow national curricular priorities. as a result, curriculum from the 1960s represented separate and isolated subjects with subject matter organized as ―content‖ to be recalled by the learner for recitation and testing. during the discipline-centered period of the 1960s, national reports and policies devalued unitary curriculum. it is this violation of the curriculum paradigm that caused student disengagement, as evidenced in the student protests and their call for curricular relevance (engler 1973). more recently, further evidence reveals that the dominant discipline-centered curriculum fails to meet the needs of our democratic society. in the 1992 sandi report, the minority and urban students in america continued to demonstrate low achievement. similarly in 2007, although minority students in america have shown some improvement on certain math and reading achievement tests, there is still needed room for improvement (nces 2007). yet, in the face of historical evidence that reveals that the disciplinecentered curriculum does not connect with or address the needs and interests of our minority students, this type of curriculum continues to dominate and weaken our american democracy. concurrently, in the 1990‘s, there was a call for accountability, a call for national assessment of students‘ progress. in 1991, president george h. w. bush announced the issuance of america 2000: an educational strategy. it presented as a long-range plan to move every community in america toward the national educational goals adopted by the president and the governors in 1990 (u. s. department of education, america 2000: an educational strategy 1991). america 2000 called upon the national educational goals panel to develop world-class standards for each of the five core subjects. after taking office, president clinton endorsed all of the elements of america 2000 with the exception of bush‘s call for school vouchers. under the rubric of goals 2000 (1992), president clinton promoted a test-driven curriculum that would be assessed by ―new world class standards‖ through american 130 achievement tests. president george w. bush continued to advocate high national educational standards and test driven discipline-centered curricula as evidenced in his support of the no child left behind act in 2003. this move for accountability of public schools has been spurred on by publications and press releases as well. the publication of the 1983 report of the national commission on excellence, a nation at risk, helped to generate the idea that the public schools were responsible for the fundamental erosions of quality of life in america (hlebowitsh 1996). the negative and often inaccurate national media coverage of american public education has further contributed to the widespread lack of recognition of the attainment of american public schools (hlebowitsh 1996). as a result, in response to the call for accountability, the dominant discipline-centered curriculum has been aligned to the states‘ educational standards. these standards represent the curriculum priorities of an elite group and do not adequately address the needs of the disadvantaged. they devalue the arts and vocational education. compounding the problem, the disciplinecentered curriculum that is aligned to state standards is measured by achievement tests. according to madaus‘ research in 1988, as the chief measure of state standards, the standardized tests tend to measure math and reading skill acquisition rather than higher level thinking skills. standardized tests have been modified in an attempt to address these issues. however, high stakes testing puts pressure on teachers to teach to the test to produce acceptable scores (madaus and kellaghan 1992; epstein 1996) and narrows the curriculum and pedagogical practices. consequently, in this high stakes testing environment, teachers‘ creativity and spontaneity are hindered and devalued. madaus states, ―if important decisions are presumed to be related to test results, then teachers will teach to the test‖ (1988, 90). further, continues madaus, examples include tests directly linked to such important decisions as: (a) graduation, promotion, or placement of students; (b) the evaluation or rewarding of teachers or administrators; (c) the allocation of resources to schools or school districts; and (d) school or school system certification. (1988, 87) educators might well ask, ―if the current standardized tests tend to measure math and reading skill acquisition rather than higher level thinking skills and teachers are pressured to teach to the test, then what do these tests really reveal?‖ madaus and haney offer this response: the goal of increasing student learning is supplanted by improving average tests scores, which has the effect of distorting and corrupting the educational process it is intended to monitor (madaus 1988, 89; haney and madaus 1986, 14). community of learners contemporary educators are rediscovering the need for a more unitary curriculum, in an ahistorical manner often without cognizance of the long struggle for curriculum synthesis as evidenced in the curriculum literature. unitary curriculum has a rich heritage in the integrated units of work practiced at dewey‘s laboratory school in chicago. many schools like the dewey school used the unit-of-work in curriculum development during the progressive era of education during the first half of the 20 th century. this approach in its exemplary form characteristically grew to encompass: practical and generalized knowledge, horizontal and vertical articulation of curriculum, synthesis of 131 studies, reflective thinking for problem solving, instruction for individual differences, instruction through activities and projects, varied teaching resources, discovery learning, concrete educational experiences, field trips, varied forms of evaluation, spiral learning, teachers acting as guides, developmental learning, the recognition of students‘ interests and needs, and the concern for fostering of democratic citizens and the betterment of american democracy (dewey and dewey 1915; lincoln school staff 1927; aikin 1942; rugg and shumaker 1969). historical research reveals the onset of planning a more unitary curriculum entailed the reorganization of school schedules in both the elementary grades, and the middle school and high school grades. blocks of time were scheduled daily for elementary teachers and core teachers on the secondary level to work with students. when deemed necessary and appropriate, students developed and practiced their skills during designated periods (a description of the curricular experiences at the university school for the school year of 19381939; sokoloff 2004). the unitary curriculum has been criticized for not providing time during the day for students to practice their basic skills (baxter, 1929). however, teachers can schedule time for students to practice their skills as needed, and the teachers at the university school in columbus, ohio demonstrated just that. skill acquisition was purposefully connected to projects, activities, and the problem method of instruction. students applied their skills to real life experiences as opposed to contrived artificial exercises that lacked meaning for the students‘ lives. perhaps some examples will make this clear. at the university school the students applied and practiced their skills in age appropriate units of work such as: the first-grade unit-of-work, toys (1938-1939) that provided time for students to construct toys and puppets from around the world while learning how springs and weights worked in them; the fourth-grade unit-of-work, how the people of china are like us and how they are different from us (19481949) that allowed students time to study chinese music and theatre and perform the play, ―the story of the willow plate‖; the eight-grade unitof-work, uncle sam’s work (1936-1937) that provided students time to compile a 67-page book that examined the united states government, welfare system, crime, national defense, immigration, conservation and food control, weather forecasting, money and coinage, highways and bridges and national parks; and the twelfth-grade unit-of-work, were we guinea pigs? (1937-1938), an account of the students‘ school experiences through the course of the eight-year study. holt published the students‘ 303-page book that included photos, charts, graphics, and a bibliography. in all the aforementioned units of work, students‘ interdisciplinary skills were applied and practiced through meaningful and collaborative work (sokoloff 2004). historical research reveals that the unit-ofwork approach to curriculum was tested in the field during the eight-year study (1933-1942). the eight-year study conducted in the 1930‘s examined thirty schools that used experimental curriculum approaches, one being the unit-ofwork. the study included nearly 3,000 students enrolled in 300 colleges to determine the effect of traditional academic subject admission requirements on the success of college students. compared to their matches in traditional discipline-centered curriculum programs, the graduates of the 30 schools that utilized experimental curriculum such as the unit-of-work: earned higher grade point averages, received 132 more academic honors, demonstrated more precise, systematic, and objective problem solving skills, and exercised more intellectual curiosity. because much of our society exists outside the classroom, it is also interesting to note that these students: became more actively concerned about what happened in society, earned more nonacademic honors, and proved more resourceful in meeting new situations (aikin 1942; tanner and tanner 1990). the popularity of the unit-of-work as a form of curriculum spread through the first half of the 20 th century and acquired other names such as: the teaching unit, the core unit, the problem method, and the project method (billet 1932). the term core curriculum was often used in conjunction with the unit-of-work during the progressive era. however, there was a difference between core curriculum and the unit-of-work. the unit-of-work was one example of an integrated approach to curriculum development. the unit-of-work, as mentioned intended as: a complete experience based upon a meaningful situation in child or adult life. the unit-of-work was a fusion of mental, emotional, and sensory experience; it proceeded in a physical and social setting that resembled life in so far as possible; and it was directed toward the accomplishment of goals that resulted in some improvement of life. (harap 1931, 2; tanner and tanner 1990) by contrast, the core curriculum was far more inclusive in being conceived as common learnings or general education organized as an integrated curriculum related to common themes or problems as required study for all students. core curriculum implied that the separate subjects would be articulated through various approaches to curriculum organization and articulation through correlation (connections between separate courses such as u.s. history and american literature), broad fields (interrelated subjects such as civics, geography, history, and economics), fusion (combined courses such as u.s. history and american literature), and even interdisciplinary problems such as problems of democracy. core teachers often correlated two subjects such as history and english or math and science. the problem-focused core curriculum was intended to make the curriculum relevant to the learner‘s life. it might replace all or part of the subject curriculum in general education with the purpose of engaging students from various backgrounds in working together toward solving problems of life in a democratic society (tanner and tanner 1995). a unit-of-work may be one of many units in a subject or broad field. the term project method was often used simultaneously with the unit-of-work during the progressive era. however, there was a difference between the project method and the unit-of-work. both projects and units were used in the dewey school (mayhew and edwards 1936) before the turn of the century and in the francis w. parker school as early as 1901 (tanner and tanner 1990). however, it was kilpatrick , a professor at teachers college who systematized projects into a method in 1918. according to kilpatrick, there was only one criteria for a project: ―the presence of a dominating purpose‖ (1918, 321 and 324). it was the attitude of the learner toward his or her work that was important. for kilpatrick, a project was a ―wholehearted purposeful activity proceeding in a social environment‖ (1918, 320). in, foundations of method, kilpatrick stated that it was preferable for children to have practice in all four steps of any given project: purposing, planning, executing, and judging. yet, he stated that it was acceptable for the child to adopt the teacher‘s suggestion for a project as his or her 133 own (1941, 212). the project method was mainly a method. it did not necessarily link education with social problem solving and the progressive improvement of society, but neither did the unitof-work. although, the integrated unit-of-work as developed by the experimentalist-progressive educators, purported to connect the curriculum to the nature of the learner and the life of the learner in and for a free society (alberty 1927; tanner and tanner 1990). varied definitions surfaced as well. the various definitions, types, and sources for the unit-of-work generated confusion and criticism within the field of education (caswell and campbell 1935; taba 1962). this confusion and criticism from the past is reflected in the profession today. yet, the legacy of the unit-ofwork as a conceptual development to provide unitary teaching and learning through the thoughtful planning of a coherent curriculum endured. the distinctive characteristic of a unitof-work was significant understanding of a central thematic body of knowledge engaging the learner in activities and projects as related to the life of the learner (caswell and campbell 1935; harap 1931). during the progressive era, teachers at the lincoln school in ny such as emily barnes and bess young received tremendous guidance from the faculty at teachers college. they developed many exemplary units of work for students and resource units for the teachers to use. their unitof-work entitled children and architecture took their sixth-grade students in to the real world to visit the riverside church to observe the details on the doorway of a modern gothic cathedral and its stained-glass windows. later their students were afforded opportunities to make stained-glass windows and construct models of different kinds of bridges with the assistance of their industrial arts teacher. these projects required the use of skills in geometry and measurement. the students extended their knowledge about stainedglass windows and learned about the history of rose windows. greek and roman legends were read that gave accounts about the building of famous churches and buildings. poems were written by the students that related to the central theme of study: architecture. the students wrote and published the play, ―the wonderful doors.‖ much of the action in the play took place in front of a replica of the famous carved doors in florence. their students learned how to scale architectural drawings and make blueprints. they wrote and illustrated research reports that reflected their own interests in architecture. barnes‘ and young‘s unit-of-work children and architecture provided for varied forms of evaluation (pretests, posttests, quizzes, research reports, projects, and observations) that measured students‘ social, emotional, and cognitive progress, individual differences, stimulated their students to widen their interests, connected their students with the needs of society, offered their students opportunities to use a variety of academic skills, and created a classroom environment that promoted cooperative and collaborative learning for their students (young and barnes 1932). unfortunately, over the years the concept of the unit-of-work has become a veritable cliché for any topical organization of subject matter and is even used to designate sections in textbooks. this distortion neglected the nature and interests of the learners and violated the curriculum paradigm. in part, the distortion occurred because teachers often lacked the education, training, material resources, scheduling accommodations, and time required for planning, developing, and implementing unitary curriculum. also, in part, the distortion occurred due to the influential, efficiency movement in education that was at its 134 height during the years 1910 to 1930. this systematic, linear approach to planning curriculum defines goals, identifies tasks, and organizes the tasks from simple to complex so that as the child proceeds along the way, progress toward the ultimate goal is assured (morrison 1926). the most prevalent misinterpretation of the concept of the unit-of-work was the morrison plan. the morrison plan was very mechanistic, linear, teacher directed and executed. little room for digression was permissible and mastery of content was the end goal (morrison 1926). the morrison plan eventually led to the present-day subject or discipline-centered units of work and was more closely aligned to the goals of the efficiency movement than the progressive movement of education. many contemporary units of work followed morrison‘s linear behavioristic strategies for learning and ignored the interests and needs of the learners and society. thus, they violated the curriculum paradigm. in addition, the morrison plan allowed for units of subject matter to be called units of work as long as they included a wide variety of teaching strategies (morrison, 1926). in effect, morrison advocated that the unit-ofwork would be based upon subject-matter encompassing a significant aspect of environment or culture. by contrast, the unit-of-work approach to curriculum development required teachers to guide students on a long personal educational journey that led to significant understanding of a central thematic body of knowledge engaging the learner in activities and projects as related to the life of the learner. the experiential unit-of-work, as conceived in the dewey laboratory school and the lincoln school did seek to connect the pupil experiences with the democratic social prospect. the distortion of the original concept of the unitof-work is still with us today, with textbooks commonly organized as chapters into units, which merely represent groupings of chapters, and not integrated units of work. yet, the legacies of unitary curriculum endured as evidenced by contemporary writings. form follows function in 1991, beane stated ―knowledge and skill need to be taken out of abstract subject categories and repositioned in the context of thematic units where they are more likely to develop. in an era of rapid knowledge explosion, this kind of curriculum is both appropriate and realistic.‖ thematic units are not a new idea. the unit-of-work, children and architecture, developed at the lincoln school in ny utilized all the disciplines including the studio arts and industrial arts. in 1936, the building america series developed originally by the society of curriculum sought to meet the need for relevant curriculum that addressed the interests and needs of the learners and our democratic society. each volume was organized according to themes and problems of american social, political, economic, cultural or international life—such as health, crime, education, energy, war, taxes, housing, food, and civil liberties. the units of study treated america‘s contemporary problems frankly and objectively (hanna, 1936-1938; tanner, d., 1988). these exemplary thematic units can serve as paradigms for educators today. in 1984, vars reminded us that the national association for core curriculum published a bibliography of research on the effectiveness of block-time, core, and interdisciplinary team teaching. historic research reminds us that public, private, and laboratory schools nationwide in the eight-year study (1942) successfully utilized unitary teaching, team teaching, and school scheduling that supported unitary curriculum. brunkhorst stated, ―since so much of modern scientific 135 research occurs at the interface of science disciplines (geophysics, biochemistry, human ecology), science must now be taught in a way that makes connections among the sciences and with the real world of the student‖ (1991, 37). the exemplary unit-of-work, civics for democracy, (isaac 1992) advocated real life experiences for students such as investigating and evaluating community waste disposal programs, including plans for future landfills or incinerators. historical research reminds educators that real life community research projects were conducted at the ohio state university school during the eight-year study. in 1994, perkins and blythe advocated the idea that ―understanding‖ is being able to carry out a variety of ―performances‖ that show one‘s understanding of a topic and at the same time advance it. current educators need to be reminded that unitary teaching at dewey‘s laboratory school promoted active learning and performance based evaluation through projects and activities such as planting and caring for a garden and constructing and furnishing a clubhouse. in 1994, perrone discussed engagement of students in learning. he stated ―to draw students into the depth and complexity of a subject, we must look for topics that relate to students‘ lives.‖ the foxfire books published by wigginton from 1972-1993 cite numerous examples of students involved in real life projects relating to their appalachian mountain community in north georgia. the students wrote about their heritage in english class and in doing so, developed a deep appreciation for their ancestors. writing across the curriculum unifies the curriculum and addresses the current educational problem of an overcrowded curriculum. gardner‘s work on multiple intelligences in 1983 called for a more equitable curriculum that meets the needs of all types of learners. during the eight-year study, the dalton school in new york city introduced the course, nurserybiology that did just that. it was met with a great deal of enthusiasm from the ninth-grade girls and proved to be very successful. the freshmen program was built around the work in the dalton school nursery. human biology was taught in relation to the nursery school that was placed in charge of the teacher of biology who had experience in children‘s hospitals. the students spent one week in the nursery as a worker during each semester. they made out individual daily health charts, graphed the babies‘ weights, heights, and temperatures, and recorded food intake and caloric value of their diets. the students‘ evaluation was performance based. unitary curriculum involves a wide variety of experiences and activities that address and evaluate various learning styles (pea 1943). the exemplary unit-of-work the nature of recreation published in 1972 involved not only reading about recreational facilities in a community, but provided blueprints to design and construct a model community with a variety of recreational facilities. this unit–of-work offers a variety of activities and projects that address and evaluate various types of learners and learning styles for contemporary educators to use with their students. in 1993, wiggins stressed authentic evaluation that measures student growth. nearly half a century earlier, the ohio state university school (june 1945) used authentic evaluation that measured the students‘ social, emotional as well as academic growth. standardized tests were viewed as one piece of evidence to evaluate student progress and often were utilized for diagnostic purposes. for example, at the university school at ohio state university, intelligence tests, reading readiness tests, reading achievement tests, math achievement tests, were 136 administered. in high school, aptitude tests and american council psychology assessments were administered. in addition, teacher-made evaluations of students‘ values, social acceptance, thinking skills, library skills, interests, and psychological profiles were compiled. teachers in grades k through 12 at the university school compiled individual portfolios of students‘ work, teacher observations, and comments about students‘ progress. evaluation was continuous, concerned with end products and the means to reach those ends and cooperative. all those who were affected by the evaluation participated in it—administrators, teachers, pupils and parents (ohio state university school 1945). in 1995, tanner wrote about our social fragmentation and multicultural conflict in our schools. he states: the great problems of our age involve social fragmentation and multicultural conflict. the challenge of the twentieth century for our school has been to build intercultural understandings through a unified core curriculum while simultaneously providing diversified studies for a cosmopolitan student population. this is an ever-greater challenge as society becomes increasingly multicultural (tanner and tanner 1995). the same idea is reiterated in schlesinger‘s, the disuniting of america. instead of a transformative nation with an identity all its own, america increasingly sees itself in this new light as preservative of diverse alien identities. instead of a nation composed of the individuals making their own unhampered choices, america increasingly sees itself as composed of groups more or less ineradicable in their ethnic character. the multiethnic dogma abandons historic purposes, replacing assimilation by fragmentation, integration by separatism. it belittles ‗unum‘ and glories ‗pluribus.‘ (1992, 1617) echoing tanners‘ and schlesinger‘s thoughts, wraga (1995) wrote, ―it‘s time to recover the unifying function of the comprehensive high school through a ‗common learnings course‘.‖ interestingly, ―columbia university has established a national reputation for its core curriculum, a required series of classes that includes a yearlong contemporary civilization course. students study homer‘s epic odyssey, the bible, plato‘s republic and selections from marx and darwin. they feel the course provides them with a common cultural literacy (u.s. news and world report, 2006, 52) regardless of the educational grade level; this form of curriculum addresses our social fragmentation and multicultural conflict. adding further support, tanners‘ write interdisciplinary curriculum provides horizontal articulation and recognizes the reality that experience is integrated; the school should enable students to understand the complex interrelatedness of experiences (wraga 2007, 92; tanner and tanner 2007, chapter 10). current research has found that students in interdisciplinary school environments learn subject matter as well or even better than do students in subject-centered school environments (vars 1996; caskey 2006; wraga 2009). hoy makes the argument that students tend to learn better when they perceive a connection between their concerns and what they are asked to learn (hoy and hoy 2006, 150; wraga 2009). this complements tyler‘s earlier findings that interdisciplinary curriculum, both vertically and horizontally fosters the cumulative impact of all learning experiences for students through 137 unification of the subjects (tyler 1949; wraga 2009). various forms of curriculum used in the past acquire new names and parade as the latest educational fashion without being subjected to historical evaluation. this type of evaluation is an essential part of the curriculum development process for our school based curriculum committees. for example, historical research supports field trips that have historical roots in the work of francis parker (1837-1902) the superintendent of the public school system of quincy, massachusetts. field trips then and now provide valuable real life experiences for students to learn from and write about. john dewey referred to parker as the father of progressive education (cremin 1964). parker encouraged teachers to introduce their own teaching materials into the classrooms. he emphasized: discovery learning, field trips, the whole language approach, the reading and writing connection, individual expression, conversations about experiences, drawing, and curriculum synthesis (cremin 1964). the current research of preschool education reveals that preschool education helps to narrow the achievement gap between students from different socio-economic backgrounds (hohmann and weikart 2002). this research builds on the research from the high/scope perry preschool study initiated in 1962 (schweinhart, barnes, weikart, barnett, and epstein 1993). writing across the curriculum unifies the curriculum and addresses the current educational problem of an overcrowded curriculum. again, it has historical roots in the work of francis parker (1837-1902). community service projects offer students an opportunity to improve their own as well as other communities. this idea of fostering a better society was evident in dewey‘s laboratory school in chicago and a key characteristic of the unit-of-work approach to curriculum (dewey 1916). our educational leaders need to embrace and build upon the history of the unit-of-work approach to curriculum. too often, educators spend unnecessary time and effort reinventing the wheel. evaluating past curriculum work helps educators to build upon the successful approaches and avoid repeating those that failed. our students‘ learning experiences today are hindered because the dominate discipline-centered curriculum violates the curriculum paradigm by: emphasizing testing and measuring statistical data, developing curriculum without considering student‘s interests, and ignoring the need to foster a more unified curriculum in an increasingly multicultural society. as contemporary progressive educators rediscover the need for a more unitary curriculum, the current educational issues associated with american democracy are addressed. the need for a more unified curriculum is increasingly important—a curriculum that addresses the increasing knowledge specialism and fragmentation and takes full account of the nature of the learner in harmony with the democratic prospect. dewey eloquently stated that the need for universal equity in education is essential to democracy: what the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must the community want for all of its children. any other ideal for our schools is narrow and unlovely; acted upon, it destroys our democracy. all that society has accomplished for itself is put, through the agency of the school, at the disposal of its future members. all its better thoughts of itself it hopes to realize through the new possibilities thus opened to its future self. here individualism and socialism are at one. 138 only by being true to the full growth of all the individuals who make it up can society by any chance be true to itself. (1900, 7) dewey saw very clearly that the form of the curriculum must follow its function (dewey 1916). references aikin, wilford 1942. the story of the eight-year study. new york: harper. alberty, h. b. 1927. a study of the project method in education. columbus, oh: the ohio state university press. alberty, harold, and elsie alberty 1947, 1953, 1962. reorganizing high-school curriculum. 3 rd ed. york: the macmillan company. alirangues, l. 2003. the curriculum paradigm. unpublished doctoral dissertation, rutgers university, new brunswick, new jersey. america 2000: 1991. an education strategy. washington, d.c., u.s. government printing office. baxter, t. 1929. some techniques and principles used in selecting and teaching a unit-of-work. teachers college record. ny: columbia university, teachers press. beane, james 1991. the middle school: the natural home of integrated curriculum educational leadership 49(2): 9-13. beane, james. 1996. on the shoulders of giants! the case for curriculum integration. middle school journal 28(1): 6-11. beane, james 1927. curriculum integration: designing the core of democratic education. new york: teachers college press. billett, r. o. 1932. provisions for individual differences, marketing, and promotion. national survey of secondary education, bulletin no. 17, monograph no. 13: 310-311. bode, b.h. 1927. modern educational theories. ny: the macmillan company. bruner, h.b. 1930. the place of units in course of study construction. south dakota: state department of public instruction. bruner, jerome 1960, 1977. the process of education. cambridge, mass.: harvard university press. brunkhorst, bonnie 1991. every science, every year. educational leadership 49(2): 37. caswell, h. l., and d. s. campbell 1935. curriculum eevelopment. ny: american book company. caskey, m.m. 2006. the evidence for the core curriculum—past and present. middle school journal 37 (3): 48-54. cremin, lawrence 1964. the transformation of the school. new york: vintage books. cremin, lawrence. advisory editor 1969. american education: its men, ideas and institutions. new york: arno press and the new york times. dewey, john 1896, 1969. interpretation of the culture epoch theory. american education: its men, ideas and institutions. new york: arno press and the new york times. dewey, john 1900, 1902. the school and society: the child and the curriculum. chicago: university of chicago press. dewey, john 1991. how we think. lexington, ma: d.c. heath, 1910 and buffalo, new york: prometheus books, 1991. dewey, john 1916. democracy and education. new york: macmillan company. dewey, john 1963, ori. 1938. experience and education. new york: macmillan publishing co. dewey, john, and evelyn dewey 1962. ori.1915. schools of tomorrow. new york: e.p. dutton. eisner, e. w. 1994. the educational imagination: on the design and evaluation of school programs. 3 rd ed. ny: macmillan college publishing co. engler, w. h. 1973. radical school reformers of the 1960’s. unpublished doctoral dissertation. rutgers university, new brunswick, new jersey. epstein, jane 1996. the national assessment of educational progress and educational policy making. annual review of research for school leaders, ed. p. s. hlebowitsh and w. g. wraga: 21-43. new york: scholastic. 139 gardner, howard 1983. frames of mind: the theory of multiple intelligence. new york: basic book. gardner, howard 1994. multiple intelligences: the theory into practice. new york: basic book. giroux, henry 1992. educational leadership and the crisis of democratic government. educational researcher, may 1992. 21(4): 411. goals 2000: educate america act. washington, d.c., u.s. government printing office. 2000. goodrich, t.v., and a. v. folsom 1948. school subjects and life activities. journal of educational research. bloomington, illinois: the public school publishing company, january 1948: 41, 348. graves, frank 1912, 1971. great educators of three centuries. new york, new york: ams press inc. haney, w. and g. madaus 1986. effects of standardized testing and the future of the national assessment of educational progress. working paper for the naep study group. washington, dc: u.s. department of education. hanna, p. r. 1936-1938. building america. illustrated studies (volumes 1-6). society for curriculum study. milwaukee, wi: e. m. hale and company. harap, henry 1930. a critique of public school courses of study 1928-1929. journal of educational research. 21,109. bloomington, illinois: the public school publishing company, february. harap, henry 1931. how to construct a unit of work. bulletin no. 17. curriculum laboratory, western reserve university, november. havighurst, robert 1972. developmental tasks and education. 3 rd ed. new york: david mckay. herbart, john 1911. outlines of educational doctrine. translated by alexis lange and annotated by charles garmo. new york: the macmillan co. hlebowitsh, peter s. 1987. purpose and change in american educational policymaking and practice: reports since mid-century. unpublished doctoral dissertation. new brunswick, nj: rutgers university. hlebowitsh, peter s. 1996. cries of crisis: assessments of the public school in the national newsprint. annual review of research for school leaders, ed. p. s. hlebowitsh and w. g. wraga: 45-64. new york: scholastic. hoy, a. w., and w. k. hoy 2006. instructional leadership: a research-based guide to learning in schools. 2 nd ed. boston: allyn and bacon. inglis, a. 1918. principles of secondary education. boston, ma: houghton mifflin. isaac, k. 1992. civics for democracy. washington, dc: essential books. jacobs, h. h. ed. 1989. interdisciplinary curriculum: design and implementation. alexandria, va.: association for supervision and curriculum development. kilpatrick, william 1918. the project method. teachers college record. 19(4): 319 columbia university. new york: teachers college press. madaus, g. f. 1988. the influence of testing on curriculum. the eighty-seventh yearbook of the nsse. chicago, il: the university of chicago press. madaus, g. f., and t. kellaghan 1992. curriculum evaluation and assessment. in handbook of research on curriculum, ed. phillip w. jackson: 119-154. new york: macmillan. lincoln school staff 1927. curriculum making in an elementary school. new york: ginn and company. mayhew, katherine, and anna edwards 1936. the dewey school. new york: d. appleton century company, inc. morrison, h. c. practice of teaching in the secondary school. chicago, il: the university of chicago press, 1926. 140 morrison, henry 1931. the practice of teaching in the secondary school. (revised ed.) chicago: university of chicago press. national center for education (nces) 2009. the condition of education 2009 in brief: reading and mathematics score trends. 2009. downloaded from http://nces.ed.gov /programs/coe. june 2009. no child left behind act of 2001 2002. public law: 107-110, 115 u.s. statues at large 1425. ohio state university 1938. were we guinea pigs? by the class of 1938, university high school. new york: henry holt company. parker, francis 1882. talks on teaching. new york: e.l. kellogg and co. perkins, david, and t. blythe 1994. putting understanding up front. educational leadership, 51(5): 4-8. perrone, vito 1994. how to engage students in learning. educational leadership. 51(5): 1113. piaget, j. 1950. the psychology of intelligence. ny: harcourt. presseisen, b. z. 1985. unlearned lessons: current and past reforms for school improvement. philadelphia, pa: falmer press. rugg, harold 1926. curriculum making: points of emphasis. national society for the study of education. the foundations and technique of curriculum-construction. the twentysixth yearbook. part ii. chapter ix. p. 147. bloomington, illinois: public school publishing. rugg, harold, and ann shumaker 1969. the child-centered school. new york: arno press, (originally published by world book, 1928). schlesinger, a. m. jr. 1992. the disuniting of america: reflections on a multicultural society. ny: w. w. norton and company. schweinhart, l.j., h.v. barnes, and d.p weikart 1993. significant benefits: the high/scope perry preschool study through age 27. monographs of the high/scope educational research foundation, number 10. ypsilanti, mi: high/scope press. schweinhart, l.j., h.v. barnes, barnett, epstein, and d.p weikart 1993. the high/scope perry preschool project. juvenile justice department october 2000. u.s. department of justice. office of justice programs. office of juvenile justice and delinquency prevention. sokoloff, ann l. winter 2004. the quest for a unitary curriculum. unpublished doctoral dissertation. rutgers university, new brunswick, new jersey, january 2004. stratemeyer, florence 1947, 1957 and 1963. developing a curriculum for modern .iving. new york: teachers college, columbia university. taba, hilda 1962. curriculum development. new york: harcourt, brace and world, inc. tanner, daniel 1988. the textbook controversies. critical issues in curriculum. the eighty-seventh yearbook of the national society for the study of education. part i. chapter vi: 122 chicago: the university of chicago press. tanner, daniel, and laurel tanner 1990. history of the school curriculum. new york: macmillan publishing company. tanner, daniel 1991. crusade for democracy. albany, new york: state university of new york press. tanner, daniel, and laurel tanner 1995. curriculum development: theory into practice. 3 rd ed. englewood cliffs, new jersey: prentice-hall, inc. tanner, daniel, and laurel tanner 2007. curriculum development: theory into practice. 4th ed. upper saddle river, n.j.: merrill. tanner, daniel 1995. the new century. curriculum issues and the new century edited by daniel tanner and james keefe. nassp: reston, virginia. tanner, l. n 1982. curriculum history as usable knowledge. curriculum inquiry. 12. tanner, laurel 1997. dewey’s laboratory school. new york: teachers college press. tyler, ralph 1949. basic principles of curriculum and instruction. chicago: the 141 university of chicago press. vars, gordon 1984. the functions of middle level schools. perspectives: middle school education, 1964-1984. national middle school association, p.o. box 14822, columbus, oh. vars, gordon 1991. integrated curriculum in historical perspective. educational leadership. 49(2): 14-15. vars, g.f. 1996. the effects of interdisciplinary curriculum and instruction. annual review of research for school leaders, ed. p. s. hlebowitsh and w. g. wraga: 147-164. new york: scholastic. ward, l. f. 1883. dynamic sociology. ny: d. appleton and company. watson, chuck 1998. instructional ideas for teaching in block schedules. kappa delta pi record, spring 1998. 34(3): 94-98. weikart, david, and mary hohmann 2002. educating young children. ypsilanti, michigan: high/scope press. whipple, guy 1920. new materials of instruction. the nineteenth yearbook of the nsse. part i. bloomington, illinois: public school publishing company. wigginton, e. (1972-1993). the foxfire books. ny: anchor books doubleday. woodall, t.d., r. m. huelskamp, and c.c. carson 1992. perspectives on education in america. educational research, april 1992. 86(5): 268. wraga, william 1995. comprehensiveness and cohesiveness in the high school curriculum. curriculum issues and the new century edited by daniel tanner and james keefe. nassp: reston, virginia. wraga, w. g. 2007. progressive pioneer: alexander james inglis (1879-1924) and american secondary education. ny: peter lang. wraga, william 2009. toward a connected core curriculum. educational horizons, winter 2009: 88-96. young, bess, and emily barnes 1932. unit of work/children and architecture. new york: teachers college press. zechiel, mccutchen, and giles 1942. exploring the curriculum. new york: harper and brothers. title 55 the arts of life and the moraine park school, 1916-1927 joseph watras university of dayton according to diane ravitch, the reforms brought about by educational progressivism contained strains of antiintellectualism that led school teachers to ignore academic subject matters and to pay attention to every perceived need except the obligation to organize human knowledge. she believed this harmed students because, without reasonable intellectual training, they could not understand the human experience.1 although ravitch does not mention the first president of the progressive education association, arthur ernest morgan, his educational ideas suggest that ravitch was overly critical of the movement for progressive education. morgan was an engineer who had little formal education. although he complained that traditional schools did not prepare children for the rough and tumble of life, he founded a school in dayton, ohio and he served as president of antioch college from 1920 to 1936. instead of condemning academics, he sought ways those subjects could be taught that helped children master what he called the arts of life. in 1916, morgan came to dayton, ohio to serve as chief engineer of the miami conservancy district. three years earlier, dayton had been inundated with flood waters. determined not to let another deluge harm business and manufacturing, city leaders formed the conservancy to build a system to control the rivers that ran through the city. when morgan moved his family to dayton, he joined a reading group with some of the business leaders who supported the work of the conservancy such as charles f. kettering of general motors research; edward a. deeds, who had worked with kettering and headed the conservancy; orville wright, one of the inventors of the airplane; and fred rike, a department store owner. after reading and discussing books that criticized schools for being overly academic, these men decided to open a school for their boys that would prepare them for college while teaching them to succeed in the practical world. the men hoped that the children would learn academic skills while developing commercial habits and ways of thinking.2 the plan these men formed was for the children to run their own small businesses, keep track of their expenses, fulfill the obligations they incurred, and reinvest the profits they made. to keep the business enterprises going, the children would have to master the academic skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic. the hope was that, in the process, the students would develop the personal qualities of responsibility, independence, and cooperation.3 such an idea made sense to men with little formal education who had made fortunes. for example, kettering and deeds had developed the starter motor while tinkering in a barn. although morgan gained prominence as an engineer capable of extensive dam construction, his education consisted of eleven years in what he called a frontier school. these men ran businesses and hired young people who had graduated from schools. morgan complained that the graduates of liberal arts colleges had no vocational skills and the students from vocational schools lacked an appreciation of culture. he wanted to start a school where students could learn both aspects of life. for morgan, this was the utilitarian dream that he pursued all his life. he held a vision of life in a democratic society composed of proprietors of small businesses. he wanted to prepare students for such a world by having them engage in business enterprises where they would acquire the personal and academic skills they needed. by participating in school governance, they would learn citizenship skills. from the companionship of careful teachers, they would come to appreciate the importance of social responsibility.4 morgan wrote many of these ideas on a flyer that he sent through out the country soliciting applications for a headmaster to run the school. he wrote that the school would have six to twelve boys with normal intelligence and good bodily health as students and their ages would be from ten to twelve years. more than 2500 candidates applied in response. when morgan traveled around the country for his engineering firm, he interviewed several of the applicants. in addition, morgan sent his flyers to noted educators. many of these prominent professionals sent letters lending support to morgan’s plan for the school. among these respondents was charles w. eliot, then former president of harvard. in 1893, eliot had chaired the committee of ten commissioned by the national educational association to determine how high school programs could facilitate students’ transitions to colleges. although the committee of ten had recommended that all students pursue academic courses, eliot was so enamored of morgan’s idea to teach academics through practical business activities that he became a member of the board of trustees when morgan took on the presidency of antioch college. in 1921, morgan transplanted to the college in yellow springs, ohio the idea from the moraine park school of education through practical activities.5 the search for a headmaster ended on 7 february 1917 when morgan hired frank durward slutz, then superintendent of schools at pueblo, colorado to run the school. like morgan, slutz disapproved of excessive academic study. for example, in answering a questionnaire that morgan sent to the applicants, slutz admitted he did not spend much time reading and studying. since he was a busy man, he carried books with him so that he could read short passages when he had spare moments. rather than write articles, he added that he devoted his time to public speaking. in april 1917, two months later, the supporters met with morgan. in their discussions, they changed the nature of the school. the problem was that two of the supporters had young daughters. if the school remained a school for boys, 56 these men would support an institution that their children could not attend. this was true for morgan because, at the time, he had a young daughter, francis, as well as an older son, ernest. after considerable discussion, the supporters decided that the school would open as a single sex school for boys. girls could be admitted to a primary division that would begin later. they could work their ways through the grades until the school was coeducational.6 in june 1917, the moraine park school opened in delco dell community. for classrooms, charles kettering donated a greenhouse 225 feet long and 50 feet wide that he had planned to use for experiments on photosynthesis. the school’s directors hired carpenters to lay flooring and build partitions to make the greenhouse suitable for a school.7 named after the moraine, an accumulation of rocks deposited by a glacier, on which the school stood, moraine park school was four miles south of the city of dayton fifty feet from a trolley, or electric traction, line. despite the proximity of public transportation, the travel turned out to be a problem because the directors built a new house in the city for the young children. further, when the students grew older, some of them organized a taxi service as one of the business projects they managed. although the school opened with 33 boys and two teachers, it quickly expanded. by september 1917, the school opened the primary division with 24 children spread unevenly through kindergarten to grade six and two more teachers. according to some of the early public statements, the curriculum was to consist of a sort of project plan. each student would select some business enterprise such as raising chickens or using wireless telegraphy. the hope was that these projects would hold the students’ interests to such an extent that they could serve as mediums of instruction. to keep the number and the type of full time teachers and the school’s equipment at a minimum, the directors hoped that local stores, factories, or airfields would offer assistance with the projects to the students.8 the idea of organizing the school curriculum around projects was popular in the years surrounding world war i. the idea had gained prominence when the massachusetts board of education adopted the model for agricultural education in 1911. in 1918, william heard kilpatrick gained national fame by writing an article explaining the ways that the project method could be used to organize all types of schools. in his search for headmaster, morgan visited columbia university where he met kilpatrick. during the visit, morgan hired a student of kilpatrick’s, laura a. gillmore, to be the director of the primary division of moraine park school. kilpatrick told morgan that, when he read the flyer advertising for a headmaster, he had found the outline of the moraine park school to be unusually interesting.9 with the growing popularity of the project method, people warmly received morgan’s ideas. on receiving a copy of the flyer advertising the need of a headmaster, the editor of the atlantic monthly, ellery sedgwick, asked morgan to write an article for his magazine entitled “education: the mastery of the arts of life.” morgan accepted the offer and his article appeared in 1918. in his article, morgan noted that social conditions had made it difficult for children to engage in real work where they learned important social skills. at the same time, he asserted that most schools forced children to pour over books and to close their eyes to the wonders of nature, literature, and art. to morgan, the answer was for educators to relate academic skills to practical affairs. in this way, the schools could regain a balance that modern life made difficult.10 if morgan wanted projects to help students become more attentive to nature, literature, and art, the activities at the moraine park school did not fulfill this hope. during the first year, the students in the senior division engaged in eighteen different projects that expressed a limited range of interests. these included forming a bank for student funds, setting up a store to sell school supplies, and establishing a print shop for school publications.11 while the idea of the projects as business enterprises was the unique aspect of moraine park school, this model seemed to prevent the students from following aesthetic orientations. for example, in the academic year 1923-1924, the school employed a full time faculty member to coordinate the projects in the senior division. according to this supervisor, students tended to engage in merchandising projects. the supervisor added that, although the students learned about businesses, they tended not to devote attention to art, literature, or music. further, the supervisor noted that the projects tended to serve the school rather than the community.12 on the other hand, the primary division included more artistic and literary projects than did the senior division. the director of the primary division, laura gillmore, had worked in the horace mann school at columbia university in new york city, before accepting morgan’s offer to move to dayton. in the annual bulletins of moraine park school, she used the words of her teacher, kilpatrick, to describe the projects her young students. when kilpatrick defined the project method, he included such things as consumer projects wherein students attended museums and concerts. consequently, gillmore had students in the primary division engaging in artistic endeavors that had far fewer practical applications than did the printing shop of the senior division. shortly after the moraine park opened, the directors constructed a new building for gillmore’s junior division in a fashionable residential section in the center of dayton. shaped like the letter v, each wing contained two classrooms. in the center were a library, a living room, a kitchen, and a shop. attached to each wing were porches that the students could enter through sliding doors when they wanted to do quiet work. such a setting encouraged the young children to read books, draw pictures, and engage in conversation. they made play houses and constructed furniture.13 in 1920-1921, the older women students from the junior division moved to moraine park school to attend classes with the boys. for the girls, the trustees had built a separate cottage with a living room, a dining room, study, 57 nursery, and bath. according to the teachers, the separate facilities enabled the girls to study without being distracted by boys who gazed at them. further, the girls learned home management skills in maintaining the cottage.14 it is not clear how much value the students placed on home making. in one bulletin, a young girl in the elementary division wrote that the exercises in cooking had not done her much good. she explained that her family had a cook.15 although the work in moraine park school followed lines considered sexist today, the female students took part in school governance on an apparently equal footing. when the school began, the students adopted a form of government that mirrored the city manager form of administration then newly adopted in dayton. in this style, the students elected three commissioners. the candidate with the most votes became the mayor. the commission appointed a manager who appointed the heads of such departments as the department of safety to enforce the rules, the department of finance to levy student fees that supported school activities, and the department of recreation that planned student excursions. during the first year that women students attended the senior division, a girl campaigned to become one of the commissioners. she won her office and, according to her teachers, served admirably.16 while the business enterprises were the mainstay of the curriculum, moraine park school offered some traditional studies and activities. latin students read caesar’s gallic wars, and the students formed athletic teams to play other schools. although the students claimed their teams fared well in competition, they sought to approach sports democratically. instead of recruiting the strongest or most agile students, every student had a chance to play. the aim in these athletic contests was to help students to gain physical strength. it was not to enhance school pride or team spirit. articles in national magazines made clear that the moraine park school focused on the development of skills necessary for owning and running a small business. although preparation for college and the development of physical health were important aspects of life, they served the more practical orientation. for example, in july 1921, theodore knappen wrote an article for the atlantic monthly entitled, “mastering the arts of life as exemplified in a new school.” building on morgan’s earlier article, knappen claimed the arts of life were the ten occupations that he found in the report cards issued by moraine park school: body-building, spiritbuilding, society-serving, man-conserving, opinion-forming, truth-discovering, thought-expressing, wealth-producing, and comrade-seeking. although knappen acknowledged that this list did not represent the ordinary way people thought about occupations, he thought they were departments of human activity that made up life. most important to knappen, he found that these categories on the report card told the story of moraine park school because teachers approached the academic subject matters in ways to enhance the students’ abilities in these areas, and the students undertook projects to gain practical skills.17 as moraine park school gained national attention, morgan became an important educational leader. in 1921, morgan won the presidency of the progressive education association. the association had been formed in 1919 with charles w. eliot as the honorary president. the organization dedicated itself to use science to free students from external constraints and to foster their growth as much as possible. until the 1930s, the members of this organization tended to come from small private schools. during the great depression, though, the progressive education association grew into one of the most important mainstream educational organizations maintaining this position until the 1950s when fell into public disfavor and ended. as president, morgan arranged for the annual meeting to be held in dayton so that members could visit the moraine park school. at the dinner meeting of the convention, mrs. milan v. ayers, secretary of the organization complimented moraine park school by observing that, if the progressive education association had not started in the eastern states, it would have begun in dayton. although ayers noted the reforms were similar, she pointed out an important difference. the new schools in the east were headed by women, such as marietta johnson, who worked with men, such as eugene r. smith. in dayton, all of the trustees of the moraine park school were men. although she acknowledged that the men in dayton were intelligent, she added that women had different forms of intelligence. since she believed these two types of intelligence should cooperate, she concluded that the masculine aspects of moraine park school could augment the feminine side of school reform found in the east.18 although the teachers and the trustees contended that academic achievement and college success were not the primary aims of secondary education, moraine park school bulletins expressed pride is the accomplishments of its graduates. from 1917 to 1921, the school graduated ten students who went on to college. claiming these students passed 89 percent of the college courses they took, the moraine park teachers boasted that this showed the practical curriculum could help students succeed in college and in life. despite the successes, the school depended on donations. in 1918, after one year of operation, the student body totaled 63 and the deficit was about $2,700. in 1922, the enrollment reached a high of 206 students with a deficit of about $8,400. in 1923, the enrollment dropped to 172 and the deficit climbed to $20,000. nonetheless, in that year, three trustees, john patterson, kettering, and deeds, built a new gymnasium and a new shop for moraine park school. on 16 february 1927, the dayton journal carried a story describing the unwillingness of two important benefactors, charles kettering and edward deeds, to continue supporting the moraine park school unless the citizens of dayton showed an interest in maintaining the school by raising an endowment of $50,000. the newspaper added that the committee of forty influential citizens had formed about three weeks earlier when kettering and deeds complained that citizens in dayton had no interest in the school. 58 slutz issued a prospectus for contributors to buy. he urged dayton citizens to buy stock in moraine park school to show that they had faith in the school as an educational laboratory dedicated to the discovery of better educational methods. he sought assistance to turn moraine park school into a junior college and eventually into a city college. listing accomplishments including the shop building completed in 1925, slutz described the school as a training place for leaders who came from rich homes and from poor families. slutz promised the school would continue to provide an education that made intellectual and spiritual interests paramount. dayton newspapers carried full page stories about the wonders of moraine park school. newspaper editorials praised slutz as a local resource whose campaign for the growth of moraine park school deserved attention. newspaper editors urged local citizens to attend to slutz’s pleas for the continued growth of his school. 19 the campaign failed. the moraine park school student paper, the quadrant, reported that two principal benefactors of the school had withdrawn support. in june 1927, slutz sent a form letter to the parents stating that the school would close permanently at the end of the year.20 although the moraine park school was short lived, its story suggests that ravitch overstated the differences between the progressive view of education and an intellectual approach. reformers such as morgan, slutz, and gillmore faced the problem of inculcating within the students an appreciation of the practical values of academic learning. although ravitch concluded that schools should emphasize the transmission of knowledge rather than the children’s immediate experiences, she gave practical reasons for such an orientation. she claimed that public school teachers had to improve such academic abilities as the science and mathematics skills of their students for practical reasons. without such knowledge, the children could not compete for the available opportunities. morgan had similar practical orientations. he wanted schools to teach the students to manifest the personal qualities of resourcefulness, dependability, and social consciousness that he deemed necessary for success in business.21 in short, the claims that ravitch made for academic studies were the qualities that morgan wanted children to master as the arts of life. while ravitch asserted that studies of history prevented children from repeating the mistakes of the past, morgan wanted children to transfer information from history books to an understanding of civic administration. in moraine park school, the children learned citizenship skills by forming their own student government patterned on the city commission. in traditional academic circles, this might be considered an enrichment activity rather than an over emphasis on present experience. endnotes 1 diane ravitch, left back: a century of battles over school reform (new york: touchstone book, 2001), 16-18. 2 morgan to lloyd marcus, 29 september 1947, arthur e. morgan papers, moraine park school series, antiochiana, antioch college library. 3 arthur e. morgan, an outline of a proposed boy’s school for which a headmaster or teacher is being sought, {1916?], morgan papers. 4 morgan, an outline of a proposed boy’s school; roy talbert, jr., beyond pragmatism: the story of arthur morgan, masters thesis, vanderbilt university [1971?] antiochiana archives. 5 charles w. eliot to morgan, 9 september 1916, morgan papers; morgan to eliot 27 september 1916, morgan papers. 6 notes on meeting at dayton club, boy’s school, 13 april 1917, morgan papers. 7 norma bixler, “this business of education,” kettering digest: a collection of articles commemorating charles f. kettering’s 80th birthday, august 1956, dayton collection pamphlets, dayton metro library, dayton, ohio. 8 “statement of progress,” moraine park school, 3 may 1917, morgan papers. 9 william heard kilpatrick to morgan, 4 june 1917, morgan papers; morgan to frank d. slutz, 31 may 1917, morgan papers. 10 arthur e. morgan, “education: the mastery of the arts of life,” the atlantic monthly 121 (march 1918): 337339. 11 pupils of the school, the arts of life, moraine park school, dayton, ohio, 1918-1919, morgan papers. 12 the projects: moraine park school, 1923-1924, moraine park school collection, montgomery county historical society, dayton, ohio. 13 frank d. slutz and laura a. gillmore, moraine park school, an educational laboratory, bulletin no. 5 (washington, d.c. progressive education association, april 1921). 14 teachers of the school, self measurements, moraine park school, 1920-1921, morgan papers. 15 pupils of the school, the arts of life, moraine park school, 1918-1919, morgan papers. 16 frank slutz, “an experiment in eductional engineering, handwritten [1917?], morgan papers; teachers of the school, slef measurements, 1920-1921, morgan papers. 17 theodore m. knappen, “mastering the arts of life as exemplified in a new school,” atlantic monthly 128 (july 1921): 87-96. 18 mrs. milan v. ayers, “record of the morning session of the progressive education association meeting,” engineers club, dayton, ohio, 9 april 1921, typescript, morgan papers. continued on page 53 59 19 moraine park school, a prospectus, [1925?], moraine park school collection; “engineering science plays important part in child training at moraine park school,” the dayton journal, n.d., moraine park school collection; “dayton’s great teacher,” the dayton journal, n.d. moraine park school collection. 20 virginia and bruce ronald, school days: an informal history of education in montgomery county, ohio from 1926 to 1990 (dayton, oh: landfall press, 1991), 25-26; lutz to alumnus, 3 june 1927, dayton collection pamphlets. 21 ravitch, left back, 465-467. ima hogg: a study in education and community leadership the impact of informal curriculum experiences: a study of the education of a female community leader in houston, texas linda j. black stephen f. austin state university abstract as a community leader for five decades, ima hogg helped establish major cultural institutions in houston, texas, such as the houston symphony, the bayou bend museum, and the hogg foundation for mental health. this paper will discuss the informal educational experiences of this influential community leader, focusing on the influence of parents and siblings in the period 1880-1930, as a way of examining the connections between educational experiences and the development of leadership skills. the houston post headline for august 20, 1975, read, “miss ima-she nurtured music, art, public service.” ima hogg, houston community leader, philanthropist, and patron of the arts, had died in london, england, at the age of 93. in 1913, she helped found the houston symphony, serving as president of the symphony society from 1917-1921, and again from 1946-1956. in 1929, she started the houston child guidance center to provide the first mental health services for children and families in houston and was involved in the leadership of this organization for over two decades. in her concern over the mental health of children in the community, she researched and developed the first visiting teacher or school social worker program while serving on the houston isd school board from 1943-1949. in 1940, she established the hogg foundation for mental hygiene (later mental health) at the university of texas, which continues to provide information, scholarships, community resources, and training for mental health professionals throughout the state. as a community leader for five decades, she helped establish major cultural institutions in houston such as the museum of fine arts, which now includes bayou bend, her former home. this paper explores connections between the informal educational experiences of ima hogg and the development of her leadership skills. women’s educational experiences throughout history, much of women‟s educational experiences have been described as non-traditional or informal education, education that took place within the family, the community, and through social interaction. this type of learning, outside the boundaries of formal education, has often been dismissed, not considered by some as legitimate education, but only as a form of subjective knowledge (lerner 1979; zinsser 1993). however, feminist writers describe this as not so much of a problem of subjective or objective knowledge as much as a paradigm stemming from the power relations between men and women. the assertion that women‟s knowledge is based on personal experience while men‟s knowledge is based on objective grounds obliterates, first and foremost, the relationship between education and personal experience. the only education 12 that can have meaning is education that is personal. the ingenuousness of an educational process that attempts to obliterate the personal is profoundly silencing (lewis and simon 1986, 464). in looking at examples of informal learning, the influence of family, particularly parents, in establishing patterns of leadership and community involvement, is important to understanding the actions of individual women. delgado bernal (1998), for example, wrote that “knowledge that is passed from one generation to the next provides an understanding of certain situations and explanations about why things happen under certain conditions” (568). ford (1990) also noted the significance of women‟s informal education by describing the educative nature of women‟s activities and how important this was in understanding the human condition. her examples of sources particularly relevant in researching informal education and its impact included church and club records, diaries, oral histories, literature written by women, crafts, and the production of textiles. “social history,” wrote ford (1990), “cannot be understood without an understanding of how marginal groups [like women] have performed daily to support society” (14). education for women in the progressive age the period from 1880 to 1920 was a key transitional period for women across the united states, an era characterized by changes in women‟s roles and by female organization and institution building (chafe 1991; dye 1991; freedman 1979; mcarthur 1998). not only did women gain the right to vote at the end of this period, but the changes in education resulting from industrialization and urban growth transformed the perceived purpose of formal education for the rest of the twentieth century. in addition, the activities of women‟s organizations during this period provided both informal educational experiences for women as well as increased political, economic, and cultural opportunities (talbot 1910). the influence of informal educational experiences on the development of female leadership on a national level during the progressive age was examined by lagemann (1979) who described the relationship between education and individual achievement in the lives of five female reformers in new york city. this work is an example of how education is viewed as a lifelong process of interaction and focused on the combined influence of family, mentors, and colleagues in analyzing the lives and accomplishments of female leaders. although these informal experiences were outside the realm of formal education, they still performed an educative function in the lives of these women. because women of the period 1880-1920 lacked the quantity and the quality of formal educational opportunities afforded to males of the time, examining the informal as well as the formal educational experiences, produces a more integrated and balanced picture of female education in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and helps to shed light on how women made meaning from all of their educational experiences, and, as a result, how they structured their world as a result of their education. a history of community involvement ima hogg was born july 10, 1882, in mineola, texas, to james stephen and sarah ann (stinson) hogg. ima was the second child in the family, with one older brother, william 13 clifford, and two younger brothers, michael and thomas elisha hogg. she was named for the heroine of a civil war poem written by her uncle. she never married and was known as “miss ima” for most of her adult life. she was born into a family with a history of community involvement, particularly public service in politics. her father, james stephen hogg, served as governor of texas from 1891 to 1895, while her grandfather joseph hogg served in the legislature of the republic of texas, and her great grandfather thomas hogg served in the legislature of three southern states (bernhard 1984). while her family had been primarily involved in political service, ima hogg‟s accomplishments and leadership in the community were demonstrated in a diverse variety of other arenas, including art, music, mental health, and historical preservation. while her formal education included private schools in texas as well as courses at the university of texas and the national conservatory of music in new york city, interaction with parents and siblings also provided significant informal educational experiences as well. reference for her time at ut austin? and national conservatory needed? informal education: the influence of family the frequent correspondence between ima and her family provided examples of family influence and testify to the educative nature of informal learning. these letters reveal a deep affection between family members, but also a certain expectation for ima that was established early in her life. for example, on her thirteenth birthday july 10, 1895, her father wrote to her saying, on reflection i can recall but few epochs in my life‟s way that present to my mind equal pleasure to this day-thirteen years ago-the date of your birth. in all the intervening years with each recurring day i have found nothing but pleasure from this great blessing. my confidence in the purity of your nature, in your deep regard for the rectitude and refinement of your sex at all times, on all occasions, firmly supports and justifies my hope that in no act of your life shall i ever find cause for disappointment or regret (3b111, folder 1, james stephen hogg papers, center for american history, the university of texas at austin). the special relationship that james hogg had with his daughter began at her birth. in a july 1882 letter to his brother john, james described ima as “an angelic mien as ever gracious nature favor a man with” (3b111, folder 1, ima hogg papers, center for american history, the university of texas at austin). this fatherly adoration, coupled with unwavering support for whatever ima hogg chose to do, continued unabated until his death in 1906. and, in return, ima hogg idolized her larger than life father, whose accomplishments as governor earned him the title of “the last people‟s governor of texas” for the progressive legislative reforms enacted under his leadership (frantz 1976; bernhard 1984). the favoritism that james hogg displayed toward his daughter over his three sons was quite evident when he replied to ima‟s suggestion in april 1902 that he bring his children to england where he was visiting: 14 now, ima, that dream of yours won‟t work. i shall not indulge those boys in a „trip to england.‟ i should not do so if i had the wealth of carnegie. of course i shall be glad to take you anywhere, if i have to make the boys work to defray the expenses. in other words, you shall have carte‟ blanche, as you have always had and never abused (3b111, folder 3, james stephen hogg papers, center for american history, the university of texas at austin). part of the informal education provided by james hogg was the knowledge and experience that his daughter ima gained through travel, both in the united states and abroad, a practice she would continue throughout her life. from an early age, ima hogg became a frequent travel companion for her father due to her mother‟s frail health, often accompanying her father during his political campaigns. however, as her mother‟s health slowly deteriorated, she accompanied her father even more often, especially during his term as governor of texas from 1891 to 1895. after the death of ima‟s mother in 1895, the relationship between ima and her father became even closer, with ima gradually assuming the roles of friend, companion, advisor, and, finally, caretaker the last two years of her father‟s life. although ima‟s mother, sarah hogg died when ima was thirteen, she often spoke of her mother‟s influence. for example, when her father became governor in 1891, sarah hogg assigned her daughter the responsibility of collecting and saving the family letters and the clippings from texas papers and periodicals concerning the political campaigns, addresses, and other activities of her father, even though she was only eight years old at the time. in 1973, ima wrote of this duty and its educative influence, saying “i learned something about politics, but i also learned to be a keeper of letters and documents” (3b130, folder 10, ima hogg papers, center for american history, the university of texas at austin). in a 1975 interview, ima hogg described the influence of her mother in the area of music. she stated that her interest in the piano began at the age of three when she heard her mother play and tried to imitate her. she began piano lessons shortly thereafter at the age of five and thus began, as ima described, “a life-long love of music” (4zg88, folder “book notes,” ima hogg papers, center for american history, the university of texas at austin). she continued her study of the piano for the next twenty-seven years, first, in schools in texas, then, at the national conservatory of music in new york city, and, finally, as a self-directed program of study in austria and germany (3b130, folder 10, ima hogg papers, center for american history, the university of texas at austin). in 1907, a year after the death of her father, ima hogg traveled to europe for the first of several trips she would take in her life, though this time, to continue her self-directed study of music. any idea where she had money for this trip? she was about 25 at the time of trip, was this unusual for a single young female to travel by herself? first, in vienna, austria, and later, in berlin, ima practiced and developed her technique, supposedly in the pursuit of a career as a concert pianist. but, by the time she returned to houston in 1908, her career path had changed. she did not choose the life of concert pianist, but, instead, taught piano for the next few years, until 1919. in 1911, she helped form a musical organization for young 15 ladies in houston called the girls‟ musical club (later re-named the tuesday musical club), and served as president for the 1912-1913 season (kirkland 2004, 325). this organization was a women‟s study club whose purpose was to establish “an organization for the musical culture of the members and the uplifting of the standard of music in the city of houston” (box 2, folder 1, elizabeth richardson cherry papers, archives, museum of fine arts). however, it was this organization, the girls musical club that ima would use as a means to create an organization that would evolve into the houston symphony association (rousell 1972). the significant role that ima hogg played in the initial formation of the houston symphony is demonstrated by a 1915 photocopy of the registration form filed with the state of texas by the houston symphony orchestra association. there are five signatures of the directors of the symphony association on the document, four men and ima hogg. in an autobiographical speech she gave in 1962, upon the twentieth-five anniversary of the founding of the houston symphony, ima reflected on her parents‟ influence, describing the manner of support from her parents as “parental counseling.” she described her leadership role in helping to start the symphony and how the idea took shape as a result of both her mother‟s love of music and her father‟s support for her decision to continue her study of music in college. maybe need a reference here for the speech, how did you know what she said in speech? informal instruction many of the letters written to ima hogg from her father james and later, her brother william, were examples of informal education that were also instructive in nature. for example, in march of 1898, her brother william wrote to her, apparently in answer to her question about a biographical series of english and american authors in which she was interested, and gave advice about the selection of authors to read. he advised her to “lay the foundation of your taste with the masters that the latter-day, lesser, saints of literature all more or less copy: shakespeare, scott, dickens, thackeray, macaulay, carlyle, irving, stevenson, and others” (2n156, folder 1/9, james stephen hogg papers, center for american history, the university of texas at austin). william also advised ima that “if thackeray suits your taste, you should cultivate that taste by a careful reading of his works-a reading that will make this thought and language unconsciously a part of your own” (2n156, folder 1/9, james stephen hogg papers, center for american history, the university of texas at austin). the focused manner in which ima was advised to read by her brother, spoke to a program of self-directed learning ima would later employ in gaining information about the major interests of her adult life-art, music, mental health, and historic preservation. this idea of immersing one‟s self in a subject by reading everything available about that subject as well as consulting the leaders in the field, would became a pattern of informal education that would repeat itself throughout ima hogg‟s life. several of the letters to ima from her father james hogg were highly instructive in nature, with lengthy explanations of subjects as varied as the reputations of ladies and gentlemen, the political revolution in panama, and the oil business. one particular letter that 16 james hogg wrote to his daughter from england in march of 1902, revealed the former governor‟s decidedly american political bias as he described the shortcomings of parliamentary monarchy. the letter continued on for two more pages, the majority of which james hogg devoted to an explanation of the differences between the american and english systems of government, including a detailed description of veto powers as they existed in england and the united states at the time. the instructive purpose of this letter is openly referred to on the last page of the letter when james hogg advised his daughter, “your fondness for history, i do trust will not abate. a woman who well understands history and political phrases and distinctions finds a welcome place in the center of the best circles everywhere” (3b111, folder 4, james stephen hogg papers, center for american history, the university of texas at austin). the expectation of success without gender limitations seemed to be part of a recurring pattern in ima hogg‟s life. as she recalled in a 1975 interview, “as a child, i was always encouraged to compete with the boys [her brothers] in all things” (4zg88, folder 4, ima hogg papers, center for american history, the university of texas at austin). the suggestion for public service as well as a proposal for demonstrating her personal leadership abilities came in another letter from her father in march 1902. i want you to wield your influence, which i hope may be potential, on the side of the plain people. by all means, my daughter, keep up interest in politics. understand well the principles on which your rights are based and stand by them. know your lesson-your duty-and you can lead or teach others (3b111, folder 4, james stephen hogg papers, center for american history, the university of texas at austin). the support and encouragement shown by james hogg in his letters to his daughter seemed to reveal an attitude that, because of his perception of her abilities, she could pursue whatever interests she wanted, an attitude that would encourage ima to do just that. while the pervading attitude about women‟s proper roles in the beginning years of the 20 th century was predominantly one of wife and mother, the advice of james hogg to his daughter in the matter of subjects such as politics or business, was decidedly different, saying, in the same letter, “when you quit school i trust you will study the land and oil business so that you can profitably employ your fine talents” (3b111, folder 4, james stephen hogg papers, center for american history, the university of texas at austin). lastly, ima hogg‟s perception was that her father and her brother, in particular, were role models for her subsequent actions as a community leader. their beliefs and their actions in the community would serve an educative function in her life. for example, ima hogg‟s father, james hogg, served twenty years in government office as a local justice of the peace and district attorney, then state attorney general, and finally governor. as governor, he earned a reputation for progressive reform, proposing five significant pieces of legislation, all dealing with issues either protecting or supporting the rights and privileges of what he described as the “common man,” against foreign and corporate interests. 17 the educative influence of james hogg on his daughter also extended to the field of psychology and mental health issues. when receiving an award from the university of texas in 1968, ima hogg spoke of her interest in studying psychology and the connection to her father. i selected this course in the university because my father engendered my interest in the subject by his own interest. while he was governor and i was still a child, he frequently carried me along on his inspection tours of the state hospitals and penitentiaries. i heard him discuss case histories of many inmates and talk with them (ms21, box 13, folder 1, ima hogg collection, archives, houston museum of fine arts). during interviews with ima hogg in 1961 and 1967, she described in detail the trips to asylums and prisons, the influence of her father‟s beliefs about mental health, and how, in large part, these events were a significant part of the impetus behind her fifty-year support of mental health services for children and adults. she even commented that she had also talked to patients and had, at one point, thought about becoming a nurse in a mental hospital. ima hogg‟s older brother, william, also served as a role model by continuing the family‟s tradition of public service during the first two decades of the 20 th century, even though he chose business and not politics as a career. his strong belief in public service included serving on the board of trustees for a national organization that promoted training for those individuals interested in public service. much of his time and his fortune were spent in support of various educational, civic, and philanthropic causes (kirkland 2004). the recipients of his philanthropic efforts included the university of texas, the boy scouts, veterans of world war i, the houston museum of fine arts, the houston symphony, and the ywca (bernhard 1984). demonstrating their own leadership and service was not the only way that the hogg family had an educative influence on ima. there were also family expectations that ima would be successful and continue the family tradition of service and leadership. conclusion both formal and informal educational experiences helped define ima hogg‟s role as a community leader. family was the initial source of informal education as father, james, and brother, william, demonstrated the family tradition of service to community, through their roles as political and civic leaders. her parents also recognized the benefits of formal education and demonstrated this by funding ima‟s educational experiences in private elementary and secondary schools in austin and san marcos, texas, at the university of texas for two years, and at the national conservatory of music in new york city. through all of this, they demonstrated to ima the value and benefits of education. while her formal education provided ima hogg with basic knowledge and skills, it was not the sum total of her education. the informal educational experiences of ima hogg were also vital to her success as a community leader. first, interviews with ima and family correspondence seem to demonstrate that the hogg family provided both support and 18 encouragement for ima throughout her life for whatever endeavors she attempted, particularly her passion for music. these same sources also reveal family expectations of success and involvement in community affairs in a leadership role as well, something considered not as common for women in this time period. second, the educative influence of the hogg family can also be seen in the instructive nature of ima‟s relationship with her mother and father, as well as her brother. finally, the actions of her mother, father, and brother also served an educative function in that ima perceived her parents james and sarah, and brother william to be role models, individuals whose behavior she sought to emulate in giving back to the community in a tradition of public and community service. as she commented during her campaign for the houston school board in march of 1943, “it would be my desire and hope to perform a service, however modest it might be, to my community as a whole” (4w237, folder 3, ima hogg papers, center for american history, the university of texas at austin). in examining the actions of ima hogg as an adult, evidence suggests a significant connection between the informal curriculum of educational experiences provided by her family and her actions as a community leader. the instructive nature of the attention and the time spent with ima by her parents, particularly her father, coupled with family expectations for both success and community leadership, provided her with a sense of self-esteem and purpose, a purpose that reflected the interests and attitudes of her family. the tradition of public service demonstrated by her father and brother from 1880 to 1930 would be carried on by ima hogg in the following decades, as she demonstrated her leadership in establishing community resources in the fields of art, music, education, mental health, and historic preservation. in a speech to the woman‟s club of houston, during her campaign for houston isd school board, march 23, 1943, ima hogg summarized her perception of the importance of the informal curriculum experiences provided by her family. the process of education in the individual is made up through experiences as well as through teaching. therefore, with the roots of influence beginning in the home, it becomes a many-sided community responsibility in addition to being a school problem. this, i think we cannot overlook when considering a program for the development and education of our youth as future citizens. these are my beliefs, well grounded in me through heritage, training, and an abiding interest in my fellow man (4w237, folder 3, ima hogg papers, center for american history, the university of texas at austin). this study of the education of a female community leader contributes to a growing body of research on the role of education, both formal and informal, in helping to shape women‟s lives in the period 1880 to 1920 (graves 1998; rury 1991; talbot 1910; tyack 1992). in examining the literature on women‟s education in the united states from 1880-1920, woody (1929) described the informal educative impact of the women‟s club movement and women‟s club participation as giving women “a foundation for civic powers” (467), a theme echoed by later historians (frankel and dye 1991; mcarthur 19 1998; mcelhaney 1998; riley 1986), including several who wrote about texas women and the influence of women‟s organizations (chapman 1993; cottrell 1993; turner 1997). however, few sources offer an analysis of all aspects of women‟s education in the period 1880 to 1920: the formal as well as the full range of informal educational experiences and how all of these experiences connect to the development of the knowledge and skills that enabled women, such as ima hogg, to become influential community leaders (lagemann 1979). finally, by analyzing the educational experiences of female community leaders such as ima hogg, understanding of the complex nature of the educational process, especially for women and especially as education has been traditionally defined, is extended. this study attempted to deepen the understanding of women leaders with a portrait of not just the achievements of twentieth century texas women, but how the personal, the private, and the public realms of education play an integral and interconnected role in women‟s lives, in general. the results demonstrate the importance of analyzing both formal and informal educational experiences, not only as a means of understanding woman‟s education, but also as a necessary component to understanding the relationship between women‟s education and women‟s achievement. references bernhard, v. 1984. ima hogg: the governor’s daughter. austin, tx: monthly press. chafe, w. h. 1991. the paradox of change: american women in the twentieth century. new york: oxford university press. chapman, b. t. 1993. from the parlor to the public: new roles for women in houston 1885-1918. the houston review: history and culture of the gulf coast 15 (1): 3144. elizabeth richardson cherry papers, archives, museum of fine arts, houston. cottrell, d. m. 1993. pioneer woman educator: the progressive spirit of annie webb blanton. college station, tx: texas a&m press. delgado bernal, d. 1998. using a chicana feminist epistemology in educational research. harvard educational review 68 (winter) http://www.edreview.org.ezproxy.tamu:20 48/ harvard98/1998/wi98/w98berna.htm dye, n. s. 1991. introduction. in gender, class, race, and reform in the progressive era, eds. n. frankel and n. s. dye, 1-9. lexington, ky: the university press of kentucky. ford, r. l. 1990. why spend time on women grinding corn? texas journal of ideas, history, and culture 12 (2): 12-15. frankel, n., and n. s. dye, eds. 1991. gender, class, race, and reform in the progressive era. lexington, ky: the university press of kentucky. frantz, j. b. 1976. texas: a bicentennial history. new york: norton. freedman, e. 1979. separatism as strategy: female institution building and american feminism, 1870-1930. feminist studies 3 (3): 512-529. graves, k. 1998. girls’ schooling during the progressive era: from female scholar to domesticated citizen. new york: garland. ima hogg papers, center for american history, the university of texas at austin james 20 stephen hogg papers, center for american history, the university of texas at austin. kirkland, k. s. 2004. envisioning a progressive city: hogg family philanthropy and the urban ideal in houston, texas, 1910-1975. phd diss., rice university. lagemann, e. c. 1979. a generation of women: education in the lives of progressive reformers. cambridge, ma: harvard university press. lerner, g. 1979. the majority finds its past: placing women in history. chapel hill, nc: university of north carolina press. lewis, m. and r. i. simon. 1986. a discourse not intended for her: learning and teaching within patriarchy. harvard educational review 56, 457-471. mcarthur, j. n. 1998. creating the new women: the rise of southern women’s progressive culture in texas, 1893-1918. urbana, il: university of illinois press. mcelhaney, j. m. 1998. pauline periwinkle and the progressive reform in dallas. college station, tx: texas a&m university press. riley, g. 1986. inventing the american woman: a perspective on women’s history, 1865 to the present. arlington heights, il: davidson. roussel, h. 1972. the houston symphony orchestra, 1913-1971 austin, tx: the university of texas press. rury, j. l. 1991. education and women’s work. albany, ny: state university of new york press. talbot, m. 1910. the education of women. chicago: the university of chicago press. turner, e. h. 1997. women, culture, and community: religion and reform in galveston 1880-1920. new york: oxford university press. tyack, d. b. 1992. introduction. in the ‘girl question’ in education: vocational education for young women in the progressive era, ed. j. b. powers, ix-x. london: falmer press. woody, t. 1929. a history of women’s education in the united states: volumes i and ii. repr., new york: octagon books, 1966. zinsser, j. p. 1993. feminism and history: a glass half full. new york, ny: twayne publishers. arizona state university modeling and harvard project physics: integration and applicability 16 harvard project physics: development, structure, and adaptability jason j. lindley pelham memorial high school, pelham, ny abstract during the 1970's, harvard project physics was a popular curriculum used in high school physics classrooms, and sought to change the way physics was taught. the materials created were revolutionary and had a positive impact on the teaching of high school physics. the objective of this paper is to explore the development and structure of harvard project physics in an effort to better understand the scope, sequence, and relevance of this historic project. this exploration will serve as the foundation for exploring the adaptability of harvard project physics to the modern classroom. introduction harvard project physics was arguably one of the most influential physics curriculums used in the united states. although this program is not in use today, its impact is evident in the field of science education, and its materials are still adaptable and useful in teaching high school physics. another curriculum, physics science study committee (pssc) physics, was developed with similar goals. it was used in the 1960‟s, but failed because teachers did not have appropriate training and “the typical high-school teacher is not „a surrogate scientist‟” (french 1986). the authors of harvard project physics learned from the mistakes of pssc, and provided workshops and extensive notes on how the teacher could use the materials to maximize instructional effectiveness. however, the curriculum is not without shortcomings. this paper will explore the development and structure of the curriculum and identify its strengths and weaknesses. although the harvard project physics materials are currently being revised, by david cassidy at hofstra university (holton 2003, 785), this paper discusses the original materials from the 1970‟s. additionally, since the original harvard project physics materials are being used, the paper will attempt to present the validity of using older materials within today's classrooms. program creators f. james rutherford was born in california in 1924. shortly after the attack on pearl harbor, he joined the navy. after the war ended, rutherford completed his bachelor's degree at berkeley, and then continued to obtain a master's in science education from stanford. after teaching high school physics for several years, he went to harvard where he received his doctorate in science education in 1961. dr. rutherford returned to teaching high school physics in california for a few years, but departed for harvard in 1964 to become a professor of science education (lange 2005, 4). the second contributing member of harvard project physics was gerald holton who received his bachelor's degree from wesleyan university in 1941 and a master‟s degree in 1942 before continuing on to obtain a doctorate in physics from harvard in 1948. dr. holton became a professor of physics at a number of universities before beginning work at harvard, where he 17 worked in both the physics and history of science departments (holton 2009). the final member of the harvard project physics team was fletcher g. watson who graduated in 1933 from pomona college and went on to receive his doctorate in astronomy from harvard in 1938. dr. fletcher did postgraduate work in the harvard observatory and served in the navy during wwii. after the war, he returned to harvard where he became a faculty member of the science education department (watson 1990). aims when the authors set out to create project physics, they first put together a set of concise goals for the course. they were: 1. to help students increase their knowledge of the physical world by concentrating on ideas that characterize physics as a science best, rather than concentrating on isolated bits of information 2. to help students see physics as the wonderfully many-sided human activity that it really is. this meant presenting the subject in historical and cultural perspective, and showing that the ideas of physics have a tradition as well as ways of evolutionary adaptation and change. 3. to increase the opportunity for each student to have immediately rewarding experiences in science even when gaining the knowledge and skill that will be useful in the long run. 4. to make it possible for instructors to adapt the course to the wide range of interests and abilities of their students 5. to take into account the importance of the instructor in the educational process, and the vast spectrum of teaching situations that prevail. (rutherford, holton, & watson 1975, vi) these aims contain many of the goals of the high school physics teacher, but then go above and beyond. the first item that was an innovative idea for the 1960‟s was that the students are the focus. each aim, either directly or indirectly, references the students, which implies that they are the core reason for the project. this goes along with a student-centered course, in which students direct their learning instead of traditional lecture where the pacing is determined solely by the instructor. this is now more commonplace in curriculum development in high school physics (arons 1997). however, unlike most courses, there were also aims that include the needs of the teacher, and imply that they are skilled professionals that can shape the materials as they see fit. the authors wanted to make sure that the course they were going to create could be adapted by any teacher to fit their students‟ needs. every classroom of students is different due to students differing ability levels and prior experiences and it is important that the teacher can easily adapt the materials to fit the students without interrupting the integrity of the course. beginning with these goals in mind would help the authors to focus their efforts to create the best course possible at that time. development the harvard project physics curriculum was developed in three phases. in the first phase, [t]he three authors collaborated to lay out the main goals and topics of a new introductory physics course. they worked together from 1962 to 1964 with financial support for the carnegie corporation of new york, and the first 18 version of the text was tried out with encouraging results. (rutherford, holton, & watson 1975, v). in the second phase, the authors examined the preliminary student achievement results, and worked to receive several major grants from u.s. office of education and the national science foundation (nsf), beginning in 1964. additionally, there was financial support from the ford foundation, alfred p. sloan foundation, carnegie corporation, and harvard university. it was at this time that the project was officially entitled harvard project physics. with a great deal of funding for the project, there was a large number of staff and consultants hired. these collaborators consisted of physicists, astronomers, chemists, historians, philosophers of science, college and high school teachers, science educators, psychologists, evaluation specialists, engineers, filmmakers, artists and graphic designers (rutherford, holton, & watson 1970b). in the third phase of the project's development, the team concentrated on developing, and then later, conducting training programs for teachers. additionally, a great deal of time was spent analyzing data and writing reports on their findings and the successes of the course. this is also the time at which the project started to approach the fourth and final aim, which included the addition of materials that would "reshape the course for special audiences" (rutherford, holton, & watson 1975, v). in 1973, president nixon became “disenchanted with scientists” (holton 2003, 784) because many of them were against his politics. “one by-product of nixon‟s displeasure was a phasing-out of sections of federal science funding; the money for teacher training was fairly soon cut off” (holton 2003, 784). this made it extremely difficult for the staff to have a large impact on the education system. after a revision in 1981, the publisher could not envision doing another revision “because of its precarious financial condition” (holton 2003, 784). structure of curriculum materials for each unit within the harvard project physics course, there are several materials. these include a textbook, teacher guide, handbook, reader, tests, and film reels. these materials will be described below. the textbook and teacher guide are similar. they contain the same content, but the teacher guide adds notes for the instructor and questions to ask the class. the textbook was written in an informal style that is a pleasant change from the formal approach of many textbooks. the various phenomena are explored before definitions are given, but not prior to using the technical terms, such as average speed, which goes against the advice of arons (arons 1997, 27). the example problems that are given within the text are laid out extremely well. for example, an equation is given, e.g. “vav = d / t” (rutherford, holton, & watson 1975, 24), the conceptual names applied, e.g. “average speed = distance traveled / elapsed time” (24), values with units, e.g. “average speed = 50.0 yd / 56.1 sec” (24), and then numerical answer with units, e.g. “0.89 yd/sec” (24). the authors have made the process of algebraic problem solving more accessible by breaking the problem into a series of steps, which is then explicitly explained. this allows students to see each step of the problem clearly, making it easier for them to complete similar problems on their own (arons 1997). there is a great deal of history that is included in the textbook, for example selections from galileo‟s two new sciences. this is not surprising knowing that rutherford studied in the 19 history of science department at harvard (lange 2005, 4). the history allows students to understand how ideas developed, as physicists tried to piece together many of the concepts that are now nearly common knowledge to the physics teacher. this is an opportunity to see physics as a human activity. in addition, the authors have included a time line, which neatly lays out the major historical events, and influential people of the times divided into six categories: government, science, philosophy, literature, art, and music. this allows students to get a better understanding of the events and influential figures of the time period in which various scientists were prominent. in the student handbook, the authors boast it as the “guide to observations, experiments, activities, and explorations, far and wide, in the realms of physics” (rutherford, holton, & watson 1970a, 4). the book urges that physics is not to be read, but to be experienced (arons 1997, 29). there are an extraordinary number of activities and the authors note, “you will need to pick and choose” (rutherford, holton, & watson 1970a, 4). however, despite the smattering of topics, the handbook retains consistency. the introduction also urges students to complete any activity of interest, even if their instructor does not specifically assign it to them. the student readers were designed to provide the students with a variety of supplemental materials either to enrich the material in class, or to delve deeper into the physics. "for those seeking a deeper understanding of mechanics, [the authors] particularly recommend the article from the feynman lectures on physics" (rutherford, holton, & watson 1970b, 9). these lectures and the other articles that are considered for those seeking a deeper understanding are at a collegiate level, with some involving calculus. for those that may find reading lectures by feynman daunting, there are many articles involving art, sports, and practical applications. several of the articles were written by famous physicists. this gives, for example, newton's explanation of dynamics. it affords students the opportunity to put themselves in the shoes of famous scientists and read how they describe concepts that may now be seen as elementary. interestingly, there is a paper entitled four pieces of advice to young people by warren weaver (1966) giving students advice for their future, which opens with the author stating that he is aware that those reading this article will ignore his advice. this casual style makes this and many of the articles intriguing to read to students. these readers also made physics seem more accessible to students. among the staff of the harvard project physics team were filmmakers. “there were films produced including an award winning film on the life of enrico fermi” (lange 2005, 5). the film entailing the life of enrico fermi is a phenomenal account of his life and research and includes interviews by other physicists and their relationship with fermi. another film, people and particles, follows a research team that is studying particle physics. this film gives students a look into the life of scientists and also the scale of particle accelerators at the time. without the foresight of the project, this footage would have never been captured. these films are another testament to the creators' dedication to the field of physics. shortfalls and strengths the harvard project physics course was without a doubt a successful curriculum with approximately "20% of all high school students taking project physics" (holton 2003, 783) in the seventies. however, with the advances that have been made in physics education over the past 20 20 years, it is no longer the premier curriculum with projects like the modeling curriculum (wells, hestenes, & swackhamer 1995) starting to gain momentum. however, this does not mean that its components are not applicable and cannot be used to teach high school physics. one of the biggest criticisms with harvard project physics is that the materials often give the students the formulas and names prior to developing the concepts. arons suggests the use of "operational definitions" (1997, 18) that are developed prior to the formulas and typical textbook definitions. an operational definition involves "describing the actions and operations one executes, at least in principle, to give these terms scientific meaning" (arons 1997, 18). students are encouraged to tell "stories" that describe the process for obtaining values for concepts like velocity (arons 1997, 18). this is especially important "since the words [used in physics] are drawn from everyday speech, to which we give profoundly altered scientific meaning, only vaguely connected to the meaning in everyday speech" (arons 1997, 18). the harvard project physics materials develop operational definitions, but only after the formulas and formal definitions have been discussed. this is a weakness in the curriculum because physics terms are also found in the vernacular and "students remain unaware of the alteration unless it is pointed to explicitly many times-not just once" (arons 1997, 18). this weakness could lead students into trouble and not properly address their preconceptions in kinematics and dynamics. in my experience, recently in education there has been a great push for literacy and the inclusion of real world examples in science courses. the harvard project physics materials demonstrate how literacy and real world situations can be integrated into a physics course. the inclusion of the readers for each unit allow for copious amounts of readings related to physics, helping to foster the literacy that many schools are now attempting to incorporate in all disciplines. in addition, the overall majority of examples in the textbook are physical situations, most of which the average students would have had direct experience. the harvard project physics materials do a phenomenal job of outlining the thinking held at various points in history. before delving into galileo's revolutionary ideas, the text describes medieval concepts. this is interesting because the development of science is not often discussed in history courses. the students will be familiar with the medieval time period, but this is a different take on the era. aristotle and galileo's ideas about motion are discussed in a concise manner that would not be difficult for the students to read in an evening. the sections on aristotle and the medieval eras could easily be given during the unit. the remainder of the material should only be given after motion is understood and acceleration is discussed because galileo proposed the concept of uniform acceleration. the incorporation of such materials helps to develop student's appreciation for the ever-evolving nature of science, instead of validating the idea that science is a static, solitary field, which, in my experience, is held by many students. applicability to new york state standards when analyzing curricula, it is often useful to determine if the curricula align with state standards in the area. although the harvard project physics materials were intended for teachers in any state to use, they will be compared with the new york state standards because of new york‟s clear standards for high school physics and because this is the state of greatest personal interest. 21 first, we will discuss the historical aspect. the beginning of the physics core curriculum states that students should have an appreciation for the developments made throughout history (nys, 2005, p. 4). this is easily met by the harvard project physics materials. the materials, in particular the textbook, guide students through the beliefs of society at various points, and explain concepts from diverse perspectives. an example of this is motion being explained in aristotelian, galilean, and finally newtonian point-of-views. this will help the students to understand the thoughts held at various points in history and have a sense of how these ideas progressed. additionally, this will help to foster scientific literacy, because the materials address some marks of scientific literacy proposed by arons (1997). the original harvard project physics materials would prepare students for end of year exams, the regents in new york state. however, with the advances that have been made in physics education research, there are recent curriculums that have proven to be more successful in the preparation of students (jackson, dukerich and hestenes 2008). since one of the aims of harvard project physics was for the materials to be easily adapted by each teacher, the materials are suited to enhance recent curricula. an effort has been made to incorporate the harvard project physics materials with the modeling curriculum from arizona state university (lindley 2010). this combination enables the instructor to take what the harvard project physics materials did best and integrate them into leading physics education research to give students the best possible education. any combination that incorporates harvard project physics materials will effectively prepare students and give them a more rounded view of science as a field. conclusion harvard project physics was a curricular masterpiece. it was the first commercially produced and widely distributed curriculum that successfully incorporated history and real-world situations with physics. the additional readings help to develop literacy within science classrooms. additionally, the creators implemented workshops to help educators develop the necessary skills not only to use the materials, but also to effectively educate students. this training is essential if the teachers are to maximize the materials effectiveness in their classrooms. this model of training workshops has since been adopted by other curriculum developers (jackson, dukerich and hestenes 2008). having personally attended several of these workshops, they are invaluable and the curricular materials would be nowhere near as successful without them. by creating the workshops, the harvard project physics team sought to make their curriculum as successful as possible. the forethought of dr. rutherford and his colleagues to hold such workshops is yet another testament to their dedication to creating a successful physics curriculum. harvard project physics gave students an added appreciation for the development of science. it is a course that altered how all future science curricula would be developed. harvard project physics’ applicability to today is a testament to the authors‟ dedication to the field of physics education. references arons, a. b. 1997. teaching introductory physics. new york: john wiley & sons, inc. 22 french, a. p. 1986. “setting new directions in physics teaching: pssc 30 years later,” physics today, 30-34. holton, g. 2003. “the project physics course, then and now,” science & education, 12, 779-786. holton, g. 2003 gerald holton cv. http://www.physics.harvard.edu/holton/holton cv.html (accessed august 30, 2010). jackson, j., dukerich, l., & hestenes, d. “modeling instruction: an effective model for science education,” science educator 17 (2008): 10-17. lange, c. 2005. mission 2061: the story of science reformer, f. james rutherford. international history, philosophy, sociology, & science teaching conference. lindley, j. 2010. arizona state university modeling curriculum and harvard project physics: integration and applicability. retrieved july 2010, from http://physicsed. buffalostate.edu/pubs/phy690/lindley2010/ nys. 2005. physical setting/physics: core curriculum. albany: the university of the state of new york: the state education department. rutherford, f. j., holton, g., & watson, f. g. 1970a. the project physics course: handbook. new york: holt, rinehart, and winston, inc. rutherford, f. j., holton, g., & watson, f. g. 1970b. the project physics course: reader 1 concepts in motion. new york: holt, rinehart, and winston, inc. rutherford, f. j., holton, g., & watson, f. g. 1975. project physics: text. new york: holt, rinehart, and winston, inc. watson, f., doel, r. “interview of dr. fletcher watson by ron doel,” american institute of physics, (november 20, 1990). wells, m., hestenes, d., & swackhamer, g. 1995. “a modeling method for high school physics instruction,” american journal of physics, 63, 606-619. http://physicsed/ marketing a sloyd curriculum marketing a sloyd curriculum linda morice southern illinois university edwardsville abstract this essay discusses a successful effort to market a woodworking curriculum to an international audience during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries—before “marketing” was used as a noun, much less considered an academic discipline. the curriculum, known as educational sloyd, was based on the writings of comenius and pestalozzi and promoted by swedish entrepreneurs august abramson and otto salomon. its effects are still in evidence today. marketing a sloyd curriculum this essay examines the work of august abramson (1817-98) and otto salomon (18491907), two swedish entrepreneurs who marketed a woodworking curriculum called educational sloyd to consumers throughout the world. the curriculum, based primarily on the writings of john amos comenius and johann heinrich pestalozzi, promoted individualized learning and the enhancement of cognitive skills. abramson and salomon‟s efforts occurred long before “marketing” was used as a noun, much less considered an academic discipline (bartels 1976, 3). by the early twentieth century, the two men‟s impact was evident in elementary and secondary schools and higher education institutions in countries throughout europe and south america, as well as in the united states, south africa, and japan. in 1903, salomon remarked that their curricular principles were so widely accepted as to be seen as self-evident; therefore, the program should be discarded like a well-worn casting model that had outlived its usefulness. its influence is still apparent today. the exploration of this historical case of marketing a curriculum is especially important in light of the role entrepreneurship and marketing play in current educational discourse. in 2007, frederick m. hess, director of policy studies at the american enterprise institute (aei), declared, “to an unprecedented degree, this is the era of educational entrepreneurship” (hess 2007, 3). only two years earlier, henry m. levin, director of the national center for the study of privatization in education, wrote a paper for aei‟s conference on educational entrepreneurship. in “why is educational entrepreneurship so difficult?” levin acknowledged that “the historical record documenting substantial and sustained departure from conventional educational practices is scant” (levin 2006, 4). nevertheless, he urged educators to continue to seek “beneficial change through spirited entrepreneurism” (levin 2006, 29). during the last five years scholars have discussed examples of educational entrepreneurship through growing private sector involvement in american public education. in hidden markets: the new education privatization, patricia burch noted that “education is rapidly becoming a $1 trillion industry, representing 10% of america‟s gnp and second in size only to the health care industry” (2009, 156). burch studied the impact of private companies on schools over a period of time following the improving america‟s schools act of 1994, goals 2000, and no child left behind; she concluded that although companies have a role to play in education, the “center of gravity is shifting‟ such that education policy is now being remade “to fit the needs of the market” (burch 2009, 136). 49 this essay will argue that while the global spread of educational sloyd during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century has been attributed to “the efforts of individual, highly dedicated men and women,” (thorbjornsson 2006, 11) it was largely the result of the systematic marketing efforts of abramson and salomon. an examination of primary and secondary sources reveals that while individual sloyd proponents were instrumental in advancing the program, they were influenced by, and highly dependent on, abramson and salomon‟s strategy, careful planning, and access to resources in promoting this innovative curriculum throughout the world. sources and review of literature in his seminal work, the history of marketing thought, robert bartels connected the development of marketing to the rise of industrialization. new inventions created new products; the population expanded; education and personal income increased; and new social values affirmed financial success. the change was dramatic. historically, trade had been conducted between countries or groups (not individuals), with prices being set by treaty or administrative decision. with industrialization‟s emphasis on mass production, “[t]he motives of trucking and bartering”—which, according to bartels, were not previously seen to exist—were “assumed to be inherent” (bartels 1976, 6). in this environment, trade focused on the consumer rather than on the seller; furthermore, markets—previously thought to be determined by supply—were now seen to be affected by demand. by the turn of the twentieth century, economic theorists recognized that consumer demand was influenced not only by the ability to purchase, but also by desire. advertising and sales initiatives demonstrated that promotional efforts could create desire and thereby increase demand. middlemen (people standing between producers and consumers) were performing new functions, one of which was to create forms of value that, in turn, enhanced the ability to sell a product. in an environment of growing industrialization in sweden, middleman august abramson (a retired hardware merchant and landowner who had amassed great personal wealth) and his nephew otto salomon (a largely self-educated teacher who studied one year at the institute of technology at stockholm) developed and promoted an educational sloyd curriculum that was at “the international forefront” by the turn of the twentieth century (thorbjornsson 2006, 11). a number of primary and secondary sources document their efforts. one of the most important is the theory of educational sloyd by salomon (1900), which discusses the curriculum and its growth. sloyd‟s theoretical underpinnings are documented in the personal correspondence of otto salomon and uno cygnaeus, the father of finnish folk schools and pioneer in educational arts and crafts (karanjola 2006). the 1891 letters of flora white--a u.s. citizen who attended salomon‟s sloyd classes in sweden--provides a unique perspective by showing how teachers across the globe learned to teach educational sloyd at naas and publicized it upon returning home. the delivery of the sloyd curriculum is further documented in writings by gustaf larsson, a swedish protégé of salomon who became the principal of the sloyd training school in boston. larsson‟s books--sloyd (1903), sloyd for the three upper grammar grades (1907), and elementary sloyd and whittling (1906)--reveal the practical aspects of implementing the curriculum in classroom settings in locations outside sweden. secondary sources include the essays of hans thorbjornsson (1994, 2006), curator at abramson and salomon‟s 50 historic school, who characterizes sloyd as an international education movement and details the manner in which it was disseminated across the globe. other sources document the growth of educational sloyd within individual countries. brehony (1998) demonstrates educational sloyd‟s presence in the english froebel movement as well as in japan; herrara (1997) shows sloyd‟s influence in cuba, while henry and williams (1985) connect educational sloyd to the immigrant community in boston through activities of the north bennet street school. the sloyd bulletin, a publication of the north bennet street school, provides further testimony from sloyd proponents, including gustaf larsson (1899) and flora white (1899). eyestone (1992) highlights the enduring influence of sloyd in arts education in the united states. bennett (1937) and cremin (1969) contextualize educational sloyd as it related to other educational developments of the period. cremin, in particular, links educational sloyd to efforts by calvin m. woodward and others to promote manual education in the united states. creating the educational sloyd product it is ironic that educational sloyd--a curriculum created and marketed during a period of rapid industrialization--was closely tied to traditional swedish handcrafts. slojd—or “sloyd” in english—is a scandinavian word meaning “craft” or “manual skill” (thorbjornsson 1994, 1). until the late nineteenth century many rural swedes spent winter evenings making household and farm utensils from wood to supplement the family income. as industrialization transformed swedish society—and work and school were removed from the home and institutionalized— there was growing support for promoting home industries by teaching young people traditional swedish handcrafts. in response to this sentiment, the government provided funds to set up private sloyd schools to develop skilled workers and reaffirm the values of good citizenship. august abramson became an early supporter; in 1868 he founded a sloyd folk (neighborhood) school and four years later established a sloyd work school for boys on his estate in naas, near gothenburg. having recently lost his wife (a popular opera singer) and with no progeny, abramson invited his nephew otto salomon to live at naas and assist him in his work. in 1874 the two men began a sloyd training school for girls. the curriculum at naas incorporated a broad range of studies and a separation of craft work along gender lines— wood-sloyd, turnery, wood-carving, or saddlery for boys and weaving, spinning, knitting, sewing, and cookery for girls. by 1886 the girls‟ and boys‟ schools had merged. abramson and salomon closed the school in 1888 to devote full attention to training teachers in sloyd methods. abramson and salomon had already been experimenting, for a number of years, with sloyd training for teachers. although their initial plan was to train artisans to become sloyd teachers, salomon modified that approach when he visited uno cygnaeus in finland in 1877. cygnaeus convinced salomon to organize sloyd on an educational rather than an economic basis and incorporate it into the elementary curriculum. salomon thereby began a scientific study of sloyd as a means of education. he developed five-week courses for swedish teachers and in 1882 discontinued the artisan training program. in addition, he dropped other forms of sloyd in favor of wood-sloyd. eventually salomon offered four courses for teachers annually--each lasting six weeks—as well as two summer courses for men and women, a spring course for women, and a winter course for men. he called the program the seminarium for teachers. 51 training in traditional swedish handcrafts seems an unlikely point of departure for reforming schools in an industrializing country; however, salomon--beneath his conservative demeanor--had ideas about education that were “progressive, even radical” (thorbjornsson 1994, 2). he convinced teachers at naas that handcrafts were a critical medium for transforming the elementary school and moving away from mass education emphasizing superficial knowledge. while salomon delivered sloyd instruction— promoting individualized learning and independence of thought and action—abramson maintained good relations with the conservative swedish king, oskar ii, and other influential swedes. keenly aware that their jewish family had been forced to migrate to lutheran sweden seventy or eighty years earlier, abramson and salomon wanted to demonstrate they were good swedish citizens. showcasing the country‟s handcrafts helped to deflect criticism that might have otherwise been aimed at their school. salomon borrowed ideas from comenius and pestalozzi as well as locke, rousseau, salzman, froebel and spencer. he read in their own languages the works of educators and philosophers who favored physical activity as a means of formative education. as a result of his reading, salomon believed elementary schools placed too much emphasis on rote learning, and that children suffered from spending too much time at desks without physical movement. the core of education, he felt, was developing a child through his or her own learning. he articulated several principles of educational sloyd: 1. to instill a taste for and an appreciation of work in general. 2. to create a respect for hard, honest, physical labor. 3. to develop independence and selfreliance. 4. to provide training in the habits of order, accuracy, cleanliness and neatness. 5. to train the eye to see accurately and to appreciate the sense of beauty in form. 6. to develop a sense of touch and to give general dexterity to the hands. 7. to inculcate the habits of attention, industry, perseverance and patience. 8. to promote the development of the body‟s physical powers. 9. to acquire dexterity in the use of tools. 10. to executive precise work and produce useful products (thorbjornsson 1994, 4). salomon‟s curriculum consisted of series of woodcraft exercises of increasing difficulty— 88 in all—designed to incrementally develop the student‟s physical and cognitive skills. [(in 1902 salomon reduced the number to of exercises to 68) (thorbjornsson 1994, 6).] the curriculum also included a series of models of everyday household items that students could build from wood. students were supposed to accurately reproduce the models by working at their own speed, with the teacher acting as a guide but not interfering in the work process. as students moved through the curriculum, they increased their skill levels with new—and increasingly complex--shapes, tools, and procedures. salomon encouraged teachers to know their students throughout the process, and to develop a knowledge base in crafts as well as theoretical subjects so they could understand each child‟s mental, physical, and moral development. as educational sloyd began to gain international notice, salomon also encouraged followers to develop a model series that was relevant to various cultures in which sloyd was taught. each day at naas, salomon involved participating teachers in six to seven hours of practical handcraft work and one to two hours of theoretical lectures and discussions. classes were free and offered in more than one language. 52 salomon‟s lectures focused on varied subjects including educational history, handcraft teaching methods, psychology, morals, and hygiene. he hoped to develop the will, morality, and interests as students learned to solve problems at higher and more complex levels. marketing the curriculum robert bartels wrote that marketing was not officially named until 1906-11 (1976, 3). nevertheless, salomon‟s efforts in curriculum and instruction were matched by the energy he and abramson spent in marketing educational sloyd. contemporary marketing practitioners often cite the four principles of marketing— product, price, place, and promotion—as key components of their work. a fifth principle is sometimes added—people (offord n.d.). a review of primary and secondary sources shows that all five components were evident in salomon and abramson‟s efforts to market educational sloyd. almost from the beginning, the men identified the international arena as the place where their product would be promoted. in 1876, salomon and abramson published the first part of slojdskolan och folkskolan (handicraft school and elementary school) and distributed the book throughout the nordic countries to supporters of handcraft teaching. that same year the two men sent models, plans, and a description of naas to the world exhibition in philadelphia. in 1877 abramson sent a series of sloyd models as a gift to the ministry of education in rio de janiero. when abramson received encouragement to send a model to brazilian emperor dom pedro ii, he obliged. as a result, one naas model was used at a brazilian deaf-blind institute, and another was exhibited at the brazilian bureau of education. the following year abramson sent a description of the naas sloyd schools and a cover letter to several swedish ambassadors in europe. abramson asked the ambassadors to give the description to appropriate government officials in the host country and invite them to visit the naas stand at the 1878 world exhibition in paris. in 1880, a german delegation visited naas, as did groups of teachers from belgium, russia and austria. over time, abramson and salomon invited participants from over 40 countries who came to naas to make woodcrafts and attend salomon‟s lectures (thorbjornsson 1994, 4). one of the participants, hjalmar berg, wrote the following favorable description of the seminarium: naas is a good sloyd school, and much besides. it is the meeting place of leading teachers of all degrees and all nationalities, for common work, and for the interchange of ideas. professors, inspectors, secondary and elementary teacher, women as well as men, there meet on common ground as comrades (salomon 1900, xi-xii). every one or two years, salomon traveled through western or central europe, frequently conversing with “international greats” on the subject of handcrafts [(the “greats” included woldemar gotze of the training college in leipzig and gustave salicis, a manual training leader in paris.) (thorbjornsson 2006, 15).] salomon gave several lectures in denmark, germany, holland, and switzerland in 1884. in 1904, he embarked on a long lecture tour through britain and holland and in other years visited italy and austria to study and establish new contacts. he also lectured in the nordic countries and participated in international conferences on handcraft. since instruction at naas was free, educational sloyd was priced to sell; however, participants had to pay for their own 53 transportation. the peace that existed in europe between 1875 and 1914, as well as advances in travel, made this possible. railroads had expanded to link the large cities of europe and north america, and regular steamship service connected europe with the other continents. before salomon died in 1907, approximately 1500 participants from 40 countries had studied educational sloyd at naas, and a few hundred delegations and individuals from other countries made short visits there (thorbjornsson 1994, 4). the establishment of an international postal service also allowed abramson and salomon to promote educational sloyd globally through correspondence. although salomon featured the naas sloyd curriculum at world exhibitions in chicago in 1893 and in st. louis in 1904, he never traveled to the united states— even after receiving personal invitations from john dewey and euphrosyne langley to deliver a series of lectures at the university of chicago. salomon had to decline because he was committed to teaching classes at naas, and his alumni assumed the role of publicizing educational sloyd to u. s. audiences. the fifth marketing principle—people— was an essential part of abramson and salomon‟s strategic promotion of their curriculum. as early as 1885, salomon had established a small newspaper, slojdundervisningsblad fran naas (handcraft teaching pamphlet from naas) to inform handcraft teachers about new models and changes in the educational sloyd curriculum. the newspaper had a circulation of one thousand, which included one hundred readers from outside sweden (thorbjornson 2006, 17). salomon encouraged naas students to write about their experiences when they returned home, and they did so. over one hundred books were published on educational sloyd at naas, written by authors from a range of countries including belgium, italy, austria, hungary, rumania, argentina, cuba, and brazil. additionally, over one thousand articles on swedish educational sloyd appeared in newspapers, magazines, and journals throughout the world. finally, over one hundred naas supporters from across the globe gave lectures about teaching sloyd handcrafts (thorbjornsson 2006, 16). abramson died in 1898, but salomon remained “the spider at the centre of the sloyd web” (thorbjornsson 2006, 11, 17). salomon “received and sent four to five, often long and substantial, letters a day while he resided…[there]. perhaps half of them were sent to and from his handicraft friends on different continents” (thorbjornsson 2006, 18). throughout his correspondence, salomon encouraged recipients to summarize their experiences and problems with educational sloyd, and describe the educational system and teaching practices in their country. thorbjornsson attributes the “personal contact between salomon and the course attendants at naas” as “the key to the widespread distribution of naas educational sloyd” (thorbjornsson 2006, 26). thorbjornsson also cites salomon‟s dedication to the cause, his hospitality at naas, his ongoing correspondence, and the fact that “his ideas fitted with the times” and “awoke new thoughts” (thorbjornsson 2006, 26). additionally, thorbjornsson made note of the “way of life at naas,” with “hard work, interesting lectures and pleasant company during the many hours of daylight, with singing and games in the beautiful countryside” (thorbjornsson 2006, 26). flora white‟s correspondence shows that salomon met her upon her arrival in sweden in the summer of 1891, and that she had contact with both abramson and king oskar during her stay there. in a letter to her mother and sister 54 white described the “exquisitely simple” surroundings of naas. she reported that she and her fellow teachers were in the work room from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with a half hour lunch break. they stood for their work and had exercise in the ling system of gymnastics twice daily. white reported that despite the hard work that was required them, “the rooms are so pleasant and the views so lovely when we look up that nothing seems a hardship” (flora white to harriet and mary white, 31 may, 1891). teachers who returned from naas promoted educational sloyd through existing professional organizations, or created new ones. in 1888, the union of sloyd teachers in england trained at naas was established, along with the association of sloyd teachers in great britain and ireland. in the u. s., the national education association (nea) demonstrated an early interest in educational sloyd. although speakers at the nea annual meeting in 1896 were described as “all male, and almost all administrators” (rousmaniere 2005, 106), flora white (1896) presented a paper at that meeting titled, “physical effects of sloyd.” it was subsequently featured in the sloyd bulletin, a publication of the sloyd training school in boston. in 1899 the nea committee on normal schools proposed the inclusion of sloyd in the four-year curriculum of normal school students. by 1902, an organization of alumni of the sloyd training school in boston featured gustaf larsson and two swedishamericans on its board. teaching organizations to support educational sloyd also were established in switzerland in 1886 and in austria and belgium in 1887. these organizational initiatives were supplemented by teachers who returned from naas and incorporated educational sloyd into their own pedagogy. in white‟s case, she “crusaded” for the inclusion of “[fine and gross] motor activities” in u. s. schools (pickwick 1941, 5). from 1892 to 1895 she taught at westfield normal school where she introduced sloyd into the two-year teacher training course. she then moved to boston to become associate principal at baron nils posse‟s normal school of gymnastics (utilizing her naas experience with ling gymnastics) and in 1897 founded miss white‟s home school for children in concord, massachusetts where she again included sloyd in the curriculum. in promoting educational sloyd in the united states, flora white never forgot the program‟s antecedents. when she presented her paper to the nea she explained: cygnaeus bared his head to child life, and for what was revealed to him strove with all the persistency of a finn, till the elementary schools of finland were reformed and made fit study for the world. herr otto soloman [sic], by cygnaeus‟ side, looked where he looked, and found that to which he devoted his life, creating a new era in swedish schools, and sending forth a new hope to american schools through his pupil, herr gustaf larsson, whom it is your misfortune not to have with you today. mr. larsson is the leader of sloyd in this country, and he has ably demonstrated that sloyd is no finality, no system, no course of models or tools or materials, but such a use of tools and materials that space and opportunity are afforded for the growth and development of the child in the direction of his individuality (white, 1896, 5-6). salomon’s dilemma despite the spread of educational sloyd, it had critics. salomon felt compelled to defend the strange-sounding swedish name by reminding 55 audiences that the german word kindergarten initially seemed odd but, over time, became a household word. some professors of education found educational sloyd to be too practical, preferring instead to focus on theoretical subjects. in the u. k. and the u. s., tradesmen and craftsmen in industry wanted to train their own apprentices rather than leave the job to teachers. perhaps most important, a system that focused on swedish handcrafts had limited appeal for other cultures and traditions. the international interest in educational sloyd presented salomon with two choices: create a fixed, easily accessible system of handcrafts for use in swedish elementary schools, or create a flexible system based on principles that could be applied differently in countries and cultures across the globe. he chose the latter. nevertheless, salomon‟s approach did not gain favor in germany, which had strong and competing pedagogical traditions of its own. although salomon won the support of eminent u. s. psychology professor william james, other prominent u. s. educators (including g. stanley hall, francis parker, and caroline pratt) found sloyd to be too rigid and lacking in opportunities for student creativity. while today educational sloyd is credited with being an important influence in art education (eyestone 1992) and a forerunner of technology education in the u. s. (new hampshire technology education curriculum guide 2001), its support began to decline early in the twentieth century. still, between salomon‟s death in 1907 and the transfer of the program to linkoping university in 1966, an additional 5,000 to 7,000 teachers received training at naas in the sloyd system (thorbjornsson 1994, 9). enduring legacy of educational sloyd in the united states in the united states, a major center of sloyd activity was boston, where naas graduate gustaf larsson directed the sloyd training school located in the north bennett street industrial school building. the school offered instruction to immigrant children through the support of philanthropist pauline agassiz shaw, daughter of famed scientist louis agassiz. (she was married to boston financier quincy shaw, one of the richest men in new england.) prior to larsson‟s arrival, pauline shaw had established nurseries and kindergartens throughout boston to serve the growing immigrant population. larsson persuaded her to fund free sloyd instruction to boston‟s kindergarten and elementary teachers, and by 1892, 23 sloyd teachers had graduated from the school. by 1917, the number had risen to over 400 (hoffman 2000, 364). when shaw died that year, larsson offered the following description of her interest in educational sloyd: after painstaking and thorough observation mrs. shaw became convinced that sloyd was founded on the same principle that underlies the kindergarten system, namely, that the mental and moral growth of the human being must be the first consideration of every teacher and that occupations, whether of mind or hands, must serve only as a means to that end (1917, 1). in implementing educational sloyd in the united states, larsson made three important modifications to the curriculum. he altered the use of drawings to permit more spontaneity in students; he also reinforced salomon‟s assertion that sloyd models could be modified to meet everyday needs of people of various cultures and locations. additionally, larsson expanded sloyd work to include new media such as bookbinding, printing, machine work, metal work, forging, 56 cement work, and furniture-making. the sloyd training school continued to operate until 1921, two years after larsson‟s death. as early as 1903 larsson estimated that graduates of the school had influenced 34,000 students across the united states (henry and williams 1985, 20). larsson described the difference between the teacher of sloyd and one who used more “mechanical” methods: the sloyd teacher does not say, “now i will teach this boy to saw, and he shall continue to saw until he can saw well,” regardless of monotony or the too prolonged use of the same muscles. the problem of the sloyd teacher is to find the tool, whether knife or saw or plane, and also the series of exercises, best adapted to the present need of the average pupil, and also to vary or alternate the tools and to graduate the exercises with constant reference to the growing capacity, the formative age, and to the various activities of the body and mind (1908, 22). larsson also specified the general presentation procedure that teachers should follow in their lessons “in order to give the children a clear idea of what they are to do” (larsson 1906, 3). he suggested that teachers begin by presenting the model, and through questions and explanations, “lead the children to a correct understanding of both the model and its use” (larsson 1906, 3). utilizing large blackboard drawings and student sketches and rudimentary working drawings, teachers should follow the following procedure: first: from the model. second: from model and drawing. third: from drawing alone. fourth: from the children‟s own suggestions guided by the teacher (larsson 1906, 3). in sloyd for the three upper grammar grades--gustaf larsson wrote that the sloyd teacher would be well advised to ask the following questions: first. are the child‟s positions and movements while working such as are likely to be injurious or beneficial to his physical development? second. is he doing his own thinking unprompted and uninterrupted by the teacher? third. is his work so carried on that selfrespect is developed rather than vanity? fourth. is he learning to recognize and to love excellence of workmanship, as shown by becoming more and more critical of himself and of his own achievements? fifth. is he learning to recognize good form and to avoid unsuitable decoration? sixth. is he getting some training in good citizenship by working for others? seventh. does the finished product represent the child‟s own effort, and is the workmanship good, or was the problem too difficult? (larsson 1907, 2). in addition to gustaf larsson, other educators who promoted educational sloyd in the u. s. included charles kunou, larsson‟s fellow student at naas who came to the u. s. in 1890 with the intention of helping him in boston. instead, kunou went to pasadena, california, to establish the sloyd department at throop polytechnic institute, now california institute of technology. one of kunou‟s students, ella victoria dobbs, had a distinguished career advancing the ideas of educational sloyd—as a full-time faculty member at throop, and in 57 supervisory positions los angeles, california, and helena, montana, public schools. dobbs studied at teachers college of columbia university where she worked on methods of correlating art and handwork in the regular school curriculum. in 1909, dobbs joined the faculty of the university of missouri, where she inspired a generation of teachers with the idea that handwork was both an end in itself and a means to an end. educational sloyd‟s pervasive influence can also be seen in a 1910 article in the elementary school teacher, which noted sloyd was one of two systems of european industrial education adopted in the u. s. over the previous quarter century, the other being the russian system of manual training promoted by victor della vos. the article observed, “these forms of handwork with various modifications have been gradually introduced into our schools until today the city system which does not include manual training from its primary grades through the high school is considered unprogressive” (fletcher 1910, 8). epilogue and conclusion lawrence cremin wrote that sloyd advocates in the u. s. had hoped to find a balance between manual work and intellectual activities through the first twelve years of education, thereby providing appropriate education in an industrial age. however, sloyd was eventually eclipsed as tool work moved from wood to steel, hand tools were replaced by machines, and production rather than artistic handcraft became a primary focus. in his final years, otto salomon understood that his opportunities to market the sloyd curriculum were waning. he offered a candid appraisal: i believe that the so-called „naassystem‟ has had its day; it lies in the past, not in the present, still less in the future. while most of the principles have become so universal that they are stated to be self-evident, even by persons who certainly would not like to promote anything that comes out of naas, there is no further need for a „naas-system‟ in the domain of manual training. may it die and may it rest in peace! i will not be found among its mourners. i have long ago lost my belief in systems within the art of education, and believe now only in personalities (thorbjornsson 1994, 9). the lives of august abramson and otto salomon illustrate how micro-histories can add to an understanding of the role marketing and entrepreneurship have played in promoting a curriculum. even though marketing, according to bartels, was not formally named until 1906-11, abramson and salomon were clearly marketing an educational program during the late nineteenth century--using political connections, networks, pricing, and promotional methods to connect to an international audience. the story of educational sloyd suggests that, while the present era has been heralded as the age of educational entrepreneurship, people have been engaged in curriculum marketing for a long tine. given the growing influence of the market in our current educational system, additional research is needed on the historical antecedents of the so-called “age of entrepreneurship” — its processes, opportunities, and pitfalls. references bartels, r. 1976. the history of marketing thought. 2 nd ed. grid, inc. 58 bennett, c. a. 1937. history of manual and industrial education, 1870 to 1917. peria, il: charles a. bennett co., inc. brehony, k. 1998. “even far distant japan” is showing an interest: the english froebel movement‟s turn to sloyd. history of education 27, no. 3:1-22. burch, p. 2009. hidden markets: the new education privatization. new york: routledge. cremin, l. a. 1969. the transformation of the school. new york: alfred a. knopf. eyestone, j. e. 1992. the influence of swedish sloyd and its interpreters on american art education. studies in art education: a journal of issues and research 34, no. 1: 2838. fletcher, a. p. september 1910. an experiment in industrial education. elementary school teacher 11, no. 1: 8-14. henry, s. and williams, m. 1985. north bennet street school: a short history, 1885-1995. boston: north bennet street school. herrara, l. m. 1997. cuban sloyd: history and educational research on developing creativity. washington d. c.: eric clearinghouse. hess, f. 2007. the case for educational entrepreneurship: hard truths about risk, reform, and reinvention. phi delta kappan 89, no. 1: 1-14. hoffman, n. 2000. pauline agassiz shaw, 18411947: a forgotten visionary. affilia 15, no. 3: 360-368. karanjola, t. letters of uno cygnaeus and otto salomon,1877-1887. http://www.jyu.fi/tdk /museo/kasityo/unoandottoenglish.doc larsson, g. 1899. march 1899. letter to sloyd graduates. sloyd bulletin, 2:1-5. larsson, g. 1903. sloyd. boston: gustaf larsson. larsson, g. 1906. elementary sloyd and whittling. new york: silver burdett. larsson, g. 1907. sloyd for three upper grammar grades. boston: g.h. ellis. larsson, g. 1917. “sloyd,” pauline agassiz shaw: tributes paid her memory. boston: privately printed. levin, h. 2006. why is educational entrepreneurship so difficult? educational entrepreneurship: 1-32. new hampshire technology education curriculum guide. 2001. concord, nh: new hampshire technology education association. offord, k. n.d. what are the 5 principles of marketing? ehow money. http://www.ehow. com/about-5084578-five principlesmarketing.htm pickwick. february 9, 1941. girl about town. the daily oklahoman, sec. c: 5. rousmaniere, k. 2005. citizen teacher: the life and leadership of margaret haley. albany, ny: state university of new york press. salomon, o. 1900. the theory of educational sloyd. boston: silver burdett. thorbjornsson, h. 1994. otto salomon (18491907): prospects. the quarterly review of comparative education 23:1-11. thorbjornsson, h. november 2006. swedish sloyd-an international success. tidskrift: journal of research in teacher education: 11-32. white, f., letter to harriet and mary a. white, may 31, 1891. white, f. j., “physical effects of sloyd,” a paper presented at the 1896 meeting of the national education association in buffalo, ny. flora white papers, private collection. 17. white, f. j. march 1899. physical effects of sloyd. sloyd bulletin 2:5-10. http://www.ehow/ mary c.c. bradford’s contribution to the colorado curriculum: 1913-1918 heather k. caldwell texas a&m university abstract mary c.c. bradford became colorado‟s 6 th female state superintendent of public instruction in 1913. she revamped the previous curriculum and published its predecessor in 1918. entitled “a war-modified course of study for the public schools of colorado,” this curriculum was influenced by the current economic and political situation affecting america at this time as a result of the countries participation in the first world war. this article will discuss this new curriculum. mary c.c. bradford, elected as colorado‟s state superintendent of public instruction in 1913, was the sixth female in a row to occupy this role (burlbaw et al 2006). she continued programs currently in place, the consolidation of rural schools and began new initiatives, the plan to standardize all of colorado‟s schools. this article explores bradford‟s tenure as state superintendent and the initiatives she continued and began, concluding with the new curriculum that was researched, developed, and published under her supervision. in her first term as state superintendent (1913-1914), bradford continued the rural school consolidation plan begun under her predecessor resulting in more consolidated schools and improved school conditions for the majority of colorado children. now that the quality of buildings and instruction were improving, bradford had to make sure that children throughout the state were getting the same quality education. she initiated a plan to standardize instruction across the state. on june 18, 1914, she officially sent out the first standardization proclamation and laid out her plan of “scoring the schools of colorado" to the county superintendents. during the next meeting of the state association of county superintendents, the plan was formally adopted and bradford officially called her plan, “colorado plan of standardization” (colorado school journal 1920, 6). she acknowledged in 1915 that this undertaking would require a great amount of clerical and administrative work in her first term as state superintendent. according to the colorado school journal in 1920, “this plan has been called by various school authorities throughout the nation the sanest and most practical plan of standardization yet adopted in the country” (1920, 6). a state committee, with the help of the state superintendent, developed a plan which included grading or re-grading school systems so the quality of education could be compared across the schools in the state. once graded, the schools were given a ranking of standard, moderate, or excellent. colorado celebrated this process and initiated festive activities in nearly 5,000 school buildings across the state (bradford 1915). this initial assessment required educators across colorado to spend time making sure their schools buildings were adequate and that every child had the same advantages no matter if they lived in the city or rural communities. once this was accomplished they concentrated on making sure the academics were the same across the state and that all children had a fair opportunity to learn the same material. this plan was successful and imitated by other states (kelly, saint-germain and horn 2002). 32 in bradford‟s daily correspondence, she often mentioned the benefits of the standardization plan. one positive benefit to citizens that she reported on may 28, 1920, was an increase in land value near a standard school (bradford, pers. letters, 13). she encouraged her school administrators to promote and celebrate this plan within their schools and communities by writing in a letter on september 22, 1922, to one of her school leaders, “may i suggest that a little ceremony incidental to the placing of the tablets often stimulates community interest in the progress of the school” (bradford, pers. letters, 260). the placing of the tablets was a formal ceremony in which the school would display its current grade or status in a prominent place. this is a practice still used today as schools post their ratings in front of the school or on a sign for all to see. in a letter to teachers of her state in the colorado school journal, she explained the requirements of acquiring a first grade rating, the first grade will be issued to those schools complying with the largest number of the following requirements: the possession of a professionally trained or highly certified teacher, convenient, sanitary, and beautiful buildings, grounds and equipment, a scientifically organized school, full length of term, fair salary paid to the teacher, and, above all, to the school which best succeeds in keeping the largest number of school children in school throughout the year, and most affects the community life” (colorado school journal 1920, 6). to promote competition among the counties to have the best rated schools, bradford said that the county with the greatest number of first graded schools, “would be ranked the most efficiently standardized county in the state” with two other counties being labeled second and third (bradford 1915, 30). during bradford‟s second term as state superintendent (1915-1916), school growth continued. schools continued to consolidate and standardize. in her twenty-first biennial report of 1916, bradford reported over one hundred and twenty-one consolidated schools and three hundred thirty-seven standard schools. bradford categorized the different schools by saying, “eighteen are of the „superior class,‟ one hundred and forty „approved,‟ and one hundred and seventy-nine „probationary‟ (bradford 1916a, 7). this categorization of schools is different than the above mentioned rankings of standard, moderate or excellent. research did not give a reason for this change. under bradford‟s new plan of standardization, each school was designated with a “tablet of different color” containing the words, “state of colorado, standard school, and the class of the school underneath” (7). according to bradford‟s 1916 biennial report, colorado‟s plan made a positive impression on other states, with seven other states adopting similar standardization plans. colorado had in place a state committee on standardization which included six county superintendents, and the state superintendent of public instruction. they had a method of grading each school in place which included a score card which, “when the requirements are met, means, even the lowest class of standard school, a moderately efficient school, and in the higher class, an excellent institution” (1916a, 7). one method of promoting and encouraging this standardization plan was to create a celebration each year called the “annual standardization day.” the day was issued by proclamation from the office of state superintendent of public instruction to all the second and third class districts in the state. on 33 this day, a grading or re-grading of the school took place. the fourth friday in each february was designated as this special day with the very first one being held on february 25, 1916. bradford reports that the first standardization day was a huge success with over five thousand schools across the state taking part in the celebration (1916a). the second standardization day was set for february 23, 1917, and bradford‟s wish was that more schools were added to the roll of honor from the year before. bradford‟s wish came true. two years after the previous report was published, the number of one room school houses had grown from an original number of approximately three hundred and the number of buildings was reduced to just over a hundred consolidated school buildings. consolidated schools had grown from twenty-one to sixty-six in two years. standard schools had increased from three hundred and thirty-seven to five hundred and six – forty of those belonging to the superior class (bradford 1919, 8). bradford wrote a personal letter on may 11, 1920, to mrs. w.c. pracht of arriba county, in 1920 explaining a few reasons why consolidation was beneficial, “consolidating or rather centralizing, one school is better than two to save on coal, lighting, etc.” (bradford, pers. letter, 1920, 438). another issue that bradford wrote about in her personal daily correspondence on august 12, 1920 was the problem of children living in remote areas or high altitudes – a situation common in the rocky mountains. she suggested that children living at less than eight thousand feet in elevation should be given a school term of not less than six months and any children living above eight thousand feet in elevation should have a term not less than four months per year (144). altitude would have been an issue in colorado because schools located in higher altitudes would have been surrounded in snow longer than schools in lower altitudes. snow would prevent children from reaching school so schools in higher altitudes were open fewer days. improvements continued throughout colorado. the reading circle participation throughout the state had doubled since the last report and normal school attendance was steadily increasing. bradford wrote, “the necessity for the training of the teacher in service has been recognized, and the extension work of all the state educational institutions is reaching a proportion of the teaching force in colorado hitherto undreamed of” (1916a, 6). along with these improvements, bradford published a new curriculum. in 1914, she republished “a course of study for the public schools of colorado” that was very similar to the 1912 version released by state superintendent helen m. wixson. she then revised the 1914 issue and republished it for a second time in 1916. she said about the revised version, “this book is practically a different volume from that issued in 1914, although no radical reorganization of the school curriculum is here attempted.” she said, “the department is now making an exhaustive study of modern methods and needs in public school education. as a result, not later than the beginning of the school year 1917-1918, the schools of colorado will be provided with a course of study based on the research now in progress” (bradford 1916b, 1). the national crisis of war would have an impact on the next curriculum. during bradford‟s tenure as state superintendent, the united states was dealing with its own challenges involving world war i, which began in 1914 and ended in 1918. colorado schools under bradford‟s leadership used this national crisis to ready their students for service and national aid. when determining how 34 the schools of colorado should handle the subject of the war with students, the colorado school journal reports that rather than ignore the situation or prohibit talking about the war in schools, like some other schools in the a nation had decided to do, colorado used the war as a valuable lesson. through curriculum changes, such as an emphasis on geography and citizenship, the schools used the war to teach their student population. the article in the colorado school journal stated that some teachers of geography “were almost jubilant when the term opened with the european war on; there was current, live geography ready to serve.” along with geography and history lessons, colorado schools could use this war to teach peace, “the opportunity afforded by the war to illustrate and enforce the arguments of peace is too favorable to be neglected” (1913, 30, 19). urban and wagoner discussed the role of schools and the war, “the schools themselves became quite active in support of the war. groups such as the student army training corps brought military training to college campuses and spinoffs began appearing in high schools” (2004, 233). some schools were given financial support by the state government in the war efforts. the government used the schools to teach students skills that would be useful to the war efforts. one example is a school in denver. bradford reports, “denver‟s opportunity school has become famous the country over. originated and supported for years by district no 1, city and county of denver, it has now been recognized by the united states government and receives federal aid for teachers in the following subjects: radio-buzzer service, auto-mechanics, related mechanical drawing and home economics. it can readily be seen that wonderful war service, industrially speaking, be performed by this school” (1919, 7). bradford admitted that even with the opportunity school‟s great achievements, “its highest function has been its power to develop citizenship” (7). she recognized that in other larger towns, such as, pueblo and colorado springs, other schools have been of service by creating school gardens, which add to the “nation‟s needed store of wealth” and “in the child a love for nature and an illuminating appreciation of a practical scientific study” (7). both schools and teachers were accommodating the war efforts. bradford mentioned this fact, “the teachers of this commonwealth have proved themselves the „second line of defense‟ in the prosecution of the great war to end wars. every war effort asked of the schools has been responded to most nobly by teachers and pupils alike and this co-operative effort has made a record for colorado schools that is recognized by the nation” (1919, 9). she shared the news that at least ninety-five percent of all school children and sixty percent of schools in the state had invested in liberty bonds and war savings stamps, and almost one hundred percent of all school children and teachers had practiced food conservation, built war and school gardens and worked with the red cross in the war efforts (9). the schools, including students, teachers, and administrators, all were part of the war efforts. this was a collaborative effort across the nation, issued from the government to the school administrators. the schools were used for a greater purpose, not just educating children on basic skills such as reading, writing and mathematics, but also ensuring their knowledge of useful skills that would benefit them as american citizens, patriotism, citizenship and government. bradford, as state superintendent met with government officials and travelled to national meetings where educators from across the country were gathered to learn about and then disseminate this national agenda. this 35 information was found in the state superintendent reports and publications from the meetings of the national education association. her actions had an influence on the new curriculum. in her ongoing efforts to help with the current conditions of her country, on april 19, 1918, bradford wrote a letter to the children and teachers of allied countries, from the school children and teachers of the united states in response to the world conflict of the war. she wrote, the love of the school children of america is sent to warm and bless you. the protection of the teachers of america is extended to you through deeds of tenderness… we love you. believe it. call on us. use us. let us serve you. the soul of your country is also the soul of our land. we offer our mother america to help be a mother to you, that childhood may be united in an all-everlasting love (bradford, pers. letters, box 50125, p. 293, colorado state archives). bradford, as president of the national education association, sent this message to other countries to show support during this time of distress. she did not take this honor lightly, just as she did not take the fact that she was one of the few female state superintendents in the country for granted. in a letter to annie webb blanton on february 7, 1919, she wrote in regards to a meeting of state superintendents that she hosted a few years before, it was my pleasure some few years ago; to call a conference of women state superintendents and we had a most enjoyable meeting in my office…. at the time there were only four women in the united states. add chicago we shall have doubled our forces. surely this is a wonderful mark of progress in relation to the filling of positions of administrative power and trust, by women capable of performing such functions (bradford, pers. letters, box 50125, p. 462, colorado state archives). this letter showed that she believed that women held these positions and were very successful, growing in number over the years. bradford recognized the progress women had made in filling these important positions and the capability they had proved in doing so. as state superintendent, bradford published the promised new course of study for the state of colorado in 1918, during this time of national focus. this new version, rewritten after a thorough investigation of what was lacking in the current curriculum and after much research with the contribution of many educational experts was influenced by the war efforts of the country. the new curriculum entitled, “a war-modified course of study for the public schools of colorado,” was an effort to rewrite and improve the previous curriculum, which was written under the direction of the previous state superintendent, helen m. wixson (1911-1913) then republished with slight changes by bradford in 1918. this new curriculum was more complete and included the aid of many school professionals in its creation. it focused on new subjects, created as result of the war, such as flag ritual and patriotism. some subjects were deleted as noted by urban and wagoner, “as might be expected, america‟s war effort has substantial effects on its schools. whereas the german language had been taught together with english in many cities with sizeable german populations, the coming of world war i put an end to the study of the german language in most public and private schools” (2004, 232). bradford explained why 36 and how colorado‟s curriculum was rewritten at the beginning of the document, the war-modified course of study, here presented for the use of the public schools of colorado, has been prepared with the assistance of the best pedagogical talent in the commonwealth. the co-operating educators have performed a labor of love for the children of the centennial state, and the department of public instruction offers this service as a contribution toward and enlightened and patriotic citizenship. the form of this state course of study is different from any that has preceded it. its issuance in a series of volumes affords convenience and ensures „up-todateness.‟ the subject matter, of course, is correlated closely with war conditions, and standardization and the examination grades will be connected with the use of the material in these study helps, making an intellectual foundation for community, state and national service” (bradford 1918, 1, 2). although published as one book (bradford, 1918), the work is organized by volumes, each addressing a specific group of courses and skills. volume one of this course of study included the social subjects: citizenship, civics, flag ritual, history, patriotism, prehistoric colorado, and the story of colorado. the second volume included the “tools of education.” (democracy, reading, spelling, penmanship, language & grammar, autocracy vs. democracy, and arithmetic). bradford explained, “as volume one interpreted the social subjects of history, civics, patriotism, etc., in the light of the recent world events, so the present volume endeavors to link subject matter to live experience at a great crisis in the history of the world” (bradford 1918, 2, 3). again, with this statement, bradford explained the reason for this new curriculum. despite the fact that world war i ended as these volumes were being written, bradford continued to keep the same name, “war-modified course of study,” on each volume, she explained, since the first volume appeared the great war to end wars has come to a triumphant conclusion. peace has been won from under the shadow of victorious swords, and civilization has vindicated its right to a permanent existence. nevertheless, the title, “warmodified course of study” belongs of right to each volume of this series, the changes that have been wrought in the living and thinking of the people by the great struggle, „carrying on‟ into the near and even remote future. therefore, the plan adopted when the issuance of this new course of study was undertaken, will be followed throughout” (1918, 2, 3). the third volume, called, “the world of nature and of man,” contained the subjects “that are essentially interpretive of matters in relation to nature and society, including, geography, nature study and science, agriculture, school gardens, home economics, manual training and vocational education, good roads, school architecture, and the junior red cross as a permanent educative agency. the fourth volume, entitled, “special subjects,” included the subjects of drawing, humane education, hygiene and sanitation, music, physical education, manual of physical training, scientific temperance, and fire prevention. the fifth and final volume was dedicated to the “latest and most advanced educational suggestions in high school work” (bradford 1918, 5, 3). it included a reprint of the 37 previously published outline for the four year high school by the department of public instruction, currently in use in pueblo, colorado, and included new information being used in other parts of colorado and other states. the curriculum was divided into junior high school, senior high school, four-year high school course and contained the following miscellaneous subjects, an outline in americanization, military training, teachers‟ reading circle, school libraries, and the boys‟ and girls‟ clubs (1918, 5, 4). the new curriculum was more comprehensive than the previous one published by wixson and reflected the current events of the country, as bradford mentioned in her forward comments. one attribute of bradford that is seen throughout her tenure as state superintendent was her ability to show her concern for her administrators, teachers and students. when granting teaching certificates, bradford personally sent a letter to each recipient. in her 1916 biennial report, she stated that five hundred and fifty-two certificates were recommended and issued. the report mentioned that she traveled thirty thousand miles in the performance of her duties “centralizing, consolidating, and standardizing schools and visiting educational meetings” (1916a, 8). her number of miles traveled almost doubled over the previous biennium. in her travels to these schools, she visited with teachers, administrators and the community. colorado is a large state with a diverse and harsh terrain and weather pattern. despite these challenges, visiting the schools was a priority for bradford. she traveled more miles, visited more schools and attended more meetings than in her last term and still she was not recognized with an increase in pay or adequate funding to accomplish all that she needed to during her tenure. bradford was appointed as a member of a new committee formed by the superintendent‟s association of the nea. her committee worked to improve the lives of children through the improvement of home conditions (rocky mountain news, february 2, 1916, 3). in 1917, she was named president of the nea. her tenure as leader of this organization enabled bradford to make a national impact on education. the same year she wrote a speech for the nea on the subject of the schools and their role in this national time of need, entitled, “the public school and the nation in 1917.” her words were a bit more dramatic and alluded to her feelings on the role of schools in america. the nation was still at war and her speech relayed the importance of public schools to the war effort and to the nation. she said, the title of the subject under discussion this morning reflects the most vital reality in the life of present-day america. to the inflexible test of results it summons the one public institution in which americans profess the most profound faith, and which nonamericans have considered the supremely distinctive feature of the national development. a crucial time is this. how is american to meet the testing process? will the mighty mother of over a hundred million people – america – find her children „arise and calling her blessed?‟ will she prove to the world of nineteen hundred and seventeen that america spells adequacy, as in earlier years the magic letters of that name were interchangeable with opportunity? does she stand as the incarnate will to righteousness of all humanity and the incarnate will to sacrifice for all mankind? does the fluttering of her flags on blood stained soil of france mean the beating of pulses in over a hundred million american 38 bodies – that beating attuned to the victorious music of mankind arising from the sepulcher of dead traditions and moldering governmental and social forms into the sunlight of a rehabilitated world? if so, it will be because the american public school has, in some degree at least, fulfilled the august task confided to it by the commands of democratic government. and if, after this great war to end wars shall be over, america functions as the supreme idealistic force in the reorganization of the world, it will be because the public schools of nineteen seventeen have given to the people of the nation a higher vision than the world has ever before seen (bradford 1917, 233). bradford then outlined the tasks that the schools should make in this effort, “the great task of the public school of nineteen seventeen is the mighty effort which must be made by the school people of today” (1917, 234). she first suggested that schools should continue to, “demonstrate the sacredness of the intellectual integrity of the nation.” this point meant that the country needed to continue to show the world that it is intelligent and full of honor, qualities that it has always portrayed. this could be done by exemplifying quality education and providing a good model for the rest of the world. her suggestion was for the schools to keep this in mind as they were teaching the children, making this the end goal, by providing innovative curriculum, quality school facilities, and graduating the majority of students. next, she said that schools need, “to hold aloft the standard of straight thinking.” this point suggested that schools should continue to keep high standards of thought in the curriculum, not swaying from this purpose and keeping a strong work ethic as she next suggested that schools continue, “incessant and consecrated work.” she also pointed out that schools need to teach the present curriculum and focus on national goals of americanization and citizenship and she recognized the importance of having the support of the government by telling school administrators to “point out the necessity of the incorporation of mighty loving in the legislation,” which would ensure legislative and financial support (1917, 234). she said a new vision was needed including a “vision that reveals to itself as the molder of the soul of the nation in the likeness of the ideal humanity, so to fit the framework of educational activities that the translation of the ideal republic into the terms of practical democratic living may speedily and beautifully be made more effective” (bradford 1917, 234). she then challenged the representatives of the school people attending this meeting of the nea to offer themselves “to the nation as one unit in the great army of those who stand ready to give all to the nation‟s summons” and “as the body of people to whom is confided the guarding of the grail of future citizenship let us urge the president of the republic to use in some unified, direct way in the present national crisis” (234). finally in this speech, bradford called the public school of 1917 the “casket of the grail” and she called the school people its “bodyguard.” challenging everyone, “let us examine ourselves searchingly and fit ourselves reverently for the high enterprise of keeping safe and stainless the cup containing the draught commingled of thought and work and love, the immortal draught without which the national ideals must perish” (1917, 234). her interpretation of the schools as the “casket” or keeper of the grail is an interesting analogy, one which provokes a rich response upon hearing the words. the statement also reflected her religious beliefs by including words 39 that pertained to religion. her family history included several religious officials, as noted in chapter ii, and her upbringing and marriage prove she was a religious person, which could be seen in her references to religious figures and objects in her writing. she gave the speech to educators across the country and her passion for education and the role that it holds in society is evident in her words. bradford‟s outstanding reputation in education and with the war effort was recognized through different roles outside of her office. during the war she was a member of “captain of hoover‟s legion of life for the state of colorado” and a member of the national thrift committee and vice-chairman of thrift activities in colorado. president wilson called her to washington in january of 1918 to attend the first conference for inaugurating the junior red cross. she went to washington d.c. nine times to attend educational conferences and she served as a member of the national education commission on the emergency in education (colorado school journal, 1920, 6). in 1921, the government put forth a bill, the smith-towner bill, which would for the first time create a federal department of education with a secretary serving in the presidential cabinet. bradford was mentioned in the press as a possible candidate for this cabinet position. when asked her opinion on whether there should be a demand for a woman secretary of education, she said, whether a man or woman fills this important position is of small moment. it has been said one reason women have lent their adherence to the creation of the department of education is that they intend to urge the appointment of a woman as the first secretary of education. personally, i do not believe this is so. while all the thinking women would be glad to see as first appointee a woman fitted by nature, training and experience, to discharge the functions of such an office, yet i do not believe that this hope has motivated the action of the hundreds of thousands of american women who have indorsed the bill. it is my hope that the bill will be enacted into law and that the first secretary of education, whether man or woman, may be ideally fitted to serve the nation (denver times, february 23, 1920). the smith-towner bill was not passed in congress during the next session but the recommendation of bradford to this important position gave credence to her importance and value as an educator. simply being considered for the position on the president of the united states‟ cabinet was recognition of her popularity and reputation. in her role as state superintendent and as president of the nea, bradford knew many important educators. on august 4, 1917, she wrote a letter to texas state superintendent of public instruction, annie webb blanton, accepting an invitation to speak in waco, texas (box 50125, p. 8). she also wrote letters requesting guest speakers for the upcoming 1918 convention of the nea. on august 22, 1917, she wrote a letter to chicago superintendent, ella flagg young, former nea president (the first women to be elected to this position) and progressive educator, requesting her to speak at the convention (9). she also requested the presence of dr. granville stanley hall (12), esteemed psychologist, william c. bagley, known as one of the founding fathers of essentialism (27), dr. m.l. burton, president of the university of minnesota, dr. w.a. jessup, president of the university of iowa, 40 dr. parson smith, commissioner of education of boston, the honorable j.h. finley, commissioner of education of albany, new york, and many other educational experts across the country. she called upon others to submit names of potential speakers and asked that they find speakers who represent the different views of major organizations within the country. for example she wanted, the secretary of the army to discuss “the role of the american army in education,” the secretary of treasury to discuss, “the financial aspect of the war,” different senators to discuss, “how state governments view education,” and she also wanted the speaker of the house, the secretary of the interior and the secretary of labor to discuss their office‟s views on education (bradford, pers. letters, 1917, box 50125, colorado state archives). on september 24, 1917, she received a response from the u.s. speaker of the house, declining her invitation to attend the national convention, and her response to him was, “you know the saying that „when a woman will she will, and when she won‟t she won‟t, and i have just made up my mind that i won‟t take no as an answer from you.” on december 19, 1917, bradford received a letter that ella flagg young would not speak but would attend. bradford responded delightfully, “wherever ella flagg young sits at an educational conference; she will be at the head of the table! the very fact that you will be at the pittsburgh gathering will tend to make the meeting a success” (bradford, pers. letters, box 50125, 131, colorado state archives). flagg was considered was an influential educator, studied under john dewey and dedicated her life to improving education in the united states, publishing on various educational topics including, literature, peace and ethics. her letters show other activities she was involved in during this time, including a response she wrote to dr. j. l. mcbrien, school extension agent for the bureau of education, and “thank you for the suggestions in reference to the use of the one hundred million dollars of federal aid for the improvement of rural schools about which we are dreaming…. by the way, this is a dream we intend to make come true.” on february 5, 1918, she wrote a letter to the school superintendents advising them to have two lessons per week, lasting not less than ten minutes, on the “humane treatment to animals.” on february 9, 1918, she wrote a letter to dr. r.w. corwin, chief surgeon of the minnequa hospital in pueblo, colorado. she asks his opinion on textbooks including one called, “elementary hygiene.” bradford dedicated her life to improving the lives of colorado‟s children through their education. her six terms as state superintendent gave her the power to make major improvements in education. consolidating rural schools and through her state plan of standardization, she insured that the children of colorado would have equal school experiences and new opportunities. the 1918 curriculum published by bradford demonstrated a thorough and intricate new learning program that reflected the state of the country at this time – dealing with the affects and consequences of world war i, and was a more expansive and progressive model than those published before. she spent countless hours traveling the state to personally see the conditions of the schools and she traveled across the country meeting with politicians and educators to advocate for education across the nation. in her 1917 speech mentioned above (1917, 234), she challenged the country to be the “bodyguard” of its schools – bradford knew what this meant, as she used her position as colorado‟s state superintendent of public instruction to be the 41 bodyguard of colorado‟s children and their schools. references bradford, m. c. c. (1915). twentieth biennial report of the state superintendent of public instruction for the official period ending 1914. denver, co: smith-brooks printing company. bradford, m.c.c. (1916a). twenty-first biennial report of the state superintendent of public instruction. denver, co: state superintendent of public instruction, state ofcolorado. bradford, m.c.c. (1916b). a course of study for the public schools of colorado. denver, co: eames bros. bradford, m.c.c. (1917). the public school and the nation in 1917. address at the annual meeting of the national education association, portland, or, july 7-14. bradford, m.c.c. (1917-1919). personal letters. denver, co: state of colorado archives, box 50125. bradford, m.c.c. (1918). a war-modified course of study for the public schools of colorado. denver: eames bros. bradford, m.c.c. (1919).twenty-second biennial report of the state superintendent of public instruction for the official period ending 1918. denver: eames brothers. bradford, mary c.c. 1920-1922. personal communication. denver, co: state of colorado archives. burlbaw, lynn m., heather k. caldwell, jennifer maldonado-castillo, and michelle f. merricks. (2006). "female chief state school officers. the field in 2005." american educational history journal, 33(2) 147-155. colorado school journal. (1913). letters to teachers, 29, 10-11. colorado school journal. (1920). mrs. mary c.c. bradford. 36, 6-7. kelly, r. m., m. a. saint-germain, and j. d. horn. (2002). "female public officials: a different voice?" annals of the american academy of political and social science, 515, 77-87. urban, w. j, & wagoner, j.l. (2004). american education: a history. 3 rd ed. boston: mcgraw hill. publication draft – ssch – 2004 intended practice: the curriculum at the massachusetts reformatory for women, 1932-1957 dominique t. chlup texas a&m university abstract: this paper discusses the role of women inmates as historical agents active in curriculum development at the massachusetts reformatory for women at framingham during the 1930s, 40, and 50s. explored are the educational programs and practices established for and by women inmates in the era of reformatory-prisons. the historical legacy of these programs and practices are then discussed in view of the lack of contemporary programming available at mci-framingham. ann’s1 eyes skimmed the catalog’s course offerings…journalism, playwriting, psychology, biology, piano lessons, beginner’s english. her eyes widened as she thought of all of the possibilities. how would she find the time to take them all? rivaling the curriculum to be found at any of the women’s colleges located throughout the northeast, this particular institution prided itself on the fact that it was modeled after one of the oldest and most prestigious of women’s colleges in massachusetts— wellesley college, which was chartered in 1870 and opened its doors in 1875. only this institution was not a school in the traditional sense. rather it was the massachusetts reformatory for women at framingham.2 the school ann was readying herself to enter the next morning was a prison school. of the eighteen prison-reformatories opened for women between 1877 and 1933 in the united states, framingham was one of the most committed to providing educational programs for its inmates. in a criminal justice system where a gendered application of the law was in effect that disproportionately arrested women and girls for crimes against morality, the unique educational programs and practices implemented by superintendent dr. miriam van waters, the staff, and the inmates, themselves, allowed the justice these women received to be an educative one.3 educative justice meant that the women could step outside of their role of gendered “prisoner” and participate in the role of academic learner. it was the intended practice of the prison superintendent and staff to foster an environment where inmates could participate in the role of academic learner. historically, with a few exceptions, the portrayal of prisons and women’s experiences in those prisons has been bleak. early women’s prison histories claim that educational programs were one of the few places of inspiration and genuine good work in women’s reformatories. contemporary women’s prison histories debate this finding and revise the historical lens through which we look at prisons. i believe that the legacy of the women’s reformatories is complicated and complex enough to allow for both of these histories. i maintain that while the early histories may have focused too narrowly on the “good” intentions of educational programs, later histories focus too narrowly on the negative outcomes of the “good” intentions. i would argue that the history of the women’s reformatory movement is a rather complex and complicated one, and it is only by investigating both the transformative experiences women had in the reformatories and the limitations of those experiences that a comprehensive portrait of women’s reformatories begins to develop. when the first women’s prison opened in the united states in the 1870s, education was valued as the tool to be used toward reformation and rehabilitation.4 curiously, despite the indication that education was uniquely at the foundation of women’s penal reform, no modern scholarship has been devoted to this topic. in light of this neglect, this paper explores the nexus between the era of women’s prison reform and the subsequent curriculum development. it was these programs which intentionally allowed for the practice of inmates to initiate and contribute to the prison curriculum. the central research questions this paper addresses are: what input did student inmates have on the curriculum at the reformatory, what educational ideas did they articulate, and how were students able to initiate and respond to the development of their education? the historical legacy of these programs and practices are then discussed in view of the lack of contemporary programming available at mci-framingham.5 this paper is based on a historical study and as such relies on methods of historical inquiry. this study is based on the manuscript collections at the schlesinger library (radcliffe institute for advanced study) of framingham reformatory’s superintendent dr. miriam van waters, framingham prison art teacher amy paddon row, and prison staff member anna spicer gladding. i use both primary and secondary sources to explore my research questions. primary sources include empirical studies conducted by social scientists during the time period, published newspaper accounts of framingham, selected articles from the journal of correctional education (19492004), periodicals, including prisoner produced periodicals, and archival sources such as class reports, student-inmate reports, library holdings, prison policy reports, newspaper accounts, the writings of individual prisoners, and 2,699 inmate case files held at the mass state archives. secondary sources i consulted, which provide a larger context for my study include the biographies of the female superintendents of women’s prisons, literature on the history of prison education, literature on the history the women’s prison reform movement, literature on the history of delinquency 8 and rehabilitation of women and girls, and the literature on progressive era social reforms. this historical study is significantly different in its focus from previous scholarship on prison reform as it is focuses on women and girls’ prison education programs and looks at the work and lives and roles of student inmates who both shaped and were the subjects of progressive educational ideals and reforms. although a number of historians and legal scholars have studied the history of prisons and prison reform in the united states, in 1935, the framingham superintendent’s report documented that out of 296 women inmates 250 were enrolled in the voluntary school classes. 6 no one has yet examined the curriculum in these all-female institutions from the prisoners’ point of view or investigated the role played by prisoners in the outcome of particular reforms. thus far, the literature often reduces prisoners to passive beings who benefited from reformer’s humanitarianism or suffered at the hands of anti-educational forces; little of it investigates the consciousness of prisoners and the consequential effects on educational programming.7 my research in this area suggests that the educational programs at the framingham reformatory were progressing in vital and important ways late into the 1950s, over twenty years after prison historians claimed that the prison reform movement had exhausted itself. while reformatory-prisons are often deemed to have remained prisons at heart,8 the framingham reformatory’s educational classrooms were spaces in which inmates could “forget lock and key” and operate as students rather than inmates. the director of the boston children’s museum wrote of one classroom at the massachusetts reformatory for women as a place where they “forgot time and locks” and found “inspiration and real encouragement to try again.”9 the framingham reformatory for women was seen as a “place, not for punishment, but for reformation, training, and treatment. a place of comfort and dignity, where discipline is tempered with kindness and understanding.”10 in 1870, at the cincinnati national prison congress, governor rutherford b. hayes [later the 19th president of the united states] welcomed a host of 130 wardens, chaplains, judges, and humanitarians to ohio to begin the work that in essence would later be termed the beginning of this country’s reformatory movement.11 the national prison congress, which would later change its name in 1955 to the american correction association, first convened in order to professionalize prison management and encourage humane prison conditions. another one of its purposes was “to transform prisons into schools.” the delegates adopted a “declaration of principles.” principle ten dealt specifically with correctional education. x. education is a vital force in the reformation of fallen men and women. its tendency is to quicken the intellect, inspire self-respect, excite to higher aims, and afford a healthful substitute for low and vicious amusements. education is therefore, a matter of primary importance in prisons, and should be carried to the utmost extent consistent with the other purposes of such institutions.12 13 by 1940, twenty-six classes were offered. this number would continue to grow into the late 1950s and included classes in the visual arts, beginners’ english, poetry, biology, typing, bible study, metal craft, arithmetic, folk dancing, and a biography class run by the superintendent’s mother.14 this did not include the correspondence courses, which were procured for the university extension division of the state department of education, and at one time 50 classes alone were being offered in this way, nor did it include the various clubs.15 all of the clubs met weekly and were designated for specific purposes. for instance, the 36 members of the merry makers club were all african americans, whose purpose in meeting was to “encourage the interest of the members in the leaders in their race—books are read about the lives of outstanding [negro] men and women.”16 other clubs included the garden club, glee club, barn club, parole club, the two-sided club,17 the good fellowship club, the mothercraft club, junior council, and the birthday club, which threw a birthday party for all the women in the institution who celebrated a birthday during that month. another group of students comprised the editorial board of the harmony news, which was the student run periodical that was in operation for over twenty years. the subscription base extended beyond the reformatory as many community members also subscribed to the news magazine. in a span of twentyfive years [1932-1957], 90 different classes would be offered and 14 different clubs. when framingham opened its doors in 1877, it only met some of the original goals of the prison reform movement. rather than cottage-like housing facilities, which reformers advocated, a large stone edifice adorned the center of the thirty acres of land designated for buildings.18 inmates were prohibited from talking at all, and if they passed another inmate in the corridor, “one of the two had to stand and face the wall with her arm over her eyes until the other had passed.”19 framingham, also called sherborn because its land spilt over into the town of sherborn, was located thirty miles west of boston in a pastoral setting on 333 acres of land; this met with the reformers’ approval.20 when the reformatory first opened, other conditions also met with the reformers approval. the windows had no bars, white linens adorned the mattresses, and women who earned privileges were 9 allowed to decorate their cells. but the most unique feature was the nursery, where infants brought with their mothers or born while their mother was at the institution stayed until they were two. while reformatory nurseries did exist elsewhere in the country, few were as well-known as framingham’s. the administration considered framingham to be a child-centered institution where “parent-education [was] not limited to the mother-child relationship, but included individual development and achievement.”21 the legacy of the moral reform campaign against prostitution was still in effect during the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, as it was these crimes against chastity that many unwed mothers and pregnant girls had been locked up for committing; these were crimes for which their male partners never received penalties. recognizing that a gendered application of the law, which linked women’s deviancy and criminality to their sexuality in a way that men’s was not, the academic educational programs and practices at framingham did allow women the opportunity to develop and foster a gender consciousness that operated outside of the normed prison system. in large part, this was accomplished by the studentinmates, themselves, who initiated and contributed to the educational curriculum. in conjunction with the prison staff and superintendent miriam van waters, the inmates had the possibility to make their time at framingham educative. dr. miriam van waters accepted the superintendency of framingham in 1932 and stayed for 25 years, the longest tenure of any female superintendent before or since. thought to resemble a college president more than a prison warden,22 she sought to reframe institutional life by suggesting that the institution was a school—albeit a reformatory— rather than a prison. one of the most impressive ways in which she accomplished this was by calling her first assembly to inform the prisoners that she was changing their collective title from “women,” the term the former superintendent hodder had used, to the term “students.” she officially banned the term “prisoner.”23 the students at framingham often spoke glowingly of the educational opportunities they were afforded at the reformatory. one inmate whose piece “frustration, or…” appeared in the harmony news, framingham’s student-run and produced news magazine and literary journal (the piece was then reprinted in the men’s prison magazine agricola) described how the reformatory acted as place where she could receive an education that she would not have received otherwise. now that i am here, i have completed a short story course, two years of english, and a short course in basic psychiatry. i would never have taken the time to do this outside, and through doing these things, i have found that i can do things i never knew i could do.24 another inmate in a letter entitled, “for my daughter when she reaches an age of understanding,” iterated the importance of passing on the value of education. she stressed the need for her daughter not to take for granted her early schooling since this would teach her right from wrong and respect for others. she advised her to pick friends who she would be proud to bring home and to “stay away from the ones that have no ambition and don’t like school.”25 since the educational programs were not compulsory, except for in the cases of illiterates, the education department was proud that they maintained an average of 75-80% of all the women participating in some portion of the program.26 foreign students were not the only ones found to be illiterate, but so were the younger girls “whose migratory families have been unable or unwilling to keep them in schools.”27 given the variety of choices, it was easy for inmates to find at least one course they wanted to take. the curriculum was not set, but instead, director weinberg changed the classes from year-to year based on student interest and teaching staff availability.28 what was consistent from year-to-year was the value placed on education: “we stress education from the time of the introductory class, which is a form of orientation while students are in isolation, until the day the student leaves the institution.”29 not only was education in terms of classes stressed, but the department endeavored “to use all of the teaching potentialities of our staff and student body, thus providing a well rounded, integrated program of wide variety.”30 this meant that inmates did teach their own classes. for example, one inmate taught a painting on glass class. not only was it an educational endeavor, it was a profitable one as the inmates sold their own wares: “the activity is set up on the same financial basis as the weaving; that is, it is self-supporting, does work by order, using donated materials or those brought with profit from sales.”31 the inmates initiated and responded to the curriculum as they saw fit. students took on several unique leadership roles in the reformatory. for instance, they ran the monthly student assemblies at which students from each of the reformatory’s departments gave progress reports. they also wrote and produced their own plays. one such play, “reunion,” performed in june of 1948, was a portrayal of institution life from the day of admission to the day of discharge. the play was written with the larger community in mind. students invited members of the community to the play and used it as a teaching performance, offering community members the chance to see institutional life from the prisoner’s perspective. one visitor, irja kanttii, a european visitor from finland, likened the 10 student run assemblies to “a student government meeting at any american college.”32 sitting in the dining room, kanttii felt as if she were “back in my college dining-room, for everything was conducted very much like a boarding school.”33 during world war ii, a staff shortage gave several inmates the opportunity to hold positions of staff duty.34 these “outstanding students” held jobs running the sewing room, the laundry, the cannery, and one was given “full charge of [the] institution.”35 framingham also hired ex-offenders for staff positions, another policy that came under attack during the van waters’ investigation.36 for instance, the assistant superintendent margaret (peggy) o’keefe had served time for a juvenile offense. the storekeeper, switchboard operator, and two of the female reformatory officers also had arrest records.37 this was exceptional then and now to find in a prison setting. inmates have been allowed to work as teacher aides, but the case of inmates managing their own classrooms and occupying staff positions seems to be unique to framingham. kathy boudin, an inmate until the summer of 2003 at bedford hills in new york state, for a brief time did teach her own literacy class. in writing about her experience, she describes that administrators limit the amount of responsibility inmates can possess in a classroom so as to limit their independence; it is part of the social control of prisons.38 the framingham education department’s policy, rather than ensuring its control over the lives of students, respected the lives of the women and the knowledge they could share with their fellow students. they saw them as more than prisoners. these women could also be educators. nellie doughton one of the agricultural instructors saw the educational endeavor with her students as a shared one. she poignantly describes the educational process she had been through with her students: “we were climbing; we fell back, but always we climbed again with a bit more strength and hope for in climbing and in falling our feet touched the earth.”39 unfortunately, these same opportunities do not exist for today’s prisoners. in the past, the prison educational programs were paradoxical in the ways they could be both liberating and confining. today’s lack of academic programming make women’s prisons simply confining. according to the u.s. department of justice, 87% of state and federal prisons offer some form of educational programming for inmates, but most women do not take advantage of these opportunities.40 according to criminologist chris rose, there has never been an instance between 1979 and 1997 (the last year of her study) where the majority of female prisoners were participating in some form of educational programming.41 in fact, the number of participants has declined from 49% in 1986 to 30% in 1997.42 rose cites structural/policy changes and individual prisoner motivations to explain these changing patterns. one such structural change was the passing of the violent crime control and law enforcement act of 1993 and the higher education reauthorization act of 1994 in response to clinton administration’s move to get “tough on crime.” the acts, which repelled pell grant funding for prisoners enrolled in prison college programs, effectively eliminated almost all prison college programs (from 350 in 1994 to 7 in 2003),43 prisoners who may have been able to benefit from an authentic educational experience have been denied one.44 former chief justice of the u.s. supreme court warren burger once observed that prisoners should be allowed to learn their way out of prison. a surprising advocate of correctional education programs, this conservative justice, who served on the supreme court during the 1970s, felt that prisoners were entitled to education programs. he felt it was an injustice not to try and rehabilitate inmates while they were in institutional care. he saw educational and vocational training as vehicles through which to accomplish this. since chief justice burger left office, the prison rate has more than tripled. prison programming for women is virtually non-existent. women on average spend 17 hours a day locked inside their cells with one hour a day outside for exercise. men spend on average 15 hours a day in their cells with 1.5 hours outside. the same system holds inmates, administration, and staff accountable in ways that foster an emphasis on moving toward prepackaged curriculums and standardized assessment instruments. the educational assessments, including the test of adult basic education (tabe) or the basic english skills test (best and/or best plus) and a selfscoring occupational interest survey are administered to all incoming inmates. the curriculum has shrunk from 90 classes to 8: adult basic education (abe), communications lab (designed for graduates of the english as a second language (esl) level 4 and have a diploma in their native language or the general equivalency diploma (ged), esl, ged, pre-ged, mandatory literacy, and special education. this focus on basic education and literacy development presupposes an understanding that entering inmates are all of a certain educational attainment level. while college programs are offered through boston university, in order to participate, inmates must have a minimum of 30 transferable credits. education classes as a personal investment in oneself or for the active engagement of democratic communal learning are no longer the norm at framingham. instead, framingham follows a model where classes are used “to maintain order by keeping prisoners occupied at seemingly meaningful work.”45 prison administrators engage in the “new penology” 11 whereby mandatory correctional education classes are used to control idleness and manage risk. framingham is no longer a place to question prison authority, politicize prisoner action, or challenge the power structures of dominate culture. nor is it a place where women inmates are afforded “equality of rights, opportunity, and treatment.” 46 the educational programming department is now called the division of inmate training and education. the emphasis is now placed upon inmates who can “make a positive contribution to an increasingly more technological society.”47 the current prison administration’s emphasis is on “competency, development of basic literacy skills, and the acquisition of salable skills along with an appreciation of the work ethic.”48 there is hope though for the pendulum is beginning to swing. according to a recent report, current issues in correctional education: a compilation and discussion, in the last decade there has been a shift away from the “lock them up” mentality: “in general, attitudes have begun to turn back from punishment to rehabilitation with more emphasis being placed on education in corrections.”49 however, the same report found that “public policy depends on both legislator opinion and current economic conditions at any time.”50 in 1940, a wise student at the reformatory for women at framingham described the meaning of a democracy. she wrote, “according to its ideal, a democracy wishes to save every human being. there is to be no scrap heap. no one is to be cast aside; no one is to be defeated.”51 her words remind us that by living in this democratic society we have an obligation to our prisoners for there is no “scrap heap.” they deserve education not because they are prisoners but because our educational system has for the most part failed them. these inmate’s words also remind us that the issues we are fighting today are historical in scope. these problems are ubiquitous and not unique to current times. there is a traceable legacy that offers us lessons and perspectives into our current crisis and hidden within these records are instructions of what it is possible to do and what should not be done again. the example of the reformatory for women at framingham honors those instructions by demonstrating for us in terms of the history of women’s correctional curricula all that can be accomplished when the intended practice is an educative one. references boudin, kathy. “participatory literacy education behind bars: aids opens the door.” harvard educational review 63.2 (summer 1993): 207232. bularzik, mary j. sex, crime, and justice: women in the criminal justice system of massachusetts, 1900-1950. unpublished dissertation, brandeis university, 1982. cox, william b., f. lovell bixby, and william t. root, eds. handbook of american prisons and reformatories volume i, 1933. new york: osborne association, national society of penal information, and the welfare league association, inc., 1933. davidson, howard. schooling in a ‘total institution’: critical perspectives on prison education. westport, ct: bergin & garvey, 1995. -----. “control and democracy in adult correctional education,” in handbook of adult and continuing education, ed. arthur l. wilson and elisabeth hayes. san francisco: jossey-bass, 2000. feinman, clarice. women in the criminal justice system, 3d ed. new york: praeger, 1994. freedman, estelle b. their sisters’ keepers: women’s prison reform in america, 1830-1930. ann arbor: university of michigan press, 1981. -----.maternal justice: miriam van waters and the female reform tradition. chicago: the university of chicago press, 1996. gaither. the journal of correctional education 33.2 (june 1982): 20. in thom gehring, “vignette: 1870 principle #10, on the importance of correctional education.” the journal of correctional education 46.2 (june 1995): 59. garrett, paul w., and austin h. maccormick, eds. handbook of american prisons and reformatories, 1929. new york: national society of penal information, 1929. gehring, thom. “special edition on the history of correctional education.” the journal of correctional education. 46.2 (june 1995): 3883. haynes, fred e. the american prison system. new york: mcgraw-hill book company, 1939. justice, benjamin. “ ‘a college of morals’: educational reform at san quentin prison, 18801920.” history of education quarterly 40.3 (fall 2000): 279-301. kurshan, nancy. “women and imprisonment in the u.s.: history and current reality.” online posting http://prisonactivist.org/women/womenand-imprisonment.html, 2002. lee, marian jeena. bad, mad women: rehabilitation and resistance at a women’s reformatory. unpublished undergraduate thesis, harvard university, 1999. maccormick, austin h. the education of adult prisoners: a survey and a program. new york: the national society of penal information, 1931. massachusetts department of correction inmate programs description,” updated 23 feb. 2005, <http://www.mass.gov/doc/programs/eductrn g.htm>. http://prisonactivist.org/women/women-and-imprisonment.html http://prisonactivist.org/women/women-and-imprisonment.html http://www.mass.gov/doc/programs/eductrng.htm http://www.mass.gov/doc/programs/eductrng.htm 12 rafter, nicole hahn. partial justice: women in state prisons, 1800-1935. boston: northeastern university press, 1985. rose, chris. “women’s participation in prison education: what we know and what we don’t know.” the journal of correctional education 55. 1 (march 2004): 78-100. row, amy paddon papers. schlesinger library, radcliffe institute for advanced study. harvard university. cambridge, mass. spangenberg, gail. current issues in correctional education: a compilation and discussion. washington, d.c.: council for advancement of adult literacy, 2004. tewksbury, r. and j.m. taylor, “the consequences of eliminating pell grants eligibility for students in post secondary correctional education programs.” federal probation 60: 3. van waters, miriam papers. schlesinger library, radcliffe institute for advanced study. harvard university, cambridge, mass. -----. superintendent’s annual report for the year ending 1936. boston, ma: department of correction, 1936. welsh, michele f. “the effects of the elimination of pell grant eligibility for state prison inmates.” the journal of correctional education 53.4 (december 2002): 154-158. wines, enoch. transactions of the national congress on penitentiary and reformatory discipline (albany, ny: argus press), 542. in thom gehring, “vignette: 1870 principle #10, on the importance of correctional education.” the journal of correctional education 46.2 (june 1995): 59. 1 inmate pseudonym. 2 throughout the course of this paper the massachusetts reformatory for women at framingham is referred to as the “reformatory,” the “massachusetts reformatory for women,” the “framingham reformatory for women,” the “framingham reformatory,” or simply “framingham.” all of these titles are used as names to reference the institution throughout the historical literature. 3 it was the uniqueness of the framingham programs that piqued my interest in studying the institution. in 2001, during personal correspondence with historian estelle freedman she informed me that the framingham program, while possibly paralleling a few other women’s reformatories at the time, was rather unusual. she wrote, “the mvw [miriam van waters’] educational, as well as spiritual, mission was pretty unique.” estelle freedman, personal correspondence to the author 13 april 2001. 4 austin h. maccormick, the education of adult prisoners (new york: the national society for penal information, 1931), 292. 5 the name was officially changed from the women’s reformatory at framingham to massachusetts correctional institution (mci)—framingham in 1956 and demonstrated an increasing emphasis on corrections as opposed to re-forming inmates. 6 estelle freedman, their sisters’ keepers: women’s prison reform in america, 1830-1930 (ann arbor: university of michigan press, 1981), nicole hahn rafter, partial justice: women in state prisons, 1800-1935 (boston: northeastern university press, 1985), clarice feinman, women in the criminal justice system (westport, ct: praeger, 1994), thom gehring, “special edition on the history of the field of correctional education,” journal of correctional education 46.2 (june 1995): 38-39; benjamin justice, “ “a college of morals’: educational reform at san quentin prison, 1880-1920,” history of education quarterly 40.3 (fall 2000): 279-301. 7 howard davidson, schooling in a ‘total institution’: critical perspectives on prison education, (westport, ct: bergin & garvey, 1995). 8 rafter, partial justice; freedman, their sisters’ keepers; mary j. bularzik, “sex, crime, and justice: women in the criminal justice system of massachusetts, 1900-1950” (ph.d. diss., brandeis university, 1982); marian jeena lee, “bad, mad women: rehabilitation and resistance at a women’s reformatory” (senior thesis, harvard university, 1999); nancy kurshan, “women and imprisonment in the u.s.: history and current reality,” <http://prisonactivist.org/women/women-andimprisonment.html> (cited dec. 26, 2003). 9 mildred e. manter to his excellency, the governor, oct. 29, 1940, box 1, folder 7, amy paddon row papers (hereafter referred to as apr papers), schlesinger library, radcliffe institute for advanced study, cambridge, mass. (hereafter referred to as sl). 10 lynne b. plummer, “the history of framingham reformatory,” unpublished manuscript, 1957, p. 1, box 23, folder 263, miriam van waters papers (hereafter referred to as mvw papers), sl. 11 gaither, the journal of correctional education 33.2 (june 1982): 20. quoted in thom gehring, “vignette: 1870 principle #10, on the importance of correctional education,” the journal of correctional education 46.2 (june 1995): 59. 12 enoch wines, transactions of the national congress on penitentiary and reformatory discipline (albany, ny: argus press), 542. quoted in thom gehring, “vignette: 1870 principle #10, on the importance of correctional education,” the journal of correctional education 46.2 (june 1995): 59. 13 miriam van waters to the commissioner of corrections, “reformatory for women at framingham http://prisonactivist.org/women/women-and-imprisonment.html http://prisonactivist.org/women/women-and-imprisonment.html 13 superintendent’s report,” dec. 31, 1935, p. 1, box 1 file 19, apr papers, sl. 14 evelyn k., “education,” harmony news, aug.-sept. 1940, p. 8, box 1, folder 15, apr papers, sl . 15 william cox, f. lovell bixby, and william root, eds., “reformatory for women, framingham, massachusetts,” handbook of american prisons and reformatories volume i, 1933 (new york: osborne association, national society of penal information and the welfare league association, inc., 1933), 367. see also fred haynes, the american prison system (new york: mcgraw-hill book company, 1939), 105; paul garrett and austin maccormick, eds., handbook of american prisons and reformatories, 1929 (new york: national society of penal information, 1929). 16 amy p. row, “framingham reformatory clubs,” n.d. [1939], p. 1, box 1, folder 10, apr papers, sl. 17 members of the two-sided club were elected from the student body to debate and discuss with dr. van waters administrative policies and institutional changes they wished to see happen at framingham. 18 estelle freedman, maternal justice: miriam van waters and the female reform tradition, (chicago: the university of chicago press, 1996), 185. 19 dorothy k., “progress,” harmony news, sept. 1939, p. 2, box 1, folder 19, apr papers, sl. 20 william, b. cox, f. lovell bixby, and william t. root, eds., handbook of american prisons and reformatories volume i, 1933. 21 “a general description of the institution as a whole,” [report administered to new staff members] n.d. [archivist note says after 1936], box 21, folder 238, mvw papers, sl. 22 louis lyons in boston globe, 28 dec. 1931, box 31, folder 406, mvw papers, sl. 23 elizabeth borton, “inmates get ‘student’ status at framingham reformatory: supt. van waters bans term ‘prisoner’ for 250-odd women there,” boston herald, 24 october 1932, n.p., box 31, folder 406, mvw papers, sl. 24 inmate writing, “frustration, or…,” contained in letter from reverend clarence swearingen to mvw, oct. 6, 1954, box 24, folder 279, mvw papers, sl. 25 inmate writing, “for my daughter when she reaches an age of understanding,” nov. 1953, box 30, folder 393, mvw papers, sl. 26 ruth weinberg “education,” n.d., box 24, folder 266, mvw papers, sl. 27 miriam van waters, superintendent’s annual report for the year ending 1936, (boston, ma: department of correction), 48. 28 callahan report, “education department, miss ruth weinberg, director,” n.p. 29 ruth weinberg, “education,” n.d., box 24, folder 266, mvw papers, sl. 30 ibid. 31 callahan report, “painting on glass, inmate teacher,” n.p. 32 irja kantti, “rehabilitation of human lives in an american reformatory for women,” april 1950, p. 4, box 23, folder 254, mvw papers, sl. 33 ibid., p. 2. 34 this would be one of the policies challenged by the commissioner of correction during the investigation and subsequent firing and rehiring of superintendent van waters in 1948-1949. 35 miriam van waters to mrs. lewis s. thompson, “framingham report,” jan. 24, 1945, p. 2, box 16, folder 191, mvw papers, sl. 36 in 1949, a new commissioner of correction elliot mcdowell dismissed van waters from the superintendency following an investigation headed by frank dwyer that charged her with overstepping her authority, hiring ex-convicts, condoning homosexual activities among inmates, and allowing women to participate in day work. the subsequent trial brought van waters to national prominence. she appealed her case to the governor, and many of her friends, some quite famous, rallied to support her. estelle freedman covers this topic extensively in her biography of van waters. see freedman, maternal justice, 274-312. 37 mvw to commissioner elliot mcdowell, june 7, 1948, box 17, folder 195, mvw papers, sl. 38 kathy boudin, “participatory literacy education behind bars: aids opens the door,” harvard educational review 63.2 (summer 1993): 207-232. 39 nellie c. doughton to mvw, mar. 19, 1948, box 16, folder 194, mvw papers, sl. 40 chris rose, “women’s participation in prison education: what we know and what we don’t know,” the journal of correctional education 55. 1 (march 2004): 78-100. given what i know of contemporary prison programming women, it is hard to believe that this figure is as high as 87%, but what is believable is that substantial barriers do exist that keep women from participating in correctional education programs. 41 ibid., 80. 42 ibid., 80-81. 43 jeannette hanlon, personal conversation with the author, 6 june 2004. see a further discussion of the effects of the elimination of pell grants see michele f. welsh, “the effects of the elimination of pell grant eligibility for state prison inmates,” the journal of correctional education 53.4 (december 2002): 154158; r. tewksbury and j.m. taylor, “the consequences of eliminating pell grants eligibility for students in post secondary correctional education programs,” federal probation 60.3: 60-63. 44 rose articulates that cutting pell grant funding is just one piece of the puzzle. other explanations to explain the pattern of women’s participation in correctional educational programming include: a 344% increase in the number of incarcerated women 14 (bureau of justice statistics, 1999), which puts more pressure on the prison services that are already inadequate and substandard; inadequate health and medical services; separation from their children, which results in increased anxieties and in turn influences their mental health. see rose, “women’s participation in prison education”, 85-87. 45 howard davidson, “control and democracy in adult correctional education,” in handbook of adult and continuing education, ed. arthur l. wilson and elisabeth hayes (san francisco: jossey-bass, 2000), 393. 46 ibid. 47 massachusetts department of correction inmate programs description,” updated 23 feb. 2005, <http://www.mass.gov/doc/programs/eductrng.ht m> (cited 23 feb. 2005). 48 ibid. 49 gail spangenberg, current issues in correctional education: a compilation and discussion (washington, dc: council for advancement of adult literacy, 2004), 5. 50 ibid. 51 inmate writing, “as the page turns,” harmony news, jan.-feb. 1940, box 1, folder 17, apr papers, sl. http://www.mass.gov/doc/programs/eductrng.htm http://www.mass.gov/doc/programs/eductrng.htm from laddie pencils and big chief tablets to blogs and wiki’s larry j. kelly and allison m. huie texas a&m university abstract throughout american education, several periods of technological change occurred in the last two centuries. each educational innovation or technology normally took approximately fifty years to trickle down to the nation’s schools. however, the last several decades have witnessed a communications revolution. this rapid expansion of communication technology has changed challenged teachers’ existing methods of instruction, selection of curricular materials, approaches to discipline and effectiveness in the classroom. education technology as a necessity of life in an 1838 meeting convened to study the normal school of plymouth county, daniel webster suggested that teaching apparatuses (technology) should be a part of american education. speaking to an audience that included horace mann, george putnam, and john quincy adams, he made the following statement: “we teach too much by manuals, too little by direct intercourse with the pupil’s mind; we have too much of words, too little of things. take any of the common departments, how little do we know of the practical detail, say geology. it is taught by books. it should be taught by excursions in the field” (webster 1856, 590). as schools transitioned from academies to private schools, and then to public education, a strong motive developed to provide an adequate education for all, rather than the college-bound, privileged few. in 1865, one magazine editorial stated, “we ought to be doing something to keep up our reputation for running faster, flying higher, diving deeper and coming up drier than all other people in creation” (editorial, 1865, 121). new subjects such as physics, mechanics and chemistry were introduced that had practical benefit to all pupils, whether attending college or entering the work force (editorial, 1868). herbert spencer continued the momentum for practical courses in the last twenty-five years of the nineteenth century, placing a premium on educational experiences in the present and in subjects that are useful in the present (cremin 1961). the foundations of education were formed not only to pass on to new generations the culture, principles, ethic and lessons of the past, but also to prepare each student for the world in which he or she would live (molnar 1997). these early calls to include technology in an effort to enhance educational experience were brought to new significance through the work of john dewey. in philosophy and civilization, (1931), dewey illustrates “the revolutionary nature of science and technology” and argues, “that they could create new possibilities in life were they to be redirected from commercial to humanistic goals” (vartan 2005, b3). dewey, arguing against the objectivist principles that had previously driven american education, promoted a system of education grounded in learning through experience. he called for an educational experience that taught not just facts and figures, but how one should and could possibly interact with his own environment in such a way that he could derive such truths. dewey advocated teaching students not what to learn, but how to learn. while early views on technology in education extolled only its production-related virtues, it is essential that we continue to view the use of technology in education as dewey and others would have it: as a “necessity of life” for the opportunities it provides in allowing our 108 students to develop the ability to learn (dewey 2005). it is in this light, that one must consider the current and future roles of technology in education. brief history of educational technology innovation american education has been marked by several periods of technological change throughout the last two centuries. early technological innovations sometimes took as long as fifty years to trickle down to the nation’s schools and universities (murphy and gross 1966). during these periods of change, the intended aim of each innovation was to enhance the efficiency or quality of learning (percival and ellington 1988). many of the first technological innovations were aimed at improving or increasing student work product. the first blackboard was used in 1809 in a philadelphia school, and by 1850-1853, chalkboards and erasers became widely used in schools. this allowed the teacher to quickly illustrate lessons to the entire class (pbs 2007). these first blackboards were pine lumber covered with carbon from charred potatoes and egg whites. students used chunks of chalk and cloth rags to erase the board. students used smaller-sized slate boards with slate pencils. white chalk eventually replaced the slate pencil and was among the first innovations for student writing. after the end of the civil war (1861–1865), manufactured wooden pencils were available, allowing students to create a more lasting record (pbs 2007). further developments to writing utensils included the advent of the eraser, and the introduction of the thicker, sturdier, graphite–cored device commonly known as the “laddie” pencil. . massproduced paper in the 1870’s provided the opportunity for students to create longer documents, allowing for more self-expression (pbs 2007). the advances in production-oriented technology continued with the remington no. 2 typewriter, introduced in 1878. the remington possessed the capability to type both lower and upper case, allowing students to prepare formal papers (early office museum 2007). now, whiteboards have largely replaced blackboards, eliminating the chalk dust that generations of mothers scrubbed from jumpers (pbs 2007). continuing the development of teacherled instructional technologies, the first commercial radio broadcast occurred on christmas eve 1906. by 1923, haaren high school in new york city had introduced radio in the classrooms. soon after, other school districts and universities followed suit. in the years from 1925-1935, radio came into real prominence as an instructional tool. formal courses in radio education were offered including radio instruction on subjects such as “penmanship, accounting, arithmetic, and history” (pbs 2007). the u.s. office of education even established a radio section to meet the increasing needs of radio education. radio had found a place in the classroom as one of the best teaching tools and became a useful aid to the classroom teacher. however, any thought of the radio displacing teachers was quickly dispelled (brodie 1935). while radio use in classrooms peaked in the 1930’s, its use virtually stopped during world war ii, and never recovered quite the same popularity. in fact, it would be difficult to find regular curricular inclusion of radio in most classrooms in today’s schools (saettler 1990). from radio waves to tv waves the first publicly accessible electronic television transmission occurred in 1936, when the opening ceremonies of the berlin olympics in the summer of 1936 were broadcast (winston 109 1998). the u.s. armed forces were the first to experiment with this technology, utilizing it for training to meet mass instruction requirements. during the early 1950’s, many thought television would provide solutions to educational problems such as teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms, and poorly prepared teachers. therefore, it was not surprising when administrators, given available title i funds, began purchasing television and videotape recording equipment. it was hoped that cable television in the 70’s might provide flexibility of choice for teachers. however, as with previous television programs and equipment there was no common standard for the television broadcasting equipment hindering broad acceptance. educational television use reached a peak in the 1960’s, but has since declined. today, the television is the most widely used form of technology in the classroom; however, it serves mostly to supplement teacher-led classroom instruction (saettler 1990). while radio and television were making their mark in classrooms, computers were quietly beginning development as large, room-sized expensive machines in the u.s. military branches. the first operational computer was the mark i in 1944 at harvard, followed by the university of pennsylvania’s eniac computer in 1946. plato, (programmed logic for automated teaching operations) at the university of illinois marked the first large-scale use of computerassisted instruction in education (molnar 1997). these huge machines were primarily limited to uses in the mathematics, science and engineering disciplines improvements in the size and price of computers (both decreasing) became possible with intel’s introduction of the 1103 ram chip in 1970 which substantially reduced the cost of memory. with each new version of the intel chip, the enhanced chips reputation for reliability improved, finally opening the door for broad public acceptance and availability (winston 1998). xerox introduced the smaller alto computer in 1973; however, it was never sold to the public. the development of smaller, more versatile computers also made way for further developments, such as the wysiwyg (what you see is what you get) editor, the mouse, the word “internet”, and the first flat bed scanner. software programs, such as visicalc, the first spreadsheet application, were created for new small personal computers such as the atari and apple iie, radio shack entered the market with the trs-80 and commodore international introduced the pet, a true microcomputer, in 1977. ibm, one of the larger companies mainly interested in the large, expensive computers, soon joined the microcomputer market. ibm began offering a smaller computer, the 1500, but it was more expensive than the atari or apple iie’s (winston 1998). in 1981, ibm began marketing the pc, and sold 35,000 the first year. while only a few hundred households had microcomputers in 1975, that number increased to just under a million machines by 1982. initially, these new microcomputers but were limited to replacing cookbooks, balancing checkbooks, recalculating home mortgages and keeping track of personal investments. however, when word processing programs became available the personal computer enjoyed a change of status, shifting from the role of a fancy calculator into that of a very effective typewriter. this shift, along with the introduction of the modem and email positioned the personal computer as a powerful device for communication. thus, the business market for pc’s experienced a dramatic boom. (winston 1998). however, with the limited programs offered, retail consumers had trouble seeing a clear purpose for the machines in the home. these design deficiencies allowed new software 110 companies to take advantage of the market by developing new operating systems. market focus then shifted from the manufacturing companies to smaller systems companies like microsoft. as the sales focus gradually shifted to households, education became the next market demographic to be targeted (winston 1998). by the 1990’s, most classrooms had at least one computer. radio took thirty-eight years to reach 50 million users. it took tv thirteen years to reach 50 million viewers. by contrast, it took the internet four years, ipod three years and facebook less than nine months to reach one hundred million users (real time marketing group 2009). in fact, the utilization of computers in the classroom has sparked a swift pace of change in an educational climate that has previously been relatively resistant to substantive change through technological innovation. computers connected to the world wide web have facilitated the rapid exchange of information and afford individuals the freedom and ability to manipulate this information. this openness of information and increased communication has had real and lasting effects. educational technology in the digital age educators and their pupils now have access to a truly interconnected world. the personal computer, internet, and fiber optics, have increased the speed of communication and the pace of advancement in teaching and learning. individuals can now send and receive messages with the push of a virtual button, or investigate a wealth of data and ideas at the click of a mouse. once, of the dissemination of new information could have taken 80 years or more. information sharing can now take place in terms of minutes, or seconds (marx 2006). the impact of such swift advances in technology and communications is being felt strongly in the world of education. distance learning is fast becoming an important part of university, college and public school teaching. curriculum and instruction are supported through the world wide web, on-line courses, mp3’s, satellite communication and, audio/video conferences. for example, curriki, a new on-line community, allows educators from anywhere in the world to publish curricula and lesson plans for review and use by fellow teachers. curriki encourages contributors to access the content presented, upgrade it, and revise it to suit the needs of students (reuters 2007). massachusetts institute of technology, (mit), now offers mit opencourseware a free and open educational resource (oer) for educators, students, and selflearners around the world. the goal is to provide free, searchable access to mit's course materials for educators, students, and self-learners around the world. students around the world can view course materials in subjects such as aeronautics, astronautics, writing, and humanistic studies (tapscott 2006). a book-scanning project begun by google two years ago now includes twelve major library systems, including princeton, the university of texas at austin, university of california, new york public library, harvard, oxford, stanford, and the national library of catalonia. this ambitious project will provide the world’s great literary works available and searchable over the web (reuters 2007). the ability to search vast amounts of ideas and information on the web has opened new avenues for collaboration using blogs a usergenerated website where entries are made in journal style. blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject, such as food, politics, or local news. some function as personal online diaries. a typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. the ability for readers to leave 111 comments in an interactive format is an essential feature of most blogs. a wiki is another simple, easy-to-use user-maintained database website that allows visitors to add, remove, edit, and change content. it can allow links to other pages, making a wiki an effective tool through ease of interaction and opportunities for collaboration. a defining characteristic of wiki technology is the ease with which pages can be created and updated. generally, there is no review before modifications are accepted with many wikis open to the public without the need to register (wikipedia 2007). the california open source textbook project plans to use collaboration, insights, and spare time of its teachers to create high-quality educational materials freely available to each student. the first project is to create a world history book for tenth grade. this project will use the advantages of open-sourced content to help reduce the cost of textbooks (tapscott 2006). pedagogy and technology can create a community of instructors and students constructing knowledge building communities, thus creating a highly interactive environment. impact on teaching & learning whereas the previously discussed early schoolhouse technologies such as laddie pencils and big chief tablets were focused on enhancing student work-product, these new these technologies are opening classrooms to the world and requiring teachers to address an entirely new literacy. collaboration through use of new technologies encourages critical and creative thinking while helping students to transfer data into usable knowledge and wisdom. developing communicative skills while building connections in an educative environment will encourage active learning, making thinking and reasoning basic to education. these connections help to fit curricula to the needs and interests of various learners (marx 2006). in teaching and learning with technology and about media literacy, educators and students develop higherorder thinking skills, and highlight real-world problem-solving skills to fit students’ capacities. these activities shift the importance from learning to thinking (molnar 1997). big-picture implications the leveling power of the world wide web has created a new world economy, international trade, shift in balance of capital and labor, restructuring the u.s. workplace through technological innovation and globalization (kirsch 2007). technology, science and economies are interconnected creating new industries and jobs, all requiring a more highly skilled, educated workforce. each innovation depends on rapid dissemination throughout the education system and workplace (molnar 1997). this rapid pace and speed of communication has created competitive playing fields between industrial and emerging countries (friedman 2006). the cell phone today is about a million times cheaper and a thousand times more powerful than the mit’s computer in 1965. today, one can carry in their pocket a computer that used to take an entire building to house (kurzweil 2008). an ideological return current educational practices rely on creating an environment where learning consists of what can be conveyed and assessed only in a standardized state or national curriculum (sutherland 2004). however, we can no longer rely on the industrial age’s banking model of education (friere, 1972). the usual model where teachers’ simply transfer knowledge to students, no longer serves our students (lamonica 2009). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/database 112 educators should consider a more hands-on approach in participatory form stemming from interaction with all of the new resources available. the emphasis now should be on collaborative utilization of the connecting technologies in the world, and should lead to students learning whatever they want, whenever they want, from whomever they want. students and teachers should now press forward to extend the capabilities of educational tools in order to work across time zones, cultures and technologies (richardson 2008). one of the main challenges associated with the new literacy is determining how to help students become full participants in each new learning field while creating and collaborating in transparent online groups and networks (richardson 2008). such communicative, yet individually oriented, activities afford a wealth of opportunity for each individual student. in this new educational model, students become self directed, editing, organizing and publishing on their own. the previously work-product oriented educational culture becomes a collaborative, creative, communicative environment, where the focus is on the process of learning rather than product. this is especially ideal when we must consider that global product demands change with increasing rapidity. it is not sufficient for us to train students with a single work-product, or singular set of skills in mind. for dewey, “democratic education was an experiment in intercultural and international living, intended to provide a potential model for global democratic order” (waks 2007, 34). similar logic should now be applied to the role of technology in education. we must allow the creative, communicative and connective possibilities of new technologies to lead to a “fusion of horizons” in an ever-globalized world (dewey 2005). in the new, digital age of education (and existence), we must return to our modern educational roots and are called to embrace the educational charges set by webster, spencer and dewey: let us teach how to learn, not what to learn; let us emphasize and utilize technological innovation as an individuallymotivated mode to learn (everything) rather than teacher-led tool to teach (particular things); and let authentic experience within the realities of today’s environment be our students’ most influential teacher. in this way, will we prepare students who are truly prepared to participate as full members of the global society. references brodie, robert b. 1935. "fitting radio into the school program." the nation’s schools vol. 15 february: 56-60. cremin, lawrence. 1961. the transformation of the school: progressivism in american education, 1876-1957. new york: alfred a knopf. early office museum. “antique office typewriters.” http://www.officemuseum.com/typewriters_office _models.htm (accessed march 23, 2007). editorial. 1865." a sensation wanted." american artisan vol. ii, december 27: 121. editorial. 1868. american journal of education. vol.17 april. 558. marx, gary. 2006 “an overview of sixteen trends: their profound impact on our future, implications for students, education, communities, and the whole of society.” alexandra, va. educational research service: 172-175. molnar, andrew. 1997. " computers in education: a brief history." t.h.e. journal 24 issue 11: june: 63. murphy, judith and ronald gross. 1996. learning by television. new york: tfae. pbs. 2007. school the story of american education. 23 march 2007 http://www.pbs.org/kcet publicschool/ roots_in_history/index.html 113 saettler, paul. 1990. the evolution of american educational technology. englewood, co. libraries unlimited. sutherland, r., v. armstrong, s. barnes, r. brawn, m. gall, s. matthewman, f. olivero, a. taylor, p. triggs, j. wishart, and p. john. 2004. "transforming teaching and learning: embedding ict into everyday classroom practices." journal of computer assisted learning, 20 issue 6: 413-425. tapscott, don, and anthony d. williams. 2006. wikinomics: how mass collaboration changes everything. new york: penguin press. waks, leonard. 2007. "rereading democracy and education today: john dewey on globalization, multiculturalism, and democratic education." education and culture. 23 issue 1:34. webster, daniel. 1856. american journal of education, vol. i: 590. wikipedia: the free encyclopedia. 2007. 12 march 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/main_page 25 winston, brian. 1998. media technology and society. new york: routledge. vartan, gregorian. 2005. "grounding technology in both science and significance." chronicle of higher education vol. 52: issue 16: b3-b5. ron evans-rugg the rugg story: lessons on the promise and perils of curriculum innovation 1 ronald w. evans san diego state university abstract this article examines harold rugg‟s social studies program, controversies he inspired, and lessons of his life as an activist. rugg was a leading educator during the first half of the twentieth century and author of an avante-garde social studies textbook series. rugg‟s work resides at the center of the roiling curricular debates of the 20 th century, and illustrates both the potential and perils of innovation as seen through the life of one man. introduction harold o. rugg was one of a small group of leaders of the progressive education movement centered at teachers college, columbia university, and a leader among the social frontier group that emerged in the 1930s to argue that schools should play a stronger role in helping to reconstruct the society. he was the author of an innovative and best selling series of social studies textbooks, which ultimately came under attack from “patriotic” and business groups in the prelude to the united states involvement in world war ii. the story of his rise and fall encapsulates a significant and central story in the history of american education. the rugg story reveals a great deal about the direction of schooling in american life, the many alternative roads not taken, and possibilities for the future. as kliebard and wegner noted, rugg‟s career “virtually represents in miniature the panorama of educational ideologies that characterized twentieth century curriculum reform in america: scientific curriculum making, childcentered education, and most notably, social reconstructionism” (1987, 269). moreover, rugg‟s career, and the ideas of his detractors, embody elements of the entire spectrum of social studies ideologies that influenced the making of the curriculum in the twentieth century: education for social efficiency in the form of scientific curriculum making, social studies as social science inquiry, social studies as traditional history and civics, social studies as an issuesoriented and integrated field of study, and social studies as education for social reconstructionism (evans 2004). rugg's story remains important today chiefly because it reminds us that social studies as a broad and integrated field of study has potential for the development of thoughtful and caring citizens, and that it is possible for a social studies reformer to influence the course of events. rugg's work had a real impact, not only on rhetoric among theorists, but also on schools. his work brought an issues-centered approach to the field to a large segment of u.s. schoolchildren during the 1930s, and thus influenced the education of a generation of u.s. citizens. his textbooks and workbooks together sold more than four million copies during the decade from 1929 to 1939. at the height of their popularity, they were used by an estimated one-third to one-half of the children in junior high schools. ultimately, they inspired a controversy that changed the course of the curriculum (winters 1967; evans 2007). rugg‟s social studies program was pedagogically advanced, integrating the social sciences and history in an issues-centered program focusing on understanding and social 57 transformation. to this day, the rugg social science materials serve as a useful prototype for a unified social studies focused on issues and societal problems and aimed at education for social justice (evans 2007). rugg envisioned an entire social studies curriculum centered around "the american problem," and aimed at leading a thousand year march to a "cooperative commonwealth" (rugg 1939, 140-41). rugg's story is a reminder of the potential power of social studies reform. his materials were pedagogically sophisticated and somewhat daring, and they asked tough questions on issues and topics that need to be addressed in a democratic society: the role of business in controlling government, the role of government in regulating business, the influence of men of wealth and property on the constitution and our form of government, the role of government in providing for the general social welfare, immigration policy, issues related to racial diversity, the role of the united states in world affairs, and myriad others. furthermore, rugg's work was built on a thoughtful rationale that combined student interest with social worth—a powerful combination that still has appeal. in the late 1930s and early 1940s, rugg was censured by a media storm fed by conservative “patriotic” and business groups who, in an un-american fashion, did not want schoolchildren, or their parents for that matter, raising questions about the basic structures of american life and the capitalist economic system. the attack on rugg, on his ideas, textbooks and school materials, was perhaps the first major battle of what i have termed "the war on social studies" (evans 2004). it is a “war” many progressive educators are still fighting, and, unfortunately, still losing. rugg's story illustrates the point that being a social critic or progressive reformer can be dangerous, especially so in education. to openly declare allegiance to ideas that challenge capitalism and its most basic assumptions can, and has—on many occasions— led to serious repercussions. rugg's life and work have great resonance today, in the 21st century. the rugg story raises serious questions about the rationale and purposes for schooling: what kind of citizens and citizen education do we want? how far should schools go in providing opportunities for social criticism? what kinds of activities and materials are appropriate in support of education for social justice? what are its limits, if any? and, behind all of these questions, whose version of “the american way” should schools support? teaching for social justice has had many advocates over the years and seems a permanent interest group in the panoply of educational thought. the literature on social justice oriented schooling has mushroomed since the 1970s, an offshoot of critiques of society, and of schooling, developed during the 1960s and later (ayers, hunt and quinn 1998). to a greater degree than many recent advocates of teaching for social justice, rugg's work achieved a strong presence in schools. thus, most importantly, the rugg story, his life and his work, challenges us to make a difference in schools. framework this article provides a brief overview of the rugg story, but is focused primarily on rugg‟s life as an educational activist and the “other” rugg controversy, which occurred some ten years after the rugg textbook controversy. it includes an overview of rugg‟s social studies ideas, the development of the rugg pamphlet and textbook series, and a brief description of the major national controversy they inspired. an 58 examination of rugg‟s rationale for social studies, the rugg social studies program, and the controversies that resulted is of continuing interest for several reasons. first, rationales are important, and are too often neglected (shaver 1977; ochoa-becker 1996). social studies professionals at all levels have an obligation to consider the foundations of social studies theory embodied in the multiple rationales and orientations to the field. in recent years, rationale deliberations have been largely pre-empted by the rush of support for history, geography, and civics as the core of social studies, driven by a neoconservative standards and testing agenda for schooling and supported by the nexus of power and money (singer 2005; ross and marker 2005; evans 2004). these recent trends have undercut thoughtful deliberation on rationales. as a result, much of the current research on teaching in social studies is focused on the teaching of history. in too many instances, it assumes and benefits from a “history as core” orientation, without the thorough deliberations necessary to arrive at a well-grounded rationale for democratic education in schools. thus, rugg‟s rationale and program are important because they provide a thoughtprovoking alternative, and a seminal vision of education for democratic citizenship. second, recent literature on rugg illustrates continuing interest in the rugg story but focuses mainly on various aspects of the textbook controversy (i. e., poland and boesenberg 2001; riley and slater-stern 2003). while this work adds to our knowledge, it is important to affirm that rugg‟s success stemmed from his development of an innovative vision for social studies, which was embodied in the rugg social science program. third, we have a long history of contributions to the literature on issues-centered social studies from a number of scholars over many years (hunt and metcalf 1955 & 1968; oliver and shaver 1966; newmann and oliver 1970; engle and ochoa 1988; evans and saxe 1996). the closely related literature on democratic education has also grown exponentially (apple and beane 1995; ochoabecker 2007; gutmann 1999; ayers, hunt and quinn 1998). and, a younger generation of scholars is emerging with similar interests and affinities (i. e., caron 2005; koeppen 1999). the literature on issues-centered and democratic education, whether it is explicitly acknowledged or not, is built upon the foundation established by harold rugg and other great progressives during the first half of the 20 th century. revisiting rugg‟s vision will underline several of the main themes of his work and highlight the fact that rugg was instrumental, a seminal thinker in the world of social studies theory and practice. a full understanding requires that we briefly examine the origins of his ideas, his developing theory, his critique of the standard practices in schools, the key principles and explicit rationale under girding his social science program, and the controversy he inspired. 2 perhaps most poignantly, this article also examines the influence of the textbook controversy on rugg‟s persona and the fracas that ensued after rugg was invited to speak at ohio state university in the early 1950s, nearly ten years after the propaganda campaign and media frenzy that engulfed rugg and his books. finally, the author places rugg‟s life and career in perspective, focusing on both the lasting benefits and perils of innovation as seen through the life and work of one man. origins 59 harold ordway rugg was born in fitchburg, massachusetts on january 17, 1886. he attended fitchburg public schools, worked in a textile mill, and, through good fortune and his own initiative, attended dartmouth college. he studied civil engineering and worked as a railroad surveyor, then taught civil engineering for two years and became interested in how students learn. his engineering background would later influence his penchant for social engineering as embodied in his evolving ideas for education. he earned a ph.d. in education at the university of illinois under the mentorship of william c. bagley in 1915, then held a teaching post in educational psychology and statistics at the university of chicago, engaging in what he would later describe as “an orgy of tabulation” (rugg 1941, 182). rugg was raised in modest circumstances in fitchburg, always it seemed, with "not enough" of the material goods of life. as a carpenter and cabinet-maker with a fiercely independent streak, his father struggled at times to hold a job. rugg's sense of deprivation was heightened by his observation of the wealthy among fitchburg— their power, influence, and luxurious lifestyle. rugg grew up holding many conventional attitudes, sympathy for the underdog, and an exceptionally strong drive for financial and career success. it was during his tenure at the university of chicago that rugg was called upon to serve on the army's committee on the classification of personnel during world war i. the committee was charged with aptitude and intelligence testing and sorting of personnel during the army‟s largescale expansion. during his service, rugg went through a transformation in his world-view. he embraced a progressive ideology that planted the seed for his conversion from the field of educational psychology and statistics to social studies. this dramatic transformation was precipitated through his interaction and friendship with others on the committee, including arthur upham pope, john coss, and walter lippman, and by his introduction through these contacts to contemporary social critics—including van wyck brooks, waldo frank, and randolph bourne who held an aesthetic orientation and who had written for the seven arts, a highly regarded literary journal. behind rugg's conversion to social studies and focus on social issues was a new awareness of the displacement and human suffering caused by industrialism and its allied developments, modern warfare, and colonialism. rather than focus on any one issue, his vision encompassed the broad nexus of forces, issues, and problems that needed to be understood, and overcome, in order to ameliorate human suffering in the world. in january 1920, rugg joined the faculty at teachers college, columbia university, where he also served as school psychologist for the lincoln school, one of the leading progressive private schools in the nation, founded with the intention of changing the face of american education. it was at the lincoln school that rugg found a laboratory for working out his ideas for the social studies curriculum with a handful of teachers and students. his contact with john dewey, william h. kilpatrick, george s. counts, john l. childs, jesse newlon, r. bruce raup and others at teachers college had a profound influence on his intellectual development, as did his association with the avant-garde in the new york area including creative artists such as alfred stieglitz and georgia o'keefe in greenwich village, and his later residence in the arts community of woodstock, new york, which 60 inspired rugg‟s interest in the arts, in imagination and creativity. given time to read and think as per his agreement with his new employers, rugg set to work exploring the seminal works in history and the social sciences of the late 19th and early 20th century. he read historians such as frederick jackson turner, charles a. beard, and james harvey robinson, and social scientists including thorsten veblen, charles horton cooley, and john maynard keynes. as a result of these contacts and of his reading, a new understanding of the problems of modern industrial society, and "a new vista of possibilities,” opened before him. rugg was strongly influenced by these "frontier thinkers" on the cutting edge of modern scholarship. moreover, he was profoundly affected by the work and thought of john dewey, by various forms of social criticism, by the social experiment of soviet russia, and by the movement for technocracy, especially the thought of howard scott, who promoted a vision of a society of shared abundance in which the industrial economy would be run by expert technicians in order to end the hardships and class conflict associated with industrial society. following this period of intense study, rugg's conversion to social studies was more or less complete. it was during and shortly after this time that rugg developed the core of his idea for a “unified” social studies curriculum, crossing but not obliterating disciplinary boundaries, focused on issues and problems and presenting history and the social sciences through the lens of persistent societal issues. rugg‟s notion of a composite or “unified” course was not an entirely original idea, though it was a relatively new development and undoubtedly received its greatest boost from his work. in rugg‟s case, it was an idea instigated, in part, by his old friend, john coss, with whom he served on the army‟s committee on the classification of personnel. though rugg‟s worldview was strongly influenced by his association with other members of that committee, and by the social criticism contained in the the seven arts, it was coss who most directly influenced rugg‟s vision for social studies. coss planned to develop a unified course in contemporary civilizations at columbia college upon his return to his teaching post there after world war i, and he had discussed this intention with rugg (rugg 1941, 170). rugg later attributed many of the core ideas for his unified social science course to coss (coss 1923) and adapted them to the secondary level (winters 1967, 20). a developing theory rugg‟s ideas on social studies began to emerge more fully in the early 1920s in monographs written by rugg and his research associates and appeared in rugg‟s publications in journals and books. development of his social studies theory occurred in relative synchronicity with the writing and publication of the rugg social science pamphlets, which would be used to implement his vision in schools. although rugg did not publish a single, unified statement of his theory during the early years of his career at teachers college, his writings provide strong evidence of his developing approach. as it emerged over time, the basic skeletal frame remained relatively constant. yet, rugg‟s continuing intellectual growth at teachers college, and in the cultural richness of new york city, led to the gradual evolution of a more fully developed rationale. rugg‟s first published articles describing his vision for a new and innovative social studies 61 began to appear not long after his arrival at the lincoln school and teachers college. in two similar articles, which were published in the historical outlook and the elementary school journal in may of 1921, rugg critiqued the work of the committee on history and education for citizenship, known as the second committee of eight of the american historical association. although he defended the need for national committees in developing curricula, he was extremely critical of the eight for failing to take a “scientific approach” and for neglecting to provide necessary national leadership (rugg 1921a, 186). perhaps its most serious deficiency, according to rugg, was that it “failed to acquaint children with the development of current institutions and problems” (rugg 1921a, 185). rugg proposed that future committees “sweep the board clean” and start anew, developing “carefully thought-out hypotheses of selection ... based upon a principle of social worth “leading inexorably to study of the outstanding “problems” and “issues” of contemporary civilization. later, in the same article, rugg critiqued the “encyclopedic presentation of facts, with little or no emphasis upon application of these facts to the understanding of great fundamental relationships.” he then proposed that, “to develop a real power of thought” we should give students “constant practice in generalization,” helping them to understand great movements and causal connections, acquiring information by “gradual accretion” through “making … interconnections—not mere drill upon isolated topics, events, conditions, personages, etc.” (1921a, 189). these were pointed criticisms of the common curricular and classroom practice of the day that went right to the heart of its deficiency. in his next publication, which appeared in the historical outlook in october of 1921, rugg provided a more fully developed and cogent statement of his emerging theory of social studies. he framed his theory in the context of seven “hypotheses,” which his newly formed research team aimed to either confirm or refute. the hypotheses included emphasis on problemsolving, development of a unified course, student examination of evidence in various forms, current affairs as a window to relevant episodes from the past, and a spiraling or layering of complexity (rugg 1921b, 252). the problem with the old order in the first chapter of the 1923 nsse yearbook, rugg asked, in his title: “do the social studies prepare pupils adequately for life activities?” he answered, “they do not,” then set out to describe and critique the present curriculum in some detail. first, rugg argued that the vast majority of our people rarely deliberate thoughtfully on political and social matters. he hypothesized that “critical judgment, instead of impulse, must be the basis upon which our social and political decisions are made...” and that it was the primary responsibility of the social studies curriculum to provide students with “knowledge about the issues of contemporary life and how they came to be what they are ... translated into tendencies to act intelligently upon them ...” (rugg 1923, 1-2). “history instruction,” rugg wrote, “spans six or seven school years from fourth through twelfth grade.” he summarized the present focus of historical study as “international, legalistic, and militaristic” with students expected to learn a great deal of “minutiae” about the past. history instruction deals, he wrote, “with the growth of our nation as a legal and political organization” 62 but largely ignores the “social, industrial, and intellectual aspects...” (rugg 1923, 5). from the fifth grade on, geography exhibits a focus on “countless facts ... learned by rote” from textbooks which are “veritable encyclopedias” organized by continent and country, containing “a multiplicity of detail” and trying to “cover too much territory” (rugg 1923, 5-6). while acknowledging improvements and innovations contained in the new and rapidly growing course in “community civics,” including greater focus on community welfare and conditions in cities, rugg lamented the fact that “few such innovations” had reached the elementary or junior high school. in those years, and in most government courses at higher levels, the schools continued to “drill students” on the constitution, and the branches and powers of the federal government, using what was frequently called a structure-of-government approach. rugg went on, “our social sciences are dominated by reading courses which stress the acquisition of information. the schools are following the path of least resistance ... based upon „no theories at all.‟” “the practice implicitly assumes … that clear thinking and right conduct will issue from the mere acquiring of information” (rugg 1923, 6-7). remarkably, rugg‟s description of the standard practices in social studies of the 1920s bears an eerie resemblance to the modal practice today. moreover, his criticisms and remedies continue to resonate, and may serve as a potential source for reflection and new directions. key principles of rugg social studies rugg‟s proposed social science course for the junior high school was built upon eight hypotheses: first: contemporary problems and their historical backgrounds can be learned more effectively through one unified social science curriculum than through the separate school subjects. second: each major topic of the course must be of established social value to the rank and file of our people. unless a topic contributes to an understanding of contemporary life, it can find no place in such a course. third: an objective analysis of social needs facilitates the assignment—to each of the major phases of life—its proper amount of attention in the curriculum. fourth: problems shall be based on common experiences of children using personal appeals (e. g “what would you do if—?”), alternative proposals, and intellectual opposition to obtain interest, and should be illustrated by detailed episodes and by a wealth of maps, graphs, and pictorial material. fifth: reading materials and exercises should be established to stimulate analysis and reasoning. thus, all units of work shall be presented definitely in problem-solving form. sixth: problem-situations shall be presented first through current affairs. only those historical backgrounds shall be developed which are crucial for clear thinking about contemporary matters, presented through “sharp contrasts.” seventh: historical backgrounds will be clearer if the history of only one set of related topics is traced at one time. we should teach history longitudinally, 63 tracing development of a particular topic or activity to the present. eighth: one problem or topic should be considered definitely and thoroughly at one time. (an admonition to go for depth) (adapted from rugg 1921a; rugg 1921b; rugg 1923). 3 and so, by 1923 rugg had fleshed out the core ideas that were at the heart of his vision for social studies. it was, in essence, a progressive and issues-centered vision centered on curriculum integration. it focused on issues and “problemsituations,” appealed to the interests of the child, balanced with social need and a curriculum that was to be designed in advance of instruction. it also contained a theory on the use of historical material as background to contemporary understanding rather than as content per se. these were innovative ideas that provided a foundation for the further development of rugg‟s social studies materials behind rugg’s theory: a rationale at the heart of his rationale, rugg posited that development of a curriculum for “a troubled society” required confronting young people with “the most critical problems of that society.” rugg viewed our society as “troubled” and “faced with big and insistent problems.” he argued that society was also “dynamic” and that the curriculum must be dynamic as well. hence, there were two fundamental mandates in creating a curriculum: first, selection of “insistent and permanent problems,” and second, to continuously adapt the curriculum to “the problems which experts predict will continue to be insistent in the adult life of the growing generation.” finally, rugg held, even at this early date, that the school is “our most important agency for the improvement of society” (rugg 1923, 261-262). to locate these “insistent problems,” rugg argued that no one was better equipped than the group of writers he labeled “frontier thinkers.” these frontier thinkers included scholars from a variety of fields “out on the firing line of social analysis.” rugg and his research assistants drew on the “matured statements” contained in more than 150 books of several score of these frontier thinkers. the books were selected using a fourpart procedure. first, drawing from book review digest, they selected only those works referred to as “books of distinct merit, irrespective of economic or political faith.” second, they chose books characterized as “important” in book reviews of six weekly and several monthly journals. third, the list was supplemented by “a canvass” of several thousand books held at columbia university library. and fourth, eighty specialists were solicited for “a list of ten books in his own field ... which he would use to obtain statements of problems in his field,” reflecting “deep insight and balanced vision” and chosen “irrespective of economic or political faith” (rugg 1923, 267). rugg‟s vision for social studies contained both social theory and psychological theory, although the social theory was dominant, even early on. the social theory held that social studies subjects in schools existed in the context of a troubled society, and that by becoming aware of issues and problems, students would develop a commitment to active citizenship aimed at social improvement. social value would be the litmus test for selection and inclusion of topics in the curriculum, and social improvement was to be the teleological goal. the psychological theory held that students were interested in present life conditions and its 64 related issues and problems; that persistent and relatively permanent issues and problems should be at the heart of the curriculum; and, that history and much of the other social science content should be taught in such a way that these traditional sources of knowledge would interest and illuminate students lives in the present. and, more importantly for rugg, it should prepare them for lives as active and concerned citizens who would help to improve conditions in a “troubled society.” thus, while the interests of the child were an important part of rugg‟s theory, he clearly subordinated student interest to social need and the larger goal of social improvement. rugg‟s thinking, as expressed in the teacher guides he developed in the late 1920s to accompany his textbooks, also emphasized the importance of active learning and student participation that would go far beyond a passive “reading” curriculum. the “active” school would replace the traditional “listening” school (rugg 1929). learning through active participation meant that the course would involve a stream of activities rather than students simply reading a textbook, answering questions at the back of the chapter, and listening to the teacher speak. participation would involve a wide range of activities and formats, including student research in books, magazines, and newspapers; discussion through open forums and debate; preparation of outlines, briefs, and critiques as needed; and, use of new tools of graphic and pictorial display. as rugg put it, the materials should be arranged in “thought provoking form.” the student must not only gather and “absorb facts,” but must be given constant practice in “making decisions with facts” (rugg 1929, 5). to make learning more meaningful, rugg emphasized selection of a relatively small number of problems, studied in depth, rather than the superficial treatment of many topics. selection of topics and materials would be based on social worth. rugg believed that an understanding of the modern world could best be achieved through a focus on “a few hundred” of the concepts of the social sciences. finally, rugg emphasized that students should concentrate on one topic at a time and one particular task (winters 1968, 36-41; rugg 1929, 3-12). the rugg social science materials development of the rugg social science pamphlets began during the early 1920s. rugg and his assistants (eventually including his brother earle rugg and an assortment of graduate students, editors, and other collaborators) contacted former students and asked them to subscribe, sight unseen, to the social science pamphlet series that he and his entourage had developed experimentally at the lincoln school. the response was overwhelming. by june 1922, he had received orders for 4,000 copies of each. the second edition of the pamphlet series resulted in about 100,000 copies of each issue being shipped to schools (nelson 1977; kay 1969). the rugg social science pamphlets were problem-centered and pedagogically advanced. virtually every topic was introduced through a contemporary issue or problem connected to students' lives. the writing was lively and engaging. open-ended discussion questions were prominently featured in "open forum" and "group discussions.” they also made frequent use of photos, drawings, and cartoons; and provocative topics were given full coverage, including potentially controversial topics such as the influence of business on government, and the influence of men-of-property on the development of the u.s. constitution. 65 the rugg-developed pamphlets were revised and published in textbook form by ginn and company—two texts per grade (seventh, eighth and ninth) for junior high schools— beginning in august of 1929, with publication of another volume in the series published every six months thereafter. the series, man and his changing society, became a huge financial success, and represents the zenith of issuescentered social studies materials entre into classrooms in the twentieth century. during the 1930s, sales of rugg's textbook series skyrocketed. from 1929 to 1939, the series sold 1,317,960 copies at approximately $2.00 each, and over 2,687,000 workbooks. rugg and his associates had created a unified social studies program and his books attracted worldwide attention and imitation. through force of will, brilliance, hard work, and fortuitous timing he had clearly become the leading social studies educator in the united states (winters 1967). at their peak, the rugg program materials were used in more than 4,000 school districts nationwide (bagenstos 1977). the six volumes of the junior high school program were "designed to provide a comprehensive introduction to modes of living and insistent problems of the modern world" (rugg, 1931, p. vi) with the purpose of "introducing young people to the chief conditions and problems which will confront them as citizens of the world," (vi). rugg defended his development of a "unified" course-of-study by alluding to students‟ need to "utilize facts, meanings, generalizations, and historical movement" (vi) in understanding modern institutions. he wrote, “whenever history is needed to understand the present, history is presented.” the same is true with “geographic relationship” and economic and social facts and principles (vi-vii). although these books contained a great deal of historical narrative, not unlike many other texts, the overarching aim was to make the study of history and the social sciences relevant, interesting, and meaningful to students in service of the ultimate goal of social melioration. in both the pamphlet series and the textbooks, material from history and the social sciences was frequently framed with issues and problems of present concern. the gathering storm rugg's scholarly writing underwent a shift in the early 1930s, with a more pointed advocacy of social reconstructionism and the goal of moving toward some form of "collectivism," reflecting concerns spurred by the era of the great depression. it was, in part, these writings and subsequent media coverage of his speaking engagements that attracted the attention of selfappointed censors to rugg's work. his success as an author, combined with his affiliation with unpopular causes, made him a target for criticism. in 1934, rugg was listed as a "communist" in elizabeth dilling's the red network (1934). during 1935 rugg spoke out against american legion attempts to censor a classroom magazine, scholastic, because of its perceived liberal bias. for the balance of the decade, in a series of major speeches, rugg attacked patriotic societies, the advertising federation of america, the national association of manufacturers, the united states chamber of commerce, and the new deal itself. his comments and outspoken views critical of the american legion and other groups made him the chief target of their attacks. by 1939, against the backdrop of dictatorship in europe and the beginning of world war ii, controversies over the rugg textbooks spread like wildfire, and the american 66 public was treated to a spectacle that received continuing national media coverage. the attacks centered in the new york metropolitan area and represented an intense campaign orchestrated by relatively few people. the bulk of the attacks came from a combination of business writers and publicists, retired military of the american legion, professional journalists, and a few loose cannons. the flames were fanned by extensive coverage in the hearst press. attacks on the rugg materials began as part of a blanket attack on american writers and texts, with rugg gradually becoming the chief target. bertie c. forbes, in his own magazine, attacked the rugg textbooks in an article titled "treacherous teachings" in which he charged rugg with being against private enterprise and urged boards of education to "cast out" the rugg books (forbes, 1939). the advertising federation of america, led by alfred t. falk, attacked the books for carrying "anti-advertising propaganda." merwin k. hart, a native fascist and president of the new york state economic council, charged rugg with "making a subtle sugar-coated effort to convert youth to communism," and suggesting that capitalism "has been a failure and that socialism should be substituted in its place" (myers 1940, 17). controversies over the books in a number of cities and towns followed a typical pattern: a complaint, followed by the appointment of a committee to investigate, then debate and, frequently, public hearings. in a number of well publicized cases, rugg appeared in person to defend the textbook series. the outcome of the controversy varied from place to place. binghamton, new york, and englewood, new jersey, had major controversies covered extensively by local and national media. in a number of cities and towns, including binghamton, the books were removed. in bradner, ohio, the superintendent ordered the books taken down to the furnace room and burned. two articles that appeared in widely read and nationally circulated magazines generated the next round of controversy. the first of these was an article by augustin g. rudd that was published in the april 1940, issue of nation’s business, and was titled, "our 'reconstructed' educational system." rudd posited that the "entire educational system" had been "reconstructed" with textbooks and courses teaching "that our economic and political institutions are decadent" (rudd 1940, 27). he blamed the widespread teaching of "social science” [instead of] … history, geography and u. s. government," and cited the rugg textbooks as the major culprit. he argued that rugg "subtly but surely implied a need for a state-planned economy and socialism" and aimed "to undermine the faith of children in the american way of life" (rudd 1940, 94). the second article, by orlen k. armstrong, was titled, "treason in the textbooks," and appeared in the american legion magazine for september 1940, and was distributed to one million homes. the american legion had a long history of trying to persuade the nation‟s citizens to support its brand of true “americanism” by distributing pamphlets, suppressing “subversive elements,” and supporting textbook criticism (gellerman 1938). the article contained a bitter denunciation of the writers and teachers of the "new history," and charged that rugg sought to "cast doubt" upon the "patriotism" of the founding fathers and the constitution and "to condemn the american system" of private enterprise and inculcate "collectivism" (armstrong 1940, 51-70). 67 armstrong attacked fused courses like rugg's, and described them as "propaganda for a change in our political, economic, and social order" (9). meanwhile, the entire controversy garnered increasing national attention. according to an article in time magazine, by the end of the spring term in 1940, the rugg textbooks had been banned from a half-dozen school systems. critics objected to the rugg texts, the article reported, "for picturing the u.s. as a land of unequal opportunity, and giving a class conscious account of the framing of the u.s. constitution" (book burnings 1940, 64-65). the storm unleashed the next major development in the rugg story raised the stakes considerably as it involved the activities of the national association of manufacturers (nam), a business organization with a long history of propaganda campaigns aimed at organized labor, the new deal, and school curricula. during the 1930s the “brass hats” of big business reclaimed leadership of the nam and launched a campaign aimed at “business salvation,” flooding the nation with propaganda aimed at manufacturing favorable public opinion. they popularized the term “free enterprise” as a replacement for “capitalism,” adopting the term at their 1932 convention (seldes 1968, 112-113). involvement in the rugg textbook controversy was part of their larger propaganda campaign. on december 11, 1940, the new york times reported that the nam announced that it would initiate a survey of textbooks used in schools to see if it could find evidence of subversive teaching. ralph robey, an assistant professor of banking at columbia university, and a columnist for newsweek, was hired by the nam to prepare a series of abstracts of some 800 currently used social studies textbooks to show the authors‟ attitudes toward government and business. on saturday, february 22, 1941, a headline at the top of the front page of the new york times read: "un-american tone seen in textbooks on social sciences: survey of 600 used in schools, finds a distorted emphasis on defects of democracy, only a few called red." the article reported that a "substantial portion" of the social science textbooks used in schools "tend to criticize our form of government and the system of private enterprise." the article cited the controversy over the rugg textbooks and noted that several school systems had banned his books from the classroom (fine 1941, 1, 6). the story, including the reference to the rugg controversy, appeared on the front page. the abstracts provided provocative selected quotations from the texts, which raised questions about the functioning of government, the distribution of wealth and incidence of poverty, or the interplay of power and wealth. the quotations were provided without any sense of the remainder of each text, much of which would be found utterly innocuous. internal memoranda from the files of the nam suggest that many in the organization's offices were rather squeamish about the entire enterprise, and feared that it could result in negative publicity for business and the nam. as it turned out, these worries were well founded. 4 protests, corrections, and replies to dr. robey's findings came quickly. leaders of the national council for the social studies (ncss) made immediate contact with leaders of the nam asking whether it "repudiates or endorses" robey's statement (hunt, 1941a). the nam president, walter d. fuller, responded with a press release stating that robey's criticisms were 68 his "personal opinion only" (fuller 1941). later, after a storm of stories and editorials in the press, the nam attempted to further distance itself from the controversy and expressed regret that "distorted" impressions of the project had been given such wide currency (hunt 1941b, 328). the defense a defense against the attacks on the rugg textbooks was mounted on several fronts. the academic freedom committee of ncss issued a statement supporting academic freedom, and later prepared "a packet of reading matter on freedom of teaching in the social studies area," which included a 66-page booklet on fending off attacks on textbooks (curti 1941). the council of the american historical association asked professor arthur m. schlesinger to draft a statement regarding controversial issues in textbooks. the statement, which was approved by the council, gave strong support for the inclusion of controversial questions in "the historical account," and for encouraging a "spirit of inquiry" in young people (american historical association 1941, 488). rugg himself was undoubtedly the chief advocate for the defense of social studies, and the rugg textbooks, against the attackers. likewise, numerous friends and colleagues rushed to his defense. one of the most active groups was the american committee on democracy and intellectual freedom, organized in the late 1930s to address a range of intellectual freedom issues, and chaired by franz boaz at columbia university (acdif 1941). among other groups that furnished support were the association of textbook publishers, and rugg's associates at the journal frontiers of democracy. even john dewey came to rugg's defense in an opinion editorial piece which appeared in the new york times (dewey 1940). like several groups and individuals, dewey defended rugg on the grounds of intellectual freedom even though he did not always agree with rugg's ideas or actions, and clearly did not think of rugg as a major thinker (dewey 1944). rugg gave an able defense of his work, and attempted to meet every attack directly, appearing in person whenever possible. rugg's confrontations with his accusers followed a familiar pattern. first, he would be accused of being a communist, then he would be criticized over his plan for a socialistic society in the great technology. when pressed, critic after critic would admit that they had not read the books. under siege on every side, rugg wrote an autobiographical work to tell his side of the story. that men may understand was published in april of 1941, and received generally favorable reviews (rugg 1941). publishers weekly endorsed the book and joined rugg in attacking his critics, accusing dilling, forbes, and hart of working on "the prejudices of the american people" and calling rugg's book "a vigorous and adequate reply to his critics" (melcher 1941, 1533). discussion of the attacks continued in the professional literature. one article, written by a school superintendent, argued that many of the attacks were part of a deliberate effort to undermine "public confidence in the schools so that school appropriations may be reduced" (dannelly 1941, 32). another author provided a larger historical context for the attacks and suggested that they were part of a larger "war on social studies" (gould 1941, 83-91). the real animus of the critics, he wrote, "is against the whole modern conception of the social studies as a realistic approach to life" (90). in opposition to the critics, he argued that young people have "the 69 right to know what the world is all about and to learn what can be done about it" (91). as was clear to a number of observers at the time, many of rugg‟s critics had links to fascism—defined as dictatorship of the corporate elite. according to independent journalist george seldes, publisher of the newsletter in fact, the nam was “the center of american fascism” (seldes 1943, 80, 100). it was the “the peak association of big business … [and] … the most powerful private organization in the country,” and it was organizing a great propaganda campaign aimed at “manufacturing public opinion” that suited its interests (seldes 1947, 43, 61). as it turned out, february 22, 1941, the date of the robey story, was a watershed in the war on social studies. tension had been building within the movement for integrated social studies, and a focus on issues and problems with a meliorist or reconstructionist purpose gathered steam. the tide turned after the robey article. by 1943, american legion officers believed they had ousted the textbooks from approximately 1500 communities (shumaker 1943, cited in jones 1957). by the middle of the decade, the rugg textbook series and program had fallen from prominence and had virtually disappeared. the aftermath by the fall of 1942, it was clear that rugg‟s struggle to maintain a presence for his textbooks in the schools was over, and that his efforts had largely failed. even in the schools that had decided to keep the rugg program, it would only be used until money was available to purchase the next set of books. the impact of the textbook controversy on rugg‟s fortunes as a scholar and as a leader among progressive educators was enormous. as late as 1939, it seemed that everything he touched in his professional life turned to gold. his school materials (quite literally) created a small personal fortune. after the fall of the rugg textbooks, however, rugg‟s leadership in social studies and his visions of a large personal fortune were finished. the impact of all of this on him must have been immense, although he never admitted it publicly. rugg‟s friends and colleagues expressed somewhat contradictory opinions about how this affected him (nelson 1975). two younger colleagues, paul hanna and r. freeman butts, believed that the fight left rugg feeling embittered. butts remarked in an interview, “harold became much more embittered after the american legion thing” (butts 1974, cited in nelson 1975). however, one close personal friend of rugg‟s, frederick l. redefer, who lived an hour‟s drive from woodstock, and visited frequently until rugg‟s death, thought that rugg still wanted recognition, and said “rugg‟s ego was so enormous that even after 1942, he felt he could sell new books and come back” (redefer 1974, cited in nelson 1975). one former student, who returned to teachers college after the war, described rugg as being “somewhat withdrawn,” while another described him as “disillusioned” by his friends‟ and colleagues‟ failure to support him during the controversy (winters 1968, 192). rugg himself later expressed disappointment over the same phenomena (davis 2006). although most of rugg‟s close friends and colleagues publicly supported his defense, at least one anonymous colleague communicated his disdain for rugg to dean russell (confidential undated). another friend of rugg‟s, alf evers, a writer who lived in woodstock and saw him frequently during rugg‟s later years, supports the theory that the controversy affected him deeply, and stated in a recent interview, “he felt very keenly that 70 rejection,” but that rugg “took it well.” “it was all very fresh in his mind. rugg said he „lived through it.‟ he didn‟t seem embittered,” though “he did feel that he hadn‟t been treated very well … and he never went back to social studies” (evers 2003). another friend, florence cramer, wife of painter konrad cramer, noted in her journal, a party at the rugg home that the couple attended on saturday, june 7, 1941. the party was given in honor of waldo frank, whom she talked with for a while. she described frank as “an unusually simple man and sincere person with a quiet kingly manner that was disarming.” she noted that the rugg‟s “son harold is handsome—a blond four year old—he was playing with a toy bow and arrow when we arrived,” and that “the rugg‟s looked well—harold seems happier than last year and louise said her school (she was director of the walt whitman school) has done well” (cramer 1941). family members recall a somewhat more severe impact on rugg‟s persona. rugg‟s nephew, who visited rugg in woodstock with earle rugg (harold‟s brother) and his family a few times during those years, thought that the episode “dealt a severe blow to harold” (rugg 2003). katharine alling, rugg‟s step-daughter who knew rugg from the early 1940s and lived with him much of the time from 1947 until her marriage to norman alling in 1957, stated that he was deeply hurt by the controversy and seemed at times, “rather bitter about it … he had a very nice income from the textbooks, and he lost that. he believed that he was viciously and unjustly attacked.” whenever the topic came up in later years, there would be an “edge in his voice” (alling 2005). although rugg suffered some financial hardship when his texts were withdrawn from the market, he was able to retain ownership of his country estate in woodstock and maintain an apartment in manhattan. while a significant downsizing in his vision of personal fortune was apparent, and must have been a difficult blow given his affinities, the loss of audience and of his position of leadership in the school curriculum surely must have been even more devastating. he was still a prominent figure, and more famous than ever because of the attacks on his work, but his influence on the public schools was greatly weakened. some years later, rugg was interviewed for a story on progressive education that appeared in colliers magazine. asked where he stood ideologically, rugg replied, “i am a new dealer, but they [people who have taken exception to school textbooks he has written] object to me.” he went on, “they don‟t call me communist anymore though, because i‟ve threatened to sue.” from the 1930s and for the remainder of his life, rugg was suspected by conservatives and admired by liberals. always, he remained a controversial progressive educator (whitman 1954, 36). several close colleagues and former students later remarked on his gallantry and perseverance in standing up for his beliefs regardless of the costs. one in particular captured rugg‟s outward approach to the controversy when he wrote that rugg was “…setting a precedent for writers. pull no punches—hold your ground!” moreover, he went on, rugg was widely admired for standing up to the attacks. “liberals and forward-looking men the country over have always identified themselves with you as an honest, courageous educator” (fox 1951). years later, when asked about the impact of the textbook controversy on his work, rugg responded: 71 i‟m doing now what i should have been doing 20 years ago … i was very much, my work was very much interfered with about the beginning of world war two by the various reactionary groups in the country who destroyed my earlier work in the social sciences. the american legion, for example. i gave four or five years of my life to that, which i ought not to have had to do … even though i hadn‟t retired from teachers college, i more or less withdrew from all sorts of things. it took another four or five years to get going. see, i gave twenty years to the work in the social sciences, and i‟d say that was ten years more than i should have given. i ought to have done my work at lincoln, and put the stuff together once and then quit, but i couldn‟t. i was a slave to the books. i had so many of them, you see. and it was a treadmill, until they got me off. after a while i recognized, that‟s a good thing, probably, because i was free, i was really free (rugg 1957). although he was able to regroup and continued his writing and professional activities, in some important ways rugg was never the same. his marriage of thirteen years to louise krueger ended in 1943. louise kruger rugg was not only his wife but also his partner in writing a set of elementary school social studies texts and the mother of his son, harald, born in 1936. young harald would have been about seven years old at the time of the divorce. simply from the timing of the divorce, one suspects that this change in his personal life, occurring in the wake of the textbook controversy, was somehow related to his emotional state. moreover, unlike his previous divorce and re-marriage, this time he would spend several years as a single divorcee, as if those years were needed to help him through his most difficult passage. if nothing else, despite the many charges and claims made by rugg‟s detractors, the rugg social science series was an expression of a grand vision in the progressive tradition—that social studies education in schools could prepare students for social life with an honest and comprehensive look at social realities of the past and present, and imbue them with a desire to make the world a better place. that vision was shattered. rugg‟s leadership in social studies had ended. though he referred to, and critiqued his attackers in some of his later works (rugg 1943; rugg 1952), and even joked about the controversy in a letter to his brother earle in later years (rugg 1958, cited in nelson 1975), he never attempted another textbook series for public school use, nor did he write any new materials on the social studies curriculum. instead, he turned the page of life to a new chapter and turned his attention to new topics of interest. however, he never gave up his either his progressive ideals or his social reconstructionist beliefs, and continued to uphold them in his writing and professional involvements to the end. that rugg remained true to his beliefs is a testimony to his make-up. the textbook controversy and attacks on the social frontier group had at least two immediate effects. first, the attacks led many of rugg‟s colleagues to back down. counts and childs were motivated by the attacks to state, in unequivocal terms, their commitment to american ideals. they no longer believed that education had a revolutionary role to perform or that schools should serve on the forefront of social change (childs 1950; counts 72 1945). second, the broad hysteria over subversion in schools and textbooks “fused together in the conservative mind progressive education and the ideology of the radical educationists” (bowers 1970, 49). from that point forward, many conservatives would begin to regard the entire frontier group as part of a marxist conspiracy to undermine national security. the result was a continuing drumbeat of conservative zealots, throughout the 1950s and beyond, imbued with the mission of extinguishing progressive education in the schools. though progressive education writ large was not quite dead, it was clearly under siege. that the siege would be lifted temporarily during and immediately after world war two is understandable in hindsight, given the enormous focus on the war effort. the rugg controversy was perhaps the first major battle in what i have previously described as the war on social studies, and it signaled the beginning of the end for progressive education. though it would take another decade for the looming deluge of attacks on progressive education to begin in earnest, the general trend had shifted; a line had been crossed. in hindsight, it is apparent that the attacks on rugg marked an important turning point in the nation‟s educational history. the ohio state controversy with rugg, it seemed controversy was never far away. shortly after his retirement from teachers college in may 1951, he gave lectures at ohio state university, columbus, ohio, on july 10 and 11, 1951, at the annual boyd h. bode educational conference. the speeches were given before an audience of 500 graduate students, most of whom were school teachers from around the nation. in his address to the audience on july 10, rugg described his approach to teaching as the “good life” and the “new concept.” he stated that the enemies of the “good life” are ever present, and cited the “cheap americanism” of patriotic groups such as the daughters of the american revolution and sons of the american revolution. he also reportedly said: …i see no hope for the “good life” if business is carried on by private enterprise. it will be the will of the minority… …we‟ve let the un-american activities committee frighten us. [they argue] we should abandon democracy, awake from the dark ages and be prepared to lose our little area of freedom (fbi memo 1951, 4). rugg also reportedly said that a serious depression might actually help reawaken the american people to their responsibilities and benefits (rugg assailed 1951). in his july 11 speech, rugg reportedly expressed hope for eventual “world control of power production.” he stated that he did not believe his predicted depression would materialize in the near future, but that through a future nationwide period of unemployment people would be made to think. he also reportedly spoke of the growing systems of limitless atomic power production (fbi memo 1951, 4). finally, referring to the controversy surrounding himself and his writings, rugg was quoted as saying: the names of the patrioteers and organizations change, but their devilish motives never change. most of them are crooked and subversive of the american way. the appalling fact is that parents and teachers of middle age stand and do 73 nothing after the bigoted attacks of the late 30‟s and early 40‟s. the unamerican committees have got us backed right out of the ring. they‟re in every town in america, led by professional rabble-rousers and backed by large sums of money. they are merchants of conflict—yellow newspapers with disgruntled editors, the commentator with a yen for the microphone, lap-dog women, business men‟s clubs, rotary, the american legion, chronic letter writers and the prestige hunters. these are the real enemies—and the active ones—of education (fbi memo 1951, 4-5). although donald p. cottrell, dean of the college of education, came to rugg‟s defense, supporting his appearance on the grounds of academic freedom and the need for diversity of viewpoints, the university president, dr. howard l. bevis, issued a statement stating that rugg‟s lectures on the campus implied no sponsorship of rugg‟s views by the university. president bevis also stated that he disagreed with much of what rugg reportedly said, but that “freedom of speech allows wide latitude of expression” (fbi memo 1951). the speech touched off yet another controversy over rugg, although this time the most heated controversy was largely confined to the columbus, ohio, area and its vicinity. the speech also spurred a renewed investigation of rugg by the federal bureau of investigation. stirred by media reports and a local campaign launched by rugg opponents, readers of the local papers wrote to express their concerns over rugg‟s appearance. some attacked rugg and his ideas, while others decried the use of tax dollars to support such a radical guest speaker. several letters attacked the leadership and faculty of the graduate school of the college of education who were responsible for, and funded rugg‟s appearance. among the letters were the following: …we vehemently protest the appearance of dr. rugg, author of the controversial rugg textbooks which have been eliminated from numbers of schools and which have been the target of numerous patriotic organizations … the ohio state university is supported by the people of ohio. let the people speak! do we want harold g. rugg at our university? (fbi memo 1951, 1). … [rugg] is a notorious left-wing writer of socialistic textbooks and one of the original group of collectivist teachers who have warped the minds of american schoolchildren for two decades … harold rugg is a socialist. he has been the leading part of the undermining apparatus of our education philosophy. he should not have been invited to speak at the osu conference … (fbi memo 1951, 2). …will teachers attending this conference bring this so-called “new concept” to our children next fall? ohio state university needs a thorough investigation by the people of ohio for bringing speakers of this type to the campus (fbi memo 1951, 4). … if our nation is to be destroyed by teachers indoctrinated by a bunch of fuzzy-minded, hair-brained, so-called educators, i for one protest having my hard-earned tax dollars pay for that destruction (student‟s mother 1951). following what appeared to be a genuine public outcry over rugg‟s appearance, on july 17, 1951, ohio governor frank j. lausche asked the trustees of ohio state university to check into the 74 matter. the previous day, two members of the state‟s newly formed un-american activities committee of the ohio legislature and an osu trustee stated that rugg‟s conference appearance would be investigated. an editorial in the columbus dispatch on july 23 supported an investigation of rugg‟s appearance, “its sponsorship, financing and the political philosophies being fostered in the college of education.” the editors stated, “these moves are in order …the question is whether or not (teachers) are being indoctrinated with the subversive political ideas advocated by a notorious and discredited propagandist” (campus probe 1951). a much longer editorial expressing similar sentiments appeared in the columbus state journal on august 31, identifying rugg as “the nation‟s most notorious marxist educator” and reading: the rugg episode cannot be laughed off. somebody or a group brought him here for a purpose, if none other than to provide an audience of potential missionaries and to give them the opportunity to hear and see the fountain head, the master, the messiah of the movement to build through the school system a new body of american citizenry, receptive and reconciled and blindly eager to accept an american counterpart of soviet totalitarianism… (rugg episode 1951). the editorial went on to state that it suspected the college of education at osu had been “substantially infiltrated,” and that many boards of education had avoided employing graduates from the school, especially in social studies. on august 12, it was reported in the cincinnati enquirer that the ohio american legion had called for the removal of the rugg textbooks from ohio schools, repeating their usual charges that the books were “biased in their presentation by advocating socialistic government for the united states” (fbi memo 1951, 13). most of the letters on the controversy called for an investigation of university policies, but a few defended rugg‟s appearance under the idea that one of the functions of a university is to provide a forum for all ideas, even those which are unpopular, so that each may be judged on its merits. therefore, unpopular persons and ideas should be given a hearing. a number of faculty members apparently expressed this defense of the rugg appearance, maintaining that a university faculty, within a democracy, has the right to select the program to be presented to its students. also coming to rugg‟s defense was the communist party of ohio, which circulated 250 copies of a mimeographed circular entitled, “the luxury of silence,” to certain members of the osu faculty and others. the circular blasted the acquiescence of campus liberals to the will of the “dispatch gang” in the witch-hunt, and “the reality of truman‟s bi-partisan police state” (fbi memo 1951, 11). then, on september 4, the new york times reported, in its back pages, that the ohio state university board of trustees had attacked rugg‟s speech as “un-american” and condemned the invitation given rugg to speak at the university. in its statement, the board of trustees said, “the function of the university is teaching, not indoctrination. the university must not be used as an agency of un-american propaganda. every effort will be made to carry out these purposes.” the article also noted, “dr. rugg has not been listed by any government agency as unamerican” (trustees assail 1951, 29). a similar article, appearing in the cincinnati times-star, 75 reported that the invitation was “not in accordance with the traditions and objectives of ohio state university,” and noted that in order to avoid a recurrence of such an incident, all future speakers would have to be cleared through the office of the university president (fbi memo 1951, 12). the fbi investigates. fbi surveillance of rugg, which covered the ohio state controversy in great detail, actually began many years earlier, when the bureau began receiving unsolicited materials on rugg in 1942. the bureau did not begin its rugg file on its own, but started the file when the washington field office was given materials “gratuitously” by mr. walter steele, publisher of the national republic magazine. one of the earliest items in the file was a manuscript on rugg by augustin g. rudd, titled, “what is the rugg social system?” this manuscript had appeared in the national republic magazine and was subsequently reprinted in rugg philosophy analyzed and circulated by the american legion. in addition, the file contained an article published in the april 1938 issue of the beacon light, a periodical printed by a right wing california group, titled, “atheistic communism in our schools” (fbi 2003). the files also reportedly contained reprints of articles by many of rugg‟s most determined critics. despite opening a file, the bureau apparently did little else to investigate rugg during the war years (nelson and singleton 1977). however, by the early 1950s, the climate had changed, the cold war was intensifying, the mccarthy era was in full bloom (shrecker 1998), and the bureau was apparently moved to launch a security investigation of rugg following the controversy over his speaking engagement at ohio state university. a lengthy report was filed by the bureau‟s office in cincinnati on october 1, 1951, detailing the controversy and summarizing several other “pamphlets, books, and leaflets” furnished by a local informant—materials “which she had accumulated over a number of years,” including rugg philosphy analyzed, vol. iii (national americanism commission 1941), and the pamphlet, undermining our republic: do you know what the children are being taught in our public schools? you’ll be surprised..., published by the guardians of american education (rudd, hicks and falk 1941). apparently no further action was taken by the bureau at that time, but on april 30, 1953, the head of the new york bureau requested authority “to conduct the necessary investigation of this person (harold o. rugg) to determine whether he should or should not be included in the security index.” the request referenced the letter of october 1, 1951, from the cincinnati office. the director of the new york office was given authorization on may 15, 1953, by the bureau‟s director, j. edgar hoover (fbi file 2003). the subsequent investigation led to reports by the boston and new york bureaus of the fbi. agents in boston prepared a detailed report based on their contact with dartmouth college where they viewed his records, including his alumni file which contained a good deal of biographical information on rugg‟s life and career. the alumni file included a number of articles critical of rugg as well as his defense published in the dartmouth alumni magazine of january, 1941, titled, “that men may understand.” in the article, as in his book of the same title, rugg categorically denied ever being a communist or socialist (rugg 1941). the fbi report also contained a report on rugg‟s address to the progressive education association meeting in cleveland, ohio, on march 2, 1934, in which he reportedly stated that efforts would be made 76 “to organize 14,000,000 persons into a „pressure group‟ to force more radical changes in the economic system” (fbi file 2003). agents in new york city prepared a detailed, 14-page report that advised the director on rugg‟s residences, his professional affiliations, his voting registration, and included reports from a variety of informants—many “of unknown reliability” and a few who were deemed “reliable informants.” the synopsis of facts of the report read, in part: reliable informant advised rugg not a communist but “one of cp‟s favorites…” reliable informants advised subj. associated with persons known to be members of communist front organizations, 1949 to 1950. (fbi file 2003) the report contained a good deal of information and misinformation about rugg gathered from miscellaneous informants. at one point he is cited by an informant for being “openly sympathetic with communist theories” and for his “lack of morals.” throughout the report, rugg‟s activities and professional and political affiliations were subjected to close scrutiny, including his involvement with the progressive citizens of america, and the international judicial association, both deemed “communist front organizations.” one dossier cited in the report, “red-ucators at columbia university,” published by allen zoll‟s national council for american education, listed rugg as “un-american.” however, the fbi report stated, “it is not to be assumed that because a professor or teacher is included in this list, it is conclusive evidence that he is a communist. he may be simply naïve” (fbi memo 1953, 4). the report also included references to selected speeches and writings, reported on charges from the usual critics, and included new allegations from a few loose cannons. in june of 1954, a recommendation was made that a security index card be prepared because rugg was a communist. however, in july, director j. edgar hoover rejected the nomination of rugg to the security index because there was insufficient information to warrant the recommendation. hoover advised the new york office to “remain alert to report any additional information indicating subject‟s affiliation with the communist party or communist front organizations…” (nelson and singleton 1977, 20). from the time of the authorization in 1953, until his death in 1960, whether he knew it or not, rugg was under continuing, but apparently sporadic, surveillance by the fbi. three reports were filed on rugg in 1959, but they apparently led to no further action (nelson and singleton 1977). although the controversy surrounding rugg‟s appearance at ohio state in 1951 was the last major conflagration in which rugg was actively involved, during the mccarthy era, and even later, there was a continuing series of attacks and critical commentary on the rugg textbook series and rugg‟s educational, political, and social ideas. during the deluge of attacks on progressive education that occurred during the 1950s, rugg and other frontier thinkers, especially counts and dewey, were subjected to a revival of those attacks. the american legion used the rugg controversy as an ongoing warning to progressives and published articles during the 1950s recalling their victory over rugg (kuhn 1958). furthermore, one of rugg‟s chief critics, augustin g. rudd, published a memoir recalling his role in the rugg controversy and renewing his allegations (1957). 77 despite the controversies and the unfortunate fate that befell him, rugg continued to maintain his beliefs, and persisted in supporting education for social reconstruction, although his public profile was forever altered and subdued. on may 17, 1960, rugg died of a heart attack at his home in woodstock. conclusion what can we learn from an account of harold rugg's story, and by examining his vision and rationale for social studies? a number of implications might be drawn from rugg's life and his work on social studies. first, and perhaps most important, rugg's example illustrates the importance, and the potential impact, of dreaming big and bold visions of reform, not only as a wellspring for inspiration, but as a source of ideas for practical action and praxis, with the aim of social improvement. rugg‟s social studies materials were innovative, engaging, well written, and pedagogically advanced. they went beyond narrative and description to pose challenging questions and issues—frequently framing narrative with a problem to be solved, and by inserting “open forum” discussion questions at key points in the text. many subsequent scholars in social studies have drawn on rugg and developed similar ideas; although none have had as much impact on classrooms (hunt and metcalf 1955; oliver and shaver 1966; engle and ochoa 1988; evans and saxe 1996). rugg had a worthy social and pedagogical vision combined with a bold personality and the courage to persist in upholding his convictions. his educational vision was pedagogically advanced and forward-looking. he seriously questioned capitalism and its apparatus and influences. moreover, rugg‟s basic critique is largely still relevant. we need a renewed questioning of capitalism and of the mainstream institutions in american life. it is healthy to ask such questions, and to ask schoolchildren, beginning at a fairly early age, to wrestle with these questions and the difficult issues they raise. at its heart, the progressive approach to schooling championed by rugg and others held that students must be challenged to confront social realities, to understand how the problems and dilemmas of the contemporary world came to be what they are and to think about what might be done about it. thus, rugg‟s work was, in a modest way, revolutionary in character. it was a call to action, a call to confront the persistent issues at the heart of our social and economic structures, issues that are typically left out of school. he called for students to find their own individual voices, “to say what i think, my way,” as they wrestle with the social dilemmas of our times (rugg 1956). second, though his textbooks and ideas were sure to inspire some criticism, harold rugg did not deserve his fate. rugg was a seminal thinker—fully worthy of the recognition and financial fortune that sometimes accompanies a brilliant idea combined with hard work. the controversy that engulfed rugg, and the defense offered by him and those who rose to support him, implies that some dreams are worth fighting for, even though the struggle may take its toll. it is particularly vital to keep rugg‟s curricular vision alive—to recognize the personal costs of educational controversy, and to honor his integrity and courage in continuing to stand up for his beliefs, no matter the costs. rugg lived his convictions and set an example that can serve as a continuing inspiration for today‟s scholar and citizen. in the present era, it is especially important to keep alternative visions alive, to 78 nurture deep dreams of justice and fair play, and to make sure that critics of a liberal or issuescentered social studies are met with a stout defense. the attacks on rugg, particularly the sustained campaigns carried on by the american legion and the nam, present early examples of the financial power of interest group and organization (evans 2007). recently, the revival of traditional history, supported by similar forms of interest group financing, has had a significant influence on the direction of the social studies curriculum, in effect, purchasing a conservative vision for the future of schooling and society (evans 2004; stehle 1997; selden 2004; singer 2005). this trend runs counter to the notion of a social studies focused on questions, and is leading to what paulo freire once called “the castration of curiosity” (freire and macedo 1998, 222). it must be challenged, openly confronted, by those supporting a progressive vision of social studies education and of democratic life. third, rugg did make a few mistakes. education for social justice can take many forms. there was some justification for the charge that rugg presented more evidence in his textbooks and school materials on the side of the questions that he supported. so, it seems, in order to survive in schools, we must learn to include a balance of materials, sources, and interpretations, and challenge students to make up their own minds about the meaning of past and present institutions and societal dilemmas. although this may not silence all critics, it is more easily defensible as part of the "american way," and as a clear example of john dewey's method of intelligence applied to the social studies arena. moreover, by examining the rugg textbook controversy in some depth, we can learn a great deal about the fine line between engaging in social criticism and incurring the wrath of critics. curricula cannot be neutral. however, it can strive to present multiple alternatives and to be fair to a full range of perspectives. given current trends reflecting a conservative restoration in schools and society, we need greater emphasis on social criticism in social studies. questions of social justice seem especially pertinent today, given the economic stratification and hegemonic power of elites in our nation and the world. in the united states, wealth is highly concentrated: the top one percent control 40 percent of the financial wealth, and the top 20 percent control 84 percent of total wealth. moreover, numerous studies show that the distribution of wealth has been extremely concentrated throughout u.s. history (domhoff 2006). raising questions about this ongoing reality should be an important part of social studies curricula today, just as it was in the materials created by harold rugg. rugg‟s vision and social studies program remain a compelling prototype, a model of education for democracy. one can imagine a slightly revised version of the rugg program, updated for the 21 st century, making education in social studies more vibrant and meaningful. however, given the interest among many social studies leaders in progressive, critical, and social justice approaches to education, given the context of an era of standards, centralized curriculum making, and high-stakes testing, and given the present climate of national and international crisis, it behooves us to be aware of, or be defeated by, the successes, the failures, and the mistakes—the "lessons"—of harold rugg. notes 1 this manuscript is drawn from a recent book, ronald w. evans, this happened in america: harold rugg and the censure of social studies (charlotte, nc: information age 79 publishing, 2007). portions of the manuscript also appeared in recent articles and book chapters with a different emphasis, including: ronald w. evans, “the rugg prototype for democratic education,” international journal of social education 22 (2): 101-127; ronald w. evans, “social studies vs. the united states of america: harold rugg and teaching for social justice,” in k. l. riley. ed. social reconstruction: people, politics, perspectives, pp. 45-68 (greenwich, ct: information age publishing, 2006); and ronald w. evans, “harold rugg: apostle of the modern social studies curriculum,” in s.totten, and j. pedersen, eds., addressing social issues in the classroom and beyond: the pedagogical efforts of pioneers in the field (charlotte, nc: information age publishing 2007). 2 although rugg‟s advocacy of education for social reconstructionism became more strident in the early 1930s, his rationale for social studies instruction and his social studies program changed little over time. it is also important to point out that his social studies vision and program developed long before his bold advocacy of social reconstructionism, a point that was largely lost on his critics. 3 this listing of rugg‟s “hypotheses” is a composite based on the two works cited. 4 see especially, c. e. harrison, inter-office memo. to w. b. weisenburger, 25 july 1940; c. e. harrison to h. w. prentis, 10 january 1941, and attached inter-office memo., c. e. harrison to w. b. weisenburger, 10 january 1941; c. e. harrison to h. w. prentis, 19 march 1941, all contained in “robey textbook survey” folder, national industrial information committee, subject files, box 847, series 111, national association of manufacturers papers, hagley museum and library, wilmington, delaware. references acdif press release. 1941. a committee of ten outstanding social scientists …, sunday, february 23, american committee for democracy and intellectual freedom, new york. franz boas professional papers, b61p, sub collection 2, box a-bend, acdif folder, american philosophical society, philadelphia. alling, k. 2005. interview with katherine alling, harold rugg‟s step-daughter, january 20, 2005; letter to the author, january 26, 2005. american historical association. 1941. freedom of textbooks. social education 5, 487-488. apple, m. w. & beane, j. a. 1995. democratic schools. alexandria, va: association for supervision and curriculum development. armstrong, o. k. 1940. treason in the textbooks. american legion magazine, september, 8-9, 51, 70-72. ayers, w., j. a. hunt, and t. quinn. eds. 1998. teaching for social justice: a democracy and education reader. new york: the new press and teachers college press. distributed by w. w. norton. bagenstos, n. t. 1977. social reconstruction: the controversy over the textbooks of harold rugg. theory and research in social education 5 (3): 29. boesenberg, e. and poland, k. 2001. struggle at the frontier of curriculum: the rugg textbook controversy in binghamton, new york. theory and research in social education 29 (4): 640-71. book burnings. 1940. time, september 9, 64-5. bowers, c. a. 1970. social reconstructionism: views from the left and the right, 1932-1942. history of education quarterly 10 (1): 22-52. butts, r. f. 1974. murry r. nelson interview with r. freeman butts, november 20, 1974 (cited in nelson, 1975, 184). 80 campus probe. 1951. campus probe in order, columbus dispatch, july 23, 1951, “rugg” folder, box 69, faculty files, public relations office, archives, gottesman libraries, teachers college, columbia university. caron, e. j. 2005. what leads to the fall of a great empire? using central questions to design issues-based history units. the social studies 96 (2): 51-60. childs, j. l. 1950. education and morals. new york: appleton-century-crofts. confidental. undated. there once was a professor named rugg… (poem), “harold rugg” folder, box 58, william f. russell papers, teachers college archives, gottesman libraries, teachers college, columbia university. coss, j. 1923. a collegiate survey course in the social sciences. the social studies in the elementary and secondary school, ed. h. o. rugg, 208-215. twenty-second yearbook, national society for the study of education, part ii. bloomington, il: public school. counts, g. s. 1945. education and the promise of america. new york: macmillan. cramer, f. b. 1941. personal journal of florence ballin cramer, wife of painter konrad cramer and woodstock resident, june 7, 1941. photocopy obtained from aileen cramer, woodstock, new york. curti, m. 1941. merle curti to wilbur murra, october 14. file 1, box 2, series 7. committee records, academic freedom correspondence, ncss archive, gottesman libraries, teachers college, columbia university. dannelly, c. m. 1941. facing a major threat. the school executive 60: 32. davis, o. l. 2006. o. l. davis memories of seminar discussion with harold rugg at vanderbilt university, nashville, tennessee, in 1959. dewey, j. 1940. investigating education, new york times, may 6, 16. dewey, j. 1944. john dewey to sidney hook, april 25. accession #13116, series 1, box 10, correspondence with sidney hook, john dewey papers, southern illinois university, carbondale. dilling, e. 1934. the red network: a who’s who of radicalism for patriots. kenilworth, il: author. domhoff, g. w. 2006. wealth, income, and power.<http://sociology.ucsc.edu/ whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html> engle, s. h. and a. s. ochoa. 1988. education for democratic citizenship: decision making in the social studies. new york: teachers college. evans, r. w. and d. w. saxe. eds. 1996. handbook on teaching social issues. washington, dc: national council for the social studies, bulletin #93. evans, r. w. 2004. the social studies wars: what should we teach the children? new york: teachers college press. evans, r. w. 2007. this happened in america: harold rugg and the censure of social studies. charlotte, nc: information age. evers, a. 2003. interview with alf evers, woodstock, new york, june 14, 2003, conducted by the author. fbi. 2003. rugg fbi file. unpublished papers. washington, dc: federal bureau of investigation. material unclassified, november 6, 2003. obtained by the author under the freedom of information act. fbi memorandum. 1951. office memorandum, sac, cincinnati, to director, fbi (j. edgar hoover), october 1, 1951, rugg fbi file. 81 washington, dc: federal bureau of investigation. fbi memorandum. 1953. office memorandum, sac, new york to director, fbi (j. edgar hoover), november 25, 1953, rugg fbi file. washington, dc: federal bureau of investigation. fine, b. 1941. un-american tone seen in textbooks on social sciences. new york times, february, 22, 1, 6 (late city edition). forbes, b. c. 1939. treacherous teaching. forbes, august 15, 8. fox, l. k. 1951. lorene k. fox, queens college, to harold o. rugg, april 16. in harold rugg: letters in appreciation of his frontier work, ed. teachers college. unpublished manuscript. new york: teachers college. freire, m. a. and d. macedo. eds. 1998. the paulo freire reader. new york: continuum. gellerman, w. 1938. the american legion as educator. new york: the john day company. gould, k. m. 1941. the war on social studies. common ground, autumn, 83-91. gutmann, a. 1999. democratic education. princeton, nj: princeton university press. hunt, e. m. 1941a. dr. robey versus the nam? social education 5: 288-292. hunt, e. m. 1941b. the nam restates its policy. social education 5: 328. hunt, m. p. and l. e. metcalf. 1955 & 1968. teaching high school social studies: problems in reflective thinking and social understanding. new york: harper & brothers. jones, o. e. 1957. activities of the american legion in textbook analysis and criticism 1938-1951. ph.d. dissertation, university of oklahoma. kay, g. a. (1969). harold rugg: social reconstructionist and educational statesman. ph. d. dissertation, state university of new york, buffalo. kliebard, h. m. and g. wegner. 1987. harold rugg and the reconstruction of the social studies curriculum: the treatment of the „great war‟ in his textbook series. in the formation of the school subjects: the struggle for creating an american institution, ed. t. s. popkewitz, 268-287. new york: falmer. koeppen, k. e. 1999. it threw me for a loop! pre-service teachers‟ reactions to issuescentered social studies in the primary grades. orlando: paper presented at the annual meeting of the american educational research association. kuhn, i. c. 1958. battle over books, american legion magazine, october, 20-21, 37-40. melcher, f. g. 1941. editorial: rugg deserves freedom of education. publishers weekly, april 12, 1533. myers, a. f. 1940. attacks on the rugg books. frontiers of democracy 7 (october): 17-22. national americanism commission. 1941. rugg philosophy analyzed, volume 3: textbook abstracts. indianapolis, in: the american legion. nelson, m. r. 1975. building a science of society: the social studies and harold o. rugg. ph.d. diss., stanford university. nelson, m. r. 1977. the development of the rugg social studies materials. theory and research in social education 5 (1): 64-83. nelson, m. r. and h. w. singleton. 1977. fbi surveillance of three progressive educators: curricular aspects. paper presented at the 82 society for the study of curriculum history, annual conference. newmann, f. m. and d. w. oliver. 1970. clarifying public controversy: an approach to teaching social studies. boston, ma: little, brown. ochoa-becker, a. s. 1996. building a rationale for issues-centered education. in handbook on teaching social issues, ed. r. w. evans and d. w. saxe, 6-13. washington, dc: national council for the social studies, bulletin #93. ochoa-becker, a. s. 2007. democratic education for social studies: an issues-centered decision making curriculum. charlotte, nc: information age. oliver, d. w. & shaver, j. p. 1966. teaching public issues in the high school. boston: houghton mifflin company. redefer, f. l. 1974. murry r. nelson‟s interview with frederick l. redefer, november 20 (cited in nelson, 1975, p. 184). riley, k. l. & stern, b. s. 2003. a bootlegged curriculum: the american legion versus harold rugg. international journal of social education 18 (2): 62-75. ross, e. w. and p. m. marker. eds. 2005. social studies: wrong, right, or left?: a critical response to the fordham institute‟s where did social studies go wrong? the social studies 96 (5): 187-188. rudd, a. g. 1940. our „reconstructed‟ educational system. nation’s business, april, 27-8, 93-4. rudd, a. g. 1957. bending the twig: the revolution in education and its effect on our children. new york: new york chapter of the sons of the american revolution. rudd, a. g., h. hicks, and a. t. falk. eds. 1941. undermining our republic: do you know what the children are being taught in our public schools? you’ll be surprised. new york: guardians of american education, inc. rugg assailed. 1951. ohio state trustees assail rugg speech, new york times, september 5, 29. rugg episode. 1951. rugg episode calls for thorough stock taking, columbus state journal, august 31, editorial page, “rugg” folder, faculty files, box 39, public relations office papers, gottesman libraries, teachers college, columbia university. rugg, h. o. 1921a. how shall we reconstruct the social studies curriculum? an open letter to professor henry johnson commenting on committee procedure as illustrated by the report of the joint committee on history and education for citizenship. the historical outlook 7 (5): 184-189. rugg, h. o. 1921b. on reconstructing the social studies: comments on mr. schafer's letter. historical outlook 12 (7): 249-252. rugg, h. o. ed. 1923. the social studies in the elementary and secondary school. twentysecond yearbook, national society for the study of education, part ii. bloomington, il: public school. rugg, h. o. 1929. teachers guide to accompany a history of american civilization. boston, ma: ginn and company. rugg, h. o. 1931. an introduction to problems of american culture. boston, ma: ginn and company. rugg, h. o. 1933. changing governments and changing cultures. boston, ma: ginn and company. rugg, h. o. 1939. the social studies: what i believe…in the future of the social studies, ed. j. a. michener. washington, dc: national council for the social studies. 83 rugg, h. o. 1941. that men may understand: an american in the long armistice. new york: doubleday, doran. rugg, h. o. 1943. now is the moment. new york: duell, sloan and pearce. rugg, h. o. 1952. harold o. rugg to r. freeman butts, january 15 (cited in nelson, 1975, 199). rugg, h. o. 1956. harold o. rugg speaking at new york geriatric society, cold spring, new york, june 15. cold spring tapes, tape 2, side 1. tapes obtained from george s. kay, in possession of the author. rugg, h. o. 1957. harold o. rugg speaking at new york geriatric society, cold spring, new york, cold spring tapes, tape 5, side 2, june 22, cold spring, new york. tapes obtained from george s. kay, in possession of the author. rugg, h. o. 1958. harold o. rugg to earle u. rugg, christmas, 1958. rugg noted he, “stayed younger than ever by having this absorbing search for new ideas through my books. no textbooks!” (cited in nelson, 1975, 181). rugg, j. e. 2003. interview with john e. rugg, denver, colorado, nephew of harold o. rugg and son of earle u. rugg, conducted by the author. selden, s. 2004. the neo-conservative assault on the undergraduate curriculum. paper presented at the annual meeting of the american educational research association, san diego. seldes, g. 1943. facts and fascism. new york: in fact. seldes, g. 1947. one thousand americans. new york: boni & gaer. seldes, g. 1968. never tire of protesting. new york: lyle stuart, inc. shaver, j. p. ed. 1977. building rationales for citizenship education. washington, dc: national council for the social studies. shrecker, e. 1998. many are the crimes: mccarthyism in america. boston: little, brown. shumaker, r. w. 1943. r. worth shumaker to john e. thomas, august 4, legion dead-letter files (cited in jones, 1957, 82). singer, a. 2005. strange bedfellows: the contradictory goals of the coalition making war on social studies. the social studies 96 (5): 199-205. stehle, v. 1997. righting philanthropy. the nation, june 30, 15-20. students mother. 1951. the dispatch mail bag: readers indignant about dr. rugg‟s osu appearance. columbus dispatch, week of july 11. tyack, d. & hansot, e. 1982. managers of virtue: public school leadership in america, 1820-1980. new york: basic books. whitman, h. 1954. progressive education— which way forward? colliers, may 14, 3236. winters, e. a. 1967. man and his changing society: the textbooks of harold rugg. history of education quarterly 7 (4): 509510. winters, e. a. 1968. harold rugg and education for social reconstruction. ph.d. diss., university of wisconsin. the history of service learning in the united states: 114 forty years of service-learning in the united states, 1969-2009 thomas a. kessinger xavier university abstract this article reviews the relatively brief forty-year history of service/service-learning in the united states. distinctions are offered between community service, service learning, and service-learning (hyphenated) with emphasis on the latter during this period. a summary of service and service-learning ventures by public and private groups during the past ten years is also highlighted; and, the connection between service (and/or service-learning) and citizenship education is emphasized as well. introduction service-learning is a relatively new term. it is a form of experiential education that has its roots in the ideas and writings of john dewey. nearly eighty years ago, dewey said: the aim of civic efficiency…calls attention to the fact that power must be relative to doing something, and to the fact that the things which most need to be done are things which involve one's relationships with others. (dewey 1930, 140) additionally, social efficiency covers all that makes one's own experience more worthwhile [sic] to others, and all that enables one to participate more richly in the worthwhile experiences of others. (dewey 1930, 141) based on dewey's ideas and writings as well as that of the national society for experiential education many forms of experiential learning can be found at grades k-16 in both public and private education today. some of the more common examples include tutoring, mentoring, public service, and youth service. historical overview the remainder of this article primarily serves as a historical description of service and/or service-learning in the united states for the past forty years. are the following terms synonymous: service, volunteerism, community service, service-learning? truly, it depends. oftentimes it is nearly impossible to distinguish or to discern the distinctions between these terms in philosophy, program, support or result. according to various writers (giles & eyler, 1994; kinsley & mcpherson, 1995; loeb, 1999; putnam, 2000), the desire and ability to offer "service" has been present ever since the beginning of this country. therefore, each one of the above terms has had attention given it and some evidence of application in the united states. however, it would be a major mistake to assume that the above terms are synonymous. according to the national council for the social studies or ncss (position statement, 2000), “[s]ervice-learning is distinguished from community service or volunteerism.” stanton and others (1999) also note distinctions between the terms. this article offers a survey of service-related terms and definitions by various groups. it also shows a connection between service (and service-learning) and ctizenship. finally, it notes how some public and private institutions (organizations) assist in 115 promoting either service or service-learning in this country. during the 1840s, alexis de tocqueville noted that americans of all ages and backgrounds had a great propensity for forming voluntary associations to support community needs. more recent authors (galston, 2003; loeb, 1999; putnam, 2000) express the concern that the united states is at risk in sacrificing this heretofore community or service ethic. loeb (1999) states: “i remain convinced by putnam’s basic proposition [contained in an earlier article], that civic involvement has dropped off significantly” (198). service-learning, as a concept, has evolved from volunteerism and community service; or, to say it another way, service learning rests on both volunteerism, service and community service. the ncss (2000) states: “service-learning connects meaningful service in the school or community with academic learning and civic responsibility" (p. 240). it is one example of a tool or technique that fits within the dynamic notion of the "powerful social studies" (ncss 1994, 11-12). shumer says “. . . one of the problems we face is to separate service-learning from volunteerism and community service. i’m not against the word service, but i think service and volunteerism take the emphasis away from learning” (stanton, giles, & cruz 1999, 208). according to eyler and giles (1999), one researcher had uncovered 147 definitions of service-learning. ten years ago, sigmon (1996) took the concept of service-learning (with and without the hyphen) and offered a typology to distinguish four different possibilities and meanings based on a particular term emphasis. for example, he notes that when people go into the community and provide service—after hearing or reading about selected agencies, he refers to this as service-learning (emphasis on the service, with learning goals secondary). likewise, when service and learning goals are of equal weight, and each enhances the other for all participants (this implies the notion of reciprocity), this is service-learning; this is the richest definition of all offered (eyler & giles 1999, 5). the focus of the remainder of this article will be to trace the idea of “service-learning” for the last forty years. an equally important objective will be to show how academics and others in the united states have applied the term. according to wade (1997), “service-learning programs can take a variety of shapes and forms, making the defining of service-learning a challenging task” (19). pre-collegiate and collegiate studentcentered volunteer/community services have a long history that includes ymca, ywca, 4-h, the scouting movements, fraternities and sororities, and other initiatives. it grew dramatically in both numbers and in the public’s eye during the early 1960s with kennedy’s peace corps. a few years later, volunteers in service to america (vista) followed which allowed young persons to take on domestic-based challenges in various communities around the country. a precursor to service-learning can be found in four of the “cardinal principles” of the national education association (nea) commission on the reorganization of secondary education. in its report, the commission underscored the importance of “service” in the principles of vocation, civic education, worthy use of leisure, and ethical character. for example, under vocation, the report states: “. . . equip the individual to secure a livelihood for himself and those dependent on him, to serve society well through his vocation.” as to civic education, 116 “[t]he pupil should feel that he will be responsible, in cooperation with others . . . (to) realize that democracy itself is an ideal to be wrought out by his own . . .” on worthy use of leisure, “the school should therefore, see that adequate recreation is provided both within the school and by other proper agencies in the community . . . because it includes in its membership representatives from all classes of society and consequently is able through social relationships to establish bonds of friendship and common understanding that can not be furnished by other agencies.” finally, for ethical character, “. . . the social contacts of pupils with one another and with their teachers, the opportunities afforded by the organization and administration of the school for the development on the part of pupils of the sense of personal responsibility and initiative, and above all, the spirit of service . . . should permeate the entire school” (nea cardinal principles 1918, 10-16). as noted in the introduction above, service-learning as a form of experiential education [note that the national society for experiential education (nsee) was formed in 1971], has its roots in the ideas and writings of john dewey (see giles & eyler, 1994). dewey (1930) said: the aim of civic efficiency (or good citizenship) . . . calls attention to the fact that power must be relative to doing something, and to the fact that the things which most need to be done are things which involve one’s relationship with others. (140). furthermore, social efficiency “covers all that makes one’s own experience more worthwhile [sic] to others, and all that enables one to participate more richly in the worthwhile experiences of others” (dewey 1930, 141). as a result of his work and that of the nsee, many forms of experiential learning can be found at grades k-16 in public as well as in private education. for example, tutoring, mentoring, cooperative learning, collaborative learning, internships, experiential education, public service, youth service and other examples abound (see o’grady, 2000; also, see bailes, 2001). origins of service-learning what is the origin of the term servicelearning? it first appears in the late 1960s in the publications of the southern regional education board (sreb) whose primary writers were robert sigmon and william ramsay (o’grady, 2000; stanton, giles & cruz, 1999). in 1969 the office of economic opportunity established the national student volunteer program which later became the national center for service-learning. in 1971 this program and two others—peace corps and vista -combined to form the federal agency action. service-learning was introduced and became a mainstay on many college campuses during the late 1960s and the 1970s. from the mid-1980s, service-learning on college campuses increased in popularity. in 1985 the education commission of the states began campus compact or the project for public and community service. today, this is "a national coalition of more than of 1100 college and university presidents—representing some 6 million students—dedicated to promoting community service, civic engagement, and service-learning in higher education" (see campus compact website 2008). campus compact defines service-learning as “a teaching method which combines community service with academic instruction as it focuses on critical, reflective thinking and civic responsibility” 117 (“what is service-learning?” campus compact online 2008, 6). as a result of community service and the spread of service-learning programs, the nsee began to establish a set of “principles of good practice” in 1987. this effort culminated in a 1989 wingspread conference hosted by the johnson foundation at which the “principles of good practice in combining service and learning” were articulated. wingspread offered the ideal that any definition of service-learning must represent that “(s)ervice, combined with learning, adds value to each and transforms both” (kendall 1990, 39). after this conference kendall and associates published the classic three-volume set, combining service and learning, under the auspices of the nsee and in collaboration with ninety-one national and regional associations. the document contains a wide range of resources on service-learning in k-12 and higher education plus an annotated bibliography on servicelearning literature. that same year mainstream educational publisher jossey-bass issued the first volume on service-learning. during the 1990s additional articles and books were published on service-learning for secondary and higher education students and institutions. besides publishing other references on service-learning (curricular service-learning models and reflective ideas for students), nsee hosted another wingspread conference in 1991. as a result of the push for research on the benefits and effects of service-learning, the michigan journal of community service-learning was launched in late 1994. campus compact continued its publication of service-learning materials as well. in recognition of the need for a widely agreed-on definition of service-learning and a set of standards by which to judge programs, a diverse group of service-learning educators formed the alliance for service-learning in education reform or asler. they defined service-learning in 1993 as: . . . a method by which young people learn and develop through active participation in thoughtfully-organized service experiences: that meet actual community needs, that are coordinated in collaboration with school and community, that are integrated into each young person’s academic curriculum, that provide structured time for a young person to think, talk, and write about what he/she did and saw during the actual service activity, that provide young people with opportunities to use newly acquired academic skills and knowledge in real life situations in their own communities, that enhance what is taught in the school by extending student learning beyond the classroom, and that help foster the development of a sense of caring for others. (asler 1993, 1) the federal government’s interest in and support of service-learning increased dramatically in the 1990s as well. this was due in large measure to the passage of the national and community service act of 1990. this act reflected president george h.w. bush’s campaign pledge of a “thousand points of light,” and led to the creation of the first white house office of national service and the points of light foundation. president clinton’s campaign stressed the establishment of a national “service” program that culminated—after much debate—in the passage of the national and community service trust act of 1993. this legislation brought together the commission of national and community service, action, and the newly established national civilian community corps 118 that merged to form the corporation for national and community service (cns). this corporation is responsible for the establishment and maintenance of three major volunteer, community service, and/or servicelearning programs: senior corps, americorps, and learn and serve america. the goal of all three groups/programs is to provide opportunities for americans of all ages and backgrounds to “serve” their communities and country. specifically, the act of 1993, states that servicelearning: is a method whereby students learn and develop through active participation in thoughtfully organized service that is conducted in and meets the needs of communities; is coordinated with an elementary school, secondary school, institution of higher education or community service program and the community; helps foster civic responsibility; is integrated into and enhances the academic curriculum of the students, or the education components of the community service program in which the participants are enrolled; [and,] provides structured time for students or participants to reflect in the service experience. (act of 1993) in other words, service-learning is built upon the concept of community service linked to or with schools, and civic participation/education is the primary goal of the act. cns has given dramatic impetus to service-learning in elementary, secondary and higher education settings especially in one program. the learn and serve america program focuses more on service-learning than on the other related concepts. according to its “fact sheet” (nd), learn and serve america (l&s) offers “grants to schools, colleges and nonprofit groups to support efforts to engage students in community linked to academic achievement and the development of civic skills.” l&s america refers to this as “service-learning” and states that it improves communities while preparing students for a lifetime of responsible citizenship. l&s offers grants via the states to communities for school-based, community-based and higher education programs. finally, l&s also offers models by which service-learning can be accomplished by school and community groups in the states. one model—employed in maryland—is pare (preparation, action or service, reflection, evaluation)—as noted in cns epicenter “effective practices.” other states offer similar models (e.g., parr and parac). according to various researchers (pritchard, 2002; wade, 1997), in order to move beyond mere community service, each model must contain the major elements of service-learning: preparation, action/service (which implies reciprocity), reflection (that relates service to academic learning), evaluation or assessment, and recognition or celebration (see learn & serve ohio 2000 annual report for a state-adopted parr model and explanation). community service versus service-learning in early 1999 the national center for education statistics (nces) of the u.s. department of education conducted the first “national student service-learning and community service survey.” this survey provides “reliable national estimates of the percentage of elementary, middle and high schools incorporating service-learning into their courses, as well as providing the most recent data on school engagement in community service.” (nces 1999, 1) significant findings include: 119 sixty-four percent of all public schools, including eighty-three percent of public high schools, had students participating in community service activities recognized by and/or arranged through the school; fifty-seven percent of all public schools organized community service activities for their students; and, thirty-two percent of all public schools organized service-learning as part of their curriculum, including nearly onehalf of all high schools. what is significant here is that servicelearning in k-12 schools combines elements of community service with classroom instruction. note that the percentage of public schools nationwide with service-learning was 32 percent, which means about one-half as many schools had service-learning as had community service. throughout the short history of servicelearning, there still appears to be divided opinion as to its definition and some confusion distinguishing it from community service. pritchard (2002) states that “community service is used more widely than service-learning, both in the sense that it is typically applied to a wider range of activities” (6). in the above cited nces survey, community service was defined as “activities that are non-curriculum-based and are recognized by and/or arranged through the school.” the survey defined service-learning: as curriculum-based community service that integrates classroom instruction with community service activities . . . organized in relation to an academic course or curriculum; have clearly stated learning objectives; address real community needs in a sustained manner over a period of time; and, assist students in drawing lessons from the service through regularly scheduled, organized reflection or critical analysis activities, such as classroom discussions, presentations, or directed writing. (nces 1999, 2-3) pritchard (2002) further notes “the decision about which term to use may be arbitrary, so long as the meaning is clear, but the public debate about these terms may also reveal other goals educators have about how service opportunities should be experienced by students” (6). citizenship education shumer (1999) notes that students can “learn to become critically thoughtful, engaged, active, lifelong citizens” by permitting their active participation in thoughtfully organized experiences that meet actual community needs, by integrating service into their academic curriculum, by providing structured time for thinking about the service, by providing opportunities to use newly acquired skills and knowledge in real-life situations in their communities, by extending learning into the community, and by helping to foster the development of a sense of caring for others (1). the notion of “community” naturally leads to a discussion of citizenship; or, it leads to the question: what has been the connection between community service or service-learning and citizenship education? (see kessinger 2003). recall in an inaugural address, former president george w. bush called for all americans to give 4000 hours or two years of “service” to their country. the president also embraced the work of the corporation for national service and further encouraged its three associated organizations/programs by requesting additional funding for these groups. recently president barack obama acted similarly. he signed the edward m. kennedy serve america act early in 2009, which is the most sweeping expansion of 120 national service in generations. it reauthorizes the cns, expands its senior corps, americorps, and learn and serve america programs, and creates new initiatives to increase service opportunities and strengthen the country's civic infrastructure. specifically, this legislation reauthorizes and expands the mission of the corporation for national and community service (cns) by: --increasing opportunities for americans of all ages to serve; --supporting innovation and strengthening the nonprofit sector; and, --strengthening management, costeffectiveness, and accountability. [cns press release, "highlights of the edward m. kennedy serve america act", march 30, 2009.] for example, this act puts young people onto a path of national service by establishing a summer of service program to provide $500 education awards for rising 6th-12th graders, a semester of service program for high school students to engage in service-learning, and youth empowerment zones for secondary students and out-of-school youth. according to many in education, the primary purpose of the social studies is to foster and enhance citizenship education. recall the national council for the social studies (ncss), the major professional and learned society of the social studies, drafted and approved a position statement on service-learning in 2000. besides defining the term, the statement includes a rationale and benefits for social studies teaching and learning. clearly, ncss distinguishes between service-learning and voluntary or community service. to the ncss (2000), “service-learning connects meaningful service in the school or community with academic learning and civic responsibility” (240). obviously there is a notable—albeit expected—link with citizenship education here. according to dynneson et al (2003), service-learning (formerly known as community civics) “in connection with citizenship education has been incorporated into the social studies curriculum” (44). this connection will be recognized and enhanced by subsequent groups and initiatives in both public and private sectors. recent advocates of service and citizenship indeed how others define these terms and relate them to citizenship may reflect their priorities in terms of ideology, program, or support. for example, in 1998, the w.k. kellogg foundation in partnership with the john glenn institute for public service and public policy—at the ohio state university—launched an initiative called “learning in deed: making a difference through service-learning.” coupled with this effort, the national commission on servicelearning—chaired by former senator john glenn—was established to broaden the use of service-learning in school districts across the united states. in 2002 the commission issued a report and videotape entitled learning in deed: the power of service-learning for american schools. the report encourages a higher level of public commitment to service-learning and recommends service-learning for all k-12 students. the video defines service-learning as integrating “community service with academic study to enrich learning, teach civic responsibility and strengthen communities.” missing in this definition, however, is the role played by reflection, a critical or essential component of service-learning, as defined by others earlier (asler 1993; national and community service trust act of 1993; ncss 2000; wade 1997). glenn, in a letter of support (personal communication, may 2002) of the commission’s 121 work, states “[a]fter a year of study and discussion, our commission concluded that every student in kindergarten through high school should participate in a quality service-learning project every year. service-learning stands at the crossroads of civic engagement and academic achievement. by making this strategy an integral part of every student’s education, we can produce world-class learners who are also world-class citizens. furthermore, by doing so, “we can renew the engagement, dedication to learning, and civic commitment that have made our nation great.” also in 2002 the corporation for national service (cns) was placed under a newly created governmental (supervisory) office of service: the usa freedom corps. this white house initiative was established to foster a culture of citizenship, service and responsibility, and help all americans to answer the president’s call to service. according to then president george w. bush, its mission is to help “more americans engage in meeting vital community needs, develop their personal characters, and participate in our civic traditions and institutions.” (personal communication, 2003). later that same year, the usa freedom corps, cns, and the u.s. department of education launched three initiatives to enhance citizenship. two of these initiatives highlighted “volunteerism” and “service.” the third initiative, a report entitled students in service to america, focuses on service and service-learning programs in schools that aim to improve the teaching of civics and american history. the report is a guidebook for teachers and emphasizes ways of connecting service and citizenship. note the emphasis here is on students contributing service—not necessarily service-learning—“in order to foster a culture of service, citizenship and responsibility in or to america’s communities” (students in service 2002, 2). another effort promoting service (connected to citizenship) has been the work of the carnegie corporation of new york and the center for information & research on civic learning & engagement, in consultation with cns, in its 2003 report, the civic mission of schools. the report is a scholarly attempt “to determine, based on solid data and evidence, the components of effective and feasible civic education programs” (carnegie, 2003, p. 4). besides indicating that schools are important venues for civic education, the report notes “that schools can help to develop competent and responsible citizens” when they “design and implement programs that provide students with the opportunity to apply what they learn through performing community service that is linked to the formal curriculum and classroom instruction” (carnegie 2003, 6). essentially, this is another definition of service-learning! finally, in may 2003, cns—together with the usa freedom corps, the department of education and the national endowment for the humanities—sponsored the white house forum on history, civics and service. titled “we the people,” the purpose of the forum was to call public attention to the need for more and better american history and civics education and to focus attention on the promising practices in teaching history and civics through student service. the former chairman of cns (leslie lenkowsky) noted, “service is one of the best ways to instill the lifelong habit of engaged citizenship” (cns press release, april 30, 2003). this was an obvious attempt to renew and reinvigorate america’s tradition of citizenship, service (again, not necessarily service-learning) and responsibility. 122 more recently there have been other private partnerships formed in order to promote either the concept of service or service-learning between schools and their communities. for example, the national association for secondary school principals and the constitutional rights foundation have sponsored either programs or curricula that focus on one or both terms. also, learn & serve america/ohio is one of many state-sponsored programs to accentuate servicelearning on a more local basis. in ohio local school districts can apply—through a competitive grant process—for funding that allows districts to initiate and extend a service-learning program for up to seven years. other states do similarly; in fact, legislation passed by congress in 2004 provided $43 million in grants to be distributed to the states in the learn & serve america program during the 2004-2005 school year. more recently, the edward m. kennedy serve america act of 2009 greatly expands the notion of contributing service to the nation. so, in spite of the differences in terms, service and service-learning have received added emphasis recently by governments (national and state) and by other groups in this country. but the question remains: does everyone agree with the definition and practices of service, and especially, service-learning? conclusion it is evident that government, foundations and other interested parties embrace service and service-learning. it is equally true that many public and private efforts are ongoing to connect service and service-learning with citizenship education. so, even though the two terms (service and service-learning) and other terms are not synonymous, various groups use the terms to promote and encourage the service ethic that de tocqueville (1961) keenly observed among americans in the 1840s. yet, the problem remains to find a consistent definition of service, and especially of service-learning, that all individuals and groups embrace and practice in the twentyfirst century. indeed until there is a commonly accepted and agreed upon definition of service-learning, questions and discussions will continue regarding what it is, how it should be encouraged, how it can be best measured, and what are the critical components, impacts or effects of servicelearning. author's note: the introductory section of this article borrows from information--previously written by the author--that will be published in the encyclopedia of educational reform and dissent in 2010. references alliance for service-learning in education reform. 1993. standards of quality for school-based service-learning. chester, vt. bailes, l. 2001. "the national society for experiential education in service-learning." in canada & specks (eds.), developing and implementing service-learning programs (number 114, summer 2001). san francisco, ca: jossey-bass. campus compact. 1998. service matters: engaging higher education in the renewal of america’s communities and american democracy. providence, ri: campus compact. campus compact. 2008. april 14, 2008. retrieved from http://www.compact.org. canada, m., and b. speck. (eds.). 2001. developing and implementing servicelearning programs (no. 114, summer 2001) of new directions for higher education. san francisco, ca: jossey-bass. 123 carnegie corporation of new york and circle. 2003. the civic mission of schools. new york: author. colby, a., et al. 2003. educating citizens: preparing america’s undergraduates for lives of moral and civic responsibility. san francisco: jossey-bass. cooper, d. 1998. “reading, writing and reflection.” in robert a. rhoads and jeffrey p.f. howard, eds. academic service learning: a pedagogy of action and reflection. san francisco: jossey-bass. corporation for national and community service. 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(ed.). 2000. “integrating service learning and multicultural education: an overview.” in integrating service learning and multicultural education in colleges and universities. mahwah, nj: lawrence erlbaum associates, publishers. ohio department of education. 2001. learn and serve ohio 2000 annual report. columbus, oh. ornstein, a.c., and d.u. levine. 2008. foundations of education (10th ed.). boston, ma: houghton mifflin company. pritchard, i.a. 2002. “community service and service-learning in america: the state of the art.” in furco & billig (eds.), servicelearning: the essence of the pedagogy, pp. 321. greenwich, ct: information age publishing. putnam, r.d. 2000. bowling alone: the collapse and revival of american community. new york: simon & schuster. shumer, r.d. 1999. service, social studies, and citizenship: connections for the new century. bloomington, in: eric clearinghouse for social studies/social science education. ed 430 907. stanton, t.k., giles, d.e. jr., and n.i. cruz. 1999. service-learning: a movement's pioneers reflect on its origins, practice and future. san francisco, ca: jossey-bass. usa freedom corps. 2003. 2002 annual report. washington, dc. retrieved october 15, 2004 from http://www.usafreedomcorps.gov/ wade, r.c. 2000. building bridges: connecting classroom and community through servicelearning in social studies (bulletin 97). washington, dc: national council for the social studies. wade, r.c. (ed.). 1997. “community servicelearning: an overview.” in community service-learning: a guide to including service in the public school curriculum. albany, ny: state university of new york press. waterman, a.s. (ed.). 1997. service-learning: applications from the research. mahwah, nj: lawrence erlbaum associates, publishers. “what is service-learning?” campus compact online. 2008. retrieved april 14, 2008 from http://www.compact.org/faqs/sldefinitions.html nature study and the new geography: pre-incarnations of place-based educational theory and practice, ~ 1890-1920 charles joseph elfer clayton state university abstract through an exploration of the primary works of progressive era geography educators and nature study advocates, this paper identifies two important historical antecedents of modern placebased curricular reform. in addition to systematically detailing connections between nature study, the new geography, and place-based curricular tenets, the paper discusses the ways in which deeper historical understanding might inform contemporary practice. introduction place-based education represents an approach to schooling in which local histories, geographies, sociocultural arrangements, and ecological systems take center stage in the learning process. in part or whole, the unique contexts and experiences in which schools are situated inform both the curriculum and practice of place-based education (see sobel, 2004; smith and sobel, 2010). nearing its twentieth anniversary as a formal, named approach to teaching and learning, place-based education has gained considerable momentum in educational research literature. despite its growing popularity, however, place-based education is hardly a new approach. in fact, it is very much a reincarnation of several well-established educational theories and practices. this paper stands to clarify the relationship between contemporary and historical illustrations of place-based education through an examination of the developments in american nature study and geography education that took shape at the close of the nineteenth century. together, nature study and the “new geography” provide representations of place-based educational ideals nearly a century in advance of their modern counterpart. 1 this paper explores the educational writings surrounding nature study and the new geography in the years spanning roughly from 1890-1920 in an effort to bring to light two early localized curricula. by the 1890s, the nature study movement encompassed a range of perspectives and motivations. proponents developed extended courses of study designed to supplement traditional curricular fields, primarily elementary science. the adoption of school garden work, field excursions, and student inquiry projects represented a general appeal toward the rearrangement of the student-teacher relationship, one in which the learner‟s experience would assume renewed prominence. advocates of the approach called on practitioners to bring the surrounding home and school environment into the classroom. nature study grew into an educational movement which exemplified many place-based pedagogical ideals, yet predated its modern counterpart by one-hundred years or more. whereas nature study best complimented the science curricula and those domains most relevant to an investigation of the natural, biological environment, suggested reforms for geography education in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries approached what american educators would ultimately come to regard as the social studies, encompassing those subject areas most appropriate to man study. like nature study, however, an emphasis on the home, the familiar, and the local, became very much a part of a new geography. from charles mcmurry‟s discussion of home geography in the 32 mid-1890s and well beyond mid-century with paul hanna‟s “expanding communities” curriculum (see stallones, 2002), educational reformers have historically been more than casually interested in the role of local contexts in the learning process. framework and method this study is based thoroughly within the notion that place-based education, though new in title, is actually quite mature as an approach to teaching and learning. although there appears to be a casual awareness that place-based education is not an entirely new idea (see duffin, 2005; knapp, 2008; smith and sobel, 2010), little in the way of historical research on the subject is available currently. two outstanding counterexamples to that trend are canniff‟s (1998) brief foray into the county life movement (~1900-1920) and its connections to place-based ideals and jayandhan‟s (2009) appraisal of the concept of place in the work of john dewey. most other examples of place-based educational literature suggest a past, yet stop far short of indepth or systematic evaluations, thereby overlooking the potentially valuable insights represented in the curricular past. with that in mind, the study also assumes much about the potential worth of historical research in the field of education, particularly curriculum historical work. following tanner (1982) and others, this paper assumes that there is great value, or “useable knowledge” (410), embedded within the educational/curricular past. grounded in these dual assumptions, this study endeavored (a) to identify nature study and early twentieth century geography education as precursors to modern place-based education and (b) to comment on the potential value of such a determination in the context of contemporary place-based reforms. the manner in which the study situated nature study and the new geography as preincarnations of place-based thinking also warrants clarification. an outgrowth of a much larger, extended consideration of the history of placebased education (elfer 2011), this study incorporated the use of an analytical net, or filter, which was then applied to historical curriculum models as encountered. the net contained three essential elements which together represented the core themes embedded within modern placebased education as presented in the literature currently available on the subject. attention to local context, a respect for the nature and needs of the learner, and responsiveness to community, broadly defined, were the three criteria used to create the analytical filter. through a consideration of the primary works of early geography educators and nature study advocates, this study sought to identify two important historical antecedents of modern placebased pedagogy, thus addressing a significant gap in the literature. this research was informed by period journals, such as the nature-study review and the journal of school geography, suggested courses of study, handbooks and manuals for practice, and descriptions of contemporary normal school training. though not exhaustive, the educational writings of such nature study advocates as liberty hyde bailey, wilbur s. jackman, and clifton h. hodge played critically important roles. with regard to the new geography, the primary works of major figures such as charles and frank mcmurry, william morris davis, and richard e. dodge offered comparative illustrations. in addition to those core historical contributions, this study was informed also by relevant secondary works. armitage‟s the nature study movement (2009) and barton‟s (2009) recent analysis of “home geography” represent two of such resources. 33 findings context for the nature study movement. the american nature study movement grew out of several wider sociopolitical developments of the latter nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. in the first place, the nature study movement was backgrounded by what cremin (1961) described as “a stormy period of early industrial growth” (15). indeed, the american experience post-civil war was one of significant cultural, religious, economic, and political change. responses to industrialism and its consequences in america were not singular, but rather pluralistic and often contradictory, and by the 1890s a wide variety of vocalized responses to change had begun to take shape (urban and wagoner, 2004). without overlooking the diversity of the movement, however, whether reforms were geared toward sanitation and hygiene, or immigration and labor, the collective response to the industrialization of america represented a far-reaching progressive era transformation, a period of reorientation and change which provided a backdrop for a range of educational reform plans such as nature study among others. within the larger progressive movement of which it was a part, an independent nature study movement grew up and out of two additional developments, one social and one educational. in the first place, nature study should be regarded as a reflection of late nineteenth century american environmentalism and naturalism. kohlstedt (2010) clarified that connection in her recent historical appraisal of american nature study noting that “the wide acceptance of nature study proved to be emblematic of public attitudes toward both nature and the human condition in the anxious years of social and intellectual change at the turn of the twentieth century” (1). on the one hand, americans began to look back to nature in a somewhat romantic and sympathetic fashion that longed for a deeper aesthetic appreciation in life perceived to exist in pre-industrial times as the result of a closer connection with the natural environment. not unrelated, burgeoning trends to promote the conservation and preservation of the nation‟s natural resources also buttressed support for nature study initiatives. but in addition to desires to reconnect and to preserve, support for nature study was also prompted by a growing appreciation for science itself. by the late 1890s, a “ … scientific worldview had entered the daily lives of people as never before” (armitage 2009, 2) and the study of nature offered a complement to that intellectual development. of course, the nature study movement was largely a pedagogical entity, one deeply impacted by the practical and theoretical reforms that characterized parallel trends in certain brands of educational progressivism. “ … [t]eachers taught with natural objects from their local environments” and “ … insisted that pupils should be taught using materials attractive to them and at a level readily understood” (kohlstedt 2010, 1; 6). these sorts of curricular and instructional strategies flourished in the school reform climate of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. with these wider contexts in view, the discussion below turns to american nature study as an historical precedent for place-based reform. the local, the learner and the community numerous reformers depicted nature study as a localized curriculum in the latter nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. in many ways, in fact, this characteristic was a defining feature of the approach. in his manual of nature-study by grades, an early contribution to the movement published in 1898, william handford hershman exemplified the use of the surrounding local 34 environment in nature study and offered practical nature study lessons on such topics as plant life, animal life, geography, weather, and physiology. an excerpt from a sample third-grade lesson on trees was illustrative: the autumn month any time before frost will be the proper time to introduce the study of trees. a trip into the woods by the whole school is the best way to secure the right kind of interest. this may be done immediately after a study of leaves in the school room, as given in the first part of this outline … (hershman 1898, 39) throughout his manual, hershman highlighted the value of what observers might term a curriculum of opportunity which was provided through locally available environments and conditions, extensions of the classroom-based laboratory. an early contributor to the movement, the emphasis on the local environment in hershmans‟s work was not his alone, but rather a characteristic trait across the literature representative of the nature study movement. clifton hodge‟s contributions provided a similar illustration of the localized character of nature study. speaking to the possibilities for insect study, hodge wrote in nature-study and life, that “the best rule to follow is to study the insects that happen to be of most importance or of greatest interest for any locality or season” (1903, 50). we never can tell what will come next,” he added, “so, … we must not be too much influenced by a formal list, but keep our minds open to study nature as it flows by and be ever ready to do the thing that is most worth our while” (hodge 1903, 50). in hodge, as in numerous other nature study texts, readers found advocacy for an opportunity curriculum whereby the unique context of the school and community determined the character of student work. the precise dimensions of the nature study curriculum were locally determined and immediately accessible from the school. a philosophical leader and fixture in the nature study movement, liberty hyde bailey‟s plan was characteristically localized as well and it was bailey‟s intention that the general principles of the approach be adapted by teachers and students to particular local contexts. though widely applicable, nature study could not be photocopied and duplicated in precise ways from one school to the next. “after all these years of nature-study enterprise,” he wrote: it is naturally assumed by many persons that we ought to be able to give statistics of the number of pupils who are enrolled in the subject, the number of books that have been read, and other exact figures. this supposition misses the very purpose of the nature study movement, which is to set pupils at work informally and personally with the objects, the affairs and phenomena with which they are in daily contact … if i could give a statistical measure of the nature-study movement, i should consider the work to have been a failure, however large the figures might be. (bailey 1909, 10-11) bailey‟s consternation for any finite or fixed nature study reform plan seemed to stem from his understanding that nature study was an organic, localized affair in practice. if nature study directed students and teachers to consider their own lived experiences, a necessarily idiosyncratic venture in many instances, a fully standardized practice would nearly always be elusive. nature 35 study, as frederick holtz noted in his manual for teachers, was to begin “ … with the common things in the home, garden, fields, and streets of the child‟s neighborhood” (1908, 402). and similarly, as coulter, coulter, and patterson (1909) concluded in their elementary-level nature study guide, “nature-study is necessarily restricted in the materials it uses to those which any particular environment affords. hence the details of nature-study courses must differ widely” (13). the practice could reasonably be generalized across a variety of contexts, but the nature study curriculum itself was inherently localized. across the writings of the influential nature study advocates considered above, but a sampling of the texts reviewed in this study, a consistent and deep commitment to local contexts emerged. the local emphasis characteristic of nature study was, at least in part, an outgrowth of the perceived needs and nature of the learner. the organization of nature study curricula around the shared contexts of home, community, and school was a matter of necessity, or perhaps efficiency, given the attention to student development and the significance attached to the lived experiences of the student. the impetus within nature study to organize instruction around first-hand observation and inquiry further promoted the use of the local as a curriculum source, as such measures provided the requisite opportunities for the study of objects and phenomena. in this way, american nature study in and around the early twentieth century reflected a pedagogical outlook that observers might regard as both experiential and child-centered. advocates also emphasized problem-solving and inquiry skills over pedagogical alternatives geared toward rote memorization of unconnected disciplinary facts and principles. hodge (1903) offered one portrait of the manner in which nature study might channel and nurture the native interests of the learner. hodge expressed his confidence in the notion that the approach held a unique capacity to build upon what he viewed as the natural motivations of young students through first-hand explorations of the natural environment, the local natural environment in fact. he concluded: … [w]e shall have a nature-study that shall bind home and school together as nothing in the curriculum does at present. instead of giving over our entire school system to passive book learning, we shall have at least one subject that shall keep alive in the child the spirit of research, under the impetus of which he makes such astounding progress in learning the great unknown of nature around him during the first three or four years of life. this matter of original research in hand-to-hand contact with nature ought to be made the breadth of life in an educational system. (hodge 1903, 14) first-hand experience with the local environment and an educational philosophy that created possibilities for student inquiry and exploration seemed to define hodge‟s nature study agenda. he was consciously sensitive to the needs and development of young learners, at least as far as he understood those dynamics. his goal, like many of his contemporaries, was to bring into greater union the learner and the subject matter to be learned. like hodge, bailey‟s (1909) vision of nature study was also rooted in a respect for the unique character and development of the learner. to move away from strictly textual learning and toward a more experiential approach was a central part of his overall program. bailey insisted upon 36 an educational program designed around what he believed to be great human potential for reason and thought. “nature-study,” he argued, “is not the teaching of facts merely for the sake of the facts, or materials for the sake of the materials: its purpose is to develop certain intellectual powers by the use of the materials … we must begin with the fact, to be sure, but the lesson lies in the significance of the fact” (bailey 1909, 6). bailey‟s nature study encouraged habits of logical thinking and questioning, and again, the context deemed most appropriate for promoting such habits was that with which the student could interact directly. the local, familiar environment was the ready-made laboratory of nature study work. it was there that the school could be brought into greater association with the lived experiences of the learner. bailey explained that “nature-study should not be unrelated to the child‟s life and circumstance [and lamented] how indirect and how remote from the lives of pupils much of our education has been” (1909, 33). an educational leader and a prominent reformer, bailey was not alone, but was rather in the company of many like-minded nature study proponents. an additional illustration of the connection between nature study and the needs and nature of learners was evidenced in charles b. scott‟s nature-study and the child, published 1910. for scott, nature study dealt with the firsthand investigation of the natural world, and with regard to the selection of materials in nature study, he recommended a straightforward approach whereby teachers could base instructional choices on both their own and their students‟ interests. “if teachers are fond of flowers,” he reasoned, “they will be more apt to awaken in the minds of their pupils a similar fondness” (scott 1910, 297). going further, an important component of scott‟s conception of nature study was built around first-hand experience with the natural world. nature study, for scott, was “not books, not mere reading or listening, … [but rather] “a personal investigation” [whereby] “teachers and children [became] fellow-investigators of truth” (101). like others, scott intended nature study to address the unique needs of individual learners with the “aim to develop each child as an individual” (1910, 104-105). across the nature study literature of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, readers found a pronounced emphasis on the nature of the learner, a feature of the approach difficult to overlook or discount. inquiry and first-hand experience with the familiar were central themes embedded within the movement. nature study promised much with regard to reformed classroom practice and student learning, but proponents were also very much in tune with the larger social purposes of the school and of education more generally. many advocates hoped to address the health of the community of which the school was a part, if not society at large, and nature study‟s connection to a budding conservation ethos in the final decade of the nineteenth century was not inconsequential. for hershman (1898), as one example, the ultimate purpose of nature study was “ … to enable [the student] to live completely” (vii). hodge (1903) echoed those sentiments where he insisted that “the paramount value to be aimed at is character, will to do good, power to create happiness” (17). for him, nature study held the possibility for ethical, social, and spiritual development. across bailey‟s writing, too, the study of nature often assumed a message of conservation and an appeal for the wise use of the natural environment. nature study, he wrote, “ … explains the relations between man and his environment. it establishes a new sense of our dependence on the 37 natural resources of the earth, and leads us not to abuse or waste our resources. it develops a public intelligence on these matters, and it ought to influence community conduct” (bailey 1909, 57). bailey and others often looked to the beatification of the school grounds and public spaces to highlight the potential connections between nature study and the improvement of community. “to improve the school-grounds, … ” bailey remarked, “is an expression of the people‟s interest in the things that are the people‟s” (1909, 84). nature study was to create a “bond of connection between the school and community” (holtz 1908, 89) and the type of the thinking required in nature study programs held real worth as a priming exercise for democratic living (see bailey 1916). in addition to a deeper sympathy with the natural environment, nature study reformers often recognized a relationship between educational programs and local citizenship, part of which was a consideration of schoolcommunity linkages. context for the new geography many of the social and political contexts that provided space for the establishment of american nature study reforms applied equally well to the changes that took shape in the new geography. trends in geography education in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries closely paralleled developments in american educational progressivism, such as the acute emphasis on the learner and scientific/systematic approach to educational problem solving. on the other hand, the reform of geography education was perhaps less rooted than nature study in conservation or aesthetic appreciations for life and leisure. but there were nonetheless larger progressive era forces at work, those in addition to the purely educational. the establishment of a new geography beginning in the last quarter of the nineteenth century in america was in some sense a reflection of a growing scientific spirit. inspired by european pioneers, particularly the earlier german influences of alexander von humboldt and carl ritter, the study of geography itself began to transform at mid-century into a scientific discipline. geography began to appear in american universities by the 1890s and the nature of geographical thinking transitioned from an analytical compliment to an academic field of study in its own right. as douglass (1998) noted in his historical review of geographic pedagogy and literacy, “geography … found itself torn between its past as an inquiry into the nature of the physical world and the new demands of developing empirical generalizations and even perhaps hypotheses and theories about spatial phenomena” (189). but there were other changes occurring still, and, in addition to the general creep of scientific inquiry, there was a simultaneous trend favoring the careful investigation of human, social phenomena. the theoretical contributions of such figures as charles darwin and herbert spencer inspired the appeal of the establishment of new “social sciences” (cremin, 1961; kliebard 2004) as douglass (1998) described the transition, “the decades immediately preceding the turn of the century were witness, particularly, to an intense interest in studying human behavior modeled on the forms of scientific inquiry that were increasingly coming to characterize research in the natural sciences” (53). although geography as a formal discipline would gravitate somewhere in between the natural and social sciences for some time, its rise to prominence as an independent field of study was a significant development. similarly, whereas american geography in decades past had been largely descriptive, “with 38 hundreds of what and where questions,” the new geography was concerned expressly with causality (noble 1954, 257). combined with a range of similar adjustments taking place in the field of education, a new plan for geography study found its way into the american school. the local, the learner, and the community the prominence that local settings attained in geography education writings at the turn of the twentieth century was significant. by at least the last decade of the nineteenth century, and well into the twentieth, scholars concerned with the reform of american geography education consistently initiated their reform plans within those familiar contexts in the immediate vicinity of the school. in 1894, in home geography for the primary grades, c. c. long expressed the idea that in the earliest years of introduction to the field, students were to engage in local geographic study. “the first work, … ” he suggested, “is to study that small part of the earth‟s surface lying just at our doors” (long 1894, 3). a similar localized theme was apparent in charles mcmurry‟s special method in geography (1897), originally a sample course of study for the third and fourth grades, but by 1903, a complete elementary-level course of study. mcmurry called for a number of visits to local gardens and farms and long the way, he imagined that there would likely be “ … opportunity for incidental observation of the open country, fields, woods, streams, hills, soils, roads, bridges, and various occupations and industries” (1904, 167). mcmurry‟s plan also called for local mapmaking, a practice which he explained with detail. in addition to local map-making, mcmurry went on to describe the relevance of local history in geography work and cited “grandfather stories, family histories, leading men and families” (169) as worthy items of attention in the third-grade course. practitioners might also include consideration of “indian stories, … historical relics, public buildings, monuments, and museums, … ” and other “places of historic interest” (mcmurry 1904, 170). mcmurry‟s plan was absolutely localized, but also preparatory for an outward, global focus in later years of study. and he was not alone. the oswego normal method, published in 1896 by amos farnham, demonstrated a similar localized approach to revise geography instruction. citing the german scholar, carl ritter, farnham stated his firm belief that “„the very first step in a knowledge of geography, is to know thoroughly the districts where we live‟” (1896, 26). in the case of fourthgrade instruction at oswego, local study implied geographical description of the city, including its bridges, buildings, parks, and key organizations. oswego geography also called for an investigation of local industry, occupations, and the various nationalities of its inhabitants. as further evidence still, home geography (1903), authored by ralph tarr and frank mcmurry, represented a localized instructional aide specifically fitted to new york-based geography teachers and students. and yet again, in william sutherland‟s the teaching of geography, published 1909, readers found a local emphasis. “a good preparation,” sutherland wrote, “must include the ability to interpret geographical features in one‟s own environment. how often people are wholly oblivious to the interesting features of the neighborhood?” (1909, 132-133). these several examples, far from exhaustive, nonetheless provide a strong case for the notion that early geography educators were ever-mindful of the value that local study might offer to learners. like its german precursor in heimatskunde, the home geographical aspect of the new american geography was very much a localized practice. 39 the attention new geography reformers paid to local contexts was based oftentimes upon certain understandings about the needs of students and the nature of learning itself, a feature of geography reform which lends further credence to its position as a significant historical predecessor of modern place-based education. geography educators typically emphasized local contexts in an effort to provide for students an experiential learning environment, one in which first-hand observation was central. as long (1894) noted, for example, “it must not be forgotten … that actual observation by the pupil is necessary to seeing clearly and intelligently” (4). rather than books and classroom work alone, long wanted to supplement elementary geography with “short excursions in the neighborhood” and “out-of-door study” (1894, 3-4). w.m. davis (1892), too, insisted on a form of instruction which offered “ … a sense of reality,” or, at the very least, something other than “barren recitation of geographical names” (426). echoing long‟s (1894) disdain for the reliance on the geography textbook, davis wrote: actual examples of geographical facts and relationships are to be seen on every hand. no teacher need be entirely dependent upon a text-book. when geographical facts are taught from textbook alone they are bereft of their natural foundation and fail to develop that interest in the child that should be aroused and that can aroused if geography is based on personal observation. (1899, 230) and the same was true for many other writers of the day. richard dodge, for instance, spoke specifically about the value of the excursion and out-of-class study. “the children, if possible, and at any rate the teachers,” he insisted, “should be given the chance to study home geography, not from text-books, but from the only perfect geography reader – nature herself” (dodge 1896, 155). not unlike contemporary nature study writers, dodge insisted that the textbook could hardly match the utility of the excursion where first-hand experience and observation became guiding educational principles and curricular determinants. in part a reflection of assumptions regarding the purposes of geography as a discipline, reform-minded writers in the field hoped to arrange curriculum and instruction around problem-solving and inquiry, a strong contrast to traditional school practice. long (1894), as one illustration, urged practitioners to promote independent student investigations, the results of which might be shared in the classroom subsequently. similarly, davis (1899) expanded on themes of inquiry in his call for student investigations of the villages, towns, and cities nearby. his plan suggested a broader investigation to include causes and possible explanations of cause related to human settlement. “through these observations and questions,” davis wrote, “the human element of geographical study is prominently brought forward, as it should be” (1899, 231). in very direct ways, davis‟s reform plan incorporated observational work around both the physical and the human-cultural dimensions of geography in the education of young learners, all of which he initiated locally and geared toward an understanding of causality. dodge (1898), too, was keen on the notion that geography study should move beyond the retention of factual knowledge and into a more organic understanding of broad geographical principles. dodge explained: we must aim to give a certain amount of information, but we should aim above 40 all, to give the ability to gather information; in other words, we should develop the knowledge of principles through the knowledge of facts … we must in our early work study facts not singly and in a separated manner, but in their relations in time and space so as to lead the child to appreciate that there are one or more underlying truths which make explanation of the fact easy; then we can generalize. (1898, 16) in sum, dodge appreciated a student consciousness of the interconnectedness of geographical information far more than the mere memorization of factual content alone. in doing so, he reasoned, “ … we develop in the child the ability to discover and apply principles, we give him the power to gain knowledge, and not merely unrelated items of knowledge” (dodge 1898, 16). like many of his contemporaries, dodge called for reasoning over remembering in seeking to reform geography education. and lastly, an element of the new geography education was based in the progressive educational notion that student motivation and interest were often outgrowths of familiar contexts. the bigger plan, as long (1894) noted, was “ … not to impart information,” but rather “to awaken and stimulate interest” (5). mcmurry‟s (1897) use of the geographical “type” supported a similar conclusion about the connection of interest through localized study, observation, and inquiry. mcmurry intended the use of local “types” as partial remedy for an otherwise bland tradition of abstraction in the school. “ … [t]here is a powerful realism,” he explained, “in this kind of study which gives a healthy tonic effect. the worst criticism that can be brought to bear upon our present teaching of geography is that it is abstract and unreal. it is formal and dry” (1897, 187). observation and study of those many familiar “types” available locally mcmurry believed to be curative. motivations to highlight familiarity and interest evidenced in mcmurry‟s work were not fleeting and continued to appear in the writings of geography educators well into the first two decades of the twentieth century. as one of numerous indications of that trend, chamberlain suggested in 1907 that the field-trip relieved “ … the difficulty experienced in placing geography among the life-interests of the child” (70). in combination with pictures, stereoscopic images, school museums, and personal travel, to name but a few of the other sources of inspiration identified by chamberlain, the field-trip provided valuable first-hand experiences for students, valuable in the sense that he regarded direct observation as a most vital component of learning. the ultimate purpose, of course, was to garner the interests of the student towards geographic learning, or, as chamberlain phrased it, “to enlist [the pupil‟s] conscious and purposeful participation in its study” (1907, 72). though his views were widely shared among contemporaries seeking reform within the field of geography education, chamberlain‟s effort to outline a learner-centered rationale, one which emphasized first-hand observation, inquiry, and the lived experiences of the learner, was among the most explicit. the community responsiveness function in the writing surrounding the new geography was arguably less pronounced than other characteristic features of the field. there were, however, indications that scholars recognized the potentially valuable role that geography study played in the solution of social problems. while this study identified few scholars who wrote about the direct ways in which students might engage in the improvement of the local community, there was nonetheless a general appreciation for the citizenship education function 41 that the study of geography potentially provided. in some instances, that appreciation was reflected in the desire to promote an appreciation for the interconnectedness of peoples and places locally and throughout the world. sutherland (1909), as one illustration, addressed the relationship between the school and the learner‟s home community in a discussion of what he deemed the “social phase” of geography education. his social phase contained much of what contemporary observers might term human geography, a feature of geography education which sutherland suggested might be developed by practitioners and students throughout the learning process. as a part of this social investigation, he promoted the establishment of a deep knowledge of the interconnectedness of one‟s home area to other peoples and places. “when we study the methods by which ourselves and our neighbors are fed, and clothed,” sutherland remarked, “the idea of doing for others, of being socially helpful, again appeals to us. so butcher, baker, and candlestick-maker, each in his own way, renders some social service … ” (1909, 49). embedded in the passage was a call for what might be regarded as a type of responsiveness to community. through an investigation of peoples and places near and far, sutherland seemed to suggest, however implicitly, that a sentiment of social duty might be fostered in young learners through the study of geography. he explained further: the pupil may come to see that no individual or community can, independently of other individuals or communities, live as well or produce as much, as is possible through the reciprocal helpfulness of exchange. such an outlook, it would seem, will make the future citizen more rationale in his industrial pursuits, and more democratic in the exercise of his civil rights. (sutherland 1909, 104) social geography under sutherland, then, promoted a form of citizenship education which emphasized the importance of interconnectedness in democratic life. e. ehrlich smith outlined a plan in 1921 to connect conservation to geography and offered a second illustration of the community responsiveness function embedded within the new geography. in his view, geography study might ultimately confer a direct benefit on society by promoting in students an awareness of principles surrounding environmental stewardship. the primary understanding to be gained, smith concluded, was that “ … in order to supply the needs of the world, men must use the resources about them in the most economical way; that they must increase production by means of conservation; and that, by wise consumption, they must make the wealth of the world „go around‟ to all” (smith 1921, 27). although he wrote little about the role of students of geography in the process of identifying and enacting solutions for local conservation problems, an investigation of social relationships was nonetheless of central importance in smith‟s geography. contained within smith‟s plan was a direct consideration of the process through which geography study in the school might intersect with the needs of the community, global though it may have been. written in 1925, harold rugg and john hockett‟s recommendations for geography reform offered further commentary on the connection between the student and the community. rugg and hockett insisted that the perceived lack of knowledge of american students in geography was in many ways problematic. more important than factual content knowledge was the anticipated ability of students to address the 42 problems they might face as adult citizens in a democratic society. “we know,” they lamented, “that – excepting a few who will be compelled by practical needs later to learn the basic factsthe great majority will be barren of information, thoroughly stupid, in fact, when faced with the need of exercising intelligence about contemporary problems” (rugg and hockett 1925, 2). hardly an endorsement of the efficacy of american geography education, the problem, as they viewed it, was the failure to develop capable citizens. while readers could observe many of the central themes in the recommendations offered by rugg and hockett in the work of others contributing to the reform of geography education in decades prior, the close attention to social action was arguably somewhat unique. rugg and hockett called for direct civic action on the part of the student and in their words, “constructively but critically, students will be influenced to put their ideas sanely into action” (16). with regard to the relationship between the school and the community, then, rugg and hockett‟s plan for geography study was perhaps more immediate and direct than that of other geography-related writers of the era. the essential educational problem was one of “producing a generation of informed, thinking, sociallydisposed citizens” and rugg and hockett‟s desire, “ … that the masses of people shall be both well informed and keenly interested in the carrying on of their community affairs” (8) is a theme characteristic in much modern place-based educational writing. although they did not belabor the point, the value that rugg and hockett attached to “studies of local needs” (1925, 92) revealed a belief in the potential educational utility of local study and reinforced, to some degree, a commitment to fostering in students a desire to participate in and improve the community. in the context of an historical review of place-based education, the relationship between the school and the improvement of the local community is an important consideration, and although geography reformers in the early twentieth century arguably emphasized direct community improvement only sporadically, the attention to the relationship between the school and citizenship education was significant. coupled with the emphasis on the local and the learner, the new geography represented an important historical precedent for place-based pedagogy, one that has largely escaped consideration from modern placed-based educators. discussion as noted at the outset, this study was framed in part around the proclamation that “…curriculum history is more than useful; it is essential for improving the character of curriculum reform efforts” (tanner 1982, 410). the discussion below represents an effort to provide explicit commentary on the manner in which this study might inform contemporary practice. in other words, clarification of the historical developments above provides a synthetic appraisal that might serve to inform solutions to similar educational problems attached to the contemporary field, not to mention provide foundations for continued historical investigation. the discussion is selective and focuses primarily on issues surrounding academic formalism, curriculum articulation, local/global connections, and teacher education. a response to academic formalism from the theories and models evaluated above, it appears that, in many instances, a return to the local developed in response to the perceived formalism of mainstream curriculum and practice. a theme echoed throughout both 43 nature study and new geography reforms was the notion that exclusive attention to the textbook, to tests, and to recitations had overwhelmed the most important function of the school – to educate. symbolism over learning was the charge and a renewed emphasis on observation, problemsolving, and inquiry represented sound alternatives. “nature, not books,” was the mantra for many and a reconsideration of the educative value of first-hand experiences just beyond the school door gained wide appeal. it is perhaps not altogether surprising that place-based reform literature has proliferated in the past two decades. the past twenty years in american education have been marked by accelerated efforts at the state and federal levels to raise academic achievement through testing regimes and standardized curricula. in a climate utterly dominated by the strictures of no child left behind and its legislative accoutrements, and given the instructional and curricular fixity that such policies generally produce, the localized, student-centered, and experiential nature of placebased education stands in fairly stark contrast. this twenty-first century response to academic formalism has arguably taken on a new intensity, yet it is not altogether new. importantly, engagement with developments in nature study and the new geography reveal that critiques of academic formalism, of testing mechanisms, and of standardization, have not necessarily guaranteed the adoption or success of place-based educational reforms historically. mainstream traditions were more easily critiqued than they were transformed. one valuable lesson that modern place-based educators might build upon in the pursuit of contemporary reform is the need for wide public support. as wilbur s. jackman noted more than a century ago in his advocacy for nature study, “it is of great importance to enlist and cultivate the interest of the parents in field work” (1894, 10). given the unorthodox nature of nature study and its non-traditional fieldwork component, jackman recommended that advocates embark on campaigns that might “disarm their prejudices” (10). alongside critiques of mainstream academic practice, proponents of reform were nonetheless sensitive to the need for wider public acceptance. contemporary place-based educators might build upon the lessons of past reformers and the mechanisms developed to elicit parental, administrative, and public support for the installation of practices that might otherwise be regarded as unorthodox and threaten to dismantle school and curricular change. it does not seem as though merely localizing the curricula was in any way a guarantee for community acceptance. curriculum articulation exploration of nature study and the new geography demonstrated that although localized reforms often arose in opposition to academic formalism, that contextual feature did not serve to replace commitments to thoughtful, integrated, curricular and instructional plans. instead, this study highlighted the fact that place-based approaches have sometimes manifested as articulated courses of study. in both nature study and geography education, advocates worked to develop extended courses of study with the intent to avoid overlap and presumably the waste of instructional time. in the case of the new geography, in particular, efforts to develop an articulated plan led to the continuation of what educators have since labeled as a curriculum of “expanding horizons,” a generalized plan for geography study across the grades. in mcmurry‟s special method in geography (1897), readers found a localized and graded course outlined in detail and the oswego normal method (1896) 44 offered a secondary illustration. while this study reviewed texts between the approximate years of 1890 and 1920, further review of similar programs such as paul hanna‟s expanding communities may point further to the longevity of an articulated, initially local, approach to geography education. with nature study, too, idiosyncratic, localized curricula existed in tandem with articulated curricula. as two examples, hodge‟s nature study and life (1903) and holtz‟s nature study (1908) each outlined sample courses of study through the eighth-grade. with those several illustrations in mind, historical practices of place-based education often managed to navigate between the overly rigid academic program and the complete lack of curricular structure. at the same time that nature study plans could express “ … endless variation in the details and in the little applications” (bailey 1909, 1011) room for a well thought out and transferable plan was nonetheless possible (and encouraged). without becoming standardized, historical place-based methodologies often represented sets of standard practices nonetheless. insect study, local geography study, the field excursion, school garden work, and specimen catalogues all became relatively standard practices in the place-based reform initiatives surrounding nature study and the new geography. so while the practices of historical place-based reforms often assumed standard forms, thus gaining some measure of appeal and refinement, curricular flexibility and localized practice remained intact. although many historical illustrations of place-based theory and practice represented assaults on formalism, most reforms were not presented as complete curricular departures. whether large or small, place-based educational strategies generally maintained certain elements of the traditional academic curriculum at the same time that certain mainstream practices were challenged. of no small significance, then, historical examples highlight possibilities. in particular, where the goal is to expand modern place-based practice, what contemporary practitioners might build upon is the possibility of balancing the sometimes idiosyncratic nature of localized teaching and learning without completely dismissing the need for certain standards of practice, instructional refinement, or curriculum articulation. localized curriculum and instruction are not necessarily antithetical to the creation of robust and widely applicable educational programs. teacher education although it was certainly not true in all instances, the place-based antecedents highlighted here achieved a great measure of success in the sense that the principles and practices advocated gained relatively wide institutional and professional support. one area where that support was especially pronounced was with regard to the attention that reformers paid to the training of teachers. the number of texts and descriptions associated with nature study and the new geography geared exclusively toward teachers was noteworthy. the presence of normal school courses designed around localized, observational study was also significant, an indication of the support that each of those reform movements enjoyed, if not a cause as well. oddly enough, while there are numerous examples of place-based education in practice today, very little in the way of teacher training has emerged in the past two decades. dubel and sobel‟s place-based teacher education, published 2008, and todd‟s place-based learning in teacher education, published in 2007, represent two counterexamples. suffice it to say, the domain remains underdeveloped. the handful of available illustrations in the literature have not indicated any real momentum for 45 change. while many of the themes represented in place-based educational approaches likely receive attention in teacher education programs (e.g., experientialism, community responsiveness, etc.), it seems clear that the contemporary movement has hardly succeeded in developing a presence within the critically important domain of teacher education. given the apparently robust normal school support historically, the issue likely warrants attention from modern proponents seeking to expand support and opportunities to wider audiences. on a similar note, lessons gained through this historical study suggest that the lack of availability of place-based educational resources (e.g., texts, description of methods, etc.) that are locally relevant is peculiar and arguably thwarts expansion to some extent. conclusion together, nature study and the new geography illustrated curricular models thoroughly consistent with modern place-based educational ideals in ways that were perhaps more comprehensive than even modern proponents of the approach have achieved. despite what appears to be a rich historical legacy of theory and practice, modern place-based educators have largely neglected substantive investigations into the nature study movement and geography education and the present discussion hopefully stands as a partial corrective. of course, historical investigations such as this one only scratch the surface and continued research will surely reveal further insights. explorations into other twentiethcentury developments such as the country life movement, camping and outdoor education, and community education will add to the developing portrait, as will pre-twentieth century curricular developments both domestic and international. with the characteristic emphasis on the local, the learner, and the community, place-based education contains within it components arguably essential to the educative process. as the historical portrait of the approach develops further, educators will be better positioned to account for the apparent ubiquity of place-based pedagogies. why is it the case that educators throughout the centuries have endeavored time after time to situate local contexts at the heart of so many of their plans for educational reform? answers to that important question are various and are likely to be found somewhere in between an understanding of the efficacy of place-based education as a curricular reform plan, the cause and challenge of educational reform itself, and the capacity of educational scholars to recognize and build upon the experiences of their forbearers. notes 1 it is not entirely clear where the phrase “new geography” originated or in what context. spencer trotter of swarthmore college incorporated the phrase by at least 1894. “new geography” is used here to refer to a whole body of reforms surrounding american geography education at the turn of the twentieth century. references armitage, k. c. 2009. the nature study movement: the forgotten popularizer of the america’s conservation ethic. lawrence, ks: university press of kansas. elfer, c. j. 2011. place-based education: a review of historical precedents in theory and practice. ph.d. diss., university of georgia. bailey, l. h. 1909. the nature study idea. 3 rd ed. new york: macmillan company. bailey, l. h. 1916. the science-spirit in a democracy. the nature-study review 12:1-4. 46 barton, k. c. 2009. home geography and the development of elementary social education, 18901930. theory and research in social education 37:484-514. canniff‟s, j. g. 1998. on living well in our place: earlier rural reform movements. in toward place and community, ed. v. perrone, 3461. publication of the annenberg rural challenge research and evaluation program. cambridge, ma: harvard graduate school of education. chamberlain, j. f. 1907. geography in the life of the pupil. the elementary school teacher 8: 65-72. coulter, j.m., coulter, j. g., and a. j. patterson. 1909. practical nature study and elementary agriculture: a manual for the use of teachers and normal students. new york: d. appleton and company. cremin, l. a. 1961. the transformation of the school: progressivism in american education, 1876-1957. new york: alfred knopf. davis, w. m. 1892. the teaching of geography. educational review 3:417-426. davis, w.m. 1899. home geography. school journal 50:230-231. dodge, r. e. 1896. geography from nature. journal of the american geographical society of new york 28:146-155. dodge, r. e. 1898. some suggestions regarding geography. journal of school geography 1:14-17. douglass, m. p. 1998. the history, psychology, and pedagogy of geographic literacy. westport, ct: praeger. dubel and sobel, d. 2008. place-based teacher education. in place-based education in the global age: local diversity, ed. d. gruenewald and g. smith, 309-344. new york: lawrence erlbaum associates). duffin, m. 2006. portrait of an urban elementary school: place-based education, school culture, and leadership. ph.d. diss., antioch university, mcgregor. farnham, a. w. 1896. the oswego normal method of teaching geography. syracuse, ny: c.w. bardeen. hershman, w. h. 1898. manual of nature study by grades. chicago: a. flanagan. hodge, c. f. 1903. nature study and life. boston: ginn and company. holtz, f. l. 1908. nature-study: a manual for teachers and students. new york: charles scribner‟s sons. jackman, w. s. 1894. field work in nature study: a handbook for teachers and pupils. 2 nd ed. chicago: a flanagan. jayanandhan, s. r. 2009. john dewey and a pedagogy of place. philosophical studies in education 40:104-112. knapp, c. e. 2008. place-based curricular and pedagogical methods: my adventures in teaching through community contexts. in place-based education in the global age: local diversity, ed. d. a. gruenewald and g. a. smith, 5-28. new york: lawrence erlbaum associates). kohlstedt, s. g. 2010. teaching children science: hands-on nature study in north america, 1890-1930. chicago: university of chicago press. long, c. c. 1894. home geography for the primary grades. new york: american book company. mcmurry, c. a. 1897. special method in geography, third and fourth grades. 3 rd ed. bloomington, il: public school publishing company. mcmurry, c. a. 1904. the elements of general method based on the principles of herbart. 47 rev. ed. new york: macmillan company. noble, s. g. 1954. a history of american education. westport, ct: greenwood press. rugg, h. and j. hockett. 1925. objective studies in map location. social science monographs, no. 1, with emma schweppe. new york: the lincoln school of teachers college. scott, c. b. 1910. nature study and the child. boston: d.c. heath and company. smith, e. e. 1923. teaching geography by problems. new york: doubleday, page, and company. smith, g. a. and d. sobel. 2010. placeand community-based education in schools. new york: routledge. sobel, d. 2004. place-based education: connecting communities and classrooms. nature literary series, no. 4. great barrington, ma: the orion society. stallones, j. (2002). paul robert hanna: a life of expanding communities. stanford, ca: hoover press. sutherland, w. j. 1909. the teaching of geography. chicago: scott foresman. tanner, l. n. 1982. observation: curriculum history as useable knowledge. curriculum inquiry 12:405-411. tanner, l. 1983. curriculum history and leadership. educational leadership 41:38-42. tarr, r. s. and f. m. mcmurry. 1903. home geography. greater new york ed. london: macmillan company. todd, r. 2007. place-based learning in teacher education: a windshield survey. social studies research and practice 3. http://socstrp.org tolley, k. 1994. „study nature, not books‟: the nature study curriculum, 1891-1932. paper presented at the annual meeting of the american educational research association, new orleans. urban, w. j. and j. l. wagoner. 2004. american education: a history. boston: mcgraw hill. http://socstrp.org/ please log your edits content and pedagogical knowledge in colorado teachers’ mathematics exams at the turn of the 20th century robert m. capraro lynn m. burlbaw texas a and m university linda reichwein zientek sam houston state university abstract during the late 1800s and early 1900s, several published reports recommended changes in teaching mathematics. for this paper, items from the colorado county arithmetic tests (1878 – 1912) form the basis of investigating teacher’s content knowledge and the degree to which education was adhering to these recommendations. the purpose of this paper is to investigate whether or not recommendations proposed by the report of the committee of ten (nea, 1893) and the report of the committee of the chicago section (1899) made an impact on teacher certification exams in the state of colorado. certification of teachers by portraying teachers as young women graduates of the 8 th grade who then went on to teach children younger than themselves, television shows such as “little house on the prairie” have reinforced a view that 19 th and 20 th century teachers lacked sufficient content and pedagogical knowledge. the idea that becoming a teacher requires little education beyond what was taught in the public school remains viable in some peoples’ minds. the idea that an 8 th grade education was sufficient to teach affirms a belief that teaching requires little specific knowledge, either in content or pedagogy. this idea is further substantiated with accelerated programs which give a minimal amount of training prior to assuming full classroom responsibility (hallinan and khmelkov, 2001). consider the following questions: a square and a triangle contain an equal area, and the base of the triangle is 36.1 feet and its altitude is 5 feet, what is the side of the square? a man’s expenses are 30 percent of his income, and 33 percent of his income equals 10 percent of his property which is valued at $27,000. what is his income? what are his expenses? examination questions such as these may seem rather commonplace on a mathematics test. consider though, a question such as, “when it is 1 o’clock a.m. on the first day of january, 1889, at bangor, maine, 68º 47’ west, what was the time at the city of mexico, 99º 5’ west? might not routinely appear on a mathematics test. these questions (peavey 1896, 288, 283, 288), and others like them, were routine test items for people seeking to become elementary level teachers in colorado between 1878 and 1923. a vision of the certification process in turn-of-the-century colorado has been presented by burlbaw (2002, 2003a, 2003b) and burlbaw and bozeman (2003). these papers show that becoming a certified teacher was not automatic 159 and that teachers receiving county certificates were continuously studying and completing exams. some authors (cf. askey 2005; 2006a; 2006b; 2007; nd.) have examined contents on teachers’ exams in california and michigan, questioning whether current teachers could pass those exams. this paper focuses on the nature of the content of the arithmetic exams teachers completed between 1878 and 1912, examining the expected knowledge through a modern lens of modern national standards. to contextualize teacher preparation (1) types of certificates, (2) content of exams, (3) criteria for class (grade) of certificate, (4) teacher performance on exams, and finally (5) teaching in the 20th century are discussed. types of certificates to teach in the state of colorado in the late 1800s, one had to have one of three types of certificates: a county certificate, a state certificate or a normal school certificate. the latter, a lifetime certificate qualified a person to teach at any public school in the state and was awarded once a person completed a course of study at one of the state teachers’ colleges. a second type of certificate, the state certificate, also a life-time certificate to teach at any school in the state, was awarded once a person passed the "state" teachers exam. in order to sit for the “state” exam, a candidate had to possess a valid “first grade” county certificate. beginning in 1895, a normal institute certificate, another lifetime certificate, was issued to teachers who attended summer institutes, successfully passed the required number of courses during the summer sessions and paid tuition for university credit (craig 1906a). the normal institute certificate and program was an attempt to address the lack of preparation of teachers “who had very little or no professional training” and provided the “minimum of continued professional training required by law for those who would continue to be certified” (strayer and englehardt 1920, 18, 34). in the period from 1880-1920, county certificate exams were not viewed as a way around what today would be considered a “traditional” normal school certification process but the quickest and most efficient mode to provide teachers. with a growing population, counties needed teachers and a way to ensure quality instruction. in 1891, 86.6 percent of school age children under 16 were enrolled in school; these 66,750 students were largely taught by 1877 county certificate teachers; 419 of whom had first grade certificates; 719 second grade certificates and 739 third grade certificates (coy 1893). in his first biennial report, w. c. lothrop (1872), superintendent of public instruction of the territory of colorado wrote: the highest discretion should be used in the employment of a teacher for any position. it is a popular fallacy to suppose that anyone who is a fair scholar can teach school, especially doest this false notion prevail in regards to schools composed of small children. . . let me here suggest to county superintendents the necessity for great care in the examination of teachers and discrimination in issuing certificates of qualification. . . . to county superintendents then, we must look for the means of preventing the employment of incompetent teachers. (7-8) the university of colorado at boulder opened its first education school in 1881; the first institution dedicated to teacher preparation, the state normal school, at greeley, was founded in 1889 and opened its doors to students in 1890. a second normal school at gunnison (today 160 western state college) was authorized in 1901 but did not open its doors until september 12, 1911. as late as 1919, 48 percent of the teachers teaching in one-teacher schools were teaching under county certificate authority. in two-teacher and three or more-teacher schools and high schools, the percentages were 33 percent, 11 percent and 9 percent respectively (bradford 1921). in 1925, 41 percent of the teachers in the state were county certified while 39% had normal school certificates and only 16 percent had state certificates (bradford 1927). according to a 1911 report (updegraff 1911), colorado was one of 16 states that used a state-county certification model; only in 17 states was the sole certification authority the state board of education (138-142). thus, for over 50 years, county exams, as used in many other states, were vital in ensuring quality teachers were available for colorado public schools. after an applicant met the criteria for a given certification on the state prepared test the county superintendent of schools issued the certificate. during the 1880s, the county test was administered quarterly, usually at the county seat although provisions were made for testing in another larger city in the county. although the first biennial report indicates that tests were administered quarterly (lothrop 1878), the exact dates do not appear until the third biennial report where the dates are listed as the “last friday of february, may, august and november (cornell 1883). this was a departure from the earlier practice of giving the exam on saturdays. l. s. cornell, state superintendent of public instruction, suggested to county superintendents that they consider administering the test over two days, 6 subjects each day, in a five to six hour session (cornell 1883). by 1898, tests were being administered only three times a year (march, august, and december) on dates designated by the state superintendent of public instruction. county certificates were valid for a specific period of time, ranging from six months to three years. three grades or classes of certificates were awarded: first, second and third. the term grade did not refer to school grades but hierarchy of certification type. therefore, for this paper we will use the term class to refer to the different levels of certification. first class certificates entitled the holder to teach for three years in any school in colorado. the other certificates for lesser periods of time as explained below in the section, criteria for class (grade) of certificate. content of exams. with the exception of removing botany and adding civil government in 1895 to the subjects tested, the content remained consistent over time (peavey 1896). a review of the published exams reveals the following subjects were tested each time: arithmetic, reading, u.s. history and constitution; physiology/health, orthography, school law, natural science, grammar, theory and practice, geography, and penmanship/writing. from 1878 to 1882, the subjects tested were arranged into two branches with different passing scores required for each branch: the school law requires examination in the “elements of the natural sciences.” as this is a new departure it was thought best to fix the standard of these requirements in these branches a little lower than in those branches in which applicants had formerly been examined. (lothrop 1878, 20) table 1 shows the division of the subjects into two branches; the division into branches was discontinued in 1885 (cornell 1887). 161 table 1: subjects tested in each branch branch one branch two arithmetic u. s. history and constitution reading orthography grammar theory and practice physiology and laws of health school law botany other natural sciences penmanship (lothrop 1878, 19) the order of the subjects on the exams varied by administration but each was tested each time. in the early testing years, specific lengths of time were allotted for candidates to complete each content test. for example the time allotment, for arithmetic (10 questions) was 40 minutes; physiology and health (5 questions), 25 minutes; and theory and practice (10 questions), 35 minutes (lothrop 1878). in later years, the test was extended to a two day session. three hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon were allotted for completing assigned test sections. according to shattuck (1884), “there is work for two days of five or six hours each for the average applicant and i recommend a two days’ session . . . applicants should have time to do themselves justice. . . . for the first day use nos. 1 to 6 inclusive; second day, nos. 7 to 12 inclusive” (29). for many years, both the county and the state certification tests were published in the biennial or annual superintendent's report (cf. lothrop 1878; cornell 1883, 1887; coy 1893; craig 1908; grenfell 1900). criteria for class (grade) of certificate because all candidates took the same exam, distinction between certificates was determined by a teacher’s performance on the exam, overall and on individual parts. teachers had to achieve a certain score on each subject of the exam and a specific cumulative average was required for each certificate. the higher certificates required both a higher subject and overall score. table 2 provides a picture of the subject scores and test averages needed for each of the certificates at various times between 1878 and 1923. beginning with the first quarter administration in 1885, subjects were no longer differentiated by branch and a single scoring standard was used for all certificates. in 1898, the minimum criterion score for the third class certificate was raised. table 2: required averages and scores for certificates, 1878 – 1923 1878; 1882 to 1884 administrations 1879 to 1881 administrations 1885 to 1897 administrations 1898 and after administrations certificate grade branch a avg b min c ave b min c ave b min c ave b min c first one 90 75 90 75 90 70 90 70 two 75 60 75 40 second one 75 60 75 60 80 60 80 60 two 60 40 50 40 third one 60 50 60 50 70 50 70 60 two 50 40 50 40 note. . a after 1885, subjects were no longer divided into branches; a single minimum score applied to all subjects. b average = average of all scores received on each subject on the exam. c minimum = lowest allowable score on any subject on the exam to receive that grade of certificate. 162 for example, in 1895, a teacher whose scores on the subject exams were at least 70 but whose overall average on the 12 subject exams was in excess of 90, would receive a first class certificate. if each subject exam was at least 70 but overall average was less than 90 or if on one subject the score was below 70, the teacher would be awarded a second class certificate. in addition to achieving a high score on the test, first class certificate teachers had to demonstrate success in teaching before taking the test that qualified them for the first class certificate (lothrop 1878; cornell 1883; craig 1908; wixson 1912). second class certificates were issued to those scoring within a certain band, below that of a first class certificate, on the exam and qualified a teacher to teach for 12 to 18 months at any school in the county of issuance with no transferability to another county. the third class certificate, depending on the time issued, was valid for either six or nine months and also not transferable to another county. holders of a third class certificates scored within the lowest band of acceptable scores. a teacher could only receive a third class certificate twice; after that a teacher could not be certified to teach without attaining a score high enough to warrant a first or second class certificate. beginning in 1901, the state superintendent of public instruction office published a listing of those who had received a third class certificate that was distributed to all county superintendents (cf. grenfell 1900, 1902; craig 1906b, 1908; wixson, 1912). teacher performance on exams information on how teachers performed on the various exams can be found in two types of reports. the first, and most general, is tabular information found in the biennial reports. these tables report on how many teachers received first, second, and third class certificates in each county and how many teachers were teaching on each certificate type among other things. the second source of information, a richer and more detailed record, is also found in the biennial reports. this source is a listing of the test items which appeared on each of the offered exams. the items from the arithmetic tests (1878 – 1912) form the basis for this paper’s analysis of teacher content knowledge. the practice of publishing the exams was not limited to colorado. the superintendent of public instruction in michigan (1900) also published the exams as did e. l. kellogg and company which published test items from the new york state uniform examination (kellogg 1889, 1890). influences on mathematics education in the period between 1890 and 1900, several national reports were issued and changes within colorado’s educational administration were occurring. the 1893 report of the committee of ten and the 1899 report of the committee of the chicago section made recommendations regarding what teachers should know and how students should be taught (as cited in bidwell and clason 1970/2002). in the 1893 report, the committee divided the special reports into four subheadings: (a) arithmetic, (b) concrete geometry, (c) algebra, and (d) formal geometry. the committee recommended that arithmetic be both abridged and enriched with an elimination of the majority of commercial arithmetic problems. recommendations were given on the importance of accuracy and speed scholars should be able to perform the four fundamental operations. practical applications should be extended to realworld applications that are interesting to students. the 1899 report of the committee of the chicago section advocated different presentation styles and believed more would be gained by 163 presenting problems in more than one way. arithmetic problems should be confined to (a) the fundamental processes, (b) factorizations, (c) prime numbers, (d) denominate numbers, (e) operations in fraction, (7) money, (8) decimals, (9) simple interest, and (10) method of analysis for simple and compound proportion (bidwell and clason 1970/2002). the committee believed high school teachers should have sufficient mathematics knowledge through calculus as well as the theory of equations. in addition to content knowledge, the committee advocated pedagogical content knowledge acquired under the supervision of an experienced mathematics teacher. while the 1899 report provided insights into mathematics such as how it should be taught, what should be taught, and when in school specific content should be taught it did not provide a clear framework for analyzing the exams of the day. “various method of teaching mathematics are in vogue. the good teacher will not tie himself to any one method, but, on occasion, make use of the good features of every one. . . . the committee recommends no single method above all others, . . . the aim should always be to cultivate independent thinking to the part of the pupil. a method that . . . permits rote work or mechanical manipulations , is radically wrong.” (196). from these excerpts it seems the use of current nctm standards as an analytic framework is logical and justified even though, as we know, mathematics education took a very different turn with the rise of behaviorism at the turn of the century. purpose of paper the purpose is to report on our investigation into whether either of two conditions had an effect on the content of the certification exams in the state of colorado at the turn of the 20 th century; hence, influencing what and how it was taught: 1. did the recommendations of the 1893 report of the committee of ten, the 1899 report of the committee of the chicago section make an impact on teacher certification? 2. did the effect of the leadership of helen grenfell, state superintendent of public instruction between 1899 and 1905, who was known for her support for pedagogical knowledge, have an impact on teacher certification exams? the topics discussed at the turn of the 21 st century were some of the same topics discussed at the turn of the 20 th century. therefore, the nctm content and process strands were used as a lens to classify and contextualize the problems and to examine how they changed in regard to content and pedagogy at the turn of the 20 th century. helen grenfell a former classroom teacher was elected in 1899 to the position of state superintendent of public instruction. grenfell’s support for pedagogical knowledge appears to align with the pedagogical recommendations of the 1899 report. grenfell served from 1899 to 1905 and was the former president of the colorado education association. in 1903, during her tenure as state superintendent, she was elected the first female vice-president of the national education association. grenfell was an ardent supporter of improving public education and entered the public school system of colorado as a teacher in eire, colorado, in 1880. in 1882 she received a master’s degree at state normal school in albany, new york. she later taught in blackhawk, colorado, eventually being appointed 164 county superintendent in 1896. grenfell continued her studies in education and campaigned for school improvement throughout her life (grenfell 1939). methodology a historical synthesis and data reduction of mathematics teacher certification exams was conducted on colorado tests from 1878-1912. in the biennial report to the governor on the status of education in colorado, the state superintendents of public instruction published the items used on each of the tests during the previous biennium. these tests, published in the biennial state superintendent bulletins, were located in the denver public library and colorado state archives and were photocopied. the certification exam items for the arithmetic section from 1878 – 1912 were coded. each question was coded by (a) year, (b) process strand: problem solving, reasoning and proof, communication, connections, or representation, (c) content strand: number and operations, algebra, geometry, measurement, and data analysis or probability, (d) according to realworld problems: business, life, or neither, and (e) as pedagogy problems. if a problem was coded as business or commercial, it was examined to determine if reform suggestions from the report of the committee of ten (national education association 1893) were implemented. the nctm process strands were used as markers to determine changes in the colorado educational system to match to recommendations set forth by mathematical organizations and educational entities of that time period. further, problem difficulty, depth of content knowledge required to successfully answer the question, and the scope of topics covered was classified. therefore, the use of process strands served as a proxy for influences on the state educational system. problem coding the criteria for coding an item as problem solving were: (1) several obvious solution strategies and (2) higher order thinking skills required. reasoning and proof problems were problems in which formulas could be applied to the problem or an application of basic order of operations could result in the correct answer. communication problems asked the prospective teacher to explain or demonstrate a concept. connection problems asked the prospective teacher to convert or reduce a number to another form. representation problems asked the prospective teacher to illustrate or show concretely the problem solution. data were coded as “prior to” and “1893 and after” to determine the effects of the report of the committee of ten. because of the complexity of some items, multiple codings were required. a problem-solving item that required proficiency with numbers as well as conceptual understandings of geometry would, therefore, be coded into three categories: problem-solving, geometry, and numbers and operations. in contrast, items may have made incidental use of two content strands such as geometry or measurement but these skill concepts were not instrumental in solving the item; hence, items were only coded according to the skills necessary to complete the problem. for example, an item may have used units of measure but a successful answer did not require manipulation or transformation between groups of units for successfully completing the question. in this case, the item was not coded as measurement. two raters knowledgeable of the coding scheme coded all items. after coding, overall agreement was .85. the codes were later 165 reviewed by two other raters not involved in the study who examined the codes for accuracy of embodiment of the intent of the process and content strands. agreement between the two external reviewers was .98 and .91 with the original coders. because interest lies in the comparison of the proportion of items in any given year corresponding to the codes, arithmetic means were reported to provide insights into educational reform issues of the time. to determine if the report of 1893 had an impact on the items appearing on the teacher certification exams, correlations were calculated between process and content strands and real-world applications and year. kruskal-wallis test for independent samples with bonferroni corrections were conducted between types of application problems (i.e., business or no real-world applications) administered before and after 1893. year was dummy coded as “0” prior to 1893 or “1” 1893 or later. to determine if the instillation of the first woman superintendent impacted teacher certification, correlations were calculated between years 1900 and 1905 in algebra and pedagogy, and kruskal-wallis tests were conducted (a) between the time period 1900 to 1905 and algebra and pedagogy and (b) between the time period prior to and after 1900 and the nctm process strands. relationships between pedagogy and real-world application problems and content and process strands were qualitatively analyzed. the relationship between algebra problems and business problems were also qualitatively analyzed. examples of problems and coding are contained in table 3. results spearman rho correlations indicated a statistically significant relationship between the year the exam was administered and business (   = .131, p =.002) and commercial problems (   = .085, p =.043) meaning that as years increased so did business problems but commercial problems decreased. there was a statistically significant relationship between problem solving and reasoning (   = -.602, p < .001) which is indicative of increases in problem solving resulted in a decrease in reasoning items. a statistically significant relationship existed between problem solving and algebra (   = .237, p < .001), geometry (   = -.097, p = .021), and measurement (   = -.096, p = .023). regression results indicated the year did not depend upon content and process strands but year did depend upon real-world application problems (r 2 = .054, p < .001). influences of the 1983 report of the committee of ten. a statistically significant relationship existed between business problems prior to and after 1893 (   = -.099; p = .019). a kruskalwallis test for independent samples was conducted between types of application problems (i.e., business or no real-world applications) administered before and after 1893. statistically significant differences existed at p <.025 (alpha set by bonferroni correction) between time before 1893 and business ( 2 (1, n = 561) = 5.75, p = .016) and no real world applications problems ( 2 (1, n = 561) = 11.20, p = .001). as shown in table 4, investigations of arithmetic means by year indicate there was an increase in business applications and a decrease in application problems not related to real-world problems after 1893. figure 1 illustrates how both the percent of business problems and the percent commercial non-arithmetic business problems steadily increased over time. 166 table 3 sample problems and codes code year item r and p b but not ca 1901 what will be the expense of plastering a room 18 feet long, 15 feet wide, and 8 feet high, at 30 cents a square yard, allowing 150 square feet for doors, windows, etc.? r and p b and ca 1897 find the difference between the true discount and the bank discount of $1,000, for 1 year, 3 months, 15 days at 7%. problem solving 1902 a, b and c are to share $1,200 in the proportion of 3, 4, and 5, respectively. b dies. how should the whole sum be divided between a and c? pedagogy 1878 explain to a child how to add three digit numbers. pedagogy 1905 tell how you would develop one of the processes of finding the area of a circle, triangle, parallelogram or trapezoid to a pupil. pedagogy 1900 in division of decimals how would you lead a child to understand where in the quotient the decimal point should be placed? illustrate. pedagogy 1902 divide 0.75 by 17 5/8 by 4/5 of 0.035, giving the answer the form of a decimal number. show by discussion and by examples how to teach pupils to place the decimal point correctly in the quotient. pedagogy 1905 tell how you would develop one of the processes of finding the area of a circle, triangle, parallelogram or trapezoid connections and notbusiness problem 1897 what is the difference between figures and numbers? what is a complex decimal? what is a perfect power? what is the difference between an arithmetical and geometrical progression? what is a scalene triangle? communication 1898 what is the mental effect of the study of arithmetic? note. items prior to 1900 asked prospective teachers to explain concepts, whereas items after 1900 asked prospective teachers to apply reasoning and proof skills and required them to make connections between various mathematical concepts. codes: r and p= reasoning and proof; b= business problem; ca=commercial arithmetic. 167 table 4: reported mean testing of items y ear n u m b er o f e x am s r easo n in g an d p ro o f p ro b lem s o lv in g c o m m u n icatio n c o n n ectio n s r ep resen tatio n s b u sin ess l ife p ro b lem s n o b u sin ess o r l ife c o m m ercial p ed ag o g y 1878 2 .550 .050 .300 .000 .050 .300 .200 .500 .100 .050 1881 1 .600 .300 .000 .100 .100 .300 .200 .500 .300 .000 1883 1 .600 .200 .100 .100 .000 .300 .100 .600 .200 .000 1888 2 .850 .050 .100 .000 .000 .200 .100 .700 .150 .000 1889 1 .800 .200 .000 .000 .000 .100 .000 .900 .000 .000 1890 2 .750 .050 .150 .000 .050 .400 .250 .350 .100 .000 1891 4 .650 .075 .175 .075 .025 .333 .325 .425 .125 .000 1892 4 .675 .125 .075 .125 .000 .425 .250 .433 .125 .000 1895 4 .775 .150 .000 .050 .025 .425 .375 .200 .150 .000 1896 3 .433 .233 .233 .067 .033 .267 .267 .467 .000 .000 1897 3 .700 .100 .067 .100 .033 .400 .167 .433 .167 .000 1898 3 .667 .033 .233 .033 .033 .267 .300 .433 .133 .000 1899 3 .700 .133 .067 .067 .033 .467 .267 .267 .000 .000 1900 3 .833 .167 .050 .000 .033 .500 .200 .300 .167 .067 1901 3 .733 .167 .100 .033 .000 .400 .233 .333 .133 .133 1902 5 .600 .220 .120 .080 .020 .360 .240 .400 .060 .040 1903 1 .600 .200 .200 .000 .000 .300 .400 .300 .100 .100 1904 3 .667 .200 .100 .033 .000 .500 .233 .267 .100 .033 1905 3 .667 .200 .100 .112 .000 .433 .167 .400 .033 .033 1906 2 .700 .150 .100 .050 .000 .500 .250 .250 .100 .000 1908 1 .500 .200 .100 .100 .100 .600 .000 .300 .000 .000 1910* 1 .636 .182 .090 .000 .000 .545 .182 .182 .090 .090 1912 1 .700 .300 .000 .000 .000 .400 .500 .100 .000 .000 note. each exam had 10 problems except the 1910 exam; * the 1910 exam had 11 problems 168 figure 1. the increase in business problems and the percent of business problems categorized as not commercial and commercial arithmetic. algebra problems usually related to business problems (80%) with the majority of these consisting of investment problems. probability and statistics problems were almost non-existent only two problems on the entire set of exams. both of these problems had prospective teachers compute the arithmetic mean. forty-two percent (n = 237) of the questions related to the content strand numbers and operations. the problems related to numbers and operations were complex by today’s standards and tested knowledge on multiple concepts such as fractions, percentages, and order of operations. a problem from a test administered in 1904 (grenfell 1904, 115) is given below 4 3 5 2 16 3 8 3 69 3 2 9 2 8 3 1 5 1 2 6 5 1 2 1 22 8 3            of 169 twenty-three of the 56 exams (41%) contained definition problems. there does not appear to be a relationship between year and the number of definition problems; however, there does appear to be relationship between year and the type of definition problems proposed. prior to 1893, nine of the 10 exams (90%) contained definitions relating to mathematical terms typical in a mathematics classroom such as define an abstract number or a prime number [1888 test]. after 1893, definitions evolved from classical mathematics terms to terms used in the realworld. on the 13 exams containing definitions after 1893, seven of the exams (54%) contained definitions typical to a traditional mathematics course. almost half six of the remaining exams (46%) asked definitions of terms such as bond, ad valorem, duty [1902 test] or define promissory or times notes [1908 test]. influence of changes in leadership non-parametric tests (i.e. kruskal-wallis) indicated statistically significant relationships between the number of algebra ( 2 (1, n = 561) = 6.75, p = .009) and pedagogy ( 2 (1, n = 561) = 6.10, p = .014) problems before, after, and during the time period from 1900 to 1905. the years from 1900 to 1905 were influenced by superintendent helen grenfell and the publication of the report of the chicago section of the american mathematical society. prior to 1900, few pedagogical items appeared. however, after 1900 not only did the number of pedagogical problems increase, but the nature of the pedagogical problems appeared to have evolved from basic understanding to in-depth pedagogical knowledge. items prior to 1900 asked prospective teachers to explain concepts; whereas items after 1900 had prospective teachers apply reasoning and proof skills and required them to make connections between various mathematical concepts. for example, a problem in 1878 asked a prospective teacher to explain to a child how to add three digit numbers whereas a problem in 1905 asks the prospective teacher to tell how they would develop one of the processes of finding the area of a circle, triangle, parallelogram or trapezoid to a pupil (grenfell, 1906). no statistically significant relationship existed between the time period before and after 1900 in regards to process strands. discussion as educators, we must examine the history of education. investigating our past gives us a glimpse of who we were and helps us determine how to be more effective in the future. studying the impact of recommendations by major organizations and changes in leadership helps us identify effective methods of instilling changes in our system that will lead to improved teaching and an increase in student achievement. analysis of colorado teacher exams indicated educators attempted to follow many of the recommendations set forth by mathematical organizations and educational entities at the turn of the 20th century. the committee of ten (1893) was unanimous in implementing a radical change in the teaching of arithmetic. they recommended omitting subjects “which perplex and exhaust the student without affording any really valuable mental discipline, and enriched by a greater number of exercises in simple calculation, and in the solution of concrete problems” (bidwell and clason, 1970/2002, 23) and suggested omitting or curtailing topics such as compound proportion, cube root and a large part of commercial arithmetic. the committee recommended that algebra, with options for bookkeeping or commercial arithmetic, be taught in grades ten and eleven (willis, schubert, bullough, kridel and holton 1994). 170 business problems business problems were coded as commercial arithmetic or not commercial arithmetic. according to our analysis of the colorado teaching exams, there was a modest attempt to curtail commercial arithmetic problems. review of the arithmetic means of commercial arithmetic problems in table 3 shows a modest decline in the number of commercial problems. as was noted by the committee, there was the consequence of people desiring a system suited to be more practical to commercial and business life, which could explain the only modest decline in commercial arithmetic items and the slight increase in business life items. the committee did recommend that if commercial arithmetic items were to prevail, pupils should master definitions regarding the business terms or else inexperienced students would struggle with questions they could not comprehend. a statically significant relationship existed between business and commercial problems and the year, as illustrated in figure 1, and to business and realworld application problems before and after the 1893 report of the committee of ten with an increase in the number of business problems. the educational system did take heed of the committees warning regarding students’ understanding of terms with a noticeable increase in the number of definition problems pertaining to business on the teacher certification exams after 1893. problem solving and reasoning and proof problem solving is the medium in which children can develop mathematical ideas. reasoning problems represent the shift from memorization to doing mathematics and is “the logical thinking that helps us solve problems and decide if and why our answers make sense” (van de walle 2001, 7). van de walle expanded his thoughts on problem solving to afford that “[i]f problem solving is the focus of mathematics, reasoning is the logical thinking that helps us solve problems and decide if and why answers make sense” (8). there was an inverse relationship between problem solving and reasoning and proof indicating that as the number of problem solving questions increased, the number of reasoning problems decreased. most of the questions focused on reasoning and proof without giving prospective teachers the opportunity to apply their problem solving skills. despite the lack of problem solving items, each exam did contain items which required prospective teachers to use problem solving skills and there were multiple items requiring reasoning and proof skills. the tests just lacked the opportunity for teachers to simultaneously apply these skills. the problem solving strand was positively correlated to algebra, geometry, and measurement, which is indicative of being able to apply higher order thinking skills. pedagogy problems from 1900 until 1905, there was a statistically significant increase in mathematical pedagogy problems and a change in the complexity of these problems. the 1899 election of a former classroom teacher, helen grenfell, to the position of state superintendent of public instruction and the 1899 report of the chicago section of the american mathematical society appears to have influenced the increase in pedagogical items. while there was a gradual decrease in pedgagogy problems after 1905, educators did not fall back into the pattern of completely eliminating pedagogy problems. today, nctm and teacher educations support the need to understand pedagogy and prepare teacher exams that reflect this mode of thought. 171 the 1899 report of the chicago section of the american mathematical society advocated the different presentation styles and believed more would be gained by presenting problems in more than one way (bidwell and clason 1970/2002). the 1899 report stated that "the good teacher will not tie himself to any one method, but on occasion, will make use of the good features of every one. . . a method which encourages, or even permits, rote work, or mechanical manipulations is radically wrong” (bidwell and clason, 196). the committee supported different presentations with the goal of cultivating independent thinking. the pedagogy problems on the colorado teacher exams usually related to the communication process strand. the pedagogy problems after 1900 differed from the items prior to 1878 in regards to complexity. since the exam in 1878 is assumed to be representative of the population, one can concur that most exams contained problems similar to the ones exhibited in our sample. whereas, the 1878 exam had prospective teachers explain to a child an arithmetic problem; the exams after 1900, evolved into more complex descriptions regarding proving how formulas were derived. while explaining problems is important, showing that prospective teachers understand the underlying concepts is an important focus in current teacher preparation programs. our results shows that the turn of the 20 th century did begin this transformation in colorado by changing from mainly assessing prospective teachers’ procedural skills to assessing both procedural skills and conceptual knowledge. content strands. of the content strands, probability and statistics was almost nonexistent and when represented consisted of computing arithmetic means. this is not surprising since the first major introduction of probability and statistics in the western world came in the 1960s as part of the new mathematics curriculum (truran, 2001). the large percentage of operations and number items was also not surprising because the understanding of numbers and operations is instrumental in understanding other content strands. the lack of problems pertaining to algebra (24%) and the large number relating to business and finance was a surprise since algebra has been heralded as an important subject for everyone to learn (usiskin, 1995) and is an important topic in today’s curriculum. conclusion today’s major goal of producing qualified teachers whose students achieve a high degree of success are similar to those voiced in the late 1800s and early 1900s. the 1893 report of the committee of ten had three recommendations for better trained teachers: a) utilize agencies already in existence to practicing teachers by professional development opportunities and financial support to pursue these endeavors, b) colleges and universities should give stated courses of instruction in elementary and secondary subjects, and c) a mentoring system in which the best teacher in each department gives part of his/her time towards “. . .helping the other teachers by inspecting and criticizing their work, and showing them, both by precept and example, how to do it better” (bidwell and clason 1970/2002, 54). the committee recommended that secondary subjects should be taught the same to every pupil no matter what their probable destination or when their education might cease. the goal of secondary schools was not to prepare boys and girls for college but was “to prepare for the duties of life that small proportion of all the children in the country . . . who show themselves able to profit by an education prolonged to the eighteenth year” (bidwell and clason 1970/2002, 51). 172 the rigor of the 1904 mathematics problem presented above exemplifies the complexity of items for those certifying to teach and are seemingly more demanding procedurally than those items appearing on present day first through eighth grade teacher certification exams. although some might continue to argue that if one possesses the ability to solve problems one probably possesses sound process and conceptual knowledge, ; this is not reflected in contemporary practice. today, preparation of teachers focuses on mathematical processes and conceptual development rather than limiting preparation to algorithmic procedures and processes. however, this study identified differences in the level of rigor on procedural problems. maybe, as educators we should revisit the mode of thought prior to and around 1900 and create assessments that contain more rigorous and demanding mathematical problems as well as problems emphasizing conceptual knowledge. this study indicates that educational entities in charge of determining who would teach in the classroom adhered to the recommendations by leading mathematical organizations. this study also showed how teacher testing changed in colorado around the turn of the 20 th century, and aids in dispelling the myth that 19 th and 20 th century teachers lacked sufficient content or pedagogical knowledge. input from experts, accompanied by changes in leadership within the school system, cause revision in teacher testing, which in turn, had an impact on classroom instruction. in conclusion, this study suggests that reports produced by people who were experts in their field of study were considered valuable to the educational community and had an impact upon teacher certification in the state of colorado. references askey, r. 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(2001). elementary and middle school mathematics: teaching developmentally (4th ed.). new york: addison wesley longman. willis, george, william h. schubert, robert v. bullough, jr., craig kridel, and john t. holton. (1994). the american curriculum: a documentary history. westport, ct: praeger. wixson, helen m. (1912). eighteenth biennial report of the state superintendent of public instruction for the two years ending 1912. denver: smith-brooks printing co. higher education for rural homemakers mary margaret wilson ontario institute for studies in education of the university of toronto abstract this article explores the curriculum of a one-year college diploma course in homemaking for rural ontario, canada women from its founding in 1903 through the first two decades of its existence. this post-secondary program at the macdonald institute of domestic science emerged as an educational response to pressing social concerns about the future prospects for traditions of rural home-life. at the turn of the twentieth century, there was a considerable degree of reticence among rural ontarians to embrace the women‟s movement and throw open the doors of higher education to women, but post-secondary programs in domestic science satisfied the burgeoning demand for continuing the education of the nations‟ daughters without threatening to usurp the places of the nations‟ sons in traditionally male-dominated disciplines. the field of domestic science offered a vital alternative to providing women with unfettered equality of access to all programs of higher education, and educating women to preserve the traditions of home life, particularly rural home life, held appeal as a likely antidote to the perceived growth of social ills. the educational offerings of the macdonald institute of domestic science (mac), founded as a branch of the ontario agricultural college (oac) in 1903 in guelph, ontario, were accepted without great objection by ontarians so long as “the existence of gender differences was not challenged. women‟s sphere was domestic, and women were the nurturers, the preservers of family harmony and social welfare. the question of equality was tackled by giving equal importance to the knowledge necessary for those complex tasks” (gaskell, mclaren and novogrodsky 1989, 34). the complicity of the institute‟s curriculum with traditional ideas about the nature of an appropriate education for women provided it with a unique opportunity for autonomous development. because it was moderate and innocuous enough not to arouse the dismay or attention of either conservative patriarchs or liberal feminists, the institute enjoyed a protected haven in which to nurture a post-secondary curriculum designed largely by women for women. the institute provided systematic, formal training in domestic sciences and arts touted to be based on cutting-edge practices, the highest moral standards, and the most scientific and modern knowledge. it attracted primarily young, single, englishspeaking women of european descent from surrounding rural communities and middle-class urban homes to its programs. through programs that elevated homemaking to a field of post-secondary study, the women of the macdonald institute worked to redefine themselves and their places in society. they distanced themselves from generations of women who had only the benefit of whatever lessons they could learn from their elder female family members in raising a family, caring for a home and serving a community and moved toward an institutionally defined understanding of their roles. formal study in domestic science and art allowed macdonald institute women to lay claim to authoritative knowledge of the best ways to perform domestic tasks. as they gained confidence in their knowledge and abilities, mac women began to stretch beyond the traditional boundaries of the private sphere to extend their 143 influence in the public sphere in all matters connected to the health and well-being of the canadian home and family. they leveraged their mac credentials and put their knowledge and experience to use in community health and community service. where they met with success, the institute succeeded, and where they met with failure, many of the women who felt a strong sense of allegiance to the institute, brought their hard-learned lessons back to the institute for the benefit of future generations of graduates. in the tradition of american land grant institutions (murray 1989, 6), the ontario agricultural college, which reported to the provincial ministry of agriculture rather than ministry of education, was established in the rural, southwestern ontario town of guelph in 1874 by the ontario legislature. what began as the school of agriculture and experimental farm, became the ontario agricultural college by an act of incorporation in 1880. oac offered its own agricultural diploma programs and a threeyear associate degree granted by the provincial university, the university of toronto. a further parallel with the land grant college system in the united states is evident in the creation of a domestic science programs for rural women, which became a part of the offerings provided by the land grant colleges such as iowa state, kansas state and illinois industrial university (vincente 1997, 321-22). domestic science higher education at the macdonald institute was created as a response to urgent social concerns, but as social changes occurred both outside of the institute and within its walls, those concerns for rural life, family life and traditional roles for women also changed. the impetus for the founding of the discipline was no longer a compelling reason for formal educational programming, and a result, the early organizing principle of domestic science as a legitimate discipline has gone. but during the first two decades of its existence, the macdonald institute thrived under the direction of its venerable lady principal, mary urie-watson and a case-based analysis of its early curriculum is well-suited to an examination of the transformative nature of institute‟s early programs for women and the society in which they lived. in addition to professional programs in institutional housekeeping and domestic science teacher‟s education, the macdonald institute of domestic science offered a range of nonprofessional programs in homemaking including a two-year associate course in home economics, three-month short course certificate programs in domestic science and sewing, and a one-year diploma in homemaking under the guidance of its first lady principal. the one-year diploma in homemaking is particularly interesting because it so clearly emerged as a deliberate educational response to concerns of rural ontarians for the future of family farming and rural living. in early 1900‟s ontario, perceived threats to healthy home life took many forms – increased opportunities for women beyond the private sphere, impoverishment, immigration, rural decline, urban industrialization, irregular preparation for running a home or raising children, ignorance of basic principles of food preparation and nutrition, lack of awareness of hygiene and sanitation, to name but a few. as linda kealey has noted, at the turn of the century, “women, as well as men, were disturbed by a series of transformations in canadian society. the abuses of industrial capitalism, the congestion and disorder of the cities, the influx of new immigrant groups and declining fertility among the anglo-saxon elements of the population worried middle-class reform groups, who envisioned wholesale social degeneration” (1979, 3-4). the rural reformers and maternal feminists who lobbied for the 144 establishment of the macdonald institute hoped that by raising the profile and respectability of the domestic sphere through the provision of a tailored form of higher education, women would be more satisfied with pursuing the role of wife and mother or of other work related to the private sphere (teaching, nursing and the domestic sciences fell within this category), rather than working in a factory or in the public sphere professions ruled by men. the proposals of reform groups who touted maternal feminist ideals were widely accepted because they offered a compromise to the more radical proposal of full, unmitigated access to higher education. they also offered the potential ancillary benefit of stemming the tide of women leaving the home or the farm to work in urban factories. maternal feminism in canada, like republican motherhood in the united states (howe 1984; kerber 1987, 37-48; mckillop 1994; palmieri 1987, 49-64; selles-roney 1996), provided a foot in the door of higher education for women. the success of the arguments employed were influential in creating opportunities for women to study conservative, domestic sphere programs of higher education in the closing years of the nineteenth century that eased the expansion of room for women in the halls of academia. in its first two decades, these educational opportunities at the macdonald institute consisted of nonprofessional one to two-year diploma courses and three-month certificate courses in homemaking. the macdonald institute‟s one-year diploma course in homemaking began as a twoyear housekeeping certificate course offered by the institute in 1903. it was, much to the surprise of the institute‟s lady principal, mary uriewatson, poorly received and short-lived. in her 1905 annual report to the president of the ontario agricultural college, urie-watson expressed the opinion “… that a woman‟s best field of work is in her own home,” (8) and was confident that at least two years of study was required to develop a thorough enough understanding of women‟s work to lead to improvements in rural homes and communities. however, prospective students did not initially agree that such a long course was necessary, or could not manage to set aside two years‟ time and money, and enrolment was well below expectations. this lack of response resulted in a dramatic and immediate curriculum change. the two-year non-professional housekeeping course was quickly dropped after its first year and, for those seeking a more in-depth, nonprofessional course at the institute; only the oneyear homemaking course was offered in the 1904 calendar. the one-year homemaker‟s diploma course began in september 1904 with sixteen students and proved popular during uriewatson‟s tenure at the institute, often recruiting classes of thirty to forty students from 1903 to 1917. by 1910, in the interest of preserving its allegiance to the objectives of its two founding institutions, the department of agriculture and the ontario college of agriculture (oac), offers of admission to this program were made only to applicants from rural areas until sixty days prior to the start of classes. the program filled quickly and tardy applicants from both rural and urban centres were frequently turned away. in her submission to the 1911 annual report of the ontario agricultural college, lady principal mary urie-watson lamented that “now even the farmer‟s daughter must get her application filed three months ahead or take chances of refusal” (24) and added this program to her grounds for lobbying the oac administration for increased teaching and residential space to meet demand. in spite of its popularity, this one-year nonprofessional program caused problems for the macdonald institute because of its high attrition 145 rates. the institute made efforts to forewarn applicants and their families about the workload, and attempted to manage enrolment and the occupation of residence rooms by opening the class each term to accommodate the need for rural girls to help with farm operations in the spring and summer. but for the students, a perceived pointlessness of the non-professional program, as well as a common lack of academic and social preparation, contributed to a consistently high dropout rate. typically, 30-50% of the class failed to graduate with the worst year of this first phase of the institute occurring in 1916 when only nine out of twenty-eight students, or 32%, finished the year successfully (macdonald institute, director‟s file, watson, 1903-1920). the homemaker course blended classroom instruction in the art and science of homemaking with hands-on experience and, as noted in the 1903 annual report of the ontario agricultural college and experimental farm, retained “the practical work of the old course [two-year housekeeping certificate program], including the apartment housekeeping” (uriewatson 149). the intent of the one-year program was to train young women in the art and science of running a healthy and happy home. the very existence of this program spoke to concerns that canadian society, particularly rural society, was doing an inadequate job of recruiting and training young women as homemakers. william algie, who enrolled both of his daughters in the oneyear course in 1905, typified the impetus of many parents for sending their daughters to the institute for this course. as he wrote to the lady principal on february 2 nd , 1905, both of his girls were “engaged to estimable young men” and he wished them “to qualify for „home builders‟ before they take upon their shoulders the responsibilities of married life” (macdonald institute papers, director file, watson, 1903-1920). the creation of the program was motivated by the fear perhaps best expressed by homemaker student minnie gallop in a 1905 edition of the oac review that “home life is losing its influence” (86) and the hope that “the time has come when woman‟s work is no longer thought to be mere drudgery of housekeeping, but is recognized as an art, and handwork is no longer considered menial and despised” (84). the supposition that women were instinctively inclined to domestic duties by virtue of their gender was widely held and evident in the institute‟s domestic art instructor grace roberts‟, comment in the february 1905 oac review that “to learn to sew seems a natural instinct of almost every girl” (319). but instinct was believed to be an inadequate basis for decision-making and work in the home. women and their families were led to believe that females needed “thorough and systematic training, step by step” to open their minds to “the laws and principles that underlie and govern household arts, and to show their application; but a greater object still is to produce a habit of mind and of action such as a proper study of science can give” (gallop 86). minnie gallop and many of her classmates learned to work with “real things and materials, with the actual processes of their construction and manipulation, with knowledge of their social necessities and uses” (86). such applied learning was considered to be the best method of preparation and formed a cornerstone of the curriculum. through applied practice, preferred ways of doing and thinking became more deeply embedded and the students gained an increased sense of comfort and competency in the simulated household environment. each student in this program was required to keep the institute apartment for a week. during this week, the student had no other work. as urie-watson described the student experience in the 1906 annual report of the agricultural college: “she 146 enters and works with her predecessor one whole day before assuming full responsibility. she is given money and expected to do the marketing, to cook and serve the meals for the two members of the staff who live there, to wash the dishes, keep the rooms clean, and finally to render account of the expenditure” (214). this began as an experiment, but within short order, the administration had decided that it “gives the girls such valuable training and satisfactory practice in household administration that it has become a permanent feature of their work” (urie-watson 1905, 243). the practical work done in the apartment was not without controversy or dissent, but the administration chose to thwart resistance to this applied portion of the curriculum. as urie-watson admitted: “when this work was started in the first year, considerable opposition was made to it because of the feeling that it was „janitor‟s work‟. this has died away, and the warm approval of this practice expressed in many quarters is helping to develop the more sensible attitude that „it is well for a woman to know how the work of a house should be done‟” (1906, 214). in the 1905 annual report, the reasoning for the program‟s mix of instruction and practice was explained: from the very nature of the work, the homemaker is thrown largely upon her own resources, and should be capable of dealing intelligently with difficulties as they arise. one short year will not transform the girl just out of her teens into an expert housekeeper, or develop abnormal wisdom, but the earnest girls certainly benefit greatly. older students also find the systematic study of familiar things very profitable. we try to give the girls by means of many lessons and much individual practice work, a good elementary knowledge of the different branches of ordinary household work; to develop their interest in some of the housekeeper‟s administrative problems; and above all to induce them to think about the greater questions of sound bodies, wholesome dwellings and real homes. the average student in this class is inexperienced in the ordinary work of a household. we therefore try to teach them the best methods and processes of elementary sewing, laundry, cookery, housework, etc., and each student is required to do a great deal of practical work (urie-watson 1905, 242). graduates of the one-year homemaker‟s course were expected to be self-sufficient in their homes – able to prepare meals, care for the health and well-being of their family, and clothe them, or at least mend clothes and manufacture simple undergarments and derivations of the basic shirtwaist pattern. the focus of the curriculum emphasized the pre-eminent importance of the tasks, methods and values emphasized. the development of specific, valued skills was closely monitored through course work, but more intensively, through observations of practice. the aim was to train the hands and the mind harmoniously. six periods of house practice were scheduled for the students each week. the homemakers were given some lectures in house practice on topics such as the importance of natural light, the necessity of eradicating dust, and methods of ridding the home of waste matter and methods of purifying household air, water and surfaces. the homemakers were also taught how to determine the best site for septic systems during the building process and they received a basic orientation to household plumbing. they were likely to have been motivated to learn this content well, because “if a wife and mother was solely responsible for major design decisions (like setting up a house) that were thought to affect the 147 health of the family, it followed that any defects or illness that subsequently emerged were essentially her fault. in addition, it meant that a woman‟s poor health was regarded as a result of her own actions” (adams 1996, 83-84). with increased knowledge and skill, came increased culpability. the focus of the house practice curriculum was on the completion of practical, assigned work. the women were given practice cards to fill out and hand in for grading. as seen in figure 1 (macdonald institute papers, students file: class pictures), each card required the student to note the title of the assignment, apparatus used, procedure and any observations made during the completion of the task. figure 1. house practice card. house practice tasks included: black-leading a kitchen stove, brushing walls, cleaning aluminum, cleaning dirty granite wear, cleaning a fireplace, cleaning windows, daily bathroom work, dishwashing, flushing a sink trap, waxing floors and cleaning window shades. each task had a preferred method of approach and was graded on quality of completion. initially, urie-watson oversaw the house-practice inspections, but her administrative duties occupied an increasing proportion of her time. in 1906, she handed the inspections over to the laundry teacher to ensure that the observations were completed with care and attention. urie-watson wrote in the 1906 ontario agricultural college annual report: “the house-practice was organized and up to september conducted by myself, but the work is individual, and its rapid development made adequate inspection impossible. miss bigelow‟s employment makes possible the careful oversight which is so necessary, her time is very fully occupied, and the work is in a much more satisfactory condition” (219). the time spent in preparation, guidance and evaluation of practical work was considerable, and the financial implications of practical work were enormous. raw materials such as fabric, cleaning supplies, and groceries were required, as well as items such as household appliances, equipment and furnishings, fabricated models for physiology and nursing, illustrative materials to explain the structure of cloth and specialized work tables and drawers for the creation and storage of student work. it was a resource and time-intensive aspect of this program and likely contributed to the difficulty that the institute had in expanding its enrolment. it also limited the faculty‟s time for participating in research and community service. classroom instruction was a complementary method of curriculum delivery in the one-year homemaker‟s course. each week, 148 students enrolled in this program took classes in household management for one period; one period of physiology and hygiene; one period of foods; one period of plain sewing and one period of machine sewing; four periods of instruction in making shirt-waists; and six periods of cooking. lessons in dietetics, sanitation and hygiene, home furnishing, home nursing and emergencies, laundry and marketing, were offered once per term. some work in child study, ethics and aesthetics was also available to the students. the classes in management of the house included a comparison of various methods of table service such as russian, english and combined methods, as well as methods of folding linens. but the homemakers took very few notes from their lessons in management of the home – either because they were engaged in practice and did not have time, or the content was not sufficiently difficult or foreign to warrant notetaking. similarly, few archival records of notes recorded by homemakers in sewing and homefurnishing exist – just a few brief notes on cutting patterns for shirt-waists, and the advantage of ease of cleaning for wooden furnishings such as those found in a collection of memorabilia belonging to homemaker student, corea cleghorn (1914-1915). physiology, as is evident from the phonetic spelling “physciology” in the class notes of dorothy anderson, a homemaking student in the class of 1916, was a novel field of study for many of the homemakers, but critical to the development of an awareness of how the body processes nutrients and eliminates wastes. it is apparent from student lecture notes that dr. annie ross, a graduate of medical school and the instructor in the course, chose to employ feminized metaphors in instruction in an effort to couch the lessons in a discursive field that fell within familiar territory for the women and perhaps compensate for perceived intellectual weaknesses: the body is like a house, the entrance is the lips. the telephone is the ears. the muscles are the servants which are over 600. the master of the house are the nerves with the head office in the brain. that part which looks after the food and drink is the receiving room. the stomach is the kitchen. the dining room is where the food is absorbed in the small intestine. the garbage or the waste food which is the large intestine. the fresh air comes to wash out all stagnant impure air, which is called the laundry. the framework of this house is the skeleton or the bones (anderson 1915-1916). the analogy was carried throughout the course and was used to instruct the women in the purpose, features, description, growth, and structure of bones, blood, skin, muscles, joints, glands and major organs. for example, the women were taught that “the upper story is like a strong box and we call that the skull, sometimes cranium. this box holds the brain” (anderson 1915-1916). the spine was described like a pillar which supports the upper body and vertebrae were described as a series of spools, sweat glands were part of the plumbing system and the liver was a storehouse (anderson 1915-1916). this characterization of the body as a house was not unique to dr. ross. annmarie adams has noted that another female doctor, american mary wood-allen, used this metaphor in her book the man wonderful in the house beautiful. “she used the metaphor of the house-body to warn of the dangers of „guests,‟ such as alcoholic stimulants. and she began her popular textbook of physiology, the marvels of our bodily dwelling, by stating: „let us study the body as a house in which we dwell here on earth, a house 149 created by a divine architect, fitted up with every comfort, divided into many rooms, each with its own appropriate furniture and adapted to its own especial use‟” (65-67). these two books by wood-allen were not found in the macdonald institute archival collection, but the man wonderful in the house beautiful, the marvels of our bodily dwelling, and a sex education book written by wood-allen in 1905, what a young girl ought to know, were on urie-watson‟s list of recommended texts for high school domestic science programs which appeared in a march 25, 1905 letter to john seath, ontario‟s superintendent of education (macdonald institute papers director file: watson, 1903-1920). so, it is likely that ross was also acquainted with the author and saw fit to pull her use of the housebody metaphor into her own instruction. dr. ross‟ physiology curriculum was fairly exhaustive, covering such details as the types of muscles and the action of lactic acid on the muscles; types of joints and corresponding cartilage and ligaments; the path of food through the system, including the action of involuntary muscle systems, the stomach and intestines down to the details of the manufacture of bile and urea. the women also dissected rabbits in physiology lab. the faculty must have been concerned about requiring women to conduct such an indelicate task because they provided each woman with oil of cloves in case of sudden faintness – an act which may have suggested to some students that fainting was a natural and appropriate response for ladies placed in such a situation. but, surely some of these women had killed and dressed game in their own homes and at least one student found the practice of providing the women with oil of cloves for the rabbit dissection lab insulting or demeaning. the “macdonald notes” section of the march 1904 oac review included the following tongue-in-cheek question from an unnamed author: “why are not the girls of the chicken-drawing class treated likewise?” the incident exemplifies the tensions and negotiations that existed over conflicting constructions of appropriate images of women. in one laboratory, women were expected to be delicate and sensitive creatures easily overcome by such gritty procedures as dissections, and yet, in another lab, were expected to be capable of slaughtering, cleaning, and preparing fowl for a family meal without the slightest perturbation. such contradictions did not go unnoticed by some of the women and having the opportunity to both experience and reflect on the clash in subject positions provided opportunities for conscious ideological affiliation with preferential characterizations of femininity. powerful discourses and ideologies are often rationalized by curriculum, but curriculum can also serve to make discourses and ideologies seem absurd. following the comment in the oac review, no further mention could be found about the dispensing of restoratives during dissection labs for those with fragile constitutions. it is unclear how most of the students responded to the lessons in physiology, but they must have been either overwhelming or overly tedious for dorothy anderson, who wrote sideways to a classmate on the margin of her lecture notes about the intestines: “what time do we get to move on?” (1915-1916) structuring the physiology curriculum around the features of the home may have been intended to make the content more accessible and less intimidating for the female students, but it was also based on an assumption that this elaborate simile was the best way to make the concepts meaningful and interesting. it served as a powerful way to anchor the women to their prescribed sphere of knowledge, remind them of their comfort there, 150 and it functioned to naturalize and reinforce the connection. during their one period of foods each week, the homemaker students learned about the composition, characteristics, and structures of the various food groups such as fruits, vegetables, cereals, dairy, and meats, much as did the short course students; however, the homemaker students went into far greater detail and depth of analysis. they were taught how to conduct food value tests using four methods of testing: chemical testing to determine the proportion of nutrients; physical testing to determine the amount of heat and energy supplied; physiological testing for ease of digestion and absorption; and finally, economic analysis to weigh the relative cost of the food. the homemaker students worked on comparative charts for the percent composition of water, protein, carbohydrate, fat and mineral in food substances, and they learned about the function of vitamins and minerals. they received instruction in the molecular structure of fruits, vegetables, cereals, milk, fat, eggs and meat and considered these structures in terms of the relative ease of digestibility. through this process of examination of the value of foods, students developed critical thinking and evaluation skills. after completing food value testing, dorothy anderson came to the conclusion that, although beans were not easily digestible, “because of their cheapness beans should occupy an important place in diet, where economy is observed” (1915-1916). she also recorded in her notes information about foods that contributed to tissue building such as cereals, those which aided in digestion such as barley, and those that were best suited to the dietary needs of vegetarians and the ill, elderly, or very young. an awareness of the need for a balanced diet was reflected in student‟s notes. dorothy anderson recorded that rice was cheap and easy to prepare, but noted the caution that the consumption of too much polished rice could lead to a disorder and that because rice was high in carbohydrates, but low in proteins and fats, it was best eaten in combination with foods that satisfied those categories. evidence of the start of a dietetics and nutritional sciences curriculum is apparent in these early class notes. principles of the economics and marketing of food goods were part of the foods curriculum for the homemaker‟s and were reinforced through separate lectures on the topic of marketing, with marketing, in this case, referring to the act of purchasing goods at market, rather than the current connotation of promotion for sales. in an effort to level out social inequities, the institute emphasized the charms of simplicity and positioned the ability to live with thrift as a highly desirable skill to attain. women were given a leading role to play in raising the standards of living across the nation by modifying expectations and values. it was argued by an unnamed author of an article entitled “economy and the woman‟s influence on it” which appeared in the april 1914 edition of the oac review that “if the women would remember that they can be a big factor in reducing the high cost of living by household economy, there would be happier homes throughout the dominion” (360). there were two underlying suppositions circulating in such discourse: first, that it fell to women to overcome poverty through thrift and careful housekeeping; and secondly, that women from impoverished lower-class and rural settings were incapable of budgeting prudently and needed training as a remedy. they were instructed on how to make the best use of what resources they had and how to spend funds judiciously. ingenuity and industry in the face of uncertain or limited resources were afforded greater esteem than the ability to live lavishly and effortlessly 151 with an abundance of readily available resources. the first world war intensified the importance of this lesson when conservation of food resources became critical to the war effort. the mac girls were told by an unnamed classmate in the may 1918 edition of the oac review that “if macdonald students are to use their influence in this cause and act as conservation propagandists, they must be able to meet antagonism with irrefutable statements” (438). the institute taught the women how to judge the best sources for purchasing fruits and vegetables and methods for determining the quality of goods. the best seasons for various foods were identified and patterns of pricing were discussed. the potential health effects of preservative chemicals, such as copper sulphate which was used to turn vegetables from a grey-green to a vibrant green, were discussed. similarly, the women had lectures on the potential health effects of faulty canning methods and were instructed on how to identify signs of problems such as unlevel cans, no detectable sound of liquid, or a metallic or acidic taste. in 1884, the canadian department of national health and welfare passed the nation‟s first food adulteration act, ten years after the first such act in the world was passed (cameron 2007), and the heightened awareness of quality control measures found its way into the curriculum at mac. the manner in which contaminants enter into milk – the likely source of the illness which took the life of domestic science education crusader adelaide hoodless‟ son – were discussed at length, and the women were told that it was the responsibility of the homemaker to “get milk from a good source, and in covered bottles. [milk] should be kept in hygienic surroundings, in a cool place, not in hot temp” (anderson 19151916). this section of the curriculum aimed to produce savvy and responsible consumers, but it was also based on the presumption that the students had little or no knowledge of how to be hygienic or thrifty – a presumption that was likely ill-conceived in the case of students who grew up in homes where vigilance for food contaminants and economy was an absolute necessity. most likely, this ignorance reflected the curriculum authors‟ privileged class background. the home nursing and emergencies curriculum was not dissimilar from that provided for the short course women, but more conditions and cases were discussed. like the short course students, the homemakers learned how to take and chart vital statistics such as pulse rate, temperature, respiration, elimination, and patient‟s state of mind. however, the homemakers were also given instruction in how to make and maintain their own mercury thermometers and they learned temperature patterns associated with particular health concerns such as pneumonia, typhoid, measles and chicken pox. they learned how to mix, use and store their own disinfectants such as bichloride of mercury, boracic acid, carbolic acid, hydrogen peroxide, formaldehyde and sulpher dioxide. they were taught how to dress wounds, apply poultices, give footbaths and administer enemas. their first aid instruction considered not only burns, stings, sprains and cuts, but also poisonings, drownings, choking, gunshot wounds, snake bites, fainting, hysteria, strokes, and internal and external haemorrhaging. the homemakers were taught the difference between metallic, vegetable, alcohol, strong acid and strong base poisonings, and they learned which types of poisonings required emetics and types which called for dilutants as treatment. hysteria was distinguished from convulsions and fits and, as a student recorded in her lecture notes, thought to be “caused sometimes by uncontrolled crying, laughing or rage, etc.” it was presented as poor behaviour and a tactic to gain attention rather than 152 a serious health concern. the women were told to “leave the patient positively alone. it can be prevented by detracting the attention” (ahrens 1914-1915). their consideration of illnesses included communicable diseases such as tuberculosis and the women were made to understand that homemakers play a crucial role in stopping the spread of disease as well as in easing the pain of sufferers. oac professor william muldrew expressed this contention in a january 1907 oac review article when he wrote, “it rests with the women of canada to stamp [tuberculosis] out, and if all women could have the right amount of education in this matter, and were willing to it into effect, this plague would be stamped out in one generation” (201). the women were encouraged to contribute to public efforts to stop the spread of tuberculosis including the eradication of public spitting, communal drinking cups and towels, and long walking skirts. they were also encouraged to lobby for better inspection of beef and dairy cattle, better pasteurization of milk, protected display of food goods for sale, and the building of sanatoriums. they were urged to volunteer to distribute educational literature and participate in public awareness campaigns. the causes, symptoms, treatment and dangers of droplet infection in cases of pneumonia also took up several lectures. the curriculum was fairly comprehensive and was intended to equip women to provide effective first aid and continuing care. clear parameters were established between the limits of women in the home and the much greater capability of doctors to treat the ill. the women were frequently instructed on when to call in outside help and reminded that they were not to assume that they could usurp the role of medical professionals. they were, rather, to take care of their family member‟s immediate and simple health concerns and lobby for improvements to public health. the laundry curriculum was far more detailed than that provided to the nonprofessional students at the institute enrolled in three month short course in domestic science. the homemakers were taught how to apply the lessons of chemistry to the task of cleaning fabric. as is evident in figure 2 (macdonald institute papers, students file: class pictures), to reinforce this lesson, the laundry classroom looked less like a laundromat than a laboratory. stations were set up around the room and the students worked on set laundry tasks by following precise methods. the course began with a discussion of the differences between hard and soft water and the effects of both on the action of detergents and the durability of fabric. students learned about figure 2. laundry classroom at the macdonald institute common alkalis and acids and their uses. they made their own detergents and their own starches. ironing and folding techniques were practiced as were some simple dry cleaning techniques such as the use of gasoline as a solvent. students were required to bring a selection of clothing items such as flannel pajamas, cotton shirts and undergarments, as well as linen handkerchiefs, 153 with them to the institute as practice garments, but there is no evidence that they did the institute‟s laundry as a part of the course work. students were also responsible for reading sections of the science of laundry work (rankin 1904). margaret cuthbert rankin wrote a total of six books on laundry work for teachers and students. the first volume was assigned to the mac students and included examination of the composition, states, properties, manufacture, use and storage of water, soap, sodium bicarbonate, alkalis, starch, blueing solutions, and a range of chemicals for use as bleaches, disinfectants, and solvents. rankin also detailed the structures and properties of common fabrics and discusses the preferred methods for cleaning and maintaining the fabrics. the author believed that hygiene was inextricably linked to quality of character, and her writing (rankin 1904, 9) reinforced a lesson that the institute valued highly for its aspiring domestic science teachers: there is nothing more likely to aid in the development of character in children than the thorough inculcation of this science of cleanliness, and the teacher who is earnest and enthusiastic in the work will appreciate the importance of the relation between cleanliness and perfect health. while guiding the pupils into methodical ways of working, she will embrace the opportunity of instilling hygienic principles of cleanliness, tidiness, carefullness (sic) and order. additionally, rankin‟s textbook series made recommendations on equipping and configuring laundry classrooms and guided teachers on the importance of preparation, presentation, association, generalization and application in successful learning. the institute‟s faculty required students to read or purchase very few books, but this text was one of the few required books and was intended to serve as a useful reference guide in the future. in 1906, the decision was made to increase the academic rigour of the program by adding lessons in english and household accounting. oac english professor j.b. reynolds taught the english classes and uriewatson provided instruction in household accounting. it is not clear if this curriculum change stemmed from urie-watson‟s efforts to lay the groundwork for a planned associate‟s course. it may also have resulted in part from faculty, student or alumni demands for improved literacy and numeracy skills in preparation for continued studies, but both subjects were perceived to be “sadly needed by the average student of the class” (urie-watson 1906). the readings for the english course equipped the women with adequate critical reading skills for engaged parlour discussions, but were also carefully selected to allow for direction and reflection into how the women should best shape their lives. in the first term, students read jane austen‟s pride and prejudice, which focuses on the theme of marriage and examines the relative happiness and success of those who marry for status, convenience, impulse, and love. austen‟s book provided fodder for discussions on the centrality of parenting and family influence over the development of a kind, intelligent and moral individuals. the women also read from alexander‟s anthology of english poetry, and were required to complete a short biography of lord tennyson who wrote largely on sentimental themes. they were also assigned the task of completing an exposition of the theologian and poet, joseph blanco white‟s, poem “tonight” about the devastating cost of sin evident in the expulsion of adam and eve from the garden of eden. in addition to the examination of literary themes on venerated social values, the women 154 were also given instruction in the genteel art of writing letters and invitations. in the second term, the homemakers read a selection of canadian authors with the idea that, as corea cleghorn recorded in her notes, “a national literature commences only when the genius of the people expresses itself through native authors, upon topics of permanent interest” (1914-1915). the class considered the difficulties of building a national literature in canada because of the size, diversity and political dependence of the nation. silas marner was the novel study for the second term and the students wrote on the role of faith and ethics in the social regeneration of george eliot‟s main character. morality, femininity and faithful allegiance to home and country were the overriding themes of the english instruction provided to the women. the accounting course, which was intended to teach practical lessons in budgeting and simple, applied math relevant to the women‟s likely future roles as home-makers, was not wellloved by the students. efforts to tie the math to authentic problems did not help to ease the discomfort with the subject. the aversion to the content is apparent in this sarcastic notice printed in the april 1904 oac review, “we have to announce that after this the subject, „business methods‟ or „practical arithmetic,‟ will be dropped. the new girls will not have to try to find out, that, if in one minute one cat would catch one rat, how many rats in how many minutes would three cats catch? it might be added here, that, owing to the discovery of an instantaneous rat poison in the shape of home-made pie-crust this advanced system of feline mathematics can be dispensed with at the macdonald institute” (61). whether it stemmed from anxieties about learning challenging mathematical concepts or a lack of confidence that accounting skills were necessary for success in the home, it is clear that there was some degree of aversion to the subject matter. it is not clear what affect this aversion had on the assimilation, retention and ultimate application of the lessons. a year after the courses in english and accounting were added, a course in colourharmony was devised in an “effort to lead the girls to apply the laws of colour and form to clothing and home decoration” (urie-watson 1907, 246). taught by a male teacher, mr. evans, from the institute‟s manual training department, this course: began with a study of the primary secondary and tertiary colors with a watercolor box as a basis, for standards in their combination later. thence they passed to a brief study of color-balance, which is the proper proportion of different colors in one combination. they took up a little elementary work in design, and immediately worked out simple designs suitable for cushions, curtains, etc. some of these were carried out in cloth and color. following this they carried out practical demonstrations of color combinations in dress using actual cloth, hats, etc. a small room was given over to their use and the girls worked in sections. each group worked out a different color combination and decorated one corner, which was criticized and discussed before the next group had its turn. we have been trying to develop work along this line since the institute‟s opening year, but this attempt is the first that has proved at all satisfactory. this kind of work, like other practical work, takes a great deal of time, but we believe it to be of great value to the girls. according to helen staebler‟s january 1910 article in the oac review, the color harmony course, as part of the “whole scheme of handicraft 155 education” at the institute, developed the lofty objective of instilling “enlightenment in the study of objective beauty” (229). similar aggrandizement of home skills became evident in the subjects that made up the curriculum of the one-year homemaker‟s course, which increasingly focused on the “science or reasons at the bottom of practical operations” (urie-watson 1909, 234) as the first two decades of the institute ended. one of the pillars of the domestic science education movement noted in the march 1907 “macdonald” section of the oac review was the belief that “the home is the social workshop for the making of men” (299), and women must be well equipped and trained to rear children, particularly male children, with care and intelligence so that they may become productive citizens who would contribute to the advancement of the nation. by 1914, lessons on mothercraft, as it was called, had debuted as part of the curriculum for the homemakers. as katherine arnup (1990) and cynthia commachio (1993) have noted in their works on educating women for motherhood, at this time, the medical establishment and the state began to take on a much greater role in counselling women in modern motherhood techniques than it previously had. the curriculum developed at mac was in keeping with this growing belief that women needed instruction rather than instinct and tradition to raise their children properly. ross provided instruction on care of the infant – clothes to prepare, schedules of feeding and elimination, bathing techniques, and comforting a crying, colicky or teething baby – became part of the home nursing and emergencies course. lectures on child psychology were also offered to allow homemakers like f. ahrens to “study the mind of the child” and “to find the child‟s place in the social world” (1914-1915). the introduction of this content points to the rising influence of social sciences and the growing interest in the relative effects of nature and nurture in human development. the inclusion of child development theory in the curriculum emerged from the developing belief that children were sufficiently different from adults to merit separate study, and that, as “environment has a great deal to do with growth” (ahrens 19141915), homemaker students would benefit from a guided consideration of how to create spaces in which children could flourish. through the lectures, the homemakers were exposed to knowledge regarding the physical and psychosocial development of children. the influence of g. stanley hall, educational psychologist and president of clark university, is evident in the emphasis placed on the importance of imaginative play and imitation in skill development. the women were taught that play was instinctive for children and could be directed toward the development of mind, body and soul. the injection of expert, predominantly malegenerated, social science discourse into the curriculum was indicative of a heightened concern that women‟s work outside of the home, in concert with poor training in child-rearing practices, was creating a social problem. the introduction of a formal curriculum in mothercraft was also revealing of an undercurrent of concern that ill-behaved or unhealthy children were the result of ignorant, careless mothers (dyhouse 1978, 303). homemakers were meant to graduate with thorough training in establishing and running a family home. the curriculum was designed to unveil the theoretical and scientific underpinnings of their daily work and provide them with a rich understanding of importance and intricacy of their work thereby increasing their satisfaction with home life. whether the institute‟s curriculum 156 succeeded in achieving these ends is not entirely clear. some graduates may have taken their experience at the institute and dedicated their lives to the application of its lessons, secure in the belief that their roles were difficult and valuable. other graduates may have had difficulty in holding on to the vision of laundry, cleaning, food preparation and parenting as scientifically informed practices rather than drudgery. it is possible that for some, the exposure to theory and experimental method gained at the institute lit a spark and generated a hunger for more of the same outside of the home rather than within it. the non-professional programs offered by the macdonald institute from 1903-1920 were designed to teach practices, values and beliefs informed by the intersecting interests that defined the social reform groups behind the establishment of the macdonald institute. the young women who attended the institute were taught that women were uniquely responsible for and uniquely capable of building a healthy, productive and prosperous nation one home and one community at a time. this responsibility was promoted as a privilege – something to take care and pride in – rather than as an encumbrance to the progress of women. within the culture of the institute, sheltered somewhat from contradictory ideas posited by liberal feminists or conservative traditionalists, a community of women formed and nurtured an idealized vision of the preeminent importance of women to take a leadership role in establishing ever higher standards for the quality of family and community. references adams, a. 1996. architecture in the family way: doctors, houses and women, 18701900. montreal and kingston: mcgillqueen‟s university press. ahrens, f. 1914-1915. class notes belonging to f. ahrens, homemakers 1914-1915, re1 mac a0162, students file, macdonald institute, (uga). anderson, d. 1915-1916. students file, macdonald institute, re1 mac a0162, archival and special collections, university of guelph library (uga). anonymous. 1914. “economy and woman‟s influence on it.” oac review, (april): 360. __________. 1904. “macdonald.” oac review, (april): 61. __________. 1907. “macdonald,” oac review, (march): 299. __________. 1918. “macdonald.” oac review, (may): 438. arnup, k. 1994. advice for mothers in twentieth-century canada. toronto: university of toronto press. cameron, g.d.w. “the department of national health and welfare,” department of national health and welfare, government of canada. http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/branchdirgen/ocvc-bcgdwc/gdw_article_e.html (accessed july 1, 2007). cleghorn, c. 1914-1915. students file, macdonald institute, re1 mac a0146, archival and special collections, university of guelph library (uga). commachio, c. 1993. nations are built of babies: saving ontario’s mothers and children, 1900-1940. montreal and kingston: mcgill-queen‟s university press. dyhouse, c. 1978. “towards a „feminine‟ curriculum for english schoolgirls: the demands of ideology, 1870-1963.” women’s studies international quarterly i: 297-311. gallop, m. 1905. “macdonald.” oac review, (november): 84-86. gaskell, j., a. mclaren, and m. novogrodsky, 1989. “what is worth knowing? defining the feminist curriculum,” in claiming an education: feminism and canadian schools. toronto: our schools / our selves education foundation. howe, f. 1984. “why educate women? the responses of wellesley and stanford.” in http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/branch-dirgen/ocvc-bcgdwc/gdw_article_e.html http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/branch-dirgen/ocvc-bcgdwc/gdw_article_e.html 157 myths of coeducation. bloomington: indiana university press. kealey, l., ed. a not unreasonable claim: women and reform in canada, 1880s – 1920s. toronto: women‟s educational press, 1979. kerber, l. 1987. “„nothing absurd or fantastical‟: the education of women in the early republic.” in educating men and women together: coeducation in a changing world, edited by c. lasser, 37-48. urbana: university of illinois press. macdonald institute papers, director file: watson, 1903-1920, re1 mac a0014, archival and special collections, university of guelph library (uga). macdonald institute papers, students file: class pictures, re1 mac a0058, archival and special collections, university of guelph library (uga). mckillop, a.b. 1994. “the arrival of women.” chap. 6 in matters of the mind: the university in ontario 1791-1951. toronto: university of toronto press. muldrew, j. 1907. “how much shall i get out of my life?” oac review, (january): 201. murray, d. 1989. hatching the cowbird’s egg: the creation of the university of guelph. guelph: university of guelph. palmieri, p. 1987. “from republican motherhood to race suicide: arguments on the higher education of women in the united states, 1820-1920.” in educating men and women together: coeducation in a changing world, edited by c. lasser, 49-64. urbana: university of illinois press. rankin, m. c. 1904. the science of laundry work. london: blackie and sons. roberts, g. 1905. “domestic art.” oac review, (february): 318-319. selles-roney, j. 1996. methodists and women’s education in ontario, 1836-1925. montréal: mcgill-queen‟s university press. staebler, h. 1910. “benefits and advantages of macdonald institute courses,” oac review, (january): 229. urie-watson, m. 1903. ontario agricultural college, annual report of the ontario agricultural college and experimental farm, 1875-1961, president file, ontario agricultural college papers, re1 oac a0090, archival and special collections, university of guelph library (uga). __________. 1905. ontario agricultural college, annual report of the ontario agricultural college and experimental farm, 1875-1961, president file, ontario agricultural college papers, re1 oac a0090, archival and special collections, university of guelph library (uga). __________. 1906. ontario agricultural college, annual report of the ontario agricultural college and experimental farm, 1875-1961, president file, ontario agricultural college papers, re1 oac a0090, archival and special collections, university of guelph library (uga). __________. 1907. ontario agricultural college, annual report of the ontario agricultural college and experimental farm, 1875-1961, president file, ontario agricultural college papers, re1 oac a0090, (uga). __________. 1909. mary urie-watson, ontario agricultural college, annual report of the ontario agricultural college and experimental farm, 1875-1961, president file, ontario agricultural college papers, re1 oac a0090, (uga). __________. 1911. ontario agricultural college, annual report of the ontario agricultural college and experimental farm, 1875-1961, 24, president file, ontario agricultural college papers, re1 oac a0090, archival and special collections, university of guelph library (uga). vincente, v. b. 1997. “chronology of events and movements which have defined and shaped home economics.” in rethinking home economics: women and the history of a profession, edited by s. stage and v. b. vincente, 321-22. ithaca: cornell university press. publication draft – ssch – 2004 reading practices in african american segregated elementary schools in the south: 1940-1970 renarta tompkins mississippi state university abstract: this study examined the instructional methods utilized by african american teachers in several segregated elementary schools in georgia from 1940-1970. using a cross-case analysis (miles & huberman, 1994) of the oral histories of six teachers’ experiences in teaching reading in 17 segregated elementary schools from 1940-1970, the following question was explored: what modes of literacy instruction did african american teachers use in segregated school settings? the study found that the instructional methodologies for reading and the materials employed by the teachers generally paralleled the recommended reading methodologies of mainstream teacher publications during the time period. these practices included reading aloud, round robin reading, phonics instruction, spelling, grammar, creative writing, recitation and memorization. however, three literacy related practices stand out, the first two, diagnostic assessment and flexibility in learning environment are not mentioned in the literature on segregated schooling. the third, informal literacy activities, merits mention because it figures prominently both in the reports of the teachers in the study and the segregated schools literature but receives far less emphasis in the mainstream reading literature. the study found that the teachers employed these informal literacy activities to broaden students’ literacy experiences beyond the classroom and the community. introduction reading instruction generally excluded attention to the culture and ethnicity of minority students prior to desegregation. in instances where culture was included in the discourse on reading instruction, it was typically viewed through a deficit lens. generally through the 1960s, students whose cultures or ethnic groups differed from the middleclass white norm were variously labeled as “culturally deprived” (foster, 1990) or “culturally disadvantaged” (placier, 1994). in the predominance of cultural descriptors that reflected a deficit model, african american children were consistently portrayed as students without culture or as students for whom culture was a handicap to school success (irvine, 1991). this acultural and deficit perspective characterized the discipline of reading instruction for the decades prior to desegregation. yet current revisionist histories describe segregated schools in the south as places where african american teachers held high expectations, maintained rigorous curriculum, and enforced strong behavioral norms, while refusing to equate learning capacity with impoverished background or racial disparity (morris & morris, 2000, walker, 1996, walker, 2001). however, neither the historical scholarship nor the reading scholarship has explored the nature of reading instruction in the southern african american segregated school environment. the historical literature on segregated african american schools affords little attention to any specific content area instruction, including reading. likewise, in the reading scholarship, the experiences of african american children are ignored prior to desegregation, or simply dismissed as substandard. this study expands the literature on reading instruction by providing a historical case study of african american teachers and their strategies for reading instruction in segregated african american elementary schools in a southern state. specifically, it explored the teaching of reading in segregated school settings from 1940-1970, relying upon interviews and analysis of archival documents. the study sought to address the following question: what modes of literacy instruction did african american teachers use in the segregated school setting? based on anthropological and historical research that indicates that african americans possess a distinct culture with “identifiable norms, language, behaviors, and attitudes” (irvine, 1991, p.23), irvine argued that the independent nature of the segregated african american school system allowed teachers and principals the autonomy to reflect the “patterns of communication, cultural preferences, and normatively diffused modes of behavior” (p. 35) of its community. in such an environment, a cross-case analysis of african american teachers may have revealed that they created culturally specific adaptations of reading instruction for students, adapting mainstream practices to reflect the cultural norms, values, and resources of the community. methodology of the study this historical cross-case analysis explored reading instruction in segregated african american elementary schools in georgia by interviewing african american teachers who taught between the years 1940 to 1970 and by supporting these oral history accounts through archival documentation. data sources six female african american teachers were interviewed for this study. the participants represented experiences in 17 different segregated african american schools from 1940-1970. the location of the schools ranged from small rural 36 schools to large urban schools. all the participants taught at the elementary school level, which spanned grades one through seven during the time frame of the study. i also examined documents in public and private archival collections pertaining to reading instruction during the time period of 1940-1970. these included the documents of (1) the southern regional educational board, located at atlanta university archives, (2) the division of negro education documents and county and school district historical documents, located at the georgia archives building and (3) documents of the georgia teachers and educators association (gtea), the african american teacher’s union, housed in a private collection. however, the laxity of official recordkeeping for black schools and the destruction of many of the documents pertaining to these schools subsequent to desegregation allow only a generalized view of teaching in segregated schools in the state. of these documents, most informative were the past issues of the herald, the official magazine of the african american georgia teachers and educators association. data collection a three-tiered interview cycle (seidman, 1998) was utilized for each participant. each interview provided a foundation on which to build the next interview and the use of multiple interviews increased rapport with the participants. all interviews consisted of a semi-structured question-answer format (merriam, 1998) that focused on the teaching of reading in segregated schools. data analysis broad coding categories had been constructed through the review of the literature and formed the first level of coding (mccracken, 1988; miles & huberman, 1984). coding themes were refined with each interview then compared across each case study. to improve the validity and reliability of oral history accounts, consistency was verified across multiple interviews with the same subject by repeating the same questions. where areas of concern emerged, clarification was sought through other participants or archival documents. throughout the study, archival data was used to confirm, expand, or challenge the oral report, where possible. a limitation of the study was the accuracy of the participants’ memories of the time period of the study, as well as the high participant mobility across school settings, which may have obscured practices specific to a particular school site. however, most participants were able to provide general information regarding their teaching of reading; although some found it difficult to pinpoint a practice to a specific site, most were able to distinguish between predesegregation teaching and post-desegregation teaching. results of the study although the historical literature on segregated schooling has not focused specifically on reading, several studies provided insight into literacy instruction in segregated african american elementary schools (morris & morris, 2000; robinson, 1978, walker, 1996). the practices described in the historical literature provide context for interpreting the results of this study. reading materials the predominant basal reader used in mainstream white schools from 1940-1965 was the dick and jane reader (fleish, 1955; williams, 1995), likewise, in african american schools in this study, the most often mentioned basal for elementary instruction was the dick and jane reader (dempsey & noblit, 1993; morris & morris, 2000). however, dick and jane turned out to be only one of several different basal series being used by the teachers. indeed, all but one of the teachers in the study had access to multiple sets of readers and often selected the reader they felt best suited the students’ needs. one teacher found that for “many kids, it [dick and jane] was too repetitive” and used it only for the lowest students. she used row, peterson and company’s alice and jerry readers or the allyn bacon series for her more able students. most teachers identified their basal text by the publisher’s name and demonstrated familiarity with the series by actually attributing certain characteristics of text to a particular series. one of the teachers, mrs. waters explained it this way: let’s say that for the lower group, you would want a series that really had a lot of vocabulary work and so forth and so forth, so you would put them in the scott foresman series…the next group might be in the harcourt brace series. we never had a problem. we had all those different series. you had to make a decision, but you got to know your series because you studied it. mrs. water’s explanation for the abundance of materials was that they never threw anything away. in addition to textbooks, teachers in the study frequently utilized supplementary materials, such as leveled reading kits and multi-level readers for instruction. consistent with smith’s (2002) contention that by the mid-1950s, teachers were urged to utilize non-textbook materials in the classroom, several teachers used a children’s newspaper subscription in their classrooms, the weekly reader, to encourage outside reading. one of the teachers ordered each child’s weekly reader on their individual independent reading level, even though she 37 was a sixth grade teacher. she stated, “every child had his own and it was on a level they could read and they could go home and tell their parents the news and what was happening with the president and everything and they would just love being able to read the newspaper.” other supplementary books were the result of teachers’ purchases with their own money. however, upon inquiry, it was found that none of the teachers attempted to collect literature that specifically reflected positive african american images. one participant felt that sufficient titles simply weren’t available back then. instruction the african american teachers in this study identified several instructional strategies and methods used for formal reading instruction. the methods most mentioned were reading aloud, choral reading, round robin reading, and silent reading. teachers also mentioned creative writing, phonics instruction, recitation and memorization, and discussion. these practices correlate with the descriptions of reading instruction in the historical literature on african american elementary schooling (morris & morris, 2000; noblit & dempsey, 1996; robinson, 1978 and are also consistent with the literature on white mainstream schooling (smith, 2002; martinez & mcgee, 2000). however, in the cross-case analysis, two components, diagnostic assessment and flexible learning environments, emerged which were not reflected in the existing literature on segregated school instruction. further, one component of instruction, informal literacy activities, is reflected heavily in african american segregated schooling but not in the literature on mainstream schooling. evident in all but one account of reading instruction is the use of some form of diagnostic assessment, such as informal reading inventories, to determine a child’s literacy abilities prior to grouping, a practice consistent with mainstream instruction (smith, 2002), yet absent from the historical literature on segregated schools. two teachers mentioned the use of self-constructed assessments to measure students’ independent, instructional, and frustration levels of reading. one of the teachers, mrs. peters, described her home-made assessments this way: well, the general thing that i used to use all the time, give a child a reader and let him read 100 words and if he missed more than five it was not his independent reading level. so, don’t try to assign him nothing in that because he can’t read it. missing five words out of a hundred, that was the basic one and then i had further tests. this method of leveling is still currently in use to determine appropriate reading levels for students (smith, 2002). other teachers used publisher-supplied tests to assess their students’ reading levels. these publisher-supplied tests apparently came with the purchased commercial reading text series. in addition, teachers provided flexibility in learning environments for students. this included flexible grouping, whole class, and individualized instruction. while ability grouping of students was a common practice and was recommended by the reading experts of the time (smith, 2002), it was only one of the methods mentioned by the teachers in the study. an early elementary teacher, mrs. taylor, offered the following description of her ability grouping experience in one of the school. she arranged her students into three ability groups and partnered with another teacher so that one teacher could work with all the lower-achieving students while the other worked with all the higher-achieving students. the teachers alternated from year to year so that neither teacher was consistently assigned the same ability group. she commented that “back in those days it was an acceptable practice to move students back and forth among classrooms,” although she had noticed that teachers today do not share their instructional responsibilities in the same manner. three teachers made specific reference to their use of whole class instruction, usually with the teacher reading aloud and evoking responses from the students, particularly for teaching vocabulary and comprehension. when teaching first grade, mrs. taylor described how she used a program in the 1960s that provided filmstrips to accompany stories, while mrs. peters discussed the elaborate preparations that she made in anticipation of her friday story-hour with the students. during the discussion of whole group instruction, mrs. taylor stated, “we taught our stories”, which prompted a description of instruction that was a combination of reading a short portion of a story and then allowing students to discuss their interpretation of the story and how the story related to their lives. the role of discussion was confirmed by both mrs. taylor and another teacher, mrs. haver, as a way of developing students’ use of oral language. mrs. haver believed that vocabulary development was integral to her students’ success. she loved engaging the children in conversations because she believed those conversations improved their language skills. for example, she encouraged discussions about the literature, about the subject they were learning, or just about themselves. she reports that she talked to them as much as they talked to her, encouraging them to think about what they wanted to do when they finished school even though they were only in the fourth grade. despite large classes, three of the teachers in the study set aside some time for individualized instruction in their day, a practice consistent with beauboeuf-lafontant’s (2002) assertion that, in the classroom of caring african american teachers, “weak children were not left to themselves” (p.81). individual instruction was provided for students who 38 had not performed well within their reading groups and needed a little extra help. one teacher had a set goal of working individually with three children a day. while this practice was specifically discussed by three of the teachers, other teachers may have felt that they addressed individual needs sufficiently through ability grouping. lastly, african american teachers supplemented in-class learning through informal modes of instruction. numerous studies of segregated schools (davis, 1996; edwards, royster & bates, 1979; robinson, 1978; tilford-weathers, 1982; morris & morris, 2000; savage, 2001; walker, 1996) illustrate the ways in which elementary and secondary teachers reinforced literacy by requiring recitations and performances and by encouraging students to engage in literacy-related activities and clubs that encouraged discourse in literacy. the goal of many of these public demonstrations of literacy was to motivate students to develop the facility to speak clearly and to maintain poise under pressure (edwards, royster, & bates, 1979), in addition to providing parents evidence of accomplishment in school. this practice of public literacy is supported by mchenry’s (2002) historical examination of african american literacy societies. mchenry’s study sites the development of public displays of literacy as a tradition of sharing literacy within the community. in addition to speaking and reading, writing was also supported. students practiced writing skills by being placed on the school newspaper or yearbook committees in most elementary and secondary schools (davis, 1996; edwards, royster & bates,1979, savage, 2001). while these activities likely were not exclusive to african american schools, the existence of these activities proved to be a prominent theme in the historical segregated school literature. five of the teachers in the study had at least one form of public presentation of literacy each year. no distinction was made between those presentations that were school wide as opposed to those performed for pta meetings or christmas pageants. one suburban school had regularly scheduled monthly assembly programs, and two of the teachers from other schools recalled preparing presentations specifically for negro history week. it was also in the area of these public performances that teachers related their most embarrassing or fun moments. mrs. harris related humorously that the month she began her teaching assignment was the same month that her class was scheduled to present the assembly program but, luckily, one of the other teachers “bailed” her out by taking on the task. in another interview, mrs. peters’ seeming flair for drama was evident in her students’ assembly programs. she declared, “when it came my time for the assembly program, i would try to have something outstanding.” she enjoyed practicing with the students and would try to make sure that they did not make any mistakes and “do real, real good.” one of her students later became an actor appearing in a well-acclaimed movie. in addition to public performance, library use was also an integral part of three of the teachers’ informal instructional activities. one of the teachers not only sent her students to the library once a week, but often borrowed large numbers of books for students to use in the classroom, occasionally inciting the wrath of the librarian. her school was fortunate in having a library facility, fewer than 30% of all schools in the country boasted such a luxury until federal monies became available in the late 1960s (martinez & mcgee, 2000). other teachers in the study mentioned the use of public libraries. the state of georgia maintained a few negro-only libraries for public use. however, it is unclear whether students in small rural towns had access to public facilities during the time frame of this study. the final mode of informal literacy instruction that emerged from the cross-case analysis was the use of fieldtrips, although only two teachers felt these were important specifically for improving reading achievement, citing the value of building students’ background knowledge for comprehension. most teachers viewed the use of fieldtrips as a way to broaden students’ knowledge of the world, which confirmed harris’ (1992) contention that african american teachers believed that literacy included the ability to understand and to participate in the sociocultural aspects of society. fieldtrips that allowed students’ to be exposed to government, music, drama, and careers outside of their neighborhoods reflected one of the ways in which this understanding of the sociocultural aspects of the greater society could be achieved. mrs. taylor believed that “fieldtrips made a great deal of difference to the children,” then added that today there is media, such as computers and videos, and these media are used to build students’ experiences outside of the classroom. the option of using media was not available 50 years ago. mrs. haver used her fieldtrips to go to the state capitol or the fire station and sometimes to visit neighborhood businesses and stores within walking distance of the school. other fieldtrips mentioned were factories and cultural sites that would allow african americans to visit. it should also be stated that most of these trips would have funded by the parents or teacher, no funding for fieldtrips was available from public monies for african american schools until after brown v board of education. discussion this study provided a surprising portrait of african american teachers from 1940-1970. by no means does this study excuse the neglect of the southern school boards towards african american segregated schools, rather it substantiates the agency of african american teachers in making the best of 39 the resources that they had despite the circumstances under which they and their students lived. the stereotypical depiction of african american teachers prior to desegregation is one of a dedicated individual working with few and outdated materials and utilizing old-fashioned methods of teaching. this study found that despite the isolation of african american teachers from their white mainstream counterparts, there was a flow of information that allowed them to learn and utilize the most recent methodologies and strategies in reading instruction. overall, the consistency of the use of these strategies indicates that these teachers were abreast of the trends in reading instruction that were current during the time they were teaching. the teachers in this study did not confirm these deficits in materials. this availability of materials sharply contrasts with the literature (foster, 1990; robinson, 1978, savage, 2001), however, two factors may account for teacher’s perceptions of adequate materials. the first is increased funding by districts to counteract the implementation of brown v board of education. the second factor may have been that the gradual accumulation of materials in african american schools over the years gave teachers the perception of abundance and variety. this may account for the practice of using multiple texts in the classroom to facilitate the groupings of students and individual instruction on various levels that teachers practiced. surprisingly, teachers did not appear to consider racism a factor in their instruction. no mention was made of inequities in funding, though ample public records exist to attest to lower funding for african american schools prior to 1950. yet, while it was not mentioned as a factor in instruction, clearly teachers were aware of the circumstances for african american children and worked to counteract the effects of racism on their students by choosing fieldtrips that exposed students to new ideas and environments. in addition, while teachers did indicate that they attended separate professional development activities from their white counterparts, they expressed no concerns that their activities may have differed from their white colleagues. however, the reluctance to see themselves as less effective or less valued as teachers was consistent across interviews. the african american teachers in this study clearly expressed the belief that they delivered the best possible education to their students. finally, this study raises a number of additional questions regarding the practices of african american teachers and reading instruction. such questions focus on the dissemination of current reading methodologies among the isolated african american teaching community, the value of teacherselected reading materials as opposed to mass textbook adoptions, and the similarity of literacy practices across multiple school settings despite the lack of professional development for african american teachers. these questions as well as others beg for deeper exploration of the historical practices of african american teachers. references beauboeuf-lafontant, t. 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(2001). african american teaching in the south: 1940-1960. american educational research journal, 38, 751-779. williams, c. (1995). reading deeper: the legacy of dick and jane in the work of clarissa sligh [electronic version]. image, 38(3). united states census bureau (2004). percent of people 25 years and over who have completed high school or college by race, hispanic origin and sex: selected years 1940 to 2003. washington, dc: department of commerce, bureau of the census. data sources data collection data analysis let’s say that for the lower group, you would want a series that really had a lot of vocabulary work and so forth and so forth, so you would put them in the scott foresman series…the next group might be in the harcourt brace series. we never had a problem. we had all those different series. you had to make a decision, but you got to know your series because you studied it. mrs. water’s explanation for the abundance of materials was that they never threw anything away. references the emergence of historical inquiry as curriculum: reconsidering the british schools council history project sherri colby texas a&m university—commerce abstract concerns over the quality of history education in the united kingdom led to the schools history project 13-16 in 1972. the project proved to be the first large-scale western curricula designed to engage students in historical inquiry. in this article, i shall offer an elucidation of the philosophy of the british schools history project, a narration of the british and north american influences on the project, and a discussion of the project‟s impact. concerns over the quality of history education in the united kingdom led the government to fund a curriculum project, sponsored by the schools council (an organization of teachers, local educational leaders, and the department of education and science, formed in 1964 to develop and to assist curricular reforms) at the university of leeds (now based at trinity and all saints‟ college near leeds) in 1972. the british schools history project 13-16 (shp for 14 to 16 year-olds) developed curricula focused on the needs of the adolescent learner and the nature of disciplinary history (rosenzweig 1984). the project proved to be the first large-scale western curricula designed to teach procedural knowledge (the methods used in research by historians) and to engage students in historical inquiry. the project emphasized the nature of historical knowledge, the need for active student involvement, and the analysis of multiple primary sources (booth 1993 1994). the shp represented a dramatic shift from traditional, politically-centered, lecture-driven curricula, to a new ideology espousing “history as time, history as [human] motive, and history as enquiry” (fines 1980, forward). during the mid-1960s in the united kingdom, history education came under severe attack as a subject lacking purpose for adolescents in a rising technological age. leading historians such as g.r. elton, supporters of piaget‟s theories, and interested government officials bemoaned the traditional lackluster instructional methods and claimed history failed to interest adolescents, who proved unable to access the advanced material (rosenzweig 1984). as a result, a counter-reformation of concerned educators responded to those charges leading to the formation in 1969 of a new journal, teaching history by the british historical association, dedicated to publishing articles regarding innovative methods of instruction. the journal‟s landmark publication by mary price (1968) “history in danger” proved widely influential through price‟s charge to restore history‟s place in the british schools and to revitalize teaching methods. martin booth‟s (1969) history betrayed (supporting price‟s claims) soon followed-thus, leading to a whirlwind response by concerned educators (husbands, kitson, and pendry 2003; rosenzweig 1984). the formation of the shp in 1972, led by david sylvester, emerged as part of this counterreformation; the shp‟s founding, overarching purpose consisted of reaffirming history‟s value for adolescents in the secondary schools. at the project‟s inception, the founding leaders did not begin with an entrenched philosophy—other than 43 the obvious commitment to history‟s value—or with a pre-specified curriculum. instead, the experimental nature of the project enabled the founders to explore the role history played in the development of adolescents (husbands, kitson, and pendry 2003; schools council 1976). in 1976, the schools council issued their publication a new look at history outlining the shp‟s curriculum and rationale. in 1980, the schools council also published the evaluation study outlining the philosophy, purposes, and effectiveness of the project. the project changed the nature of history education in the uk and ultimately inspired researchers of history education (in both the united kingdom and north america) discover historical inquiry as a form of curriculum. the movement led to the adoption of new terms, such as historical thinking (the nature of cognition in history) and historical empathy (the ability to perceive history from the perspectives of people from the past)—terms distinguishing bloom‟s functions and the objectives of cognition and affectivity in history as unique and separate from other disciplines. in this article, i shall offer an elucidation of the philosophy of the british schools history project 13-16, a narration of the british and north american influences on the project, and a discussion of the impact of the project to history education. i hope to increase awareness of the project‟s aims, the circumstances surrounding its inception, and its influence—thereby inviting educators and researchers to discover and to consider what can be learned from the undertaking. the philosophy of the schools council history project denis shemilt , a team member (1972 to 1974), evaluator (1974 to 1977), and director (1978) of the shp, figuratively compared the deficiencies in history education to tolstoy‟s russian peasant who believed locomotives actually received their powers of movement through the fire of hell‟s flames. the peasant adopted a metaphysical, mythical rather than a scientific understanding of the motion of locomotives. in comparison, students of history often espoused faulty assumptions about the past, and these errors of reasoning resulted from a curriculum that failed to teach the fundamental structure of disciplinary history. shemilt explains: a view [for the peasant] inside the locomotive‟s boiler and firebox would not enlighten; on the contrary, it would be a vision of hell. adolescents rarely construe history in a tolstoyan fashion, but many of the assumptions they make about the subject are equally inappropriate. listening to a history lesson in ignorance of the logic, perspectives, and methods of the subject is akin to watching a locomotive without an understanding of physics, factories, and economics. (1983, 1) according to shemilt, the elusive nature of the peasant‟s understanding of locomotives compares to the obscure, and even inaccurate, assumptions about history held by adolescents. the philosophy of the shp rested upon the acceptance of history as a form of knowledge: the concepts defining human experience, the ways of relating and articulating these concepts, the ways of empathizing and reconstructing historical truths, and the means of conducting investigations (hirst 1965, 1975; shemilt 1980, 1983). the authors of the shp assumed the task of teaching students disciplinary history--namely, the defining concepts, and the methods of inquiry; thus, by enabling students to grasp “the logic, perspectives, and methods,” the authors sought to deepen students‟ historical understandings. 44 in advancing a new curriculum, the shp sought to explore the sort of history most appropriate for adolescents in the uk and as a result determined two fundamental purposes for their rationale: first, relevance to the personal and social needs of adolescents (schools council 1976), and second, grounding in reason, or the logic and methods of the discipline (shemilt 1980). regarding the sort of history, they justified history as a subject through five useful purposes for adolescents: (a) as a means of acquiring and developing such cognitive skills as those of analysis, synthesis, and judgment; (b) as a source of leisure interests; (c) as a vehicle for analyzing the contemporary world and their place within it; (d) as a means for developing understanding of the forces underlying social change and evolution; (e) as an avenue to selfknowledge and awareness of what it means to be human. (shemilt 1980, 2) lackluster instructional approaches failed to stimulate adolescents‟ leisure interests, to prepare them for contemporary life, to develop cognitive skills, to understand historical change, and to facilitate contemplations about the nature of being human. considering the developmental needs of youth, the founders formulated a curriculum intended to foster meaningful identities for the adolescent through the “widening and measuring of his own experience against that of others” (schools council 1976, 9), and “the part history can play in this should not be underestimated, for in history, the adolescent has to access the vast pool of human experience” (school council 1976, 10). the shp founders theoretically rejected the application of piaget‟s stages of development to thinking in history; instead, they optimistically assumed children as young as fifteen could begin to interpret and analyze historical evidence (schools council, 1976). for the project team, “bruner‟s dictum that, at some level, any worthwhile concept can be taught with integrity to school-age children” (shemilt 1980, 8) foundationally underlined their philosophy. of this, shemilt explained: in short, is the „form of knowledge‟ approach to history too academic for cse [certified school education] children? surprisingly, the answer is a categorical „no!‟ all adolescents seem able to develop and refine their understanding of historical causation, their awareness of history‟s relevance, their construction of how we find out and explain things that happened in the past, and so on. (1980, 8) the authors encouraged adolescents to engage in the formal operations as applied to history through inquiry, analysis, and judgment. furthermore, the structural differences between history and natural science proved problematic in translating piaget‟s theories (based upon scientific thinking) to historical cognition (schools council 1976). to illustrate, “the scientist postulates a single and coherent universe in which laws operating in one part also operate in all other parts, both observed and unobserved,” but “the historian assumes the contrary” (shemilt 1980, 44). thus, the historian “posits actuality as a special case of possibility” and by evaluating and reconstructing evidence considers “logically possible worlds” (shemilt 1980, 44). the students engaged in high-level cognitive skills based upon bloom‟s (1956) taxonomy. receiving their inspiration from coltham and fines‟ 1971 publication of educational objectives for the study of history: a suggested framework (outlining how bloom‟s cognitive and affective domains transferred to the 45 objectives of history education), the shp founders applied those ideas to a curriculum centered on the research methods used by historians. for cognition in history, those objectives focused on inquiry processes involving hypothesis formation, evidentiary sources, and historical reconstruction. major areas for investigation included notions such as the role of human motivation in causation, the nature of continuity and change over time, and the connectedness of the past to the present (schools council 1976; shemilt 1980). for the affective domain in history, the project founders incorporated the objectives outlined by coltham and fines (1971): attending, responding, and imagining. those objectives addressed the founders‟ perceptions of how history education should foster adolescent development through fundamental goals: the deepening awareness of humanity, the analysis of contemporary world, and the understanding of the forces of social change. notably, the founders chose to focus on the people of the past as central to the curriculum. the direct emphasis on history as motive hearkened back to the work of collingwood (1962), whose philosophy of history included his concept of the historical imagination (schools council 1976). for collingwood, historical reconstruction required in-depth digging and analysis of artifacts and documents. ultimately, the loss of past artifacts (both living and dead) necessitated imaginative thinking, in order to dramatically re-enact (much like a theatrical performance) the most probable events of history. coltham and fines also integrated collingwood‟s ideas into the affective and cognitive objectives of history: since the material of history consists principally of human beings‟ activities in the past, study of this area of knowledge demands conative effort on the part of the learner to enter, as it were, „the shoes‟ or „the skins‟ of people met only through evidence...historical imagination requires something more. (1971, 7) by “something more,” coltham and fines meant sympathy, or “the power of entering another‟s feelings or mind” and empathy, or “the power entering another‟s personality and imaginatively experiencing his experience” (1971, 7-8). the authors of the shp applied collingwood‟s (1962) theory of historical re-enactment to the project by employing new terminology--empathetic reconstruction and eventually historical empathy (p. lee, personal communication september 14, 2005; shemilt 1980). for the shp, historical explanation became articulated “in the form of casual analysis and the delineation of motives” (shemilt 1980, 5); thus, all of the course segments required students “to evaluate evidence and empathize with their forebears” (8). regarding the logic and methods of the discipline, the shp curriculum established three underlying premises regarding history: (a) as a form of knowledge, having its own logic, methods, and perspectives; (b) as a model for enquiry-based, problem solving pedagogy; (c) as a humane study concerned with people, their actions, and perceptions of events. (shemilt 1980, 5) the logic and methods of the discipline assumed premises based upon carr‟s (1961) well-known book, what is history?, and upon carr‟s argument for historical relativism. according to carr (1961), the past is a foreign country, lost to the present; therefore, historical truths can only be uncovered through available documents, facts, 46 artifacts, and oral testimonies. by examining the evidence, historians recreate the answers to the questions raised and postulate the most probable version of the past. carr was not the only thinker on the subject, but his work directly influenced the authors of the shp to shape their curriculum according to the theories he articulated (booth 1994). the leaders of shp also drew upon parallel british scholars, such as paul hirst‟s (1965), who, like schwab and bruner, advocated disciplinary focused instruction; and other historians, such as g.s.r. kitson clark (1967), j.h. hextor (1971), g.r. elton (1968), whose primers of the historical method provided disciplinary grounding. the authors of the shp assumed a mature understanding of history would entail connections: (a) the freeing of ideation from the constraints imposed by observed reality (actuality treated as a case of possibility); (b) the ability to systematically generate and test hypotheses (hypothetic-deductive reasoning); and (c) the capacity to think in purely propositional terms (the ability to see the validity of an argument is independent of the truth of the terms or existence of the objects with which the argument deals). (shemilt 1980, 44) in summary, the shp built their pedagogical philosophy upon three main criteria: (a) the need for teaching practices to elicit bloom‟s higher levels of cognition instead of lower-ordered recall; (b) the need for brunerian disciplinary structure (also supported by hirst) to improve historical understanding; and (c) the need to teach—as bruner advocated—disciplinary content in some reasonable form at all ages (booth 1994; l. levstik personal communication october 24, 2005; schools council 1976). implementation of the schools history project 13-16 offering a new model for teaching and learning in history, the shp curriculum consisted of a 3 year program with five segments: what is history? (procedural knowledge in history), history around us (local history), enquiry in depth (historical inquiry/ british and u.s. history), modern world studies (historical inquiry/world history and contemporary issues), study in development (history of medicine) (schools council 1976; shemilt 1980). before embarking on focused inquiries, the authors first supposed that students needed to explore the purposes for studying history and the nature of the discipline. the what is history? segment foundationally rooted students in historical inquiry and engaged them in discussions about the value of learning history: the pupil is introduced to the idea of reconstructing from evidence, to the reality of different sorts of evidence which have been used in different ways and from which different sorts of things can be adduced, and to the problems of reconstruction in the face of biased, incomplete contradictory evidence. (shemilt 1980, 5) in concurrence with instruction on the nature of historical reconstruction, the course specifically addressed the notion of historical explanation, the impact of human motives on historical outcomes, and detective work in historical inquiry (schools council 1976). the subsequent segment, history around us, enabled the students to apply what they learned in the previous course to their local communities and natural surroundings. the second course served the function of generating 47 history-related leisure interests through in-depth field work designed to “afford pupils practice in handling evidence of various kinds, in reconstructing daily life and physical settings, and in explaining change and particular departures from general archetypes and trends” (shemilt 1980, 5). the content and structure of the first two courses clearly delineate the need for students first to be schooled in historical inquiry as a form of knowledge and for students to then practice those skills in more familiar, local settings. after establishing a firm foundation in historical inquiry, the students undertook to study british, u.s, and world history. the final course, study in development, was designed to connect the past to the present through the examination of change and continuity over centuries of time. by emphasizing how history impacts the present, the course demonstrated progress and development, patterns and deviations, and intended and unintended consequences of human actions and avoided “falling into naïve historicism or mechanical determinism” (shemilt 1980, 6). thus, the course served as a means for students‟ to understand their place in the modern world and for understanding social change and evolution over time (schools council 1976). the context for schools history project the authors of the shp relied upon the intellectual theories of philosophers, educational psychologists, and historians in both the united kingdom and north america. the political changes in both nations also impacted the shift in thinking from the traditional focus on nation states in history to a more rigorous exploration of social forces and people. a discussion of the new social studies in the united states and the new history in the united kingdom offer a look at the influences inspiring the creation of the shp. inquiry and social studies in the united states in the united states in the early twentieth century, concerns over industrialization, standardization, and mechanization, led progressive educators such as john dewey to advocate educational practices centered on the pragmatic needs of the child--the freedom of expression, the facilitation of creativity, and the development of civic responsibility (dalton 2002). regarding inquiry, dewey‟s hallmark publication logic: the theory of inquiry (1938) offered a culminating perspective of his views on the subject. for dewey (1938), inquiry is defined as follows: inquiry is the controlled or directed transformation of an indeterminate situation into one that is so determinate in its constituent distinctions and relations as to convert the elements of the original situation into a unified whole. (104) from this definition, inquiry ultimately leads to the discovery of pragmatic solutions and the formation of meaningful relationships of ideas (campbell 1995; dewey 1938). notably, dewey (1938) categorized social inquiry as an extension of the natural sciences and “as so backward in comparison with physical and biological inquiry” (487). his chapter entitled “social inquiry” consisted of the probable comparisons between the social and scientific sciences and culminates with a discussion of the purposes of social inquiry—to address and to solve social problems. influenced by the work of dewey and other progressives, harold rugg postulated more direct ideas about the importance of inquiry in the social sciences. in 1921, rugg published a piece in historical outlook articulating the need for problem-based social studies curricula designed to prompt investigations on contemporary 48 problems. although he claimed his ideas stemmed from scientific methods, his approach really borrowed from activity analysis procedures used by scholars in the field of curriculum (evans 2007). certainly, rugg espoused a belief in a unified social studies curriculum as preferred over studying isolated disciplines and as enabling pertinent focuses on current challenges and modes of living. like dewey, his vision of progressive curricula intended to prepare students for democratic life through careful analysis of social issues. earlier progressives helped prepare a ripe climate for rugg‟s efforts to create social studies textbooks for curricular reform in the 1920s and 1930s (boyle-baise and goodman 2009). in the late 1930s and early 1940s, the rugg textbooks became censured by conservative business and patriotic groups, concerned over children questioning contemporary american life and capitalism (evans, 2007). despite the startling, heightened attacks, the rugg textbooks helped set the stage for future ideas about inquiry and the social disciplines. benjamin bloom‟s taxonomy of educational objectives (1956), in part, inspired new directions towards social studies teaching in the 1960s. the national defense education act of 1958, a response to the russian launching of sputnik in 1957 and the subsequent educational concerns spawned by this event, resulted in $500 million (spent throughout the next two decades) in funding by the national science foundation (nsf) toward curriculum projects. amid this climate, jerome bruner (who worked with the nsf) published his classic work the process of education in 1961 (later reprinted in 1965), thus forging a critical link between disciplinary knowledge and developmental psychology (dow 1992). bloom‟s cognitive levels of thinking (knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation) provided pedagogical support for jerome bruner‟s educational theories (fitzgerald 1983). bruner emphasized disciplinary structure as the cognitive framework for thinking. instruction should pattern the natural structure of the discipline through the spiral curriculum, or the early establishment of disciplinary building blocks and the gradual return (through review and the addition of new knowledge) to these foundational elements. this spiral curriculum assumes disciplinary content can be presented in some respectable form to children of any age, given sufficient time and structured learning. inquiry functions as an essential component of creative thinking and developmental learning (bruner 1965). bruner‟s focus on disciplinary structure built upon earlier discussions such joseph j. schwab‟s work on the structure of the disciplines. in the 1962 publication in the educational record, schwab advocated disciplinary structure as essential for organizing the frameworks of curriculum planning, specifically relative to knowledge and experimental techniques. although schwab focused primarily on the sciences, the idea of experimental techniques equated to the brunerian concept of inquiry. as part of the reform efforts, bruner and peter dow (education professor from harvard) developed in 1961 a new innovative sixth-grade curriculum, man: a course of study (macos). the curriculum subsumed the social science disciplines (history, geography, political science, anthropology, sociology, and economics) under a study of what it means to be human. the curriculum did emphasize the inquiry as a fundamental approach to learning in the social sciences for children (bruner 1969; fitzgerald 1983; symcox 2002). the development and introduction of macos later led to the 1967 seminal publication the new social studies, 49 representing the collaborative efforts of edwin fenton and bruner. the bruner-fenton new social studies of the 1960s embraced the broader field of social studies through three overarching objectives: the development of inquiry skills, the development of attitudes and values, and the acquisition of knowledge (fenton 1967a, 1967b; fitzgerald 1983). the curriculum approach advocated the use of primary document resources and artifacts as appropriate materials for inquiry lessons in the social sciences (allen 1969; bowes 1969; rogers 1969 schneider, 1969). by the mid-1970s, however, the efforts of the new social studies became stagnated due to public concerns over poverty, racism, and the vietnam war and due to increased attacks from conservative political and social groups (gardner 2001). as a result, the september 1975 report of the committee on the status of history in schools, comprised of representatives from the organization of american historians (oah) and the american historical association (aha), declared the loss of interest and confidence in history (occurring in only a few short years by students, teachers, administrators, and politicians) as a problem steeped in presentism, or the lack of a historical orientation to the past (kirkendall 1975). according to kirkendall (1975), students and teachers both suffered from “textbook orientation, straight chronological treatment, emphasis on dates, unimaginative presentation eschewing meaningful innovation and rational experimentation” (562-563). the committee on the status of history in schools advocated a need for enlightened hindsight (fitzgerald 1983): it seems unlikely that historians can destroy the influence of presentism, but they can reduce the anti-historical consequences of it by demonstrating the value of historical perspective and historical comparisons and the importance of a sense of time and space. (kirkendall 1975, 570) thus, in 1975, fenton designed his new objectives for social studies—positive attitudes, self-esteem, learning/inquiry skills, knowledge acquisition, and valuing—after bloom‟s (1956) affective and cognitive domains. the need for revision of the new social studies prompted sleeper (1975) to argue in behalf of curricula acknowledging the psychological dispositions of adolescents—meaning the nature of the interaction between the student and the past (fitzgerald 1983). sleeper advocated the creation of a new developmental framework, representing the “stages of historical thinking” as “connected to the broader stages of cognitive and psychological development” (105). the new history in the united kingdom prior to the twentieth century, history in the uk functioned as a subsidiary subject to the “english subjects” of literature, modern languages, and geography. in 1857 and 1858, the oxford and cambridge examinations—designed to assess through the quality of education in secondary schools through the testing students in the major disciplines—became the dominate influence on history education (rosenzweig 1984). the education act of 1902 extended central control of the british government over the elementary curriculum; secondary education functioned to prepare students for the university, in part, through the passage of the examinations. although history remained a minor subject, the number of candidates seeking to take the history examinations proliferated, thereby expanding despite the subject‟s low status. the purposes for history education evolved around the transmission of an implied unifying political culture, especially emphasizing the whig influences on a 50 progressive democracy (husbands, kitson, and pendry 2003). in 1944 when the government instituted mandatory, compulsory secondary education, history classes naturally increased in enrollment, eventually allowing the subject to take a more dominate role (rosenzweig 1984). by the late 1960s, critics, including university professors and educational leaders in the government began criticizing history for its lackluster instructional practices and the overemphasis on british/ european political history, at the exclusion of social history and alternative world perspectives (rosenzweig 1984). the growing dissatisfaction stemmed from three contributing factors: (a) british nationalism became suspect during the post-world war ii years; (b) british historians began eschewing broad diplomatic, political, or military narratives and deferred to other social disciplines (a response to the practice of “total history”-meaning focusing on history in the round versus a linear story communicating one theme--from the annales school in france); and (c) the launching of sputnik in 1957 turned attention toward science and technical education (booth 1994). the efforts of social historians challenged traditional history and proved largely influential in shifting public opinion to acceptance other histories (social and world) beyond the political narrative of britain (husbands, kitson, and pendry, 2003). research by e. a. peel (1967a, 1967b), former president of the british psychological society and distinguished educational psychology professor at the university of birmingham, raised questions about the value of history education in the secondary schools. acknowledging the assumed conceptual and inferential difficulties experienced by students, peel (1967a, 1967b, 1972) attempted to extend piaget‟s experiments with scientific and mathematical reasoning to children‟s textual reasoning in english and history (booth 1987; wineburg 2001). the thrust of research, however, came from peel‟s student roy n. hallam and his research with one-hundred british high school students. in his experiments, hallam asked adolescents (ages 11 to 17) to read three textbook passages from british history and to respond to a series of questions. from his experiements, hallam determined that formal operational reasoning in history occurred much later than in math and in science (hallam 1967, 1970, 1971, 1978; wineburg 2001). the wide promulgation of hallam‟s research, however, heightened national concerns in the late 1960s (booth 1994; dickinson and lee 1978) about whether or not history should be taught in the secondary schools. notably, hallam‟s research may have lacked validity for the following reasons: (a) the questions asked of the students failed to connect with the material studied in class; (b) the students expressed confusion over the meaning of the questions; and (c) hallam‟s questions involved historical, moral, and religious considerations (hallam 1967; lee 1998; shemilt 1980; wineburg 2001). criticisms of the dominance of british political history in the curriculum heightened fears among conservative politicians of an iconoclast neglect of british history teaching (lee 1995). response to this crisis began with individual teachers independently attempting to adopt new approaches. the crisis eventually prompted new reforms as educational leaders began calling for a new history adapted to the needs of a modern school (ballard 1970; booth 1994). as a result, the schools council formed in 1963 to address these growing concerns through the formation of projects designed to challenge „the great tradition‟ (husbands, kitson, and pendry 2003). their landmark 1968 publication 51 schools council enquiry one affirmed these complaints through deliberation of the overwhelming public opinion that history teaching lacked usefulness and interest for students and their parents (lee 1995). as mentioned previously, the widely influential publication “history in danger” (price, 1968) set the stage for the schools council to initiate a shift--from history as rote learning to history as a form of knowledge—through the creation of the shp. reconsidering the schools council history project the project influenced teaching in england, wales, and northern ireland; by 1994, approximately 30 percent of all secondary schools in grades 10 and 11 followed the shp curriculum (booth 1994). the project prompted the hmi (her majesty‟s inspectors, an executive agency, charged to examine educational quality) in 1977 to support historical thinking as a viable component of curriculum (fitzgerald 1983). the 1988 educational reform act in the u.k. introduced the national history curriculum for england. the majority of schools in the united kingdom adopted some aspect of the shp into their curricula, and the project furthered an appreciation for active learning and for the examination of primary source material (booth 1993). prior to and in response to the 1988 educational reform act, the right-wing conservatives heavily criticized the shp for the narrow focus on inquiry and expressed concerns of the loss of british citizenship education. the authors of the shp found themselves in the midst of a political struggle, with progressive minded child-centered teaching emerging from the left and subject centered, traditional citizenry instruction emerging from the right (husbands, kitson, and pendry 2003; lee 1995). the national history curriculum specified learner outcomes and attainment targets to be measured by standardized tests, a concerning aspect of the program due to the faulty nature of the examinations (lee, 1995). knight (1996) indicated that the national history curriculum disappointingly returned to the piagetian view of children and thinking and therefore structured students‟ opportunities for historical inquiry around this framework. according to lee (1995), the national curriculum did not squelch the ideology of the shp because individual teachers in local schools chose to advocate for the principles of the shp by integrating aspects of the curriculum into their own methods. as peter lee explained (personal communication september 14, 2005), the shp brought recognition in the uk of the term historical empathy. the adoption of historical empathy as the purpose of shp spawned a flurry of confusion over the precise meaning and implication of the term (lee and ashby 2001; stockley 1983). as both lee (1995) and booth (1994) affirmed, the resulting mechanistic curriculum and the emphasis on standardized testing regrettably clouded the shp‟s founders intents regarding empathy as an educational goal (booth 1994; lee 1995). the national history curriculum did encourage a limited focus on people in the past and their perspectives, but overall, the curriculum still remained primarily political rather than social in nature. in the early 1980s, north american researchers began responding to british initiatives by exploring historical empathy (stockley 1983), procedural knowledge, and disciplined inquiry (fitzgerald, 1983). the work by howard gardner on thinking, cognition, and multiple intelligences and his leading publications frames of mind: the theory of multiple intelligences (1983) and the 52 mind’s new science: a history of the cognitive revolution (1985) energized researchers and practitioners toward new considerations of thinking (s. wineburg personal communication october 24, 2005). in this intellectual environment, the 1983 special issue on the philosophy of history teaching in history and theory (published at wesleyan university), outlining peter lee‟s and denis shemilt‟s theory of historical empathy and their efforts with the schools council history project, proved instrumental in spawning a wave of research— slowly building in the 1980s and increasing in the 1990s—relative to disciplined inquiry, learning theory, and procedural knowledge in history. although “the exact pond crossing” (l. levstik personal communication october 24, 2005) from great britain to the united states remains unclear, this issue proved influential in generating a new group of north american researchers, including sam wineburg (personal communication october 24, 2005), and by directing the attention on thinking and cognition toward a specific focus on disciplinary history. the schools council history project impacted curriculum theory in history education in both the united kingdom and north america through its emphasis on history as a form of knowledge and on history as inquiry. the project primarily challenged the piaget-hallam ideology by encouraging teachers to directly emphasize historical thinking skills. the project‟s contributions to history education include the fundamental issues of: (a) the illumination of new cognitive and developmental possibilities for adolescents (b) the acknowledgment of history as a form of knowledge through a reliance on the structure of the discipline and the teaching of the historian‟s craft (c) the development of historical inquiry as curriculum, with an emphasis on history as motive and history as time, and with an emphasis on social history and people (d) the encouragement of the active teaching of history (e) the adoption of historical empathy (the careful consideration of an historical view of the past from the perspective of the agents involved) as a noteworthy aim (f) the fueling of research on the nature of cognition in history (historical thinking) (g) the lucid highlighting of a pragmatic—yet philosophically based-theory of teaching and learning in history the project, however, did suffer from limitations. shemilt (2000) recently re-examined the project and discovered two main problems. first, the repeated emphasis on the mastery of facts and concepts proved problematic because the students acquired only isolated bits of information. as a result, the history curriculum failed to foster interconnected meanings. second, the partial inclusion of narrative history often led to students‟ confusions regarding the relationship to and the difference between focused micro histories and grand linear histories. this apparent gap handicapped students‟ ability to either postulate any probable causation for event53 making or to couch causation in terms of imaginative rather than logical possibilities. despite these limitations, the shp merits attention from those currently interested in history education, and more specifically historical inquiry, historical thinking, and historical empathy. the project team developed the first large-scale western curriculum founded upon the premise of history as inquiry. john fines enumerated the contributions of the denis shemilt and the schools council history project: “he has cast new light upon the nature of discipline in school, clarifying the meaning in terms of history as enquiry, history as time, and history as motive” (fines, 1980, forward). the schools council history project challenged piagetian assumptions of adolescents by highlighting “how badly we underestimate children as thinkers and children as learners,” (fines, 1980, forward) and “if we ask good questions and really listen, we can actually hear children thinking and learning” (fines, 1980, forward). reconsidering the aims of shp remind scholars and teachers of the importance of offering children the opportunity to explore the past, to develop complex understandings, and to articulate rich historical perspectives. references allen, r. f. 1969. using speeches to enrich history instruction. in the social studies: structure, models, and strategies, eds. m. feldman and e. seifman , 371375. englewood cliffs, nj: prentice-hall, inc. ballard, m., ed. 1970. new movements in the study and teaching of history. bloomington: indiana university press. bloom, b. 1956. taxonomy of educational objectives; the classification of educational goals by a committee of college and university examiners. new york: longmans, green. booth, m. b. 1987. ages and concepts: a critique of the piagetian approach to history teaching. in the history curriculum for teachers, ed. c. portal, 22-99. london: falmer press. booth, m. b. 1994. cognition in history: a british perspective. educational psychologist, 29: 61-69. booth, m.b. 1969. history betrayed. london: longmans, green, and co. booth, m. b. 1993. students‟ historical thinking and the national history curriculum in england. theory and research in social education, 21: 105-127. bowes, j. s. 1969. using documentary material in the american history course. in the social studies: structure, models, and strategies, eds. m. feldman and e. seifman, 366-371. englewood cliffs, nj: prentice-hall, inc. boyle-baise, l., and j. goodman. 2009. the influence of harold o. rugg: conceptual and pedagogical considerations. the social studies, 100: 31-40. bruner, j. s. 1969. man: a course of study. in the social studies: structure, models, and strategies, eds. m. feldman and e. seifman, 216-227. englewood cliffs, nj: prentice-hall, inc. bruner, j. s. 1965. process of education. cambridge, ma: harvard university press. campbell, j. 1995. understanding john dewey: nature and cooperative intelligence. la salle, il: open court press. carr, e. h. 1961. what is history? new york: vintage books. clark, kitson g. 1967. the critical historian. new york: basic books, inc. collingwood, r. g. 1962. the idea of history. new york: a galaxy book. originally published 1946. 54 coltham, j. b., and j. fines. 1971. educational objectives for the study of history. london: the historical association. dalton, t. c. 2002. becoming john dewey: dilemmas of a philosopher and a naturalist. bloomington, in: university of indiana press. dewey, j. 1938. logic: the theory of inquiry. new york: henry holt and company. dickinson, a. k., and p. j. lee. 1978. understanding and research. in history teaching and historical understanding, eds. a. k. dickinson and p. j. lee, 94-120. london: heinemann educational books. dow, p. 1992. past as prologue: the legacy of sputnik. the social studies, 83: 164-172. elton, g. r. 1968. the practice of history. new york: cromwell. evans, r. w. 2007. this happened in america: harold rugg and the censure of the social studies. greenwich, ct: information age 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university press. hallam, r. n. 1971. thinking and learning in history. teaching history, 2: 337-346. hexter, j. h. 1971. doing history. bloomington: indiana university press. hirst, p. 1975. knowledge and the curriculum. london: routledge. hirst, p. 1965. liberal education and the nature of knowledge. in philosophical analysis and education, ed. d. archembault, 113-138. london: routledge. husbands, c., kitson, a., and a. pendry. 2003. understanding history teaching: teaching and learning about the past in secondary schools. berkshire, england: open university press. kirkendall, r. s. 1975. the status of history in schools. journal of american history, 61: 557570. kitson clark, g. s. r. 1967. the critical history. new york: basic books, inc. knight, p. 1996. research and the improvement of school history. in advances in research on teaching: teaching and learning in history, vol. 6, ed. j. brophy, 19-51. greenwich, ct: jai press. lee, p., and r. ashby. 2001. empathy, perspective taking, and rational understanding. in historical empathy and perspective taking in the social studies, eds. o. l. davis, e. a. yeager, and s. j. foster, 21-50. lanham, md: rowman and littlefield publishers. lee, p. j. 1998. history across the water: a u.k. perspective on history education. issues in 55 education: contributions from educational psychology, 4: 211-220. lee, p. j. 1995. history and the national curriculum in england. international yearbook of history education, 1: 73-127. peel, e. a. 1967a. some problems in the psychology of history teaching i. historical ideas and concepts, studies in the nature and teaching of history, eds. w. h. burston and d. thompson, 159-172. new york: humanities press. peel, e. a. (1967b). some problems in the psychology of history teaching ii. the pupil‟s thinking and inference. in studies in the nature and teaching of history, eds. w. h. burston and d. thompson, 173-190. new york: humanities press. peel, e. a. 1972. understanding school material. educational review, 24: 136-173. price, m. 1968. history in danger. history, 53: 342-347. rosenzweig, l. w. 1984. perspectives on history education in england. the history teacher, 17: 169-190. schools council. 1976. a new look at history: schools history 13-16 project. edinburg, england: homes mcdougall ltd. schneider, d. 1969. the historical method in the teaching of history. in the social studies: structure, models, and strategies, eds. m. feldman and e. seifman, 344-354. englewood cliffs, nj: prentice-hall, inc. schwab, j. 1962. the concept of the structure of the discipline. educational record, 18: 197205. shemilt, d. 1980. evaluation study: schools council history 13-16 project. edinburg: holmes mcdougall. shemilt, d. 2000. the caliph‟s coin: the currency of narrative frameworks in history teaching. in knowing, teaching, and learning history: national and international perspectives, eds. p. n. stearns, p. seixas, s. wineburg, 83-101. new york: new york university press. shemilt, d. 1983. the devil‟s locomotive. history and theory, 22: 1-18. sleeper, m. e. 1975. a developmental framework for history education during adolescence. school review, 84: 91-107. stockley, d. 1983. empathetic reconstruction in history and history teaching. history and theory, 22: 50-65. symcox, l. 2002. whose history: the struggle for national standards in american classrooms. new york: teachers college press. wineburg, s. 2001. historical thinking and other unnatural acts. temple, pa: temple university press. a social studies curriculum: mississippi freedom schools george w. chilcoat jerry a. ligon introduction a question that appears to be frequently asked with regards to the effects of social studies education is what is social studies supposed to do for students? what effect does social studies curriculum have on students? how do different kinds of instruct­ ional strategies affect students? and, if social studies instruction is supposed to cause changes in students, why does research seem to show most students, elementary and secondary, appear to have a very strong dislike for social studies content, particularly historical content? (shaver, 1987) this paper is an attempt to explore a social studies curriculum used in an historical civil rights educational experience known as the mississippi freedom schools during the summer of 1964. freedom schools provide a useful context in which to study examples of social studies instruction from the perspectives and experiences of volunteer teachers working under hostile conditions for approximately six to eight weeks instructing african-american students using pedagogical efforts to promote equality, self-discovery, learning, social justice, and community activism (perlstein, 1990). the first purpose of this paper is to examine (1) the aims of the freedom schools, (2) the curriculum, (3) the instructional behaviors, (4) the evaluation/assessment uses, and (5) classroom management. a second purpose of this paper is to propose an educational model of social studies instruction built on the principles generated from the aims, curriculum, instruction, evaluation and classroom management espoused by the various freedom school experiences. the organization of the paper provides an historical framework of the development of the freedom school experience, the method design for studying the pedagogical actions of various teachers from five freedom schools, the results of these pedagogical actions as found in the instructional experiences of these teachers, and the organizing principles suggested from these pedagogical experiences in constructing a model of social studies instruction. 1 historical background zinn (1970) purports history "can recapture those few moments in the past which show the possibility of a better way of life than that which has dominated the earth thus far" (p.47). earlier, zinn (1964), himself a mississippi freedom school teacher, claimed the freedom school idea: was an experiment that cannot be assessed in the usual terms of • success· and • failure,· and it would be wrong to hail it with an enthusiasm which would then lead it to be judged by traditional criteria. but that venture of last summer in mississippi deserves close attention by all americans interested in the relationship between education and social change (p.371). zinn believed the freedom schools provided a model to scrutinize prevailing educational ideas and practices rooted in an unfair and unjust society. he elaborated in what he hoped the freedom school idea could do to correct antiquated educational beliefs and, in turn, help correct various social ills: the freedom schools challenge of the social structure of mississippi was obvious from the start. its challenge to american education as a whole is more subtle. there is, to begin with, the provocative suggestion that an entire school system can be created in any community outside the official order, and critical of its suppositions. but beyond that, other questions were posed by the mississippi experiment of last summer. can we, somehow, bring teachers and students together, not through the artificial sieve of certif­ ication and examination but on the basis of their common attraction to an exciting social goal? can we solve the old educational problem of teaching children crucial values, while avoiding a blanket ition of the teacher's ideas? can this be done by honestly accepting as an educational goal that we want better human beings in the rising generation than we had in the last, and that this requires declaration that the cherishes just world brotherhood? is it not possible to create a hunger for those goals through the fiercest argument about whether or not they are worth while? and cannot the schools have a running no-ideas­ barred exchange of views about alternative ways to those goals? is there, in the floating prosperous, nervous american social order of the sixtles, a national equivalent to the excitement of the civil rights movement, one strong enough in its pull to create a motivation for learning that even the enticements of monetary success cannot match? would it be possible to declare boldly that the aim of the schools is to find solutions for poverty, for injustice, for race and national hatred, and to turn all educational efforts into a national striving for those solutions? perhaps people can begin, here and there (not waiting for the government, but leading it) to set up other pilot ventures, imperfect but suggestive, like the one last summer in mississippi. education can, and should, be dangerous. (p. 374-375). in late 1963, the council of federated organizations (cofo), an organization composed of members of the student nonviolent coordinating committee (sncc), congress of racial equality (core), the naacp, and the southern christian leadership conference, began to conceive of a major civil rights offensive in mississippi during the summer of 1964. (the student nonviolent coordinating committee papers [hereafter cited as sncc] , 1982: reel 38) this offensive, spearheaded largely by sncc, which became known as mississippi freedom summer, would involve over 1000 african-american and white volunteers, mostly from the north and west, to promote african-american equality and basic democratic rights through (1) a massive voter registration drive among the majority of disenfranchised african-americans; (2) the creation of the mississippi freedom democratic party (mfdp or fop) to run a mock election in defiance to the all-white state democratic party and to represent african-americans in the upcoming national democratic convention; (3) a series of community centers to organize particularly african-american adults by promoting their own agendas through collective action; and (4) the creation of a number of summer school programs situated both in urban and rural 2 mississippi aimed originally at high school aged african-american students providing them with a richer school experience then they were able to have in their own schools and, hopefully, committing these students to become a force for social change in mississippi (state historical society of wisconsin [hereafter cited as shsw): morrey; shsw: gould, rothschild, 1982, perlstein, 1990; hinman-smith, in progress). this educational endeavor became known as the mississippi freedom schools. charles cobb (shsw: bowie; sncc: reel 68), field secretary for sncc, proposed the idea of freedom schools as a war against academic poverty. he claimed the mississippi school system to be the worst in united states and the african-american schools to be the worst in mississippi. in these african-american schools there was "a complete absence of academic freedom." in fact, these schools were meant to "squash intellectual curiosity." ignorance was safer than inquiry. the classrooms were "intellectual wastelands" (also see shsw: davis; shsw: demuth). cobb wanted young african-american students to have an education related directly to the everyday experiences and problems of these students. freedom schools would "offer young black mississippians an education that public schools would not supply, one that both provided intellectual stimulation and linked learning to participation in the movement to transform the south's segregated society" (perlstein, 1990, p. 297). to effect the idea of freedom schools, the national council of churches sponsored a curriculum conference in new york during march, 1964 (fusco, 1964; sncc: reel 67; 68; 69). the premise for the curriculum conference was a deep-rooted faith that education could promote freedom and democracy. the objective of the conference was to discuss what freedom schools were to be about in the summer of 1964. the major curriculum focus and the core of the freedom school lessons were the formulating of a civic curriculum (sncc: reel 35). the civic curriculum was to be of (1) fourteen problem-solving case studies deal with the political, economic, and social forces relating to the direct experiences of the students; (2) a citizenship curriculum facilitating student discussion as a means of achieving a new society; (3) a guide to history providing a ive survey of africanamerican history; and (4) an emphasis on teachers extrapolating directly from students those personal experiences in which they live each day in a hostile, repressive dominate white society (see sugarman, 1966, p. 219: "you listen to them. you hear what they say, and then you deal with their problems where they are") . curriculum also revolved around the development of a reading and writing remediation curriculum, a humanities curriculum emphasizing foreign languages, art, and creative writing, and a general science and mathematics curriculum. although fourteen case study lessons were to be designed, only seven were created. yet, these seven proved to be substantial teaching units. to be coupled with the curriculum, the conference recommended a variety of progressive democratic teaching techniques emphasizing informal group discussion. the pedagogical combination of self­ discovery and self-expression was to stimulate "high school youth in mississippi to question" (sncc: reel 27). as paul lauter (lauter & perlstein, 1991), a freedom school teacher reflected on the purposes of both the curriculum and the instructional behaviors, "the act of questioning was not just a step in a process of intellectual growth but rather a repudiation of subordination. questioning would lead to self­ expression, to an understanding of mississippi's oppressive social order, and to participation in the movement for social change" (p.3). in june, 1964, two one-week orientation meetings were held on the campus of western college for women at oxford, ohio, for most of the freedom summer volunteers (shsw: gould; shsw: ooiman; shsw: vogel). the second week orientation included the 233 freedom school teachers. the volunteer teachers included both professional teachers (there were 40) and non­ teachers. fifty-six percent of the teachers were female, mostly white, median age, 24.1, all either college graduates or attending universities, 74 percent majoring in humanities, and the majority from the east or the midwest. at least 60 percent had had at least some involvement in the civil rights movement either in their home states and/or in the south. the orientation workshops were crash courses in mississippi politics, 3 race relations, practical safety rules, and the movement philosophy of nonviolence as a tactic and life commitment. 2 also, there were training courses in the existing educational structure of african-american students, in the physical structures or lack thereof of the freedom schools, in pedagogical techniques, particularly in communication and expression skills, and in the use of civic curriculum of the case studies and african-american history. upon completing the orientation, the volunteers traveled to their freedom school locations in mississippi to begin their six-eight week stay. the original expectation was the creation of twenty schools with a desired student population of 1000 (shsw: starobin) . however, freedom schools became a far greater success than the project had planned with 41 schools in 20 communities and 2,165 students (sncc: reel 38). the schools not only attracted high school age students but also elementary students and some adults: where the initial plans had been for only the tenth, eleventh and twelfth grades, one found sitting in the informal circles youngsters with the smooth black faces and wondering eyes of the impish ages of nine and ten who were mere fifth-graders ... and there just behind teen-age boys-with slender, cotton-picking muscles-were sets of gnarled hands and the care-chiseled faces of grandmothers, some of whom said they thought they were in the seventies (birth records for the old are almost nonexistent). (holt, 1966, p.l07) facing lack of physical facilities ("one beautiful thing about a freedom school is that, provided it doesn't rain, the only physical plant needed is a shady spot, books, paper and pens" [sncc: reel 6j), limited resources, larger student-teacher ratios than anticipated, some african­ american community indifference (mostly from mississippi african­ american teachers (shsw: davis; shsw: benard), and a hostile white (shsw: demuth), most of the freedom schools offered the intended curriculum a of other courses that students wanted and the teachers might be able to provide (zinn, 1964; gillard, 1965; howe, 1965) • the following was a typical class schedule (sncc: reel 68) for many of the freedom schools: morning: 8:15 8:30-freedom songs and devotions 8: 30 9: 20-history of the negro in america (on rotating basis of 2 and 3 sessions per week per ect) -english 9: 30 10: 20 -citizenship curriculum (2 general sessions per week and 3 small group discussions) -also time for films related to citizenship 10:30 12:00-special subjects afternoon: 1:30 3:30-afternoon activities: 1.arts and crafts 2.playwriting, producing, acting 3.writing, editing, sending out freedom school newspaper 4.every monday afternoon: sessions on how to prepare, mimeograph leaflets for mass meetings, freedom says, voter registration campaigns, etc. 5.typing one hour per day; times to be arranged. special subjects available: mathematics, german, biology, astronomy, spanish, geography, psychology, creative writing, french, oriental culture, political science (international politics, supreme court and the constitution, with special emphasis on leading civil rights cases in american history) • as freedom schools began, students and freedom school teachers crowded into sheds, lodge halls, store fronts, churches, and open fields that served as school facilities (holt, 1966). student attendance varied from day to day. often students had to work as field hands and as domestics. some freedom school experiences were more interesting than others ("it was very difficult for us as teachers to sense whether or not we had gotten to the students--whether they were interested or merely polite, whether they comprehended or were too shy or afraid to ask questions" (sncc: reel 68). in some cases particular mississippi public schools were open the summer months structured the fall cotton season. and fear of white retaliation caused some civil to be their children to sutherland) . wanted to be in and wanted to be movement and social of their authors;). 4 volunteer teachers for the most part were enthusiastic about their new vocation and adapted ably to their tasks (rothschild, 1982) . tracy sugarman (1966), a sncc fieldworker, described the teacher-student of a first freedom school ruleville, in the afternoon the the school-age children at two session for . in of three and four, their students to the lawn where they might teachers areas of discuss and without of another group. i , papers-the paraphernal of learning-sprinkled the hardpacked yard with a confusion of color. the excited talk of the enthusiastic teachers mingled with the suppressed excitement of the negro children. one watched the young teachers, bending to the task, starting to probe, to move, to make curious. the youngest children were quickest to be fired. their surprised laughter and exclamations showed contact was being made. the older boys and girls shyly smiled, seriously frowned, or dropped their eyes. no white teacher had ever taught them, and the northern speech sounded hard and strange in their ears. and no teacher had ever reached out toward them with such ardor and trust. it was new, but not uncomfortable. they watched from lowered lids, did little, and noticed everything. i laughed as i moved through the clusters of kids. america's most verbal students were teaching her least verbal children, and words that had been useful on campus were suddenly embarrassing and pompous. i shuddered as i heard words like "dichotomy" and "incongruous," but as i watched i realized that most of what they were saying was striking sparks. even during that first afternoon one could hear the vocabularies as the teachers common their students. at last the that had so many of the teachers since oxford was removed in the actual confrontation with their students. were the freedom student schools was convention come (p. 123-125). event the in for the statewide meridian, mississippi in august, at which student delegates from each freedom school hammered out and adopted a detail platform on issues ranging from job discrimination to civil liberties (shsw; parks; shsw: zinni grant, 1964 i lynd, 1965). the three day event, planned and administered by the student delegates, was the first time african-american students from all over the state had come together to discuss their common concerns and aims. an observer for the national council of churches, atlee beechy (shsw: friesan) wrote, the freedom school conference was impressive. a sense of mission, cultural identity, hope, and inspiration were perhaps more significant outcomes than the academic program of the participants. as freedom summer ended, it was hoped that freedom schools would continue. while some of the schools did continue to operate, few could sustain either learning or activism. the schools were never projected as permanent institutions but rather, according to most of the original planners, as a tactic for immediate change (lauter & perlstein, 1991). however, for many students and teachers, the freedom schools in those short six eight weeks had a substantial impact on their lives. mary gillard (1965), a freedom school teacher in gulfport, summed up the impact of freedom schools: the freedom schools showed that there can be a situation where learning is not forced upon youth. this was a type of education which gave individuals a personal interest in social relationships, a personal interest which made learning something to be sought after . the freedom schools met the challenge of changing the social order through the educative process. they showed that this is not an additional burden that must be met through education, but a necessity if we are to have truth, justice, and equal in society. (p. 43). methodology the purpose of this study is threefold: (1) explore examples of social studies instruction that took place in the various freedom schools; (2) extract pedagogical principles from the freedom school experience as these principles relate to social studies instruction, and (3) construct 5 a possible model from these principles for social studies instruction. the data came from case examples of five of the 41 freedom schools. using cross -case analysis, each of the five freedom schools was studied by examining the pedagogical behaviors of aims, curriculum, instruction, evaluation, and classroom management. from each of these behaviors, a set of organizing principles was evolved to construct a possible social studies instruction model. the five freedom schools used as cases in this study are holly springs, mileston, jackson, ruleville, and gulfport. these five schools were chosen over the other freedom schools because the historical information located and gathered provided detailed accounts of curriculum use, instruct­ ional behaviors, and teacher and students' thoughts and responses about their involvement in mississippi over the six eight week period. information on each of these schools came from a number of sources. in the fall of 1991 and winter 1992, questionnaires were mailed to known freedom school volunteers asking for information describing their freedom school experiences. a number of these have been interviewed for further detailed information. some partic­ ipants provided diaries and journals giving accounts of their experiences. some of the freedom school teachers and the original developers of the citizenship curriculum and the instructional program provided copies of the original curriculum and the intended instructional strategies. a number of news accounts, scholarly books, journals, popular magazine articles, and one master thesis provided a number of personal experiences of various freedom school teachers. a major resource for curriculum development and instructional use by the volunteers was found in a number of archive collections: the sncc papers, university microfilm; project south collection, stanford university; and the social action papers, and state historical society of wisconsin. the results are divided under the five pedagogical behaviors of aims, curriculum, instruction, evaluation, and classroom management. each behavior begins with a discussion of the general intent of that behavior as prescribed by the organizers of the freedom school movement followed by how each of the five freedom schools effected, modified, or changed the use of the behavior. results aims was a female freedom school teacher asked about her american themselves their schools in helping her students to think for and to take control of lives, if the freedom were not, in fact, the young she yes, i but, i can't think better to indoctrinate freedom. justice. the golden rule. isn't there some core of belief a school should stand by? (zinn, 1964, p. 374) indeed, the originators of the freedom school idea had a core belief in the relationship of education and social change. the general goal of the entire mississippi freedom summer project was to replace the existing oppressive power structure with a new structure that promoted equity and social justice (shsw: hard). freedom schools were to play an important role in accomplishing this goal. "the freedom schools mean an exposure to a totally new field of learning, if explained carolyn reese, a detroit school teacher and coordinator of the hattiesburg freedom schools (student nonviolence coordinating committee, 1964; sncc: reel 73). "new attitudes about people, new attitudes about self, and about the right to be dissatisfied with the status quo" (p.3). a number of the summer project organizers felt that many of the mississippi african-american adults were indifferent to any major change in mississippi society (howe, 1965). hope for change, believed the organizers, was to be found in the african-american youth. therefore, the dominate aim of freedom schools was to promote student conversion from a passive observer of events being acted upon by the dominate white to an active critical involved a force in students as a for cobb and other members conference to curriculum the 6 summer freedom additional schools were various to articulate their and personal schools aims. students skills in order desires for and commun the schools of and students "more of current issues" "to introduce students to of local difficulties in a context national sncc: reel 27). students would discover that were of who had line of protest and for social and economic j (sncc: reel 38). these aims were to lead to helping students "to develop a new of thinking and be awakened to powers of analytic in short .. freedom schools can accomplish the vital task of causing high school youth in mississippi to question." (sncc: reel 27). it was necessary to question society, teachers, or any oppressive authority, if real change was to take place. "more students, it cobb (sncc: reel 27) wrote, "need to stand up in the classrooms around the state, and ask their teachers a real question." the "introduction" to the citizenship curriculum (shsw: hextor) states, "it is not our purpose to impose a particular set of conclusions. our purpose is to encourage the asking of questions, and hope that society can be improved." one of the organizers of the curriculum conference, jane stembridge wrote to the freedom school teachers prior to the oxford orientation: you will be who have lived mississippi all their lives. that means that have been of decent education, from first school. it means that have been denied free and free most of a11-it have resources. with the skills have been denied possess . the desire . and the wild you these reel 39) articulation, academic learning of various social science content to provide understanding of contemporary and local problems, a historical identity and awareness of self, and the power to question, the freedom school planners hoped the students would return to their communities as an organizing base to further the cause of the civil rights movement (fusco, 1964; sncc: reels 27; 67; 68; 69; day: interview). it was hoped these students would take back to their communities what they had learned in the freedom schools and teach other students who had not participated in the summer schools. also, these students might form local and statewide student action groups involved in voter registration, school boycotts, or become community leaders. the aims were ambitious. hope in the schools was bountiful. faith in the volunteer teachers to meet these aims appeared, for the most part, to be well-placed (zinn, 1964; gillard, 1965; sncc: reels 6; 65; 68; shsw: lynd; sutherland, questionnaire: pam allen; questionnaire: norma becker; aviva futorian: interview). the organizers also realized the volunteers would need to come to terms with their own personal objectives for teaching in the freedom schools with those of the prescribed pedagogical program (sncc: reel 67). it was important there be cohesiveness and cooperation among the freedom school personnel of faculty, administrators, and other staff members. to promote this cooperation, it was necessary that each freedom school staff agree on a set of aims (or core beliefs) which would pedagogically drive their respective schools. hopefully, before the opening of each school, there will be time for the staff to agree on overall aims and to apportion individual responsibilities. (sandra adickes curriculum conference report, sncc: reel 67, p.1). gulfport freedom school the gulfport freedom schools were where african-american youth could go to discover themselves as human by developing racial pride and participating in a meaningful role in critical thought and social action (gillard, 1965). the schools were to be "a place of social, political, intellectual, and recreational development" providing the students with opportunities both in and out of class to examine the conditions in which they live, better ways 7 of life for them, their families, and the gulfport community, and exercise their rights to overcome injustice. the gulfport freedom schools were to "fill the large void in the negro youth"s life while providing him with the means to plan a brighter future for himself and his society" (gillard, 1965, p. 24). jackson freedom school the jackson staff believed that ..... academic experiences should relate directly to ... [the students"] real life in mississippi, and since learning that involves real life experiences is, we think, most meaningful, we hope that the students will be involved in the political life of their communities." (pease papers). florence howe, a teacher in the jackson freedom school, looked differently at freedom school aims from the perspective of what freedom school teachers ought or ought not to be to students. first, howe claimed african-american school teachers in the jackson public school system were not well-prepared teachers and were either timid and part of the white system or actively hostile, dictatorial, and even vengeful to their students. either type of teacher would not allow students to question the dominate society or the poor african-american living condi tions. the only way these teachers taught was rote learning to an expected passive class: you learn this. and you get along. get used to the violence, get used to being stuck, get used to taking orders, for that is the way life is on the outside. (howe, 1965, p. 145) therefore, howe stated the aims of the jackson freedom school teachers included not standing before rows of their students being omnipotent, aristocratic dictators, paternalistic domineer ing parents, or professional manipulators "pouring pre-digested, pre-censored information into their brains." the freedom school teacher was to be a student among students who do not always have the right answer, who was an equally concerned questioner and listener, who wanted to help students control their own lives and promote self-determination in their communities. fred heinze (shsw: heinze), also a jackson freedom school teacher, howe's positions on poor ic school education and the role of freedom school teachers and those of the summer projects when he wrote to his family: one of the most basic of cofons programs is the freedom school. every project operates a freedom school; and freedom schools are just that. they are free institutions in a totalitarian state. essentially, the freedom schools seek to do two things. first, we are trying to provide those things in the freedom schools that are not available in the public schools, or at least, supplement and improve on the offerings in the public schools. secondly, in the freedom school we are trying a new (for mississippi at any rate, & possibly the rest of the country) approach to that process we call education. the freedom schools exist to encourage and aid free expression and thought on the part of the students. we are teachers, but it is important for us to remember that we do not possess knowledge that our students are incapable of acquiring through their own inquiry and efforts. the freedom schools exist to set free the intellect. holly springs freedom school two major aims became the focal points of what freedom school teachers wanted to do in holly springs. the first aim of the freedom school was to have africanamerican students and the white teachers view each other as people whose only difference was one of cultural experiences (sncc: reel 6) • the second aim was to provide students with as many opportunities to practice creative thought through a variety of communication techniques (sncc: ree 1 6). both of these aims were based on what most of the freedom school teachers perceived as the two major obstacles preventing students from changing the power structure in holly springs: (1) the lack of confidence students had in themselves caused by years of lack of expression and (2) repressed emotions about their plight and their mistrust in whites, evidenced in years of calling whites mr. or mrs. and "years of being automatically second and automatically wrong,· (sncc: reels 6; 65; 68). to overcome the first obstacle, teachers provided a number of creative, fun ways to help students to express themselves (sncc: reel 6; questionnaire: allen; futorian: interview). a freedom school newspaper was written and ished by 8 the students containing their articles, poems, news reporting, and critical compositions. also, the students, with the help of the teachers, developed and acted out an one-act play that was perform a number of times in mississippi throughout the summer and once in new york city. the second obstacle was resolved two ways. teachers were to be called by their first names (sncc: reels 6; 65) . this proved to be awkward and difficult for the african-american students to do. they addressed adults, particularly white adults as mr. or mrs. one teacher to curtail this practice began to call each student mr. or mrs. after a week the practice ended. the second way that was used by the teachers to eliminate student mistrust and fear of the white teachers was to physically touch the african-american students (questionnaire: allen). a number of black students thought it incredible that whites would touch them, not out of hate, but out of enthusiastic sharing and a deep appreciation for them as equal human beings. ruleville freedom school in a letter to a friend, dale gronemeier (shsw: gronemeier), the ruleville freedom school librarian, wrote that the community freedom school would attempt "to remedy the educational dearth and brain-washing of negro youths through genuine progressive education." kristy powell (shsw: lynd) , teacher and coordinator at ruleville, wrote the major purpose of the ruleville freedom school was to act as a center for real education as opposed to just being an academic institution. students had to achieve in their own learning, exploring ideas, making choices to solve real problems, giving expression in various and meaningful ways, and becoming actively involved in community change. academics had its place. it could provide a sound foundation in developing research skills to solve problems and in developing positive self-concepts about oneself. however, if education, thus the freedom school, was to have any and impact on the african-american students, they had to use what they learned in school to effect positive in the community. also, students could not make these changes alone. there was needed a strong association between both the teachers and the students working together both academically and socially to solve and make improvements in the mileston freedom school mileston freedom school the mileston freedom school teachers wanted their students to develop a political consciousness and understanding of the oppressive problems in their community (sncc: reel 65). if students could understand the white exploitation and injustices that blocked their personal and community development and if they could understand how the white system worked, they would be able to improve their community through articulate dialogue, cooperation, risk taking, and democratic action (see sncc: reel 65; shsw: lynd). curriculum the march, 1964, curriculum conference (sncc: reel 64) proposed a progressive curriculum (especially for the african-american students of mississippi attending less than adequate public schools) to help students to become both better academically and active socially and politically. an academic curriculum of reading, composition, math, science, and humanities emphasizing foreign language, art and creative writing was to be provided because (1) students had limited exposure to most subject matters due to poor schools, (2) some students i need for remedial help in basic reading, writing, and math skills, and (3) need to stimulate students" interest in learning. although academics was believed to be important in the freedom schools, the civic curriculum proposed by the curriculum conference was to be the major thrust of the freedom schools and formed the core of the freedom school lessons to affect both the students and their immediate communities. the civic curriculum, which was to be directly related to the experiences and life situations of the students was composed of seven case studies, the guide to negro history, and the citizenship curriculum (fusco, 1964; shsw: starobin). the case studies were designed to help students develop leadership abilities to deal with the problems associated with their communities and the state. in teaching the cases, teachers were not to be interested in the quant of facts students were supposed to but rather in students" ability to solve given problems, drawing on their experiences associated with current situations in mississippi. the case writers were to outline a set for concepts for their , material relevant to each concept, indicate sources for teachers, provide 9 a general outline for a week"s study approximately five one-hour lessons, and offer ideas about effective ways to present to students the content in the case (sncc: reels 37; 67). of the fourteen cases originally proposed, only seven were actually developed and used in the freedom schools. the seven were the role fannie lou hamer' congressional campaign played in the mississippi movement; the impact of the mississippi judicial system on african-americans; the ramifications of poverty for both african-americans and poor whites; the parallel history of nazi germany and of the white power structure of the south; the southern education system; and how the civil rights bill of 1963 went through congress (sncc: reel 64). perlstein (1990), in his study of freedom schools, maintained these seven case studies were substantial lesson plans, yet, the pedagogical quality varied. for example, the case study on the power structure in mississippi (shsw: allen) provided insightful information on the structure of the working class (blacks plowing, planting, chopping, and picking cotton and poor whites working in factories) and on the prevailing dominate social, political, and economic policies through the state (banks, utility companies, the white citizens' council, and the white mississippi democratic party). it did not, however, provide instructional guidelines to help teachers present the information or help students to know how to use the information in improving their current situations under such a structure. in contrast, the case study on the nazi german power structure vs. the mississippi power structure (shsw: ooiman) provided content, teacher guidelines and suggestions for instructional strategies and showed students how concrete historical experiences could provide solutions to similar current situations. the case study was divided into five sections. the first section provided an overview comparing nazi germany with the current mississippi power elite, concentration camps as a closed society with mississippi as a closed ,and emphasizing the importance of active community resistance. the next four sections provided historical narrative examples of the above within a discussion/role suggesting solutions to mistakes of the nazis' victims by the african-american in mississippi. for example, to overcome submission to a system of persecution, it was hoped students would learn: a. an awareness of the dangers of cooperation with the persecutors. b. the need to carve out an area of individual identity, initiative, especially in the face of attempts to reduce negroes to a "group­ status." c. the maintenance of inner convictions and of the freedom to chose one"s attitudes, [and) d. the importance of group solidarity and rejections of divisions based on privileges or rewards. (shsw: ooiman). the guide to negro history (shsw: allen; shsw: ooiman; sncc: reels 38; 67) was developed to help african­ american students learn about their heritage, to construct a positive ~mage of themselves as a people who could be successful in any endeavor, a sense of themselves as a people who could produce heros (fusco, 1964), and to realize they were taking part in a historical movement of protest for social, economic and political justice (gillard, 1965). the history lessons also were to show students that history as a subject could have meaning in their lives as a cumulative process. students could "grow and develop new insights as they (1) master relevant information, and (2) relate this new knowledge to the information they already have, and (3) attempt to apply these insights to current problems" (shsw: ooiman). the guide began with an introductory lesson on the amistad incident, a slave revolt in 1839. this was followed with a brief background on african heritage, the slave trade, and an extensive discussion of the origins of prejudice using examples of the founding fathers and the constitutional convention. there were a series of lessons on the subject of black resistance to opposition, citing the haitian revolution, various american slave revolts, and the abolitionist movement, emphasizing the many people, african-american and white, collectively devoting their lives and energy to the abolishment of slavery. a large section of the guide dealt with the hope and failure of reconstruction, leading to a segregated south, in general, and mississippi, in particular. the guide ends with the beginning of the civil rights movement and the role of the courts to enforce civil rights laws. 10 the citizenship curriculum (shsw: hexter; day: interview) was a set of lessons designed to have students critically examine their present situations and determine what they wanted to be and do in obtaining a new existence of social justice and equality. this curriculum was based on students answering two basic set of questions considered to be the foundation to understanding and using the information in the citizenship curriculum: the basic set of questions is: 1. why are we (teachers and students) in freedom schools? 2. what is the freedom movement? 3. what alternatives does the freedom movement offer us? the secondary set of questions is: 1. what does the majority culture have that we want? 2. what does the majority culture have that we don't want? 3. what do we have that we want to keep? lauter and perlstein (1991), assert these questions were and still are very important to understand the need to reshape both the then mississippi society and today' s society from an individual perspective to a collective, collaborative perspective: first, these questions do not ask "what does the majority culture have that i want?" but "what does the majority culture have that we want?" the distinction is critical and yet very difficult to comprehend within the framework of american educational institutions. for virtually every-thing in our schools and colleges, except for some team sports, is calculated to reinforce the idea of individual advancement, private accumulation of knowledge, grades, degrees. freedom school students were quite clear about this matter: the discrimination they encountered every day had little or nothing to do with them as individuals named alice or burdette or clarie; it had everything to do with them as black people. and thus the question was not only the knowledge, the sense of self alice as an individual accumulate in her private way, but also how the social definition of her as an "ignorant nigger, .. or more politely, a "culturally deprived" black girl, might be changed by joining with others who shared a similar fate. (p. 4-5) the citizenship curriculum consisted of seven units. each lesson facilitated class discussions with a series of stated questions. the curriculum (perlstein, 1990; day: interview) began with a lesson about students' experiences in their community schools, housing, employment, and medical facilities. what were the differences in the real conditions of these various facilities of africanamerican compared with those of the whites? the second lesson compared the lives and experiences of northern african-americans with southern african-americans. the purpose of this lesson was to show that there was comparatively little difference between the geographical realities of african-americans as second class citizens and that of southern african-americans, particularly those in mississippi, ought to stay and change that reality. the third lesson examined a set of myths perpetuated by the white culture to repress african-americans with low­ expectations and self-image. the next two lessons attempted to create an awareness that some people profit at the expense of others, particularly african-americans and poor whites, through power, money, fear, and illegal laws. the sixth lesson, "material things versus soul things," and the first half of the seventh lesson promoted the principles of nonviolence as a philosophy of personal life and of the civil rights movement. various civil rights experiences provided vivid examples of nonviolence as the way to merge "the atmosphere in which reconciliation and justice become actual possibilities" (shsw: hexter). the second part of the seventh lesson advocated active participation in changing the existing society and described what steps were needed to effect the change. it was important to the curriculum committee that the overall curriculum, the academic curriculum, and the civic curriculum, be integrated with existing events in the local communities "to elicit from the students in terms of comprehension and expression of their experiences." it would seem advisable that, considering the special conditions under which the freedom schools will operate, some form of the team approach be adopted, to divide responsibility, yet retain an integrated educational to the 11 student. the teachers should plan the activities together, so that each subject area correlates and reinforces the others. if, for example, the group of students plans to canvass, the language arts phase of the program could concentrate on an appropriate verbal skill, the social studies area could be devoted to the study of the population to be canvassed in terms of economic, social, religious factors and the implications of those factors, the math area could be given over to statistical breakdowns, charts, etc. (this example is a little advanced.) or, if the students were to publicize a mass meeting, the language arts phase could study the considerations involved in writing persuasive material, the arts and crafts programs could make posters and leaflets, etc. one other advantage of the team approach is that, since students are first of all individuals, a group of teachers working in concert can serve their separate, special needs better. it is not likely that there will be sufficient time or variety of personnel to organize the staff in a detailed manner, but some version of the team concept could probably be implemented (introduction: citizenship curriculum in shsw: hexter). although the intent of the curriculum makers was to help freedom school volunteers, teachers and nonteachers alike, with a predesigned curriculum geared to attempt to help african-american students to critically change their society despite the volunteers inexperience in teaching and/or lack of content knowledge of african-american history/civil rights content, the makers strongly believed the freedom school teachers should have opportunities to make their own curricular and instructional choices (hinman-smith, in progress; sncc: reel 67; shsw: demuth). it was hoped the teachers would use the designed curriculum but they had the choice to modify or change the curriculum to whatever the teacher thought more suitable depending on the existing situations and/or the experiences and abilities of the students. gulfport freedom school the gulfport freedom schools offered the full curriculum advocated by the curriculum conference (sncc: reel 68). a discussion of the first lessons in the citizenship curriculum about the educational system led to the development of a business skills curriculum (gillard, 1965). the teacher began a discussion with a question: "what were the schools like?" the students by claiming their schools were a waste of time and so poor in instruction that could not africanamerican students for jobs. "what kinds of won' t the school clerical were made for typing classes to be to students who were interested. african-american history was introduced by a teacher having her students gather around a large sheet of paper. she drew a map of the world and explained to the students the relationships of some of the countries to the united states. she stopped at africa. "what is important about this continent?" one student returned her question with one of his own. "is this the place where negro people came from?" the african-american history lessons had begun (gillard, 1965). a recreational program also began on the first day (gillard, 1965). the purposes were to have fun activities and to invol ve the students in discussing the differences in african­ american society compared with the dominate white society. an example of this program involved the playing of baseball. the teachers wanted to have the students critically examine their neighborhoods with something the students were involved with every day. the teachers suggested a game of baseball and the students readily agreed. the teachers asked where did the students usually play and the student took them to a rutted path between some of their homes. it was here on this street they played ball. after the game, a discussion was led as to why white children had playing fields and african-american children did not. looking for a better baseball field was the result of the baseball game discussion. this was designed to start with students where in their own and to jackson freedom school the school (howe, 1965; zinn, 1964) on freedom schools showed the curriculum was of the curriculum, seven case african-american the and a series elective courses such as 12 taught in the afternoon. other curriculum sources included using local events and movie films as for discussion (lauter: an example of the her 11-14 year olds. she asked her students to describe their own houses with those of jackson whites? the students described their houses and those white houses where either or their mothers worked as domestics, howe asked what would they like to make in their own houses. the answers varied from adding additional rooms to more they did not, however, the "grandiose" white homes they had earlier described. they described their homes as being very comfortable. this led to a discussion on the conditions of the public schools they attended. the student responses were angry. although their school was new, it was inferior as compared to the white schools. they resented the hand-me­ down textbooks, the inadequacies of the teachers and the repressive atmosphere of allowing no questions or discussions of any topic the students deemed important. zinn (1964) provided an example of a freedom school teacher using the case study of how the civil rights bill of 1963 became law. the teacher listed on the blackboard the reasons barry goldwater, senator from arizona, and republican candidate for the presidency, gave for voting against the civil rights bill. the bill was unconstitutional, would not end prejudice, could not be enforced, and violated the idea of states' rights. the class role-played these arguments. one boy, portraying goldwater, defended these points with vigor, while another developed strong positions trying to break these points down. the elective courses, classes, films, local events students to of and those of , and (shsw: cofo), students to write their own present i and of the a films, "oliver twist, n documentaries of gandhi and the montgomery bus boycott, "the magician," and an animated cartoon, "the hat," provided connections of the civil rights movement with non-violence techniques and world peace (lauter: interview; howe, 1965). an example of using local events that took place in jackson involved students" reading and discussing an editorial in the local newspaper which charged that civil rights workers were teaching african-american people to break the law. the teacher asked a question: "what do you think about that editorial? is it true? if you could write a letter to the editor about it, what would you say? . • . here's paper and pencil, go ahead. we'll pick out one or two and really send them to the editor." this was not education for grades, not writing for teacher's approval, but for an immediate use: it was a learning surrounded with urgency. and the students responded with seriousness, picking apart the issues: are we for the law? is there a higher law? when is civil disobedience justified? then the teacher explored with them the differences between statutory law, constitutional law, "natural" law. (zinn, 1964, p. 372) holly springs freedom school holly springs freedom school began at 9 a.m. (questionnaire: pam allen; shsw: hard). singing civil rights folksongs went until 9:15. the students were then divided into classes according to age level and interest. the one class all students had to take was citizenship. from 9: 30 to 10: 30, the core classes of african-american history and citizenship curriculum were offered. 10:30 to 11:30, students had a choice of dance, drama, art, auto mechanics, guitar and folksinging, and sports. the school was closed from noon to 2 p.m. in the afternoon, the school continued with classes in french, religion, crafts, music, playwriting, and journalism. at 4 p.m., the school ended with a seminar on non-violence. pam allen, a holly springs freedom school teacher, wrote about a experience she had in implementing guide to negro history: let me describe one of my first classes and one of my favorite classes. i gave a talk on haiti l3 and the slave revolt which took place there at the end of the 18th century. i told them how the slaves revolted and took over the island. i told them how the french government (during the french revolution) abolished slavery all over the french empire. and then i told them that the english decided to invade the island and take it over for a colony of their own. i watched faces fall all around me. they knew what was coming. they knew the story of their people well. they knew that a small island, run by former slaves, could not defeat england. they knew that the negroes always lost to the europeans. and then i told them that the people of haiti succeeded in keeping the english out. i watched a smile spread slowly over a girl"s face. and i felt the girls sit up and look at me intently. then i told them that napoleon came to power, reinstated slavery, and sent an expedition to reconquer haiti. they looked at me and their faces began to fall. but they waited this time. they waited for me to tell them that france defeated the former slaves, hoping against hope that i would say that they didn't. but when i told them that the french generals tricked the haitian leader toussaint to come aboard their ship, captured him and sent him back to france to die, they knew that there was no hope. they waited for me to spell out the defeat. former slaves, negroes, could not defeat france who had the aid of england, holland, and spain, especially without a leader. and when i told them that haiti did succeed in keeping out the european powers and was recognized finally as an independent republic, they just looked at me and smiled. the room stirred with a gladness and a pride that this could have happened. and i felt so happy and so humble that i could have told them this little story and it could have meant so much. (shsw: allen) ruleville freedom school the schedule of classes of the ruleville freedom school began similarly to those of the schools described above (shsw: tecklin). into the freedom school program, the teachers realized many of the students were not excited with many of the classes (shsw: lynd). prior to the of the freedom school, the teachers had come together and decided the overall curriculum would be planned co-operatively by the whole staff and each teacher had the right to develop his/her own curriculum. so after the beginning of the school, the staff realized that to motivate the students in attending the school, the teachers needed to revise the curriculum. the civic curriculum was to remain with two revisions (shsw: lynd) • the first revision was to add to the citizenship curriculum and the guide to negro history a class in world geography (shsw: demuth). two countries and a continent were chosen for study because they emphasized various black cultures: australia, egypt, and africa. the second revision to the civic curriculum was to add a general session prior to the scheduled classes. the general session would include motivational speakers from the freedom school staff, voter registration people, or sncc visitors on topics such as the white southerner, the negro in mississippi, gandhi and non-violence, and mississippi freedom democratic party. the staff made an additional change involving the freedom school as a student forum in community change (shsw: lynd; shsw: tecklin; sncc: reel 40). a number of the freedom school students were concerned that their african-american teachers in their public school were afraid to register to vote and would not take the lead in demanding better integrated schools (shsw: davis). the students wanted to picket the public school to show their concern and hopefully cause the teachers to become active change agents. the freedom school teachers joined the students in a joint effort practicing picket strategies, role­ playing student interviews with their public school teachers on registering to vote, producing leaflets to join the picket to be given to all students in the public school, and constructing a pre-picket letter to the public school's principal and faculty presenting student demands. these freedom school experiences lead the students to organize under the threat of school suspension a number of public school students in a successful picket of the local high school. milestone freedom school an active approach to integrating the citizenship curriculum in developing students" leadership abilities for community activism 14 characterized the milestone freedom school (sncc: reel 65). the students became so involved in writing and practicing a play, creating and staffing a freedom school newspaper, and preparing and participating in a mock precinct meeting in preparation for the meridian freedom school convention using their learning experiences from the lessons in the guide for negro history and the citizenship curriculum, the freedom school teachers canceled the academic classes in the afternoon due to lack of time. because the students wanted to be involved in creative ways of expression to implement the ideas from the civic curriculum to local events, the teachers believed that the short time they had with the students would be put to better use for student involvement than students spending their time passively studying other subjects. this decision was made with the consent of the students. instruction cobb (sncc: reels 27; 68) and those preparing the freedom school exper~ence (sncc: reels 67; 68; 69; holt, 1966; day: interview; lauter: interview) wanted a curriculum that was to be derived "from the students" background" and teaching methods promoting classroom activities drawn from "an outgrowth of [the students'] experiences. " this ideology of the founders and the background of the students dictated the classroom methodology. avoiding traditional teaching methods, they wanted to rely on progressive methods that would promote "student participation in learning a sense of the worth and equality among students, and the need to connect lessons to life ... " (perlstein, 1990, p. 319). the purpose of freedom school teaching was to eschew the repressive mentality that dominated the black formal school system, not to mention the mississippi society at large (holt, 1966). traditional instruction served as a form of oppression. this authoritarian instruction involved rote learning with lecture and testing by the teacher, and kept students in a passive, subservient role instead of funct as active for social change. this closed minded school evidenced by traditional taught the african-american youth not to trust others (particularly whites), to be cynical, and to be ill-prepared to function in their (sncc: reel 67). therefore, the freedom school teachers had to use teaching methods that demonstrated to their students that the freedom school teachers were trustworthy, were respectful of their students and their experiences, and could be honest in their relationships with their students. a handout entitled "notes on teaching in mississippi" (shsw: allen; sncc: reel 39) g1ven to the freedom school volunteers prior to the mississippi experience, suggested how the teachers should respond to their students: what will they demand of you? they will demand that you be honest. honesty is an attitude toward life which is communicated by everything you do. since you, too, will be in a learning situation honesty means that you will questions as well as answer them. it means that if you don "t know something you will say so. it means that you will not "act" a part in the attempt to compensate for all they've endured in mississippi. you can't compensate for that, and they don't want you to try. it would not be real, and the greatest contribution that you can make to them is to be real. the suggested basic method of instruction was discussion. the rough draft of the citizenship curriculum (sncc: reel 67) showed that of all the methods suggested to teach each particular set of content within each lesson, the discussion method overwhelmingly dominated. the discussion method was strongly suggested above other methods because the method provided for 1. encouraging expression; 2. exposing feelings (bringing them into the open where they may be dealt with productively); 3. permitting the participation of students on various levels; 4. developing group loyalties and responsibility; [and] 5. permitting the sharing of strengths and weaknesses of individual group members. (sncc: reel 39) other progressive methods were suggested: drama, art, singing, resource people, films, role creative writing (especial and the creation of local school newspapers), and social action projects (sutherland, 1965; sncc:reel 67; lauter: interview; shsw: allen). discussion, however, was to be used as a follow-up technique to these methods "to make certain that the material has been learned" (sncc: 39). 15 the discussion method was intended to promote affective and cognitive results among students (holt, 1966; day: interview). students needed the opportunities to express feelings and beliefs about their lives without judgement. many of these students had never had any such open experiences. on the other hand, it was expected discussions would revolve around learning of useful knowledge so that students would have an academic foundation. unfortunately that was not always the case. some discussions lacked educational standards, as described by ronald de sousa: the class tends to degenerate into discussion of anything from standards of negro beauty to the marxist view of private property. . they are eager to argue, in some ways less eager to learn; some days ago i was attempting to give some minimal account of certain facts, when one of the more brilliant and remarkable pupils, but somewhat headstrong, declared that no offense, but, all this was rather boring, and it would be better if other people got a chance to speak, and if we could have discussions. i often think of the difficulties which we will (for these schools will be continued all year) have in making the transition from this school to one where solid academic discipline must be imposed. (robert de sousa journal, july 23, 1964) the role-play method proved to be very effective instructionally with all age groups bringing to the surface the hidden attitudes of the young people (" it was a form of catharsis for them" [shsw: adickes]), practicing critical consciousness ("and it puts them [students] in other people"s shoes. we don "t want to win easy arguments over straw foes. they have got to be tough thinkers, tough arguers" [zinn, 1964, p. 373]), and measuring students" comprehension of the civic curriculum ("i think this technique should be used as frequently as where it proves successful" [sncc: reel 68). the short, creative dramatizations were also among the most popular freedom school classes for the students ("this proved far and away the most popular and there were sometimes as many as 30 40 in a group" [shsw: lynd]). demonstrated the advocation the freedom curriculum designers wanting to the role-play method because believed the method would the expression of a wide range of feelings by the students, involve their total selves, stimulate creativity, provide the teacher with insights about the students, and at the same time, get across the content material" (shsw: allen). a civics class in a hattiesburg freedom school showed how the method was implemented: we had a marvelous time at school today with a mock demonstration as a role-playing device designed to illustrate what negroes have done to fight for their rights. a volkswagen bus served as a "white only" restaurant complete with sign. the younger children, carrying and wearing signs, picketed in an orderly and very professional way, first in silence and then singing, according to the directions of their leader. they even held firm when at one point "a segregationist" poured water on them as they went by from a jug held over their heads. along with some of the older girls, who played members of the citizens council, the white teachers played segregationists. this was a sort of test for both children and teachers: it took courage for us to assume this role and know the children might become frightened and more unsure than they are already of our real feelings, and it took courage for the children to accept our position as temporary. it appeared that we all passed. the police, played with vengeance by some of the older boys, came and hauled the pickets off to jail when they refused to disperse. the whole thing went off beautifully, with enthusiasm, and spontaneous creativity displayed on all sides. (sutherland, 1965, p.106-107) lecturing had a limited role in the citizenship curriculum (sncc: reel 67) . occasionally its use was suggested; however, it was not intended to be used often nor to replace the other methods. reports indicate that there were teachers who did use the lecture method for a variety of reasons: at new bethel teachers used lectures because the method "gave out information at a much faster rate" (sncc:reel 67), and the teachers at gluckstadt freedom school lectured primarily because of lack of student materials and resources, of information (if there were such materials and resources, there "would be more discussion and less lecturing" [sncc: reel 67). clarksdale (sncc:reel 67) one of their 16 freedom schools was conducted "on a somewhat formal level, as opposed to roundtable discussions. . but this does not seem to be particularly detrimental to the school." a school in madison county (sncc:reel 68) devoted the first hour and a half of each day's schedule "to negro history with the entire student body attending a lecture given by one teacher and then individual groups of students discussing the lecture with their respective teacher, " and another school in pleasant green (shsw: ooiman) "experimented with letting the students take over the lectures and discussion-leading and were excited by the good results." gulfport freedom school the gulfport freedom schools incorporated many of the suggestions found in the "notes for teaching in mississippi" (gillard, 1965). discussion and creative writing dominated. students were actively discussing and debating and raising questions as to their way of life. debating became so successful, contests were set up with neighboring freedom schools. a number of films were shown on the theme of nonviolence as a philosophical approach to freedom followed by many lively discussions. creative writing was meant to give students their own voice to express deep feelings about their personal experiences. they wrote letters to federal officials about the deplorable conditions in which they lived, published a school newspaper, the press of freedom (sncc: reel 39), containing student work of creative stories, poetry, critical essays, editorials, personal experiences, and news reporting, and created a short play entitled "memories of freedom school," (sncc: reel 39). the plot of the short play emphasized one of the more memorable activities in the gulfport freedom school singing: narrator: the day begins with singing. beverly washington will take the part of florence, the teacher. florence: would you all like to sing some songs? all: yes. florence: what would you like to sing? all: oh freedom. singing.) florence: are you sure you do not want to be slaves? all: yes, of course! florence: then why don't you sing this song like it has some meaning to you. it again. all: sing. florence: how about "which side are all: florence: all: you on?" sing. which side are you on? the freedom side! singing songs about freedom and lessons from the songs was very important in the gulfport freedom schools. teachers would ask the students what song they would like to sing (jones, 1964), then all the students including the teacher would begin fervently singing: "which side are you on, boy?" "oh freedom." "i woke up this morning with my mind stayed on freedom." "they say that freedom is a constant struggle." "ain"t gonna let nobody turn me back." "ain"t gonna let no segregation turn me back." "no sheriff ... no governor no uncle tom ... no jim crow the teacher in between verses stopped the singing and started asking questions. "now what is this freedom we want?" "who are these people who turn us back?" "who are they doing a job for?" "that"s right the people who vote for him." "and who votes in this town?" "well, it"s mostly the whites." how do we get people to do the jobs for negroes as well as whites?" "by getting all the people to register to vote." at the end of every freedom school session there was one special song, a very solemn song. it required everyone to gather in a circle and join hands for a time, each thinking in his own mind about the meaning of freedom and about people like medgar evers, herbert lee, and the three civil rights workers in neshoba county, and all the others who have died fighting for freedom in mississippi. faces grow sad and earnest. someone begins. "we shall overcome ... we are not afraid ... truth shall set us free." everyone knows that overcoming will be difficult because there are many white and negro people who are afraid of freedom. the song lets students and teachers know the of their lives; that all the great number of years which compr ise a life isn't so many after all when there is freedom to be fought for. (jones, 1964, p.5) jackson freedom school howe (1965) and zinn (1964) offered 17 rich descriptions of the use of teaching methodology in the jackson freedom schools. the chief tool of the jackson freedom school was the discussion method. howe claimed the biggest problem the teachers encountered was learning not to talk at the students, but to question creatively and then listen. not only was the method of discussion important, but also how the discussion took place physically. rows, with a teacher standing in front, would not do. not only would this hamper free expression, but would also stress inequality between the teacher and students. to solve this authoritarian problem, students and the teacher sat in a circle facing each other. discussions usually followed the outlined curriculum and as a follow up to showing films, readings like james baldwin, ralph ellison, and richard wright, role playing (one of the school"s favorite procedures) and 1 istening to resource people such as pete seger, a national known folksinger who sang, taught, and discussed songs of other countries. discussions usually followed a pattern of three steps after the students and teachers became seated in their "discussion circle." the discussion started with the questions. "how do you feel about ... ?" or "how would you feel if ... ?" next, after responses, these questions were asked: "why do you feel this way?" or "why would anyone feel this way?" and finally, as the discussion progressed, the teacher would ask: "how do you feel about her/his idea?" or "what do yo think about his/her experience?" writing played an important part in the political education of the jackson students. the writing experience filled a need for self-worth, a feeling of being in control, and having some power to do something. students wrote speeches as if they were senators urging the passage of the civil rights bill. zinn (1964) had his students react to various news articles and editorials in a local newspaper by responding with critical editorials of their own. howe (1965) had her students read poems by and e. e. cummings i a discussion on students reactions and feel , instructed on poetry form, had write group and individual poems on personal experiences and aspirations, and had them share their poems with each other, followed by intense discussions. the following poem, entitled "mine" alice jackson, came from howens (1965) i want to walk the streets of a town, turn into any restaurant and sit down, and be served the food of my choice, and not be met by a hostile voice. i want to live in the best hotel for a week, or go for a swim at a public beach. i want to go to the best university and not be met with violence or uncertainty. i want the things my ancestors thought we'd never have. they are mine as a negro, an american; i shall have them or be dead. (p. 157) community involvement became an important concern for the jackson school. "students had direct evidence that their [freedom) school experience had led them to create something that was lasting and profound" (howe, 1965, p. 156-157). in the third week of freedom school, it was announced on that tuesday, afr ican-amer ican first graders would be able to register to attend an all-white elementary school. apprehension ran high in the african-american community. to encourage the registration, 36 local african-american ministers called for a tuesday prayer meeting. monday morning, howe began a discussion on the "myth" of negro inferiority. silence. she then asked if anyone in the class knew any first graders beginning public school. everyone did. did anyone know of a first grader going to attend the white elementary school? no one did. why? responses were var ied : the whi te school was too far away, my mother wanted my brother to be with his friends. no one talked about the fear of trying to integrate a white school. howe, wanting her students to be honest with their feelings, asked "what am i going to say to my friends back north when they ask me why negro mothers haven"t registered their children in white schools? that they like things the way they are?" (howe, 1965, p. 186). students began to explore their feelings of fear, loss of jobs, personal safety, and possible failure in the white schools. then a shift took place. the students were discussing positive reasons why the first graders ought to the white elementary school. one student suggested to the class they needed to go out into the neighborhood and talk to reluctant parents about sending their children to the white school. howe the class role the experiences of school students 18 encountering reluctant parents. students immediately volunteered for the parts of mother, father, child and two freedom school students. during the role-play all of the previous arguments were rehearsed. a1 though the father wasn' t convinced, the mother thought she would try to send her child to the white school when the students left. after the role play, plans were made to go out into the neighborhoods. one of the freedom school teachers and a number of student volunteers spent the balance of monday afternoon, monday night, and most of tuesday talking to over 70 families about attending the tuesday night· sprayer meeting. transportation would be provided. one mother out of 27 assurances showed up. undaunted, the next day, the freedom school students began the 70 visits again. on thursday afternoon eleven out of a possible 43 african-american first grade children in jackson registered to attend the previous all-white public elementary school. holly springs freedom school as a freedom school teacher in holly springs, pam allen taught classes of 20-30 high school aged students in citizenship curriculum, religion, and non-violence and assisted in the drama class. her experiences (questionnaire: allen) in using teaching techniques provide an example of how the freedom school teachers in holly springs presented their content. the teaching techniques allen used included: lectures ( "i shared what i was learning. i am an excellent speaker, a storyteller actually. both i enjoyed the verbal sharing and the girls" enthusiastic responses kept me at it."), storytelling ("my lectures on negro history were really telling students to share experiences but we didn"t tell myths or legends."), discussion ,"it was fun, very exciting and alive. we always had discussion after my presentation. i believe it and no pulling trying to pul ideas out of the students."), creative writing ("for self-expression and sharing"), resource people ("we utilized the voter registration men. someone spoke every morning before classes began."), drama, ("the kids developed their own play. kids chose the topic, medgar evers killing, divided up the and the characters role-played school newspaper ( "we a newsletter made up of student writings."), and community action ("it"s what the school was about-educating students for involvement in changing the social conditions. main work was registering people into the mfdp [mississippi freedom democratic party."). the holly springs freedom school newspaper, the freedom news, played an important role in providing the african-american students opportunities to administer leadership, to express personal feelings and critical analysis about personal , community, and national experiences, and to involve themselves in the community (questionnaire: alleni shsw: hardi futorian: interview). the students did most of the work and made most of the decisions. the freedom news was the first freedom school newspaper in mississippi. four editions were published with articles on national and community news, critical essays on why african-americans should vote, why whites ought to accept african­ americans, and on the involvement of the holly springs mayor attempting to get rid of the freedom summer workers, a creative story on how a white businessman accepts african-american workers as equals, a poem on the j.f.k. assassination, and a tribute to the freedom schools. dramas, student-written and performed, played an important role in the freedom schools. student involvement in the plays caused some of these students to become actively involved in the civil rights movement (futorian: interview; de berry: interview). after participating in a freedom school play, one student stated, in fact, i'd say that was the first time i really became personally, deeply, emotionally involved in the movement. up to then, it was sort of a job, something that had to be done and so we did it. but this was different. (lukas, 1968i p. 86) of the many student dramas performed throughout the freedom schools, the most memorable was the holly springs freedom school"s drama, "the seeds of freedom,· (sncc: reels 6; 37; 68i shsw: hunni shsw: alleni lukas, 1968). it played not only in a number of other freedom schools, but played at the meridian freedom school convention, toured in the semi­ free southern theater, and was performed in new york city (shsw: futorian). 19 the play began as a suggested activity in the holly springs freedom school's creative writing workshop (sncc: reel 6). students decided they wanted to do a play on the life and death of medger evers, a mississippi civil rights leader. none of the students had the slightest experience in playwriting. deborah flynn, a new york public school teacher, suggested to the students that they improvise the story. "the dialogue, except for the quotes," explained flynn,"is indicated or simply outlined as a series of suggested ideas to carry forward the action of the play. dialogue in this type of play should never be considered as words to be studied by heart and repeated by rote. this play form is particularly well­ suited to present ideas of action" (shsw: allen). with flynn providing the historical content of evers' life and death, the students for two weeks bit-by-bit acted out the story until the scenes were scripted. the title of the play came during a class discussion about evers. a female student said, "i don"t think of him as really dead. i feel that from his grave is growing a huge tree which is spreading seeds of freedom allover" (lukas, 1968, p. 84) . "seeds of freedom" became the title of the play. the 50 minute play began with the actor-students sitting in the audience coming on stage at a designated time to tell in their own words their part of the story. the narrator begins: and this is a play about freedom. . about us! yes, us because every step we take along the freedom road, every time we act, every time we do something to move forward along the freedom road we plant a seed. and seeds are blowing in the wind today. (shsw: allen). the first scene then takes the audience to the home of the evers family in jackson, mississippi. mrs. evers explains to her two children while they wait for medger evers to return home for dinner about the civil rights work with which he is involved. after a threatening phone call, evers car is heard pulling into the family driveway, then a shot rang out. medger evers is dead. the second scene finds the returning home from ever"s funeral, his son very bitter. his mother takes the time to teach him an principle (this play line was written by ira moore, the student who mrs. evers): oh darrell, don't talk this way. i too hated all whites the first day daddy was murdered. but i don' t hate anymore. we must not hate even our worst enemy. we may hate only what they do. it was daddy himself who taught us this. he wouldn't want you to hate or kill. daddy is not dead in the inside of us. but if you hate, you will kill him. (shsw: allen) the next two scenes portray the travesty of the white mississippi court system allowing ever's murderer to go free. the last scene, the narrator returns: here today we have talked of two men: one alive but forever dead. the other, medgar evers, dead. but having died for a cause, a noble cause, he will live forever. don't you believe me? then come see, come watch the hundreds, the thousands who are carrying on the work, who are joining the movement (lukas, 1968, p. 85) after that narration, each freedom school student, one by one, went to the stage and told the audience of adults why they, the students, joined the civil rights movement. i believe it is time for the negro to progress, to assume all the rights and the duties of free men. attending freedom school gives us the chance to learn to make that progress. as freedom school students, we are helping in voter registration because we feel that the fight for freedom in mississippi must be fought not only by the adults, but by the teenager. we go to freedom school because we feel this is the era of changing conditions, and we want to participate meaningfully in that change. (lukas, 1968, p. 85-86) at the end of these testimonies, the entire cast on the stage with the audience ended the play by singing: wetfre voting now we"re voting now we"re now for 1 our years of slavery now are ending. we"ll walk and talk till we are free. (lukas, 1968, p.86) ruleville freedom school many of the same teaching methods used in the above three freedom schools were also used in ruleville 20 (shsw: lynd). one interesting difference was that the methods were aimed at promoting a community activity helping the students to prepare and effect a protest picket against their high school. art work was directed to picket sign making, creative writing to designing leaflets to convince other students to join the cause and letters to the school"s principal and teachers presenting students" demands, newspapers for keeping the public informed about the students" protest of the high school, role-playing for practicing how to effect the picket, and drama for portraying with a 20-member cast the story of the picket of the school. ruleville did have a number of outside resource people bringing to the students a variety of events that appeared to capture their attention about the civil rights movement. a touring folk singer group, "caravan of music," visited six different times providing entertainment with social songs about the movement. thirteen women from various national women"s organizations gave a one day presentation about the movement in ruleville followed by a discussion among the students. the third event was the presentation of the play "in white america" by the mississippi touring company, the free southern theater (sncc: reel 38; hinman-smith, in progress; o"neal: interview). the historical play of african-americans experiences in the united states was acted out on the back porch of the freedom school building. kristy powell described the experience: the audience almost became a part of the play. small boys climbed on to the porch to go to the bathroom in the middle of a scene, dogs and hens paraded in front of the stage and there was an intimacy and informality about the performance that underlined for me the impression that the play was woven out of the very stuff of these people"s lives. (shsw: lynd) powell (shsw: provided a description of her own teaching experience trying to a ive curriculum with tradit­ teaching methods. powell taught two classes at ruleville, african­ american to 13-14 year olds and reading to those students at or above a 5th grade reading level. her method of teaching african-american history was to introduce a topic by telling a story, then talk about the topic in some detail, show then have the students reading something on the topic. this generally took a day. she would find as many resources as she was able and for the next two or three days she would allow students to freely interact with the topic through the resources. some students "did historical, some creative writing, some dre w pictures, or copied poems, or copied historical documents. » at the end of each unit, she would display every student .. s work on the back porch of the school building. powell's reading class was an example of a remedial academic class aimed at incorporating aspects of the civic curriculum intended to help students not only to read but also read in order to critically examine mississippi society. powell's choice of content included readings on africanamerican history found in ebony magazine, (a african-american oriented popular magazine), frederick douglas' articles, martin luther king, jr. 's "i have a dream" speech, poems such as margaret burrough's "what shall i tell my children who are black?," and copies of the local freedom school newspaper, freedom fighter. she followed a standard procedure used at that time in many of the basal reading systems: 1. introduce the piece to be read, arousing interest, supplying background, explaining new concepts. in the process of doing this introduce any words that you think are new or difficult, or perhaps merely basic to understanding the reading, and write them on the blackboard, as you use them. 2. have the class read the passage silently section by section, posing a question to direct and motivate their reading before each section, and discussing the answers briefly at the end of each section read. how long each section to be read should be will depend on many things, notably the skill of the group. i found that a reading, 3/4 page of typed quarto long, consisting of 3 or 4 paragraphs, was enough to do in one hour-long lesson, and we generally read it silently paragraph by paragraph. 3. 4. read the orally--­ in turn. discuss whole. whole passage through usually around the class of passage as (shsw: 21 powell believed that both the reading content and her training procedures allowed students to participate in very pertinent and moving discussions comparing the reading content to the existing conditions in mississippi. mileston freedom school the theme that highlighted mileston freedom school's use of instructional methodology was student collective involvement in critically examining their existing community (sncc: reel 65). students were actually involved in writing for and producing a school and community newspaper, creating and dramatizing a play for the community, canvassing and registering african­ american adults to vote, and preparing for the meridian student convention. the mileston minute, the freedom school newspaper, came out in at least three editions (sncc: reel 65). the four to six page paper contained student stor ies of local people involved in community work, critical essays about labor conditions for both african-americans and poor whites, articles on african-american history, editorials on beliefs on the concept of freedom, and numerous poems ranging from thoughts on african-american history to african-american self­ discovery. this was a designed activity to involve students in both interviewing others and writing about those and other experiences. teachers hoped these exper iences prepared the students for effective community service. the mileston play, "the american negro," was very popular with the students who produced it and the community for whom it was performed (sncc: reel 65). the performance of "the american negro" was the culminating activity in a community meeting advocating political invol vement. the play depicted the experiences and conditions of african­ americans in a historical context. the first scene showed a variety of native africans blacks free, happy, and proud to be a "dark and beautiful race. .. then the scenes changed to slavery, nat turner"s revolt and a mother and child chopping cotton talking freedom and being whipped for such ideas. scenes changed to the civil war and to a segregated south. the scene then changed to a composite end of both world wars to make the world (but not the south) safe for and the next to the last scene, two african-american men talking of lost sons and lost freedoms when the ku klux klan rushed in to kill them both. in scene 7, the narrator stepped on the stage and talked directly to the audience: i am the american negro. you have seen my past; you have known my past. and you have seen the trouble i"ve seen. today we have seen many men die because they stood for their rights. today we have seen three men disappear for joining in our fight. tomorrow many more will die. and many more will suffer, but we"ve begun and we are not turning back and someday, somehow we shall overcome! (sncc: reel 65) finishing his speech, he invited the community gathering to join in with the cast and slng "we shall overcome." edith black, a volunteer teacher who witnessed the performance, wrote that the audience was clearly moved (sncc: reel 65). in many of the mississippi communities involved in the freedom summer project, there were both freedom schools volunteers and voter registration volunteers. unfort­ unately, the two groups at times were in conflict due to the value each group placed on their own program (mcadam, 1988). those conflicts, however, did not exist at mileston (sncc: reel 65). both groups worked together to help the mileston community overcome the prevailing repressive conditions. the freedom school students participated after classes in canvassing the african­ american neighborhoods, showing adults how the fill out voter registration forms and obtaining commitments to go to the town courthouse and register to vote. because of this experience, the students came to realize the importance of voter registration in mileston. in the freedom school classes the students discussed the possibilities of contacting the many african-american laborers on the surrounding plantations around mileston. to accomplish this objective, the high school students organized the mileston action group (mag) to carry out voter registration after the summer volunteers left. preparation for the meridian freedom school convention provided a number of opportunities for students to learn leadership skills, how to propose and make changes, and how to articulate thoughts (sncc: reel 65). 22 the entire school wanted to draw up a political platform (reports do not describe the content of the platform) for the three chosen delegates to the convention. mock precinct meetings were staged in the classes in which students and teachers discussed local and political issues. those issues the student thought to be more important were then discussed in small groups. these small groups researched and prepared motions on their positions. then the small groups came together and debated their positions until they were able to hammer out a representative platform. the platform was eventually presented and voted on at the meridian freedom school convention. evaluation little was said about the role of evaluation in freedom schools (norma becker: questionnaire). sandra adickes (shsw: adickes), a hattiesburg freedom school teacher, claimed a major reason why freedom schools were such an exciting educational adventure was there were no report cards. it would appear the curriculum makers not only wanted to avoid traditional teaching methods but also traditional evaluation/testing techniques. traditional testing was as oppressive as traditional methods as it forced students to be afraid and submissive and caused loss of self-worth (shsw: allen). it was suggested in one curriculum report that testing was an unfortunate fact of life and, therefore, needed to be taught to students within the context of domination and submission so students would be able to counteract test results (sncc: adickes curriculum report reel 67). another curriculum report (shsw: allen) suggested not to formally test students because testing did not accomplish much as a teaching device, therefore, it was a waste of time at best. at worst it was detrimental to students because testing usually served to discourage students. reports indicate many teachers used little or no formal testing shsw: ooiman; futorian: interv ). however, they found it necessary to assess what students did and did not know in order to help students build a better life for themselves (sutherland, 1965). in other words, evaluation had to build and promote. deborah flynn (sncc: reel 6) came to realize her responsibility in writ was to "upgrade" students in improving their language and communication skills. she found students needed to be part of the evaluation process. it promoted self-growth as her students evaluated each other"s writing assignment. she also found this collaborative effort built community relations. another reason for informal evaluation was to have students critically examine themselves and their ideas in light of new knowledge in order to promote self-growth. jerry tecklin (shsw) provided such an example. one of his students, deloris, writing on the topic "what are some problems negroes will face in the future?", believed that for african-americans to become equal and to gain their freedoms based on the principles that all men are created equal as written by abraham lincoln, a war was needed. she continued to discuss some problems african­ americans need to overcome in order to become free. she claimed it was beginning to happen and the whites were trying to stop african-americans from being equal. "but when it does happen it is going to be a lot of trouble in the state of mississippi." tecklin made the traditional grammar corrections and wrote on the paper next to "lincoln" the correct information: "all men created equal written by thomas jefferson." however, these technical corrections were the least of tecklin"s concern. he wanted to deal with deloris"s hostility. instead of lecturing her about her feelings, he provided her with a number of questions to critically examine those feelings. is war between whites and blacks the only way to get your freedom? do you know of another way? you have a good idea of what is wrong in mississippi but might there be better ways of improving conditions. why don't whites want negroes to learn? keep trying to ask yourself these questions. (shsw: tecklin) this type of evaluation promoted growth and harmony, demonstrating teacher love and concern for the student. deloris needed to know some of her information was incorrect. she also needed to know her feel and opinions were of worth. tecklin provided that knowledge in his questions not in his juyucmc it could be argued the meridian freedom school convention was a 23 of final exam (gillard, 1965; lynd, 1965; shsw: zinn) . seventy-five delegates representing all of the freedom schools came together for three days in august to hammer out a youth political platform to be used in conjunction with the mississippi freedom democratic party. cornelia mack (shsw: parks) in a letter to family and friends wrote how the student convention was a culminating activity of the freedom schools: i wish i could convey to you the excitement of the convention. imagine a thousand or so high­ school students, most of whom have been raised in poverty and have gone to poor schools, few of whose relatives have ever voted, who know policeman in general as people to avoid in time of trouble and white men as people who may have fathered their great grandparents and cheated their grandparent and parents. next, give these young people a month in a freedom school, discussing, arguing, debating, learning about the declaration of independence and the constitution and about negroes who have struggled for better conditions for their people, and discussing, arguing, and debating. finally, transport seventy-five of the brightest of them from many parts of the state to one room in meridian and step aside. you, as one of some hundreds of freedom school teachers, gave them an initial nudge and they have taken off. the student delegates brought with them political resolutions drawn up by students in each freedom school (see the process of the mileston freedom school; shsw: zinn). in a number of workshops and general assemblies they vigorously discussed and sorted out the various freedom school resolutions until a cohesive platform was developed and accepted by all delegates (lynd, 1965; sncc: reels 39; 67; 68; shsw: friesen). one resolution provides an example of what the students did. the resolution calling for academic freedom for teachers into a lively debate as joanne grant (1964) : when some students proposed a resolution on academic freedom, for teachers, i debate developed over whether meant a teacher might be free to force his ideas on the students. others argued freedom for teachers to teach and voter still others argued for unqualified academic freedom so teachers could teach "different forms of government." one said: "i hear all this about communism. i want to learn it in school." focus of the discussion on education was the age and of teachers: "how can we listen to a teacher talk about and and voter when afraid to (p. 5) gulfport freedom school the only of a freedom school to discuss the role of evaluation was gulfport (gillard, 1965). there was no formal evaluation of student work. there were a number of to assess student development: () teacher observations of changes in student behavior, (2) students" public presentations of their work; (3) student writing skills evident in the freedom school newspaper; (4) student speaking skills shown in the debates and discussions; and (5) student reading skills observed in the books read and discussed. if there was a final exam it was the political platform written by the student delegates for the meridian freedom school convention. ruleville freedom school although not described as an evaluation activity, the ruleville freedom festival, on the last day of school, showed characteristics of public presentations as a form of possible assessment (see shsw: lynd; shsw: tecklin). the program of the festival included a student puppet play on the valiant knight, bob moses (sncc field secretary) vs. the wicked witch, segregation; student play, "uncle tom's high school," telling the story of the ruleville student protest and picket; choral readings of eve merr iam • s poems i three freedom songs written by students, two of students' poems on the montgomery bus boycott, ending with everyone "we shall overcome." classroom mahagement while evaluation there about was said about freedom schools, of teachers need for form of students less a 24 interview). that may be true because attendance to the freedom schools was totally voluntary. in some incidents, freedom schools were on with the who to be there. classroom to be minimal. at not knowing what to as the teachers ... '>1'""" . .,,, .... , ) • as the want also to be drawn out, the curriculum teaching methodology to them both busy and as to bored and "our school," noted sandra adickes shsw) , "was by any definition a school no attendance sheets absentee post cards truant officers or report cards just perfect attendance." there were reports that indicate there were motivational problems and discipline problems which led to some difficulty in operating the schools (sncc: reels 64; 68). ooiman (shsw) described such a situation: only one daytime encounter worth recording-that with two professional women teachers (late 20"s) who have driven away two fellow teachers and are in deep conflict with a third. they are disciplinarians, very structure­ conscious and appallingly unsuited for a freedom school situation. they've "suspended" three students. incredible. they insist on a this­ hour-we-do-this-and-as-the-next­ hour-strike-we-change-to-this-set­ up: the long suffering fellow working with them now (only a college sophomore) promises not to quit, but neither will he remain silent in his protests, sticking up for the suspended students, arguing for a more flexible, relaxed program that won't smack so much of "school" in its formidable sense-very mixed feelings about those women. no classroom were in five schools under discussion the jackson in these and the with teacher involvement and student attitudes toward created a motivated, environment. jackson freedom schools the ine incident reported in these five schools occurred in the jackson freedom school (howe, 1965). two boys got into a fist fight. after they were separated, howe gave counsel on how to resolve problems to both the boys and provided a possible role classroom management might have played in the concept of freedom schools: "now, look here, we have few rules in this school, but we do have one important one and that is we do not hit each other -we talk. understand? we talk here. this is a school for talking. whenever you feel like hitting someone, remember to talk instead" (p. 147) • organizing principles for a social studies education model freedom schools were organized to provide curriculum and instructional opportunities for african-american students in order for them to promote social change in their respective communities. the pedagogical approaches of the freedom schools were to be the antithesis to prevailing traditional authoritarian content and methods. instead of repressive teaching causing submissive, dominated students, the progressive teaching advocated by and, in many instances, implemented in the freedom schools, sought to empower students to critically examlne existing conditions, develop an unquestionable belief in themselves as capable persons and improve in academic confidence in learning and using useful information, contribute positively to their community, evoke creative, active participation in building community and espouse an appreciation of diversity and human dignity. these positive student experiences from the freedom schools seem to be pedagogical experiences that ought to be promoted by current social studies instruction. below are a set of principles extracted from the freedom school experiences evidenced in the described freedom schools in this paper. these principles involve the pedagogical ideas of aims, curriculum instruction, evaluation, and classroom management. for each of these ideas, a set of .-----the personal and social problems of the students and community-----, ,..---------goals and purposes i teachers i democratic i i i meaningful 'instructional selfacademic curriculum tyt~t!l9_q~ ____ . identity &. learnling ec-voalileu-ca-ftiv"-oen-....... . -" collective self-deter"ll ¥ classroom mination i students i management j critical thinking-respect for collective human diversity participation and dignity • results that lead to social action increased personal awareness as a competant capable person ...... 1----1....... for community improvement figure 1: social studies instructional model 25 principles derived from the freedom school experience is used to construct a possible model of social studies instruction. the model is depicted graphically in figure 1 on the previous page. aims at least five general principles would seem to be consistent with the freedom school's conception of social studies aims. these aims are: 1. the need to promote critical thinking skills by examining existing conditions and experiences of individual communities in order to produce positive change. 2. the need to promote academic learning in establishing a sound foundation of useful knowledge in social, economic, and political thought, systems, and skills to effect change. 3. the need to promote appreciation of human diversity and dignity in establishing equality and justice for all humankind. 4. the need to promote awareness of self identity, with determination and expression as a capable human being able to control one"s own life. 5 . the need to promote act i ve , collective, participation in meaningful tasks to improve the quality of life for humankind. curriculum at least six general principles would seem to be consistent with the freedom school's conception of a progressive social studies curriculum. these curriculum principles are: 1. directly relate the content to the experiences and situations of the students. :2. the content should be found in a variety of sources outside of standard text books. 3. the quality of content should be the same for all students even though less able students may need the academic levels of the content modified. 4. the development of the curriculum should be done by those teachers teaching in a given community in order to meet the existing needs of the students and the s. the content should provide for in-depth study to help 26 develop new insights as they (1) master relevant information, (2) relate this new knowledge to the information they already have, and (3) attempt to apply these insights to current problems. 6. the curriculum should promote equality and social justice for all humankind. instruction at least six general principles would seem to be consistent with the freedom school's conception of progressive social studies instruction. these instructional principles are: 1. instruction should encourage expression, expose feelings, permit student participation, and develop group responsibilities. 2. instructional techniques should promote skills students can use to improve their existing conditions. 3. instruction should promote democratic principles of equality, choice, and justice. 4. instruction should promote community involvement. 5. instruction should include democratic methods such as discussion, creative writing, art, drama, group projects, role play, music, and social/community action projects. 6. teachers and students should become collectively involved in all aspects of instructional and curriculum as active agents for social change. evaluation at least six general principles would seem to be consistent with the freedom school's conception of social studies evaluation. these principles are: 1. evaluation should build up and promote students" self-worth and academic and community learning. 2. students should be actively engaged in the evaluation of theirs and fellow students" work to promote critical examination and self3. if formal evaluations are to be given, students should be involved in the of those evaluations. 4. evaluation techniques should include teacher observations of students" behaviors and of students" works in ways in the 5. final exams might be suggested in the format of student presentations of their work (see freedom festival in the ruleville freedom school). 6. evaluation should include assessment of community involvement. classroom management at least three general principles would seem to be consistent with the freedom school f s conception of classroom management in social studies. these principles are: 1. classroom problems would be minimized through meaningful curriculum and progress~ve democratic instructional methods. 2. classroom problems would be minimized if teachers showed genuine respect for and trust in students and collectively, teacher and students would learn, examine, and solve problems. 3. if a discipline problem occurs, classroom talk and dialogue should be the first approach to solve the problem. commentary for six to eight weeks in the summer of 1964, freedom schools, a vast educational experiment attacked the «intellectual waste lands« of mississippi with a "pedagogical project" promoting student self­ discovery and articulating a vision of social justice. as an alternative to the traditional educational system, these schools trusted the minds and abilities of students, encouraged students to express, to do and to think, and engaged students in opportunities to make a difference in society. the students were taken seriously in the freedom schools. they were encouraged to talk, and their talking was listened to. they were assigned to write, and their writing was read with attention to idea and style as well as to grammar. were encouraged to sing, to dance, to draw, to play, to laugh. they were encouraged to think. (fusco, 1964) this is not to say in school the ideal vision cobb and others was freedom charles implemented. ev idence indicates otherwise. but the idea of the pedagogical in the mississippi schools do pose a possible to social studies 27 education and suggest student experiences that ought to be promoted by social studies instruction. in fact, the freedom school experience did bring new meaning to social studies instruction for one of the freedom school volunteers. dan hudson (shsw: demuth), a high school history teacher from hartford, connecticut and a freedom school teacher in belzoni, mississippi, was impressed with the content, use, student results of, and his personal instructional experiences with the civic curriculum and its suggested instruction strategies that he decided to change his own public school pedagogy approach in order to engage his history students with the similar aims promoted by the freedom schools. hudson explained: the sncc or fdp approach will have some influence on my teaching. if 11 be getting away from an authoritarian lecture posture to some kind of attempt to create an atmosphere conducive to freer discussion. it would be sort of the group working out problems and having discussions instead of my spoon-feeding them. i'll certainly make a much greater attempt to incorporate negro history into american history. but i don"t want to spend a week on it. instead i want to work it in so it becomes clear and natural that negroes played a part in building this country. social studies education appears to be in a malaise. it has become listless. there seems to be no or little direction. a conservative historical movement is beginning to dominate many social studies classrooms promoting academic knowledge with limited critical examination. dialogue appears to be limited between this group and many social studies educators. in fact, social studies educators may have little or no impact on what is happening in social studies education. to counteract this movement, real discussion needs to take place on the direction social studies education is this is an attempt to add to notes statistical information comes from hinmansmith, in progress. for more detail on the oxford orientation see rothschild, 1982. 3 see sncc: reel 38, freedom's journal (mccomb, mississippi), august 24, 1964: "some thoughts about freedom school i want freedom school to keep on. i like everything about freedom school. i like art. i like freedom school. i don" t 1 ike to get up in the morning to come to freedom school. i like for helen to read stories in freedom school. i like my teacher in freedom school. i like to sing the freedom songs." denise ledbetter, 10 years old). 4 there is information on many of the other schools. however, much of the information is about isolated events, yet, when pieced together prov ide a rich description of the overall freedom school effect. for such detail and a look at other freedom schools, see perlstein, 1991; himan­ smith, in progress. 5 fannie lou hamer was a resident of ruleville, mississippi and an active member of the mississippi freedom democratic party (sugarman, 1966). bibliography collections of unpublished documents state historical society of wisconsin archives (shsw): deposited papers: sandra adickes, pam allen, jacqueline bernard, henry (harry) bowie, cofo, ruby davis, jerry demuth, jake friesan, aviva futorian, rev. richard gould, dale gronemeir, sandra hard, fred heinze, christopher hextor, eugene hunn, staughton lynd, r. hunter morrey, joann ooiman, robert parks, robert starobin, elizabeth sutherland, jerry tecklin, lise vogel, howard zinno private collections ronald de sousa journal otis pease papers interviews with noel day, roy de berry, aviva futorian, paul lauter, john onneal, questionnaires from the following: pam allen, norma becker, francis harris, howard zinn microfilm: the student nonviolent coordinating committee papers, 19591972. (1982). sanford, north carolina: microfilming corporation of america., reels 6, 27, 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, 64, 65, 67, 68, 69, 73 newspapers grant, j. (1964). freedom schools open a door to the world. national guardian (august 29), p.5. jones, f. (1964). freedom zealand listener ( student nonviolent teacher. new 18): 5. coordinating 28 committee. (1964). mississippi freedom schools. the student voice, 5 (august): 2-3. unpublished studies gillard, m.l. (1965). the concept of the mississippi freedom school and its implementation in gulfport, mississippi. unpublished masters thesis, newark state college. hinman-smith, d. (in progress). "does the word freedom have a meaning?": the mississippi freedom schools, the berkeley free speech movement and the search for freedom through education. unpublished doctoral disseration, university of north carolina chapel hill. books and articles fusco, l. (1964). freedom schools: the mississippi deeper than 9 (november): politics. liberation, 17-19. holt, l. (1966). the summer that didn't end. london: heinemann. howe, f. (1965). mississippi's freedom schools: the politics of education. harvard educational review, 35 (spring), p. 144-160. lauter, d. & perlstein, d. (1991). mississippi freedom school introduction. the radical teacher, 40 (fall), p. 2-5. lukas, j.a. (1968). don"t shoot we are your children! new york: random house. lynd, s. (1965). the freedom schools: concept and organization. freedom ways,s (spring), p. 302-309. mcadam, d. (1988). freedom summer. new york: oxford university press. perlstein, d. (1990). teaching freedom: sncc and the creation of the mississippi freedom schools. history of education quarterly, 30 (fall), p. 297-324. rothschild, m.a. (1982). a case of black and white: northern volunteers and the southern freedom summers, 1964-1965. westport, ct: greenwood press. shaver, j.p. (1987). implications from research: what should be taught in social studies? in. v. richardson koehler(ed.), educator's handbook: a research perspective. new york: longman. sugarman, t. (1966). strangers at the gates: a summer in mississippi. new york: hill and wang. sutherland, e. (1965). letters from mississippi. new york: mcgraw-hill. zinn, h. (1964). schools in context: the mississippi idea. the nation, 199 (november 23), . 371-375. zinn, h. (1970) . politics of . boston: beacon press. 50 the contributions of science educator f. james rutherford: harvard project physics and project 2061 catherine lange buffalo state university abstract this research chronicles over sixty years of the contributions of science educator f. james rutherford. rutherford is one of the three masterminds behind harvard project physics and more recently, creator and founder of the american association for the advancement of science’s project 2061. a long-term reform strategy, project 2061 currently serves as the standard and guiding doctrine for the reform of science education foundational ideals and pedagogical premises in america. introduction over the past century, the attention and focus on science education in american k-12 public schools has been tumultuous, rising to a place of dominance in post-sputnik periods and declining to a state of near-invisibility in the wake of no child left behind (nclb) legislation that places emphasis on reading and mathematics and standardized testing. although nclb has included testing in science, schools are not held publicly accountable for student science scores as they are for reading and mathematics. the postsputnik funding that was spurred on by societal awareness and cultural acceptance of the importance of science is now, unfortunately, only a moment in history. the de-emphasis of science in present day k-12 education is not only vexing but also dangerous if we consider all the sciencebased issues the world is now facing. this paper will examine one piece of the history of science education involving one of the most influential science educators of the twentieth century, f. james rutherford. rutherford began his career as a science teacher in the outskirts of san francisco, california. upset by the lack of sound science curriculum and teaching resources, and lacking background knowledge, rutherford decided to study the history of science at harvard. the first part of this story concerns rutherford’s intention to develop practical and effective physics materials to help the high populations of second-language learners he had as students. what began as a few lesson plans burgeoned into a viable curriculum centered at harvard university. rutherford joined science educator fletcher watson and physicist/science historian gerald holton and together they created harvard project physics (hpp) in 1962. by its completion in 1970, it was a massively expansive and comprehensive program of textbooks, worksheets, overhead transparencies, tests, readers, full-feature films and a plethora of teacher and student resources too numerous to mention. the program offered teachers content and resources that they would otherwise not have easy access to such as historic experiments, literature, assessment tools and depictions. additionally it provided student-friendly information about cutting edge scientific research projects that average kids could read and understand. its success was partly due to the comprehensive and interdisciplinary nature that connected science to a wide range of domains. making physics relevant was a mainstay of the philosophy of the program; rutherford understood that relevance was necessary to make science appealing to all students through exposure to the exciting, relevant and captivating nature of the scientific enterprise. 51 harvard project physics was one of the alphabet (or abc) curricula produced as a national response to the russian launch of sputnik. (such curricular were so labeled because of the many acronyms that identified the science, technology, engineering and mathematics [stem] projects.) welch (1979) estimates that by 1977 there were “more than 500 different projects” used in the united states high schools, and by 1972 holton estimated that “300,000 students per year were using harvard project physics” (holton 2011). in hindsight, we find that twenty of these projects were widely used and only one, biological sciences curriculum study (bscs) has survived and is still published and still in wide use as of this as of this writing. finally, and most notably, f. james rutherford’s impact on twentieth and twenty-first century science education through the visionary project 2061, instrumental in directing and shaping all american science education programs, signals a significant personal accomplishment. supported by the american association for the advancement for science (aaas), the massive and well-known seminal publications and research projects that collectively referred to as project 2061 have established a framework for all states to follow. rutherford’s success as a curriculum designer (harvard project physics) was exceptional and intuitive in its inclusion of appropriate pedagogical content knowledge and for the remarkable range of multimedia and interdisciplinary components. hpp and the many other abc curricula had unlimited funding support from the national science foundation (nsf) and many other private sources. the success of the hpp program established the authors, rutherford, watson and holton, as leaders in american science education. many others benefited from their authorship and participation in abc curricula projects but only rutherford was instrumental in efforts to establish a national, systemic science education initiative with the scope and sequence of project 2061. these two significant accomplishments, hpp and project 2061, identify rutherford as one of the most influential science educators in american history. post-sputnik curricular reforms rutherford wrote his own teaching materials, which included science stories specifically directed at students who had lowreading levels and little interest in science. at the 2005 brandwein lecture, rutherford recounted the advantage of going beyond “the disciplinebound island of scientific information” of traditional textbook-centered instruction (rutherford 2005, 270): science is a grand human adventure, but you would not know it from reading science textbooks. in every science discipline there are stories to tell, ideas to explore and to try to understand, advances and disappointments to confront, applications to astound us or worry us, mysteries solved and new mysteries created-but that is not what comes through in science textbooks then or now. (371) rutherford was modifying a college textbook written by harvard professor gerald holton for use in his high school classroom. that text, introduction to concepts and theories in physical science, included astronomy, chemistry, the history of science and three chapters on the philosophy of science. while rutherford was a graduate student at harvard, he approached holton and asked him if he would write a version of the book for high school students. holton responded, “why don’t you do it?” (holton 2011) 52 they agreed that rutherford would attempt a revision with holton monitoring the process, “and that would have been the end of it.” (holton 2011) but holton, called to an emergency meeting at the national science foundation shortly after the release of the soviet spacecraft, sputnik, now had a fortuitous opportunity. he explains: we were implored by the nsf officials to throw ourselves, individually or in groups, into the awesome task of designing, writing, testing, re-editing and finally publishing a national highschool physics course. . . everyone at the meeting was sensible enough to say “no.” except one. that’s how i became the principal investigator of what we first called harvard project physics. (holton 2011) holton saw an opportunity to develop a “humanistic, historically orientated course” in physics that was not just “one damned thing after another, but a coherent story” made from the “thoughts and work of living beings.” (holton 2011) holton pursued rutherford and well-known science educator/scientist fletcher watson to join the project. the resulting “affluent” and “ambitious” curriculum was so incredibly varied and extensive, even by today’s standards. (holton, 2011) a supporting staff of over one hundred and fifty people ran the project with one hundred and twenty advisors. rutherford served as the executive director and senior author and editor of the project until 1971. hpp was so massive that a 42-page “sears and roebuck” catalogue was needed to order hpp materials (holton 2011). eventually large publishing companies took over the marketing and production of the abc curricula. today, teachers and districts have grown to expect the large-scale packaging of textbooks and supporting paraphernalia, but at the time, the hpp production was definitely groundbreaking. hpp stood as one of the most notable projects of the post-sputnik era because of its widespread use and because of the many products that were available for teacher and student use. hpp was also well known for the excellent summer institutes that rutherford organized. holton elaborates: but the key for most such teachers was to take a paid-for leave to go to a six to eight-week summer institute at one of the many teacher training sites in various parts of the country, which we organized for many years. thousands of teachers went through those-great for them, but as you can imagine, an additional burden above all on jim rutherford, who acted tirelessly throughout the project as its executive director (holton 2011). the high quality of the products was also part of the appeal. rutherford hired designer albert gregory to incorporate historic depictions, photos and artwork to the pages of the materials. no expense was spared to include authentic historic documents such as copernicus’s de revolutionibus, obtained directly from the library at the university of krakow. teacher participants attended fully paid six to eight week summer workshops that showed them how to use the materials. in turn, the teachers provided feedback that often resulted in modifications to the materials. participating teachers felt distinguished, and in many schools, things were noticeably different. peter dow, curriculum historian and contributor to man: a course of study (m:acos) a cross-disciplinary and crosscultural social studies project for middle school and upper elementary grade describes what he noticed in his school: 53 as a young teacher just beginning my career at the time, i vividly remember the impact of these innovative programs on the classroom. i first learned about the nsf’s efforts when physics students in my school began building ripple tanks to examine wave motion and swinging pendulums from the rafters of the gymnasium to study the rotation of the earth. this was very different from the textbook-based learning i had encountered in my own education. (dow 1991, 3) in realistic terms, dow’s experience supports what mccormick indicates were “pockets of excellence where well-trained teachers conducted wonderful new nsf science programs” (mccormick 1992, 18). teachers should be the decision-makers and implementers of new ideas and they “determine how much value to attach to what they already do, how much changes will help their students, and how much energy and time they can invest to make the changes, given the organizational and personal constraints that they face daily” (cuban 1993, 239). studies conducted by glanz (1979) and kyle (1985) are consistent with many other findings that suggest teachers involved in the curricular surge had changed their philosophies and approaches remarkably little. rutherford understood what teachers faced in the classroom from his own experiences and focused a great deal of attention to the construction of materials in hpp so teachers would be able to easily add what they wanted or needed to their existing classroom lessons. science education researchers differ on the impact of the reform era and specific effectiveness of individual projects such as hpp. there is agreement that the most reviewed and successful high school science projects were bscs, physical science study committee (pssc) and hpp. despite his crucial involvement, rutherford is critical of the overall success of hpp and the many other abc projects of the era. he claims that science education did not mature in the post-war years to become all that they could have. why? “indeed much of what passed for research were short-term assessment of courses, materials, approaches, and projects having more to do with justification than with the advancement of knowledge.” (rutherford 2005, 375) rutherford points to a lack of persistence that would have created a steady and thus enduring pace for successful reform and indicates that there were immature “exuberant ups and disconcerting downs” throughout the past fifty years of science education . (rutherford 2005, 375) notwithstanding such critical assessment, the unprecedented scope and scale of the postsputnik projects are in themselves worthy of historical note, as deboer points out: what made the science curriculum projects unique as an education reform effort was the scale of the endeavor and the extent to which the projects were actually completed and used in the schools. the national scope of the projects, the funding by the federal government, the widespread use of the courses across the country, and the involvement of noted scientists in the development of courses all made this effort unmatched in the history of american education. the new curriculum projects offered the opportunity to put into practice a number of principles of good education that thoughtful science educators had been advocating for decades but had been unable to implement successfully on a wide-scale basis. (deboer 1991, 166) 54 unfortunately, many of the grant-funded projects lacked effective summative evaluation processes and procedures, making it difficult to determine how much students learned from the curricula. there was little or no attention paid to teacher attitudes and/or pedagogical implications of the new materials during the development and evaluation processes of the projects despite the disproportional amount of r & d resources directed towards teacher training. following the release of the abc curricula, throughout the late 1970’s and early 1980’s many researchers sought out ways to assess overall changes in science classroom instruction. a myriad of qualitative and quantitative data emerged. rutherford makes a critical point: it is no surprise that a complex educational “system” made up of more than 95,000 schools in 16,000 school districts with three million teachers, serving 54 million students and costing over $400 billion dollars to operate would create daunting reform issues on all levels (rutherford 2005, 376). one of the compelling attempts to determine the overall impact the abc curricula was the 1977 nsf survey which collected data from 7,000 teachers, principals, central office personnel and state supervisors and officials (strake & easley 1978). the nsf 1977 national survey of science, mathematics and social science education used the percentage of program utilization by districts as a marker for determining the success of the programs (nsf 1978). this report found that hpp was used by 12% of the school districts in america. over sixty studies of the effectiveness of hpp were evaluated by wayne welch and he determined that the most salient features of hpp were the contributions it made to “retention in science, participation of women…. [performance] on critical thinking tests and understanding of subject matter all showed improvement where the project physics curriculum was adopted” (matthews 1994, 6). fletcher watson published over sixty articles, research papers and reports and directed fifteen doctoral theses on hpp (holton 2011). in one of the most popular research claims, hurd (1969) describe a general pattern of overall science teaching trends in the following chart that mccormick published: from to the textbook as the authoritative source of information laboratory data as a primary source of knowledge. everyday technology is presented as science. “pure” science is emphasized. many science topics studied briefly. in-depth studies of fewer topics. laboratory activities used to verify concepts in textbook. laboratory activities used to collect data from which concepts are derived. deductive thinking is emphasized to arrive at “correct answers.” inductive thinking is stressed in arriving at reasonable tentative answers. rote and receptive learning. discovery and inquiry learning. fig. 1 summary of significant trends in science teaching approaches adopted from mccormick (1992, 21) mccormick’s insightful summary is a valuable gauge that demonstrates the bridge between the hpp and project 2061 and helps to highlight the role that rutherford played to carry ideas from one experience to another. rutherford added many examples of pure science into a collection of hpp readers which contained relevant stories written by famous scientists. the immense supporting materials served the single 55 purpose to deemphasize the textbook by offering teachers laboratory ideas and activities to promote discovery and inquiry learning. rutherford directed the development of all hpp materials to fulfill all the criteria listed in mccormick’s summary of trends. the trends described by mccormick are obvious in project 2061 as well. the debate over the effectiveness of the abc projects has been over for at least twenty years. there is little to nothing written to document the history of the significance of the individuals that that participated as writers, leaders, advisors and directors of the abc projects. the attention and promise that the projects held for making a difference in the quality of science instruction put pressure on science educators, scientists and other experts to excel in their fields and to deliver quality products. it was unmistakably a competent and prestigious playing field and market. not yet captured in the science education literature is how this period of strong collaboration and team efforts impacted careers and science education as a discipline. peter dow, project editor of macos, tells the story of the development and life of macos in his exceptional book, schoolhouse politics: lessons from the sputnik era. the national association for research in science teaching (narst), the largest and oldest science education association in america, is currently working on a history of both the organization and a yet-to-be-determined history of science educators. rutherford is working on a book about the history of science education. clearly science education needs more research such as dow has added to social studies education through his work on the history of macos. there is no doubt that significant relationships were established during this post-sputnik period and that some of the most respected science educators of the century were associated with this curriculum boom. most educators continued as faculty and made greater contributions to the field at large or within specific domains. others continued as curriculum specialists and writers or leaders in organizations. rutherford’s involvement in hpp had many lasting effects on his career. rutherford left harvard in 1971 to join the faculty of new york university where he stayed until 1977. in 1975 he was elected president of the national science teachers association. between 1977 and 1984 he served in two federal government positions. first he served as the assistant director of the nsf education programs and then as assistant secretary of the department of education, national center for educational statistics, the fund for the improvement of post-secondary education. project 2061 (1985-2061) in 1985, rutherford was invited to join the american association for the advancement of science to develop “plans and actions to give life to the aaas’s desire to engage the scientific community energetically and knowledgeably in a sustained k-12 science education reform effort” (rutherford 2011). rutherford was perfect for such an appointment with his diverse background as a science teacher, curriculum developer, professional development facilitator, university professor of science methods, grant writer, researcher, author, government education officer and reform leader. he fully appreciated the value and meaning of this new position and stated: it is from those experiences that i acquired a set of beliefs about science education reform-some fortifying my existing convictions, other changing them-that eventually led me to my role in the creation of project 2061 and its first product, science for all americans (rutherford 2011). 56 he believed that the aaas was the right organization for this work as well. it’s large membership cuts across all scientific areas and it was held in high regard globally, and by science policy makers worldwide. because rutherford had experience working in many different settings, he carefully weighted the association of this project to the aaas. the aaas’s board of directors is composed of outstanding scientists, most of whom care about and are informed on science education from k-12 to post-doc; its journal science reaches scientists and science educators throughout the world; and being over a hundred years old, it seems likely to be in business for decades to come (rutherford 2011). the ultimate aim of project 2061 is long-term commitment (hence the use of the year 2061, the year of the return of halley’s comet) that will lead to sustaining science, mathematics and technology reforms that facilitate the attainment of scientific literacy for all k-12 students by the time they graduate from high school. according to the goals outlined by project 2061, the definition of science literacy is: “science” in science literacy was to be broadly conceived to include the physical, biological, and social sciences, and the interrelationships among those sciences and mathematics and technology (rutherford, 2011). to achieve a scientific literate body of k-12 students and future american citizens, project 2061 has created explicit learning goals that are compelling and challenging but attainable. the explicit learning goals are published in science for all americans and are “final rather than accumulating grade-band learning goals and without reference to teaching methods or materials” (rutherford 2011). most strongly stated is the determination that this accomplishment is to “be generated without involvement of or financial support from the federal government, in order that their authority will derive from the scientific community rather than from any agency of government” (rutherford 2011). in order to create a systemic reform effort rutherford relied on three valuable lessons from his other endeavors and career experiences and so was seeking to address the following problems that had stopped reform in the past: 1. sustainable science education reform needs to be steady rather than fragmented 2. there needs to be a national consensus on the direction that science education should take. 3. there are no short term or impatient solutions; effective reform requires longterm commitment from all involved. with these issues in mind, rutherford led the way to create reform tools for state, local and national curriculum revisions. what is a reform tool? project 2061 consists of a series of publications (products) and web-based resources and currently includes science for all americans, benchmarks to science literacy, blueprints for reform, resources for science literacy, designs for science literacy, and atlas of science literacy (i & ii). these products differ considerably one from another. there are many other reports, studies, collaborative activities and resources. unlike curricular documents that spell out in vivid detail what science teachers should teach, fact by fact, project 2061 “argues that less, not more, should be taught in schools” (massey 1990, 59). it contains information about how one idea in 57 science is connected to another through a subjective voice that professes the need for earthy stewardship. with a consensus of what science literacy means, rutherford began to pull educators, scientists, administrators, mathematicians, engineers, historians, and learning specialists to produce the book that would allow districts and teachers the tools they needed for “fashioning their own curricula (aaas, 1990)”. this idea of setting a baseline, from which teachers can then individualize their programs to suit their needs and styles, is similar to the premise that rutherford made in hpp. the goal of the “common conceptual focus” is stated in the preface to the book (aaas 1990, x): science for all americans is the result of a three-year collaboration involving several hundred scientists, mathematicians, engineers, physicians, philosophers, historians, and educators. it is, we believe, as close as it is possible to come to valid expression of the view of the science community on what constitutes literacy in science, mathematics, and technology. in an interview with the author, rutherford describes the complex process of the production of science for all americans, five independent science panels met regularly over this same period, to revise and rewrite the document as the panel of experts progressed. the panels examined five domains (biological & health sciences, mathematics, physical & information sciences & engineering, social & behavioral sciences, and technology) and were required to defend their positions according to scientific and educational significance. consultants were invited to speak. in the end, the panels submitted drafts of reports on their decisions, which were sent to 130 highly qualified individuals and to the national council for additional review. the final stamp of approval was issued after each of the aaas board of directors read the document. science for all americans was not a summary of these panel reports, but an “independent synthesis based on their recommendations.” (massey 1990). science for all americans was released in 1989 and then again in 1990 to align with benchmarks for science literacy, the second book of project 2061. several years following the release of science for all americans, and greatly influenced by the publication, the national science teachers association and the national academy of sciences asked the national research council to coordinate the development of the national science education standards (nrc 1996, 14). the national science education standards was a specific directive for what should be taught, and its sister companion, inquiry and learning: a guide for teaching and learning science (nrc 2000) focused on how science should be taught with project 2061, thus providing the tools to guide all states to uniformity in k-12 science. rutherford, as director and leader of project 2061 had fulfilled the planned objectives upon joining the aaas in 1985 in the “sustained k-12 science education reform effort” that would engage a scientific community (rutherford 2011). lee and paik (2000 17) believe there are five key reform documents that currently shape american education and include three assessment studies along with project 2061 and the national science education standards in the comprehensive analysis. they state “that science for all americans by project 2061 (aaas 1989) 58 represented a major milestone in shaping the discourse of science education reform since the late 1980”. koppal and caldwell (2004) provide valuable information about some of the tools of project 2061: they indicate that the atlas of science literacy (aaas 2001a) “provides a collection of linked conceptual strand maps displaying the sequence of ideas that contribute to a sophisticated understanding of some key science and mathematics topics” (koppal and caldwell 2004, 29). designs for science literacy (aaas 2001b) “offers suggestions for restructuring time, instructional strategies, and content that can lead to very different kinds of curricula serving a common set of learning goals” (koppal and caldwell 2004, 29). these useful tools were the final products that spring at root, from rutherford’s core beliefs clarified long before he retired as the director of project 2061. under the current leadership, project 2061 hosts conferences to assist curriculum reformers with participants ranging from teachers, policy makers, textbook publishers and researchers. they have developed a partnership through an nsf-funded grant with michigan state university, northwestern university and the university of michigan to create the center for curriculum materials in science. the purpose of the center is to conduct significant research on issues related to “the design, analysis, and use of science materials, while also preparing a new generation of leadership through innovative graduate and postgraduate programs” (koppal and caldwell 2004, 29). project 2061 has also been developing strategies and tools for evaluating the alignment of k–12 assessments in science and mathematics with national and state standards and benchmarks. a five-year comprehensive study provided data about testing has developed and offered an assessment analysis methodology to determine the alignment of k–12 science and mathematics assessment items to national and state standards. the project 2061 team has begun an interagency education research initiative with the university of delaware and texas a & m to study the best ways to coordinate curriculum, teaching methods and professional development to improve student learning outcomes in mathematics. most recently, project 2061 has established a parent portal with recommendations for families and communities as a response to international studies that point out american apathy towards science education. project 2061 is based on several deeply-held beliefs promoted by rutherford’s influence. one is that the terms and circumstances of human existence can be expected to change as much and as unpredictably from 1985-2061 (coincidentally the approximate average human life span) as they did from 1910 to 1985 or 1835-1910. science and technology will continue to be at the center of social and economic change-causing it, shaping it, responding to it. science education will thus become ever more imperative in preparing individuals and societies for the current time and for their futures. finally, there is a belief that science education is not now meeting that challenge and therefore must itself undergo extensive and insightful reform locally as well as globally. at the outset, project 2061 was an american undertaking to foster science literacy in its own people. with time, however, it became widely known outside of the united states. the europebased organization for economic cooperation and development studied project 2061 in 1989 and characterized it as the “single most visible attempt at science education reform in american history” (allman 1993). translations of project 2061 publications have been made in asia, europe, and latin america. new zealand researcher john clark used the theoretical 59 premises of project 2061 to support a call for reform in teacher preparation programs in new zealand that he believes are: overstuffed and undernourished with too much emphasis on a detailed understanding of the nuts and bolts of individual components of the mandated curriculum and far too little emphasis on the more fundamental contextual aspects of the curriculum such as historical determinants, sociological influences, philosophical justifications and political motivations (clark 2005, 520). rutherford stepped down as education director of the aaas and project 2061 in 1998 and retired from the aaas in 2001. it is clear that his contributions to science education reform were crucial to the success of advancing scientific literacy, and that his determination and his clearcut and clearly-stated goals have inspired many schools to obtain high quality science programs. conclusion this study attempted to present an account of a science educator whose great influence on a pivotal physics curriculum, harvard project physics and his subsequent work, project 2061 is unprecedented and sadly, mostly unknown. this research describes the impetus that drove one man to devote a very significant amount of intellectual energy to a reform process to facilitate the creation of quality k-12 science in the twentieth and twenty-first century. under his direction science education reform would proceed with the foundational ideals and pedagogical tools in place to give consistency and direction for sustained and long-term effects. references allman, f.a. 1993. back to first principles u.s. news and world reports, november 8, 1993. american association for the advancement of science (aaas). 1990. science for all americans. new york: oxford university press. american association for the advancement of science (aaas). 2001a. atlas of scientific literacy. new york: oxford university press. american association for the advancement of science (aaas). 2001b. designs for science literacy. new york: oxford university press. clark, j. 2005. curriculum studies in initial teacher education: the importance of holism and project 2061. curriculum journal, 16 (4), 509-521. cuban, l. 1993. how teachers taught: constancy and change in american classrooms 1890 1990. new york: teachers college press. deboer, g. 1991. a history of ideas in science education: implications for practice. new york: teachers college press. dow, p. 1991. schoolhouse politics: lessons from the sputnik era. cambridge, massachusetts: harvard university press. glanz, e. 1979. what are you doing here? washington, d.c.: council for basic education. harwig, m. and wagner, d. 1991. project 2061: visions of science, visions of ourselves. retrieved from http://www.arn.org/docs/ orpages/ or141/project%202061.pdf holton, g. 2011. the project physics course, then and now. retrieved from http://www.sciecore.org. http://www.arn.org/docs/ http://www.sciecore.org/ 60 hurd, p. d. 1969. new directions in teaching secondary school science. chicago: rand mcnally. koppal, m. and caldwell, m. 2004. meeting the challenge of science literacy: project 2061 efforts to improve science education. cell biology education, vol.3 (spring). kyle, w.c. 1985. what became of the curriculum development projects of the 1960’s?. in research with reach: science education, ed. holdzkum and p.b. lutz, 3-24. washington. d. c.: national institute of education. lee, o, and paik, s. 2000. conceptions of science achievement in major reform documents. school science and mathematics, 100 (1), 16-26. massey, w. 1990. project 2061: moving towards scientific literacy. change, 22, 58-6 matthews, michael. 1994. science teaching: the role of history and philosophy of science. new york:routledge mccormick, a. 1992. trends and issues in science curriculum, in science curriculum resource handbook: a practical guide for k12 science curriculum. millwood, n.y.: kraus international publication. national research council (nrc) 1996. national science education standards.washington, d.c.:national academy press. national research council (nrc) 2000. inquiry and the national science education standards: a guide for teaching and learning. washington, d.c.:national academy press. national science foundation 1978. report of the 1977 national survey of science, mathematics, and social studies education. washington, d.c. rutherford, f.j. 2011. science education encore. . retrieved january 2, 2011 from http://www.scienceeducationencore.org. rutherford, f.j. 2005. the 2005 paul f. brandwein lecture: is our past our future? thoughts on the next 50 years of science education reform in the light of judgments on the past 50 years. journal of science education and technology, vol. 14 (4): 367-386. rutherford, f. james and klein, m.s. 1985. science education in a global perspective: lessons from five countries. boulder, colorado: westview press. stake, r. & easley, j. 1978. case studies in science education (vol. 1d). urbana, il: center for instructional research and curriculum evaluation. welch, w. w. 1979. twenty years of science curriculum development: a look back, pp. 282-306. in d. berliner (ed.), review of research in education, 7. washington, d. c.: american educational research association. http://www.scienceeducationencore.org/ joe ball takes up the piano:curriculum, extracurricular activities, and the formation of gender at riverside junior college, 1929-1941 margaret a. nash university of california, riverside abstract this article examines gender dynamics on a junior college campus in southern california during the great depression. historians have argued that there was a “crisis of masculinity” due to widespread unemployment. this article examines references to gender in student newspapers and the yearbook and concludes that because students were concerned with raising the status of their college, and because far more men than women students attended, the marking of gender differences was less acute. male students at riverside junior college did not seem to mind too much when female students smoked cigarettes, formed a rifle club, or ran the student newspaper. but when women consistently trounced men in their grade points, or when students heard that women elsewhere ran the student government and wore slacks to campus, they drew a line. “are we men or are we mice?” male students demanded in the student newspaper, implicitly acknowledging a process of defining gender ([mueda?] 1938). the decade of the 1930s marks a significant period of transition in gender relationships in the united states. women had won the right to vote just a decade prior, and increasing numbers of women took on high profile positions in business, government, and academe. more women and men went to college in the 1930s than had ever gone before and national media trumpeted women‟s engagement in education for the sake of civic participation (nash and romero 2012). at the same time, the nation along with much of the world was plunged into an economic depression. during times of transition, conservative norms often are held on to all the more tightly, and particularly so in times of economic stress (mccomb 2006). old and new concepts of appropriate gender roles often exist side by side. yet sharp distinctions of gender can be blunted when local situations make other concerns more prominent. in this article i examine gender roles during the 1930s on one junior college campus in southern california. at riverside junior college, the local context was one in which students wanted to be taken seriously as college students, a status difficult to achieve when their institution was named a junior college, and when they shared a campus with a high school. approximately half of riverside junior college‟s students had graduated from that high school, underlining all the more their desire to distinguish the college from the secondary school. i argue that because students as a group were concerned with raising the status of their junior college, and because throughout the decade far more men than women students attended the college, the marking of gender differences was less acute here than on other college campuses. historians have documented cultural shifts from the nineteenth century victorian ideal of masculinity, one defined by character, honor, and duty, to a modern ideal of masculinity, defined by personality and youthfulness and achieved by participation in consumer culture (pendergast 1997, kimmel 2006, mosse 1996). this modern ideal of masculinity is especially visible on college campuses through the fraternity system 15 (syrett 2009). at the same time, historians have written about the depression era as a period of a “crisis of masculinity.” widespread unemployment meant that men were no longer able “to prove manhood by providing for their families,” and many men felt “deep humiliation” at being “impotent patriarchs” (kimmel 2006, 128, 132-33). according to this view, when masculinity is in crisis, men work to shore up their sinking status by enacting more polarized versions of manhood, effectively defining themselves as men more sharply against an extreme construction of femininity (hoganson 1998). an examination of a college campus during this time, then, might reveal men‟s hostility toward women invading a space perceived to belong to men, or engaging in curricular or extracurricular activities seen as fitting only for men. none of this was the case at riverside junior college, where the student newspaper reveals men wishing for a larger female enrollment, and celebrating women‟s accomplishments on and off campus. to what extent, then, was there a crisis of masculinity among this population of students? historian judith a. allen notes that there apparently were “regular crises in masculinity” throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and asks whether masculinity is “doomed… to be in constant crisis” (allen 2002, 202). if “crises” were familiar, how did that affect notions of gender for students? allen also asks whether “the prospects of class division and conflict” might modify gender relations that in other situations might be oppressive to women (allen 2002, 202). at riverside junior college, the overarching project of improving the status of the college as a way to launch or sustain students‟ entrée into the middle class may have ameliorated an emphasis on shoring up extreme gender identities. there is little research on the construction of gender identity on college campuses during this period. much of the research on masculinity on campuses has largely focused on fraternities, and none of that research focuses on the 1930s (syrett 2009, phillips, brown and parks 2005). some research has been done on higher education for women, but most of it has been on issues of access or on institutional development, or examines periods before or after, but not during, the 1930s (manekin 2010, eisenmann, higher education for women in postwar america, 19451965 2006, gordon 1990, solomon 1985, horowitz 1984). in addition, much research has tended to gravitate to elite institutions–the ivy league colleges, or major public and private research universities (eisenmann, reconsidering a classic: assessing the history of women's higher education a dozen years after barbara solomon 1997). i chose to study riverside junior college in a small city in an agricultural region in southern california. because junior colleges (later called community colleges) drew largely from the local population, they are more likely to reflect norms held by the broader community rather than just the collegiate culture. california classified its junior colleges in this decade as part of the secondary school system; restricted by law from having dormitories or fraternities and sororities, some of the means by which students on other campuses formed social groups and relationships and established norms of gendered behavior, were not available to students at the junior colleges. students found other ways to establish gender roles, such as through competition for grades and limiting women‟s involvement in student government. yet overall, although students publicly commented on gender through the pages of their student newspaper, campus life included multiple opportunities for women that were not 16 available at other colleges. junior colleges, still relatively new types of institutions in the 1930s, appealed to a much larger section of the population than did the elite liberal arts colleges, and helped fill the “unprecedented demand for higher education . . . as a symbol of economic and social mobility” (levine 1987, 21). at riverside junior college, negotiation of gender identity and gender roles existed in the context of a “culture of aspiration” for the white middle class (levine 1987). this study is based on two primary archival sources: the student newspaper, the arroyo, and the campus yearbook, the tequesquite, during the depression years of 1929-1941 at riverside junior college (rjc). the newspaper reflects multiple voices and perspectives. most students stayed at rjc only one or two years, and by the mid-1930s newspaper editors held their positions for only one quarter, so one voice never dominated, or could never dominate for long. the newspaper staff consisted of a dozen or more students each year and other students frequently wrote letters to the editor, resulting in many points of view in the newspaper. the editors also exchanged ideas with other campuses; hundreds of twoand four-year colleges sent reciprocal copies of newspapers all over the country. rjc editors ran columns variously called “elsewhere,” or “tidbits,” or other titles that identified snippets of news culled from these other sources. what those columnists chose to include in the paper reveals another layer of local interests. in all these ways, the student newspaper can be a proxy, albeit an imperfect one, for multiple perspectives on campus life. the following sections detail various prisms through which gender dynamics appear. first, the institutional ambition many people held for raising the “junior” college to the status of a regular college depended on the success of all students. therefore, the newspaper praised both women and men for their successes, which brought prestige to the school. however, writers for the student newspaper routinely made academic achievement a competition between men and women. in fact, the newspaper often referred to gender; the next two sections look at a range of ways gender came up in the paper, from curricular choices to student behavior, extracurricular activities, and student leadership. finally, this paper delves into the story of the women‟s rifle club, the reserve officers training corps (r.o.t.c.), and the student peace movement, all of which bring to the fore a vibrant mix of activism and concepts of gender. gender and institutional aspirations riverside junior college, founded in 1916, grew out of a 1907 state law that allowed high schools to offer the first two years of college-level courses. when rjc opened, therefore, it was housed in the same building as the polytechnic high school. in 1917 the state legislature allowed the establishment of separate junior colleges in high school districts, and by 1930 there were thirty-five junior colleges in the state. at riverside, the college held classes in the high school building, one principal served both institutions, and both institutions were governed by the same board of directors. by 1924 rjc had two of its own buildings, and a third opened in 1932. even then, the college still shared the same campus with the high school; students at the two institutions shared the auditorium, the gymnasium, the grounds, and the vocationally oriented equipment, as well as the principal and board (jiminez and johnson 1981, brint and karabel 1989). this arrangement was common in california, where 75 percent of junior colleges shared buildings with high schools in the 1930s (brint and karabel 1989). this association with 17 high schools plagued junior college students who wanted to use the institution as a launching point into an upwardly mobile life. the city of riverside, the county seat, had a population of almost 35,000 in 1940; 3,200 were foreign born (of whom about 1,500 were mexican), 880 were african american, 750 were native american, and 220 were of japanese descent (sixteenth census of the united states: 1940; population 1943). student enrollment at rjc in the 1930s ranged from 544 in 1930-31 to 817 in 1937-38, ranking in the middle in terms of size of california junior colleges (jiminez and johnson 1981, enrollment puts riverside tenth 1935). most of the rjc students were white, as were most of the inhabitants of riverside, although there also were hispanic, japanese, native american, and some years filipino students (rabin 1968, transfers from north, south, east, and west 1934, graduates of sherman aided 1935, sherman institute represented by 14 students 1939). a few foreign students also attended rjc during the depression, coming from columbia, germany, japan, mexico, and the philippines (students from 18 states enrolled 1931, students enrolled from many states; japan represented 1933). initially tuition-free throughout the state, the legislature gave local boards of education the option to charge tuition for the junior colleges during the depression. the rjc board declined, choosing instead to remain as accessible as possible (jiminez and johnson 1981). throughout the 1930s, men students outnumbered women, sometimes by as wide a margin as two to one. women, however, had higher graduation rates (student enrollment sets new figure 1931, jaysee women graduates outnumber men 1933, women in minority as quarter ends 1937, total enrollment under last year's 1939). year after year the student newspaper pondered the question of why men so outnumbered women, as this disparity was unique to rjc and did not occur on other southern california junior college campuses, or in the local high school from which about half of the students came. the reason usually posited was that rjc was an athletic powerhouse and therefore drew more men students. men who might not otherwise go to college came to rjc to be part of its reign of “athletic supremacy” (transfers from north, south, east, and west 1934, graduates of sherman aided 1935, jiminez and johnson 1981). these two factors may have played a large role in the formation of gender roles on the campus. men‟s predominance was assured by virtue of their much higher enrollments, and the masculinity, at least of the male athletes, was vindicated frequently at sporting events. therefore, men may have felt far less need to assert themselves in other ways. junior colleges served multiple functions. they prepared students for specific vocations, and they provided the first two years of coursework for four-year colleges and universities. the latter function was the origin of the name, as the first two years of undergraduate coursework were “junior” to the “senior” or upperclass work. junior colleges allowed students to get basic courses out of the way at a less expensive institution, and often one that was much closer to home. the cooperative program, in which students alternated getting credit for working in an industry with taking a term of coursework, is an example of the vocational aspect, and rjc was the first in the state to do this (jiminez and johnson 1981, brint and karabel 1989). in 193132, for instance, coop students prepared for work as aircraft mechanics, forestry researchers, nurses, and librarians (new success for co-ops 1931, brint and karabel 1989). 18 many students attended rjc with the intention of transferring to a four-year college or university, and many did so with great success. the student newspaper commented frequently on this goal, and reported proudly on female and male former rjc students who went on to greater glory. in the fall of 1931, nearly 60 former rjc students were enrolled at the university of california at berkeley, and the previous spring, 21 former rjc students had graduated from berkeley. other former rjc students had gone on to ucla, stanford, and occidental college, their “splendid records” demonstrating the “excellent foundation” provided by rjc (state university draws j. c. grads 1931, university head compliments j.c. 1931). in 1933, 28 rjc students transferred to ucla, 21 to berkeley, 8 to the university of southern california, and 7 to the stanford school of nursing, along with two dozen others who transferred to half a dozen different out-of-state colleges (ucla claims most jaysee transfers 1933). in 1937, 17 rjc graduates enrolled in stanford (graduates sustain creditable record 1937). rjc apparently filled the function well of preparing students for fouryear colleges. students knew that the moniker “junior” had a pejorative sound in many people‟s ears, and sharing a campus with the high school didn‟t help, so with a tinge of defensiveness they touted their accomplishments. “our record stands as evidence of the ability of junior college graduates to take their places among students of higher institutions, with credit and even honor to themselves and the junior college,” noted one article (our phi beta record 1931, 2). when firstyear student agnes coleman won a national writing contest and a scholarship to drake university in iowa, the arroyo reported that she received “congratulations from well known journalism instructors of leading colleges and universities in the east” (j.c. freshman receives journalism scholarship 1933, 3). the newspaper was proud that josephine brown, who was the arroyo business manager in 1932-33, went on to the university of southern california and became office manager of the daily trojan there (graduate made officer manager of s.c. trojan 1933, 4). when a former rjc student was a headline speaker at the california medical association for his discovery of the link between heart disease and diet, the event made the front page of the student newspaper (former j.c. student cited for discovery 1938). the newspaper also proudly touted the accomplishments of artist mine okubo, graduate of rjc and berkeley, who won a fellowship to study art in italy (m. okubo earns henicke award 1938). dissatisfaction with the “junior” nomenclature grew throughout the decade. by 1938, los angeles junior college changed its name to los angeles city college, and many rjc students, faculty, and administrators hoped to make a similar change ('junior college' criticized at meeting of administrators 1938, change of college name again proposed 1939). riverside‟s board of education did not approve the name change until june, 1945, when, with a huge influx of new students, rjc became riverside college (jiminez and johnson 1981). the success of both female and male students was critical to the campaign to garner more respect for junior colleges. the student newspaper lauded former rjc students who succeeded, and celebrated the forensic skills of current female students. the newspaper regularly reported on accomplishments of women in the world, as well as those of former rjc women students. for instance, the newspaper noted that mary e. woolley, president of mount holyoke college, was “the only woman member” of the american disarmament commission appointed 19 by president hoover (other colleges 1937). guest speakers invited to campus included marguerite harrison, former secret service agent, international newspaper correspondent, and author (mrs. harrison banquet speaker 1937). the newspaper, then, touted the accomplishments and encouraged the success of women on and off campus. yet, as we will see, when women outperformed men, some students expressed unease. women could succeed, but when their success overshadowed men‟s, it raised concerns, at least in a tongue-in-cheek manner. one recurring topic that always became about gender was grades. each term when the students who had earned spots on the honor roll were named, the arroyo headline almost always commented on whether males or females had performed the best. the students with the highest grade point averages had earned their status through individual achievement, to be sure, but, at least as far as the arroyo writers were concerned, those individuals also achieved on behalf of their gender. many articles made clear that there was a contest going on, friendly or not. this was especially clear when the headline emphasized only one part of the story. “men head women in grade average for quarter,” proclaimed a headline in january of 1933. if one read the story, one would know that, in fact, a woman earned the highest grades, more women than men were on the honor roll even though the student body was comprised of more men than women, and men‟s average points were only slightly ahead of women‟s (men head women in grade average for quarter 1933). the following year a headline read “one woman only in highest six;” the story reported that “for the first time in many years,” men earned five of the top six places on the honor roll (two students tie for highest grade points; one woman only in highest six 1934). in 1937, the newspaper hailed women for leading the list of honor roll students (miss m. babcock gets high honor rating for term; women students lead list of fifty-five for fall quarter 1937). women didn‟t just lead, they “dominate[d]; …“only one of the hardier sex” made it to the top ten of the list (women dominate honor roll for fall term 1938). this situation apparently raised concern, as shortly thereafter an editorial asked, in an article entitled “are we men, or are we mice?”, whether men at rjc were “mentally inferior” to women ([mueda?] 1938). perhaps male students were reassured when “men lead women on honor roll” was the headline in 1940 (men lead women on honor roll 1940). the tone of these articles was that of sincere congratulations for whoever was on the honor roll, combined with a dash of consternation when men had not won the top spots. behavior and curricular choices the student newspaper contained frequent references to gender, including appropriate or inappropriate gender roles. sometimes the references lauded boundary pushing behaviors, and sometimes the references denigrated them. whatever the case, the judgment constantly pointed out gender. “with joe ball registered for piano lessons, and vivienne mcgovern signed up for the boys‟ golf, it is beginning to look as though the college really has a big year ahead,” one writer commented (campus column 1931, 2). the surprising news that at the university of alabama “a girl has enrolled in a boxing course,” was followed by the equally unanticipated statement that at northwestern university, “the men have organized a knitting class” ([untitled] 1935, 3). “this is the star center and sparkplug” of a connecticut air cadets football team, another article with photograph announced, and the player “answers to the name of esther.” 20 esther burnham, a 14-year-old, went into the game for three minutes and helped her team win by blocking a punt (girl grid star 1935, 7). the previous page in the same newspaper had a photograph of the only woman collegiate drum major in the country, bernice henry, at bucknell university. although the stance of the newspaper seemed supportive of these young women, the copy also reinforced conservative perspectives on gender. students read, for instance, that there were bigger drum majors than bernice henry, “but there aren‟t any prettier” (leads parade 1935, 6). in this way, as good as henry must have been to earn her position, the story diminished her skill so that what really mattered for a girl, being pretty, could be emphasized. everyone could rest assured that, however good she was, men were still bigger, thus preserving at least some semblance of proper order in the world. “a very fresh freshman indeed” was how an arroyo staff writer described marion shepard at the university of michigan who, “just to prove she could do it– donned men‟s clothes and slipped past the guard at the door of the exclusive michigan union club, where no woman is ever allowed” (other colleges 1932, 4). in this instance, the writer hinted at approval of the moxie of shepard, as well as perhaps befuddlement that a student union would ban women. rjc had no student union, and women and men shared use of what facilities existed. one shared space was the parking lot, where students congregated before and after classes. one editorialist reprimanded students for making a bad impression on the riverside community for loitering: engaging in “plain ordinary wasting of time” rather than “worthwhile recreation.” in particular, the community might object to the sight “of many students, especially girls, standing on the parking lot smoking and „killing‟ time.” bad enough for the boys to do it, this editorial implied, but when girls did it, it simply went beyond acceptable behavior. “let us watch ourselves and in loyalty to our college, not create a situation that will do harm to it,” the writer pleaded (what they see as they pass 1932, 4). there is a hint here of a division of opinion on whether women should smoke, and if they did, whether they should be so public about it. there is no evidence that any of the students heeded this plea, and all indications are that some women and men continued to convene in the parking lot, some of them, no doubt, continuing to smoke. the physical education department conducted an anonymous survey in 1937 in which forty percent of rjc women answered that they smoked. the student author of the newspaper article on the survey thought that women were underreporting, as “it seems almost unbelievable that sixty percent of the women do not smoke.” further, women‟s smoking was not new behavior for them; the majority of smokers said they had begun during their first year or two of high school (paxton 1937, 2). any negative views of smoking, to the extent such views existed, had not swayed many women. peer pressure that regarded smoking as inappropriate for women seemed minimal. slacks aroused more concern than smoking. the newspaper reported on women wearing slacks on other campuses. when women at the los angeles junior college started wearing slacks, a group of five men formed an anti-slack league and wore skirts on campus and to classes (elsewhere 1933). later that spring, after an earthquake devastated the campus, long beach junior college began holding classes in a nearby park. as a result, women students “have definitely adopted slacks.” the article mentioned women wearing slacks among other examples of faculty and students going to great lengths to keep the school operating under difficult 21 circumstances; it was noteworthy, and spoken in the tone of congratulation for willingness “to go through discomfort” for the sake of keeping the college open (results 1933, 4). rjc yearbooks and newspapers do not show women in slacks, other than athletic apparel. rules at the women‟s dormitory permitted women to wear slacks in their private quarters, but not in the more public areas of the dining and living rooms (fraser hall rules strictly enforced 1939). the campus climate may have inhibited women from trying it, or wearing slacks in public might have felt to the women, too, like encroaching on foreign territory. in spite of these attitudes about slacks, rjc men clearly stated their preferences for modern, healthy, assertive women. when asked in an informal around-campus interview what type of women they liked, rjc men emphatically denounced “clinging vines.” “we like good sports that keep up with us and occasionally beat us at our own games. the delicate ones are out of style,” men said (men don't like too much lipstick 1936, 3). some references to modern womanhood poked gentle fun at “the bonny, bashful maid of yesteryear” who had been replaced by “the blatant young college woman” unafraid to ask “johnny” for a date. “for lady date-makers no longer confine their activities to leap year,” or at least, not at rjc, they didn‟t. men were warned that they would “be chased; you‟ll be hounded,” but in the end, maybe it was all for the good: “at least, you‟ll have a partner for whom you won‟t have to pay!” (shy maid trips primrose path to oblivion yes 1934, 4). after one dance in which women asked the men, an article declared, “the idea of the gals getting the dates isn‟t so bad at that” (jaysee posers 1934, 3). the modern age held some advantages for men, even if women took on unexpected roles. curricular subjects did not seem terribly gender differentiated, for students or professors. the arroyo congratulated instructor bertha dubeau for publishing a manual of bacteriology, with no comments on whether that was appropriate for a woman, just as it congratulated instructor edmund c. jaeger for publishing a natural history guide to california deserts (the arroyo congratulates 1931, edmund c. jaeger completing book 1932). another article encouraged women to enter the field of astronomy, and announced fellowships from harvard specifically for women who wanted to study astronomy, further noting that several of those fellowships in previous years had gone to california women (astronomy offers careers to women 1932). conversely, subjects that perhaps “belonged” to women sometimes were offered to men. the arroyo spoke of colleges “keeping abreast of, or a bit ahead of, the times” when it mentioned that oklahoma a&m held home economics courses for men, instructing them in selection of food, clothing, and home furnishings (colleges teach modern courses 1932, 2). in 1939 rjc instructors encouraged men to take secretarial courses, as “larger cities are calling for men secretaries” (men secretaries in demand 1939, 4). some subjects, however, were clearly demarcated. when the high school that shared the grounds with rjc opened new night classes, the arroyo let students know that “both boys and girls are benefited,” although not by the same courses; boys could take a “complete course” in agriculture, while girls could take a two-year vocational homemaking program (new courses in poly high night school to begin 1932, 3). not an official part of the curriculum or a creditearning class, a los angeles woman who claimed to teach poise to hollywood actresses offered to come to rjc and teach a series of lessons on “how to be charming.” few rjc women signed up, however, and it is not clear that the series 22 actually was taught (marie fontayne to offer course in charm at request of rjc women 1936, 2, hollywood authority begins charm course for riverside women 1936, 1). women at rjc sometimes entered fields typically consigned to men, as when four women joined the printing class. although the article spoke of women being welcome in the class, the author also invoked gender stereotypes by assuring readers that one of the women said that her experience with the stock cutter would prepare her for “the domestic weapons of later life,” meaning kitchen knives. the article also cited the instructor as saying there was no reason to worry that “the fair sex [will] unfairly run the linotypes,” given that men outnumbered women in the class by more than four to one. thus, although a few women had entered a nontraditional course, the newspaper article made clear that as a profession, it was not for them (four j.c. women following in craft of johann gutenberg 1937, 4). activities and leadership some campus activities were remarkably egalitarian. most notably, both men and women wrote and edited the student publications. historian john thelin observes that on coeducational campuses women were “unlikely to attain positions of leadership such as editor of the student newspaper” (thelin 2004, 228). at rjc in the 1930s, however, women did take on the top positions for the two student publications. of 23 editors-in-chief of the arroyo during this period, 7 were women, and 10 of 12 editors-in-chief of the tequesquite were women. that women took on such leadership on a coeducational campus is remarkable, but it is especially so given that men far outnumbered women at rjc. two additional mixed-gender activities throughout the 1930s were forensics, or debate, and the international relations club. when southern california junior colleges held a speaking contest in the spring of 1933, josephine brown was chosen to represent rjc to speak on the topic of “the philippine question as it affects the international politics of the pacific” (josephine brown to enter contest in pomona 1933, 1). approbation of women in this activity continued even after the women left rjc. the arroyo proudly reported that vivian mcgovern, who enrolled in the university of california at berkeley after leaving rjc, had made the forensics team there (vivian mcgovern debates for u.c. 1933). the international relations club drew both male and female students, as well, and some years selected a woman delegate to the institute of international relations. the institute was a major event, co-sponsored by ucla and the university of southern california, and widely attended by delegates from across the country (institute lists noted speakers; josephine brown to be jaysee's delegate at peace conference 1931). women‟s active involvement in these two clubs shows an implicit acceptance of women‟s interest in national and global politics. no article in the arroyo even hinted that this might be inappropriate for women. rather, many people assumed that national and global citizenship, with the attendant responsibility of being educated on important issues, pertained to both women and men. student government, however, was another matter. the associated student body (asb) largely was about the male student body. women had their own group, the associated women students (aws), and although it did sponsor some events especially designed for women, its main purpose was “to foster school spirit” (jiminez and johnson 1981, 64). student fees supported both groups, but the asb allocated those fees. each year the asb decided budgets for all of the student organizations, including 23 drama and music clubs, athletics, and student publications (the newspaper and yearbook). “asb officers are one of the most important factors in school life,” one newspaper editorialist wrote, urging students to vote for “officers who will govern the entire student body” (assembly attendance 1931, 2). therefore, the asb, as the umbrella organization, had more power than any of the other organizations. aws only had women officers and members, but it offered benefits to the entire student body as well as to the larger community. aws sponsored teas and dances and lectures, bridge parties and theater parties, and also conducted fundraisers for needy families in the community (a.w.s. society notes 1931, a.w.s. society notes 1931, a.w.s. to sponsor 'toy dance' friday 1931, a.w.s. to sponsor leap year dance at mission inn galleria 1932, riverside tag day for irving children tomorrow 1932, a.w.s. to donate money for irving benefit fund 1933). because women also were involved in activities beyond aws, they were affected by the asb while having limited voice in the decisions made by the asb. year after year, the asb president was male. one year the los angeles junior college newspaper published an editorial saying that “women should be given an equal chance with men to hold executive positions on the student body board.” the arroyo editorial page concurred, saying that women had demonstrated their “level-headedness and their efficiency” in other arenas. the rjc editorialist congratulated the los angeles writer, who the rjc student knew to be “a boy,” for his willingness “to overcome the silly prejudice between the sexes.” yet for this writer, “an equal chance” did not mean that women should be able to run for president. “is there any reason why a woman shouldn‟t hold the position of vice president,” asked this editor? after all, women “have always been more talented socially than men” (politically speaking 1933, 4). in fact, when this editorial ran in 1933, women had been vice president at rjc for three years running, in 1929-1931. but institutional memories are short, and at a two-year college the turnover in student population is rapid. it is revealing that a student in 1933 felt a need to argue for the legitimacy of something that had, in fact, already been done several times over on that campus. rjc would have female vice presidents again in 1936 and 1941. the year after the los angeles junior college editorial on women officers, the students there not only gave a woman a chance to run, but elected her president of the student body (woman student president of los angeles junior college 1934). at rjc, though, it would be almost forty more years–not until 1972–before a woman would be student body president (jiminez and johnson 1981). all of the secretaries were female, and all of the treasurers were male, although many women served as business managers of the two student publications from 1929-1941. this again shows the very local nature of gender construction, that two junior colleges less than fifty miles away would have such different histories of the student body presidency. rotc and the rifle club while women may have been preparing to take up “domestic weapons,” men were required to learn to deploy weapons of war. one of the most clearly gender specific courses was the reserve officer training corps (rotc) program. the morrill land grant act had required that land grant institutions provide military training, and many campuses made such training mandatory for male students. the gruesome and horrific realities of world war i changed many people‟s opinions about war. 24 across the country, students vociferously protested the rotc requirement, and as a result of student objections to compulsory military training in the 1920s, dozens of campuses across the country made rotc voluntary (eagan 1981). at rjc, as in all of california, rotc was still compulsory for male students in the 1930s. one particular newspaper story about rotc is chilling. students were taken to nearby march field air base to get a lesson in chemical warfare, including learning to identify different gasses by their odors. to impress upon students the need to use gas masks, they were required to run through small quantities of chemicals entirely unprotected. students were still sick on the bus ride back to campus. the story in the newspaper made light of the incident, saying that the “field trip” was “enjoyed” by students who were inducted into the “royal order of tear gas smellers” (rotc learns use of war gases 1937, 1). military training was not compulsory for women, but some volunteered by joining the campus rifle club. they used rotc facilities for target practice, and learned to shoot from four positions: standing, sitting, kneeling, and prone. the women in the club and their instructor, major olin newell who also taught rotc men, apparently took shooting seriously, and competed against rifle teams from other colleges (tequesquite 1937, tequesquite 1936). college women in the midwest and west had participated in military training for decades. according to historian andrea g. radke-moss, women at land grant universities saw men performing drills and petitioned for their own regiments as early as the 1870s. the women on drill teams in the late nineteenth century were known as “student soldieresses” (radke-moss 2008, 223). the popularity of the regimental activity waned after the first world war, but women‟s interest in learning to shoot did not. in the 1920s, the national rifle association (nra), looking for members and for support against anti-gun legislation, sponsored several hundred collegiate and high school rifle programs for both women and men which flourished nationally until the worst of the depression hit (george 1992). rjc‟s rifle club appears to have begun in the 1930s and had counterparts on other campuses. women students at the university of california at berkeley began a rifle club in 1925 and competed nationally. by 1934 berkeley women also had teams in archery and fencing. berkeley‟s rifle team, like rjc‟s, was led by a u.s. army captain who also led the male rotc program (the blue & gold 1925, the blue & gold 1931, the blue & gold 1934). this arrangement was quite common, because beginning in 1922, the nra and the field artillery units of rotc began jointly sponsoring intercollegiate tournaments. at a time when most women‟s collegiate sports de-emphasized competition, rifle clubs–sponsored not by college athletic departments but by the u.s. army and the nra–encouraged competition. for most other women‟s sports in this era, athletes met for “play days” at which colleges mixed athletes from different schools on ad hoc teams (verbrugge 1997, guttman 1991, theriot 1978). therefore, women who participated in rifle clubs also participated in a more competitive environment than did women who played any other sport. but because rifle clubs were sponsored and funded by the army and the nra, as rotc programs began disappearing from college campuses, so did the rifle teams (george 1992). what meaning rjc‟s rifle club held in the 1930s is not clear. when members of the team posed for a picture for the yearbook, they stared down their rifle barrels into the camera, some with small smiles on their faces. they are wearing 25 very short shorts and little anklets, and their knees are spread. it is a highly sexualized picture, figure 1: rifle team, 1936 almost as though the trade-off for being allowed to handle guns was to promise to look as feminine and demure as possible while holding a weapon. so while women were able to participate, their involvement in the rifle club may have been acceptable only if they didn‟t push the gender line too far. men‟s training was far more involved, including military tactics and use of different types of weaponry, and was required, but some of the same elements and skills also were taught to women. a gender line was drawn, but the line was not absolute. at the same time that these women learned to shoot, rotc itself came under fire. students across the country had protested the compulsory nature of rotc for years, and much of the protest came to a head in the mid-1930s. a few students who had refused to participate in rotc due to their pacifist beliefs had been expelled on several campuses, most notably at ohio state university. the expulsion led to wider protests, which eventually led to legislation in the u.s. congress, the nye-kvale bill, that proposed to end compulsory rotc (eagan 1981). rjc students were well aware of, and involved in, these debates. the national committee on militarism in education sponsored an essay contest on “why congress should pass the nyekvale amendment.” open to undergraduates across the country, first prize went to a student at columbia university, and third prize went to a ucla undergraduate. but the second prize was won by an rjc student, elmer lewis. his winning essay was published serially in the arroyo in the spring of 1936 (elmer lewis hits military training 1936, lewis essay takes second; militarism attack wins praise in national contest 1936). in his essay lewis writes eloquently about his desire for peace and his critique of mandatory training for war on campuses across the country. rjc students did not engage in the marches or free speech movements that students at nearby ucla, university of southern california, and los angeles junior college did in 1934 and 1935. the arroyo reported on those 26 marches and demonstrations, though, and on the ucla administration‟s swift and repressive response of expelling the five student leaders. this, too, was a moment in which gender mattered. one of the five expelled students, and the most strident, was a young woman named celeste strack, who would go on to become a stalwart in the communist party. rjc students appeared to have no sympathy whatsoever for communists (cohen 1993, u.c.l.a. ousts five in anti-radical drive 1934, strike set for u.c.l.a. 1934). a student editorialist wrote that “we can be thankful that such tendencies for fanatical and radical changes in government find small foothold on the rjc campus,” and wanted to “make it clear once and for all, and to all agitators–communism under any name or form is not wanted here” ([angelo?] 1935). the next month another editorialist took satisfaction in the “general failure” of student peace marches across the country, claiming that the only thing the marches proved was “that the majority of college students are still loyal to the high ideals of american patriotism” (tanner 1935, 4). rjc clearly was not a hotbed of radical activity, a fact that may also reflect the middle-class hopes of students and the community. yet not everyone participated in the anticommunist furor, either. one student wrote to the newspaper complaining about the tone of the “communism is not wanted here” editorial, urging the student paper not to follow the example of mr. hearst‟s publications and the los angeles times by furnishing us each week with the latest thing in communist scares and various ill assorted examples of red baiting…. the point is that we maintain a sane and rational attitude. why fall in line with utterly asinine and unintelligent propaganda which american jingoists are endeavoring to shove down our throats. we are intelligent. we are, i hope, essentially fair minded (ferris 1935, 4). students could oppose communism and still support the peace movement or the abolishment of mandatory rotc. these were different and clearly separable issues. many students, both women and men, were vocal pacifists, and according to a survey cited by elmer lewis in his winning essay, a wide majority–71 per cent–of the broader riverside community also opposed “compulsory training in the science of mass murder” (elmer lewis hits military training 1936, 4). masculinity may once have been linked to a militaristic rough rider image, but the savagery of the first world war led to widespread pacifism (bederman 1996). that anti-militaristic view would be dashed quickly after pearl harbor, but for much of the 1930s many cities and many campuses were home to active peace movements. masculinity, then, could not continue to be defined by militarism. whether women in the rifle club simply had an interest in learning to shoot as a form of exercise, or whether they were making a comment on rotc, either parodying it or supporting it, is impossible to say. but it is the case that the several years that the female rifle club appeared in the yearbook were the same years that protest against compulsory military training was at its height, both nationally and locally. it might be that shooting became an activity that was acceptable for women at rjc precisely at a time when militarism was not a bulwark in the designation of masculinity. conclusion these articles and photographs from the arroyo and the tequesquite suggest gender roles in flux. rjc students seemed to accept that 27 women could be involved in world affairs or study astronomy at harvard, and men could study food preparation, become secretaries, or take up study of the piano. women could shoot rifles, as long as they countered that activity with obvious displays of femininity. rjc was unusual in having so many female editors of the newspaper and yearbook, and this is especially striking given that men outnumbered women on campus. not all leadership was shared, though; women could occasionally be vice president of the student body, but never president, even though a woman in that role existed on another coeducational junior college campus not far away. women could succeed in forensics or art and be celebrated for helping make their alma mater look good to outsiders. at rjc, the need to raise the status of the institution so that students could reach their middle-class aspirations depended on the success of everyone associated with the institution. further, as part of that middle-class identity, most students agreed that women should be educated in ways that would help them carry out their civic responsibilities. to whatever extent there was a “crisis of masculinity” during the depression, evidence for it at rjc is limited. more work needs to be done to explore the role of the student peace movement in reshaping definitions of masculinity. militarism, a defining characteristic of masculinity only a decade or two previously, was now devalued in response to the grim horrors of world war i. at the same time, unprecedented opportunities opened for women in higher education, government, and business, further reducing the boundaries that previously had separated ideals of masculinity and femininity. what the repercussions were of this confluence, and understanding how it might have shaped students‟ experiences on various campuses, is ripe for future scholarship. references [angelo?], mort? m.a. 1935. "not wanted here." the arroyo, march 11. [mueda?], h. m. [henry?]. 1938. "are we men, or are we mice." the arroyo, january 26. allen, judith a. 2002. "men interminably in crisis? historians on masculinity, sexual boundaries, and manhood." radical history review 82:191-207. "assembly attendance." 1931. the arroyo. october 21. "astronomy offers careers to women." 1932. the arroyo. january 6. "a.w.s. society notes." 1931. the arroyo. october 21. "a.w.s. society notes." 1931. the arroyo. november 4. "a.w.s. to donate money for irving benefit fund." 1933. the arroyo. november 6. "a.w.s. to sponsor leap year dance at mission inn galleria." 1932. the arroyo. january 6. 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"institute lists noted speakers; josephine brown to be jaysee's delegate at peace conference." 1931. the arroyo. december 9. "jaysee posers." 1934. the arroyo. january 15. "jaysee women graduates outnumber men." 1933. the arroyo. october 30. "j.c. freshman receives journalism scholarship." 1933. the arroyo. october 9. jiminez, gilbert, and thomas m. johnson. 1981. riverside city college, 1916-1981: a 65 year history. riverside: riverside community college district. "josephine brown to enter contest in pomona." 1933. the arroyo. may 5. "'junior college' criticized at meeting of administrators." 1938. the arroyo. november 9. kimmel, michael s. 2006. manhood in america: a cultural history. new york and oxford: oxford university press. "leads parade." 1935. the arroyo. november 25. 29 levine, david o. 1987. the american college and the culture of aspiration, 1915-1940. ithaca: cornell university press. "lewis essay takes second; militarism attack wins praise in national contest." 1936. the arroyo. april 22. manekin, sarah. 2010. "gender, markets, and the expansion of women's education at the university of pennsylvania, 1913-1940." history of education quarterly 50: 298-323. mccomb, mary c. 2006. the great depression and the middle class: experts, collegiate youth and business ideology, 1929-1941. new york: routledge. "marie fontayne to offer course in charm at request of rjc women." 1936. the arroyo. october 14. "men don't like too much lipstick." 1936. the arroyo. october 14. "men head women in grade average for quarter." 1933. the arroyo. january 4. "men lead women on honor roll." 1940. the arroyo. april 10. "men secretaries in demand." 1939. the arroyo. october 18. "miss m. babcock gets high honor rating for term; women students lead list of fiftyfive for fall quarter." 1937. the arroyo. january 8. "m. okubo earns henicke award." 1938. the arroyo. june 10. mosse, george l. 1996. the image of man: the creation of modern masculinity. new york: oxford university press. "mrs. harrison banquet speaker." 1937. the arroyo. november 24. nash, margaret a., and lisa romero. 2012. "citizenship for the college girl”: challenges and opportunities in higher education for women in the united states in the 1930s. teachers college record 114: 1-35. "new courses in poly high night school to begin." 1932. the arroyo. october 10. "new success for co-ops." 1931. the arroyo. september 30. "other colleges." 1937. the arroyo. november 24. "other colleges." 1932. april 6. "our phi beta record."1931. the arroyo. september 30. paxton, harriet. 1937. "forty percent of rjc women smoke, poll reveals." the arroyo, april 28. pendergast, tom. 1997. "horatio alger doesn't work here any more": masculinity and american magazines, 1919-1940. american studies 38: 55-80. phillips, clarence m., tamara l. brown, and gregory s. parks. 2005. african american fraternities and sororities: the legacy and the vision. lexington: university press of kentucky. "politically speaking." 1933. the arroyo. may 5. rabin, phyllis. 1968. "the negro in riverside: 1900-1950." senior thesis, department of history, university of california, riverside. radke-moss, andrea g. 2008. bright epoch: women and coeducation in the american west. lincoln: university of nebraska press. "results." 1933. the arroyo. april 21. "riverside tag day for irving children tomorrow." 1932. the arroyo. october 24. "rotc learns use of war gases." 1937. the arroyo. february 17. "sherman institute represented by 14 students." 1939. the arroyo. march 8. "shy maid trips primrose path to oblivion yes." 1934. the arroyo. january 8. sixteenth census of the united states: 1940; population. 1943. washington: u.s. government printing office. 30 solomon, barbara miller. 1985. in the company of educated women. new haven: yale university press. "state university draws j. c. grads." 1931. the arroyo. october 5. "strike set for u.c.l.a." 1934. los angeles times. november 5. "student enrollment sets new figure." 1931. the arroyo. september 30. "students enrolled from many states; japan represented." 1933. the arroyo. october 9. "students from 18 states enrolled." 1931. the arroyo. september 30, 1931: 1. syrett, nicholas l. 2009. the company he keeps: a history of white college fraternities. chapel hill: university of north carolina press. tanner, thomas. 1935. "student strikes." the arroyo, april 29. tequesquite. 1937. riverside: riverside junior college. tequesquite. 1936. riverside: riverside junior college. "the arroyo congratulates." 1931. the arroyo. september 30. the blue & gold. 1934. san francisco: h.s. crocker co. the blue & gold. 1931. san francisco: h.s. crocker co. the blue & gold. 1925. san francisco: h. s. crocker co. thelin, john r. 2004. a history of american higher education. baltimore: the johns hopkins university press. theriot, nancy. 1978. "towards a new sporting ideal: the women's division of the national amateur athletic federation." frontiers: a journal of women's studies 3: 1-7. "total enrollment under last year's." 1939. the arroyo. october 4. "transfers from north, south, east, and west." 1934. the arroyo. november 14. "two students tie for highest grade points; one woman only in highest six." 1934. the arroyo. january 8. "ucla claims most jaysee transfers." 1933. the arroyo. october 16. "u.c.l.a. ousts five in anti-radical drive." 1934. los angeles times. october 30. "university head compliments j.c." 1931. the arroyo. october 5. "[untitled]." 1935. the arroyo. april 19. verbrugge, martha h. 1997. "recreating the body: women's physical education and the science of sex differences in america, 19001940." bulletin of the history of medicine 71: 273-304. "vivian mcgovern debates for u.c." 1933. the arroyo. april 21. "what they see as they pass." 1932. the arroyo. april 27. "woman student president of los angeles junior college." 1934. the arroyo. january 22. "women dominate honor roll for fall term." 1938. the arroyo. january 12. "women in minority as quarter ends." 1937. the arroyo. december 13. 61 on the scholastic background of the lockean concept of the knowing subject sauli salmela university of tampere – finland abstract locke is an important figure to curriculum theory. his philosophy is a common starting-point for both the german and angloamerican traditions. it has been usual to take locke for an example of the “early modern” thinkers, which implies his having done something more or less radically new when compared to his predecessors. in this paper i show, that many of his central ideas related to the knowing subject originate in medieval aristotelian philosophy, as the paradigm of which i use aquinas. the study of curriculum history is a welcome counterbalance to the postmodern trend of denying all “grand narratives”, such as religions, philosophical systems and science offering “objective” knowledge about the “real world” or the “rational subject”. this, of course, results in both moral and epistemological relativism. 1 however, if one wants to be postmodern he at least should have an idea of the modernity he thinks he does not belong to or criticizes. until quite recently it has been common to think that modern philosophy and modernity has its origins in the 16 th or 17 th century. from the point of view of history of ideas it is usually said to have begun with rené descartes (1596-1650) in france or with francis bacon (1561-1626) in england. before modern times, it has been said, there was the renaissance, and before that the middle ages. the use of the word “modernity” clearly implies that there is a break between medieval and post-medieval or modern thinking, and each possesses characteristics which the other does not. philosophers like descartes and bacon were certainly convinced that they were making a new start, and there was a sharp division between “the old” (and “wrong”) and what they themselves were doing. their most important target was aristotle, whose philosophy, especially his teachings on logic and metaphysics, they saw as an impediment to the advance of knowledge. bacon declares in his new organon: “it is futile to expect a great advancement in the sciences from overlaying and implanting new things on the old; a new beginning has to be made from the lowest foundations, unless one is content to go round in circles for ever, with meager, almost negligible, progress”. 2 the more we study the middle ages, the more we find this view exaggerated. instead of a split or a sudden and abrupt transition and awakening there can be seen continuity between medieval and modern thought. firstly, many of the modern phenomena could not have taken place without medieval innovations. one example of this is the rise of the experimental science in the 17 th century. without the nominalist philosophy of the early 14 th century there would not have emerged such skeptical attitude toward man‟s possibilities of gaining certain knowledge of the world, and due to that, need of experimental and empirical study. within the traditional aristotelian natural philosophy there was no demand for experimental study: the world was supposed to have an eternal, conceptual structure, and it could be grasped and learned completely just by reading certain books carefully. secondly, many of the metaphysical assumptions and postulates of the medieval times were transmitted to the modern times, such as the concept of god, and that of substance, ontological realism, correspondence 62 theory of truth, theories of cognition including descriptions of the faculties of mind to name but a few. the “new” theories were largely assembled with materials borrowed from philosophy‟s past, from ancient schools and from aristotle himself. thirdly and closely related to the previous, a great deal of the conceptual framework of medieval aristotelian scholasticism was still being widely used in the university of the 17th century. the new corpuscularianism and mechanical philosophy of nature had not become a serious alternative to substitute for the aristotelian tradition, which had dominated the educated opinion through most of the previous millennium in europe. 3 john locke (1632-1704) is considered one of the most prominent representatives of modern times and new experimental natural philosophy, that is to say, science. he is also known to have been opposed to the latinspeaking aristotelian scholasticism. he openly expressed his dislike toward disputations, aristotelian logic and reading classical authors in latin and greek. “the only philosophy then known at oxford was the peripatetic, perplexed with obscure terms and stuffed with useless questions”, locke is reported to have said. 4 locke has also been considered a representative of the modern interpretation of the concept of the knowing subject. it is true the cartesian selfconscious subject was something new, indeed, when compared to the traditional view of the age, but in many respects locke is not that modern a thinker after all, and his philosophy has its roots deep in scholastic aristotelian philosophy of the medieval times. as a matter of fact, the big epistemological picture of locke resembles a lot of that of thomas aquinas (1224-74). in the history of philosophy frederick copleston writes: “locke combined the empiricist thesis that all our ideas originate in experience with a modest metaphysics. and if there were no berkeley and no hume, we might be inclined to look on locke's philosophy as a watered-down form of scholasticism, with cartesian elements thrown in, the whole being expressed in a sometimes confused and inconsistent manner.” 5 copleston was not the first to notice that many of locke's basic assumptions are not that far from what the aristotelian tradition had been proposing since the time of the greeks. as a matter of fact even leibniz likened locke to aristotle and himself to plato in his book new essays concerning human understanding in 1704. for some reason or another it seems no one has really taken this question up. these philosophical issues are of essential importance for curriculum theory, because all education has the learner and knowing subject as its starting-point. as a clear example of this one may recall herbert m. kliebard‟s description of four “interest groups” or educational reform movements of the 20 th century america with distinct views on the concept of the knowing subject. 6 what seems to be of particular interest is that all the different interpretations kliebard presents can be shown to be resulting from the ferments of the centuries of 1300-1600 when the so-called modern subject and rationality is usually said to have been born. however, in the recent times the post-modern philosophy has denied there being any humanity or essence or other core common to all people. this, of course, poses problems for education, too, for unless we share an idea of the subject we are about to educate there can be no general theory of education. that being intolerable, we need to counterbalance the situation by studying the historical backgrounds of curriculum theory and philosophy of education. it is not possible to see the future without seeing the past at the same time. i begin with considering locke‟s importance in curriculum history. after that i 63 proceed to discussing the question about medieval aristotelian aspects in locke's philosophy. on locke’s importance to curriculum theory there have been two “super-discourses” or “mega-paradigms” in the field of education from about the 20 th century on. one is the german bildung or didaktik theory, and the other is the anglo-american curriculum tradition. 7 these two traditions have shaped curricular thinking in many countries across the world. john locke is a central figure for both of these traditions. 8 when making locke‟s thinking explicit it is necessary to resort to medieval philosophy. the philosophy of locke opens vistas to many directions. in addition to being a common basis for american and german educational theories, there culminate many ideas with origins in the medieval or ancient times (regarding virtues, faculty psychology, empiricism etc.) in locke. this can also be shown by taking a look at the curricula of locke‟s university of oxford of the 17 th century with text-books largely made by spanish jesuits passing on the thomism and aristotelian tradition of the (late) scholasticism. 9 in this paper i consider four important traits in locke‟s philosophy influential on curriculum theory. they are individualism, rehabilitation of epicurean ethics, associationist psychology and empiricism. they merge, or act in concert. all these ideas, however, can be traced back to the scholasticism of the 13 th and 14 th century or even further. i try to say something about each of these. locke‟s views on ethics were based on his individualist concept of human being. he did not consider man as example or fulfiller of some universal humanity common for mankind, such as plato‟s transcendental idea ‒ or aristotelian immanent species supported by aquinas. the origins of individualism can be found in the beginnings of the 14 th century resulting from the nominalist ideas put forward by william of ockham (1285-1347), who maintained that every existent is individual through itself. before ockham, john duns scotus (1266-1308) had taught a doctrine, according to which an individual is a common nature with a formally distinct individuating difference (lat. haecceitas, “thisness”). one remarkable motivation for philosophically legitimating individuality sprang up from religion: it had to be assured that god could know each and every individual instead of knowing universal human nature common for all people only. individualism was basically an ontological view denying that universals and classes are real and assigning reality to particulars only. after locke there was emphasized a sense of uniqueness in individualism. for example johann gottfried herder (1744-1803), wilhelm von humboldt (1767-1835), friedrich schlegel (1772-1829) and friedrich schleiermacher (1768-1834) in germany put their emphasis on individuality, on that which makes an individual unique and distinguishes one individual from another. this was also an important ingredient in the thought of john stuart mill (1806-73). moreover, it was not uncommon among them to stress the unique individuality of nations and cultures. the main influence of locke on curriculum theory is, perhaps, that education, teaching and learning are being viewed from a psychological viewpoint. there are at least two significant lockean ideas related to this. firstly, locke re-introduced the principle of pleasure into ethics: it is uneasiness that motivates us and puts us into action. in essay we read: “this uneasiness we may call, as it is, desire; which is an uneasiness of the mind for want of some absent good. all pain of the body of what sort so ever, and disquiet of the mind, is uneasiness.” 10 this view was made famous by 64 epicurus (341-270), a notable proponent of the ancient atomic theory, and revived in the renaissance through the writings of lucretius (95-54) and diogenes laërtius (2 nd – 3 rd century). in the early 17 th century the frenchman pierre gassendi (1592-1655) made the ancient theory of atoms acceptable as both a scientific and a religious theory. epicurean ideas became widely known after 1650‟s when the works of lucretius and gassendi appeared in english. applications of the idea that all action is for the sake of the agent‟s pleasure or advantage, appeared in american behaviorist psychology as thorndike's “law of effect” and later it shows in skinner‟s ideas of reinforcement/extinction of emotions and behavior. 11 consider these two quotes, the first being from locke, the second from john b. watson: i may say that of all the men we meet with, nine parts of ten are what they are, good or evil, useful or not, by their education. 12 give me a dozen healthy infants, wellformed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and i‟ll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist i might select – doctor, lawyer, artist, merchantchief, and yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations and race of his ancestors. 13 locke did think it is possible to condition behavior but he rejected training through extrinsic motivation and warned about physical punishment. instead of conditioning children are to be educated. instead of appealing to their desires and aversions their faculty of reason is to be strengthened and their capacity to resist their desires increased. aristotle taught much in the same way: the end of education – and the end of life as well – is intellectual activity in accordance with virtue. there are irrational (or vegetative), appetitive and rational human powers. 14 education is a process for developing the appetitive (habits) and rational powers (intellect). first and foremost education is the acquisition of moral and intellectual virtue, for education should promote a sound development of the appetitive and rational powers: “the function of man is an activity of soul in accordance with, or not without, rational principle”. 15 the intellectual virtue is the primary goal, for it means perfecting the highest and essential human faculty, which makes human nature to be what it is, “since intellect more than anything else is man”. 16 locke, of course, did not approve aristotle‟s metaphysical premises but agreed with the conclusion. another locke‟s idea important for curriculum theory is the associationist psychology according to which all mental phenomena and processes result from our combining simple ideas we acquire through the senses or introspectively “by reflection”. so, our thinking is “association of ideas” and can be described in mechanistic terms. locke did not only have impact on “anti-mentalist and objectivist” behavioral psychology studying only behavior and functions one can observe. locke's psychology influenced “mentalist and subjectivist” theories as well, especially german structuralism towards the end of the 19 th century with wilhelm wundt in the lead. structuralism can be defined as psychology as the study of the elements of consciousness. hermann ebbinghaus made the study of learning and memory quantitative and experimental. many americans went to leipzig to study with wilhelm wundt and brought this new experimental and associationist psychology to the united states, where it took a more functional flavor. in response to structuralism, an american perspective emerged under the influence of thinkers such as charles darwin and william james. american psychology grew 65 rapidly and many experimental laboratories were founded in the last two decades of the 19 th century. 17 one important german figure was johann friedrich herbart (1776-1841), who embraced wundt's structuralism and tried to translate it into mathematical terms and create “mechanics of the mind” according to the scientific model laid by newton. herbart‟s scientific pedagogy was the first internationally received system of education, successful in almost every civilized country, although only after herbart‟s death in 1841. john locke‟s empiricism connects him to the aristotelian scholasticism in an explicit way. empiricism was also to be the epistemological basis of logical positivism – and later logical empiricism – as a scientific paradigm, which produced such ideas as behaviorism denying the phenomena not directly observable. elements of locke‟s empiricism can easily be found in locke‟s educational writings. in some thoughts concerning education locke describes the child as “white paper, or wax, to be molded and fashioned as one pleases” but the context suggests some caution. locke says each child has “an original temper” or “character”, which “god has stamped” and “may perhaps be a little mended but can hardly be totally altered and transformed into the contrary”. 18 locke had a great impact on both german and american philosophy. in the 18th century a great deal of british empiricism was being translated to german in a relatively short time. among the most influential of the british besides locke were david hume (1711-76), thomas reid (1710-96) and lord kames (henry home, 1696-1782). such german bildungtheorists as herder and georg friedrich meier (1718-1777) took in ideas from british philosophy and locke, of course, too. later locke's and herders's influence passed on to humboldt and wilhelm dilthey (1833-1911) and hermeneutic philosophy in general. during the past decades there has emerged in the study of curriculum theory an interest in “starting a dialogue” between german didaktik and american curriculum traditions and their cultural differences in understandings of teaching, schooling and the teaching profession. john locke is one common starting-point for both traditions. 19 next i shall take up some examples of how locke's philosophy can be seen in relation to aquinas's scholastic aristotelian philosophy. watered-down version of scholasticism? the philosophy of locke cannot be understood unless considered in relation to the aristotelian tradition prevailing in the curricula of the universities of the 17 th century. in a nutshell, locke wants to abandon metaphysics altogether whereas for aquinas metaphysics was the starting-point of everything. it happened, however, that locke – like everyone necessarily does – needed some fundamental ontological presuppositions to base his philosophy on, and regarding these locke turned skeptical. in this paper it is not possible to examine closely all the different aspects there is to locke‟s medieval background. so, i content myself with presenting a list of the essential points including things i think are common for both aquinas‟s and locke‟s theories of cognition. then i try to say something general to make the list understandable. at least the following ideas of aquinas seem to be present in the lockean concept of the knowing subject: basic ontological presuppositions: god-postulate, ontological realism (supposing the extra-mental world independent of the perceiver/knower), correspondence theory of truth, postulation of some substrate as an unchanging core lying under the perceivable and changing qualities of material things 66 human being as knowing subject is autonomous. human being is by nature a political animal. “god having designed man for a sociable creature, made him under a necessity to have fellowship with those of his own kind.” 20 empiricism (or sensibilism): nihil est in intellectu quod non prius fuerit in sensu. (“nothing is in the intellect without being prior in sense.”) cognition is a natural (biological) and causal process. there is no innate knowledge. representational realism (indirect realism) the working of the human intellect can be explicated by analyzing its acts and operations. aristotelian terminology and concepts. aquinas and locke have empiricism in common. they repeat what aristotle said in the first book of metaphysics: “it is through experience that men acquire science and art”. 21 and it is through the senses that men acquire experience: “nothing is in the intellect without being prior in sense”. or, to quote arthur schopenhauer, “this is the true meaning of the doctrine ascribed to aristotle: nihil est in intellectu nisi quod antea fuerit in sensu. it is likewise the sense of locke's philosophy that made an epoch in philosophy for all time by finally starting the serious discussion of the question of the origin of our knowledge”. 22 in short: there is no innate knowledge, says locke, and aquinas had thought the same 400 years earlier. but there is, to be exact, difference between aquinas and locke in this issue. in the 20 th and 21 st century the standard way of categorizing early modern thinkers has been dividing them into rationalism and empiricism. to articulate the difference between aquinas and locke we need another conceptual distinction. instead of speaking of “rationalism” and “empiricism” it is more illustrative to speak of “sensibilism” and “intellectualism”. according to the sensibilist view – this is the how wayne waxman puts it – “all our ideas/perceptions/representations originate in being perceived and have no existence independently of their immediate presence to consciousness in perception”. intellectualism is the negation of sensibilism. it means that concepts, mental structures or faculties constitutive of intellection do exist prior to their being perceived in sensation”. 23 in other words, sensibilism denies that we have the “pure intellect” kant spoke of. locke exemplifies sensibilism whereas aquinas is more of an intellectualist. aquinas‟s theory of cognition rests on metaphysical premises. especially central is the concept of species. in the medieval aristotelian cognition theory, a species is somehow a representation of the thing cognized, between the external object and the mind. the external object is material but the grasp of the mind is not. external objects are particular but the mind contemplates universals. by means of the species, the act of cognition and the object of cognition can come together. there are three kinds of species: species in the air or other media between object and percipient (species in medio), species in the sense organs (species sensibiles) and species in the intellect (species intelligibiles). all cognition, says aquinas, takes place “through some species of the cognized thing in the cognizer”. 24 cognition was thought to be a causal process, a causal chain of species, each one generated by the one before it, linking external object and the knower. 25 external things are not simple but composite, they are composed of matter and form, aquinas teaches exactly like aristotle did. the human intellect has the power to abstract universal natures of things from the sense-data and produce universal concepts, and, after concepts have been produced, propositions 67 joining and separating these concepts. it is not possible to isolate epistemology from metaphysics or vice versa. knowing is a special way of being. “it is not the stone that is in the mind, but the form [species] of the stone”, aquinas says borrowing his expression from aristotle. 26 locke rejects the species-based metaphysical theory altogether and speaks about ideas instead. locke's philosophy can be crystallized in three words: it is a theory of ideas. the most central concept in his whole philosophical system is the concept of the idea, which locke borrowed from descartes. john carriero, interesting enough, points out, that according to aquinas “the latin forma is the term traditionally used to translate the greek idea. so the term idea carries with it overtones of a thing‟s structure.” carriero sees “that this overtone continues with descartes, so that for him, too, an idea is some form or structure – some „reality‟ – existing objectively in the mind”. 27 this supports the opinion about the scholastic background of the most essential concept in locke‟s philosophy. the essential features of locke‟s theory of ideas are as follows: idea stands for whatsoever is the object of the understanding, when a man thinks.” locke uses the word idea to “express whatever is meant by phantasm, notion, species or anything the mind can be employed about in thinking. (essay i.i.8) all ideas come from experience. there is no innate knowledge. the mind is a “white paper, void of all characters”, as locke says. (essay ii.i.2) experience can be external or internal. external experience means sensory experience which gives us ideas of sensation, locke says. external things cause ideas in our minds. (essay ii.i.25) another source of experience is reflection. when the mind reflects on its own operations, there come to be ideas of these operations in the understanding. this is the reason of our calling locke an empiricist: whatever we are thinking, we are thinking of ideas, and every one of these ideas comes from experience and no idea comes from the understanding. and so we have ideas of yellow, red, heat, cold, soft, hard, bitter and the like, but also do we have ideas of perception, thinking, doubting, believing and reasoning. (essay ii.i.25) the basic unit of our thinking is a simple idea, in the reception of which the understanding is passive. it is like the mirror in that it cannot refuse to have or alter what has been imprinted in it. (essay ii.i.25) from these principles one could conclude that there must be a “veil of ideas” between our minds and the external world. if the immediate objects of our consciousness are ideas, how can we be sure there is anything behind those ideas? as is well known, george berkeley said we can't. locke, however, was not skeptical about there being extra-mental reality. today we say that locke's theory of ideas is an example of representational realism. it means the immediate objects of our knowledge are not external things but ideas received from experience instead. another name for representational realism is indirect realism. in his introduction to epistemology jonathan dancy describes it in the following way: locke's theory of perception is a classic instance of indirect realism. locke held that there is a double awareness, each with its own object. the internal object, which he called the idea, is perceived and the external object, the material thing, is seen. in perceiving an idea, then, in favorable cases we are seeing a material thing. so there is a 68 double awareness, one for the internal and one for the external object. 28 aquinas‟s species-based theory of cognition can be interpreted in much the same way. aquinas says the species is not what we perceive (id quod) but it is that by which (id quo) we perceive external things. 29 of course, there are different interpretations of aquinas‟s theory but i think we can justifiably consider both aquinas and locke to be representational realists. their views are not exactly the same, though. for aquinas to know means that the metaphysical nature inherent in the external thing exists in a different way in the intellect at the same time during the act of knowing. in other words, the one and qualitatively the same metaphysical nature exists in “two places” at the same time, and, in a way, the external thing “is” in the intellect. locke does not support this kind of metaphysics but only says external things have powers to produce ideas in us, and how this happens simply is beyond our comprehension. according to locke, thinking means joining and separating these simple ideas. now there raises the question: does this organizing of ideas happen systematically and in a regular way? if it does, maybe we could make a theory out of it. how could we do that, and which method should we use? introspection is the answer. this means the justification and beginning of the associationist psychology and of the introspective method and the psychological paradigm called structuralism. both aquinas and locke were of the opinion that intellect should be the guide and conductor of man. they did not see the role of reason in the same way, however. aquinas shared aristotle's conception of the world as understandable with its objective structure man's reason is naturally capable of comprehending. from that it followed that the goal of reasoning is truth. actualizing one's intellectual capacities is also a moral obligation. living the good life means the kind of living that concentrates on actualizing man's essential qualities, the differentiating of which is rationality. so, what the “right reason” (recta ratio) should do is to reach for and find out the metaphysical structure of the world, and when that has been done, reason has been perfected and complete and it has reached its end. the truth (verum) and the good (bonum) are, medieval philosophers thought, “transcendental terms” which means they refer to entities which transcend the boundary between any two categories (in the aristotelian sense) and are coextensive with being (ens). the end of the reason is truth and the end of the will is the good, and after all they fall together, or unite. being equals to truth which equals to good. during the 14 th century the aristotelian natural philosophy and world-view had to give way to the “modern way” (via moderna). the rise of nominalist philosophy meant abandoning the traditional assumption of the world with an eternal, necessary and knowable metaphysical structure. intellectual perfection or actualization of the reason could not be considered the end of thinking any more. the role of reason had to change. the reason became instrumental. it became means and method to forming beliefs and acquiring “true” or rather true-like, that is probable information about the world. so, the lockean reasonableness means arranging and dealing with ideas that have their origins in experience, be it via sense-organs or by reflection. to conclude from the view of curriculum theory, locke was a follower of the scholastic aristotelian tradition in that like aquinas locke spoke up for the idea of man as an autonomous knower and learner. knowing and learning happens in a natural way and there are no supernatural conditions or need for asceticism 69 or other requirements one has to meet in order to gain knowledge. the intellectual illumination comes from within us, not from outside. this obviously was an essential postulation of the enlightenment with immanuel kant‟s slogan sapere aude, meaning “you are able to think for yourself, do not believe what the authorities say but open their claims to question”. how our thinking actually happens, locke does not say because he thinks it is something we cannot know. using the terminology of today we could say locke did not stick to materialism regarding the mind-body problem. it is possible that matter can think, locke says, but would also be possible for god to somehow “super-add” thinking ability to matter. the big epistemological picture of locke, however, resembles a great deal of that of aquinas. the main difference lies in their attitudes to metaphysics in explicating how knowing, learning and other mental phenomena take place. but otherwise they think much in the same way. in times of aquinas there was no epistemology separated from metaphysics. the “epistemological turn” was to take place not until some four centuries later. these philosophical issues are of essential importance for curriculum theory, because all education has the learner and knowing subject as its startingpoint. for example, herbert m. kliebard in the struggle for the american curriculum describes four “interest groups” or educational reform movements of the 20 th century with distinct views on the concept of the knowing subject. 30 furthermore, both locke and aquinas emphasized that the aim of education is selfcontrol, which means that the intellect or our rationality conducts our behavior and controls the impulses resulting from our will and appetite. of course, locke and aquinas did not think exactly the same about this, for aquinas held an intellectual determinist position, according to which the intellect determines the will, whereas locke adhered to nominalism and did not approve any metaphysical suppositions about any real and distinct faculties of the soul determining each other. but despite of this difference both accentuated the role of morality as the goal of education process. “morality is the proper science and business of mankind of general”, locke says. 31 in a way both aquinas and locke present us with a secular picture of education. the child is not born with ideas of god or moral truths. the child does not possess innate moral goodness but the education may turn the selfcentered infant into the virtuous man. to use a peripatetic expression, the child is “potentially good”. the educator‟s business is – locke says – “to set the mind right, that on all occasions it may be disposed to consent to nothing but what may be suitable to the dignity and excellency of a rational creature”. 32 like aquinas, locke thinks it is possible to have demonstrative certainty about moral ideas, but let us leave discussing locke‟s “moral epistemology” to another occasion. ian westbury has recommended “starting a dialogue” between didaktik and curriculum traditions, for they are concerned with the same set of issues: teaching and learning goals, the topics and contents that follow, organizational forms and teaching and learning methods and procedures, teaching and learning media, prerequisites, disturbing factors, and unintentional auxiliary effects, and the ways in which learning results and forms can be controlled and evaluated. 33 westbury believes both traditions can offer each other insights and knowledge especially in those areas where each tradition has its own shortcomings. curriculum theory can teach the didaktik tradition about the relation of school and society and about 70 educational planning. didaktik tradition can, in its turn, help the curriculum theory toward issues of “teaching as a reflective practice” and thinking about teaching. 34 prior to dealing with any of westbury‟s issues, anyhow, it is necessary to make explicit the way we consider and define the concept of the knowing subject in the core of curriculum theory. studying john locke‟s philosophical backgrounds is basic research, which in turn makes possible a deeper understanding when comparing these traditions. references aristotle, aristotle in twenty-three volumes, loeb classical library, harvard university press, cambridge, massachusetts, 1980 (1933). aristotle, the complete works of aristotle i-ii, the revised oxford translation, edited by jonathan barnes, princeton university press, 6 th printing with corrections, 1995 (1984). autio, tero (2006), subjectivity, curriculum and society: between and beyond the german didaktik and anglo-american curriculum studies, lawrence erlbraum associates, mahwah, new jersey. carriero, john (2009), between two worlds. a reading of descartes’s meditations, princeton university press, princeton and oxford. copleston, frederick (1993-), a history of philosophy, volumes i – ix, doubleday, london and new york (1946). dancy, jonathan (1985), introduction to contemporary epistemology, blackwell publishing, oxford, uk. doll, william e. (1993), a post-modern perspective on curriculum, teachers college press, new york and london horlacher, rebecca (2004), “bildung – a construction of a history of philosophy of education”, studies in philosophy and education 2004/23, p. 409-426. kliebard, herbert m. (2004), the struggle for the american curriculum 1893-1958, third edition, routledgefalmer, new york and london. kraye, jill (2008), “british philosophy before locke”, in a companion to early modern philosophy, edited by steven nadler, blackwell publishing, p. 283-297. locke, john (1975), an essay concerning human understanding, edited with a foreword by peter h. nidditch, clarendon press, oxford. locke, john (1996), some thoughts concerning education and of the conduct of the understanding, edited and with introduction by ruth w. grant and nathan tarcov, hackett publishing company, indianapolis. lyotard, jean-francois (1984), the postmodern condition: a report on knowledge, translated by geoff bennington and brian massumi, manchester university press, manchester (la condition postmoderne, 1979). palmer, joy (ed.) (2001), fifty major thinkers on education. from confucius to dewey, advisory editors liora bresler and david e. cooper, routledge, london and new york. pasnau, robert (1997), theories of cognition in the later middle ages, cambridge university press, cambridge, new york and melbourne. rutherford, donald (2004) (ed.), the cambridge companion to early modern philosophy, cambridge university press. schopenhauer, arthur (1966), the world as will and representation. in two volumes, translated by e. f. j. payne, dover, new york (1819, 1844, 1859) sheenan, paul (2004), “postmodernism and philosophy”, in the cambridge companion to postmodernism, edited by steven connor, cambridge university press, p. 20-42. spangler, mary michael (1998), aristotle on teaching, university press of america, lanham. 71 thomas aquinas (1882), opera omnia iussu impensaque leonis xiii p.m. waxman, wayne (2005), kant and the empiricists – understanding understanding, oxford university press, oxford wertheimer, michael (1970), a brief history of psychology, holt, rinehart and winston, new york. westbury, ian & hopmann, stefan & riquarts, kurt (eds.) (2000), teaching as a reflective practice. the german didaktik tradition, lawrence erlbaum associates, mahwah, new jersey. 1 i talk about “postmodernism” rather loosely and roughly in a lyotardian (1984) sense, as “incredulity towards metanarratives”. according to lyotard it is not possible to ground thinking in transcendental, ahistorical, universal principles. the death of the grand narrative means birth of the local narrative. lyotardian thinking is closely related to wittgenstein‟s later philosophy. in the posthumous philosophical investigations (1953) wittgenstein sees language as motley of many different practices or “language games”, which are irreducible to a single basic pattern. language is seen as anthropocentric: its meanings are based on human praxis instead of universal, absolute meanings. yet, “postmodern” can mean many different things, and it may be impossible to give one accurate definition of it. see e.g. sheenan 2004 and doll 1993,4-10 2 new organon i.31, quoted in rutherford 2006,11. the title in latin, novum organon in itself is, of course, an allusion to aristotle, whose logical works were known as the organon, „instrument‟. 3 see e.g. kraye 2008. 4 woolhouse 2007,18. 5 copleston, history iv,26. 6 kliebard 2004. 7 on bildung see horlacher 2004; westbury & hopmann & riquarts 2000, 57-125. 8 autio (2006) has paid attention to this. he sketches a theoretical line from reformation through descartes, locke, kant (1724-1804) and herbart (1776-1841) up to the american curriculum theory reaching its top in ralph tyler‟s rationale in the 1950‟s. autio‟s theoretical position resembles a great deal of william doll‟s (1993), who emphasizes the significance of descartes in what comes to the change in the understanding of the role of reason in the 17 th century, too. 9 author 2011 10 essay ii.xxi.31 11 autio 2006, 98; wertheimer 1970,107. 12 thoughts § 1 13 watson, john b., behaviorism, norton, new york, 1924 14 en i.13,1102a5-1103a10 15 en i.7,1098a8-17; pol. vii.13,1332b5-11 16 en ii.1,1103a14-15; x.7,1178a1-8; pol. vii.15,1334b14-28. aristotle on education and teaching see e.g. spangler 1998. 17 wertheimer 1970,89-90 18 thoughts §§ 48,66,216 19 westbury & hopmann & riquarts 2000; autio 2006 20 essay iii.i.1 21 met. i.1,981a2 22 schopenhauer 1966b,82 23 waxman 2005, 3-5 24 i sent. 36.2.3sc 25 pasnau 1997,14 26 “lapis non est in anima, sed species lapidis”. see st ia, q.76, a.2 ad 4; ia, q.85, a.2 c; de an. iii.8,431b28-432a2 27 carriero 2009, 19. in q.d. de veritate (q.3, a.1) aquinas says we may translate “ideas” into “forms” or “species”: “sicut dicit augustinus -, ideas latine possumus vel formas, vel species dicere, ut verbum ex verbo transferre videamur.” 28 dancy 1985,166 29 st ia, q.85, a.2 30 kliebard (2004, 1-25) says, after the status quo of the mental disciplinarianism based on [christian] wolffian psychology there emerged in the 1890‟s century four movements: the humanists (with e.g. charles w. eliot), the developmentalists (g. stanley hall), the social efficiency educators (joseph meyer rice) and 72 the social meliorists (lester frank ward). in addition to these kliebard mentions john dewey, who did not belong to any of them but was “hovering over the struggle” (p. xix). 31 essay iv.xii.2 32 thoughts § 31 33 westbury & hopmann & riquarts 2000,16 34 the curriculum tradition is organizational: teachers as employees of the school system are expected to “implement” the system‟s curricula. they are “conduits” of the system‟s curriculum decisions. in the german model, teachers are guaranteed professional autonomy. they are free to teach without the state curriculum (lehrplan) controlling the teacher‟s own approach to teaching. the state curriculum only lays out prescribed content for teachers to interpret and to “give life”. didaktik is not centered on the task of directing and managing the work of system of schools or of selecting a curriculum for this school or this district. instead didaktik provides teachers with ways of considering the essential questions what, how and why around their teaching of their students in their classrooms. these are the core issues at the heart of a reflective practice of teaching (p. 17). 115 the history and influence of the high school geography project jayson evaniuk jeffrey m byford eastern new mexico university university of memphis abstract the 1960s witnessed a significant pedagogical reform movement in social studies education known as the new social studies (nss) movement. the purpose of this article is to briefly examine the rationale for the high school geography project and its influence during the nss movement and geography education moving forward. reevaluating foundational ideas in geography education can potentially inform the present. background nineteen sixties era nss approaches were built upon previous advances within social studies education. in 1911, the national education association (nea) undertook a five-year review of curriculum in the united states. the 1916 report noted the lack of citizenship education and the absence of problem-based learning in american schools. furthermore, the nea report advanced social studies with the introduction of history, civics, geography, economics, and a new senior-level course titled “problems of democracy” (national education association committee, 1916), directly resulting in the formation of the national council for the social studies (ncss) in 1921 as an advocate for civic education. with ncss, social studies as a bounded curriculum promoted national support for professors and schoolteachers along with significant support among progressive educators curriculum history 2018: 115-123 during the 1920s and 1930s. a notable progressive era contribution to social studies was that of colombia university professor harold rugg. as a disciple of john dewey's early progressive schooling ideology and an early leader within ncss, harold rugg believed social studies curriculum offered opportunity towards a better american society. affirming nea recommendations, rugg placed societal problems at the foundation of his conception of social studies within the curriculum (evans, 2007). rugg's social studies curriculum accompanied with the ideals of william kilpatrick, and george counts found moderate success in the 1930s throughout the united states until the progressive-based curriculum and ideas came under attack from numerous conservative special interest groups due to allegations with liberal and communist influences (evans, 2007). through the nea and ncss, they are accompanied by progressive era conceptions of social studies, the subject articulated as a bounded subject of multiple disciplines with an emphasis on addressing societal challenges. while postwar social studies reflected varied and ill-defined approaches, and a contested rejection of progressive education, the nss movement of the 1960s offered social studies content areas such as geography unprecedented levels of curriculum development. the context for the high school geography project emerged out of a larger curricular movement known as the new social studies (nss) dating from 1958-1970. the nss movement was prompted by curricular challenges high school geography project 116 within social studies and a highly charged cold war political environment. evans (2010) categorized the postwar years (1947-1958) as contrary to progressive social studies approaches. noted political scientist pendleton herring stated a common criticism of the era when he indicated that school social studies lacked “a single ordered body of fact and theory, operating through an internally consistent generally accepted methodology” (as cited in james 1969, 480). echoing similar concerns, lewis paul todd (1957) decried social studies education by stating, “but the confusion over the meaning of the term ‘social studies’ is not confined to the matter of definition. thru the years we have added ingredient after ingredient to the ‘social studies’ brew until it now includes everything from driver education to personal grooming, and we are still tossing ingredients into the boiling kettle at an alarming rate” (245). noted concerns in existing approaches to high school social studies combined with political events stimulated substantive change within social studies curriculum development. politically the cold war era witnessed the founding of the national science foundation in 1950 as well as the 1957 soviet launch of the first satellite, sputnik. sputnik and political competition with the soviet union sounded the alarm for increased educational funding at all levels prompting authorization of the national defense education act in 1958 (gutek 1986). the new social studies (nss) illustrated a push for curriculum change within the field of social studies and the introduction of pioneering and at times controversial teaching practices. the convergence of political and educational shifts was foundational in the emerging nss movement. derived from the perceived failures of social studies approaches and political events of the 1950s, nss reflected a collective re-examination of the importance and effectiveness of social studies curriculum in the nation’s public schools. the result of such re-examination resulted in several curricular meetings where prominent and recognized scholars convened to investigate how to construct a new social studies curriculum to enhance education (evans 2010). among the most influential meetings of content scholars, teachers and curriculum specialists were the woods hole conference, which gathered to answer the challenge of a collective reexamination and implementation of educational curriculum under the directive of the national defense educational act. prominent educational psychologist jerome bruner’s (1960) process of education was conceived through conference proceedings. within bruner’s influential book, he placed primacy on the teaching of the “structure” of an academic discipline rather than “facts.” this book would go on to catalyze numerous nss projects. leading this nss charge was the national council for social studies and their publication social education. early on in 1962 an october issue of the journal solicited federally funded proposals for social studies research projects and curriculum centers (announcement 1962; evans 2010). throughout the era, social education called attention to the numerous social studies projects developing at curriculum centers throughout the nation (fenton & good 1965) as well as concerns (becker 1965). the goal of the curriculum centers was to standardize certain aspects found within each particular content area (e.g., anthropology, government, united states history, geography, etc.) within the social studies. regardless of the content discipline, each newly developed project placed an increased emphasis on innovative teaching methods directed at the academic structure of the particular subject high school geography project 117 area. the result was independent projects which shared three common traits: 1) a focus on inquiry learning; 2) a focus on values, and 3) commitment to the “structure” rather than “facts” of the academic disciplines (bruner 1960; evans 2010; senesh 1981). in all the social studies education consortium (1971) reported on 100 projects and 135 textbooks emerging from the nss era. one of the first leaders in this emerging nss movement was world historian edwin fenton. beyond first articulating the term new social studies in 1965 (hertzberg 1981), fenton was instrumental in connecting the ideas within jerome bruner’s process of education into a social studies context. similar to earlier progressives, fenton affirmed the importance of addressing societal challenges within social studies; however, he advanced a social science approach to the issues. fenton (1966) stated, “the type of social studies program proposed here is a tough-minded scientific approach which presented immediate and future conflict situations in the hope of inducing the student to utilize social processes and to make social predictions and decisions that will keep such conflicts within reasonable limits. this approach to social studies objectives garner specific content areas and indicates an explicit relationship between the basic values and assumptions with which we begin and the specific objectives and content with which we end” (113). fenton’s secondary world history project carnegie-mellon university social studies curriculum project utilized archival and primary source documents in the same way historians approach history. many of the nss projects, including the high school geography project, were inspired by fenton’s project as well as his 1967 book, the new social studies (cude 2010). as quickly as new social studies projects were introduced in our nation’s schools, the controversy over project successes ensued. conservative estimates suggested nss projects were embraced, at best, by a third of the nation’s social studies classroom teachers. lecture-based, expository learning continued throughout the height of this contemporary movement despite innovative pedagogical strategies and curriculum materials developed. by the late 1970s social studies were largely confined with content relegated to civics/government and united states history as most relevant (morrissett, hawke, & superka 1980). compounding the dwindling public perception of the social studies was the project span report funded by the national science foundation. the result was six major problems uncovered from span consultants and staff. issues identified were 1) student learning, 2) school culture, 3) teaching practices, 4) social studies curriculum, 5) the development of social studies teachers, and 6) a lack of public support (morrissett, hawle, & superka 1980). the final report indicated despite efforts of the nss movement, social studies curriculum and teaching practices remained static over a 60-year period, the report suggested, “… that despite numerous variations that have occurred, the dominant pattern throughout the nation is one that was established more than 60 years ago” (morrissett 1982). the high school geography project (hsgp) geography’s role within the social studies faced a tumultuous history since the 1920s. at times the subject was approached as a study of commercial and economic functioning within and between countries. at other eras, a more scientific physical geography approach was prevalent in the high school classroom (rosen 1957). by the 1950’s high school geography was often integrated into social studies classes. numerous authors of high school geography project 118 the era communicated concerns regarding geography’s status within the high school social studies curriculum of the era. high (1960), monier and campbell (1963), pattison (1962), and scarfe, (1959) stated geography most often appeared in citizenship or history within high school social studies enforcing the belief geography lacked recognition as a core subject in high schools. o’connell (1962) lamented geography’s status subsumed within social studies in stating, “geography has disappeared from the curriculum of so many schools to be replaced by a variety of social studies courses with no identifiable body of knowledge” (p.60). such concerns would be addressed by geography’s contribution to the growing number of new social studies projects. in 1958, ideas for high school geography project (hsgp) emerged amongst professional geographers at an executive board meeting for national council for geographic educators. contemporaneously with calls for changes within school geography, within higher education, geography experienced a “quantitative revolution” which pushed many geographers and departments to a more systematic and social science-oriented approach (james 1969). early debates focused hsgp on systematic geography rooted in the scientific method as opposed to more traditional regional geography (kohn 1982). high school geography specialists began advocating for social science-oriented geography over prevailing regional geography. spatial geography dealing with theories and laws related to the spatial organization of human patterns received the most attention. as topical and spatially oriented geography gained popularity within curricular ideas, augelli (1968), james (1969), and scarfe (1959) cautioned against complete abandonment of regional geography in schools. such division among geographers in higher education was evident in the creation of hsgp. noted middle american regional geographer john augelli (1968) lamented, “significantly, however, the “settlement theme course” of the high school geography project, on which many of our most forward-looking colleagues have spent so much effort and nsf money, has paid scant attention to regional geography” (68). despite such concerns, social science specialists turned attention to spatial geography and innovative pedagogy, which would come to dominate the era’s crowning curricular achievement, high school geography project. a systematically focused curriculum closer aligned hsgp with emerging social science trends and positioned the project well for future national science foundation (nsf) funding. early in the planning process gilbert white and clyde kohn formed a joint committee supported through both major professional geography organizations, the association of american geographers and the national council of geographic educators, with the purpose of improving geography education (stoltman 2010). by 1961, through the work of the joint committee on education, hsgp formed under the direction of william pattison with private funding from the ford foundation (helburn 1966; kohn 1964; stoltman 2010). the high school geography project received a substantial boost in 1964 when congress revised the 1958 national defense education act. the revisions added geography, civics, and history to funded fields of study in critical need of improvement; consequently, the nsf funded the project (james 1969). similar to numerous nss project of the era, high school geography project found pedagogical inspiration in the work of noted education psychologist jerome bruner and his 1960 publication, the process of education. as did high school geography project 119 progressive educators of the early twentieth century, jerome bruner emphasized inquiry within the classroom. bruner’s inquiry approach distinguished itself from previous progressive educators by emphasizing the structure of the academic discipline. known as discovery learning, bruner’s approach promoted student explorations of content theories and principles in the same manner as behavioral and social science professionals (takaya 2008). moreover, discovery learning engendered deep levels of study within the discipline of a subject in an ageappropriate manner. within hsgp, discovery learning involved observation, spatial analysis of maps, prediction, theoretic models such as central place theory, aerial photograph study, and analysis of social data (helburn 1965; stoltman 2010). new social studies advances, increased professional geographer support, jerome bruner’s influence, national defense education act funding, and private funding converged in the development of the high school geography project (hsgp). in the years from 1961-1963, william pattison served as director of the project in its formative stages. william pattison and the joint committee’s foundational work on hsgp fully developed under the leadership of nicholas helburn from 1964 to 1970 (stoltman 2010). from 1964-1969, the american association of geographers steering committee oversaw the project, with 1966 considered a landmark year due to project leaders agreeing on settlement as an underlying theme for all units (stoltman 2010). over the next three years, academic scholars and teachers developed and published classroom materials incorporating student inquiry and spatial geography approaches for grades 9-12. after eight years of research and development, extensive field-testing, the involvement of nearly 100 teachers and thousands of students (patton 1970), macmillan published geography in an urban age (hsgp 1970). pedagogically original materials became an enduring legacy. each unit included a detailed teacher’s guide, student resources, student manual, and opaque transparencies. additional hands-on and data-rich materials were numerous including maps, simulation games, role-playing scenarios, aerial photographs, and case study vignettes (stoltman 2010). additionally, hsgp changed the traditional roles of students and teachers. unlike traditional attempts to dictate instruction, lessons were student-centered with teachers commonly acting as coordinators and sequencers of the curriculum (helburn 1998). to facilitate characteristics of bruner’s (1960) process of education, students engaged in inductive methods, through the study of data, testing hypothesis, and drawing conclusions based on self-discovery (helburn 1968; kohn 1970). as nicholas helburn (1968) was leading the project to fruition, he summarized, “the students’ ability to formulate questions …, to collect information and to select the relevant from the mass, to hypothesize answers, to recognize the tentativeness of those answers this is the primary objective of the high school geography project” (281). a noteworthy unit of study, which demonstrated such inquiry approaches, was the “geography of cities” unit (hsgp 1970). within the unit were six lesson activities, each included content readings, and inquiry-oriented activities. the lesson “city shape and structure” engaged students in applying theories of city growth to predict growth patterns within the city of chicago. sources such as age distribution, physical features, population maps, graphs, income, and other demographic data were included to support skills of prediction, abstraction, and verification. in “new orleans,” students analyzed high school geography project 120 aerial and topographic maps to evaluate land use as well as hypothesized about relationships between urban features and social and economic facets of the city. perhaps the most popular lesson within the unit was “portsville: building a hypothetical city” based on the city of seattle (helburn 1998). the activity involved a simulation, which consisted of students utilizing historical data and building blocks to construct a map model of portsville at three different periods. portsville included considerable data sheets and narrative information for students to make logical decisions based on a geographic knowledge base. despite the financial expense of keeping portsville, helburn (1998) recalled, “we seriously considered throwing it out entirely. what finally secured the decision to keep it was an affective gain, the sense on the part of the student that she or he had the power to change the city, to reach across and add a shopping center or some other building to that corner of the city. most of our lives we have to adapt to the urban landscape. here was student empowerment, a sense of being able to change the city” (p. 214). similar to other new social studies era projects, high school geography project (hsgp) did not experience widespread adoption in the high school geography classroom (helburn 1998). before hsgp’s publication, noted geographer preston james (1969) cautioned against moving forward with professor led scientifically oriented geography stating, “it could be that the “new geography” we so loudly proclaim may be just another swing of the pendulum. unprepared teachers who have never been exposed to geographical concepts could continue to select facts about places and require young people to commit them to memory” (481). affirming james’ (1969) concerns, numerous authors attributed hsgp’s lack of sustained success to teachers unprepared for such a drastic shift and the ever-changing foci within geography. overall, the newness of the inductive pedagogy and systematic topical study of geography represented too significant of a shift from traditional regional geography for teachers (kohn 1982; stoltman 2010; winston 1986). the legacy of the high school geography project despite high school geography project’s (hsgp) short publication cycle and limited usage nationwide, the enduring influence within the academic field of geography education outweighed limited classroom usage. kohn (1970), indicated hsgp awakened many academic geographers to the importance of high school geography. in the midst of such awakenings, pattison (1962) stated “but the high school has remained, for most of us, somebody else's business. still, there are signs of a change in attitude …” (280). consequently, hsgp narrowed the gap between academic geography and high school geography (natoli 1986). helburn (1965) indicated that before hsgp, high school geography was behind college geography 20-50 years. former project director nicholas helburn (1998) recounted, “although not often stated, the primary criterion for the hsgp steering committee was academic respectability--the demonstration that good analytical geography could be taught at the secondary level. often this goal was stated as closing the 50-year lag between the graduate seminar and secondary school classroom” (p. 217). natoli (1986) suggested that the high school geography project enabled students to “do geography”; a concept deeply embedded in later geography education reforms of the 1980s and 1990s and one entrenched within current geography for life national geography standards (gallagher & downs 2012). high school geography project 121 high school geography project materials gained popularity primarily at a grassroots level. geib (1972) found dissemination of the project occurred principally through teachers involved in experimental and developmental stages of hsgp. geib’s study spoke to the appeal of hsgp, as teachers with first-hand knowledge of hsgp spread the word about the curriculum. similarly, stoltman (1980) reported that hsgp professional workshop participants were vital in diffusing the curriculum among teachers and leadership in schools. at the tertiary level, hill (1970) reported adaptation of hsgp material in introductory college geography courses. the project also garnered an impact internationally. in the 1970s, 12 countries modeled their geography curriculum on hsgp (gunn 1975; helburn 1998). angus gunn (1975) noted “… that hsgp’s greatest contribution to curriculum development in other countries is its teaching approaches” (p. 220). high school geography project (hsgp) demonstrated long-term inspiration in the united states. the project connected hundreds of college professors with teachers through professional development opportunities. consequently, professional geographers took a more significant interest in school education as reflected in the subsequent development of geography education specialties at numerous universities after hsgp (helburn 1998). helburn (1998) also indicated that national geography standards and the national assessment (naep) test in 1994 demonstrated hsgp inspiration. russell and byford (2008) demonstrated effective adaptation of hsgp materials forty years later. in retrospect, high school geography project’s contributions to geography reform in the areas of systematic inquiry-based learning and a concentration on the structure rather than facts of geography are an enduring legacy in geography education of the late 20th century and beyond. conclusion high school geography project’s (hsgp) role in geography education cannot be fully understood without contextualizing academic and political forces at work during the late 1950s and 1960s. the post-sputnik cold war era placed substantial political demand and funding towards curriculum reform in the sciences and social sciences serving as an impetus for change. in addition, the new social studies curriculum movement renewed previous demands of progressive educators for social studies to directly address societal challenges. the nss era under the influence of jerome bruner and edwin fenton expanded upon progressive ideals by advocating for a social science approach to the study of history, geography, economics, political science, anthropology, and sociology. such approaches facilitated students studying the structure of the subject as a historian or geographer would. amongst early nss projects, hsgp emerged at a time of much debate among systematic and regional geographers within academic geography. aligning more with a systematic approach, geography in an urban age (1970) reflected collaboration among geographers of the major professional organizations and eight years of research and development. inquiry activities within the curriculum facilitated student learning through “doing geography” as a geographer would while addressing societal challenges. though the curriculum project garnered limited success in high school classrooms, the curriculum influenced similar projects globally while leaving an indelible mark on the entire academic field of geography education as well as later standards-based curriculum reforms. high school geography project 122 references announcement for project social studies. 1962. social education, 26: 300. augelli, j. p. 1968. regional geography in revolution. journal of geography, 67, no. 2: 68-69. becker, j. m. 1965. prospect for change in the social studies. social education, 29: 20-22. bruner, j. 1960. the process of education. london: oxford university press. cude, m. d. 2010. can you still catch fish with new social studies bait. in b. s. stern (ed.), the new social studies, 75-94. charlotte, nc: information age publishing. evans, r. w. 2007. this happened in america: harold rugg and the censure of social studies. new york, ny: information age. evans, r.w. 2010. national security trumps social progress: the era of the new social studies in retrospect. in b. s. stern (ed.), the new social studies, 1-37. charlotte, nc: information age publishing. fenton, e., & good, j. 1965. project social studies: a progress report. social education, 29: 206-208. fenton, e. 1966. teaching the new social studies in secondary schools: an inductive approach. new york: holt, rinehart and winston. fenton, e. 1967. the new social studies. new york: holt, rinehart and winston. gallagher, s., & downs, r. (eds.). 2012. geography for life: national geography standards. national council for geographic education. geib, r. 1972. high school geography project: from boulder to boondocks. m.a. thesis. department of geography, western michigan university. eric 10 ed096201. gunn, a. 1975. the role of the high school geography project in geographic education reform worldwide. the professional geographer, 37, no. 2: 218-221. gutek, g. 1986. education in the united states: an historical perspective. englewood cliffs, nj: prentice hall helburn, n. 1965. improving communication between the teacher and the geographer: the role of the high school geography project. journal of geography, 64, no. 4: 149-153. helburn, n. 1966. high school geography and what is being done about i. social education, dec.: 631-632,645. helburn, n. 1968. the educational objectives of high school geography. journal of geography, 67, no. 5: 274-281. helburn, n. 1998. the high school geography project: a retrospective view. social studies, 89, no. 5: 212-218. hertzberg, h.w. 1981. social studies reform 1880-1980. ssec publications, 855 broadway, boulder, co 80302. high, j. (1960). geography: coordinating element in secondary social studies. journal of geography, 59, no. 6: 270-278. high school geography project. 1970. geography for an urban age. new york: macmillan. hill, d. a. 1970. strategies of the high. school geography project for the colleges: a new heresy. journal of geography, 69, no. 9: 544551. james, p. e. 1969. the significance of geography in american education. journal of geography, 68, no. 8: 473-483. kohn, c. f. 1964. selected classroom experiences: high school geography. geographic education series number 4. c. f. kohn (ed.). oak park, il. retrieved from eric: ed096184. high school geography project 123 kohn, c. f. 1970. a decade of progress in geography research and instruction. annals of the association of american geographers, 60, no. 2: 211219. kohn, c. f. 1982. looking back; working ahead. journal of geography, 81, no. 2: 44-46. monier, r. b., & campbell, c. b. 1963. the status of geography in the secondary schools of new hampshire. journal of geography, 62, no. 9: 397-406. morrissett, i. & project span staff. 1982. the current state of social studies: a report of project span. boulder, co: social science education consortium. morrissett, i., superka, d., & hawke, s. 1980. six problems for social studies in the 1980s. social education, 7, 561-569. natoli, s. j. 1986. the evolving nature of geography. in s. p. wronski, , & d. h. bragaw (eds.), social studies and social sciences: a fifty-year perspective, bulletin no. 78, 28-42. washington d.c.: national council for social studies. national education association. 1916. the social studies in secondary education: report of the committee on social studies of the commission cm the reorganization of the secondary education of the national education association. o’connell, a. c. 1962. social scientists bury geography. the social studies, 53, no. 2: 6061. pattison, w. d. 1962. geography in the high school. annals of the association of american geographers, 52, no. 3: 280284. patton, d. j. 1970. from geographic discipline to inquiring student. the high school geography project. the final report. d. j. patton (ed.). washington dc. retrieved from eric: ed087676. rosen, s. 1957. a short history of high school geography (to 1936). journal of geography, 56, no. 9: 405-412. russell, w., & byford, j. 2008. revisiting the high school geography project. the geography teacher, 5, no. 1: 21-23. scarfe, n. v. 1959. geography across the curriculum. journal of geography, 58, no. 3: 111-121. senesh, l. 1981. the new social science movement of the 1960s. educational evaluation and policy analysis, 3, no. 5: 6373. social science education consortium, 1971. social studies curriculum materials data book. social science education consortium, incorporated. stoltman, j. p. 2010. geography and the new social studies: the high school geography project and georgia geography curriculum project. in b. s. stern (ed.), the new social studies, 167-192. charlotte, nc: information age publishing. takaya, k. 2008. jerome bruner’s theory of education: from early bruner to later bruner. interchange, 39, no. 1: 1-19. todd, l. p. (1957). juggling act. social education, 21, no. 6: 245-246. winston, b. j. 1986. the evolving nature of geography. in social studies and social sciences: a fifty-year perspective, ed. s. p. wronski & d. h. bragaw bulletin no. 78, (pp. 28-42). washington dc: national council for social studies. title 21 gifted education in houston, texas: curriculum differentiation in the early twentieth century mindy spearman clemson university during the first part of the twentieth century, the concept of giftedness was inexorably bound with the psychometric tradition. psychologists who studied academically talented students used intelligence theory as a framework for practice, policy and research. thus, the history of gifted education in america often is equated with the history of the intelligence movement—e.g. alfred binet, henry goddard and lewis terman (hildenbrand 1981, p. 1). much of the literature that deals with early gifted education chronicles the conception of psychometrics and the ideological battles waged in the years following the advent of gifted education in america. as a result, scholars have given great focus to a small number of events, sometimes even in a “top ten list” format (cross 1999, haensly 1999). the items usually are very similar, e.g. “historical events underlying today’s strong interest in gifted education centers on a halfdozen people, an intelligence test, one russian satellite, and three national reports” (colangelo and davis 2003, p. 6). a few historians have explored places and narratives that do not make the conventional history of gifted education “top ten list”. for example, greenlaw and mcintosh (1988) survey several early modifications for gifted children, although they noted that such school programs before the 1920s were rare. newland (1976) discussed some of the first school districts that developed short-tracking and passow (1986) framed the history of acceleration in terms of the enrichment vs. acceleration debate. on the other hand, few scholars have studied the instances of such practices in specific institutions. nor have they studied the individuals who contributed to the establishment of special classes and differentiated curriculum for a school’s academically talented children. franklin (1989), for example, in his investigation of progressive era special education in atlanta public schools, encouraged researchers to focus on the role which individual educators and “those who manage the schools” have played in the institution of curricular differentiation (franklin 1989, p. 593). houston, texas, as a city with a strong educational system during the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, is particularly well-suited for a historical case study. the story of special programs for academically talented schoolchildren in houston adds materially to the understanding of early school programs for gifted children. the texas school journal, a major educational journal in the state of texas, called houston’s course of study “unusually strong” and noted that the city routinely made “genuine progress” in numerous educational areas (“editorial” 1986, p. 100). at a time when most american public school systems made few accommodations for gifted students (jenkins 1983, p. 21), houston had such provisions in place as early as 1900 (hisd report 1900-1901, p. 49). notably, this policy also included provisions for flexible promotion in the city’s colored schools (hisd 1900-1901, p. 50). the district initially instituted a policy of grade advancement; that is, students could be promoted from one grade to another as often as teachers felt necessary. w.w. barnett, houston superintendent from 1900-1904, subscribed to the belief that students should work at the academic level best suited for their own development. barnett wrote, for example, that “an extremely active mind stagnates or turns its attention elsewhere unless work is sufficiently difficult is placed before it” (hisd report 1900-1901, p. 50). barnett’s successor retained this policy. paul w. horne, superintendent of the houston city schools from 1904-1921, issued a special circular letter on promotions during the first year (1904-1905) of his superintendency. the circular endorsed the early promotion of any student who could successfully complete work at an advanced grade level. these “special promotions” were issued through a joint decision made by the classroom teacher and school principal (hisd report 1904-1905, p. 164). this early-exit system was similar to the system of short-interval promotion conceived by william t. harris in 1868, then superintendent of the st. louis public schools (passow 1996, p. 93). in 1910, houston city schools began another accommodation for the academically talented known as “telescoping” or “short-tracking”—i.e., moving rapidly through the curriculum by completing work at a faster pace. that year, dow school created a short-track primary class for academically advanced students, eight boys and eleven girls (hisd report 1912-1913, pp. 42 and 177). dow, a school for white children that served the city’s sixth ward and a portion of the first ward, had sixteen teachers who taught grades first through seventh. the advanced class enrolled significantly fewer children than did the regular classes which averaged 31 students per teacher (hisd report 19101911, p. 99). through acceleration, these dow students completed three years of primary work in two years [see picture 1]. upon reaching third grade, their performance was equivalent to that of students who needed three years to complete the same curriculum (hisd 1912-1913, p. 43). district administrators were proud of this curricular innovation, and highlighted the achievements of the dow class to both the public and the board of trustees through the annual superintendent reports. two years later, supervisors within the district petitioned superintendent horne to move away from acceleration and, instead, to employ other forms of curriculum differentiation. w.g. smiley, houston high school principal, for example, requested that the system conduct a special study in order to examine curricular content that better met the needs of exceptional pupils above “the line of mediocrity” (hisd 1912-1913, p. 41). lora b. peck, 22 supervisor of primary work, requested special classrooms for younger students. she wrote: there is a serious question as to whether merely promoting more rapidly as the best solution of the problem of what shall be done for the specially capable child. we have special classes for the sub-normal pupils; we consider the children of average ability very largely. has the unusually bright child no claim that the public school is bound to consider? have we acknowledged and satisfied his claim when we simply allow him to work with what speed he may? here is a problem calling for the careful attention of all thinking people (hisd 1912-1913, p. 42). superintendent horne did not immediately address their concerns. although smiley dropped his request, peck again petitioned the superintendent the next year, complaining that the “problem has as yet not been solved” (hisd 1913-1914, p. 55). she reiterated her doubts about the effectiveness of acceleration and suggested one possible solution: surely there is something better for them, but what is it? i have endeavored to find out what other cities are doing with this class of pupils but nothing seems to have been tried in the primary grades. what is the solution? i have never seen the experiment made, but i should like to try having some of these pupils begin working with a foreign language, say german (hisd 1913-1914, p. 55). peck suggested a form of curriculum differentiation that, almost a century later, gallagher and gallagher (1994, p. 100) called “novelty”—i.e. introducing new topics or programs that are not found within the schools’ standard scope and sequence. this kind of special content-oriented approach to curricular modification did not generally became popular in the 1920s (buswell 1923, p. 687; stedman 1924). following peck’s second appeal, superintendent horne responded to her request immediately. his response took the form of a public commitment to provide for “the extra bright pupils” (hisd 1914-1915, p. 13). he equivocated on the issue of the value of acceleration. specifically, he suggested special classes which involved a combination of “allowing them to complete the work of a given grade in less than the time ordinarily required” (i.e. acceleration) and “giving such pupils more work than is generally done in their respective grades” (i.e. enrichment) (hisd 1914-1915, p. 14). at the primary school level, both principals and teachers at dow and allen elementary schools initiated his plan. horne also granted peck’s request for the addition of german classes for the schools academically gifted students. these schools offered the optional german classes to students in the 5th, 6th, and 7th grades whose parents wanted their children to have this extra enrichment. however, these classes were not integrated into the students’ regular curriculum. they were offered after school so as to not interfere with their schedule of normal offerings at that grade level. at the end of the year, these pupils took an examination that, if passed, enabled them to receive one-half year high school credit in german (hisd 1913-1914). additionally, superintendent horne’s policies enabled 7th grade students to go to the nearby houston high school for extra enrichment. in addition to german, they could choose latin, spanish, algebra or history (hisd 1915-1916, p. 17). these provisions for enrichment and acceleration were not accorded to gifted colored students. lora b. peck’s ideas of formal provisions for gifted students in the houston schools’ primary grades clearly affected the system’s program of studies. she questioned the benefits of acceleration years before this issue received national attention: “i am not convinced that it is desirable to rush these children through the grades too immature for the studies to be taken up” (hisd 1913-1914, p. 55). her visionary ideas were similar to those published nationally ten years later by notable gifted educator, leta hollingsworth (1926). peck’s local advocacy and commitment to education for the academically gifted reveals that tensions between the notions of acceleration and enrichment not only were present in the early part of the twentieth-century. these tensions also could be resolved at the local level. peck’s unsuccessful attempt to locate neighboring texas cities with similar school programs for gifted children (hisd 1913-1914, p. 55) illustrates that her ideas and programswere novel to the region. certainly, peck was an educational reformer who identified an area of need, explored alternatives, and successfully lobbied for change. houston supervisor peck represents an unacknowledged leader of gifted education reform. in addition to its use of acceleration and special classes, the houston public schools instituted another provision designed “to take care of the extra bright child” (hisd 1915-1916, p. 20). the policy enabled houston schools to provide special one-on-one tutoring to advanced students during the regular classroom day. beginning with the 1915-1916 school year, unassigned teachers (ones who were employed on a daily basis to serve at schools that needed substitutes and aides) and supernumeraries (e.g. high school normal program graduates without first grade certificates) pulled gifted intermediate students for “special coaching” (hisd 1915-1916, p. 20). during this period of time, houston gifted students were identified in their classroom. classroom teachers made judgments about early promotion, short-track placements and pull-out tutoring. they appeared to have been alert both to students’ general ability and grades, as were teachers elsewhere in the nation (hildreth, 1966, p. 48). although the standford-binet iq test was created in 1908, teachers seldom used it in connection with giftedness until it was revised by terman in 1916 (assouline 2003, p. 125; morelock and feldman 2003, p. 456). in the houston city schools, the binet test was used to identify “sub-normal” pupils, but not for gifted children (hisd 1914-1915, p. 15). yet not all curricular modifications for the gifted in the houston city schools necessitated student identification. the extra classes offered to some of its 5th, 6th and 7th grade students were available to any student who wished for additional enrichment. 23 however successful the houston experience was believed to be, not all texas educators believed that curriculum differentiation served the best interest of gifted children. eleanor kennedy’s article in the texas school magazine, for example, argued against any sort of ability grouping in schools. she opined, furthermore, that curricular differentiation for gifted students resulted in a weakening of the physical body (kennedy 1911, p. 10). her theory was popular during these times and not generally questioned until the publication of leta hollingworth’s gifted children: their nature and nurture, (1929). this claim, on the other hand, received no attention in any of houston’s annual school reports during this period. knowledge of special provisions for gifted students in houston schools during the early years of the twentieth century adds significantly to the body of historical knowledge about early gifted education in the united states. for the most part, only a few american city school systems have been recognized to have made special accommodations for gifted pupils early in the twentieth-century (hildreth 1966, p. 47; colangelo and davis 2003, p. 6). indeed, schools of houston, texas, a southern city recognized for its educational innovations, must be added to this list of vanguard school districts. references assouline, susan. 2003. “psychological and educational assessment of gifted children”. in nicholas colangelo and gary davis, eds. the handbook of gifted education, third edition. boston: allyn and bacon. buswell, g. t. 1923. “the school treatment of mentally exceptional childen”. the elementary school journal. v23, n9 (may): 683-693. colangelo, nicholas and gary a. davis. 2003. “introduction and overview”. in nicholas colangelo and gary davis, eds. the handbook of gifted education,third edition. boston: allyn and bacon. cross, tracy. 1999. “top ten list (plus or minus two) for the 20th century”. gifted child today magazine, v22, n6, 1999: 22-25. “editorial.” 1896. the texas school journal 14, n3 (mar): 100 gallagher, j and s. gallagher. 1994. teaching the gifted child, fourth edition. boston: allyn and bacon. greenlaw, m. and margaret mcintosh. 1988. educating the gifted: a sourcebook. chicago: american library association. heansly, patricia a. 1999. “my view of the ‘top 10’ events that have influenced the field of gifted education during the past century”. gifted child today magazine, v22, n6: 16-18. hildenbrand, suzanne. 1981. democracy’s aristocrat: the gifted child in america,1910-1960. u.s, educational resources information center, eric document ed 206 144. hildreth, gertrude. 1966. introduction to the gifted. new york: mcgraw-hill book company. hollingsworth, leta. 1926. gifted children: their nature and nurture. new york: the macmillan company. houston independent school district. annual. report of the superintendent of houston public schools. (houston: gray, dillaye and co). 1904-1905, 1908-1909, 19101911, 1912-1913, 1913-1914, 1914-1915, 1915-1916. jenkins, rita virgina moore. 1983. gifted and talented education in texas public schools 1915-1983. unpublished dissertation. waco: baylor university. kennedy, eleanor. 1911. “abnormally bright children”. texas school magazine. 14, n8 (dec): 9-11. morelock, martha and david feldman. “extreme precocity: prodigies, savants and children of extraordinarily high iq”. in nicholas colangelo and gary davis, eds. the handbook of gifted education, third edition. boston: allyn and bacon. passow, a. 1996. “acceleration over the years”. in camilla benbow and david lubinski, eds. intellectual talent: psychometric and social issues. baltimore: johns hopkins university press: 93-98. van sickle, j. h. 1910. “provision for gifted children in public schools”. the elementary school teacher. v.10, n.8 (apr): 357-366. 24 joseph mayer rice joseph mayer rice: educational researcher and reformer mark groen california state university, san bernardino abstract joseph mayer rice has been called the father of educational research. his articles published in the magazine the forum, in 18921893, are seen by many scholars as the beginning of the progressive movement in education. his work popularized notions of educational reform which helped to launch the progressive education movement, and transformed both curriculum and pedagogy in ways that are still evident today. joseph mayer rice has been called the “father of research on teaching” and “empirical classroom-based research” (ayers 1918; englehart & thomas 1966; kliebard 1982; gurung & schwartz 2009). his articles published in the magazine the forum, between october 1892 and june 1893, popularized notions of educational reform and are seen by many scholars as the beginning of the progressive movement in education (cremin 1961; graham 1966; kliebard 1993). rice first began publishing his ideas about education in the weekly periodical epoch in 1891, but for most scholars, it is his articles published in the forum, between october, 1892, and june, 1893, for which he is remembered. he also published several books and continued writing articles for the forum, for over a decade. rice also served as editor of the forum, which was owned by his brother, from 1897-1907. his collected forum articles provided the basis for the book, the public school system of the u.s. this book, like the articles, contained a withering critique of schools and teaching practices in a number of northern cities. in each case, rice recounted in detail what he considered the most egregious example of poor pedagogy he witnessed in the schools of that locality. he also questioned why superintendents allowed such teaching to persist. rice’s exposé of pedagogical practices in schools placed him among the early practitioners of a journalistic style that would become known as muckraking journalism. rice was born in philadelphia, pennsylvania, in 1857 two years after his parents immigrated to america from germany. he attended public schools in philadelphia and new york city, where the family relocated in 1870. he received a degree in medicine from the college of physicians and surgeons at columbia university in 1881, and built a successful pediatrics practice in new york city. rice closed his pediatric practice in 1888 to pursue the study of education and psychology. in 1888, rice traveled to germany where he remained until 1890. while there he studied experimental psychology at the university in leipzig, and studied herbartianism at the laboratory school at the university of jena. herbartianism is an educational philosophy developed by johann freidrich herbart, who also did pioneering work in psychology. after initiating his famous study of american schools, rice returned to the university of jena briefly in the summer of 1893, before resuming his educational reform efforts. rice married deborah levinson in october of 1900, they had two children. 61 the dawn of the progressive era was a period during which the urban social values of the expanding cities triumphed over the traditional social mores of the countryside. charles sellers observed that throughout the nineteenth century the spread of the market economy pitted an agrarian “old timer” oral culture and local subsistence farming economy against the wealth, culture, and market oriented economy of the rising cities (sellers 1991). during the last third of the nineteenth century the mantle of civic virtue passed from the jeffersonian yeoman farmer to the urban middle-class professional. the social position of the farmer changed from being the foundation of society to that of a backward “hayseed” as urban life assumed a larger role in the direction of social norms. rural folk resisted these changes to be sure. during the 1890s grangers, greenbackers, and silverites united in the populist party in 1892, and then under william jennings bryan fused with the democracy in the election of 1896. this election arrayed the monied interests of the east against the agrarian interests of the south and west. out of the political turmoil of the 1890s the progressives would emerge to carry the banner of reform. cremin argues that much of the progressive agenda was based upon “support that derived from a half-century of agrarian protest and innovation” by the granger and populist movements (cremin 1961, 42). in the end, however, the progressives found the “scientific ballast” that the earlier grangers and populists lacked (cremin 1961, 164). a number of prominent historians have argued that the progressive movement began with the series of articles in the journal the forum, by educational reform advocate john mayer rice (curti 1951; cremin 1961; kliebard 1986). indeed, rice pioneered the use of empirical data in the study of schools helping to provide that scientific ballast. rice began his educational odyssey, “to discover the marked variation in the general degree of excellence of the schools of various localities” seeking to “permanently rais[e] the standard of schools … b[y] the eradication of the causes of their inferiority” (rice 1893, 1-2). for six months in early 1892, he travelled through 36 cities observing schools and classrooms. he collected data and compared practices in different schools to determine why some schools were more successful than others. determined to base his ideas “on a foundation of science rather than mere opinion,” rice sought the answers to these problems through observations in schools (kliebard 1993). although others had collected educational data before him, his innovative use of the data made him “the acknowledged father of comparative methodology in educational research” (kliebard 1982). rice clearly did not approve of teachers who taught “on a purely mechanical basis,” by which he meant schools in which teachers “conduct sing-song recitations in spelling and arithmetic, hear children recite lessons verbatim from a text-book, or conduct concert lessons in geography” (rice 1893, 5-6). rice favored schools “conducted on scientific principles,” observing that, “in the progressive schools” mechanical “methods are never tolerated for any length of time after they have been detected” (rice 1893, 6). he indicated, in his early articles, that this was his primary criteria for judging schools. later however, he developed a more refined and somewhat different criterion. rice strongly advocated “the unification of studies,” and “that the sciences can and should 62 be taught in organic connection with the other branches of the curriculum” (rice 1893, 212, 215), what today we might call interdisciplinary or thematic teaching. rice based his rankings of city schools on the prevalence of recitation versus thematic teaching he observed (rice 1893, 229). he then proceeded to publish articles condemning what he perceived to be poor teaching practices in a school district. rice opened a discussion of the schools of philadelphia with the observation; “the public schools of philadelphia offer a striking example of the difficulties involved in advancing the schools when those in authority use their offices for selfish motives … instead of for the purpose of furthering the welfare of the children intrusted [sic] to their care” (rice 1893, 147). he commented that in chicago; “some of the teaching was the most absurd i have ever witnessed” (rice 1893, 170). in new york, he insisted that “the school has been converted into the most dehumanizing institution i have ever laid eyes upon” (rice 1893, 31). he found: “a hard, unsympathetic, mechanical-drudgery school, a school into which the light of science has not yet entered. its characteristic feature lies in the severity of its discipline of enforced silence, immobility, and mental passivity” (rice 1893, 39). he went on to note that; “the schools of baltimore compare unfavorably even with those of new york” (rice 1893, 55), and “until a material change is effected, those attending the schools of that city [baltimore] will be doomed to a miserable childhood” (rice 1893, 64). he reserved his harshest condemnation for the schools of st. louis, missouri where he found; “the treatment of the children cannot be considered otherwise than barbarous” (rice 1893, 98). indeed, he concluded, “the schools of st louis … in my opinion are the most barbarous schools in the country” (rice 1893, 220-221). he found; “in some cities the schools have advanced so little that they may be regarded as representing a stage of civilization before the age of steam and electricity” (rice 1893, 218). there were, however, schools that met his approbation and teachers who were doing good work in a humane and thoughtful manner. he found such classrooms in indianapolis and la porte, indiana and in minneapolis and st. paul minnesota. the harsh rhetoric in rice’s articles increased the circulation of the forum and roused educational reformers, but it also raised the indignation of educational professionals. perhaps finding the harsh tone of his forum articles hindered his research, rice retreated somewhat in the summary of his book compiling those articles. he wrote: my general impression of our elementary schools is not so unfavorable as might be inferred from some of the earlier chapters. that i may have conveyed a more pessimistic view of the situation than i actually possess is owing entirely to force of circumstances, and not to any desire on my part to do so. it was because i deemed it necessary to direct the attention of the public primarily to those children who are most grievously wronged, and consequently to the schools most urgently in need of reform, that i was led to devote so much space to the discussion of such schools as are a disgrace to an enlightened nation (rice 1893, 229230). 63 rice continued to write for the forum, but his days as a so-called muckraking journalist were over by 1894. his subsequent work focused not on exposés, but on reforming curriculum, pedagogy and school governance. in his first tour of schools in 1892, rice examined “the spirit of schools,” in 1895 he set out again, this time to “study the results of instruction” (rice 1913, 147). rice collected samples of student work in a variety of subject areas from thousands of students. he also used the first comparative survey administered to students to obtain information on demographics. rice noted that most educators assumed educational outcomes “are largely influenced by the heredity, nationality and home environment of the pupils,” but in fact, he found that these “were found to exert an exceedingly small amount of influence” (rice 1913, 228). he concluded that teaching methods mattered far more than ethnicity in obtaining high student outcomes. in the same study, rice found that in spelling after fifteen minutes of study students experienced rapidly diminishing returns from additional study time. in arithmetic, however, this did not occur. he concluded that teachers were wasting time on long spelling exercises that might be better spent on the study or other subjects. rice’s second book, the rational spelling book appeared in 1898, based on an article in an 1897 edition of the forum titled “the futility of the spelling grind.” rice asserted that “not more than fifteen minutes daily be devoted to spelling, including both study and recitation.” he insisted that “additional time given to the subject is not rewarded by additional return” (rice 1898, 6). basing his work on spelling tests administered to over 33,000 pupils, he created a spelling text that utilized only the most commonly used words as a way of increasing the efficiency of spelling instruction. his primary focus was not on the difficulty of the material to be learned but rather on minimizing the amount of study time expended to learn the material. rice’s rational spelling book began with the fourth grade and contained all of the lessons through the eighth grade, thus students could work from the same book year after year. this proved to be extremely popular in an era when parents still had to purchase the school textbooks their children used. rice utilized a business vocabulary to criticize the educational system of the time. he sought to understand the management of schools and to suggest ways to make them more efficient and less prone to political interference from elected school boards and committees which often had day-to-day management responsibilities for municipal schools. in 1913, he released scientific management. in this book he addressed school governance and pedagogy, particularly elementary arithmetic. rice concluded that the “differences in the results” among schools “were due to differences in the quality of the teaching” and he looked at how school governance and pedagogy could be altered to enhance the quality of schooling (rice 1913, ix). rice observed that even if educators had the knowledge and knew the best teaching methods results were not guaranteed. he wrote: “the attainment of the best possible results in the class-room … cannot be depended upon … unless the proper thing is done by the educational workers after they have been given their pedagogical freedom” (rice 1913, xii). the solution rice eventually endorsed was “scientific management,” a system of insuring that schools produced the greatest educational 64 gains in the least possible time, thus operating “efficiently.” rice embraced the social efficiency movement sweeping the business world at the dawn of the twentieth century. he introduced a spelling primer which he believed could significantly reduce the time spent in memorization and recitation. indeed, his work in spelling was still being cited a century later to refute supposed “truisms” masked as research (gage 1993). rice condemned the influence of ward politicians in cities such as new york and chicago. reformers soon wrested control of the schools in both cities with varying results (tyack 1974). he advocated changes in both the measurement and testing of student learning. by the close of the first decade of the twentieth century he noted that, “the current standard” called for measuring success based on “what the teacher does.” he suggested replacing that standard with a “judgment by what she accomplishes” (rice 1913, 233). he proposed to accomplish this by replacing tests of “low order” thinking skills or “knowledge as a matter of memory,” with tests of “the ability to apply their knowledge of processes and principles,” what he called a “test of the power to reason” (rice 1913, 234, 240). during the late nineteenth century the locally oriented jeffersonian ideals of agrarian social virtues gave way to new urban oriented social standards. as new notions of social norms emerged, agrarian populists contested and resisted these changes. in some of the cities rice visited the older agrarian norms still held sway. rice represented the new urban reformer contesting the control of social norms. this was a period when local community institutions, including schools, still held sway with little interference from the wider society, even in the large cities. reformers, like rice, promoted the emerging set of “standards evident in… the new corporations, professions… and government bureaucracies” (fackler & lin 1995, 373). from the perspective of reformers searching for order in mass society, the substitution of societyoriented, universal standards for communityoriented and particularistic standards, was both rational and necessary (fackler & lin 1995, 374). that did not make it any less divisive, however. joseph mayer rice, a physician by training, abandoned medicine to pursue educational reform. his studies proved profoundly influential, however rice never held an academic appointment and the educational and academic establishment never fully accepted him. his work was occasionally cited but he remained an outsider in the educational reform movement he helped to create. the progressive movement, “once under way… manifested itself in a remarkable diversity of pedagogical protest and innovation; from the very beginning it was pluralistic, often selfcontradictory and always related to broader currents of social and political progressivism” (cremin 1961, 22). this proved true of rice’s writing as well. he started out as a pedagogical progressive, seeking to replace recitation style teaching with thematic instruction, in the early 1890s, but by the time his final book was published in 1913, he had become a proponent of testing and the social efficiency movement. he retired in 1915, and died in philadelphia in june 1934. schools in the 1890s faced many of the same challenges that confronted them a century later (lagemann 1997). educators’ encountered rapid demographic and economic changes, as well as a perception that schools were failing to 65 reach many students as successfully as they might. rice’s findings have endured the test of time and both his methodology and his proposed remedies have returned to inform contemporary debates about the nature of the curriculum, the efficacy of schools, and the most effective pedagogical methods for imparting knowledge. the work of joseph mayer rice has enduring relevance both for his groundbreaking innovations in educational research and for his proposed solutions to pedagogical problems. the educational reforms he advocated at the dawn of the 20 th century have again gained currency at the dawn of the 21 st century. the emphasis on research-based educational practices in the no child left behind act harkens back to rice’s early insistence on classroom observation. the emphasis on testing and educational efficiency emerging from the accountability provisions of nclb also mirror the educational reforms rice advocated later in his career. even the push for academic standards harkens back to recommendations he promoted. rice wrote, “a scientific system of pedagogical management would demand fundamentally the measurement of results in the light of fixed standards” (rice 1913, xv). rice created a furor with his articles and books. he even prompted some changes in the governance in some school systems. rice believed that there should be standards for educators, and that superintendents and principals should be responsible for seeing that teachers met those standards. a century later, a variation of rice’s vision came to pass. schools now have rigorous academic standards and students are required to pass tests to demonstrate proficiency in those skills. curiously, the testing that measures attainment of the standards reinvigorated the very type of drill and recitation teaching joseph mayer rice first found so objectionable. references ayers, leonard p. 1918. “history and present status of educational measurements” seventeenth yearbook of the national society for the study of education, part ii: 11-12. cremin, lawrence a. 1961. the transformation of the school. new york: knopf. curti, merle e. 1951. the growth of american thought 2 nd ed. new york: harper. englehart, max d. and macklin thomas. 1966. rice as the inventor of the comparative test. journal of educational measurement vol. 3, no. 2:141-145. fackler, tim and tse-min lin. 1995. “political corruption and presidential elections, 19291992” the journal of politics, vol. 57, no. 4:971-993. gage, n. l. 1991. the obviousness of educational research results. educational researcher vol. 20, no. 1:10-16. graham, patricia a. 1966. joseph mayor rice as a founder of the progressive education movement. journal of educational measurement vol. 3, no. 2:129-133. gurung, regan a. r. and beth m. schwartz. 2009. optimizing teaching and learning practicing pedagogical research. hoboken, nj: wiley-blackwell. kliebard, herbert m. 1982. education at the turn of the century: a crucible for curriculum change. educational researcher vol. 11, no. 1:16-24. kliebard, herbert m. 1986. the struggle for the american curriculum 1893-1958. new york: routledge. 66 kliebard, herbert m. 1993. what is a knowledge base, and who would use it if we had one? review of educational research vol. 63, no. 3:295-303. lagemann, ellen c. 1997. a history of education research in the united states 1890-1990. educational researcher vol. 26, no. 9:5-17. rice, joseph m. 1893. the public school system of the united states. new york: century. rice, joseph m. 1898. the rational spelling book. new york: american book co. rice, joseph m. 1913. scientific management in education. new york: hinds, noble & eldredge. rice, joseph m. 1915. the peoples government. new york: john c. winston co. sellers, charles. 1991. the market revolution: jacksonian america, 1815-1846. new york: oxford university press. tyack, david b. 1974. the one best system: a history of american urban education cambridge: harvard university press. the contributions of mataio kekuanaoa to the curriculum of hawaiian schools the role of mataio kekuanaoa in directing and challenging the curriculum for hawaiian schools during the nineteenth century carl kalani beyer national university abstract during the westernization of hawai‛i, curriculum helped support the spread of an american hegemony. this study focuses on the role played by mataio kekuanaoa, who as president of the board of education, directed and challenged the curriculum for hawaiian schools during the nineteenth century. his sponsorship of policies that challenged this inexorable “progress” towards americanization offers a view of the curriculum history of hawai‛i not previously reported. introduction even before the advent of western explorers, hawai„i was a differentiated society based upon competing chiefdoms and a stratified social system within each chiefdom. the diversity of hawaiians‟ identity prevented a united front in resisting the encroaching colonizers. moreover, the changes wrought by the forceful uniting of the island chain under one ruler and the legal erasure of the traditional hawaiian culture when that ruler died led to further schisms among hawaiians. this lack of unity among hawaiians weakened their resistance to the development of a westernstyle hegemonic structure that was largely delivered through the establishment of schools and a curriculum that enabled the colonizers to successfully bring hawai„i into the global orbit of an american empire. the purpose of this study is to demonstrate that in spite of the powerful american forces involved in spreading an american hegemony over hawai‛i during the nineteenth century there was some coherent and organized resistance from one hawaiian leader. while the history of hawaiian curricular innovations throughout two periods of time moved steadily towards the state where schools helped support the spread of an american hegemony, for eight years during the second period under the presidency of mataio kekuanaoa, the kingdom‟s board of education sponsored policies that challenged this inexorable “progress” towards americanizing and preparing hawaiians to be citizens of the united states. agreeing with the contention made by bernard bailyn (1960) that research should provide a critique of previous studies and the call by hayden white (1999) that history is about retrieving the past in order to grasp the present, this study focuses on the role played by kekuanaoa in directing and challenging the curriculum for hawaiian schools during the second period of extending an american hegemony. this approach is taken in order to offer a view of the education for hawaiians not previously reported and provide a means to challenge the perspective that hawaiians readily accepted the goals of the dominant class of americans. in order to provide the context for kekuanaoa‟s role, this study presents the extension of american hegemony, utilizing curricular innovations over two time periods: the first 20 years of introducing a western curriculum and the last 40 years of the nineteenth century. 2 the theoretical framework that provides the direction for this paper is the theory of hegemony. according to antonio gramsci (1971), hegemony is power achieved through a combination of coercion and consent. he argued that the ruling classes achieve domination not by force or coercion alone, but also by creating subjects who willingly submit to rule. “spontaneous” consent is given by the masses to the dominant group. in the hegemonic system, democracy exists through shared decision making. nevertheless, the intellectual and moral leadership of members of the dominant group enable them to acquire the consent of the masses. consent itself derives from the prestige (and consequent confidence) of the dominant group. with this consent the dominant group is able to control the political economy (a state whereby political and economic organizations function together in a society). mataio kekuanao’s background mataio kekuanaoa was born to kaukau ali‘i status. during the traditional hawaiian culture, the kaukau ali‘i were the server class of chiefs who were high enough in status to have contact with the ali‘i nui (high chiefs) but not high enough to intermarry with them (beckwith 1940; handy 1927; i‛i 1959; malo 1951). in 1819, the „āinoa era replaced the kapu system when the traditional culture was terminated. ‘āinoa is a hawaiian metaphor involving adopting western ways in order to preserve hawaiian sovereignty. as a term, it originally referred to freedom of choice or literally free eating. from freedom to choose one‟s life style, including one‟s religious practice, the ‘āinoa metaphor eventually evolved to include any efforts relating to preserving hawaiian freedom or sovereignty. during the „āinoa era there was a mixture of thinking and practices, melding the traditional hawaiian culture with christian teachings. one example of this hybridization was the end of close-relation marriages among the chiefs. the consequence of this change was the marriages of ali‘i nui to kaukau ali‘i. in spite of this new role, the kaukau ali‘i continued to serve the ali‘i nui. kekuanaoa was one of the many kaukau ali‘i who adopted this new role during the ‘āinoa era. they were educated by the missionaries, and expected to both sustain the traditional and incorporate the best of the new ways (kame'eleihiwa 1992). he was allowed to marry high chieftess kina‛u, daughter of kamehameha i. the offspring of this marriage were the last two kings of the kamehameha lineage, alexander liholiho (kamehameha iv) and lota kapuāiua (kamehameha v). even before his marriage, he was given important positions in the kingdom, serving as commander in chief of the kingdom‟s army and governor of the island of o‛ahu. under the constitutional government, he served as a member of the house of nobles. the constitution delegated absolute powers to the sovereign and the premier; it established a bicameral parliament, consisting of a hereditary house of nobles made up of chiefs, and an elective house of representatives; it ordained that all new laws were to be in tune with god, passed by a majority of both houses, and signed by both the king and the premier (kuykendall, 1966). kekuanaoa‟s most important role for this study was serving as the president of the board of education from1860 to 1868. forging a collaborative relationship before westerners arrived, the hawaiian culture was a series of competing chiefdoms where the leaders‟ primary responsibility was to provide pono (a balanced, peaceful life) for all of its members. hawaiians were an intelligent people who used varying forms of education to 3 inculcate members into their culture. between 1778, when captain james cook made contact with hawaiians, and 1820, when the american protestant missionaries arrived, hawaiian society was already undergoing transformation caused by the collision of external and internal forces. kekuanaoa was one of the key hawaiian chiefs that provided a peaceful transformation of hawai‛i from chiefdom to modern nation. in 1823, he accompanied kamehameh ii to england where he experienced first-hand the advances made by western science and technology (kanahele 1986). when the missionaries arrived, they immediately began to collaborate with him and other hawaiian chiefs to transform the kingdom into a modern state. western education arrived in the islands when the american board of commissioners for foreign missions (abcfm) sent their first company of missionaries in 1819. the american protestant missionaries, who arrived in hawai„i in 1820, were the primary curriculum developers who introduced western education. for the missionaries from the abcfm, hawai„i was one of many frontiers for their religion and culture. their adherence to an aggressive brand of calvinism and new england values led to the following two-fold mission: 1) converting hawaiians to christianity and 2) remolding the hawaiian society into the image of new england. connected to this mission was the need to help the kingdom remain sovereign. first period of american hegemony during the nineteenth century, there were two periods of hegemonization involving educational innovations. the first period was when the missionary educators, working with hawaiian leaders, strove to use education in the formation of consciousness, which involved getting native students to accept the superiority of white culture and the inferiority of their own culture. as the result of their collaboration with hawaiian monarchs, the missionaries developed as the intellectual and moral leaders through their work in creating a modern christian hawaiian state. working with hawaiian leaders, the missionary educators strove to use education in the formation of consciousness, involving getting native students to accept the superiority of white culture and the inferiority of their own culture. this mirrors gramsci (1994), who emphasized that hegemony is the exercise of ideological power. education, especially teaching in the vernacular, was important in providing active consent of natives through mass democratic organization. gramsci (1971) stated that “ideology is crucial to creating consent, it is the medium through which certain ideas are transmitted and more important, held to be true” (29). the missionaries preferred to teach all classes of hawaiians equally. but from the beginning, the first pupils were the chiefs (alexander 1902). according to missionary historians, over the next twenty years, missionaries implemented an educational program in five steps (alexander 1902; alexander and atkinson 1888; bingham 1847; dibble 1909; westervelt 1911). the first step was developing english schools for chiefs because they had not yet translated any reading materials into the hawaiian language. the second step was to translate reading material into the hawaiian language once it became clear how difficult it was to teach literacy in the english language (westervelt 1911). the third step was to send the best students from the school for chiefs to act as teachers at schools for commoners throughout the district. this system involved some training of the chiefs by bringing them together from all parts of the 4 district to the district school for a period of several weeks or months (annual report 1832). between 1824 and 1827, nearly the entire adult population of the hawaiian islands went to school. this missionary educational system reached the peak of its development in 1832, when more than 52,000 pupils were enrolled in 1,100 schools, the equivalent of 40 percent of the total hawaiian population (kuykendall, 1966). hawaiians saw education as beneficial to preserving their culture. they were fascinated with the idea of being able to convey thought and meaning through the use of symbols. in her investigation of the first hawaiian language newspaper, noenoe silva (1999) discovered that the editors used the printed word to celebrate hawaiian culture. lilikala kameeleihiwa (1992), also a contemporary hawaiian scholar, reported hawaiians, chiefs and commoners alike, were thrilled with the palapala (learning to read) “because it allowed them to extend their great intellectual and poetic tradition” (142). because the education process helped to prepare leaders, voters, and consumers, it also met the goals of hawaiians. teaching in the vernacular was an important part of the education process since by providing literacy in their language, mass education was realized quickly. once lāhaināluna high school was established, learning in the vernacular allowed hawaiian elites to receive an academic education (lecker 1938). the establishment of lāhaināluna high school as a teacher-training center resolved the dilemma posed by inadequately prepared teachers. this was the fourth step in the development of an educational system by the missionaries during the early years. the purpose of the school was to prepare young men to become teachers in the common schools or assistant teachers of religion. it was also determined that the school would use the manual labor system and a common school curriculum (frear 1920; westervelt 1911). an appeal to the american board for more mission helpers satisfied the fifth step. between 1831 and 1849, ten mission parties arrived and most were sent to teach or help at the schools. even though all of the recruits were connected spiritually to the mission‟s goals, many were not trained for missionary work. however, they were a very skilled group and quite adaptable to the needs of the schools (anderson 1872). during the second decade of the missionaries‟ presence in hawai„i, they reorganized their educational endeavors by shifting from adult to child education and by improving the training of teachers. however, by 1840, the missionaries were obliged to turn the common schools over to the government. bernard wist (1937), the premiere scholar on public education during the nineteenth century, speculated that the cuts in financial support from the american board due to the economic depression in the united states led to the missionaries‟ encouragement of the government‟s actions regarding the schools. while the schools were a valuable adjunct to the mission, the only course of action was to surrender the schools to the government because of insufficient funds to build schools and pay teachers. in 1840 and 1841, the first school laws were passed whereby the government assumed charge of the common schools and gave general sanction to what had been previously only local edicts of the governors. under these laws, a superintendent supervised school agents from each of the islands. attendance at school became compulsory for all children between the ages of 4 and 14, and local communities were organized to cooperate with the resident missionaries in the selection and support of the teachers (wist 1937). 5 the agents organized the parents in each community to provide for teachers and schoolhouses through a labor tax. over the next 20 years, the public school system was reorganized with the cooperation of the government. in 1846, kamehameha iii began this process by establishing the department of education, headed by the minister of public instruction. reverend william richards, who had already resigned from the mission and was an advisor to the king, was the first to assume this post. the kingdom was divided into 25 school districts with an appointed school agent in charge of each district‟s schools (wist 1937). in 1833, when the school system for adult hawaiians began to fall apart, the missionaries at most of the stations began to create select schools. select or station schools were day schools developed for the best students from the district common schools. when the government took over the common school, most of the select schools joined the common schools to form the public school system. coinciding with the development of select schools was the beginning of the special schools. special schools were those select schools receiving sufficient financial support to remain independent from the public school system and boarded their students (extract 1835). the rationale to create these boarding schools was to provide an education for students under the continuous influence of the missionary educators. as a result, it was agreed to board students at the hilo select school, begin a boarding school for girls at wailuku, maui, and shift from educating adults in a day situation to children as boarders at lāhaināluna high school. all these innovations were considered to be experimental. by this time reverend richard armstrong, a missionary on the island of maui, replaced reverend william richards as the minister of public instruction. the impetus for these changes was the arguments of reverends david lyman, the principal of hilo boys‟ boarding school, and richard armstrong in favor of more practical, character-oriented education for hawaiians. both lyman and armstrong had chosen to ply their missionary training at educating hawaiians. they believed that boarding was deemed essential to obfuscate the bad influences from family members and other whites. since only lāhaināluna educated students beyond the age of 14, the best students at hilo school for boys, who were generally younger, finished their education at lāhaināluna high school. meanwhile, the girls at wailuku school for girls were groomed to become wives of lāhaināluna high school graduates (extracts 1836). initially, all three schools had a common school curriculum in addition to the manual labor and/or manual training curriculum. when armstrong and lyman spoke about wanting a “practical” education at all the select schools, they were referring to the use of manual labor and/or manual training curriculum. both lyman and armstrong were prepared for their preference for a practical curriculum because they received manual labor training at the american seminaries they attended. consequently, it was hoped that the select schools would also implement this meaning of “practical” into their curriculum. even though the curriculum at the lāhaināluna high school included manual labor, in time, its academics became formal. in contrast to a common school curriculum, a formal school curriculum was at this time the equivalent of a high school or academy curriculum. eventually, students desiring to enter into the ministry were provided training in the classics after they had finished the required four-year course of instruction (wist 1937). 6 second period of american hegemony a second period of hegemonization involving educational innovations began during the last 40 years of the nineteenth century. this period differed from the previous era due to the fact that politically and economically hawai‛i was now internationally connected. there was also a real threat of force behind the emerging dominant americans through the presence of american military as the result of the leasing of pearl harbor by the kingdom for an american naval base in 1876. the economy became international due to the success of the sugar plantation industry, which necessitated that the government aid in providing markets and a labor supply. gramsci (1971) postulated that “the more the immediate economic life of a nation is subordinate to international relations, the more a particular party will come to represent this situation and to exploit it, with the aim of preventing rival parties from gaining the upper hand (176).” as second generation missionaries came to adulthood, their determination to protect the political economy their fathers had developed led them to apply coercive force in 1887 and 1892, ultimately leading to their assuming total governmental control. the success of coercion by whites led to policies, including curricular ones, which were often antithesis to the best interests of the independent hawaiian nation. whereas, in the previous period, hawai„i was treated as a sovereign nation, during this period it was already considered a part of the american empire. as a result, curricular innovations were undertaken based upon assimilating hawaiians into the political and economic structure of america. this required educating hawaiians for low-skill positions in the economy, which led to an inferior status that would last for generations. the imposition of american hegemony occurred because underlying the collaboration between missionaries who wanted to transform hawai‛i into a christian civilization and the hawaiian chiefs who wanted to preserve the kingdom‟s sovereignty was a contradiction. both missionaries and hawaiians needed to be considered partners for this collaboration to lead to the success of both parties‟ goals. in the early years of the missionaries‟ development of an educational system as well as the transformation of the political system and economic structure both goals were achieved and there was a semblance of partnership. increasingly, especially as a second generation of missionaries came into power, missionaries and other whites began to exert a more overt superiority over hawaiians. mataio kekuanaoa was the most prominent hawaiian to resist the conferring of an inferior status by the dominant class on hawaiians. nevertheless, he still believed that through collaboration hawai‛i was capable of achieving hawaiian and missionary goals. historians of hawai‛i have chosen to ignore kekuanaoa‟s role in resisting the curricular goals of the dominant whites, particularly the american protestant missionaries. in fact, the historians (many of them missionaries or their descendents) portrayed kekuanaoa as a pawn for his son, kamehameha iv. however, when one reads the voluminous speeches made by kekuanaoa, it is easy to see that he was an intellectual and quite clear that his son was the pupil while he was the teacher. during his eight year tenure as the president of the board of education, he was prominent in providing a hawaiian response to the following two reforms proposed by the american protestant missionaries: the establishment of private female seminaries and the acceleration of replacing hawaiian with english as the language of instruction. 7 mataio kekuanaoa’s contribution to female education although the new mo‘ī (monarch), kamehameha iv, was less friendly to the missionaries, he did support innovations in education just as his predecessor had done. in spite of his distrust of the american missionaries, he had a great deal of respect for richard armstrong, the minister of public instruction. no doubt, armstrong‟s support of reforming education through female education was influential (armstrong 1858). when armstrong died in 1860, mataio kekuanaoa, the king‟s father, was appointed president of the board of education (a change in the title of the position was made at this time). based upon the way kekuanaoa took charge of implementing this reform, it was the father who was making policy rather than the son. the first experiments in female schools occurred during a period of little interest in educating girls. kuykendall (1932) explained that hawaiian parents were less interested in the education of their daughters than of their sons. he cited the lower number of females enrolled in the english language select schools as evidence. during late 1850s, there was much interest in female education as evinced by discussions in periodicals. the journal, the friend, initiated a journalistic challenge to the advertiser and the polynesian, the other prominent english language journals of that time period, and chided both the government and the abcfm for not promoting female education (female education 1857). in 1860, the other papers responded, generating more interest in female education. these discussions were especially concerned with the conditions of the ordinary hawaiian home, suggesting that girls be removed to boarding schools (report of education 1866). kekuanaoa‟s first effort to influence the curriculum for hawaiian females began on january 16, 1860, when he authorized the charter for the makiki family school, a school for girls. this was the first new school in 20 years. the closing of wailuku school freed maria odgen, its former principal, and she was called upon to establish this school (kawaiahao 1885). at kekuanaoa‟s recommendation, the legislative assembly of 1860 amended the civil code, giving specific authority to the kingdom‟s board of education to establish family schools for hawaiian girls and also made it lawful for the schools to be aided by the government even if private organizations or individuals operated them (kamehameha iv 1860). he devised a government aid formula based upon capitation fees paid per child on the following scale: for every child in a family school (later to include female seminaries) for 6 months, $10; for 1 year, $20; for 2 to 3 years, $25; and for 4 years or more, $30 (government support 1865). in 1865, kekuanaoa led the board of education to adopt special rules for the governance of these schools. schools were required to teach reading and writing in either english or hawaiian, arithmetic, the elements of grammar and geography, and some branch of industrial work. the internal arrangements of the schools had to be conducive to the physical and moral well being of the pupils. the schools were to be conducted on christian principles, but each set of board of directors or trustees was given full discretion as to the form of christianity they might choose to inculcate (kekuanaoa 1860). at the start of this period of female education, the driving force was still the intent to train hawaiian females to proper domestic habits. more concern was also expressed about providing the graduates of female schools with the means of a livelihood as well. besides training the girls to 8 produce household goods or domestic skills they could sell, some missionary voices called for the training of hawaiian females as either missionaries or public school teachers (annual reports 1863). although kekuanaoa was willing to have the government financially support female seminaries, it was still up to independent organizations or individuals to establish these schools. the american protestant missionaries again took the lead as in the past. reverends poque and andrews, officials of hawaiian evangelical association (hea), the organization that governed all american protestant missionary activity in hawai‛i, sent a circular to various missionaries throughout the hawaiian islands asking several questions. the answers to these questions helped to fashion policies for a series of new seminaries. the responses to this circular indicated that the following were the most pertinent questions (the letter containing the original questions was not found in the hea archives). should there be the establishment of female seminaries? should the seminaries be like wailuku female seminary? at what age should the education begin? how should the seminaries be financed? the consensus of the responses included the following goal statements: establish seminaries using the earlier wailuku female seminary; attract young girls and keep them at the seminary until they married or found employment; make boarding compulsory at the seminaries in order to keep students away from corrupting influences; locate seminaries away from major port cities where the bad influences were greatest; charge parents or guardians for the expenses of the girls; employ at least two instructors, one for academics and one for household arts, and offer a salary high enough to attract competent teachers; and provide a manual labor and common school curriculum taught in the english language to help defray the costs and prepare girls for life after school (alexander 1858; clark 1858; johnson 1858; paris 1858). in some ways, the efforts to educate females at the missionary schools were really meant to impact hawaiian men. noenoe silva (1999), in her translations of richard armstrong‟s government paper, ka hou hawaii, illustrated this idea. armstrong reported that “in enlightened/civilized lands, women work at sewing, taking care of children, cleaning, and teaching school. then, life is comfortable. if their bodies and their houses are clean, their husbands do not look for other women” (98-99). silva surmised after translating an editorial in this paper that armstrong thought female education “was a way to encourage the use of english language schools toward socializing the population in white ways, with the emphasis, however on men – women were to be the tool whereby men would learn” (99). the missionaries appeared in concert with kekuanaoa‟s goal for educating hawaiian females when they announced that they wanted the natives to become teachers or adept in some industrial skill. the missionaries borrowed the structure of the female seminaries from the united states to accomplish their goal (beyer 2003). the reality was that since the missionaries believed hawaiians to be inferior the curriculum for hawaiian girls was different from that for white girls. reverend nathan emerson (1884) explained why this was true: the educational needs of the hawaiian girls are greater than those of the girl born of enlightened white parents. in the case of the hawaiian girls there is almost total lack of home-education to begin with. morals and manners, habits of industry, thrift and economy – plants of slow growth – together with the 9 necessary book-knowledge, which i am far from despising, have to be imparted to her all at once. (32) he proposed that the curriculum for hawaiian girls “consist of a thorough and systematic training in all the essential or closely allied branches of housekeeping” (emerson 1884, 33). kekuanaoa envisioned schools for hawaiian girls as a means to prepare them for citizenship in a sovereign hawaiian kingdom. as adults, he expected hawaiian females would influence their children and husbands to value education and act responsibly. he also believed that the curriculum at the seminaries would prepare them to be teachers or use the industrial skills they learned to become productive member of society. by contrast, the american protestant missionaries were intent on inculcating an acceptance on the part of the hawaiian girls to an inferior status in the kingdom. the curriculum at the female seminaries was meant to pave the way for whites to eventually control the entire hawaiian political economy. consequently, as english language replaced hawaiian as the language of instruction, hawaiian females were less likely to be employed as teachers even when their education was provided in the english language. american teachers were imported to provide both instruction and indoctrination to an american hegemony. mataio kekuanaoa’s resistance to english language instruction another reform proposed by the american protestant missionaries during kekuanaoa‟s term as president of the board of education was the move to replace instruction in the vernacular with english. all factions, hawaiian, missionary, and anti-missionary whites, were involved with this issue. the missionaries were adamant that teaching commoners in their own language was preferable to teaching them in english. primarily, the missionaries began schools, teaching in the vernacular because they believed students learned in their own language at a more rapid rate. after translating the bible, they discovered how much better the words of the bible sounded in the hawaiian language. many of the teachers at the special schools for hawaiians were reluctant to abandon the hawaiian language for this reason. ralph stueber (1964), whose dissertation focused on the way language helped to create a unique multicultural community in hawai„i, had a different explanation for their behavior: the missionaries understood the value of the hawaiian tongue as one of the few remaining binding forces in the hawaiian community and consequently became fluent in it as quickly as possible. it was this consideration as much as any thing else that won for them a high degree of respect and friendship of the hawaiian people. (42) it also was apparent that more advanced topics were learned when hawaiians were taught from translations of americans texts than was accomplished if the students were taught entirely in the english language (minutes of hawaiian 1854; report of waioli 1860). conflict arose between missionaries and the majority of the anti-missionary white community when the latter strongly favored teaching hawaiians in the english language. prior to the 1850s, the anti-missionary white strident voices attacked the missionaries for teaching in the vernacular. the critics of the missionaries contended that teaching in the vernacular enabled the missionaries to control the hawaiians and ensured the success of their proselytizing mission. after the governmental and economic changes of the 1840s and 1850s, the missionary commitment 10 to the native language was challenged by the necessity of hawaiians to communicate in english due to the increased demands of commercial centers, marriages between hawaiian women and other races, and the increased size and influence of the english speaking foreign community (stueber 1864). as the result of the push to institute english instruction, the minister of public instruction, richard armstrong, encouraged those select schools with the ability to teach in english to switch languages for instruction. these english select schools would require that the parents pay $25 towards the tuition (later it would be half of whatever was the tuition cost). the common schools continued to be free and taught in the vernacular. over the next 40 years, hawaiian parents continued in increasing numbers to pay the extra tuition. just before the constitution of 1887, 54 out of 131 public schools were english select schools. these schools tended to be larger, so they represented about two-thirds of the public school population (gibson 1886). while english language instruction predominated in the commercial centers, vernacular schools were still thriving in rural and remote areas. hawaiians who were living closer to traditional ways populated these communities; as a consequence, they tended to prefer instruction in the hawaiian language. after the new constitution in 1887, the effort to switch to teaching in english increased (bishop 1892). by the eve of the revolution in 1892, only 5 percent of the hawaiian public school population was still educated in the vernacular. after the revolution, the last remaining vernacular schools were closed and english was made the language of schools and all government transactions. in 1895, legislation made it illegal to use the hawaiian language in any public transaction, including education (castle 1896). even though missionary evidence substantiates the support of hawaiian parents for english language schools, the actual transition was slow until whites had control of the government under the constitution of 1887. it may be that hawaiian parents were becoming aware of how the political and economic changes made english proficiency more and more essential. however, support for the transition to english was not universal. mataio kekuanaoa questioned its merits throughout his reports as the president of the board of education. he felt that “the way to destroy the hawaiian kingdom and the feelings and attitudes in favor of it is to allow the people to acquire contempt for their native language” (kekuanaoa 1861). in his 1864 biennial report, he criticized the education provided at the english select schools: the result of experience warrants the assertion, that the attempt to give hawaiian children, whose language out of school, in the play-ground, and at their homes, is exclusively hawaiian, an education in day school, through the medium of english text books only, has not met with success enough, when compared with the advantages to be derived from a common school education in their own language, to warrant the change in favor of the english, even were the expense not so enormously disproportionate. (6) the expenses were higher for these english language schools than for the vernacular schools because of the need to provide housing and pay higher salaries for the predominantly american teachers in these schools. for example, in 1886, the total cost of education per year for the 4,262 student enrolled in the common schools was $68,198.37 ($16/pupil); the total cost of education per year for the 8,974 students enrolled in the 11 english language schools was $233,333.14 ($26/pupils) (gibson 1886). kekuanaoa warned that if the hawaiian language were lost, dire consequence would befall the independence of the hawaiian kingdom. he was not suggesting abandoning english instruction. instead, he called for a bilingual approach. over the next four years, a few schools were listed in biennial reports as practitioners of bilingual instruction, but no details provided regarding their success (kekuanaoa 1866, 1868). because the teachers at the english select schools were usually whites from the united states, the public schools would have to find teachers competent in both languages. graduates of lāhaināluna seminary, hilo boys‟ boarding school, and the female seminaries were capable of doing the job. however, by then, charles r. bishop was the president of the board of education. although bishop was not a missionary, he was considered to be a member of the promissionary faction. even his marriage to a hawaiian did not alter his taking actions that supported missionary rather than hawaiian interests. whenever he was faced with the decision to use educated hawaiians to teach in schools other than common schools, he declined to do so. in a book on bishop, harold kent (1965) implied that bishop‟s concern about the morality of hawaiians kept him from placing them in teaching positions. an example of this occurred when charles king, a graduate of kamehameha school for boys and oswego normal school, applied to teach at the kamehameha school. bishop denied his employment. this action precipitated a policy at the kamehameha schools that would last for over 50 years of not employing a hawaiian as a teacher or administrator. furthermore, bishop‟s commitment to english becoming the language of the nation also precluded his acceptance of bilingualism. walter murray gibson was the next president of the board of education after bishop. gibson had been a part of the anti-missionary white community ever since he arrived in hawai‛i. it was due to this relationship with the missionary faction that king kalakaua, who was attempting to wrest control away from the dominant americans at this time (kuykendall 1968), appointed him to his position. gibson, like kekuanaoa, was supportive of preserving the hawaiian language. however, by the time that gibson took over as president of the board of education in 1884, the spread of english instruction was well advanced. nevertheless, he called for hiring a hawaiian language instructor for the larger schools in order to give instruction for two or three hours per week to hawaiian children (gibson 1886). there were other practical reasons for the increase in english instruction among the schools of hawai„i. one reason was that as immigrant workers of other races began to increase after the reciprocity treaty with the united states, their children were required by law to attend the neighborhood school. teaching in the english language made more sense than in the vernacular. from 1880 to 1894, non-hawaiians increased from 8 to 36 percent of the population (schmitt 1968). a second reason was that the missionaries switched to english instruction in their special schools because their curriculum demanded it. as the special schools began to turn to a form of manual training, english instruction became necessary to recruit teachers skilled enough to teach either the academic or manual training courses. after the late 1880s, the increased emphasis on manual training among the public schools would also require hiring more foreign teachers conversant in the english language and 12 knowledgeable in the skills of manual training (beyer 2007). by the end of sovereignty, the percent of english-speaking foreign teachers was nearly 70 percent of the teaching force at the independent schools and nearly 50 percent at the government schools (castle, 1896). conclusion during most of the nineteenth century after the traditional culture was terminated, westerners working with hawaiians prepared hawai‛i to become a modern sovereign nation. while the relationship to make this a reality between american missionaries and hawaiians were outwardly collaborative, both groups had agendas that were in conflict. hawaiians wanted their nation to be independent and sovereign. they envisioned the relationship necessary to make this happen was a partnership whereby westerners provided advice and hawaiians controlled and directed the nation. the missionaries‟ agenda was to transform hawai‛i into a “civilized” and christian nation. however, their belief that hawaiians were inferior led to them imposing an american hegemony whereby missionaries and other whites served as the dominant class and hawaiians as the subordinate class. during the 1860s, when kekuanaoa served as president of the board of education, two reforms were transforming the education of hawaiians. the first reform was the sponsorship of female private education. mataio kekuanaoa provided the leadership and helped to ensure success through government funding. his efforts to guide the curriculum for female education established the means for an alternative path whereby educated hawaiians would lead the continued modernization of the hawaiian kingdom. when the american protestant missionaries took the lead in establishing female seminaries, they instituted different plans. for the members of the dominant class, educating hawaiian females was a way to subordinate hawaiians. the second reform was replacing the hawaiian language with english as the language of instruction. mataio kekuanaoa was the most prominent voice in the hawaiian government to understand the danger it posed to the survival of hawaiian sovereignty. after kekuanaoa died, charles bishop became president of the school board. bishop was a long-time ally of the missionary faction. upon assuming control of the school system, he accelerated the goal of the dominant class to prepare hawaiians to become american citizens. of course, this citizenship was to be subordinate to whites. thus, the dominant class of whites embarked on a concerted effort to americanize education for hawaiians by replacing the hawaiian language with english, employing more american instructors, and utilizing a common school and manual training curriculum. when they needed to convince the people of the united states to support annexation, they emphasized the dominance of american institutions in hawai‛i, particularly the use of the english language. the replacement of hawaiians by missionaries and other whites as the dominant class relegated the true people of hawai‛i to secondary status. since education was the means for which this secondary status was accomplished, this study provides contemporary educators with an understanding of the past that may help them improve education for hawaiians today. particularly, it provides research goals that include a critique of previous studies and retrieves the past in order to grasp the present. by focusing on the role played by kekuanaoa in attempting to direct and challenge the curriculum of hawaiian schools, this research accomplishes these goals. 13 this approach is taken in order to offer a view of mataio kekuanaoa not previously reported and provide a means to challenge the perspective that there were no hawaiians who challenged the goals of the dominant class of americans during the nineteenth century. references alexander, w. d. 1902. the development of education in hawaii. the friend, lix (december): 22-24. alexander, w. d. & a. t. atkinson. 1888. an historical sketch of education in the hawaiian islands. honolulu: board of education of the hawaiian kingdom. alexander, w. p. 1858. letter to mr. poque and mr. andrews, 8 october. in missionary letters collection, hawaiian missionary children’s society. honolulu: hawaiian evangelical society. anderson, r. 1872. history of the mission of the american board of commissioners for foreign missions to the hawaiian islands. boston: congregational publishing board. annual report and minutes of the american board of commissioners for foreign missions. 1832. boston: american board of commissioners for foreign missions. annual reports and minutes of the meetings of the hawaiian evangelical association. 1863.honolulu: hawaiian evangelical association. armstrong, r. 1858.annual report of the president of the school board. the pacific commercial advertiser, iii (7): 2. bailyn, b. 1960. education in the forming of american society. new york: vintage books. beckwith, m. w. 1940. hawaiian mythology. new haven: yale university press. beyer, c. k. (2003). female seminaries in america and hawaii during the 19 th century. the hawaiian journal of history, vol. 37, pp. 91-118. beyer, c. k. (2007). the connection of samuel chapman armstrong as both borrower and architect of education in hawai‛i. history of education quarterly, vol. 47, issue 1, pp. 23-48. bingham, h. 1847. a residence of twenty-one years in the sandwich islands. new york: sherman converse. bishop, c. r. 1892, 1896. biennial report of the president of the board of education to the legislature. honolulu: hawaiian government. castle, w. 1896. biennial report of the president of the board of education to the legislature. honolulu: hawaiian government. clark, e. m. 1858. letter to mr. poque and mr. andrews, 16 september. in missionary letters collection, hawaiian missionary children’s society. honolulu: hawaiian evangelical society. dibble, s. 1894. history of the sandwich islands. honolulu: t.g. thrum. emerson, n. b. 1884. the education of hawaiian girls. in annual reports of the hawaiian mission children's society. honolulu: hawaiian children's mission society. extracts from the minutes of the general meeting of the sandwich islands mission. 1835. honolulu: sandwich islands mission. extracts from the minutes of the general meeting of sandwich island mission. 1836. honolulu, hi: sandwich island mission. female education among hawaiians. 1857. the friend, 6 (16): 41. frear, w. 1920. a century of achievement. honolulu: hawaiian mission association. 14 gibson, w. m. 1886. biennial report of the president of the board of education to the legislature. honolulu: hawaiian government. government support of family schools for hawaiian girls. 1865. hawaiian gazette, i (june 24): 12. gramsci, a. 1971. selections from the prison notebooks. edited by q. hoare and g. n. smith. london: lawrence and wishart. gramsci, a. 1994. pre prison writings. edited by richard bellamy. translated byvirginia cox. cambridge: cambridge press. handy, e. s. c. 1927. polynesian religion. honolulu: bishop museum. i'i, j. p. 1959. fragments of hawaiian history. edited by dorothy b. barrere. honolulu: bishop museum press. johnson, e. 1858. letter to mr. poque and mr. andrews, 4 december. in missionary letters collection, hawaiian missionary children’s society. honolulu: hawaiian evangelical society. kame‛eleihiwa, l. 1992. native land and foreign desires: pehea la e pono ai? honolulu: bishop museum press. kamehameha iv. 1860. laws of his majesty kamehameha iv, king of the hawaiian islands,passed by the nobles and representatives at their session. honolulu: hawaiian government. kanahele, g. 1986. pauahi: the kamehameha legacy. honolulu, hi: kamehameha school press. kawaiahao seminary: at the close of the first twenty years of its history, with the brief history of other schools for girls. 1885. honolulu: hawaiian children's mission society. kekuanaoa, mataio. 1860, 1861, 1864, 1866, 1868. biennial report of the president of the board of education to the legislature. honolulu: hawaiian government. kent, h. 1965. charles reed bishop: man of hawaii. palo alto: pacific books. kuykendall, r. s. 1932. some early school men of modern hawaii. hawaiian education review, april: 221-227. kuykendall, r. s. 1966. the hawaiian kingdom: 1778-1854. honolulu: university of hawai'i press. kuykendall, r. s. 1968. the hawaiian kingdom: 1874-1893. honolulu: university of hawai'i press. lecker, g. t. lahainaluna. ph.d. diss., university of hawaii. malo, d. 1951. hawaiian antiquities. honolulu: bishop museum. minutes of the meeting of the hawaiian evangelical association. 1854. honolulu: hawaiian evangelical association paris, j. 1858. letter to mr. poque and mr. andrews, 4 december. in missionary letters collection, hawaiian missionary children’s society. honolulu: hawaiian evangelical society. report of education committee on boarding school for girls in honolulu. 1866. in hawaiian evangelical association, hawaiiam mission childrens' society. honolulu: hawaiian evangelical association. report of waioli school. 1860. sandwich islands mission collection, hawaiian mission children's society. honolulu: hawaiian evangelical association. schmitt, r c. 1968. demographic statistics of hawaii: 1778-1965. honolulu: university of hawaii press. silva, n. k. 1999. ke ku 'ekupa 'a loa makou: kanaka maoli resistance to colonization. 15 ph.d. diss., university of hawai'i, manoa, honolulu, hawaii. stueber, r. k. 1964. hawaii: a case study in development education 1778-1960. ph.d. diss., university of wisconsin. westervelt, w. d. 1911. the first twenty years of education in the hawaiian islands. honolulu: annual report of the hawaiian historical society (19th). white, h. 1999. afterword. in lynn hunt and v.e. bonnell (ed.s), beyond the culturalturn: new directions in the study of society and culture, 315-324. berkeley: university of california press. wist, b. o. (1937). american foundations of public education in hawaii: the socioeconomic factors which were influential in the shaping of an american public school system in hawaii. ph.d. diss., yale university. county teachers’ institutes: a snapshot from gonzales, texas deborah l. morowski auburn university mindy spearman clemson university abstract teachers’ institutes provided texas educators with a major form of professional development during the latter nineteenth century and the first part of the twentieth century. this research offers a snapshot of the way gonzales county, located in central texas, conducted institutes from 1906 to 1915. every year, teachers throughout the united states engage in professional development activities that advance their content and pedagogical knowledge and skills. this endeavor is not a modern invention, but traces its roots to the early days of common schooling in america. prior to the brown ruling in 1954, schools were segregated for white and black students, and likewise, for teachers. although teacher development was segregated, all teachers, black and white, were expected to enhance their teaching knowledge and skills. one important means of furthering teacher knowledge was through teacher institutes. at these professional development meetings, practicing teachers gathered for lectures about educational theory, discussions centered on pedagogical techniques, and inspirational speeches designed to create loyalty amongst professional educators (spearman 2006). institutes were relatively inexpensive, easy to organize, and provided a blend of local and national educational contexts. the teachers’ institute was particular popular during the decades surrounding the turn of the twentieth century. a variety of teacher institutes existed at the state and local levels, occurring both during the summer months and throughout the school year. this article sheds light on the teacher institutes conducted by one texas town, gonzales. considering what fraser describes as “understudied” nature of teachers’ institutes, a historical case study of gonzales county might prove to demonstrate a system typical of many districts throughout the state (fraser 2007, 76). during the late-nineteenth and earlytwentieth century, texas administrators and policymakers considered the professional development of the texas teaching corps of prime importance. this was in part due to the efforts of dr. barnas sears, the first peabody agent to visit the state of texas (eby 1925). in 1877, he reported that teacher institutes were “indispensable; otherwise, the public schools will be but a farce” (sears 1877, 710). sears’ strong statement stemmed from the belief that teachers, without a widespread normal school system, had a general lack of pre-service training and experience. teacher institutes served to advance teachers’ pedagogical and content knowledge. through regularly scheduled teacher institutes, superintendents guided and supported the daily work of teachers. other texas educators later came to agree with sears, hoping that regularly scheduled professional development might help “to raise teaching to the dignity of a profession in texas” 2 (bryant 1934, 42; tucker 1917). the state of texas ran several different systems of institutes simultaneously—summer normal institutes, county institutes and city/local institutes. the state superintendent of education organized and regulated summer normal institutes. despite the implications of their name, these normal institutes were not officially associated with normal schools, teacher’s colleges, or university schools of education but were conducted entirely through the department of public instruction. whereas some states created special “normal districts” to house each institute, texas held summer normal institutes based on congressional districts (news and notes 1885). the state also had a system of county institutes, organized by county superintendents of the public schools. where summer normals emphasized general theory and subject matter, county institutes focused on practical, pedagogical methods (hartman 1907). likely this reflected the certification methods available to teachers in texas. teachers could receive certification by graduating from a normal school or by passing county teaching examinations. due to the more rigorous nature of the normal school curriculum, it is not surprising that county institutes focused on practical pedagogical matters that would enhance the teaching abilities of the teachers accredited through the county examinations. additionally, some texas school districts elected to hold local institutes sponsored by city superintendents. city institutes were not regulated by the state legislature, although most superintendents personally insisted that their teachers attend. local institutes were conceptualized as an extension of county institute work, scheduled regularly on a more frequent basis. additionally, the smaller setting allowed for an increased opportunity for group work, teacher leadership and active participation (liddell 1902). of the three institute types available to texas teachers, county institutes generally garnered the largest amount of teacher participation. indeed, the texas legislature stressed the importance of teacher professional development by making county institutes a legal necessity. at first, according to chapter 25, section 42 of the eighteenth legislative session of the state of texas, laws simply mandated that each county hold some form of institute—with no specifics concerning the frequency or length of institutes, nor regulation of teacher attendance (gammel 1898). many administrators lobbied for more stringent requirements that would make teacher presence at county institutes compulsory (henderson 1902). the texas school journal, the leading educational periodical in texas during the progressive era, suggested that teachers who failed to attend the institutes should have pay deducted from their salaries and be forced to retake all certification exams (editorial 1887). while the journal’s suggestion never came to fruition, the legislature did eventually regulate attendance. in 1905, under the twenty-ninth legislative session of the state of texas, teacher attendance at county institutes was mandated and teachers could attend institutes that were scheduled during the school year without pecuniary loss (cousins 1905). this same legislature, in article 2658, chapter 124, granted the state superintendent and his assistants traveling expenses for institute attendance (woods and mcalister 1938). these institutes were often held for a week in september or during the holidays; or, alternatively, split into sessions that were held 3 on three non-subsequent weekends during the scholastic year. teachers of all grade levels attended county institutes. to better serve the participants, teachers split into sessions that grouped them according to primary, intermediate and high school grade levels. some county institutes also provided principals and superintendents with a special section for discussing administrative work (jackson 1897). in the case of some county institutes, teachers also broke into rural and city sections. institutes were segregated by race into a white section and a colored section, both at the county and city levels. although the texas state superintendent of public instruction requested that white and colored sections be held on different days of the week, occasionally they were held on the same date but at different times or in different places, as in san antonio and houston (carlisle 1898). this format allowed the same guest speakers and lectures to visit both the white and the colored institutes in succession (school of methods, 1905; hisd 1908). in general, the colored institutes had the same format as the white institutes and were also presided over by the city or county superintendent (hartman 1907; hisd 1908). at first, texas county superintendents organized the structure and content of county institutes on their own. however, the quality of the individual institutes varied depending upon the amount of time and preparation that each county superintendent put into the event. during the first part of the twentieth-century, some texas administrators and policymakers, frustrated that “a very poor grade of institute work prevailed” in many counties because of inconsistencies in the “native ability and training” of some superintendents, sought a way to regulate county institute work (henderson 1915). to combat this problem, the state superintendent of public instruction released a general plan for county institutes each year and asked county superintendents to conform—or at least not conflict—with state suggestions. while it is unclear if county superintendents who failed to follow such guidelines received any sort of sanction from the state, they were expected to submit a copy of their institute program to the state superintendent each year (bralley 1910). teachers’ institutes in gonzales county, 1906-1915 gonzales county is located in central texas, approximately 50 miles southeast of the state capital of austin. since the mid-nineteenth century, the county has been comprised of farms interspersed with a few small towns. gonzales county was settled in 1826 and was established formally as a county in 1836 (baumgartner and vollentine 2008). it is best known for its central role in texas’ fight for independence from mexico in 1835. from its early years, gonzales county prided itself on providing educational opportunities. in 1841, residents of the county seat of gonzales county, gonzales, founded gonzales college (vollentine 1986). although the college provided educational opportunities for males and females, only those able to afford the tuition received an education. by the late nineteenth century, a system of public schools administered by the gonzales county board of directors operated throughout the county. separate schools housed white, africanamerican, and mexican children. to enhance the knowledge levels of its teachers gonzales county, typical of most texas counties, offered professional 4 development in the form of annual county institutes for teachers. the importance of these institutes was noted in the state department of education’s seventeenth biennial report: the institute serves higher ideals of education and teaching to teachers, cultivates the “craft” spirit, develops a more intelligent understanding of the science and art of instruction and school management, and generates enthusiasm for the work; it makes the increased professional power of teachers that comes from expert suggestions, wise planning and the practical study of education immediately available for school room use, and thereby reaches directly with its influence and benefits all schools in the county… (texas department of education, 1911) an examination of county institute minutes and newspaper articles on the institutes provided an insight into the workings of these professional development sessions for white teachers in gonzales county. no substantive records remain for any county institutes for africanamerican teachers. it is not known if county institutes for african-american teachers were not held, or if detailed records were not saved. the 1906 gonzales county white teachers’ institute commenced at nine o’clock a.m. on september 3 at the gonzales high school with a prayer led by the local methodist minister and a roll call of teachers. “appropriate” religious exercises followed. a female teacher was elected to serve as secretary. a local principal was elected to serve as chairman of the institute and a committee was established to arrange a program of study for the institute. the program committee consisted of the institute chairman and two participating teachers, who discussed the program requisites with the remaining participants before adjourning for lunch on monday. two sessions were held each day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. lessons on elementary subject content, pedagogy, and classroom administration were taught by local principals and experienced teachers. for example, the thursday sessions of the 1906 institute included an advanced class in reading, a roundtable discussion on the topic of including high school branches in rural schools, a class in grammar, and a seminar on teaching percentages in mathematics. additionally, a local physician provided a lecture on physiology and hygiene and judge glass, a county judge, addressed the teachers about texas’ school laws. at the end of the week, the committee on resolutions presented a resolution of thanks to the citizens of gonzales for the kind manner in which the teachers had been treated (gonzales county teachers’ institute minutes, 1906). the institute of 1907 was typical of the institutes which occurred in gonzales during the ensuing decade. the county superintendent presided over the institute as chairman. one noted change was that the program of study was outlined by the state superintendent rather than being organized by the local chairman as had been done in 1906. county superintendent haynes outlined the state superintendent’s course of study to institute participants. to support the state outlined program, state superintendent robert bartow cousins (19051910) addressed the institute on the subject of “what i consider a successful teacher.” although the board of trustees and local citizens were invited, few turned out to hear the state 5 official (gonzales county teachers’ institute minutes, 1906). one possible reason for the lower than hoped for turnout was the timing of the address. in later years, invited speakers addressed the institute during the day and presented an additional talk at night for the board of trustees and local citizens. the minutes of the institute do not indicate that state superintendent cousins delivered an evening address in addition to his speech to the institute. educational topics of the day were also addressed during the institute. during the morning session on wednesday, the teachers discussed whether children should start school at age four, five, six, or seven. the institute voted to recommend that all children younger than age seven be excluded from the county schools. in 1908, the county institute was held in december rather than in september, as in previous years. despite this change in time, the gonzales county institute remained in accordance with state regulations for teachers’ institutes. although state superintendent cousins initially suggested that counties hold week-long institutes in september or october, by 1908 these stipulations had changed to allow institutes any time between september 1 st and december 31 st (cousins 1907; eilers 1905). also in 1908, a local judge who was an expert in agriculture presented lesson on the topic. teachers visited local classrooms of the gonzales independent school district to observe classroom instruction. the gonzales mother’s club entertained the teachers at a member’s home. a committee on professional reading recommended books for teachers to read throughout the year. these included colin sherman buell’s essentials of psychology (1898) and francis wayland parker’s talks on teaching (1893). the inclusion of such reading material highlights the fact that teacher institutes were a means for teachers to become familiar with current research and thinking in all aspects of education. in addition to local teachers, principals, and specialists, a professor from southwestern normal school, thomas g. harris, instructed institute participants on problems in teaching. although the institute was held at the county’s expense, the teachers voted to tax themselves fifteen cents each to help offset the cost of the instructors. in 1908, 75 teachers attended the gonzales county white teachers institute (gonzales county teachers institute minutes, 1908). in 1909, the gonzales county institute met in october, again at the high school building. cecil eugene evans, the general agent for the conference of education in texas, was invited to address the institute. the conference of education in texas was a body of teachers appointed by the state teachers’ association that promoted educational issues. evans spoke to the teachers on the topic of “obtaining better schools.” that evening, evans delivered an address on “education as an investment” with the board of trustees and local citizens being invited to attend. evan’s evening address supported state superintendent cousins’ institute plan, which suggested that county superintendents hold a motivational evening rally open to the general public; in particular, cousins suggested that the 19091910 school rallies might promote the purpose and goals behind the conference for education in texas (cousins 1909). in 1909, the county teachers voted to organize themselves in four local districts, representing the four small towns and surrounding rural areas of the county. local institutes were held on the third saturday of 6 each month between december and march, with the hosting location being responsible for planning the program. in 1910, evans again was invited to address the gonzales county white teachers institute. evans discussed rural high schools, explaining their importance and how they could be obtained gonzales county teachers institute minutes, 1910. evans speech was so convincing that the teachers voted to create a committee to generate public interest in a rural high school for gonzales county. also addressing the institute in 1910 was j.e. rogers of the texas school journal, who presented a lesson on reading. a.s. blankenship of the extension department of the university of texas presented a talk on rural schools, libraries, correspondence courses, and school clubs. interspersed with the guest speakers were lessons such as primary reading, geography, the dull pupil, the speer method of teaching arithmetic, and teaching language to nonenglish speaking students. the committee on resolutions requested that each teacher pledge $1.00 to aid in the creation of a teachers’ library for the county. they also recommended endorsing the work of the educational conference and creating a local committee of nine members to be known as the educational cooperative committee of gonzales county, with county superintendent a.b. corder serving as the exofficio chairman. the teachers heartily supported the recommendation. at the 1912 institute, a new format was implanted with the addition of breakout sessions for teachers in different grade divisions. throughout the week, primary, intermediate, and high school teachers met with others of the same designation to discuss matters pertinent to their areas of teaching. lessons in pedagogy and content knowledge continued to comprise the course of study, with additional sessions on administrative matters, such as how to fill out the county attendance registers and reports. chapters from william seneca sutton and paul whitfield horn’s school room essentials (1911) were assigned to the teachers and discussed at subsequent sessions. the 1912 institute focused on the topic of graded schools. as in previous years, local institutes were scheduled to be held in the four small towns on saturdays in october and november with the host location planning the program. william f. doughty (1913-1916), who in 1913 served as the new texas state superintendent of education, addressed the gonzales county institute in 1913 and discussed his goals for the schools of texas: attractive schools, earnest proficient teachers, and cooperation between the teacher, the county superintendent, and the community. superintendent doughty stated his desire for “a strong educational system of texas that shall have for its product men and women of sound character, capable of rendering to society and state that which they justly owe, namely, to become noble citizens” (gonzales county teachers’ institute minutes, 1913). over 100 teachers and administrators attended the 1913 session to hear superintendent doughty. during the 1913 session, the teachers expanded the offerings of the county schools by approving the formation of an interscholastic league for the students. the interscholastic league offered students the opportunity to participate in athletics, academics, and arts competitions. the interscholastic league (the local affiliate of the statewide university interscholastic league) was for white students 7 only. black students participated in the prairie view interscholastic league. the group not only formed a county organization, but voted to enter into affiliation with the statewide university interscholastic league. by 1915, attendance at the county institute had grown to nearly 140 school personnel. the group continued to meet at gonzales high school and county superintendent cochran served as chairman of the institute. as in the past, the county institute hosted prominent individuals in the field of education to enhance the knowledge of the institute’s attendees. a united states bureau of education specialist in city school systems, walter s. deffenbaugh, delivered an address on the importance of teachers using supplementary and instructive materials. deffenbaugh’s address was followed by a speech from the state rural school supervisor of texas, and the rural supervisor of louisiana schools, c.j. brown. the rural supervisors contrasted city and county schools and discussed how to obtain additional funds for county schools. that same evening, brown presented a stereopticon talk on the condition of rural schools in louisiana for institute attendees, school board trustees, and members of the community. often guest speakers remained at the institute throughout the week and delivered multiple presentations. for example, brown addressed the institute each day during the 1915 meeting. brown’s visit to the gonzales county institute earned cochran statewide attention as a model superintendent who had “the right conception of the function of a teachers’ institute” (rubinow 1916). s.g. rubinow, a texas a&m professor, lauded cochran’s efforts to bring in notable visiting lecturers who might serve to raise the caliber of texas teachers’ institutes to an intellectual level more like a normal school. rubinow praised brown’s visit to gonzales county, saying that presented enough information to “[bring] the bacon home” and suggested that other county superintendents would soon follow cochran’s meritable example (rubinow 1916). an additional guest speaker during the 1915 institute was hugh thomas musselman, editor of the texas school journal, who presented as talks on “that boy of yours and what to do with him,” “the biological aspects of education,” “the cause of the war in europe and america,” and “the european war” (gonzales county teachers’ institutes minutes 1915). musselman was an outspoken proponent of the teachers’ institute who often used the pages of his periodical to promote professional development within the state (spearman 2008). as part of his preparation for a series of texas school journal articles on the county teachers’ institute printed between 1915 and 1918, musselman lectured at a series of county institutes around the state, including gonzales county. musselman, like rubinow, lauded the way that cochran sought leaders in education from areas of the country outside of texas by having brown speak at the gonzales institute all week (musselman 1915). brown, according to musselman, “was one of three or four really great rural school men in america” (musselman 1918, p. 10). as the success of the 1915 gonzales county institute spread around the state, other counties sought deffenbaugh and brown for their own teachers’ institutes. in 1918, for example, the two men spoke at a joint county institute for fort bend, matagorda and wharton counties (musselman 1918). as with previous institutes, teachers from different grade levels met together under 8 the supervision of a school principal or an experienced teacher for lessons and discussions pertaining to their teaching level. lessons from the 1915 institute included the importance of mental arithmetic, correlated reading, school accessories, teaching music, the necessity of agriculture, domestic sciences, and manual training in county schools, and teaching and testing the recitation. teachers continued to hone their knowledge of pedagogy and subject content. the administrative structure of the county teachers’ institutes of gonzales county in the early 1900’s echoed the design of many other texas counties. the institute met during the fall semester and was held at the high school in the town of gonzales, the county seat. the participants elected a chairman, usually the county superintendent or a school principal, and a secretary, usually a female teacher. in 1906, the chairman planned the program for the institute, but beginning in 1907, the program was outlined by the state superintendent of education. this change was significant enough to elicit an entry in the institute’s minutes and time was set aside during the institute for the chairman to outline the state superintendent’s course of study. teachers posed many questions and generated “several very interesting discussions” regarding the institute program (gonzales county teachers’ institute minutes, 1907). during the early years of the institute, the group met as a whole, but later altered the meeting format to allow time for teachers of similar grade levels to meet for lessons or discussions pertaining to their teaching level. individual lessons or discussions were led by school principals or experienced teachers in the gonzales county schools or from the gonzales independent school district. local experts, such as agricultural specialists and physicians, addressed the participants on a variety of topics. state and national educational personnel also were invited to speak, often with additional addresses being delivered in the evening to institute participants, school board trustees, and members of the community. two state superintendents of education, officials of the texas school journal, university men, school officials from other states, and national educational figures all visited the gonzales county white teachers institute to provide instruction to teachers and administrators. local social organizations provided activities for institute participants. the local mother’s club, businessman’s club, and school vocal groups provided amusements such as teas, automobile drives of the town, and concerts to entertain the town’s guests each year. although the format of the institutes and the speakers changed over time, the goal of gonzales county yearly meetings remained the same, to provide professional development for the teachers of the county school and to enhance teachers’ pedagogical and academic content knowledge. references baumgartner, d. h. and vollentine, g. gonzales county. the handbook of texas online,http://wwwtshaonline.org/handbook / online/artuckes/gg/hcg7.html bralley, f. m. 1910. county institutes. the texas school journal, 28.1. bryant, jr., i. 1934. the development of houston negro schools. houston: informative publishing company. carlisle, j. m. 1898. county institutes. the texas school journal, 11.11: 363. 9 cousins, r. b. 1905. digest of the law governing certificates of teachers. the san antonio express. june 4. cousins, r. b. 1907. the institute work for 1907-1908. texas school magazine, 10.7: 11. cousins, r. b. 1909. the institute work for 1909-1910. texas school magazine, 12.5: 9. eby, f. 1925. the development of education in texas. new york: the macmillan company. editorial. 1887. the texas school journal, 5.6: 169-170. eilers, w. 1905. county teachers’ institute. the texas school journal, 23. fraser, j. w. 2007. preparing america’s teachers: a history. new york: teachers college press. gammel, h. p. n. 1898. the laws of texas 1922-1897. austin: gammel book company. gonzales county teachers’ institute minutes. 1906. scholastic records collection. gonzales county records center and archives, gonzales, texas. gonzales county teachers’ institute minutes. 1908. scholastic records collection. gonzales county records center and archives, gonzales, texas. gonzales county teachers’ institute minutes. 1913. scholastic records collection. gonzales county records center and archives, gonzales, texas. gonzales county teachers’ institute minutes. 1915. scholastic records collection. gonzales county records center and archives, gonzales, texas. hartman, c. 1905. the travis county school annual: a circular of information. austin: von boeckmann-jones company printers. hartman, c. 1907. local institutes. texas school magazine, 11.8:8-9. henderson, j. l. 1902. county and city institutes. the texas school journal, 20.3: 76. henderson, j. l. 1915. making the county institute a real training school. the texas school journal, 33.1: 32. houston independent school district. 1908. report of the superintendent of houston public schools 1907-1908. houston: gray, dillaye and co. jackson, q. 1897. county institute improvement. the texas school journal, 15.1. liddell, a. r. 1902. local institutes. the texas school journal, 20.6: 269-270. minutes of the county superintendents’ institute held in austin, texas, august 4 th and 5 th . 1908. texas school magazine, 12.7: 15. musselman, h. t. 1915. what of the county teachers’ institute. the texas school journal, 33.1 . musselman, h. t. 1918. the county teachers’ institute in 1917-1918. the texas school journal, 35.5. news and notes: the reading circle. 1885. texas school journal, 3.2: 38. rubinow, s. g. 1916. doing things—practical education is rejuvenating the teachers’ institute. the texas school journal, 33.5: 47. school of methods. 1905. san antonio daily express. june 20. sears, b. 1877. report of the peabody agent, fifteenth meeting of the trustees, 10 10/3/1877. reprinted in f. eby (ed.). 1921. education in texas: source materials. austin: the university of texas at austin. spearman, m. 2006. “the peripatetic normal school”: teachers’ institutes in five southwestern cities (1880-1920). (unpublished doctoral dissertation). the university of texas at austin. spearman, m. 2008. everything to help, nothing to hinder’: the story of the texas school journal,” southwestern historical quarterly 111.3. texas department of education. 1911. seventeenth biennial report of the state superintendent of public instruction for the scholastic years ending august 31, 1909 and august 31, 1910. austin: austin printing company. tucker, j. 1917. improvement of teachers already in service. texas school journal, 34: 19-21. vollentine, g. 1986. gonzales county schools. gonzales county history. dallas: curtis media group. woods , l. a. and mcalister, s. b. 1938. public school laws. austin: the state of texas. "would you tell me, please, which way i ought to go from here contested curriculum & pedagogy: california during the rafferty era mark groen california state university, san bernardino "would you tell me, please, which way i ought to go from here?‖ ―that depends a good deal on where you want to get to." lewis carroll, alice in wonderland abstract max rafferty served as california‘s superintendent of public instruction from 1963 to 1971, through some of the most contentious and transformative years in california education. rafferty sought to transform the educational system and vowed to kill progressive education in california. his efforts altered both pedagogy and curriculum in california schools. david tyack, writing in 1974, offered ―the conjecture that historians a hundred years hence may consider the ferment of the 1960s and 1970s to be a major turning point in the history of american education‖ (tyack 1974). the nation entered an era of vibrant social experimentation and rebellion in the 1960s. as historians have noted, ―much attention was paid during the 1960s and after, to the powerful liberals who molded social policy … from the left. but the dominance of liberalism was attacked just as loudly from the right‖ during the 1960s. ―the right established itself as a unified and potent political movement during the same decade‖ (isserman 2000, 206). in california, max rafferty was a part of that process. in the early 1960s, while student radicals at u.c. berkeley anticipated the dawning of the age of aquarius, scarcely noticed, just a few miles away in california‘s state capitol, the first stirrings of the conservative revolution that would transform the nation in the 1980s were already evident. indeed, the man who came to embody that transformation, and even lend his name to the reagan revolution, was inaugurated as governor of california on january 2, 1967. but if one person were to epitomize the curriculum and pedagogical contests of that period it is max rafferty. max rafferty taught in rural high schools in southern california in relative obscurity until he ran for the office of state superintendent of public instruction in 1962. his often vociferous speeches excoriating ―life adjustment‖ and progressive education won him the backing of a coalition of conservatives and those on the political far-right. rafferty began writing a nationally syndicated newspaper column on educational matters that brought him a national audience and made him the foremost advocate of ―back-to-basics‖ education in the 1960s. rafferty trod the path of the arch-conservative in pedagogical matters, but in matters of ethnic inclusiveness in textbooks he pushed tirelessly for improvement. max rafferty was elected to the nonpartisan office of superintendent of public instruction of the state of california in 1962. he held this office for two terms, from 1963 to 1971, through some of the most contentious and transformative years in california‘s education. rafferty‘s educational philosophy was one of back to basics. he claimed that he ended progressive educational practices in california‘s classrooms and considered it one of his greatest achievements. whether he actually did end progressive practices is highly debatable. to some americans in the early 1960s, max rafferty appeared to be a reactionary conservative harking back to an educational past. the longer perspective of history may instead see rafferty as a harbinger of the educational policies embodied 100 in no child left behind (nclb). thus, max rafferty‘s notions of educational policy and practice deserve the attention of educational historians seeking to locate the origins of the educational agendas in place at the dawn of the twenty-first century. two conflicting educational trends emerged under rafferty‘s tenure. the back-tobasics movement and ―education in depth,‖ championed by rafferty‘s office, stressed phonics instruction over the ―look-see‖ method and a return to core subjects in lieu of so-called ―fuzzy‖ curriculum said to characterize progressive education. on the other hand, a rising awareness of the lack of minority representation in school textbooks and the curriculum generated calls for improved materials and greater diversity. the portrayal of minorities when they were mentioned in textbooks also came under increased scrutiny, particularly in history texts. the pedagogical transformation driven largely by political ideology and imposed from sacramento changed instructional methodologies but was not successful in its intended goal of eliminating progressive educational practices from schools. however, the grassroots drive for greater diversity, and more positive portrayals of ethnic minorities in textbooks, permanently changed the content of the curriculum in america‘s schools. dueling with john dewey max rafferty saw his election as a mandate for purging progressive educational practices from california‘s schools. progressive educators seek to center the educative experience in the emotional, intellectual and social experiences of the child. thus, a child‘s education is child-centered and individualized. these notions ran counter to essentialist educators, like rafferty, who believed that schooling ought to impart a fixed body of knowledge in a variety of subjects at each grade level. the progressive innovation most vilified by traditionalists was ‗life adjustment.‘ life adjustment eschewed academic content in favor of social adjustment of students to their surroundings. indeed, critics, such as arthur bestor, had argued for years that, as wayne urban put it, ―schools needed to be rescued from progressive educators‖ (urban 2009, 332). while many theorists contributed to the theoretical and pedagogical practices that comprise what is known as progressive education, max rafferty saw john dewey as its primary proponent. in fact, dewey had written a book titled experience and education in 1938, in which he condemned the anti-academic tendencies then coming to dominate the lifeadjustment curriculum, but that made little difference. in speeches, rafferty tirelessly attacked educators who followed what he called ―the gospel according to st. john dewey‖ (rafferty 1965a, 1966a, 1966b, 1969a). ―the progressive educationists – the spreaders of the gospel according to st. john dewey – have much to answer for,‖ he wrote in 1969 (rafferty 1969a). he insisted they were ―most dangerous when they are most dedicated, they war against your children in the firm belief that they are helping them‖ (rafferty 1969a). rafferty railed against ―the tired old dogma of progressive education,‖ with what he called, ―its bubble-headed jargon of ‗life-adjustment‘‖ (rafferty 1969a). ―since the mid-thirties,‖ rafferty wrote, progressive education ―has clung to the body of american education like a barnacle to the bottom of a boat‖ (rafferty 1969a). according to rafferty, progressive educational practices would cause children ―to grow up cultural barbarians, popular illiterates, adrenal rather than cerebral, indoctrinated instead of educated‖ (rafferty 1969a). 101 in place of progressive practices, rafferty spoke out for what he called ―education in depth.‖ announcing his campaign for reelection in march 1966, he declared, ―before max rafferty, california was the center and the fountainhead of ‗life adjustment,‘ progressive education in these united states. today, progressive education as our official statewide philosophy is as dead as a doornail‖ (rafferty 1966b). in its place, he advocated ―education in depth.‖ rafferty told constituents, ―it‘s teaching through phonics … it‘s history taught as history, geography taught as geography, civics taught as civics. it‘s an end to ‗social studies‘ and ‗social living‘‖ (rafferty 1966b). in another speech, rafferty insisted he stood ―foursquare for education in depth, americanism in our schools, and observance of the principles of law and order on the part of students and instructors‖ (rafferty 1969b). but, he warned, ―too many local school districts still follow the mandates of outmoded progressive education – the gospel according to st. john dewey‖ (rafferty 1966b). nor did rafferty intend to confine ―education in depth‖ to california. he told audiences, if ―we can maintain in this state the philosophy which this victory represent[s] … can [we] encourage its adoption in the other 49 states‖ (rafferty 1965b). rafferty‘s ‗education in depth‘ often involved more rhetorical flourish than substantive curriculum reform. in 1964, rafferty ordered the ―substitution of terms ‗history and geography‘ and ‗social sciences‘ for ‗social studies‘‖ (rafferty 1964a). he insisted that the ―enchantment with ―social studies‖ and ―social living‖ instead of history has taken us a long way down the road to oblivion‖ (rafferty 1965c). five years later rafferty was still assuring constituents that ―california on the state level no longer uses the terms social studies or language arts. we are calling subjects by their right names‖ (rafferty 1969b). although rafferty savaged progressive educational practices in speech and print, throughout his eight years in office, he had surprisingly little lasting impact in classrooms. progressive pedagogy survived and even thrived in california schools in the 1970s and beyond. however, his efforts at curriculum reform fared much better. textbooks and curriculum reform max rafferty may have sought to turn back the clock where subject titles and pedagogy were concerned, but he also recognized the dramatic changes in the world beyond the schoolroom, and sought to influence curriculum in positive ways. he tirelessly advocated early phonics instruction and made lasting changes in the reading curriculum. during his tenure, the content found in california textbooks, particularly history textbooks, changed in dramatic and substantive ways. the way california obtained textbooks changed as well. in 1884, state senator george perry of san francisco introduced an amendment to california‘s state constitution to allow the state printing office to publish a state series of textbooks. the measure passed, and the legislature ordered the state board to adopt a state series of textbooks to be printed and sold by the state printing office. thereafter, california insisted that publishers lease their plates so that any textbooks adopted could be printed at the state printing plant in sacramento. the first break with this tradition came in 1960 when the state adopted the reading books of ginn and company, despite the firm‘s refusal to lease the plates. by 1963, several non-leasing firms had secured adoptions, and the state began purchasing 102 fully manufactured textbooks directly from the publishers. max rafferty‘s most enduring curriculum reform restored phonics to a place of primacy in early reading instruction in california classrooms. max rafferty actively sought to embed phonics instruction in california‘s classrooms. he advised textbook publishers, ―my special interest lies … in the area of elementary school reading books and their treatment of phonics‖ (rafferty 1963a). when rafferty was elected, most california school districts taught pupils to read using a word recognition approach, the so-called ‗look-see‘ or ‗look-say‘ method. the basal readers used text that mirrored the method, ―look, see spot run.‖ phonics was introduced later. teachers, rafferty argued, ―drag phonics in by the scruff of the neck months after the ‗look-say‘ damage has been done,‖ and this, he believed was a mistake (rafferty 1969c). rafferty noted that, ―under this system, the tests showed a steady decline in reading ability‖ (rafferty 1969c). as a frequent contributor to major newspapers, he sought to utilize the press to apply political heat to advocate for curriculum change, believing that ―even the enemies of phonics will reluctantly use it to pull their chestnuts out of the fire if the fire finally gets hot enough‖ (rafferty 1969c). rafferty boasted of the example of the los angeles unified school district. after implementing curriculum reforms (he endorsed) that introduced phonics from the very start of reading instruction, student test scores rose. test results, he exulted, showed ―for the first time in umpteen years the reading scores are up‖ (rafferty 1969c). the introduction of early phonics instruction is perhaps the most enduring educational reform of max rafferty‘s tenure as state superintendent, but he also sought to impact educational policy and pedagogy. rafferty led the effort to transform the content found in history and geography texts. efforts to revise the textbooks, to be more ethnically inclusive and give previously unrecognized peoples a visible place in the american narrative, began early in rafferty‘s first term. he wrote to textbook publishers explaining, ―my interest lies in the possibility of exploring with you … problems that exist … in connection with … history and geography books and the treatment accorded minority groups in these textbooks‖ (rafferty 1963a). textbooks and civil rights with the civil rights movement gaining momentum and freedom summer underway in 1964, rafferty sought the opinions of noted historians, asking them to critique the portrayal of minorities in proposed history textbooks. one such critique, of the fourth grade text california and the west, by historian winthrop jordan concluded, ―if it is not intended that fourth graders be taught about social problems concerning minority groups, this book is by no means a poor introduction to california‘s people and land, despite its rather boost-california tone. on the other hand,‖ jordan continued, ―if it is hoped that a textbook of history and geography can convey to young students some knowledge and sense of the social problems engendered by the presence of minority groups in california, then this book fails completely by omission‖ (jordan 1964). historian kenneth stampp, commenting on several potential texts, including the one reviewed by jordan, said: in their treatments of minority groups [the texts] suffer from the same shortcomings as the high school and junior high school texts … once more the chief sins are sins of omission. the existence of minority groups in 103 california, the resulting social problems, and the contributions that members of minority groups have made, are largely underplayed, or overlooked altogether (stampp 1964). that failure by omission proved unacceptable to the state curriculum commission, the state board of education, and concerned citizens; other history texts would soon face greater scrutiny. with civil rights at the forefront of the nation‘s agenda, new constituencies demanded important editorial changes. rafferty commissioned a panel of six prominent historians, kenneth stampp, winthrop jordan, lawrence levine, robert middlekauff, charles sellers, and george stocking jr. to examine textbooks for their treatment of minorities—as that term was then understood. the resulting report titled ―the negro in american history textbooks‖ examined both the ideal of historical scholarship and how the portrayal of minorities in textbooks differed from the interpretations of contemporary historians. the report opened with the observation that, ―we are concerned first of all as historians that the history taught in our schools should accurately reflect the best findings of current scholarship.‖ they also cautioned, ―professional scholars are aware that historical ‗truth‘ is an elusive quality.‖ that said, the historians noted: most of the textbooks we have examined reflect views on racial and sectional themes that have been rejected or drastically modified by the best of current historical scholarship. (stampp et. al. 1964) the commission concluded, ―the greatest defect in the textbooks we have examined is the virtual omission of the negro. … the negro does not ‗exist‘ in the books‖ (stampp et. al. 1964). in the sections covering the history of the antebellum and civil war eras, these historians found that ―the ‗southern‘ view tended to prevail. the deference of textbook publishers to the special sensitivities of the southern market has caused it to continue by and large to prevail in textbooks to the present day.‖ the committee observed, ―important aspects of negro experience … differ from that of many other groups in america … no other group could be so readily indentified by its color, no other group was so systematically enslaved, and no other group has been subjected to as persistent and virulent discrimination.‖ noting, ―there is a danger in assessing historical writing in terms of its social consequences,‖ the commission offered both cautions and recommendations to textbook publishers. the committee warned that the ―desire to combat racism‖ and ―to bolster self-respect among negro students, might result in exaggerating negro contributions and the heroic qualities of negro figures.‖ they argued, ―this would be an equal distortion of historical truth, and in the long run would fail to have the desire[d] social effects.‖ the committee also pointed out that ―the seriousness of the problem of racism underscores the textbook author‘s responsibility to portray the negro‘s role in american life fully, accurately, and without either sentimentality or condescension.‖ the historians on the committee concluded, ―[the] civil-rights revolution seems to us to be one of the major historical events of the mid-twentieth century and to demand full treatment in any american history textbook … surely the state of california can no longer tolerate textbooks that fall short of this minimal standard‖ (stampp et. al. 1964). the committee then went on to offer specific critiques of the adopted history texts for grades five, eight, and high school. george stocking found that the story of american freedom (mcmillan 1961), a fifth 104 grade text, ―treads a very narrow course between a dominant traditional concern for southern prejudices and a dawning consciousness of … negro-liberal sensitivities.‖ lawrence levine examined the growth of america (prentice-hall 1959), an eighth grade text, and found ―the author‘s treatment of slavery can be called favorable.‖ the account of the events leading to the civil war are described as ―generally brief and inadequate‖ and the account of origins of the emancipation proclamation as ―novel and fanciful.‖ most fell between these two extremes. none of the textbooks gave a good account of minority contributions, and most clearly suffered from what winthrop jordan called ―an apparent subservience to southern sensitivities‖ and robert middlekauff called ―shrink[ing] before the tender sensibilities of the south‖ (stampp et. al. 1964). one of the first textbooks to provide a full account of african-american accomplishments appeared two years later. it faced intense opposition, not for its portrayal of minorities, which was far better than previous texts, but for its perceived ideological bias. the state board of education approved the 8 th grade history textbook land of the free on may 13, 1966. as partisan political opposition to the text quickly arose, the conservative max rafferty insisted that the book was approved by a board made up of persons appointed primarily by his democratic predecessor, governor edmund brown. he declared, ―after their approval, i did the only thing i could do, and that was to ‗blow the whistle‘ on this book to the parents of california, a book that i saw as being inaccurate, biased, and prejudiced‖ (rafferty 1967). rafferty requested a number of revisions to the text but his changes were primarily ideological in nature. he observed that following his suggestions, presidents taft and hoover, and john d. rockefeller were ―dealt with more fairly and completely than before.‖ revisions toned down praise of the new deal and added acknowledgment of some of its less successful aspects. once again, a committee of prominent historians, allen nevins, glenn dumke, and charles sellers examined the book. unlike rafferty, the committee was ―impressed‖ by the ―high quality of the book and the earnestness and merit of many of the critical judgments‖ (nevins et. al. 1967). the committee lauded the text for its focus on ―civil liberties and social justice‖ and found it ―superior to the textbooks … used in the past,‖ but they also noted, ―it emphasizes national shortcomings and mistakes too heavily.‖ while gentler than rafferty in their criticism, they too found that ―the text seems weighted against a conservative interpretation,‖ and ―more balance is clearly needed and would help the authors avoid an impression of distortion.‖ the committee agreed with rafferty that while the successes of the wpa and twa during the new deal era were ―well treated the failure of the nra [wa]s not.‖ in the end, however, the committee praised ―the book‘s many good qualities‖ and concluded that land of the free was ―superior to many school textbooks‖ (nevins et. al. 1967). by mid-1967, opposition to war in general and to the vietnam war in particular was increasing, and the disaffection in the larger society filtered into the textbook debate. max rafferty demanded that certain editorial changes be made. he ordered the publishers to make clear ―the fact that communist revolutionaries began the viet nam war,‖ and insisted that the atomic energy commission not be ―described as ‗the nuclear warfare agency‘‖ (rafferty 1967). rafferty wanted a textbook that presented a balanced portrayal of the conservative views he advocated and, at the height of the cold war, a textbook that was sound on anti-communism. 105 while max rafferty supported commissions to revise and enhance minority representation in textbooks, he strenuously opposed so-called ‗forced busing‘ to achieve desegregation of schools. nineteen-seventy was an election year. rafferty lost both his bid for a seat in the united states senate and his state superintendency. the voters who embraced rafferty and his back-to-basics reforms in the early 1960s abandoned him in 1970, but his legacy remained evident in california classrooms for many years afterward. while he had little impact on pedagogy, and progressive practices survived, the phonics instruction that rafferty fought stridently for remains a mainstay of the primary reading curriculum. the debate over the content and interpretations presented in the history curriculum and textbooks reemerged in the 1990s as the socalled social studies wars. many of the debates during rafferty‘s tenure, including the focus on basic subject-matter content versus progressive pedagogy, also re-emerged in the 1990s with no child left behind (nclb) and continues to animate american education today. this, perhaps, confirms david tyack‘s ―conjecture that historians a hundred years hence may consider the ferment of the 1960s and 1970s to be a major turning point in the history of american education‖ (tyack 1974). max rafferty stood at the center of the political stage, creating a fair amount of that ferment. he also contributed to the ideological foundation for the resurgent conservative educational paradigms that arose with the so-called ‗social studies wars‘ and the back-to-basics movement embodied in no child left behind in the 1990s. references isserman, maurice, michael kazin. 2000. american divided: the civil war of the 1960s, new york: oxford press jordan, winthrop. 1964b. re: california and the west, john w reith, ed. (fielder co. 1963). max rafferty papers, textbooks f3752:840, california state archives. nevins, allan, glenn dumke, charles sellers. 1967. report to the state board of education on the eighth grade text in american history. max rafferty papers, textbooks f3752:843, california state archives. rafferty, max. 1963a. letter june 26. max rafferty papers, textbooks f3752:840, california state archives. rafferty, max. 1964a. memo, max rafferty papers, textbooks f3752:840, california state archives. rafferty, max. 1965a. ―education‘s 12 herculean labors‖ max rafferty papers, weekly syndicated columns f3752:846, california state archives. rafferty, max 1965b. ―education and the big lie,‖ max rafferty papers, general correspondence, 3752:855, california state archives. rafferty, max. 1965c. ―the teaching of patriotism‖ the sacramento union, december 9, max rafferty papers, weekly syndicated columns f3752:846, california state archives. rafferty, max. 1966a. ―the american high school: undertaker or regenerator?‖ february 12. max rafferty papers, general correspondence, f3752:855, california state archives. rafferty, max. 1966b. ―announcement of candidacy,‖ march 22. max rafferty papers, speeches f3752:855, california state archives. 106 rafferty, max. 1967. undated letters, max rafferty papers, textbooks f3752:843, california state archives. rafferty, max. 1969a. ―the war against your children‖ max rafferty papers, weekly syndicated columns f3752:846, california state archives. rafferty, max. 1969b. rafferty to abrahamson may 2. max rafferty papers, general correspondence, f3752:744 box 29, california state archives. rafferty, max. 1969c. ―surprise! surprise! phonics works in l.a.‖ max rafferty papers, weekly syndicated columns, f3752:851, california state archives. stampp, kenneth. 1964. stampp to clowes june 10. max rafferty papers, textbooks f3752:840, california state archives. stampp, kenneth, winthrop jordan, lawrence levine, robert middlekauff, charles sellers, george stocking jr. 1964. ―the negro in american history textbooks‖ max rafferty papers, textbooks f3752:840, california state archives. tyack, david. 1974. the one best system, cambridge, ma: harvard press. urban, wayne, jennings l. waggoner, jr. 2009. american education: a history 4 th ed., routledge: new york. the dynamics of race and education: a case study of south boulevard elementary heather k olson beal stephen f. austin state university abstract: this article is part of a larger case study of south boulevard elementary—a foreign language immersion magnet school in baton rouge, louisiana—a city with a dual school system: one public and 83 percent black, 1 the other private and 85 percent nonblack. this article chronicles the relationship between race and education throughout the school history and explores the ways in which current parents‟ attitudes towards south boulevard reflect historical themes regarding race and education. incomplete or inaccurate narratives regarding southern educational history dominate mainstream thought. one common misconception is that because enslaved africans were forbidden to learn to read, they remained illiterate, when in fact, many were literate. another assumption is that all reconstructionera black schools were inferior to white schools in terms of facilities and resources (joneswilson 1981; perry 2003; siddle walker 1996). another narrative is that schools were integrated after the 1954 supreme court brown decision, when many school districts actually desisted desegregation for years. many americans talk as if the struggle for educational equity began with brown, whereas black activists and intellectuals such as w. e. b. dubois, carter g. woodson, anna julia cooper, ida b. wells, and mary mcleod bethune had long been pursuing these goals (ambrose 1999; culver 1954; hendry and edwards 2009; tyack 1974). these narratives present a “historically incomplete picture” (siddle walker 1996, 13). i grew up and attended southern public schools during the 1970s and was never exposed to any of the complexities surrounding desegregation in school. i was in college before i first heard of the little rock nine and in a doctoral program where i first read about the southern manifesto and learned about highquality segregated black schools that were a source of pride in their communities (perry 2003). i never knew that some black parents and teachers fought for the right to maintain segregated schools (cecelski 1994; kluger 1975/2004) or that some black lawyers and activists opposed brown (bell 2004). how could i not have known that there was more to the history of race and education? i was a straight-a student who read everything i was asked to read and paid attention in class. the answer is simple: my teachers either didn‟t know that there was more to the story, or they chose not to share it with us. the issues associated with race and education in the united states are complex and reflect historical and current tensions between the promise of democracy and the disappointment of unfulfilled promises. we romanticize schools as incubators of democracy wherein students of all races, creeds, religions, and tongues can attend school together, grow intellectually, and learn how to be active participants in a democratic society. in reality, however, schools have segregated, tracked, and differentiated between students and thus have 22 not delivered on either the promise of educational equity or the promise of racial and socioeconomic diversity. this article is part of a larger case study of south boulevard elementary—a public magnet school in baton rouge, louisiana, a city with a dual school system: one public and 83% black and the other private and 85% non-black (olson beal 2008). although racial segregation and achievement gaps persist in baton rouge, as elsewhere around the united states, south boulevard is a counterexample because it has achieved integration and academic achievement well above district and state averages on high stakes tests. findings from the larger study suggest that the primary explanation for south boulevard‟s success is the unique culture created by the foreign language immersion curriculum. south boulevard is a partial immersion program, which means that students spend 60 percent of their instructional time in either french or spanish. they are taught math, science, and social studies in french or spanish by native frenchor spanish-speaking teachers, and have a daily 90-minute block of english language arts taught by native englishspeaking teachers. the immersion program helps create a culture of academic rigor in which teachers have high expectations of all students. south boulevard has a culture of multiplicity that values diverse perspectives and includes a unique immersion subculture in which all students are equal participants. south boulevard has a culture of community characterized by trusting relationships between members of the school community that emerge out of commitment to the immersion curriculum rather than geographical boundaries. while the larger case study focused on the factors that motivated a diverse set of parents to choose public over private education, this article explores the ways in which current parents‟ attitudes towards south boulevard reflect historical themes regarding race and education. research design because the research questions focus on process and experience rather than product or outcome, qualitative research methods were used to “study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or to interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them” (denzin and lincoln 2000, 3). data collection consisted primarily of interviews and participant observation, but also included document analysis (e.g., newspaper and magazine articles, brochures, flyers, and maps, the louisiana school directory, and louisiana state department of education demographic data). as the researcher, i occupied a unique vantage point as both parent of south boulevard students and participant observer of daily life at south boulevard. parental involvement lasted six years—nearly two of which were spent as a researcher immersed in the school. i conducted on-site participant observation for one full academic semester, with follow-up fieldwork for two subsequent semesters. in addition to school hours, i attended open houses, recruiting events, monthly pto and school board meetings, fundraisers, field trips, and carnivals. acting as both insider and outsider (spradley 1980) gave me automatic entrée with many study participants. my experience as a spanish teacher facilitated interactions with teachers. i conducted semi-structured interviews with 53 total participants. table 1 displays pertinent information about the interview 23 participants. although the primary source of data was a single, one-hour interview, some follow-up interviews were conducted. using purposeful sampling, i selected participants who reflected the diversity of backgrounds and perspectives found in the school community. i also used a form of snowball sampling, asking school staff and parents to recommend people to interview. teacher interview participants included spanish and french immersion teachers, english language arts teachers, and school administrators. table 1: interviewees because the focus of the larger study was parents‟ rationale in choosing south boulevard, the majority of interview participants were parents. parent interviews covered parents‟ pre-school choices; types of schools they visited prior to choosing; resources used to gather information regarding available choices; rationale for choosing south boulevard; and parents‟ retroactive evaluation of the decision. table 2 illustrates the diversity of parents in the sample—including gender, race, professional background, and marital status—factors previously identified as significant in the school choice process (bankston and caldas 2002). participants from diverse religious backgrounds were included because of louisiana‟s history of parochial schooling. pseudonyms are used throughout to maintain participants‟ anonymity. data analysis was an inductive process wherein themes, patterns, and categories emerged based on the raw data (interview transcripts and fieldnotes). verbatim interview transcripts, meeting minutes, and fieldwork journal notes were analyzed line by line, breaking the data down into units of meaning that served as themes that were first subjected to a systematic content analysis and then the constant comparative method (glaser and strauss 1967). events, ideas, themes, processes, or happenings that shared common characteristics were placed into the same code. in the initial analysis of parent interview data, for instance, each unit of meaning was placed into one of the following broad themes: 1) comments about themselves, 2) comments about choosing south boulevard, 3) comments about south boulevard students, and 4) comments about magnet programs. these themes were then subdivided into ten emergent categories (strauss and corbin 1998). unifying phrases and themes that emerged across categories were identified. these codes or categories serve as the basis of the data analysis. the study context: present-day south boulevard south boulevard is one of the smallest public elementary schools in east baton rouge parish (ebrp), with only 211 students enrolled in 2006-2007. like many ebrp schools, the physical facility of south boulevard is dilapidated and deteriorated due to years of neglect and failed property tax renewals. 24 table 2: current south boulevard parents in the study sample p se u d o n y m c h il d re n a t s b r a ce g en d er o ri g in ( l a o r o th er ) e d u ca ti o n p ro fe ss io n r el ig io n m a ri ta l st a tu s alicia 2 b f baton rouge, la ph.d. professor “christian pluralist” married andrea 2 w f new orleans, la some college self-employed catholic married anthony 1 b m baton rouge, la bs graduate student raised catholic, not practicing married brad 1 w m other ph.d. engineer none married bridget 1 w f other ba stay-at-home-mom none married camille 3 b f baton rouge, la ma state employee / online college instructor baptist married christian 2 w m baton rouge, la ba self-employed none married david 1 w m baton rouge, la some college bartender / lsu student raised catholic, not practicing single denise 2 w f baton rouge, la ma, ed.s. nationally board certified teacher raised catholic, not practicing married donald 1 b m baton rouge, la some college firefighter none single felicia 2 b f baton rouge, la hs bank teller evangelical single hong 2 a f vietnam bs lab tech. catholic married javier 1 h m other bible school pastor evangelical married ken 3 b m new orleans, la ma estate planning methodist; wife is catholic married laura 1 h f other bible school pastor evangelical married liz 1 w f other ma stay-at-home-mom none married mona 1 b f baton rouge, la bs night police dispatcher none single richard 3 w m baton rouge, la some college state employee muslim married shannon 2 w f other bs engineer baptist married susan 1 w f other some college legal assistant lutheran single tanecia 3 b f opelousas, la ma librarian muslim married terrence 2 b m baton rouge, la some college firefighter / realtor raised catholic, not practicing married tracy 2 b f baton rouge, la ma community college instructor baptist married yolanda 1 b f baton rouge, la ma state employee baptist single originally built in 1949 by renowned local architect a. hayes town, south boulevard is comprised of multiple buildings laid out on a sloping piece of property near downtown baton rouge. the exterior windows are covered with several layers of peeling paint. huge rust and mildew stains streak down the bricks of the school exterior. rusted barbed wire tops the fence around the perimeter of the building. the interior of the building suffers similarly from decades of neglect, except for the entryway, which was updated in 2002. a large, colorful world map rug greets visitors as they enter the door and welcoming phrases, such as “bonjour” and “bienvenidos” are painted on the walls in multiple languages and colors. beyond the entryway, the building remains in its original form. inside the classrooms, walls of windows 25 are covered by broken venetian blinds. huge air conditioning units hang precariously from the ceilings. during one site visit, a teacher was rearranging her classroom because she had grown tired of “black chunks falling out of the air conditioner” onto her desk. the original school gym has never been updated and does not have air conditioning. many gym floor tiles are broken, cracked, or missing. the gym is littered with old equipment, such as a broken pommel horse, that has not been used in years. students regularly use the gym for p.e. as well as for daily morning assemblies. all school-wide meetings and programs are held in the gym, where parents sweat in the south louisiana heat. the poor condition of the playground rivals that of the gym. original playground equipment includes an old set of climbing equipment with peeling red paint, a set of six swings (several of which are broken), and a low balance beam. the small cafeteria accommodates only 128 students. two rusty wall-mount air conditioning units and two floor fans run continuously to try to keep the temperature down. the speech teacher‟s “office” (a teacher‟s desk and a student desk hidden behind a wall divider) is crammed into one corner. the library is something of a school hub despite its small size. fourthand fifth-grade girls gossip at stone patio tables outside the library during recess. the view from those tables is the expansive interstate (i-10) that extends from texas to florida. noise from the interstate is resounding to newcomers, but students and teachers are accustomed to it. the physical facility of south boulevard stands as a monument of sorts to the consequences of lack of community support in terms of tax dollars allocated for education. indeed, the ebrp community voted down every tax proposal between 1964 and 1998 that would have provided for construction of new public schools and maintenance of old ones (jacobs 2008). in order to better understand the sociopolitical conditions present in order for south boulevard to be in its current condition, i turn now to a brief history of education in baton rouge. history of education in baton rouge anderson (1988) identifies two contradictory traditions regarding education in the antebellum south: a campaign to repress and even criminalize literacy among blacks and a campaign for free public education for whites. baton rouge is somewhat unique, however, because of its long history of private and parochial education. before the civil war, in fact, there was no public education in baton rouge (carleton 1981; frazier 1937). many believed that public schools were primarily for poor children (stone 1992; suarez 2004). children of wealthy white planters and some free people of color attended parochial schools or had private tutors (carleton 1981). some slaves learned to read and write in informal settings, secret meetings, and churches—even though it was a felony to teach slaves to read and write (punishable by one to 12 months in prison) (middleton 1984). after robert e. lee‟s surrender at appomattox in 1865, blacks exulted in the potential of their newly-acquired freedom. they first sought to reestablish relationships split by the slave auctions of the past, clamoring to county courthouses to register their marriages and record the names and birthdates of their children (ripley 1976). congress quickly passed the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth 26 amendments to the constitution and the civil rights act of 1866, which entitled emancipated slaves to full civil liberties under the law. former slaves also sought to attain educational opportunities. northern churches and missionaries and the freedmen‟s bureau established schools for emancipated slaves. by 1865, the freedmen‟s bureau was operating four schools for black children in ebrp, with a total of 902 students (ripley 1976). sixty sunday schools and twenty night schools also operated in southern louisiana (crouch 2000). for blacks in louisiana, civil rights and equal educational opportunity had become synonymous. in 1877, however, union soldiers withdrew from louisiana and the former white planter elite of the democratic party returned to power, chasing blacks from the state legislature and imposing the “jim crow” system of segregated public facilities on louisiana. in the infamous 1896 plessy v. ferguson decision, the u.s. supreme court upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation throughout the nation. a new state constitution in 1898 required that voters own property, pay a poll tax, and demonstrate literacy. these restrictions disfranchised thousands of former slaves who had been able to vote between 1868 and 1898. despite socio-political tensions, private and public education for blacks in baton rouge grew tremendously during this period. in ebrp, two black public schools were established by 1877 and were consolidated into the hickory street school in 1891. black enrollment at the hickory street school grew from 176 students in 1907-08 to 1,045 students in 1912. overcrowding was such a problem that some black schools held half-day sessions in the lower elementary grades to accommodate increased enrollment. in 1914, the first modern school building for blacks in louisiana was built with $25,000 from a bond issue. according to frazier, construction of this new building had an “electric effect upon the general attitude of negroes in baton rouge in respect to public education” (frazier 1937, 77). the city built the reddy street school in 1916 and the scott street school in 1920 to accommodate increased enrollment. mckinley high school, the first black ebrp public high school, was built in 1926. at the time, there were only three other black public high schools in louisiana. black high school students from the greater baton rouge area flocked to mckinley, a “showplace for negro schools in the state, and people from louisiana and the surrounding states came to observe the new school” (gaston 1971, 82). mckinley high school was a first-rate institution and the centerpiece of the black community in baton rouge. despite the strides made in terms of public education for blacks, table 3 illustrates the inequities between the two systems (frazier 1937). white parish school boards controlled public education and strove to limit education for blacks. despite the inequities and obstacles they faced, the black community in baton rouge fought tirelessly to educate their children and took pride in their progress. a history of south boulevard this dual school system was in place when beauregard (now south boulevard) elementary was originally built. in 1949, 158 white students enrolled at beauregard elementary while 1,091 black students—many of whom lived in beauregard town (one of the oldest neighborhoods in baton rouge)— 27 table 3: comparison of black and white schooling in ebrp, 1934-35 1934-35 blacks whites average daily attendance 5,361 8,403 teacher/pupil ratio 1:61 1:27 average elementary teacher salary $479.62/year $1,002.03/year average high school teacher salary $824.34 $1,179.26 per pupil expenditures $10.01 $60.82 percent of total enrollment 39% 61% percentage of total school budget 13% 87% enrolled at reddy street elementary, about a half mile away (staff 1949). while overcrowding was a system-wide problem, it affected black schools more than white schools. according to a january 1, 1949 state times article, “the negro school system is very badly overcrowded, the facilities for negro high school students being sufficient for only 630 students while there should be accommodation for approximately 2,750” (staff 1949). table 4 illustrates some of the disparities between black and white schools in ebrp during this time. the inequity between white and black schooling in baton rouge demonstrates that attitudes regarding segregation and white supremacy were deeply entrenched in baton rouge. education was a primary site in which those prevailing attitudes were enacted and reinforced (anderson 1988; reynolds and schramm 2002). table 4. comparison of black and white schools in ebrp, 1949 1949 ebrp black schools ebrp white schools average daily attendance 6,393 10,860 teacher/pupil ratio 1:33 1:23 per pupil expenditures (1945) $44.87 $141.92 (data obtained from the louisiana department of education annual and statistical report for 1945 and from the baton rouge advocate) 28 despite the landmark brown ruling that declared segregated schools unconstitutional, whites maintained segregated schools as they had always done (brown 2004; cremin 1988). ebrp schools were no exception. the ebrp black community responded by demanding compliance with the court mandate. in 1956, thirty-seven north baton rouge black parents (in conjunction with the naacp) whose children were denied admission to white schools challenged the constitutionality of ebrp‟s de facto segregated school system (davis, et al. 1961). the case, which remained opened and contested until 2007, became one of the nation‟s longest running desegregation lawsuits. in 1959, beauregard elementary became a “negro” school, its name was changed to south boulevard elementary, and enrollment soared from 195 white students in 1958 to 341 black students in 1960. enrollment reached its peak in 1966 with 539 black students—a staggering number of students for a small building that currently houses approximately 250 students (including 2 portable buildings). louisiana schools were still completely segregated and unequally funded ten years after brown. in 1964, out of 1,442 public schools in louisiana, 510 were black and 932 were white (stone 1992). in 1966-67, the per pupil inventory value of school facilities was $1,303.74 for white schools and $1,090.95 for black schools (davis 1999). rather than forcibly desegregate schools, the ebrp school board initiated a “freedom of choice” plan which theoretically allowed students to voluntarily integrate. in 1963, 28 black high school seniors voluntarily integrated four selected ebrp white high schools. in 1968, in the green v. county school board of new kent county, virginia decision (green), the supreme court ruled freedom of choice plans unconstitutional because they had not been successful in integrating single-race schools. the results of freedom of choice desegregation in ebrp were as follows: 70 out of 101 ebrp schools were less than one percent integrated in the 1968-69 school year (davis 1999). after freedom of choice integration failed, ebrp desegregated school personnel, buses, and extracurricular activities in 1970-71 in an event known as the “cross-over.” in ebrp, sixty-five percent of black and 35% of white teachers were reassigned by court order to schools in which students were predominantly of a different race (davis 1999). nationwide, staff integration had devastating consequences for black teachers and administrators, many of whom had long served as role models in the black community. while white principalships in louisiana increased from 940 in 1969 to 1,043 in 1971, black principalships decreased from 512 in 1966 to 363 (butler 1974; karpinski 2006). two white cross-over teachers from south boulevard participated in this study. ms. weber, a novice white teacher who replaced a veteran black teacher in 1971, confessed that when she first got to south boulevard, “it was a total shock. i don‟t even know if i had ever spoken to a black child before. and there i was in school with all black children.” ms. weber described it as a difficult transition: “we [the white cross over teachers] kind of tended to huddle together a little bit. and they didn‟t know what to do with us. and we didn‟t know exactly how to fit in with them.” she described the black teachers as “very guarded…here are these white teachers coming in and looking at us, watching what we‟re doing.” 29 ms. weber described south boulevard as a “neighborhood school where all the black students and black teachers knew each other. they were very close. it was pretty much a closed community just like the white schools in our neighborhoods.” she described the students as “very poor. almost all of them, if not every one of them, ate free lunch…whether they deserved it or not.” she recounted the following story: “this one kid came back in the sixth grade and told us about his summer vacation. he had been to the bahamas and came back and ate free lunch. so that‟s the kind of thing that went on. and if they didn‟t qualify, they found a way to qualify.” she explained that “you couldn‟t smile, you had to be strict, and you had to have eyes all over your head because they were tricky. they just did things. you had to be so sharp and guarded all the time.” she described the black students as unmotivated and prone to “a lot of mischief and misbehavior” and the black teachers as having “dubious qualifications from bogus or nonexistent schools.” ms. weber taught at south boulevard for five years before she obtained a teaching position at a majority-white suburban school. the other white teacher in the study sample, ms. lincoln, served as a gifted resource teacher at south boulevard from 1979-1998. ms. lincoln, who described herself as a “south boulevardian,” said, “i loved south boulevard; i hated to leave it. south boulevard got into my blood.” ms. lincoln said the students were “all neighborhood children, so there was an awful lot of free lunches. a very, very, very high percentage.” when asked to compare south boulevard to other ebrp schools, ms. lincoln said: “we held our own. we prided ourselves in getting as much as we could out of the children. we did a lot for our children. we had a student council. we had crossing guards. we had girl scouts and boy scouts that serviced the school.” these vastly different stories are examples of the powerful forces both for and against school desegregation in baton rouge. in 1972, the federal government passed the emergency school aid act, which called for the use of magnet programs to desegregate schools. ebrp opened its first magnet program at baton rouge high in 1976. the criteria for admission into the academic and arts magnet included the following: a minimum 2.5 grade average, ability to read on grade-level, interest in the program, and parental consent. a middle school magnet program was created at glasgow middle school in 1979 (staff 1979). the school received nearly 1,900 applications—465 from blacks and 1,421 from whites—for only 750 seats in the program. because the schools were still racially segregated, federal district court judge john parker closed fifteen ebrp schools in 1981 to achieve more racially-balanced school populations. judge parker‟s plan paired formerly white and formerly black schools and assigned students to schools based on racial quotas. parents indicated their first, second, third, and fourth choice schools, but according to a 5 august 1981 article in the baton rouge morning advocate, approximately 30 percent did not get their first or second choice school (mcclain august 5, 1981). students were bussed to their newly-assigned school. that year, nineteen percent of the non-black students (approximately 7,000) left the ebrp public school system. in the context of these system-wide changes, south boulevard became one of two dedicated 2 extended day magnet schools. designed for working parents, the extended day 30 magnet programs were open from 7:00 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. and provided tutoring and enrichment activities for students. the school system bore all costs associated with the before and after-school care. a 15 august 1981 article in the baton rouge morning advocate explains that judge parker set target student enrollments for these two programs at 60 percent white and 40 percent black (mcclain august 15, 1981). numerous people who worked at south boulevard during this period participated in this study, including four teachers, one administrator , , and one parent of a student who attended south boulevard. interview and test score data reveal a successful school that provided quality beforeand after-school enrichment programs and a rigorous academic program. linda, a south boulevard parent, recalled that “there was always a waiting list to get into the school. so you had to apply and hope that you would be one of the ones that got in.” teachers agreed that the program was highly valued by the families it served. ms. brown, a white south boulevard veteran teacher of thirty years, noted that the students “treated each other just like siblings because they came early in the morning at 7:00, and we kept them until 5:30. we did everything but bathe „em and put „em to bed, almost.” because no bus transportation was provided, parents dropped off their children every morning and picked them up every afternoon. ms. lawson, a white teacher, recalled: “you met the parents face-to-face daily. so if there was a problem, you had that communication on a daily basis.” ms. johnson, a black teacher who taught at south boulevard for 18 years, said that the greatest strength of south boulevard during this time period was the “cohesiveness of the faculty and their willingness to put in the extra time for the benefit of the children.” ms. johnson said that parents “wanted their children there because of the high academic achievement that the students experienced.” thus, south boulevard has a long history of high expectations and student achievement. none of the staff members recalled what the racial ratios were, although they did remember that they were required to fulfill a race-based quota. ms. lawson explained that “the purpose of the court order was to desegregate, and we did. it was effective. you had kids who came from all walks of life. we had kids who were neighborhood kids who walked to school, and we had kids from the country club of louisiana.” although the south boulevard magnet program was successful between 1981 and 1988 in terms of desegregation (as shown in table 5) and in providing a quality program valued by students and parents, the percentage of non-blacks began to decrease after 1988, which reflects the trend in the district student population during the same time period. in 1996, a consent decree (1966) a ruling by the court to which all parties in the desegregation litigation agreed replaced busing with community-based attendance zones that allowed most students to attend schools near their homes and created 24 new magnet programs to attract white students to attend majority-black schools in an effort to achieve racial balance. the consent decree states that magnet programs are “the primary tool for desegregating the predominantly black schools in the inner city.” one of the new magnet programs was a foreign language immersion program at south boulevard, which began in the fall of 1996 with one spanish immersion 31 table 5: student enrollment at south boulevard, 1980-1995 year total enrollment black % of total nonblack % of total 1980 195 192 98% 3 2% 1981 219 144 66% 75 34% 1982 233 116 50% 117 50% 1983 254 122 48% 132 52% 1984 253 121 48% 132 52% 1985 244 118 48% 126 52% 1986 278 138 50% 140 50% 1987 296 144 49% 152 51% 1988 294 156 53% 138 47% 1989 288 163 57% 125 43% 1990 290 164 57% 126 43% 1991 299 162 54% 137 46% 1992 283 161 57% 122 43% 1993 277 168 61% 109 39% 1994 263 169 64% 94 36% 1995 279 191 68% 88 32% kindergarten class. the non-immersion students were grandfathered in—that is, they were allowed to stay at the school through fifth grade even though they did not participate in the immersion program. out of 277 total students in 1996, 187 were black (68%) and 90 were nonblack (32%). a french immersion program moved from winbourne elementary to south boulevard in 2002, making it the only louisiana public school offering french and spanish immersion. in 2002, there were two kindergarten classes: one spanish immersion and one french immersion. one french and one spanish immersion class were added each year until the immersion program was k-5. table 6 shows the school enrollment from 1996 to 2007. the immersion program brought about notable shifts in the racial composition of the teaching staff. as the immersion program grew, regular classroom teachers (many of whom were black) were replaced by native-speaking immersion teachers. in 1991, there were eight white and seven black teachers. in 1995, there were 10 white teachers and 11 black teachers. of the current 18 teachers in levels k-5 (each grade level has one spanish, one french, and one english language arts teachers), only two are black, six are hispanic, and ten are white (including six from france and belgium). thus, one consequence of the implementation of the immersion program has been a decrease in black teachers (karpinski 2006). in 2003, the parties involved in the desegregation suit agreed to a final settlement agreement (fsa). the fsa pared down the number of magnet programs to thirteen, including six elementary programs. the prescribed enrollment target for the dedicated magnet schools—one of which was south boulevard—was 55% black, 45% non-black. the fsa stated that during the first two school years of the four-year term of the 32 table 6: south boulevard student enrollment, 1996-2007 year total k-5 black % of total nonblack % of total free/red lunch 1996 268 194 72% 74 28% 59% 1997 277 187 68% 90 33% 64% 1998 243 175 72% 68 28% 49% 1999 240 177 74% 63 26% 53% 2000 226 178 79% 48 21% 65% 2001 225 181 80% 44 20% 69% 2002 242 190 79% 52 22% 65% 2003 249 200 80% 49 20% 71% 2004 225 167 74% 58 26% 62% 2005 231 153 66% 78 34% 65% 2006 208 138 66% 70 34% 53% 2007 204 119 58% 85 42% 59% agreement, if there were insufficient applications from either black or non-black students to fulfill these quotas, “the magnet school shall be operated with empty seats notwithstanding the existence of a waiting list.” beginning with the third year, the board would be allowed to admit students from the waiting list regardless of their race and the subsequent effect on the target ratio. in 2003, south boulevard‟s student population was 80% black and 20% nonblack—a far cry from the 55% black, 45% nonblack ratio targeted in the fsa. by 2007, enrollment was 59% black, 41% non-black. figure 1 compares enrollment trends at south boulevard with the ebrp district as a whole. figure 1: percentage of non-black enrollment at south boulevard and in the ebrp district, 19452005 (data obtained from louisiana school directories and louisiana state department of education annual financial and statistical reports.) 0 20 40 60 80 100 p e rc e n ta g e o f n o n -b la c k e n ro ll m e n t year south boulevard ebrp schools 33 this level of racial diversity is noteworthy considering that it has occurred in the same time period during which the overall student population of ebrp schools has become increasingly black. contemporary perspectives that reflect historical themes current south boulevard parents, students, and teachers shared experiences reflective of three themes pertaining to the relationship between race and the history of education: 1) pride in community schools, 2) the importance of a rigorous education, and 3) perseverance in obtaining quality education for their children. current south boulevard parents in the sample are proud of their school and are highly involved in their children‟s education, in both formal and informal ways. teachers and administrators described significant parental involvement at south boulevard. ms. richard, one of only two black south boulevard teachers, similarly said: “all i have to do is make one phone call in my room and i get parents in there.” donald, a black father and firefighter, visits his son‟s classroom frequently: “i like that you can come in any time you want and pop in the classroom. i stop by all the time and just sit in the classroom for one or two hours.” parents have become increasingly involved since the creation of the pto in fall 2005, when a group of five to seven mothers created an official parent-school organization to ensure the longevity of the program. the newlycreated pto successfully lobbied the ebrp central administrative personnel to continue the immersion program at the middle school level. in a parent survey drafted and conducted by the pto in march 2006, 114 out of 166 parents that they were “interested” or “very interested” in a middle school immersion program. the pto then encouraged parents to sign a petition and to write letters, send e-mails, and call district administrators and school board members to lobby for a middle school immersion program. in march 2007, the school board approved a proposal to continue the immersion program at a selected middle school. in addition to its advocacy role, the pto has raised funds to buy additional library books, new equipment for a computer lab and the playground, and miscellaneous items for classroom teachers. these fundraising efforts, which included black and white parents, are reminiscent of the ways in which black southerners financed early black schools with private contributions despite paying taxes that were supposed to fund public schools (anderson 1988). south boulevard parents are proud of their school; they make sacrifices to get their children to school; they raise money to support the school. during interviews, i asked parents what they tell other people about south boulevard. tracy, a black mother of two south boulevard students, said: “i tell people it‟s a great, great program. it‟s wonderful. we love it.” when i asked donald, a black father, that question, he laughed and said: “i tell them that they‟re paying for something [private school tuition] that our kids get for free that‟s better.” although families live significant distances from the school, i argue that the sense of community surrounding the school acts as a surrogate for the sense of community present in former neighborhood schools and in all-black schools prior to desegregation (hendry and edwards 2009; jones-wilson 1981; siddle walker 1996). 34 despite the fact that all parent participants were similarly proud of south boulevard, the school is perceived differently in black and non-black communities. south boulevard, which was an all-black school between 1959 and 1981, has a reputation in the black community as being an excellent school. former black school board member patricia haynes-smith confirmed this reputation when she said that south boulevard “was a good school when it was a neighborhood school. people who live around there now want to know why they can‟t go to that school. it‟s a tradition.” south boulevard teachers concurred that academic rigor was particularly important to black parents. school principal ms. miller, for instance, explained that “young black families know about south boulevard. and they know about the immersion program. and they want their kids in it.” south boulevard does not enjoy a similar reputation in the non-black community. while many blacks know south boulevard is a good school, many non-blacks remain unconvinced that an excellent education can be attained in an ebrp public school. a second historical theme discussed by current south boulevard parents is the importance of a rigorous education. black and non-black parents in the study sample stressed the importance of a rigorous curriculum in their decision to send their children to south boulevard. according to ken, a black estate planner, “people get over the racial issue when the degree of excellence is way up there. when you create institutions of excellence, everybody wants to go to that watering hole. the only way you are going to desegregate, today, is…quality. go for excellence at all levels. and people will get past their getups.” tracy explained, “well, especially with foreign language. it‟s the only one of its kind around here. so that is a big plus. more academics. more challenging. more opportunities there.” yolanda, a black mother, said that her son sylvester, a south boulevard student, has “probably gotten ten times the advantages” over her older son, who attends a non-magnet public school. parents in the sample valued the educational quality of the school more than its location or condition. when i asked ken, who had been paying $30,000 per year in private school tuition before he moved his three children to south boulevard, about south boulevard‟s physical facility, he shrugged and said: “we can donate our time and some money. we can come paint the bathroom. if the principal says, „we need to have a clean-up weekend,‟ we‟ll be there. with paintbrushes in hand.” like many poorly funded black schools prior to brown, south boulevard provides a quality education despite its poor physical condition and continues to be a source of pride for its students, teachers, and parents. a third theme that reflects the history of race and education is parents‟ perseverance in providing education for their children. numerous black parents in this study expressed frustration regarding the magnet admissions process. in ebrp, student race was a factor in magnet program admissions between 1981 and 2006, when the magnet programs were obligated to comply with the 55% black, 45% non-black quotas outlined in the fsa. students fell into one of only two categories: black and non-black. beginning in 2007, a socioeconomic status quota (55% full-pay lunch, 45% freereduced lunch) replaced the racial quota. black parents in the sample complained about the unfairness of racial quotas and the lottery—used when a magnet program receives 35 more applications than it has available seats, which happens every year at every ebrp magnet program. camille, a black state employee, complained that the quota makes it harder for black students to get in to the magnet programs because more blacks apply than nonblacks. she said, “because of deseg, you now have this lottery pick to get into the schools. so if you don‟t have a sibling already in that school, you play hell trying to get in. my coworker here has applied for visual arts [magnet] three years in a row and has not been able to get her black male son in. because they don‟t have any openings for black male children.” anthony felt it was unfair to use race as a means to exclude people: “i don‟t think that there should be schools that exclude anyone because of race.” non-black parents did not have similar complaints or misgivings about the way the application process works. this is not surprising since for years, non-blacks have been allowed to occupy 45% of the spaces in magnet programs—which is significantly more than the 13% of the total school enrollment they currently represent. magnet programs generally have many more black applicants than nonblack applicants. at south boulevard, for instance, 51 black students and 0 non-black students were on the waiting list for the 20062007 school year. because the quotas privilege non-black children, all the non-black students who applied got in. liz, a white mother with a master‟s degree in mathematics, agreed with camille that the quotas favor non-black students. she explained, “because there are more blacks in the public school system, they get shut out of better programs. there‟s only a certain number of slots in the magnet schools, so there‟s more competition among the black people for those slots. white people have an easier chance of getting into a magnet school, which is unfair to black people.” andrea, a white bookkeeper, similarly explained that “if you want to go to south, your chances of going there are better if you‟re white. if you‟re white, it‟s almost like a step right on into the door.” several black parents also expressed confusion and even skepticism regarding the lottery for admission into ebrp magnet programs. terrence, a black firefighter and real estate agent, and camille spoke extensively about the lottery. terrence scoffed and said that the “supposed waiting list and a lottery” were “a bunch of bull.” when i asked him how he thought his daughter got in, he said, in a somewhat humorous tone: “i don‟t know. i was real sweet to the lady at the east baton rouge school office.” camille lamented, “there‟s always a waiting list for the black female or the black male, but they always have a non-black spot available. and i don‟t understand why. if you have that available, why couldn‟t it be made open to whomever that wants to get in?” these frustrations are reminiscent of charges made by the black community regarding the unequal distribution of resources in segregated schools. while all parents in the study sample agreed that diversity in schools is a good goal, some black parents had a sense of unfairness and a distrust of the school system. camille summarized their sentiments when she said: “you ought to be able to get into a public school because that‟s what the word means: „public.‟ it should be open to everyone regardless of race.” like members of the black community since emancipation, however, black parents in 36 the study exercised self-determination in getting their children into south boulevard, where they were confident their children would receive a quality education, despite institutional practices (like the quotas and the lottery) that sought to exclude them. because several black south boulevard families do not technically live in ebrp, they use a friend‟s or relative‟s address on official paperwork so that their children can continue to attend south boulevard. the school librarian, who confessed that the school administration knows that they should not be allowed to attend south boulevard, explained, “we know about that. but we just look the other way.” tanecia‟s story of how she had to manipulate the system so that her son could get into south boulevard illustrates the complexity of race when it collides with quotas and school policy. tanecia is black and her husband richard is white. tanecia recounted her experience when she applied for her oldest son to get into south boulevard: when i first applied for thomas to get in, i put that he was black, because i‟m the mom and i‟m writing the application. he got denied and i was upset. so i called the school and said: „why can‟t he be in the program?,‟ and they said: „we‟ve reached our quota for black students. and i said: well, his father is white. can i put white?‟ and they said: „sure.‟ so i put white and he was accepted. i got lucky because i‟m married to a white guy. what if i wasn‟t married to a white guy? thus tanecia sacrificed part of her own identity on paper, at least in order to get her son into south boulevard. this kind of perseverance and improvisation was not necessary among the non-black parents in the study sample—none of whom mentioned frustration with the admissions process or shared stories of friends or family members unable to get their children in to magnet programs. thus, black and nonblack parents experience the magnet admissions process differently. black parents feel that the system tries to cheat their children out of coveted spots in magnet programs, while nonblack parents almost take it for granted that their children will be able to get in to one of these programs. like black parents during the jim crow era who were determined to educate their children despite a legal system that was set against them, black parents at south boulevard are dedicated to getting their children into good schools despite a system they feel treats them unfairly. conclusion south boulevard has been at the intersection of race and education since it first opened its doors in 1949. the south boulevard community has undergone numerous layers of change, including demographic changes, changes in teaching staff, and curricular changes. the history of south boulevard illustrates several themes central to the history of race and education. although some differences emerged in the ways that black and non-black parents perceived south boulevard and the magnet admissions process, all parents in the study sample exhibit behaviors and sentiments that have been important to parents throughout 37 history. first, black and non-black parents in the study sample take pride in their children‟s school and support it with their time, energy, and resources. second, all parents in the study valued educational quality more than the location or condition of the physical facility. they want their children to experience the additional challenge of learning a second language and are satisfied that their children are pushed academically at south boulevard. third, black and non-black parents demonstrated perseverance and determination in making sure their children receive a quality education. all parents in the study sample were proactive in choosing what they determined to be the best school for their children and found ways to make the system work for them and for their children. references ambrose, e. r. 1999. sarah towles reed: teacher and activist. in the louisiana purchase bicentennial series in louisiana history, edited by m. g. wade, 383-405, vol. 18. lafayette, la: center for louisiana studies. anderson, j. d. 1988. the education of blacks in the south, 1860-1935. chapel hill, nc: university of north carolina press. bankston, c. l.and s. l. caldas 2002. a troubled dream: the promise and failure of school desegregation in louisiana. nashville, tn: vanderbilt university press. bell, d. 2004. silent covenants: brown v. board of education and the unfulfilled hopes for racial reform. oxford: oxford university press. brown, f. 2004. the road to brown, its leaders, and the future. education and urban society 36(3): 255-265. butler, j. s. 1974. black educators in louisiana: a question of survival. the journal of negro education 43(1): 9-24. carleton, m. t. 1981. river capital: an illustrated history of baton rouge. woodland hills, ca: baton rouge area chamber of commerce. cecelski, d. 1994. along freedom road. chapel hill, nc: university of north carolina press. consent decree, u.s. district court middle district of louisiana, civil action no. 561662-a (1996). cremin, l. a. 1988. american education: the metropolitan experience, 1876-1980. new york: harper and row. crouch, b. a. 2000. black education in civil war and reconstruction louisiana: george t. ruby, the army, and the freedmen's bureau. in the african american experience in louisiana, edited by c. vincent, 260-275, vol. 11. lafayette, la: center for louisiana studies, university of louisiana lafayette. culver, d. w. 1954. 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(1961). davis, d. r. 1999. crossing over: an oral history of the desegregation experience of public school personnel in east baton rouge, louisiana. ph.d. diss., louisiana state university. denzin, n. k.and y. s. lincoln, eds. 2000. handbook of qualitative research. thousand oaks, ca, sage publications. final settlement agreement, u.s. district court middle district of louisiana, civil action 38 no. 56-1662-d-m3 (2003). frazier, j. m. 1937. the history of negro education in the parish of east baton rouge, louisiana. master's thesis, university of iowa. gaston, r. w. 1971. dr. william bass hatcher, louisiana educator. ph.d. diss., louisiana state university. glaser, b.and a. strauss 1967. discovery of grounded theory. chicago: aldine. green v. school board of new kent county, virginia, 391 u.s. 430 (1968). hendry, p. m.and j. d. edwards 2009. old south baton rouge: the roots of hope. lafayette, la: center for louisiana studies. jacobs, d. this is baton rouge's best high school. baton rouge business report, 2008, january 15, 28-32. jones-wilson, f. c. 1981. a traditional model of educational excellence: dunbar high school of little rock, arkansas. washington, d.c.: howard university press. karpinski, c. f. 2006. bearing the burden of desegregation: black principals and brown. urban education 41(3): 237-276. kluger, r. 1975/2004. simple justice: the history of brown v. board of education and black america's struggle for equality. new york: vintage books. mcclain, r. school assignments reported. morning advocate, august 5, 1981, b-1. mcclain, r. magnet signup deadline monday. morning advocate, august 15, 1981, b-1. middleton, e. j. 1984. history of the louisiana education association. washington, d.c.: national education association. olson beal, h. k. 2008. speaking the language of desegregation: a case study of south boulevard foreign language academic immersion magnet. educational theory, policy, and practice. baton rouge, la, louisiana state university. perry, t. 2003. competing theories of group achievement. in young, gifted, and black: promoting high achievement among african-american students, edited by t. perry, c. steele and a. hilliard iii, 52-86, boston, ma: beacon press. reynolds, k. c.and s. l. schramm 2002. separate sisterhood: women who shaped southern education in the progressive era. new york: peter lang. ripley, c. p. 1976. slaves and freedmen in civil war louisiana. baton rouge, la: louisiana state university press. siddle walker, v. 1996. their highest potential: an african american school community in the segregated south. chapel hill, nc: the university of north carolina press. spradley, j. p. 1980. participant observation. new york: holt, rinehart and winston, inc. staff. huge expansion program set by ebr parish school board. state times advocate, 1949, january 1, 16-a. staff. more that [sic] 18,000 school children enrolled in ebr. state times advocate, 1949, september 7. staff. first magnet middle school to open. state times advocate, 1979. stone, f. a. 1992. public school desegregation/redesign: a case study in east baton rouge parish, louisiana. urban education reports, number 14. strauss, a.and j. corbin 1998. basics of qualitative research. thousand oaks, ca: sage publications. suarez, r. a. 2004. chronicle of a failure: 39 public education in antebellum louisiana. in antebellum louisiana, 1830-1860: life and labor, edited by c. e. de latte, 146155, vol. 4. lafayette, la: center for louisiana studies. tyack, d. b. 1974. the one best system: a history of american urban education. cambridge, ma: harvard university press. 1 i use the terms “black” and “non-black” because these are the terms that were used throughout the era of court-ordered desegregation in louisiana. i use “white” when other researchers or data sources use it. 2 a dedicated magnet program is a school in which the entire student population participates in the magnet program. unraveling conflicting interpretations of the 1916 report on social studies gregg jorgensen western illinois university abstract this article explores the numerous, divergent interpretations of the 1916 report on social studies. upon close examination of the trilogy of reports and the various interpretations, it argues that the 1916 committee as a group overcame the multiple influences of social movements and critical issues of the era by directly applying john dewey’s educational philosophy and principles in the final recommendations for social studies to a degree not yet recognized by contemporary scholars. introduction over time scholars have developed a number of divergent interpretations of the 1916 report on social studies. my goal in this article is to unravel these conflicting interpretations. for instance, fallace (2009) recently stated that the 1916 report on social studies was simply a “dewey-inspired document” while at the same time he expressed his belief that the ideas in the report “did not originate with dewey” (p. 618). on the other hand, ravitch (2000) argued that the newly created social studies of 1916 revolved around a notion of social efficiency defined as “teaching students the skills and attitudes necessary to fit into the new social order” (p. 127). close examination of the report and the differing interpretations reveals an underlying question: which scholarly interpretation most accurately captures and explains the intent, goals, purposes, and influences on the 1916 committee? pursuing the answer matters because our definition for social studies may hang in the balance along with our beliefs about a preferred future for the field. the answer to this question runs contrary to the beliefs of some contemporary scholars. that is, the 1916 report on social studies may not be merely deweyan or social efficiency inspired. in fact, over their tenure, the 1916 committee may have cohesively combined a unique blend of philosophical views and concerns that was representative of multiple ideological camps that struggled over the american curriculum during the early part of the 20th century and beyond. my path to this belief started with the recognition that the 1916 report on social studies is a trilogy of three separate reports. moreover, it may be that only the third and final report, commonly known as the 1916 report on social studies, was consistent with the intent and the defining principles that were promoted by the entire membership of the 1916 committee that i believe directly embraced dewey’s educational philosophy. the three reports in reviewing the three documents that comprise the trilogy of reports that is commonly known as the 1916 report on social studies, each report is indeed a separate and distinct document published at different times over a three-year period. it is important to recognize this distinction. contemporary scholars tend to analyze these three reports as one package under the singular title of the 1916 report on social studies. however, when each of the three reports is treated as a stand-alone document, each is unique. the differentiation in the three reports stems from the individual composition of the committee membership involved in the production of each report. 83 the 1916 committee was one of a total of 10 subject committees formed in 1912-1913 under the umbrella of the commission for the reorganization of secondary education. as such, this committee was charged with identifying social studies as a course of study and defining social studies as an entity for education. indeed the 1916 committee was assigned the sole purpose of developing formal recommendations for the creation and establishment of social studies as a subject for secondary education. however, unlike the case in the earlier social studies reports, the full complement of 21 educators and educational administrators nominated to serve on the 1916 committee sat in place to issue the third and final report in the trilogy of reports. the first two reports in 1913 and 1915, respectively, were the products of two separate, specifically limited membership subgroups. the differences in the membership delegated to issue the three individual reports to the crse as well as the timing of each report ultimately published under the social studies subject committee becomes acutely important. this distinction aids in reaching an understanding of the 1916 committee’s final recommendations for social studies issued to and accepted by the crse as the 1916 report on social studies—the third report published in 1916. before proceeding further with this argument, it will be helpful to provide a brief description of each report. first, the 1913 preliminary statement lists thomas jesse jones as its author. however, it was not written in its entirety either by the appointed chairman, thomas jesse jones, or by the entire group that was to become known as the 1916 committee. instead, it represents a package of original text statements provided by four noted individual 1916 committee members—j. lynn barnard, william a. wheatley, james harvey robinson, and henry r. burch—compiled by jones as the chairman along with his own statements. each of the contributing members presented their preliminary thoughts on four different social studies subjects. the first report is a preliminary statement issued in the same vein and at the same time as the preliminary statements from the other subject committees of the commission on the reorganization of secondary education (crse). second, the 1915 report on community civics was intended to be a special study of one subject from the several social studies subjects. this report was limited in scope to the subject of community civics. it is a written summary of a study conducted by a small, specifically appointed special committee of four members consisting of one existing and three future 1916 committee members—j. lynn barnard, f. w. carrier, arthur w. dunn, and clarence d. kingsley. their report: (a) presented detailed examples of approaches for the teaching of community civics, and, (b) emphasized the importance of this subject in the curriculum to that era of expansive population growth due to the influx of immigrants. it was published as a standalone report, upon crse approval in 1915, to serve as an aid to teachers nationwide. third, the 1916 report on social studies was designed, prepared, and finalized by the entire 1916 committee. it presents the 1916 committee’s overall recommendations for the teaching and learning of the newly created social studies in secondary education. the third and final report is the only report that fully addressed the charge for the 1916 committee from the crse. ultimately, this was accomplished by presenting the educational philosophy and principles of dewey with those of the established ideological camps of the era. thus, the full 1916 committee, as one cohesive group coming from diverse 84 backgrounds, reached a revamped and common philosophy that was much more deweyan in its approach to the teaching and learning of social studies in the third and final report than was evident in the first or second reports. the 1916 committee clearly stated at the outset of the third report that a new definition, perspective, and approach was needed in order to formulate their recommendations. one significant reason stemmed from the 1916 committee’s rationale that social studies was uniquely different as a subject among all the other subjects assigned to the various crse committees. the 1916 committee stated: “the social studies are understood to be those whose subject matter relates directly to the organization and development of human society, and to man as a member of social groups.” as a result, the 1916 committee argued: “from the nature of their content, social studies affords peculiar opportunities for the training of the individual as a member of society” (u.s. bureau of education, 1916, p. 9). the operational philosophy for the committee’s recommendations resulted from a combination of multiple personal and philosophical influences that embedded elements of social efficiency, social meliorism, social reconstructionism, humanism and developmentalism in the third and final report. their carefully crafted recommendations for the future of social studies encompassed principles grounded by a concerted intent to develop over the students’ successive school years a higher order of thinking to meet their interests and to increase their content knowledge base. this combined approach would allow them to more completely fulfill their lives in the community. the report was not a “how to” primer. instead the 1916 committee provided a principle-based framework. they challenged teachers to adapt new principles designed for the teaching and learning of the newly created, unique subject of social studies. the foundation for their recommendations solidly rested in dewey’s threeprong approach to first start with a problem or topic of interest carefully identified that would meet the student’s interest as well as represent a topic or problem that be of significance to society. the ideological spectrum which enveloped the 1916 committee can be considered the platform for their educational philosophy and pedagogy which originated from and evolved under a strong influence from john dewey, directly and indirectly. several scholars have published direct statements on dewey’s strong influence on the 1916 committee. saxe (1991) stated: “most, if not all, the selected philosophical points that appeared in the report were specifically drawn from his writings” (p. 168). in addition, evans (2004) stated: “probably the single most important influence on the committee was john dewey” (p. 22). john dewey’s influence became part of an intentional design that acted as an overlay and counterforce to the numerous other individual and societal influences that impacted the 1916 committee. dewey’s influence was therefore much more substantively direct, as well as indirect, than simply to provide the 1916 committee with “credence and coherence” (p. 618) as fallace (2009) suggests. context undoubtedly, the 1916 committee was confronted by numerous concepts advocated by influential interest groups during their era. these social concepts represent issues that impacted each of the three separate reports to varying degrees. it becomes important to note that the spectrum of ideologies—social efficiency, social meliorism, social reconstructionism, humanism, and developmentalism—influencing the 1916 85 committee was driven by concern over significant societal changes in the united states and other areas of the globe prior to and throughout the 1916 committee’s tenure. the number of societal reactions to unforeseen challenges can be viewed as both an extremely varied and a frenetic response to immigrants literally flowing into the country, expanding urbanization, industrialization and the resulting transformation of american institutions, as well as impending war. the multiple interest group movements were developed by society in what might be described as a coping mechanism. in particular, citizens were facing significant problems that were by-products of the rapid industrialization, wealth concentration, and industry’s ruthless exploitation of natural resources. coupled with inefficiency and corruption in government at all levels and the incredible growth that added to the already increasing complexity of political and social problems in urban areas was a growing fear that the american middle class would adversely react to these intense problems (kliebard, 2004; callahan, 1962). both as individuals and as an educational work group, the 1916 committee shared many of the same deep concerns as these various groups. a major factor during this era was that industry was under increasing pressure to counter germany’s industrial success. the industrialists were thrust into quick action to move the united states into the top competitive position in the world in industrial development and expansion (kliebard, 2004). growth in industry precipitated growth in urban populations as citizens migrated from rural areas in search of new jobs. in tandem with this impact was the increasing tendency for the african american population, also seeking a new life and a new way of making a living, to migrate from the south to the industrial northern cities. growth in cities was further exacerbated by the tremendous impact of immigrants from countries in southern and eastern europe. the immigrant population created widespread concern among many about methods of americanizing this massive influx of people in order to address fear of their different cultures and beliefs. the population changes caused by citizen migration and immigration from foreign countries created a concern to provide “youth with the skills that were required by industry and commerce” (kliebard, 2004, p. 130). the united states, as a nation, was tremendously affected by both the immigration and migration population movements (kliebard, 2004; cremin, 1961). at the same time, the threat of entering into the war in europe loomed overhead. the steps needed to prepare for a world war became a concern for government, industry and business, as well as private citizens over an extended time frame. the united states did not enter world war i until 1917. this was after the 1916 committee concluded its work and published their recommendations. however, the pending war almost certainly represented an impact on their educational planning. thus, immigration, urbanization, industrialization, and the threat of war were the modern problems of the era. educational leaders wanted the schools to step in and help address these significant issues while at the same time helping to keep, in general, the status quo of liberal capitalist democracy (evans, 2004). as a result, the 1916 committee was confronted with critical social problems emanating from the rapidly changing social, political, and industrial environment of their era. 86 effects of influence from different vantage points, the societal influence groups of the era, that is, social efficiency advocates strongly entrenched in the steel and railroad industries as well as the national municipal league’s chapters; social meliorists exemplified by the likes of lester frank ward; social reconstructionists who were influenced by positions that would soon be championed by harold rugg; humanists looked to leadership from those who supported tenets of western education; while developmentalists followed g. stanley hall. these interest groups addressed the various critical problems of a society that was changing at a rapid pace. how influential were these groups on the 1916 committee? indeed, what constitutes influence? influence is not limited to a linear cause and effect hierarchy. versions of influence can be generated from peers, mentors, leaders, political representatives, and interest groups of all types. it seems reasonable to speculate that any individual or group subjected to outside influences potentially affecting their beliefs might be swayed in one direction or another. a key question to address is: does a single influence, or a selection of multiple influences, provide value and a positive effect on projected outcomes? the challenge for educational historians is to determine which, if any, particular leader, interest group, peer, colleague, or governmental entity influenced the 1916 committee’s deliberations and ultimately their recommendations in the 1916 report on social studies. for instance, a theme of connectivity has been used by some scholars to trace the academic background of clarence d. kingsley, thomas jesse jones, w. a. arey, arthur w. dunn and s. b. howe to sociologists franklin h. giddings, george vincent, and albion small (lybarger, 1981; nelson, 1994). all these identified 1916 committee members, except dunn, studied under giddings at columbia. dunn was a student of both vincent and small at the university of chicago. dewey was also influenced by vincent and small (cremin, 1961). the more influential jones, kingsley and dunn—leaving out aery and howe—are thought to lend a sociological outlook to the 1916 committee. nevertheless, the 1916 committee looked favorably to robinson and his views of the new history. robinson wanted the 1916 committee to rethink, reexamine, experiment, and utilize their collective initiative to be able to develop the newly created social studies (saxe, 1991). a critical question to pose regarding the 1916 committee’s work is: how influential were thomas jesse jones, as chairman, and clarence d. kingsley, as both overseer of the crse and a 1916 committee member, in preparing the reports of the 1916 committee? a follow-up question becomes what other 1916 committee members may have had a significant influence on their deliberations? the ultimate question then becomes which 1916 committee members most influenced their final recommendations for social studies in secondary education? in addition, what about the influence of dewey as a non-member? the 1916 committee members strived to create a final document that was both practical and flexible—one that would become a tool for teachers (evans, 2004). as a group, these developers of the newly created social studies gave a voice and an emphasis to many issues of concern that had been arising from the various social reform movements for decades prior to the work of the 1916 committee. it is unfortunate that no known notes or records of the 1916 committee members’ discussions or deliberations exist to reveal more personalized insight to their actions and interactions. 87 thus, speculation on various types of potential influence may partially explain why the 1916 report on social studies has suffered from numerous interpretations over time. the variety of interpretations may have exacerbated a commonly expressed belief that the 1916 report on social studies is, at best, inconsistent. thus, while considered seminal in social studies education, it is not understood in a uniform manner among scholars. schools of interpretation for this article the work of nineteen scholars who have written interpretations of the 1916 report on social studies or the societal conditions that influenced the 1916 committee’s thoughts were identified and analyzed. these scholars were then placed in appropriate schools of interpretation relative to their view of the 1916 report on social studies and the social impacts of the era. the schools of interpretation i have identified include: celebratory historians, revisionist interpretations (social efficiency, dewey and robinson school, multiple influences, neoconservatives), and post-revisionists. first, the celebratory historians school of interpretation (tryon, 1935; wesley, 1937) held that each and every development in education represented progress. in turn, the 1916 report on social studies—the document that created the new subject of social studies—was, in their opinion, considered the cornerstone of progress in social studies education. in addition, they believed the subject of history was the primary avenue to find solutions to current problems and to prevent repetition of past mistakes. second, several revisionist interpretations have been identified in this study. the four separate revisionist interpretations are: social efficiency, the dewey and robinson school of interpretation, multiple influences, and the neoconservative revisionists. no significance is attached to the sequence of these interpretations. each revisionist interpretation stands on its own. within the social efficiency school of interpretation (callahan, 1962; krug, 1964; lybarger, 1981, 1983, 1987; kliebard, 1994, 2004), one prominent group of curriculum historians, some based at the university of wisconsin’s consortium of educators, has argued that principles of efficiency, centralization, and decision-making were significant influences at the time of the 1916 committee. indeed, some have specifically indicated that the 1916 report on social studies itself represented a social efficiency oriented point of view. another group of curriculum historians identified under the dewey and robinson school of interpretation (hendricks, 1946; saxe, 1991; correia, 1994; evans, 2004) have argued that the influence of john dewey and james harvey robinson should not be overlooked in the 1916 report on social studies. they argue that dewey’s principles of education and robinson’s concept of new history are very prevalent in the report. yet another group of educational historians has argued that multiple influences (cremin, 1961; jenness, 1990; whelan, 1991, 1993, 1997a, 1997b, 2006; nelson, 1994; fallace, 2009) were swirling around the 1916 committee. these scholars embrace a spectrum of ideas not necessarily held in a prioritized sequence. they focus upon social efficiency and other social movement ideas of the 1916 era, dewey’s ideals, and robinson’s new history. the final revisionist school of interpretation, the neoconservatives (ravitch, 1978, 1985, 1989a, 1989b, 2000; hertzberg, 1981, 1989), consists of historians who question the value and validity of interdisciplinary or progressive social studies. they argue that the 88 1916 report on social studies undermined and adversely affected the teaching of traditional history. the neoconservatives believe that social studies is not useful, promotes social efficiency, and is utilitarian. third, other historians, the postrevisionists (westbrook, 1991; tyack and cuban, 1995), have done related work. although they have not directly addressed the 1916 report on social studies, their work is of interest because their approach challenges traditional and celebratory thinking as well as revisionist interpretations and develops new schools of thought. the scholars described above have provided a widely divergent discussion of the 1916 report on social studies. the scholars within the various schools of interpretation address theories and ideas on the meaning and intent of the work of the 1916 committee as well as the social and political issues of the era. moreover, the various scholarly interpretations run a wide gamut ranging in tone from soft to hard, from enthusiastic to radical. in the remainder of this article, i intend to make sense of these conflicting schools of interpretation and offer a few insights on the potential for a new interpretation of the 1916 report on social studies for the 21st century. social efficiency, multiple influences, or john dewey? as discussed above, a large segment of contemporary scholars believe that social efficiency was the dominant ideology that influenced the 1916 era (callahan, 1962; krug, 1964; lybarger, 1981, 1983, 1987; kliebard, 2004). i agree. however, it does not necessarily follow that the 1916 committee as a group was influenced by this single ideology to the same level and extent as the society of the day. as previously outlined, the 1916 era was replete with other prominent ideological concepts. as kliebard (2004) pointed out, the various persuasions of 20th century reformers—social efficiency proponents, social meliorists, social reconstructionists, humanists, and developmentalists—possessed one common idea: schools needed to change in order to deal with the impacts of industrialization, tremendous growth of cities, and wide spread immigration. to some extent, there was agreement on the perceived types of defects existing in schools at that time. however, the different reform groups held widely divergent views on how to improve and expand education for students. several scholars believe a combination of then prevalent social issues and certain key individuals affected the philosophy and outlook of the 1916 committee and its recommendations. for instance, krug (1964) argued that at the time of the 1916 report on social studies the slogan “education for social efficiency” was understood to encompass: (a) the school as an agency of social control, and, (b) the school as an agency of social service. that is, multiple influences supported the notion that the concept of social efficiency embodied training individuals to act on behalf of the group as well as supporting dewey’s ideal that schools act as social and community centers (cremin, 1961; jenness, 1990; whelan, 1991, 1993, 1997a, 1997b, 2006; nelson, 1994). historian rogers m. smith (1997) outlined a rather definitive view of the various definitions of progressivism. in his approach, to the right of the progressive group were individuals like william howard taft and herbert spencer who (a) promoted economic individualism on pragmatic grounds, and (b) supported scientific management. the center of the progressive spectrum was identified in theodore roosevelt’s new nationalism and 89 woodrow wilson’s new freedom. to the left were individuals, such as john dewey, who, smith indicated, were known as democratic progressives. smith suggested dewey was cautious of new nationalism and “its efforts to herd people into big, efficient organizations, scientifically managed by strong leaders” (p. 420). at the same time, the differences between dewey and snedden were distinct (krug, 1964; hertzberg, 1981, 1989; westbrook, 1991; kliebard 1994). though dewey used many of the same common administrative progressive terms such as “social efficiency,” dewey had vastly different definitions (westbrook, 1991). dewey’s very divergent stance can be noted in his own statement: “it must be borne in mind that ultimately social efficiency means neither more nor less than capacity to share in a give and take of experience” (dewey, 1916, p. 141). also, there were several key influential 1916 committee members. out of the 21 members, a short list of names appear most influential—clarence d. kingsley, thomas jesse jones, arthur w. dunn, j. lynn barnard, james harvey robinson, and william mace. analysis of the available evidence leads to the conclusion that they each had various roles and levels of participation on the 1916 committee with differing types and degrees of influence. the most notable and most influential individuals were robinson and dewey as evidenced by their level of direct and indirect input in the 1916 report on social studies (jorgensen, 2010). the 1916 committee members adopted a decidedly historical approach. indeed, it was robinson who was instrumental in separating the 1916 committee from any outcomes of the committee of seven and led them to create a new approach to social studies (saxe, 1991). john dewey, not actually a member, needs to be included due to his influence on the deliberations of the 1916 committee, as noted by several scholars (westbrook, 1991; saxe, 1991; whelan, 1993; evans, 2004). dewey’s influence is also evidenced in the frequency of references to his work in well over 30 key passages in the report. as one adds together the various ideological and individual influences, the combination effectively softens and reduces the idea that social efficiency as social control represented the overarching influence throughout the entire trilogy of reports. for instance, there was significant disagreement among the proponents of school reform regarding ideas on or for vocational education. this is noted in the tyack and cuban (1995) statement: “should educators sort out and train the ‘high-minded’ boys in separate schools or try to promote industrial democracy by infusing an understanding and appreciation of work in all pupils as john dewey urged?” (p. 46). in fact, educators’ disagreements on goals for education ran the entire gamut of political and social philosophy. tyack and cuban (1995) suggest: “radicals or liberals may favor a traditional academic curriculum as fervently as conservatives” (p. 46). thus, there may be sufficient reason to believe the 1916 committee as a group formulated a view on social efficiency that diverged from some individual committee members. the revised view held by the 1916 committee also diverged from both the society of the era and from the view of social efficiency held by some contemporary scholars. based on the permeating concern regarding the impact of immigrants, the influence of social efficiency concepts, and the influence of robinson and dewey as evidenced in the trilogy of reports, the 1916 committee reengineered its representation 90 of society’s concerns into what can be seen as a microcosm of kliebard’s (2004) analysis of the competing camps battling for control of the american curriculum in the early part of the 20th century. further, the 1916 report on social studies does not embody a social efficiency as social control orientation to the degree held by many modern scholars. one reason is that over the years, scholars have put forth competing definitions for social efficiency. krug (1964), as an individual scholar, supported a very different view from other contemporary scholars. krug’s concept of two streams of understanding for social efficiency—education for social control and education for social service—represents a significant diversion from other scholars. he suggested, and i agree with his view, that the 1916 committee understood that the term “social efficiency” involved both education for social control and education for social service. yet, as we have seen, numerous scholars supported the view of the 1916 report as a social efficiency document. this view could stem, in part, from not recognizing the unique individuality of each report in the trilogy. instead, i argue that other various and significant ideologies, as well as individual personalities that influenced the 1916 committee, ultimately had a profound impact on the 1916 report on social studies. as a critical outcome of this view, john dewey was much more of a direct influence on the 1916 committee than many contemporary scholars suggest (jorgensen, 2010). from beginning to end, the third and final report is replete with deweyan philosophy through three extended direct quotations and at least thirty direct references to dewey’s “immediate interest” and “immediate needs” principle (u.s. bureau of education, 1916, pp. 10-62). in addition, teaching illustrations from educators in the field selected to be highlighted as examples by the 1916 committee were entirely based on deweyan principles. dewey’s ideas were readily adopted by those educators as indicated in the numerous curriculum examples both in place and in stages of development identified and used in the report. more importantly, the 1916 committee solidly embraced and repeatedly used dewey’s three-step process as the recommended foundation for the newly created social studies courses. throughout their recommendations the 1916 committee consistently stressed that the three prongs of dewey’s teaching principle (a) started, whenever possible, with a problem or topic of study carefully selected in order to meet: (b) the pupil’s own immediate interest, and, (c) provided a topic or problem of study that has significance to society. in doing so, they consistently maintained in a most deweyan manner their educational theory for history and the social studies courses in secondary education through the 12th grade. again, for each history course, the 1916 committee specifically mirrored this teaching principle and recommended as an organizing principle: (1) the adoption to the fullest extent possible of a “topical” method, or a “problem” method, as opposed to a method based on chronological sequence alone. (2) the selection of topics or problems for study with reference to (a) the pupil’s own immediate interest; (b) general social significance. (u.s. bureau of education, 1916, p. 37). indeed, for the capstone course to be completed in the 12th grade, the 1916 committee simply increased the level of challenge in their 91 three pronged teaching principle. the new pod course recommendation stressed organizing instruction, “on the basis of concrete problems of vital importance to society and of immediate interest to the pupil” (u.s. bureau of education, 1916, p. 53). reexamining john dewey’s influence some scholars argue that dewey’s concept of “present growth” and “needs” was vague to the members of the 1916 committee (fallace, 2009; correia, 1994). yet, the 1916 committee created a dewey-based circle of recommendations that were consistent and reflective of his public presentations, as well as dewey’s publications (1897, 1899, 1910, 1916). this circle of ideas started with dewey, followed dewey’s precepts throughout the report, and led back to dewey to complete their recommendations. the circle began early in the 1916 report on social studies in “the point of view of the committee” section. there, in the third item, the 1916 committee stated: “one principle the committee has endeavored to keep before it consistently throughout this report because of its fundamental character. it is contained in the following quotation from prof. dewey:” (u.s. bureau of education, 1916, p. 10). the full dewey quotation that followed on page 11 included his “needs of present growth” principle. the circle back to dewey’s principle was completed on page 40 of the 1916 report on social studies under the section “to what extent and in what ways are college requirements and life requirements mutually exclusive?” (u.s. bureau of education, 1916, p. 40). at this point, the 1916 committee referenced their intent to repeat the entire dewey quotation from page 11 as a restatement and wrote: if we could really believe that attending to the needs of present growth would keep the child and teacher alike busy and would also provide the best possible guarantee of the learning needed in the future [in college or elsewhere], transformation of educational ideals might soon be accomplished, and other desirable changes would largely take care of themselves (bureau of education, 1916, p. 40). by the conclusion of the 1916 report on social studies, the conceptual trail from dewey to mace to dewey to robinson to dewey consistently circles around deweyan ideas. after all, a document that puts faith in the hands of teachers, advocates decision-making and experimentation by teachers—not school administrators—and speaks of “transformation of educational ideals” (u.s. bureau of education, 1916, p. 40) can hardly be called efficient. there is nothing utility-minded or efficient in these concepts written in the report. rather, much like dewey, the 1916 committee took some aspects of all the camps competing for their place in the american curriculum and created a unique, usable document for education reflective of deweyan ideals. although john dewey was not a member of the 1916 committee, before, during, and subsequent to the tenure of the 1916 committee, dewey was regarded as a leading educator, and in particular an educational philosopher (hertzberg, 1981; westbrook, 1991). as a result, dewey’s brand of principles and educational philosophy was of direct benefit to the 1916 committee in their development of teaching principles for social studies. rather than risk paraphrasing and making dewey’s theory and pedagogy unclear, the 1916 committee relied on his principles in 92 their recommendations and in their use of direct, verbatim quotations of his philosophy throughout the body of the 1916 report on social studies. the report was replete with reflections, examples, and recommendations the 1916 committee deemed most advantageous for the purposes of secondary education. these recommendations cumulatively called for the adoption of a problem solution method and the selection of study topics that met both the students’ immediate interests as well as social significance in the teaching and learning of social studies. therefore, it can be argued that their ideas for formatting the new social studies were drafted straight from dewey’s educational playbook. thus, this author supports the deweyan school of interpretation. conclusion the 1916 report on social studies remains recognized as a seminal report on its own merit. this recognition may flow from the high regard held for dewey throughout the various schools of interpretation. dewey’s role in the competition waged between the ideological camps of the 1916 era that were reflected in the 1916 report on social studies plays a part in the scholars’ considerations. however, after almost 100 years, the extent of dewey’s role has yet to be universally recognized. dewey provided the 1916 committee with a direct conceptual guide to lead them through the entanglement of social efficiency ideology of their era. the numerous teaching illustrations used by the 1916 committee in the third report alone exemplified dewey’s approach directly through examples of educators designing lessons, units, and programs for students. these examples cited by the 1916 committee were diametrically opposite from the top down approach advocated by snedden, taylor, or even bobbitt. as a result, dewey’s steadfastly maintained educational philosophy became the stalwart backbone that the 1916 committee needed to reach beyond contradictions contained in the first two reports in an uncompromising manner. thus, in the third report the 1916 committee created and provided recommendations that were not limited in scope to one or even two ideologies. dewey was the strongest influence on the 1916 committee because his concepts and philosophy provided a direct methodology to fulfill the 1916 committee members’ vision for social studies. one reason was that the 1916 committee relied on very different and broad-scope deweyan notions much better suited for their plans for social studies. they stated that the newly created social studies were differentiated from other subjects due to an emphasis on social content, not on social aims. in their opinion, the nature of social studies afforded unique opportunities to educate students as members of society. the attributes of social studies did not equate directly to the narrow social aims of social efficiency only as social control. after all, smith (1997) suggested dewey was cautious of “efforts to herd people into big, efficient organizations, scientifically managed by strong leaders.” instead, he believed dewey leaned toward “jeffersonian traditions of local participatory democracy and openness to immigrants, reformulated on pragmatist premises and purged as far as possible of racism” (p. 420). social studies was instead driven by issues based social content and deweyan pedagogy which was designed to feed the immediate needs and interests of students. the 1916 committee integrated dewey’s principles into their recommendations from the beginning of the actual text of the 1916 report on social studies on page 9 through the conclusion on page 63. they applied dewey’s principles 93 both directly and indirectly. extensive verbatim quotes by dewey appeared three times. direct reference to his “immediate interest” and “immediate needs” principles were used approximately thirty times—spanning the text from page 9 to page 63. the 1916 committee placed an emphasis on the three components of dewey’s primary teaching principle. they did not need to reinvent the wheel as evidenced by their own statements and repeated references in the 1916 report on social studies to the students’ needs of present growth coupled with immediate needs and interests. this was the 1916 committee’s philosophical and pedagogical framework. in his discussion on this point, lybarger (1981) concluded: “committee members called the adoption of such a principle ‘‘a new and most important element’, and claimed the work of john dewey as warrant for their principle” (p. 177). this emphasis became the central theme of the 1916 committee’s recommendations. dewey’s concepts and principles were usable, doable, and practical. that is, the deweyan ideas amassed in their arsenal allowed the 1916 committee to publish recommendations that were already having a positive effect on teaching. this was evidenced in the dozen or so illustrations in the report which presented deweyan based teaching programs from a variety of different schools in diverse geographic locations. indeed, the 1916 report on social studies retains its status as a seminal educational document, primarily because of the continuing influence and relevance of john dewey’s philosophy and principles for education. in short, dewey’s ideas have stood the test of time. as a result, the 1916 report on social studies represents an endorsement of direct application and continued use of deweyan principles. therefore, educators today may benefit from the opportunity to view the 1916 report on social studies from the perspective of this proposed deweyan school of interpretation for several reasons. first, the strong deweyan influence on the 1916 committee is of interest to scholars and teachers who are part of the deweyan tradition. a long line of educators have continued in the deweyan tradition and educational philosophy, including the john dewey society (aera) and the issues centered community (ncss), with a long history of scholarship and theory to practice work. second, the work of several contemporary scholars explores themes similar to the 1916 report on social studies and represents, in part, an extension of the 1916 committee’s deweyan based philosophy and an attempt to find empirical warrants for similar ideas (newmann, 1988, 1990a, 1990b, 1990c, 1991a, 1991b; hahn, 1996; and evans, 2004). third, the constructivist paradigm of authentic pedagogy that has emerged to some prominence in recent years has much in common with dewey and the key principles of the 1916 committee. the current concepts of authentic pedagogy are embodied in three key points. specifically, the thrust of authentic pedagogy involves application of knowledge and skills in a creative, original manner, rather than a mere use of facts and information. fourth, many key principles and the main curriculum pattern proposed by the 1916 committee continues to survive, although it has been challenged and modified. issues-centered social studies continues to support notions of problem based methodology (hahn, 1996). finally, contemporary recognition of dewey’s influence may result in a renewed educational reference to the 1916 committee’s 94 recommendations for the teaching and learning of social studies in the 21st century. the social studies teaching framework recommended by the 1916 committee was designed to both create and meet student’s interest and to provide a deeper understanding of topics of significance to society. a renewal of the 1916 committee’s recommendations could motivate students and enhance efforts to make social studies more relevant and meaningful to result in improved learning experiences for today’s students. references callahan, r.b. (1962). education and the cult of efficiency. chicago, il: the university of chicago press. correia, s.t. (1994). thomas jesse jones— doing god’s work and the 1916 report, in m.r.nelson (ed.), the social studies in secondary education: a reprint of the seminal 1916 report with annotations and commentaries. (document reproduction service eric no. ed374072). cremin, l. (1961). the transformation of the school. new york: knopf. dewey, j. (1897). my pedagogic creed. school journal, 54, 77-80. dewey, j. (1899). the school and society. chicago: university of chicago press. dewey, j. (1910). how we think. lexington, ma: d.c. heath. dewey, j. (1916). democracy and education. new york: mcmillan. evans, r.w. (2004). social studies wars: what should we teach the children? new york: teachers’ college press. evans, r.w. (2007). this happened in america: harold r. rugg and the censure of the social studies, charlotte, nc: information age publishing. fallace, thomas (2009). john dewey’s influence on the origins of the social studies: an analysis of the historiography and new interpretation. review of educational research 79 (2), 601624. hahn, c.l. (1996). research on issues-centered social studies. in r.w. evans & saxe, d.w. (eds.), handbook for teaching social issues. washington, dc: national council for the social studies, bulletin #93. hendricks, l. v. (1946). james harvey robinson: teacher of history. morningside heights, ny: king’s crown press. hertzberg, h. (1981). social studies reform: 1880-1980. boulder, co: social science education consortium. hertzberg, h.w. (1989). history and progressivism: a century of reform proposals. in p. gagnon (ed.). historical literacy: the case for history in american education (pp. 69-102). new york: macmillan. jenness, d. (1990). making sense of social studies. new york: macmillan. jorgensen, c. g. (2010). unraveling conflicting interpretations: a reexamination of the 1916 report on social studies. ph.d. diss., utah state university. kliebard, h. m. (1994). “that evil genius of the negro race”: thomas jesse jones and educational reform, journal of curriculum and supervision 10, 5-20. kliebard, h. (2004). the struggle for the american curriculum: 1893-1958 (3rd ed). new york: routledgefalmer. krug, e. a. (1964). the shaping of the american high school1880-1920. madison, wi: university of wisconsin press. 95 lybarger, m. (1981). origins of the social studies curriculum, 1865-1916. ph.d. diss., university of wisconsin, madison. lybarger, m. b. (1983). origins of the modern social studies: 1900-1916. history of education quarterly,23, no. 4, 455-468). lybarger, m. b. (1987). need as ideology: a look at the early social studies. in t. s. popkewitz (ed.). the formation of school subjects: the struggle for creating an american institution (pp. 176-189). new york: falmer. nelson, m.r. (1994). the social studies in secondary education: a reprint of the seminal 1916 report with annotations and commentaries. (document reproduction service eric no. ed374072). newmann, f. (1988). higher order thinking in the high school curriculum. nassp bulletin, 60-61. newmann, f. (1990a). higher order thinking in teaching social studies: a rational for the assessment of classroom thoughtfulness. journal of curriculum studies, 22, 41-56. newmann f. (1990b). qualities of thoughtful social studies classes: an empirical profile. journal of curriculum studies, 22, 253-275. newmann, f. (1990c). a test of higher order thinking in social studies: persuasive writing on constitutional issues using the naep approach. social education, 54, 369-373. newmann, f. (1991a). classroom thoughtfulness and students’ higher order thinking: common indicators and diverse social studies courses. theory and research in social education, 19, 410-433. newmann, f. (1991b). higher order thinking in the teaching of social studies: connections between theory and practice. in j. voss, d. perkins, & j. segals (eds.), informal reasoning and education, pp. 380-400. hillsdale, ny: erlbaum. ravitch, d. (1978). the revisionists revised: a critique of the radical attack on the schools. new york: basic books. ravitch, d. (1985). from history to social studies: dilemmas and problems. in the schools we deserve: reflections on the educational crisis of our times (pp. 112-32). new york: basic books. ravitch, d. (1989a). the plight of history in america’s schools. in p. gagnon (ed.), historical literacy: the case for history in american education (pp. 51-68). new york: macmillan. ravitch, d. (1989b). the revival of history: a response. the social studies, 80(3), 89-91. ravitch, d. (2000). left back. new york: simon & schuster. saxe, d. w. (1991). social studies in schools: a history of the early years. albany, ny: state university of new york press. smith, r. m. (1997). civic ideals: conflicting visions of citizenship in u.s. history. new haven, ct: yale university press. tryon, r. m. (1935). the social sciences as schools subjects. new york: charles scribner’s sons. tyack, d., & cuban, l. (1995). tinkering toward utopia: a century of public school reform. cambridge, ma: harvard university press. u.s. bureau of education, (1913). preliminary statements by chairmen of committees of the national education association on: the reorganization of secondary education. washington, d.c.: government printing office, bulletin no. 41. u.s. bureau of education, (1915). the teaching of community civics. washington, d.c.: government printing office, bulletin no. 23. 96 u.s. bureau of education. (1916) the social studies in secondary education. washington, dc: government printing office, bulletin no. 28. wesley, e.b. (1937). teaching the social studies: theory and practice. boston: d.c.heath. westbrook, r. b. (1991). john dewey and american democracy. ithaca, ny: cornell university press. whelan, m. (1991). james harvey robinson, the new history, and the 1916 social studies report. the history teacher, 34, no. 2, 191-202. whelan, m. (1993). review: social studies in schools: a history of the early years by david warren saxe. american journal of education, 101, no. 3, 320-323. whelan, m. (1997a). a particularly lucid lens: the committee of ten and the social studies committee in historical context. journal of curriculum and supervision, 12, 256-268. whelan, m. (1997b). history as the core of social studies education. in e. w. ross (ed.), the social studies curriculum: purposes, problems, whelan, m. (2006). teaching history: a constructivist approach. in e. w. ross (ed.). the social studies curriculum: purposes, problems, and possibilities (3 ed.) pp. 37-49. albany, ny: state university of new york press. scrap drives, stamp sales, and school spirit: examples of elementary social studies during world war ii. sherry l. field as the united states entered world war lion december 8, 1941, schools continued to educate young americans reliably, comfortably, safely. war was not a new topic to teachers or to students. they had been following current events in europe and in the pacific for some time. still, the impending role which the elementary schools should assume during world war ii became a topic of widespread discussion. while most educators may well have agreed that the schools would be an active participant throughout the war, as they had been in world war i, the level and intensity of activities which the school should undertake were contested. some teachers supported almost total immersion in wartime activities. they claimed that the role of the schools was "to help win the war" (stoddard, 1942, p. 53) and that schools must be "utilized to full capacity" (redefer, 1942, p. 300). others, on the other hand, recommended that schools conduct business as usual. educators were sending and receiving mixed messages. while most elementary educators agreed with the necessity of revised roles, goals and aims, duties and curriculum for wartime elementary and high schools, a minority advised extreme caution in promoting wartime activities. role of the schools alexander j. stoddard, superintendent of schools in philadelphia, recounted active participation in many schools through the national defense training program, and he delineated several responsibilities of wartime schools. he called for the clarification of the issues and aims of war and endorsed patience and calm among school children. cleveland's superintendent charles h. lake (1942) recommended that a balance in education be kept, that real needs be anticipated, and that be , progressive called for a needs under the icies. , frederick director of the education association, chal ·curricular would "take time-worn in his routines" wartime 37 should not frustrate the major educational reforms began during the previous decade. maud frothingham roby (1943), principal of shepherd elementary school in washington, d.c., agreed that the school's role must be defined clearly in two ways: guiding maximum development of boys and girls to help win the war, and preparing young children for life after the war. principal harold drummond (1943) from small skellytown, texas, called for a changing, non-static curriculum and faculties which would provide for rich development and awareness of community and international needs. these sentiments likely were not expressions for the educators only, but ones deeply felt by the public; a year later drummond, for example, was navy communication's officer on guadalcanal (davis,1988-1989). individual educator and school action was important, but major organizational influence was also directed to the new circumstances. among the most important were policy and action reports of the national education association and its major affiliates (1942), the john dewey society sixth yearbook (1942) , american association of school administrators (1942), and three policy reports from the national council for the social studies: the social studies mobilize for victory (1942), wartime social studies in the elementary school (chase, 1943), and the social studies look beyond the war. elementary social studies in the field of battle: applications in the classroom a rich legacy of wartime efforts of school children has been recorded. they included instructional units, classroom enrichment activities, and school enterprises. these reports of classroom practice heightened by the united states' involvement in world war are and direct. they reveal an dimension of the of social studies world war ii. social studies education faced the extraordinary challenge of contribut to the maintenance of the existing itical order and all the while the curriculum to meet wartime needs. war-related activities in the social studies were for several reasons. differed from the commonplace routines, were flexible, not static, and were relevant to the larger social context in which americans found themselves while specific activities and context varied from school to school, several major theme areas can be identified: war saving stamp and bond sales; scrap and salvage drives; the economics and practicalities of rationing and conservation efforts; civic education and community service; victory gardens; health and nutrition; democratic, patriotic, and citizenship-related activities; air-age education and geography; and general plans for educational improvement. helping to finance the war: war savings stamp and bond sales after december 7th, 1941, a shocked nation of citizens was called into service for its country. the aim was to win the war. the government immediately and, over years, repeatedly appealed to citizens to assist in raising money to fund the war. teachers and school children were enlisted into war bond and war stamp sales campaigns with resounding success. a number of methods attracted the interest of pupils. one of these was plays. patriotic plays were published for suggested production at school assemblies directly after the start of the war and later during successive defense savings campaigns. one play, "investing for uncle sam" (goebel, 1942), had the unmistakable purpose to inform children about the importance of saving their pennies for war stamp purchases. as a group of children discussed their savings, they agreed that pennies have little value, except for buying chewing gum until john pipes in, "well, i'm not buying gum. every time i get a penny i put it in my pig bank. when i get ten pennies, i buy a stamp" (p. 44). as the play continued, different types of savings plans, the amount of interest earned on savings, and how the government used the contributions, were discussed. "helping your uncle sam" (sister josephine, 1942), another play, was created to inform and motivate, according to its author. she commented, "three of my s, clarice marik, ann doris sklar, and helen valigura originated this and wrote most of it" (p. 32). as proof of lessons well learned, ernest, one of the in the play, tells the postmaster, "you see, our mother gave each of us a nice new dime to 38 just as we please. at first, we thought we would buy candy. then, when we remembered about our father who has gone to help uncle sam, we decided we would buy some defense stamps" (p. 32). a novel approach to defense savings was presented in the play, "mother goose helps defense" (dalby, 1942). little miss muffet and jack be nimble joined other characters to encourage elementary students to buy defense stamps and bonds with verses such as, "i am little miss muffet. i used to sit all day on a tuffet and eat curds and whey. i' m not going to be so lazy anymore. i am going to earn money and buy defense stamps" (p. 26). through the use of creative dramatic presentations, social studies teachers sought to motivate children to do their patriotic duty by saving their money and spending it on war stamps and war bonds rather than on frivolous items. in other schools, three teachers shared their classes' war stamp and war bond sales projects. first, mildred i. heckman (1942), reported her 7a franklin school class undertaking. two class managers were elected, and the remaining twenty four class members were divided into two sales groups. on alternating months, one group served as salesmen to each of franklin school's twelve rooms. sales day was tuesday, from 8: 10 to 8:30 and 1:00 to 1:15. accompanying photographs depicted class members conducting typical duties: displaying the award flag designed by the class, applying symbols to homeroom doors, preparing forms for weekly graphs, posting results of weekly sales, taking money and stamp orders, totaling stamp orders, counting money, buying stamps at the post office, and delivering stamps the following morning. next, the second grade class of ruth l. hallenbeck (1943), decided to convert the schoolroom into a post office for their war stamp sales. located in a rural area, the school stamp sales project was conceived as a form of community service. "not only the children themselves profited, but the parents and other people in the neighborhood, who could thus buy their stamps at the schoolhouse" (.29) was how she described her c . success. before their ect children made advertisement and constructed a office area from orange crates. pupils elected a ; and planned the sale routine. the success of the project was revealed by teacher hallenbeck, "our little office often sells or ten dollars' worth of war in a day and seldom less than five dollars' worth" (p 29). finally, the work of the primary department at lulu j. kisselbrack's ( 1944) school was noted. the five primary teachers volunteered to oversee the war stamp drive for a month at a time. students presented pep talks to the school's pupils and constructed posters for display. one poster asserted: you must buy war stamps to help uncle sam; we are buying war stamps as fast as we can. (p.28). once each week, the teacher in charge completed and deposited sales orders in the school of f ice. later that day, stamps and bonds were delivered to her for distribution by her students. a large poster was placed prominently in the school hallway. individual classroom sales were represented by airplanes, taking advantage of high interest in aircraft. during the second year of the war, .. our pr imary department over-reached the goal which had been set. the five classrooms purchased stamps and bonds well over $1000" (p. 60). the story of the success of war stamp and war bond sales was reported often. defense/war savings efforts nationwide represented an overwhelming success. some of these programs were recounted by judy graves (1942), a staff member for the treasury department. graves noted school children f s vigorous participation in .. stamp days, stamp week, defense savings plays, radio programs, assemblies, parades, rallies, and pageants" (p.18). stamps and bonds were also reported to be given as scholarships upon maturity; as memorials to schools; and as prizes in essay, poster, and speech contests. sample slogans provided by children included " a dime a day to keep the japs away", "stamp out the axis". and "buy a stamp and lick the other side" (p. 18). graves highlighted, too, the stamp-selling campaign in one unidentified midwestern city by noting that, once organized, "the city's seventy thousand school children were soon buying $6,000 worth of stamps a week. at the end of school year 1941-42, $81,000,000 sales of war bonds and war stamps in schools was reported in a childhood education editorial. nancy larrick (1944) , a treasury department staff member, reported that "by january 1943, at least 90 percent of the country's 200,000 schools" were sell and bonds with a total amount .. 39 over $300 million in war savings" (pp 41-42). school administrators also encouraged war bond and stamp sales in their districts and in individual schools. jesse o. sanderson (1943), superintendent of schools, raleigh, north carolina, revealed that "hayes-barton elementary school, with an enrollment of 600 pupils, purchased 365 bonds, the largest number of any of the schools" (p. 23) . in cincinnati, ohio, war stamp sales took place once a week, according to john f. locke (1943), director of community relations. he reported over $200,000 worth of stamps sold in the initial campaign, begun january 13, 1942 until the close of summer school. louis nusbaum (1943), associate superintendent of schools in philadelphia, reported that "since the first of last year, a total of over $3,000,000 worth of bonds and stamps has been sold" (p. 23) unmistakably, school children were persuasive salespeople. perhaps the success of their community efforts and achievement of quality citizenship traits were best synthesized by treasury department staffer nancy larrick, "in every instance, the schools came through. they helped their town make its quota and learned the lessons of war savings, civics, and cooperation in the process" (1942, p. 42) scrap/salvage collection drives elementary school children joined with older boys and girls in a display of their loyalty and exemplary citizenship to the united states by participating in their schools' salvage programs. pittsfield, massachusetts school superintendent edward j. russell (1942) described this organization and implementation role of his schools as one "to achieve unity unity in thought and action for the american people through the medium of their children" (p. 27). the pittsfield schools undertook a salvage program for collection of paper, rubber, metals, and rags. "schools were designated as salvage centers and the community was subjected, through the children, to a barrage of (p. 27) . according to , in just two weeks of implementation, the project received widespread community support from the adult population. he attributed the success of the salvage to pittsfield's children. .. it pays to wait parents have been literal their children. consequently, new salvage operations (such as fat conservation and tin-can processing) are not launched until the children thoroughly understand the project and are ready to interest their parents in it" (pp. 27, 38). the pittsfield salvage program appeared to have been successful, probably like countless others nationwide, because of the groundswell support of administrators, teachers, pupils, and community members. through practical application of cooperation, sharing, willingness to work, and working for a common cause, young americans received first-hand experience in the workings of democracy by way of these school sponsored, curricular activities. cooperation with the government's request for systematic collection of scrap came from schools of all sizes. many examples attest to schools' involvement. one merits special attention. the efforts of a one-teacher school in tennessee grew to include the entire community and were reported by norman frost (1942), professor of rural education at george peabody college for teachers. first, teacher and pupils researched such questions as why is waste paper needed? and what will be done with the paper collected? students surveyed and mapped their community, interviewed community leaders, planned and implemented bi-monthly collections, secured scales, and wrote monthly reports for the community newspaper. benefits of the school's waste paper drive, according to frost, included growth in understanding, thinking, feeling, and patriotism. the wartime collection of scrap became an integral element of the school's social studies education. early evidence of the success of school salvage drives came in october 1942s the national elementary principal. "the elementary schools of this nation have never failed to help in an emergency. when paper was needed, we did so well that the call came to 'hold offl'to (p. 64). an appeal followed in the journal for metal scraps. childhood education reported in the same month, october 1942, that 162,000 tons of waste paper were collected by schools during the 1941-42 school year. salvage drive results in just one school, hampden school no. 55 in baltimore, were reported by principal marie e. wallace (1943) for the school year 1942-43: sold more than $23,000 worth of stamps and bonds. collected six truck loads of scrap metal. 40 collected more than a thousand wire coat hangers and gave them to the salvation army. collected more than two thousand old phonograph records. (p.33) wallace also explained the formation of seven school committees to oversee school war work for the 1943-44 school year. salvage activities were relegated to the clean-up-committee which was also responsible for the appearance of the school building. additional successful scrap drive projects were reported by w.w. d. sones (1942), professor of education, university of pittsburgh, and margaret noel (1944), fifth grade teacher in the training school, state teachers college, fredonia, new york. according to sones, winnetka schools gathered enough scrap metal for two medium tanks. school children in chicago collected over one hundred thousand tons of wastepaper in just five weeks. bloomington, illinois youngsters collected enough automobile license plates, 2,427 sets, to provide material for a small tank. noel (1944) reported the success of the scrap metal, paper, rubber, rags, cordage, used light bulb, and tin can collections at her school. according to noel, the collection drives were successful, not because of the amounts salvaged, but because every child had the opportunity to participate and feel useful. social studies teachers promoted, organized, and administered countless salvage and scrap drives throughout world war ii. they did so for many reasons. first, the government made frequent requests for teachers to participate in organized scrap collection campaigns. second, social studies teachers desired taking advantage of a unique call to action, one which would extend beyond the classroom and into the community. social studies teachers seized the opportunity to motivate their youngsters and extend citizenship education into a practical dimension. social studies instruction was advanced far beyond classroom walls during the war because it was based in a fresh reality for a new generation of americans. through their social studies teachers, young citizens felt a keen sense of ibil to their nation. drives and similar promotions were a success because they could-and did-engage every student to do his patriotic duty. economics, rationing, conservation: wartime civilian life and the schools as the hardships of wartime civilian living increased, social studies teachers were encouraged to include economics and conservation units of study in their curriculum. rationing, when it became commonplace, was added to the social studies curriculum. during the summer of 1942, the office of price administration held teacher training workshops across the nation for a week or more (davis, 1981). one to five day workshops were held in 177 locations. workshop reports published in the july 1943 issue of the teachers college journal revealed that "social studies teachers in many cities are having pupils study inflationary dangers, price control, and rationing through the use of current newspapers and magazines" (p. 131) • price control and rationing were urged as topics of study for every grade level. teachers, supervisors, and administrators studied elementary school contributions to battle inflation and establish economic literacy at 1943 summer workshops held at the university of california at los angeles (isle, 1943). wartime economic purposes for elementary schools included: to develop understanding of why scarce goods are rationed to help elementary pupils make the most of available goods and services to help make elementary pupils wise buyers to help elementary pupils do their part in maintaining price rationing and rationing regulations (p. 29). specific social-studies teaching activities were advocated. they included making maps and charts of sources of supplies, conversion of industries to wartime needs and uses of salvaged materials; classifying materials critical to the war effort; health studies; and plans for recreational activities not requiring use of automobiles (and gasoline consumptions). evidence from several local schools noted use of some, if not all, of these instructional ideas. elementary social studies teacher also taught about rubber shortages and ways of dealing with the problem to the benefit of the community. for example, alvin c. eurich (1942), director of consumer division, office of price administration, revealed that a california school a clothing whereby children could outgrown rubbers, 41 boots, shoes, and clothing for those of another size. the radnor township schools in wayne, pennsylvania, also initiated a rubber garment exchange (sones, 1942). there, a clearinghouse for outgrown galoshes, rubbers i and raincoats was organized for redistribution to smaller children. in bentleyville, pennsylvania, former second grade teacher ellen h. kitler (1942) provided a detailed plan by which teachers could initiate similar rubber exchanges. she included a letter to parents which she suggested that teachers copy. it explained the purposes of the exchange i suggested lessons in care of rubber clothing and galoshes. she also suggested additional unit plan ideas on rubber conservation and synthetic rubber. likewise, the first grade students of julia o'brien (1943), in garden city, new york, learned about scarcities in their everyday lives through daily discussion time. according to o'brien, her children came to understand "how to get enough food and supplies for our armies here and overseas, how to get enough food for our allies, and how to get enough food for our own people" (p. 31). topics of discussion included food conservation; the effects of rationing milk, butter and meat; and speculation about possible shoe rationing. extremely practical methods of studying the economics of rationing were practiced in a wide variety of ways in many of the nation's schools. principal ella s. beall (1943) of baltimore's betsy ross school no. 68 reported, "several classes were very much interested in the rationing program of the country. they learned the products that had to be rationed and the reasons that made such measures necessary. they set up stores in their classrooms, made play ration books, and practiced making purchases using both money and the correct stamps and point values. the care of shoes and clothing was stressed" (po 24). school no. 122 in new york city was portrayed "studying food rationing" in the june 1943 issue of grade teacher. four photographs depicted students in their school store explaining the point system, coupons from ration books, and foodstuffs. the second grade class of glenn morris (1943) determined to the war effort in another manner. during a class discussion, a photograph of parachutes and the number of women' s stockings needed to make one parachute prompted a decision to study nylon and silk. children also agreed to save enough to make a parachute and to learn more about paratroopers and conservation. although the results of the class project were not reported, stated objectives of the unit of study likely promoted sensible patriotism, enriched character training, and acquisition of the ability to work together. second grade teacher luella herbst, irving school, bozeman, montana, organized a realistic grocery store in her classroom. ration points were clearly displayed with all foods, and students used facsimiles of ration books to buy and sell grocery items. the aim of the project, to realize patient cooperation, appeared to be taking place in the two accompanying photographs (pletsch, 1944). an unusual type of collection drive was described in the september 1944 issue of grade teacher in "milkweed in the war. " the government asked children to assist in the collection of milkweed fiber to be used as a substitute for kapok in life jackets and aviator's suits. supply lines for kapok importation from java were blocked by japanese forces, and a suitable replacement had been found in milkweed. useful information about how to find, recognize, collect, dry, and store milkweed pods were given. several photographs accompanied the narrative, including one of pupils from a school in belmont county, ohio displaying their collection and closeups of the plant to aid recognition. collection stories from three schools in utah and michigan were presented. an indian training schools' pupils in northwest utah collected enough milkweed to make 50 life jackets. a school in michigan achieved its goal of collecting enough floss to supply a life jacket for every armed forces member from their community. another michigan school had a milkweed picnic and harvested enough pods to buy school supplies, war bonds, and gifts for the red cross. collection drives went hand in hand with conservation studies. lillian o. bahr (1943) , sixth grade critic teacher at state teachers college, eau claire, wisconsin, described her class' study of the effect of the war on farming, industry, and home life. class members studied the history of farming, factors that affect farming, and how the war had changed farming. study of a local industry, an egg-powder plant, added to the class' inquiry into commerce and new technology. a segment on home life followed. typical activities included reading books and reporting on farm duties, discussing of labor and raised two area 42 plants converted to defense work, and visiting a farm. bahr claimed that the major objective, to help children adjust their daily living to the requirements of war, was achieved. another conservation unit prepared by paul hensarling, principal of franklin elementary school in port arthur, texas, reported topics for discussion, research activities, practice activities, and creative activities. he reported that all fifteen hundred children in his school participated in discussion groups. topics discussed included care of personal belongings; kinds of thrift measures to be taken at home and at school; and saving school supplies, money, and scrap for the war effort. pupils also experienced thrift measures by conserving paper, keeping a scrap box, using old newspapers, and harvesting a victory garden. creative activities included writing plays and poems, making scrapbooks of newspaper clippings, and making conservation posters. such studies fit conveniently into the unit or project approach to classroom curriculum. enlivened attention was drawn to the nation's natural resources as supplies became shorted and were rationed. when oil and gas, rubber, coal, and agricultural products were rationed, some teachers planned units of study for their social studies classes to highlight shortages and the necessity of civilian rationing. "the study of coal" (watrous, 1945), for example, provided useful information to teachers about the properties of coal, how coal was mined, and uses of coal. two pages of photographs accompanied the informational narrative. these photographs depicted the safety features of a pennsylvania coalminer's uniform, anthracite miners, and the transportation of coal by rail. teacher esther z. schwartz (1943, 1945) wrote two articles promoting the conservation of rubber. she described several practical applications initiated by her class' study of rubber production and synthetic rubber. these included care for rubber articles, mending torn rubber items, and repairing bicycle tires, certainly matters within children's experiences. she advocated emphasis on home articles and their care. several topics generated for discussion included the cost of producing rubber, the prospects for post-war production, and the growing use of plastics as a replacement for rubber. in the midst of the war i teachers were asked to enforce strict school rules concerning care of school equipment and supplies. since "much of school play apparatus and equipment is made from priority materials" (peavy, 1943, p. 58), teachers should teach regular lessons about proper care of play equipment and supplies, as well as concern for the care of articles of personal clothing made from priority materials. wartime inflation was surely on teachers minds, but little evidence points to elementary school children studying about this phenomenon. in fact, only one article advocated that children be taught more about inflation than learning the mere principles and practices of food, gas, and clothing rationing. james e. mendenhall (1945) , chief of educational services, office of price administration, compared inflation during world war i with that of world war ii (97% during world war i as compared to 29% during world war ii). according to mendenhall, prices were held in check by government controls, and he encouraged teachers to continue lessons and projects related to rationing and price control. school children embraced difficult economic hardships with vigor. they were encouraged by their social studies teachers to understand the basic reasons necessitating rationing. indeed, some teachers planned elaborate projects to give meaning about the larger economy to their students. learning about rationing and shortages of raw materials and accepting those shortages cheerfully was one method by which children could show their patriotism. participating in various forms of community service activities was another. civics education/community service the elementary school social studies curriculum of the era featured a formal program of studies from family to school and community for young children. reflecting hanna' s "expanding environments" schema (hanna, 1987), this curriculum organization introduced children to topics believed meaningful to them in their early years. world war ii precipitated a small change in emphasis from simply informing children about family, horne, school and community to creating in children a desire to offer their service to their families and communities as part of their civic duty. children's civic duty was conceived in various ways by educators. for example, principal maud frothingham roby (1943) wrote, "our responsibility lies largely in strengthening the horne front" (p. 267) _ to roby, teachers should encourage pupils 43 to assume "their share of the responsibility in the horne for the care of younger children, for household duties, and the running of errands" (p. 268). m. flavia taylor (1943), social studies teacher, hamil ton junior high school, mckees rocks, pennsylvania, explained horne responsibility. primary school children were to help with work at horne to free their parents for wartime duties and were to be obedient in order that their parents and other adults could conduct their responsibilities efficiently_ in baltimore, teachers were advised by assistant superintendent mary a. adams (1942) to emphasize that "the people of baltimore must adjust effectively to the changes resulting from the tremendous impact of the war program of this city" (p. 14). for elementary pupils, this meant engaging in horne and family duties. children were to understand the increased work responsibilities of their parents and to help at horne with arrangements for blackouts and safety. similarly, j. edward bond (1942) stressed horne safety and preparedness as a part of pupils' civic responsibilities. new york university center for safety education instructor, h. louise cottrell (1942) also emphasized several civilian defense duties of school children in a unit of study. pupils were encouraged to oversee preparation of first aid kits for air raid shelters and learn blackout procedures for their homes. cottrell provided checklists for horne safety inspections as well as lists of foods which could be gathered for horne use in time of emergency. the social nature of civic and community education was promoted by daisy parton, an education professor at the university of alabama. she endorsed providing children with various work and group living experiences, such as "raising and caring for animals, cultivating flowers and vegetables, arranging and caring for materials in the classroom, making and keeping the surroundings clean and attractive, collecting needed salvage, preparing and serving food, selling wanted articles, conserving materials and property, and caring for and helping younger children" (p. 162). school students were not to in the uncertainties and wart ime . they were to simply to study about, "community helpers." perhaps the frankest explanation for involving elementary children in home, school, and activities, was offered by harold a. shaterian, "war activities provide an opportunity for developing good public relations the elementary schools can be the link between the school and all the people, for it is the elementary school which reaches the greatest number of parents in the community" (1943, p. 34). one of the regularly -appearing features in american childhood, "lessons in social studies· focused on the concept of personal responsibility (hanthorn, 1942). in one, a lesson for children to read aloud was provided with the text: us. our country is at war. that means there is danger. we boys and girls are brave. we can obey orders. we can look after ourselves. we know just what to do. and we will do it. mother does not have to look after we will help little children, too. we can take responsibility (p.s). along with oral reading, teachers were encouraged to utilize discussion periods with suggested topics "i play in safe places", "how i help care for my little sister", and "soldiers obey orders". according to hanthorn, "when a child has honestly mastered some selfish impulse and replaced it with an act of obedience, much has been accomplished toward real citizenship" (p.s). community service endeavors were a tangible means by which children could give aid to their immediate surroundings. in doing so, boys and girls undoubtedly helped keep morales high on the home front through their enthusiasm. their community projects, initiated in social studies classes, called attention to the need for the larger society to remain positive, enthusiastic, and active in conservation and defense savings efforts. giving service to the community was clearly understood to promote "good" citizenship. loyal americans: citizenship education much attention was accorded the symbolic aspects of ism in citizenship education the war years. for example, "our flag" i an exemplary patriotic unit of study, was created by sylvia stark and velma h. orner (1943). citing high interest created through their children's victory campaign work as an impetus i the social studies teachers planned 44 and implemented the patriotic unit. several objectives were identified: to make better citizens of our youth and to instill the respect due our flag. to present the history of our flag, the origin of flag day, and what stars, stripes and colors in the flag mean. to know correct form in using and displaying the flag. to learn more about how to respect our flag. to learn the "pledge of allegiance" and the "american's creed." to learn our national and patriotic songs and what such means to a country (p. 36). a wide assortment of activities helped achieve the unit objectives, such as a field trip to an army camp to witness a flag ceremony and to a state historical museum to view different flags; a display of library books about the flag; and collection of flags brought from home by pupils. additionally, children were encouraged to make posters showing proper display of the flag; to write original poems and stories; to listen to stories about the flag; to learn various patriotic songs; and to make scrapbooks displaying their unit of work. provided, too, were unit culminating activities which included production of a patriotic pageant and a twenty-five item unit test, and two bibliographies for teachers and children. during a period of classroom focus upon highly symbolic elements of citizenship education, much attention was afforded the flag salute and activities such as those carried on by stark and omer (1943). the right of american citizens not to participate in the flag salute was decided by the supreme court in a landmark case, w. virginia state board of education v. barnett (1943). even in a time of crisis in the united states, the civil rights of its citizens were upheld. patriotic pageants and plays regularly appeared in journals for elementary school teachers, and their number and sense of increased as the war dramatic variety of , ion of nation's of the war effort conservat and selling war one play, "the women of the revolution" (coffin, 1943) f was particularly unusual for the time in its of women. teacher eleanor () allowed her "miss america" character to convey changing attitudes in the play "we who serve. n "miss america" opened the play with conviction, "only a few months ago, i was a symbol for peace and harmony. now i stand for strength and preparedness." another play intended to encourage patriotism and "help children to evaluate their own part in a total war" was "they also serve" by alma nelson moscati (1943), a teacher in public school no. 27, jersey city, new jersey. in this play, an assortment of flowers and insects conferred with mother nature about their part in the war effort. another type of patriotic play contributed practical suggestions about ways to participate in victory work at home. children and their parents who viewed such plays as ita soldier hears from home" by pearl laushel, a second grade teacher at goodrich school in akron, ohio, surely heard the message that their duty was wholeheartedly to participate in the war effort. the drama's action highlighted joe and gary, soldiers who are reading a letter from joe's family. back home, joe's family was "doing their bit" to help the war campaign, such as going without meat and butter, working to buy stamps and bonds, and collecting scrap. elementary social studies teachers found ways other than the production of plays to help their pupils learn lessons of good citizenship. many teachers likely utilized methods such as having their children carefully copy wartime sentiments and information during "seatwork" time. reproducible "seatwork" lessons regularly appeared in the instructor, and often their themes were war-related or related to traits that make exemplary young citizens. for example, second grade teacher josephine bristol beck (1943), at barnum school, birmingham, michigan, provided "seatwork on war stamps." the lesson was divided into four segments for "yes or no answers," "fill in the blank sentences," and "circle correct words." children were to answer "yes" or "no" to statements such as: we can buy war stamps at school. we buy as many war stamps as we can. there are some one-cent war ten-cent war stamps are brown. it is patriotic to war stamps. we put war (p. 9). in the "circle correct words" children were instructed to a circle around the words that you could find in a war stamp album," and 45 could choose from words such as airplane, stamp, defense, pond, lamp, milk, postal, bond, affix, savings, coastal, and value. "primary patriotic seatwork", another example, was reported by elsie sprunk (1943), a teacher in the public school of bayard, new mexico. for one segment, pupils studied the flag pictured, colored the flag, and crossed out the wrong numbers in the following statements: the flag has (7, 10) red stripes. the flag has (4, 6) white stripes. the flag has (48, 50) stars. (p.lo) children also were to observe three soldiers pictured and "draw a line under the sentences that are right": the soldiers have on coats. the soldiers are running. the soldiers stand straight. two soldiers have guns. the soldiers have hats (p. 10) even though these sentiments use militaristic examples and are somewhat unsophisticated, teachers who required such activities certainly believed that they were contributing to the development of appropriately patriotic sentiments in their students. patriotic activities which would encourage good citizenship and good character development were believed to be extremely important to the maintenance of high civilian morale during the war years. social studies teachers enjoyed an enthusiastic, supportive audience eager to aid the nation's fighting men. lesson planning most likely included regular emphasis upon war themes, in small, daily activities such as flag rituals and singing patriotic songs, and in large, ambitious, projects such as salvage and scrap campaigns, war bond and war stamp sales, victory gardens, and pageants. important lessons, such as understanding life in a democracy and the interdependence of citizens in a democracy, were included in large units of study. just as important, however, were seemingly insignificant rituals of patriotic songs, of doing patriotic seatwork, and of learning to work together in group ects. geography: a renewed emphasis in the social studies "on december discovered david koch (1 7, 1941, america claimed g. of geography at indiana state teachers college. koch reported a renewed interest in geography studies as the global war accelerated. william s. miller (1944) noted that just before and since pearl harbor, the demand for world globes had "exceeded the ability of all globe factories to meet requirements" (p. 25). of course, geography experts realized that public interest in geography largely resulted from of personal interest in the locations of war actions and related to the welfare of loved ones and acquaintances. yet, even with an acknowledged personal stake in acquiring knowledge about location or place geography, americans were believed by some to be facing a great challenge, even a crisis in the curriculum area of geography in a world preparing for postwar needs (miller, 1944, p. 25). koch (1944) stormed that "the people of the united states are geographically illiterate" (p. 32). he was joined in his battle cry by w.m. gregory of the school of education, western reserve university, cleveland: "our common knowledge of foreign affairs upon which to build any policy is close to nil" (1943, p. 474) • geography was widely touted to be a basic necessity for coming peacetime needs. monica h. kusch (1942), a teacher in the washington school of chicago heights, illinois, stressed that,to make a lasting peace and a fruitful present, pupils "must know the conditions existing in all regions of the world. they must know the geography of the whole world" (p. 25). many experts sought a metamorphosis of existing static geography courses into an active study of how the world's people use their environment in addition to the generally understood matters of names, places, directions, regions, and climates. koch (1944), assistant professor of geography at indiana state teachers college, asked that future geography instruction concern itself with "all these features, both cultural and physical, which affect man's adjustments to his natural surroundings" (p. 32) . to help achieve this metamorphosis, the use of essential geographic tools, including globes, geo-political maps, textbooks, mot ion pictures, posters, charts, and pictures were emphasized (e.g. ,gregory, 1943). thomas m. gilland(1943), of noss laboratory school teachers college, california, pennsylvania, cautioned teachers to be thoughtful and discriminating in their use of , periodicals or books, and radio broadcasts and 46 pictures because of inaccurate information which might exist in those materials. during prewar years, geography was limited mainly to elementary schools and school geography was characterized by major attention to names of places. apparently, wartime recognition of inadequacies included deficiencies in the scope of place geography (many parts of the world had been studied too little and superficially e.g., far east, africa) and in the random assignment of school geography to the elementary schools. thus, the wartime argument for an increased geography called a) for more substantial geography place, environmental and historical geography and b) the expansion of geography offerings to the high school and college levels. the "journey geography" concept of introducing various countries into social studies education by reading stories about the children living there continued somewhat during the period. during world war ii, geography instruction was highlighted in grade teacher in more than twenty articles. not surprisingly, only allied nations were foci for study. in addition to the usual unit of study articles, "modern objective tests" were provided with a featured country as focus. the instructor carried geography-related articles in almost every issue from december 1941 to april 1945. social education included several articles about latin america during the war years. even the harvard educational review published six geography-related articles between 1943 and 1945. "air age" education was a recurrent theme in world war ii-era textbooks. early in the war, human geography for the air age (render, 1942) emphasized the "wholeness" of geography study as a result of air transportation and cautioned against unsequenced instruction. by 1943, some mention of the war was surfacing in geography textbooks. for example, exploring our world (barnes and beck, 1943) included a short paragraph in its chapter about japan. chapters eight and nine of toward new frontiers of our global world (englehardt, 1943) related to "the first air war. n in making the goods we need (hanna, quillen, and sears, 1943), one was devoted to an factory and the construction of aircraft. written to foster se1fdirection, cooperation, creativeness, social sensitivity, and critical thinking, the routes 265) • highlighted "the (hankins, 1944) featured the development of air travel as it related to the war situation. by 1944, several texts were published with specific emphasis upon the war. nations beyond the seas (atwood and thomas, 1944) provided a "war supplement" of twenty-one pages. our air-age world: a textbook in global geography (packwood, overton, and wood, 1944) devoted its second of eight parts to "the united states in a global war. of a very primary look at world war ii and its causes was found in our country's story (cavanagh, 1945). it claimed, in some parts of the world, millions of men, women, and children were not free. during world war ii, german and japanese soldiers marched into one country after another. when a country was conquered, the people had to do whatever the soldiers told them. if they did not obey, they might be killed. 'we shall conquer the earth,' the leaders of the soldiers bragged. 'everyone else in the world will be our slaves.' then the americans knew that they would have to fight again for freedom (pp. 68-69). fortunately, most textbooks did not share such a narrow view of the world crisis and the causes for world war ii. the social studies in elementary schools emerged during world war ii as a curriculum field of prominence. during the war years, social studies enjoyed important activity and utility as it likely never had before. the practices reported symbolically and rhetorically argued for attention to the war in schools. attention to geography, history, and citizenship education, heightened in the prewar years, increased in scope from 1941-1945. victory and defense savings campaigns, initiated by the united states government but often implemented by social studies teachers, were overwhelmingly successful. social studies pupils were energized with information previously unknown before the air geography and history received benefits of added interest in war locations and causes for the conflict. called into service to collect scrap, sell bonds and stamps, conserve resources, and maintain good citizenship traits and high morale, social studies pupils and their teachers activated for victory. 47 references a war policy for american schools. (1942). educational policies commission. national education association, american association of school administrators. washington, d.c.: the commission. adams, m.a. (1942). priorities in the social studies in the elementary schools. bal timore bulletin of education, 20(1), 13-16. atwood, w.w. and thomas, h.g. (1944). nations beyond the seas. boston: ginn and company. bahr, l.o. (1943). the effect of war on our life. the instructor, 52(9), 37-38. barnes, c.c. and beck, e.m. (1943). exploring our world. chicago: j.b. lippincott company. beall, e.s. (1943). teaching democracy and war. baltimore bulletin of education, 21(1), 23-25. beck, j.b. (1943). seatwork on war stamps. the instructor, 52(3), 9. bond, j. e. ( 1942 ) . teaching home preparedness. the instructor, 51(9), 31. cavanagh, f. (1945). our country's story. new york: rand mcnally and company. chase, w.l. (1943). wartime social studies in the elementary school. washington, d.c.: the national council for the social studies. coffin, o. (1943). the women of the revolution. grade teacher, 60(6), 42, 79. cottrell, h.l. (1942). teaching home safety in wartime. the instructor, 52(1),26. dalby, b.w. (1942). mother goose helps defense. grade teacher, 59(10), 26,71. davis, o.l., jr. (1981). understanding the history of the social studies. in h.m. mehlinger and o.l. davis, jr.,(eds.). the social studies. eightieth yearbook of the society for the study of education(pp. 19-35). chicago: university of chicago press. davis, o.l., jr. (1988-89). harold drummond and social education: the practitioner and the practical. the international journal of social education, 3, 91-106. davis, o.l., jr. (1991). oral history interview with o.l. davis, jr., conducted george l. mehaffy, april 12, 1. oral history in education collection, the drummond, h. of texas at austin. (1943). from where i sit. outlook, 27(1), 44. (1942). wartime consumer the texas eurich, a.c. education. 19(7), 384-387. ive education, frost, n. victory. 42,53. (1942). grade we educate for teacher, 59(9), gilland, t.m. (1943). geographic education for the duration and after. the national , 22(3), 103-105. j.e. (1942). goebel, uncle 44,64. sam. grade teacher i for (6) t graves, j. (1942). sharing america. the school executive, 61(7), 18,27,35. gregory, w.m. (1943). school geography and our foreign policy. school and society, 58(1152), 474-476. hallenbeck, r.l. (1943). we sold war stamps. grade teacher, 60(6), 29,64. hankins, g.c. (1944). world. new york: publishing company. our the global gregg hanna, p.r. ; quillen, i.j.; and sears, p.b. (1943). making the goods we need. chicago: scott, foresman and company. hanna, p.r. (1987). society~child~curriculum. in p.r. hanna, studies in our schools. stanford: hoover institution press. hanthorn, a. (1942). taking responsibility. american childhood, 27(10), 5. heckman, m.i. (1942). war stamps sale organization. grade teacher, 60(1), 20-21, 97. hensarling, p. conservation. 53(10), 35-36. (1944). the a unit on instructor, isle, w.w. (1943). home front educational opportunities for the elementary school. california journal of elementary education, 12(1), 28-35. kisselbrack, l. j. (1944). what about war stamps? grade teacher, 61(7), 68. kitler, e.h. (1942). exchange for victory. the instructor, 51(9), 49. koch, g.d. (1944). geography and world order. the teachers college journal, 16(2), 31-32. kusch, m.h. (1942). the importance of geography in war and peace. the american school board journal, 106 (2), 23-25. lake, c.h. (1942). the role of the schools in the war effort. national association of public school business officials 30-32, 71-77. n. (1944). children salesman. the school ~var'l1~ 63(5), 41-42. mendenhall, j.e. (1945). that bad wolf ff inflation. n grade teacher, 63(1),19,70,72. 48 40-41. sister the school's war and the education, national , 22 ( i), 64. needs it!! h.a. (1943). war work for schools. the school uncle sam. 32 f 64. 62 (9), 3,4. 1942) • teacher, the social war: studies look a statement (1944) • d.c. : the national council for the social studies. the social studies mobilize for victory. (1942). washington, d.c.: the national council for the social studies. sones, w.w.d. (1942). school children mobilize. the instructor, 51(7), 1. sprunk, e. (1943). primary patriotic seatwork. the instructor, 52(8), 10. stark, s. and omer, v.h. (1943). our flag: a patriotic project with bibliography. grade teacher, 60(9), 38, 56. stoddard, a. j. (1942). the role of schools in the present emergency. nation's schools, 29(3), 53-54. taylor, m.f. (1943). wartime courses of study. the instructor, 52 (5) , 12. the schools and the home front. (1943). the teachers college journal, 14(6), 131-132. wallace, m.e. (1943). we help the war effort. baltimore bulletin of education, 21(1), 33-35. watrous, j. (1945). the study of coal. grade teacher, 62(6), 54,78. w. virginia state board of education v. barnett, 319 u.s. 624, 63 s. ct. 1178(1943). what the schools should teach in wartime. (1943). educational policies commission nea, aasa. 4-7. young children and the war: an educational policy. (1942). childhood education, 18(9). 49 true believer: the progressivism of willard goslin whitney blankenship rhode island college abstract willard e. goslin‟s support for progressive education practices in american public schools was a constant theme throughout his many years as a nationally recognized leader in public education. perhaps most well know for the turmoil surrounding his dismissal as pasadena superintendant of schools during the height of the red scare, goslin was a true-believer in the power of education to create and protect a democratic society. willard e. goslin‟s support for progressive education practices in american public schools was a constant theme throughout his many years as a nationally recognized leader in public education. perhaps most well know for the turmoil surrounding his dismissal as pasadena superintendant of schools during the height of the red scare, goslin was a true-believer in the power of education to create and protect a democratic society; he believed that it took the efforts of the entire community to meet the challenges facing students at mid-century. he believed in the ability of professional-learning communities to empower teachers, administrators, community members and students. throughout his career he often clashed with school boards over his progressive beliefs, but he never stopped pushing for educational reform. an examination of his writings and career reveal goslin‟s passion for progressive education that cements his status as a “true-believer.” the early years: webster grove goslin began his career in the rural school districts of missouri, quickly rising in the ranks to become a principal at age 22, followed a year later with his appointment as superintendent for the slater, missouri, school district. by 1928 goslin had moved on to become superintendent of the webster grove school district in the suburbs of st. louis (parker and parker 2006) and it is in webster grove that goslin‟s progressive ideals begin to take shape. a 1940 article, “community relationships – an integral part of an educational program” explains the philosophy as he developed during his twelve year tenure at webster grove (goslin 1940). goslin argued that for education to be truly meaningful, the entire community should have a stake in creating educational programs, and not just a stake in the education of the community‟s children, but also in their own education. to facilitate this process he argues that “the job of those of us in education if we are to be charged the responsibility for such a program – and we should be – lies in the direction of discovering the avenues for bringing parents, pupils and teachers into a working relationship” (171). he makes the case that although the main focus of such collaborations should be directed toward “child growth,” he also notes that every “opportunity for adults will not be overlooked” (171). goslin contended that the establishment of learning communities, where teachers, parents, community members, and students work together as a unit to determine the educational needs of the community, is the key to the creation of a successful educational program. the community partnerships proposed by goslin were designed to not only build a community of life-long learners, but also to provide teachers, parents, and students an opportunity to build an instructional program around the needs of the pupils in the classroom, 27 rather than on a set of generalized standards. through their participation in the educational process parents “will begin to see themselves as an integral part of the educational program surrounding their own children” and eventually parent participation would lead to a more nuanced understanding of their “responsibility in relation to the growth and development of all the children in the community” (goslin 1940). goslin critiques “business as usual” in other districts. he pointed out the struggles between parent/teacher groups and administrators, laying the blame for these scuffles at the feet of administrators‟ failed leadership. goslin also notes that many community members are left out of the process when districts solicit input only from parents of enrollees (173), arguing that the potential for increased opportunities for service learning (he mentions housing projects, creating bird sanctuaries, and beautification projects) are limited when community members are left out of educational decisions (174). the ideas postulated in this piece lay the foundation for the rest of goslin‟s career as a progressive education. toward the end of his tenure at webster grove in 1943, goslin published a second article in the the national elementary principal outlining the changes made to the system of in-service training beginning in 1937. the key elements of goslin‟s philosophy, outlined in the 1940 article, played a prominent goal in those changes. goslin acted upon his conviction that school districts needed to move away from a strictly “top down” administration in which administrators were isolated from classroom teachers and secondary teachers were isolated from elementary teachers. he initiated a systemic change in teacher in-service training based on collaboration between teachers and administrators. extending over several years, the needed changes were made through a democratic process. prior to the beginning of the collaborative process, goslin noted that steps were undertaken to be sure that teachers felt secure in the jobs-reasoning that the only way for growth to occur would be if teachers felt that their jobs were safe. in particular, paid sick leave was introduced along with health insurance, a teacher credit union and extended contracts so that teachers would be “encouraged to feel that their part in the school system is something more than merely teaching their daily classes” (goslin 1943). goslin‟s next step was the formation of a research committee composed primarily of teachers from all levels to act as an advisory body to the administration. the goal of the committee was to identify the training teachers felt they needed, and the development of a system for identifying and addressing problems within both the district as a whole and in individual schools. this initial stage of the program took nearly two years to complete with the first full committee meetings taking place during the 1939-1940 school year. as a result of committee discussions, three questions were posed for study: “in what areas of our school system do you feel that real progress had been made within the past few years? what improvements do you think should be made in our school system? and how do you suggest that we as a faculty go about making these improvements” (goslin 1940). goslin‟s final appraisal of the project noted that there were weaknesses in the process including the slow pace of change, time constraints on faculty members and the anecdotal nature of the problems identified by faculty early in the process. however, goslin points out that these weaknesses were to be expected. the “thoroughly democratic fashion” in which the in-service training was revised was more important that the weaknesses inherent in the process (goslin 1943). 28 if teachers, parents and community members were to be truly empowered in the educational system, it must be conducted through democratic processes. toward the end of his tenure at webster grove goslin made another plea for cooperative action in public schools, arguing that “america needs now as it has never needed before a generation of citizens who are able to actively participate in democratic processes – citizens who have a appetite for democratic living because they have had a taste of it” (goslin 1944). [emphasis in original]. in order for this to become a reality teachers must experience democratic processes in their daily lives, at home and at school. goslin‟s belief in democratic schooling would continue to grow as he moved from the suburban webster grove district, to the urban, and much larger, minneapolis system. one might think that the democratic processes utilized by goslin in the smaller rural and suburban districts would be more difficult to implement in larger and more diverse settings; however goslin successfully continued to integrate his vision of democratic education in his new role. progressive education in minneapolis following his 14 years residence in the suburban st. louis district of webster grove district, goslin became superintendent for the minneapolis public schools, a position he held from 1944 to 1948. his arrival in minneapolis coincided with a decline in student population due in large measure to the depression and world war ii (franklin 1982; zellie 2005; parker and parker 2006). he launched school surveys to assess the student population characteristics and the effectiveness of programs already in place (franklin 1982). based on the surveys (and his own belief that schools should teach the whole child), the district installed a common learnings program. this consisted of a two-hour class in junior and senior high schools taken in lieu of english and social studies and which would be organized around students‟ social and personal problems. the intention of this program was to make the curriculum more streamlined and efficient, promoting student socialization could into their roles as citizens in a democratic society. in addition, the extended time students spent with a single teacher would facilitate the growth of personal relationships between teachers and students. (franklin 1982). to round out the common learnings program, goslin actively pursued community participation in the schools in much the same way as he had in webster grove. goslins ideas regarding democratic, community based education continued to evolve along with the common learnings program. taking a unique perspective on the role of community relations for school districts, goslin pointed out, “if we are successful in enmeshing school and community interests, activities, and resources, we will not need to go to the community with an advertising or selling campaign”(goslin 1946a). by paying attention to “social and civic literacy” in addition to academic literacy, the general welfare of society would be increased. this argument depended upon students developing habits suitable to democratic living, including the conservation of resources, and understanding of global citizenship. to facilitate the growth of democratic, community based education, the district made school records transparent, encouraged local papers to designate reporters specifically to the school beat, and partnered with local radio stations to broadcast parent-teacher association meetings and student produced programming (goslin 1946a; franklin 1982) in 1946, the hennepin county tuberculosis society awarded a $10,000 grant to the district at the request of goslin. the purpose 29 of the grant was to create and staff a health education program as part of two year pilot study. the minneapolis board of education would oversee the program. utilizing a system of committees made up of parents, students, teachers, administrators, public officials and local citizens, the health needs of the community were accessed. this in turn lead to the development of a program of vision, dental and health screenings conducted during the school day, accompanied by instruction in health related topics by the school doctor and dental hygienist. the program actively encouraged the participation of parents and students, as well as community volunteers (starr 1949). the development of the school health program highlights key features of goslin‟s progressive ideas. although focused primarily on improving student health, the demonstration included the skills, knowledge and resources of community leaders and parents. at the same time students were learning the benefits of good health and hygiene that would safeguard the community welfare. bringing public health agencies into the school building allowed for the “enmeshing of school and community interests” (goslin 1946a). the common learnings program and the health demonstration were just two of the larger reforms instituted in minneapolis schools. teachers, in their role as community and school leaders, continued to play a role in goslin‟s vision of democratic schooling. teachers were actively encouraged to participate in community activities while principals were encouraged to introduce new faculty and staff into the local community. through the faculty and community interaction, the community developed a better understanding of the needs of teachers and schools and became more willing work partners in the city educational system (goslin 1946a; goslin 1946b). at the same time goslin encouraged administrators to ”know your teacher,” an undertaking that required more than an “incidental talk in the hall or an occasional half-hour conference” (goslin 1946b). administrators should be aware of teachers‟ physical, emotional and financial needs if teachers were to truly be partners in their education. goslin‟s commitment to teachers would be on display during the march 1948 teacher strike. the strike shut down 92 schools sending 64,000 children into the streets. the district was chronically in need of funds. in 1945, the year after goslin took over the reins in minneapolis the district was attempting to run its schools on a 1930s budget. the union was striking against a recently passed law implementing a tax ceiling resulting in a $2 million deficit for the 1948 school year. although a march 24 vote for a new charter, providing an additional $4 million in funds, had been set, the teacher‟s federations chose not to wait. despite the fact that he was in atlantic city to be inducted as president of the association of school administrators, the public did not blame goslin for the strike. goslin had openly expressed his own distaste for the law, although he was unable to do anything about it personally (time march 8, 1948). ultimately goslin would resign over the lack of funding, stating in his resignation letter that “i cannot lend myself any longer to the neglect and mistreatment of public education which continues in minneapolis” (time may 2, 1948). goslin‟s work in minneapolis and webster grove led to his being named one of the five most outstanding public school administrators in the country. he was also elected to the board of the john dewey society in 1947, although his administrative duties kept him from active board membership much of the time. subsequently, in 1948, members of the prestigious american association of school administrators elected him to become their 30 president (van til 1983; van til 1993). at this time he was considering job offers from harvard, columbia and new york universities as well as the position of superintendent in pasadena, california. after a two day visit to pasadena, goslin accepted an offer to become that city‟s superintendent (hulbard 1951). a progressive district for a progressive educator: pasadena as in webster grove and minneapolis, goslin continued to push the envelope of reform upon his arrival in pasadena. however, unlike his previous posting where progressive ideas were just beginning to be implemented, goslin took over the reigns of a system that had already embraced this educational philosophy, and he continued to build upon this base to address problems within the system. many of the reforms followed the pattern of his previous appointments in that he instituted summer workshops for teacher training and brought in well-known educators as speakers. vertical alignment teams linking teachers at all levels were put in place to facilitate collaboration among faculty members (hulbard 1951). he pushed for the development of relationships between students and teachers through the introduction of a core curriculum along the lines of the common learnings program, and campaigned for the community to play an active role in the development of the school curriculum (hulbard 1951). despite the similarities, goslin‟s ideas regarding progressive education continued to be refined as he tackled other areas of the curriculum. goslin‟s support for child-centered learning, a key characteristic of progressive education is illuminating. he strongly opposed district requirements that all children learn to read at the same age, arguing that children developed at different rates and therefore the curriculum standards should reflect those developmental differences, and thus the needs of the children (hulbard 1951). goslin‟s ideas regarding curriculum standards represent a further refinement this stance when he noted in a phi kappa delta article, “i have no particular objection to reading, writing and arithmetic, but you can‟t save democracy with it.” (goslin 1949a). he went on to explain that man‟s labor on the land and the conservation of natural resources went hand in hand. indeed, democracy was dependent upon it as “ideals and freedoms go out the window when the stomach is empty” (goslin 1949a). he pushed for the development of students‟ emotional and physical stamina, and called for equipping students with what he termed a “kit of tools.” these tools included the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic as well as an understanding of the principles of democracy (hulbard 1951). education for democratic living should be the cornerstone of public education, and everything that is taught should be subservient to that goal. the involvement of the community in public education continued to play an integral role in goslin‟s plans for pasadena. goslin urged school personnel to recognize the “potentiality of american education as a great social force” that “offers the american people an unprecedented opportunity to crystallize their beliefs into programs of action.” he called for “the most vigorous and dynamic leadership that the profession can muster” (goslin 1949b). once again goslin focused on the need for schools to help the public understand its educational mission and the need for professional cooperation. by this point in time goslin had honed his arguments, identifying the key elements of democratic schooling including global education, a firm grounding in democratic principles, the conservation of resources, and collaborative learning (goslin 1949a; goslin 1949b). he 31 pointed out the need to take the individual child into account through attending to his or her growth and development, physical and emotional needs. schools should organize the school day to fit the needs of the pupils, promotion policies should be re-examined and programs should not be dictated by the wants/needs of higher education (goslin 1949b). goslin aimed for nothing less than a truly child centered educational program created to meet the needs of the community through democratic processes. the red scare comes to pasadena for the first few months of gsolin‟s tenure in pasadena the board rubber-stamped most of his proposed reforms (hulbard 1951; time may 1951; time november 1950). however, that was not to remain the case for long. at the time of goslin‟s arrival in pasadena, the community was beginning to change from that of a primarily upper-class enclave with a small working class to a more racially diverse community. the need for additional elementary schools to cope with this growth and much needed renovations to existing schools led to an election to raise the tax levy in 1950. at the same time new attendance boundaries needed to be drawn up in order to balance school populations across the district (hulbard 1951; zellie 2005; time november 1950). the proposed changes to the attendance boundaries would require integration of the districts schools, particularly at the elementary level. the conflict over the boundary changes along with the proposed taxes exposed friction within the community that would eventually lead to open conflict. the first sign of the pending rift was the formation of the school development council. the council was originally formed in opposition to the increased tax levy. after the defeat of the tax levy, the school development council began to attack progressive education in general and goslin‟s administration in particular. the council charged that progressive education in pasadena was indoctrinating students into socialist principles and undermining students‟ belief in american democracy (hulbard 1951). members of the council charged goslin with favoring a federal take-over of schools after he spoke in favor of federal aid to education. he was condemned for favoring “modern pragmatic education,” a term that was never defined by council members but which suggested communist overtones (time may,1951). the pasadena independent lamented that there was “far too much paint-daubing [and] far too little discipline” (time november 1950). the council eventually called for a full “ideological investigation” of the district, (hulbard 1951) charging that goslin‟s changes amounted to “a campaign to „sell‟ our children on the collapse of our way of life” (time may,1951). after months of increasing pressure by the school development council, the board of education moved to terminate goslin and requested his resignation. as news of the boards‟ request spread, goslins‟ supporters in pasadena rushed into the fray and demanded the board reconsider (hulbard 1951; time december 1950). despite the pleas of supporters the board refused to reconsider and goslin offered his resignation to the board and a compensation package was agreed upon. upon presenting his letter to the board he reminded supporters that the voters of pasadena and properly elected the board; “we are dedicated to representative government. i cannot remain in contempt of democratic action” (time december 1950) adding that “i shall take away no ill feelings when i leave pasadena, rather a deep regret that i was unable to lead this community to a level which would have produced the best school system in america” (time may,1951). 32 this is perhaps the best testament to goslin‟s commitment to progressive ideals, his willingness to step down in the face of democratic action. a subsequent investigation by the national education association‟s defense commission led to the conclusion that although goslin‟s administrative style had caused some tension between the community and the school administration, there was ample evidence that goslin‟s dismissal was the result of reactionary forces drumming up “red scare” fears within the community (foster 2000; guthrie 2003). despite his loss in pasadena, goslin continued to advocate progressive reforms at a time when cold war pressures began moving public education away from the progressive ideals of the thirties and forties and toward a “return to basics movement.” by the end of the decade the space race would refocus education on science and math and progressive reforms would remain, to some extent, only with in the burgeoning new social studies movement. goslin, however, did not abandon the fight. peabody & the korea project soon after leaving pasadena, goslin was contacted by henry hill, then president of george peabody college for teachers, to head the division of school administration and community development. goslin accepted the post, although he did not immediately join the faculty. he spent 1951 and part of 1952 in korea as a member of the united states national commission for the united nations educational, scientific and cultural organization surveying the needs of korean schools and planning for the reconstruction of the korean school system (truman 1950; guthrie 2003; truman april 1950). upon his arrival at peabody, goslin was appointed to the 1953 yearbook committee of the association for supervision and curriculum development with william van til and harold benjamin. along with other eminent educators, goslin contributed a chapter, as well as serving on the editorial board. goslin‟s chapter would be the last essay in the volume and was titled “the people and their schools.” the essay reflected his years of thinking about the role of schools in american society and within the communities they served. a second article in the peabody journal of education the year also tackled this problem. in essence, these two articles represented not only an amalgamation of the ideas over the course of his career, as well as his own experiences, but they also served as a counterargument to the red-baiters‟ contention that progressive education was detrimental to democracy and the “american way of life.” his concern for public education was well founded as his textbook democracy was blacklisted that same year in read reading (a publication produced by right wing, super-patriot groups) for promoting socialism, undermining democratic principles, and extolling the virtues of the united nations (foster 2000). in “the people and their school system” goslin outlines a counter-argument to antiprogressive attacks. he argues that the american school system is the great anchor to which our democracy is tethered. “no nation has ever used education to the extent that we have in america to develop our first line of resources–our children– into citizens of a free society who could carry their share of the load regardless of what the times might bring” (goslin 1952). goslin criticizes society for its lack of support for public education, decrying that the “american public school system … is being starved to death for want of enough money to make it a realistic institution that can stand up and face the needs of our times” (196) and castigating a public whose 33 “morals are faulty to the point that we will pass up the support of the education of our children in order to get something that we selfishly want in terms of our own adult pleasure and privilege” (197). failure to fully support and fund public education will lead to the weakening of public institutions “to the point of collapse over a long period of time” (198). he concludes that for the united states to continue to uphold the ideals and institutions upon which it was founded, truly democratic education will allow students, teachers, parents, and administrators to “practice our basic american tradition about how we settle problems in this country by standing on a unified from in terms of our common commitments and agreement while we debate our differences around the edges of our common agreement” (200). the integration of the principles of democratic living into the school system, by giving stakeholders a voice, was vital to the continuation of american democracy. a society that does not practice and teach the ideals upon which it was based would be doomed to failure. the yearbook article which followed in 1953 also contained the themes of community based, democratic education. goslin stated that children are the link between schools and the community. too often, goslin asserted, problems between school districts and communities arise due to misunderstandings, misinformation and distrust, all of which were roadblocks to school improvement. the first step in overcoming these roadblocks was bringing in parents as collaborators in their child‟s education. goslin further suggested that citizens groups be allowed to evaluate the curriculum and recommend changes to reflect the needs of the community. he was adamant in his belief that public education remain in the hands of laity and out of the hands of special interest groups. in a more direct attack on reactionary forces, he declared that teachers don‟t surrender their citizenship rights upon entering the teaching profession. indeed, to deny teachers their basic rights as citizens undermined their effectiveness in the classroom. america‟s public school system was the bedrock of her representative democracy and must be safeguarded if a free, public education for all children was to continue (goslin 1953). goslin‟s participation on the yearbook committee provided additional opportunities for him to expand his critique. the 1953 yearbook was introduced at the annual conference of the association for supervision and curriculum development through sessions held by the contributors. goslin criticized the yearbook for not going far enough in its identification and denunciation of the reactionary forces attacking american public schools, however, he believed that despite this shortcoming, it was a step forward in the battle against the red scare tactics of the mccarthy era (foster 2000). through out his tenure at peabody, goslin continued to publish and lecture in support of progressive educational programs. the ideals he had espoused throughout his time as a public school administrator continued to play a role in his life at peabody. he participated in the summer lecture series on “the great human issues of our times” held each summer on the peabody campus from 1953-1956. he was also instrumental in integrating the campus in the late 1950s. through goslin‟s efforts to institute an allblack seminar on campus during intersession, integration of the regular summer and academic year programs soon followed (drummond 2006; parker and parker 2006). his work for the korean education project gave him the opportunity to apply progressive education reform to the rebuilding of korean schools, which in turn led to an honorary doctorate from seoul university for his work. goslin practiced what he preached 34 throughout his career. his singular focus on the development of progressive educational programs was honed through years of experience with district reforms, most of which were successful. despite numerous attacks on progressive education in general, and on him personally, he never gave up the dream. he was a true believer in every sense of the word and would remain so until his death in 1969. many of his contributions to the idea of a truly democratic education are regaining currency in the latest era of educational reform. the upswing in professional learning communities mirrors the teacher committees evident in webster grove and minneapolis; advisory periods to allow for the continued development of interpersonal relationships between students and teachers are also popular. site-based decision-making attempts to include parents and community members in the decisionmaking processes of their child‟s schools and are evident in many districts. although goslin was not the only progressive educator of his time, and certainly not the only one to advocate progressive reforms, his practical experience with progressive reform proved to him that the results were worth all of the hard work. it was through his own successes and failures as a progressive reformer that goslin turned into a true believer, and which led to a lifetime of advocacy for progressive education. references cook, robert c., who’s who in american education (nashville: who‟s who in american education, inc., 1949-50): 464. drummond, h. d. (2006). email. w. g. blankenship. alberqueque nm. foster, s. j. (2000). red alert! educators confront the red scare in american public schools, 1947-1954. new york, peter lang. foster, stuart j. 2000. red alert! educators confront the red scare in american public schools, 1947-1954. new york: peter lang. franklin, b. (1982). "the social efficiency movement reconsidered: curriculum change in minneapolis, 1917-1950." curriculum inquiry 12: 4-33. franklin, barry. 1982. the social efficiency movement reconsidered: curriculum change in minneapolis, 1917-1950. curriculum inquiry 12 (1): 4-33. goslin, w. (1940). "community relationships an integral part of an educational program." education: 171-174. goslin, w. (1943). "the in service training program of the webster groves public schools." national elementary principal: 154-158. goslin, w. (1944). "when we work together." educational leadership 1: 221-225. goslin, w. (1946a). "the man on the street and his schools." education: 634-639. goslin, w. (1946b). "know your teacher." educational leadership 3: 260-263. goslin, w. (1949a). "educate for conservation of resources." phi delta kappa international 30: 314-315. goslin, w. (1949b). "on these leadership must takea stand." educational leadership 6: 258263. goslin, w. (1952). "the people and their school system." peabody journal of education 29: 194-201. goslin, w. (1953). the people and their schools. forces affecting american education, 1953 yearbook. washington dc, association for supervision and curriculum development. goslin, willard e. 1944, “when we work together,” educational leadership 1 (january, 1944): 221-225. 35 goslin, willard e. 1946, “the man on the street and his schools,” education, 66 (june, 1946): 634-639. goslin, willard e. 1953. the people and their schools. in forces affecting american education, 1953 yearbook. washington dc: association for supervision and curriculum development. guthrie, j. w. (2003). goslin, willard e. (18991969). encyclopedia of education. j. w. guthrie. new york, thomson gale: 943-944. hulberd, david. 1951. this happened in pasadena. new york: the macmillan company. jenkins, christine. international harmony: threat or menace? u.s. youth services librarians and cold war censorship, 1946-1953. libraries and culture 36 (1): 116-130. parker, f. and b. parker (2006). willard goslin, (1899)-1969). franklin parker publications: weblog. 2006. starr, h. m. (1949). "health demonstrations in two minneapolis schools." american journal of public health: 1156-1162. time (december 1950). education: quandary resolved. time. new york, time, inc. time (march 8, 1948). education: minneapolis on strike. time. new york, time, inc. time (may 2, 1948). education: shock treatment. time. new york, time, inc. time (may,1951). education: pasadena revisited. time. new york, time, inc. time (november 1950). education: quandary in pasadena. time. new york, time, inc. truman, h. s. (1950). presidential appointments calendar. washington dc, truman presidential library: thursday, april 13, 1950. truman, h. s. (april 1950). remarks to members of the u.s. national comission for unesco. public papers of the presidents: harry s. truman, 1945-1953. washington dc, harry s. truman library and museum. van til, william. 1983. my way of looking at it: an autobiography. terre haute, in: lake lure press. van til, william. 1993. “the john dewy society: a memoir of the middle years, 1947-1973,” educational theory 43 (3): 261278. zellie, c. (2005). minneapolis public schools historic context study. st. paul, minneapolis heritage preservation commission. education for victory: education for victory: pre-induction training at austin high school whitney g. blankenship university of texas abstract in the months after the bombing of pearl harbor, the united states began the difficult task of mobilizing the nation for war. every facet of american life would be touched as the country threw all of her resources into the war effort. american schools were no different from any other sector of the u.s. home front. one of those schools, austin high school, would implement the victory corps and pre-induction training at a startling level, taking to heart the governments rallying call of “education for victory.” in the months after the bombing of pearl harbor, the united states began the difficult task of mobilizing the nation for war. every facet of american life would be touched as the country threw all of her resources into the war effort. american schools were no different from any other sector of the u.s. home front. almost immediately, schools rallied behind the war effort collecting scrap iron and saving pennies to buy war bonds. at the high school level, mobilization would be even more radical, particularly once congress began debating lowering the draft age from twenty to eighteen in 1942. soon after, it was determined that pre-induction training at the high school level was a necessity if the armed services were to continue to train and put soldiers into combat in anything close to the numbers needed for a u.s. victory over the axis powers. in 1942, the u.s. department of education began publicizing pre-induction training for high school students and a few months later the victory corps were established to help facilitate the process. almost as soon as the victory corps were announced in washington, d.c., the state education departments and schools across the u.s. began the process of mobilizing and training their high school populations. in texas, the state superintendent, l.a. woods, began working with federal office of education officials, university of texas faculty and local school officials to mobilize the schools in texas. one of those schools, austin high school, would implement the victory corps and pre-induction training at a startling level, taking to heart the governments rallying call of “education for victory.” the need for pre-induction training within two weeks of the bombing of pearl harbor the office of education wartime commission was formed. it was divided into two committees, one responsible for higher education and the other responsible for state and local education agencies. goals for the committee included requiring state and local education agencies at all levels to help adjust to war time needs, informing the federal government agencies responsible for the war effort of ways in which schools and universities could be enlisted in the war effort and finally, analyzing the effects of all proposed changes on the educational system. within eight months a second committee, the national institute on education and the war was created specifically to recruit schools into the war effort, a long-overdue decision, as public school officials had been flooding the u.s. office of education with requests for guidance on 17 mobilizing for the war effort (smith 1944; ugland 1979). in august of 1942, the national institute on education and the war held a conference in washington, d.c. to discuss the issue of preinduction training at the university and high school levels. the meeting was attended by officials from the u.s. office of education and representatives of the u.s. war department and the war manpower commission. it was at this meeting that the military pressed for the establishment of pre-induction training throughout the secondary schools and colleges of the nation. the assembled public servants were addressed by a number of individuals representing each of the departments, including u.s. commissioner of education, john w. studebaker. lieutenant general brehon b.somervell, commanding general, services of supply, war department also addressed the assembly. studebaker opened the conference noting that schools, particularly high schools, could not continue with “business as usual” but must be fully integrated into the war effort. he argued that the needs of the military would call on the active service of most men between the ages of 18 and 45 and therefore it was vital for high school boys to begin military training well before graduation (studebaker 1942; ny times 1942; mallon 1942). lt. general somervell painted an even bleaker picture in his address to the conference. he began his remarks by stating that the army of 1942 was built on specializations. indeed, sixtythree out of every one hundred men called to service would be assigned to specialized training. he went on to add that the army was unlikely to get the specialists it needed because there were not enough men who understood the fundamentals of electricity, auto mechanics or radio communications. he backed up his dire predictions with the previous year‟s induction statistics. out of every 300,000 men inducted, 4689 were needed who had specialized training in radio communications; the military got 135. from that same 300,000, 4501 medical technicians were needed, but only 166 were available. combined with shortages in other specialized areas, the army experienced a net shortage of 838,040 men out of an army of 4,000,000. in addition, more than 200,000 men had already been rejected due to illiteracy. the army took on the additional task of training men in their specializations in an attempt to overcome the shortage. the problem was that they simple could not train men quickly enough. in response, he called upon schools to take up some of the burden of training by concentrating on the fundamental concepts of aeronautics, electricity and radio, along with other vital specializations needed by the army. it was imperative that schools take on this role “regardless of cost, time, inconvenience, the temporary sidetracking of non-war objectives, or even the temporary scrapping of peacetime courses.” schools must take on the role of induction center “leaving the armed forces free to train men in the combat application of the training” received while in high school (somervell 1942; smith 1944). the concerns of the military expressed by lt. general somervell at the conference were not unknown to commissioner studebaker. robert a. lovett, assistant secretary of war for air, warned the commissioner that pre-flight training and conditioning was rapidly becoming a necessity. the secretary of the navy, frank knox, and the director of the war manpower commission, paul mcnutt, seconded lovett‟s opinion. according to their estimates, 80 percent of the 1.3 million boys currently enrolled in high schools would be heading into service upon graduation, and the other 20 percent, deemed 18 unfit, would be entering war industries. all three men felt that it would be a disservice to these young men not to attempt to prepare them for what lay ahead. physical conditioning was not the only concern of military leaders. admiral chester nimitz, chief of the united states‟ navy bureau of navigation, added his concerns over the state of mathematics education in an address at the university of michigan in october 1941 (two months before the united states‟ became officially involved in the war). he issued his remarks in a summary and article that became known as the “nimitz letter” that had appeared in mathematics teacher and american mathematical monthly. in his remarks, nimitz noted that there was a sixty percent failure rate on the mathematics test required for entry into the naval reserves. additionally, 3,000 out of the 8,000 college graduates who had applied for admissions to the commissioning program failed the entrance exam, and he attributed 75 percent of the failures in navigation courses to deficiencies in mathematics (ugland 1979; caswell 1943; garrett 1999). military concerns were not the sole driving force behind the push for pre-induction training in american high schools. by the summer of 1942, the u.s. congress was considering lowering the draft age from twenty to eighteen in an effort to increase the number of soldiers trained and in the field. as part of the debate over the lowering of the draft age, an amendment to the draft bill was added in november of 1942 requiring the military to train all eighteen and nineteen-year-old draftees for a minimum of one year before being sent overseas. for a military already greatly overextended in their ability to train recruits, this was yet another obstacle to getting a large and well-trained force quickly into the field. secretary of war, henry l. stimson, argued that this would put “severe shackles on the war effort” by throwing off the war department‟s combat plans, and would force the war department to call up a larger group of men from the upper end of the draft age to fill the military‟s needs in the field. pre-induction training of younger potential draftees—while they were still in high school—could potentially preclude the need for the full year of training called for in the amendment and allow the military to meet its recruitment and training goals (austin american statesman 1942). although military concerns were probably the most influential in getting pre-induction training into american high schools, there were calls for the mobilization of school children in general, and high school students in particular, from other sources. educators at high schools across the country were concerned with the number of students who chose to drop out of school, usually to go to work in defense industries or to go into the military. in the 1940-1941 school-year the office of education reported a high school enrollment of 6,714,000 students, which represented a 1.7 percent increase in students over the previous year. however, those numbers dropped during the first full year of the war to 6,496,000. by the 1942-1943 school year, high school enrollment had dropped 7 percent below the 1940 population to 6,142,000. the majority of these losses, according the office of education‟s circular report, were boys (7.4 percent, as opposed to a dropout rate of 4.4 percent for girls). schools in the largest cities lost more than 8 percent of their high school boys and 5 percent of high school girls between october 1941 and october 1942 (agency 1943). schools were trying to convince students to complete their educations, but they had a hard time competing with the allure of “doing something” for the war effort. as one young man from indianapolis stated, “ . . .merely to dream of shooting a gun or 19 diving in a plane at unsuspecting japs while learning of past . . .things will be harder to do than face . . .death itself” (ugland 1979). high schools simply could not compete with the excitement of war. educators began writing letters to the office of education asking for guidance on training boys for military service and retaining students (ugland 1979). pre-induction training curriculum the needs of the armed forces combined with the requests of educators led to the introduction of pre-induction training into american high schools in early 1942. the goals of pre-induction training were to aid the progress of the war, aid in the preliminary training needed for post-induction training, aid armed services personnel in their ability to wage a modern war, and to help students gain the discipline, skills, knowledge and conditioning needed for success in post-induction training or wartime work. despite the government‟s stated goals, there continued to be a great deal of confusion over what exactly would constitute pre-induction training. some schools wished to replace physical education classes with military drill instruction, while the american council of science teachers originally suggested that all boys take physics and math because of its importance to aviation (mallon 1942; hayes 1953; giordano 2004; jones 1943). soon after the decision to include preinduction training was made, the war department, navy department, department of commerce, civil aeronautics authority and the wartime commission on education joined together to create the national policy committee to direct the necessary curriculum changes. the committee worked with educators to compose a curriculum to be used in pre-induction training based on the armed forces own training manuals. the completed work was enthusiastically endorsed by each of the participating agencies and the armed forces (ugland 1979). major ralph c. wenrich of the civilian pre-induction training branch commented that, “with the lowering of the induction age to 18, the army must look to the secondary schools to provide the foundation on which to build post-induction training. in order to assist the schools in meeting the urgent needs of the army and those young men who will soon be soldiers, the war department through its civilian pre-induction training branch has defined those needs which may be met wholly or in part by the schools” (weinrich 1942). the curriculum published by the office of education included extensive course outlines for five major areas of study: fundamentals of electricity, fundamentals of machines, fundamentals of shop work, fundamentals of automotive mechanics, and fundamentals of radio. in addition to these vocational courses, pre-flight aeronautics, physical conditioning, and pre-induction driver‟s education were also included. the emphasis was not on creating new courses or series of courses, but adapting the regular curriculum to wartime needs. each course covered the basic theory and skills needed by future inductees to succeed in post-induction specialization courses, and was organized into three general units of study for each course: skills (what students should be able to do), theory (what students should know), and characteristics students should develop in order to be successful in the areas of specialization. however, the course outlines were just that, outlines. the committee spent little time developing the curriculum as they assumed that changes would be made over time, although the curriculum was strictly limited to those skills identified by the armed forces as necessary (smith 1944; hayes 1953; vocational trends 1943). 20 to make up for the absence of a detailed curriculum, the office of education in conjunction with the war department published numerous bulletins and pamphlets designed to aid schools in the implementation of pre-induction courses. the earliest pamphlets highlighted the goals of pre-induction courses and provided a breakdown of the areas of responsibility for preinduction training at the federal, state, and local levels. in keeping with the idea of local control, the federal government did not specify methods to be used, but rather made suggestions from which school officials could choose. pamphlets published later also included checklists for administrators to use when setting up a preinduction program of study. the office of education also produced a bi-weekly publication education for victory that included articles related to pre-induction training, information on additions, changes in the curriculum, lists of suggested audio-visuals, textbook recommendations, and training institutes for teachers. considering the vast amount of confusion about what constituted pre-induction training, these publications helped clarify the definition of pre-induction training for school officials while offering concrete guidance on materials and content (education for victory, september 1943; education for victory, october 1943; education for victory, december 1943; war department 1943; war department 1944). the pre-induction courses were more than just broad introductions to the course material; they were often highly specialized and technical in nature and required, in some cases, advanced math skills. the new york times reported that many schools were replacing traditional subjects with specific pre-induction technical courses, and that schools were increasingly emphasizing science and physics as well. the article also notes that aviation training was prevalent at all levels of schooling, but that it had become particularly prominent in high schools. pre-flight training programs and pre-flight aeronautics were gaining ground in schools across the nation. in these specialized courses students learned instrumentation and gliding, as well as air to ground communications, teletype operation and meteorology. physics and mathematics classes emphasized problems related to modern warfare, such as navigation and plotting artillery fire. the office of education published materials for students to use in pre-flight classes that would help them learn to identify the various airplanes used by the military. students in automotive mechanics classes concentrated on learning how to repair specific military vehicles, rather than the family car. pre-induction driver education classes were required to learn the specifications of military vehicles, along with the ins-and-outs of driving in a convoy and military map reading. the fundamentals of radio classes included maintenance and repair alongside morse code. this change in emphasis throughout the high school curriculum is consistent with commissioner studebaker‟s claim that math, science and physical conditioning should take precedence over english, foreign languages, and social studies. these traditional subjects were not completely abandoned, but they became secondary to the main curricular goal of preparing students for military service (fine 1942; giordano 2004; barger 1943; quartermaster general 1943; vocational trends, april 1943; ugland 1979). the high school victory corps by early 1943, nearly 2.25 million boys had completed pre-induction courses at their high school. young men completing pre-induction coursework were considered ready for advanced work in army specialization courses. they also received guidance on the induction process, army 21 organization, and military procedures; they were now ready to serve in the armed forces of the united states upon graduation. vocational trends, a journal for teachers of vocational courses, reported that out of 1,373,377 prospective inductees currently in high school in 1943, over 100,000 had completed coursework in electricity and shop work, and nearly as many had completed training in radio, machines, and automotive mechanics. in addition, 191,576 were involved in pre-induction aeronautics and another 909,899 were enrolled in physical conditioning. these numbers were certainly helped by the introduction of the high school victory corps in late 1942. the victory corps was created by the office of education as a way to help schools organize the mobilization of their student bodies and efficiently move students into appropriate pre-induction courses (vocational trends, september 1943; ny times 1942). the victory corps was voluntary, and school administrators (as well as individual students) could determine how involved they wished to be in the program. schools jumped at the chance to establish victory corps. one school superintendent noted in a memo to principals that, “its chief value lies in its excellent provision for individual guidance by „channeling‟ efforts toward a definite goal” (studebaker 1943). apparently, other school officials agreed; 53.2 percent of schools across the nation participated in the program, and the office of education estimated that by 1943, 70 percent of all high schools were participating. schools in texas were no exception. although pre-induction classes were already in place in many texas‟ schools, the establishment of the victory corps brought new life to the program, as state and local officials began the task of fine tuning and adding to the existing pre-induction programs under the victory corps mantel (ugland 1979). pre-induction training on the local level: austin high school local officials throughout the state began looking for ways to mobilize their student populations, while at the same time preventing students from dropping out to work. austin independent school district in austin, texas was no different. within one month of the u.s. entrance into world war ii, austin i.s.d. had already established a public evening-school that would allow adults to earn high school credits while continuing to work. the classes met on monday, tuesday, and thursday evenings, three hours each night for twelve weeks. the classes were tuition-free; however, the district did charge a $1.50 registration fee. all classes would meet at austin high school, be taught by austin high teachers, and would include both commercial and academic subjects. however, night schools were only just the beginning. since they were primarily aimed at working age adults, additional changes would be necessary to the curriculum of traditional high school students. by late spring, the board of education announced that austin high school would teach pre-flight aeronautics and aviation, as well as classes in metalworking. by september of 1942, the austin-american statesman was reporting that high school shops would convert to twenty-four hour establishments. this would allow traditional high school students to use the shops during the day and the adult education classes to use them in the evenings (austin american statesman, january 1942). interestingly, austin i.s.d.'s africanamerican high school, anderson, was not mentioned in the discussion regarding preinduction training. at austin high school, teachers and administrators looked for ways to keep students engaged in school as their contribution to the war 22 effort. for many students “business as usual” in school did not satisfy their longing to help the war effort. many students were lured into the work force by the worker shortage and high wages offered. school must have seemed like a very dull place compared to working and earning money or fighting on foreign fields. austin high students were not immune to these feelings of restlessness. in an effort to convince students that staying in school was their best choice, school officials brought mrs. grace sloan overton to speak on war issues to student leaders. in her address, mrs. overton encouraged boys to stay in school as long as possible, to go to college if they could, even if it meant having to leave for overseas duty before they had finished their course of study. she also acknowledged that the decision to lower the draft age made sense economically and sociologically. she reasoned that young men of eighteen or nineteen would be less likely to leave behind an economic hole in a family or industry because young men had fewer connections than older draftees did. furthermore, by staying in school and completing their pre-induction training, boys would be more likely to get the specialization they wanted once inducted into the armed services. acknowledging the need for young men in the armed services, while at the same time appealing to students‟ self-interest by emphasizing the connection between high school coursework and the ability to “choose” their specialization once inducted, mrs. overton attempted to alleviate some of the impatience felt by the students. her advice was similar to that given by others at the time (austin maroon, november 1942). an article in vocational trends in january of 1942 reminded students that staying in school was vital because world war ii was a specialists‟ war. the article argues that specialists‟ jobs go first to those who are already trained in that area; therefore, staying in school and taking preinduction coursework was the best way to get the specialization of your choice, rather than being assigned a specialization by the army. similar arguments were made by representatives of the armed forces (vocational trends, september 1942). other publications emphasized the importance of specialized training in a modern war and reminded students that, “you are in school now, rather than in the armed forces or at work only because uncle sam believes that you will be a more useful war worker after you have had more training. you are on loan to your school until you are prepared for a war job (spencer 1943).” if appealing to self-interest did not work, then perhaps reminding students that school did not last forever and that they would be even more valuable to the war effort would raise retention and participation in pre-induction programs. by the fall term of 1942, austin high school was awash in pre-induction courses. the school newspaper, the austin maroon, reported that, whereas most high schools only offered one or two pre-induction classes, austin high school would offer all of the courses suggested by the army. although a number of courses were already in place, superintendent dr. russell lewis reported to the board of education in january of 1943 that additional courses would be added to achieve this goal: navigation, radio 1, aircraft drafting and automotive mechanics(minutes of the austin independent school district board of education 1943). these courses along with those already offered (such as physical education and typing) would round out the program. this was an impressive goal given that by the fall of 1942 the suggested course list had expanded to include code practice and touch typing, army clerical procedures and pre-induction driver education, pre-flight aeronautics, fundamentals of electricity, machines, shop-work, and radio and 23 automotive repair. the list would grow even longer with the establishment of the victory corps at austin high (austin maroon 1942; vocational trends, december 1942). although it is unclear whether ahs was able to meet their lofty goal, the wide array of course offerings reported to the school board suggests that the district came close to meeting its lofty goal. in november of 1942, the superintendent of austin i.s.d., russell a. lewis, announced that the victory corps was on its way to austin high school. although no definitive plans had been made at the time of the announcement, lewis expected the victory corps to resemble the organizational outline set forth by dr. john lund of the u.s. office of education at a meeting of state educators earlier in the year. under the victory corps banner, pre-induction training would be reorganized to fit into the five divisions of air, land, sea, production, and community service. new courses would be brought in and older courses would be revamped to emphasize the war effort. physical fitness classes were already in place, but would be reorganized to better fit the victory corps model. a specialized guidance program would also be instituted to inform students of critical manpower needs, including the armed services. other areas of concentration were to include first aid training, military drill instruction (only for students who were in rotc), and increasing competence in science and math. membership in the victory corps (specifically in the air, land and sea divisions) would require students to pass rigid examinations and physical fitness courses. in adopting the victory corps, austin high school was similar to many urban high schools during the war. as a voluntary program, urban schools were more likely to be able to provide teachers with the necessary experience for the vocational courses and urban schools, with their larger populations, were also more likely to have a demand for the expanded training opportunities provided by the victory corps (austin maroon, december 1942; ugland 1979). once the announcement was made, a committee of teachers and administration officials was created specifically to look into the victory corps program and make recommendations for implementation at austin high school. these recommendations would need to include curriculum revisions to physical education, math, and home economics courses. the committee members worked with superintendent lewis and t. n. porter who were in charge of the local public education war effort program. committee members included george h. wells, principal of austin high school, w.a. guinn, assistant principal, t.b. barnette, coordinator of science, addison lee, head of the biology department, sam l. martin, coordinator of industrial education, mrs. gladys hudnall, head of the homemaking department, mrs. florence richer, a home economics teacher, miss irene randerson, a math teacher, miss cicely goff, head of the math department, standard lambert, head of boys‟ physical education, and miss vivian liddell, head of girls‟ physical education. the development of the austin high victory corps program was not going to be a top-down implementation, but would include input from the people who would be running the program on a day-to-day basis. many of members of the committee would also take on leading rolls within the organizational structure of the victory corps once it was in place. the work that the committee put in throughout december 1942 would allow the committee to adapt the federal recommendations to austin high‟s particular needs. specifically, the school would be organized under a military system with both voluntary and compulsory membership. the majority of students would be 24 involved in the general membership category, with others joining the ranks of the land, sea, and air divisions. the only compulsory part of the program was physical education (austin american statesman, december 1942; austin maroon, december 1942). the committee continued to work throughout the rest of december and into january. although a final decision on the victory corps was expected by december 9, committee members were reluctant to name a date for the beginning of the program, although they hoped to have it in place by the beginning of the spring term. additional experts from the office of education had been brought in as consultants to the december 9 meeting to address issues related to the development of the physical education course of study. it is likely that austin high school physical education teachers would have attended the institute held at the university of texas earlier in the year, and were familiar with the armed services‟ methods of teaching physical training. bringing in additional consultants suggests that the committee planned to expand austin high‟s physical education program, or at least adapt it so that teachers would be more efficient in serving the large numbers of students who would be required to take physical education (austin maroon, december 1942). despite the delays, the committee finished its work in time for the victory corps to be in place for the beginning of the spring term in 1943. miss liddell, a member of the committee, was appointed head of the victory corps fitness classes. in addition to the new fitness classes that were required of all austin high students, aircraft drafting was offered for the first time. the drafting class was deemed suitable for students who planned to go into some branch of aircraft design or construction. navigation was also offered by the math department. aeronautics had been put into place the previous fall and was already a rousing success. it, along with the other pre-induction courses, would follow the guidelines and course outlines provided by the office of education and war department. miss liddell stated that, “there is a place for every student in the victory corps, and by next fall a majority of the student body should be wearing branch service insignia.” she estimated that there should be about a thousand applications for general membership based on the size of the fitness classes. within weeks of the beginning of the term the governing committee, made up of faculty members, was formed and rules for membership were established (austin maroon, february 1943; victory corps, february 1943). austin high‟s victory corps program was by all accounts a successful program. based on the fitness classes, it seems the majority of the student body participated in one form or another. if austin high followed national trends some twenty-two percent of the eligible students were enrolled in pre-induction programs one year after the victory corps began. according to an office of education survey, slightly more than half of the students who participated were enrolled in the general membership, 10 percent in community service and the rest divided between the air, land, sea, and production divisions. the survey also indicated that girls joined in equal numbers to boys, although officially they were discouraged from joining the service divisions because it was thought they would be a distraction to the boys and would interfere with instruction. but, it is also likely that austin high school beat the national statistics. the fact that it offered all of the pre-induction courses available would surely attract a number of students with a wide range of interests. in schools with only one or two preinduction classes, students who were not interested in electricity or shopwork would most 25 likely not have participated in those programs. indeed, the austin maroon reported that by the end of march the industrial department at austin high reached an all time high enrollment of 932 students! the department offered thirty-nine shop courses and twenty-one drawing courses, including courses in printing, mechanical and architectural drawing, along with the traditional pre-induction classes. this suggests that students participated at higher rates than students at other schools (austin maroon, february 1943; ugland 1979; austin maroon, march 1943). although the variety of classes offered most likely played a role in the numbers of students who participated in pre-induction training, another equally enticing draw was the equipment available to students, and the hands-on learning opportunities presented as a result. sam martin, the department head, told the austin maroon that equipment in the shops represented between 80 and 90 thousand dollars and was the finest available. this equipment represents either a sizable outlay of capital by the austin independent school district or a large number of donations from the community, as the federal government had made it very clear that training devices and materials would not be supplied by the government or armed forces, and schools would have to work with what they had. the fact that the equipment was put in place by the school district—whether through specific appropriations or by soliciting donations—indicates a commitment by the district to the success of preinduction programs. the ability to use the shops for the evening classes in addition to the high school classes provided an additional incentive for the district to make the effort to set up wellequipped classrooms. from the student‟s point of view, the ability to train on the latest equipment would give them an edge over their peers once they left school. the hands-on method of training allowed students to cover three years worth of work in two years. beginning “real” work early on in the class would also be attractive to students, and would have the side benefit of helping students feel they were learning something that was beneficial to the war—a feeling that was most likely not shared with more traditional courses such as english or social studies. since retention of students was one of the reasons for the implementation of preinduction training, it would seem that in this respect austin high school could be said to have established a successful program (austin maroon, march 1943). the shop classes were not the only successful part of the pre-induction program at austin high school. the aeronautics class introduced in the fall of 1942 was especially popular among boys, and participation in the preflight program grew. this is not surprising considering the romantic notions many young men had about the excitement and glamour of being a pilot. by the end of 1942 the army, navy, and marines needed 100,000 cadet trainees, and it was estimated that even more would be needed in 1943. any young man who wished to qualify for flight training was advised to begin preparation while still in high school. the pre-flight program required potential recruits to take a physical before entering the air division of the victory corps, thus ensuring that they met the minimum physical requirements set up by the armed services. the full course required a year of physics and three years of math, completion of the pre-flight aeronautics class, auto mechanics, radio, electricity or other courses that would prepare students to repair, service, and maintain air craft, and continued participation in a physical fitness program and military drill. guidelines published in educational bulletins emphasized that the courses should be taught as late in the 26 program as possible due to their difficulty (austin maroon, march 1943; vocational trends, october 1942; curtis 1942; hannah 1943). the success of this program is indicated by the fact that sixty austin high students were admitted to a pre-induction program sponsored by the civilian air patrol unit in october of 1943. to qualify students must be in the last two years of high school and would train at the municipal airport. they would complete coursework related to meteorology, navigation, radio, aircraft, engine maintenance, and the fundamentals and regulations of flying. civil aviation patrol volunteers taught all classes. young men who were past seventeen years of age were placed in the army air corps enlisted reserves, allowing them to be immediately placed into aviation cadet training upon turning eighteen. it is unclear whether the program was considered part of the austin high pre-flight program or was an ancillary program outside of the school day. this program closely followed the guidelines set out by the texas state department of education, including the opportunity to gain hands-on flight experience if time allowed, so it is possible that the program was provided for especially talented and mature young men over and above the normal aeronautics class. another explanation might involve the lack of teachers with aeronautics training. by utilizing the volunteer instructors of the civilian air patrol, the school would get expert teachers, and students would receive more in-depth training than they might otherwise have had. as with most things, the truth is probably a combination of these two explanations. in any case, the selection of these young men to participate in such an advanced program hints at the success of the pre-aeronautics courses at austin high school (austin maroon, october 1943; woods 1943; ugland 1979). after the 1942-1943 school year, references to the victory corps or to preinduction classes at austin high school disappear. although it can be assumed that the programs continued until the end of the war, it is likely that public and, to some extent, student interest waned after the initial successes of the program. by the end of 1943, the tide of the war had changed and americans were no longer afraid of total defeat as the invasions of africa and italy made front-page news. under studebaker, the office of education continued to request additional appropriations from congress to fund the victory corps and pre-induction training, although the funding rarely came through. the change in the worldview coupled with the lack of sufficient funding led to a decrease in interest on the part of the public. students who were once enthusiastically joining in lost their enthusiasm as the novelty of the program wore off. as allied victory became more certain the program continued to weaken. the office of education figures show a seventy percent decline in participation among school districts in urban areas (ugland 1979). by 1944, the victory corps section of education for victory was cut and pre-induction training, along with the victory corps, was considered a dying program. schools and students were beginning to look to the future and a world after the current conflict. some elements of the pre-induction program were carried over into the new post-war world; for example, the aeronautics course was changed to aviation education in texas with the stated goal of preparing students to live in the “age of the air.” for the most part, however, by 1944 “education for victory” had been replaced by education for the future (ugland 1979; woods 1943). afterward: questions and considerations 27 although austin high school seems to have had a typical response to the war, it was atypical in other ways, such as the number of preinduction classes and the number of students participating in victory corps. due to the fragmentary nature of the records currently available, a number of questions remain. a more detailed account of the committee deliberations tasked with adapting the victory corps curriculum to austin high school would help answer questions regarding the difficulties (or lack thereof) of adapting the federal program to austin high‟s particular situation. for instance, military drill was part of the national guidelines recommended for victory corps‟ schools. however, drill was always very controversial; many people felt it was a little too close to the hitler youth and would undermine democratic values. others believed that in order for the u.s. to win the war, our students must be immersed in the same type of militaristic culture as the enemy. did the committee run into problems over the decision to include military drill? and, if so, how were those problems overcome? another question concerns the validity of the claim that austin high offered all the pre-induction classes. this could be checked with access to student and/or school records. the participation levels of students would also be helpful in determining how successful the austin high program was when compared to schools and districts of similar size. the victory corps coordinator, miss liddell, estimated that there would be approximately one thousand applications for general membership, but figures for the other divisions have not been found. a more complete picture of the austin high pre-induction program might be obtained through interviews with former students as well as access to school and district records from the time period (ugland 1979). a secondary story is that of the teachers who made the victory corps and pre-induction training possible at austin high school. at a time when there was a severe teacher shortage due to the number of people being drafted or leaving education to work in war industries, austin high school seems to have been relatively stable. what difficulties did the district face in finding qualified teachers for the pre-induction classes? what adaptations had to be made to the program when no qualified teacher could be found for the more technical classes? what was the turnover rate during the war years? often the success or failure of a program is dependent on the teachers who implement it in the classroom. being able to answer the questions related to faculty participation would provide a more wellrounded picture of the overall success of preinduction classes at austin high school (giordano 2004; educational digest 1942; vocational trends, january 1942). for the most part, the federal government did not fund pre-induction and victory corps programs. all monies were expected to come from the district, and schools were encouraged to adapt the courses they already offered to preinduction guidelines as far as they could. the extent of austin high‟s program suggests a large financial commitment to the idea of pre-induction training. but, exactly how much money was allocated to austin high school‟s program, and how much went into the evening school program for adults? did the two programs operate on separate budgets? did one receive a larger appropriation than the other? since austin high‟s teachers were also teachers in the evening program, and since the well equipped shops were used by both high school and adult students, it would seem that there would be at least some overlap in budgets. in addition, the two different programs may also have affected the extent of 28 community donations to the program. how much of the equipment was donated by area businesses? were there any strings attached to the donations, such as requiring the austin high shops be used for training war workers in the evenings? another problem associated with the two programs is the degree to which the evening program increased or decreased participation in the austin high pre-induction classes. given that one of the goals of including pre-induction training at the high school level was to keep students in school, did the availability of night classes (which counted toward a diploma) pull students out of full time schooling and into full time war jobs? or, did austin high students use the evening program as another way to accelerate their training, while still allowing them the flexibility of working part time? finally, austin high school was the district‟s white school. there is no mention of pre-induction programs at anderson, the district‟s black high school. were pre-induction classes a part of the curriculum at anderson? if so, what classes were offered and how were they funded? if not, were black students allowed to attend the evening school? in what ways did the anderson faculty and administration mobilize their students? the story of pre-induction training within the austin independent school district in general, and austin high school specifically, has only been partially explored in this paper. the availability of only fragmentary evidence and lack of access to district and school records leaves us with an incomplete picture. the questions that remain, if answered, will help to further our understanding of the war years in austin, texas and its impact on the students of austin high school. references “60 austin high boys take c.a.p. training at municipal airport." austin maroon, october 8, 1943. agency, federal security. 1943. 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education. new york: peter lang. 29 group hopes to have corps by spring. 1942. austin maroon, december 17, 1942. hannah, stanford. 1943. fitting pre-flight courses into the curriculum. educaiton digest 8:45. hayes, russell. 1953. analysis of plans for preinduction training, stout institute. high school airmen. 1942. vocational trends, 10-11. industrial department reaches all-time high enrollment of 932. 1943. austin maroon, march 25, 1943. jones, r.d. 1943. president's message: preinduction training. paper read at american council of science teachers. keep level head, don't get hysteria, stay in school. 1942. austin maroon, november 5, 1942. lewis announces austin high to have victory corps. 1942. austin maroon, november 9, 1942. mallon, winfred. 1942. schools become adjuncts of army. new york times, august 29, 1942, 13. minutes of the austin independent school district board of education. january 11, 1943. austin austin independent school district, 176-177. new bulletins issued by 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education. education for victory, 1. students will get credit in high school for work at night. 1942. austin american statesman, january 11, 1942. times, new york. 1942. army sets goal for war education. new york times, august 23, 1942, 23. ———. 1942. bill gains in senate for war education. new york times, april 30, 1942. training institute in pre-induction driver education. 1943. education for victory, 16. ugland, richard m. 1979. education for victory: the high school victory corps and curricular adaptation during world war ii. history of education quarterly 19 (winter 1979):435-451. u. s. army, quartermaster corps, military division. 1943. pre-induction driver education in schools and college. instructor's manual detroit, mi: g. m. photographic. victory corps-espondence. 1943. austin maroon, february 25, 1943. victory corps classes produce better manpower at cost of sore muscles, additions to curriculum. 1943. austin maroon, february 8, 1943. 30 victory corps plans studied by committee. 1942. austin maroon, december 3, 1942. visual aides: army air forces films available for pre-flight training. 1943. education for victory, 8. weinrich, ralph c. 1942. pre-induction orientation in schools. occupations, 161-162. woods, l.a. 1945. aviation education in texas public schools. edited by state department of education. austin you and the war. 1942. vocational trends, 1213. your course and your career: fundamentals of radion. 1943. vocational trends, 22. your course and your career: new courses in our high schools. 1942. vocational trends, 15. 41 the curriculum and courses of study at connecticut agricultural college during the stimson era, 1901-1908 simon jorgenson university of vermont abstract rufus w. stimson served as president of connecticut agricultural college from 1901-1908. during this time, he developed and promoted a sixyear curriculum that brought the college closer to its natural constituency, practical farmers, and more in line with the standards of the best of the other land-grant colleges. an examination of this curriculum and stimson’s strategic use of it offers important sightlines into a critical early stage of land-grant college development when the landgrant colleges created parallel courses and programs for farmers and rural communities, a strategy that allowed them to expand the curricula and raise degree course standards while still meeting their historic obligation to the agricultural community. the size and scope of american land-grant universities today belies their modest origins, tenuous early history, and “long struggle for recognition and respectability” (johnson 1981, 333). while the morrill act of 1862 provided an initial stimulus for extending agricultural and mechanics arts education to the industrial classes, it welded practical, liberal, and scientific education together and left significant room for interpretation (sorber and geiger 2014). it took decades for landgrant college presidents, trustees, and faculties to make sense of this paradoxical mandate, give institutional and curricular form to the educational ideals embodied in the act, and prove its value to curriculum history 2018: 41-53 the general public. public approval depended primarily on the colleges demonstrating their usefulness to farmers, which they did by offering secondary level courses for common school graduates and short courses for adult farmers until state systems of public high schools and university extension departments emerged in the early 1900s (eddy 1956, scott 1970, larson 1957). by 1900 there was growing consensus within the association of american agricultural colleges and experiment stations (aaaces), the de-facto national accrediting body of the landgrant colleges (williams 1991, 183), that the colleges were slowly developing into technical universities and were destined to educate the leaders of agricultural and industrial progress rather than the “mass of farmers’ sons” (aaaces 1898, 61). from this point forward, college leaders worked to expand the curriculum and raise degreecourse standards in earnest. their primary challenge was how to do so while maintaining farmers’ support, and they were well aware of the effect of course catalogues and other printed material on popular opinion (aaaces 1897, 77). the curriculum needed to be farm focused but signal to prospective students that these were true collegiate institutions. each institution developed different depending on state and local conditions (sorber and geiger 2014). recently, historians have begun to reexamine the origins and early history of landgrant colleges and look more closely at what historian scott gelber (2013) calls the “fractious but productive relationship” (p. 184) between 42 farmers and academic leaders that resulted from the inherent tensions in the original legislation. this paper follows this revisionist trend in the historiography and focuses on rufus w. stimson and the curriculum and courses of study developed at connecticut agricultural college during his tenure as president, 1901-1908. connecticut agricultural college during the stimson era provides an illustrative case of the tensions between populist farmers and the land-grant colleges of new england, where grangers had considerable power to shape decisions about landgrant funding, administration, and curriculum (sorber 2015, sorber 2018b). a publicist by nature (stemmons 1931, 111), stimson developed and promoted a flexible curriculum that included six years of education of students in regular courses, a winter school for practical farmers, and a summer school for rural school teachers. stimson’s strategy was to create a curriculum so diverse that each of the college’s constituents could find a place (sorber 2015, 75). this curriculum attracted students in record numbers, won the approval of connecticut farmers and state legislators, and earned connecticut agricultural college a respectable place among land-grant colleges nationally. an examination of this curriculum and stimson’s strategic use of it offers important sightlines into a critical stage of land-grant college development when the landgrant colleges created parallel courses and programs for farmers and rural constituents, a strategy that allowed them to expand the curricula and raise degree course standards while still meeting their historic obligation to the agricultural community (sorber and geiger 2014, 9, 135, sorber 2018a, 16). this strategy was particularly crucial to the development of institutions, such as connecticut agricultural college, that were founded as practical farm schools and assumed the land-grant designation only later, a situation that seriously impeded the development of advanced courses in the liberal arts and sciences (geiger 2015). when rufus stimson became president of connecticut agricultural college in the fall of 1901, the connecticut state grange had already succeeded at stripping the state’s land-grant fund from yale and forcing the resignation of stimson’s predecessor, george w. flint. in this paper, i draw on archival data at the university of connecticut and recent histories of the new england land-grant colleges (sorber 2013, 2015, 2018a) to more closely examine stimson’s efforts to win back farmers’ support. as i argue in the paper, stimson succeeded in reversing farmers’ opinion of the college, and repairing the damage done by his predecessor, not because he rejected the university ideal of broad curricula and high standards but because he recognized the political expedience of practical courses in agriculture and the need to balance curricular developments at the degree course level with parallel improvements in service to farmers and rural communities. stimson not only saved connecticut agricultural college, he moved the land-grant colleges significantly closer to the concept of cooperative extension, two accomplishments for which he deserves greater attention and recognition among historians. connecticut agricultural college prior to stimson on april 21, 1881 connecticut’s general assembly established storrs agricultural school to teach “the business of agriculture” to boys 15 years of age or older who were of good moral character and whose parents were citizens of the state (stemmons 1931, 34). the school’s founders developed a two-year agricultural course that combined instruction in agricultural practice with instruction in agricultural science (physics, chemistry, botany, zoology). students also 43 received instruction in english, arithmetic, geometry, carpentry, and smith work and wrote essays on farm-related topics (stemmons 1931, 3940). a revised two-year course in agriculture would remain part of the institution’s curriculum for nearly 50 years (stimson and lathrop 1954, 79). connecticut, a small new england state, gained little from the sale of federal lands granted to the state legislature by the morrill act of 1862 (sorber 2015). rather than build a new land-grant college with supplemental funds from the state treasury, connecticut’s general assembly designated yale’s sheffield scientific school as connecticut’s land-grant institution. yale’s sheffield school was widely criticized by connecticut’s agricultural community because the curriculum was classically based, the agricultural course had few graduates, and the school had no working farm. after the (second) morrill act of 1890 awarded significant additional federal funds to land-grant colleges, the connecticut state grange lobbied successfully to have storrs agricultural school named the state’s land-grant institution, and on april 21, 1893, the general assembly transferred the state’s land-grant funds from yale to storrs and renamed the school storrs agricultural college (stemmons 1931, 67-69). rhode island farmers undertook a similar revolt against brown university (sorber 2015). to create a semblance of college-level instruction at storrs agricultural college, the president and trustees added five new academic departments, expanded the agricultural course to four years, and began awarding a bachelor of agriculture degree at the end of studies. in reality, the curriculum remained much the same as the old two-year course but with expanded offerings (stimson and lathrop 1954, 78). in 1895-1896 the college added a six-week summer term, offered its first winter school short course, and developed an extension program for farmers at home. in 1897 the agricultural course was modified to include technical subjects (e.g., agrotechny, zootechny) recommended by the aaaces, although to a limited degree (state of connecticut 1898, 13). on july 1, 1898 george w. flint became the second president of storrs agricultural college. a year later the connecticut general assembly marked the institution’s growth and expansion by renaming it connecticut agricultural college (stimson and lathrop 1954, 78). other than this auspicious moment, flint’s presidency was a disaster in terms of farmer relations. flint had little interest in educating practical farmers and favored a curriculum of general education in the liberal arts and sciences as preparation for graduate studies and professional training in nonagricultural fields (sorber 2015, 70). in his first address to the state board of agriculture, flint mentioned agricultural education only once (sorber 2015, 69). dissatisfaction with flint’s administration grew with newspaper reports that he was more interested in classical and scientific studies than agriculture and planned to eliminate the college’s manual labor requirement (stemmons 1931, 97-99). the hartford daily courant reported that professors at the college “made game of all agricultural matters” and “many of the best farmers of the state…refused to send their sons to storrs because the conditions that existed were likely to ruin the boys” (demand of farmers 1901, 1). low student enrollment numbers fanned the flames of negative publicity as did misunderstanding of the land-grant mission. many questioned the idea of maintaining a state agricultural college that provided such low return on investment. farmers and the press were particularly critical of the college’s curriculum and administration (stemmons 1931, 105). this situation came to a head in august of 1901 with votes of no confidence in the flint 44 administration by the connecticut pomological society and connecticut state grange and press reports that only one candidate for admissions appeared at the five entrance examination locations in the state (stemmons 1931, 101-104). the hartford daily courant reported on august 30, 1901 that in calling for flint’s immediate resignation, the connecticut state grange, which represented 12,000 connecticut farmers, cited flint’s failure to “attract students or inspire the farmers of the state with confidence” (mr. patterson's vote 1901, 8). the trustees had no choice but to act and act swiftly, and on october 5, 1901 they forced flint’s resignation, made rufus w. stimson acting president, and resolved to recommit the college to agricultural instruction (stemmons 1931, 104-105). stimson received word of his appointment via telegram (stimson 1939, 24). stimson’s new and improved service to farmers rufus w. stimson had come to storrs four years earlier, in the fall of 1897, after graduating from harvard and the yale divinity school to teach courses in rhetoric, elocution, ethics, and english literature (moore 1988). stimson four years as a faculty member (1897-1901) at the college coincided with the turbulent presidency of g. w. flint (1898-1901). when stimson became acting president in the fall of 1901, the state had not approved an appropriation for improvements in over ten years, and the college had only eighteen students enrolled in its longer courses (aaaces 1907b, 71, stimson 1909, 2). stimson approached this situation with a definiteness of purpose and set out at once to improve the college’s standing among farmers. to do so, he proposed to reorganize the college’s agricultural courses and radically expand its winter school of short courses. rather than turn his back on farmers, he would strive to make connecticut agricultural college the best farming school in the country (stimson 1939, 25-27). his commitment to farmers ran deeper than political expedience, however. he was born and reared on a farm, claimed several generations of superior farmers on both sides of his family, and had acquired significant farm experience by the time he was twenty-one years old (stimson 1939, 1909). farming for him “had about it a nimbus of nobility” he would later admit (stimson 1939, 7). he saw farmers as the “natural constituency” of connecticut’s land-grant college and believed he was both free and legally obligated under the landgrant acts to design lower level courses on “anything and everything which it is found practical to teach” to serve this constituency better (aaaces 1905, 83). stimson realized, too, that times had changed in connecticut and the college could not survive on practical courses or agriculture alone (stimson 1939, 25). about one third of the college’s students were from towns and villages, and the state’s long-term prospects in manufacturing were far more promising than in agriculture (aaaces 1907b, 71). as was the case at the other land-grant colleges in new england, many students that came to connecticut agricultural college with secondary diplomas had no interest in practical training or becoming farmers but wanted an advanced scientific and engineering curriculum that would allow them to pursue middle class careers as teachers, scientists, engineers, or civil servants (sorber 2018b, 117). although stimson respected the college’s history as a practical farm school, he was also aware of the need to provide students with opportunities to pursue advanced training in other emerging fields. in this case, improving service to the farming community meant preparing farmers’ children to pursue ‘higher’ callings. 45 stimson asked a faculty committee to design a new two-year course in farming for high school graduates “to put in the proper place the man who had not developed his brain” (aaaces 1905, 83). this arrangement helped differentiate between students preparing to be farmers and students with the academic aptitude and interest in becoming agricultural teachers, researchers, and civil servants. in addition, the college dropped its long-standing compulsory student labor policy and moved the practicum component of its agricultural courses from the college farm to the laboratory (aaaces 1905, 83). this made the courses more efficient for students who wished to return to the farm, which raised the college’s standing among farmers. it also created more time for “real training in technical operations” for students in more advanced courses (aaaces 1907a, 88). soon after taking office, stimson developed a series of new short courses for men over twenty that were especially featured in college circulars as “furthering profitable agriculture” (stimson 1936). these courses echoed the farm school’s founding mandate of preparing boys for the business of agriculture. one brochure pitched a ten-week poultry course for “men who mean to make poultry farming their business” (stimson 1901a). another described a twelveweek course in pomology for “busy men”—a course designed by stimson to win back the favor of the connecticut pomological society, whom he also invited to tour the college farm and orchard (stimson 1901b, stemmons 1931, 113). stimson considered short courses “pioneer work, more or less temporary expedients, for the purpose of extending the influence of the college and of drawing students to the long courses” (aaaces 1904, 84). he could envision a time when agricultural colleges had a more efficient means of serving the needs of practical farmers than bringing them to campus and housing them in the dormitory for weeks or months at a time (stimson 1939, 29, stimson and lathrop 1954, 585). until then, he would use short courses to secure farmers’ respect and support. short courses drew farmers to the college. when the instruction they received helped solve a problem or turn a profit back on the farm, the college gained a strong advocate (aaaces 1907b, 71). stimson would quickly learn to leverage their support to secure additional appropriations from the state. stimson’s summer school for teachers, which was devoted exclusively to nature study and country life, was key to winning the respect and support of rural farmers. stimson believed that if he could prove to farmers in connecticut’s towns and villages that the college knew how to train teachers well, then they would be more likely to send their sons and daughters to the connecticut agricultural college (aaaces 1907b, 71). stimson probably knew too that farmers were more likely to tolerate land-grant curriculum that diverged from agricultural concerns if the benefits they received from outreach and extension activities uplifted the rural communities they called home (sorber 2018a, 147). as a demonstration of the college’s commitment to rural communities, teachers paid no tuition or room rent to attend the four-week program (connecticut agricultural college 1902, 65). the summer school was entrusted entirely to stimson’s care (stimson 1909). he invited edward f. bigalow, a well-known authority on the teaching of nature study in public schools, to serve as lead instruction for the inaugural summer session of 1902. at the end of that summer’s program, the hartford daily courant printed a detailed description of the summer’s work that included testimonials from teachers about the quality of instruction they received and the “kindness offered by all connected with the college” (summer school at c. a. c. 1902). 46 on december 18, 1901, less than three months after becoming acting president and two years after his predecessor g. w. flint had alienated the very same body, stimson went before the connecticut board of agriculture to share his vision for the college. stimson pledged to put connecticut agricultural college “right back at the door of the common schools” as a first step toward “making it more useful to the farming classes” (state of connecticut 1902b, 157). this included providing farmers’ sons with opportunities to pursue non-agricultural callings. the land-grant colleges, he told them, stood for two kinds of education—an education which was “down close to the people” and an education which would lift students “to the highest positions among the people” in work and service (state of connecticut 1902b, 123). he described the college’s four-year agricultural course and how it had been carefully attuned to the needs of the farm. he expressed regret that the course still combined high school and college level education. to fix this, he proposed to give “two years more of thoroughgoing college grade instruction in agriculture” (state of connecticut 1902b, 159) and noted that the next college catalogue would include new courses leading to a bachelor of science degree. he directed the board’s attention to circulars showing the twenty short courses planned for that winter and encouraged them to apply. these courses, he said, reflected “the best literature…the best and most practical thought” (state of connecticut 1902b, 125). to those who questioned the teaching of subjects other than agriculture (e.g., engineering, horticulture, business) stimson said: “if you have five boys on your farm, and you have a farm that will not support more than one when you are through with it, what are you going to do with the other four?” (state of connecticut 1902b, 122). stimson’s curriculum goes public stimson reported to the trustees at the end of 1901 that radical changes and readjustments to the curriculum had been made and apologized for the delay in printing the next year’s catalogue, which typically appeared in the same volume (state of connecticut 1902a, 9). when the 19011902 catalogue arrived, it included a detailed description of the college’s “newly organized courses of study” which “embraced the sciences that bear directly on practical agriculture” as well as “general culture studies” (e.g., mathematics, english, german, ethics, drawing, civics) to guard against over specialization. the catalogue emphasized that students were free to choose any course for which they had “special liking and aptitude” and could expect to be associated with students “as earnest” as themselves (connecticut agricultural college 1902, 39). the catalogue argued: provision has been made for the young men and young women to desire to return to the farms; and for those, also, who desire to go into civil engineering, business, teaching, or some one of the other leading pursuits or professions. (connecticut agricultural college 1902, 39) although the courses overlapped considerably, they were classified separately in the catalogue to more clearly show that the college provided education “to meet the needs of students of different grades of preliminary training and of distinctly different prospective callings” (connecticut agricultural college 1902, 40). the courses sent a clear message to the citizens of connecticut that connecticut agricultural college remained steadfastly committed to agricultural education. it would be difficult to argue, based on the courses outlined in the catalogue, that stimson 47 had dropped agriculture to a secondary place in the curriculum as his predecessor g. w. flint had. the college’s longer agricultural courses were now listed as “preparation for farming” courses. there were three of them: a four-year farming course for common school graduates and separate two-year farming courses for students with and without a high school education. in all, there were nearly thirty courses—four-year, twoyear, twelve-week, ten-week, and ten-day courses—specifically designed to meet the needs of farmers and their families, including short courses on a variety of agricultural, industrial, and domestic topics (e.g., poultry production, blacksmithing, table service) open to men and women fifteen years of age or older (connecticut agricultural college 1902, 40, 58-68). in addition, a new four-year bachelor of science degree course on “preparation for agricultural teaching, experiment station work, or work in the u.s. department of agriculture” was available (connecticut agricultural college 1902, 40). the four-year bachelor of agriculture degree had been abolished. stimson’s curriculum goes visual the catalogue for the following year, 19021903, included a print diagram of stimson’s curriculum which was circulated widely by the college and used by stimson personally in his public and professional addresses (connecticut agricultural college 1902, 40, 58-63, stimson 1939, 27). the diagram (figure 1) helped the college argue that it provided education to meet the needs of many different kinds of students. it also signaled that connecticut agricultural college valued the same curricular principles as the otherland grant colleges: breadth, depth, balance, and choice (stemmons 1931, 112-114, aaaces 1907a, 87). figure 1: curriculum and courses of study, 1902 48 stimson modeled the six-year curriculum after the ontario agricultural college in guelph, canada (stimson and lathrop 1954, 585). the first two years served as a general education preparatory program for students who came to the college from the common schools to pursue a fouryear course in farming, mechanic arts, general science, business, or housekeeping, the last of which was typically branded by land-grant colleges as ‘domestic science’ to make the subject appear more technical. the work in these first two years was the same for all students: a blend of general culture studies, elementary/secondary science, basic agriculture, and military drill—a subject required by the land-grant acts. the middle two years, years three and four, were the practical unit. each course now had a separate schedule, and in year four students in the general farming course elected either dairying or horticulture as a concentration. high school graduates and qualified others could enter directly into the practical unit and graduate in two years. stimson called years three and four the “great years” at the college due to their success at preparing students for farming and other “practical operations” (state of connecticut 1907, 11) or, if they elected to continue their studies elsewhere, degree courses at top-tier institutions such as cornell, massachusetts agricultural college, and massachusetts institute of technology (aaaces 1907a, 88, stimson 1939, 25-26). the last two years of the six-year curriculum were the professional unit. to earn a bachelor of science degree students were required to complete the professional unit, two additional two years of college level coursework, years five and six for students who entered the college directly from the common schools. the six-year curriculum remained relatively unchanged for the first five years of stimson’s presidency. in 1906, a revised curriculum and diagram appeared (figure 2). figure 2: curriculum and courses of study, 1906 49 the two-year secondary business course had been replaced by a two-year course in preparation for teaching nature study in rural schools. this revision likely reflects the rising popularity of nature study among teachers and public interest in correlating nature study and agricultural education (eddy 1956, 60-61, williams 1991, 182). it most certainly reflects the fact that stimson’s summer school for teachers had become the most popular course at the college. the 1906 summer school enrolled eighty-four teachers from connecticut, new york, massachusetts, and new jersey—two more than all of the students enrolled in the college’s six years of regular courses combined at that time (connecticut agricultural college 1907, 111-113). graduates of the summer school proved to be among the college’s strongest advocates (aaaces 1907b, 71). it would have benefitted the college greatly to have these teachers enrolled in its regular courses. connecticut agricultural college was not the only land-grant college to find itself training public school teachers at this time, although providing this educational service was not part of the original design (ross 1969, 135). in other changes, an elective option in poultry was added for fourth year students in the general farming course and the bachelor of science degree course options were reduced from five (agriculture, horticulture, engineering, home economics, general science) to two (agriculture and home economics). the degree course changes appear not to have impacted many students as there were only two enrolled in the fifth and sixth years at the college at that time (aaaces 1907b, 71). this revision may have been undertaken to reemphasize the college’s commitment to agricultural education, which is how stimson used the diagram in his report to the board of trustees in 1906 (state of connecticut 1907, 10). for stimson, the diagram also represented a compact exhibit of how he had adapted the land-grant idea to local conditions in connecticut (aaaces 1907a, 87). stimson wins the approval of farmers and saves the college stimson’s curriculum development and promotion activities were immediately successful at reversing farmers’ opinion of the college. as the education provided by the college became better known demand for it increased. by the end of 1902, the connecticut pomological society and connecticut editorial association had reversed their previous positions and endorsed the college after visits to inspect its facilities and farm, visits hosted by stimson himself (stemmons 1931, 113). regarding the connecticut pomological society visit, the hartford daily courant reported: the members expressed themselves as well pleased with the work of the college under the new management and the result of the meeting will undoubtedly result in placing the college in a better standing with the farmers about the state. (field meeting at storrs 1902, 8) stimson reported to the trustees in 1902 that fortyfour new students had been admitted that year, bringing the total enrollment at the college, including winter and summer schools, to 152 (state of connecticut 1903, 7). these numbers far exceeded the college’s rooming capacity. stimson wrote to the hartford daily courant on september 30, 1903 that due to high enrollment numbers some boys were forced to live outside and in the president’s house and “it may be necessary to do away with the short courses” (c. a. c. opening 1903, 3). readers must have feared a return to the disarray of the flint administration and farmers the loss of profitable training opportunities. by the end of 1903, enrollment was over 200 as demand for longer courses and short winter 50 courses continued to grow (state of connecticut 1904, 8). stimson used this opportunity to mobilize the connecticut state grange, who joined him in securing $65,000 for a new brick and stone dormitory and $50,000 for a new horticultural building and greenhouses from the state legislature (stimson 1939, 28, 1909, 2). it was clear that the connecticut state grange was now on stimson’s side. in march 1903 grange master b. c. atterson argued before the connecticut general assembly: the institution has passed through some serious times but the tide has turned and how the institution is heading in the right direction…. the farmers are more and more appreciating this college and the work it does. i believe it needs help from the state and i believe such help ought to be given it. (cited in sorber 2015, 75) stimson obliged, telling farmers that he appreciated the fact that the college was “the offspring of the connecticut state grange” (president stimson of c. a. c. 1905, 11). all of these positive developments were reported in the press. additional state appropriations and private gifts followed (stimson 1909). stimson attributed his success at connecticut agricultural college to “the practical working through a period of years of our industrial courses of secondary grade—courses to which the connecticut community instantly and heartily responded” (stimson 1909, 3). stimson fixed the subjects and hours for these courses himself (stimson 1909, 2). stimson left connecticut agricultural college in 1908 to become director of smith’s agricultural school in northampton, massachusetts, the first permanent public secondary school of agriculture in the state. upon his departure, the trustees of connecticut agricultural college passed a resolution acknowledging his exceptional service to the college and the state. at smith’s agricultural school, stimson developed his ideas around cooperative extension and applied them to vocational agricultural education at the secondary level, work that has attracted the attention of historians of curriculum, vocational education, and agricultural education (kliebard 2004, moore 1988, roberts and harlin 2007, smith and rayfield 2016). as this paper suggests, his contributions to connecticut agricultural college—now the university of connecticut—and the early history of land-grant colleges are just as significant. conclusion the curriculum and courses of study developed by stimson during his tenure as president of connecticut agricultural college provides insight into a critical early stage in the history of land-grant colleges when short courses and specialized programs were used to build support among farmers and rural communities for institutional and curricular expansion. by developing the college’s practical courses offerings, creating a new summer school for rural school teachers, and maintaining the most intensely agricultural curriculum of any land-grant college in the country (stemmons 1931, 117), stimson managed to win the respect and approval of connecticut farmers, which he leveraged to increase state appropriations. under stimson’s leadership, connecticut agricultural college provides a case of a land-grant college in new england that became more liberal and scientific by becoming more practical. references association of american agricultural colleges and experiment stations. 1897. proceedings of the tenth annual convention of the association of american agricultural colleges 51 and experiment stations. washington, dc: government printing office. association of american agricultural colleges and experiment stations. 1898. proceedings of the eleventh annual convention of the assocation of american agricultural colleges and experiment stations. washington, dc: government printing office. association of american agricultural colleges and experiment stations. 1904. proceedings of the seventeenth annual convention of the association of american agricultural colleges and experiment stations. washington, dc: government printing office. association of american agricultural colleges and experiment stations. 1905. proceedings of the eighteenth annual convention of the association of american agricultural colleges and experiment stations. washington, dc: government printing office. association of american agricultural colleges and experiment stations. 1907a. proceedings of the twentieth annual convention of the american association of agricultural colleges and experiment stations. washington, dc: government printing office. association of american agricultural colleges and experiment stations. 1907b. proceedings of the twenty-first annual convention of the association of american agricultural colleges and experiment stations. washington, dc: government printing office. c. a. c. opening. 1903. the hartford daily courant. september 30. connecticut agricultural college. 1902. the connecticut agricultural college catalogue, 1901-1902. hartford, ct: case, lockwood & brainard. connecticut agricultural college. 1907. the connecticut agricultural college catalogue, 1906-1907. hartford, ct: case, lockwood & brainard. “demand of farmers.” 1901. the hartford daily courant. august 23. eddy, e. d., jr. 1956. colleges for our land and time: the land-grant idea in american education. new york: harper. “field meeting at storrs.” 1902. the hartford daily courant. august 15. geiger, r. l. 2015. 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"creating colleges of science, industry, and national advancement: the origins of the new england land-grant colleges." in the land-grant colleges and the reshaping of american higher education, edited by r. l. geiger and n. m. sorber, 4171. new brunswick, nj: transaction publishers. sorber, n. m. 2015. "the rise and fall of the grange's yankee land-grant colleges." in science as service: establishing and reformulating land-grant universities 18651930, edited by a. i. marcus, 61-92. tuscaloosa, al: university of alabama press. sorber, n. m. 2018a. land-grant colleges and popular revolt: the origins of the morrill act and the reform of higher education. ithaca, ny: cornell university press. sorber, n. m. 2018b. "early land-grant colleges and students in the northeastern united states: a history of regional access and mobility patterns in maine, massachusetts, and new york, 1862-1878." agricultural history 92 (1): 101-123. sorber, n. m., and r. l. geiger. 2014. "the welding of opposite views: land-grant historiography at 150 years." in higher education: handbook of theory and research, edited by m. b. paulsen, 385-422. dordrecht: springer. state of connecticut. 1898. annual report of the trustees of storr's agricultural college. hartford, ct: case, lockwood & brainard. state of connecticut. 1902a. annual report of the trustees of the connecticut agricultural college, 1901. hartford, ct: case, lockwood & brainard. state of connecticut. 1902b. thirty-fifth annual report of the secretary of the connecticut board of agriculture, 1901. hartford, ct: case, lockwood & brainard. state of connecticut. 1903. annual report of the trustees of the connecticut agricultural college, 1902. hartford, ct: case, lockwood & brainard. state of connecticut. 1904. annual report of the trustees of connecticut agricultural college, 1903. hartford, ct: case, lockwood & brainard. state of connecticut. 1907. annual report of the trustees of the connecticut agricultural college. willimantic, ct: chronicle printing company. stemmons, w. 1931. connecticut agricultural college--a history. storrs, ct: connecticut agricultural college. stimson, r. w. 1901a. winter short course in poultry farming circular. box 1, folder 2. rufus w. stimson papers. university of connecticut libraries. stimson, r. w. 1901a. winter short course in pomology circular. box 1, folder 2. rufus w. stimson papers. university of connecticut libraries. stimson, r. w. 1909. stimson to paul hanus. 5 august. box 2. rufus w. stimson papers. university of connecticut libraries. 53 stimson, r. w. 1936. stimson to massachusetts commissioner of education. 15 january. box 2. rufus w. stimson papers. university of connecticut libraries. stimson, r. w. 1939. stimson to north atlantic regional conference, u. s. office of education. 3-6 april. box 2. rufus w. stimson papers. university of connecticut libraries. stimson, r. w. , and f. w. lathrop, eds. 1954. history of agricultural education of less than college grade in the united states. washington, dc: united states government printing office. summer school at c. a. c. 1902. the hartford daily courant. august 4. williams, r. l. 1991. the origins of federal support for higher education: george w. atherton and the land-grant college movement. university park, pa: pennsylvania state university press. publication draft – ssch – 2004 the army specialized training program and ‘fast track’ professional preparation jared r. stallones california state polytechnic university abstract: the early years of world war ii saw an unprecedented collaboration between the armed forces of the united states and institutions of higher education. shortages of manpower critical to the war effort and declining wartime enrollments in the colleges and universities led military-academic partnerships for the rapid preparation of physicians, engineers, and other professionals. one of these partnerships, the army specialized training program, yields lessons for modern advocates of accelerated professional preparation programs to meet the forecast teacher shortage. introduction many states are experiencing teacher shortages in such critical areas as mathematics, the sciences, and special education and the shortages are expected to become more acute in the future. nearly a third of all u.s. teachers are aged fifty-five or older, threatening a flood of impending retirements (american association for employment in education 2005, 2). in addition, fully forty percent of current public school teachers, and fifty percent of high school teachers, plan to leave the classroom by 2010 (national center for education information 2005, 5). at the same time, concerns about teacher quality have led states to stiffen teacher credentialing requirements and increasing numbers of english language learners and ‘mainstreamed’ students have made the profession more demanding than ever. this perfect storm of impending retirements, increased demands on classroom teachers, and more rigorous teacher preparation programs threatens to upset the delicate balance of supply and demand for classroom teachers. traditional professional preparation programs may be overwhelmed by these shortages. in times of national crisis, government-academic partnerships have sometimes formed to meet such essential manpower needs. for instance, california’s chronic teacher shortage has pressured the state and its universities to develop various “fast track” programs to place teachers in the classrooms, often with minimal preparation. in some cases, individuals may “test out” of the entire coursework sequence for teacher preparation. many states have adopted similar programs. a similar manpower crisis occurred in the early years of world war ii. as the scope of the war unfolded, it became clear that traditional academic programs could not supply the physicians, engineers, dentists, veterinarians, linguists, and area specialists needed by the military. the result was the development of the army specialized training program (astp) to hasten professional preparation in these fields. the story of the astp holds lessons for those who advocate accelerated preparation programs of teacher preparation. origin of the astp as the war in europe expanded in 1939, many in the u.s. assumed that traditional modes of professional education would produce sufficient numbers of professionally trained men to meet the needs of the military for physicians, dentists, veterinarians, engineers, linguists, and area specialists. however, japan’s attack on pearl harbor on december 7, 1941 changed the nature of american involvement in the conflict. patriotic fervor caused men to enlist in the armed forces, diminishing enrollments in professional programs on university campuses. in addition, faculty enlistments diminished the capacity of universities to provide such programs. passage of the selective training and service act on september 6, 1940, making men twenty-one to thirty years of age eligible for the military draft, exacerbated the problem (see table 1). table 1: attendance in colleges and universities 1939-1944 academic year enrollments total male 1939-40 (actual) 1,493,203 892,250 1940-41 (estimated) 1,518,970 907,000 1941-42 (actual) 1,403,990 818,559 1942-43 (estimated) 1,209,150 688,350 1943-44 (estimated) 833,275 278,000 source: zook, george f. “how the colleges went to war.” annals of the american academy of political and social science, 231 (january 1944). the american council on education (ace) convened two meetings in 1942 to discuss the problem. the college and university presidents in attendance issued official statements reminding the nation that the ace was created during wwi to address a similar crisis and volunteering the resources of their institutions to support the war effort. specifically, they offered to develop accelerated degree programs and adopt year-round academic calendars. the council went on to criticize the war department’s existing training plans because they relied on traditional means of professional education, restricting the participation of talented minorities, the poor, and women. finally, the ace volunteered to serve as the coordinating agency for wartime professional training efforts and requested federal funds to do so (american council on education 1943). 28 at the same time, the true nature of the war made clear to military authorities that, even under optimal conditions, conventional means would never meet the military demand for trained professionals. on november 13, 1942, the draft age was lowered to eighteen years, which only underscored the manpower crisis for both the colleges and the military. the following month a joint statement issued by the secretaries of war and the navy acknowledged the ace’s contributions and adopted many of its recommendations by establishing the army specialized training division (astd) with colonel herman beukema as its director. col. beukema spent the early part of 1943 meeting with university presidents and others to implement the secretaries’ directives through the army specialized training program. clearly, a partnership between higher education and the military to provide accelerated professional training programs would assure needed revenue to the colleges and universities and meet the vital manpower needs of the armed forces. the students among the first decisions to be made was how participants would be selected for the program. the requirements established included possession of a high school diploma for participants less than twentytwo years of age. those over twenty-two must have completed one year of college with coursework in a foreign language, mathematics, physics, or biology. in addition, the men must score at least 110(later raised to 115) on the army general classification test (agct) (keefer 1988, 50). the mean score for the nine million recruits who took the test between january 1940 and april 1945 was 104, putting those with 115 or higher in the top quartile (chadderdon 1972, 33). exceptions to these criteria were made for those already enrolled in certain other military training programs, those holding appointments to the united states military academy, and those over twenty-two years of age with substantial university work in a technical field. despite the ace’s criticism, the program was restricted to men. the surgeon general recommended that women be considered for astp, but the war department rejected the idea on the grounds that admitting women would reduce the available spots for men and that women did not need the financial aid the astp afforded men. women were ultimately commissioned in the medical corps, but never through the auspices of astp. africanamerican men were eligible for the program, but never numbered more than three-fourths of one percent of the participants (ibid., 32). during basic training recruits with requisite agct scores completed an astp personal data and interview form as a screening tool. even so, nearly 1.3 million men qualified for a program targeted at 150,000. to further screen candidates, specialized training and reassignment (star) units were established on participating campuses in which panels of professors tested and interviewed candidates. one recruit described being “sent to texas a&m, where we lounged around for two weeks taking more tests” (keefer 1988, 56). another recalled, “we stayed there [georgia state teachers college in statesboro, ga] two or three weeks, were given orientation, and then tested by officers who looked like they were drawn from the bottom of the army’s talent bank” (ibid., 57). the expanded screening process steered recruits to engineering, language, pre-medical, predental, or pre-veterinary programs, but it did not always assign men appropriately. one recruit complained, “i was not prepared for college, but my agct test score of 160 got the army interested. i had no algebra or languages in high school. my astp professors could not figure out why the army placed me, with no college courses in high school, in astp (ibid, 70). ultimately, about two-thirds of recruits came from existing army units-recruits who had completed basic training and volunteered for the astp, and one –third from newly inducted recruits. at its peak in december 1943, astp enrolled just over 140,000 young men. the greatest number studied engineering, followed by medicine, languages, dentistry, and veterinary science (ibid.) the coursework by spring 1943 eligibility rules were finalized, participating colleges and universities chosen, curriculum designed, and instructional methods in place. still, implementation of the astp was slow. the goal was to begin classes in midmarch 1943, but it was not until the following fall that most were underway. star units assigned most inductees initially to the basic engineering curriculum (be-1), which was divided into two six-week terms. the first term consisted of mathematics, physics, chemistry, english, history, and geography. the curriculum called for a total of twenty-four contact hours per week with three of them being lab work. term two (be-2) continued those subjects and increased the lab time to seven hours (see table 2). during term two, trainees chose which preprofessional training they preferred and tested further to ensure aptitude for that area. the content of the courses was strictly prescribed by the astd to guarantee some level of consistency across the program. expert panels had designed programs of study for maximum efficiency. they eliminated duplication, minimized the liberal arts and did away with the elective courses that enriched typical undergraduate degree programs, but sometimes the standardized programs proved a poor fit for recruits. one soldier recalled, “i was selected 29 table 2: army specialized training program basic phase curriculum be-1 and be-2 distribution course contact hrs. per week* class lab term 1: mathematics ast-406 6 6 0 physics ast-304 7 4 3** chemistry ast-205 3 3 0 english ast-111 3 3 0 history ast-133 3 3 0 geography ast-163 2 2 0 24 21 3 term 2: mathematics ast-407 5 5 0 physics ast-305 7 4 3** chemistry ast-206 6 2 4 english ast-111 2 2 0 history ast-133 2 2 0 geography ast-163 2 2 0 24 17 7 * required by contract ** one hour for writing reports source: national archives, washington, d.c., modern military branch. military archives division. file: director of military training. history branch. astp. curriculum file. records of the asf. for first term basic engineering. this proved a big waste of my academic time as i had already taken every single course in the program except the mathbut, of course, you took the program in a block, there weren’t any electives” (keefer 1988, 57). another reported that, “although i had completed first-year engineering at mississippi state college, my freshman courses had not included physics. since astp required physics, i had to start over” (ibid., 102-03). the modular approach to curriculum design also presented problems. trainees typically completed be-1 and be-2 at one institution, took their pre-professional training at another, and completed their professional preparation at a third. the frequent moving about allowed little opportunity for teacherstudent bonds to form. a typical day for an astp candidate in the basic curriculum phase of training began with reveille at 6:30am and ended with taps at 10:30pm, with the hours in between tightly scheduled. the army estimated the overall workload at fifty-nine hours per week in supervised activities: twenty-four hours of classroom and lab work, twenty-four hours of prescribed study, five hours of military instruction, and six hours of physical education. one astper at rutgers calculated the total somewhat differently in the following poem: we are the boys of the a.s.t.p. ours is a rugged lot. you may think our work is easy. we assure you that it’s not. the army thought we all could stand a touch of higher knowledge; and so they made life miserable by sending us to college. our actual hours are 35, they say if we would pass, we must spend two hours study for every hour of class. thus 35 plus 70 comes to 105 plus 21 a week to eat so we can stay alive. that totals to 126; formations, six hours more; washing up and room police 30 takes another four. that huge sum is 136 and leaves just 32 for sleep at night and bunk fatigue and things we want to do. now sleep’s a foolish habit, as anyone can see, in just one week, if we skip sleep, there’s 32 hours free (masin 1943, 13). some participants had trouble with the stiff academic pace, despite the careful screening process. one recruit recalled, “toward the end of the first term-about mid-summer 1943 i concluded that either i would not be able to maintain their standards or the program would be terminated. even people with college degrees were having trouble keeping up” (keefer 1988, 102). despite the combined rigors of accelerated academic programs and army discipline, campus life afforded astp participants diversions of which other soldiers could only dream. one recruit who already held a bachelor’s degree in music education with little math background found himself assigned to basic engineering training at ohio state university. he reported that, life at ohio state was just one step short of paradise-food served on stainless steel trays, with as much cold milk as you could drink, and clean bedding in the dorm; isally’s ice cream store nearby; the indianola presbyterian church just across the street, and church choir rehearsals wednesday evenings, with a pipe organ, and a good organist to play it; every friday night free and liberty in columbus until 1:00 monday morning. boy! was that ‘real’ army life? (ibid., 92-3). at several universities, the bulk of the male civilian student body had already enlisted or been drafted into the service, making the astp candidates the only males on campus. one astper assigned to the university of nebraska recalled, “the university’s male population was at a very low ebb when we arrived, and the astp kids moved in to help fill the void. sororities had tea dances where boys and girls could meet, and many of us ended up with steady girl friends” (ibid., 92). some communities even printed guides to local sites and organized social events and entertainments for their astp guests. preprofessional studies were truly an accelerated course sequence. candidates were considered fit for the fast pace due to their high academic qualifications. the result was that the premedical curriculum, for instance, was reduced from the normal course of several years to just nine months. the tightly focused curriculum consisted of qualitative analysis, physics, biology, [technical] english, history, organic chemistry, psychology, comparative anatomy, and embryology spread across three terms (see table 3). like the basic curriculum, these courses were narrowly prescribed according to outlines developed by panels of experts at the outset of the astp. by late 1943, the army’s manpower policies had yielded an oversupply of officers. officer candidate schools (ocs) had produced 240,000 officers since september 1941, so those programs were severely reduced. at the same time, occupational draft deferments and other selective service policies had left the armed forces short of their recruiting goals by 200,000 men. since astp programs included basic training, the candidates formed a readily available pool of recruits already in uniform-a tempting target for the armed forces to draw from. ironically, many had resigned from rotc programs in order to enter the astp, thereby forfeiting the opportunity to enter the regular army as officers. despite written assurances in astp recruitment literature that “no student now in the astp and doing satisfactory work will be let out,” in february 1944, 110,000 trainees, nearly eighty percent of the total, were cut from the program. most of the initial cuts came in engineering. some of these trainees were reassigned to medical school, but most were assigned to line units. in the words of secretary of war henry stimson, “the army of early 1944 was forced to cannibalize itself and the soldiers of the astp were among the first victims” (stimson and bundy 1948, 356). often these new soldiers bore the brunt of the resentment their comrades had developed due to the astp’s reputation as a soft billet for ‘quiz kids’ and college boys. one displaced recruit recounted, “if at all, it [participation in astp] made things tough on me later. i spent sixteen weeks on officers’ k.p. at camp maxey because the astp business left me alone, in a strange outfit, with a cadre anxious to show me the ‘real’ army” (keefer 1988, 57). although the curtailment of the astp had devastating effects on individual soldiers, it did not seriously impact participating colleges and universities. first, despite the high profile of the military-academic partnership, most colleges and universities in the united states never participated in the program. second, even those that had military students tended to adjust rapidly to wartime conditions. as drastic a change as the wartime reduction in student enrollments seemed at the time, it was dwarfed by the rapid, enormous expansion in demand for higher education brought on by the postwar g.i bill. the astp officially lasted until early 1947, but the program never recovered from the massive curtailment in february 1943. 31 table 3: army specialized training program basic phase term 3 advanced phase terms 4&5 curriculum p-1 distribution course contact hrs. per week* class lab term 3: qualitative analysis ast-211 9 3 6 physics ast-306 7 4 3** biology ast-951 7 3 4 english ast-111 2 2 0 history ast-133 2 2 0 geography ast-163 2 2 0 29 16 13 term 4: organic chemistry ast-261 9 3 6 biology ast-952 7 3 4 english ast-112 2 2 0 psychology ast-904 4 4 0 selected courses*** 6 6 0 28 18 10 term 5: organic chemistry ast-262 9 3 6 comparative anatomy ast-953 or embryology ast-954 7 3 4 english ast-113 2 2 0 psychology ast-905 4 4 0 selected courses*** 6 6 0 28 18 10 * required by contract ** one hour for writing reports *** 1. french, german, or spanish for those who had studied one of these in high school or college. must continue in term 5. 2. economics. must continue on term 5. 3. quantitative analysis 4. public administration 5. physical chemistry source: national archives, washington, d.c., modern military branch. military archives division. file: director of military training. history branch. astp. curriculum file. records of the asf. once preprofessional studies were completed, astp candidates entered regular programs of professional study that proceeded at a more traditional pace. advancement from preprofessional to professional study required an overall “c” average, so astp participants were motivated to do well in their coursework. in some astp units, trainees were ranked according to grade point averages, and trainees enjoyed the same academic recognition as other students. failure in any course resulted in separation from astp and reassignment to a regular army unit, often an infantry unit headed overseas (chadderdon 1972, 58). demise of the astp by late 1943, the army’s manpower policies had yielded an oversupply of officers. officer candidate schools (ocs) had produced 240,000 officers since september 1941, so those programs were severely reduced. at the same time, 32 occupational draft deferments and other selective service policies had left the armed forces short of their recruiting goals by 200,000 men. since astp programs included basic training, the candidates formed a readily available pool of recruits already in uniform-a tempting target for the armed forces to draw from. ironically, many had resigned from rotc programs in order to enter the astp, thereby forfeiting the opportunity to enter the regular army as officers. despite written assurances in astp recruitment literature that “no student now in the astp and doing satisfactory work will be let out,” in february 1944, 110,000 trainees, nearly eighty percent of the total, were cut from the program. most of the initial cuts came in engineering. some of these trainees were reassigned to medical school, but most were assigned to line units. in the words of secretary of war henry stimson, “the army of early 1944 was forced to cannibalize itself and the soldiers of the astp were among the first victims” (stimson and bundy 1948, 356). often these new soldiers bore the brunt of the resentment their comrades had developed due to the astp’s reputation as a soft billet for ‘quiz kids’ and college boys. one displaced recruit recounted, “if at all, it [participation in astp] made things tough on me later. i spent sixteen weeks on officers’ k.p. at camp maxey because the astp business left me alone, in a strange outfit, with a cadre anxious to show me the ‘real’ army” (keefer 1988, 57). although the curtailment of the astp had devastating effects on individual soldiers, it did not seriously impact participating colleges and universities. first, despite the high profile of the military-academic partnership, most colleges and universities in the united states never participated in the program. second, even those that had military students tended to adjust rapidly to wartime conditions. as drastic a change as the wartime reduction in student enrollments seemed at the time, it was dwarfed by the rapid, enormous expansion in demand for higher education brought on by the postwar g.i bill. the astp officially lasted until early 1947, but the program never recovered from the massive curtailment in february 1943. the results in the short run, the astp did contribute to the manpower needs of the armed forces, both intentionally by providing thousands of professionally trained officers (although many of these did not enter active service until the post-war era), and unintentionally by meeting much of the army’s need for combat soldiers in early 1944. the program also helped the colleges and universities that participated by providing needed support as large numbers of students left school for the military, although this benefit should not be overstated as only one-third of u.s. institutions of higher education ever hosted astp students. in the longer run, the astp helped colleges and universities eliminate redundancy in their degree programs, which became especially important as the postwar increases in enrollment pressured the institutions to be as efficient as possible. in addition, the new courses and modes of instruction developed for the astp influenced subsequent curriculum development, particularly in language instruction. in an effort to standardize curriculum across the 227 campuses that ultimately hosted astpers, audiovisual aids were used extensively, ushering university teaching into the technological age. the astp also influenced colleges and universities to adopt more democratic practices in recruiting and admitting students. the program provided educational opportunities to thousands of academically talented young men without regard to socio-economic status. in fact, without the astp this author’s father would have not been able to afford higher education and likely would have never pursued a medical career. other participants such as henry kissinger and edward koch may have followed very different career paths without the astp. eighty percent of astp participants surveyed for one postwar study pursued more higher education after their initial astp experience. forty percent completed bachelor’s degrees, seventeen percent master’s degrees, and eleven percent doctoral degrees. twelve percent became physicians, dentists, and lawyers (ibid., 281). the astp also opened the door for more women to enter professional schools. with their sons in the service, more families sent their daughters to college. the astp’s demonstrated success with those traditionally considered unfit for advanced training caused professional schools to be more willing to admit women (chadderdon 1972, 69). finally, the astp helped point up the gross discrepancies in the quality of high school education across the country. young men from every type of high school were thrown together and moved from institution to institution throughout the country. the strong and weak high school programs became readily apparent. postwar federal spending on education aimed, in part, to improve high school instruction, especially in math, science, and foreign languages, the fields most prominent in the astp. lessons learned although the astp was in effect for only a few years it provides some lasting lessons for any type of ‘fast-track’ education program. first, the conditions under which the astp began represent a unique confluence of needs. the customer, the us army, needed large numbers of well-trained professionals in a short amount of time. the providers, the colleges and universities, needed large 33 numbers of students to replace those lost to the war effort. the colleges and universities found themselves with excess capacity precisely when the army needed highly educated soldiers. in the current and impending teacher shortage, schools may need more teachers, but the colleges and universities that prepare them do not necessarily need additional students. without mutual acute need, it is unlikely that the tremendous effort required to redevelop course programs and calendars will be expended. second, astp participants and providers often complained that the accelerated coursework was too much too fast. students exhausted themselves trying to keep up with the demands of academic work and military training, especially those who entered the program with knowledge deficits. most learners require some time to truly internalize and incorporate information. any ‘fast-track’ professional education program must carefully consider reasonable pacing to maximize learning. likewise, faculty complained that the pace of instruction was exhausting for the teachers, as well. yale university reported, “the strains upon our facilities, and particularly upon our faculty, began to be apparent, and illnesses, nervous collapses, and even deaths seemed to come thick and fast upon us” (annual report 1944, 15). third, the astp shifted much of the focus at participating institutions from knowledge creation to knowledge transmission. faculty found that their scholarly pursuits suffered under the demands of fast-paced instruction. some institutions and faculties were more accustomed to this emphasis than others. any ‘fasttrack’ program must ensure that its goals do not conflict with how faculties conceive of their work or with the reward structures in place in academic institutions. fourth, astp students, particularly the engineers, suffered from the army’s overestimation of the need for trained professionals and its underestimate of the need for foot soldiers. institutional promises were broken and participants’ plans derailed. any ‘fast-track’ program must not rely too heavily on projections of future manpower needs. in addition, ‘fast-tracks’ should include alternate routes for students to pursue if societal needs change. these alternate routes should make good use of the coursework they’ve already taken in order to minimize wasted time. finally, the astp siphoned off many of the best and the brightest army recruits, diminishing the overall quality of the manpower available to other units (keefer 1988, 269) any ‘fast-track’ program must consider the opportunity cost of implementationwhat good things may be given up if the ‘fast-track’ attracts large numbers of participants. any program intended to benefit the needs of society must consider its larger impact. conclusion wisdom dictates approaching present problems with a sense of history in mind. while the past does not repeat itself, some conditions do recur and past events can inform present solutions. the army specialized training program was a unique program devised during a unique time. it encouraged structural changes in american education and provided unprecedented educational opportunity to thousands of talented young men. in addition, it may provide both useful lessons for curriculum designers and policy-makers, as well as cautionary tales to be considered by those developing accelerated educational programs to meet the current teacher shortage. references american association for employment in education. educator supply and demand in the united states: 2005 executive summary (columbus, oh: aaee, 2005). american council on education. higher education and national defense, bulletin no. 31 (washington, d.c.: ace, 1943). chadderdon, elizabeth ann mason, a review of accelerated premedical education as effected under the army specialized training program, december 1942 to april 1944 (unpublished m.p.h. thesis, university of texas school of public health at houston, 1972). keefer, louis e. scholars in foxholes: the story of the army specialized training program in world war ii (jefferson, n.c.: mcfarland & co., 1988). national center for education information. profile of teachers in the united states 2005 (washington, d.c.: ncei, 2005). masin, herbert l. “a day with the a.s.t.p.” senior scholastic, oct. 4-9, 1943. stimson, henry l., and mcgeorge bundy. on active service in peace and war. (new york: harper and brothers, 1948). yale university, annual report 1944 (new haven: yale univ., 1944). title 33 thomas jefferson, ideologue stephen tomlinson university of alabama information in the last letter of m. de la feyette that your eye sight has improved excites in me a hope that you might be able to finish your last work, and fill up the ideological circle in which you made so great and happy a progress. i hope it for the benefit of a child of my old age, the university of virginia. . . it’s misfortune will be that identity of language will confine the choice of it’s professors to the countries speaking our own. but it will still be your science which shall get thro’ that medium. thomas jefferson to destutt de tracy, nov 5th 1823. in his 1957 introduction to living thoughts of thomas jefferson, john dewey claimed that french political philosophy had little influence on jefferson. (dewey, 1957). with the possible exception of laws governing the inheritance of property, dewey maintained that “every one of jefferson’s characteristic political ideas . . . was definitely formulated by him before” he assumed the position of american ambassador in paris during the summer of 1784 (dewey, 1957, 23). jefferson’s notes on virginia, composed in 1781 and 1782, seems to support dewey’s contention (jefferson, 1984). responding to a number of queries from the french legation in philadelphia, he contributed to a statistical survey of america with a wide ranging account of the geographical, economic, social, and political conditions of life in the state that clearly demonstrates the continuity of his early and later thought. the scope of jefferson’s scientific learning, his classical erudition, and his articulate defense of liberal ideals—including the doctrine of natural rights and the separation of church and state—was immediately appreciated by the philosophes (ellis, 1998). but while discussing history and government with filippo mazzei, the nature of species with buffon, and race with condorcet, jefferson always kept an intellectual and social distance between himself and the french savants. shocked by parisian morals, and, it seems, his own errant passions, he could not emulate the flamboyant franklin. of all the societies he visited, he was perhaps most at home in the salon of mme helvétius. the meeting place of condillac, diderot, d’alembert, and d’holbach, during the 1780s antiuil became a retreat for materialist philosophers and liberal political theorists. it was here that the shy and retiring virginian formed his closest bonds with pierre cabanis, pierre de la rosche (editor of helvétius’ collected works), and the economic theorist pierre samuel du pont de nemours. schooled in the writings of locke, shaftsbury, bolingbroke, hutchinson, and kames, jefferson was clearly sympathetic to the political and epistemological discourse of the salon. but he did not adopt a new master. rejecting the radical implications of sensationalism, he returned home still firmly grounded in the scottish moral sense philosophy and whig political thought he had imbibed as a youth. it was only in the final two decades of his life, after his retirement from the presidency, that jefferson became enamored with the work of destutt de tracy, and an advocate for ideology in america. accordingly, dewey and other commentators are somewhat wide of the mark in concluding that if there were a stream of influence between the two nations, it was surely from america to france, for, as this chapter will show, tracy’s materialistic writings, especially his texts on economics, politics, religion, and public schooling provided a powerful philosophical justification for jefferson’s mature vision of a virtuous republic (adams, 1997). as he announced in 1820, after establishing a professorship in ideology at the university of virginia, tracy’s works were sure “to become the statesman’s manual with us (chinard, 1925, 203).” the improvement of the race jefferson’s educational proposals are contained in query 14 of the notes, right after his discussion of race, an appropriate location given his views on the perfectibility of human nature and the fact that 40% of the states’ population lived under the yoke of slavery. this authoritative account of the physical, moral, and intellectual capacities of the red, white, and black peoples of the new world shaped debates over the emancipation and schooling of african-americans for the next seventy-five years (winthrop, 1968). a nest of legal and scientific arguments over the identity of the human species, the status of the mulatto, the relationship between climate and race, and the consequences of social integration that samuel gridley howe was forced to reconcile with whig political ideology in the founding document of the american freedmen’s bureau (tomlinson, 2005). jefferson opened his discussion of human improvement with an explanation of how the state of virginia had revised colonial laws to fit the spirit of the new republic. chief among these changes, contrary to dewey’s claim, was an amendment to the rules of descent ensuring “that the lands of any person dying intestate shall be divisible equally among all his children,” and legislation “to establish religious freedom on the broadest bottom (jefferson, 1984, 263).” although not yet brought before the government, jefferson also explained that a resolution had been drafted to emancipate the state’s slaves, colonizing blacks to some distant land and recruiting white workers to take their place. “it will probably be asked” he continued, “why not retain and incorporate the blacks into the state, and thus save the expense of supplying, by importation of white settlers, the vacancies they will leave (jefferson, 1984, 264)?” he responded with two separate arguments: the deep seated social prejudices of whites and the basic “distinctions which nature has made” between the races. after enumerating a number of physiological differences—skin color, hair, sweat glands, the size of the lungs, and sleeping habits (all of which had important moral implications)—he turned to the 34 intellectual capacities of blacks. unlike indians, who developed art and “astonish you with strokes of the most sublime oratory; such as prove their reason and sentiment strong, their imagination glowing and elevated,” the african knew nothing of drawing and produced only the crudest music (jefferson, 1984, 266). even the literary works of educated blacks were immature. their “imagination,” he concluded, was “dull, tasteless, and anomalous (jefferson, 1984, 266).” if “in memory” they were “equal to the whites; in reason [they were] much inferior (jefferson, 1984, 266).” could such differences be explained by the cruel and harsh terms of their confinement? apparently not. despite even harsher conditions, the classical world bore testimony to the achievements of white slaves. “misery,” jefferson reflected, was “often the parent of the most affecting touches in poetry (jefferson, 1984, 269).” “among the blacks is misery enough, god knows, but no poetry (jefferson, 1984, 269).” in any case, he insisted, the commonly recognized “improvement of the blacks in body and mind, in the first instance of their mixture with the whites, has been observed by every one, and proves that their inferiority is not the effect merely of their condition of life (jefferson, 1984, 269).” he conjectured therefore, “as a suspicion only, that the blacks, whether originally a distinct race, or made distinct by time and circumstances, are inferior to the whites in the endowments both of body and mind (jefferson, 1984, 267).” “will not a lover of natural history,” he asked, “one who views the gradations in all the races of animals with the eye of philosophy, excuse an effort to keep those in the department of man as distinct as nature has formed them (jefferson, 1984, 267)?” the purity of the white race was at stake. “among the romans,” he noted, “emancipation required but one effort. the slave, when made free, might mix without staining the blood of his master. but with us a second is necessary, unknown to history. when freed, he is to be removed beyond the reach of mixture (jefferson, 1984, 270).” torn between morality and practicality, he would spare no effort to prepare emancipated slaves for independent living—“sending them to a distant land with arms, implements of household and of the handicraft arts, feeds, pairs of useful animals etc.”—but offered absolutely no hope of schooling for the blacks of virginia (jefferson, 1984, 264). for white citizens, however, education was integral to jefferson’s political principles. he even claimed that his 1779 bill for the more general diffusion of knowledge “was the most important bill in our whole code,” completing, had it passed, the laws against entails and primogeniture, and the separation of church and state (padover, 1952, 70). as montesquieu taught, he understood that corruption nestled in all societies, and that a political mechanism had to be devised to prevent the degeneration of government. but rather than the widely vaulted checks and balances of the british system, jefferson put his faith in representative government and the good sense of the common man to elect wise and virtuous leaders—or, more accurately, representatives who would elect wise and virtuous leaders. “having put down the aristocracy of the clergy,” and nurtured an equality of condition” among the population, he later told john adams that “education would have raised the mass of the people to the high ground of moral respectability necessary to their own safety, and to orderly government; and would have completed the great object of qualifying them to select the veritable aristori, for the trusts of government (jefferson, 1959, ii: 390). schooling in jefferson’s virginia would thus have two components: the development of a literate population capable of making informed choices, and the education of the moral and intellectual elite. where adams saw the great aim of government as management of the passions, jefferson put his faith in a basic moral sense common to all men and women. conscience, he told his nephew peter carr, was as much a part of human nature “as the sense of hearing, seeing, feeling (jefferson, 1984, 901).” while given to individuals in a stronger or weaker degree . . . [it] may be strengthened by exercise, as may any particular limb of the body. this sense is submitted, indeed, in some degree, to the guidance of reason; but it is a small stock which is required for this: even a less one than what we call common sense. state a moral case to a ploughman and a professor. the former will decide it as well, and often better than the latter, because he has not been led astray by artificial rules. (jefferson, 1984, 901-902) armed with this insight, and a basic knowledge of the natural and social worlds, the citizenry themselves could provide the moral basis of a virtuous community. to this end, jefferson proposed a system of free education for all (white) children. situated within each ward (a five square mile miniature republic), schools would be erected and a teacher employed to provide three years of instruction in reading, writing, and arithmetic, together with lessons in the principles of civic virtue and republican government. study of the bible— which was far too demanding for the immature mind—was to be replaced with “useful facts from grecian, roman, european and american history” that would teach the essential character of human nature and the basic hierarchical structure of a good society (jefferson, 1984, 273). as reason strengthened, such knowledge would then enable each citizen “to work out their own greatest happiness, by shewing them that it does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed them, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation, and freedom in all just pursuits (jefferson, 1984, 273).” jefferson’s grand vision of a political community sustained through public schooling was thus quite different to the kind of embryonic democracy central to dewey’s educational philosophy: progress and stability would be achieved through deference to wise and noble leaders, not a faith in common intelligence and conjoint problem solving. jefferson’ second concern was the selection and education of the elite. conscious of the ethical problems of eugenic engineering, “for experience proves that moral and physical qualities of man, whether good or evil, are transmissible in a certain degree from father to son,” he contented himself with the existence of an “accidental aristori produced by the fortuitous concourse of breeders 35 (jefferson, 1959, 388).” this, he told adams, was “the most precious gift of nature for the instruction, the trusts, and government of society (jefferson, 1959, 388).” he thus proposed a revolutionary scheme for the selection and training of his natural aristocracy. each year the school’s visitors would select the top boy and send him, at public expense to one of twenty grammar schools established around the state. after one or two years of study in “greek, latin, geography, and the higher branches of numerical arithmetic,” the most able would be selected for four more years of instruction. by this means,” jefferson asserted, “twenty of the best geniusses will be raked from the rubbish annually (jefferson, 1984, 272).” finally, at the end of their education, “one half are to be discontinued (from among whom the grammar schools will probably be supplied with future masters); and the other half, who are to be chosen for the superiority of their parts and disposition, are to be sent and continued three years in the study of such sciences as they shall chuse, at william and mary college (jefferson, 1984, 272).” the final part of this scheme demanded a radical revision jefferson’s alma mater. as argued in bill 80 for amending the constitution of the college of william and mary, the original mission of preparing anglican ministers had to give way to the civic needs of the people. this entailed replacing latin, greek, and divinity with a more secular, scientific curriculum. ancient languages, he complained in the notes, “filled the college with children (jefferson, 1984, 277).” by restricting such preparatory skills to the previous educational level, professional schools in law, medicine, and government could be established to transform traditional on-the-job training with knowledge of the principles governing human nature. although the legislature failed to approve bill 80, jefferson was able to institute elements of his plan in 1779, when, as governor, he became a trustee of the college. under his guidance, the curriculum was reorganized around professorships in law and police; anatomy and medicine; natural philosophy and mathematics; moral philosophy, the law of nature and nations, and the fine arts; and modern languages. in the notes he expressed hope that other professorships would soon be funded to offer specialized work in the sciences. but the college’s charter, its lack of funds, and its increasing isolation from the political center of the state frustrated jefferson’s goals. by 1800 he had given up on transforming william and mary. virginia, he now understood, needed a new state university to educate its future leaders and offer the south an alternative to what he saw as the baleful influence of new england learning. jefferson was also frustrated by legislature’s reluctance to fund public schools. a much diluted form of bill 79 did pass in 1796, but, jefferson explained in his autobiography, on realizing that the taxes levied for instruction “would throw on wealth the education of the poor . . . the more wealthy class were unwilling to incur that burden,” and, as a result, schooling failed “to commence in a single county (jefferson, 1984, 43) as jefferson’s duties drew his attention to the national stage, he also considered a number of schemes to establish a system of education for the entire country. in 1794, for example, he explored the possibility of founding a national university with émigré faculty from the university of geneva. later, as president, he commissioned du pont de nemours to design a system of schooling and supported joel barlow’s scheme for a national university and institute of learning based upon the french model. neither proposal was embraced by congress; indeed, it seems that jefferson had his own reservations about the federal control of knowledge. accordingly, it was only after his return to monticello, in the 1810s and 1820s, that he threw his full energies into the cause of educational reform, proposing, once again, the three-tiered system of public schooling outlined in bills 79 and 80. only now, influenced by the philosophy and social science of the idéologues, his original plan was strengthened by the political philosophy of tracy, who, in the years prior to napoleon, had been instrumental in establishing a similar structure of schooling in france. destutt de tracy when, in the aftermath of the terror, sieyès, garat, volney, and many of the other liberal reformers who met at the salon of mme helvétius came to power in the directory (1795-1799), they turned to the moral philosophy and disciplinary pedagogy sketched by cabanis as the means to bring order and stability to the new republic. public policy was to be informed by “the science of man,” or what would later become known as “social science.” this incipient movement gained political and philosophical focus in 1796, when cabanis’ friend destutt de tracy was elected to the section devoted to the analysis of sensations and ideas at the newly established national institute. it was tracy who laid out the political agenda flowing from this physiologicallybased sensationalist epistemology and coined the ill-fated neologism, idéologie. a youthful supporter of the american republic and turgot’s liberal reforms, antoine louis claude, comte destutt de tracy embraced revolutionary calls for greater representation of the third estate. as a delegate of the bourbonnais nobility in the national assembly (1789-1791) he supported the declaration of the rights of man, advocated the abolition of slavery in the french colonies, and strongly endorsed anticlerical legislation. together with cabanis, du pont de nemours, talleyrand, garat, sieyès, condorcet, and the other prominent intellectuals who met at the société 1789, he envisioned a scientifically enlightened representative government that avoided the radical egalitarianism of the democrats. most troubling for tracy, was the spreading discontent in the army. a colonel under lafayette (the future father-in-law of his daughter), he struggled to maintain discipline amid radical attacks on the privilege of rank. with the arrest of the king, and lafayette’s subsequent escape to belgium, tracy resigned his commission and retired to antieul, where, out of the public eye, he kept company with condorcet and cabanis. but tracy’s aristocratic background proved too much for the jacobins. imprisoned for eleven months, he was only saved from the guillotine by the fall of robespierre. it was during 36 this internment that he immersed himself in condillac and the other philosophical works that would become the basis for idéologie—literally, the science of ideas. like the epistemological and behavioral doctrines of the logical positivists, tracy believed that a sound foundation for knowledge could be established by carefully assembling ideas out of the basic features of sense experience: thought had to proceed from simple to complex in steps immediately comprehensible to the attentive mind. in contrast to condillac, however, tracy did not view the faculties as an amalgamation of sensations, but rather, as cabanis explained, basic responses of the human organization. perception, memory, judgment, and desire were functions of the brain, the nervous system, and the bodily temperaments. ultimately, ideology was part of zoology. but it also suggested rational laws of mind and behavior. fusing condillac's analysis of signs with a moderate utilitarianism, he explained how social and moral codes could be constructed to foster happiness. the key to human wellbeing was the creation of a political order that properly regulated desires by rewarding virtue and punishing vice. for while direct instruction in moral principles might influence the behavior of more philosophic minds, the average person learned little from the classroom or the catechism: the legislator and the laws were the true teachers of mankind. rejecting the concept of a moral intuition, tracy was adamant that even the most basic notions of right and wrong were acquired through socialization in the family and other cultural institutions. it was thus incumbent upon political leaders to engineer public and private practices that would develop correct habits and teach the population the fundamental link between reason, virtue, and happiness. this included maintaining an economy which fostered small industry while eliminating debt, speculation, and the evils of extreme wealth; the abolition of primogeniture; and, the removal of clerical influence over civil institutions. political economy was at the heart of tracy’s system. grounded in his conception of human well-being, productive activity was to be measured by “goods” that promoted the full and harmonious development of the faculties. following jean baptise say, he rejected the physiocrats’ premise that wealth was measured by agricultural production. according to du pont de nemours, for example, manufacturing and commerce contributed little to the production of useful goods: the key to prosperity was simply to increase the efficiency of farming. characterizing the efforts of the bourgeoisie as sterile, he promoted economic development through improved farming techniques and a centralized monarchy capable of coordinating the production and distribution of food. say thought that this focus on agriculture was too narrow. the manufacturing and commercial classes were also involved in producing tools, food, and other materials that contributed to the country’s wealth. value, which reflected human needs, was best measured by the market. tracy concurred. it was not the middle classes that were sterile but the landowners who lived in luxury off the labors of the peasants. there were three actors in tracy’s economic system; the savant, educated to understand the scientific principles governing nature and society; the worker, who provided the physical power necessary for production; and the entrepreneur, who invested capital to make possible socially useful enterprises. while recognizing the inequalities inherent in this organization of money, mind, and labor, he insisted that the interests of each class were best served by developing their talents in the position that fate had placed them—much as jefferson had argued in the notes. modest industrialization would not hurt the worker: money saved in one area permitted further investment that created new jobs. the essential point was to combat unrestrained capitalism and the gross inequalities it produced. but tracy was hopeful that in a more liberal state property owners would realize that a well-paid and trained laborer was good for all, and, with the kind of representative government established in america, educated workers would appreciate the importance of electing virtuous leaders who would work for the common weal rather than narrow class interests. indeed, jefferson’s republicanism seems to have served as something of a blueprint for tracy’s political theory. as expressed in his critique of montesquieu’s sprit of the laws (composed in 1805-1806 as napoleon consolidated power and disenfranchised the idéologues), tracy defended representative government as a modern solution to the problem of a just society (tracy, 1969). montesquieu identified three basic forms of government (republic, monarchy, and despotism) and explored the sentiments each created in order to retain authority over the population. in tracy’s mind this division failed to carve the political world at its joints. governments, he believed, were more productively categorized according to whether they promoted the general will or special interests. and, rather than asking how each conserved power, it was far more important to examine how they promoted public or private good through the dissemination of knowledge. as montesquieu noted, only “those governments which are founded on reason, can alone desire that education should be exempt from prejudice (tracy, 1969, iv).” “in a hereditary monarchy,” for instance, a prince “ought to inculcate and propagate the maxims of passive obedience, and a profound veneration for the established forms (tracy, 1969, iv).” there should be a “dislike for the spirit or innovation and enquiry, or the discussion of political principles (tracy, 1969, iv)” and, “above all,” tracy continued, he should employ “religious ideas, which taking possession of the mind from the cradle, make durable and deep impressions, form habits, and fix opinions, long before the age of reflexion (tracy, 1969, iv).” conversely, in a republic, a government fearing “error and prejudice” would “constantly to attend to the propagation of accurate and solid knowledge of all kinds” and prevent the poor class from becoming vicious, ignorant, or miserable; the opulent class from becoming insolent and fond of false knowledge; and should cause both to approach that middle point, at which the love of order, of industry, of justice, and reason, naturally establish themselves. (tracy, 1969, iv: 0). 37 tracy gained a powerful weapon in his battle against the hegemony of the church with the publication of charles dupuis’ twelve-volume origin of all religious worship (dupuis, 1795/1984). as tracy summarized dupuis in his anonymous analysis, all the world’s religions, including christianity, could be reduced to myths of nature, allegorical tales and metaphysical constructs that sought to explain the unknown forces governing events. most invidious was the priesthood, which built elaborate theological arguments to defend the spiritualization of nature and silence rational inquiry. rather than elevating the population by teaching that happiness and virtue went hand in hand, it sought to maintain social privilege through the spread of superstition and fear. in 1799 tracy had an opportunity to correct this abuse and construct his own vision of a rational and moral society. elected to the council for public instruction, he poured his energies into fashioning elite schools for future leaders, convinced that a class of scientifically trained savants could craft the institutional practices, legal statues, and popular customs necessary to perfect the intellectual and moral powers of the masses. the government of mind one of the central pillars of the constitution drawn up by the national assembly was a commitment to the education of all citizens. having eliminated the tithes and taxes that supported religious schools, nationalized church property, and suppressed traditional universities, the assembly turned to the construction of a system of public education free from ecclesiastical control. this meant a radical revision of the religiously oriented latin curriculum maintained by the church, in line with the theories of mind and secular ethics advanced by enlightenment thinkers. but while clear in their political aims and philosophy of education, the revolutionary planners struggled with the particulars. the philosophes had left no blueprints and there was no other national system of schooling for them to draw upon. should all children attend school beyond the elementary level? should fees to be assessed? was education to be controlled by state or by local officials? buildings, desks, books, and teachers, everything was open to debate. it is hardly surprising then, that more than twenty proposals were submitted in the first two years of the republic. most influential were the schemes of mirabeau (authored and published by cabanis) and talleyrand (1791), both of which proposed a four-tier system comprising elementary and secondary schools, technical colleges or lycées (to replace universities), and a national institute. to review these proposals the short-lived legislative assembly (1791-1792) appointed a committee on public instruction under the leadership of condorcet, who had roused popular opinion the previous year with a series of five memoirs on the necessity of education to the future of the republic. condorcet's report, the general organization of public instruction, preserved this same basic structure while advancing a more egalitarian philosophy (palmer, 1985, 124-129). not that he endorsed the leveling scheme of robespierre, who, in 1793, advocated a nationwide system of boarding schools, maisons d’egalités, in which children from age 5 to 12 could be raised without distinction. condorcet's goal was simply to avoid the great disparities in education that underwrote the political oppression of the ancien régime. similar in its details to jefferson’s proposal, but with two extra levels, he suggested primary schools to educate the masses free of charge, secondary education, with scholarships for the able poor, district grammar schools, and lycées. finally, above and controlling all, would be a national society divided into classes for mathematics and physical science, the moral and political sciences, the applied sciences, and literature and the fine arts. condorcet's timing could not have been worse. before any action could be taken the assembly turned to face the threat of the austrian and prussian alliance, and all enthusiasm for educational reform was lost in the tide of nationalistic spirit. it was not until the end of 1794, with the rise to power of the idéologues, that the national convention (1792-1795) finally started to take action. marked by the execution of louis xvi (december 1792) and the rise of the jacobin terror (september 1792-june 1794), the intervening years had decimated cultural life. schools, universities, and learned societies had been closed, and many prominent intellectual leaders and public figures, including condorcet (who denied the guillotine by dinking a poison provided by cabanis), had been put to death or ostracized. the need for order now superseded the need for equality. as the idéologues saw it, schooling had to establish a secular morality necessary for a stable republican government, and france's place as the leading center for science and the arts restored. again, the commission on public instruction was asked for its recommendations. this time, under the guidance of garat, joseph lanakal authored a number of reports suggesting amendments to condorcet’s scheme in line with growing anti-democratic sympathies. eventually passed into legislation, most importantly in pierre daunou's law of the third brumaire (october 25, 1795), a comprehensive, if hierarchical, system of education was founded—and remained in place until napoleon reorganized french schooling in 1802, and the national institute in 1803. the daunou law required that one or more feepaying primary school be located in each canton and an école centrale, a center for learning and educational activities, established in every department. unlike the secondary schools envisioned by condorcet, these were not meant to be an extension of primary education, but rather separate elite academies for students beyond age twelve who wished to prepare for higher education or careers in the civil service. indeed, in contrast to the more radical plans of the assembly, primary schooling was not even compulsory. true, funds were provided for the meritorious poor, but this provision did little to satisfy democratic critics who bemoaned the loss of earlier, more egalitarian schemes. thus, where the primary schools were charged to teach the fundamentals of reading, writing, and arithmetic, natural history, and the basis of republican government to the working poor, the more academic curriculum of the central school—comprised drawing, ancient languages, mathematics, physics, chemistry, general grammar, belles-lettres, history, and legislation—was designed for children of the middle classes. the next level of 38 education also departed from condorcet's plan. instead of the lycées, ten higher specialized academies were to be founded. and, while a national institute was established, it also differed in structure and mission to what condorcet envisioned. less a controlling body for the whole system than a center in which to celebrate french learning—a living encyclopedia of knowledge, as daunou put it—the institute, omitting the applied sciences, divided 144 of france’s leading scholars into the remaining three of condorcet's four classes (stein, 1961). cabinas, tracy, and several other prominent idéologues were appointed to a section of the second class on moral and political sciences devoted to the analysis of sensations and ideas. at the height of the jacobin dictatorship plans had been drawn up to develop a corps of teachers armed with the knowledge and pedagogic skills necessary to educate a nation of republican citizens. ten thousand men would attend a central seminary in paris, and from there disseminate correct practices by opening normal schools in their own departments. supportive of this initiative to spread the art of teaching, garat and lanakal combined early in 1794 to advocate the establishment of what would become the ecole normale. but with the change in political climate their political interests gradually changed from preparing primary teachers to establishing a higher seat of learning to guide the education of an elite class. accordingly, when the ecole normale opened in january 1795, a single auditorium in the natural history museum, the fourteen eminent professors engaged for the four month semester did not have young children on their mind. rather, their courses laid out the curriculum of the écoles centrals, established the following month by the law of 3 ventose. among the many notable intellectuals, lagrange and lapalce lectured on mathematics, garat on “analysis of the understanding,” and sicard on general grammar. all of this must have appeared quite esoteric to the majority of students, who had been sent by local authorities in order to train as primary school teachers. by may, more than half had departed, leaving the faculty to justify their role as the guardians of higher education rather than masters of pedagogy. as its first few years of existence soon revealed, the public school system created by daunou’s law faced serious problems. hindered by the lack of central authority, the idéologues’ plans were invariably subverted by local conditions. the chief concern was the existence of a large number of catholic independent schools guaranteed by the right of conscience secured in title x of the constitution. often supported by charitable funds, this alternative system enrolled more than half of all pupils. not only did this subvert condorcet’s goal of a unified system, but, for democratic critics within the directory, it became a palpable threat to the republic. orthodox clergy, it was claimed in the debates of 1798, were using elementary schools in a counter-hegemonic struggle against the political ideology of the revolution. to combat this threat, laws were enacted to bring private education in line with public policy. government officials had to enroll their children in public schools; local authorities were charged with monitoring private education to ensure schools used approved textbooks; and, in order to exclude any priest not committed to civic codes, headmasters had to be married or widowers. as for the central schools, the confusing mission of educating both university and primary level students led to a hodge-podge of classes for all ages and abilities. attendance was sporadic, lectures disorganized, and teachers lacked training. with no bureaucratic mechanism to enforce its directives, most of the ministry’s edicts fell on deaf ears. equally important to democratic critics was the divide between elementary adn secondary schooling. the curriculum of the écoles centrales did not dovetail with the primary school’s, and, by the law 3 brumaire, students were not permitted to enroll until age 12, three years after their elementary education was completed. fearful of creating a new aristocracy, democrats called for sweeping changes. the idéologues resisted. the staggering costs aside they saw no purpose in expanding the education of the masses. what was the use of schooling millions of peasants in the higher branches of knowledge? too much learning would only sour the worker for the life of toil to which they were destined. primary education, tracy explained, had to be short and sweet. it should pass on the most basic knowledge and values of the social elite, but ought not to be considered an introduction to the work of the central schools. unlike jefferson, he did not even think it appropriate for the children of the classe savante to attend primary schools. far better that these future leaders of society stay home and cultivate their tastes in a more refined environment until they had the maturity to pursue the more demanding studies of the écoles centrals—as outlined in tracy’s observations sur le systême actuel d'instruction publique, an eight year syllabus in language and literature, the physical sciences and mathematics, and the ideological, moral, and political sciences (tracy, 1801). but debate was mute. with foreign armies surrounding france, and the threat of a jacobin revival, liberals threw their support behind bonaparte’s coup d’état of november 1799. led by sieyies, the idéologues helped engineer napoleon’s rise by designing the threechamber scheme of the legislative body, the tribunate, and the conservative senate—only to compromise their own authority in the final agreement, by ceding executive power to the first council. napoleon did not have to answer to the senate. thus, on december 28th, when tracy, cabanis, garat, and a host of other idéologues accepted the honored and highly paid role of senators, they lost a direct voice in the formation of government policy. from then on, as they ceased to be of value to the first council, they gradually became his scapegoats, metaphysicians, responsible for all the ills of the revolution. the faults of the school system would now be addressed by administrative fiat rather than parliamentary debate. at first the idéologues were confidant that napoleon would help carry their scheme forward; a visitor at auteuil and a member of the national institute, bonaparte had courted the approval of intellectuals and promised to maintain important political appointments. crucial for their educational ambitions was the council on public instruction, an advisory group formed in october 1798 to guide the minister of the interior. originally comprising eight 39 members of the national institute, including four from from the section on analysis of sensations and ideas, the ideological agenda of the group was strengthened the following february when tracy joined their number. in 1797 professors were instructed to submit their teaching plans and course notes, but few responded. determined to see how ideological principles were being enacted, tracy issued a rather stern reminder together with a detailed questionnaire designed to assess the effectiveness of the nation’s one hundred central schools. he was not happy with the results, but mindful of the debates raging in the legislature, took care to press his principles without opening the central schools to political attack. tracy was most concerned with the presentation of history, geography, legislation, and political economy, the social sciences necessary for the future savants of his secular state. in a number of circulars distributed just prior to napoleon’s coup, he reminded professors of the relationship between mind and language, and the system of laws, institutions, and social customs that arose from a knowledge of human nature. as teachers of future legislators and administrators, it was their duty to prepare students with the ability to shape behavior in positive ways. yet the materials they presented revealed either a total misunderstanding of ideology or a stubborn commitment to spiritualism. the fundamental problem, tracy reported, was the failure to make the philosophy of language the basis for all learning. how could students understand the purpose of their studies if they did not appreciate the basic relationship between signs and thought? recommending they read condillac, he outlined the ideological project and explained how an ordered system of signs yielded knowledge free from conceptual confusion and charted a pedagogic path to reason and virtue. ideology itself had to become a subject of inquiry to properly prepare students for classes in legislation, literature, and history. armed with an understanding of mind and character, pupils would explore the civic codes, criminal law, commercial regulations, and critically evaluate their capacity to promote freedom, prosperity, and happiness. they would then be in a position to appreciate the development of societies through history. like condorcet, in his monumental sketch for a historical picture of the progress of the human mind (1795), tracy viewed the past through the lens of ignorance and oppression. the traditional script of sacred tales, heroic stories, and political myths had to be replaced by a scientific study of peoples that revealed the causal structures necessary to engineer social progress. unfortunately for the idéologues, secular social science was not popular with either students or faculty— grammar, legislation, and history were among the classes with the lowest enrollments. many teachers reported that attention to writing skills left little time for philosophical study. even those who did address the nature of mind tended to integrate ideology and spiritualism. moreover, although teachers embraced the goal of political criticism, they stubbornly presented revealed religion or the dictates of the church as the basis of morality. as for history, tracy noted a broad sympathy for studying the past as a ladder to civilization, but much to his chagrin, found almost no interest in dupuis’ masterwork. presenting the group’s report to lucien bonaparte, tracy maintained the écoles centrales had proven themselves indispensable to the future of the republic. certainly, some changes were necessary. the minimum age of enrollment had to be lowered, prerequisites needed to be established, studies ought to be more carefully coordinated, and national examinations instituted—but the system was sound. by concentrating on the social sciences, the rigorous schooling of middle-class children between ages 8 and 16 would prepare elite students for careers in the civil service, or professional training in one of the special schools. it would even help develop a core of dedicated teachers capable of revolutionizing the primary education of the masses. tracy’s report died on the minister’s desk. eight months passed without a word, then, in october 1800, bonaparte dissolved the council and took charge of its papers. determined to preserve the existing system, tracy joined the growing public debate on education by publishing the council’s findings and presenting his own textbook for the central schools—the first of his multi-volume elements of ideology (tracy, 1803; tracy, 1804; tracy 1805). dissatisfaction with the lack of organization and the confused mission of the central schools was growing. determined to address this potentially volatile situation, and meet napoleon’s political goals, officials from the council of state crafted the bill eventually passed by the legislative body on may 1st, 1802 as the law of eleven floréal. it appears that bonaparte was instrumental in shaping the most important provisions of the act. he did not share the secular goals of the idéologues, and certainly did not need an army of social scientists. resurrecting elements of condorcet’s plan, the lycée was established to provide students between 9 and 16 with a general education prior to technical training in the special schools and écoles secondaires (while not a step toward the lycéss) to foster social advancement for talented children of the lower orders. however, it was political patronage, not leveling, that underwrote the extensive system of scholarships that would make this new system possible. a lycée education was to be both a reward for the children of loyal government employees and a training ground for a future corps of dedicated and tough-minded public professionals. the same logic was then applied to the teaching body itself, when, in the laws of 1806 and 1808, napoleon created the imperial university, a hierarchically administered state run bureaucracy that turned lycée and secondary school faculty into civil servants and standardized both public and private education. by this time the idéologues had lost almost all influence over government policy. starting shortly after the coup of 18 brumaire, the rift with napoleon came to a head with their opposition to the concordant of 1802. fundamentally opposed to the re-introduction of the church into public life, they hoped to frustrate napoleon’s initiative in debate, but instead found themselves ostracized from power as bonaparte pressured the senate to purge the tribunate and the legislative body of his opponents. four months later the senate was forced to name bonaparte 40 consulate for life and accept a new constitution that effectively neutered its control of the executive. the final nail in the idéologue’s coffin came early the following year when bonaparte reorganized the national institute, dissolving the class on the analysis of sensations and ideas. out of political favor, and with no voice in the shaping of educational policy, cabanis, tracy, and the other idéologues gradually receded from public life. ideology had become both passé and dangerous: there was simply no place for the “science of man” in a state that denied politics. accordingly, while the school system of post-revolutionary france retained vestiges of the structural reforms suggested by the idéologues—a two-track system that provided basic knowledge for the masses while preparing elite students for advanced training—it was shorn of the secular mission and social science curriculum fundamental to the positivist state envisioned by tracy. the lycée, as napoleon recognized, had become the great instrument for the maintenance of his bureaucratic empire. thomas jefferson, idéologue it is not surprising that struggling to consolidate authority within the napoleonic regime, the idéologues would seek the endorsement of a powerful and sympathetic friend, the american president, and president of the american philosophical society (a group of scientifically minded men, including benjamin rush, joseph priestly, and david rittenhouse openly sympathetic to the physiological doctrines of sensationism). in 1802 jefferson was elected as an associate member of the class on moral science and started receiving texts from the movements leading theorists. say sent his two-volume treatise on political economy, cabanis his reports on the physical and the moral, and tracy the first two volumes of his elements of ideology. encumbered by the demands of his office, jefferson had little time to examine these works, especially, he later admitted to adams, tracy’s rather dense and dry epistemological tract, but he did write back expressing his gratitude for the honor they had bestowed upon him and his interest in their future practical and theoretical labors. his retirement, he promised, would be sweetened by the careful perusal of his new library. in 1806, jefferson received a second package from tracy, the french manuscript of his commentary on montesquieu. unable to publish under the eye of napoleon, tracy hoped the work would gain proper attention in america. here was a topic much more to jefferson’s liking. as a student he had carefully dissected montesquieu’s masterpiece in his commonplace book. but, while accepting the relationship between human nature, government, and institutions—even the physiological arguments about climate, temperament, and manners—found the defense of monarchy totally unacceptable. tracy corrected and updated montesquieu arguments: aligning the character of the state with the anthropological physiology of cabanis, he presented a scientific justification of republican government. apart from a small disagreement over the virtue of single verses a plural executive, jefferson was enthralled. here was the principle political text of the generation. as napoleon villainized the idéologues for all the excesses of the revolution, jefferson had the work translated and published in america. he persuaded james madison, rector of william and mary, to make it required reading for all graduating students, and, in 1812, wrote to thomas cooper—the first professor appointed to the university of virginia—expressing his hope that the review of montesquieu . . . will become the elementary book of the youth at all our colleges” (jefferson, 1907, 13: 178179). he even suggested that students prepare for the text with a “a mature study of the most profound of all human compositions, cabanis's ‘rapports du physique et du moral de l'homme.’”(tracy, 1803) in 1814 jefferson received the fourth volume of tracy’s elements, which, after much trouble with printers, he personally translated and published as treatise on political economy (1817). convinced that tracy had corrected and systemized economic thought from quesnay to smith and say, jefferson wrote to albert gallatin, the secretary of the treasury, in 1818 offering the book as an antidote to the nation’s profound ignorance of the science. by “simplifying principles” it brought “the whole subject within a narrow compass (chinard, 1925, 105-106).” taken together, the commentary on montesquieu and political economy, were to “become the statesmen’s manual . . . elementary books of the political department” at the university of virginia (chinard, 1925, 203).” in 1813 adams wrote to jefferson excited by his recent acquisition of dupuis’ opus. joseph priestly had rejected the work and labeled its author an atheist. but adams was more circumspect and challenged jefferson to tackle the twelve volumes with him so that they could resolve for themselves the debate between materialism and spiritualism. jefferson praised adams’ heroism, but reported his appetite for dupuis had been satisfied by tracy’s analytic review, and sent on the “pithy morsel” for his fiend’s edification. (adams and jefferson, ii: 491). this debate, woven out of metaphysical and theological conceptions of nature, mind, and spirit, was at the core of jefferson’s thought. following priestly’s deistic teachings, he formulated a vision of the universe that fused materialism and christianity. like much as cabanis, priestly believed that organic matter possessed sensitive properties capable of generating consciousness and free will. jefferson found this conjecture far more plausible than the supposed existence of an immaterial self. citing locke’s attack on spiritualists— that it was blasphemy to assert god could not have endowed matter with the power of thought—jefferson confessed to adams that it was easier to swallow “one incomprehensibility rather than two . . . an existence called spirit, of which we have neither evidence nor idea,” and which, lacking extension and solidity, “can put material organs into motion (adams and jefferson, ii: 491).” “to talk of immaterial existence,” he later elaborated, “is to talk of nothings. to say that the human soul, angels, god, are immaterial, is to say they are nothings. . . i cannot reason otherwise: but i believe i am supported in my creed of materialism by locke, tracy, and stewart (adams and jefferson, ii: 491).” (stewart, whom jefferson had befriended in paris during the first year of the revolution, supported a baconian science of mind and society similar to tracy’s scheme, but tempered by a commitment to the 41 doctrine of innate truths. elie halévy has written that thomas brown, stewart’s student and handpicked successor at the university of edinburgh, “borrowed so much from destutt de tracy and laromiguière that, he has been accused of plagiarism (halévy, 1966, 453).” both of these writers strongly influenced jams mill, and other philosophic radicals, sponsoring liberal beliefs in the nature and structure of education remarkably similar to those of tracy and jefferson. stewart, however, was no materialist.) “why should the materialist be expected to explain the process by which matter exercises the faculty of thinking” when scientists are unable to account for the properties of gravity or magnetism? only “on the basis of sensation” he told adams, “erect all the certainties we can have or need. when this is quit all is in the wind (cappon, 1984, 568).” dupuis’ origin showed the truth of this dictum in the history of religion. a firm foundation for faith had to be established from the unquestionable design of the universe and the immutable principles of morality. jesus, he insisted, was not a living divinity, but a profound teacher of moral truths. eschewing spiritualism, he confessed to being a christian “in the only sense in which i believe jesus wished anyone to be, sincerely attached to his doctrines in preference to all others; ascribing to himself every human excellence, and believing that he never claimed any other (jefferson, 1907, 1122).” later in life jefferson even argued that the early christians were themselves materialists, and blamed st paul for infecting faith with mysticism and spirituality. taken up by the church, these obscurities were then turned, “by artificial constructions into a mere contrivance to turn filtch wealth and power to themselves (jefferson, 1907, 1214).” charging rational men with infidelity, religions became “the greatest obstacles to the advancement of the real doctrines of jesus, and do in fact, constitute the real anti-christ (jefferson, 1907, 1214).” adams concurred. praising dupuis’ history as the greatest fairy tale ever written, he too remained committed to the moral lessons of christ. “the ten commandments and the sermon on the mount,” he told the virginian, “contained my religion (cappon, 1984, 494).” but who was this tracy? “the ablest writer living on intellectual subjects, or the operations of the understanding,” jefferson replied (cappon, 1984, 494).” describing his three volumes on ideology and his critique of montesquieu, he explained that the idéologue was now completing “the circle of metaphysical sciences” with a work on ethics. tracy, he warned adams, was a follower of hobbes and adopted the principle “that justice is founded in contract solely, and does not result from the constitution of man (cappon, 1984, 494).” he, like adams, believed in an innate sense of right and wrong, but was nonetheless convinced that while they differed on foundations “so correct a thinker as tracy will give us a sound system of morals (adams-jefferson, 242).” although adams found tracy’s analysis “a feignt (sic) miniature if the original,” his interest was piqued (adams-jefferson, 499). what, he asked playfully in his next letter, was this ideology? when bonaparte used it, i was delighted with it, upon the common principle of delight in everything we cannot understand. does it mean idiotism? the science of non compass mentuism? the science of lunacy? the theory of delirium? or does it mean the science of self-love of amour proper? or the elements of vanity? (adams-jefferson, 501) most of all he wanted “to see his ideology upon montesquieu (adams-jefferson, 501).” jefferson promised to have a copy of the critique delivered, explaining that by “ideology,” tracy understood all the subjects which the french term morale. adams was delighted. the following year when he read the manuscript of political economy he found himself skipping from proposition to proposition, unable to leave the book unfinished. “it is a condensation into a little globule . . . of all the sound sense and solid knowledge of the grand master quanay (sic) and all his redoubtable knights (adams-jefferson, 525).” delighted with this “high approbation of tracy’s book,” he asked for permission to use his letter to help ensure the circulation of the work, and adams happily consented (adams-jefferson, 538-539). tracy’s moderate lassez-faire policies provided a theoretical justification for many of the issues jefferson had struggled with in his political career. his vehement opposition to government intrusion in economic affairs—to national banks, paper money, direct taxation, the setting of interest rates, and public debt—resonated perfectly with jefferson’s crusade against federalism. most importantly, perhaps, tracy helped temper the romantic image of pastoral life that jefferson had presented in the notes. true, he remained committed to the political importance of the land as the seedbed for the development of republican character, but events such as the embargo of 1807 taught the importance of small scale manufacturing to america’s economic independence. fearing the excesses of the british industrial system, the debasement of labor and the attendant evils of urban life, he defended tracy’s model of development through modest entrepreneurship science and technology would be harnessed improve the public infrastructure and the conditions of home and labor, but society was still to be agrocentric. one nagging inconsistency in this vision that cannot be overlooked was jefferson’s support of extending slavery to missouri. given his oft repeated characterization of the institution as perverting the nature both of the master and slave, its westward expansion—even if removing blacks from plantations to farms—was hardly established the moral basis on which to build an empire of reason. “a child of my old age” in addition to tracy’s political and economic writings, jefferson was also extremely interested in his educational work. he even wrote to tracy in 1817 confessing that he had “availed [himself] of some of the leading ideas of . . . [his] luminous tract on public instruction” in the planning of central college, at albemarle. like the école centrale, this was to be a secondary school—it was only later, when the site and buildings were developed into the university of virginia, that jefferson returned to his earlier three tier system, albeit with much of tracy’s curricula still intact. 42 jefferson’s 1814 letter to peter carr, the college’s future principle, reveals the extent of this debt. every citizen, he explained, “should receive an education proportioned to the condition and pursuits of his life (jefferson, 1907, 1348).” dividing the population into “the laboring and the learned,” he proposed elementary instruction in “reading, writing, arithmetic, and geography,” and a secondary curriculum for his aristo comprising the major divisions of language (languages and history, ancient and modern, grammar, belles lettres, and rhetoric); mathematics (pure and applied mathematics, physics, chemistry, natural history, botany, zoology, and anatomy); and philosophy (ideology, ethics, the law of nature and nations, government, and political economy). with the exception of lessons in the theory of medicine, this was almost exactly the same grouping of subjects tracy had proposed in his observations for the école centrale (jefferson, 1907, 1346-1342). he even followed tracy in advocating education for the deaf and the blind. finally, as in france, he proposed professional schools to extend technical expertise in various theoretical, scientific, and practical fields. early in 1817 charles mercer’s proposal for a system of public schools—which jefferson opposed as fiscally unsound and overly bureaucratic—was narrowly defeated in the state senate. determined to push his own scheme, he wrote to his political ally joseph cabell with two proposals, designed to establish elementary schools and a state university in virginia. consolidated in a bill for establishing a system of public education, jefferson’s plan was contained similar recommendations to his 1779 scheme, with the notable reduction in the number of natural aristocrats to be educated at public expense. but even with this concession the bill gained little support. instead a subsequent proposal to use $45,000 of the literary fund to support the schooling of poor children was accepted. it was as a rider to this legislation that the construction of the university of virginia was approved, thus setting off a four year struggle for financing that pitted primary and higher education against one another. scholars have debated which end of the educational ladder jefferson thought most important. given his continuing petition for public schooling, even until his death, this seems an unfair question. but forced to choose, he told cabell that it was better to pause primary schooling for three years and ensure the university properly established. as the epitaph he chose for his grave stone reveals (“here was buried thomas jefferson author of the declaration of american independence of the statute of virginia for religious freedom and father of the university of virginia”), he was convinced that this child of his old age would be one of the most significant projects of his life (jefferson, 1907, 706). by 1818, with the construction of central college well underway, the legislature appointed jefferson and twenty-three other commissioners to plan the location, structure, administration, and curriculum of the university of virginia. meeting at a tavern in rockfish gap, the group weighted two other sites before settling on the facility at albemarle as the most convenient for the white population of the state. written by jefferson, the report briefly outlined a plan for situating dormitories, classrooms, and faculty lodgings in a village-like academic campus that would facilitate the kind of mentoring relationships that had been so important in jefferson’s own youth. but this hardly captured the grandeur of jefferson’s architectural scheme. convened that beauty was a mark of eminence, he planned stately auditoriums around an impressive quadrangle. virginia’s grace would attract a faculty composed of the finest minds in europe, and stand as a citadel of learning for students across the south and west. the legislature worried about costs and balked at foreign speaking teachers. but jefferson was not to be denied. as america’s most elegant campus started to take shape, a promising young lawyer, francis glimer, was dispatched to recruit faculty from britain—the second generation of scholars would be home grown. as for the curriculum, jefferson laid out a table of subjects that would develop wise and virtuous leaders with knowledge of government, political economy, and the scientific skills necessary to engineer a happy and prosperous commonwealth. structured around ten professorships, including a professor of ideology, his curriculum remained essentially what he had advocated to carr four years earlier. (in 1824, as funds became scarce, the scheme was consolidated to eight professorships, with ideology, general grammar, and ethics included in moral philosophy, government and political economy in the school of law.) military training, gymnastics, manual arts, dance, and drawing were also mentioned, as was the need to preserve a secular foundation for studies. the ethics professor would offer proof of the existence of god, “the author of all the relations of morality, and of all the laws and obligations these infer,” and from this common ground, each sect would be able to provide, in facilities surrounding the campus, “as they think fittest, the means of further instruction in their own peculiar tenets (jefferson, 1907, 467).” not only did this respond to the severe criticism that virginia lacked religious instruction to match the useful sciences, “by bringing the sects together, and mixing them with the mass of other students,” he told cooper, now at the university of south carolina, “we shall soften their asperities, liberalize and neutralize their prejudices, and make the general religion a religion of peace, reason, and morality (jefferson, 1907, 1465)." to his dying day jefferson was resolute in protecting the wall of separation between church and state—virginia, the nation’s first real university, would be a secular institution centered on the library, not the church. it would also, he told tracy in 1820 “be based on the illimitable freedom of the human mind, to explore and to expose every subject susceptible of its contemplation (chinard, 1925, 203).” tenure, equality of rank, and the elective system, would preserve the precious independence of thought. but as the selection of faculty continued, especially after gilmar’s untimely death, jefferson’s famed toleration hardened. fearing the spread of federalism, preached in the northern colleges attended by so many of virginia’s youth, he sought to constrain teaching, especially in the all important subjects of law and government. insisting that the legislature had the right to ensure future leaders were weaned on correct 43 republican principles, he convinced the board of visitors to mandate a curriculum structured around the works of locke, sidney, the federalist papers, the declaration of independence, and washington’s valedictory address. he also insisted that the board only hire a professor of law who would adopt the whig coke on littleton rather than the tory blackstone. as for moral philosophy, he jumped on madison’s former student, george tucker: a retiring senator from lynchburg who had held the jeffersonian line on missouri. his lack of experience in metaphysics was not a problem, jefferson explained, for “any person with a general education” could quickly master “locke, stewart, brown, [and] tracy (mclean, 1961, 158).” in his first year, tucker even taught economics from cooper’s text on say until the professorship in law was finally filled by another member of madison’s coterie, john lomax. without jefferson’s stewardship tracy’s science of the mind gradually disappeared from the curriculum at virginia—tucker, for example, gravitated to the more standard college digest of scottish common sense realism. but a more enduring ideology remained. for while it is true, as pangle and pangle suggest that the renewed religiosity of the era favored the spread of denominational colleges rather than the secular and scientific studies pioneered by jefferson, virginia nonetheless proved a pivotal institution in the political culture of the antebellum south (pangle and pangle, 1993). party, rather than social science became “old sachem’s” legacy. four months before his death, jefferson wrote to madison determined to preserve his republicanism. it is in our seminary that that vestal flame is to be kept alive; it is then to spread anew over our own and sister states. if we are true and vigilant in our trust, within a dozen or twenty years a majority of our own legislature will be from one school, and many disciples will have carried its doctrines home with them to their several states, and will have leavened thus the whole mass (adams, 1888, 139). if, as jefferson claimed, the school of law, was the “nursery of our congress,” then virginia had many influential sons (adams, 1888, 139). for, as william p. trent chronicles, in the first fifty years, jefferson’s institution trained hundreds of students who would take leading political and professional roles across the south, thus helping to legitimize the distinct sectional culture that would pervade the political contests of the next generation. more troubling for jefferson’s legacy, was the old dominion’s failure to establish a system of public schooling until the 1870s, when the reforms pushed by horace mann in massachusetts gradually spread across the country. writing just a decade after jefferson’s death, mann completely ignored the campaign for public schooling in virginia. his view of human nature and the social good was sustained by a second transatlantic “science of man,” ideology’s successor, phrenology. here was a moral philosophy america could not resist. in addition to political arguments for a wise and virtuous citizenry, phrenological principles provided a justification for every aspect of the educational system. from the physical design of the school house to the choice of text books and the training of teachers, mann presented what jefferson could only hint at, specific and compelling scientific explanations for the aims. methods, and content of schooling in the newly urban, rapidly industrializing world. in an 1825 letter to adams, jefferson reports that he had “never been more gratified by the reading of a book than by that of flourens.” cabanis has gone far toward proving from anatomical structure and action of the human machine that certain parts of it were probably the organs of thought and that consequently matter might exercize [sic] that faculty. flourens proves that it does exercise it, and that deprived of the cerebrum particularly the animal looses all senses, all intellect, and memory, yet lives in health ad for indefinite terms. it will be curious to see what immaterialists will oppose to this. (adams and jefferson, 605) a youthful disciple of cabanis and tracy, flourens had praised gall’s efforts to identify and locate the brain’s various mental organs. by 1822 his attitude had changed. now under the orbit of gall’s nemesis, george curvier, he presented a series of ablation and stimulation experiments that supported the cartesian conception of mind. dividing the brain into six distinct regions, he showed that each area performed a unique role in the overall mental economy: the cerebrum, for example, housed sense experience, memory, intelligence, and free-will. but as he demonstrated so sensationally, even the removal of large sections of this material did not lead to the total breakdown of powers. opposing gall’s localization thesis, flourens was able to argue that thought was distributed throughout the entire region, thus proving the existence of an all controlling a moi. ironically, what jefferson read as an empirical demonstration of the physical causes of thought and feeling, flourens intended as a refutation of materialism and brain localization. it is to that theory, and the aims, methods, and content of education it sustained, that we now turn. references adams, h. 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(a. e. bough ed.) washington: the thomas jefferson memorial association. jefferson, t. (1984). thomas jefferson, writings. m. d. peterson (ed.) new york: the library of america. jordan, w. (1968) black over white: american attitudes toward the negro 1550-1812. chapel hill: the university of north carolina press. kennedy, e. (1978). a philosophe in the age of revolution: destutt de tracy and the origins of "ideology." philadelphia: american philosophical society. mclean, c. (1961). george tucker: moral philosopher and man of letters. chapel hill: university of north carolina press. padover, s. (1952) jefferson: a great american's life and ideas. new york: harcourt, brace & world. palmer, r.r. (1985). the improvement of humanity. princeton: princeton university press. pangle, l. and pangle, t. (1993) the learning of liberty. lawrence: the university press of kansas. stein, j. (1961) a scholarly temple from national to napolonic. history of education quarterly 1(4): 7-15. tomlinson, s (2005). headmasters: phrenology, secular education, and nineteenth century social thought. tuscaloosa: university of alabama press. woloch, i. (1994). the new regime: transformations of the french civic order, 1789-1820s. new york: w.w. norton & company. john dewey’s preoccupation with occupations: from savage mind to democracy and education gregg joregensen western illinios university abstract this article explores john dewey‘s concept of occupations which remains a primary cornerstone of his philosophy of education. however, due to the fact that dewey addressed occupations in both general education and vocational contexts, confusion reigns. focusing on dewey‘s use of occupations in articles and books ranging from ―savage mind‖ to ―democracy and education‖, this study articulates dewey‘s expansive theoretical application of occupations in teaching and learning throughout education. introduction over time, in fact most of the 20 th century, many interpretations and ideas of john dewey‘s concept of occupations have been developed. for instance, westbrook (1993) observed that by focusing on his theory on occupations dewey created the opportunity for both historical inquiry and basic skills training. westbrook further noted that dewey‘s presentation of occupations led to study in many disciplines such as art, music, mathematics, biology, physics, chemistry, reading, and languages. dewey argued that gaining knowledge and understanding of occupations was central to understanding individuals and societal groups. by consistently revisiting and renewing his philosophy for education, john dewey certainly provided scholars with more than ample opportunities to delve into his innovative views on occupations. my goal is to closely examine john dewey‘s expansive theoretical application of occupations for teaching and learning in education. the central underlying question involved is: what‘s in an occupation? dewey‘s answer could be expressed as: more than meets the eye. a corollary objective is to examine that, contrary to the notions of some scholars, dewey‘s focus on occupations did not develop merely as an educational methodology and was not solely a utilitarian pursuit. dewey‘s theory that occupations were a direct reflection of mankind in general is often misinterpreted. in dewey‘s view, occupations did not comprise vocational education nor were occupations only destined as a decision point for an individual‘s future. this close examination is important because various existing interpretations tend to skew and diffuse dewey‘s intent for his creative use of the study of occupations in the curriculum. did dewey‘s seemingly preoccupation with occupations constitute a unifying theme in his ideas and theories? my theory is that dewey believed occupations were the glue that bound together the inherited gifts of all mankind. why do some scholars believe his view of occupations amounts to little more than learning basic job skills? or, did making effective use of occupations as a focus of study begin as, and remain, the cornerstone of dewey‘s educational philosophy? i will examine dewy‘s ideas on occupations as activities in his discussions of art, literature, geography, history, science and what he described as the savage mind. i believe that examining john dewey‘s broad-based concept of occupations is vital in order to determine how and why his philosophical treatment of occupations can be used as an insightful educational tool to compel thinking and create interest in learning in virtually all disciplines. my purpose will be to make sense of the rationale behind dewey‘s study 16 of occupations concept—that is, the importance that knowledge of occupations plays in our understanding of mankind and as a useful concept for curriculum building in schools. occupations as an issues based concept dewey returned time and again to occupations in writings such as my pedagogic creed, the school and society, child and curriculum, interpretation of savage mind, how we think, and democracy in education to support his ideas for educating students in any community. however, dewey launched his innovative views of occupations as early as 1894 with the start of his experimental laboratory school, prior to penning his own pedagogic creed in 1897. dewey initiated his focus on occupations as a study in curriculum development. records for the dewey school at the university of chicago indicate lessons in such endeavors as blacksmithing and gardening. however, it could be considered a folly for scholars to take only a cursory look at the dewey school subjects and subject matter. morgan and shermis (1970) took the position that the ideas expounded in several dewey books, such as school and society, how we think, and democracy and education, ―were formulated as dewey, his wife and a staff of creative teachers originated and tested ideas about curriculum, administration, method and learning theory‖ (p. 65). other scholars appear to easily draw a reference to the societal environment in the late 1800s and early 1900s. during this time, under pressure from rapidly growing industrialization, both the types of jobs and job skills requirements increasingly demanded specific vocational training. some scholars, such as jenness (1990) and saxe (1991), have concluded that dewey supported social efficiency views related to the demand for vocational education during that era and have transitioned this into the suggestion that the use of occupations in the dewey school was akin to vocational training. in his chapter on school reform, martin (1991) succinctly noted that he believed dewey‘s opposition to a reform movement to separate curriculum and create vocational schools was based on his concern that such a change could result in reinforcing a class system. morgan and shermis (1970) point out that dewey‘s educational philosophy was honed during ten years of experimenting with curriculum at the university of chicago laboratory school. these authors suggest that dewey‘s theory was to unite a liberal academic education with an injection of vocational curricula. further, they indicated that dewey did not regard vocational curriculum in the traditional narrow definition of technical training as preparation to work. instead, they insightfully state: through the serious study of vocations, one might undergo considerable intellectual growth. what is needed to understand a vocation is, in fact, an infinitely expandable series of principles and generalizations. for instance, the sewing of a button is not simply a selfterminating activity: it suggests a study of cotton and woolen fibers, and this in turn suggests a variety of studies, such as physics, geography and history‖ (p. 72). reflecting on their judicious use of the phasing ―serious study of vocations,‖ leads to delving deeper into dewey‘s ideas and thinking and opens the door to investigating and discovering dewey‘s path and purpose in developing his philosophy on occupations. 17 occupations and dewey’s creed my pedagogic creed (1897) represents dewey‘s eloquent expression of his own pedagogy refined and distilled into a reflective writing. dewey‘s creed consists of five articles of belief. the articles identify (a) what he believed education is and what education represents, (b) what schools are or should be, (c) what subjects to teach and what activities to teach, (d) methodology for education is described in four detailed belief statements, and, (e) in the final and fifth article dewey outlined his belief and rationale that education is the foundation that provides for the continuation of social progress and the initiation of societal reforms. dewey‘s creed was thoughtfully developed over years of gathering philosophical insights and gaining understanding of social and psychological needs of society and individuals. throughout the subsequent years, he remained steadfast to the tenets of his own pedagogic creed. the tone and tenor of dewey‘s creed that was written entirely as ―i believe‖ statements evidences his commitment to these beliefs. among many aspects of his educational philosophy, dewey‘s creed contains the basis for his belief in the value and importance of the study of occupations. in article 2, dewey stated: ―i believe that education, therefore, is a process of living and not a preparation for future living‖ (p. 78). immediately following this belief, dewey expressed: ―i believe that the school must represent present life – life as real and vital to the child as that which he carries on in the home, in the neighborhood, or on the play-ground‖ (p. 78). then, in article 3, dewey focused on the type and nature of subject matter for education as a key to training or growth. his beliefs are specifically unified in this singular statement: ―i believe, therefore, that the true center of correlation on the school subjects is not science, nor literature, nor history, nor geography, but the child‘s own social activities‖ (p. 79). this particular belief introduced dewey‘s concepts on ―social activities‖ which in deweyan terms became synonymous in many ways with ―occupations‖ in subsequent writings. it is important to note dewey‘s emphasis on the aspect of ―true center‖ for what are considered traditional school subjects. this idea is further developed in a subsequent article 3 belief statement that expressed there is one method, and only one, to raise or increase a student‘s knowledge of how his own society progressed which ―is to enable him to perform those fundamental types of activity which makes civilization what it is‖ (p. 79). dewey (1897) reiterated in article 3 that the basis of correlation or knowledge is ―expressive or constructive activities‖ (p. 79). further, he stated his belief that this idea established a standard that activities such as sewing, cooking, and gardening should be part of the curriculum. however, this author cautions readers to not stop here and leap to the traditional vocational training conclusion of some scholars. the very next belief statement solidified dewey‘s theory that the study of occupations is groundwork for the study of academic subjects. dewey affirmed: i believe that they are not special studies which are to be introduced over and above a lot of others in the way of relaxation or relief, or as additional accomplishments. i believe rather that they represent, as types, fundamental forms of social activity; and that it is possible and desirable that the child‘s introduction into the more formal subjects of the curriculum be through the medium of these activities (p. 79). 18 dewey‘s creed provided the foundation for his ideas of ―activities‖ or ―social activities‖ as ―occupations.‖ in several places in article 3, his creed also expressed his concepts about ―experience,‖ ―experiences,‖ ―previous experiences,‖ or ―developing a new interest in experience‖ (pp. 78-79) and his rationale for how this played into the nature of education and his ideas on studying occupations. window into the laboratory school by the time the school and society was published in 1899, dewey‘s laboratory school had been operating for several years. in school and society (1899) dewey equated common needs and aims with common and productive activity. this led dewey into a comparison of social organization on the playground with the classroom community. he noted: ―there is something to do, some activity to be carried on, requiring natural divisions of labor, selection of leaders and followers, mutual co-operation and emulation‖ (p. 12). as a result, dewey believed that occupations or activities should be made the ―articulating centers of school life‖ (p. 12). in his view the type of motive, spirit, and atmosphere that existed in ―a busy kitchen in which a group of children are actively engaged in the preparation of food‖ exhibiting ―buoyant outgoing energy‖ and psychological ―change in social attitude‖ (p. 12) was a contrast to the schools of dewey‘s present day. specifically, dewey believed that the ―weakness of the present school‖ (p. 12) was the lack of his definition of activity or activities and his concept of using activities to teach students. related to this idea, dewey also discussed the importance of understanding that in the society prior to industrialization, children learned skills at home which were not necessarily just farm or ranch home skills, but also such skills as weaving, spinning wool, candle making, etc. every family member participated in these types of activities. children learned that the entire process for goods and services took place in their town, their community. as children grew and gained more knowledge, their participation in processes increased. in the background, according to dewey, there was ―continual training of observation, of ingenuity, constructive imagination, of logical thought, and of the sense of reality acquired through first-hand contact with actualities‖ (p. 8). dewey reinforced his belief in this concept after cautioning that undirected activity or activities to keep busy or to occupy time inherently had a bustle or hurriedness atmosphere, which in his mind was not an effective teaching aspect. therefore, dewey in a direct manner stated: but out of the occupation, out of doing things that are to produce results, and out of doing these in a social and cooperative way, there is born a discipline of its own and type….in critical moments we all realize that the only discipline that stands by us, the only training that becomes intuition, is that got through life itself (p. 14). expanding this view, dewey returned to his theme that individuals learn from the writings and books of others more comprehensively if they were related to experience. thus, dewey believed that one ―learns through directed living‖ not through ―abstract and remote reference of some possible living to be done in the future‖ (p. 15). later on in 1910, dewey entered into a protracted, in-depth discussion of abstract thinking and its positive functionality for individuals in education. this was an integral part of his ideas about how we think (1910). 19 to implement his concept of occupations, a key question for dewey was ―how shall we…introduce into the school…occupations which exact personal responsibilities and which train the child in relation to the physical realities of life?‖ (p. 9). subsequently, dewey provided a rationale and an answer by stating his belief that occupations such as metal work and woodworking, as well as cooking, weaving, and sewing should not be viewed as distinct studies. instead these occupations represented methods of living and learning. he expanded his discussion by adding ―we must conceive of them in their social significance, as types of the processes by which society keeps itself going, as agencies for bringing home to the child some of the primal necessities of community life, and as ways in which these needs have been met by the growing insight and ingenuity of man‖ (p. 11). in many of his writings, dewey incorporated geography into the discussion. in school and society (1899) he expressed that ―the unity of all sciences is found in geography‖ (p. 16). for dewey, geography was significant in that it presented the earth to students as the ―enduring home of the occupations of man‖ (p. 16). he related the world directly to human activity. the earth was the raw material for all activity, which dewey identified as ―the great field…great mine…great source of the energies of heat, light…great scene of ocean, stream, mountain‖ (p. 16). within these elements of earth, dewey placed ―all our agriculture and mining and lumbering, all our manufacturing and distributing agencies‖ (p. 16). thus, for dewey geography was not places on the globe. instead the environments of the geographical world determined the occupations by which humanity progressed historically both socially and politically. these occupations, according to dewey, also developed the ―intellectual and emotional interpretation of nature‖ (p. 17). dewey concluded that these various occupations as presented in the school would not have a practical orientation, nor represent ordinary employment. instead, by using geography and its related occupations as a basis, schools became ―active centers of scientific insight into natural materials and processes, points of departure whence children shall be led out into a realization of the historic development of man‖ (p. 17). dewey maintained that ―the child has not much instinct for abstract inquiry‖ (p. 43). he believed that the child‘s natural impulse to be active led to investigating instinctively. he pointed out ―there is no distinction between experimental science for little children and the work done in the carpenter shop. such work as they can do in physics or chemistry is not for the purpose of making technical generalizations or even arriving at abstract truths‖ (p. 43). at the same time, dewey clearly believed that children could acquire a certain amount of reasoning power through learning mathematics and science, but this could be considered more remote learning compared with the concentration of attention and judgment growth stemming from doing actual things that involved real motives and real outcomes. dewey pointed out that occupations as applied in a school enjoy a freedom from, in the alternative, of simply being viewed as a way to earn a living. that is, even the creation of a work product in the classroom through various work functions can allow students to valuably focus on a number of ways to understand society and its social processes—rather than simply viewing work as the creation of a product that has value in the marketplace. in writing about the value of understanding the way occupations work in society, he explained that ―the aim is not the economic value of the products, but the 20 development of social power and insight‖ (p. 16). this freedom or openness created the avenue for the practical activities to become allies to the school subjects of art and geography and to act as ―centers of science and history‖ (p. 16). throughout his discussion of the connecting relationships of ―school and society,‖ dewey encouraged society to break out of its current, narrow, practical focus. education should be viewed and developed as an ―end and aim in a less exclusive way‖ (p. 26). dewey advocated that schools introduce ―active occupations, of nature-study, of elementary science, of art, of history‖ (p. 27) while also relegating what he considered symbolic and formal teaching to a ―secondary position‖ and changing the school atmosphere. that is, dewey promoted bringing into the classroom ―activities which appeal to those whose dominant interest is to do and to make‖ (p. 26) and the result should find students regarding school as ―more vital, more prolonged, containing more of culture‖ (p. 26). if this modification—broadening the focus of education to reflect the significance of occupations—were adopted, then to do so ―means to make each one of our schools an embryonic community life, active with types of occupations that reflect the life of the larger society and permeated throughout with the spirit of art, history, and science‖ (p. 27). another window into the laboratory school it is likely that dewey‘s laboratory school experiences and experimental practical application of educational theory were actively reflected in the child and curriculum, which was first published as a pamphlet and copyrighted in 1902. here, dewey‘s philosophical discussion involved the debate between advocates of teaching the child versus teaching the subject. he intensely detailed both sides concluding that the debate should cease and desist. instead he reformatted the opposing sides into his definition and idea of teaching through experience. his views on the curriculum in place at that time concluded that ―the subject-matter does not appeal; it cannot appeal; it lacks origin and bearing in a growing experience‖ (p. 37). dewey believed the child needed to be connected to reality symbols, not formally developed symbols. he explained that teaching should provide genuine forms or symbols to ―serve as methods in the holding and discovery of truth‖ (p. 31). thus, actual experiences which the child had previously gone through provided the path to learning. dewey stated that ―a symbol which is induced from without, which has not been led up to in preliminary activities, is, as we say, a bare or mere symbol; it is dead and barren‖ (p. 32). he proceeded to connect activity or activities with his idea of teaching through experience. in child and curriculum dewey also issued his caution regarding what he considered the teaching fallacy of ―the recourse to adventitious leverage to push it in, to factitious drill to drive it in, to artificial bribe to lure it in‖ (p. 35). in dewey‘s view, this methodology was unpleasant, because meaningless, activities may get agreeable if long enough persisted in. it is possible for the mind to develop interest in a routine or mechanical procedure, if conditions are continually supplied which demand that mode of operation and preclude any other sort (pp. 35-36). suffice to say that dewey strongly advocated that curriculum should emulate real life experiences and activities, what he more frequently described as occupations, of everyday life. according to dewey, learning occurred in doing, not in repeating facts and figures. 21 kliebard (2004) observed that dewey first detailed his central principle that ―disciplines of knowledge, whatever their lofty status, had their origins in basic human activity‖ (p. 198) in child and curriculum. a view of “savage mind” what can be gleaned out of dewey‘s perhaps most uniquely titled writing, ―interpretation of savage mind‖ that can shed light on his concept of occupations? i suggest that the focus of this article is principally about humankind, understanding mankind, and is linked directly to occupations of man theoretically in any society. ―interpretation of savage mind‖ was published in 1902 when dewey‘s involvement in the laboratory school was still in play. various interpretations of dewey‘s ―interpretation‖ surfaced—even as soon as that early 20 th century year. m.s. macdonald wrote a critique of dewey‘s ―interpretation of savage mind‖ in the september 5, 1902, issue of the philosophical review in which macdonald presented an analysis that was consistent with kliebard‘s (2004) conclusion almost 100 years later. macdonald (1902) wrote: the abuse of the comparative method, which has resulted in the neglect of the mental structure of the savage by genetic psychology, is due to the lack of a proper method of interpretation….we must recognize that mind has a pattern, or schema of arrangement in its constituent parts….the group of occupational activities affords the schema or pattern of the structural organization of mental traits (pp. 529530). i suggest that dewey‘s (1902) extended savage mind discussion represented his philosophical view of mankind relative to the education of mankind and the individuals that comprise any society. that is, dewey‘s view was that his concept of occupations supported a way of organizing mental traits and related activities that provided a broad scoped understanding of the social nature of humankind. as kliebard (2004) pointed out the ―savage mind‖ article addressed complex ideas in a classic dewey innovative manner. what seems to be lost in some accounts of ―savage mind‖ is dewey‘s overarching focus on occupations of mankind as a whole, not as historical epics or cultural stages of ―primitive‖ or ―savage‖ people. for instance, in a discussion on the dewey school, fallace (2011) adopted the position that ―instead of viewing children and savages as inchoate and lacking, they should be approached on their own terms, as prior, necessary steps toward the civilized mind‖ (p. 56). however, according to kliebard (2006), dewey ultimately rejected historical epochs as a curriculum tool to connect the experiences of the human race and the involved knowledge disciplines to students‘ learning experiences. thus, dewey‘s ―savage mind‖ discussion was not about a cultural stage. kliebard (2006) believes ―dewey substituted a reconstruction of the evolution of organized knowledge for the recapitulation of human history…‖ (p. 124), and, that dewey interjected his particular concept of occupations into the curriculum. kliebard (2004) in his analysis of this article concluded that ―perhaps the fullest explanation of the importance that he [dewey] attached to the notion of occupations is found in one of his brilliant essays, ‗interpretation of the savage mind,‘ a work written during the period of the dewey school, but not on any pedagogical topic‖ (p. 60). why does dewey‘s ―savage mind‖ involve occupations? i argue that occupations or activities are a core concept for dewey. i believe 22 that this dewey article did not support ideas of man evolving throughout hierarchical levels. instead, dewey essentially designed an educational format in order to meet the present needs and interests of students as well as to enhance their readiness to deal with real life problems though the inherited cultural capital of all mankind. dewey presented an approach that drew upon the experiences or occupations of all people, including what he called primitive and savage people, as teaching and learning tools to live more enriched lives. according to kliebard (2004), the reason was that dewey believed the central problem for educational theory would be resolved by providing occupations as ―the bridge that would harmonize individual social ends‖ (p. 61). this explains dewey‘s overriding interest in using occupations as a platform from which to gain an understanding of all mankind. studying occupations, or the methods of activities, of individuals as a societal group, represents dewey‘s foundational cornerstone for education. in ―savage mind‖ dewey (1902) stated: ―so fundamental and pervasive is the group of occupational activities that it affords the scheme or pattern of structural organization of mental traits. occupations integrate special elements into a functioning whole‖ (p. 220). dewey was occupied with ―occupations‖ during the tenure of his laboratory school and throughout his writings. kliebard (2006) cautions scholars that dewey‘s concept of occupations ―is a deceptively complex idea and, from dewey‘s treatment of it in democracy and education alone, it may be difficult to apprehend just how it is supposed to function in his theory of curriculum‖ (p. 114). dewey’s view of how people think many, if not all, of dewey‘s philosophical educational writings up until 1916 resulted in the educational concepts extensively defined in his acclaimed democracy and education (1916). his eloquently thoughtful publication how we think was one of several important building blocks or precursors to the all encompassing democracy and education book. in his discussion of how we think, dewey entered into his view of abstract versus concrete thinking. the former, abstract thinking fell into the theoretical arena. in turning to the latter, concrete thinking, dewey noted that concrete thinking applied to activities that needed to handle situations or problems in a practical method. for dewey, concrete thinking required ―doing.‖ in particular, dewey encouraged teachers to ―make much in occupations that are not of a routine and mechanical kind and hence require intelligent selection and adaptation of means and materials‖ (p. 139). so after several reflective chapters on how mankind thinks, dewey reached again for his study of occupations concept. more specifically, dewey‘s view of concrete thinking wrapped in his occupations and activities theory because it involved ―the use of natural materials, tools, modes of energy‖ and he directed that teachers ―do it in a way that compels thinking as to what they mean, how they are related to one another and to the realization of ends; while the mere isolated presentation of things remains barren and dead‖ (p. 140). occupations in democracy and education in democracy and education (1916), dewey purposefully stepped back into his ―savage mind‖ discussion of occupations. he defined life under a broad scoped description of life experiences, meaning both individual and societal. he explained that examining life entailed looking at society historically, early and in its current surroundings, as well as ―the conditions and occupations of the family‖ (p. 2). 23 dewey then stated that similarly ―we speak of the life of a savage tribe, of the athenian people, of the american nation. ‗life‘ covers customs, institutions, beliefs, victories and defeats, recreations and occupations‖ (p. 2). kliebard (2004) noted that democracy and education was published at the pinnacle of industrialized society‘s emphasis on ―direct trade training‖ (p. 125). therefore, consistent with his previous writings, dewey restated his own definitions for vocation and occupation in an effort to end confusion regarding vocational training as defined by society versus occupation as conceptualized in his view. dewey‘s goal was to clarify and crystallize his concept of the study of occupations versus the vocational training advocated by the social efficiency proponents of the 1916 era. he believed that until society and educators, or more specifically teachers, understood his theory of occupations, they would be unable to recognize the dichotomy of the two educational approaches and the vast difference in dewey‘s motivation and rationale for using occupations and activities in teaching. the chapter titled ―play and work in the curriculum‖ represents dewey‘s synthesis of previous writings on the study of occupations. however, kliebard (2006) indicated that dewey was not sufficiently clear and articulate in order to preclude and prevent misperceptions regarding his theory of occupations. similarly, defalco (2010) noted ―much of what has been written about dewey‘s occupations and vocational education is confusing‖ (p. 83). this notion is in line with kliebard‘s (2006) observation that ―vocational education…appealed to the longstanding belief…that schooling exists primarily, almost exclusively, to get jobs‖ (p. 126). in kliebard‘s view dewey devoted one entire chapter in democracy and education to a serious critique of that assumption. therefore, kliebard indicates that dewey ―found himself swimming against the tide of prevailing american public opinion‖ (p. 126). dewey (1916) extensively addressed ―the vocational aspects of education‖ in the chapter under this title. as in previous writings, dewey considered ―the varied and connected content of the vocation and the broad background upon which a particular calling is projected‖ (p. 360). however, he believed that ―an occupation is the only thing which balances the distinctive capacity of an individual with his social service‖ (p. 360). here lies dewey‘s line of demarcation from the vocational training advocates of the era. dewey‘s view was much like krug‘s (1964) suggestion that two recognized understandings of society‘s social efficiency ideas were in place during this era—that is, education for social control and education for social service. krug suggested that the social reforms of that day involved both. i believe this represents dewey‘s position on social efficiency in the 1916 era, and, therefore, leads to an understanding of dewey‘s study of occupations versus vocational training or education therefore in democracy and education, dewey (1916) argued that ―an occupation is a continuous activity having a purpose‖ (p. 361). the value provided to education through the study of occupations is that ―it combines within itself more of the factors conducive to learning than any other method‖ (p. 361), such as calling habits and instinct into play and reaching an end or result. therefore, dewey concluded that the study of occupations ―appeals to thought‖ and, even more important, that ―it demands that an idea of an end be steadily maintained, so that activity cannot be either routine or capricious‖ (p. 361). dewey believed that the study of occupations was the vehicle to meet students‘ interests as well as present needs of growth only 24 if occupation study was ―pursued under conditions where the realization of the activity rather than merely the external product is the aim‖ (p. 362). thus, pursuant to dewey‘s philosophy of education, ―the only adequate training for occupations is training through occupations‖ (p. 362). dewey advised ―that all the earlier preparation for vocations be indirect rather than direct; namely, through engaging in those active occupations which are indicated by the needs and interests of the pupil at the time‖ (p. 363). i believe this view of occupations represented the classic deweyan principle of meeting pupils‘ immediate interest and needs. conclusion john dewey‘s focus on the study of occupations has frequently been misinterpreted and sometimes maligned by scholars. contrary to some views, dewey‘s laboratory school was not merely all play and did not teach routine work. occupations, not jobs, and genuine activities such as art represent john dewey‘s cornerstone theory for educating all humankind, all individuals. various scholarly interpreters apparently become entrapped in semantics and miss the intent and rationale behind dewey‘s thinking. it is important to sort through the plethora of scholarly views on dewey. it is also important to recognize that dewey‘s elaborate writing technique is often not direct and straightforward. i believe that this close examination of his theory of occupations in dewey‘s my pedagogic creed, the school and society, child and curriculum, interpretation of savage mind, how we think, and democracy and education illustrates that dewey‘s use of occupations reinforced a consistent educational philosophy. that is, the importance that knowledge of mankind as gained through his concept of occupations plays in our understanding of humanity and the social nature of all societies. using the study of occupations as a platform from which to consider the social nature of humankind has the potential to create an active, issuescentered approach for teaching and learning in education. dewey‘s uniquely stylized theory of occupations serves as a timeless foundation on which to build curriculum that still has significant relevance in the 21 st century. references defalco, a. (2010). an analysis of john dewey‘s notion of occupations: still pedagogically valuable?. education and culture, 26(1), 82-99. dewey, j. (1897). my pedagogic creed. school journal, 54, 77-80. dewey, j. (1899). the school and society. chicago: university of chicago press. dewey, j. (1902a). the child and the curriculum. chicago, university of chicago press. dewey, j. (1902b). interpretation of savage mind. psychological review, 9, 217-230. dewey, j. (1910). how we think. lexington, ma: d.c. heath. dewey, j. (1916). democracy and education: an introduction to the philosophy of education. new york: mcmillan. fallace, t.d. (2011). dewey and the dilemma of race: an intellectual history 1895-1922. new york: teachers college press. jenness, d. (1990). making sense of social studies. new york, ny: macmillan. jorgensen, c. g. (2010). unraveling conflicting interpretations: a reexamination of the 1916 report on social studies. published doctoral dissertation, utah state university, logan. kliebard, h. (2004). the struggle for the american curriculum: 1893-1958 (3 rd ed). new york: routledgefalmer. 25 kliebard, h.m. (2006). dewey‘s reconstruction of the curriculum: from occupations to disciplined knowledge. in d. t. hansen (ed.), john dewey and our educational prospect: a critical engagement with dewey’s democracy and education. albany: state university of new york. krug, e.a. (1964). the shaping of the american high school 1880-1920. madison: university of wisconsin press. macdonald, m.s. (1902). summary of interpretation of savage mind. the philosophical review, 11(5), 529-530. martin, d. t. (1991). the political economy of school reform in the united states. in m. b. ginsburg (ed.), understanding educational reform in global context: economy, ideology, and the state. london: routledge. morgan, j. & shermis, s. (1970). origin, theory and practice: dewey‘s early philosophy. midcontinent american studies journal, 11-1, 65-79. saxe, d.w. (1991). social studies in schools: a history of the early years. albany: state university of new york press. westbrook, r. b. (1993). john dewey (18951952). prospects: the quarterly review of comparative education, xxiii, 277-291. the cold war pursuit of inquiry learning: the cold war pursuit of inquiry learning: a search for origins ronald evans san diego state university the purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the curriculum reform movement from the era of the new social studies during the 1960s as a case study in curricular change and to place the era in historical context. the presentation is drawn from a forthcoming book manuscript that includes discussion of the origins of the new social studies; the theoretical foundations for the new reforms; the projects; the outcomes; critiques made at the time; the aftermath—academic freedom controversies; and, the limited impact of the reforms in schools. the manuscript will be published in two volumes: the hope for american school reform: the cold war pursuit of inquiry learning, and the tragedy of american school reform: how curriculum politics and entrenched dilemmas have diverted us from democracy (evans 2011). this article draws from the first book, and will focus mainly on trying to understand the origins of the new social studies. origins the new social studies came to fruition during the 1960s, but was, in most ways, a product of the 1950s and the cold war struggle against communism. it was born of cold war manpower development concerns and as a carryover from developments in science and mathematics. largely discipline-centered, the social studies projects of the era, which received unprecedented federal and private financial support, were a direct outgrowth of the criticism of progressive education and of progressive social studies that had been brewing for decades. in a very real sense, this was an extension of the war on social studies and a culmination of decades of criticism. the war on social studies. in a recent book, ronald evans develops the argument that controversies and criticism over the social studies curriculum developed in a sequential pattern, with the controversy becoming broader and more damaging to progressive social studies as the years went on. criticism of progressive social studies emerged and intensified in three major episodes which preceded the era of the new social studies, the rugg textbook controversy which spanned 1939-1942, the controversy over american history, 1942-1944, and the controversy over progressive education, 1947-1958. as evans has argued previously, these three controversies were instrumental in the eventual evolution of the era of the new social studies, and were a strong reflection of the historical context (evans 2004). the rugg textbook controversy developed in the early years of the second world war. stirred in part by war related fears and the activism of conservative business and patriotic groups, attacks on the rugg textbooks led to their elimination from schools, and to a broader questioning of progressive forms of social studies education, especially those which raised questions about the capitalist economic system. attacks on rugg and his textbook series embodied questions about content and interpretations that critics considered controversial, and concerns over the replacement of traditional discipline based, history and social science coursework with a broader form called social studies (evans 2007). that questioning of the ―omnibus‖ social studies led to the controversy over american history initiated by a new york times magazine article written by pulitzer prize winning historian allan nevins which charged that the schools were no longer teaching american history. these wartime controversies combined to stir the passions of educational critics of various stripes, but especially those who wanted a stronger focus on the disciplines and a traditional view of the american way. in the postwar era, the controversy would spread to encompass all of progressive education. 24 the cold war critiques of progressive education. in the late 1940s and early 50s, a growing crescendo of criticisms of progressive education emerged—with many of the most negative observations focused on social studies—packaged and marketed under colorful titles such as: educational wastelands (bestor 1953), quackery in the public schools (lynd 1953), progressive education is reducation (jones & olivier 1956), and "who own's your child's mind?" (flynn 1951). arthur bestor, perhaps the most respected critic, called social studies an anti-intellectual "social stew" (bestor 1953). bestor and others critiqued the "scrambling" of history, geography, and government into the social studies; they bemoaned the "anti-intellectualism" of educators who they derisively called "educationists"; and, they frequently linked progressive education to communism, all critiques which had been raised during the rugg and nevins controversies, only this time, the deluge of attacks was longer and more intense. educators responded with articles and books countering the charges—though it was a relatively muted response, reflecting the times. the new social studies was, in part, a solution to the problems with education highlighted by bestor and other critics. the social mileu of the cold war era is especially pertinent to a deeper understanding of the origins of the new social studies. with the dropping of atomic bombs on japan, and the subsequent development of the nuclear arms race, the world had entered the nuclear age, and the threat of global holocaust was very real. competition with the soviet union, growing national security concerns, the development of mccarthyism, and the deluge of intellectual and red-baiting attacks on progressive education were all conditioned by this context. manpower concerns the impetus for the broader curriculum reform movement which gave rise to the new social studies also grew, in part, out of cold war manpower studies conducted by the central intelligence agency. manpower concerns were raised beginning in the late 1940s and early 1950s and were partly behind creation of the national science foundation (nsf) in 1950. the nsf, established by congress in 1950 with the aim of promoting basic research and education in the sciences, initially had little to do with the lower schools, though it did begin to sponsor science fairs and summer institutes for teachers in science and math. manpower concerns were heightened by a series of confidential cia reports on developments in the soviet union. the first of these reports provided evidence that the soviets were training scientists, engineers, and technical manpower at a rapid rate, and employing the ―stakhanov‖ movement, or ―socialist competition‖ to spur productivity gains. they were giving monetary awards for innovation and ―stalin prizes‖ and ―hero of socialist labor‖ awards. in short, the report showed that the soviet union was an awakening industrial giant (nis 1953). a later report confirmed the earlier findings and indicated that the soviets were devoting ―large sums to education, especially in the fields of science and engineering,‖ and that in many fields, ―soviet technology equals or even exceeds that of the west‖ (nis 1958, 13, 15). by 1963, a ―secret‖ report found that soviet productivity was ―second only to the u.s.‖ and that the soviets had made especially rapid progress in ―development of engineering and other professional and technical manpower,‖ with a 237% increase in engineers from 1939 to 1959 (nis 1963, 1, 4). among u. s. policymakers, the cia manpower reports were cause for alarm at the highest levels and led to a manpower report from the office of defense mobilization (odm) commissioned by president dwight d. eisenhower (eisenhower 1953). the odm study reported on the ―availability of manpower simultaneously to operate a military training program, to supply military personnel for active service, and to meet the needs of the civilian economy.‖ in essence, civilian scientific and technical manpower was viewed as an adjunct to military power and as an essential part of national security (fleming 1954). the report stated that 25 manpower resources, especially ―our supply of highly trained and skilled workers‖ was not keeping abreast of the current and potential requirements of the rapidly expanding technology‖ on which the nation‘s ―growth and security depend.‖ the authors of the report cast manpower as a key ingredient for ―success on the diplomatic front‖ (committee on manpower 1953, 1). by the fall of 1954 national security and manpower concerns had become the subject of alarming media coverage. an interview with national science foundation (nsf) director alan t. waterman published in nation’s business, organ of the u.s. chamber of commerce, was titled, ―russian science threatens the west,‖ and a new york times article reported, ―russia is overtaking u. s. in training of technicians‖ (nation‘s business 1954; fine 1954). manpower concerns continued to loom large throughout the cold war era and stood behind government and business led efforts to develop more scientific and technical personnel, and better trained citizens. curriculum reform. the curriculum reform movement which would eventually result in creation of the new social studies also had its seeds in two projects which began, almost unnoticed, at two universities in the 1950s. the university of illinois committee on school mathematics (uicsm) was formed in 1951 out of concerns over the math deficiencies of entering freshmen at the university of illinois. based on similar concerns in science, jerrold zacharias at the massachusetts institute of technology wrote a memo in 1956 to james killian, mit president, titled, ―movie aids for teaching physics in high school,‖ in which he proposed a project for the improvement of physics teaching by creating 90 twenty minute films as the heart of the curriculum, each with a ―real physicist‖ (zacharias 1956). zacharias‘ memorandum led to the creation of what was called the physical science study committee (pssc) which received nsf funding. in each case, the rationale for the development of the curriculum improvement projects was rooted in manpower concerns which surfaced earlier, and which continued to be aired, in one form or another, throughout the period. these early curriculum development programs established initial patterns for the funding of national curriculum development projects that would largely continue for the next fifteen to twenty years. one pattern, represented by the university of illinois committee, was initial funding by private foundations (often carnegie or ford) followed by support from the nsf or the u. s. office of education (usoe). a second pattern, represented by the mit committee, was long-term funding by the nsf or usoe from start-up to publication. by 1956, six national projects were established and funded in science and math, five of which aimed at curriculum reform. by this time, it was apparent that several broad assumptions or guidelines were shared by virtually all of these endeavors, and included: the need to change the content, materials, and methods of instruction; a focus on the textbook or learning materials; directors of projects drawn from the academic disciplines; a focus on courses for the academically talented and gifted because it was seen as more critical to the national interest; overriding concern about the integrity of the academic disciplines and their ―structures;‖ learning by discovery and inquiry; and a focus on the cognitive over affective, personal, or social action dimensions (haas 1977). another shared assumption, if the problem with schools was the shoddy stuff they taught, the solution was to bypass the teacher by creating new and innovative materials under the direction of some of the leading minds in each discipline. wartime research model virtually all of the later curriculum development projects involved an application of the same innovative model of research and development embodied in the initial projects. reformers, most of whom had little previous experience with educational reform efforts, imported methods of research and development from military research programs to the field of education. in effect, the projects owed much of 26 their form to the military-industrial research complex as it evolved during and after world war ii. the reforms of the era were ―designed and implemented by a small cadre of scientists,‖ led by jerrold zacharias of mit, who transferred techniques ―almost seamlessly‖ from military weapons research and development programs of the postwar period to the field of education. though the push for a more rigorous and academic education originated in critiques of progressivism and cold war manpower concerns, the trend was enhanced and given its ―fundamental operational characteristics,‖ along with its conception of the essential ―problem of education, and the means of its solution,‖ by the newer research and development techniques drawn from wartime weapons research. the particular ―intellectual skills and technical methods‖ involved had proven their worth during world war ii (rudolph, 2002). in the eyes of scientists and policy makers during the cold war era, there seemed no limit to the power of these techniques to solve virtually any problem. influenced by the growing power and influence of the united states, curriculum reformers seemed to embrace a vision of omnipotence. partly due to its origins in wartime research and development, the reform strategy took little account of culture, history, mores, or social and economic context of the school. if its reform implementation strategies were flawed, an oversimplification that failed to understand the complexities of schools and teaching, few inside the growing reform juggernaut were aware of its limitations. indeed, through the myopic vantage point of those most involved, the educational possibilities seemed limitless, even ―revolutionary‖ (bruner 1983). sputnik and the ndea. the ideological turn behind passage of the national defense education act developed over many years of red-baiting and criticism of progressive education from academic critics. the stage was set, and the launching of sputnik, the soviet satellite, on october 4, 1957, affirmed the criticism and unleashed funds for educational reform. sputnik served as a clarion call for education in science and math, and other studies that would strengthen u. s. brainpower for the cold war. that call was answered by the national defense education act, passed in early 1958, providing unprecedented categorical aid in the hundreds of millions of dollars for the improvement of mathematics, science, and foreign language instruction. the ndea was supported by two main arguments: that national security required the ―fullest development of the mental resources and technical skills of american youth, and that the national interest required federal ―assistance to education for programs which are important to our national defense‖ (gutek 1986). following sputnik, national magazines and a new round of books stoked the fires of a renewed ―crisis‖ in education. critics such as vice admiral hyman g. rickover, father of the nuclear submarine, blamed the schools for our nation falling behind the russians in science, math, and engineering, endangering national security. in his criticisms of american education, published in a book titled, education and freedom, he called attention to soviet successes and described the superiority of the soviet and european educational systems (1959). another vociferous critic, e. merrill root, authored a critique of textbooks that exemplified the anticommunist tenor of the times and contributed to the crisis mentality. in brainwashing in the high schools, root sought to demonstrate that the united states was losing the cold war because of the un-patriotic textbooks filled with misleading propaganda for socialism and communism (1958). another book that appeared shortly after sputnik seemed to sum up many of the criticisms of education spawned by cold war fears and competition. second rate brains contained a compendium of thought on soviet schools and scientists, and offering critiques of the mediocrity in american schools (lansner 1958). the cumulative effect of these persistent and strident attacks on education supported new directions, and a renewed emphasis on discipline-based academic study. 27 a broadened agenda following sputnik, and passage of the ndea, the growth of research and development for curriculum improvement which began in the technical fields, in math and science, was gradually broadened to include the humanities and social sciences. two important meetings took place in april, 1958, six months after the launch of sputnik, and shortly after passage of the national defense education act, which would have an important influence on the direction of curriculum reform. the first of these was a conference on psychological research in education (easton conference) aimed at investigating better approaches to teaching science and math ―than are now being utilized‖ (proposed conference 1958). the second was a meeting held at the national academy of sciences at which virtually all of the major decision makers in funding the growing curriculum reform movement were present. at that meeting it was decided to broaden the pssc curriculum reform model to other science areas. that decision would open the door to curriculum reform in social studies. at the same meeting, it was agreed that the pssc would form a small corporation known as educational services incorporated or esi (whaley 1958). the furor and flurry of interest in education that followed sputnik provided an invaluable assist to those who wanted schools to raise academic standards and give more attention to gifted students. at the national science foundation, the ―crisis‖ in education and the intense interest following sputnik increased the foundation‘s role in secondary school reform. projects proliferated, made possible by increased funding from the nsf and the usoe following passage of the national defense education act in 1958, and inspired by sputnik. at the heart of the curriculum reform movement was jerrold zacharias. as jerome bruner later recalled, ―i think it was zach, more that anybody else, who converted the sputnik shock into the curriculum reform movement that it became rather than taking some other form‖ (bruner 1983, 180). gradually, the directors of funded projects became the new ―leadership‖ in american education. with the backing of the national government, these new reforms represented a sort of ―official‖ direction for the creation and transmission of knowledge in the nation‘s schools, one that was built around the academic disciplines and the cold war aim of manpower development, even if few of those involved seldom seemed to explicitly acknowledge it at the time. much later, bruner recalled, ―we envied the soviet selection system,‖ but that ―ran counter to our egalitarian traditions‖ (bruner, 2008). jerrold zacharias, chief architect of the reform, envisioned an almost total rethinking of education to an inquiry model, and a reform movement which would eventually spread across subject areas and to all levels. emergence the aim of the new social studies movement was to "transform... students into junior historians and social scientists.‖ the developments of the 1960s rested, in part, on a small, influential book, the process of education, written by jerome bruner, reporting on the proceedings of the woods hole conference. woods hole conference the woods hole conference, held in september, 1959, at woods hole, massachusetts, at a large mansion owned by mit, brought together leaders in the new reforms in science and math, and led to a concise and well crafted formulation of the principles of curriculum development shared in the new movement. among the 35 participants were luminaries such as conference director jerome bruner, richard alpert, lee cronbach, robert gagne, jerold zacharias, and john morton blum. key participants included the curriculum-makers, biologists, mathematicians, and physicists, along with a few psychologists, several educators, and a couple of historians and a classicist. the national academy of scientists, the institution behind putting the conference together, wanted to have a closer look at the curriculum reform movement, and infuse some new thinking from psychology. other sponsors of the conference included the 28 u.s.o.e. cooperative research program, the rand corporation, the air research and development command, and the national science foundation. from a larger perspective, the conference was fueled by the reaction to sputnik and the complaints of critics such as vice admiral rickover, and was funded by a range of federal agencies. in a sense, what was emerging was a manufactured consensus, paid for by stakeholders with an interest in education conducted on behalf of national security. in the process of education, bruner summarized his own ―sense of the meeting‖ based on the reports of five working groups formed at the conference. the conference took the ―structure of the disciplines‖ as its central theme and overriding assumption, and examined in some depth, ―the role of structure in learning and how it may be made central in teaching.‖ the conferees assumed the goal of ―giving students an understanding of the fundamental structure of whatever subjects we choose to teach,‖ and the ―teaching and learning of structure‖ rather than simply the ―mastery of facts and techniques‖ (bruner 1960, 2-3, 11-12). the second theme of the conference had to do with readiness for learning and ―the hypothesis that any subject can be taught effectively in some intellectually honest form to any child at any stage of development‖ (33). a third theme involved the nature of intuition and the training of hunches. ―the shrewd guess, the fertile hypothesis,‖ bruner asserted, ―is a muchneglected and essential feature of productive thinking… .‖ these three themes, bruner wrote, were all premised on a central conviction, ―that intellectual activity anywhere is the same, whether at the frontier of knowledge or in a thirdgrade classroom… the difference is in degree, not in kind‖ (13-14). a fourth theme centered on how to stimulate student motivation through interest in the material. the essence of the reform centered on finding means that would help the learner get through the ―surface clutter‖ of details ―to the pure, unflawed idea behind it: the deep structure‖ (bruner 1983, 181). that meant, in the case of history, for example, ―you don‘t just think about history, you think history.‖ in other words, history was not just a description of the past, but a way of getting to that description, a process. as bruner would frame it later, ―knowing how something is put together … allows you to go beyond it‖ (183). not all of these ideas were new. the concept of inquiry or discovery oriented teaching had been around at least since the days of the scientific historians in the 19 th century, and was increasingly championed by many progressive educators. motivation through student interest was also an old song. parts of the new curriculum movement were a recapitulation of common ideas in the rhetoric of education. the focus on the ―structures‖ of the disciplines was a reformulation, though what it actually meant in terms of classroom practice remained somewhat unclear. though there was little explicit acknowledgement of the cold war backdrop to which the conferees at woods hole owed their existence, bruner, a cold war liberal in politics, did refer somewhat obliquely to the social mileu. he wrote: ―…if all students are helped to the full utilization of their intellectual powers, we will have a better chance of surviving as a democracy in an age of enormous technological and social complexity‖ (1960, 10). a part of that ―complexity‖ was no doubt entangled in the cold war struggle with totalitarian communism in the minds of bruner and his colleagues. in his role as director, during the conference bruner wrote memos to each of five working groups on: the apparatus of teaching; the sequence of the curriculum; the motivation of learning; the role of intuition; and, cognitive processes. one of the most telling comments was contained in bruner‘s memo to the work group on the apparatus of teaching. ―perhaps rather unfortunately,‖ the memo began, ―we introduced this subject for discussion today by suggesting the analogy to a weapon system – proposing that the teacher, the book, the laboratory, the teaching machine, the film, and the organization of the craft might serve together to form a balanced teaching system‖ (bruner 1959). it was a 29 revealing comment. it alluded to the cold war backdrop, through which the entire program of curriculum reform might be seen as both a weapons system and an outgrowth of national security concerns, and it made an implicit connection to the earlier involvement of bruner and zacharias in the development of weapons systems. bruner‘s initial direct involvement with the wartime research model apparently came with his work on project troy, a highly classified summer study invited by the state department and ostensibly created to find a way to overcome soviet jamming of radio free europe, but with the broader aim of getting ―the truth behind the iron curtain‖ by bringing together some of the ―best brains in the country‖ to work on the problem and to counter the soviet propaganda program (needell 1998). zacharias was also deeply involved in similar wartime government projects and had been for some time, with key leadership roles in the mit radiation lab and the manhattan project, as a consultant on project troy, and notably, as director of project hartwell, focused initially on anti-submarine warfare and completed at mit in 1950 with funding from the office of navy research (goldstein 1992). these involvements provided a model and many of the personnel for what would become largescale consultancies involving scientists, social scientists, the u. s. military, intelligence, and propaganda agencies. the model was later applied to social studies education as an arm of the propaganda effort, i.e. improve manpower development on a broad scale, improve social science instruction, and win the cold war, assuming, of course, that students gain strong inquiry skills and reach the proper conclusions. in the case of bruner, participation in project troy was ―a rather heady experience‖ and led to a regular monthly dinner meeting at the st. botolph‘s club in boston the first friday evening of each month for the next 15 years‖ which he later described as ―the best club i ever belonged to‖ (bruner 1983, 210). following woods hole, other theorists added to the mix, creating building blocks for the new reform and fleshing out the rationale. the era of the new social studies was introduced most clearly when an article by charles r. keller, director of the john hay fellows program, and a former college history teacher, appeared in the saturday review. keller‘s article was titled, "needed: revolution in social studies,‖ and appeared in 1961. his thesis was that social studies was ―in the educational doldrums,‖ partly traceable to the fact that ―social studies‖ was a ―federation of subjects …, often merged in inexact and confusing ways.‖ (keller 1961, 60). social studies teachers too frequently ―depend on textbooks,‖ leading to ―unimaginative, unenthusiastic, pedantic teaching… .‖ the remedy, according to keller, was ―a possible revolution in social studies,‖ beginning with ―eliminating the term ‗social studies,‘ which is vague, murky, and too all-inclusive and substitute for it the term ‗history and the social sciences,‘ which is exact and hence meaningful…‖ (61-62). keller then echoed many of bruner‘s recommendations, a clarion call for a social studies reform movement along the lines already begun in other subject areas. prior to the appearance of keller‘s article, social studies reformers were already engaged in pioneering work in a few isolated places. lawrence senesh, a scholar in economics at purdue university, was busily creating an economics program for elementary age students, drawing on the disciplines in creating a progressive oriented program and textbook series, our working world. edwin fenton, a historian at carnegie institute of technology in pittsburgh who had been given responsibility for pre-service teacher education in history, was bothered by the pat assertions found in high school history textbooks and by the boredom and loathing of his own students for many history and social science courses. in an attempt to bring history to life and rekindle student curiosity he introduced primary source documents as a means of stimulating students, asking them to experience the work of historians, and to make sense of raw data. fenton‘s experiences with using primary source documents led to publication of a book titled 32 problems in world history and an eventual 30 leadership role in the new social studies movement (fenton 1964). endicott house during the period before and after the woods hole conference, a series of meetings took place with the general theme of broadening the curriculum reform projects to include other areas, such as english and social studies. perhaps the single most interesting and relevant of these meeting occurred at endicott house in cambridge in june of 1962. the endicott house meeting was the first comprehensive meeting to grow out of the reform movement to examine the need for curriculum reform in social studies in some depth. during the kennedy administration, jerrold zacharias served as chair of the president‘s science advisory committee and sponsored a number of meetings on a variety of topics aimed at further developing and broadening the educational reform movement. the endicott house meeting was a more immediate and direct outgrowth of a january, 1962, meeting at which zacharias recommended development of an esi social studies program. the endicott house conference was held in june of 1962 at a secluded estate ten miles from harvard square with 47 scholars and teachers representing a broad spectrum of disciplines in the social sciences and humanities, and a wide range of views. controversy emerged almost immediately after robert feldmesser, a sociologist, blamed the poor condition of social studies teaching in the schools on historians, and the dominance of history in the curriculum. ―we shall make no progress in transforming the social studies into social science,‖ he said, ―until we slaughter the sacred cow of history‖ (dow 1991, 42). feldmesser proposed inclusion of more social science materials at all levels, and that children be introduced to the inquiry methods and conceptual structure of the social sciences so that they could develop a more critical attitude toward the social world. most of the historians at the meeting were offended by feldmesser‘s comments, and for a time the conference descended into a turf battle over whose content was most valuable. edwin fenton, a historian from carnegie-mellon, was one of the few historians at the meeting who agreed with feldmesser that traditional history had dominated the curriculum for too long. gradually, however, as the two-week session went on, and other voices were heard, a consensus began to develop around the notion that the problem in the schools had more to do with how history was typically taught, rather than with the subject matter itself. what emerged from the endicott house meeting was a proposal for more in-depth study, later given the name ―post-holing,‖ that would engage students in source material and the process of inquiry and that would expose them to the uncertainty, speculation, and imagination that are part of scientific and historical investigation. as at woods hole, the latter part of the conference was devoted to presentations by working group that had been meeting regularly throughout the two weeks to develop concrete suggestions for curriculum reform. in the end, the meeting produced a few suggestions about where the emerging reform of social studies might head, but did not create a blueprint for reform (dow 1991). following the conference, zacharias‘s new esi social studies group began meeting regularly to develop a refined and concrete proposal to submit to the ford foundation, eventually evolving into the macos curriculum. the projects in the october, 1962, issue of social education, the same month as the cuban missile crisis, a small, two paragraph, ―announcement for project social studies,‖ appeared on the bottom half of one page. the announcement read, in part, ―the united states office of education has announced the initiation of project social studies, which is designed to improve research, instruction, teacher education, and the dissemination of information in this field.‖ the announcement also stated that funds were available for research projects, curriculum study centers, and conferences and seminars (announcement 1962). the fact that the 31 announcement coincided with the height of cold war tension is not lost in hindsight, though at the time the de-politicization of education made it appear a rather innocuous research and development notice, with exciting possibilities for scholars and teachers. the earliest social science projects had begun to receive funding prior to the announcement of project social studies, and received support from the national science foundation as well as private foundations such as ford or carnegie. senesh and fenton had already begun work on their projects in the 1950s, and had received at least some private funding for their efforts. a similar endeavor, the amherst history project, had its beginnings in the 19591960 school year under the leadership of van halsey (halsey, 1963). three additional projects were launched in 1961, all emanating from professional associations. all three eventually received funding from the nsf. these included the high school geography project, sociological resources for the secondary schools, and the anthropology curriculum study project. following up on the announcement of project social studies, in july, 1963, usoe reported that seven curriculum centers, eleven research projects, and two developmental activities had been approved for funding (smith 1963). these included fenton‘s project in american history, and donald oliver‘s project at harvard focused on analysis of public issues. four additional new projects were funded in 1964. by 1965 there were some two-dozen projects that made up the new social studies movement, funded by the nsf, the usoe, or private foundations. most notable among the new additions was the harvard educational development center‘s man: a course of study (macos), for which jerome bruner served as the intellectual architect. the vast majority of the projects fit the general theme of the ―structures of the disciplines,‖ but there was some diversity in orientation. perhaps the least compatible with the discipline-based focus was the harvard project, with its focus on public issues as the heart of citizenship education. clearly, a revolution of sorts was brewing, but what was its nature? in april, 1965, social education devoted virtually the entire issue to a ―report on project social studies,‖ with an overview provided by edwin fenton and john good. their report began with a bold and confident statement: ―the curriculum revolution which began in mathematics, the natural sciences, and modern foreign languages about a decade ago has at last reached the social studies. more than 40 curriculum development projects of national significance promise to revolutionize teaching about man and society‖ (fenton & good 1965, 206). calling the sum of the projects ―the new social studies,‖ in what appears to be the first use of this term, fenton and good provide a succinct summary of some of the general themes of the activities supported by project social studies and other funding sources including the emphasis on structure, inductive teaching, the disciplines, sequential learning, new types of materials, new subjects, and emphases on evaluation. though the article gave a concise overview of the new reform the authors demonstrated little awareness of the contextual origins of the movement. after 1965 another wave of projects was christened. by 1967 more than 50 national projects were in progress, though curricular materials were slow to appear and were not issued in significant amounts until 1967. the projects created after 1967 all claimed loyalty to the principles of the new social studies, but in actuality, seemed to move off in all sorts of directions. though there were many variations and permutations of the general themes of the new social studies, the general parameter of discipline-based inquiry appears to have held fairly constant as a working guideline for the vast majority of projects. from a distance, it appears that the new social studies movement reached its zenith in 1967. in this year, the total number of funded projects appears to have peaked, and new social studies topics and concerns dominated both 32 social education and the ncss annual conference. moreover, for many of the initial projects, funding periods were at or near their end. the years after 1967 would be spent dealing with publication, dissemination, and diffusion of materials. a second wave of projects received initial funding from 1968 to 1972. several of the newly funded projects added selected use of contemporary social problems as topics for study and as criteria for selection of social science content. adding to the general ferment, nonproject social studies curriculum workers, teachers, and teacher educators labored in the field, often providing conferences and workshops and receiving funds from the usoe, state departments of education and local school districts. if 1967 was the zenith of enthusiasm for the new movement, the years following, through the early to mid-1970s, represented a continuing presence with activity at a lower level of intensity. events in the society, many of which impinged directly on schools, may have diluted teacher enthusiasm for the new social studies and its general focus on inquiry based in the disciplines, a step removed from the conflicts and dilemmas of the social world. in retrospect, the materials produced in the era of the new social studies were among the most innovative and influential commodities ever produced for use in social studies classrooms. despite the historical context out of which they were born, and perhaps partly because of it, projects funded by millions of grant dollars from the nsf, the usoe, and other sources contributed to creation of a rich and multifaceted explosion of curriculum development the likes of which may never be seen again. the projects and materials set a tone for an era of innovation and inquiry that spread to other curriculum materials, textbooks, and curriculum guides. though the materials and approaches to teaching of the period would later come under severe attack, leading to the end of the new social studies as an active movement, those materials remain a treasure trove for teachers and curriculum historians willing to explore them. discussion at this point, i will offer a few tentative conclusions. the origins of the new social studies may be found in the confluence of at least four concurrent trends: critiques of progressive education; cold war manpower fears, justified or not; the increasing power of the militaryindustrial-academic-government complex; and scientists and social scientists‘ belief in inquiry— as an act of faith—to transform schooling and remake schools and schoolchildren in their own image, conceptualizing schools as sort of a minor league extension of the research university. the new social studies had many strengths. numerous leading scholars were involved. the period illustrates that time, money, and brainpower devoted to curriculum development can have influence. the unprecedented amounts of money devoted to the reform suggests that for that time, social education was taken quite seriously by the society. the reform created a new language and had influence on many teachers. especially prominent was the belief that an inquiry orientation is one key to meaningful learning. this belief has a good deal of continuing influence on scholarship in social studies, and to a lesser extent, on mainstream practice in social studies classrooms. unfortunately, leaders of the broader reform and the new social studies movement made a number of mistakes which may have limited their influence to some extent. key leaders chose to bypass educators with knowledge of schools, including professors of education and curriculum leaders. moreover, a number of the leaders of the reform exhibited a high level of arrogance—and made the assumption that their ideas and materials would catch on because of their high quality and inquiry orientation. in many cases, teachers involved in the projects were treated as window dressing—and the resulting materials, in some cases, had a ―teacher proof‖ quality. most projects aimed at an elite, the upper one-fourth of students, and neglected others, thus the reform had an elitist, anti33 democratic tone. the reform lacked an explicit and fully developed rationale for citizen education. reformers failed to fully respect the grammar of schooling and obstacles to reform— and consequently, it had relatively low influence in schools—and did not meet the expectations of reformers. though critics pointed out many of the reform‘s flaws—it was to little avail. a few tentative lessons might be drawn from the history of the period. first, it seems a truism, curriculum reforms always shaped by politics of the time. decisions of reformers can matter and can have influence, but may be limited by various constraints. despite its many flaws, the era of the new social studies can serve as a useful prototype, especially for an approach that places discipline-based social science inquiry at the heart of social studies instruction in schools. however, reformers would be wise to respect the grammar of schooling, the many obstacles to reform—and plan strategies to overcome them. finally, the era of the new social studies deserves continuing study, especially given the lack of emphasis on inquiry in the current school reform movement. references bestor, a. 1953. educational wastelands: the retreat from learning in our public schools. urbana: university of illinois press. bruner, j. 1959. memorandum to the work group on the apparatus of teaching, ―general‖ folder, woods hole papers, national academy of sciences archive, washington, dc. bruner, j. 1960. the process of education. cambridge: harvard university press. bruner, j. 1983. in search of mind: essays in autobiography. new york: harper & row. bruner, j. 2008. interview of jerome bruner conducted by the ronald w. evans in may 2008 in bruner‘s study. committee on manpower resources for national security. 1953. manpower resources for national security: a report to the director of the office of defense mobilization, ―committee on manpower resources for national security‖ folder, subject file ―m,‖ box 11, 1951-1956, rg 307, alan t. waterman papers, national science foundation director‘s office files, national archives ii, college park, maryland. dow, p. b. 1991. schoolhouse politics: lessons from the sputnik era. cambridge, ma: harvard university press. eisenhower, d. d. 1953. dwight d. eisenhower to arthur s. fleming, august 1, 1953, ―subject files, m,‖ box 11, rg 307, national science foundation director‘s office files, national archives ii, college park, maryland. evans, r. w. 2004. the social studies wars: what should we teach the children? new york: teachers college press. evans, r. w. 2007. this happened in america: harold rugg and the censure of social studies. charlotte, nc: information age. evans, r. w. 2011. the hope for american school reform: the cold war pursuit of inquiry learning. new york: palgrave macmillan. evans, r. w. 2011. the tragedy of american school reform: how curriculum politics and entrenched dilemmas have diverted us from democracy. new york: palgrave macmillan. fenton, e. p. 1964. 32 problems in world history. glenview, il: scott, foresman. fenton, e. p. and good, j. m. 1965. project social studies: a progress report. social education, 29, 206-8. fine, b. 1954. russia is overtaking u. s. in training of technicians, november 7, 1954, new york times, november 7, 1954, ―scientists and engineers file,‖ box 71, record group 12, united states office of education commissioner‘s office files, 1939-1980, national archives ii, college park, maryland. fleming, a. s. 1954. arthur s. fleming, director, office of defense mobilization, to dwight d. eisenhower, january 6, 1954, ―subject files, m,‖ box 11, rg 307, national science foundation director‘s office files, national archives ii, college park, maryland. 34 flynn, j. t. 1951. who owns your child‘s mind? the reader’s digest, pp. 23-28. goldstein, j. s. 1992. a different sort of time: the life of jerrold zacharias. cambridge: mit press. gutek, g. 1986. education in the united states: an historical perspective. englewood cliffs, nj: prentice-hall. haas, j. d. 1977. the era of the new social studies. boulder, co: social science education consortium. halsey, v. r. jr. 1963. american history: a new high school course. social education, 27, 249-252. hertzberg, h. w. 1981. social studies reform, 1880-1980. boulder, co: social science education consortium. jones, k. & olivier, r. 1956. progressive education is reducation. boston: meador publishing company. keller, c. r. 1961, september 16. needed: revolution in the social studies. saturday review, 60-2. lansner, k. ed. 1958. second rate brains. new york: doubleday news books. lynd, a. 1953. quackery in the public schools. boston: little, brown. national intelligence survey. 1953. ―national intelligence survey, u.s.s.r., section 44, manpower,‖ february 1, 1953, record group 263, national intelligence surveys, 1948-1965, box 125, national archives ii, college park, maryland. national intelligence survey. 1958. ―national intelligence survey, u.s.s.r., section 44, manpower,‖ january 01, 1958, record group 263, national intelligence surveys, 1948-1965, box 125, national archives ii, college park, maryland. national intelligence survey. 1963. ―national intelligence survey, u.s.s.r., section 44, manpower,‖ march 1, 1963, record group 263, national intelligence surveys, 1948-1965, box 125, national archives ii, college park, maryland. nation‘s business. 1954. russian science threatens the west, nation’s business, september, pp. 42-54, in ―scientists and engineers‖ folder, box 71, scientists, record group 12, u. s. office of education, commissioner‘s office files, 1939-1980, national archives ii, college park, maryland. needell, a. a. 1998. project troy and the cold war annexation of the social sciences. in simpson, c. ed. universities and empire: money and politics in the social sciences during the cold war. new york: the new press, pp. 3-38. reactions to the reports on project social studies. 1965. social education, 29, 356 360. rickover, h. g. 1959. education and freedom. new york: e. p. dutton. robinson, d. w. 1963. ferment in the social studies. social education, 27, 360-4,410. root, e. m. 1958. brainwashing in the high schools. new york: devin-adair. smith, g. r. 1963. project social studies—a report. social education, 27, 357-9, 409. whaley, r. m. 1958. r. m. whaley notes, national academy of sciences—national research council governing board, advisory board on education, meeting re: pssc, april 22, 1958, ―coordination with mit pssc/formation of esi‖ folder, governing board, advisory board on education, 1958, national academy of sciences archives, washington, dc. zacharias, j. r. 1956. jerrold zacharias to james killian, march, 1956, ―movie aids for teaching physics in high school,‖ zacharias to killian, memo, march 15, 1956, ―1318 esi correspondence a-z‖ folder, box 31, killian papers, mit institute archives. this article was originally published in curriculum history 2010. due to programming issues the articles is no longer available in that issue and is reprinted here. originally on pages 82 to 93. history and the public good: american historical association presidential addresses and the evolving understanding of history education christopher berg state college of florida theodore michael christou queens university abstract this article examines a sampling of aha presidential addresses that collectively concern the purposes of studying history. as individual artifacts, they document the particular anxieties of each outgoing president. together, they note the relevance of history to one‘s own life and to the life of the state even as they express concern for the diminished role of the discipline as a transformative force in society. this concern is also a contemporary one as history educators have continued to express concern for the place of history in the public sphere and in the formal curriculum of schools. the article considers the relationship between history and the public good as depicted over time in the aha in relation to history and social studies education. history is important to us, and knowledge of the past can have a profound effect on our consciousness, on our sense of ourselves. history is a supremely humanistic discipline: it may not teach us particular lessons, but it does tell us how we might live in the world. –gordon wood, the purpose of the past, p. 6 introduction increasingly, history educators are attending to historical thinking rather than to the teaching of historical content exclusively. (lowenthal, 2000; ozment, 2005; stearns, seixas, & wineburg, 2000). historical inquiry is at the core of social studies and history education in various us states and canadian provinces (girard & harris, 2012; monte-sano, 2008; monte-sano & de la paz, 2012; sandwell and von heyking, 2014). students are asked to engage with history authentically. the cultivation of historical thinking and inquiry is useful in the history and social studies classroom but it is also a means of fostering engaged, critical citizenship (feinberg, 2012). the professionalization of history came late to the united states; up until the 1880s, most of the professional history written in north america was by a select few who had the time and the resources to devote to its study (aha brief history, 2014). the american historical association (aha) was created in 1884 and began to financially subsidize the american historical review (ahr), taking complete control of the journal in 1915. the ahr publishes an artifact that serves both as a vital source for understanding the historical development of the discipline: the annual presidential address of the aha. since 1884, these have served as ―a microcosm of the interests and concerns of the profession in various stages of its development over the past century‖ (aha presidential addresses archive, 2014). this article examines a sampling of aha presidential addresses and aha-sponsored initiatives that collectively concern the purposes 38 of studying history. as individual artifacts, they document the particular anxieties of each outgoing president. together, they note the relevance of history to one‘s own life and to the life of the state even as they express concern for the diminished role of the discipline as a transformative force in society. this concern is also a contemporary one; history educators have continued to express concern for the place of history in the public sphere and in the formal curriculum of schools (vansledright, reddy, & walsh, 2012). select historians and their contributions addresses were selected for their engagement with the question ‗why study history.‘ the six addresses concentrated upon here are inseparable from the particular intellectual passions and interests of their authors. the aha presidents considered were, commensurate with their roles, high-profile academics from some of the united states‘ leading research institutions. several have been pioneers in their respective fields and have won prestigious awards for their scholarship and service but those are peripheral considerations in light of a common theme found in each of the presidential addresses considered here: a personal defense of the study of history in an indifferent age. these addresses were all intended for a public audience and spoke to particular issues of immediate concern. most importantly, these historians wrote at crucial periods for the discipline of history; each of the presidents considered here was explicitly addressing threat, real and perceived, from the vicissitudes associated with modernity, globalization, or postmodernism (cf. carpenter, 2006; evans, 2004; 2006; harlan, 1990; orrill and shapiro, 2005, wrobel, 2008). these presidential addresses and ahasponsored initiatives hoped to raise public awareness of the discipline of history in itself and as a subject of study in schools. each, within their own context, expressed concern for the well being of both. becker, for instance, in the early stages of the great depression, warned that history was on the brink of extinction. pomeranz, in late 2013, observed that globalization is a force that has the potential to make history an anachronism. attending to these addresses as sources is a means of exploring the evolving vision of history, as well as its purposes and relevance in our lives. background: the history academy and progressivism, ca. 1890-1940 the annual presidential address given by carl becker in the winter of 1931, titled everyman his own historian (1932), garnered a great deal of attention. but why did becker make this address at this point in time? what were the prevailing educational trends and how did they impact the study of history? these considerations are an important backdrop to understanding this particular presidential address, its significance, and its relevance to this article. a progressive historian, becker, like contemporaries charles beard and james harvey robinson, wanted to see the discipline of history move away from its traditional foundations, as embodied in the american historical association‘s committee of seven report, the study of history in schools (1898) and, instead, cast history within a social reconstructionist lens for the advancement of young students citizensin-training (orrill & shapiro, 2005; wrobel, 2008). the committee of seven‘s report was followed by a national commission, which culminated in the 1916 commission on the social studies report. the 1916 css report symbolized the avant-garde of the progressive spirit in education and was adopted in the public schools (dunn, 1916). the 1916 css report is, perhaps: 39 the defining [progressive] document of the period. it is not just an important part of our educational heritage, but of our national heritage as well because it demonstrates how progressive reformers reconciled the seemingly contradictory intellectual currents of the period. . . . [the css report was] was not only a representative document of progressive education but was also reflective of the entire progressive movement (fallace, 2009, p. 603; 616). john dewey‘s influence upon the 1916 css report, too, is undeniable; though fallace (2009) suggested that dewey‘s influence and presence was for the purpose of pedagogy, jorgensen (2010) argued that dewey ―was a much stronger influence on the 1916 committee than many modern scholars recognize‖ (p. 11). the progressive mindset, therefore, was inextricably tied to the report and, up until becker‘s time, was the prevailing educational persuasion. external forces, such as the great war, the rise of isolationism in the interwar years, the great depression, and other economic and political factors adversely affected the progressive movement. the motivations for writing such a presidential address – a call to social action – come into sharper focus when external forces, like the great depression, the waning of the progressive movement, and the attack of the social studies, are taken into account. the aha commission on the social studies convened in 1929 to address some of the pressing educational issues associated with the teaching of social studies. the recommendations of the commission, conclusions and recommendations (1934), were not politically motivated, as the resulting media frenzy implied, but was a clash over the role of objective (standardized) testing in the future of social studies (schul, 2013). it is within this complex social milieu as well as the continuous struggle between the academy and social studies advocates that becker wrote his address. carl becker’s “everyman” (1932) carl becker‘s ―everyman‖ address was a call to action, which set an important precedent that led to other prominent historians to defend the study of history as an academic discipline. his presidential address is, perhaps, the most cited address in the scholarly literature but, aside from that, most academics know little else about him. though a europeanist who taught a diverse curriculum including ancient, medieval, and modern history, becker studied under the progressive american historian frederick jackson turner at the university of wisconsin-madison, the creator of the controversial ―frontier thesis.‖ much like his mentor, becker was a maverick who chaffed against mainstream currents that advocated a scientific approach to the study of history. becker distanced himself from this popular school of thought by denouncing scientific history in favor of subjective history. this idea of the creation of history by individuals and historians alike was something he refined over the course of his career and was the essence of his presidential address (mancall, 1990). unlike many of the historians considered in this article, becker is best known for his presidential address rather than for his general scholarship, though he had published his dissertation, the history of political parties in the province of new york, 1760-1776 (1909/2012) and the declaration of independence: a study of the history of political ideas (1922/2013) which is often seen as his most significant work. though becker‘s work has come under intense scrutiny in recent years, his ideas remain as scholars reference his timeless presidential address (mancall, 1990). becker made an astounding prediction: if historians were not careful, their work could be 40 relegated to the dustbin of history. he warned of a clear and present danger, as supreme court justice oliver wendell holmes (1919) famously remarked, which implicates the profession itself and is potentially inflicted by its own members. the public good demanded a ―usable‖ past that it could comprehend; sophisticated analyses rich in confusing historical jargon were obfuscating and alienating (cashion, 2013). becker argued in his address that history is a public, not merely an academic, good. each member of the public at large, ―mr. everyman,‖ is akin to an historian. every citizen might not possess advanced degrees, disciplinary training, or professional status, but he or she practices the skills and habits of mind that characterize the historian on a daily basis. each has a concern for the past. what distinguishes historians, becker argued, is the burden of making history meaningful for others and helping to distinguish fact from fiction. ―mr. everyman is stronger than we are, and sooner or later we must adapt our knowledge to his necessities,‖ becker noted. academic history, disconnected from the public interest and the public good, is likened to the dry and isolated work of a lonely antiquarian. it is ―an imaginative creation, a personal possession which each one of us, mr. everyman, fashions out of his individual experience, adapts to his practical or emotional needs, and adorns as well as may be to suit his aesthetic tastes‖ (becker, 1932, p. 228). william mcneill’s “why study history?” (1985) the years after world war ii were relatively quiet for the aha and they began to distance themselves even further from the public schools. while the history academy grew apathetic, the social studies advocates ―new social studies‖ and ―newer social studies‖ movements of the 1960s and 1970s were in full swing (evans, 2009). though many of the programs outlined in these social studies initiatives, such as inquiry-learning and using primary sources, were abandoned, this period of social studies resurgence was an important stepping-stone for the social studies as they experienced a creative phase that would influence the social studies in the twenty-first century. it was not until arthur link gave his presidential address at the annual meeting in 1984 that a renewed interest was publicly given in reestablishing ties between the academy and the public schools and renewing a once profitable partnership (p. 155). link was highly influential in his role as president and afterward, as the head of the second national commission on social studies in the schools in the midto late-1980s (harlan, 1990). mehlinger (1988) referred to the calling of a national commission for the social studies as an ―once-in-a-lifetime opportunity‖ and likened it to the appearance of halley‘s comet since ―national commissions on the social studies may appear only once every 70 years or so‖ (p. 195; p. 196). link‘s determinative role in this period explains mcneill‘s active involvement not only in aha matters, but also in the use of his celebrity as the ―father of world history‖ to write a spirited defense of the study of history as well as serving in advisory roles to the national commission and the bradley commission. the partnership of link and mcneill led to traditional and to world history supplanting the social studies once again. william mcneill is perhaps most responsible for laying the foundation for modern world history studies by creating modules in western civilization at the university of chicago in the mid-twentieth century. mcneill, like many of the individuals considered here, was influenced both by his father, who was a theologian and an historian, and by his teachers in high school and in college. learning about ancient and medieval history in high school and later anthropology in 41 college changed mcneill‘s conceptualization of history and it was here, he later observed, that he began to see history through a much larger, global lens. it was not until mcneill chanced upon toynbee‘s monumental twelve-volume work, a study of history (1934-61), that he began to devote his scholarship to world history. he began to seriously consider writing his own world history survey following his invitation to chatham house by toynbee himself. the distinctive difference was not only in the study‘s aim to publicize a new world history but also in a digestible singlerather than multi-volume format. this magisterial work would come to be known as the rise of the west (1964) and won the national book award (goodier, 2010). mcneill was known for pursuing historical studies in unconventional ways and did not believe archival work was the only worthwhile endeavor. indeed, mcneill‘s son, the historian john mcneill of georgetown university, attributed his father‘s war-time experiences as the guiding force that changed the trajectory of his academic research. mcneill helped to legitimate other forms of academic research, such as oral histories and memoirs, and embraced complimentary disciplines to help construct narratives that would otherwise be problematic. mcneill‘s contributions are still widely disseminated today (goodier, 2010). william mcneill has been praised as a pioneer in the field of world history and wrote an award-winning book, the rise of the west (1963) that was widely used as a college textbook. still, his mission was not only to foster historical scholarship but also to promote the field of world history through a scholarship for promising educationists in secondary and tertiary education; this extant scholarship was named in his honor and is sponsored by the world history association. though written over fifty years ago, the rise of the west (1964) is still cited as one of a handful of definitive works in world history and, in 2009, mcneill was honored with the national humanities medal. more than five decades later, william mcneill (1985) revived becker‘s call to historians to make history accessible and meaningful for students and for the general public. in his article ―why study history?‖ he observed: ―the study of history is indeed worthwhile and necessary for the education of effective citizens and worthy human beings. as such it can both make us wiser in our public choices and more richly human in our private lives‖ (mcneill, 1985, para. 1). history, he argued, is the intellectual inheritance of humanity writ large. ―only an acquaintance with the entire human adventure on earth,‖ mcneill argued, ―allows us to understand these dimensions of contemporary reality‖ (para. 4). mcneill‘s revitalizing essay was the result of a commission from the aha who believed, as much as becker did in 1931, that history was becoming marginalized not only from society but from public education and schooling. mcneill articulated a vision for history that emphasized its practical application to everyday life. further, he argued that the challenges of everyday life demanded that history relates to the challenges faced by the public at large. history, mcneill (1985) explained, had three aspects: a) public/local history; b) national history; and, c) global history. the discipline thus played a seminal role in cultivating local, but also global, citizenship. in a world shaped by internationalization, open markets, and information access, history had a humanizing role to play. at the core of the vision is a demand of self-knowledge. this was precipitated on a sensitive study of one‘s relationship to others and one‘s context. 42 studying alien religious beliefs, strange customs, diverse family patters and vanished social structures shows how differently various human groups have tried to cope with the world around them. broadening our humanity and extending our sensibilities by recognizing sameness and difference throughout the recorded past is therefore an important reason for studying history, and especially the history of people far away and long ago. for we can only know ourselves by knowing how we resemble and how we differ from others. acquaintance with the human past is the only way to such self knowledge (level iii: global history section, para. 2-3). peter stearns “why study history?” (1998) peter stearns, a prolific author who has served as the chair of the advanced placement world history committee, collaborated with a community of scholars in the late 1990s which produced a ground-breaking collection of essays titled knowing, teaching, and learning history: national and international perspectives (2000). this work was co-edited with peter seixas and sam wineburg, leaders in history education in canada and the united states, respectively. in recognition of his abilities as both a scholar and teacher, stearns was invited to present a lecture series sponsored by the teaching company on ―a brief history of the world,‖ selected from the top 1% of university professors in the united states. in a complementary article commissioned by the aha, stearns (1998) argued for a ―bottom-up‖ approach to the study of history. his tone is similar to that of becker‘s (1932) and mcneill‘s (1985). he takes a practical and utilitarian approach, arguing that the discipline of history holds the potential to unravel many of life‘s most pressing problems. while becker challenged his contemporaries to make history accessible to a popular audience to avoid annihilation or obsolescence, stearns took a different approach; he argued that historical thinking served to meet the complexities of a new and modern age: ―this, fundamentally, is why we cannot stay away from history: it offers the only extensive evidential base for the contemplation and analysis of how societies function, and people need to have some sense of how societies function simply to run their own lives‖ (stearns, 1998, emphases added). stearns‘ address touched upon various subject, including the ―importance of history in our own lives,‖ ―history contributes to moral understanding,‖ ―history provides identity,‖ ―studying history is essential for good citizenship‖ and ―history is useful in the world of work.‖ he itemized numerous skills that the study of history helped to cultivate, which were useful in the lives of every citizen, including: the ability to assess and to interpret evidence, conflicting interpretations, and historical continuity. the articulation of these basic competencies was conspicuously absent from previous ahr publications. stearns‘ eloquent defense of history illuminated the potentiality of history for considering the past but also for living thoughtfully in a world that was incessantly evolving. ―historical study,‖ he argued, ―contributes to our capacity to use evidence, assess interpretations, and analyze change and continuities. no one can ever quite deal with the present as a historian deals with the past—we lack the perspective for this feat; but we can move in this direction by applying historical habits of mind, and we will function as better citizens in the process‖ (stearns, 1998, 7.5; 8.2). for stearns, 43 history amounts to a ―laboratory of human experience‖ (8.2). becker (1932), mcneill (1985), and stearns (1998) were concerned about the state of affairs in the history academy as well as its apathy and disconnect of the public good. their calls to action garnered momentum in the mid-1990s when an abundant corpus of literature relating to the teaching of history and social studies education blossomed (cf. stearns, seixas, and wineburg, 2000). making sense of the future: the 21 st century james sheehan “how do we learn from history?” (2005) james sheehan is emeritus professor of modern european history at stanford university. sheehan has had a distinguished career as a teacher and a scholar. sheehan wrote museums in the german art world: from the end of the old regime to the rise of modernism (2000) and where have all the soldiers gone?: the transformation of modern europe (2008). sheehan‘s service to the profession includes being an editorial board member to several prestigious journals, a member of the institute for advanced study at princeton university, and a corresponding fellow of the royal historical society. professional accolades include several celebrated fellowships, including a national endowment for the humanities and guggenheim fellowship. sheehan‘s academic excellence has not been reserved to scholarship; he has won numerous teaching awards from several universities. james sheehan was president of the aha in 2005 and he wrote a short address titled ―how do we learn from history?‖ his address dovetails with others, noted above, particularly the contributions of becker (1932), mcneill (1985), and stearns (1998). while advocating the value and merit of the study of history, sheehan (2005) outlined its significance in making strategic and political decisions that affect polity at the national level. his two examples are noteworthy – the occupation of germany in 1945 as a historical pretext for the occupation of iraq in 2003 and the ―munich analogy‖ of appeasement against hitler in 1938 and saddam hussein in the early 2000s. in both cases, history was misappropriated in order to suit preconceived notions and to manipulate a sensitive and emotional citizenry. the problem, sheehan explained, is not that the comparisons were made but in how they were made and for what immediate purposes. these claims and comparisons needed to be ―tested‖ in order to discern their applicability (sheehan, 2005, para. 7). historians, sheehan continued, "do not need to be persuaded that studying history is worthwhile." (sheehan, 2005, para. 1).for others, the purposes of history should be more explicit and related to the broader aims of a state‘s citizenry. this involves the cultivation of historical consciousness and knowledge in students; this aim is implicated in the aim of developing civicmindedness. the aha presidential addresses noted share a conviction that historical consciousness equips students to confront the challenges and demands of an ever-evolving world. it is characterized as is an indispensable part of a worldview oriented towards civic engagement; no citizen can escape the grip of history: we constantly tell stories about the past to our students, friends, children—and to ourselves—stories that are supposed to convey moral and practical lessons about how to behave . . . and, of course, historical lessons are a part of every political discussion and debate. again and again, our political leaders use the 44 past to warn, admonish, and inspire the public; to criticize their opponents; and to justify their own policies (para. 3). sheehan acknowledged that we inhabit an increasingly complex world, while he testified that history was an essential tool that could enable citizens to decipher this world‘s complexities. these include increasingly interconnected work contexts, rapidly changing technologies, and 24/7 news networks that permeate every corner of society. such complexities stand as tides and waves; being able to navigate the rough waters of civic life, we argue, is essential. history serves as a rudder in the storm for students cast upon a sea that is always in flux. applying historical thinking skills to contemporary life is crucial in determining what is the correct course of action, whether in small matters or in the polling booth: ―what we learn from history,‖ sheehan (2005) cautioned ―depends entirely on how we do it‖ (para. 8). sheehan thus attends to history education and to the teaching and learning of history as a seminal aspect of its health and vitality in the public sphere. william cronon and storytelling william cronon came to prominence when he published his award-winning book, nature’s metropolis: chicago and the great west (1991). his influence upon environmental history and the american west can be felt in history classrooms today, as his book is required reading across various educational contexts. cronon has had an unwavering commitment to mentoring a new generation of future historians and scholars and has been an advocate for public history outreach and conservation. in 2012, william cronon offered one of the most authoritative presidential addresses in the aha‘s history; his aim was to draw the academy‘s attention to a number of pressing concerns, which included, primarily, the survival of history in a postmodern age. cronon noted that only ―a small handful explore the role of history in public life, and a still smaller handful (the fingers on one hand are probably sufficient to count them) discuss the teaching of history‖ (cronon, 2013, p. 2). his presidential address took the form of a ―meditation‖ on the current state of the field and its future (p. 3). cronon pulled no punches: ―i feel even more strongly that the discipline as a whole is facing greater threats and challenges than at any time in the past half-century . . . public support and funding for history . . . are in decline‖ (p. 3). the greatest threat to history and to education in a broader sense, he argued, is a consequence of its encounter with the digital age. cronon lamented the fact that cultural literacy is on the decline; students, he argued ―no longer read books for pleasure‖ (p. 4). he continued: ―where texts and tweets and facebook postings have become the dominant forms of communication, reading itself is more at risk than many of us realize‖ (p. 4). search engines such as google have transformed the ways that students of history search for and interact with knowledge and evidence: ―if a piece of information cannot be googled, it effectively does not exist for them‖ (p. 4). cronon summed the problem facing 21 st century historians and their institution as the following: in a distracted world where even undergraduates at top universities are increasingly challenged to read the kinds of books we have traditionally written, and at a moment when there seems to be widespread public doubt about whether to continue supporting the study of the past as this organization has traditionally 45 understood that activity, what is the future of history? (p. 5). the historian‘s future, cronon suggested, depends on a solution that is both simple and complex: storytelling. the story of history, how it is written, and how it is communicated has gradually shifted away from the general public and toward the heart of the history academy. this epistemological ―shift‖ has inadvertently isolated history from its lifeblood – the common person – resulting in historians ―adopt[ing] vocabularies and ways of speaking that have the effect of excluding outsiders who do not belong to that profession‖ (p. 6). not only has this ―shift‖ alienated its greatest potential audience, but it has also forgotten its fundamental purpose: ―to pass that love [of history] on to others who do not yet share it. nothing we do is more important.‖ (p. 6). in order to redress the balance, historians must make the effort to popularize history. ―it is our job, not theirs,‖ cronon chides his colleagues in the academy, ―to persuade them of its importance and teach them its fascinations. other professionals can perhaps afford to be boring, but not us‖ (p. 7). popular venues for storytelling include notable books and films that connect the public with historical themes and personalities but one of the most basic, yet often underrated, venues is the classroom. a substantial portion of cronon‘s (2013) presidential address is devoted to his undergraduate mentor richard ringler, who is remembered as a compelling teller of stories. cronon admits that he was left ―under the spell of this teacher‖ (p. 16). the classroom, cronon continued, offers the opportunity to reconnect students with history in a forum that can engage them deeply: ―we just need to keep looking for the best and most engaging ways to tell our stories, and to remember always to be on guard against boredom‖ (p. 16). teaching is not restricted to the physical classroom; in fact, the public outside the classroom itself is the perfect laboratory for teaching and storytelling. in a routine visit to ringler‘s office, cronon learned testified that he learned the most important lesson that his mentor had to teach him: academics are fallible, finite human beings. when ringler pondered what cronon believed to be a trivial question, cronon was astounded when ringler matter-of-factly said, ―i don‘t know‖ (p. 17). intrigued by the question cronon posed, they worked side-by-side for the next half hour searching for answers. for cronon, he recalled, this was a life-changing experience: i do not remember what that question was. i do not even remember whether we actually answered it. what i do remember was that dick ringler—whom i regarded as the most brilliant and learned teacher i had ever known—had responded to a casual undergraduate question by saying ‗i don‘t know.‘ he had then taken that question seriously enough to spend half an hour in my company puzzling through the process of figuring out what its answer might be. i will never forget that moment as long as i live (cronon, 2013, pp.17-18). cronon noted that there were many morals to the story he was recounting yet one of the utmost significance was that the classroom is ―where we can show our students—and, by extension, our non-professional readers and ourselves—the larger meanings of our work‖ (p. 18). ultimately, as noted above, history‘s relationship to the public good must be meaningfully communicated to students. the alternative can be alienating. echoing carl becker‘s 1931, address, cronon observed: ―our ultimate responsibility is to living history, which withers into professional boredom 46 if we speak only with each other or with our graduate students. the digital revolution has created endless opportunities‖ (cronon, 2013, p. 18). yet, he continued, these opportunities – exemplified by blogs, websites, social media, and online video – will only be memorable when conveyed with care and with passion. kenneth pomeranz and the future of history kenneth pomeranz‘ book, the great divergence: china, europe, and the making of the modern economy (2000), won numerous awards and suggested that the industrial revolution could have just of easily occurred in china as it did in great britain. in short, it reconceptualized the way economic historians view china and its place in the early modern period. like the other addresses examined here, pomeranz relates history to his personal experience, but his thoughts stand out for the concentration on his own education and his motivations to encourage historical thinking (laichas, 2007). pomeranz, cronon‘s successor as president of the aha, persisted with a cautionary tone. his focus was not narrowly defined to the united states; the relationship between history and civic mindedness was a global concern. his address, titled ―histories for a less national age‖ recognized the achievement and endurance of national histories; these narratives, he argued, come with a price, as they ―include powerful political pressures to focus education more narrowly on what will supposedly yield immediate economic returns, rather than on nurturing knowledge and habits of thought relevant to the reflective citizen or individual‖ (pomeranz, 2014, p. 3). for pomeranz, who cited research by rosenzweig and thelen (1998), the growing divide between the present and the past is in part due to the disconnect that average people feel with their own national histories. pomeranz contended that what was missing was a clear sense of individual citizens‘ historical consciousness, or, their sense that they are connected to and included in the national narratives that are told. histories that are more international and global with respect to perspectives and warrants have the potential to be more inclusive. such histories would entail confrontation between and reconciliation of several national narratives, each of which is necessarily biased and perspectival (pearcy, 2011; 2013; 2014). pomeranz‘s quest for an ―inclusive‖ and ―coherent‖ history supersedes his loyalty to a national history that does not adequately define or encompass a diverse population‘s corporate and individual identity (pomeranz, 2014, p. 11). history, he continued, is a ―public service‖ that is unlike any other discipline other than literature that a diverse student population ―can turn to for nationally based courses (p. 12). the principal purpose of history education is ―preparedness for citizenship‖ (p. 13). using language that permeates rhetoric descriptive of the 21 st century, pomeranz defined this as an age of globalization, a world that is qualitatively quite different from the world experienced in previous generations, and a world that requires of its citizens constant and quick adaptation. history education that does not help students to understand, to frame, and to act within this context of dynamic change fails to perform its most basic yet essential function: if globalization has an implication for us as civic educators, it is not simply that ‗once upon a time, history made national citizens; now it must make world citizens.‘ identities are multiple, and often mutually reinforcing rather than competitive; so, too, are the contexts for 47 public action. as david hollinger put it, in a slightly different context, we also have obligations to ‗a public smaller than the species‘ (pomeranz, 2014, pp. 1314). pomeranz, like cronon, saw history as a lens for not only communicating the past but also for sharpening transferable skills to students for lifelong use. historical consciousness is, in many respects, a second order skill, which depends on facility with reading, writing, and a general inclination towards critical thought. these skills are essential for analyzing and interpreting not only the past but also the present. together, the application of first and second order skills is integral aspects of civic mindedness: these are important tools for students to hone; they provide leverage on vital intellectual questions about structure, agency, and about possibilities for empathetic understanding of experiences remote from our own. but they are also highly practical skills that give students leverage on questions they might well confront in non-academic careers. this is not, of course, the only way history can matter, but it is one that should find ready takers, while actually moving our pedagogy closer to what we often, all too revealingly, call ‗our own work‘‖ (p. 21). history, in sum, serves a purpose in helping the polity understand the present, as well as the past. as the presidents of the aha persistently acknowledged, history is not an antiquarian pursuit for the few but a necessity for the many. history‘s necessity is amplified the by complexities of life in the 21 st century. how might we use history and for what purpose? ―our discipline,‖ pomeranz argued, ―has a rather unusual relationship to time, space, and place, and we live in a moment when many people wonder which pasts, if any, one must engage with in order to navigate something called ‗today‘s world‘‖ (pp. 21-22). his response, while prescient, is not particularly novel. more than a century earlier, captain john paul jones, writing to his friend the marquis de lafayette after the revolutionary war in 1780 noted: ―here follows my political profession. i am a citizen of the world, totally unfettered by the little mean distinctions of country or of climate, which diminish or set bounds to the benevolence of the heart‖ (mahan, 1898). pomeranz might agree; national histories have served their purpose and are anachronistic in the present age, where imagined boundaries no longer divide. histories are radically different in content, scope, and shape; a greater meta-world narrative whose sole focus is the human story. history’s response in the schools ―the goal of public education,‖ feinberg (2012) argued, ―is to renew a public by providing the young with the skills, dispositions, and perspectives required to engage with strangers about their shared interests and common fate and to contribute to shaping it‖ (p. 19). the act of renewal described by feinberg is the desired outcome of studying history. revitalizing and replenishing an apathetic public is achievable through history but challenges in and outside the classroom persist. signature pedagogies what is a signature pedagogy? shulman (2005) described them as, ―characteristic forms of teaching [and learning] . . . that organize the fundamental ways in which future practitioners are educated for their new professions‖ (p. 52). ―in these signature pedagogies,‖ shulman observed, ―novices are instructed in critical aspects of the three fundamental dimensions of 48 professional work – to think, to perform, and to act with integrity‖ (p. 52). proficiency, like learning, is achieved gradually over time where students are allowed to learn the fundamentals while exploring and creating a usable past that fills an immediate need in the present. history anchored in the past has little value for the present; extrapolating meaning and value from the past for use in the present is when history fulfills its true purpose and teleological function. learning history, much like shulman‘s model, is a procedural process: beginning in elementary school and building upon that knowledge in secondary and higher institutions of education facilitate a maturation process that enables students to enter civic society as contributors rather than bystanders. ―one thing is clear,‖ shulman concluded, ―signature pedagogies make a difference. they form habits of the mind, habits of the heart, and habits of the hand‖ (p. 59). one notable example of a signature pedagogy in history that has gained traction is calder‘s (2006) ―uncoverage‖ model, which seeks to place the student, not the curriculum, at the center. though a departure from the traditional history curriculum that stressed and tested for general historical knowledge, calder‘s model, instead, focused on bridging historical knowledge with historical thinking. calder advocated for selected sampling – the ―uncovering‖ of specific events, figures, and forces – rather than rushing to ―cover‖ the whole textbook. while many applauded calder‘s suggestion, others were less than enthusiastic about rethinking the way history was taught in the classroom (pace, 2004; 2011). it was, perhaps, easier for newer faculty to adapt to the paradigmatic shift demanded by a new approach to history education that demanded a degree of sensitivity toward learners displaying myriad learning pathways. teaching american history grant program the teaching american history grant program, funded by the federal government via the department of education since 2000, was an initiative to reinvigorate professional practice by focusing on professional development of teachers. specifically, this program connected interested public school history teachers with history professors to increase their subject-matter knowledge, acquire greater content knowledge, and learn new pedagogical skillsets to create a more dynamic learning environment. but, some scholars have been skeptical of the teaching american history grant program‘s altruistic mission, which is simply a veiled attempt at discrediting the social studies and consolidating political clout through the agency of the national council for history education (singer, 2005, p. 200). the push toward ―traditional‖ american history is visibly present after 2003 but has this reorientation negatively affected the professional development of teachers and student achievement? however, an unintended benefit, argued de la paz, malkus, monte-sano, and montanaro (2011), emerged where ―historians changed in their perspective of how they interacted with and supported teachers, and teachers gained a much deeper appreciation for teaching about historical information as well as an understanding of how to situate and analyze historical sources‖ (p. 495). de la paz et al. (2011) studied the effects of one such tah grant and examined its efficacy in terms of student outcomes (e.g., writing responses to document-based questions). the authors found that a ―reasonable‖ amount of professional development can have a significant effect on student outcomes as teachers become more familiar with primary source material and their instructional value in the classroom. how much professional development is necessary? the 49 authors found that 30 or more hours of professional development over the span of 6-12 months was optimal; in cases where teachers engaged in less than 12 hours per year, there was no significant effect on student outcomes (pp. 520-521). the authors made four recommendations for future consideration in tah-directed programs: 1) the analysis of primary source material in classrooms; 2) acquisition of historical content/knowledge; 3) professional development opportunities with academics/historians; and 4) instructional support implementing new lessons and the like (pp. 521522). the teaching american history initiative has served as a medium of professional development for public school teachers and, as evidenced by de la paz et al.‘s study, it has positively affected on student outcomes, the problem of textbooks in history the ―textbook problem‖ is not new to history or the social studies. the first national controversy erupted over the rugg textbook in the 1930s because of its alleged unpatriotic and politically charged content presentation (evans, 2006). however, the content of textbooks has remained little unchanged since rugg‘s bold attempt to introduce a radical new textbook that used ―lively and engaging‖ text accentuated by the ―frequent use of photos, drawings, and cartoons‖ to capture the attention and imagination of students (p. 16). proponents of the status quo quickly attacked rugg‘s vision and his novel ideas were dismissed and forgotten (carbone, 1977; karolides, 2006). the textbook-centered curriculum, however, has persisted in spite of its problematic nature. the teacher recitation method of instruction, a favorite of history teachers and professors, is dominated by the textbook (mehlinger, 1988; wineburg, 2001). the following excerpt is mehlinger‘s (1988) understanding of the recitation method in action: teacher assigns reading from a textbook; students complete the reading; teacher poses questions to determine if students understood the reading assignment. some teachers ask their students to write answer to questions that cover the reading; some teachers intersperse the recitation with anecdotes and information that extend the textbook treatment; occasionally issues are framed that provoke lively discussion. but nearly everywhere it is the same: directed discussion is the method for teaching social studies. it is not surprising that social studies is among the most boring subjects for students. (p. 204). furthermore, this method, mehlinger observed, is the ―easiest way to teach‖ and ―textbooks support [these] practices‖ (p. 204). the problem lies in that history and social studies instruction has changed relatively little since the introduction of the history textbook; though scholars have drawn attention to the glaring factual errors and omissions present in textbooks, not to mention the political and national biases in their narratives, the nature of textbooks remains the same (altbach, kelly, petrie, & weis, 1991; anyon, 1979; apple 1995; apple, 2000; apple, 2004; cherryholmes, 1988; foster, 2011; foster & howson, 2010; paxton, 2002; moreau, 2004; zimmerman, 2002). this is a disturbing trend as though scholars have been critical of the textbook, its popularity and resilience are indisputable paxton (2002) argued that students ought to be at the heart of the curriculum and, consequently, textbooks, which were valuable curricular tools, need to evolve in order to meet 50 the needs of modern classrooms. the problem with textbooks, he argued, is that they are written in a peculiar ―vernacular‖ that ―is instantly recognizable to anyone whose youth was spent laboring within the walls of a public high school in the united states. this mode of writing has earned its own ignominious label: textbookese‖ (p. 198). because of their intrinsic value, textbooks should abandon the voice of the ―omniscient author‖ and insert a ―visible author‖ who expresses ―his or her point of view or personal beliefs about the content under discussion‖ (p. 198). this is an important step, paxton argued, to kindle a mental conversation or dialogue between student and textbook (cf. reisman, 2012a; reisman, 2012b; reisman, 2014). until the orientation of textbooks change, students will continue to be disengaged from learning history because textbooks ―are the bestknown historical text‖ and ―serve a number of important roles in history classrooms . . . substantially influencing curricula‖ (p. 198). as noted above, wineburg (2001) revealed that the vast majority of college students implicitly trusted the content of textbooks. this is a problem that should be garnering more attention and scrutiny; paxton (2002) found that ―through their choice of rhetoric, not to mention their sheer size and weight, history textbooks exude authority. by the time students reach high school, they know well the apparently sagacious voice of history textbooks, and they place their trust in it‖ (p. 233). as wineburg, paxton, and colleagues have argued, textbooks are a powerful curricular tool that not only affects classroom instruction, but also the attitudes, beliefs, and conceptions of impressionable students. in an extensive review of conciliatory and critical traditions within textbook analysis research, foster (2011) concluded: textbooks are seen as powerful instruments with which to present a particular version of the nation‘s past. at the heart of all critical research is the fundamental realization that all textbooks offer a selected version of the past. no books offer neutral knowledge. no textbook offers content that is objective and value-free. the authors of history textbooks deliberately include some information and exclude others. very often these choices are made for ideological reasons and typically they reflect the values, beliefs, and attitudes of powerful groups with long traditions of dominance in society. as a result, therefore, textbooks have long been a major site for the construction and contestation of national, regional, and international identities and are, understandably, the constant subject of critical study by international scholars. (pp. 13-14). though scholars have been critical in their appraisals of history textbooks, discernible progress toward eliminating these deficiencies from history textbooks has been excruciatingly slow (williams, 2014). as the primary curricular agent, the textbook shapes students‘ understanding of the past in profound ways. the rugg textbook, perhaps, might be just what is needed to revitalize history instruction as well as a narrative that is crisp and engaging and free of errors and outdated information. there have been several defenses of the study of world history, popularized by such luminaries as william mcneill (1985) and peter stearns (1998) on behalf of the american historical association, but jerry bentley‘s why study world history? (2007), argued forcefully 51 for reestablishing both world history‘s prominence as a discipline and as a school subject: of all the fields of scholarship, world history offers the deepest and richest understanding of the world and its development through time, it has excellent potential to promote constructive engagement with that which is different, and it has strong potential as well to foster the development of good judgment, with the possibility that good judgment will transmute in some cases into genuine wisdom about the fundamental issues confronting the contemporary world [emphasis added]. (para. 31). for bentley, the study of world history, and national history through a world-historical lens, was essential, a necessity for sober-minded individuals in a postmodern age. ―world history,‖ bentley concluded, ―is one of the big intellectual issues of our times‖ (para. 2). thus, history is framed as a means of helping the public to understand the world beyond the nation state and one‘s particular place within a larger narrative. this marks a subtle shift from a national to an international perspective. while the presidential addresses were originally concerned with u.s. history and the role that it played in the public sphere, the addresses took an increasingly worldhistorical outlook and reflected on the realities of the 21 st century for a global citizenry. conclusions the aha presidents profiled in this article attended to the role that history plays in a changing society. in the public sphere, the discipline has been challenged to demonstrate its value to the lives of citizens and to concentrate on why the past is important to the present. this involves a paradigmatic shift from pure academic history to scholarship that is committed to the public good. how, in other words, can history be inclusive? the cognitive learning models discussed in this article are relatively new in history and social studies education but the success enjoyed in related cognate fields is encouraging. effective history education can help students of history and the public at large to think of the discipline beyond the confines of classroom and textbooks. as barzun (1991) noted: ―the truth is, when all is said and done, one does not teach a subject, one teaches a student how to learn it‖ (p. 35). engaging students and the public alike in historical debate and dialogue are means of exercising the virtues of historical practice and thinking. the late medievalist norman cantor wrote a popular survey of medieval history that is still used in undergraduate classrooms today. a believer in popular history, cantor (1967) wrote that the student of history ―should be awakened to a deeper understanding of both himself and society; that excellence in historical study should be claimed by the student as a right that opens the door to an endless world of discovery and meaning‖ (p. 6). what is clear is that history‘s purposes and functions have been and will remain contentious. yet a persistent concern within the aha, as is made evident by its presidential addresses, is that history is inextricably linked to the public and to the public good. history, at its best, is an interactive, communal activity that facilitates reflection on what it means to be human in place and time; at its worst, it is an isolated and exclusive activity participated in by only a few. 52 references altbach, p. g., kelly, g. p., petrie, h. g., & weis, l. 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(2008). the purpose of the past: reflections on the uses of history. new york, ny: penguin books. zimmerman, j. (2005). whose america?: culture wars in the public schools. cambridge, ma: harvard university press. http://www.historians.org/publications-and-directories/perspectives-on-history/may-2012/possibilities-of-pedagogy/the-end-of-history-education-in-elementary-schools http://www.historians.org/publications-and-directories/perspectives-on-history/may-2012/possibilities-of-pedagogy/the-end-of-history-education-in-elementary-schools http://www.historians.org/publications-and-directories/perspectives-on-history/may-2012/possibilities-of-pedagogy/the-end-of-history-education-in-elementary-schools http://www.historians.org/publications-and-directories/perspectives-on-history/may-2012/possibilities-of-pedagogy/the-end-of-history-education-in-elementary-schools ruth harris: does higher education practice what they teach? vanessa garry, matthew davis university of missouri st. louis abstract sixty-five years prior to ruth harris’ appointment as president of harris-stowe state university it was illegal to educate african americans in missouri. yet, in 1940 she became the first african american female to lead the college. this paper reports findings from a historical analysis of harris’ tenure from 1940 to 1954. the analysis of harris’ seven guiding principles revealed that traces of her work, such as community-based learning, exist in education today. introduction in ruth harris’ book, stowe teachers college and her predecessors, she chronicled her tenure at the college from 1924 to 1954 by shining light on the four stages of the evolution of the college from a one-year normal department to a four-year college. in this paper we focus on the fourth stage as she takes the reins as president and practices seven educational principles to lead the continued development of stowe teachers college. however, as we attempted to make meaning of her narrative we also discussed key events from the first three stages of the development of the college because we believed they shaped her leadership skills and grounded her core beliefs. making stowe teachers college, formerly normal department, competitive with universities and not just normal schools is a reoccurring theme that emerged from harris’ narrative. additionally, she yearned to make not only the college competitive but she wanted to develop capable undergraduates who would graduate and either teach or further their education at any university in the country. since harris received her doctorate from teachers college, columbia university perhaps her experience influenced her thinking. according to fultz (2012, 17) historians have difficulty in categorizing normal schools and the general tendency has been to consider these institutions as mere extensions of common schooling—at best, high school “plus”. however, harris’ aspirations for the college revealed through her recollections appears to provide fodder for historians to ruminate as they consider fultz’s question, “should normal schools be considered by their aspirations, and sometimes by their practice, as fundamentally outside the realm of common schooling, given the “professional training” and “higher” education that characterized the normal school ideal?” (fultz 2012, 17). two critical moments in harris’ tenure as president frame this study. perhaps they were the catalyst for the book. delgado and stefancic (2013, 24) espouse the challenge of discerning critical moments during the time we are living through them. it is easier to respond to them in retrospect. two critical moments in harris’ tenure we presumed are one, her appointment as president of the college in 1940 and two, her departure from the college in 1954. first, her appointment is a critical moment because during the 1940s few women, notably african americans, were heads of colleges. in particular, 14 the male principals of sumner high school and simmons elementary school assumed responsibility for the college after the st. louis public schools board of education located the college first at the high school and second at the elementary school. additionally, the male president of harris teachers college shouldered the responsibility of president for stowe teachers college and harris teachers college during the depression era. second, the end of her tenure was also a critical moment because the date of her departure coincided with the date of the decision of brown v. board of education which signaled the end of segregation of schools in america. we frame this study with the two critical moments and use a historical analysis method as a way to determine how the seven principles harris spoke about in her narrative aided her during her presidency in the development of the college and we pondered if her intent was to reveal the utility of each for future use. according to ladson-billings (2013, 42), stories reflect a point of view and underscore what the teller, audience, society, and/or those in power believe to be important and significant. although the discussion about the seven principles was expansive in harris’ narrative, we attempted to make meaning of the principles and think about them in today’s context. we relied mostly on her narrative and dissertation as well as historical events during the time of her tenure to aid us in our sense-making of her narrative. using resources available to us we sought answers to the following two questions. what were key developments at stowe teachers college during harris’ tenure as president? how did they relate, if at all, to her core beliefs? in order to address the first question we discussed salient ideas from the first three stages of the development of the college during harris’ tenure and we identified the ideals and experiences we believed shaped her core beliefs and leadership skills that ultimately influenced her leadership during her presidency. next, to determine significant developments of the college during her presidency we examined key events (i.e., harris’ speech at the dedication services for the new building) during the fourth and final stage of her tenure along with her application of the seven educational principles. to answer the second question—how did the developments relate, if at all, to her core beliefs?—we examined our findings from her narrative along with her dissertation to determine if the key developments were rooted in her beliefs. background—first three of four stages in the development of the college two parts comprise the overview of the first three of four stages of the evolution of the college during harris’ tenure which include salient events that influenced the development of the college and her experience that shaped her leadership skills and core beliefs. the latter is critical because we believe harris’ leadership grew out of her experiences as a teacher and administrator at the college prior to her assuming the role of president. events that signaled advancement of the college during the first three stages include 1) changes in location and name, 2) social contexts of education for african americans in missouri, 3) expansion of curriculum, and 4) development of partnerships. first, the board of education of the st. louis public schools district governed the college during harris’ tenure and was responsible for twice renaming the college and twice relocating it. in the first stage from 1890 to 1924, the college, named normal department, resided at sumner high school, the first high school for african americans west of the mississippi river. in the second stage from 1924 15 to 1929 the normal school remained at sumner high school but its name changed to sumner teachers college. in the third stage from 1929 to 1940, according to harris (1967), the college cut all ties with sumner high school with a name change to harriet beecher stowe teachers college (abbreviated to stowe teachers college) and a move to simmons elementary school. the move provided the college with much needed space as well as a laboratory school to use for the development of their teachers. the second move occurred during the start of the fourth stage of the college’s evolution and at the beginning of harris’ tenure as president. second, one extenuating circumstance that shaped the context of education for african american children in missouri and prompted the board’s decision to open the college was the 1875 decree by the general assembly of the state of missouri. in fact, prior to march 17, 1875, schooling for african americans did not exist; however, in 1875 the general assembly of the state of missouri mandated an education for all children living in missouri. in 1890 the board responded to the decree by opening the college as a normal school. like the first normal school in the united states which opened in 1839 in massachusetts, its purpose was to train teachers (wright 1930); however, the purpose of the college or normal department (as it was called) was to train african american teachers to teach african american children attending st. louis public schools in grades kindergarten through eighth. third, another event during the first three stages of the development of the college was the expansion of the curriculum from a one-year program to a four-year college. in 1925, the board approved the college’s program expansion from a two-year program to a four-year program (harris 1967), thereby making the college comparable to the all-white teachers’ college in st. louis, harris teachers college. we think this is an important event because although there were many barriers that inhibited the growth of the college, throughout harris’ narrative she made references to working to make the college as good as other colleges and universities. as an illustration, according to wright (1930) normal schools in massachusetts established a two-year program in 1865 and a four-year program in 1870 conversely it took the board almost 35 years before expanding stowe teachers college’s program to four years (harris 1967). this was not the first time stowe teachers college received questionable treatment from the board. for instance, in 1919 the board approved the white teachers’ college authority to grant degrees to all students who satisfactorily completed the program requirements yet similar authorization for stowe teachers college came two years later in 1921 (harris 1967). fourth, during the depression era in the 1930s, a partnership with a nearby college for african americans helped the college develop an alternative program to grow its enrollment. in 1933 the superintendent of st. louis public schools created an entrenchment program in response to the depression. in order to reduce spending the superintendent discontinued the college’s two-year program, ordered it not to admit any new students, reduced its staff, and assigned the harris teachers college president as president of both harris teachers college and stowe teachers college. according to harris (1967) the cuts in the programs put the college in peril. however, with support from the community and the sponsorship by public works administration (pwa) the college was able to partner with lincoln university in jefferson city, missouri to create a two-year junior college program which lasted for five years. 16 in the first part of the overview we discussed events that influenced the development of the college during the first three stages under harris’ tenure and in the second part of the overview we constructed what we believed to be harris’ leadership style and her core beliefs during the same time. we used her narrative and photographs in her book to aid us in determining her leadership style. for example, throughout the book she wrote a lot about the contributions of others, the need for equality in the treatment of all teachers’ colleges, and the desire to create a competitive college. additionally, she included a limited number of photographs of herself in her book and most of her photographs show her seated among her peers. we interpreted the frequency in which she acknowledged others to mean she put people first. the group pictures bolstered our theory because we interpreted the photographs as representing a team. additionally, we inferred from her willingness to put others first and her positioning in the group photographs indicated that she was not an attention-seeker but more of a collaborator. given her rise to the highest position in the college and the clues we distilled from her narrative we believe harris was a quiet, tenacious, and determined leader whose leadership style was probably democratic—she along with others collaborated in the development of the college. second, in addition to harris’ narrative we relied on her dissertation to aid us in interpreting her core beliefs. we believe community involvement was the cornerstone of harris’ core beliefs. for example, she thought the college should serve its community (i.e., the college sponsored programs for students as well as community members) and students of the college should serve the community (i.e., the sociology course of the college had both class lectures and community service components). moreover, harris appeared to strongly believe that teachers should know the community in which they taught in order to better serve their students. the subject, which was the topic of her dissertation, probably got its roots from paul r. hanna (author of youth serves the community) who was on the faculty of teachers college, columbia university where she completed her dissertation (harris 1941). today, when students apply what they learned in class to service work we refer to the practice as community-based or blended learning. the seven principles and the key developments of the college during harris’ tenure although in our overview we included events from the first three stages we think influenced harris’ leadership skills and beliefs, the next section of the paper is focused on the development of the college during harris’ tenure as president—the fourth and final stage of her narrative. in this section of the paper we share our interpretations of her speech she delivered at the dedication services for the new building and next, discuss the seven educational principles she used to aid in the development of the college. with the pervasiveness of segregation in the united states during the 1940s it was probably very exciting for the community to hear that harris was the new president of the college. she essentially “grew-up” with the college so the community and former students knew her and undoubtedly trusted her to improve the college for the benefit of african americans. we presume harris’ purpose of using the dedication speech to reveal her platform for leading the college was two-fold—give her constituents a glimpse of what was to come and instill confidence in the board of her ability to lead the college. harris commenced her speech with the question, “what shall this program be?” and proceeded to answer it with the following 17 assertions, “the foundation of the success of the college included kindness, integrity, responsibility, diligence, reliability, punctuality, and loyalty” (harris 1967, 62). these words seemed to define harris. that is to say we gleaned from her writings that she was steadfast in her loyalty to the college as evidenced by her length of service as well as responsible as attributed to her promotions during her tenure. furthermore, words like responsibility and diligence appear to describe her commitment to supporting the community and cultivating a topnotch college. she elaborated that the college would be one of scholarship and that learning would far exceed what students learned in elementary or high school. her assertion about scholarship gave us pause as we connected her aspiration to fultz’s question about historians rethinking the descriptions of normal schools given their practices and higher education. likewise, we presume this was also another way she attempted to position the college as a competitive four-year university. in her dedication speech she foreshadowed how the seven principles would support development; however, in the final chapter of her narrative we learned about the contributions to the college as a result of their application. the seven educational principles are 1) know your pupils first, 2) educate the whole teacher— intellectually, culturally, socially, physically, 3) schools should make use of their communities as learning laboratories, 4) an institution should study itself, 5) an institution should provide for individual differences—especially in curriculum, 6) a teachers’ college should seek better integration and less overlapping of the education courses, and 7) in-service teachers should participate in planning the curriculum. in the final section of her book harris asked the readers, “are educational principles practiced in the institutions where they are taught?” (harris 1967, 84). we interpreted harris’ rhetorical question to mean that the college practiced the same concepts that the faculty taught stowe teachers college undergraduates. the following discussion provides examples of how the practice benefitted the college. principle one, know your pupils first, represented all of the tools the faculty of the college employed to get to know their students. in particular, they focused on recruitment by hosting events that allowed high school seniors in the region to visit their campus and talk to counselors and faculty members about programs at the college. they canvassed potential students to learn about their academic strengths and weaknesses by requiring them to complete questionnaires prior to their campus visits. counselors organized and distributed the information to the faculty. on the day of the event the counselors placed students in groups according to their interests and assigned faculty with similar interests to talk with the students about their programs. by garnering information from students they were able to consider the kind of remedial programs needed to support students entering the college with academic deficits as well as make adjustments in the program offerings (harris 1967). for principle two, educate the whole teacher—intellectually, culturally, socially, physically—the faculty adopted the phrase “whole child” for future teachers (e.g., whole teacher). harris asserted that teacher-education curriculum should encompass social and cultural activities as well as intellectual because students benefited from exposure to many different kinds of cultural activities. since the social climate of america at the time severely limited the access of african americans to cultural events in the larger community outside of the college, harris 18 believed it was the college’s responsibility to bring events to the community in which they could participate. principle three, schools should make use of their communities as learning laboratories, harkens back to harris’ experience at teachers college, columbia university. we saw a connection between harris’ dissertation—rooted in helping teachers understand the communities in which they worked—and the third principle. for this reason harris saw merit in having undergraduate students collaborating with community partners as a way to better understand the students they would one day teach. for instance, during her tenure as president the faculty initiated a cooperative education program between stowe teachers college and city agencies. the program consisted of undergraduate students enrolling in the sociology course which was a balance of class lectures and service in their community. harris saw the program as a way for students to gain experience working with children, learn about community agencies, and provide service. likewise faculty’s involvement bolstered their knowledge about students’ work in non-classroom settings which aided them in their process of selecting candidates for the stowe teachers college program. principle four, an institution should study itself, was part of harris’ desire for the college to be competitive with institutions across the nation. adhering to the north central manual of accrediting procedures harris involved the college in a couple of national studies as a way to investigate problems of the college and develop solutions. the first was a carnegie foundation grant awarded to the university of missouri in which stowe teachers college participated for the purpose of improving instruction of its faculty. the participation of the college in the study included the administration canvassing students about the faculty’s teaching, sending faculty members to seminars, and having the seminar attendees report their findings. the second study conducted during harris’ tenure was with the alfred p. sloan foundation. according to harris its purpose was an attempt to improve the living standards of the community by improving methods and content of instruction in schools, developing teachers’ instructional skills, making the curriculum relevant to the needs of students, and using current resources in different ways to reinforce teaching. in the first phase of the study harris and a few faculty members visited several school districts and in the second phase undergraduate students of the college worked with adults and children in the community to focus on a community problem and generate solutions. for example, with the residents’ permission, the students studied their homes and redesigned interiors; next, they had students create posters on the theme of eradicating rats in the neighborhood. last, one of the faculty members developed a textbook on rat control. the sloan project was one of the vehicles harris used to gain access to the community and put theory into action. providing for individual differences— especially in curriculum, was at the core of the fifth principle. harris cites the english workshop as one of the ways the college differentiated learning oral and written language. the faculty assessed students to determine their skill levels in the english language and customized the curriculum to address their language deficiencies. harris stated that differentiation (individualizing instruction to meet the needs of all learners) occurred at stowe teachers college long before tracking (grouping students by their abilities and placing them in similar classes) in the st. louis public schools. the workshop was unique 19 because it was in addition to students’ regular english classes and students’ could progress at their own rate (harris 1967). we presume this idea germinated from the data provided by incoming freshmen questionnaires that revealed many of them had underdeveloped reading skills. differentiation in schools today looks similar to the ways stowe teachers college used it over sixty years ago. seeking better integration and less overlap of education courses was the sixth principle. this occurred when the faculty combined courses to remove duplication in the programs. harris asserted the catalyst for the change was due to criticisms launched by students against the lack of sequence of education courses. the impetus for the change was to integrate courses where it made sense in order to make the learning experience meaningful and practical. in other words they combined courses like philosophy of education with the practice of teaching to bring the theory and practice closer together. principle seven, in-service teachers should participate in planning the curriculum, was harris’ desire to foster a democratic culture at the college. this principle reinforced our belief that harris’ leadership style was democratic. our most compelling evidence is when the faculty uses inservice teachers’ input to develop courses offered during the summer. specifically, according to harris (1967, p 156) teachers working in african american schools in st. louis public schools were unable to attend the two local universities. in 1941 the board approved the college’s summer program which afforded the teachers the opportunity to enroll in courses needed to develop their pedagogical skills. principle seven is important because the faculty of stowe teachers college developed a summer program based on the needs of teachers. subsequently the program paved the way for additional summer sessions at the college. harris’ core beliefs through the lens of her dissertation although there is limited information available to us about ruth harris we found her dissertation, teachers’ social knowledge and its relation to pupils’ responses, quite revealing of what we presume were her core beliefs about educating teachers. for example, in the first chapter of her dissertation harris (1941) addressed the importance of teachers broadening their programs beyond the four walls of the classroom so they may become knowledgeable about the immediate community and the larger world community. she asserted the importance of getting teachers to understand the complex problems of the modern world in order to help students learn how to become world citizens. with harris mentioning paul r. hanna in her dissertation we also presumed hanna, a faculty member at teachers college, columbia university during her post-graduate work at teachers college, influenced her beliefs. additionally, harris’ (1941) quote, “the teacher is the crucial factor in any conscious effort to bring school and community together” led us to believe that community or service learning is one of harris’ core beliefs. the statement of problem in harris’ dissertation is as follows: the understanding that teachers have of the communities in which they do their teaching is an important factor in the integration of their pupils’ lives in their communities and the pupils’ whole social adjustment. consequently the development of this understanding should be a major concern of teacher training in institutions (harris 1941, p 56). 20 harris explored how much the teachers in four st. louis african american elementary schools knew about the social condition in their communities and how the experience helped them relate to students. to answer her research question harris developed two surveys and administered one to teachers and the other to fifth and sixth grade students. in some of the questions she queried teachers about heavily congested areas in neighborhoods, type of houses in neighborhoods, location of playgrounds, and african american population. she found that teachers’ social information scores were low in the study. for example, less than 50% of the teachers knew about the most congested areas in the neighborhood or the types of houses found in them. additionally many of them knew little about the african american population in st. louis (harris 1941). additionally, harris compared students’ utilization of certain social facilities to teachers’ knowledge of the locations of the facilities. her findings revealed the following: 15% of the students selected the library as one of the places they liked to go while only 30% of the teachers knew the locations of the libraries in the communities. thirty-five percent of the students knew the locations of healthcare centers compared to 45% of the teachers. the playground was the third place students liked to go and 78% of the teachers knew the locations of the playgrounds; however, harris stated that the majority of the playgrounds were on the school grounds (harris 1941, 31). harris appeared to grapple with the lack of knowledge teachers had of the communities in which they worked. she believed if teachers knew about the economic conditions of the communities surrounding the schools they would be more empathetic towards students. for instance, harris supposed if students stole lunches she assumed it was because the students’ parents probably were unable to buy them lunches. however, teachers with limited knowledge of the community might assume students stole lunches because of poor behavior. we found a correlation between harris’ core beliefs in three of the seven educational principles—principle one (know your students), principle two (educate the total teacher), and principle three (schools should make use of their communities as learning laboratories). we found evidence of harris’ core belief, know your students, embedded in the college’s recruiting practices. next, we found evidence of what we presumed to be her second core belief, educate the total teacher, engrained in the cultural offerings at the college. for example, because of prevailing jim crow laws african americans were unable to attend cultural events in the larger community, therefore, harris exposed students and community members to cultural activities through the college. last, we found proof of harris’ third core belief, schools should make use of their communities as learning laboratories, in the college’s community education program (i.e., sociology course with lecture and service components). conclusion at the beginning of her book harris stated that may 17, 1954 was a date everyone would remember. not so much so because stowe teachers college was closing its doors but because the landmark decision of brown v. board of education was going to open more doors for african americans. throughout harris’ narrative she never limited the stature of stowe teachers college by comparing it to only african american schools instead she compared it to all universities and colleges. like brown she wanted african american students to get a solid education; therefore upon leaving stowe teachers 21 college they could enter the teaching profession or continue their education at colleges and universities of their choice. although there is little, if any, information written about her after her departure from the college, the intellectual capital she invested in stowe teachers college during the years of her tenure left an indelible mark not only on the college as we know it today, harris-stowe state university, but also st. louis. we presume that her most significant contributions included the bridging of community learning to higher education as well as elevating the education of african americans. first, we conclude that bridging the teachers’ program from the university to the community and back was a significant contribution by harris. it enabled undergraduate students to gain experience working with agencies within the community and increased their understanding of the needs of their future students. markedly, the practice exists today; however, we know it as community-based or service learning. like harris, supporters of service learning see the value of putting theory into practice in our communities. second, we conclude that harris’ aspirations to make stowe teachers college equal to or better than all colleges and universities is not only a significant contribution by harris but it also begins to answer fultz’ question, “should normal schools be considered by their aspirations, and sometimes by their practice, as fundamentally outside the realm of common schooling, given the “professional training” and “higher” education that characterized the normal school ideal?” (fulton 2012, 17). we respond positively to fultz’s question given harris’ aspirations for stowe teachers college to be the best in its class and the structures (seven principles) her faculty practiced in order to achieve it. her accomplishments while leading a college for african americans were hopeful given the fact that higher education institutions along with like k-12 schools, were separate and unequal. we recommend the continuation of the study of historical black colleges and universities (hbcus) as a way to define practices that worked and are germane to teaching and learning today. for example, we found that differentiation and blended learning practiced by the faculty of stowe teachers college currently exists in our schools today. we suggest future studies of former presidents of hbcus in order to provide a lens for historians to glean meaning from their aspirations and practices that inform the narrative of hbcus and their role in the education of african americans. references delgado, r., and j. stefancic. 2013. discerning critical moments. in handbook of critical race theory in education, ed. m. lynn and a. d. dixson, 23-33. new york: routledge. fultz, m. 2012. city normal schools and municipal colleges in the upward expansion of higher education for african americans. in higher education for african americans before the civil rights era, 1900-1964, ed. m. gasman and r. l. geiger, 17-41. new brunswick: transaction publishers. harris, r.1967. stowe teachers college and her predecessors. boston: the christopher publishing house. ———. 1941. teachers’ social knowledge and its relation to pupils’ responses. phd diss., teachers college, columbia university. ladson-billings, g. 2013. critical race theory— what it is not! in handbook of critical race theory in education, ed. m. lynn and a. d. dixson, 34-47. new york: routledge. walker, f. 1930. the evolution of the normal schools. the elementary school journal 30 (5): 363-71. schism in the schoolhouse: the tenuous relationship between social scientists and educationists within the aha commission on the social studies (1929-1934) james schul ohio northern university abstract from 1929 to 1934, the american historical association (aha) led a commission of prominent scholars from the fields of education and the social sciences with the charge of comprehensively investigating the social studies in american schools. this paper investigates the relationship between the educationists and social scientists within the commission and discusses likely causes for the differences between the two camps. introduction in 1929, the american historical association (aha) formed a commission to comprehensively investigate the social studies in american schools. the commission was a collaboration of prominent leaders in both the social sciences and education, including historians charles beard and a.c. krey, the educational theorist, george counts, and curricularist ernest horn. receiving a five-year grant from the carnegie foundation, the commission commenced in 1929 and remained an active body until 1935. this collaboration resulted in the production of sixteen different volumes with many of them published well into the late 1930s. however, the commission‟s work became embroiled in controversy, surrounding its final summary volume: conclusions and recommendations (commission on the social studies, 1934), written by krey, the commission‟s chair, beard, and counts. a close reading of the commission‟s work finds that the controversy sprouted from a myriad of issues, including radicalism, but mostly testing. however, the controversy about the commission‟s work also revealed a schism that resided within the body of the commission‟s membership. this schism revolved around the perception that the social scientists and educationists had of one another‟s professional ranking and emerged within the deliberations of the high profile members of the aha commission on the social studies. origins of the aha commission the purpose of the aha commission on the social studies was to streamline social studies education at a time when the high school curriculum was undergoing a massive curricular revision so as to meet the needs of a school population that had grown exponentially in the first two decades of the twentieth century (kliebard 2002, 45). the american historical association (aha), a premier professional organization for historians and history educators alike, found itself mired in the middle of this process of these curricular revisions. in 1899, the aha proposed a sequence of history courses for the high school experience which provided the underlying message that history alone prepared students for the “duties of daily life and intelligent citizenship” (jenness 1990, 67-71). this history centered curricula was later contested by the national education association committee on the social studies (neacss) of 1916 that proposed a high school curriculum that placed history into a broader field, called „social studies‟, whose “subject matter relates directly to the organization and development of human society, and to man as a member of social groups” with a 52 “conscious and constant purpose” aimed toward “the cultivation of good citizenship”(nelson 1994, 9). in 1918, the nea‟s cardinal principles report of secondary education concurred with the neacss by proposing “citizenship” as one of the primary principles the high school experience should revolve around. these two curricular reforms by the nea revolutionized the entire secondary curriculum from one with an academic bent to one with an emphasis on the nature of the student population and the general aims of society instead of the exclusive subject-centered history curriculum that had been previously proposed by the aha. historians read between the lines of the newer curricular reports and saw history being marginalized in the public schools by this new found emphasis on citizenship education (jenness 1990, 78; novick 1988, 186-7). subsequently, the aha reported in 1924 that the social studies was in a sense of chaos since social studies teachers did not follow any pattern, which may lead toward curricular organizations to work at cross purposes in future reforms (american historical association 1924, 84; beard 1932, vii; jenness 1990, 102‟ watras 2003, 48). it is as result of the conclusions of this 1924 report that the aha formed a planning committee that eventually gave birth to the aha commission on the social studies. in the winter of 1928, the carnegie corporation announced that it would fund a five year study of the social studies conducted by the aha (beard 1932, viii-ix). the commission aimed to be a comprehensive study of social studies that merged notable historians and social scientists with educationists. the commission commenced in 1929 and “was to be the most elaborate and comprehensive commission in the history of the social studies” (hertzberg 1981, 44). it was also the site where academic tribes, one from the arts and sciences, and the other from education, clashed in how they viewed the future of teacher training in the united states. the triumvirate the aha commission counted among its members some of the most prominent historians and social scientists in the united states during the 1920s and 1930s. there were sixteen members total on the commission, each of whom derived from various fields related with social studies education: historians, social scientists, educationists, and school practitioners. the commission was led by a.c. krey, a medievalist historian from the university of minnesota. appointed by the aha in the winter of 1924, krey was required to organize the commission, including compiling its members, as well as ensure that it was successful in this first comprehensive examination of the social studies in the schools. as a result, krey‟s burdensome work between the years of his appointment to the end of the commission‟s appointment consisted of writing “reports, letters, and requests for funding, kept books, cajoled, persuaded, and smoothed ruffled feathers” (dennis 1990, 25). while a notable historian in his own right, krey cajoled charles beard, arguably the most prominent american historian at the time, toward membership on the commission. beard‟s scholarship was so well received at the time that the aha commission was referred to some as the “beard commission” (hertzberg 1981, 44; jenness 1990, 130). beard‟s work on the commission led him to form another longstanding friendship with another member of the commission, george s. counts, who was then a rising figure in the field of education. counts, at the time of the commission, was a faculty member at columbia university where beard had once worked from 1904 until 1917, who was best known as an 53 educational theorist with a strong belief in the school as a transformative agency for society writ large (counts 1934, 3-4). the three, krey, beard, and counts, formed somewhat of a triumvirate in the commission, or as krey liked to refer to themselves as the “soldiers three” (krey, 1934b). during the commencement of the aha commission, this triumvirate served as the driving force of the commission‟s work as evidenced by their collaborative authorship of the commission‟s controversial summary volume. the controversial summary volume the summary volume, published in 1934, was the final installment of the commission‟s sixteen volume study on the social studies. the intent of the volume, as its title conclusions and recommendations implied, was to summarize the findings of the commission and provide practical advice for schools with regard to the social studies. although it was a collaborative effort between krey, beard and counts, it was shaped mostly by counts due to krey‟s poor health and beard‟s attention to other projects (dennis 1990, 84-6). the summary volume was clearly colored by counts‟ conceptualization of social reconstructionism. according to counts, the school, as currently composed, imposed support for capitalist and governmental policies and that schools and teachers should instead impose upon students a commitment to reshape democratic society so that it served the good of the whole rather than only the wealthy or fortunate. this radical philosophy shone through in the summary volume‟s second chapter, “frame of reference”, the volume aggressively pushed a collectivist viewpoint. in the chapter, the summary volume boldly declared that “the age of individualism and laissez faire in economy and government is closing and that a new age of collectivism is emerging” (commission on the social studies 1934, 16). according to the volume, the emergent social changes commanded the education system to respond accordingly by organizing “a program in terms of a philosophy which harmonizes with the facts of a closely integrated society, it will ease the strains of the transition taking place in actuality” (34).there were several members who, for various reasons, expressed some concern that the summary volume did not adequately represent the commission‟s work. the sternest protest came from the university of iowa‟s ernest horn who was perhaps the most prominent education professor on the commission‟s membership roll aside from counts. while the summary volume‟s emphasis on social reconstruction was a bit problematic to horn, stating that a “collectivist order” was “too comfortably set up” (horn 1934, 3), it was the volume‟s condemnation of the work of the nation‟s education schools that irked him the most. the mid 1920s was a time for innovation in education and ernest horn was a key figure in promoting sound, research-based educational innovation. horn, a professor of curriculum and instruction at iowa, established the university of iowa elementary school which became known for nurturing inquiry-based instruction in its teacher education program. he was a key figure in promoting sound, research-based innovation in education with a primary concern for spelling instruction where he aimed to decipher which words were most commonly used in life outside the school (stein, 1973). horn also had a strong interest in social studies education and served as a member of the national council for the social studies. horn‟s work in the aha commission culminated in the authorship of a volume of his own for the called methods of instruction in the social studies. horn‟s philosophy of education differed from the triumvirate of krey, beard, and counts in that he emphasized the science of 54 education in his work. in other words, horn believed that innovation in educational practice was central to the ascent of the public school‟s democratic aims. furthermore, horn saw the need to nurture innovation in education so as to meet the needs of an ever-changing society. in contrast, the triumvirate focused more on the nature of the subject matter taught in the schools. horn refused to sign the commission‟s summary volume primarily for what he saw as an explicit disrespect for the science of education, most notably its dismissive stance toward objective (multiple choice) testing. in its fifth chapter, entitled “method of teaching,” the summary volume condemned what it called the “sin of pedagogy” in education schools, namely to teach instructional methods separate from subject matter: during the past generation these institutions have tended to overload their curricula with courses in the mechanics of instruction and administration, have directed their attention too largely to the refinement and super-refinement of techniques, have neglected the more fundamental problems of purpose, thought, value and content and have lamentably failed to co-ordinate training in teaching procedure with scholarship in subject matter (commission on the social studies 1934, 70). the volume essentially expressed concerns with education being a separate science. the education schools‟ emphasis on method dissociated with subject matter and the nature of the learner, the volume declared, made education “shallow, formal, or capricious, or all three” (commission on the social studies 1934, 71). these concerns about the education school, whether justified or not, undoubtedly derived from the history professions‟ long struggle with the education school for control over the public school curriculum (novick 1988, 186-7). in fact, the summary volume aimed to put an end to this curricular struggle by proposing to place the training of teachers under the over-arching auspices of the social science departments and that any robust education department should in turn focus on education as a place of “knowledge and thought devoted to the organization and content of knowledge as a focal point in culture” rather than on pedagogy (commission on the social studies 1934, 113). the summary volume shed light on the beliefs and attitudes of the majority of the commission members with regard to the education professoriate in general. while these public differences may have made it appear that the members of these separate camps were cold with one another, personal correspondence waffled between a polite, collegial tone to one of a blatant mistrust among their associated fields. for instance, horn became very upset with the treatment given to the education profession in the summary volume. as the chairman of the commission, krey was forced to play the role of arbiter between these disputes and consoled horn that he should not take the criticism personally: i think i can give you a good deal of support in insuring a correct interpretation of statements which might otherwise be used to condemn a lot of fine things which you have been doing in iowa. the condemnation was not of your work. if all the rest of the educational world were doing as fine things as you have been doing in iowa, there would have been little occasion for much of the condemnation which appears in the document, and the good which you are doing should not be torn down in the wreckage of the general condemnation (krey, 1934a). 55 krey firmly believed that the summary volume was correct in its estimation of the education professoriate. whether it was political posturing or not, it is clear that krey viewed horn as being mired in a personal and professional dilemma when it came to his decision as to whether or not he should sign the summary volume. “he was in the position of being damned if he did and damned if he didn‟t”, krey said in correspondence to beard.(krey, 1934c). there is no doubt that krey saw the education professoriate as lower in quality and less worthy of respect than his own. in a 1933 letter to the historian conyers read that focused on the editorial board of the historical outlook, at the time a premier practitioner‟s journal for elementary and secondary history teachers that later became the social studies journal social education, krey asserted that george counts was “the only professor of education whom i would consider qualified for this editorial board” (krey, 1933a). a noticeable omission in krey‟s assessment of the education field was horn despite his long standing efforts in the field of social studies education and worthwhile work in the area of spelling education. while krey may have spoken sincerely to horn about his good work in the field of education, he nonetheless viewed it as work in a deeply flawed and nebulous field. moreover, krey‟s recommendation of counts for the editorial board of the historical outlook likely meant that he viewed counts‟ work in educational psychology and philosophy as mirroring the social science disciplines than that of the education professoriate that he actually belonged to. horn was proven correct to fear a public confrontation between the educationists and social scientists in the commission‟s deliberations since educationists would “come out second best in a debate before social science teachers at large” (horn, 1933). despite horn‟s professional tact to preserve the civility of the commission‟s deliberations, the publication of the summary volume proved to be a public damnation of the education professoriate that would lead to a notable educationist to directly and publicly challenge the volume‟s unabashed criticism of the education field. the schism goes public as the summary volume became accessible to the public in the spring of 1934, several media outlets emphasized the significance that the commission‟s concluding statement would have on the educational landscape. time magazine, for instance, quoted the columnist harry elmer barnes who called the summary volume “the most revolutionary and significant document in american education since the days of horace mann” (“surveyor‟s and new society”, 1934). while some media outlets focused on the controversy over objective tests and others on the collectivist stance of frame of reference section, still others ran amuck with its praise for the volume‟s condemnatory stance against the education profession. as a case in point, the baltimore evening sun declared: as for the „science of education,‟ that is probably as inane and dreary a body of pseudo-knowledge as has ever been gathered together. and the rise of scientific pedagogues, the teachers of teachers, and gradual extension of their control until it is now virtually impossible for a would-be teacher to get a job without first submitting to a stipulated number of months of their mumbo jumbo, is a definitely unpleasant story. the tyranny which these pedagogues now hold over the american school system is all but complete. and it 56 is high time some reputable body should cry out against it (“challenging the racket”, 1934). this public backlash against the education establishment led one of its own, namely melvin (m.e.) haggerty, to directly challenge the leader of the commission who also happened to be his colleague at the university of minnesota. m.e. haggerty was the dean of the college of education at minnesota from 1920 until 1937. trained as an educational psychologist, haggerty had dedicated his entire professional career to the development of the education field both at minnesota and nationwide. as a result he took great offense to the harsh overtone that the commission‟s summary volume pointed toward his profession. in response, haggerty wrote a pointed letter to krey. in it he expressed to krey his resentment toward what he saw as a direct attack on his entire life‟s work: “since this the past volume either directly or by innuendo condemns practically every activity in which i have engaged in the last twenty years” (krey, 1934d). haggerty went on to chastise the commission for what he saw as their lack of academic rigor and objectivity: the document is a loosely worded discussion that bears all the marks of the kind of propaganda with which, in other fields, the public has become familiar in recent years. such intellectual challenge as rises from it is clouded in an atmosphere of emotional appeal. the detachment that one expects from sound scholarship is not evident (haggerty 1935, 274). he went on to say that “damnation” was accorded in the volume to “almost every endeavor that during the past half century has been made to improve teaching and to add to our knowledge about education” (275). upon reading haggerty‟s pointed letter, krey complimented haggerty‟s articulation of his concerns stating that “for out of just such serious discussion must arise that clearer understanding toward which all of us strain with whatever strength and wisdom we possess” (krey, 1934d). while krey believed haggerty‟s rebuttal of the summary volume was a thoughtful one, he nonetheless remained firm in his disagreement with many of haggerty‟s claims. at the heart of krey‟s rebuttal was an emphasis that the summary volume was intended to be a conclusion and was not designed to provide substantive data to back up findings. krey was also quick to point out that several volumes in the commission‟s report were yet published and therefore not available for public critique, which may be at the core of some of haggerty‟s concerns. however, later in the letter krey strayed away from haggerty‟s critique of the summary volume and focused more on the professional concerns brought forth by haggerty, namely his statement that the summary volume was actually a condemnation of his entire career‟s worth of work: i can recall nothing except the most sympathetic appreciation of my own efforts and aims and the heartiest cooperation between us both in helping to realize our common aims. such cooperation it seems to me would have been impossible between persons who differed fundamentally and widely as you imply we must – especially over a period of fifteen years more or less (krey, 1934d). 57 krey did not focus on his own personal views of the education professoriate as a whole, but instead focused on his respect for the individual professor as he had done earlier with horn. “i have always thought that you and i were in fundamental agreement,” krey emphasized to haggerty, “perhaps more agreed than any other two individuals on the campus” (krey, 1934d). knowing that he needed to ensure a positive working relationship with haggerty, krey was less harsh in his portrayal of the education profession with haggerty than he was with horn, whom he had earlier consoled as being one of the few education professors who was engaged in “fine things” throughout the country (krey, 1934a). rather than point out haggerty as being an exceptional scholar in a deeply flawed field, krey instead spoke of the turf battle that had haunted the commission‟s deliberation and was at the source of their disagreement, namely the “conflict between arts and education or between the academic and the applied fields, especially in education” that he conceded to be “the greatest tragedy in the educational world during the past generation” (krey, 1934d). krey proceeded to wash the commission‟s hands clean of the claims that haggerty made against it, saying “partisanship in this matter was in no wise the intent of the commission” the proverbial olive branch that krey offered to haggerty was an admittance that the professional differences between one another‟s fields was indeed unfortunate: “this schism,” krey conceded, “has hurt both immeasurably” (krey, 1934d). discussion the schism amongst members of the aha commission may be used as case study for a larger and historically rooted schism that took place between the education colleges and the remainder of higher education, particularly the arts and sciences. the summary volume‟s call to abandon what it called the “science of education” and to reunite education “with the great streams of human knowledge, thought, and aspiration” would not have likely been written by an education professor since it placed the representatives from the field of education in an unenviable position of defending its own existence (krey, 1934c). however, it was authored by an education professor in george counts. so, why was the commission‟s summary volume so critical of teacher education programs? the answer to that question likely lies somewhere on a spectrum between the changes that were taking place within the field of education and between the field of education and academia as a whole. the summary volume proposal for education to be a separate field of cultural study rather than as a bastion of pedagogical training may actually be a response to a trend that began to take shape in the early twentieth century when the university of chicago‟s laboratory school paved the way of educational innovation. the late nineteenth century saw john dewey rise to prominence in american culture through his leadership at chicago, whom he worked for from 1894 until 1904. the university of chicago, at that time, was very influential in the shaping of teacher training throughout the country since its education department was the “most rounded and comprehensive in the country” (dykhuizen 1973, 91). dewey‟s experimentalist approach toward education was broad, encompassing not only a consideration of the nature of the leaner, but also of the subject matter to be taught in conjunction with the general aims of the democratic society. subsequently, the laboratory school at the university of chicago served as a model of dewey‟s theory of education that was to be a model for the entire nation. however, when 58 dewey left chicago in 1904 for the university of columbia, the emphasis on experimentalism in chicago became secondary to its new found emphasis on social efficiency. when charles judd became a member of the education faculty at chicago in 1909, the education department emphasized the science of education, based on survey and research. under judd, the field of education came to be viewed as specialized field that was totally separated from subject matter (herbst 1989, 183-4). this transition of education from a broad field to a specialized vocational field was likely at the root at many of the differences that surfaced amongst the members of the aha commission. interestingly, it was one of judd‟s former doctoral students in education, george counts, who articulated this dissent against the path that judd had blazed for the field of education. however, counts‟ training as a sociologist of education fit more closely with the deweyian perspective of examining education as a broad field. the fact that counts was trained by judd and may have inadvertently undermined the work of his mentor in the summary volume is a curious issue worthy of an investigation in its own right. while the change in the nature of teacher education likely led to contention between social scientists and educationists, the relatively new site of teacher education may have played a role in the schism as well. it is important to note that the aha commission convened at a time when schools of education were first becoming embraced by the university setting when the normal school began its rapid decline toward extinction, as signified by the fact that the total number of normal schools in the united states fell from 170 to 66 and the number of state teachers colleges rose from 46 to 146 between the years 1920 and 1933 (labaree 2004, 29). “as early as 1915,” according to ellen lagemann, “300 of the 600 colleges in the unites states offered courses in education, and for the next fifty years, there was unprecedented growth in educational study, especially at the doctorate level” (lagemann 2000, 20). this inclusion of the education school into the broader university setting brought with it territorial and tribal disparity within academia. curricular historian hazel hertzberg (1981) noted about the commission that the divisions within it “were not between social scientists and educators but rather between people more directly involved in the world of public affairs and those largely within academia” (53). what hertzberg failed to realize in her assessment of the commission was that the a part of the cause for the divisions between the social scientists and educationists was in fact the territorial broach that the practical field of education had made in academia, which at the time was not amiable with fields that focused on the practical over the theoretical. a major concern that the social scientists likely had with the burgeoning field that their fellow commission members represented was that its assimilation into academia served as a peculiar fit in the predominant paradigm in higher education. the education school diverts from most of academia primarily because its curricular focus revolves around the application of practical knowledge to its students whereas academia mostly values theoretical knowledge (abbott 1988, 54-5; labaree 2004, 33). moreover, other members of academia may either ignore or subtly dismiss the education school because its existence infers that the primary job of most professors in academia, namely to teach, requires careful study and professional training. the divisions within the aha commission were among the first signs within american academia of an unhappy marriage between the education school and the arts and sciences that remains today. 59 references american historical association. 1929. annual report 1924. washington, d.c.: u.s. government printing office. abbott, a. 1988. the system of professions: an essay on the division of expert labor. chicago: university of chicago press. beard, c. 1932. a charter for the social sciences. part i: report of the commission on the social studies. new york: charles scribner‟s sons. “challenging the racket.” 1934. baltimore evening sun. may 21. commission on the social studies. 1934. conclusions and recommendations of the commission: report of the commission on the social studies. new york: charles scribner‟s sons. counts, g. 1934 oct 1. “orientation,” the social frontier. dykhuizen, g. 1973. the life and mind of john dewey. carbondale and edwardsville: southern illinois university press. dennis, l. 1989. george s. counts and charles a. beard: collaborators for change. albany: state university of new york press. haggerty, m. 1935 march 2. “the low visibility of educational issues.” school and society 41. herbst, j. 1989. and sadly teach: teacher education and professionalization in american culture. madison, wi: the university of wisconsin press. hertzberg, h. 1981. social studies reform, 18801980. boulder, co: social science education consortium, 1981. horn, e. 1933. 31 october 1933 letter to e.f. lindquist. papers of ernest horn, special collections and university archives, university of iowa libraries. _____. 1934. “reason for dissent of the aha commission summary volume.” papers of ernest horn, special collections and university archives, university of iowa libraries. jenness, d. 1990. making sense of social studies. new york, macmillan publishing company. kliebard, h. 2002. changing course: american curriculum reform in the 20 th century. columbia, teachers college press. krey, a. 1933a. 18 august. letter to conyers read. august c. krey papers, university archives, university of minnesota, twin cities. _____. 1933b. 23 october 1933. letter to charles a. beard. august c. krey papers, university archives, university of minnesota, twin cities. _____. 1934a. 27 march. letter to ernest horn. papers of ernest horn, special collections and university archives, university of iowa libraries. _____. 1934b. 19 may. letter to charles a. beard. august c. krey papers, university archives, university of minnesota, twin cities. _____. 1934c. 30 june. letter to charles beard. august c. krey papers, university archives,university of minnesota, twin cities. _____. 1934d. 23 september. letter to m.e. haggerty. august c. krey papers, university archives, university of minnesota, twin cities. labaree, d. 2004. the trouble with ed schools. new haven: yale university press. 60 lagemann, e. 2000. an elusive science: the troubling history of education research. chicago: the university of chicago. nelson, m. (ed.) 1994. the social studies in secondary education: a reprint of the seminal 1916 report with annotations and commentaries. bloomington, indiana: eric clearinghouse for social studies/social science education. novick, p. 1988. that noble dream: the “objectivity question” and the american historical profession. cambridge: cambridge university press. stein, f. 1973. ernest horn’s ideas on education within the context of the progressive education movement in america. ph.d. diss., the university of iowa. “surveyors and new society.” 1934 time, may 21. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/ article/0,9171,747458,00.html watras, j. 2003. “relativism and indoctrination: the critical reception of the commission on the social studies, 1926-1941.” international journal of social education, 18(2): 47-57. curricular innovations in hawaiian female seminaries carl kalani beyer abstract this article reveals that during the second half of the nineteenth century the government of the kingdom of hawai‛i and the american protestant missionaries collaborated to engage in curricular innovations, involving educating hawaiian females much like the charter schools of contemporary united states. the curricular innovations included the use of manual labor and manual training systems during a period from the establishment of its first seminary in 1837 until the end of the nineteenth century. the purpose of this article is to make the case that during the second half of the nineteenth century the government of the kingdom of hawai‛i and the american protestant missionaries collaborated to engage in curricular innovations, involving educating hawaiian females much like the charter schools of contemporary united states. this paper investigates four hawaiian female seminaries established by the hawaiian evangelical association (hea) during this time period to make its case. this study also reveals curricular innovations on the part of the missionary educators of these female seminaries in using manual labor and manual training systems from the establishment of its first seminary in 1837 until the end of the nineteenth century. agreeing with the contention made by bernard bailyn (1960) that research should provide a critique of previous studies and the call by hayden white (1999) that history is about retrieving the past in order to grasp the present, this paper is an historical analysis, utilizing both primary and secondary resources, and guided by a theoretical framework based upon revisionism. there are two reasons for taking this approach: first, it offers a view of the education for hawaiians not previously reported, and second, it provides a means to enlighten contemporary scholars as to the innovative educational practices occurring in hawai‛i during the nineteenth century. when one investigates the history of government supported education, there is a distinct difference between funding support for public and private education. public education is financially supported and private education is not. beginning in the 1970s, charter schools created a new category of education towards which the government supported financially. charter schools provide a choice to other public schools but are still considered part of the public education system and are not allowed to charge tuition. while the charter schools are legally and financially autonomous, operating more like a private business, they are accountable for student achievement. due to their being freed from bureaucratic restraints to which traditional public schools need to adhere, they are generally laboratories of innovation (chen 2010; landsberg 2010). early female education western-style education arrived in hawai‟i with the sandwich islands mission (sim) in 1820. preparing hawaiians to read the bible was the initial purpose for american protestant missionary education (alexander 1902). while they would have preferred teaching all hawaiians equally, schools were established for the chiefs and latter their children first. even when they established a common school system with mixed gender students, because they mistakenly believed that the traditional hawaiian culture rated women as second-class citizens, hawaiian men who excelled in the common 37 schools were offered more education than hawaiian women (linnekin 2000). consequently, when lāhaināluna high school was founded in 1831 as a training center for religious assistants and teachers, only males were selected to attend. it is interesting, however, that in 1839, when the first education law of the kingdom was written, it specified the importance of educating women. [education] is the appropriate business of all the females of these islands, to teach children to read, cipher, and write, and other branches of learning, to subject the children to good parental and school laws, to guide the children in right behavior, and place them in schools, that they may do better than their parents. (thurston 1904, 106) the american protestant missionaries sent by the american board of commissioners for foreign missions (abcfm) to hawai‟i were prepared for their mission by education, work experience, and the sense of a calling. their backgrounds were usually rural, and often farming had been the family livelihood. they were from the middle class. their lives were marked by an acquaintance with a variety of skills, hard work, self-denial, thrift, and personal initiative. their education had been preceded by engagement in various kinds of work: the employment with charitable or religious concerns; and traveling the northeast with tracts, bibles, and the missionary message, or the call to revival (grimshaw 1989). in many cases, the education of the men had also included an experience with the manual labor system, which had become popular during the first half of the nineteenth century, especially among the theological seminaries (beyer 2010a). the women of the mission were quick, efficient, and multi-talented. although their families could afford further education for them, they did not have the male privilege of extensive, full-time education for years, which culminated in the granting of a formal qualification. most had secured their education at intervals, while supporting themselves by teaching, by farm labor, or skilled trade (grimshaw 1989). a substantial number of these women did receive their training from the female seminaries emerging during the first half of the nineteenth century in the united states. when the daughters of these missionaries or new recruits from the united states took over the education of hawaiian females during the last forty years of the nineteenth century, many more were trained in the female seminaries of the united states. while oberlin college was not a female seminary, due to its curriculum, which included manual labor and manual training and a strong christian education, the sim sought its graduates. many missionary daughters also selected this school for their education as well. of the american female seminaries, mt. holyoke female seminary was the most preferred by many children of missionaries to hawai‛i and served as a place from where missionary educators were recruited for schools in hawai‛i (bingham 1868; chamberlain 1889; female boarding 1866; turner 1929). prior to when education for hawaiian females was primarily accomplished in seminaries, there was an initial educational experiment involving adult hawaiian women. patricia grimshaw (1989) stated that “soon after their arrival in hawai‟i in 1820, and over the next three decades, new england missionary women embarked on an ambitious plan to transform hawaiian girls and women to notions of femininity upheld by their culture” (xvii). of all the cultural practices of hawaiian women, the 38 missionaries deemed their sexual ones the most abhorrent. traditionally, hawaiian commoners had no formal marriage system. relationships were tenuous and, at times, could involve multiple partners. moreover, because sexual relations were looked upon as just one of life‟s pleasures, sexual activity began at an early age (handy and pukui 1972). to counteract this practice, the missionaries forced hawaiians to enter into formal marriages. this was accomplished by getting the high chiefs to proclaim that christian marriage was to be the law of the land. it was more difficult, however, to eliminate what the missionaries perceived as promiscuity. secondarily, “sloth and idleness” were also characteristics that the missionaries abhorred among the hawaiians (alexander 1902, 23). consequently, at first the missionaries attempted to use their life style and homes as models for hawaiian women to emulate (grimshaw 1989). when it became apparent that the american protestant missionaries needed to focus its educational efforts on the young, a second period of educational innovations began. in 1835, at the general meeting of the sim, a resolution was passed to establish common schools for both boys and girls in the mission districts and promote boarding schools for select hawaiians. as a result of these efforts, a compulsory education law was established and several male boarding schools and two female boarding schools were begun. these female schools, the wailuku female seminary on the island of maui and the hilo school for girls on the island of hawai‟i, were designed primarily to provide wives for the students at the boys‟ boarding schools (annual report 1835). before the 1850s, both of these schools had closed. wailuku female seminary or the central female seminary (as it was first called) was the first female school begun by the missionaries. it received its financial support entirely form the abcfm, the organization that had established the sim. like the boys‟ schools, the schools for girls also experimented with both boarding students and the manual labor system. the school was opened in 1837 under the supervision of reverend jonathan s. green and miss lydia brown (extracts 1836). reverend green was educated at theological seminary at andover, massachusetts, where he had experienced manual labor training. he also had some experience with the education being provided the hawaiian men at lāhaināluna high school. miss lydia brown had been recruited to serve the mission in hawai‟i as a teacher. along with teaching academic subjects, she specialized in the teaching of carding, spinning, weaving, and knitting of cotton and wool (missionary album 1969). they commenced immediately to oversee the erection of a suitable building for the school. on july 6, 1837, the school opened with six little girls. the number increased during the year to become an average of about thirty students. while reverend green was busy with the seminary, edward bailey assisted him by tending to mission duties, including teaching at the local common school, superintending the other schools throughout the district, and dealing with people‟s medical needs. edward bailey and his wife, carroline hubbard bailey, were selected to join the mission in hawai‟i for their teaching abilities. in november, miss maria odgen was added to the staff, and the enrollment grew to an average of about fifty students (holt 1861). unlike the instructors for the boys‟ school, who were usually ordained ministers, the girls‟ instructors tended to be women with teaching experiences who were from the united states and selected for their high ideals and earnest christian purpose in order that they be models for the girls (haven 1920; central 39 1838). the following statement by miss ogden best illustrates this purpose: i feel it important as far as our means will allow to root out every vestige of their former manner of living[,] raise them in morals and civilization as high as we can get them. so i am obliged to be wide awake in the school, at the table[,] and in the playground[,] and even follow them into their bed chambers. i am more and more satisfied that nothing but just constant vigil and supervision will accomplish the object we aim at. (kleinberg 1990, 35) a great deal of the vigilance pertained to controlling the students‟ sexuality and this was accomplished by implementing the components of the “virtue of purity:” secluding the girls in individual sleeping areas, assigning them to wear uniforms, requiring daily bathing, and admonishing them to control not only their actions but their thoughts as well (kleinberg 1990). the academic curriculum was elementary, including reading, writing, arithmetic and geography. once the school was up and running, the schedule for the usual day included: prayers at daylight; one hour of light labor in the garden; breakfast; miscellaneous work; from about nine to eleven a.m., miss ogden (who after mr. edward bailey took over the school replaced miss brown) taught them spinning, sewing, knitting, and weaving; bathing and dinner; from two to four p.m., mr. bailey instructed them in the academic subjects; from four to five p.m., they labored in the open fields with hoes and other implements mainly for exercise; the day ended with supper and prayers. from the beginning, the students at the school were constantly ill. the labor in the gardens was added as a feature to counteract the students‟ ill health (dibble 1854). the primary outcome of the school was to have the girls marry the boys of lāhaināluna seminary. in 1842, the american board renamed the boys‟ school as a seminary, in keeping with its newfound desire to train some of the male students to become hawaiian pastors. thus, special attention in the females‟ training was paid to teaching them to perform all the duties as wives and mothers. this was accomplished by instructing them how to prepare sleeping quarters, prepare meals, set table for eating, wash dishes, and other household chores (dibble 1854). the missionaries feared that all the good work that they were doing with the lāhaināluna students would be ruined and the graduates would “sink rapidly to an equality with their companions” if they ended up marrying nonpious, illiterate females. if on the other hand, they married “females of cultured minds, and civilized manners, and especially of industrious habits and pious dispositions,” they felt assured that their labor would not have been in vain (green 1838, 35). thus, the manual labor portion of the seminary curriculum was crucial as it was “central to the western concept of women‟s domestic sphere” (kleinberg 1990, 95). sheldon dibble (1854), a missionary and first scholar of hawaiian history, summarized the overall intent of the female seminary best when he stated: the plan and design of the female seminary is to take a class of young females into a boarding school – away in a measure from the contaminating influence of heathen society, to train them to habits of industry, neatness, and order, to instruct them in employments suited to their sex, to cultivate the minds, to improve their manners and to instill the principles of our holy religion – to fit them to be suitable companions for the scholars of the mission seminary and 40 examples of propriety among the females of the sandwich islands. (106) when lāhaināluna was transferred to the government, wailuku female seminary was transformed into a co-educational day school. the general meeting of 1849 gave mr. bailey permission to make this change. the school was re-oriented to offer education to either to hawaiians or foreigners, whose parents, guardians, or patrons would pay a reasonable fee for tuition. prior to this change, no tuition was charged the girls for their education (extracts 1849). this was just one example of the blurring of public and private education in hawai‛i during the first 30 years of the arrival of western education. technically, the school was no longer a part of the hawaiian public educational system but in practice, half of its enrollment tended to be full-blooded hawaiian and the other half was hapa haole (half hawaiians). mr. bailey taught the boys and miss odgen taught the girls. the prudential committee of the abcfm approved of the changes, released them from their connection with the american protestant mission, and gave them use of the school property and buildings. the school lasted until 1858, when due to the parents or sponsors of the children not meeting their financial obligations the school closed (extracts 1849). in 1838, fidelia coan, the wife of reverend titus coan, began hilo girls‟ boarding school. before her marriage, she had been a teacher at middlebury female seminary in vermont (missionary album 1969). hilo girls‟ boarding school was opened for 20 girls from seven to 10 years old. with the help of hilo residents, a building was erected and furnished. the school only lasted for eight years and the girls never were old enough to satisfy its objective of providing wives for the boys of hilo boarding school. coan‟s curriculum was “rudiments of necessary book knowledge, and of singing, sewing, washing and ironing, gardening, and other things.” book knowledge provided learning in reading, writing, geography, natural history of beasts, and arithmetic. manual labor consisted of the girls helping to maintain a garden alongside the school (coan 1840, 1882). titus coan (1840) expressed the value of the education provided these young girls: i never, in any country saw a school of twenty little children so uniformly meek, quiet, gentle, docile, and industrious as these little girls. they are a company of bright faces and happy hearts. their contentment has seemed perfect from the first. no one wishes to leave the school; no one sheds homesick tears. all are cheerful as the lark, and, by their obedient and affectionate manners, they have entwined themselves closely around our hearts. (9) mrs. coan also noted that the girls who were trained at the school did distinguish themselves “for neatness, skill, industry and piety” (piercy 1992, 102). ultimately, the school closed due to mrs. coan‟s failing health (simpson 1993). even before these two female seminaries closed, the missionaries had begun a school system for males and females that offered a common school education. however, by 1840, the missionaries were obliged to turn the common schools over to the government. bernard o. wist (1937), the premiere scholar on public education during the nineteenth century, speculated that the cuts in financial support from the abcfm due to the economic depression in the united states led to the missionaries‟ encouragement of the government‟s actions regarding the schools. while the schools were a valuable adjunct to the mission, the only course of action was to 41 surrender the schools to the government because of insufficient funds to build schools and pay teachers. over the next 20 years, the public school system was reorganized with the cooperation of the government and the missionaries continued to operate private boarding schools (wist, 1937, 1940). government supported female education by the 1850s, two educational systems existed in hawai‛i. all the common schools were formed into a public school system. the missionary boarding schools that were able to finance themselves became the private school educational system. when other religious dominations began to compete for the souls of hawaiian, they too began their own private schools (beyer 2010b). because the hawaiian public education system had earlier been a product of the american protestant missionary education effort, the government of the kingdom of hawai‛i continued to help the private schools of the missionaries through land donations and financial aid. while the first experiments in female schools occurred during a period of little interest in educating girls, during the late 1850s, there was much interest in female education (kuykendall 1932). evidence of this interest surfaced when the journal, the friend, initiated a journalistic challenge to the advertiser and the polynesian, the other prominent english language journals of that time period, and chided both the government and the abcfm for not promoting female education. the other papers responded, generating more discussion in promoting female education separate from the common schools (female education 1857). there were four dominant groups in hawaiian society at this time. the hawaiian royalty, consisting of all the families who were eligible to become king or queen of the kingdom, and the american protestant missionaries were by far the most powerful of these forces. due to their usual collaboration on education projects, they were staunch supporters of the government financially supporting private schools for female education. while the hawaiian people generally supported whatever the royalty proposed, their support was not always guaranteed. however, when richard armstrong, the minister of public education, visited schools across the kingdom, he reported their support for a separate female education system: “what the hawaiian people want is mothers, mothers, mothers, to train their sons and daughters; to reign in the domestic circle and make homes, quiet, well ordered, clean and happy homes” (armstrong 1854, 12). the final dominant group was the business community. the three honolulu newspapers were generally used by this group to express their interest. consequently, since the news media generated the discussion in favor of supporting female education, it is safe to say that the business community also supported this educational innovation. whenever the issue of female education surfaced, it was concerned with improving the ordinary hawaiian home by removing girls to boarding schools (report of education 1866). for the proper training of most of the hawaiian girls, [boarding school] is an absolute necessity if they are to be kept from degradation. this is the age when the hawaiian girl needs the seclusion of the school-home. (minutes 1892) ellen bond (1923), a founder of one of the female seminaries in this study, confirmed this with her own analysis: 42 it is my impression that the school originated in the demand of the time for schools that would give to the hawaiian girls a higher and broader education then was available at the public schools, and probably in an acceptance of the adage that the character of the nation depends largely on the character of its mothers. (35) in 1860, the hawaiian government‟s first effort to influence the curriculum for hawaiian females began when mataio kekuanaoa, the president of the board of education for the kingdom (the father of king kamehameha iv and v), authorized the charter for the makiki family school, a school for girls. this was the first new school in 20 years (kekuanaoa 1860). the closing of wailuku female seminary had freed maria ogden, its former principal, and she was called upon to establish this school (kawaiahao 1885). the legislative assembly supported this process when it amended the civil code, giving specific authority to the kingdom‟s board of education to establish family schools for hawaiian girls and also made it lawful for the schools to be aided by the government even if private organizations or individuals operated them (kamehameha iv 1860). he devised a government aid formula based upon capitation fees paid per child on the following scale: for every child in a family school (later to include female seminaries) for 6 months, $10; for 1 year, $20; for 2 to 3 years, $25; and for 4 years or more, $30 (government support 1865). this government aid was indispensable if hawaiian families were to take advantage of the choice this offered them in educating their daughters due to the financial hardships of the schools and the poverty of hawaiian families (chamberlain 1889). in 1865, kekuanaoa led the board of education to adopt special rules for the governance of these schools. schools were required to teach reading and writing in either english or hawaiian, arithmetic, the elements of grammar and geography, and utilize the manual labor and/or manual training systems. the internal arrangements of the schools had to be conducive to the physical and moral well being of the pupils. the schools were to be conducted on christian principles, but each set of board of directors or trustees was given full discretion as to the form of christianity they might choose to inculcate. the government inspector was required to visit, gather information pertaining to the number of students in attendance, the curriculum, the number of students who left the school and the reasons for their departure, and an evaluation of the value of the education (kekuanaoa 1865). in this way, the kingdom of hawai‟i began an innovative system of education which mirrored contemporary american charter schools. the schools received public financing and the government had a say in the general curriculum of these schools. while the primary motivation for educating hawaiian girls in private boarding schools was to improve their character, there was also beginning to be more concern about providing the graduates of female schools with the means of a livelihood as well. besides training the girls to produce household goods or obtaining domestic skills that they could sell, there were also voices calling for the training of hawaiian females as either missionaries or public school teachers (minutes 1863). although the hawaiian government was willing to financially support female seminaries, it was still up to independent organizations or individuals to establish these schools. the involvement of organizations not connected to 43 public education was another way that hawaiian female boarding schools mirrored the contemporary american charter school movement. as had always been the case in terms of education in hawai‛i, the american protestant missionaries again took the lead. a circular sent by reverends poque and andrews seeking answers from the various missionaries throughout the hawaiian islands helped to fashion the missionaries‟ policies for a series of new seminaries. the missionary letter collection of the hawaiian mission children‟s society did not have the circular, but the responses to this circular by the various missionaries indicated that there were four questions being asked: 1) what proportion of unmarried hawaiian girls who have attained the age of puberty remain physically chaste? 2) should there be the establishment of female seminaries? 3) should the seminaries be like wailuku female seminary? 4) at what age should the education begin? 5) how should the seminaries be financed? the consensus of their responses included the following: seminaries were needed like the earlier wailuku female seminary; the girls needed to begin their education at a very young age; the girls should stay at the seminary until they married or found employment; the seminaries should be boarding schools in order to keep the students away from corrupting influences; the seminaries should be located away from major port cities, where the bad influences were greatest; parents or guardians should pay for the expenses of the girls; the seminaries should have at least two instructors, one for academics and one for household arts, and that the pay be high enough to attract competent teachers; and the seminaries should teach in the english language and use a manual labor curriculum, which would help defray the costs and prepare girls for life after school (alexander 1858; clark 1858; johnson 1858; paris 1858). government supported female seminaries ka‟u seminary was the first female seminary to be established under the new government support of private female education. this school was located on the island of hawai‟i. the school was founded in 1862, by orramel hinckley gulick and his wife, ann eliza clark gulick. both were the children of missionaries and had graduated from punahou school, the school established by the missionaries for their children. orramel received all his education in hawai‟i; anna eliza was a graduate of mt. holyoke seminary (female boarding 1866). due to the isolated location of the seminary, it was difficult to attract many students to attend. as a consequence, tuition and board was free, as long as the girls were placed under the parental care of the teachers of the school until the girls were married or obtained employment (minutes 1863). while later female seminaries charged tuition, the fact that waialua female seminary did not, made it more like a public school than other missionary schools. in 1865, after struggling to attract students to the school, the hawaiian board of missions decided to transplant the school to wai‛alua, oahu. they opened the latter school with fifty students, ranging in age from eleven to fifteen. contrary to the advice of the other missionaries, the students were instructed in the hawaiian language (female boarding 1866). in general, due to the homes of the girls being located in rural areas, the students were raised according to the values and practices of traditional hawaiian culture. the hea determined that the objective of the school was to prepare the girls to become new england ladies. in order to transform the girls, the teachers instituted the following practices: dressing the girls in calico as opposed to their usual holoku; provide beds rather than sleeping mats on the floor; served meals at a table with silverware 44 instead of on the floor using their fingers. the schedule for the day began with breakfast, followed by each girl reading from the hawaiian bible, and after the principal offered a prayer in hawaiian, they were dismissed to begin the routine work, which encompassed all the work necessary to maintain the school except for carting and carrying firewood, and baking and pounding the taro for poi. the older girls put the food away, washed the dishes, and swept the floor. the younger girls dispersed to do various tasks, which included sweeping and dusting the parlor, the sitting-room or the school-room, gathering up the litter of leaves and branches from the yard and garden paths, or putting the teachers‟ rooms in order. some of the girls were involved with preparing the meals. all the girls did washing and ironing clothes once a week. the academic work took place between nine a.m. and twelve p.m. and between one and four p.m. an hour and a half was spent on gardening and farming (jones 1880). through this training, according to an instructor, “[i]t is our endeavor, by the course of study and training they shall receive, to fit them for missionaries and teachers, and to be the mothers of a part of the future redeemed hawaiian nation” (jones 1880, 436). the curriculum included geography, arithmetic, surveying, astronomy, singing, bible history, and the bible in general. manual training consisted of instruction in cutting and sewing dresses, in washing, ironing, cooking, cleaning house, and painting (minutes 1867). based on an original manuscript that provided details on each student enrolled in the school from 1865 to 1870, several features of this school were revealed. first, it was very important to the sponsors of the school that the girls become members of the christian church. nearly 58 percent of the students were members. second, the school did keep the girls until they graduated (40 percent of the enrollment), married (34 percent of the enrollment), were employed (4 percent of the enrollment), left for health reasons (6 percent of the enrollment), or were dismissed for not applying themselves or for bad behavior (16 percent of the enrollment). generally, bad behavior meant improper sexual behavior, but sometimes it meant stealing or repeatedly lying. the school was also meeting its goal in preparing some of its students to become wives of ministers or missionaries (22 two percent of enrollment) and teachers (12 percent of enrollment) (female boarding 1871). although the teachers would never have called these figures a success, they indeed reflected that their efforts were leading to positive results. no doubt this can be attributed to the rapport between the teachers and the students (gulick 1867). in december, 1870, the school closed when the american board sent the gulicks to evangelize in japan (piercy 1992). the school was reopened april 3, 1871, under the charge of miss mary e. green. she was a daughter of missionaries, educated at punahou school and mt. holyoke seminary (minutes 1871). except for the addition of instruction in both the english and hawaiian languages, the school was conducted mainly as it had in its first six years. english became the language of instruction in the academic subjects while the hawaiian language continued to be the language to study the bible and other related christian studies (female boarding 1873). she ran the school until 1882, when due to her ill health, she could do it no longer. the property was sold and the money was given to the trustees of kawaiaha‛o seminary in honolulu for the erection of new buildings (kawaiahao 1885). the origins of kawaiaha‛o seminary was first as a school for the daughters of dr. l. h. gulick and south sea island girls in a building 45 located just south of the kawaiaha‛o church. corresponding with a quick increase in enrollment, which presented the need for a more permanent organization, was a report issued by the education committee of the hea, expressing the need for a female seminary in honolulu. the authors of this report wanted this school to be primarily religious, a boarding school with a day school department, taught in both english and hawaiian languages, supported by tuition paid by parents or guardians of the students. it was also expected to use the manual labor and manual training systems in order that the girls learn how to work and receive training in all that pertains to housekeeping and the domestic arts (report of education committee 1866). in 1867, the hawaiian mission children‟s society (hmcs) decided to support a girls‟ boarding school. this was an organization consisting of the children of the missionaries, which operated separately from the hea. they were looking for a cause to support when this opportunity availed itself. after this initial support, hmcs became a regular contributor to all the hawaiian female seminaries (chamberlain 1889). they selected miss lydia bingham as principal, and it was officially named the kawaiaha‛o seminary. she was the daughter of reverend hiram bingham, a member of the first company of missionaries to hawai‟i, who returned to the united states to raise his children after his wife died. miss bingham had been the principal of the ohio female seminary and had been brought from ohio earlier that year by dr. gulick to assist him with his emerging school (report of education committee 1867). the hawaiian board appropriated $1000 for repairs and additions to the buildings then occupied by dr. l.h. gulick and the girls in his family school. the capitation aid from the government was indispensable in helping to keep the price charged for board and tuition low (chamberlain 1889). the tuition varied from $25 to $33 during the entire history of the school. at first, miss lizzie johnson assisted miss lydia bingham in the management of the school. in january 1869, miss elizabeth k. bingham arrived from the united states to be an assistant to her sister. elizabeth bingham was a graduate of mt. holyoke and, when she was recruited, was a teacher at rockford female seminary (bingham 1868). the breaking up of miss ogden‟s school at makiki in 1868 increased the enrollment and the needs of the school (missionary 1969). already the enrollment was over fifty students. throughout the rest of the century a number of assistants and principals came and went. private contributors, the abcfm, hea, and hmcs poured more money into the school. new buildings were constructed, enabling the school to offer a full compliment of manual training programs and increase its enrollment. between 1881 and the end of the century, the enrollment grew from 57 to 127 students. in 1876, due to the growing expense of the school, the hawaiian board invited the government to join them in supporting the school. a board of trustees was established. as a result of the government contributing funds, it had a say in the membership of this board. in spite of this arrangement, all the trustees remained members of the missionary group (kawaiahao 1885). originally, kawaiaha‛o seminary was both a day and boarding school. but from 1871 on, it became an exclusively a boarding school. at first the school was designed to prepare hawaiian girls to become “suitable” wives for men who were at the same time preparing to become missionaries and work in the south seas. this objective took the back seat to industrial education as new manual training departments were added. this included sewing, washing and 46 ironing, dressmaking, domestic arts, and nursing. the mainstay of the curriculum involved furnishing complete elementary courses, including music, both vocal and instrumental, and training in the household arts (fiftieth 1914). while kawaiaha‛o was both growing and changing into a manual training school, two other female seminaries came into existence. the first of these to be discussed is the kohala female seminary. originally, in the 1840s, reverend elias bond and his wife, ellen howell bond, had founded both boys‟ and girls‟ boarding schools in kohala, located on the west side of the island of hawai‟i. reverend bond was a graduate of bowdoin college and bangor theological seminary, maine. ellen bond had studied at gorham female seminary and expected to be a foreign missionary. but due to the pressures of other work, they were both forced to close their respective schools (missionary 1969). in 1873, after raising $2500, a school for girls was reorganized as the kohala female seminary. the grounds were cleared, a stone foundation and fences built, water system laid out, and the main buildings for classes and living were constructed. the school officially opened in 1874. miss elizabeth lyons came from the mission at waimea to be its first principal. forty-five girls enrolled, but it soon grew to sixty, which outgrew the first dormitory. in 1878, the first schoolhouse was converted into a second dormitory, and a new schoolhouse was erected. the school flourished for ten years. then a serious typhoid epidemic occurred. miss lyons was force to return home to waimea to care for her aged father. no one could be found to replace her, so the school was closed (bond 1923; bond 1954). in 1887, the bonds turned over the property for the school to the hea board under the conditions that it be used as a boarding school for girls, following the same evangelical principles for which the school had been founded. katherine bond (1954), a daughter of the bond‟s, says “[t]he aims and ideals of the school have always been to furnish a wholesome christian home training, together with a practical education such as will fit the girls to become housekeepers, wage earners, and generally good citizens” (2). the girls were allowed to do work in lieu of the tuition and room and board fees, which also minimized the costs for the school. the tuition was $25 per semester throughout the nineteenth century. manual labor involved washing and ironing clothes, cooking, baking taro twice a week, and raising the potatoes, taro, and other vegetables. the curriculum included arithmetic, history, language, geography, reading, spelling, civics, and the bible. the manual training program included lauhala mat weaving, sewing, cooking, crafts, music, hygiene, and gymnastics. the graduates of the kohala female seminary were preferred, as employees by the manager of parker ranch, which is today the largest singly owned ranch in the united states (williams 1923). a statement made in a journal published in hawai‟i best summarized the attitude about this school: it was the original purpose of mr. bond to establish a school for girls that should give them a higher and broader education than was available at the time in the public schools, besides giving them a wholesome christian home training. during these years the school has registered no less than eight hundred girls, many of whom are living lives of usefulness as teachers in the public schools of hawai‟i or as wives and mothers in their own homes. (school 1904, 14) the last of the female seminaries that was begun by the missionaries was at first called the 47 makawao family school. reverend claudius b. andrews and his wife, anne seward gilson andrews, began it in 1861 in a location above makawao village on the island of maui. he was a graduate of western reserve college and lane seminary in ohio. no mention was made of mrs. andrews‟ education. his purpose was to create a school where the girls were taught, as if they were his own daughters (turner 1929). borrowing $3000, which he added to the $1000 he had received from his father for emergencies, he built the house that became the school (andrews 1866). the curriculum of the school was not based primarily on book knowledge; instead “[the students] would be given the essential elements of the true character building, looking to future development of hawaiian womanhood” (turner 1929, 7). a year after the school was begun, mrs. andrews died. throughout the next seven years, reverend andrews received help from a variety of people and attendance grew to seventy students. but then in 1869, after the school building burned, the school was closed. it reopened in 1871, as a special project of the henry p. baldwin family, under a board of trustees, and after the erection of new buildings, as the east maui female seminary or maunaolu seminary (turner 1929). henry baldwin was the son of missionaries, educated at punahou school and oahu college, taught for a while at lāhaināluna seminary, and, at this time, was amassing a fortune as a sugar planter (wist 1940). reverend andrews along with his second wife, samantha washburne wilson andrews, were in charge of operating the school. miss helen e. carpenter was engaged as an assistant teacher. both samantha andrews and helen carpenter were graduates of mt. holyoke seminary. in 1874, the latter was appointed principal (missionary 1969; turner 1929). throughout the years after the reorganization, the curriculum included the usual academic courses in reading, mathematics, literature, history, language (all instruction was in english), geography, spelling, civics, and the bible. the manual training departments included sewing, domestic arts, and culinary. during the last two decades of the nineteenth century, the school was nicknamed the mt. holyoke seminary of the hawaiian islands due to the connection of its instructors with that american seminary and the large number of hawaiian minister‟s daughters in attendance. additions to the buildings and aid from both the government and the abcfm led to the enrollment climbing to 100 pupils (hawaiian mission 1881). ultimately, the school was successful on many levels. even though the missionary founders no longer aimed to have the women graduates of this school marry graduates from the nearby lāhaināluna seminary, this was indeed happening frequently. many of the graduates became teachers, either at other seminaries or in the public schools (missionary 1969; turner 1929). conclusion in 1895, the legislature of the republic of hawai‛i terminated the practice of government financially supporting private education (thurston 1904). this action was taken to enhance the chances that their bid for annexation by the united states was successful by mirroring the american practice of separation of church and state. nevertheless, three of the hawaiian female seminaries continued to be educational innovators well into the twentieth century. throughout their history, the hawaiian female seminaries were successful in offering hawaiian females a choice from the rudimentary education offered at the public schools. when one reads the reports of the principals of these seminaries in the annual 48 reports of the hea and the hmcs, they continuously highlight the successes they were having with training their students to become good, christian housewives, and models for other hawaiian women. they exhibited pride in the marriages of their students, especially if their husbands were hawaiian pastors or missionaries. towards the last twenty years of the nineteenth century, kawaiaha‛o, kohala, and maunaolu seminaries expanded their enrollment. most likely this was due to the success the seminaries were having in preparing its students for paid employment, which coincided with their educational innovations in using manual labor and manual training. by the end of the nineteenth century, each school had a full compliment of manual training departments, which led to the acquisition of industrial skills by the students. thus, through a period of almost 75 years, hawaiian female seminaries were curricular innovators through providing an education that led to the success of its students that they would not have had if they had received their education from the common schools. besides the curricular innovations the american protestant missionaries utilized in their female seminaries for almost three quarters of the nineteenth century, my research also reveals evidence that indicates an early form of the charter school movement was taking place in the kingdom of hawai„i. while technically the hawaiian female seminaries were not a part of the public school system, they did provide an alternative to the public school system and a choice for hawaiian parents. the female seminaries received financial aid from the government and were expected to account for student success. thus, the collaboration of missionary educators and members of the hawaiian government anticipated on their own some of the same elements of this educational system in the united states a hundred years later. references alexander, w. d. 1902. the development of education in hawaii. the friend, lix (december), pp. 22-24. alexander, w. p. 1858. letter to mr. poque and mr. andrews, october 18. in missionary letters collection, hawaiian children‟s mission society, honolulu, hi. andrews, c. b. 1866. letter to reverend l.h. gulick, 4 august. in children of the mission, hawaiian mission children's society. honolulu, hi. annual report and minutes of the american board of commissioners for foreign missions. 1835. boston, ma: american board of commissioners for foreign missions. armstrong, r. 1854. report of the minister of public education to the legislature of 1854 (honolulu, hi: hawaiian government.) bailyn, b. 1960. education in the forming of american society. new york, ny: vintage books. beyer, c. k. 2010a. setting the record straight: education of the mind and hands existed in the united states before the 1880s. american education history journal, 37 (1), 149-168. beyer, c. k. 2010b. past and present transformation of hawaiian religious participation. in indigenous symbols and practices in the catholic church, ed. k. j. martin, 75-96. burlington, vt: ashgate publishing co. bingham, e. 1868. letter to n. g. clark, 20 april. in children of the mission, hawaiian 49 mission children's society collection. honolulu, hi. bond, e. r. 1923. kohala girls' school. the friend xciii (7): 162-163. bond, k. 1954. a history of kohala girls' school. kohala, hi: hawaiian mission children's society. central female boarding seminary, wailuku, maui. 1838. the hawaiian spectator i (2): 103. chamberlain, m. a. 1889. memories of the past, linked to scenes of the present, in the history of kawaiahao seminary (original typescript). in education collection, hawaiian mission children's society. honolulu, hi. chen, g. 2010. what is a charter school? retrieved march 10, from http://www. publicschoolreview.com/articles/3. clark, e. m. 1858. letter to mr. poque and mr. andrews, september 16. in missionary letters collection, hawaiian children‟s mission society, honolulu, hi. coan, t. 1840. progress. hilo girls' school. boston, ma: american board of commissioners for foreign missions. coan, t. 1882. life in hawaii. new york, ny: anson d.f. randolph. dibble, s. 1854. history of the sandwich islands. honolulu, hi: t.g. thrum. extracts from the minutes of the general meeting of sandwich island mission. 1836, 1849. honolulu, hi: sandwich island mission. female boarding school in foreign missions. 1866. boston: missionary house. female boarding schools. 1873. supplement to the friend 21 (7): 23. female boarding schools, kau and waialua. 1871. in school collection, hawaiian evangelical association archives, hawaiian mission children's society, honolulu, hi. female education among hawaiians. 1857. the friend, 6 (16): 41. fiftieth anniversary of the founding of kawaiahao seminary. 1914. honolulu, hi: hawaiian children's mission society. green, j. s. 1838. female education at the sandwich islands. hawaiian spectator i (january): 35-38. grimshaw, p. 1989. paths of duty: american missionary wives in nineteenth-century hawaii. honolulu, hi: university of hawaii press. government support of family shools for hawaiian girls. 1865. hawaiian gazette i (june 24): 12. gulick, l. h. 1867. letter to ann gulick, july 1. in children of the mission, hawaiian mission children‟s society, honolulu, hi. handy, e. s. c, and m. k. pukui. 1972. the polynesian family system in ka-'u hawai'i. rutland, vt: charles e. tuttle. haven, g. p. 1920. the education of our girls in the seminaries of hawaii. the friend lxxvii (5): 132-33. hawaiian mission children's society annual reports. 1881. honolulu, hi: hawaiian mission children's society. holt, j. d. 1861. hale hoike-ike the story of a house. honolulu: hawaiian historical society. johnson, e. 1858. letter to mr. poque and mr. andrews, december 9. in missionary letters collection, hawaiian children‟s mission society, honolulu, hi. jones, l. c. 1880. seven weeks a missionary. lippencott's magazine: 424-438. kamehameha iv. 1860. laws of his majesty kamehameha iv, king of the hawaiian islands, passed by the nobles and representatives at their session,1860. honolulu, hi: hawaiian government. 50 kawaiahao seminary: at the close of the first twenty years of its history, with the brief history of other schools for girls. 1885. honolulu hawaii: hcms. missionary album 150. kekuanaoa, m. 1860, 1865. biennial report of the president of the board of education. honolulu, hi: hawaiian government. kleinberg, p. g. 1990. pieces of civilization: the wailuku female seminary samples. thesis, university of hawaii, manoa. kuykendall, r. s. 1932. education in the hawaiian islands: prior to the founding of lahainaluna high school. the friend cl (7): 159-60. landsberg, m. 2010. new l.a. charter school becomes campus watch. retrieved from http://www.heraldsun.com/pages/full story/ push?article-new+l-a-+charter+school +becomes+campus+to+watch%20&id=32522 15 linnekin, j. 2000. sacred queens and women of consequence: rank, gender, and colonialism in the hawaiian islands. ann arbor, mi: the university of michigan press. minutes of the meeting of the hawaiian evangelical association. 1863, 1867, 1871, 1892. honolulu, hi: hawaiian evangelical association. missionary album: portraits and bibliographical sketches of the american protestant missionaries to the hawaiian islands. 1969. honolulu, hi: hawaiian mission children's society. paris, j. d. 1858. letter to mr. poque and mr. andrews, december 4. in missionary letters collection, hawaiian children‟s mission society, honolulu, hi. piercy, l. w. 1992. hawaii's missionary saga: sacrifice and godliness in paradise. honolulu, hi: mutual publishing. report of education committee on boarding school for girls in honolulu. 1866, 1867. in hawaiian evangelical association, hawaiiam mission childrens' society. honolulu: hawaiian evangelical association. school to be proud of. 1904. the friend lxi (4): 14. simpson, m. 1993. the lymans of hawai'i island: a pioneering family. hilo, hi: orlando h. lyman trust. turner, c. l. 1929. the story of maunaolu seminary. honolulu, hi: the friend. thurston, l.a. 1904. the fundamental law of hawaii. honolulu, hi: the hawaiian gazette co. white, h. 1999. afterword. in v.e. bonnell & l. hunt (ed.s), beyond the cultural turn: new directions in the study of society and culture, 315-24. berkeley, ca: university of california press. williams, t. c. 1923. the alumni of kohala girls' school. the friend xciii (7): 166. wist, bernard o. 1937. american foundations of public education in hawaii: the socioeconomic factors which were influential in the shaping of an american public school system in hawaii. ph.d., diss., yale university. wist, b. o. 1940. a century of public education in hawai'i. honolulu, hi: hawai'i educational review. http://www.heraldsun.com/pages/full%20story/%20push?article-new+l-ahttp://www.heraldsun.com/pages/full%20story/%20push?article-new+l-achartered waters: the twisted navigation of the american charter school movement james e. schul james w. reineke winona state university abstract the american charter school movement began in the early 1990s as a means to revitalize a beleaguered public education system. in this article, the authors explain how the charter school movement evolved from its genesis and later discuss trends among the contemporary charter school movement. the authors also suggest that the movement should revisit its roots as a collaborator with traditional public schools rather than a competitor against them. key words: accountability; alternative schools; a nation at risk; business and educational reform; charter schools; educational policy; history of education; local control; no child left behind act; school choice; standardized testing chartered waters: the twisted navigation of the american charter school movement bluffview montessori school resides in the picturesque small minnesota city of winona. in 1991, the privately operated school was at a crossroads. while its existence relied on tuition dollars, many of the families interested in enrolling their children into the school were unable to do so for financial reasons. the principal of the school, michael dorer, consulted with the winona area public school (waps) system to discuss the formation of a publicly operated montessori program. modeled after the philosophy and practice of its namesake, the italian educator maria montessori, montessori schools are known for their nontraditional practices such as mixed-age classrooms and the use of physical manipulatives to teach concepts rather than direct instruction. the notion of incorporating such a non-traditional school within a larger public system was not unfamiliar to public education in minnesota. in fact, minnesota had already been innovative in such ways with regard to school choice options (nathan 2002). so, it was logical for waps to willingly listen to dorer‘s proposal. during these initial discussions, minnesota state representatives attuned to the situation with the montessori school proceeded to contact dorer about a new legislative initiative recently passed by the legislature called school charters. the school charter concept, originally conceived years earlier by ray budde (1988) and albert shanker (molnar 1996) and later discussed by minnesota teachers (nathan 2002), consisted of a public school that operated independently of a school district. this school would be operated by a sponsor who was awarded funds by a particular state with the expectation that the school will produce a specified set of educational outcomes by a specified period of time. in turn, the state 57 proposed to provide some freedom from bureaucratic requirements typically associated with traditional public schools. the contract, or charter, between the sponsor and the state promised to spur educational innovation within the public school system. the representatives told dorer that his discussions with waps made a nice fit for this new charter venture. the eventual result was an agreement between the state board of education and michael dorer on december 10, 1991 to create the first charter school in united states history (dorer 2002). 1 the chartering of bluffview montessori elementary began a surge of charter schools at the dawn of the twenty-first century. in a study issued in 2012 by the national center for educational statistics, it was reported that nearly six thousand charter schools exist with over two million students enrolled (see table 1). table 1: growth in charter schools and enrollment selected characteristic 1999-2000 2011-2012 traditional public schools (non-charter) charter schools traditional public schools (non-charter) charter schools number of schools 90,459 1,524 92,632 5,696 student enrollment 46,350,000 340,000 47,199,000 2,058,000 number of teachers 2,622,278 13,599 2,920,353 107,929 source: u.s. department of education, national center for education statistics, common core of data (ccd), "public elementary/secondary school universe survey," 1999-2000 through 2011-12. (this table was prepared march 2014.) the pioneers of this charter school movement, namely ray budde and albert shanker, articulated a clear vision for the purpose and nature of charter schools. as charter schools increased in number, this theoretical vision became blurred in practice as states throughout the nation began issuing charters to sponsors. the authors assert that the current concept of charter schools understood and accepted by the public is a deviant from its original conception. in fact, the authors believe that the charter school concept is currently mis-used by some economic and political leaders as a means to privatize public education. it is our aim to provide through this chapter the historical background of charter so school leaders and policy makers may be better informed of the current path of the charter school movement. the genesis of charters with ray budde the roots of the modern charter school movement lie in the domestic and foreign political initiatives of the 1980s. in 1983, the u.s. department of education issued the a nation at risk report that 58 warned the nation that youth were academically ill-prepared in its public school system. ―if only to keep and improve on the slim competitive edge we still retain in world markets,‖ the report asserted, ―we must dedicate ourselves to the reform of our educational system for the benefit of all‖ (national commission on excellence in education 1983). this initial warning sent a shockwave of concern throughout the nation that eventually led leaders in and out of american public education to call for reform of the school system. another national report called the task force on teaching as a profession emerged in 1986 from the carnegie forum on education and the economy emphasizing that a growing consensus in the nation demanded the public schools should return as ―engines‖ of progress and economic productivity (budde 1988). the collective narrative among most education policy initiatives in the 1980s became clear: schools should be held under closer scrutiny as a cause for the economic decline of the united states. it is in the midst of this testy landscape for american public education that ray budde, in 1988, introduced a new path to revitalize public education to a national audience yearning for solutions with his publication of a book entitled education by charter. ray budde was a former middle school english teacher and school administrator who eventually become an education professor at the university of massachusetts in amherst. by 1988, he was the director of an educational collaborative of school districts in massachusetts (saulny 2005, june 21). he had long thought of the concept of charter schools and formally announced his ideas in education by charter. this book served as the manifesto of charter school reform as it pragmatically presented why and how to form a charter school before any actually existed. budde used the term ―charter‖ to describe his concept because he believed it to be akin to the charters given by european monarchs to navigators once new lands were discovered during the era of exploration in the late fifteenth century. charter schools, he believed, was an exploratory venture to improve american public education. in his book, budde listed twelve goals ―a school board and educational staff should be able to accomplish‖ in a ―reorganized school‖ for the 1990s (budde 1988, 8). these goals were as follows: 1. give teachers responsibility for and control over instruction. 2. insure that pupils assume responsibility for their own learning and behavior and that they acquire the attitudes and skills to become lifelong learners. 3. link career development plans and professional growth activities to the instructional materials, curriculum and services needs of the school district. 4. move the school district from a tenmonth, rural-based school year to a 210 + day school year for students and a full time, twelve-month work year for teachers. 5. provide opportunities for teachers to undertake professional-level, nonclassroom responsibilities as part of their careers. 59 6. establish a program budgeting/accounting system which will enable educational programs to be planned and implemented over a three-to-five-year period of time. 7. enable principals to revitalize their leadership roles as creators of safe, positive environments for learning and supporters of teachers who are responsible for instruction. 8. establish a program/services monitoring and evaluation system not under the control of those whose programs and services are being monitored and evaluated. 9. productively tap and cope with the vast expansion and fundamental changes taking place within and across the fields and disciplines of knowledge. 10. make wide and appropriate applications of the computer and other emerging developments in technology and communications. 11. integrate various levels of educational research and professional contributions into the ―fabric‖ of the school district. 12. solicit and encourage the active participants of parents and persons from business and other vocations in the education of the children and youth of the community. budde rationalized charter schools as a means to accomplish some or all of these goals. he proceeded to explain, in a fictional tale, how an innovative superintendent might proceed with a charter school initiative. at the core of this tale was the superintendent proposing the idea to his own staff within his own district. any teacher, or group of teachers, could submit a simple application for charter funds to begin an educational initiative within the district. the listed reasons why teachers within a district might be interested in starting a charter were as follows: * strong dissatisfaction with the present curriculum or teaching situation. * excitement from trying out a successful new teaching strategy which could be developed and expanded. * ideas a group of teachers bring back from a workshop led by a nationally known figure in education. * a new plan for organizing instruction learned by a teacher taking a graduate course in administration. * ideas picked up during a visitation to a classroom in another school. * ideas generated from reading, and/or viewing video cassettes and television programs. * pressures felt by teachers and administrators to respond to the hidden and not so hidden criticism of schools found in the various national reports calling for educational reform the life cycle of the charter was proposed to last three to five years with an opportunity to possibly renew the charter after an evaluation of its program. charter schools, as budde conceived them, were to emerge from within the ranks of teachers. they were a vehicle for teachers to expand their power as professionals and spur innovation within a district. to budde, a charter school was a collaborative endeavor within a school and not a competitive one against it. 60 national attention with albert shanker while ray budde may have given birth to the concept of charter schools, he was not a nationally known figure and his ideas gained little traction when originally presented. in fact, budde‘s education by charter was first disseminated in 1974 as a paper presentation to the society for general systems research with little to no response (budde 1996). new life, however, was breathed into budde‘s charter school concept when albert shanker began to advocate for it. albert shanker was synonymous with teacher labor movements throughout the latter half of the twentieth century. his career began in 1952 as a mathematics teacher in east harlem, new york. by the 1960s, he was intricately involved in labor issues for teachers, eventually leading up to his leadership of the american federation of teachers (aft) in 1974 that lasted over two decades. he became the face of teacher labor movements by writing a multitude of opinion columns in the new york times that aimed at promoting and clarifying the aft‘s labor position. shanker was long concerned with conditions of schools in east harlem and sought innovative approaches to revitalize public education in that area. he became aware of budde‘s charter school concept and began to advocate for it as an approach worth consideration. as budde published education by charter in 1988, shanker began to publicize his views of charter schools in a speech given at the national press club that same year. he addressed the improvements made in public education since the nation at risk report and emphasized that charter schools may be the encompassing resolution to the problems addressed by the report. shanker, like budde, conceived of charter schools as an internal improvement started by teachers within public schools. ―do not think of a school as a building,‖ shanker explained to the audience, ―and you can see how it works‖ (shanker 1988, 12). shanker proceeded to explain the nature of a charter school: consider six or seven or twelve teachers in a school who say, ‗we've got an idea. we've got a way of doing something very different. we've got a way of reaching the kids that are now not being reached by what the school is doing.‘ that group of teachers could set up a school within that school which ultimately, if the procedure works and it's accepted, would be a totally autonomous school within that district. the district should create a panel that would be used to either approve or reject the teacher proposals that would come in. the panel could be a joint panel between the union and the board; it could include outsiders, or it might be a system in which the union and the board would separately have to ratify such proposals (shanker 1988, 12). a central component of shanker‘s concept of charter schools was that it be teacher driven within a collective bargaining environment. as the leader of the aft, shanker saw the union as a central player in school reform. shanker‘s public profile with the aft lended the charter school movement credibility that 61 eventually enabled it to be pushed onto a larger political landscape. ted kolderie and the minnesota conception teachers and other educational leaders considered the concept of charter schools synchronously with shanker‘s public advocacy. perhaps no initial conversations were as serious about charter schools as those first held in the state of minnesota. as previously mentioned, minnesota had historically provided choice options within school districts, particularly in the twin cities (nathan 2002). this familiarity with teacher-led innovation spurred the first impactful discussions about charter schools in the state. in 1988 a community organization called the minneapolis foundation held a conference where shanker served as a keynote speaker. after hearing shanker espouse the charter school concept, several of minnesota‘s educational leaders in attendance convened for a special meeting to discuss shanker‘s ideas. this coaltion consisted of five individuals: barbara zohn, president of the minnesota parent teacher student association; elaine salinas, education program officer of the urban coalition in minneapolis-st. paul; ted kolderie, a former journalist and director of a minneapolis-based public policy group entitled the citizens league; ember reichgott, a democratic state senator from a minneapolis suburb; and joe nathan, a former inner city public school aide, teacher and administrator who eventually became the director for the center for school change at the university of minnesota (nathan 2002). one key point discussed by this coalition was that in order for the charter school concept to work well, it needed to open up the concept of charters beyond local school districts. ―after all,‖ joe nathan pointed out, ―school boards already had the power to offer different kinds of schools, yet less than a handful of minnesota‘s more than 400 districts were doing so‖ (nathan 2002, 19). this decision became a key change in the evolvement of the charter school concept as it meant allowing individuals or groups outside of a school district to apply as a sponsor for a charter. this new charter school proposal from the minnesota coalition emerged out of more than mere pragmatism, as members of the coalition envisioned a larger problem behind the lack of applicants within minnesota‘s public school system who proposed to form a school within a school. the problem, they believed, was an inherent flaw in the u.s. public education system. in a paper entitled ―the states will have to withdraw the exclusive‖ written in 1990 for the center for policy studies, a minnesota based non-profit policy design organization, ted kolderie argued that ―our system of public education is a bad svstem …it is terribly inequitable. it does not meet the nation's needs. it exploits teachers' altruism. it hurts kids‖ (kolderie 1990, 3). kolderie proceeded to explain his rationale for allowing charter schools to be sponsored by individuals outside of school districts: the state's job is not to run the schools. the state's job is to provide a workable system for those who do. it owes boards, teachers and administrators -and the public -a 62 system in which those who do change and improve are supported and rewarded, and in which those who do not are the ones put at risk (kolderie 1990, 4). public schools, according to kolderie, were institutions naturally inclined to protect itself even when change was required from it: the district's ability and willingness to start new schools is bound to be limited, however, by its desire not to threaten the other schools it owns. the result would be what it is today: selected demonstrations, and waiting lists - always the visible evidence of a reluctance to let change cause internal stress (kolderie 1990, 5). to counterpoint school districts‘ hesitancy to change, kolderie proposed two steps that he believed would stymie the exclusivity over public education that schools owned. the first step, called ―choice‖, empowers students to make the decision of the school, or ―franchise‖ as coined by kolderie, that he or she attends. this first step intended to free the market of school, as if it operates as any other business, so competition among schools may spur change and innovation for the sake of public education. the second step, called ―diversification‖, enables the state to form new schools. this second step was kolderie‘s conception of charter schools where the state forms charters with sponsors who may be ―a business firm. or an investor group. or a group of parents. or perhaps educators; administrators or teachers‖ (kolderie 1990, 7). these new charter schools, according to kolderie, would be held accountable by both ―whatever standards the local district is willing to impose on its own students‖ as well as ―to its families, through choice‖ (kolderie 1990, 8). the coalition, led by kolderie‘s public vision, was persuasive in its views to garner state-wide acceptance as the minnesota state legislature passed the nation‘s first charter school statute in 1991. the bill was authored by state senator ember reichgott, a member of the coalition spearheaded by kolderie. while michael dorer‘s bluffview montessori may have been the first group to be chartered by the state, numerous other sponsors in the aftermath were granted charters. by 2001, a mere ten years after the passage of the state‘s charter school statute, 64 charter schools were in operation in minnesota. what originated as an innovative idea deliberated by a small number of minnesota educators committed to improving the state‘s public education system became, in some ways, a phenomenon. this phenomenon, unbeknownst to the minnesota coalition in 1990, engulfed the nation in a short period of time. a national charter school movement the 1990s witnessed a remarkable surge in the number of charter schools. once minnesota became the first state to pass charter school legislation in 1990, a domino affect of states choosing to take the very same route quickly followed. in the first five years after the passage of the charter law in minnesota, 25 other states passed charter school laws (see table 2: state adoption of charter school legislation). 63 table 2: state adoption of charter school legislation 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 minnesota california colorado georgia massachussets michigan new mexico wisconsin arizona hawai‘i kansas alaska arkansas delaware new hampshire lousiana rhode island wyoming connecticut washington, dc florida illinois new jersey north carolina south carolina texas vergari (2002) currently, 42 states and the district of columbia have passed charter school legislation. only eight states do not have charter school laws: alabama, kentucky, montana, nebraska, north dakota, south dakota, vermont, and west virginia (the center for education reform 2015). as states took up charters, other people began to show interest in these schools. although budde and shanker‘s vision of charters was for teachers to take more control over their own work, others saw charters as a means to challenge the public education system in the united states. joe nathan, one of the members of the minnesota coalition who produced the minnesota concept, argued that charter schools gained national attention because they aligned with four concepts favored by the american people: ―freedom and choice for families, entrepreneurial opportunities for educators, explicit accountability for schools, and thoughtful, fair competition for public school districts‖ (nathan 1996, 18). these four ideas presented by nathan freedom of choice, entrepreneurship, accountability, competition were all part of a growing movement to create an alternative to the failing public schools as they were described in a nation at risk (national commission on excellence in education 1983). public acceptance of charter schools grew with the public accolades thrown toward them by political leaders from both political parties (presidents clinton, a democrat, and g. w. bush, a republican, were both staunch supporters of charter schools) and major foundations such as the bill and melinda gates foundation and the eli and edythe broad foundation poured money toward the growth of charter schools. even oprah winfrey jumped onto the charter school bandwagon by handing out one million dollar checks to six charter school leaders on her television program (beazely 2010, september 21). the outpouring of public support led to increased student enrollment in charter schools. the number of students enrolled in charters grew from 340,000 in the 1999-2000 school year to 2,058,000 in the 2011-12 school year (see table 1 on page 57). the expansion of charter schools in the u.s. made a significant impact on many american communities. a report issued in late 2011 by the national alliance for public charter schools, reported the following: 64 a record number of school districts— six—have at least 30 percent of their public school students enrolled in public charter schools. charter schools in new orleans enroll an astounding 70 percent of public school students. additionally, 18 school districts have 20 percent or more of their public school students enrolled in charter schools, eleven more than when we first printed this report six years ago. nearly 100 districts now have at least 10 percent of public school students in charter schools (national alliance for public charter schools 2011, 1). it is important to note, however, that the increased enrollment did not necessarily come from growing public support. for instance, the increase in the number of new orleans students in charter schools can be explained by a change in school district policy. after hurricane katrina, new orleans closed all the public schools and only opened new charter schools in a school district they called the ―recovery school district‖ (gabor 2013, september 20). support for charter schools, school choice in general, and other market-based reforms has grown and they have become the hallmark of federal education policy. the u.s. department of education under the bush and obama administrations embraced the notion of school choice, charter schools, and other market-based reforms. as a case in point, in a speech to the national alliance for public charter schools, education secretary arne duncan (2009) described race to the top, the obama administration‘s program to improve schools by restructuring or eliminating poor performing schools. in race to the top, school districts are required to ―stack rank‖ their schools. the lowest performing schools—the bottom 5 percent— are required to implement one of four ―turnaround‖ options. all of the options require at least a 50 percent turnover of faculty and administration and the implementation of new teacher accountability measures. one of the proposed turnaround models (number 3) is to reinvigorate the school by ―replacing the staff and leadership and turning it over to a charter or for-profit management organization‖ (5). since 2001, with the inception of the no child left behind act (nclb), this ―turnaround‖ option has been indicative of the paradigm of contemporary federal policy makers: charter schools can outperform traditional public schools with improving academic performance among the nation‘s poorest children. contemporary trends among charter schools nearly a quarter of a century has passed since minnesota blazed the trail by beginning the charter school movement, providing the public enough time to make a judgment on the movement. there are many types of charter schools today, some vary by state and others even by school district, making it difficult to form generalizations about charter schools in the united states. this section will be our attempt to form some generalizations about charter schools as a means to analyze the contemporary american charter school movement. the performance of charter schools have generally failed to deliver on the movement‘s 65 promise for academic improvement from traditional public schools. charter school advocates are known to use statistics to stake their claim for a high quality learning experience than their traditional public peers, but recent empirical studies reveal that most charter schools are no better or, in fact, worse than traditional public schools. the center for research on education outcomes (credo), an independent research group housed in stanford university, published significant research reports on american charter schools in both 2009 and 2013 (see table 3 comparison of charter and public school performance). the 2009 report, which examined test results from 16 states, revealed that 17% of charter schools produced better results in academic achievement than traditional public schools, leaving 46% of charters the same and 37% worse (center for research on education outcomes 2013). table 3: comparison of charter and public school performance year of study charter schools better than traditional pubic schools charter schools same as traditional public schools charter schools worse than traditional public schools 2009 17% 46% 37% total: 83% 2012 25% 56% 19% total 75% center for research on education outcomes (2013). the 2013 study, which expanded upon the 2009 study to include test results from 26 states, had slightly more favorable results for charter schools than the 2009 report. however, the 2013 results still revealed that three-fourths of american charter schools were either the same or worse than traditional public schools. these results show that some charter schools may live up to expectations and public perception placed on them but, as a whole, the charter school movement has not been as effective as traditional public schools in producing a more rigorous academic experience for students. and, yet, charter schools are still held up by federal policy makers as a favorable alternative to traditional public schools. strangely, secretary duncan even referred to the credo report in race to the top documentation – yet continued support of charter schools as a viable academic alternative to traditional public schools. while charter schools‘ academic results have not matched the rhetoric of policy makers, controversy surrounds some charter schools due to their peculiar response to public scrutiny. organizations who open charter schools do so using public funds. as a result, charter schools are still purported to be public schools only with more bureaucratic leeway to adjust their curriculum than traditional public schools. 66 traditional public schools are held accountable by the american public for their use of public monies. in late 2014, for instance, charter schools in ohio were put under public scrutiny for poor academic performance and financial corruption. strauss (2015) writing in the washington post stated that ohio has become the ―butt of jokes‖ among reporters who cover charter schools. among the many episodes that led to that moniker are widespread misappropriation of public funds, and collusion among charter schools. as a case in point, the virginia-based imagine schools charged the ohio imagine schools ―exorbitant rent‖ and the rent was kickedback to private investors who bought up charter school property and leased it back to the school management company (livingston 2015). the problem, according to ohio governor, john kasich, is too little state regulation on charter schools that enable some schools to be operated by private corporations who sought to create profit through questionable methods (rowland 2014, december 19). kasich promised to regulate ohio‘s charter schools to ensure better financial transparency. another case where charter schools have been publicly criticized for their lack of financial transparency is the roger bacon academy, a charter school in leland, north carolina, that refused to allow their employees‘ salaries made public as required by the north carolina department of instruction, citing that it is protected by state law from doing so since the information is their business‘ confidential trade secret (mcgrath 2014, october 14). a dichotomy exists between the public funding of charter schools and some charter schools that are privately operated that raises this question: are charter schools public or private schools? scrutiny toward charter schools for not behaving as public institutions, despite being publicly funded, is not new. in late 1994, a michigan circuit court ruled that charter schools in its state were not actually public since the schools were not under exclusive control of the state (miron & nelson 2002). to counter concerns that charter schools do not behave as public schools some advocates of charter schools called for increased transparency as a means for charter schools to be more accountable to the public. this approach, which former assistant secretary of education, chester finn, jr. and other charter school advocates call ―accountability-via-transparency‖ would conceivably work this way: if flaky people are operating a dubious school with a weird curriculum, classrooms are out of control, money is being squandered (or pocketed by the school head), or test scores are sagging, this will be no secret to its community. either the school changes its ways or it finds itself without students (or without its charter school renewal). conversely, a school that works well will find people beating a path to its doors (finn, jr., manno, vanourek 2000, 128). theoretically, accountability-viatransparency, would ensure that publicly funded charter schools are held accountable to the public. however, the recent examples in ohio and south carolina call into question the transparency of contemporary charter schools. in fact, new aspects of the contemporary charter school movement arguably dart further away from transparency 67 and public accountability. at the forefront of this new private-oriented feature of charter schools is the introduction of noninstrumentality charter school debuting in milwaukee, wisconsin. milwaukee, as a city with a disproportionately high level of poverty, is experimenting with their education system by allowing some charter schools to operate outside the auspice of the milwaukee public school district. the result is that these non-instrumentality charter schools have no accountability to the public since they are devoid of a publicly elected school board. school boards are the primary means of democratic control that the public has over public schools. to take away school boards, as non-instrumentality schools do in milwaukee, erases democratic control over the schools, eliminates the public forum in which the public may inquire about budgetary concerns, and vanishes accountability for those who operate these schools (ravitch 2010b). this calls to question: are non-instrumentality charter schools really public schools? another common criticism of charter schools‘ deviance from traditional public schools is the under-representation of students enrolled in special education. charter schools have the reputation of not marketing to nor recruit students with disabilities and their families (miron 2014). in fact, a study published in 2000 by the u.s. department of education ―found a pattern of charter schools systematically counseling out students with disabilities rather than making accommodations and providing the required services and supports‖ (miron 2014). however, evidence recently surfaced that charter schools are enrolling more students with disabilities than in the past. a study published in late 2015 by the national center for special education in charter schools (ncsecs) found that 10.42% of students enrolled in charter schools were eligible for special education programs whereas 12.55% of students enrolled in traditional public schools were classified as eligible for special education. the ncsecs report went on to claim that 115 of u.s. charter schools focus primarily on students with disabilities (national center for special education in charter schools 2015). despite this recent report, criticisms of charter schools‘ enrollment of and service for special education students are likely to continue as long as a discrepancy remains between charter schools and their traditional public school counterparts in the area of special education.. while criticisms of charter schools linger, the continual expansion of charter schools upon the american landscape signify that charter schools are still deemed by many as a viable solution to problems with american public education. the popularity of charter schools by the public, despite the movement‘s shortcomings in satisfying the claims about it made by the u.s. department of education, may be testimony that the public‘s craving for flavor and variety outweigh federal policy makers‘ appeal for charter schools as a more academically rigorous alternative to traditional public schools. further research is needed to understand the causes for the popularity among the public writ large for charter schools. however, charter schools undoubtedly do provide a variety of educational opportunities from which the 68 public can choose from. a signature appeal of many charter schools, like winona‘s bluffview montessori, is that the curriculum diverts from patterns of the traditional public school. some charter schools such as north idaho‘s stem charter academy center their curriculum around the popular merger between science, technology, engineering, and math (stem). another contemporary trend among charter schools, like the classical academy charter school of clifton, new jersey, is to focus schools around a classical curriculum that values the perrenialist philosophy that a robust liberal arts curriculum better serves students and society. still others, such as the camarillo academy of progressive education in camarillo, california, center their schools around central proponents of the american progressive education movement from the twentieth century by emphasizing a childcentered learning and inquiry-based learning experience. the variety of school curriculum options that exist among charter schools represents an experimentation with varying philosophies of education that has been unprecedented in american public education. discussion ray budde conceived the concept of a charter school as a means to revitalize american public education. by the 1980s, much hope was attached to the concept and it became a phenomenon throughout the united states. still today, charter schools are perceived by educators and politicians as a key to renewal in american public education. however, the movement is no longer new as it is now nearly twenty-five years old. the results of the charter school movement have been underwhelming. the vision of ray budde, and later albert shanker, for charter schools as a means to reinvigorate public education has been blurred over time and is not the movement that they originally conceived. while budde may have been optimistic about the charter movement that surfaced in the mid-1990s (budde 1996), shanker publicly denounced the charter school movement once he saw it began to cut ties with teacher unions (ravitch 2013). the anti-union stance of charter schools continues to this day as approximately 12 percent of charter schools are unionized and the teacher retention rate for charter schools is much lower than traditional public schools (kahlenberg & potter 2014). rather than a movement to reinvigorate the traditional public schools, charter schools became a centerpiece of a ―school choice‖ movement that worked in tandem with the voucher program started in milwaukee, wi in 1990. when ted kolderie conceived charter schools as an opportunity for the franchise of public education to be operated by private businesses, it evolved into the pinnacle of a political vision of education first articulated in the mid twentieth century by milton friedman (1955) in his essay ―the role of government in education‖ and reinforced in the 1990s by john e. chubb and terry m. moe (1990) in a book entitled politics, markets, and america‘s schools that envisioned the traditional public school as holding a monopoly on public education and that education would be improved if that monopoly was challenged by privatization of the system. as a result, charter schools became viewed as a viable competitor to the american public school. federal and state governments, beginning with the 2001 69 passage of nclb enlisted the use of standardized testing to gauge the effectiveness of traditional public schools adding a looming threat of a charter school takeover if traditional public schools failed to reach a particular cut score on the tests. parents the authors know who choose to enroll their children in charter schools are generally pleased with their choice. this is not surprising since charter schools have indeed created a variety of educational options for the public. however, the charter school movement gained national attention among federal education policy makers for other reasons, namely as a prescription to cure the academic struggles of lower socioeconomic students. the research, however, shows that the charter school movement has been unable to improve upon this situation. this should serve as a lesson to school reformers that schools cannot be operated as businesses since the success and failure of a school is intrinsically linked to the social capital of the society is serves. the real source of the historical struggle of american public education has been an increase in poverty in american society. businesses are concerned with turning a profit, whereas traditional public schools are concerned mostly with the betterment of its students and society. charter schools have become a big business venture, resulting in behavioral trends by some charter companies that are not befitting for democratic institutions like public schools. the authors suggest that the charter school movement should revisit its roots with ray budde and make charter schools a piece of the traditional public school system instead of an outside competitor. there is hope, however, as challenges to the contemporary charter school concept have received public attention. recently, for instance, public broadcasting‘s the newshour, featured a charter school in houston, tx that cooperates closely with the traditional public school (pbs newshour 2014, july 22). additionally, evidence is mounting against the nearly quarter-century old charter school movement that may lead to a call for change. the renowned historian of education, diane ravitch, for instance, recently wrote two critically acclaimed books, the death and life of the great american school system (2010) and reign of error (2013) that directly challenges the contemporary charter school movement in support of the traditional public school. the 2013 credo report further substantiates concerns about charter school effectiveness. ray budde aptly coined the title ―charter‖ school as a play on words to embrace how his idea would unleash an era of exploration in public education akin to the european exploration of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. this navigational analogy is a useful one to explain the american charter school movement to date: the american charter school movement, like a ship gone astray, went from its original path and veered off course toward what its leaders thought was a panacea for a struggling public school system. the panacea, however, proved to be merely a mirage. charter schools were originally meant to reinvigorate traditional public schools by empowering teachers within those schools to become educational entrepreneurs and start a school within a school in the hopes of better serving students. instead, it results in the occasional 70 production of a high quality school with the norm being the production of schools that are no better than the traditional public schools whose power it threatens to usurp. references beazley, e. 2010 september 21. oprah donates $6 million to charter schools,‖ 5 nbc chicago. http://www. nbcchicago.com. budde, r. 1988. education by charter: restructuring school districts : key to long-term continuing improvement in american education. andover, ma: regional laboratory for educational improvement of the northeast & islands. budde, r. 1996. the evolution of the charter concept. phi delta kappan 78(1): 72. the center for education reform (2015). charter school laws across the states, 2015. https://www.edreform.com/2015/ 03/charter-school-laws-across-the-states2015-rankings-scorecard/ center for research on education outcomes (2013). national charter school study, 2013. https://credo.stanford.edu/documents /ncss%202013%20final%20draft.pdf chubb, j., & moe, t. 1990. politics, markets, and america's schools. washington, d.c.: brookings institution. dorer, m. j. 2002. the first charter school. spotlight--montessori diversity: charter schools. montessori life, 14(3): 40-41. duncan, a. 2009. turning around the bottom 5 percent. paper presented at the national alliance for public charter schools conference, washington, d.c. http://www.ed.gov finn jr, c.e., manno, b.v., & vanourek, g. 2000. charter schools in action: renewing public education. princeton, nj: princeton university press. friedman, m. 1955. the role of government in education. new brunswick, nj: rutgers university press. gabor, a. 2013, september 20. post-katrina, the great new orleans charter tryout.‖ newsweek. http://newsweek.com kahlenberg, r. d., & potter, h. 2014. a smarter charter: finding what works for charter schools and public education. new york: teachers college press. kolderie, t. 1990. the state will have to withdraw the exclusive. st. paul, mn. center for policy studies. livingston, d. 2015, june 4. ―four ohio charter schools to close for poor academic performance; one in canton.‖ the beacon journal. mcgrath, g. 2014, october 14. charter day school could face sanctions over salary request.‖ starnews online. http://www. starnewsonline.com miron, g. 2014. charters should be expected to serve all kinds of students. educationnext 14(4): retrieved from http://educationnext.org/chartersexpected-serve-kinds-students/ miron, g. & nelson, c. 2002. what’s public about charter schools: lessons learned about choice and accountability. thousand oaks, ca: corwin press, inc. molnar, a. 1996. giving kids the business: the commercialization of america's schools. boulder, colo.: westview press. nathan, j. 1996. ―possibilities, problems, and progress: early lessons from the charter movement.‖ phi delta kappan, 18-23. http://www/ https://www.edreform.com/2015/ https://credo.stanford.edu/documents http://www/ 71 nathan, j. 2002. minnesota and the charter public school idea. in vargari, s. (ed.), the charter school landscape (pp. 1731). pittsburgh: the university of pittsburgh press. national alliance for public charter schools 2011. a growing movement: america‘s largest charter school committees (6th ed.). retrieved from http://www. publiccharters.org/wp-content/uploads /2014/01/2011-napcs-market-sharereport_20111013t104601.pdf national center for special education in charter schools 2015. key trends in special education in charter schools: a secondary analysis of the civil rights data collection 2011-2012. retrieved from: http://static1.squarespace.com/static/52fe b326e4b069fc72abb0c8/t/564109d3e4b0 27fb791d1964/1447102931798/crdc_full. pdf national commission on excellence in education, 1983. a nation at risk: the imperative for educational reform. washington, dc: us government printing office. pbs newshour. (producer). 2014, july 22. in houston, traditional public school shares ideas and a roof with charter schools. http://www.pbs.org/newshour ravitch, d. 2010. the death and life of the great american school system: how testing and choice are undermining education. new york: basic books. ravitch, d. 2010b. why public schools need democratic governance. phi delta kappan 91(6): 24-27. ravitch, d. 2013. reign of error: the hoax of the privatization movement and the danger to america's public schools. new york: alfred a. knopf. rowland, d. 2014, december 19. kasich to revamp ohio laws on charter schools. the columbus dispatch. http:// www.dispatch.com saulny, s. 2005, june 21. ray budde, 82, first to propose charter schools, dies. the new york times. http://www. nytimes.com shanker, a. 1988. national press club speech. washington, dc. strauss, v. 2015, june 12. troubled ohio charter schools have become a joke — literally. the washington post. urahn, s., & stewart, d. 1994. minnesota charter schools: a research report. research department, minnesota house of representatives. vergari, s. 2002. the charter school landscape. pittsburgh, pa: university of pittsburgh press. 1 there is some controversy over who had the first charter. bluffview montessori was a private school prior to the charter law being passed. it had tried unsuccessfully to become a public school option in the winona area public schools. the charter law provided a new way for the school to become public. the winona school board approved bluffview montessori‘s charter in november 1991 and the state approved it in december of the same year. the school was set to open in fall, 1992. before it could open, however, two of the three original charter signers left the school. as a result the winona school board pulled its support for the charter. the school had to reestablish it‘s support and on december 22, 1992, the winona school http://www/ 72 board voted 4-2 in favor of the charter school. the charter school opened on march, 2, 1993. between the original granting of the charter and the 1992 winona school board vote, two other schools received state charters: toivola-meadowlands in st. louis county and city academy in st. paul. toivola-meadows received the second charter from the state and city academy received the third. city academy, however, opened as a charter school before either bluffview montessori or toivolameadowlands. city academy opened in fall, 1992, followed by bluffview montessori in march 1993, and toivola-meadowlands in fall, 1993. in sum, the controversy centers on whether the order in which the charters are granted by the state or the date the charter schools opened determine who came first. both bluffview montessori and city academy claim to be first (urahn & stewart 1994). the first black history textbook by a black educator for black students: edward a. johnson’s a school history of the negro race in america from 1619 to 1890 o. l. davis, jr., the university of texas at austin matthew d. davis, shante' j. lyons university of missouri, saint louis abstract: this paper explores the content of the the first black history textbook written, published, and used in american schools by black students. in addition, it explores the biography of its author and textbook publication history. “but how must the little colored child feel when he has completed the assigned course of u. s. history and in it found not one word of credit, not one word of favorable comment for even one among the millions of his foreparents, who have lived through nearly three centuries of his country‟s history? . . . much, of course, will depend on you, dear teachers into whose hands i hope to place this book. by your efforts, and those of the children, you are to teach from the truth of history that complexions do not govern patriotism, valor, and sterling integrity” (johnson, 1891, iv). edward a. johnson, the african american teaching principal of washington school in raleigh, n. c., forthrightly asserted the overriding purpose of his new history textbook for use by black schoolchildren in his native state and, to some unknown extent, in other southern states of the union. he wanted these students, most if not all born outside of slavery, to know about their racial past, especially in the united states, and to develop cultural pride in their being black rather than being given only “a passing notice in many of the histories in the schools” (johnson,1891, iv.). even in the few separate schools available to them, southern black pupils of the times used textbooks written by white authors with white pupils in mind. although his raleigh superintendent of schools encouraged him to write this textbook, johnson surely recognized that his book, narrowly focused as it was on the black experience in america, would find its usefulness exclusively and strategically aimed at african american students. a black history textbook written by an african american for use by both black and white pupils would have found no curricular home in that period. moreover, even when selected for use by black pupils, johnson‟s book likely was understood to supplement the regularly used textbook overview of the nation‟s history written by a white author. johnson‟s textbook in its several editions (printings) was published within the final decade of the 19th century. this era witnessed a blossoming of american black 74 history written by african american scholars. for example, george washington williams, known as the dean of these new black historians, wrote his history of the negro race in america from 1610 to 1880; negroes as slaves, as soldiers, and as citizens (1883) with attention to important primary and secondary sources. it was highly regarded by historians throughout the nation (e.g., franklin, 1946; meier, 1963; bruce, 1984). in the preface to volume 1 of his two-volume work, historian williams claimed that he wrote the book, “not as a partisan apologist,” but as one who searched for and wrote “the truth . . . i commit this work to the pubic, white and black, to the friends and foes of the negro, in the hope that the obsolete antagonisms which grew out of master and slave may speedily sink as storms beneath the horizon; and that the day will hasten when there shall be no north or south, no black, no white, but all be american citizens, with equal duties and equal rights” (williams, 1883, pages xii & xiii). johnsons‟ history textbook, although it carried a remarkably similar title to williams‟ history was not written by one of the emerging black historians of the times. rather, its author was a school teacher and administrator, albeit an amateur historian. he had taught in all-black, segregated schools in georgia and north carolina for eight years prior to the appearance of his textbook. johnson‟s practical experience within these schools prompted him to write this textbook for black students in order that they might better understand africanamerican achievement throughout the nation‟s history and that it should be considered as a part of the “apex of human achievement” (hall, 2009, 155). johnson: from slave to freedom, from teacher to author, from teacher to successful attorney and politician born enslaved in raleigh, n. c., on november 23, 1860, edward austin (or augustus, as he sometimes was referenced) johnson was one of eleven children of columbus and eliza johnson, the property of a prominent wake county farmer. young johnson received his initial education from a free black woman, nancy walton. at the conclusion of the civil war, he attended raleigh‟s washington high school for negroes at which two “yankee” teachers from new england taught him. 1 following the completion of his studies at washington high school at age eighteen, johnson considered continuing his education at oberlin college, but he decided to enter atlanta university in the winter term of 1879. like most other students at atlanta university, johnson sought a teaching position during the following summer terms. his efforts were unsuccessful at first until he accepted the teacher‟s post at the several thousand acre lamar plantation. some 55 mainly young children were his pupils in the school building in the “quarters” where the plantation‟s black laborers and their overseer lived. johnson also privately tutored the plantation owner‟s son in latin. paid on the basis of the number of pupils attending each day‟s session, johnson received $12.85 in salary for the summer. this sum was supplemented by a gift of $25 from parents of his pupils (johnson, 1942). 75 johnson‟s studies at atlanta university continued in this general pattern for the next three years: class attendance toward a degree during the long term, october-may, and teaching in a school during the summer. as well, he became a barber in order to pay for his college expenses. he graduated from atlanta university in 1883 and, that fall, he became a teacher and the principal of atlanta‟s mitchell street school. two years later, he returned to raleigh, n.c., his hometown, to become a teacher and assumed the post of principal of its 1,250 pupil washington high school that he had attended as a youngster some years earlier. he served pupils at washington school during the following five years. johnson was very busy during this particular eight-year period of his life. he strongly advocated more and more suitable textbooks for use by black pupils, ones that would enable these individuals to recognize the contributions made to their communities and nation by members of their race. in 1888, while still teaching, johnson also enrolled in raleigh‟s shaw university‟s program in law. apparently, he attended law school for three years while he taught at washington high school. during this period, he recognized the need of a school history textbook for black pupils. johnson understood that in order to instill pride and confidence within the recently enslaved, students needed to be acculturated with a legitimate understanding of the african-american experience through such an historical text (hall, 2009). warned that such a book might cost him his position as principal, johnson talked with edward p. moses, raleigh‟s white superintendent of schools, about his idea to write a history of blacks in america for use in schools. superintendent moses‟ verbal support spurred johnson to rapid action. he wrote the manuscript that became a school history of the negro race in america (1890) when he was 30 years old and saw it through publication the year before shaw university conferred on him the ll.b. degree and the year before johnson left the education field to engage in the full-time practice of law. johnson quickly made an impressive impact as an attorney in raleigh. he joined the law faculty at shaw in 1893, became a professor and, later, served as dean of the law school until 1907. during the sixteen years of his legal practice in north carolina, johnson won each of the many cases that he argued before the state‟s supreme court. he also was involved in several real estate and business ventures. for example, with six other black men, he helped organize the north carolina mutual and provident association that became, after some years, the largest black insurance company in the world. he was elected an alderman in raleigh and also served for seven years as assistant u. s. district attorney in north carolina‟s eastern district. in addition, johnson became very active in local and state republican party activities, including service as a delegate to two national republican party national conventions. at age 47, having become deeply dispirited by the disenfranchisement of black citizens in his home state, johnson moved permanently to new york city to live and to work. he opened his law offices in harlem and became active in republican politics. ten years after he moved to ny city, he was 76 elected to the new york state assembly, the first black person to serve in that legislative body. johnson‟s major legislative accomplishment was the passage of a civil rights bill that guaranteed privileges of access to all individuals without regard to race, to hotels, restaurants, schools, and places of amusement. having served a single term, he was defeated for reelection after the city was redistricted. in 1928, johnson chose to stand as a republican for a seat in the u. s. house of representatives, but he lost this election. however, he continued his lucrative law practice, even though legally blind during the last decade of his life. johnson died in new york city on july 24, 1944 at age 84. johnson‟s role as author of a school history of the negro race in america from 1619 to 1890 and several other books appears to be straight forward. although a number of details remain murky at best, he appears to have self-published and marketed at least his school history textbook and perhaps his other books as well. names of the publisher on the title page of his school history book changed with each printing, ordinarily an indication of a new edition of the book. however, the text remained the same throughout its printing history. johnson, therefore, very well could have found successively more favorable production prices for each subsequent printing than he had for earlier jobs. moreover, the printing firm was identified as that year‟s (not an edition‟s) publisher/printer. note, in this regard, that the 1890 initial printing, or as it was known as the first edition, was undertaken by the raleigh firm of edwards and broughton, a printing and binding firm that had published school textbooks for use in confederate (mainly north carolina) schools during the civil war. this first edition may not have included a large number of copies, perhaps enough to satisfy the local market in raleigh and possibly some other north carolina schools. the second printing carried an 1891 date. it also used raleigh as the place of publication, but the publisher/printer was the w.b. conkey co. of chicago, illinois. in fact, johnson‟s school history textbook may well have been one of the early book printing jobs that the conkey firm undertook. johnson‟s use of raleigh as the place of publication reasonably was politically based. he surely recognized that “chicago” might “put off” prospective southern purchasers and teachers but that his home city would not have this potential liability. that johnson returned to use the raleigh printers, edwards & broughton, rather than the conkey firm for the 1892 printing is not easily explained. however, johnson may have sold more copies of his school history than he had expected and ran short of time for the conkey firm to print and bind another order of the history textbook. in such a case, edwards & broughton could have been a simple and strategic choice. johnson‟s possible need for additional copies to fill the number of orders for the book, actual and anticipated, may have prompted him to use this local printer because it perhaps could guarantee a faster production schedule than could chicago‟s william b. conkey printing firm. by the following year, 1893, johnson may have been able to arrange a favorable production schedule from the conkey firm and chose it to produce the 77 projected needed copies of the book in its fourth printing. six years elapsed until johnson contracted for the fifth printing of his school history with the conkey firm, by then with its printing operations in hammond, in, and with one of the most modern printing plants in the world. this edition of the book appeared in 1901, eight years after the fourth printing and more than a decade after its first printing. for this final printing likely under his control, johnson again used his own name as publisher, but also listed raleigh‟s capital printing co. as a printer of the books. whereas this account of the printing history of johnson‟s book seems reasonable, it remains incomplete and somewhat speculative. however, acknowledgement must be made of two other efforts to print and market this book contemporaneously, quite possibly without benefit of johnson‟s involvement and without adherence to the federal copyright that johnson held for the book. in both 1892 and 1893, sherman & co. of philadelphia reprinted the book likely from the 1892 or 1893 conkey printings. some years later, in 1911, a decade after johnson‟s likely final printing was released, isaac goldman of new york city reprinted what possibly may have been the 1901 conkey edition. information is unavailable about johnson‟s reactions to both these efforts to capitalize on his original work, perhaps without proper payment due him as the copyright holder, as well as about the nature of the commercial success or failure of these ventures, ones likely not condoned by johnson. that he did not seek legal recompense from the publishers of these likely unauthorized editions remains somewhat mystifying. some half-century later, and after johnson‟s death, ams press issued a third printing of this textbook as part of the firm‟s efforts to make available for research and study notable books that had been long out of print. by this time, johnson‟s original copyright probably had expired and the title was in the public domain. by his own efforts at marketing during the last decade of the 19 th century, johnson likely added to his income amounts of money beyond what a publisher would have paid him in royalties. also to be recognized is that no multi-state southern publisher of schoolbooks primarily for black pupils existed at the time. the number of copies of johnson‟s school history textbook that were produced, in each printing and overall, remains unknown. even though the book was placed on the state-adoption list of textbooks in both north carolina and virginia, the prospect of only limited sales of the book may have restricted the numbers of copies that johnson had printed and available for sale. in 1895, johnson advertised for sales agents in indiana who would buy this school history book at a substantial discount and then resell it for use by school pupils and, even, by adults (e.a. johnson advertisement, the freeman, indianapolis, in, 13 april 1895). the use of local agents to sell books to individuals was popular during this period and reasonably could have been the principal means by which johnson marketed this book. one agent was quoted as claiming that he sold 121 copies in two hours; another agent reported selling 200 copies during a period of 78 inclement weather. this advertisement also asserted several special virtues to attract interest in the book. it claimed, for example, that the book “gives the race credit for what it has done. it teaches race pride and selfrespect. no white history gives these acts. they completely ignore or humiliate us.” johnson also wrote to booker t. washington to solicit his endorsement of the textbook and hoping that washington would adopt it for use at tuskegee and, possibly, to act as a sales agent for the book (letter from a. e. johnson to b. t. washington, 12 january 1891, booker t. washington papers, vol.3, 121). this act appears to have been audacious, but johnson lacked ready access to individual black school teachers and principals, not only throughout north carolina, but in other areas, particularly in the south, that were populated by large numbers of black people who might purchase copies for their children‟s use on the recommendation of their teacher at school. no record exists that washington entertained johnson‟s hopes. on the other hand, washington did send a copy of the book to edward atkinson, a boston industrialist and economist. in his accompanying letter, washington commented on johnson‟s portrayal of the progress of african americans. “i do not know how accurate these figures or statements are [about the wealth of african americans]. in some cases i feel that they are exaggerated . . .” (letter from b. washington to edward atkinson, 7 november 1897, reprinted in johnson‟s a school history). washington, himself a novice historian, was an active participant in the writing of african-american history. essentially, his sociopolitical strategy in recording this history was to “reflect his self help agenda at tuskegee and to present this historic personalities of the race in a realistic but uplifting manner” (hall, 2009, pg. 212). a grandiose reflection of african-american participation within american history possibly would have threatened washington‟s long-term goal of social uplift for southern blacks within the eyes of white allies of the hampton-tuskegee model. johnson‟s publication of his school history textbook brought him national recognition as an author. some critics like washington commented about errors of excess and misinterpretations, but historian charles h. wesley probably understood the book in its context as well as any other observer and commented positively about it. “while this textbook has its limitations,” he wrote, “it was a first effort based upon a need and served this purpose in its day” (wesley, 1980, 198). that purpose would have been to portray a history buried by vestiges of enslavement and would acknowledge the african-american experience as one worthy of exploration and illumination (hall, 2009). johnson wrote several other books intended for adult audiences that never became as well known as did his school history textbook. they included history of negro soldiers in the spanishamerican war, and other items of interest (1899), negro almanac and statistics (1903), light ahead for the negro (1904), and adam vs. ape man (1931). author johnson‟s contributions to the education of the young freedmen mainly in the post-civil war south pointed in a direction that the american school history 79 curriculum reasonably should have followed. that this direction was a path not taken for more than half a century was not only a loss to both black and white children and youth, it was a loss to the nation as well. the content and organization of johnson’s black history textbook through its decade of five authorized printings, edward a. johnson‟s black history textbook maintained its basic organization. its chapter one, appropriately titled “introduction‟, constituted an eight-page discussion of the origin of the “race”. based on biblical (jewish testament) accounts, the negro race was asserted to have descended from ham, one of the three sons of noah, whose descendants customarily were alleged to have settled in ethiopia and other parts of africa. subsequently, these early african negroes were understood to have helped construct the egyptian pyramids as well as their having enjoyed the sciences and learning of ancient greece and rome. their decline in influence was biblically prophesied, the text noted, because they forgot god and worshipped idols. the book‟s story of negroes in america began with a short account of the introduction of black slavery in jamestown, virginia, in 1619. indeed, a general attention to slavery was the prominent focus of each of the chapters that treated the thirteen original british colonies (chapters 2 10). however, author johnson also chose some prominent black individuals in several but not all of the colonies/states whom he treated as a kind of hero, an exemplar that could serve as an emblem of pride to the young black pupils who would use his book. for example, the book noted that the first and most of the subsequently purchased slaves in virginia worked primarily in agriculture, particularly in the production of tobacco. johnson elaborated, “the greater part of the manual labor of all kinds was performed by the slaves” (17). johnson claimed that “the ancestors of american slaves (i.e. african natives) were not so bad as many people think” (17); nevertheless, they were held in servitude and kept in ignorance even with respect to their religious instruction. that is, to johnson, slavery was a vile system that corrupted relationships and perpetuated economic, political, and social power structures. johnson did not designate one or more specific individual negroes as “heroes” during virginia‟s colonial period. however, he accorded generous attention to thomas fuller, known as “the virginia calculator”. fuller could not read or write, but he could calculate prodigious sums mentally and was widely accepted as a prodigy (pp. 20-22). to be sure, fuller‟s accomplishments served to negate general white claims of mental inferiority of enslaved african people. the textbook‟s treatment of new york negroes, both slave and free, was thin and slighting. johnson did acknowledge that blacks in this colony could be taken to church and be baptized. although no laws restricted them from becoming educated, authorities commonly excluded them from schools. blacks could not own land and were subject to arrest for striking a “christian” or “jew”, even in self-defense. 80 in 1712, according to johnson, negroes in new york rebelled at such treatment. they burned homes and killed whites until troops halted the riots (23-24). johnson noted that african enslavement came to massachusetts by 1633, only fourteen years after the arrival of slaves in the colony of virginia. paradoxically, the puritans came to america in search of liberty, but their involvement in the slave trade, their denial of some other people‟s humanity, was extensive. johnson conflated the treatment of slaves in massachusetts with that in all the new england colonies. he noted that the new england slave traders who went to africa for shiploads of blacks sold most of their cargos of slaves in the south, but they also sold quite a number in the northern colonies as well. johnson additionally recognized that british governors in the northern colonies opposed loosening the repressive slave regime on negro slaves. in keeping with his aim to highlight special virtues of individual negroes, slave and free, johnson devoted almost four pages of text praising the distinction of the early black poet, phillis wheatley (27-31). as a companion to wheatley‟s acceptance as a distinguished lady of letters, johnson included two pages of text about prudence crandall, a white quaker woman and white ally, whose efforts to educate black girls in connecticut met strident frustration. when she admitted a black girl to her school, parents of the white girls withdrew them from the school. then, crandall opened her school only to negro girls, but general white opposition to this move did not yield. connecticut even passed legislation in 1833 that prohibited schools for negro children in the state. crandall kept her school open, but officials arrested and jailed her. freed at her trial, she reopened her school, but local opposition increased and, afraid for the girls, she closed the school. this repressive legislation against schools for black children was repealed in 1838 (31-33). author johnson highlighted maryland-born benjamin banneker as the preeminent black contributor to american culture in the northern states. as mathematician and astronomer, banneker (called “banneka” by author johnson) published an almanac in 1791, reputed to be the first to be published in america. for this achievement, thomas jefferson accorded him high personal praise as well as the acknowledgement that blacks were endowed with talents equal to those possessed by whites (37). johnson also included a poem, “ellen harris”, written by the black maryland anti-slavery advocate francis ellen watkins. surprisingly, north carolinian johnson wrote sparingly about his home state. he did note that the slave laws of the state were harsh, but asserted that they were not routinely enforced. johnson correctly noted that the great majority of this north carolina slaves lived in the eastern part of the state. even with most negroes enslaved, numbers of free blacks also resided in this state. johnson‟s choice of a north carolinian to highlight for pupils was another poet, george m. horton, a field hand who could read, but could not write. consequently, he dictated his poems to a person who wrote them on paper for him. some of his poems, johnson wrote, managed to reach boston and were used in argumentation against slavery. 81 johnson‟s textbook treatment of slavery appears superficial and clearly inadequate to present-day readers. it likely was recognized as very thin gruel . . . insufficient, certainly casual, and superficial . . . for the black children who read and studied his textbook when it was in popular use. nevertheless, his black students and their parents and teachers reasonably may have recognized that the very availability of this textbook was a major step in the general acknowledgement of blacks as individuals and as a group meriting public notice. also, this public acknowledgement could have signaled the achievement of humanity and polity that the institution of slavery had denied (hall, 2009). furthermore, his writings for schoolchildren, however scant, may be understood as subversively radical. the civil war was only twenty-six years in the past when the book‟s first edition was published. author johnson likely decided that cautionary choices and tactical omission of blatantly contested situations were strategic options that would serve his purpose to get a history book about blacks in the united states into the hands of black schoolchildren more effectively than direct and public confrontation with prevailing southern white attitudes toward african americans. for example, johnson routinely failed to highlight the brutality of slavery, even as he identified general and different types of field and housework in which black slaves engaged. for almost all of his intended readers, however, they surely did not need to read about explicit slave mistreatment; they lived in families in which such accounts were staple elements of their home culture. following his usual cursory treatment of the black slave experience in the several american colonies, author johnson wrote of the participation of blacks in the american revolution, the war of 1812 and in efforts to achieve freedom in the years prior to civil war that he labeled as the war of the rebellion. his concern, as usual, was to tout the exploits of individual blacks. to be sure, the most prominent of these revolutionary individuals was crispus attucks, a run-away slave of a massachusetts master. attucks, one of a group of colonial protestors, was the first american killed by british soldiers in what quickly became known as the “boston massacre”. by naming attucks in this first “battle” of the american revolution, author johnson provided him with special visibility rather than his being left in anonymity among the several americans who were killed in this rather minor event. johnson also highlighted the action of peter salem, another massachusetts black slave, who was killed in a ferocious attack that was credited as turning the tide against the british forces at a critical time in the battle of bunker hill. in his account, johnson also noted that blacks fought on both sides of the revolutionary war. only about 5,000 blacks, most of whom resided in northern colonies, fought against the british, but some 50,000 slaves supported the british with promises of freedom after the war ended and, of these, some 30,000 negro slaves were from virginia. blacks, freemen and slaves, also participated in the war of 1812. they were members of u. s. army troops and of naval ship companies. their white commanding 82 officers, according to author johnson, praised their performance. johnson also accorded prominence to an unverified claim that an unnamed black man, an african native, suggested to general andrew jackson that he erect breast-works of cotton bales to thwart the anticipated onslaught of british regular soldiers against the outnumbered united states forces at the battle of new orleans. such possible “folk history” appears to be commonplace in many remembered and recorded historical accounts. nevertheless, the story buttresses johnson‟s case of the significance and merit of black contributions to the american cause. author johnson depicted the period between the war of 1812 and the civil war as a time that fostered a variety of antislavery efforts in the united states. although the period actually witnessed notable american advances in science, literature, and exploration, johnson mainly ignored matters that did not deal directly with the highly politicized advocacies to abolish slavery and the roles of only a few notable blacks in those endeavors. highlighted, of course, were the actions of the quakers of pennsylvania who early freed slaves in that state. johnson acknowledged the abolitionist advocacy of newspapers published by white journalists benjamin lundy and william lloyd garrison. however, the author reserved his praise for frederick douglass, a former slave, and his speeches to northern assemblies that called for abolishment of slavery in the nation. johnson also applauded the work of the american colonization society that sought to develop the republic of liberia in africa as a place of refuge, independence, and a life in freedom for american freed slaves. acknowledgement of peaceful antislavery efforts in the politics of american life of this period, important as it was, could not obscure johnson‟s attention to deliberate and sometimes violent actions by black slaves to acquire freedom. his inclusion of the story of nat turner’s “insurrection” in virginia, emblematic of long-feared slave uprisings throughout the south, served as the book‟s case study of direct action against slaveholders, their families, and property (9093). according to johnson‟s narrative, turner and three of his friends decided to act in order to free slaves. although he announced that he rejected the idea of killing slave holders, turner and his friends agreed that circumstances might arise when they would kill whites. in august, 1831, their party set out to confront white slave holders. in the ensuing days, these blacks indiscriminately killed 57 white persons, children and adults, men and women. indeed, johnson reported that one author noted that, in retribution, local whites “slaughtered” some 100 slaves; many of them were killed in cold blood . . . and grotesticly disfigured and butchered members of the turner party who were captured. turner himself escaped capture for several months, but he finally surrendered, was found guilty by an all-white jury, and was put to death on the gallows. author johnson wrote of turner, “ he was, undoubtedly, a wonderful character. knowing as he did, the risk he ran, what an immense courage he must have had to undertake this bold adventure.” although johnson did not use 83 the honorific term, “martyr”, to categorize turner, he clearly called schoolchildren‟s attention to turner‟s worthy and meritorious behavior in an effort to free black slaves. several other armed clashes between whites and enslaved blacks in the pre-civil war south were highlighted in this school history textbook. they included, for example, a story about the amistad captives. however, the predominant feature of efforts to free slaves within the nation focused on the swelling efforts of the vigorous antislavery movement in its many variations within the civil society, most noticeably in the northern states. featured, in this regard, was the “underground railroad” by which escaped slaves from the south were aided in their flight to freedom. author johnson noted several key developments of those prewar years that included effects of the federal fugitive slave law, john brown’s abortive attempt to capture the us arsenal at harpers ferry, virginia, and the escalating sympathies of many northern politicians to the anti-slavery cause. although johnson‟s treatment of the political maelstrom of those times was fragmentary and superficial, he emphasized the importance of the southern sentiment against abraham lincoln „s candidacy for the us presidency in 1860 and, with his inauguration the following year, the consequent secession of south carolina from the united states. following that state‟s leadership, ten other southern states, all of which recognized the legitimacy of slave holding, seceded from the union. these acts of secession, author johnson correctly observed, constituted “the signal for war” (103). he called this war “the war of the rebellion”, not the “civil war” nor by other titles that became popular in subsequent years. johnson‟s treatment of the war of the rebellion was sketchy by necessity. his concern was not to portray the war, its many battles on several fronts, and to accord honor to victorious commanders. any history of that war is not a history of blacks in america. rather, his treatment of the war matched his intention to illuminate for young black schoolchildren some of the major contributions of negroes in this major conflict. he believed that they would find inspiration in the actions of adult blacks who understood that the war, however described by different people, really was about the continuation or abandonment of slavery as an institution. strikingly, the federal army and navy, as well as the nascent forces raised by the southern states of the confederacy, were reluctant to recruit and to arm blacks to fight in this war. only slowly did public sentiment and military need combine to influence both union and confederate leaders to employ black soldiers in combat roles. even so, discrimination of blacks persisted in various forms. black soldiers in both armies, for example, were enrolled in regiments commanded only by white officers. black soldiers in the union army received pay of seven dollars per month plus food and clothing whereas white troopers received thirteen dollars per month plus food and clothing (106-107). such incongruities surely were not lost on the black children who used this textbook. battles in which black union soldiers demonstrated conspicuous achievement included the battle of port hudson in 1863. their fighting skills as well as their bravery 84 and determination in this battle were praised in a new york times report mentioned by johnson in his textbook. it also called their heroism to be “such as the proudest white men might emulate. their colors are literally bespattered with blood and brains.” even in praise, the fighting behaviors of blacks in this battle were known primarily in comparison with the actions of white soldiers. acceptance of black soldiers as valued and significant contributors to the warfare underway came haltingly from both northern and southern whites. author johnson included in the textbook an abbreviated account of a draft riot in new york city in the weeks following the battle of port hudson. some local newspapers stoked the resentment of the use of force (a draft) by which (white) men would “fight the battles of niggers and abolitionists”. rioting whites killed some black civilians and destroyed property owned by blacks. union army troopers put down the riot by the use of force. in those actions, a number of white rioters were killed and wounded. following these riots, black soldiers continued to demonstrate their bravery and heroism on battlefields. their value to the union became more widely accepted. only a few other important battles were highlighted in this textbook. these battles included fort pillow near memphis, tennessee, the wilderness at petersburg, and at richmond, virginia. in each of these engagements, the valor of black union troops drew very positive regard. the war, as portrayed in this text, simply ended. author johnson did not report the date of confederate general lee‟s surrender at appomattox, or even an approximation of the human casualties or other costs to both sides of the conflict. johnson did note that the freedom of the slaves, not a prominent goal at the beginning of the war, became one of its two central accomplishments. he observed that civil government in the secessionist states was reestablished with the organization of provisional state governments and adoption of state constitutions that conformed to the federal constitution. the fruits of freedom, voting and access, for example, were slow to become available to blacks, but were later insured, at least for a time, by three new amendments to the u. s. constitution. with the fifteenth amendment, for example, “the eleven southern states were reconstructed on the basis of universal suffrage, and the colored race began to develop statesmen, orators, lawyers, judges, teachers of various kinds, ministers, and discreet, far-seeing business men” (139). this casual overgeneralization was followed by johnson‟s short account of the freedmen‟s bureau. this federal institution, according to johnson, “was to educate the newly emancipated colored people into all the ways of freedom. schools were opened, to which there was a general rush, so great was the thirst for knowledge” (139). johnson‟s enthusiasm for freedom‟s prospects were touted to his intended black readers with only casual attention to the shocking disruptions and distortions that actually accompanied many efforts to provide full citizenship rights to black citizens freed twenty five years earlier. the textbook closed with short chapters devoted to the progress of negroes since their release from slavery and a rather longish chapter that featured notable black 85 individuals, mainly from southern states not treated in previous sections. author johnson proudly noted the rapid expansion of churches for blacks as well as the leadership of black ministers in building church related schools and other institutions. in particular, the achievements of black methodists (i.e., african methodist episcopal church and the african methodist episcopal zion church) and baptists were highlighted. particularly important to the burgeoning black church membership was the development of congregational singing. as author johnson wrote, “they composed their own music, which expressed, in their own way, thanks and petitions to heaven. their music is original, entertaining, and pathetic -and the only original music of the american continent, when we remember that other than negro techniques and melodies are all borrowed from the masters of europe” (146). in this regard, the international popularity of the fisk jubilee singers testified to the skill of these musicians and also to the negro melodies and songs that they sang. very helpful to the progress of black religious interests included not only the efforts of local black congregants, but also the financial support of northern christian church groups, notably the methodist episcopal church, as well as northern presbyterians, congregationalists, episcopalians, and others. not only did black church expansion profit from this assistance, but, also, the formation and development of schools and colleges. with political freedom, local black leadership began the process of establishing schools for black children and youth. attention to reading and other elements of literacy and numeracy was stressed early, but attention to all branches of instruction found a place in their schedules. across years, these schools increased in number and prestige. by the end of the war of rebellion, author johnson claimed that only one of every four black people in the entire united states could read. within twenty-five years, he observed that the number of black citizens had doubled to eight million individuals and half of them were readers. “the colored people of the south have made more progress in education since the war than in anything else and they are still thirsty for knowledge . . . no people,” claimed johnson, “ever learned more in so short a time” (161-162). according to this textbook, another area of special progress for freed people was the financial success of a few of them. author johnson deplored, however, the failure of the freedman‟s savings bank, a disaster which devastated most of the bank‟s depositors/savers who were former slaves and from which experience most blacks had not recovered their financial confidence. on the other hand, johnson asserted that “the negro is putting his money into other enterprises, and through unsuccessful in his first, his last efforts at economy are bearing rich fruit”(162-163). quite possibly, johnson‟s remark may have referenced his own general financial situation. he continued to write, . . .many (blacks) “though shut out almost entirely from the trades and business avenues, have accumulated handsome homes, and live in elegance and refinement” (163). especially noteworthy was johnson‟s identification of twenty-seven black american individuals and one family who had amassed substantial wealth since the 86 civil war, in amounts ranging from $50,000 by frederick douglas (of washington, dc) to $400,000 held by amanda eubanks (of georgia). johnson also called attention to the fact that 322 individual blacks in eight former slave states possessed personal wealth of at least $10,000. in this chapter, however, johnson failed to comment on the common penury in which the vast majority of southern blacks existed in these historical times. the author closed the chapter with the following charge to his young black readers: “what has been said in this chapter is not to make you content and satisfied, but rather, to inspire new zeal and fresh courage, that each one of you may add something more to what has already been accomplished. you can, you must, and we believe you will. do not falter on account of difficulties. set your standard high and go to it, remembering that labor, coupled with a strong devotion to integrity, will surely conquer” (166). again, in the book‟s final substantive chapter, johnson highlighted the prominence of twenty-one additional black individuals, all but five of who were men. some of these individuals enjoyed only meager identification, e.g., hiram r. revels, an a.m.e. minister who was the first black person elected to the federal senate; he took the mississippi seat formerly held by jefferson davis; robert small, a former steamer pilot and captain; william wells brown, born enslaved but escaped and became a noted physician and a historian; p. b. s. pinchback, soldier during the civil war and, who, afterwards, was elected governor of louisiana; t. t. fortune, born enslaved but became a newspaper editor in florida and, later, a congressman; madame selika, “the colored jenny lind” (author johnson commented that “she would stand near the head of modern female voices were it not that she is colored” (183)); and miss h. q. brown, an accomplished elocutionist. individuals who received more attention in this chapter included robert e. elliott, an african black with an english education and legal training who served as a congressman from south carolina and gained considerable notice in debates about the post-war civil rights legislation; w. s. scarborough, born in poverty, but a professor of classics at wilberforce university and author of a set of greek textbooks used at yale and other universities; and booker t. washington, orphaned young but achieved widespread acclaim as principal of alabama‟s tuskegee institute. the only one of this chapter‟s featured individuals who was not a u. s. citizen was toussaint l’ouverture, a black caribbean native of haiti. in fact, highlights of his life consumed almost four pages of the book. l‟ouverture, born enslaved, became commander in chief of the french forces on the island and, over time, came to believe that he was the one to lead a movement of haitian slaves toward freedom. the revolution began in august, 1791, and ended after widespread murder of whites and pillage of plantations owned by whites. general l‟ouverture became the ruler of haiti, but was deposed several years later, taken prisoner by french authorities, and, in 1803, he died from hunger in a french dungeon. obviously, johnson‟s inclusion of biographical sketches of some notable black individuals in his history textbook added 87 accounts of real persons to the sweep of larger social movements. in particular, these portrayals provided exemplars with whom black children might identify and seek to emulate as they grew into adulthood. moreover, the attention that johnson gave to black individuals from different occupations and coming from quite different backgrounds in different states, made possible black pupils‟ thinking away from their isolated regions and their shallow vessels of family memory. they could be proud of what blacks had accomplished in a number of business occupations and prestigious roles and possibly might recognize that unrealized opportunities for black people really did exist . . . even for themselves. a small history textbook to meet a particular need: inclusion of the black experience in the american story, but for black pupils only edward a, johnson‟s a school history of the negro race in america from 1619 to 1890 was a notable publication. prior to its appearance in 1891 and its use in some limited number of southern all-black schools during the following decade, no singular book had been available previously for study by black school pupils. its writing, production, publicity, and distribution was conducted solely by the busy author and, in all likelihood, was not extensive. that johnson reprinted the book five times and managed to sell a goodly number of copies, perhaps most or all of those available, is evidence enough of teachers‟ and others‟ interest in the book and their desire that it be used in the instruction of young freed persons. distribution, on the other hand, appeared to have been limited, perhaps mainly to schools for blacks in north carolina and virginia. one observer, on the other hand, noted, “although brief and elementary, this book had a wide circulation and did much good inculcating an appreciation of the negro.” (“obituary”, 506). a history textbook about the black experience in early post-civil war america for black pupils who attended southern segregated schools reasonably should have been popular. however, no textbook publishing house in the nation, certainly not the major textbook publishers headquartered in boston, new york city, cincinnati, and philadelphia would have found such a title socially inappropriate or economically unviable on their booklist. white members of state education agencies and local school boards controlled purchasing decisions for schools of both black and white students. moreover, no national or regional (e.g., southern) textbook publisher confined its business plan to the provision of especially prepared textbooks for use in schools for blacks only. at the time, only one southern regional publisher, b. f. johnson publishing co. of richmond, virginia, had begun operations and its first offerings, especially in its line of history textbooks, focused attention to particularly southern or formerconfederate positions on matters of race relationships. segregated schools for black pupils continued for more than half a century and, reasonably, they could have constituted a substantial market for johnson‟s black history textbook. however, adoption and subsequent purchases of schoolbooks by 88 southern state departments of education, initiated by texas (bailey, 1994) and rapidly spread throughout the southern region, mitigated against special textbooks for black pupils. the overriding purpose of the state adoption movement was to select the “best” textbook available for each course and/or grade level such that a single standard of excellence or bias would be applied to all the instruction offered by the state and financed with state funds. notwithstanding the critical impediments to widespread use and to substantial financial success of edward a. johnson‟s black history text, this book has the distinction of being the first black history textbook to be written, published, and used in american schools by black students. in addition, it well may have been the only black history textbook to be so used. this book offered children and adults in black communities a modest but quite realistic portrayal of african-american contributions to the larger american experience. very importantly, it created an opportunity for african americans to visualize their human possibilities within the contemporary racist culture. endnote 1. for biographical accounts used in this biographical section, see “obituary,” journal of negro history 29 (no. 4), 505-507; “edward a. johnson,” 1942; gatewood, dictionary of north carolina biography, 2012; n. a., “the life work of edward a. johnson,” the crisis 40 (april 1933), 79; “johnson, edward a. (1860-1944),” an online reference guide to african american history , 2012); jessica jina salo, “johnson, edward a. (1860-1944), the black past: remembered and reclaimed. http://www.blackpast.org (may 3, 2008). references advertisement for “a school history of the negro race”. indiana freedman (indianapolis, indiana) 13 april 1895. n.p. bruce, dickson d. 1984. “the ironic conception of american history: the early black historians, 1883-1915.” journal of negro history 69 (spring), 5362. gatewood, william b., jr. 1979-1996. “edward a, johnson (edward austin), 1860-1944.” in william s. powell, ed. dictionary of north carolina biography. chapel hill: university of north carolina press. hall, stephen g. 2009. a faithful account of the race; african american historical writing in nineteenth-century america. chapel hill: the university of north carolina press. johnson, edward a. 1890. a school history of the negro race in america from 1619 to 1890, with a short introduction as to the origin of the race; also a short sketch of liberia. first edition. raleigh: edwards and broughton. johnson, edward a. 1891. a school history of the negro race in america from 1619 to 1890, with a short introduction as to the origin of the race; also a short sketch of liberia. raleigh: w. b. conkey co. johnson, edward a. 1892. a school history of the negro race in america from 1619 http://www.blackpast.org/ 89 to 1890, with a short introduction as to the origin of the race; also a short sketch of liberia. raleigh: edwards and broughton. johnson, edward a. 1893. a school history of the negro race in america from 1619 to 1890, with a short introduction as to the origin of the race; also a short sketch of liberia. revised edition. chicago: w. b. conkey co, printers and binders. johnson, edward a. 1901. a school history of the negro race in america from 1619 to 1890, with a short introduction as to the origin of the race; also a short sketch of liberia. raleigh; edward a. johnson and capital printing co., raleigh. johnson, edward a. 1889. history of negro soldiers in the spanish-american war, and other items of interest. raleigh: capital printing co. johnson, edward a. letter to booker t. washington, 12 january 1891. in booker t. washington papers, vol. 3, 121. johnson, edward a. 1903. negro almanac and statistics. raleigh, nc: capitol printing co. johnson, edward a. 1904. light ahead for the negro. new york: grafton press. reprinted: new york: ams press, 1975. johnson, edward a. 1931. adam vs. ape man. new york: little and ives co. johnson, edward a. 1942. “a student at atlanta university,” phylon 3 (2nd quarter), 135-148. johnson, edward a. 1942. an online reference guide to african american history, 2012. meier, augustus. 1963. negro thought in america, 1880-1915: racial ideologies in the age of booker t. washington. 1963. ann arbor: university of michigan press. “obituary.” 19__. journal of negro history 29 (no. 4), 505-507. salo, jessica jina, “johnson, edward a. (1860-1944)”, the black past: remembered and reclaimed, blackpast.org. retrieved on 05/03/08. “the life work of edward a. johnson,” 1933. the crisis 40 (april), 79. washington, booker t. 1897. letter to edward atkinson. 7 november. in edward a. johnson, history of the negro race in america from 1619 to 1890, with a short introduction as to the origin of the race; also a short sketch of liberia. wesley, charles h. 1980. “creating and maintaining an historical tradition.” journal of negro history 65 (autumn, 1980), 298-311. williams, george washington. 1883. history of the negro race in america from 1610 to 1880; negroes as slaves, as soldiers, and as citizens. new york: g. p. putnam and son. chapter two: teaching the liberal arts in the middle ages: the cathedral school at reims in the late tenth century abstract: in the late tenth century, gerbert of aurillac served as the lead teacher at the cathedral school in reims. the curriculum he developed and implemented was based on a combination of classical literature, encyclopedias written in late antiquity, and greco-roman teaching tools. this curriculum preserved and transmitted classical learning to the schools of the high middle ages and contributed to a wider educational revival in northern france and germany. in the early middle ages, monastic and cathedral schools transmitted the gradeur of rome and the glory of greece to scholars, churchmen, and secular leaders. even in the darkest century of the supposed dark ages, the tenth century, teachers preserved the knowledge of antiquity and transmitted it to generations of students. the cathedral school at reims was one such center of learning; in the late tenth century, this school was one of the most famous schools in western europe. students from across western europe flocked to the school at reims to study the liberal arts under gerbert of aurillac, who taught at the school from 972-989. his curriculum, considered innovative by both gerbert’s contemporaries and modern scholars, was based on classical and late antique literature and teaching tools, and was elaborated on in technical manuals and letters written by the schoolmaster himself. a reconstruction of the curriculum, and the textual sources that informed it, demonstrates that the cathedral school at reims preserved and transmitted classical literature from antiquity to the middle ages. the curriculum of the trivium the curriculum of the trivium (the literary arts of grammar, rhetoric, and dialectic) was based on the mastery of classical and late antique texts. the study of these arts overlapped, as there was no rigid distinction between them; grammatical instruction reinforced the teaching of rhetoric and dialectic, and a student’s mastery of rhetoric and dialectic perfected his knowledge of grammar. at reims, as at many other cathedral schools, this curriculum was divided between the grammarian (grammaticus) and the lead instructor (magister). richer of saint-remi, a former student of reims and one of our main sources for gerbert’s instruction in the trivium, tells his readers that gerbert studied logic (dialectics) under gerannus, the grammarian at reims, before gerbert took over instruction that art. in reims, the grammaticus was gerannus. little is known of gerannus, and richer’s brevity implies that gerannus’ instruction was both sufficient and ordinary. the standard education in grammar relied heavily on two major texts: the ars minor of donatus and priscian’s institutiones grammatica. donatus’ work, completed in the mid-fourth century and the main grammatical textbook throughout the middle ages, divided the components of speech into eight parts: noun, pronoun, verb, adverb, participle, conjunction, preposition, and interjection. each of the eight parts of speech was defined and then subdivided. nouns, for example, were defined as “a part of speech which signifies with the case a person or a thing specifically or generally,” and were divided and explained based on gender (masculine, feminine, neuter, common) and case (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, ablative, and vocative). donatus defined verbs as “a part of speech with tense and person, without case, signifying ‘to perform some action’ or ‘to experience’ or neither,” and divided verbs between modes (indicative, imperative, optative, subjunctive, infinitive, impersonal), conjugations (first, second, third), and kinds (active, passive, neuter, deponent, common)(chase 1926, 28 and 38). these examples of donatus’ subdivision of nouns and verbs demonstrates the utility of his text in teaching the basic rules of latin grammar, and likewise explains the medieval grammarians’ tendency to use it in teaching. the second text probably used by gerannus while teaching grammar was priscian’s institutiones grammaticae, written in constantinople in the early sixth century. priscian, unlike donatus, was not a native latin speaker, and his work therefore resonated with students for whom latin was not a mother tongue. the works of priscian and donatus were structurally similar. both texts consisted of three parts: preliminary sections addressing sounds, letters, and syllables; a treatment of the eight parts of speech; and a concluding section in which donatus deals with tropes in his text and priscian addresses syntax. the overarching similarities, however, end there as priscian’s work was not the brief and handy textbook summary that donatus had created. it was, actually, a rather cumbersome work. it is most likely that gerannus would have used donatus as the main textbook in the teaching of grammar, and supplemented it with examples and expositions by priscian and other authors as needed. grammatical instruction continued with classical and late antique texts to demonstrate the proper structure and use of written language (riché 1976). students were instructed to copy texts, to emulate them, and to adopt the language and style of classical authors such as virgil, terence, cicero, and horace. in addition to pagan literature, students were expected to learn the writings of church fathers such as saint augustine, jerome, and saint ambrose, not only for the theological content of the works, but also for the literary style of their construction. once gerannus completed grammatical instruction, the cathedral school’s scholasticus, gerbert, continued teaching the trivium with dialectic and rhetoric. dialectic was defined as “the science of disputing well” and taught students how to construct logical arguments (gerbert 1996, 168b). instruction in this art followed an established textual progression, and richer provides substantial information on gerbert’s pedagogy on this subject: in the first place he explicated porphyry’s isagoge (that is “introduction”) according to the translation of the rhetorician victorinus and the commentary by boethius. next he explained the book of aristotle called the categories (that is “predications”) and he skillfully demonstrated the difficulty of the peri hermeneias (“on interpretation”). after that he introduced students to the topics (that is, the “sources of arguments”), as translated from greek into latin by cicero and expounded in the six books of commentaries written by the consul manlius boethius (richer 2011, 69-70). the teaching of dialectics proceeded from the general to the specific, with porphyry’s work introducing students to the topic, and then proceeding through several technical manuals and explanatory texts associated with those manuals. richer also mentions several untitled works used in teaching dialectic: “he [gerbert] lectured on and effectively expounded four books on differential topics, two books on categorical syllogisms, three on hypothetical syllogisms, and one book each on definition and division” (richer 2011, 71). these were likely boethius’ logical works, which fall into three general categories: latin translations of greek works, commentaries, and original treatises. one was probably boethius’ de topicis differentiis, a treatise on finding arguments based on aristotle and cicero. the work on categorical syllogisms was likely on categorical syllogisms, the work on hypothetics may be on hypothetical syllogisms, and the work on division may be on division. the study of such dialectical textbooks established a theoretical framework for students’ analysis and construction of logical arguments, which was also the foundation of rhetoric. gerbert’s dialectical treatise, though written after his teaching career at reims ended, demonstrates his understanding of dialectics and reflects his pedagogy. the de rationali et ratione uti was written for emperor otto iii in 997 and was intended as an explanation of boethius’ exposition of specific differences as discussed in porphyry’s introduction. de rationali et ratione uti assumes an audience equipped to deal with terms used in a specifically dialectical context and well versed in the study of dialectic. the dedicatory letter of this tract mentions “many noble and learned scholars who used to be with us” but that “we saw none of them who explained any of these questions properly” (gerbert 1961, 298). thus, the tract was written specifically to counter a shortcoming in contemporary teaching, and assumed an audience who was both familiar with the technical language prevalent in dialectical debates, and who had a specific knowledge base derived from an education in the arts of the trivium. de rationali et ratione uti is the only place where gerbert specifically defines dialectic: “dialectics is the science of disputing well” (gerbert 1996, 168b). gerbert’s use of dialectical terminology is based on porphyry’s definitions of those terms, and his exposition on the text assumes his student’s diligent study of porphyry. the question: “how is ‘to reason’ predicated of ‘rational’ when ‘rational seems greater than ‘to reason’” is followed by the answer: since what descends in a straight line from the most general to the specific, either through sub alternate genera or through differentiae, whether they are in substances, or established in accidents, they are such [that] the universally extended names and definitions of all superiors are received as sensible by the inferior: when it is a differentia placed under a living body, it takes the universally extended name and definition of the superiors; because each sensible and living body is a substance, and each attribute is a relation and a quality (gerbert 1996, 160). gerbert continues through an extensive explanation, in which he both provides quotes from notable philosophers and dialecticians and creates his own examples employing characters such as plato, cicero, and socrates. if dialectic was the science of disputing well, then rhetoric was the art of presenting those disputations. dialectic and rhetoric followed the same underlying principles, a notion clearly recognized by late antique authors like cassiodorus senator. though some early medieval scholars, such as hrabanus maurus, associated rhetoric with preaching, gerbert of aurillac viewed rhetoric as having wider applications. one of gerbert’s letters summarizes his views on the art of rhetoric: since philosophy does not separate ways of conduct and ways of speaking, i have always added the fondness for speaking well to the fondness for living well, although it may be more excellent to live well than to speak well, and if one be freed from the cares of governing, the former is enough without the latter. but to us, busied in affairs of state, both are necessary. for speaking effectively to persuade and restraining the minds of angry persons from violence by smooth speech are both of the greatest usefulness (gerbert 1961, 90). gerbert’s letter reveals his belief that artful and persuasive speaking was a necessary skill for secular and ecclesiastical administrators. the centrality of rhetoric in gerbert’s educational program and his belief that eloquent speaking and writing were necessary skills for statesmen indicates that the primary goal of gerbert’s instruction was to prepare his students for state service. proper instruction in rhetoric required a revisiting of the literature learned in the study of grammar to refresh students’ understanding of style and persuasion based on classical authors: he [gerbert] was concerned that they would not be able to learn the art of oratory without prior knowledge of the modes of expression, which are learned in the works of the poets. for this reason he introduced them to the poets with whom he thought they ought to be made acquainted, expounding and teaching the poets virgil, statius, and terence, the satirists juvenal, persius, and horace, and the historian lucan (richer 2011, 71). such authors used wit, allusion, irony and puns to express ideas eloquently, and students learned these literary models to emulate classical style and content. upon completion of this refresher, gerbert led students on to their study of oratory, which was based on ciceronian rhetoric. gerbert calls cicero “the father of roman eloquence”, and writes “both in business and in leisure i am the diligent follower of the precepts of marcus tullius [cicero]” (gerbert 1961, 127 and 196). specifically, ciceronian texts such as de oratore and de inventione figured prominently in the curriculum for rhetoric at reims. for cicero, and therefore for gerbert, a proper rhetorical education was all encompassing, including a thorough general education, a cultural education in the mannerisms befitting a public speaker, and instruction in carriage and personal presentation. quintilian, a late antique orator, echoed cicero’s inclusion of history and poetry as a subject necessary for the cultivation of rhetorical abilities (quintilian 2001). unfortunately, richer does not specifically address gerbert’s methods for teaching rhetoric. richer’s statement, that “they engaged in practice disputations, conducting themselves according to the princples of this art in such a way that they seemed to act without any art at all, which is the greatest achievement for an orator” (richer 2011, 73) indicates that ability to argue was of the utmost importance to gerbert. as a former student of gerbert, richer learned to emulate literary styles and possessed desire to persuade without betraying the rhetorical or literary sources that inform that argument. like many medieval authors, richer and gerbert considered imitation the highest form of flattery, and modeled much of their writings on classical literature. the emulation of literary authorities is encouraged by one of gerbert’s rhetorical sources, quintilian, who praises imitation in his institutio oratoriae (quintilian 2001). it is possible, however, to reconstruct components of gerbert’s model for a rhetorical education based on a combination of his letters, the contents of his personal library, and his general regard for classical rhetoric. gerbert’s personal library included several texts that would have been useful in teaching rhetoric. the basic textbook used in teaching rhetoric was capella’s de nuptiis philologiae et mercurii (gerbert’s copy is bamberg ms class.39). justin lake has demonstrated the influence of capella’s terminology on the writings of gerbert’s student, richer of saint-remi, indicating that the de nuptiis figured prominently in the teaching of rhetoric at reims during gerbert’s tenure (lake 2008). gerbert valued the study of rhetoric so highly that he deliberately and purposefully sought out texts to enhance the study of rhetoric at reims: “for speaking effectively to persuade and restraining the minds of angry persons from violence by smooth speech are both of the greatest usefulness. for this activity, which must be prepared beforehand, i am diligently forming a library” (gerbert 1961, 90). this library likely contained a variety of classical and late antique works, including works of roman comedy, poetry, rhetorical manuals, speeches and political documents, letter collections, sermons, theological tracts, the works of church fathers, roman satires, etc. the textual references in gerbert’s letters provide some insight into its’ probable contents, most of which were ciceornian texts. gerbert’s letters contain references to in catalinam, tusculanae disputationes, de inventione, topica, de senectute, de officiis, de amicitia and de oratore. gerbert also requested manuscripts of cicero’s work; gerbert wrote letters to obtain the end of pro rege deiotaro, orationes, de re publica, in verrum, and the rhetoricam ad herrenium, which gerbert (like many other medieval thinkers) attributed to cicero but modern scholars now believe was written by another unnamed author, pseudo-cicero. in addition to these ciceronian texts, gerbert’s letters reference to many other classical authors: virgil’s the aeneid and georgicon; horace’s odes, ars poetica, and epistulae; sallust’s oratio in tullium and oratio in catalinam; terence’s andria, hecyra, and heauton timorumenos. christian authors also appear as sources in gerbert’s letters: augustine’s de baptismo and epistolae; jerome’s sermones; ambrose’s de fide; hilary’s de synodis; gregory the great’s registrum and homilia in evangelia; and dionysus exiguus’ codex canonum ecclesiasticorum are all cited or referenced in gerbert’s surviving letters (gerbert 1961). this wide variety of referenced texts implies that these manuscripts were available, or at least as excerpts or selections, to gerbert and his students at reims and were probably used in the curriculum on rhetoric and grammar. the two most important texts for studying rhetoric were cicero’s de oratore and de inventione, both of which gerbert knew and probably used as teaching texts. the de oratore was fundamentally different from cicero’s previous work on the same topic, the de inventione, which cicero completed around 88 bc and he later dismissed as immature. most of the de inventione’s influence on gerbert’s teaching is likely related to the components of rhetoric, which cicero divided in five parts: invention (the discovery of arguments), disposition (the arrangement of speech into parts), style, memory, and delivery. additionally, the disposition, or arrangement of speeches into parts, is further divided into seven parts, the exordium, narration, partition, confirmation, refutation, digression, and peroration (cicero 1976). gerbert’s ideas on rhetoric were most deeply influenced by the de oratore, a text he possessed and is currently held in the erlangen university library as ms erlangen 380. cicero’s conception of the ideal orator, as presented in the de oratore, was therefore instrumental in informing gerbert’s own position on the study of rhetoric and the development of rhetorical skill among his students. cicero’s idea is summarized in the prologue of his work, in which he argued that skilled public speakers must blend various methods: they must appeal to the audience’s emotions; employ wit and humor appropriately and sparingly; demonstrate the culture and refinement of a gentleman; and draw upon various sources of information including history and law (cicero 2001). thus, for cicero, and therefore for gerbert, a proper rhetorical education was all encompassing, including a thorough general education, a cultural education in the mannerisms befitting a public speaker, and instruction in carriage and personal presentation. as such, the variety of classical and late antique references in gerbert’s letter collection is hardly surprising, and mirrored the belief that the study of rhetoric required any student to be widely read and familiar with various authors and literary styles. in addition to the late antique and classical literature likely read by the students at reims, gerbert condensed the most salient components of his ideal rhetorical education into a student handbook. while this handbook does not survive, gerbert described it in one of his letters: i offer to noble scholars the pleasing fruits of the liberal disciplines to feed upon… [and] out of love for them i constructed a certain table of the rhetorical art, arranged on twenty-six sheets of parchment fastened together in the shape of an oblong, made of two sheets by thirteen sheets – a work truly wonderful for the ignorant, and useful for the studious for comprehending the fleeting and very obscure materials of the rhetoricians and for fixing them in the mind (gerbert 1961, 140). overall, the curriculum employed in the arts of the trivium at reims demonstrates a thorough working knowledge of many classical and late antique texts on the part of the grammaticus and magister. the educational process transmitted these texts to each successive body of students, both in terms of the physical text (teaching the text required at least one copy present in the cathedral library), and in terms of its actual content and literary style. the study of the trivium at reims was based on a corpus of classical and late antique literature, interpreted and expounded on, both orally and in prose, by the magister gerbert. that body of literature was supplemented by additional texts penned by gerbert to further elucidate the arts of the trivium. these additional materials supplemented and elaborated on the information provided in the classical texts, providing additional explanation on the classical and late antique texts that were the cornerstone of the curriculum in the trivium. the curriculum of the quadrivium upon completion of gerbert’s instruction in the trivium, he moved on to the subjects of the quadrivium. richer’s account indicates that gerbert’s progression of subjects in the trivium began with arithmetic, then moved to music, astronomy, and finishing with geometry (richer 2011). richer’s historia devotes a a bit more space to gerbert’s teaching on the quadrivium than he does to gerbert’s teaching on the trivium, and especially focuses on gerbert’s use of practical teaching tools. these tools, which richer viewed as new and innovative, were actually based on classical and late antique tools that were reintroduced to european scholars in the tenth century. gerbert’s progression of teaching mathematics began with arithmetic, and then proceeded to music, astronomy, and finally geometry. arithmetic was the foundation for mathematical study as it enabled students to perform computations and learn number theory. the study of music, astronomy, and geometry all built upon principles learned during one’s study of arithmetic. numerical ratios, for example, were introduced during the study of arithmetic but reappeared in music and geometry. additionally, tools used in mathematical instruction were applied to gerbert’s teaching on multiple subjects. the abacus was useful for both basic arithmetical computation and the study of geometry. richer describes gerbert’s teaching of arithmetic only briefly, stating “i do not think it would be out of place to mention how much effort he expended on the mathematical arts.” (richer 2011, 73). we know that gerbert used the abacus in teaching numerical computation, though richer describes the abacus with his discussion of gerbert’s teaching of geometry. richer described the abacus gerbert used in great detail: it was divided into twenty-seven columns, and nine symbols could be arranged upon it to signify any number. he had a thousand markers with these symbols on them made out of horn. these could be then taken in and out of the twenty seven columns of the abacus to represent the multiplication or division of any number… (richer 2011, 83). richer goes to great lengths to describe gerbert’s abacus, implying that the use of such a tool was somehow unique, but scholars recognize that the abacus was also known to gerbert’s contemporaries abbo of fleury, walter of speyer, and notker of liège (lattin 1933). gerbert’s knowledge and use of the abacus included textual explanations of it, especially through his letters to former students. gerbert’s explanation of abacus arithmetic was in response to specific questions, as his letter delves immediately into the response to remi’s query. remi’s original question does not survive, but gerbert’s response indicates that the question centered on how to properly perform multiplication or addition with the abacus. gerbert wrote: you adequately comprehended, indeed, how the tenth number measures itself. for one times one is one. but every number does not therefore measure itself because it is equal to itself, as you have written. on the contrary, although one times four is four, four does not therefore measure four, but rather two. for twice two are four. moreover, the letter i which you have found written down under the ten times figure signifies ten unities, which separated into six and four, make a sesquialter ratio. the same may be observed in the ratio three to two where unity is a difference (gerbert 1961, 172). in addition to such explanatory letters, gerbert wrote a brief treatise on the abacus which does not survive. richer mentioned this work: “whoever wishes to acquire a more complete knowledge of this body of knowledge should read the book that gerbert wrote for constantine the grammarian” (richer 2011, 83). the construction of such a handbook is consistent with his pedagogy on the trivium, where he used his own manual on rhetoric to assist his students learning. his handbook on the abacus, likely written sometime around 980, was a concise treatment of the terminology and rules for using it, written from his memory of reading a similar work, probably during his studies in spain between 967 and 970. gerbert himself referred to this work in a letter to constantine of fleury, which he dedicated to his former student (gerbert 1961). the brevity of this work dissatisfied gerbert’s contemporaries and led other scholars to write commentaries on this text around the year 1000 (lattin 1933). for gerbert, the most important text relating to arithmetic was boethius’ de arithmetica, and he owned two copies. boethius’ work was a general textbook on the subject, progressing from the definition of a number, to the differences between even and odd digits, and finally to an exposition of the relationships between numbers (boethius 1983). boethius divided these relationships into five main types: multiplex ratios, superparticular ratios, superpartient ratios, multiplex superparticular ratios, and multiplex superpartient ratios. each of these categories is subdivided: multiplex ratios consist of duplex (1:2, 2:4, 3:6, 4:8), triplex (1:3, 3:9, 4:12), and quadruple (1:4, 2:8, 3:12). superparticular ratios are those in which one number is divisible by the other, with the remainder being a fraction of the smaller number. these are further divided into three types: sesquialter superparticulars, where the remainder is ½ of the smaller number (2:3, 6:9); sesquitertian superparticulars, where the remainder is one-third of the smaller number (3:4, 6:8); and sesquiquartan superparticulars, where the remainder is ¼ of the smaller number (4:5, 12:15). in superpartient ratios, the remainder of the two numbers cannot divide evenly into either number (4:7, 5:9). multiplex superparticular numbers are combinations of multiplex and superparticular ratios (3:8 is 3:6 plus 3:2); multiplex superpartient ratios combine multiplex and superpartient ratios (5:13 is 5:10 plus 5:3)(boethius 1983). gerbert’s combination of abacus arithmetic and boethian number theory is quite consistent with his pedagogy in the arts of the trivium. in both cases, gerbert fuses classical or late antique texts with practical exercises grounded in those texts. the exposition of mathematical ratios dovetailed with instruction in music, the second art of the quadrivium. gerbert’s instruction in music was two-fold, addressing both the practicality of musical performance and the underlying numerical theory informing it. the theoretical instruction was based, again, on the works of boethius. gerbert references boethius’ de musica on multiple occasions and quotes the text nearly verbatim in his letters, with clear references to the text itself: the theory of superparticular numbers, briefly discussed in the second book of de musica, is expounded more fully and by examples in the second chapter of the fourth book. we shall copy these words here and proceed forthwith to discuss them: “if a superparticular ratio is multiplied by two, the result is neither a superparticular nor a multiple. the ratio is said to be multiplied by two when the ratio is doubled so that as the first ratio is, so is the second” (gerbert 1961, 42-43). gerbert quotes boethius’ text again in the following letter: in chapter 21 of the second book of de musica, boethius states as follows: if from every superparticular, one subtracts a continuous superparticular ratio, that which is left, which is indeed less, is less than half of the ratio which has been subtracted: as in the sequialtera and sesquitertia. because the sequialtera is larger, let us subtract the sesquitertia from the sesquialtera. there remains a sesquioctaval ratio, which, when doubled will not make a whole sesquitertian ratio, but is less by the distance that is found in a semitone. but if the doubled sesquioctaval relationship is not a whole sesquitertia, a simple sesquioctave is not a whole half of a sesquitertian ratio (gerbert 1961, 43) the reiteration of these numerical ratios in the teaching of music reinforced gerbert’s teaching of arithmetic, thereby reviewing the basic tenets of number theory and providing a solid base of knowledge for other studies in the quadrivium. richer’s account of gerbert’s teaching, on the other hand, focuses on practical and hands-on instruction in musical theory: by demonstrating the different musical genera on the monochord, by separating their consonances or harmonies into whole tones and semitones, major thirds and quarter-tones, and by methodically breaking town these tones into their constituent sounds…(richer 2011, 73-75). the monochord was a musical tool, generally between three and four feet long, which used one string stretched over a board and marked to measure length with a mobile bridge separating sections of the string so they produced sounds independent of one another when plucked. like gerbert’s other teaching tools, the monochord was transmitted to the middle ages through classical and late antique texts. boethius, for example, discusses the monochord at length in his de musica, but boethius’ explanation is derived from earlier sources including pythagoras, aristoxenus, archytas, and ptolemy (smith 1984). thus, the monochord, like the abacus was a classical tool adapted for medieval teaching at reims. while the monochord was designed to demonstrate the mathematical theory of music, gerbert’s letters imply that he also taught musical performance. students at reims already had a basic knowledge of chant, so they were familiar with harmonies, tones, and the foundations for musical performance. one of gerbert’s letters alludes to instruction in organ playing: “if anyone of you is moved by an interest in such things, as well as in the learning of music and the playing of organs, i will see to it that what i am unable to finish myself will be completed by constantine of fleury ...” (gerbert 1961, 140). this letter advances constantine of fleury, one of gerbert’s former students, as a capable successor to gerbert in teaching the organ, implying that gerbert had trained his students to play the organ. astronomy, like arithmetic and music, was both practical and theoretical. as a practical skill, knowledge of astronomy was necessary for churchmen who were responsible for dating easter and other moveable feast days, and for determining monastic schedules because of the specific timing of daily prayers (lindberg 2002). richer does not identify the texts used in gerbert’s instruction in astronomy, but a partial reconstruction of gerbert’s sources is possible due to the survival of his personal library and the contents of his letters. much of gerbert’s classroom work was based on pliny the elder’s natural history, and he owned a copy of the text. in addition to pliny, gerbert also possessed and therefore likely used a number of other texts. one such manuscript is isidore of seville’s de natura rerum, a text that was heavily drawn from the work of pliny (eastwood 2007). martianus capella’s de nuptiis was also central in gerbert’s teaching of this art, though there is little evidence for how he used it in teaching. gerbert’s letters contain only one explicit reference to capella’s work as it relates to astronomy, discussed below. martianus capella claimed that the earth was the center of the universe, and was circled by the sun, that venus and mercury circled the sun, and therefore always appeared close to one another. martianus capella’s model of the universe is closely related to pliny the elder’s, and pliny’s natural history may have served as one of capella’s sources. macrobius’ commentary on the dream of scipio also figured into gerbert’s teaching of astronomy. this text was based on cicero’s narrative, somnium scipionis. in this narrative, the soul marvels at the cosmos and asks about the wondrous music it hears, only to discover that the sounds are the result of the movement of the heavenly spheres spaced at musical ratios. gerbert certainly knew this text and interpretation of the universe because he requested a copy of cicero’s de re publica and both cicero’s dream and macrobius’ work on it were book vi of the de re publica. for macrobius, the earth was at the center of a spherical universe. this universe consisted of seven planetary spheres encircled by a sphere of stars which rotated from east to west. the motion of the planetary sphere caused the planets to move in a similar fashion, though they would also move west to east. macrobius did not designate the order of the planets in this model of the universe because cicero and plato placed the sun in different locations. in addition to macrobius’ commentary on the dream of scipio, another text was probably used in teaching astronomy. this work was complimented by boethius’ de astronomia. collectively, these works comprised the textual foundation for gerbert’s educational program in astronomy. although gerbert’s letters and his personal library provide the textual foundation for his teaching on astronomy, his former student richer emphasized gerbert’s use of practical instruments in studying astronomy. richer’s account includes great detail on several of gerbert’s teaching tools, including armillary spheres, moveable globes, observation tools, and horologia: “[gerbert] made it [astronomy] comprehensible in marvelous fashion by employing certain instruments” (richer 2011, 75). richer chooses to emphasize the practical tools gerbert used in teaching rather than texts used to inform gerbert’s ideas on astronomy. this decision indicates the novelty of these devices and demonstrates the interactive approach gerbert took towards his teaching of astronomy. these practical devices include a variety of spheres used to demonstrate the orientation of the earth and the relation of the stars to it. gerbert used a basic armillary sphere as a template for his teaching tools, and then altered similar spheres for his specific purposes. he used one sphere to teach the movement of constellations, one to demonstrate the division of the earth, one to demonstrate the movement of the planets, and one identify the constellations and the stars which composed them (richer 2011). these tools, used in the roman and late antique worlds, was reintroduced to western europe by gerbert. richer described one of gerbert’s armillary sphere thusly: he fashioned a celestial globe out of a solid sphere of wood, using the smaller as a model of the larger. he then tilted it in alignment with the two poles, adding the northern constellations to the upper half and the southern constellations to the lower one. he regulated their position by means of the circle that the greeks call the horizon and the latins the limitans or delimitans because it divides and separates the visible constellations from those that cannot be seen. (richer 2011, 75-79). these armillary spheres were first created by the hellenistic astronomer claudius ptolemy in his almagest, written during the second century. later writers would refer to these armillary spheres, including martianus capella, an author whose work gerbert knew thoroughly. capella's discussion of astronomy has astronomia describing spheres similar to those gerbert constructed (capella 1983). this consistency indicates that gerbert was reintroducing an object known in both the roman and late antique periods. after using an armillary sphere to demonstrate the movement of the planets and the relationship between the planets and the zodiac, gerbert moved on to a demonstration of the movement of the stars. this celestial phenomenon was again demonstrated through a sphere to track the movements of the heavens, but in combination with a sighting tube so that students could view a model of the heavens (richer 2011). this sphere demonstrated the placement and movement of the constellations of the zodiac around the earth, rather than the planets, but allowed the students to view both the constellations themselves, and models of those constellations which gerbert constructed and attached to this sphere. the sighting tube which gerbert attached to the sphere allowed students to easily compare the models with the actual constellations. gerbert’s creation of these spheres and their incorporation into his teaching were an innovation into the teaching of astronomy which he shared with his students. in addition to armillary spheres, which were models used in classroom instruction, gerbert also constructed hemispheres to assist with astronomical observations. in a letter to constantine of fleury in 978, gerbert explains the construction of one of his hemispheres for making astronomical observations. gerbert’s explanation contains step-by-step instructions for the construction of such a hemisphere and its use, including how to properly identify a reference point (gerbert 1961). gerbert’s acquaintance with classical texts and his construction of models with moveable parts and visual aids follows the same teaching patterns he established in his work on rhetoric, music, and arithmetic. astronomy was useful, as it allowed its practitioners to construct accurate calendars and calculate the dates of religious festivals. knowledge of astronomy also allowed scholars and clerics to construct horologia. some of gerbert’s work on this was based on martianus capella’s de nuptiis; in one letter, gerbert recounts capella’s discussion on the increase in hours of sunlight during the course of the year. so, martianus in his astronomy thinks that the increases of the hours [of sunlight] occur as follows: “one must know”, he says, “that the day increases from the shortest day so that in the first month it increases a twelfth of that time which is added in summer. in the second month, a sixth. in the third, a fourth, and in the fourth month, another fourth. in the fifth, a sixth. in the sixth, a twelfth (gerbert 1961, 189). gerbert's rendition of martianus capella's discussion for the increasing length of the day according to the time of year demonstrates more than his knowledge of capella's astronomy. this enabled gerbert to apply astronomy to practical uses in his contemporary medieval world. calculations for the amount of daylight in a given time of year, determining the proper date of easter, and constructing horologia were important skills for clerics as they enabled churchmen to perform their duties more efficiently and accurately. this practical component to the study of astronomy rendered gerbert’s teaching as firmly grounded in the available late antique literature. gerbert’s exact curriculum for the teaching of astronomy remains obscure, as richer choose to discuss the tools gerbert used rather than the texts. the final component of the curriculum at reims was geometry, the fourth art of the quadrivium. the curriculum gerbert used in the teaching of geometry is unclear. his letters contain few, if any, references that tell us what texts he used in teaching geometry. richer’s discussion of gerbert’s teaching of geometry is limited to his recitation of gerbert’s use of the abacus, discussed above, and there is no mention of the texts used. therefore, it is impossible to complete a reconstruction of gerbert’s educational program in geometry. although the textual foundation for gerbert’s teaching remains unknown, gerbert did author his own treatise on the subject, the de geometria. this work was based on a roman survey of geometry and was likely written in 983, therefore making it available to gerbert’s students at reims upon his return to the city. gerbert’s work was exceedingly logical; he begins with the assertion that all bodies are composed of parts, and proceeds to a discussion of the composite parts (surfaces, lines, points, and angles). this discussion was explained in both written and visual form, and included illustrations, diagrams and expositions on finding the area of triangles. conclusion the liberal arts curriculum at the cathedral school of reims fused classical and late antique learning into a cohesive program of study that was further elaborated on and explained through the treatises and letters of the cathedral school master. this curriculum was developed and implemented by gerbert of aurillac, the scholasticus of the cathedral school from 972-989. through the use of classical and late antique texts and teaching tools, considered innovative by his contemporaries and modern scholars, gerbert contributed to the wider intellectual revival of the late tenth century and helped lay the foundation for subsequent scholastic developments. the liberal arts curriculum developed at the reims cathedral school created a cohesive educational program that facilitated and encouraged the transmission of both literary works and physical objects from roman and late antique society to the intellectuals of europe in the high middle ages. gerbert’s students revitalized various school communities throughout northern france, initiating a general upswing in education at the turn of the first millennium. as such, gerbert’s school at reims, and the wider network of cathedral schools in the late tenth and early eleventh centuries, served conduits for the transmission of both texts and objects from the ancient to medieval worlds and as the source of a wider educational flowering in the period. works cited boethius. 1983. boethian number theory: a translation of the de institutione arithmetica, ed. michael masi. amsterdam: rodopi. capella, martianus. 1983. de nuptiis philologicae et mercurii, ed. james willis. leipzig: teubner. cicero. 1976. de inventione, trans. h.m. hubbell. cambridge: harvard university press. _____. 2001. de oratore, trans. james may and jakob wisse. oxford: oxford university press. donatus. 1926. ars minor, trans. wayland johnson chase. madison: university of wisconsin press. eastwood, bruce. 2007. ordering the heavens: roman astronomy and cosmology in the carolingian renaissance. leiden: brill. gerbert of aurillac. 1961. the letters of gerbert with his papal privileges as pope sylvester ii, trans. harriet pratt lattin. new york: columbia university press. _____. 1996. de rationali et ratione uti, ed. j.p. migne. patrologia latina 139: 159-168. lake, justin. 2008. rhetorical and narrative studies in the historiae of richer of saint-remi. cambridge: harvard university ph.d. dissertation (look this up). lattin, harriet pratt. 1933. the origins of our present system of notation according to the theories of nicholas bubnov. isis 91.1 (1933): 181-194. lindberg, david. 2002. the beginnings of western science: the european scientific tradition in philosophical, religious, and institutional context, prehistory to a.d. 1450. chicago: university of chicago press. quintillian. 2001. oratoria instiuttiones, trans. donal russell. cambridge: harvard university press. riché, pierre. 1976. education and culture in the barbarian west, trans. john contreni. columbia: university of south carolina press. richer of saint remi. 2011. histories, ed. justin lake. cambridge: harvard university press. smith, f. joseph. 1984. the medieval monochord. the journal of musicological research 5 (1984): 1-34. page 1 "turning of the wheel:" a perennialist's answer to 1970s curricular debates jayson evaniuck eastern new mexico university abstract this paper utilizes archival sources and publications to underscore harry s. broudy's responses to 1970s curricular shifting providing a window into curriculum reconceptualist debates of the 1970s whilst offering broudy, smith, burnett's (1964) curriculum study as an informative curriculum precursor. ultimately, the author argues the democracy and excellence in american secondary education offers a valuable antecedent to numerous curriculum debates of the era. during the 1970s, significant curricular shifts transpired, polarizing the curriculum field. multiculturalism, student choice, and values clarification emerged from the 1960s and gained momentum in the early 1970s. in the 1970s, a diverse group of reconceptualist thinkers called for a paradigm shift away from traditional curriculum theory frameworks and humanizing the curriculum field. amid such changes within curriculum theory emerged a back-to-basics movement responding to multiculturalism and student choice. the changes within the 1970s challenged harry broudy's own humanist approach to curriculum. broudy directly addressed such concerns while providing a humanistic way forward during the eras contested debates despite communicating sentiments of academic irrelevance. background while exploring harry s. broudy's articulations on teacher education in-depth within his archival papers, an observable trend amongst the mid-1970s correspondences related to curriculum trends was discerned and worthy of succinct treatment such as this. harry broudy was a prominent educational philosopher of the second half of the twentieth century. he wrote extensively on general education, aesthetics education, and teacher education. broudy's educational philosophy fits in the realm of an educational perennialist similar to robert maynard hutchins; however, broudy’s approach was quite different than hutchins. both thinkers contended for cultivating the intellect with disciplined study of classics or exemplars of human thought through a rigorous general education program. a significant divergence was the style of broudy's writing and his professional associations. harry broudy maintained close associations with pragmatists and even behavioralists throughout his career despite vastly different epistemological assumptions. such associations were evidenced by broudy giving the invited john dewey lecture for the john dewey society in 1981 and serving as editor of the educational forum from 19641973. while robert hutchins chose to attack vocational schooling and pragmatism in education directly, as a philosopher, harry broudy generally avoided blatant attacks in favor of cogent arguments for his aristotelian perception of the ideal (broudy 1959). additionally, broudy offered a more concessionary tenor in is critiques of john dewey's pragmatism than hutchins (broudy 1971). harry broudy achieved substantial notoriety in aesthetics education and educational philosophy, he provided significant contributions to curriculum theory as well. within works such as building a philosophy of education (1954), he articulated the viability of a "third view" of the curriculum in the midst of the "subject-centered" versus "problem-centered" debates dominating the era. broudy's "third view," based on his classical realist approach, advocated for a systematic study of the disciplines with a 12 concentration on problem-solving as well as aesthetic creativity. bellack (1956) initially referred to broudy's conception of curriculum as a broad fields approach. kliebard (2004) identified the broad fields approach of the era as enhancing unity of the curriculum by correlating subjects traditionally taught independently (p. 247). broudy's "third view" of curriculum received full theoretical treatment in the 1964 publication of democracy and excellence in american secondary education: a study in curriculum theory written with coauthors bunny othanel smith and joe burnett. unlike many "subject-centered" curriculum theorists, broudy, smith, and burnett (1964) attempted to systematically address the social and psychological demands inherent within curriculum theory. pinar et al. (1995) indicated the book was focused on the disciplines rather than a more child-centered focus on socialization. diverging from many pragmatists "problem-centered" theorists, broudy and colleagues argued for a common curriculum framework emphasizing self-cultivation through a systematic study of exemplars of thought within the disciplines. shortly after harry broudy retired from the university of illinois in 1974 and during his lengthy service as professor emeritus, numerous letters underscored his unease with 1970s curricular shifts. in a somewhat unexpected tenor, the typically unassailable broudy conveyed feelings of professional inconsequentiality related to his curricular critiques during the era. the late 1960s and 1970s presented numerous shifts in curricular foci among theoreticians and schooling practitioners. such shifts were evidenced in new curricula and approaches at the practitioner level, an increase in student choice was demonstrated by multiculturalism, values clarification, open classrooms, and increased elective offerings at the secondary levels (abramowitz & macari 1972; gay 1975; boss 1972; greenberg & roush 1970; kohl 1969; raths, harmin, & simon 1966). particularly amongst theoreticians, multiculturalism and curriculum reconceptualism gained momentum during the era. the late 1970s also spawned a back-to-basics movement in response to the new curricular approaches prompting an entire 1978 issue of educational leadership aptly titled "the three r's: what works." this back-to-basics approach favored core subject areas of mathematics, english, subject-centered social studies, and science, prompting powerful concerns and justifications for arts education among aesthetics education specialists (broudy 1979; eisner 1981). such shifts in curriculum studies form the backdrop of why harry broudy found himself on the outside looking in during the 1970s and early 1980s. the paper moves from general to specific, exploring harry broudy's concerns with 1970s curriculum studies while analyzing his curricular answers preceding the era. debates among theorists over the reconceptualist movement within curriculum theory receive treatment as a case study to contextualize this fascinating era. harry broudy's critiques of curriculum theory by 1977, the association for supervision and curriculum development (ascd) had long been a parent organization for theorists and practitioners of curriculum. the organization had a loyal following of notable curriculum theorists as well as school administrators and teachers. since 1943, the ascd remarkably brought together theorists as well as educational practitioners. amid curricular shifts within the ascd, harry s. broudy's opening statement of his 1977 invited address at the annual conference succinctly communicated concerns within curriculum studies and his feeling out of touch with curricular trends. it has been some time since i had the privilege of addressing an ascd audience, perhaps because my views on education have remained on the dull side, responding with caution to innovations that have generated wave 13 after wave of excitement, each of about five years duration. there have been at least three such flood tides in the past 15 years; the pursuit of academic excellence for the elites in the first five; relating compassionately to the disadvantaged in the second five; and basics for everyone in the third. however, we have learned that curricula, texts, the minds of teachers, and the methods of teaching, let alone real, albeit often subconscious expectations of the public, do not change so fast. (broudy 1977a, p. 134) the address generated enough interest for reprinting within four different sources. oddly enough, harry broudy turned down a request from eric clearinghouse, stating, "i very much doubt that the demand for the article 'how basic is aesthetic education…' warrants reprinting" (jun. 1, 1977). within the brief letter and the address, broudy suggested that his ideas were not generating popularity. the real world of public schools, written in 1972, corroborated and deepened broudy's reminders that innovations and trends among education theorists and policymakers are often not reflected in the public view of education and classroom instruction. the book offered numerous charges and cautions against curriculum thinkers and educationalists' propensity to be out of touch with schooling. although much of the book aimed at explaining schooling and the education system amidst attacks, broudy's cautions in the real world of public schools situated his overall concerns within the field of curriculum theory in the 1970s. at root for broudy's critiques was a newer school of humanism in the curriculum away from the confines of the formal study of the disciplines towards a curriculum encouraging choice, freedom, and student impulse. he stated, whatever the school can do to remove the obstacles from impulse, the neohumanists argue, it should do forthwith. hence the emphasis on cryptotherapy of various kinds, ranging from role playing to staging of happenings in which everything is improvised…indeed, if wisdom means anything, it is the ability to distinguish good from bad hang-ups; necessary from unnecessary inhibitions. the humanist tradition is no more and no less the search for that wisdom; giving up the search in favor of mere impulse is a rejection of that tradition. (broudy 1972, p. 173) the 1972 publication signaled a beginning of future divergences harry broudy later articulated toward 1970s curricular trends. numerous letters with correspondences between 1975 and 1978 denoted harry broudy's concern with curricular shifting, particularly, several 1975 correspondences with an ascd editor louise berman. the letters occurred amidst tumult within ascd membership. debates were transpiring regarding the role of curriculum promoting activism and increased free choice in student learning (pinar et al. 2008). during the era, ascd published numerous social and political papers and chapters advocating activism and increased student choice in learning. in responding to berman's request for review of a paper, he stated: "…no doubt, advancing age has dulled my sensibilities; but i confess that i could not make much out of the potpourri of phenomenology, existentialism, and counter-culturist jargon. i trust that the ascd readership is more "with" this kind of writing than i am" (jan. 16, 1975). while the sourcing details and specific curricular concerns harry broudy was addressing are absent in the letter exchange, the sarcasm denoted real concerns he saw within the field of curriculum theory. within another letter to louise berman, broudy provided further evidence of his growing disconnect with curricular trends of the 1970s by providing a troubling appraisal of his role as a reviewer for ascd. 14 as you are aware, my own views on the curriculum are so dissonant with those expressed in the book, that i have refrained from commenting on the last few papers you sent me. if it will make you and the committee more comfortable, my name can be removed quietly from the committee. i have tried to be of service to ascd, but apparently i am no longer in tune with the drummers to which it marches. (oct. 16, 1975) while these two letters indeed demonstrate disconnects harry broudy articulated during the 1970s and the elevated tensions within ascd during the era, the letters do not communicate specific areas of dissonance between curriculum ideas of the era and his own. harry broudy's ideas on curriculum theory and his classical realist philosophical undergirding are found within both editions of building a philosophy of education (1954; 1961). the theoretical dimensions were systematized into curricular theory within democracy and excellence in american secondary education: a study in curriculum theory (broudy, smith, & burnett 1964). though ornstein and hunkins (2013), kliebard (2004), and bellack (1955) characterized broudy's curricular ideas as a broad-fields approach, broudy and colleagues opposed the broad-fields designation on the grounds that academic battlegrounds are provoked by labels (broudy, smith, & burnett 1964). as detected within harry broudy’s archival papers, after harry broudy gave an address or lecture, he received written inquiries from fellow professors, superintendents, principals, and teachers regarding sources where particular ideas were addressed. when the inquiries were curricular, harry broudy consistently recommended the 1964 publication of democracy and excellence. broudy and colleagues organized their secondary curriculum into five broad categories: (1) symbolics of information (english, foreign languages, and mathematics); (2) basic sciences (general science, biology, physics, and chemistry); (3) developmental studies (evolution of the cosmos, of social institutions, and of human culture); (4) aesthetic exemplars (art, music, drama, and literature); and (5) molar problems addressing societal problems which borrow from multiple disciplines to systematically address (broudy, smith, & burnett 1964, p. 247). the more specific dissonance areas between harry broudy’s curriculum theory and late 1970s curriculum reconceptualism will be explored further after contextualizing the late 1970 and early 1980s lively curricular debates between curriculum "traditionalists" and "reconceptualists." curricular debates of the era the context within curriculum theory in the later 1970s and early 1980s is indispensable for understanding the content behind harry broudy's critiques and statements of "unpopularity." within ascd, factions developed among membership based on numerous theoretical shifts. most notably, a call for a reconceptualization of curriculum away from the conventional ralph tyler apparatus dominant in the curriculum field from 19501970. the reconceptualists critiqued the prevailing traditional ralph tyler curricular framework as technocratic and narrow. reconceptualism shares a sense of social activism with early progressive reconstructionists such as george counts and harold rugg (ornstein & hunkins 2013); however, the movement drew theoretical inspiration from german and french thinkers such as maurice merleau-ponty, jergen habermas, martin heidegger, and michel foucault among others. unlike their progressive predecessors, the reconceptualism field was not connected to the practical school curriculum; rather, the movement aimed at informing theory rather than curriculum practitioners (schubert et al. 2002). such a detachment between theory and schooling further compounded growing divisions 15 within ascd. while the reconceptualists were theoretically diverse, adherents shared a unifying call for humanizing the curriculum field away from behaviorist, technocratic, and positivist frames. reconceptualists viewed notable curriculum theorist joseph schwab's (1969) opening sentence of "the practical: a language for curriculum" as a clarion call for needed curricular reform. schwab (1969) stated, "the field of curriculum is moribund. it is unable by its present methods and principles to continue its work and contribute significantly to the advancement of education" (p. 1). joseph schwab sought to move the field of curriculum theory from positivist frames towards its humanistic roots while advocating for theoretical understanding aimed at educational practice and action (null 2011). the late 1970s and early 1980s witnessed substantial debates between notable thinkers underscoring this growing chasm. highlighting such shifts' momenta, the 1981 ascd hosted a debate between ralph tyler and reconceptualist leader william pinar at the annual meeting (pinar et al. 2008). reverberations within ascd also infiltrated the american educational research association (aera) and its flagship publication educational researcher. in 1978, aera invited reconceptualist william pinar and traditionalist john mcneil, to provide the "state of the art" invited addresses to the curriculum studies division with maxine greene (1979a) as a respondent (pinar et al. 2008). shortly thereafter, daniel and laurel tanner wrote a critique of the reconceptualism movement titled "emancipation from research: the reconceptualist prescription," though the critique was heavily directed at william pinar. tanner and tanner (1979) argued that the movement lacked a unifying academic identity and an identifiable theory within their paper. instead, they identified reconceptualism as a doctrine of radical critique and spillover of 1960s protest movements rather than curriculum theory. further, they vehemently disagreed with the reconceptualist contention schools are deliberately repressive to children. also, they posited strong accusations of reconceptualist theory disconnected from schooling. just two journal issues later in 1979, both william pinar and maxine greene responded to daniel and laurel tanner in separate letters. pinar's (1979) concern with the tanners' critique was that it left no room to initiate an academic conversation or provide a way forward. he further charged the tanners' misunderstanding of his writing illustrated a chasm between traditional and reconceptualist views of the curriculum. pinar decried the tanners' implication of reconceptualist work emancipation from research. instead, he harkened the importance of humanities informing research. in the letter, william pinar agreed with the diversity of perspectives without unity while justifying the necessity of unity of thought and conversations toward shifting the paradigm from traditional curriculum conceptions. in the same issue, maxine greene (1979) lamented how her rebuttal at the 1978 conference was misused by tanner and tanner (1979) to impugn william pinar and the reconceptualism movement and retreat within their position without a call for dialog. additionally, greene (1979) criticized the tanners' use of german philosopher jurgen habermas in a reductionist theoretical approach. the disputes continued into the 1979 aera meeting as phillip w. jackson presented a "state of the field" invited address to the curriculum studies division titled, "curriculum and its discontents" (jackson 1980a). in the address, jackson (1980a) presented a two-fold critique. first, he aimed at previous invited speakers' (dwayne huebner, william pinar) propensity for deathly metaphors to describe the field of curriculum and the source of the metaphor, joseph schwab. he then criticized the content of the three noted "discontents" without linking specific ideas with individuals. jackson identified seven recurring themes among "discontents" or reconceptualists: (1) "the tyler rationale is out-of-date"; (2) our present ways of addressing schools and schooling fall short of the 16 complexity and dignity of the human condition; (3) technologists, test makers, textbook publishers, and school administrators control curriculum; (4) a loss of humanistic values and goals in schools; (5) "curriculum workers have little to offer teachers…"; (6) "the aesthetic, ethical, and spiritual dimensions of the educational experience are being ignored"; and (7) "our schools are damaging to many students, particularly to children of the poor and oppressed minorities" (jackson 1980a, p. 167). phillip jackson conceded that most of the themes presented worthwhile problems for consideration. his concerns with the "discontents" approach to these issues were on several grounds. jackson affirmed reconceptualist concerns with "narrow-minded empiricism," yet disapproved the shifting scholarly allegiance of the reconceptualist away from mainstream social science and toward "left of center" marxist, freudian, and existential thought. he concluded with a final concern, echoing harry broudy's (1977b) earlier criticism regarding the "partially digested" knowledge and weighty german theoretical positions employed topically by the reconceptualists (jackson 1980a, p. 168). both william pinar and maxine greene responded to the address, followed by a short rebuttal from phillip jackson within the same issue of curriculum theory. maxine green (1980) used close readings of numerous literary and philosophical sources in refuting jackson. she ultimately argued that jackson, in decrying the illness metaphor, failed to address the actuality the metaphor underscored. she then proceeded to justify the importance and validity of the reconceptualist scholarly shift occurring within the curriculum field. she argued that the "tyler rationale" had shortcomings to address, namely too many links with behaviorism. greene (1980) further suggested that the reconceptualist approach allowed students to pursue individual meaning-making while making sense of a changing and troubling world. william pinar (1980) reiterated a similar refrain to his 1979 letter advocating the need for conversation around the issues arguing jackson's critique. in the paper, he again addressed daniel and laurel tanner's previous critique before specifically responding to phillip jackson. william pinar (1980) lamented jackson's lack of a counterclaim regarding his alarms with the moribund metaphor. he again invited a conversation through dialogical encounters rather than monologue-focused counterattacks. harry broudy's divergence two sources provide a more specific divergence between such curriculum ideas and harry broudy's own. the first source is a book review of william pinar's (1975) edited book, curriculum theorizing: the reconceptualists, which voiced numerous ideas on reconceptualizing the curriculum away from the traditional tyler approach. the authors varied substantially, borrowing from child-centered progressives, social reconstructionists, phenomenologists, and existentialists within philosophy and marxist approaches to the curriculum (pinar 1975). amongst theoretic diversity, the reconceptualist movement's unifying theme was opposition to the tyler approach, seen as a narrowly prescribed curriculum often utilized for corporate and bureaucratic influences. instead, the curriculum needed humanization leading to increased student freedom, rights, and social activism (pinar 1975). an additional reconceptualism of curriculum emphasized a phenomenological and autobiographical concept, the verb form of curriculum currere, implying a curricular role as conceiving one's educational experience (pinar et al. 2008). broudy's (1977b) review, published in teachers college record, criticized the reconceptualist curriculum movement for vilifying the schooling experience as a dehumanizing agency responsible for promoting students' oppression and repression. similar critiques later were communicated by tanner and tanner (1979) and jackson (1980a). he also criticized reconceptualist thinkers' tendency to 17 invoke marxian social theory in their educational critiques with a limited demonstration of the entire underlying theory. broudy raised similar concerns with the topical entreating of existentialist philosophy among numerous authors, a critique later employed by jackson (1980a). harry broudy's (1977b) review is an early critique of the emerging reconceptualist movement predating the noteworthy ascd and aera debates in 1979 and 1980. since the book review came before the ascd and aera debates, a rebuttal would have been most insightful during this embryonic stage before academic battle positions were firmly entrenched, especially in light of broudy sharing a humanist educational orientation of many reconceptualist thinkers. harry broudy referred to the reconceptualists and the emerging 1960s and 1970s humanism as "neo humanism" and distinct from the more traditional humanism or humanitas harry broudy advocated (broudy 1972; evaniuck 2020). both william pinar and maxine greene provided a valid concern regarding previous critiques of reconceptualism lacking an invitation for discussion, perhaps owing to the lack of common ground between the two camps. based on similar commitments among varying conceptions of humanism in education among broudy, pinar, and greene, such a discussion on humanistic grounds would have been fascinating and perhaps would have resembled the academic dialog william pinar and maxine greene called for in both letters at the height of the debates (greene 1979; pinar 1979; 1980). a second source provides personalized insights into harry broudy's divergence with the era's curricular shifts—a letter to a former doctoral student and close colleague in educational philosophy, mary anne raywid. the esteemed colleague shared some ideological points with reconceptualist curriculum thinkers, as evidenced by broudy referencing his 1977 review of pinar's (1975) curriculum reconceptualists within his letter to her. broudy wondered why she would enjoy academic discourse at the annual philosophy of education society meetings in light of her divergent interests. i continue to wonder why our visits at pes are as you say "high points," a wonder that is underlined by your lucid statements of interests. you seem to have much more in common with those you mention who also share your commitments to conceptualism in philosophy and the new left in sympathy than with a confirmed neo-aristotelian. (may 5, 1978) the tone suggests the clear divides that galvanized scholars during the era and reiterated harry broudy's alienation for his lack of support for the era's curriculum thinkers. towards the end of the letter, broudy corroborated specific philosophical concerns with curriculum reformers of the era noted in the book review while maintaining an extended olive branch over their apparent philosophical differences. the letter exchanges such as this between raywid and broudy demonstrated deep respect and robust scholarly discourse amongst philosophical differences in education. such discourse is refreshing amid current specialized, entrenched, and often polarizing academic times. later in the letter, broudy provided an optimistic outlook amidst concerns stating, "perhaps it is one of the small benefits of us perrenialists that we know that the wheel will turn and return to just about where it was before" (may 5, 1978). perhaps with such a reminder, harry broudy also was encouraging himself regarding his own deeply held commitments and over 40 years of educational work, midst feelings of waning academic and philosophical support within the academy. broudy and colleagues curriculum the 1970s and 1980s debates exacerbated polarization within the field of curriculum studies. on one end were reconceptualist 18 influenced thinkers arguing for the curriculum's humanization, charging that the tyler rationale was narrow, behaviorist, and positivist oriented. hlebowitsh (1997) cautioned against such a dichotomy in curriculum studies based on ideological construction and entrenched battle lines. further, hlebowitch (1992) also warned against impugning ralph tyler's curriculum as behavioristic and narrow demonstrating the contrary. entirely unpacking such ideological polarization still persistent today is beyond this paper's scope. in three dimensions, the author believes that harry broudy, othaniel smith, and joe burnett's curriculum directly addressed concerns raised by 1970s debates over ten years prior. broudy, smith, and burnett (1964) offered a differing humanistic way forward than the reconceptualists loud calls for humanizing the curriculum. also, the authors directly addressed joseph schwab's noted calls for curriculum theory informing praxis. third, broudy and colleagues curriculum study provided needed moral dimensions noted as lacking within curriculum studies (null 2011). in 1964, broudy, smith, and burnett responded to several early 1960s concerns with their study, democracy and excellence in the american secondary education. first, they argued growing vocational focus as well as tracking within secondary schooling weakened the liberal arts or general education offered in american secondary schools for all students regardless of socioeconomic background. the authors were also concerned with sputnik influenced curricular foci of the time detached from critical valuative dimensions noting concerns such as behaviorism, technocratic approaches, spiritual scarcity, and narrow curriculum interests. the authors defined valuative principles as attitudes, norms, and rules of human conduct, focusing on the inculcation of the examined life. broudy, smith, and burnett. (1964) argued that valuative principles are needed in the curriculum, "if the curriculum is to be designed to make individuals as intelligent about their social conduct as about their behavior toward the material world, the content of the educational program must consist in part of valuative principles and concepts" (p. 150). a fascinating letter further illuminates harry broudy's argument for value principles informing education. in 1968 while serving as a resident scholar at stanford university's center for advanced study in the behavioral sciences, broudy responded to transcripts of a lecture given at the center by a fellow advanced study resident scholar, phillip j. stone. stone was a harvard psychologist and an early leader in artificial intelligence and computerized content analysis. while broudy addressed numerous dimensions related to organized school learning and electronic devices, his inquiry into valuative schemes is particularly insightful toward valuative principles in schooling. on what "principle" shall we urge our pupils to make their decisions in the light of information, rather than the basis of nonrational factors? and of the diverse nonrational factors[,] which is to be preferred? these questions may seem trivial to the adult, especially to the adult whose value schema has already been formed and reflected upon, but they are of primary concern to the school – if it ever takes seriously the notion of changing value norms. (may 20, 1968) broudy's argument here echoed a recurring concept in democracy and excellence in the american secondary education. schools and a curriculum must take seriously moral development of students' moral grids toward informed decision-making. valuative development, the authors argue, is indispensable for participation in democratic life. the authors justified and further developed the concepts applying the examples to a classroom discussion on andrew jackson's presidency. initial student arguments were made in the classroom for a "strong" or "weak" presidency based on the strength of getting his 19 programs through and opinions denoting perceived weakness due to jackson's decisions made upon circumstance rather than principle. the authors demonstrated that valuative criteria must be established in advance for the class to evaluate such judgments due to inherent valuative differences on topics. broudy, smith, and burnett (1964) further distinguished normative values as prescriptive (procedural), regulatory (behavioral rules), and moral (connected to virtue). notably, the normative moral values undergird broudy and colleagues' curriculum. the emphasis on moral valuative schemes is not indoctrination, opposing behaviorism, and conditioning of the student. the school's role in normative moral values is to encourage wisdom in students, "the school cannot teach choices and decisions, but it can teach the facts, the value definitions, and the valuative principles on which right and wise decisions are made" (p. 152). ultimately, such a curricular program would enhance civic virtue and address the democratic purposes of schooling. the authors identified that virtue encouraged by schooling in the past was commonly connected with "minor morals" such as etiquette, manners, and social graces. the emphasis undergirding the curriculum to broudy, smith, and burnett (1964) should instead emphasize substantive moral ideals such as freedom, equality, justice, honesty, charity, fairness, and brotherhood. while these moral dimensions of broudy, smith, and burnett (1964) curriculum are theoretical, the authors demonstrated feasibility with school examples. further, their curriculum theory informed practice in section three of the book culminating in a chapter devoted to laying out "a program of studies." perhaps the most tangible way the authors applied valuative principles is through advocating and justifying the study of exemplars of human thought and action. exemplars help refine student tastes and affections since great works of science, art, literature, and thought represent the human race's aspirations. as implicitly covered in 1964 and later explicitly developed in works such as the uses of schooling in 1988, harry broudy argued that formal study of the arts creates image stores and conceptual frames facilitating meaning and engendering moral judgments through aesthetic association. it is within broudy, smith, and burnett (1964) study of exemplars where coursework devoted to exemplary human thought and artistic contributions empowers valuative or moral development in students. later broudy (1967) stated, "just as the history of science furnishes the great exemplars of our intellectual achievement, so the history of the arts furnishes great exemplars of value commitments of the great epochs of the past" (p. 119). this impressionistic approach to art education is not without critiques. tanner (1971) as well as tanner and tanner (1995) posed concerns over broudy and colleagues’ emphasis on aesthetic exemplar analysis at the expense of creative expression in the arts. the critique was a common one throughout harry broudy’s career, even one identified by close music and art colleagues (colwell 1992). ultimately, the authors demonstrated the need for moral principles informing curriculum theory and the practical implications of the curriculum's valuative and normative dimensions. an emphasis on moral commitments in education is categorically not too distant from the moral agency maxine green (1978) likewise advocated. in addition, valuative commitments is not out of touch with what phillip jackson, robert boostrom, and david hansen (1993) observed implicitly within schools in the late 1980s and early 1990s. a substantive challenge postulated by tanner and tanner (1995) of the broudy, smith, burnett (1964) curriculum is divorcing content and process or “knowing” and “doing.” tanner and tanner argue that as adolescence performance is diminished, appreciation also decreases through denial of the act of doing, making, or creating (p. 210). at the heart of the critique were differing epistemological assumptions between a pragmatist and classical 20 realist conception of knowledge between both sets of authors. while broudy deals with the philosophical essence of the critique in other works (broudy 1954; 1970), at a practical level broudy, smith, and burnett (1964) contended pragmatisms emphasis on “doing” as an instrument of learning leads to the devaluing and ultimate neglect of language as the instrument of learning (p. 22). the 1970s was a critical period within curriculum studies. the era witnessed a continuance of age-old subject-centered versus problem-centered debates while new debates such as back to basics versus student choice, theoretical versus practical, and humanistic versus traditional curricular ideas arose to the forefront. preceding the eras debates, broudy, smith, and burnett (1964) democracy and excellence in american secondary education directly addressed the curricular areas of contention in the 1970s and early 1980s. the authors provided a traditional humanist way forward without opposing the tyler apparatus. additionally, subtitled, a study in curriculum theory, the authors intentionally reconciled theory with schooling feasibility. lastly, the study provided a content area approach to prepare students for civic engagement in significant societal problems. conclusion though it is tempting to consider the work of harry broudy, othanel smith, and burnett (1964) in a replicative fashion, curriculum theory gets formulated out of the problems, philosophies, and psychological developments within their respective era. a more insightful and fitting approach for evaluating historic curriculum theory work today is drawing upon insights to guide current curriculum thought. with such a frame harry broudy, b. othanel smith, and joe burnett's curriculum work has much to offer twenty-first century thought in three areas. first, we find an enduring argument for valuative and moral dimensions within the curriculum. goodlad (1990) made the case that the profession of teaching requires normative presuppositions to promote "preparation for full participation in the human conversation" (p. 28). clark (1990) stated "what educators and parents fear most about bad teaching and celebrate most about good teaching are manifestations of fundamental moral virtues" (p. 263). though a teacher is an independent agent, the curriculum should play a role in encouraging such teaching. broudy, smith, and burnett (1964) offered a conception of values education opposing indoctrination on the one hand and unbridled student-choice and clarification on another through exploration of exemplars in arts and thought. second, a broad fields curricular approach was prominent among theorists in the 1950s and 1960s and demonstrated the ability to bridge ever-present gaps between subject and student-centered curriculum (short 1986). revisiting broad fields approaches such as broudy, smith, and burnett (1964) offers a "disciplined" alternative to the concerning current trend of behavioristic teaching practices connected to standardized testing within current subject-centered iterations. finally, in a time of increasing content insulation, hyperspecialization, and imperial agendas within schools (davis 2005), broudy, smith, and burnett's (1964) conception of curriculum provides a framework to analyze the best of human thought from numerous perspectives whilst exploring problems from multiple disciplines and the ability of exemplars to crosscut human thought and inform valuative frames. the paradigm shifts within curriculum studies in the 1970s and the subsequent debates demonstrated differing philosophical assumptions and viewpoints of humanism. this differing view of humanism is at the heart of harry broudy's divergence with reconceptualism and other 1970s curricular shifts. early in the 1970s, broudy addressed the difference stating, how relevant then is education? it is relevant at its deepest level only insofar 21 as the exfoliation of the human potential – for humanity – is its goal. in this the new humanists are obviously right. they are wrong only in believing that crudity, raw feeling, and raw aspirations are the touchstones of true humanity. on the contrary, it is the refined versions of these feelings and aspirations that are proper yardsticks for relevance. (broudy 1972, 198) in support of his traditional humanistic curriculum, broudy and colleagues offered a curriculum study addressing many of the seminal curriculum debates of the 1970s before their rise to the forefront. references abramowitz, m. w. & macari, c. 1972. values clarification in junior high school. educational leadership 27(7):621-626 bellack, a. a. 1956. selection and organization of curriculum content: an analysis. in arno a. belleck (ed.), what shall the high schools teach? 1956 yearbook of the national association for supervision and curriculum development. national association for supervision and curriculum development. boss, r. 1972. portland's personalized education program. educational leadership 29(5):405407. broudy, h. s. 1954. building a philosophy of education. prentice hall. broudy, h.s., 1959. realism in american education. school and society 87:11-14. broudy, h. s. 1967. art, science, and new values. the phi delta kappan 49(3):115119. broudy, h. s. 1968, may 20. letter to philip j. stone. box 2, file folder s, harry s. broudy papers, university of illinois archives, university of illinois. broudy, h.s., 1970. on knowing with. in proceedings of the 26th annual meeting of the philosophy of education society:89-104. broudy, h.s., 1971. democratic values and educational goals. teachers college record 72(5):113-152. broudy, h. s. 1972. the real world of the public schools. harcourt brace jovanovich. broudy, h. s. 1975, jan. 16. letter to louise berman. box 5, file folder b, harry s. broudy papers, university of illinois archives, university of illinois. broudy, h. s. 1975, oct. 16. letter to louise berman. box 5, file folder b, harry s. broudy papers, university of illinois archives, university of illinois. broudy, h. s. 1977a. how basic is aesthetic education? or is' rt the fourth r? educational leadership 35:55-66. broudy, h. s. 1977b. curriculum theorizing: the reconceptualists, ed. by pinar, w. (review of). teachers college record 77(4):639-641. broudy, h. s. 1977, jun. 1. letter to mrs. clarice h. watson. box 6, file folder w, harry s. broudy papers, university of illinois archives, university of illinois. broudy, h. s. 1978,may 5. letter to mary anne raywid. box 6, file folder r, harry s. broudy papers, university of illinois archives, university of illinois. broudy, h. s. 1979. arts education: necessary of just nice?. the phi delta kappan 60(5):347-350. broudy, h. s. 1988. the uses of schooling. new york: routledge. broudy, h. s., smith, b. o., & burnett, j. r. 1964. democracy and excellence in american secondary education: a study in curriculum theory. rand mcnally clark, c. m. 1990. the teacher and the taught: moral transactions in the classroom. in the moral dimensions of teaching (pp. 251-265). ed. goodlad, j. i., soder, r., & sirotnik, k. a. jossey-bass publishers. colwell, r., 1992. goodness and greatness: broudy on music education. journal of aesthetic education, 26(4):37-48. davis, o. l. 2005. editorial: imperial delusions and some possible 22 consequences for the school curriculum. journal of curriculum and supervision 20(4):264-270. eisner, e. 1981. the role of arts in cognition and curriculum. the phi delta kappan 63(1): 48-52. evaniuck, j. 2020. excellence without snobs and equality without slobs: harry s. broudy's theory of general education. journal of philosophy and history of education 70: 3347. gay, g. 1975. organizing and designing culturally pluralistic curriculum. educational leadership 33(3):176-183. goodlad, j. i.. 1990. the occupation of teaching in schools. in the moral dimensions of teaching (pp. 3–34). ed goodlad, j. i., soder, r., & sirotnik, k. a. jossey-bass publishers. greenberg, j. d. & roush, r. e. 1970. a visit to the 'school without walls': two impressions. phi delta kappan 51(9):480484. greene, m. 1978. landscapes of learning. teachers college press. greene, m. 1979 'letters'. educational researcher 8(9):25–25. doi: 10.3102/0013189x008009025. greene, m. 1980. response to philip jackson. curriculum inquiry 10(2):172-175. doi: 10.1080/03626784.1980.11075212 hlebowitsh, p. 1992. amid behavioural and behaviouristic objectives: reappraising appraisals of the tyler rationale. journal of curriculum studies, 24(6):533-547. hlebowitsh, p. s. 1997. op-ed the search for the curriculum field. journal of curriculum studies, 29(5):507-512. jackson, p. w. 1980a. curriculum and its discontents. curriculum inquiry 10(2):159172. doi: 10.1080/03626784.1980.11075211 jackson, p. w. 1980b. response to maxine greene. curriculum inquiry 10(2):175-177. doi: 10.1080/03626784.1980.11075213 jackson, p. w., boostrom, r. e., & hansen, d. t. 1993. the moral life of schools. josseybass publishers. kliebard, h. 2004. the struggle for the american curriculum: 1893-1958 (3rd ed). routledge. kohl, h. r. 1969. the open classroom. random house incorporated. null, w. 2011. curriculum: from theory to practice. rowman & littlefield. ornstein, a.c. & hunkins, f. p. 2013. curriculum: foundations, principles, and issues (6th ed). pearson. pinar, w. 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'letters'. educational researcher 8(9):6, 24. doi:10.3102/0013189x008009006 pinar, w. f. 1980. reply to my critics. curriculum inquiry 10(2):199-205. doi: 10.1080/03626784.1980.11075216 pinar, w. f., reynolds, w. m., slattery, p., & taubman, p. m. 2008. understanding curriculum: an introduction to the study of historical and contemporary curriculum discourses (vol. 17). peter lang. raths, l. e., harmin, m., & simon, s. 1966. values and teaching. charles e. merrill publishing company. schubert, w.h., schubert, a.l.l., thomas, t.p. and carroll, w.m., 2002. curriculum books: the first hundred years. p. lang. schwab, j. 1969. the practical: a language for curriculum. school review 78:1-24. short, e. 1986. a historical look at curriculum design. theory into practice 25(1):3-9. tanner, d., 1971. secondary curriculum: theory and development. macmillan. tanner, d. & tanner, l. n. 1979. emancipation from research: the reconceptualist prescription. educational researcher 8(6):812. tanner, d. and tanner, l.n., 1995. curriculum development: theory into practice (3rd ed): prentice-hall. https://doi.org/10.1080/03626784.1980.11075212 https://doi.org/10.1080/03626784.1980.11075211 https://doi.org/10.1080/03626784.1980.11075213 https://doi.org/10.1080/03626784.1980.11075216 kunhua ge (1838-1882) figure 1: this picture still hangs at the main entrance of harvard-yenching library. from greek/latin to chinese: what we can learn from the first chinese teacher at harvard ye tian university of pennsylvania abstract higher education in the u.s. underwent numerous changes during the late nineteenth century. the classical education model used for teaching latin and ancient greek was gradually removed from university curriculum as educators began valuing modern subjects, including modern languages. harvard’s hiring of kunhua ge (戈鲲化), a language teacher from china, to teach chinese in 1879 exemplified this change. this research examines both the external and internal factors that limited kunhua ge’s achievements in promoting chinese language at that time. it suggests that the external anti-china sentiments that existed in american society may have created a difficult teaching environment for kunhua ge. ge’s internal understanding of his job differed from american society’s and the harvard administration’s expectations for chinese language education, which valued practical language proficiency over cultural knowledge. using kunhua ge as a case study, this research suggests that the development chinese language education is tightly connected to the development and reform of the educational system in the u.s. the case of kunhua ge shows how the social, political, and economic environment between the u.s. and china in fact inevitably affects the rise or decline of the chinese language education in the u.s. introduction when discussing the formation and rapid expansion of east asian studies programs in american colleges and universities during the 1990s, scholars often suggest that the economic rise of asia at that time contributed to this phenomenon (chang, 1999). in fact, american universities had already shown academic interest in asia as early as the late nineteenth century, and interest in china in particular. one important example is harvard university hiring its first chinese language instructor—kunhua ge i — from china in 1879. kunhua ge was the first chinese teacher who came from china to teach at an american university, and his arrival caused great public interest in the new england area. many newspapers published news of his arrival alongside pictures of kunhua ge (e.g., figure 1) and gave continuing reports of kunhua ge’s chinese course as well as his life at harvard university. however, historians have overlooked kunhua ge until very recently. no scholarly 55 article has been written about him in english, and only recently have scholarly articles appeared in chinese that briefly introduce his story. these chinese scholars have placed high value on harvard’s arrangement—hiring a chinese scholar instead of an american scholar to teach chinese language and culture at harvard. for example, zhang (2001) argues that it actually marks the beginning of academic two-way communication between the united states and china. although kunhua ge only taught at harvard for three short years, he impacted the image of chinese people in the eyes of americans, especially elite intellectuals at harvard (cui, 1994; zhang, 2001; xia, 2004). while kunhua ge’s experience is a landmark moment in the history of teaching chinese as a second language, kunhua ge’s achievements at harvard university were quite limited. he only had five students in total during his three-year tenure, and chinese language education at harvard was suspended for almost forty years after his sudden death in 1882. it could thus be argued that kunhua ge’s mission to establish and promote chinese language and cultural education at harvard was not entirely successful. this article considers both the external factors, which include political, economic, social, and especially educational conditions in the u.s. in the early 1880s, and internal factors, include kunhua ge’s own understanding of his job, which affected his teaching at harvard. i use kunhua ge at harvard as a case study to suggest that american popular sentiments towards china and attitudes towards earning chinese contribute to the success of chinese language education in the u.s. if chinese language educators could better understand kunhua ge’s relatively unsuccessful experience at harvard, they could better understand the challenges of teaching the chinese language in the united states today. the rationale for modern foreign language education in the u.s. foreign language education in the u.s., including chinese language education, is tightly connected to the development and the reform of the american educational systems. to help us to understand this point, i turn to the beginning of modern foreign language education in precolonial america. although as early as 1608, french and spanish missionaries taught their native languages to their immigrant children, the instruction of modern foreign languages only took place primarily at the elementary school level from the pre-colonial era to the 1810s in the u.s. (watzke, 2003). during this period, modern foreign languages were the medium for the instruction of other subjects, such as english, science, and philosophy, and prepared students for future social and vocational life (watzke, 2003). scholars claim that the number of students who learned foreign languages in the u.s. increased greatly with the establishment and early growth of public high schools during the 1820s to the 1870s. but it is worth noting that this “foreign languages” mainly refers to classical languages: greek and latin (watzke, 2003). modern foreign language was not a part of the college preparatory curriculum either in the growing public secondary education or in the declining latin grammar school and the private academy (watzke, 2003). two key concepts summarize the educational philosophy of higher education before the 1880s: classical education and mental disciplinarianism (diener, 2008; geiger, 2014; thelin, 2011; veysey, 1965). classical education refers to the teaching of latin, greek, mathematics, science, and philosophy, subjects which not only composed the core curriculum of college education but permeated grammar schools, 56 high schools, academies, normal schools, and seminaries as well (geiger, 2014; nash, 2005; thelin, 2011; veysey, 1965). disciplinarianism relates to the concept of mental power. american educators believed that “[j]ust as the muscles of the body could be strengthened through vigorous exercise,” the human brain “could be trained through properly conceived mental gymnastics” (kliebard, 1986,4-5). as the task of education was to develop the mental power of the human brain, educators believed that certain types of subjects were best equipped to foster this development. therefore, “until the end of the nineteenth century these two core doctrines of education, that true education is classical education and that the chief goal of education is to foster the development of mental faculties, went hand in hand” (diener, 2008, 63). in general, most educators and scholars in the u.s. before the 1880s believed in the instruction of the classical subjects because, after all, these subjects had proven for centuries the ability to provide the mental exercise and discipline necessary for the training of the brain faculties (diener, 2008; geiger, 2014; thelin, 2011). at the same time, they often questioned the newer subjects, such as modern foreign languages, which were gradually being introduced by some educational reformers. the decision to include modern languages in the university curriculum was not without struggle, for these newer subjects had not yet proven their value(diener, 2008; lantolf, 2001; watzke, 2003). u.s. higher education experienced a fundamental change away from the classical education from the 1880s to the 1900s (diener, 2008; kliebard, 1986; thelin, 2011; veysey, 1965; watzke, 2003). in fact, the hiring of kunhua ge and the establishment of chinese language education was the result ofthis educational reform, which replaced the classical languages with modern foreign languages. charles william eliot (figure 2), who was the president of harvard university from 1869 to 1909, played a crucial role in this historic turning point (“charles william eliot,” 2014, diener, 2008; kliebard, 1986). figure 2 charles w. eliot (1834 –1926) as an educational reformer, eliot was not one of those educators who had blind faith in classical education. he removed harvard’s requirement that all freshmen study classical languages in 1884 and the undergraduate entrance requirement in greek in 1887 (morison, 1930).imitating harvard, many other colleges began to remove their greek and latin requirements during the 1880s. eliot also valued modern foreign languages because he believed that any subject had the potential to foster mental discipline (morison, 1930; diener, 2008).the hiring of kunhua ge to teach chinese at harvard in 1877 reflects this belief. kunhua ge at harvard on february 22, 1877, francis p. knight, a boston businessman and former u.s. consulate to niu zhuang, china consular, wrote a letter to eliot. drawing on his fifteen years of 57 experience in china, he believed that the united states could derive enormous economic and diplomatic benefits from china. these benefits would keep expanding until china’s importance to the united states exceeded the western countries’ importance. knight stated that knowing nothing about chinese language was a common mistake made by many americans who went to china to conduct business (records relating to instruction in chinese, 1877). to further convince eliot, knight also pointed out that yale university had already established its chinese course in 1876.eliot consulted with boston merchants engaged in the china trade, and then replied to knight on march 10, 1877 that harvard had agreed to his suggestion (records relating to instruction in chinese, 1877). with the help of edward bangs drew, a harvard graduate who had worked for several years in the chinese customs service, francis p. knight soon raised a subscription of $8,750 for the position of professor of chinese. returning to china in 1878, knight spent almost two years locating an educated chinese gentleman willing to go to cambridge for this service. in june 1879, he finally found and persuaded kunhua ge to accept a three-year contract beginning on september 1, 1879 (king, 1881). kunhua ge was born in 1838 in ningbo, china. when he grew up, kunhua ge received the most traditional chinese education. although he was not a recognized scholar and he did not obtain any degrees by examination held by the then imperial chinese government, he was very learned and was a locally prominent scholar (records relating to instruction in chinese, 1877).his hometown, ningbo, was one of the five treaty ports established at the conclusion of the first opium war between china and the united kingdom by the treaty of nanking in 1842, which probably allowed kunhua ge to come into contact with foreign cultures. thus, although kunhua ge did not know how to speak english, he had rich experience with foreigners in china. for example, he had taught chinese to translators at the u.s. consulate in shanghai for two years. after that, he worked for fifteen years at the british consulate in ningbo, where e. b. drew studied chinese with ge (“ge kunhua,” 2017; cui, 1994; lum, 2008). kunhua ge’ s salary was $2,400 a year. this was considered very fair, because in july 1875, harvard fixed the salary of an assistant professor in his second term of five years at $2,500 a year. harvard also covered all the travel costs, including nine round-trip steamer tickets for ge’s wife, two sons, three daughters, one interpreter, and one maid (king, 1881). ge became the subject of massive media coverage as soon as he arrived in cambridge, massachusetts with his family at the end of august 1879. for example, the new york times reported ge’s meeting with the mayor of cambridge on august 29, 1879: as mayor cooper sat in his office yesterday afternoon, he was somewhat surprised by the entrance of two chinamen, gorgeously attired in the peculiar costume of their county, and wearing long pig-tails and silk skuicaps[sic]. they bowed to his honor, who came forward and shook them warmly by the hands…mayor bade them welcome to the city… on august 29, 1879, harvard university held a welcome party for ge. the new york times not only reported on this party but also expressed concerns about the new chinese course: nothing has been said about studying chinese literature as a branch of 58 education at harvard, nor has there ever been an expressed desired on the part of any student for an opportunity to perfect himself in that department. it is not decided yet how the language will be taught…how ample will be the opportunity of taking up the study, or what books will be used. in fact, kunhua ge already had a basic plan for how to teach chinese at harvard. according to e. b. drew’s memo to president eliot, the textbook that kunhua ge planned to use was a progressive course designed to assist the student of colloquial chinese, written by thomas francis wade in 1867. to guarantee teaching quality, enrollment would be limited to three to four students per class. classroom instruction was one hour per day, five days a week. students had to conscientiously devote two to three hours daily to studying and practicing chinese after class (records relating to instruction in chinese, 1877). according to the plan, kunhua ge would give instruction to any competent person (except for women) who had serious purpose for acquiring the chinese language. harvard faculty, staff, or businesspeople could also take instruction even if not enrolled as students at harvard. harvard students who wished to do future business or missionary work in china were especially welcomed. this course was free for harvard students; non-harvard students had to pay 450 dollars per year (records relating to instruction in chinese, 1877). although ge and harvard had a relatively detailed plan, the new york times’ concern that students might lack interest in taking chinese unfortunately became a reality. originally, the course would start in the fall term of the 1879 collegiate year, but for the first few months no one wanted to take it. for a long time, kunhua ge had only one student in his class, who was actually harvard’s pope professor in latin: george martin lane (cui, 1994), who had taught at harvard for 43 years. when he passed away in 1897, the american journal of philology lauded lane as the greatest scholar of latin in america. kunhua ge and george lane soon became friends and language partners and, with lane’s help, kunhua ge gradually learned some english. in fact, kunhua ge only had five students in total before he died in 1882 (cui, 1994). on february 14, 1882, after suffering a cold for two weeks, kunhua ge died of pneumonia somewhat suddenly at his home in cambridge, leaving his wife and six young children behind him. harvard university and edward drew helped to raised funds in boston to pay for his family’s return to china and his children’s education (“ge kunhua,” 2017; lum, 2008), though no record has been found about where kunhua ge was buried. 59 just aswithhis arrival, his death also caused a stir in the local community. newspapers published a series of articles to report his death. for example, on february 15, 1882 the boston daily advertiser reported: “the professor was a genial man of a kindly nature, warm in his attachment, loyal to friends—a high-minded, honorable gentleman…”the daily graphic: new yorkreported on feb 18, 1882 that:“when he came here professor ko could not speak a word of english, but he couldconverse quite fluently in it before his death.he was a man of very refined manners, simpleand modest in his demeanor” (figure 3). as a chinese proverb says, “you can draw definitive conclusion on a person's merits or demerits after death” (gai guan ding lun, 盖棺 定 论 ). we can also find american public opinions towards kunhua ge from newspapersobituaries. in general, most of these articles devoting much space only focus on introducing kunhua ge’s life story, praising his honorable behavior and character, and mourning for him. what limitedkunhua ge’sachievements at harvard? however, it is worth noting that, among those obituaries, some newspapers also fairly pointed out that his work was not that successful.for instance, the boston dailyadvertiser wrote on feb 18, 1882 that “if this trial has failed to prove satisfactory [emphasis added] to those whose money and whose public spirit made it possible, it is certain that the work of intruding so recondite a study as this could not have been entrusted to better hands.”the new york times reported on february 15, 1882 that “whether his experience will be regarded as a successful result of the experiment undertaken by the college byhis engagement is a question. he has had only fouror five pupils in all…” after all, his chinese languag e class only attracte d five students in three years.it seems that harvard univers ity also held the same opinion as these news reports. for example, in 1930 the harvard university press publishedthe development of harvard university since the inauguration of president eliot, 1869-1929 (morison, 1930). in this book, the development of modern languagesat harvard covers 41 pages, yet chinese language and ge’s story were notmentioned at all.moreover, harvard university did not offer courses in chinese again until the spring of 1922. this gap begs the question,what limited kunhua ge’s achievements at harvard?this paper argues that althoughthe educational environmentwas supportivetowards learning and teaching modern foreign language at harvard, kunhua ge, and especially the harvard administration, failed to recognize the american people’s anti-china sentiments and pragmatic attitude towards chinese language learning. modernlanguage teaching at harvard despite the negative influence brought by the classical education and mental figure 3 kunhua ge’s obituary in the daily graphic: new york, feb 18, 1882 60 disciplinarianism in higher education before the 1880s,it's fair to say that, compared to other higher educational institutions in the u.s.,harvard was quite supportive of modern language education.for example, as early as in 1787, french teacher joseph nancrède became harvard’s first paid instructor in a modern language (“joseph willard”, 2014).italian and spanish havebeen offered since at least the early nineteenth century. portuguese was added in 1886 (“academics,” 2014).in 1868, french even became obligatory in the first year and was an elective in the last three years, along with german, spanish and italian (“history,” 2014).in 1900, the department of romance languages and literatures was formed, which merged the department of french with several romance branches of the modern language department, which was formed in 1869 (“history,” 2014). although specificenrollment data on these programsare not available, judging from their continuity we can conclude enrollment was at least good enough to keep these programs running continuously throughout this period. since harvard students were quite interested in learning modern foreign languages, we have to considerthe context of this new chinese language course to find the reasons forge’s abbreviated tenure. this research suggests thatthe following four factors constrained ge’s work.first, the antichinese sentiment existing in society at the time did not provide a friendly environment that would have encouraged students to take chinese.second,the harvard administration and kunhua ge failed to recognize the real significance of china and chinese language education to the united states. third, the harvard administration had different expectations about this new chinese language course than did the public. last, kunhua ge’s teaching practice also deviated from the original rationale for establishing this course. americans’ anti-chinese sentiments kunhua ge started his venture in the u.s. in 1879, which was not an ideal time either for chinese immigrants or for chinese language teaching. the 1870s and 1880s sawamerican society’s anti-chinese sentiments reachtheir peak (cole, 1978; pfaelzer, 2007; spring, 2007; takaki, 1990). as the first of group asian immigrants in the u.s., the chinesearrived in california in the 1850s to join the goldrush. there were about 20,000 chinese immigrants in california by 1852 and approximately 16,000 chinese immigrants were working in the california gold fields by the 1860s (spring, 2007). but as mining profits decreased, the chinese immigrants had to compete with other americans, including european americans for other jobs, which directly caused racial tensions (cole, 1978; pfaelzer, 2007; spring, 2007; takaki, 1990). for example, in 1871, 22 chinese men were lynched by los angeles mobs due tothis racial hostility(spring, 2007).although chinese immigrant workers contributed tocalifornia's economic growth through their labor in the mines, in agriculture, and on the railroads,they,like other racial minorities, in the u.s. also raised complex economic, cultural, and political questions. at that time europeanamericans tended to rationalize the economic exploitation of people from asia by portrayingthem as immoral and racially and culturally inferior.for example, californiacongressman james johnson labeled asians as "barbarians" and considered them an "inferior" race (spring, 2007). similar discrimination can also be found in the field of education (fraser, 2010; spring, 2007). for example, the california school code regulated that no public education was to be provided for asian americans in 1872. all children of chinese 61 immigrants in california had to attend private schools established by other chineseimmigrants until 1885 when the state legislature created segregated public schools for chinese (spring, 2007). these prejudices were not confined to california. for example, in mississippi, chinese immigrants were required to send their children to segregated “colored” school till the early twentieth century (spring, 2007). during this period, fears of so-called “yellow peril” stalked the u.s.american politicians further fortified these anti-chinese sentiments. for example, the u.s. congress passed the page act in 1875, which was the first restrictive federal immigration law and prohibited the entry of immigrants considered "undesirable." this term was defined as any individual from asia who was coming to america to be a forced laborer, and any asian woman who would engage in prostitution. racial discrimination against chinese immigrants eventually peaked in 1882,the year that kunhua ge died at harvard, when president chester a. arthur signed the chinese exclusion act, which prohibited further immigration of chinese laborers to the united states (cole, 1978; pfaelzer, 2007; spring, 2007; takaki, 1990). the hostility towards chinese immigrants on the east coast continued to grow after the passage of the chinese exclusion act. for example, boston police arrested over 300 chinese after an immigration raid in 1903, which cut the number of boston’s chinese residents by almost one-third (“history of chinese in boston,” 2014). this is the larger social context in which kunhua ge worked during his three years at harvard. although we do not have directevidence to show that it affected ge’s work or harvard students’ attitudes, this pervasive and escalating anti-chinese sentimentcould help to explain why both harvard and yale hadlow enrollments for chinese coursescompared to other modern languagecoursesthat were established at the same time. it is hard to imagine that harvard students would like to learn a foreign language spoken by an “immoral” and “inferior” race, or to learn a language spoken by people who are not allowed to come to the u.s. it is also worth noting that chinese scholars who have studied ge’s life and work have not consideredthis social contextof anti-china sentiments that prevailed in this period. american public opinion on chinese language education although privately established chinese schools were already in operation by the 1870s in the u.s. (lai, 2000), no evidence suggests that students other than chinese immigrants’ children attended these schools. harvard’s surprising decision to offer a new chinesecourse reflecteda world-class educational institute’s foresight and sagacity. however, american public opinionvalued this new chinese course at harvardsolely from an economic perspective.they hoped this course could help equip young american businessmen with necessary language skills before they traveledto china. for example,when reporting kunhua ge’s arrival at harvard, one newspaper forecasted that: “the day is probably coming when the hieroglyphics on tea chests and firecracker boxes will be as intelligible to the average yankee boy as the signs over the shops of his native village are now” (lum, 2008).here the “tea chests” and “firecracker boxes” stands for two of china’s major exported goods to the u.s. at that time. the new york times directly pointed out on aug 30, 1879 that this new chinese course was proposed for commercial purposes alone.when reporting kunhua ge’s death,the boston daily advertiseremphasized the same argument on feb 15,1882, “the sudden death of this gentleman, professor of the chinese language and literature at 62 harvard university brings a sad termination to the experiment of introducing this study here as a means of promoting our commercial interests in china[emphasis added].” in fact, when francis p. knight first proposed the establishment of the professorship of chinese at harvardto its president charles w. eliot in february 1877, his main reasoning was that “it would be of great advantage to young men intending to enter commercial life [emphasis added], and who would like to engage in business[emphasis added] with the east, to have a speaking familiarity with the chinese language” (harvard’s chinese professor, 1879). this course was established to serve the american businessmen’s interests in china. since the precolonial era,american educators have distinguished different functions of classical languages and modern languages. although classical languagesserved some vocational needs-for example, latin for lawyers and doctors and greek for ministers--they were mainly taught for higher education and leadership. modern languages, including english, mainly served vocational and societal purposes, such as doing business (watzke, 2003). american’s public opinions on this new chinese course fit into this tradition very well. the harvard administration’s expectations about this new course however, harvard sought much more than this direct commercial purpose. an article published inthe harvard registerin 1880 was representative. it stated that harvard considered this course as a new way to communicate with china and the chinese beyond the common channels of trade and commerce (king, 1881).through this course, a student would not only simply “qualify himself to hold business relations with the chinese people,” but also might be able to “make a critical study of it [chinese language]” (king, 1881, 161-162). this article also points out that mastering chinese “is an indispensable key to japanese, corean [sic], and the dialects of the burmese peninsula, and at the same time is rapidly acquiring a political and commercial values[sic]” (king, 1881, 161-162). the author even relates this course with immigration and religion. as more and more immigrants had come into the u.s.from china, american people should “adhere to the broad, free, and christian principles of our forefathers.” the author continues: “we shall not deny them a footehold [sic] in america, but rather exert ourselves to elevate and improve those among us” (king, 1881, 161-162). thus, knowing chinese would be an advantage even in the u.s.it was also hoped that by mastering the language, “we[harvard students] may now, if we will, look at them [chinese people] through the finer telescope of the mind. this is the only way in which we shall come to understand their real worth as a people, and the important relations sustained by their venerable civilization to ours” (king, 1881, 161-162). in short, unlike the public’s pragmatic attitude towards this new chinese language course, which mainly focused on commercial interests, the harvard administration had very idealized and, sometimes, unrealistic expectations about it. in fact, yale university had a similar problem. in his letter to eliot, knight pointed out that yale university had already established its chinese course in 1876. but the fact was that no one signed up for yale’s chinese course in 1876 (cui, 1994; zhang, 2002). kunhua ge’s understandings about his job unfortunately, little direct evidence remains allowing for an investigation of kunhua ge’s daily classroom teaching practices, from which his own understanding of his role at harvard could be inferred. judgingfrom the 63 available evidence, however, it seems that kunhua ge never considered himself merely as a language teacher in the modern sense but more like traditional chinese literati. unlike other chinese language educators in europe both before and during his time, who compiled many practical chinese language textbooks (zhang, 2002), kunhua ge wrotehis own book called chinese verse and prose(ge, 1881) (figure 4),which he intended to use asa textbook to teach english speakers to write chinese poetry. as the first chinese poetry textbookwritten by a chinese person in english, this book certainly has its unique value,but its effectiveness in terms of teaching language was quite questionable. unlike samuel wells williams at yale, the first professor of chinese in the united states, who laid out many specific hints and suggestions for learning chinese sound, grammar, and characters (chao, 2007),it seems that kunhua ge seldom talked about learning chinese language; at least, no record about hislanguage teaching activities has been preserved at all.when describing his teaching contribution and his communication with local intellectuals at harvard, research only emphasizes thathe composed and shared chinese poetry with his friends and guests.researchers tend to interpretthis activityas kunhua ge’s unique wayof promoting chinese culture and re-establishinga civilized image of china in the eyes of the american public (zhang, 2001; guo, 2007).in his book,chinese verse and prose, readers can still find the poems that he wrote for his american friends and colleagues.even though most of his friends did not know chinese at all, ge wrote many of the poems explicitly for them. for example, amongst others, the poems were dedicated to:samuel wells williams, the first professor of chinese language and literature at yale university; charles w. elliot, the president of harvard;george martin lane, harvard’s pope professor in latin and ge’s first student at harvard; edward bangs drew, his former student and official in ningbo taxation division,whoinitially introduced him to harvard;ge’s doctormorrilwyman; acolleague who was one of harvard’s french language professors; and three american ladies.one of his quatrain poems was dedicated to charles william eliot in november, 1881: 歲歲櫻桃熟，掄才大典逢。 短長量玉尺，四國仰文宗。 in cherry time, the summer’s prime, you, wisdom calls to classic halls. for she hath made a rule of jade, our precious stone, and thus alone your wealth she measures of learning’s treasures, whose honored name, and glowing fame, the north and south, the east and west, proclaim the wisest and the best. this poem is considered as “striking, both for its preservation of the adulatory tone typically of classical chinese poems written for social superiors, and for the victorian idiom of the loose figure 4 chinese verse and prose 64 figure 5 a picture of ge and his two sons on the boston book bulletin english translation that ge presented with it” (ge kunhua”, 2017). in addition to the scholarly focus on ge’s poetry, many american newspapers also noticedthis feature. for example, in his obituary,the new york timeswrote on feb 15, 1882: he published a volume of poems in china…. since his residence here he has written and published poems in his native language. at the time of his death he had nearly finished a translation of some of his poems into english, which it was his purpose to publish the coming year. the new york daily graphicsimilarly emphasized his poetry in their obituary for him on feb 18, 1882.composing and sharing poetry is the most representative feature of traditional chinese literati. obviously, ge brought this habit to harvard university. as elegant as it was, this kind of activity was a long way from language instruction for everyday use. besides poetry writing,kunhua ge’s another featurethat was mentioned the most was that he insisted on wearingtraditional chinese clothes, especiallyofficial mandarin costumes,no matter how strange it made him look to the american public at large. almost every newspaper article about him at that time dedicated a significant amount of copyto describe his exotic attire. for instance,after the boston book bulletin sent a reporter to visit kunhua ge’s family in cambridge, they printedalmost two pages to describe the ge’s family’s behaviors,manners,and clothes (figure 5): at a later visit we met prof. kokun-hua. he had the face of a gentleman and a scholar, refined and thoughtful, and his bearing was as lofty as that of a spanish grandee.his attire was elegant. a skull cap of a solid kind of satin,with the red silk button, which denoted his rank, came down to his forehead. on his feet were "mandarin boots," which seemed to be ofsoft, white leather, and reached half-way up to the knees in wrinkles like turkish boots. his lower garment was a skirt of heavy blue silk, and the upperone was ofsuperlative beauty and richness, made of silk of a deeper blue, and worn over another of a lighter shade, the smaller sleeves of which showed below the ample folds of the outer when he raised his hands. it had a close collar and was fastened with gold buttons; and on the shoulders, the sleeves, and down the breast were exquisitely wrought medallions in a pattern which indicates his rank (records relating to instruction in chinese, 1877). in fact, when ge taught at harvard university, the clothing choiceof chinese diplomats and chinese students who came to the u.s.on the chinese imperial government’s sponsorships werevery sensitive. for example, the first chinese ambassador to britain and france, songtao guo, was removed from his office in 1879. one of the indictments was that he wore western clothing once(wang, 1995). the first group of young chinese studentswas sent to the u.s. in 1871 to study western science and 65 engineering by the then chinese imperial government.conservative chinese officials also launched a strong attack on their “overwesternization” behaviors, including playing basketball and wearing western clothing (chu, 2004). these attacks and criticisms took placefrom 1877 to 1881,exactly the time when ge taught at harvard.afraid of “losing” these students,the then chinese government forced all these young chinese students to come back to china in 1881, whether they had graduated or not (chu, 2004).chongjie ding belonged to this group of students. he had only spent one year at harvard university when he received this order in 1881. he was also one of ge’s five students (ding, 2005). we don’t know if kunhua ge’s choice of traditional chinese clothing had something to do with these incidents.however,researchers now prefer to interpret kunhua ge’s choice of clothes as his way to demonstrate his own cultural identity as a chinese official, literati, and teacher(cui, 1994; zhang, 2001; guo, 2007). from these few records, we can infer that kunhua ge positioned himself more like a traditional chinese poet and literati than as a modern chinese language teacher, andfirmly defended his own dignity as a teacher in the conventional chinese sense (shi dao zun yan, 师 道 尊 严 ).heaven-earth-sovereign-parentteacher are the most remarkable characteristics in chinese traditional culture, and they reflect the ethics of confucianism. the teacher was a sacred occupation in china. in 802 ad, han yu (韩愈), one of the finest prose writers in china, wrote his famous article about the teacher, which has influenced the teacher’s role in china until now. he (and most chinese after him) believed that a real teacher should “propagate the doctrine, impart professional knowledge, and resolve doubts”(chuandao,传道 ;shouye,授业 ;jiehuo,解 惑). a teacher who only teaches a child to read and to punctuate is not propagating the doctrine or resolving doubts.as a traditional chinese intellectual, it was impossible for kunhua ge to get rid of the influence of this value about his role as a “teacher” at harvard. only aftergrasping this point can we understand why kunhua ge could never fulfill this new course’s initial purpose and american businessmen’s expectations about it, which was helping young american businessmen with necessary chinese language proficiency to do business with china. to kunhua ge, teaching students how to bargain with chinese businessmen cannot compare to teaching them how to write and appreciate chinese poetry in terms of“propagating the doctrine.” conclusion when president chester a. arthur signed the chinese exclusion act in 1882, only five american students had studied chinese at harvard. however, during his recent state visitto the u.s. in 2015, the chinese president xi jinping met the u.s. president obamaand announced a “one million strong” initiative that aims to have a million american students learning mandarin by 2020. i believe that understanding where the chinese language education begins can help to understand where it goes in the future. although kunhua ge only taught chinese at harvard for three short years, his story reflects american elite intellectuals’ foresight and sagacity at the end of nineteenth century when american higher education experienced a historic transformation. however, as the first chinese teacher and scholar who was hired to teach at an american university, kunhua ge’s mission to promote chinese language teaching at harvard was relatively unsuccessful.the larger anti-china sentiments that existed in american societyled to 66 an extremely difficult teaching environment forkunhua ge.though evidence is scarce, this research finds that ge and harvard clearly had their own ideas about chinese education, and they invested it with their own hopes and expectations.the conflicted goals and expectations about this course amongst american public opinion, the harvard administration, and kunhua ge contributed to this unsuccessful experiment. the initiators and the american public hoped this course could equip young americans with necessary language skills when they conducted business with china in the future. the harvard administration believed this course would start the new era of comprehensive understanding of china and chinese people in the u.s. but they all over estimated china’s influence in the world and attractions to its students at the end of the nineteenth century, when china was only a semi-feudal and semi-colonial country where powerful western states could dump their surplus goods. furthermore,kunhua ge did not adjust himself into a language teacher in the modern sense. his insistence on his identity as a traditional chinese official, literati, poet, and teacher impeded his teaching practice at harvard and also inevitably posed an obstacle tosatisfying the original intention of this course. pedagogical implication although kunhua ge’s achievement was limited, harvard’s experiment and kunhua ge’s story are still worth studying. even though 140 years have passed, the chinese language program at harvard (and at most american universities) today still has the same pedagogical structure (one hour per day, five days a week, plus homework) that edward bangs drew proposed in his letter to charles eliot. more importantly, it makes us consider the following three issues that are critical to chinese language teaching in the u.s. today. first, chinese language teachers should be aware of their role as a language teacher. as mentioned above, kunhua ge encountered the problem of role definition more than 140 years ago. he did not realize that his role as a chinese language teacher was not the role of a teacher in the traditional chinese sense. shengli feng, the former director of the chinese language program at harvard university, once said that a common mistake made by the greenhorn in the field of teaching chinese language was that he/she did not consider himself or herself as a language teacher but as a conventional teacher who always tries to propagate the doctrine to his/her students. he even stated that it would be better for a chinese language teacher to consider himself or herself as an athletic coach rather than a teacher (s. feng, personal communication, june, 2006). in other words, kunhua ge’s identity dilemma affords us lessons that still merit attention today. second, chinese language teachers should be aware of the limitations of their role as a language teacher. kunhua ge only had five students. however, according to the china association for international education, more than 330,000 foreign students studied chinese in china in 2012. 25,000 of them were from the united states, second only to south korea. but chinese language teachers should be aware that the number of chinese language learners is growing due to the fact that china's political, economic, and military conditions and national strength are increasing on a global scale. chinese language teachers in the u.s. should therefore not be complacent or take credit. in 2007, i met lawrence h. summers, harvard’s former president, at a ceremony and told him that the chinese language program was the second largest foreign language program at harvard. he replied that in the 1980s the most popular language was russian; in the 1990s, it was japanese; now, it’s 67 the turn for chinese (l. h. summers, personal communication, january, 2007). while his reply could be discouraging, in fact, his comments were thought provoking. as evidenced by kunhua ge’s career at harvard, to the previous harvard president’s comments, the development of chinese language teaching in the u.s. has always been closely bound up to the development of china. third, chinese language teaching and language teachers must adapt to the macro educational environment in the u.s. and fulfill american society’s expectations about chinese language learning. instrumental motivation, such as commercial interests, are likely still the biggest motivation for american students to learn chinese, not an attraction to chinese culture, as was the case 140 years ago when harvard hired kunhua ge (wen, 2011). therefore, in the chinese language classroom, the dissemination of culture must serve the interests of improving language proficiency, not the other way around. if chinese culture is overemphasized, we will only fail just like kunhua ge, or raise concerns that chinese language programs will present a selective and politicized view of china, like the ones shared by the confucius institutes, as a means of advancing the country's soft power internationally. 68 references “academics." the department of romance languages & literatures at harvard university, accessed september, 20. https://rll.fas.harvard.edu/pages/co ncentrations. 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"a survey of chinese teaching during the ming and qing dynasties." chinese teaching in the world 1:11. i “kunhua ge” is the modern spelling for his name. during his lifetime, his name was spelled in various ways in english. for example, in the contract with harvard, it was spelled as “ko k'un-hua.” in his book, the author’s name is “yen-yun k.h. ko.” in the new york times, it was spelled as “ko kun hua.” in the boston book bulletin, it was spelled as “ko kun-hua.” place-based education: making the case for an investigation of historical precendents charles j. elfer clayton state university abstract this article seeks to initiate an historical research agenda within the field of place-based education (pbe). a relatively new phrase in educational research, theory, and practice, the fundamental elements of place-based education are in fact quite mature and have deep historical roots. despite a rich past, curricular historical work in the field is thoroughly underdeveloped. following a brief characterization of the contemporary literature, three select historical illustrations are presented, each with the intent of highlighting both opportunities and deficiencies. introduction place-based education (pbe) is a term which refers to those forms of pedagogy which seek to connect learning to the cultural, historical, and ecological contexts in which schooling itself takes place. participatory and active, pbe frames the learning process around the unique experiences, situations, and events in which schools are located. in the most general sense, then, place-based education is a reference to those pedagogies that emphasize, to one extent or another, the local in the educative process. in his seminal introductory text on the subject, one of several primers that exist to date, sobel (2005) offered what has become perhaps the most widely-cited formal definition. the author explained: place-based education is the process of using the local community and environment as a starting point to teach concepts in language arts, mathematics, social studies, science and other subjects across the curriculum. emphasizing hands-on, real-world learning experiences, this approach to education increases academic achievement, helps students develop stronger ties to their community, enhances students‟ appreciation for the natural world, and creates a heightened commitment to serving as active, contributing citizens. community vitality and environmental quality are improved through the active engagement of local citizens, community organizations, and environmental resources in the life of the school. (sobel 2005, 7) from the standpoint of curriculum development, place-based educational approaches draw on a consideration of all things local as a way of determining, at least in part, what knowledge is of most worth. more precisely, place-based models generally share in common (1) a commitment to the places in which learning is situated, (2) the nature of the learner, and (3) the stakeholders maintaining positions in the process. although sobel‟s definition has been reworked and rephrased by many, his version is nonetheless illustrative of the essential themes outlined in other variations. in an account of his tenure with the bread leaf school of english at middlebury college in vermont, john elder revealed that the phrase place-based education grew out of his own collaboration with laurie lane-zucker and the orion society in the early 1990s (the orion society 1998; lane-zucker 2010). while this collaboration between the orion society and 2 middlebury college, between elder and lanezucker, marks the source of the place-based heading as a named approach to teaching and learning, numerous other headings describe similar perspectives. a short list might include place-consciousness, community-based education, outdoor education, rural education, ecological and environmental education, and bioregional education, and there are perhaps more still. again, what is important is that all share a fundamental commitment, though perhaps in distinctive ways, to the places in which learning is situated, the nature of the learner, and the stakeholders maintaining positions in the process. yet many of these terms and the educational perspectives they represent boast lineages that stretch well beyond the formation of place-based education in the early 1990s. strangely enough, despite what may be deep historical roots, few have ventured to consider the historical dimensions of the approach in a thorough and systematic fashion. it is this feature of the field, its virtual ahistoricism, which provides the context for the discussion that follows. several important features emerge through an examination of the existing research into place-based theory and practice. in the first instance, it is abundantly clear that the field lacks historical consciousness and that the historical dimensions of place-based pedagogy are ripe for exploration. secondly, and of no lesser import, curriculum historians and place-based educators, in particular, must recognize that the historical work is worth doing. following a brief consideration of the existing historical work in the field, three select case examples are presented in an effort to initiate a broader and more deliberate historical research agenda. hints and glimmers of the past to be sure, place-based educational research is not altogether ahistorical. there are, in fact, hints and glimmers of the past scattered throughout the literature. there is a general recognition, as the discussion below reveals, of the theoretical connections that place-based education shares with early twentieth-century progressive educational thinkers. but while few place-based proponents argue that the approach is entirely new, an equal few have endeavored to explore this assumption. in short, historical work within the field of place-based education is far from complete and it is within this assumption that the call for new and more systematic historical investigation originates. in reviewing contemporary place-based educational literature (those examples in which scholars reference the formal phrase place-based education), what readers typically find is a casual respect for the theoretical overlap that exists between modern versions of place-based education and elements of early twentieth-century educational progressivism. in their introductory comments to place-based education in the global age, for instance, gruenewald and smith pointed out that “all education prior to the common school was place-based” (2008, 1). in the same text, knapp (2008) offered a similar perspective. he added: today the field of place-based education has established itself a paper trail of thousands of pages in its young life as an educational movement. this doesn't mean that place-based education has never before been tried in schools and other educational institutions. in fact, the idea of learning from the local surroundings predates the formation of formal schooling … from the late 1800s to the present time, several movements in schools have promoted the educational use of local areas as integral 3 parts on the curriculum … (knapp 2008, 6). from these short passages, it is clear that placebased educational scholars have recognized the existence of historical antecedents to modern place-based initiatives. at the same time, however, none of these authors, and few other place-based researchers, have endeavored to explore the historical domain in-depth. even the most recent volume on the subject, smith and sobel‟s placeand community-based education in schools (2010), devotes just nine pages to historical antecedents. laudable perhaps for its “acknowledge[ment] that there is nothing new about place-based education” (smith and sobel 2010, 25), it falls short of any sort of systematic review of historical precedents. and this is the point precisely. as is true of american educational literature generally, references to the work of john dewey are not infrequent in the writing of place-based educators. woodhouse and knapp (2000), for instance, reported that place-based education “usually includes conventional outdoor education methodologies as advocated by john dewey to help students connect with their particular corners of the world” (1). this represents the extent of their historical analysis, however. another well-known contributor to the growing body of place-based educational scholarship, smith (2002a; 2002b; 2007), too, has made consistent reference to the educational philosophies of dewey. in an article entitled “going local,” smith (2002a) explained that “by focusing on students' local context, proponents address one of john dewey's (1899/1959) major concerns about 19th century public schools that still applies to this century: the lack of connection between formal schooling and students' lives, …” (31). like others, smith does a great deal to draw connections within the confines of singular articles and book chapters outside of the historical field, yet his valuable contributions nonetheless fall short of in-depth historical consideration. in fact, jayandhandan‟s recent contribution entitled “john dewey and a pedagogy of place,” published late 2009, stands as perhaps the sole counterexample to this tendency. beyond dewey, there are several other glimmers of an historical consciousness in the place-based educational literature. paul theobald's continued efforts to investigate rural education have positioned him as a key figure in the contemporary field. following call school (1995), his first extended historical publication exploring the demise of the rural school in the american midwest to 1918, theobald has developed his interest in rural schools into a deeper advocacy for the renewal of a sense of community through localized education. as the author explained in teaching the commons: this book is premised on two assumptions … first, rural schools ought to have a place in the educational landscape of this country … second, schools ought to attend more consciously to their physical place on earth and the social, political, and economic dynamics that surround it. doing so would render the entire school experience more meaningful and, in the process, would contribute in a small, though not insignificant, way to a cultural healing desperately needed in american society. (theobald 1997, 7) the notion that a rural, place-based education might provide opportunities for the establishment or restoration of an arguably more sustainable, community-focused ethos, both locally and 4 throughout the nation, is a theme that characterizes much of theobald's writing. but while his work is often historical in nature, or contains elements of historical analysis, his writing is not generally framed within the context of place-based education per se. rather than a history, in part or in full, of place-based educational theory or practice, theobald's valuable historical work stands as a critical appraisal of american schooling and the notion of community, which often ends with a call for a shift toward a more place-conscious education. the challenge of producing a history, or histories, of place-based education, particularly one approaching a deeper consideration of practice, remains unmet. hutchison's (2004) comprehensive evaluation of place and schooling, a natural history of place in education, represents a holistic appraisal of the variety of meanings that the notion of place might hold in educational contexts. hutchison also included specific discussion of what he referred to as the “pedagogy of place” (2004, 26), which links the text, albeit somewhat indirectly, to place-based education. at the same time, however, hutchison centered the bulk of his historical consideration on educational spaces and school and classroom environments. the notion of place-based education which incorporates the historical, ecological, and cultural particularities of a given locale as sources for curricular choices exists, for the most part, outside of the historically-focused portions of hutchison's text. no doubt a seminal contribution, a natural history of place in education hutchison (2004) cannot be viewed as more than a partial history of place-based education as it neither emphasized the development of the strategy over time nor systemically analyzed curricular antecedents. in a recent dissertation, greenfield (2005) attempted to link the ecological consciousness of several early environmental thinkers to modern environmental education. exploring the work of key figures such as henry david thoreau, aldo leopold, and edward o. wilson, greenfield concluded that “place-based learning, critical thinking, and the interconnectedness of knowledge characterized these individuals' naturalistic philosophy toward learning [emphasis added]” (2005, 1). in the same year, knapp (2005) drew a similar connection between leopold's i-thou relationship and place-based education and insisted that a deeper consideration of other naturalists, “such as john muir, john burroughs, henry d. thoreau, gilbert white, edwin way teale, rachel carson, annie dillard, sally carrighar, virginia eifert, and anne morrow lindbergh” (2005, 284), might reveal similar valuable lessons for place-based educational researchers. more recently, knapp has reported that “newman and oliver [in 1967] thoroughly outlined an educational plan that linked formal schooling with the community context without inventing a specific label for it” (2008, 7). orr (1992) found a similar historical connection in lewis mumford's call for regional surveys in the 1940s. but again, aside from the general recognition that historical antecedents might exist, both knapp (2005; 2008) and orr (1992), like the vast majority of other place-based proponents, stop short of any sort of in-depth or systematic historical analysis of place-based educational theory and practice. without overlooking their efforts to identify potentially fruitful areas for historical research, these valuable contributions have failed to engage in the historical work itself. as is true of other dimensions of the field, there is more work to be done. 5 duffin remarked in a recent pbe-focused dissertation that the approach “is such an open and flexible proto-theory of education that it flows into a million different connections to other theories of education and society” (2006, 24). if duffin's assessment was even modestly accurate, it is somewhat surprising that so few place-based educational researchers have ventured to embark on journeys that are historical in nature. while an exhaustive exploration of those million different connections might be overly cumbersome, the paucity of historical evaluations of place-based educational theory, let alone historical representations of practice, is difficult to comprehend. the tip of an iceberg opportunities for a new, or expanded, historical research agenda in the field of placebased education are vast. what observers might conclude about the existing place-based educational literature is that while the field's historical consciousness might be underdeveloped, the historical road map has begun to take shape. in other words, while the work has yet to be done in most cases, there is general consensus on some of those key areas where the historical work in the field might begin. others nodes, of course, have yet to be identified. through the illustrations below, specifically the berry school of northwest georgia, the penn school of coastal south carolina, and the wellknown foxfire method, both issues are clarified; that is, the several select historical illustrations of place-based education highlighted below work simultaneously to identify new dimensions for exploration while problematizing existing examples. the case illustrations presented are all representative of the american south. this feature of the article is largely coincidental and further exploration will undoubtedly reveal a much broader geographic influence. the berry school martha berry's pioneering efforts to establish a school for rural appalachian boys at the turn of the twentieth century stands as but one unexplored historical illustration of place-based education in practice. even a cursory review of the institutional bulletins published by the berry school reveals connections, yet neither berry nor her schools have received mention in the literature. while the institution changed dramatically as the boys industrial school (founded 1902) grew into the coeducational berry college by the early 1930s, a certain attention to the local in the curriculum was evident throughout the school's early history and across virtually all disciplines. consider for example, excerpts from the science curriculum as described in the 1906-1907 edition of the berry school bulletin. freshman year: fall term physiography. this is a four months‟ course, with daily recitations. besides the study of the text-book, the class does some field work, examining under the direction of the teacher, certain aspects of the physical conformation of the section in the immediate vicinity of the school. (26) while complimented with traditional classroom instruction, the suggestion that the immediate vicinity of the school might serve an educational purpose represents a place-based perspective. in addition to course and laboratory work following the freshman year, the same bulletin noted how the growing agricultural functions of the berry school were to be achieved. under the heading agricultural department, the following placebased approach was outlined: 6 although this is not strictly an agricultural school it aims to give that practical knowledge of agriculture which will enable any boy to become and intelligent and successful farmer. this training is given by class recitations in agriculture and by practical work on the school farm. the farm consists of about five hundred acres and is one of the most important resources of the school … this year about seventy-five acres of corn has been planted, which will provide for the stock on the farm for the coming year … it is our aim to make the agricultural training the best of any school in the south. (the berry school bulletin 19061907, 28-9) in some sense, these several passages might lead observers to conclude that the vocational aspects of berry overwhelmed the place-focused approach; that is, that berry was more concerned with technical training than any sort of educational philosophy grounded in the local. this is a reasonable conclusion, but incomplete for several reasons. while a focus of the berry school was always agricultural and industrial education, features that remains evident in berry college even today, that focus did not preclude a place-based approach to learning, be it agricultural, industrial, or otherwise. the particular area of northwest georgia in which the school was located, indeed much of georgia and the south at the turn of the century, were, in fact, heavily invested economically, culturally, and politically in agriculture. agriculture, and more broadly the goal of educational improvement for the then impoverished agricultural families of appalachia, was always part of berry's mission and a reflection of local conditions. this focus is apparent in the course catalogues dating between 1905 and 1922 and explicitly stated in the annually reoccurring section titled special information for students. candidates for admission must live in the country, must be unable to attend a more expensive school … no city boys are accepted as students … the following boys also are not wanted: those who are "headed for town," whose ambition in life is to be a clerk, bookkeeper, chauffer, insurance agent, "drummer," street-car conductor, bookagent, "dude," etc. or who are looking for easy jobs. (the berry school bulletin 1912-1913, 49) the dedication to those boys, and later girls, intent on a rural life, not a life in the nearby city of rome, georgia, was evident. a more direct refutation to any claim that the berry school was purely an agricultural one is evidenced through the fact that throughout the early bulletins were descriptions of a wholecurriculum grounded in the local; that is, the evidence for a place-based approach at berry extends well beyond the agricultural components of the curriculum. the english and social studies curricula, for instance, maintained a place-based attentiveness to issues local, georgian, and southern. in addition to nature study, a curriculum component found throughout berry‟s grammar school course descriptions, one finds a place-based approach to geography education. the following geography ii course description provides an illustration: throughout the course in this subject the view-point is always that of the homes of the students and constant reference is made to local conditions. the work is made interesting and practical through the use of maps, pictures, models, 7 apparatus and field observations. (the berry school bulletin 1912-1913, 25) the passage is telling in that appears to reveal a locally-focused approach to teaching and learning, one that built on student interest of those things familiar, perhaps believed to be inherent in the learner's experience. the description of berry‟s country life course offers further evidence. the aim of this course is to take the everyday activities of the boys on the farm and make these the basis for arithmetic, science and agriculture … most of the boys in this class have studied very little arithmetic in the rural communities from which they come. the practical way in which arithmetic, agriculture, economics, and current events are blended enable the quick assimilation of what otherwise would be dry and indigestible material. no definite text-book is used during this year, but the students are encouraged to accumulate and read bulletins on the subjects discussed in class. (the berry school bulletin 1921-1922, 47) in many ways, this passage reads like a modern description of place-based education. as an important aside, the passage also provides an interesting link between place-based education, the berry school, and the country life movement. in this way, a deeper consideration of the berry curricula and philosophy may add significantly to the historical portrait provided by canniff (1998) and her work on the theoretical connections between modern place-based education and the country life movement. but what of the other social studies courses, mathematics, english, and literature? while not present in every course description, an attention to the local existed in each component of the curriculum, with the possible exceptions of bible studies and music. with regard to the social studies, the bulk of the coursework was historical in nature and not explicitly place-based. despite the persistence of what appears to be a more traditional history curriculum, however, a place-conscious theme did permeate a number of other social studies courses. coupled with the geography ii excerpt cited above, selections from the course descriptions for civics i and economics i below lend further support to the argument that the early berry school exemplified a place-based approach in practice which predates modern initiatives. civicts i [sic]. an elementary study of the structure and function of local, state and national government, with study and practice in the ordinary duties of rural citizenship, including things a boy should know about the law. economics i. an elementary course in political economy, ethics, and the duties of american citizenship, special reference being paid to rural conditions and needs. (the berry school bulletin 1921-1922, 51-52) in both civics and economics, the rural focus arguably represented an attempt to make the social studies locally relevant and representative of the lives lived by berry students. much like the persistence of traditional history, english courses had perhaps the least place-focused flavor at berry. this trend was particularly salient at the high school level as illustrated through the curricular emphasis on classic, non-local texts. at the grammar school level, however, the use of stewart's country life readers suggests localized, rural topics were at least present. while the course descriptions for high school english and literature courses did not 8 indicate a place-based approach directly, student work on the advance, the school paper designed "to give items of news in regard to local happenings, and also furnish an opportunity for literary effort on the part of students" (the berry school bulletin 1905-1906, 24), may have served a similar purpose. in fact, to approach disciplinary learning through local journalism is not at all unlike other historical place-based educational practices, namely the cultural journalism method illustrated through the foxfire program. place-based elements were even apparent in mathematics course descriptions, though perhaps less pronounced given the nature of the subject area. mathematics vii, for instance, boasted “practical applications to country life,” (the berry school bulletin 1921-1922, 48) while mathematics x offered work in “simple bookkeeping, particularly as applied to the farm, shop and home” (49). the same place-based focus was evident in the education courses described in the berry bulletins. both courses recorded reportedly maintained “special reference to rural school work,” and, particularly in course ii, the rural high school‟s “place in the community life, the training of leaders, and … agricultural and industrial training for country life” (the berry school bulletin 1921-1922, 52). even where the focus was agricultural, the berry school course bulletins were suggestive of an experiential, place-based approach. whether horticulture and gardening, botany and forestry, or animal husbandry, course descriptions maintained a focus on the subject as relevant to, and in the context of, local circumstance. the course description for botany and forestry provides as an example. each student is required to work out a practical plan for the management of the average forested area on a 160-acre farm; considerable attention is also given to the relation of the state and national governments to forestry and to its influences upon the industrial and social welfare of rural communities. (the berry school bulletin 1921-1922, 53) throughout the curriculum, then, at least as represented through the institution's bulletins and course descriptions, the berry school appears to have advocated and implemented a place-based approach to its work with rural appalachian students in northwest georgia. despite what appears to be a rich historical illustration of placebased education in practice, the berry school has been entirely overlooked by place-based researchers. the penn school whereas the berry experiment was designed to serve rural white boys in georgia's appalachian foothills, the penn school was initially intended to educate newly freed slaves of south carolina's sea islands. established in 1862 on st. helena island, south carolina and in operation until the late 1940s, the penn school stands as another early illustration of place-based education and a model of practice that has remained unstudied. in his introductory remarks to school acres, an internally produced history of the penn school published in 1930, paul kellogg offered a description of the school's mission. he noted: the experience of penn in education "of the people, by the people, for the people" not only plays luminously on the needs of rural districts the country over, but upon a dilemma confronting our cities. miss cooley reveals how the new england school of the "three r's" with its academic ramifications fell short 9 when it came to training-for-life under the changing conditions of the rural south. she sets forth a strategy and spirit of the two revolutions at penn school how the life of the farms was brought into the classrooms, and the how through the school acres and other extramural activities the process was reversed and the educational impulse was spread to the ends of the island. (cooley 1930, xiv) from its democratic approach to building the community through the school to the explicit effort to bring the life experiences of students into the classroom, the description that kellogg provided points to the penn school's place-based educational outlook, both its purposes and its methods. laura m. towne, founder of the penn school, embarked on her experiment with an understanding that a traditional, perhaps detached, educational system was not meeting the needs of local students and local communities. as rossa cooley, once principal of the penn school, noted: … the limitations of a purely academic education became etched deeply in the life of the island. they are the same limitations that are to be found, repeated over and over again, in the average negro school in the rural south. they are the same limitations which mark the general run of rural schools the country over; the same limitations which mark much of the work of the mission schools in foreign lands which have taken over too faithfully the models of our traditional schooling; the same limitations which in various guises have confronted elementary and high schools and colleges everywhere. (cooley 1930, 4) clearly critical of educational waste generally, the penn school intended to offer an alternative suited specifically to the needs of the community and students it served. as cooley phrased it, the penn school brought “the school to the farms, and making this oldest of negro schools in a sense the newest – an all-island school, an all-the-yearround school, merging school and community into a common adventure” (1930, 5). the community-to-school relationship indicated by cooley (1930) is clear evidence of a place-based approach to teaching and learning. founders created the penn school to serve the local community, in this case an africanamerican one, but cooley's (1930) appraisal of the approach at sea islands, suggested a belief in the transferability of the locally-focused model. reflecting on the school's past, cooley remarked: nor was this peculiar to the race. how many white children in america went through our public schools during these same decades with little consideration of how their education might fit them for the life they must fit into? and all over the world in the mission fields (with noteworthy exceptions), we can see the same tendency – an education that is plastered on, regardless of the life and the needs of the people. (1930, 20) the lament expressed over an education that is plastered on lends further credence to a wider appreciation for an educational approach that is home-grown. cooley's claim that the old method of education was one that favored “isolated facts learned not because they fitted into life but because they fitted into the examinations” (1930, 36) is perhaps even more telling, not to mention oddly familiar. as were her remarks on the school's mission and educational approach, cooley's 10 (1930) descriptions of penn students and their work are clarifying. in no small part, the penn school curriculum was framed through agriculture, specifically through the school's miniature farms. as cooley explained, “arithmetic and agriculture played into each other's hands” (1930, 47). she continued: each pupil was given a small plot of land [and later] we put a whole group on another acre of old cotton land to raise corn … the land rented from the school; and the cost of the seeds, fertilizer, time of "man and mule," and the net returns of the crop made a computation worthwhile … new enthusiasm was thus kindled for the next year's work. (cooley 1930, 48) preserving the local history of the sea islands was another task taken up by penn students. the folklore society, cooley reported, held “responsibility for seeing to it that these songs of people are preserved in the midst of a faster life” (1930. 20). although cooley‟s (1930) representations were in some ways incomplete, the attention to local history seems clear and is suggestive of a social studies education that was at least partially place-based. the school and its curriculum deserve further attention in the context of an historical review of place-based education. again, despite rather solid connections, neither the penn school nor the berry schools have appeared in the existing literature on placebased education. there may be other historical examples, perhaps numerous ones, akin to berry and penn that deserve attention. but the call for historical perspective in place-based education runs deeper still. in addition to what are possibly dozens of unexplored curricular models, those historical antecedents already noted by placebased researchers have generally received only shallow consideration. the foxfire program of northwest georgia‟s rabun gap serves as one example. foxfire foxfire, named for a phosphorescent fungi native to southern appalachia, was a place-based initiative that grew out of the rabun gapnacoochee school near cleveland, georgia. the institution that later evolved into the rabun gap school was founded by andrew richie in 1905 and functioned as a hybrid organization, with both public and private support. during the daytime hours, the school was publically funded, including its teaching staff, while the non-school hours were overseen by a privately owned and operated school board and administration (puckett, 1989). foxfire was not established until much later, not until the late 1960s under the initial direction eliot wigginton. plagued by an uninterested and sometimes unruly group of english students, foxfire was wigginton‟s effort to promote engagement by redirecting the disciplinary fundamentals under study through a consideration of local appalachian lifeways. the result was a school publication which reported on everything from the homemade distillation of moonshine to methods for killing hogs and procuring souse meat. often referred to as cultural journalism, the foxfire magazine and associated texts, which ultimately grew to national prominence by the 1970s and 1980s, was a practice in cultural and historical preservation. more importantly, it was place-based in every way. several references to foxfire do appear in the existing literature on place-based education. smith and sobel‟s (2010) recent volume included a paragraph on the program and briefly highlighted the contributions of the much less 11 frequently referenced leadership of hilton smith. the authors noted: the foxfire journals and books explored the unique characteristics of appalachian culture in northern georgia. they inspired the development of similar journals and books across the united states and became a basis for an educational model that affected hundreds if not thousands of teachers through foxfire training institutes … although the great majority of foxfire activities centered around the collection of oral histories, under the leadership of hilton smith and others the program also investigated contemporary issues and involved students in local decisionmaking processes. (smith and sobel 2010, 28) while smith and sobel‟s (2010) assessment is valuable, there may be more to learn from the place-based educational approach exemplified through foxfire. the degree to which the foxfire initiatives of rabun gap were student-directed is not entirely settled. the following passage from puckett‟s foxfire reconsidered, published 1989, is clarifying: in an early formulation of his pedagogical creed, wigginton opined that foxfire was a sounder and more powerful approach to teaching english than textbook or lecture methods: “is the subject, english, ignored in the process? hardly. in fact, the opposite is true. english, in its simplest definition, is communication – reaching out and touching people with words, sounds, and visual images. we are in the business of improving students‟ prowess in these areas…in their [magazine] work … they learn more about english than any other curriculum i could devise. (75) but as puckett went on to point out, “the reality of foxfire fails to support wigginton‟s rhetoric … indeed, foxfire‟s potential as a writing curriculum is diminished by a style of staff editing and teaching that is geared more to publication deadlines than to the academic deficiencies of students” (1989, 75). this potential pitfall in the method that of product over process has shown itself in several ways throughout the years of foxfire‟s development as a place-based curricular model. in the first instance, the disciplinary skills of former foxfire students placed in supervisory roles in subsequent foxfire projects was found by staff members to be lacking. was the approach to english and literature serving to educate in those areas as intended? as one observing staff member noted: lack of grammatical skills, carelessness, being sloppy about her work, not checking to make sure that she‟s accurate … [but] she was a foxfire student and they‟re trying to maintain a commitment to that. i don‟t think she would have been given all that leeway if she hadn‟t been a foxfire student. (puckett 1989, 76) there is additional evidence to suggest concern over journalistic creativity, authorship, and direction; that is, the model may not have been as student-focused as many presumed. one-time proponent and board member for the foxfire program, critic herbert kohl ultimately posed several provocative questions regarding the legitimacy of the program. kohl asked: who actually produces the foxfire books? are they the work of the students, who should then take pride of 12 authorship, or are they reworked versions of materials students collected? does the staff of foxfire and the editorial staff of doubleday do the actual writing? … who makes the decisions at foxfire anyway? (puckett 1989, 70) not insignificantly, puckett insinuated that kohl‟s eventual discontent with foxfire may have grown out of his failed efforts to involve the organization in a local unionization movement. what is perhaps more important, is that none of these issues are referenced in the place-based educational literature. to date, while foxfire does appear on two occasions in two separate volumes, a total of five paragraphs in all, the initiative has yet to be explored in any depth. it is possible that a deeper consideration of foxfire and off-shoot initiatives that have grown from it may serve to inform current practice in meaningful ways. conclusions and directions while place-based education as a named approach to curriculum development appears to be a relatively new term, even a cursory examination reveals that the fundamental principles of the approach have a much deeper lineage indeed. by at least the early twentieth century, and perhaps much earlier, educators were writing often about the value and importance of maintaining a commitment to local contexts, the student experience, and community engagement, three components characteristic of modern placebased educational initiatives. although placebased educators generally recognize some of their roots, little in the way of comparative or historical research is currently available. this must be remedied. beyond casual considerations of several notable antecedents, the writings of john dewey for instance, place-based educational researchers have done little to consider linkages with other place-conscious thinkers and reform efforts historically or across disciplines. where historical consciousness does exist, it is typically abbreviated and incomplete. it may be the case that place-based education is unique primarily in name. rather than a wholly new idea, place-based education‟s recent call for a return to the local as the center of the educational experience is perhaps the latest revisioning of a number of older reform efforts, large and small. what is required is a concerted effort to move beyond the formal phrase of placebased education and to consider other educational reforms and case illustrations that are fundamentally similar. this article is intended to initiate that important research agenda. there are at least three broad and guiding questions relevant to the historical agenda as it pertains to place-based curricula. in the first place, “what are the historical precedents of modern place-based education?” while researchers have identified a handful of historical antecedents, there is clearly more work to be done to this end. potentially relevant domains include, but are not limited to the following: community education, outdoor education, service learning, challenge education, problem-centered learning, and rural education. there are likely other initiatives and domains, perhaps the most notable of which is the foxfire program, which exemplified place-based learning, yet are not necessarily historically affiliated with larger reform efforts. the penn school and the berry schools are highly relevant as well, and there are likely numerous others. the hampton and tuskegee institutes and a wide range of progressive experimental schools throughout the 20 th century also warrant attention. in addition, the work of such thinkers as ralph tyler, l. thomas hopkins, charles and frank mcmurry, liberty hyde bailey, harold foght, ellwood cubberley, paul hanna, and l.b. sharp, among 13 numerous others, has been largely overlooked in any detail in this context, but may deserve consideration nonetheless. scholars must also be contentious of international examples of placebased education in their efforts to explore historical precedents. a second question to consider pertains to the manner in which sociopolitical contexts have influenced calls for place-focused pedagogies. in other words, “why have educators looked to the local surroundings in their efforts to solve educational problems and how have the social, political, economic, and cultural contexts in which those efforts have grown affected outcomes? do these causes and effects vary and why?” in each of three examples provided above, place-focused models were adopted to meet the needs of underserved communities and students. at penn, a unique educational experiment was undertaken in the midst of civil unrest and as a means to reconstruct the lives of newly freed slaves, specifically the gullah. for berry, the mission was to provide an educational outlet and route to social and economic advancement for underserved and isolated appalachian families for whom opportunities were few. like the support that penn received from philanthropists associated with the port royal experiment, curriculum resources suggest that berry enjoyed at least some measure of inspiration and support from the country life movement. with that in mind, foxfire arguably stands as somewhat of an outlier in this instance as it was not directly associated with any sort of larger, identifiable social or political movement. given this particular set of cases, then, it appears that motivations for placefocused educational reforms are not entirely unitary. while more investigation is clearly warranted, the contexts in which place-based reform efforts have come into being are highly relevant for the overall historical agenda and ultimately contain a great deal of explanatory power. lastly, but of no lesser importance, placebased educators must consider “how past experiences with place-focused educational initiatives might inform contemporary efforts to reform schools?” if place-based education is fast becoming a movement, as some have suggested, it is doing so with a thoroughly underdeveloped historical consciousness. without mistaking the past for the present, it seems reasonable to suggest that successes and failures of similar reform efforts historically might inform current practice in the field. consider janyandhan‟s (2009) thoughtful engagement with the intersections that exist between john dewey and modern pbe initiatives. addressing what she regarded as a tendency of place-based researchers to “quote dewey, somewhat selectively, to support their arguments” (2009, 107), jayanadhan moved beyond those more widely cited passages from experience and education (dewey 1915) and democracy and education (dewey 1916), to consider somewhat more obscure works such as “americanism and localism” (dewey 1929) and the public and its problems (dewey 1927). more significant than jayanadhan's somewhat wider reading was her attempt to clarify multiple conceptions of the concept of place in dewey's philosophy of education. more important still was jayanadhan's analysis of the conflict she argued dewey perceived to exist between localism and an increasingly mobile society, a conflict with direct relevance to contemporary place-based educational initiatives. the author remarked: dewey, then, is struggling with a problem that is seldom articulated in place-based education, but which is one of its greatest challenges how to frame place-based education for inhabitants of a mobile and global society. both urban 14 and rural place-based pedagogies tend to tacitly assume that the members of the community are static and have roots in that community or if not static, they are at risk of leaving the community rather than arriving … this, to me, is the second lesson an analysis of dewey has for a pedagogy of place. (jayanandhan 2009, 109) in addition to her thoughtful consideration of a theory of place-based education that pre-dates modern efforts, jayanandhan (2009) demonstrated that historical appraisals of theory and practice may provide insights for contemporary reformers. while anomalous, her work is exemplary of the type of reward that an expanded historical research agenda, one that more deliberately considers that vast range of experience earned by our educational predecessors, might provide. recalling the sage advice of laurel tanner, it may be the case that great “strength lies in our experience” (1983, 42). references the berry school bulletin 1905-1906. berry college archives, catalogues 1902-1913. memorial library, berry college. the berry school bulletin 1906-1907. berry college archives, catalogues 1902-1913. memorial library, berry college. the berry school bulletin 1912-1913. berry college archives, catalogues 1902-1913. memorial library, berry college. the berry school bulletin 1921-1922. berry college archives, catalogues 1914-1922. memorial library, berry college. canniff, j. g. 1998. on living well in our place: earlier rural reform movements. in toward place and community, ed. v. perrone, 34-61. publication of the annenberg rural challenge research and evaluation program. cambridge, ma. cooley, r. b. 1930. school acres: an adventure in rural education. new haven, nj: yaleuniversity press. dewey, j. 1916/2004. democracy and education. mineola, ny: dover publications, inc. dewey, j. 1927. the public and its problems. new york: holt. dewey, j. 1929/1997. americanism and localism. in characters and events: popular essays in social and political philosophy, volume 2, 537-542. new york: henry holt and company. dewey, j. 1938. experience and education. new york: simon and schuster. duffin, m. t. 2006. portrait of an urban elementary school: place-based education, school culture, and leadership. ph.d. diss., antioch university. greenfield, d. 2005. the land as the forgotten teacher: how a naturalistic land ethic exemplified in thoreau, leopold, and wilson, informs environmental education. ph.d. diss., kent state university. gruenewald, d. a., and smith, g. a., eds. 2008. place-based education in the global age: local diversity. new york: lawrence erlbaum associates. hutchison, d. 2004. a natural history of place in education. new york: teachers college press. jayanandhan, s. r. 2009. john dewey and a pedagogy of place. philosophical studies in education 40:105-112. knapp, c. e. 2005. the „i-thou‟ relationship, place-based education, and aldo leopold. journal of experiential education 27(3): 277-285. knapp, c. e. 2008. place-based curricular and pedagogical models: my adventures in 15 teaching through community. in place-based education in the global age: local diversity, ed. d. a. gruenewald and g. a. smith, 5-27. new york: lawrence erlbaum associates. lane-zucker, l. 2010. few places i‟ve been. a made place: why farm? why art? http://www.amadeplace.com/?author=3. orr, d. 1992. ecological literacy: education and the transition to a post-modern world. albany, ny: suny press. puckett, j. l. 1989. foxfire reconsidered: a twenty-year experiment in progressive education. chicago: university of illinois press. smith, g.a. 2002a. going local. educational leadership (september): 30-33. smith, g.a. 2002b. place-based education: learning to be where we are. phi delta kappan (april): 584-594. smith, g. a. 2007. place-based education: breaking through the constraining regularities of public school. environmental education research 13(2): 189-207. smith, g. a., and sobel, d. 2010. placeand community-based education in schools. new york: routledge. sobel, d. 2005. place-based education: connecting classrooms and communities. great barrington, ma: the orion society. tanner, l. n.1983. curriculum history and educational leadership. educational leadership 41(3): 38-42. theobald, p. 1995. call school: rural education in the midwest to 1918. carbondale, il: southern illinois university press. theobald, p. 1997. teaching the commons: place, pride, and the renewal of community. boulder, co: westview press. the orion society. 1998. stories in the land: a place-based environmental education anthology. great barrington, ma: the orion society. woodhouse, j. l., and knapp, c. e. 2000. placebased curriculum and instruction: outdoor and environmental education approaches. charleston, wv (eric document reproduction service no edo-rc-00-6). 51 the texas school of the air and it’s “stories plus” program lauren g. santarelli orcid#: 0000-0001-7566-9372 texas a&m university abstract in 1939 the texas school of the air was created with the purpose to broadcast “educationally and socially desired radio programs” for texans. this paper reports findings from a content analysis of the texas school of the air’s “stories plus” program. “stories plus” was the “social relations” program that aired from 1940-1942. the analysis of the “stories plus” program reveals that the broadcasts were not only “educationally and socially desirable,” but also supplementary to state curriculum. the texas school of the air and it’s “stories plus” program educators often wrestle with how to address the incorporation of technology into school settings (dousay & janak, 2018). commonly, many educators question how new technological devices will complement the curriculum, and how the needs of the students will be met through their use. from the 1920s through the 1940s, the technological device that garnered perhaps the most discussion among educators was the radio. educators at this time questioned, “the place of radio in education, and how it may be used in the classroom”, despite its rising popularity in the field (woods, 1940, p. 14). during this time, radio was the “trending educational buzzword” (dousay & janak, 2018). the radio was commonly considered to be the “marvel of ages” (morgan, 1939), “the medium that would revolutionize education” (reiser, 2001, p. 56), and something that would, “become as popular as the classroom textbook” (dousay & janak, 2018; reiser, 2001). radio was seen as “having a place in the school” because it possessed certain, “peculiar” aspects that could “undeniably” “enrich, vitalize, and diversify the process of learning” (woods, 1940, p. 14; ashby, 1932). radio could reach audiences over a wide area, could deliver content designed to “spark” student imagination, and could provide access to resources that would otherwise be unavailable to teachers (ashby, 1932; hill, 1997). in texas, the school of the air radio broadcast series began in the fall of 1939 and continued to serve texas communities for the next fourteen years (hill, 1997). the texas school of the air was created with the purpose to broadcast “educationally and socially desired radio programs designed to supplement the public-school curriculum” (woods, 1940, p. 11). although it is somewhat unclear why the governing members of the texas school of the air felt that the public-school curriculum needed to be “supplemented”, the radio was seen as an instructional tool that could bring “educational and cultural materials” to the classroom, “which no teachers, because of limitations of either time or ability, could prepare” for themselves (woods, 1941, p.15). this paper, and earlier presentations (santarelli 2019a, 2019b), examines how the programs of the texas school of the air were seen as “educationally and socially desirable” through an analysis of the content of the stories plus program. local and national radio broadcasting systems dedicated entire stations and programs for the purpose of educating the people of the united states. after the licensing of the first educational radio station, kfoo at the laterday saints university in salt lake city, utah, in 1921, seventy-four additional educational 52 radio stations were established by the end of 1922. additionally, by the end of 1936, 202 additional broadcasting licenses were issued to educational institutions (hill, 1997). educational radio broadcasting stations could be found throughout the united states, in states such as california, ohio, illinois, kansas, georgia, connecticut, and new york. in these states, students tuned into broadcasts presented by groups such as the ohio school of the air, the rocky mountain public radio program, the little red school house, and virgil dickson’s radio lessons (hill, 1997; bianchi, 2008). additionally, school children could also listen to programs presented by national networks such as the national broadcasting company (nbc) and the columbia broadcasting system (cbs). students could partake in lessons presented by the american school of the air (1929, cbs), music appreciation hour (1928, nbc), and later on, the red and blue network (1938-1939, nbc) (hill, 1997). together, both the local and national stations aired hundreds of educational programs that k-12 students could listen to both inside and outside the classroom. these programs reached thousands of listeners and covered a myriad of topics that people from around the country could find interesting. despite the popularity of educational radio broadcasts, texas educators expressed concerns about the use of radio programs in the classroom. texas educators claimed that educational broadcasts were often full of commercial advertisements (who owns the radio, 1930, p. 9), were broadcast at inconvenient times for instructional use (chapman, 1940), and were sometimes difficult to access due to unwanted feedback and interference (stone, 1936; cooper, 1938). in order to address these concerns, texas teachers, school and district administrators, educational associations, and the texas department of education teamed up to create a cooperative public radio program for texas called the texas school of the air (cooper,1938). the programs teachers could utilize were centered around subjects such as science (open your eyes), reading (reading is adventure), social studies (stories plus), vocations (jobs ahead) and music (music is yours). each of these programs were designed to be “educationally and socially desirable”, meaning that they were created to, “increase knowledge, cultivate discernment, appreciation, and taste, and to enrich character by inspiring social ideals that may result in constructive citizenship” (woods, 1940, p. 11; woods, 1941, p.12; chapman, 1940, p.35). the stories plus program, the focus of this paper, was the “social relations” broadcast of the texas school of the air. the program was intended for elementary school aged children and was based on selected children’s stories with “social themes pertaining to good citizenship” (woods, 1940, p.18). the program was entitled stories plus because the selected stories were seen as having “far-reaching ends” that could teach students facts, attitudes, and social choices, and that could provide “an atmospheric background for the interpretation of the past” (woods, 1940, p. 21; woods, 1941, p. 22). through the analysis of the content of the stories plus program, which focused on teaching students social themes and skills, more can be understood regarding how texas school of the air programs were designed to be “educationally and socially desirable”. in addition to examining the stories plus program, background information regarding radio education use in texas is provided. the history of radio education use in texas is important to consider in order to understand why and how the texas school of the air and its companion programs were created. early educational radio use in texas early discussions of radio education use in texas generally centered around access to radios and receiving the appropriate equipment. educators often claimed that a “good radio and receiving set should be in “every school and, in some systems, every schoolroom” (radio and education, 1927). the radio was seen as a device that could carry into the classroom the “best music of all time and the voices of the 53 greatest men and women of the day who offered advice, information, and encouragement to all” (radio and education, 1928, p. 43). radios were to be acquired at all costs in order to avoid the even costly effects of ignorance (radio and education, 1928). one of the earliest attempts at placing a radio in texas schools took place in 1929 in fort bend county schools, where a “new trail” in radio education was blazed in texas when a radio was placed in each of the county’s schools. under the leadership of county superintendent jesse f. ward, the radio was utilized to communicate with school administrators, announce important news and events, and to provide programs tailored to the topics of “instructional work and general educational interests” (radio in fort bend county schools, 1929, p. 26). other early discussions on the topic of radio education use in texas recommended providing students access to the “finest programs” (radio education, 1928, p. 43). through providing students with these programs, educators felt that ignorance, superstition, fear, hatred and poverty, “the direct results of a lack of proper education” could be abated (radio education, 1928, p. 43). educational radio was seen as an “inspiring and enlightening order”, devoted to the “educational uplift of the people”; not as an advertisement agent. (who owns the radio, 1930, p. 9). educators asserted that teachers should be provided radio programs that were unencumbered by commercial advertisements or “jazzy entertainments”. although the criteria outlining what made a radio program “the finest on the air”, and why these programs were needed had not yet been established, texas educators, encouraged students and teachers alike to tune into programs produced by the university of texas and the university of chicago, or to programs sponsored by national networks such as the radio corporation of america (rca) (radio and education, 1927). some educators also encouraged the utilization of radio programs that “assuredly conformed to the highest american ideals”. meaning, that radio programs should both “preserve and nurture” the “sanctity of the home and the school, and the very foundations of the united states government” (who owns the radio, 1930, p. 9). a glimpse into texas educational radio use during the 1930s radio education use in texas became increasingly popular in the 1930s and the survey conducted by roy m. stone, of lubbock, texas, provided a glimpse into that rising interest. in november 1935 a questionnaire was sent to the offices of 63 superintendents or principals of texas schools, in which radios were reported to be in use, in order to determine the extent of radio use in secondary classrooms. the administrators were asked to indicate the kind of equipment they possessed, how the equipment was obtained, the subjects that they thought were best adapted to radio instruction, and what they felt the major benefits and criticisms of the radio were. out of the 63 questionnaires sent out, 41 “usable replies” were returned (stone, 1936). stone found that out of the 41 schools who responded to the survey, only one school reported utilizing the radio prior to 1930. instead, a majority of the schools (28 of 41 schools), reported that they began to use the radio during or after the year 1932. a replica of the table used by stone to display this data in his article can be found in table 1. table 1: when texas schools began to use radio year number of schools prior to 1930 1 1930 7 1931 1 1932 4 1933 10 1934 7 1935 11 (from stone, 1936) stone (1936) found that the most common type of radio equipment used in the texas secondary schools was the “master set”. 54 twenty of the forty-one schools included in this study reported having access to “master set” radio equipment (i.e., a combined public address and radio system with individual classroom loudspeakers). the use of “portable radio” equipment, however, came in a close second place, with nineteen out forty-one schools reporting that they had access to either 1, 2, or 3 devices. another finding from stone’s (1936) study relates to which subjects texas administrators thought were best adapted to radio instruction. all forty-one administrators indicated that the radio was used to “supplement the classwork of eighteen different school subjects”. of these subjects, the ones that were considered to be the “best” adapted to radio instruction were music, english, history, civics, social studies, geography, and public speaking. other frequently listed subjects were vocational guidance, art appreciation, languages, science, typewriting, physical education, and drama (stone, 1936). according to stone’s report, it is unclear as to why the surveyed administrators felt that their school’s curriculum needed to be supplemented. instead of covering this topic, stone indicates how the school administrators viewed the radio as being a beneficial educational tool. out of the 41 surveys collected for the study, 7 benefits of radio education use were identified (stone, 1936, p. 30) 1. radio enlarges the educational field by supplementing class work with material students would not otherwise get. 2. the public address system provides an executive instrument which permits administrators to keep in close touch with the school without any loss of time. 3. radio stimulates interest in school work by breaking routine. 4. radio keeps students in closer touch with current news and thereby creates interest in reading. 5. radio creates a better appreciation of music and drama. 6. radio creates interest in public affairs and broadens the outlook of the less fortunate child. 7. radio enables students to hear outstanding speakers and artists. although all forty-one school administrators indicated that the radio was used to “supplement the school curriculum”, stone (1936) also found that only nine schools specifically made provisions for educational radio broadcasts in the school schedule. this subsequently was one of the criticisms of using the radio in the school, as administrators noted that fitting radio programs into the school schedule was difficult. additional criticism of radio usage dealt with having access to “suitable programs for school use”. although the administrators did not specifically state what made programs “unsuitable” for the school, others cited criticisms such as commercialism and radio interference, could possibly provide some clarity into why school leaders were unsatisfied with the current broadcasts (stone, 1936). these specific criticisms are important to note, however, because the foundational principles of the texas school of the air broadcast program centered on providing resolutions to these problems (cooper, 1938). the texas school of the air the texas school of the air was the next stage in the evolution of radio education in the state of texas. the creation of the texas school of the air in 1939, marked an important milestone for radio education in texas because it was the first program series that was capable of and designed to complement texas educational courses, delivered to students during school hours (chapman, 1940). during the life of the texas school of the air, teachers could tune into “educationally and socially desirable” broadcasts on social studies (stories plus would last only two years), science (open your eyes), vocations (jobs ahead), reading (reading in adventure), and music (musical texas). the selection of these subjects reflects 55 the recommendations made by school administrators in stone’s 1932 survey. organization and administration the texas school of the air was organized largely through the efforts of the staff members in the texas state department of education (chapman, 1940; hill, 1997). one such staff member, who actively participated in the organization of the texas school of the air, was the state superintendent of education, l.a. woods (chapman, 1940). other groups who contributed meaningfully to the creation and organization of the texas school of the air included the texas radio council, north texas state teachers college, the university of texas, the agricultural and mechanical college of texas, texas state college for women, texas congress of parents and teachers, and the texas state teachers association. of these supporting groups, however, the one that had probably the most influence over the organization, other than the state department of education was the texas radio council (chapman, 1940; hill, 1997).the texas school of the air was administered as a division of the state department of education and directed by john w. gunstream. gunstream, deputy state superintendent in charge of radio in education in the state department of education, was also the chairman of the section for education by radio in the texas state teachers association. the texas school of the air was further directed by an eight-member board of directors; a list of the key individuals on the board for the texas school of the air program can be found in table 2. to assist the board of directors, an advisory committee, composed of representative educators, college professors, and businessmen from various parts of the state, was also assembled (chapman, 1940; hill, 1997). members of the advisory committee had to be interested in the “proper development” of texas schoolchildren and had to believe that the radio the radio could be used to reach “broader educational purposes” (chapman, 1940). funding despite having a board of directors composed of individuals who could be considered as the “who’s who” of texas educators, the texas school of the air began without legislative funding. in the first years, expenses surrounding the “planning, production, research, scriptwriting, line costs, and secretarial work of the educational broadcasts” were largely provided by either the partnering nstitutions or the participating broadcast stations (hill, 1997, p. 58; bianchi, 2008). expenses not covered by the cooperating institutions and stations were often paid for through private donations. table 2 texas school of the air board of directors john w. gunstream state department of education official in charge of radio in education l.a. woods state superintendent of education joe p. harris county superintendent, dallas county i.w. popham county superintendent, travis county dr. homer p. rainey president of the university of texas t.m. trimble first assistant state superintendent of education paul wakefield member george b. wilcox president, texas state teachers association (chapman, 1940, p. 35) 56 one donor specifically acknowledged by state superintendent woods for providing funds for the texas school of the air was karl hoblitzelle, president of the dallas, texas, based interstate theaters and member of the texas school of the air advisory committee. hoblitzelle played an integral part in funding the texas school of air, especially during its first year (woods, 1940; hill, 1997; bianchi, 2008). so critical was hoblitzelle’s support that the state superintendent of education, l.a. woods included the following in the 1947-1948 teachers’ classroom guide for “music is yours” to mr. karl hoblitzelle, president, interstate theatres, dallas, texas, for providing funds with which to establish and operate the texas school of the air during 1940 and 1941, when no funds were available in the state department of education for this purpose, and for continuing the karl hoblitzelle music fellowship fund for radio house chorus and orchestra until 1946. (woods, 1947, p. 3) by the time the 47th texas state legislature met, the texas school of the air was in its second year and was recognized as successful in making contributions to the education of texas school children and, as a result, funds were appropriated for its operations during the 1941-1943 biennium (woods, 1940; hill, 1997). that the program was supported by the texas legislature can be seen in the acknowledgements of appreciation: “to the fiftieth texas legislature for appropriating funds with which to carry on the work of the texas school of the air during the biennium,1947-1949” (woods, 1947, p. 3). broadcast facilities and programs the texas school of the air programs were aired through an arrangement with commercially owned cbs affiliate stations known as the texas quality network (woods, 1940). the am radio stations that regularly carried the texas school of the air programs were wbap in fort worth, texas, wfaa in dallas, texas, woai, in san antonio texas, and kprc in houston, texas. later, additional stations would broadcast the programs: kgnc in amarillo, texas; kgrv in weslaco, texas; ktsm in el paso (bianchi, 2008; woods, 1947). these radio station broadcasts reached portions of 90 of the 254 counties in texas which had, according to the 1940 census, a population in excess of 3 million (over half of the texas population at that time). without additional information, one cannot say how many of the students in the counties were able to listen to the airings the number probably increased over the 14 year life of the program. local newspapers included the broadcast times for school of the air in their papers as “today’s radio programs” (see, today’s radio programs, 1939, p. 5). the programs were planned by educators for the purpose to “increase knowledge, to cultivate discernment, appreciation, and taste and to enrich [student] character by inspiring social ideals that may result in constructive citizenship” (woods, 1940; woods, 1941; hill, 1997).the radio programs, broadcast by the texas school of the air during the first two years were stories plus, open your eyes, jobs ahead, reading in adventure, and musical texas. the programs initially aired daily from 1:15 pm -1:30 pm and covered one of the five major core areas of the public curriculum in texas specifically, social science, natural science, vocations, language arts, and music. the stories plus program the stories plus broadcast was the “social relations program”, of the texas school of the air. the program was intended for elementary school aged children and was based on selected children’s stories with “social themes pertaining to good citizenship” (woods, 1940, p. 21; woods, 1941, p. 22). stories plus was presented by the radio workshop in dallas and fort worth, texas, and aired on monday afternoons from 1:15-1:30 pm on stations 57 affiliated with the texas quality network. emma petty was the scriptwriter for the stories plus program during the first year of production (1940-1941), but was replaced, after the first season, with ella west decker. the stories plus program series was produced by a.m. woodford in both the 1940-1941 and 1941-1942 seasons (woods, 1940; woods, 1941). the stories plus radio program was only in operation for two years before it was redesigned and renamed as “your story parade”. the stories plus radio program was redesigned mostly because of the united states’ entrance into world war two. with the entry of the united states into world war two, both the state superintendent of public instruction, l.a. woods, and the director of the texas school of the air, john w. gunstream, called for the creation of a radio program that was “tailored for texas’ wartime children”. as a result, the stories plus program was restructured in order to provide “emotionally satisfying stories” for primary and preschool aged children “in a world at war”. through hearing these stories, it was believed that child “wartime hysteria and injurious nervous strain” could be prevented (texas school of the air has new series, 1942, p. 32). teaching recommendations for the stories plus program administrators of the texas school of the air believed that the “ultimate value of the radio” depended on how the broadcasts were used by the teacher. teachers could use the radio in a number of different ways, but those seeking additional instructional assistance could find it in the texas school of the air teachers’ manual and guide (see for example woods, 1940). the texas school of the air teachers’ manual and guide was issued every year and was designed to provide teachers with knowledge about the purpose of the texas school of the air, the content covered by each program, and the teaching techniques that fostered the proper utilization of the broadcasts in the classroom (woods, 1940; woods, 1941). in the portion of the teacher’s manual discussing the stories plus program, teachers were provided with; a brief description of the stories told within each of the broadcasts, a list of questions designed to further the educational discussions surrounding the radio broadcasts, and a series of possible extension activities that the students could complete following the conclusion of the class discussion. the teachers’ manual and guide also provided teachers with the “moral of the story” for each broadcast. each of the 15-minute broadcasts, in the stories plus series, began with a moral that was illustrated in the chosen story. the morals in the selected stories were seen as those that “pertained to good citizenship” and could teach children “present social choices” (woods, 1940; woods, 1941). the teachers’ manual and guide also offered teachers a list of suggested procedures that could be used in order to encourage both the “fullest enjoyment of the stories” and the “clearest comprehension of their meanings” (woods, 1940, p. 21; woods, 1941, p. 25). these procedures included the following suggestions 1. feel and show enthusiasm for the program 2. arrange a comfortable, ventilated room, with distractions removed 3. adapt your schedule to the radio program. provide a few moments before the program for an easy introduction of ‘the tale’; a few minutes afterwards, for evaluation. (sometimes, in case of deeply thoughtful play, this discussion might be deferred for a day.) 4. write the name of the story, the author, and where it may be obtained, on the blackboard. 5. write also the list of suggested parallel readings on the blackboard. 6. place the names of the characters on the blackboard for the children to follow as they listen. 7. use the questions under the “what do you think?” and “should you like to” sections to stimulate the discussion. 58 8. do not force any activity upon the class in connection with this program. ask for no notes. try to enlarge the meanings of the story without the suggestion of “testing”. (woods, 1940, p. 21; woods, 1941, p. 25) an analysis of the stories plus programs despite lasting for only two years, fiftytwo educational broadcasts were aired in the stories plus program. this study presents an analysis of all fifty-two broadcasts in order to further examine how the programs were designed to be “educationally and socially desirable”. three separate content analyses of the stories plus radio broadcasts were conducted. in the first content analysis, the theme of each broadcast was generally examined. patterns in relation to broadcast dates and the “types of stories'' aired, were evaluated. in the second content analysis, the stories plus programs were further examined through evaluating each of the broadcasts’ stated morals, discussion questions and recommended extension exercises. patterns in relation to recurrent morals and the types of questions and activities surrounding the broadcasts were evaluated. in the third content analysis, the broadcasts are compared with the state department’s “elementary education suggestive outline for social studies” (wilson, 1941). general connections between the topics covered both in the broadcasts and the elementary school social studies curriculum are also presented. findings in relation stories plus broadcasts themes the first content analysis of stories plus broadcasts revealed that twenty-six lessons were regularly aired each year of the program. stories plus programs began in the first week of october and continued weekly until mid-april; a two-week break was observed around the christmas holiday season (woods, 1940, p. 20; woods, 1941, p. 24). the content analysis also revealed that the organizers of the stories plus program regularly chose to broadcast stories that coordinated with national holidays. stories such as, “our pilgrim fathers”, for example, were aired close to the thanksgiving holiday, while stories such as, “the christmas nightingale” and the “red glass bowl” were aired closer to the christmas holiday. other stories coordinated with national holidays included the “legend of sleepy hollow” (halloween), “columbus sails” (columbus day), and “father of our country” (george washington’s birthday) (woods,1940; woods, 1941). another consistent pattern among the types of broadcasts aired in stories plus were stories that featured historical figures. nine out of fifty-two of the stories plus broadcasts addressed either the biographies or the “accomplishments” of specific individuals from the past. some of the historical figures referenced in these broadcasts included, sam houston, george washington, and simón bolivar. the nine broadcasts referencing historical figures can be found in table 3. table 3 stories plus broadcasts featuring historical figures title of the broadcast date aired referenced historical figure the gentleman commander january 31, 1941 robert e. lee daniel boone february 10, 1941 daniel boone a cowboy’s discovery february 24, 1941 james larkin white (jim white) six feet six march 3, 1941 sam houston columbus sails october 13, 1941 christopher columbus a tale of sergeant york november 10, 1941 alvin c. york a dutch boy fifty years after february 2, 1942 edward bok father of our country february 23, 1942 george washington the liberator march 30, 1942 simon bolivar (woods, 1940; woods, 1941) 59 stories that incorporated animal characters, either real or fictitious, composed another “type” of frequently aired broadcasts in the stories plus program. ten of the fifty-two stories plus broadcasts incorporated stories with animal characters that played significant roles in the narrative of the story. one broadcast, that incorporated an animal character with a large narrative role, was entitled, “high water” (january 26, 1941). “high water” was the story of a community’s plight in rescuing a donkey named mexico from the dangers of rising floodwaters. mexico was a stubborn donkey, and on the day of the flood, he decided to balk. the other characters of the story, at first, laughed at mexico’s stubbornness, but soon committed themselves towards saving his life, despite the serious risks involved (wood, 1941, p. 39). a complete list of the broadcasts that incorporated animal characters, with significant narrative roles, can be found in table 4. table 4 stories plus broadcasts with animal characters playing significant narrative roles title of the broadcast date aired animal greyfriars’s bobby october 14, 1940 dog the jungle book january 6, 1941 wolves, tiger, & bear the pet elephant january 20, 1941 elephant the story of lil’ hannibal january 27, 1941 possum wind in the willows march 10, 1941 mole, rat, badger & toad the yearling march 26, 1941 dear expedition to the north pole april 7, 1941 bear, donkey, pig, tiger, rabbit, kangaroo lassie come home october 6, 1941 dog high water january 26, 1942 donkey the cat who went to heaven march 9, 1942 cat (woods, 1940; woods, 1941) findings related to morals, discussion questions and activities of stories plus programs the second content analysis, of the stories plus program of the texas school of the air, examined the “stated morals'”, discussion questions, and extension activities of each of the fifty-two broadcasts. in this analysis, patterns in terms of reoccurring morals, and the types of questions and activities surrounding the broadcasts were evaluated. findings in relation to the “stated morals” of stories plus broadcasts the content analysis of the “stated” morals for each of the stories plus broadcasts reveals that there were a number of reoccurring morals that organizers of the stories plus program thought students should learn “pertaining to good citizenship”. the recurring morals that appeared in the broadcasts can “generally” be classified as, ● serving the country or local community ● having self-determination and perseverance in situations of uncertainty or adversity ● displaying kindness and providing aid to others ● caring for animals in a responsible manner ● working hard and contributing to group efforts ● recognizing the values of “virtuous” family life although each of the broadcast came equipped with an “outlined moral” for students to learn, more than one “moral to the story” was 60 illustrated by the stories. a number of the broadcasts, for example, could “easily” teach students two or more of the previously listed morals. the broadcast entitled “forest fire” (october 7, 1940) is a good example of this occurrence, as the main character molly both serves her local community and perseveres through adversity by maintaining a “clear-mind” when alerting and assisting firefighters in extinguishing a forest fire (woods, 1940). findings in relation to the discussion questions for stories plus broadcasts the analysis of the discussion questions, for each of the stories plus broadcasts (156 in total), reveals that there were generally three types of questions that organizers of the stories plus program thought teachers should ask their students in order to further the educational discussions surrounding the radio broadcasts. the types of questions were ones that either, assessed student listening comprehension, asked students to make and defend moral judgments or prompted students to provide their opinion on the content discussed in the stories. questions that assessed student listening comprehension generally asked students to recall specific events, objects, or feelings contained within the broadcasts. in the broadcast entitled “ann mary” (november 25, 1940) for example, the assessment of student listening comprehension can be seen when students were asked questions such as, “how did ann mary show that she loved her grandma?”, “can you name three incidents when ann mary showed self-control?”, and “when do you think she [ann mary] understood the true meaning of thanksgiving?”. in this broadcast, students displayed their comprehension of the narrative by recalling specific actions completed by the main character, ann mary. this type of question could be found in nearly every lesson within the stories plus series. of the three types of questions created for teachers to use in the classroom, questions that asked students to make and defend moral judgments appeared the least frequently. these questions generally related to events or situations in the stories where the actions of the characters needed to be justified. in the broadcast entitled, “the yearling” (march 24, 1941), for example, students were asked whether or not it was wrong of jody to shoot the deer that he had developed a deep attachment to, despite the deer’s continual destruction of jody’s crops. in this situation, students were encouraged to make and defend a difficult moral decision; should the persistent destructive actions of a loved one be tolerated or should that relationship be sacrificed in order to achieve a resolution to a larger problem. questions that asked students to make and defend moral judgments such as the one presented in “the yearling”, were seldom suggested. questions that prompted students to “provide their own opinion” on the content discussed in the stories included a range of evaluative questions. evaluative questions commonly encouraged students to either evaluate the actions of characters, the situations in their own lives that related to the story, or the actions that they may have made if presented with a similar situation. evaluative questions that prompted students to provide their own opinion on the content discussed within each story could be found in nearly every broadcast. examples of these types of questions included; “is a clown ever important to anyone?” (“boum-boum”), “would you have been brave enough to save the colors?” (“saving the colors”) and “what toting can you do for you mammy and pappy?” (“lil’ hannibal”). findings in relation to the extension exercises for stories plus broadcasts in the analysis of the suggested extension activities for the stories plus broadcasts, a total of 140 activities were identified and evaluated. in the analysis of the 140 activities, eleven different types of suggested extension activities emerged. the extension activities included tasks encouraging students to read or study more about the topic, find and share correlating visual aids and go on field trips to places such as the zoo or local 61 grocery store. although eleven types of extension activities were suggested for teachers to use in their classrooms, activities that encouraged students to study or read more about the topic were recommended most frequently and were suggested a total of 31 out of 140 times. examples of the other ten types of suggested extension activities, and the frequency of their suggested use in story plus broadcasts, are shown in table 5. the suggestions were designed to extend and support academic growth, excellence and connections to society. young children’s need for activity and movement is also reflected in the suggestions. table 5 examples and frequencies of the eleven different types of suggested extension activities type of extension activity frequency example broadcast title date aired encouraged students to study or to read more about the topic 31 “read other stories about lil' hannibal” the story of lil' hannibal january 27, 1941 encouraged students to make something related to the broadcast 24 “make a big united states flag like rebecca did” saving the colors november 4, 1940 encouraged either students or teachers to tell additional stories or discussions. 15 “tell a true story of camp life” wishes are horses april 14, 1941 encouraged students to host or partake in events 13 “have a dog show” greyfriars’s bobby october 14, 1940 encouraged students to complete geography-based tasks 12 “locate the national parks on the united states maps” a cowboy's discovery february 24, 1941 encouraged students to watch movies 11 “see the moving picture of sergeant york's life” a tale of sergeant york november 10, 1941 encouraged students to make a list of objects 9 “make a list of the great pioneers” daniel boone february 10, 1941 encouraged students to go on field trips 8 “visit the zoo to watch the jungle beasts as described by kipling” the jungle book january 6, 1941 encouraged students to complete service-based tasks 8 “send some clothes or money to the red cross so that they may help people whose home are in the paths of the floods” high waters january 26, 1942 encouraged students to locate visual aids 6 “bring pictures of the missions of san antonio to school” seraphina todd april 13, 1942 encouraged students to sing, learn or collect songs 3 “collect old cowboy songs that your father or mother remembers hearing” pecos bill april 20, 1942 62 findings related to stories plus’s supplementing the public-school curriculum in order to further determine how the stories plus programs were designed to be both “educationally and socially desirable”, a third content analysis was performed. this analysis examined whether or not there was a correlation between the topics presented in the stories plus broadcasts and the state department’s suggestive outline” for elementary social studies” (wilson, 1941). the elementary education suggestive outline (wilson, 1941) provides, to teachers and school districts, an outline of what could be taught in the subject of social studies for each grade. examples of some social studies topics to be covered in texas elementary schools are found in table 6, below. in analyzing the stories plus broadcasts using the social studies topics suggested in the state department’s suggested course of study for elementary school social studies, the writers of the stories plus programs did attempt to coordinate with the state’s suggested course of study by including topics such as animals, community helpers and community provisions, holidays, and people in the home. examples of how the stories plus broadcasts coordinated with the state department’s suggested course of study for elementary school social studies can be found in table 7. these tables provide an idea of the topics and activities the script authors recommended as being appropriate for teachers to use as they engaged their students in listening to the school of the air broadcasts. a review of the morals and connections to the state course of study suggests that the department of education saw the program as a valuable resource for teachers. table 6 examples of social studies topics to be covered in texas elementary schools, grades one through four first & second grade third grade fourth grade area of focus: area of focus: area of focus: school and home life community life expanded community life topics relating to school and home life: topics relating to community life: topics relating to expanded community life school environments provisions and preparation of foods community protection of health, life and property people in the home preparation and care of clothing mercantile business keeping house provisions for shelter – buildings manufacturing industries pets community helpers agricultural industries animals provisions for recreation transportation outdoors animals weather amusements plants animals and plant life of the community tools and construction books primitive people sources of food weather holiday and seasonal activities preparations of food transportation clothing communication books (wilson, 1941, p. 27-32) 63 table 7 examples of suggested social studies topics covered in stories plus programs morals found within stories plus programs correlating topics and grade from state course of study example from stories plus program date aired serving the country or local community community helpers (3rd) and community protection (4tth) forest fire october 7, 1940 having selfdetermination and perseverance in situations of uncertainty or adversity people in the home (1st & 2nd) ann mary november 25, 1940 displaying kindness and providing aid to others people in the home (1st and 2nd) and community protection of health, life and property boum-boum october 21, 1940 caring for animals in a responsible manner animals (2nd) and animals and plant life of the community. high water january 26, 1942 working hard and contributing to group efforts provisions and preparation of foods & shelter (3rd) and plant life of the community (4th) robin on the mountain october 28, 1940 recognizing the values of “virtuous” family life people in the home (1st & 2nd) and holidays the red glass bowl december 16, 1940 (woods, 1940; wilson, 1941; woods, 1941) conclusion after analyzing and interpreting the stories plus broadcasts, and their subsequent “stated” morals, discussion questions, and extension activities, more is understood about how the stories plus programs of the texas school of the air were designed to be both “educationally and socially desirable”. the stories plus program delivered “socially desirable” radio broadcasts through teaching elementary school students morals pertaining to “good citizenship”. through listening to broadcasts, students were presented with opportunities to learn that “good citizens” often, selflessly serve their country or local communities, determinedly persevere in 64 situations of uncertainty or adversity, frequently provide kindness and aid to others, responsibly care for animals, continuously work hard and contribute to group efforts, and endlessly play a role in upholding the family. stories plus broadcasts such as “a tale of sergeant york” (november 10, 1941), exemplified many of these morals, as students learned not only about york’s heroic efforts in the battle of meuseargonne but also about his “kindness” in donating his gifts towards the education of the men and women living within the mountain communities of tennessee (woods, 1941, 31). the stories plus program also delivered “educationally desirable” radio broadcasts by providing teachers with provocative discussion questions and engaging extension activities. the discussion questions that teachers could use often assessed student comprehension, called for student input and even encouraged students to make moral decisions. through using these questions, teachers could further the educational discussions surrounding the radio broadcasts and could challenge student thinking. an example of a discussion question that challenged student thinking and required students to make a moral decision can be found in the broadcast lesson “forest fire” (october 7, 1940). after listening to a broadcast about a woman who sped into town to rouse men to fight a fire, students were asked the difficult question of whether or not the woman was justified in breaking the speed limit in order to warn the authorities about the fire. through using this question in the classroom, students could discuss how to conduct themselves in an emergency and could discuss larger topics such as, “when, if ever, is it okay to disobey a law”. the extension activities that teachers could use, also contributed to broadcasts’ success in being “educationally desirable”. the extension activities were designed to broaden a student’s understanding of the topics discussed in the broadcasts. through actively participating in activities such as finding visual aids, watching films, and partaking in community service projects, students could have the opportunity to learn more about the topics covered in the broadcast on their own. in the broadcast lesson entitled “a cowboys discovery” (february 24, 1941), for example, students were encouraged to learn more about national parks through locating other parks on a map of the united states (woods, 1940, p. 34). in completing this activity, students learned where other national parks were located in the country and where those parks were located in relation to the carlsbad caverns national park that was discussed in the broadcasts. in this analysis, it was also evident that the stories plus program of the texas school of the air attempted to coordinate with the state “suggested course of study for elementary school social studies”. the stories plus broadcasts commonly addressed the elementary social studies topics of animals, national holidays, and community members. therefore, teachers wishing to utilize the radio as an educational medium in their classroom could do so with peace of mind, knowing that stories plus broadcasts coordinated with the state’s elementary social studies curriculum. the texas school of the air ran for 14 years, and during its final years of production, the department of education began to make master tapes for texas school of the air programs through the texas school of the air and tapes project (hill, 1997). under the texas school of the air and tapes project, thousands of programs were transferred to tapes provided by local schools. although much is unknown about the demise of the texas school of the air, the texas school of the air and tapes projects appears to be a contributor to its termination, as schools began to accumulate taped programs in the construction of audio libraries (hill, 1997). hill (1997) also suggests that the demise of the texas school of the air could be additionally attributed to the rise of television writing that due to the rising interest in television, “radio education lost much of its early appeal” (p. 65). while this analysis offers clarity in regard to what was presented in one of the texas school of the air programs, stories plus, and how they were designed to be “educationally and socially desirable,” further 65 research surrounding the texas school of the air is needed. additionally, despite the stories plus program’s ability to deliver “suitable programs” that met the educational needs of texas children, it was only one of the four texas school of the air programs. the stories plus program only aired for two years, before it was redesigned and renamed your story parade. therefore, in order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the content presented in the texas school of the air, other programs such as, open your eyes, reading in adventure, jobs ahead, musical texas, and your story parade, should also be examined. the texas school of the air programs served texas children and teachers for fourteen years and were heard by thousands of listeners. the programs of the texas school of the air influenced the education of texans and the extent of this influence should continue to be explored, especially within the large scope of radio education in the united states. references ashby, l.w. (1932). what radio can do for education. texas outlook, 16(5): 35. bianchi, w. (2008). schools of the air: a history of instructional programs on radio in the united states. mcfarland & co. chapman, a. l. (1940). texas school of the air. texas outlook, 24 (1): 35-36. cooper, l. b. (1938). cooperative public radio program for texas. texas outlook, 22(2), 35-36. dousay, t. a., & janak, e. (2018). all things considered: education radio as the first moocs”. tech trends, 6 (22): 255-562. hill, a. n. c. (1997). the texas school of the air: an educational radio endeavor (publication no. 9822612) [doctoral dissertation, university of texas – austin]. proquest dissertations and theses global. “radio and education”. (1927, february). texas outlook, 11(2), 50. “radio education”, (1928, june). texas outlook, 12(6), 43 “radio education”. (1929, may). texas outlook, 13(5), 41. “radio in fort bend county schools”. (1929, january). texas outlook, 13 (1), 26-27. reiser, r. a. (2001). a history of instructional design and technology part 1: a history of instructional media. educational technology research development, 49(1): 53-64. santarelli, l.g. (2019a, october). the texas school of the air [conference presentation]. etha 2019 fall meeting, nacogdoches, tx, united states. santarelli, l.g. (2019b, october). stories plus: education for a civil society [conference presentation]. etha 2019 fall meeting, nacogdoches, tx, united states. stone, r. m. (1936). use of radio in the secondary schools of texas”. texas outlook, 20(5): 29-31. “texas school of the air has a new series”. (1942, august). texas outlook, 26(8), 32. “today’s radio programs”. (1939, march 22) dallas morning news, 5. “who owns the radio?”. (1930, december). texas outlook, 14(12), 9. wilson, e. e. (1941). social science. in l.a. woods, elementary education suggestive outline,16 412). (pp. 27-36). state department of education. woods, l. a (1940). the texas school of the air: teacher’s manual and classroom guide 1940-1941. bulletin 405. state department of education. woods, l. a. (1941). the texas school of the air: teacher’s manual and classroom guide 1941-1942. bulletin 411. state department of education. woods, l. a. (1947). texas school of the air, 1947-1948. teachers’ classroom guide for “music is yours”. bulletin 481. state department of education. german pietism and the pedagogic reformation of human nature stephen tomlinson university of alabama in recent years, interest in the origins and influence of german educational thought has focused attention on the pedagogic innovations developed by august herman francke at the university of halle. in line with the theological reforms promoted by jacob spener, francke developed a program of clerical and teacher training designed to initiate a new era of religious piety. the centerpiece of his energetic and ever-expanding mission was the halle foundation, a “godly city,” where students could perfect the instructional skills necessary to promote spiritual conversion and practical christianity. following comenius, francke adhered to a biblically based account of nature. but his focus went beyond the rational understanding of creation to the perfection of the soul through the transformative power of the holy word. the emotionally evocative passages of scripture had to be employed to sculpt and secure a person’s love of god and their neighbor. the result was a powerful pedagogy of psychological control with obvious political implications for the management of an inherently volatile population. any systematic approach to education must incorporate some understanding of human nature and a vison of the social good. oftentimes such ideas are tacit, implicitly defined by received practices and intellectual traditions. but during periods of radical reform they emerge as animating norms that guide new approaches to schooling. pietism, one of the most influential movements in the history of education, illustrates the productive role of these foundational conceptions. driven by the religious ambition to construct a godly society, the pietists campaigned for mass instruction so that all could understand and embrace the imperatives of scripture. this demanded a fundamental change in the mission of the church and a new form of clerical training. centered at the university of halle, theology students originally tutored on points of orthodox doctrine were trained in the use of the revealed word for religious edification and spiritual rebirth (shantz, 2014). armed with a pedagogy of psychological control, they not only brought literacy to the population, but a practical christianity infused with the ethos of obedience, industry, and community service. according to richard gawthrop (2006), while initially embraced by the calvinist king fredrick i as a means to further toleration in the predominantly lutheran prussia, under his successor frederick william pietism evolved into a powerful political ideology that furthered the efficiency of prussia’s centralized government, transforming a fragmented regional state into the most economically and militarily powerful nation in germany. in what follows i examine the ideas about mind and society at the heart of this revolutionary movement. my focus is the program of clerical reform envisioned by philipp jakob spener (1653-1705) and its implementation at halle by august hermann francke (1663–1727). it was here, at germany’s first pedagogic seminary, that francke forged the instructional methods which would shape the educational thought of the eighteenth century, and beyond. true christianity the german pietist movement of the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries arose from the ashes of the thirty years’ war (1618-1648). squeezed between two superpowers—catholic france to the west, muslim turkey to the east— protestant states such as brandenburg-prussia struggled to support a strong military with limited resources. continuing conflicts combined with poor harvests and plague brought famine, poverty, 15 and an inevitable train of social ills. given the religious and political convulsions of the past, the lutheran church naturally sought to secure order by establishing the authority of its basic doctrines and sacramental practices. scholarly orthodoxy and strict ritual under strong hierarchical control became the antidote to the volatile enthusiasm and prophetic spiritualism that had stirred antebellum divisions (stoeffler, 1965). yet for many theologians this focus on doctrine generated a destructive divide between the church and the people. preoccupied with the sanctity of their creed, the clergy had abrogated the fundamental duty of pastoral care. rising levels of crime and poverty were readily interpreted as divine punishments; clear signs that the church must reinvigorate its practical mandate and take a more active role in regulating the life of the population. fueled by an emerging book trade that popularized the devotional tracts of english and dutch puritans, a new religious sensibility took shape, emphasizing the apostolic mission of the early christians (shantz, 2013). spener (1675/1964) captured this growing imperative in what would become the foundational text of the pietistic movement, pia desidra. first published in 1675 as a preface to a volume of johann ardnt’s sermons (1590/1979), it laid out a program of sweeping reforms the church must undergo to combat the causes of social corruption and create a community of true christians. raised a consistent disciple of luther in a devout, well-paced family, spener entered the university of strasburg at age 16 with a deep interest in biblical study and a strong commitment to pious living. earning his masters in just two years, he embarked on a three-year sojourn through southern germany and switzerland. while in geneva he came under the orbit of jean de labadie, the charismatic proponent of christian communities, translating two of his works before returning to strasburg to complete his doctorate in 1664. on a path to academia, spener’s life changed to one of service two years later with his appointment as senior minister of the lutheran church in frankfort. over the next two decades his writings, teaching, and pastoral work gained wide recognition, ultimately earning him, in 1686, the prestigious appointment as head chaplain to the elector of saxony. in concert with labadie’s teachings, spener’s overriding concern was improving the religious character of the population through adherence to the practical lessons of scripture (shantz, 2013). to this end, he initiated catechism programs for the young, combined workhouse relief with religious instruction, and initiated study groups designed to encourage leading citizens and earnest theology students in the discussion of devotional texts (sattler, 1989). their spiritual growth, he reasoned, would help spread the ethic of brotherly love throughout the community, teaching christ’s message by example and solving social problems through works of christian charity. the idea caught light. starting in 1670 with intimate gatherings in his own home, by 1677 spener, was offering church meetings with a hundred or more in attendance. many were uneducated tradespeople, and shockingly for the times, many were female. for spener this extension of scriptural education into the community answered luther’s call for a priesthood of all believers. but it also brought a dangerous mutation. animated by the emotional power of conversion, a few of spener’s more radical followers established alternative conventicles, often without ministerial supervision, that embraced the efficacy of personal experience over sacramental ritual (stoeffler, 1965). with similar groups popping up across the region, orthodox leaders naturally viewed this energetic and expansive movement as existential threat to the integrity of the lutheran faith. spener was sympathetic to the goals of those seeking the truly pious life but remained firmly committed to the established order. reform, he insisted, had to occur within the church. in fact, biblical prophecy, the subject of his doctoral study, suggested the vital work of the clergy in preparation for christ’s second coming. tensions came to a boil in 1687 when spener’s most committed disciple, august francke 16 set up a series of private lectures in opposition to the theological instruction offered at the university of leipzig. where his former professors taught the philosophical basis of dogma in latin, francke provided a guide to practical christianity in the vernacular. students fled the university lecture halls in droves. many started their own conventicles, generating much excitement among the wider population. the situation was further exacerbated, gawthorp (2006) explains, by “the interjection of enthusiasm” as spiritual visionaries and would-be prophets sought to share their experiences (p. 118). this dangerous dynamic was more than the orthodox establishment could bear. francke was expelled from the city and all conventicles banned. spener’s position also became untenable. out of favor with saxony’s elector, in 1691, he accepted the appointment as provost of st nicholas church and a member of the state’s lutheran consistory in the more tolerant brandenburg-prussia. this was a pivotal turning point in the history of pietism. when radicals sought to establish separate christian communities across europe, the americas, and asia, spener and francke pursued their instructional project internally, aligning pietism’s religious goals with the economic and political ambitions of the prussian state (gawthorp, 2006). gaining the trust of officials in frederick’s court, spener successfully engineered numerous clerical and academic placements for his followers. the appointment of faculty to the university of halle proved key. a counterbalance to the more orthodox universities of wittenberg and leipzig, it was established in 1694 under the twin principles of intellectual tolerance and social utility. the crown needed skilled professionals dedicated to the economic interests and political harmony of the state. spener’s practical theology proved a perfect fit. pietism would replace the divisional scholasticism of traditional lutheran schooling with pragmatic lessons in orderly, cooperative, and productive christian life. francke was appointed professor of greek and oriental languages and assigned the ministry of st george’s church in the nearby slum of glaucha, thus setting up a theoretical and practical axis with which demonstrate the effectiveness of pietistic reform. the extraordinary support francke and his associates received in this experiment as they struggled to overcome opposition from local church and civic leaders vividly demonstrates the royal court’s investment in this inherently political project. indeed, the dynamics of regional and centralized power struggles are key to understanding francke’s work at halle and the profound influence his pedagogic reforms played in the formation of the increasingly absolutist state. historically, brandenburg-prussia was divided into numerous local serfdoms, each administered by noble lords. the royal court mediated between these estates. its authority rested upon ties of blood and patronage that knit the country’s elites into a kind of national family presided over, father-like, by the elector. his role was to balance competing interests and establish common purpose through the prestige of the station and the support of the church. to this end, under fredrick william (1640 to 1688) and frederick i (1688 to 1713), berlin began to emulate the elegance and culture of paris. but the taxes necessary to support such extravagances generated resentment among those who drew wealth from the land. religion was also a concern. the hohenzollern rulers were staunchly calvinist in a predominately lutheran state. preaching tolerance—nobody would be compelled to worship in a church that opposed the dictates of their conscience—they nonetheless looked to religious reunification in the hope of social and spiritual harmony. orthodox lutherans, whose status was tied to the noble estates, naturally opposed the rising influence of the reformed in increasingly francophile berlin—especially after frederick permitted the immigration of some 40,000 huguenots displaced by the repeal of the edict of nantes (1598). healing confessional divisions thus became politically expedient, especially at halle, in the staunchly independent duchy of the magdeburg (clark, 2006). also important for understanding the pietist-state alliance was a parallel quest for the 17 unification of knowledge spearheaded by a coterie of theologians and philosophers who gathered under the patronage of frederick’s erudite and sophisticated wife sophia charlotte, herself an avowed disciple of gottfried wilhelm leibniz (antognazza, 2008). much as comenius had argued, leibniz hoped to heal sectarian divisions through the establishment of an evangelical church committed to a broad understanding of christian truth. minimizing the importance of sacramental and dogmatic disputes, he turned to natural theology confident that knowledge of god’s creation would justify the religious imperatives of life. it would also promote the scientific advancement and useful learning promised by bacon—a prayer that dovetailed perfectly with the political and economic goals of the monarchy. with the promise of new discoveries in medicine, agriculture, and other practical fields leibniz helped found the berlin society of sciences in 1700. francke followed a similar track at halle. as kelly whitmir (2015) explains, the development of scientific reasoning became a central plank of pietist pedagogy, both as a devotional tool and a means to technological advancement. francke’s physico-theology thus cohered with the larger irenic program masterminded by leibniz and fredrick’s court preacher, comenius’ grandson, daniel ernst jablonski. given francke’s own comenian schooling, whitmer makes the important claim that education at halle realized many of the instructional principles developed by comenius, although it should be noted, with much greater attention to the training of the heart rather than the head. the pietistic manifesto christopher clarke (2006) argues that the unique convergence of religious and political interests transformed the pietists into a veritable “fifth column” of the prussian state (p. 127). certainly, francke and spener were adept in promoting the social value of their reforms, but they had a larger goal than to be servants of the crown. no less than comenius, they envisioned a second educational reformation. empowered with the pedagogic skills to awaken mankind’s spiritual nature, the teachers and clergy trained at halle would spread across the nation and then the world creating the global community of practicing believers prophesized in scripture. the blueprint for this overarching mission is set out in the compact three-part argument of spener’s pia desidra. the first section analyzes the church’s failings, the second expands on its duty to reform human nature, and the third details the means it must embrace to fulfil its true purpose. the living body of christ lay on its deathbed, riddled with sin. the nobility looked upon the church as a political instrument for preserving power and privilege; the clergy, more interested in the temporal well-being than the teachings of christ, performed their office without spiritual meaning; and, deprived of religious guidance, the common people had fallen into lives consumed by selfish and depraved pleasures. drawing upon revelations and the teachings of arndt, spener pictured a reborn church energized by the holy spirit. luther had ensured the purity of doctrine; it was now time to secure the purity of faith. if the church could not create a heaven on earth, it could at least bring men and women closer to the image of god within, able to enjoy the fruits of christian life rather than suffering the disorder that flows from the base passions of the old adam. this demanded the reinvigoration of the apostolic mission and the religious life exemplified by the early christians. the priesthood, he concluded, must become a teaching estate committed to sharing the transformative power of the divine word. “as the old birth is propagated carnally from adam,” arndt (1979) explained in true christianity, “so the new birth is spiritually propagated from christ, through the word of god. this word is the seed of the new creature” (p. 52). given the majority of the population only knew the scriptures through sunday sermons, spener demanded a system of instruction that would enable everyone to access the profound messages of the bible firsthand. but simple knowledge of 18 god’s word was not sufficient. christianity was a religion of the faith, not dogma. it required the kind of guided inquiry discussed by paul in corinthians. “every christian,” he insisted, must study industriously . . . in the word of the lord, [and] with the grace that is given him to teach others, especially those under his own roof, to chastise, exhort, convert, and edify them, to observe their life, pray for all, and insofar as possible be concerned about their salvation. (p. 94) only through critical interrogation and admonishment could the pure sentiments of christian love be implanted in the heart. spener’s reformed church required a new kind of priest, a true christian who could serve as a living example of god’s love. he would admit none to the ministry who were unwilling to “die unto the world. . .. study without piety was worthless” (1675/1964, p. 104). certainly, scholars were required to protect the church from the polemical attacks of other denominations. but the majority only needed to explain the basic truths of christianity to their congregation. determined that the university become a “workshop of the holy spirit,” he even cautioned professors to avoid “unnecessary argumentation” and counteract the “curiosity of lustful intellects” (p. 110). theology was the practical discipline teaching how the divine word could be employed to fashion a believer’s soul—skills which drew upon the individual’s own heartfelt religious experience. students required “concrete suggestions on how to institute pious meditations, how to know themselves better through self-examination, [and] how to resist the lusts of the flesh” (p. 112). expanding upon the conventicle, he suggested they “admonish one another to put what they have heard into practice” and explain in a public confessional “how, in this or that situation, they have acquitted themselves” (p. 112-113). of course, putting such intimate knowledge to work demanded more than personal piety. students had to master the rhetorical and soft skills necessary for the conversion of others. there had to be exercises in how to counsel the wayward, comfort the infirm, and lead the congregation in the teachings of christ. this last task involved the delivery of effective sermons, a central concern of the theology student’s training. the typical pulpit oration was meaningless to the average parishioner. steeped in abstract and technical points of doctrine, it addressed the ear rather than the heart. spener was not interested in such intellectual gymnastics; the word of the lord had to be communicated plainly and powerfully to excite religious feelings and instill christian love. church attendance was not sufficient, the minister had to enter the inner temple of the soul and cultivate a sincere faith in god through the transformative power of the holy word. august francke august francke was the living epitome of spener’s reformed minister (yoder, 2020). under spener’s support and tutelage, his intense conversion experience during the fall of 1687 became the fuel of a “burning piety” that propelled him to the leadership of an energetic movement bent on enacting the educational reforms outlined in pia desidra. indeed, as his vocal disdain for the lutheran establishment demonstrates, francke’s religiosity had an even more radical edge than that of his mentor. certainly, both believed that “children of the world” must become “children of god,” but his own emotional rebirth revealed the profound psychological change this entailed. becoming a true christian necessitated the complete denial of all selfish impulses and total submission to the will of god. but what joy conversion would bring! free from base desires, the imago dei would be resurrected and the individual transformed into a spiritual being able to enjoy the higher delights of life promised by the almighty. like spener, francke (1663–1727) was raised in a devout lutheran family where, next to the bible, true christianity was the prime source of spiritual guidance (sattler, 1989). his father served as a counselor at the court of saxe-gotha, 19 advising duke ernst “the pious” in his effort to improve the religious condition of the population through a system of compulsory schooling based upon the teachings of comenius. every child was to learn the catechism in the vernacular and understand basic facts about the design of god’s cosmos. at halle, francke (1727) would use the “small treatise” ernst published, laying out “in a most compendious way the principles of the chief and most useful sciences” (p. 153). in his autobiography, francke (cited in erb, 1983), also speaks of the role played by his elder sister, who after the death of their father, sought to curb his boyish ways with daily lectures from ardnt (erb, 1983). evidently, the germ of piety took root. for while he made easy progress through academia, francke was troubled by the shallowness of his faith and the irrelevance of his training for the practical tasks of the ministry. “i had no other concept of theological studies” he confesses, “than that they consisted of having theological lectures and theological books firmly in one’s head and could carry on an erudite discussion about them” (quoted in sattler 1989, p. 26). indeed, he graduated from leipzig in 1685 hopeful that his skills in biblical exegesis would secure him a comfortable university or ecclesiastical appointment. the following year—while supporting himself through tutoring and private lectures—he helped form the collegium philobiblicum, a study group dedicated to exploring the sacred word in its original greek and hebrew. given the rising interest in conventicles, membership quickly expanded, and discussions turned from the meaning of scripture to its implication for christian life. yet, he reports, determined to “become a distinguished and learned man, to become rich, and to live an easy life,” both “inwardly and outwardly” he remained “a man of the world” (quoted in sattler 1989, p. 28). all this changed when he was asked to deliver a sermon on the nature of a living faith. thrown into a crisis of conscience over the superficiality of his own convictions, his atheistic head did battle with his contrite heart, until the night before the scheduled oration he sank to his knees and prayed for god’s forgiveness. in that moment, his plea was answered. overwhelmed by the experience of a father’s love, he rose completely assured “of the grace of god in christ jesus” (erb, p. 105). “reason stood away; victory was torn from its hands, for the power of god had made it subservient to faith” (p. 105). this foretaste of the lord’s goodness released him from all material interests. “from this time on,” he reports, “i held contentiously to god, and i cared nothing for promotion, honor, and visibility in the world, riches, good days, and exterior worldly pomp” (p. 106). faith, he declared, brought the gift of a “new birth from god.” it “makes us completely other men in our hearts, minds, thoughts, and all our powers and brings the holy spirit with it” (p. 106). these powers soon became evident at halle. expanding his ministry from the steps of st george’s church, francke took the promise of pietism to the squalid and sordid streets of glaucha. from catechism classes to stirring emotional sermons, the religion of the heart energized the community; hundreds were drawn from neighboring churches to his daily prayers and readings from arndt. recognizing francke’s blatant disregard for doctrine as a threat to their authority, city and church leaders were quick to react. particularly troubling was his use of the confessional. where other priests absolved sins as a matter of course, francke demanded sincere contrition and repentance. to make matters worse, it was reported he was hosting conventicles that encouraged religious visionaries. charging heresy and enthusiasm, complaints were submitted to berlin and a commission established to review his conduct. headed by the university of halle’s chancellor, the result inevitably weighed in his favor. but this did little to heal divisions. indeed, francke became increasingly strident in his criticism of the orthodox. for example, expanding on luther’s doctrine of the cross in a 1694 sermon, he attacked those who believed in the historical accuracy of the bible hoping “to attain eternal life through the death of christ” but were unwilling to “die to sin and mortify the matters of the flesh” (sattler, 1982, pp. 125-126). “the mere 20 knowledge of the suffering, death, and resurrection of jesus christ is fruitless” (p. 127). a true christian had to endure the crucifixion of bodily desires so that they might be born again with christ, a new creature with a divine nature. most galling for francke were the clergy who placed their own temporal ends before the duty of the ministry. in a volcanic 1698 sermon he compared his orthodox critics to wolves in sheep’s clothing, warning the congregation against false prophets who served up religion as mere dogma and ritual. their pure theology was only the husk of faith, not its kernel (sattler, 1982). jesus, he later noted, had given up “honors, pleasures, and riches . . . entirely spending the days of his humiliation on procuring our salvation and happiness” (francke, 1831, p. vii). this was the lesson priests must follow. yet most had no “living experience of the work of conversion in their own souls, which they are to preach to others” (p. xi). why? the “fear of man” had undermined the “fear of god.” future clergy had to understand and conquer their own nature if they were to be servants of christ. this was to be the central goal of his educational project at halle. a christian community spener had not envisioned a sudden change in society; correcting human nature was a task for the ages. but he was hopeful that the holy word would elevate personal piety and infuse the positive ethic of neighborly love within the population. those of the true faith would follow the example of christ and embrace the duty to care for the poor and needy. but christian charity meant more than simply distributing relief to the destitute, it implied attending to the root causes of their distress. the pauper, for example, had to be taught control over the bodily desires that drove them into a life of debauchery, drunkenness, and beggary. the slums of glaucha, recently devastated by fire and plague, was the perfect site to demonstrate the efficacy of spener’s pietistic pedagogy (gawthrop, 2006). it would also provide proof of god’s sanction for the reformation of mankind. as francke (1727) explained in pietas hallensis, his 1701 “account of the marvelous foot-steps of divine providence,” the almighty always rewarded good works. uniting material support with religious instruction, francke set about curing the social ills of the city through education. relying mainly on philanthropic bequests, in just four years he established an expansive foundation that included an orphanage, several schools, and even a home for destitute widows. his scheme had a simple beginning. starting in 1695, he restricted the weekly distribution of alms to those who accepted lessons on the lutheran catechism. while this brought little change in the behavior of adults, his interactions with children convinced him that the vice and ignorance of the population could only be conquered by shaping the minds and morals of future generations. with this end in view, he employed the church collection to subsidize a charity school run by financially strapped theology students. yet even with four hours of daily teaching “those good impressions, which perhaps during their stay in the school were stamped on their mind, were obliterated again, whilst they were abroad, and so the intended reflection of their ill habits was much obstructed” (p. 20). confident that god’s bounty would stream “down more and more plentifully, to shew us he was ready to do still greater things, if we could but believe,” francke resolved to extend religious control over the child’s entire environment (p. 19-20). his first step was to board orphans with respected members of the community. as donations from the “welldisposed” flowed in, the number under his care soon swelled. charity bred charity. the promise of christian transformation ensured funds not only for the children’s upkeep and instruction, but also the purchase a common house and the establishment of an orphanage. confident in the workings of providence, francke committed to the construction of a grand, five story brick building that would house over a hundred children. a second, unexpected consequence of his initiative, was the request from better-placed townspeople that educational opportunities be provided for their children. before long, his charity school expanded to accommodate 50 or 60 21 students, with gendered classes for the young and old, the poor and the well-to-do. in addition, although not mentioned in pietas hallensis, he also opened a school for the sons of the nobility and upper classes, what would later become known as the paedagogium. over the next a decade francke’s foundation expanded into a veritable school city. by the time of his death in 1727, gawthrop (2006) reports 170 teachers were engaged in the instruction of over 2200 german, latin, and elite students. there was a seminary to train future teachers, a hospital, a workhouse, and a home for widowed women. there were also numerous workshops, a grocery, an apothecary, and a print shop. more than simply supporting the needs and the instructional goals of the community, the various trades—especially through the sale of books and medicine—had brought substantial profits to fuel building and growth. francke even envisioned investments in mining, agriculture, and shipping! complemented by a museum, a library, and elaborate gardens, the whole enterprise conjured up images of johann valentin andrea’s (1999) christianopolis. how are we to understand this expansive foundation with its seemingly incongruous mix of projects? perhaps the best guide is francke’s unpublished der grosse aufsatz, written and rewritten over the years to explain the importance of his work and solicit funds from supporters (menck, 2009). like pia desidra it explains how vice and ignorance can be overcome by teachers and clergy empowered to redeem the unregenerate. two tasks loomed large: the instruction of children and the care of the poor. given that only those who have experienced the inner emotions of conversion could hope to shape other souls, theology students had to be carefully mentored through their own religious struggles. they also needed a practical apprenticeship in the employment of the holy word within a christian community that exemplified the essential values of faith, love, and industry. the pietist faculty at halle and the associated orphanage met these twin needs. here was a city on a hill, a model of christian life that would help prepare disciples of christ to spread god’s word across the nation and then the world. francke devoted much time and effort to raising the money necessary for his expansive plans. his chief argument, reiterated throughout pietas hallensis, was that halle served as an instrument of the holy spirit, furthering the work of christ. the wealthy could play their part through financial donations. he also promised material rewards for those willing to invest in the foundation’s businesses, which had a competitive edge thanks to the lower labor costs. true christians and their student helpers, he explained, did not work for profit, only god’s glory (gawthrop, 2006). initially francke attempted to fund his teaching corps by setting orphans to work in a stocking factory. but the poor quality of workmanship, even after long hours of labor, rendered the venture unprofitable. the paedagogium was far more successful. in addition to handsome fees, many of the children’s parents exercised influence at the berlin court, helping to build royal support for his efforts. this came first with the supply of building materials for the orphanage then, in subsequent years, legal charters and tax exemptions for his business projects. turning from child labor to commerce, francke could now employ his entrepreneurial skills to help further the foundation’s philanthropic mission. most important was the publication of schoolbooks, devotional works, and cheap bibles necessary for the pietist crusade. by 1727 some 80,000 copies of the bible had been sold. equally lucrative was the sale of essentia dulcis, an elixir recognized across the continent as a treatment for gout. by 1710 revenues had matched donations. in 1727, at over 30,000 talers per year (though difficult to ascertain equivalent value, the taler had about 1.5 times the silver as the later us silver dollar (german silver coins, 2022)), they constituted more than 90% of the foundations income, funding the construction of classrooms, dormitories, a library, a hospital, a lecture hall, and a host of other buildings (gawthrop, 2006). 22 with the resources to match his zeal for reform, francke had no problem attracting students. by 1727 halle had grown into germany’s largest university, with 1500 students, two thirds of whom were under the theology faculty. in 1710 some 500 were attending his dinner tables, many in the hope of securing board and lodging in exchange for work in one of the institution’s schools. for those with limited means, earning a scholarship was a way to meet the crippling cost of university education. it also offered a golden opportunity to develop professional skills—a passport to future employment. but none could advance unless they demonstrated the right motives. accordingly, a special seminar was established for those deemed spiritually fit to teach in the latin school or the paedagogium. committing to a multi-year year contract, those enrolled in the seminarium selectum praeceptorium worked under the supervision of the institution’s inspector, joined, it was hoped, through bonds of mutual admonition, in the perfection of the pedagogic skills necessary for the spiritualization of the child’s soul. theology and praxis close to arndt on original sin, francke’s anthropology cast human nature in a slightly different light to comenius. in his naturall philosophie (1651) comenius expands on the unique station of men and women within god’s creation. like other creatures we are composed of matter and animated by spirit. but god went further with mankind. breathing life into adam, he produced a more refined spirit, a rational soul with the power to understand the world and exercise free will. able to grasp the cause of events, we can know good and evil and choose between virtue and vice. certainly, comenius recognized the many emotions inherent in our animal nature—more intense and varied than any other creature—but he believed that human beings would always follow the dictates of reason. francke’s (1813) theory of the affections revealed the need for a more intense struggle with the passions. “a good man,” he quoted christ, “out of the treasure of his heart, bringeth forth good things; and an evil man out of the evil treasure, bringeth forth evil things.” what was this treasure “but those internal emotions which inform and actuate the human soul?” (p. 125). francke’s analysis identified three levels of emotions; appetites (shared with animals) necessary to meet basic needs, affections informed by intelligence that express human desires, and the higher feelings of a sanctified soul. the “carnal man” of the second tier was very different to the “spiritual man” of the third. guided by self-love, the unregenerate sought temporal pleasure and sensual gratification. by contrast those awakened by the holy spirit looked to the eternal and the glory of god. rejecting bodily desires, they enjoyed a life of peace and love in the face of worldly turmoil. killing the old adam was not an all or nothing affair; spiritual man had to do battle with carnal man every day. the inspired writers of the bible led the way. productive, daily engagement with scripture demanded prayer, meditation, and personal examination in the face of the almighty’s judgment (bayer, 2011). naturally, there would be earnest tears and pleas for guidance. “the reading of holy scripture,” francke (franke & strom, 2011) explained, had to “be carried out with loud prayer and sighing as well as with praise and thanks to god” (p. 377). this was the only way the holy spirit could enter the heart and cultivate the soul. it was through this “dear cross” of suffering that “we here become akin to his only born son.” we must “never neglect our selfexamination,” francke insisted, for it is “from the divine word we will learn to recognize properly the corruption of our heart” (p. 379). fortunately, the bible also provided the means to escape torment and experience the sweet joy of god’s redeeming grace. it abounded with passages to elevate the soul. all “thoughts of external affliction” could be remedied by pondering uplifting passages “devoutly in your heart” (p. 380). armed with a comprehensive knowledge of scripture—the who, what, and why of each circumstance—the priest could utilize this pedagogy of fear and love to engage the entire range of human affections. the subtle use of voice and gesture was also important. 23 the closer a person came to emulating the feelings of the inspired author, the greater its effect on their emotions. given the diversity of character, this demanded an intimate knowledge of the individual’s inner state. best achieved through confessional interrogation, checked by the careful observation, a person’s motives could then be compared with those of exemplary figures to promote imitation of the godly. given the notoriously riotous behavior of university students, the theology faculty at halle put great stress on the care of the soul. their standing in berlin, no less than the greater pietist mission, depended upon it. the discipline of the enclosed foundation provided constraints upon behavior, but more telling was the internal surveillance of the heart. to this end, students were directed to keep a diary chronicling their emotional struggles. writing was seen as an effective means to promote reflection; it also provided mentors a tool with which to explore inner motives and encourage progress toward conversion. sincerity was key. francke bemoaned those who would ape the emotions of the devout for personal gain. he also bristled at clever students who put human learning before the teachings of god. philosophy’s office was to be the handmaiden of theology. his greatest hope was that students would embrace the overarching goal of the seminar by observing, reporting, and encouraging one another in the mutual search for atonement. to steel them to their future task, he delivered weekly moral lectures on the mission of the early christians. titus and timothy were to be their example; the epistles of paul the guide to their pastoral duties (yoder, 2020). the foundation’s various institutions provided the essential spaces in which theology students could translate francke’s teachings into religious praxis. under the supervision of faculty and staff they would engage in the work of christian charity, providing spiritual edification as they attended to the needs of the poor and dependent. most important however, was the education of children. like comenius, francke compared the young mind to softened wax and counselled that the deepest impressions were made in early age. the overarching goal was to implant the central lessons of scripture as the basis of all learning and free the soul from the base impulses inherited from adam. but this natural willfulness could not be subdued by “severity and sharp discipline” as many puritan divines advocated— the rod would excite the very passions that had to be overcome! nor should the child be motivated by praise and shame. all rewards and punishments had to come from the almighty. relying on a “condescending christian meekness,” francke’s (1727) teacher was to wield the love and fear of god using “the most pathetick and sweet expressions” (p. 194). the joys of heaven were to be emphasized over the eternal pains of hell. in extreme cases, when physical correction was necessary, the offender would join with the master in an earnest prayer of forgiveness, while those that excelled would be told they were coming closer to the example of christ. gawthrop (2006) provides a vivid account of how this regimen of moral discipline pervaded every aspect of the foundation’s highly controlled environment. children were never be left to themselves. under the continuous eye of their masters every action became a measure of their soul. teachers even keep a register detailing each pupil’s background, temperament, and evolving frame of mind. those who lived within the compound were supervised day and night to ensure they didn’t engage in competitive sports, boisterous play, or read books that excited inappropriate passions. their leisure time had to be spent in cooperative, community-focused activities, such as helping in the gardens or workshops. as for the children who returned home after long hours of schooling, their behavior was monitored with the support of parents. francke repeatedly explained in his sermons that education must begin in the home (sattler, 1982). the pious family had to engage in daily prayer, devotional reading, and joint reflection on the text covered in the sunday service. the bible was to be read cover to cover 24 every two years; the lutheran catechism reviewed every four weeks. the same expectations structured life within the foundation. irrespective of the educational track, the school day began and ended with prayer and hymns. periods in-between were dedicated to study of the holy word. far from the recitation of memorized passages, children would be tested on the meaning of scripture and their ability to apply christian principles to the practical problems of life. they were even encouraged to pray in their own words (shantz, 2013). for those of the lower orders who attended the german school, francke confessed this comprised the bulk of their instruction, with additional time devoted to practical arts and the pupil’s future trade. throughout, emphasis was placed upon neighborly love so that all understood and embraced the part they were to play within the community. the latin school and the paedagogium had deeper and broader curriculums that prepared students from the burgher class for university, and those from elite and wealthy families for leadership roles in the military and government. here the twin goals of social service and individual piety were fused with christian wisdom. science played an important role. much as leibniz argued, the wonderous order and beauty of creation provided proof of god’s power and goodness. it also promised to reveal properties of nature that could be employed for the improvement of human life. no one doubted that the book of nature was in complete harmony with the revealed word. the complex economy of the world and the intricate adaptations of its innumerable parts bore the signature of god’s workmanship; a source of awe proudly displayed for its instructional purposes in the foundation’s famed museum of artifacts, objects, and animals collected from around the globe. god had gifted mankind rational powers to understand and govern the earth. but the mind had its limits. human wisdom could not be placed above that of the almighty. men and women might seek practical knowledge of nature but such discoveries had to comply with the larger truths contained in the bible. according to ann blair (2000), comenius’ reconciliation of sense, reason, and scripture provided the most influential statement of this christian philosophy. his sensebased curriculum also illuminates the pedagogic methods employed at halle. as whitmir (2015) shows, students at the latin school and the paedagogium were engaged in hands-on activities designed to teach the implicit order of the world and reveal how its inherent forces could be harnessed. these vivid experiences were designed to make deep impressions on the developing mind. practical activities were better than words; objects—such as the museum’s models of the rival planetary systems—were better than pictures. students even used the used the mathematical text written by the university’s popular and increasingly prominent rationalist philosopher christian wolff to guide the process of identifying causal powers through systematic measurement (whitmir (2015). the clash of faculties while philosophy remained subservient to theology, scientific study reinforced the religious goals of francke’s instructional project. the problem came when wolff turned his rational method on what the pietists viewed as the unique province of scripture, the shaping of mind and character. the result was an explosive epistemological dispute that resulted in wolff’s dismissal from halle, and a profound public debate over the proper relation of the academic faculties within the german university (howard, 2006). human reason could not be allowed to challenge the authority of the bible and the priority of faith. the now famous clash was ignited by his 1721 lecture to students and faculty—delivered as outgoing rector—on the practical value of confucianism (becker, 1991). drawing upon the writings of leibniz and various jesuit authors, wolff described how the chinese had developed a system of education designed to school the future leaders of a rationally ordered, virtuous, and happy society. although this did not conflict with the teachings of christianity, it did support his contention that scientifically informed experts 25 should shape social policy. this was pure heresy for the pietists. committed to the spiritual elevation of the soul, wolff’s secularism was received as an endorsement of atheism. far from learning from confucius, francke was insistent that christian missionaries be sent to offer the divine guidance and religious discipline necessary to raise the chinese from their carnal depravity (holloran, 2000). as for wolff, both he and his doctrines became the object of severe and bitter criticism. protected by the university’s rules of toleration, he battled against charges of determinism and the denial of god’s active agency in the world. he was also accused of corrupting the morals of students with materialistic doctrines; many of whom had fled theology for his more engaging classes. the jena theologian johann franz buddeus was recruited to assess wolff’s philosophical sins. but an official tribunal judged his conclusion—that rationalist doctrines might be dangerous to religion because they undermined the authority of divine law—insufficient to warrant wolff’s censure. at this point francke turned to politics. convincing the king of wolff’s threat to the state, frederick gave wolff just 48 hours to leave the country (holloran, 2000). wolff found a more accommodating position at the neighboring university of marburg where he continued to defend and popularize rational analysis. determined to protect the dominion of theology, the pietists increased their attacks on naturalistic explanations of morals. in their anthropology virtue flowed from the sentiments of the regenerated mind. reason had to show humility before god. naturally, philosophers and theologians across europe were drawn into the contest, including many who sought to reconcile the insights of the two camps. but the pietists did not relent. in 1727, as interest in wolff’s philosophy continued, frederick was persuaded to ban the sale and discussion of his works. he also ordered all theology students to matriculate under the pietist controlled faculties at halle or konigsberg (melton, 2003). francke’s dispute with wolff also had ramifications for the pupils in the foundation’s schools. according to whitmer (2015) the curriculum became increasingly biblio-centric. geography and history, for example, focused on the holy land and the key figures of the old testament. the same held true for the sciences. where earlier students had been encouraged to observe, examine, and form their own conjectures, the dangers of rationalism necessitated a more structured approach. how could the mere observation of events unlock the inner properties and complex order of the world? as arndt and his followers taught, nature had to be approached through a christian philosophy that explained the purpose of god’s workmanship. expanding upon comenius’ mosaic account of creation, buddeus’ presented an eclectic philosophy designed to provide a comprehensive christian understanding of life and the religious uses of natural knowledge—an ideal captured in the image of solomon’s temple, modeled within the museum, and the rivers of enlightenment that would flow from it (kelley, 2001; whitmer, 2015). conclusion the pietist ascendency at the university of halle was short lived. by the early 1730s most of its leading figures had followed francke to grave (died 1727). none that followed could match his reformist drive. pietism also lost standing with berlin, especially after the more cerebral and religiously skeptic fredrick ii succeeded his father to the throne in 1740. indeed, given the alignment of wolff’s rational paternalism with the goals of the absolute state, frederick, prussia’s “philosopher king,” convinced wolff to return to halle the following year claiming in a letter that it was now “up to the philosophers to be the preceptors of the universe and the tutors of its princes” (quoted in andrew, 2006, p. 70). but francke and his co-religionists at halle did leave an important intellectual deposit. their stress on biblical hermeneutics and the development of a personal relationship with god helped shape the course of theological thought through the century 26 (zimmermann, 2012). the role of language in the cultivation of the faculties also proved key. together with the writings of locke and other influential enlightenment thinkers, wolff’s views on the innate powers of the mind undercut the pietist vison of human depravity. yet for those schooled in pietistic theology, such as alexander gottlieb baumgarten, wolff’s narrow focus on calculating interests failed to capture the intense inner experiences generated by the affective faculties, most especially through the contemplation of poetry and the inspired verses of scripture. the true, the good, and the beautiful were not merely questions for intellectual intuition, they involved aesthetic appreciation. the development of the sentiments was as important as the development of reason for the virtuous life. meshing with similar arguments forwarded by english and scottish moralists, baumgarten’s synthesis contributed to a fundamental turn in german anthropology (grote, 2017). as witnessed in kant and herder, the pietistic project of overcoming of human corruption gave way to bildung, the full and harmonious cultivation of all the mind’s powers. francke also had a profound influence on educational practice. halle served as a model for königsberg’s collegium fridericianum (where kant studied and herder taught), johann hecker ’s institute and realschule in berlin, and numerous orphanages and schools throughout europe (melton, 2003). its graduates were instrumental in the transformation of the prussian military and the state bureaucracy. they also took francke’s message of biblically-informed christian praxis to communities across the land (gawthorp, 2006). as melton (2003) explains, pietism focus on voluntary action, industry, and community service met the monarchy’s principal need for social control without coercion—evolving, as the century progressed, into reforms aimed at the creation of an independent and disciplined workforce. drafted by hecker in the aftermath of the seven years’ war, frederick ii’s generalandschulreglement of 1763 looked to the pietistic schooling of the nation’s largely rural population in face of famine and economic distress. but with little financial support from the crown the law remained a dead letter; local authorities could or would not raise taxes for schools and teachers. it was not until the nineteenth century reforms initiated by wilhelm von humboldt that compulsory public education was finally established across prussia. while these famously promoted the goal of human bildung in the university and the gymnasium, elementary schooling for the children of agricultural and manufacturing workers inevitably turned to the century-long tradition of promoting practical or “positive christianity” through the kind of pietistic pedagogy pioneered by francke (schleunes, 1989). what i hope this paper shows is the origin of this hugely influential movement in the theocentric anthropology of spener and francke. their energetic crusade for the reformation of human nature through education gave birth to a powerful pedagogy of psychological control. it also formulated a profound new mission for teachers and clergy; the creation of a religious commonwealth dedicated to personal industry and neighborly love. while the vision of mankind’s fundamental character evolved under the influence of enlightenment thought, the nuanced cultivation of the mind’s faculties remained a potent political instrument, especially for the management of an inherently volatile population. references andreae, j. v. (1999). christianopolis. springer. antognazza, m. r. (2008). leibniz: an intellectual biography. cambridge university press. andrew, e. (2006). patrons of enlightenment. university of toronto press. arndt, j. true christianity. paulist press. 1979. bayer, o. (2011). “lutheran pietism, or "oratio, meditatio, tentatio" in august hermann francke. lutheran quarterly, 25(4), 383-397. becker, g. (1991). “pietism's confrontation with enlightenment rationalism: an examination of the relation between ascetic protestantism and 27 science.” journal for the scientific study of religion, 139-158. blair, a. (2000). “mosaic physics and the search for a pious natural philosophy in the late renaissance.” isis, 91(1), 32-58. clark, c. m. (2006). iron kingdom: the rise and downfall of prussia, 1600-1947. harvard university press. comenius, j. a. (1651). naturall philosophie reformed by divine light or, a synopsis of physicks. robert and william leybourn.antz). erb, p. c. (ed.). (1983). pietists: selected writings. paulist press. francke, a. h. (1727). pietas hallensis: or, an abstract of the marvellous foot-steps of divine providence attending the management and improvement of the orphan-house at glaucha, near halle. james davidson. francke, h. autobiography in erb, peter c., ed. pietists: selected writings. paulist press, 1983. francke, a. h., & strom, j. (2011). simple instruction, or how one should read holy scripture for one's true edification. lutheran quarterly, 25(4), 373-382. francke, a. h., (1813). a guide to the reading and study of the holy scriptures. d. jaques. gawthrop, r. l. (2006). pietism and the making of eighteenth-century prussia. cambridge university press. german silver coins. (2022). http://www.amason.net/hessen/thaler.htm grote, s. (2017). the emergence of modern aesthetic theory: religion and morality in enlightenment germany and scotland. cambridge university press. holloran, j. r. (2000). professors of enlightenment at the university of halle, 1690–1730. university of virginia. howard, t. a. (2006). protestant theology and the making of the modern german university. oxford university press. kelley, d. r. (2001). eclecticism and the history of ideas. journal of the history of ideas, 62(4), 577-592. melton, j. v. h. (2003). absolutism and the eighteenth-century origins of compulsory schooling in prussia and austria. cambridge university press. menck, p. (2009). august hermann francke: der große aufsatz. in hauptwerke der pädagogik (pp. 144-147). ferdinand schöningh. sattler, g. r. (1982). god’s glory, neighbor’s good. covenant press. sattler, g. r. (1989). nobler than the angels, lower than a worm: the pietist view of the individual in the writings of heinrich müller and august hermann francke. university press of america. schleunes, k. a. (1989). schooling and society: the politics of education in prussia and bavaria, 1750-1900. berg pub limited. shantz, d. h. (2013). an introduction to german pietism: protestant renewal at the dawn of modern europe. johns hopkins university press. stoeffler, f. e. (1965). the rise of evangelical pietism. netherlands: e. j. brill. spener, p. j. (1675/1964). pia desideria. fortress press. whitmer, k. j. (2009). “eclecticism and the technologies of discernment in pietist pedagogy.” journal of the history of ideas, 70(4), 545-567. whitmer, k. j. (2015). the halle orphanage as scientific community: observation, eclecticism, and pietism in the early enlightenment. university of chicago press. yoder, p. j. (2020). pietism and the sacraments: the life and theology of august hermann francke. penn state university press. zimmermann, j. (2012). recovering theological hermeneutics: an incarnational-trinitarian theory of interpretation. wipf and stock publishers. manuscript received, march 8, 2022 revision received, august 29, 2022 manuscript accepted, august 29, 2022 “nursery of revolution”: armand lanusse and the l’institution catholique des orphelins dans l’indigence, 1852-1868 petra munro hendry louisiana state university abstract the icon of the american educated citizen has traditionally been rooted in jeffersonian democracy, eventually taking shape in the northern, anglo-protestant, common school movement in which state-supported public education has been assumed to be the measure of democratic progress. alternatively this research engages curriculum history from a “transatlantic, multiracial, multicultural and multinational contact zone” in which franco-afro-creoles of louisiana of the antebellum period were active agents in constructing “public” education. this paper examines one afro-creole school, the société catholic pour l‟instruction des orphelins dans l‟indigence, and its principal armand lanusse, from 1852-1866, to illuminate how its curriculum sought to situate louisiana as part of the atlantic world that constituted enlightenment ideologies of the “public” in which the “educated citizen” emerged as a “subject” identity. this research draws on archival documents (archives of the archdiocese of new orleans, historic new orleans collection, howard-tilton memorial library, tulane university) to not only trace the transnational, hybrid nature of these educational innovations, but to articulate the unique philosophical assumptions which undergirded the curriculum. ultimately, this line of inquiry requires a reconsideration of the national narratives of american educational history that have been rooted in a northern, anglo-protestant, common school narrative of education. april 30, 1858 leonard santos esq. terrebonne, la dear friends, i think it a great pleasure of giving you an idea of the examinations that took place here a few days ago; for they were very beautiful…we read, made dictation, conjugated verbs, and made grammatical exercises. for the pieces of poetry, the school was so full of people that we could not get a place to sit down. the recitation began at three in the afternoon and finished at half past nine. there was a little girl that had two pieces she recited so well, that they threw two bouquets at her, and one cake to my friend isidore….. yours, leon dupart 1 fourteen-year leon dupart, a free person of color and student at the l’institution catholique des orphelins dans l’indigence in new orleans, composed this letter for his english composition teacher as part of his weekly class assignment. his letter reflects not only a deep sense of pride in his classmates‟ intellectual prowess, but suggests that community performances such as these were popular literary events designed to pay tribute to the emerging talents of young afro-creole poets, artists and scholars. for leon and his approximately 240 classmates, the school 23 provided a rich liberal arts education for both french and english speakers. although the school was under the auspices of the catholic church, children of all religions were admitted. 2 according to the prospectus, every child, both girls and boys, would receive a practical, moral and religious education, regardless of economic status or future profession. 3 the curriculum was designed to offer “invaluable advantage” to black children of the poorest classes who might only be able to attend a few months or at most a year. 4 and while there were strict state prohibitions against teaching slaves, the school‟s board of directors‟ meeting notes suggests that there was heated discussion regarding the possibility of educating the enslaved. 5 according to mary mitchell “the catholic institute was the cornerstone of the afro-creoles political work. one in which they developed a radical agenda aimed at attaining civil and political rights for people of color in the americas.” 6 oft maligned for its lack of education and democratic vision prior to the civil war, recent scholarship by caryn cossé bell, emily clark, and mary mitchell contests a deficit view of democratic education in louisiana by highlighting the role of a distinctive female catholic tradition, an afro-creole protest tradition, and the republican idealism of french and haitian intellectuals. 7 while these works focus on the political, religious, intellectual and social heritage of democratic thought, my interest lies in the area of education. specifically, my focus is on the l’institution catholique des orphelins dans l’indigence (also known as the catholic institute for indigent orphans, or institute catholique, or the couvent school), between the years 1852-1866, when armand lanusse (1812-1867), a free person of color, was the principal. with a cadre of afro-creole men and women teachers, lanusse developed a curriculum that challenged emerging theories of scientific racism that posited blacks as intellectually inferior. challenging these dominant stereotypes, the catholic institute worked within the severe restrictions placed on blacks in antebellum new orleans to not only establish a school that served as a “public” institution in order to provide an education to the largest number of black girls and boys, but established a rigorous curriculum in which students were to become activists in imagining what freedom and full citizenship in a democratic society based on human equality might look like. dubbed “the nursery of revolution” the catholic institute challenges prevailing narratives of curriculum history that privilege the origins of “public” education as the exclusive province of the massachusetts common school movement. the catholic institute also provides a unique space in which to examine a afro-creole curriculum that saw public education as critical to liberation and equality, and in which notions of “public” education challenged normative understandings of the relationship between citizenship, nation, and identity. 8 the teachers and students of the catholic institute were situated as neither free or slave, black or white, french or american, but in the in-between and hybrid spaces of identity; citizenship and equality were continually contested and in flux throughout the antebellum period. 9 drawing on the student letters of the boys written for their english composition class at the catholic institute, the minutes written by armand lanusse at the board of directors meetings and newspaper articles from the tribune and l’union written by the teachers and students, i examine in what ways a “curriculum of imagination” provided a critical space to re-imagine the “public” sphere as a site of freedom and moral equality. 24 ultimately, this line of inquiry requires a reconsideration of the narratives of curriculum history that have perpetuated a normalized northern, anglo-protestant, common school narrative of education. louisiana‟s educational history during the antebellum period contests not only the hegemony of the “common school” movement as the origins of “public” education, but also situates louisiana as part of a larger atlantic world (west africa, the caribbean, western europe and canada) that constituted enlightenment ideologies of the “public” in which the “educated citizen” emerged as a “subject” identity. these ideologies, according to paul gilroy, are specifically the result of a “black atlantic” culture in which people of african descent engaged in an intense cultural exchange and invention (or creolization) that transformed and expanded the meanings of democracy. 10 despite calls for a more “transatlantic” history, an african-franco-creole ideology as articulated by armand lanusse and the catholic institute remains obscured due to the normative framings of curriculum history which bernadette baker maintains are embedded in an “occidentalist preoccupation with a certain series of sociological transformations and categories that enable the social projects of modernity and nationalism to be named, to slide easily by as though obvious, uncontested and universally understood.” 11 situating the catholic institute, its teachers and students, as critical agents in articulating the role of “public” education in shaping a democratic society is essential in contesting dominant narratives of curriculum history. armand lanusse and an african-francocreole revolutionary education tradition a need for learning is being felt everywhere. we are beginning to understand that no matter what situation fate has placed us in, a good education is a shield against the spiteful and calumnious arrows shot at us. 12 the “shield” to which armand lanusse (1812-1867), a new orleans afro-creole free person of color, refers to is education. as editor of les cenelles, the first anthology of africanamerican literature published in the united states in 1845, he began the volume by declaring that a “good education” was the shield that would protect young men and women of color from the “spiteful” arrows of racial discrimination. while lanusse is perhaps best known for his literary work, this research seeks to situate his life and work as an educational activist and theorist whose work as a writer and poet, teacher and administrator, journalist, public intellectual and civil rights activist in nineteenth century louisiana embodied an afro-creole revolutionary education tradition. situated as neither free or slave, black or white, french or american, but in the in-between and hybrid spaces of identity, free people of color sought to assert, as edouard glissant maintains, an unique “creolized collective presence” in spite of the repressive binary (black/white) constructs of race imposed on them by americanization. 13 as part of a larger community of free persons of color whose afrofranco-creole-catholic traditions can be traced to the beginnings of the french colonial period, lanusse was part of an afro-creole protest tradition shaped by a multilingual, trans-cultural, transatlantic, process of creolization that was critical to his unique theorizing of the relationship between identity, education, freedom and citizenship. 14 while lanusse is well recognized as an afro-creole poet, his role as a leading educational activist in new orleans has been obscured. in fact, lanusse was part of a larger network of transnational intellectuals whose 25 political radicalism was, according to carolyn bell (1997), based in the egalitarianism of the age of democratic revolution, a catholic universalist ethic, and romantic philosophy that saw education as central to liberation. shaped by the ideals of the haitian and french revolutions, as well as the revolutionary fervor of radical french émigrés to new orleans, lanusse‟s vision of an egalitarian society came to fruition in a unique interracial intellectual tradition that saw “public” education as critical to humanization and the democratic ideals of equality. for lanusse, a “good education” was the shield that would protect young men and women from the “spiteful” discourses of racial discrimination. although public education had been established in new orleans in 1841, free people of color were barred from these schools even though their property taxes helped to fund them. this blatant exclusion from the public sphere fueled the activism of creoles of color who saw “public” rights as reflecting “an even deeper and more radical insistence on the moral equality of all human beings” than political or civic rights.” 15 while those who could afford to do so continued the long held tradition of sending their children to private schools, either religious or secular, or to france for an education, concern was for those children of color who did not have this advantage. lanusse and other creole leaders (both black and white) undertook a campaign to promote education. in fact, the 1840‟s (simultaneous with the introduction of publicly funded schools for whites only), marked a critical period of educational innovation for free children of color and enslaved children in new orleans including the st. claude school, sister of the holy family bayou road school, collège de la louisiane and the catholic institute, among others, that understood education not only as public, but as universal. armand lanusse, born in new orleans in 1812, unlike many other free men of color from louisiana, was not sent to paris to receive his education but most likely attended a small private school in the french quarter. under the tutelage of a private tutor, he would have been educated in the classics, french and latin, and introduced to the great french romantic writers, such as alexandre dumas, victor hugo (who set one of his novels during the haitian revolution), alphonse de lamartine (an advocate of universal suffrage), and pierre-jean de béranger (an advocate of social reform). this group of french romantic writers had an abiding faith in the ideals of the french revolution. no doubt these writers, among others, had a deep impact on lanusse as he imagined a society in which all men would be treated as full human beings. as a young man, in his early thirties, lanusse saw education as a means to not only maintain afro-creole french-speaking culture, in an era of increasing americanization, but as a means to counter the racial degradation implicit in the emerging plantation/slavery system. free people of color were determined to challenge the increasingly harsh nature of race relations through counter-spaces that signified the goals of democratic revolution. afro-creoles focused their activism on the development of schools. private schools, such as the sainte-barbe academy, founded by michel séligny, and the g. dorefeuille academy were interracial schools that flourished in the 1820‟s. the emergence of a class of educated persons of color, proficient in multiple languages, the classics, music, theatre, and drama challenged the increasingly insidious images of black inferiority perpetuated in the emerging constructs of “scientific racism.” by 1830 legislation was passed that made it a crime to write anything that might cause “discontent among free people of color or insubordination 26 among the slaves,” the penalty being life imprisonment at hard labor or death. 16 by 1855, free persons of color could not move about the streets without permission. many free people of color moved permanently to france, the west indies, mexico or haiti rather than endure continued persecution. 17 despite these setbacks, afro-creoles, like lanusse, redirected their activism to the establishment of literary and educational institutions through which they could contest images of racial inferiority. however, given the context of repression, this posed severe limitations for afro-creoles political activism. for lanusse, his writing did not directly address political issues (given that this was a crime). however, his own writing and publications sought to combat ignorance of racial prejudice by highlighting the contributions of creoles of color to the intellectual and cultural life of new orleans. in 1843, lanusse created an interracial literary journal, l’album littéraire, which published the works of both creoles and creoles of color. although only six issues were published, it was bold for its time and place. in it, lanusse published “un marriage de conscience” a story that criticized the practice of plaçage, a practice in which a young creole woman of color would be “placed” with a rich white man in exchange for financial security and support. this practice demeaned women as property (a parallel to slavery) often leaving them destitute. this critique of gender relations (as perhaps also mirroring race relations) was also a critique of the catholic church, which lanusse suggests closed their eyes to the practice. in les cenelles, he published a second poem critiquing plaçage entitled “epigram.” a mother of a young creole woman of color is in the confessional with the priest ready to be absolved of all her sins when she asks the priest “before grace sparks my soul, tell me i can … set up my daughter with a rich white man!” with these final lines the poem ends, the complicity of the priest a critique not only of the catholic church, but of institutionalized white (sexual) supremacy. 18 lanusse‟s critique of racist and sexist social relations clearly propelled him to activism in education. it is perhaps no coincidence that this literary outpouring of afro-creoles coincided with the establishment of publicly funded education (for whites) in new orleans in the 1840‟s given that free people of color were barred from these schools even though their property taxes helped to fund them. this inequity galvanized the afro-creole community, particularly armand lanusse, to support the formation of the l’institution catholique des orphelins dans l’indigence (also known as the catholic institute for indigent orphans). in 1837, madame marie couvent, a free woman of color in new orleans and devout catholic, had bequeathed to the catholic church the money necessary to provide a school for free black orphans in the faubourg marigny. 19 public officials opposed expanding educational opportunities for free people of color and discouraged the formation of the school. however, after ten years, father manehault, couvent‟s spiritual advisor and supervisor of her will, approached mr. francois la croix, a black philanthropist and slaveholder, as well as other prominent french-speaking free men of color for the purposes of carrying out the will of widow couvent. 20 these men formed the society known as the “catholic society for the instruction of indigent orphans” which was chartered in baton rouge in 1847. although the school was under the auspices of the catholic church, children of all religions were admitted. the catholic institute provides a unique space in which to examine lanusse‟s role as 27 principal in creating what some consider the first black “public” school in louisiana as well as the development of a bi-lingual curriculum in which students were to be active agents in imagining what a democratic society based on equality might look like. we are fortunate that student letters from the period 1858 to 1865, written as an english exercise, have survived. not only do they speak about the school, their classmates, the curriculum, and their principal armand lanusse, but the exercises in writing reflect the school‟s curriculum of imagination in which fictive letters provided students an opportunity to construct alternative identities and imagine worlds in which freedom was a reality. re-imagining citizenship: the transatlantic, imaginative spaces of freedom may 8 th , 1857 dear friend, i write you this short letter in order to let you know that i desire tolerance in this country. tell me what you think of mexico if i should be well there with my family. your devoted friend armand nicolas 21 fourteen-year old armand nicolas, writing to a fictive friend in pueblo, mexico, is trying to imagine what it might be like to emigrate and live in a country that is free of racial discrimination. although barely a teenager, it is obvious that he has experienced the increasing restrictions on free people of color that preceded the civil war. despite these racial prejudices, armand sees himself as clearly entitled to the full benefits of citizenship. his keen sense of social justice has been nurtured by the radical pedagogy of his principal and teachers that empowered these young men to envision their lives as active agents despite the harsh realities of racial oppression. the curriculum of imagination of the catholic institute was infused with a global, transatlantic sense of identity in which connections to france, haiti, cuba, and mexico, not only allowed them to conceptualize freedom, but also underscored a sense of global citizenship (as opposed to being a citizen of a nation) with those in other countries and their struggles for equality. for the students at the catholic institute, democratic revolution would require a radical re-imagining of the public sphere in which citizenship was conceptualized within the trans-atlantic, imaginative spaces of freedom. 22 for armand and his approximately 240 classmates, the school provided a rich liberal arts education including instruction in french and english (eventually they also offered spanish), grammar, composition, mathematics (arithmetic, algebra, and geometry), rhetoric, geography, catechism, history, logic, basic accounting and personal hygiene. 23 encouraged to engage their imaginations, students were given the space to imagine different futures and to envision themselves as active agents in shaping a society in which the ideals of democratic revolution and universal brotherhood would come to fruition. nowhere was this more apparent than in the imaginary letters students wrote. 24 several months earlier in november of 1856, armand had written to his imaginary friend in grand lake, la my mother is very well now, she is going off for marseilles, and then to paris to see her brother who lives in the city, and she will go and see your wife. i think in the course of the next month i will write you more than i do now because i have not 28 this month left my plantation. present my best to your wife, and all your family. your faithful friend, a. nicholas 25 the young men (ironically the young girls do not participate in this letter writing, and are in fact educated separately from the boys) write convincingly about their travels throughout the world, including visits to spain, france, mexico, haiti, as well as various cities throughout the united states including boston, st. louis, and cincinnati. they envision family members spread throughout the globe engaging in business ventures, leisure, travel and commerce. these assignments allowed the boys to imagine positions of wealth and authority that were denied them given the political situation in the south, including that of being a plantation owner. while these young men were encouraged to visualize the prospects of full citizenship with equal political rights, this also included the economic potential to participate in the slave economy. a few days later, on november 28, armand‟s classmate, william green wrote to his brother in monterez, mexico; you inform me that after you have settled in mexico (where you are making a good business) that you have the intention to leave for nicaragua where you expect to succeed. 26 in the 1850‟s, under the increasing racial repressions that preceded the war, the teachers of the catholic institute encouraged the students to forecast lives for themselves in places outside the united states, countries that might offer them freedom and equality. 27 it is clear in the letters that these migrations, and success in a foreign country, were dependent on being well educated and engaging in a profession. the curriculum of the catholic institute (which went from first to eighth grade) stressed the importance of trade as well as networking. most of the children were expected to enter an apprenticeship with an artisan or tradesman; most likely as a tailor, cigar maker, grocer or shoemaker, professions that had long been a monopoly of free people of color. william greene wrote in february of 1857 to his friend in grand lake, la. oh! what a prize it is to me who has a good hand, and more especially to one who is about to enter the commercial line. my intention is not to inhabit this country forever, a country that offers so little advantage as this. and i am about to prepare seriously to leave by studying, to bid an eternal adieu to my native home … 28 the boys made connections between marseilles, paris, mexico, and nicaragua, intertwining commerce with transatlantic relationships. mitchell has highlighted that the focus on emigration in the letter writing of the students did two very important things, “first, it strengthened the ideological and historical ties that existed between free blacks in the u.s. and other settlements of free blacks in the diaspora. second, the prospect of emigration created an ideological and geographic space in which free blacks could envision and articulate the kind of freedom they hoped to achieve in a society without slavery.” 29 what is remarkable about these letters is that given the focus on “freedom” little is said in regard to slavery. clearly, the legal prohibitions against seditious writings prompted the teachers to caution students to craft their letters carefully. 30 and given the fact that some free people of color were slave owners, it clearly 29 must have been a challenge for the young men to negotiate these tensions between “freedom” and “slavery,” as well as their own space in between. given these contradictory spaces, a curriculum of imagination becomes not only a powerful antidote to the increasing racial discrimination and injustices that these young men are experiencing, but situates the students as active agents in negotiating the complex terrain of race, identity, and power relations in which they are simultaneously privileged and oppressed. in these early letters, the boy‟s understanding of freedom is located within countries in which slavery has already been declared illegal (france, mexico and haiti). according to mary mitchell “the students at the catholic institution constructed their own moral geography; that is, they mapped their prospects about freedom, testing ideas about a future in other nations outside of their own.” 31 while we might read this migration as a form of “escape” from oppression, these letters envision a black atlantic community that transcended the boundaries of individual nations and, in the minds of the students, perhaps transcended racial oppression as well. this curriculum of imagination was one that the teachers of the institute hoped would ignite a revolutionary zeal among the students in which they would construct freedom for all people of color, uniting them in a transatlantic citizenship that extended beyond national boundaries. this transgression of the dominant discourses of “citizenship” as transnational was intimately related to the ways in which rights discourse was emerging in relation to conceptions of public and private. nowhere was this discussion more relevant than in relation to the catholic institute. re-imagining public education may 27, 1858 to s. armstrong, esq. attakapas, la. dear brother, the catholic institution, to which i belong has increased its prices two weeks ago and i will tell you the causes thereof. you know yourself, dear brother, that the prejudice against the colored population is very strong in this part of the country. the legislation used to give every year, for this establishment, fifteen hundred dollars; but this year, when they went to get it, they did not want to give anything at all, and they treated them very bad. then the direction (director) of this establishment had a session so as to see what could be done. they saw that they could not go any further. then they increased the contribution of every scholar, by a few cents. the pupils who have a father and mother, have to pay fifty cents a month, instead of twenty, those who have their mother only, have to pay half price. but the ones who are deprived of both, their father and mother needn’t to pay nothing at all. is this not too bad, my dear brother? the white people have an institution in every district, and they are all protected very well. but we, who have, but a single one, cannot be protected at all. your invariable friend, a. frilot 32 the sense of despair that a. frilot conveys in his letter reflects the increasing racial discrimination 30 being experienced by students at the institute. the tuition increase was just one more example of the worsening injustices against free people of color. several letters written during the week of may 27th, 1858 convey concerns about the impact of the increased tuition, including whether students will be forced to leave the school and the outrage of parents at rising costs. what made this financial burden all the more painful was that it brought home the favoritism shown to white children at black children‟s expense. a. frilot was quite cognizant of the fact that whites had schools that were paid for through public funding whereas, while free people of color paid taxes and received no educational assurances in return. the teachers had obviously not shielded the students from the racial discrimination inherent in the educational system. in fact, they were quite direct in relaying to the students the strategies and actions they engaged to protest this injustice. as young frilot conveys, the director, armand lanusse, confronted this injustice, and while unsuccessful, lanusse and his staff, provided the students with not only a specific incident of, and critique of social injustice, but conveyed a form of pedagogical activism in which they engaged directly in not only contesting injustice, but in re-defining and crafting meanings of the public sphere. 33 the status of the catholic institute, as either a “public” or “private” space has long been contested. while some have characterized it as “the most famous negro private school,” evidence suggests that the directors and the free colored community considered the school a “public” one. 34 donations and such sent to the catholic institution were often addressed to the “public school for indigent orphans of the third district” (l‟ecole publique des orphelins indigents du troiseme district). the school had received funds from the state legislature for several years. the directors justified their requests given that black property owners had to pay taxes for public schools without having access to them. directors of the school had managed to convince the state legislature and the new orleans city council to appropriate money to the school for the care of its indigent and orphaned pupils. 35 these grants may well have constituted the first governmental subsidy for black education in the south. 36 the school‟s board of directors also agreed to follow the disciplinary rules of the public schools. while the school remained under the auspices of the catholic church (which functioned as a form of protection), the institution admitted children of any religious denomination, french and english speaking students, rich and poor children, as well as boys and girls. at various times, there were heated discussions among the board of directors as to whether to give consideration to educating enslaved children, however, given the severe penalties for this, the directors of the school decided it would be best to let the slave owners be in charge of the education of their slaves. 37 while this was clearly a community without consensus, the directors, teachers and students were actively engaged in contesting dominant notions of what constituted the “public” by re-inscribing the term with their own understandings. first and foremost was their absolute right to complete participation in the “public” sphere as equals, especially as it pertained to education. expectations that the students would participate in constituting the public sphere were also clearly conveyed to students. student activism was not limited to the practices of a curriculum of imagination by writing letters within the confines of the schoolhouse. teachers at the catholic institute (including lannuse and paul trevigne), as well as the students, engaged in real world activism by writing editorials and 31 poems to the l’union, (after two years it became the tribune) the french-language bi-weekly newspaper founded in 1862 by afro-creole leaders. 38 cofounded with dr. louis charles roudanez , and his brother jean-baptiste roudanez,, and edited by jean-charles houzeau, a belgian activist, who passed for colored, the tribune published editorials, essays and literary works that set the civil war within the context of an ongoing age of revolution. 39 armand lanusse and other afro-creole writers drew once again on their radical literary traditions to address the possibilities and circumstances of the civil war and reconstruction, using the medium of the newspaper, to imagine with readers a nation of composite citizenry, an unprecedented united states. 40 on december 6, 1862, an article signed “a student of the catholic institute” (no doubt it would have been potentially dangerous to sign their name), criticizes an article in the l’abeille (the bee, another new orleans newspaper), for misrepresenting the actions of the school‟s director, armand lanusse, in regards to an incident in which the u.s. flag was supposedly torn apart at the school house. 41 the student‟s scathing critique of l’abeille suggests that the paper purposely misrepresented the incident in order to cast suspicion on the school. the student suggests that readers of newspapers must have a critical eye in order to “leave aside everything that is only there to tease partisan hatred.” in regards to the majority of readers, the students describes them as “those old geezers stuck in the groove of a routine and who for all their life have not missed reading the digest after sipping on a half cup of coffee, still believe blindly the news found in the papers; or maybe the pure-bred secessionist, the kind that does not exist in europe, that was engendered by the southern states‟ rebellion.” the curriculum of the school clearly resulted not only in critical readers of the news, but in students who were empowered to write in real world spaces to expose the social injustices they experienced. throughout the civil war, the teachers and students contributed poems, editorials and articles to new orleans newspapers in which they sought to articulate a vision of the “public” that was not merely rights based, but was revolutionary in imagining a transatlantic brotherhood in which citizenship transcended the nation by conceiving of an international brotherhood united by political and economic freedom. for armand lanusse and the students at the catholic institute, when the civil war broke out in 1861, they believed this would be the democratic revolution they had been waiting for. central to this revolution would be a society in which the human dignity of all persons would be signified in the public sphere through free, integrated schools. for lanusse, this goal was most clearly articulated in his writings in the tribune where he wrote on february 17, 1865 [segregated schools] perpetuate from childhood the infatuation of the white, and prompt the black to retaliate by enmity or envy, [and] … draws a line between the two elements of one and the same people, from the cradle itself up to the time of manhood and throughout life … 42 once again, a curriculum of imagination played a powerful role in envisioning a new america. poems, printed on the front pages of the tribune worked to create a vision of the nation based on the newly declared rights of all humans, against which actual events could be judged. for afro-creole activists, the civil war was far more than a struggle to preserve the 32 union, it was a necessary step toward the fulfillment of republican ideals. the editors wasted no time in setting out the goals of radical creoles: “we inaugurate today a new era in the south. we proclaim the declaration of independence as the basis of our platform … you who desire to establish true republicanism, democracy without shackles, gather around us.” 43 a few weeks later they wrote “a new sun, similar to that of 1789 … is on our horizon.” 44 the paper also carefully noted that when france had emancipated all remaining slaves in her possession in 1848 that they had also been granted universal male suffrage. the objective was clearachieving the full rights of citizenship for all african-americans in the united states. how this would be achieved was the task that lay before them. student letters to the newspaper reflect how the outbreak of the civil war challenged students in new ways to negotiate the meanings of freedom and citizenship. at the start of the war, their principal, armand lanusse and many other free people of color chose to support the confederacy. a student letter from april 1861 describes the large assembly held in the schoolyard at which lanusse, “a brave creole of our glorious louisiana,” roused creoles of color to enlist in the confederacy. lanusse was quoted as saying: so my dear friends, it is not for liberty that we are about to spill our blood in struggling; but our right and “our right we shall have or die on the fields of battle.” 45 invoking the language of rights to participate in the military, a “public” institution, lanusse‟s decision to initially join the confederacy suggests the complex, contextual and situated meanings of public rights. later lanusse joined the union, and in an 1866 editorial, wrote: our future is indissolubly bound up with that of the negro, and we have resolved …to rise or fall with them. we have no rights which we can reckon safe while the same are denied to the fieldhands on the sugar plantations. 46 the strategic political use of race distinguished the tribune writers as radical thinkers of the time. given that the prevailing theories of race were biological, to construct race as political or as the result of historical circumstances was radical. throughout the civil war, the teachers and students contributed poems, editorials and articles to new orleans newspapers in which they sought to articulate a vision of the “public” that was not merely rights based, but was revolutionary in imagining a transatlantic brotherhood in which citizenship transcended the nation. imagination, not just the rational discourse of rights, was seen as essential to creating a “public” in which the equality of all human beings would be honored. in conclusion shortly before his death in 1867, lanusse, while still principal, published a poem in l’union, and since among us the ills of slavery will cease, let us forget our suffering of yesterday; let us honor our martyrs and forgive the outrage. this is how a proud and free people avenges itself!! 47 while the ideal of complete freedom had yet to be reached, the activism of both the teachers and students of the catholic institute cannot be 33 underestimated. after the civil war, the former students and teachers were among the leaders in creating an integrated, public school system open to every child in new orleans. 48 the louisiana constitution of 1868 not only mandated the establishment of a state-funded system of public education, but it forbade segregation. according to caryn cossé bell, it was by far the most radical blueprint for change in the reconstruction south. 49 although, lanusse died in the year preceding the writing of the constitution, it embodied his vision of a truly “public” sphere that honored the dignity of all humans. for lanusse, civil or political rights could never bestow equality if unequal social relations in the public sphere, (like segregation) were sanctioned by the law. it was in the public sphere, not in individual civic or political rights, that the roots of true “brotherhood” took shape. for afrocreoles, the constitution of 1868 fulfilled this radical revolutionary vision. “public” integrated schools (the first in the nation) in new orleans lasted only through radical reconstruction giving way to the segregation that increasingly marked the “jim crow” south. however, the ideology of “public rights” as central to equality continued to inform a franco-afro-creole protest tradition that would become the impetus for “plessy vs. ferguson” and the modern civil rights era. while the national narratives of history have situated the origins of “public” education in a northern, anglo-protestant, common school narrative, the afro-franco-creole protest tradition of armand lanusse, and the catholic institute, disrupts that story by situating louisiana as part of a complex trans-national, atlantic world that developed “vernacular concepts of equality” which shaped understandings of “public education.” 50 armand lanusse theorized an afrofranco-creole protest tradition in which subjectivity was a process of creolization understood as an active, affirmative principle of cultural heterogeneity and innovation; 51 in which public practice as embedded in public education was critical to understanding what it means to be human; and in which social action was enacted through imagining a transnational citizenship that disrupted the nation state as the locus of identity. the contribution of armand lanusse and the catholic institute have remained unintelligible given the normative tropes of curriculum history that continue to be wedded to an angloprotestant-northern common school narrative. like the recent work of daniel tröhler, the deployment of curriculum history must interrogate the methodological roots that are at the base of anglo-american historical studies of the modern school; disrupt the borders and boundaries that constitute national studies of curriculum history; and historicize the “languages” of education that have naturalized a science of education that is devoid of history. 52 unleashing curriculum history from the tropes of monumental narratives, the nation-state, and the dominant languages of education will require a re-envisioning of curriculum history that takes seriously the contributions of an afro-creole educational protest tradition. 1 catholic indigent orphan asylum [couvent school]: student composition books, 18561863 ar/00635. archdiocese archives in new orleans, from now on aano. 2 higher studies for advanced pupils were also made available. clearly there was a differentiated curriculum in which students were grouped according to perceived ability with what was understood at the time as the appropriate curriculum. 3 classes operated on the basis of the pupil‟s aptitude and progress, and only at the turn of the century was the regular grade system adopted. in 1852 there were 165 students enrolled, the number of boys and girls being 34 equal. 1853 there were 240 students, 25% of the free children of color attending school in new orleans. 4 mary niall mitchell (2008). raising freedom’s child. new york: new york university press, 19. 5 donald devore and joseph logsdon suggest that a few of the teachers “dared to teach slaves to read and even to advocate racial equality” (pg 42). as the conditions became increasingly hostile for free people of color prior to the civil war, it became more and more difficult to challenge the unjust racial system. given that it was a crime to teach any slave to read, any efforts to teach the enslaved would have been covert. in d. devore & j. logsdon (1991). crescent city schools: public education in new orleans 1841-1991. university of southwestern louisiana: the center for louisiana studies. “the story of st. louis school of holy redeemer parish new orleans, la. formerly st. louis or the colored.” by roger baudier, november 1956, aano. 6 mary niall mitchell (2008). raising freedom’s child. new york: new york university press, 18. 7 caryn cossé bell (1997). revolution, romanticism, and the afro-creole protest tradition in louisiana 1718-1868. baton rouge: louisiana state university; emily clark (2007). masterless mistresses. chapel hill: the university of north carolina press; mary niall mitchell (2008). raising freedom’s child. new york: new york university press. 8 d. devore & j. logsdon (1991). crescent city schools: public education in new orleans 1841-1991. university of southwestern louisiana: the center for louisiana studies, 42. 9 the concept of the “public,” and specifically “public rights,” in defining citizenship, has recently been illuminated by rebecca scott in relation to an atlantic and caribbean worldview. specifically she highlights how “vernacular concepts of equality” in louisiana were the result of social networks that spanned place (africa, europe and the caribbean), historical events including the haitian and french revolution, as well as the constant flow of peoples throughout the atlantic who brought a “strong tradition of claiming equal rights for themselves.” see scott, r. j. (2007). the atlantic world and the road to plessy v. ferguson. the journal of american history, 727. 10 paul gilory (1988). the black atlantic. cambridge, ma: harvard university press. 11 bernadette baker (2009). new curriculum histories. rotterdam: sense publishers, pg. xi. 12 armand lanusse (ed.) (1845) les cenelles: a collection of poems by creole writers of the early nineteenth century. translated and with a preface by règine latortue and gleason r. w. adams. boston, massachusetts: g.k. hall & co. xxxvii. 13 glissant, e. (1989). caribbean discourse: selected essays. trans. j.m. dash. charlottesville, va: university press of virginia (original work published in 1981). 14 author, curriculum & pedagogy 15 rebecca scott (2005). degrees of freedom. cambridge: harvard university press, 45. 16 ibid, pg xi. 17 charles roussève (1937). the negro in louisiana. new orleans: the xavier university press, 48. 18 (fabre, 1998). 19 marie couvent was originally from west africa where she was enslaved as a child and sent to saint domingue. she escaped to new orleans during the haitian revolution and eventually married bernard couvent, a free black carpenter in the city. 20 this included, barthelemy rey, nelson fouche, emile brule, adolphe duhart, and armand lanusse. “a history of saint louis school of holy redeemer parish formerly known as catholic institute for indigent orphans founded april 20, 1847. sister mary 35 eugenius gallaher, sisters of the holy ghost (s.h.g.). (april 11, 1976), aano. 21 catholic indigent orphan asylum [couvent school]: student composition books, 18561863 ar/00635. archdiocese archives in new orleans, from now on aano. 22 the concept of the “public,” and specifically “public rights,” in defining citizenship, has recently been illuminated by rebecca scott in relation to an atlantic and caribbean worldview. specifically she highlights how “vernacular concepts of equality” in louisiana were the result of social networks that spanned place (africa, europe and the caribbean), historical events including the haitian and french revolution, as well as the constant flow of peoples throughout the atlantic who brought a “strong tradition of claiming equal rights for themselves.” see scott, r. j. (2007). the atlantic world and the road to plessy v. ferguson. the journal of american history, 727. 23 “history of the catholic indigent orphan institute” (dauphine and touro streets) published by the board of directors (1916), aano. roussève, charles (1937). the negro in louisiana. new orleans: xavier press, 43. 24 classes operated on the basis of the pupil‟s aptitude and progress, and only at the turn of the century was the regular grade system adopted. in 1852 there were 165 students enrolled, the number of boys and girls being equal. 1853 there were 240 students, 25% of the free children of color attending school in new orleans. 25 catholic indigent orphan asylum [couvent school]: student composition books, 18561863 ar/00635. aano. 26 ibid. 27 throughout the 1850‟s, the state legislature and city of new orleans increasingly erased the legal distinctions between slaves and free people of color. this included laws that forbade free people of color to own coffeeshops, billard halls where liquor was sold, and a city ordinance that outlawed the assembly of people of color, free or slave. see mitchell, 20. 28 catholic indigent orphan asylum [couvent school]: student composition books, 18561863 ar/00635. aano. 29 mary niall mitchell (2008). raising freedom’s child. new york: new york university press, 26. 30 an 1830 law prohibited anyone form teaching slaves to read or write under penalty of imprisonment. see caryn cossé bell (1997). revolution, romanticism, and the afro-creole protest tradition in louisiana 1718-1868. baton rouge: louisiana state university, 131. 31 mary niall mitchell (2008). raising freedom’s child. new york: new york university press, 16. 32 catholic indigent orphan asylum [couvent school]: student composition books, 18561863 ar/00635. aano. 33 the directors continued to press for funding, in 1862 representatives from the institute petitioned for financial aid from the bureau of education. the petition reminded the bureau “the colored population contribute also to the public school fund of this department, where from they derive no benefit whatsoever…” the school did receive $3000.00 to be expended under the supervision of the bureau of education and the superintendent of public schools. . “a history of saint louis school of holy redeemer parish formerly known as catholic institute for indigent orphans founded april 20, 1847. sister mary eugenius gallaher, sisters of the holy ghost (s.h.g.). (april 11, 1976), aano 34 the school is described as “private” by john blassingame (1973) black new orleans 1860-1880. chicago: the university of chicago press, 108. see mitchell, 18, for a discussion of the “public” nature of the catholic institute. 35 this was also a vehicle that had been used by the ursulines to secure monies from colonial 36 officials. see emily clark (2007). masterless mistresses. chapel hill: the university of north carolina press. 36 devore & logsdon, 42. 37 “the story of st. louis school of holy redeemer parish new orleans, la. formerly st. louis or the colored.” by roger baudier, november 1956, aano. 38 dr. louis charles roudanez and his brother jean-baptiste roudanez were the other cofounders. 39 see k. richard and author (in press). „we now think for ourselves, and we shall act for ourselves‟: the new orleans tribune as advocate for public, integrated education 1864-1870, history of education. also caryn cosse bell, 2. 40 caroline senter (2000). creole poets on the verge of nation. in s. kein (ed.), creole. baton rouge: louisiana state university press. 41 the incident referred to by the student was the refusal of lanusse, after the surrender of new orleans, to fly the union flag as ordered by general butler. lanusse had served during the civil war on the side of the confederacy. later he confessed to being misguided in this matter and publicly apologized. see armand lanusse (ed.) (1845) les cenelles: a collection of poems by creole writers of the early nineteenth century. translated and with a preface by règine latortue and gleason r. w. adams. boston, massachusetts: g.k. hall & co, xxv. eventually the catholic institute became an arsenal for the weapons of free black men fighting to defend the union and defeat the slaveholding south, see mitchell, 47. 42 new orleans tribune, february 17, 1865. quoted from james m. mcpherson (1965). the negro’s civil war. new york: vintage books, 289. 43 l‟union, september 27, 1862 as translated in james mcpherson, the negro’s civil war (new york, 1969), 276. 44 l‟union, october 18, 1862, ibid 45 catholic indigent orphan asylum [couvent school]: student composition books, 18561863 ar/00635. aano. 46 caroline senter (2000). creole poets on the verge of nation. in s. kein (ed.), creole. baton rouge: louisiana state university press, 283. 47 l‟union, december, 2 1866 48 devore & langsdon, 42. 49 bell, 1. 50 see rebecca scott (2007). public rights and private commerce: a nineteenth century atlantic creole itinerary. current anthropology, 48 (2). 237-256, for a further discussion of “vernacular concepts of equality.” 51 e. glissant (1989). carribbean discourse: selected essays. trans. j.m. dash. charlottesville, va: university press of virginia. 52 daniel tröhler (2011). languages of education. new york: routledge. problems of democracy textbooks of the 1920s: how well did they meet the mark? jessica zaker indiana university abstract in 1916, a new social studies course, problems of democracy, was introduced in the us to provide an integrated social sciences approach and to develop informed. this paper examines the extent to which textbooks published for this curriculum reflect the goals of and discourse surrounding the course. findings signify variations in the substance of these texts which ultimately indicates a disparity as to whether the purposes of the course were truly being met. introduction in 1916, the committee on social studies released a report recommending the reorganization of the secondary social studies curriculum in the united states. the committee—composed of professors, teachers, superintendents, and members of the us bureau of education—had been meeting intermittently for three years, developing preliminary reports, and conferring with representatives from organizations, such as the american historical association and the american political science association, to determine their recommendations. in their introduction, the committee stated that the goal of the social studies is to train the individual as a member of society, with the purpose of cultivating good citizenship, and that this should be done through the development of “an appreciation of the nature and laws of social life, a sense of the responsibility of the individual as a member of social groups, and the intelligence and the will to participate effectively in the promotion of the social well-being” (dunn, 1916, 9). the committee’s recommendations consisted of a general outline for grades seven through twelve which included a new course for grade twelve entitled “problems of democracy—social, economic, and political” (12). the problems of democracy (pod) course—having several other titles such as social problems and problems of american democracy—began to spread across the country. by 1926, twelve states had a pod course (brown 1926); by 1928, it was being offered in 890 high schools in 38 states and in 12,000 high schools across the country by 1934 (alilunas 1964). by the mid-1920s, pod was being offered in more schools than medieval, world, and english history (singleton 1980). several textbooks were published during this first decade of the course’s existence. this paper examines these textbooks to determine the extent to which they mirrored the purposes of the course as outlined in the 1916 report as well as the discourse that emerged regarding the course. in addition, this paper examines the ways in which the course and curricular materials may have reflected civic education ideals that are still prevalent today. in conducting this analysis, it is apparent that, while the authors of these texts aligned the purposes of their works with the aims expressed in the 1916 report, the contents of the textbooks demonstrate a level of variance in substance that suggests some of the texts not holding up to the means they articulate as their goals. the dawn of a new course: the 1916 committee report the 1916 committee report referred to the pod course as “the only feasible way… to satisfy in reasonable measure the demands of the several social sciences” (dunn 1916, 53). instead of having a separate course for each of these various social sciences areas—sociology, economics, and political science—secondary schools would be able to cover the concepts of these fields through one course. the report stated that the culminating course would have the purpose of providing “a more definite, comprehensive, and deeper knowledge of some of the vital problems of social life, and thus of securing a more intelligent and active citizenship” (52). in terms of what problems should be studied, the committee suggested potential change from year to year as they should be selected based on their immediate interest to the class and importance to society. the report provides several examples such as cost of living and immigration. for the field of political science, the committee suggested a study of the “legislative methods of congress and of state legislatures,” the “lack of uniformity in state legislation and its results,” and the “weakness of county government” (55). for sociology, the report notes problems related to “the social mind” and suggests the course “should afford opportunity for some consideration of such vital social institutions as the family and the church” (55). it was the committee’s judgment that history should not be the sole study of the secondary curriculum as it “has too little direct contribution to more intelligent participation in social life to justify a more continuous appearance” in the curriculum (cox 1922, 131). the restructuring of the secondary social studies curriculum came at a time when american educators were reacting to problems brought on by industrialization and immigration and hoping to build in the next generation of citizens a desire to serve the common good (evans 1989). world war i led educators to recognizing the importance of developing democratic citizenship and the study of modern problems as an avenue for doing so (alilunas 1964). this restructuring also served to bridge the gap between the longtime tradition of history education and the push for inclusion of other social science disciplines. reconstructionists and progressive educators of the time saw the need for the social sciences to have a place within the social studies curriculum (singleton 1980) and felt this should be done by shifting the focus from a transfer of 2 information about the structure and function of government to a development of informed citizens with skills and information for understanding social problems and affecting social reform (makler 2004). this was a clear attempt to move away from the disciplinary orientation, focused on socialization into discipline specific ways of thinking, to the progressive orientation which focuses instead on the application of knowledge to real-world problems (fallace 2017). perceptions of the problems of democracy course at the inception of the pod course, educators shared perspectives regarding the purpose and design of the course which reflected the purposes outlined by the 1916 report. hughes (1924) felt the course should broaden students’ sympathy of human needs and interpret the world in which they live. finney (1924) believed that the purpose should be to explain the fundamental social institutions so that young people may understand more clearly how they may contribute to the general welfare of society. dawson (1923) argued that the public secondary school had “no right, from a social standpoint, to send young men and women into the world lacking specific training in the problems of american democracy—the problems whose solutions will soon be in their hands” (407). perceptions regarding flaws in the course also found their way into the overall discourse. although finney (1924) supported the course’s existence, he noted that the course should not focus on the ills of society as doing so “has a certain morbid effect on the minds of young persons” (527). opponents of the issue-centered approach saw the course as too general and unorganized, resulting in a hodgepodge of topics (evans 1989). arguments regarding the overlap with american history and civics courses also permeated the conversation with some suggesting that the course should be eliminated or combined with existing history or civics courses. some who acknowledged this overlap still saw the separate course as desirable as it would allow for more indepth study of the problems to which students were introduced in their history and civics courses (dahl 1925, 1928; floyd 1932). many of the teachers who found themselves teaching this new course in the early years had no formal training outside of the field of history (ammarell 1932); were given no clear directions or training as to how to achieve the goals set by the new curriculum (davenport 1939; singleton 1975); and were hesitant to adopt new means of organization (evans 1989). the need for more structure and support may have been alleviated as textbooks began to be published and utilized at the beginning of the 1920s. although teacher journals, such as historical outlook, feature articles highlighting teacher’s approaches to the course, these instances are sparse and are not generalizable evidence for what teachers and students were studying. 57% of teachers reported using the textbooks and their ancillary materials in their classroom practice (davenport 1939). while these texts may not fully capture what was occurring in pod classrooms, they can provide a glimpse into how teachers, especially those who did not feel prepared to tackle the various social science fields, attempted to meet the goals of the official curriculum. the textbooks: how well did they meet the mark? four textbooks (see table 1) were analyzed to determine the extent to which they met the intended purposes of the course as outlined by the 1916 report and reflected the discourse surrounding the course. as one of the major purposes was to develop an informed citizenry, this paper also explores what ideas regarding citizenship education may have been reflected in these materials. all four of these texts were published within the first decade of the course’s development and were reported as being used in pod courses across the country (brooks 1937; floyd 1932). table 1 textbook information title author(s) publication problems of american democracy: political, economic, social henry reed burch fellow in economics, university of pennsylvania, head of department of history and commerce, west philadelphia high school for boys s. howard patterson wharton school of finance and commerce, university of pennsylvania 1922 the macmillan company everyday problems of american democracy john t. greenan department of social sciences, east orange high school, east orange, new jersey albert b. meredith 1924 houghton mifflin company 4 commissioner of education for connecticut problems of american democracy ray osgood hughes peabody high school, pittsburgh/ 1922 allyn and bacon problems in american democracy thames ross williamson assistant professor of economics and sociology, smith college 1922 d. c. heath & co. in analyzing these texts, all forewords, prefaces, and other introductory sections as well as the table of contents were examined. several problems addressed in all four texts were chosen for further analysis. the sections covering these problems were examined, with special attention given to section headings and subheadings, images included, and ancillary materials, such as questions for review or discussion as well as ideas for extensions of the text study. from this analysis, several commonalities and differences became apparent regarding the purposes, content, and intended pedagogical approaches of these works. although there are some differences in formatting, the four texts all clearly acknowledge the intended purposes of the pod course. major differences are apparent across the texts, as the materials differ greatly in their content coverage, ancillary materials, and intended pedagogical approaches. this signifies a variation in the kind of learning that would have been occurring in classrooms based on the text used and ultimately indicates a disparity as to whether the purposes of the course were truly being met. the remainder of this section highlights these aspects with examples from the texts. purposes: citizenship and integrated study at the core three of the four texts explicitly refer to the purpose of developing an informed citizenry and how the directed study of problems would help achieve such a purpose. in his foreword, hughes (1922) asserts that good citizenship calls for an understanding of the great problems our democracy faces. he states that the good citizen “does not expect to be an expert at solving every problem; but he at least may know that certain important problems exist and he may establish sound principles on which to base his thinking with reference to them” (iii). moreover, he acknowledges that this forming of sound principles would establish the “basis of fair and intelligent opinion” and that “there cannot be in the making of good citizens any undertaking more important than this” (iv). williamson (1922) notes that it is an obligation of the school to prepare students to grapple with these problems intelligently and that, if the school fails to do so, the student “can only partially fulfill the obligations of citizenship” (viii). greenan and meredith (1924) address this in a preface to teachers, stating that training in dealing with these problems will “make of the pupil a more active and intelligent citizen” (viii). in a preface to students, which they have titled “a word to young citizens,” the authors emphasize to their young readers the importance of solving problems to assist in the greatness of the nation, and that studying these problems will better prepare them to assume the responsibilities of citizenship (xii). these utterances demonstrate the authors’ attempts to hold true to the purpose of developing good citizenship as outlined by the 1916 committee report. in their introductory sections, burch and patterson (1922) do not explicitly mention citizenship, citizenry, or citizen nor associate any values in terms of what long-term goals exist in having students study this text. however, the authors seem to focus their intent on the integrated study of the social sciences. they state their text is an attempt to “acquaint the student with the bold outlines of the political, economic, and social development of american institutions” with the goal to stress “certain fundamental characteristics of our own civilization” while also preserving a “proper balance” between the political, economic, and social factors of american life (vii). as the course was introduced to incorporate the various social science fields, the authors were attempting to make it known that their works would serve as an embodiment of this blended study. in fact, the first line of burch and patterson’s preface pays homage to the “gradual crystallization of educational thought” that had developed in favor of a general study of the social sciences of which their “book owes its origin” (vii). hughes notes that government exists to help solve social and economic problems. williamson asserts that his work answered the increasing demand for practical training for those who “soon must grapple with the economic, social, and political problems of our own time” (vii). greenan and meredith state that the purpose of their text is to overcome the difficulty that has existed due to the lack of an appropriate text for teaching these problems. the authors provide reasoning to support why their texts should be considered necessary, suiting the needs of a growing movement that had not yet been equipped with the materials needed to achieve its goals. organization: an attempt to reflect purposes the authors seem to have organized their texts with the purpose of an integrated study in mind, addressing the various fields of social sciences and the particular economic, social, and political aspects of the problems they cover. however, in their organizational decisions, there is variance 5 in terms of how this integrated study is achieved. some of the texts have the explored problems separated into distinct sections of the particular social science fields while others have blurred the lines, with problems explored via the lenses of the social sciences fields more holistically. for example, the williamson text is organized into five distinct parts that indicate the separation of the different social science fields: foundations of american democracy, american economic problems, american social problems, american political problems, and the mechanism of government. the greenan and meredith text follows a similar format, with a separate section for political, social, and economic problems. burch and patterson state that their selected topics have been treated as “unified problems discussed from the standpoint of general social development, rather than subdivided into a series of separate, air-tight compartments” for the different social science areas (vii). the authors acknowledge that this text was created directly for this course, as they had also published what they refer to as companion books entitled american economic life and american social problems. they state that this volume serves as a combined treatment of the three elements to “meet the needs of those institutions in which opportunity is lacking for a detailed treatment of the social sciences individually” (vii). the book has forty chapters that examine a variety of topics, including: the evolution of the state; problems of the city; the american race problem; problems of organized labor; and the problem of poverty. while this clearly demonstrates that the text includes coverage of problems through various social science lenses, the lack of section headings could leave the reader—whether a student in a class or a novice teacher unsure of what to do for this course— without an understanding as to how these problems relate or have larger consequences. hughes’s text is the most complex and detailed in its organization, with sections based on overarching themes, such as foundations; making america intelligent; elevating american standards; and making america prosperous. within each section falls several subsections and then chapters that outline more specific topics. for example, under making america prosperous, the authors have subsections such as: cooperating in production; distributing the returns fairly; promoting the public good through business; safeguarding the workers; and using wisely the gifts of nature. each of the subsections are even further parsed out into chapters that are more specific in their focus. although the section focuses on economic problems, there is a clear consideration and inclusion of the social, political, and even environmental issues related to the economic pursuit of prosperity. this more woven approach allows for a more blended study, potentially instilling in students that these social sciences fields are not mutually exclusive, that issues can be interrogated with knowledge from the various social sciences, and—possibly most importantly—that these lenses must all be considered for such problems to be solved. the organization within chapters also reflects the authors’ intentions. hughes notes that topics are presented first by stating conditions related to the problem, then discussing the reasons for these conditions, and lastly by deciding what ought to be done about them. williamson employs a causal relationship both to the substance of the problems as well as to the order of his text. he notes that each problem discussion begins with the essential nature of the problem, then focuses on the fundamental principles which affect its solution. burch and patterson do not explicitly explain their organizational decisions, but their text follows suit with this format, with each of their chapters being broken into smaller sections of text. greenan and meredith employ a different organization to their content. each of their chapters center on a particular problem. for each of these stated problems, a single question is asked and serves as the focus of the chapter. for example, under “taxation and distribution of wealth,” the authors ask, “should the government prevent great extreme of wealth and poverty by means of income and inheritance taxes?” (xvii). the inclusion of these guiding questions seems to frame the problems in a specific context with a particular goal in mind: finding a solution. content: an issue of scope and sequence the texts cover many of the same topics, including crime; race; immigration; production; industry; taxation; labor; the family; religion; socialism; conservation; the structure of the government; rural life; preventing disease; and community planning. however, the extent to which the texts spend on each topic varies. greenan and meredith’s text allots roughly ten to fifteen pages for each problem discussed. burch and patterson allot an average of ten pages for each chapter. hughes spends roughly 40 pages on a section entitled “promoting right relations among men.” in this section, he covers the prevention of crime, the treatment of the foreigner, and relations between races. williamson, on the other hand, gives roughly 20 pages to the same topics and simplifies them. he notes in his foreword that his text aims to supply the basic facts and fundamental principles needed to discuss the included problems; this is evident not only in the length of sections but also the nature of the text itself. the subsections are short, with roughly a paragraph or two for each subheading, and many of the review questions are meant for recall of the facts provided. another goal outlined by the restructuring of the secondary social studies curriculum was to move away from a focus solely on facts and details of a historical nature; however, the brief coverage of topics for some of these texts indicates a continued focus on facts and not an in-depth exploration of the issues covered. the ways in which the authors situate and discuss issues is also quite different. hughes’s coverage of crime falls within the section entitled “promoting right relations among men.” within this section, he covers the topics of “restraining wrong-doers,” “the treatment of the foreigner,” and “the color line.” within these subsections, 6 he includes coverage of such topics as “why people do wrong,” “why the foreigner comes,” and “why is there a negro problem?” williamson’s section which could be considered the coverage of race relations is simply called “the negro” and is roughly 20 pages in length. burch and patterson have similar headings to that of hughes, with chapters entitled, “americans—old and new,” “the american race problem,” and “the problem of crime.” however, in the latter, their focus in the section entitled “causes of crime” associates particular racial groups with crime, creating a biased interpretation. this is even apparent in the questions they include in this section, such as “what racial groups are conspicuous?” (477). while this language is representative of the societal context of the time, as perceptions and treatment of immigrants in the u.s. during the 1920s was quite negative, the biased nature of the text demonstrates a lack of objective coverage of societal problems and the push of particular ideologies. hughes’s text acknowledges the ideologies that established such racial issues in america, yet presents this as the problem, not the cause; the section following that entitled “why is there a negro problem?” is entitled “the black man’s progress.” depending on which text a student may be given, the way in which they may view the issues of immigration and race would be quite different and therefore problematic. in terms of the order of topics, williamson outlines the decision to begin with a brief historical background of american democracy before moving into a survey of the economic life of the nation as this “constitutes the fundamental basis of our problems” (vii). he then states certain problems—such as industrial relations, health in industry, and immigration—are next considered as they come from bad economic situations. this then leads into economic and social functions of government to determine what makes government effective. williamson ends his brief outline by stating that the mechanism of government is placed last because knowledge of the framework of government “is valuable only after the citizen knows something of the needs which that mechanism must be made to fill” (viii). hughes argues that the pod course “will then not be mere repetition, but will lead to the possession of a wider outlook upon the problems” (iv). it seems the authors were aware of the criticism that the course may be seen as overlapping with history and civics courses, and therefore made a point to draw attention to how their works would expand on or differentiate from that of the other social studies courses. however, there is clear evidence that the overlap with history and civics content is present, and more so in some texts than others. williamson is the most demonstrative of this fault, as almost two hundred of the five hundred pages of his textbook is allotted to sections discussing the foundations of democracy and mechanisms of government. williamson’s text does not focus as much on providing current information as it does historical content for discussion of problems. for example, within the discussion of crime and correction, williamson covers the history behind law and justice, tracing the principles of the magna carta and spread of ideas to america via the english colonists. burch and patterson’s text also seems to focus on a historical progression, with sections covering topics such as the evolution of the state; the organization of the political machinery; and the growth of cities. these sections not only fail to counter the criticism of the course’s overlap but also fail to incorporate the integrated approach desired by the adoption of the course. pedagogical approach: different degrees of learning all four texts include particular resources for each section or chapter. these include review and/or discussion questions; supplemental, reference, or required readings; and research questions and topics for further study. as the course was meant to provide students opportunities to study these problems in-depth, it makes sense for there to be ancillary materials included for both teacher and student use. this also indicates the pedagogical approach expected to be taken: students will engage in exploration of a problem, be able to demonstrate their understanding by answering questions, and potentially explore problems further via independent study and/or extension activities. however, the substance of these ancillary materials illustrates the kind of learning being provided for students and the pedagogical approaches suggested for teachers. two of the texts follow what would be considered a more traditional approach; this is apparent in both their structure and the ancillary materials. both the burch and patterson text and the williamson text provide brief textual sections followed by questions meant for recall of the information provided. for example, the questions included in williamson’s section on crime and correction include: “what is a crime? summarize the remedies of crime. what is the function of the probation system?” (203). while these are questions related to the problem at hand, they do not ask the student to extend outside of the textual information provided in the section of the textbook. burch and patterson’s section on crime included similar questions intended for recall purposes. moreover, the questions provided for additional required readings also are of a recall nature, including: “what are the first steps in a criminal action? what is an indictment?” (204). these questions do not allow for the students to consider the purposes behind the correction system nor they do require the students to truly evaluate the nature of a problem nor determine potential remedies. burch and patterson’s text includes some questions that ask students to examine causal relationships, such as “show how defects in government and political corruption increase crime” (477). however, as exhibited in the williamson text as well, the number of questions that serve the purposes of recall and definition strongly outweighs that of questions for deeper exploration, evaluation, or discussion. the structures of the other two texts indicate the potential for more intricate and purposeful study. greenan and meredith utilize a case method approach of teaching in 7 their text format by focusing each chapter on a particular issue and centering it around a question for exploration. these focus questions are deliberative in nature, usually phrased in a way that indicates students could take a side in their response; most questions begin with terms such as “should,” “shall,” or “can.” following the posed question, each chapter includes background information and separate sections providing support for the opposing stances for the question. some of the guiding questions are more direct in their purpose. for example, for the chapter entitled “city government,” the question is “is the commission plan the best form of government for all american cities?” (40). for a chapter entitled, “the liquor question,” the guiding question is, “shall we modify our prohibition laws so as to legalize the sale of light wines and beer?” (249). not only are these questions written in a way that indicates a goal of taking a stance, they are also clearly indicative of relevant policy issues of the time; several chapters discuss specific policies and organizations. for example, the chapter on transportation asks students to consider the adoption of the plumb plan of government ownership of interstate railroads. other questions employ more of an ethical or moral approach to societal issues. this is evident in chapters such as that entitled “political parties and elections” where the focus question is “do political parties result in more harm than good?” and “the importance of the family and the church,” with the question, “is the american family life more wholesome than at any previous time in the history of our country?” while these guiding questions can be answered with a yes or no response, the content of the chapters is meant to arouse particular support for whichever answer students choose. this is indicative of a learning objective whereby students arrive at informed opinions, which directly mirrors that of the 1916 report’s goal of developing an informed citizenry. at first glance, the hughes text seems to indicate a more traditional approach in line with that of burch and patterson and williamson. however, the layout he employs demonstrates a more complex approach and one more in line with that of greenan and meredith. while the chapters include a more traditional structure of informative text under various subheadings, hughes has embedded the review and discussion questions into the text, breaking up the sections of informative text. moreover, many of the questions directly acknowledge the reader in their phrasing. these structural decisions create a more conversational tone and elicit the reader’s stances on issues, which aligns hughes’s text more with the approach of greenan and meredith. not only does the embedded nature of the questions indicate the potential for this more conversational approach, the questions themselves also point to the potential for discussion and deliberation. for example, the section discussing immigration includes questions such as: “should we expect the immigrant to give as much to america as america gives him? would you advise sending back to europe all aliens still unnaturalized after being in this country ten years? are immigration laws likely to form a party issue here? should they?” (133-135). a teacher utilizing this text even in direct instruction would be poised to stop and ask the questions to the class, allowing for students’ opinions to be expressed and, potentially, for a more in-depth discussion or even deliberation to occur. examining a problem: analyzing content for adequate substance to more fully examine the substance of these texts, their coverage of the topic of education was analyzed. the following aspects were considered in this analysis: 1) to what extent does the text provide an in-depth and integrated exploration of the problem? 2) what do the ancillary questions require of the students? are they asking students to simply recite information from the text or use the information for applicable and evaluative means? hughes’s examines education within a section entitled “making america intelligent,” which houses the subsections, “providing education through public support” and “promoting education through private enterprise.” under these umbrella topics are even more specific aspects for the discussion of the problem, including: “what is education,” “why we need public schools,” “how schools are supported,” and “are private schools desirable?” although it seems helpful to have the sections so clearly broken down, each aspect of the subsections is given roughly two pages of coverage. while at first this may seem like inadequate coverage, hughes seems to meet his intentions of providing a wider overview of the problem over an in-depth historical study. the section also includes a variety of sources such as images and charts to be included in the study. one such image is a chart from oakland school district, demonstrating the national spending put towards education versus other things, such as “sundaes, sodas, and drinking fountain delights,” lotions and other cosmetic products. the chart also expresses that oakland schools use less than two-fifths of the city’s taxes. the caption included by hughes states, “how one city appealed for public support for its schools. the facts given in this appeal are worth careful consideration” (37). concluding a section entitled, “what shall we teach?”, hughes asks the following questions: “should a commercial student take only commercial subjects? is there any cultural value in typewriting and shorthand? what particular values are offered by the various subjects usually available in the high school?” (43). for discussion of public versus private schools, hughes includes the question, “what kinds of people would probably provide for their children’s education if there were no public schools?” (26). coverage of state school systems is followed by the questions, “what do you think of the idea of having the same textbook in all the schools of a state? is there any advantage in having the states control the granting of teachers’ certificates?” (31). the 8 conclusion of the section has the following questions: “can you think of other educational factors than those mentioned in this chapter? has a person the moral right to neglect any reasonable opportunity for self-employment?” (67). prior to the list of special studies and reference readings for further study, the section ends with a notice in bold font: there are few cases of really excusable ignorance in the united states. if a person honestly yearns for learning and enlightenment, he has many opportunities to obtain it. if america is not made intelligent, it will be the fault of her citizens themselves. (67) the topics covered in hughes’s text reflect an integration of economic, social, and political study and are supported with questions that require application and evaluation of realworld substance rather than simply recall. questions of moral or ethical nature are present in hughes’s text as well, as evidenced by questions like, “does one have a right to be ignorant if he wishes? who are worse, the ignorant or the prejudiced? will an intelligent democracy make mistakes? (24). there seems to be an implicit message being communicated regarding the importance of education and both the structure and substance of the text allows for students to examine an array of issues revolving education. greenan and meredith’s chapter on education centers on the following question: “shall we establish a national department of education with a secretary a member of the president’s cabinet?” (xv). the chapter begins with a section entitled “the importance of education” which includes topics such as the aims of public education, the necessity of public education, raising school funds, and federal appropriations for education. the remainder of this section highlights evidence, offering specific statistical data as well as possible solutions, to support the opposing sides of the problem stated in the focus question. the review questions posed for the section include: “to what extent does education determine the future earning capacity of an individual? prove that a poor educational system in one state is a menace to the whole nation. where is the money obtained to support education? give five arguments for and five against the towner-sterling bill” (110). while the structure of the greenan and meredith text allows for students to examine a particular question related to the problem—utilizing the case method they expressed as their focus in their introduction—the review questions seem to serve a variety of purposes. some of the questions are more recall-oriented while others are evaluative. nonetheless, the chapter presents modern information related to education with the hopes that students can determine an answer to the outlined focus question. moreover, the subtopics and discussion around the question require the student to consider social, economic, and political evidence to support their reasoning, helping to build an integrated approach to answering the problem at hand. williamson’s section on education includes subtopics such as: the meaning of education, development of education in the united states, financing the schools, and education and social progress. while at first glance, these topics seem to align with those of the previous two texts; however, the extent to which the topics cover modern issues, statistical data, and depth of questions is scant. the questions in this section include: “trace briefly the development of education in this country. what problem arises in connection with financing the schools? discuss the purpose of vocational education” (264). these questions can be answered by study and recitation of the textual information. burch and patterson follow a similar mold, focusing on topics such as the development of the national school systems, which provides a thorough coverage of the history of the development in europe and the united states as well as the scientific movement, the development of vocational training and industrial education. the section lacks statistical information, modern examples, or sources for deeper study. the “questions for discussion” section at the conclusion of the chapter includes questions like, “discuss education in colonial america” and “discuss the industrial education and the continuation schools of germany” (557-558). the topics and the questions that follow do not require the students to evaluate their own educational systems nor consider modern problems associated with education. discussion the four texts analyzed in this study exhibited some similarities that are imperative to note. the authors of these texts used explicit language that reflected the purposes outlined in the 1916 report, organized their texts to address the various social sciences, and covered what could be considered the issues or problems that were reflective of and reflected in society at the time of their publication. however, the variances noted in this analysis regarding the substance and approaches of these texts are critical and provide a different picture. the kind of learning that was occurring in a pod classroom, and the extent to which the goals of the 1916 report were being met, may have greatly depended on and differed by what textbook the teacher may have been using. the texts written by hughes and greenan and meredith seem to adequately provide students with information that connects to the social science fields, ask questions that will illuminate the problems related to the topics at hand, and employ pedagogical approaches that allow for more in-depth exploration, discussion, and even deliberation. however, the texts written by williamson and burch and patterson provide more straightforward, traditional approaches to the study of included problems and ask students questions that mostly focus on recalling information and defining terms. these texts also fall in line with some of the major critiques of the course, as they have overt overlaps with history and civics content. another important consideration that is illuminated from these findings is what kind of citizen was being 9 developed via the texts examined. the textbooks can be considered as falling in various places along westheimer and kahne’s (2004) typology of the three types of citizens: the personally responsible, participatory, and justice-oriented citizen. while the textbooks were published roughly 80 years prior to the development of this typology, the approach to citizenship education present mostly aligns with developing personally responsible and participatory citizens. the greenan and meredith text, with questions of moral and ethical nature, could be seen as teetering into developing the justice-oriented citizen. the hughes text is the most progressive in this realm, not only by including moral and ethical questions but also by touching on topics that could be considered justice-oriented, such as having students examine inequities in societal systems. these latter two texts also could be considered falling closer along the lines of what parker (2001) refers to as enlightened political engagement. his typology of curricular approaches to democratic citizenship education extends from transmission to participatory and from noncritical to critical. the williamson and burch and patterson texts fall closer on the spectrum to transmission while greenan and meredith and hughes could be considered more participatory and critical. if the goal of the pod course was to prepare future citizens who will tackle the problems of tomorrow, it could be argued that the goal was not fully met, as the development of different kinds of citizens, with different approaches for tackling said problems, was the outcome. while the textbooks discussed in this paper all claimed to meet the needs of the course—by illuminating the problems related to social, economic, and political aspects of life, for the sake of preparing informed citizens who would be the members of society solving them in the future —the texts varied in scope, sequence, and substance. the findings of this analysis are not only revealing of the potential learning that occurred over a century ago but also the importance of aligning curricular goals and materials. the bridge between the perspectives of those with revisionist ideas for education and the materials created for practical use is one that must be better aligned in future innovations in education. the necessities of viewing curricular materials with a critical lens and ensuring they are meeting the intended goals of the curriculum are vital . conclusion while the pod course was one built out of determined needs for us society, value-laden with democratic and reconstructionist ideals, the reality of what was happening in classrooms may have not mirrored such. three interrelated factors seemed to directly affect the course during this early period: 1) philosophical differences regarding the purpose and place of the course; 2) a lack of standardization; and 3) a lack of teacher training (singleton 1975). the variance in substance of the curricular materials reflects the lack of standardization and should also be considered a potential factor of the course’s success. while the course remained in schools into the 1970s, the number of students taking the course dwindled (singleton 1975). the difficulties the course faced during its inception may have contributed to its disappearance as it struggled to determine its identity, place, and structure throughout its existence. the purposes outlined by the 1916 report of the committee of social studies should not be ignored, as they still ring true today. history continues to be the overarching focus of social studies secondary curriculum in the united states. the focus on transfer of information continues to be a prevalent issue. a curriculum that employs a more integrated social studies approach, places discussion and deliberation at its center, and focuses on the preparation of an informed citizenry continues to be advocated for by social studies scholars today. however, for these goals to be reached, any new curricular materials must be crafted intentionally to reflect such goals, and with explicit ideas for implementation to assist those who are teaching such content. only then will they have the means needed to successfully meet the purposes and goals of such an approach . references alilunas, leo j. 1964. “whither the problems of democracy course?” social education 28, no. 1 (january): 11-14. ammarell, raymond r. 1932. “teaching problems of democracy in high schools.” education 52 (may): 532535. burch, henry reed, and samuel howard patterson. 1922. problems of american democracy: political, economic, and social. new york: macmillan. brooks, helen rhoda. 1937. “student preferences in problems of democracy.” harvard educational review 7, no. 2 (march): 215-223. brown, milton wright. 1926. “an analysis of state courses of study for the social studies.” dissertation, university of chicago. cox, philip w. l. 1922. “social 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"tendencies and issues in the making of social studies curricula." social studies 15, no. 2 (february): 84-89. greenan, john thomas, and albert barrett meredith. everyday problems of american democracy. boston: houghton mifflin company. hughes, ray osgood. 1922. problems of american democracy. boston: allyn and bacon. hughes, ray osgood. 1924. “the twelfth grade course in problems of democracy.” historical outlook 15 no. 5 (may): 206-209. makler, andra. 2004. “‘problems of democracy’ and the social studies curriculum during the long armistice.” in social education in the twentieth century: curriculum and context for citizenship, edited by christine a. woyshner, joseph watras, and margaret smith crocco, 20-42. new york: peter lang. parker, walter c. 2001. “toward enlightened political engagement.” in critical issues in social studies research for the 21st century, edited by william b. stanley, 97-118. greenwich, ct: information age publishing. singleton, henry wells. 1975. “factors affecting the development of the problems of democracy course.” dissertation, stanford university. singleton, henry wells. 1980. “problems of democracy: the revisionist plan for social studies education.” theory & research in social education 8, no. 3 (fall): 89–104. westheimer, joel, and joseph kahne. 2004. “what kind of citizen? the politics of educating for democracy.” american education research journal 41, no. 2 (summer): 237-269. williamson, thames ross. 1922. problems of american democracy. boston: d. c. heath & co. https://doi.org/10.1080 patty smith hill and democracy in the kindergarten curriculum rose a. rudnitski the kindergarten curriculum the kindergarten today the house corneri the block area; the sand/water table; the game table; the easel: these are some of the areas of study and learning in the kindergarten classroom. the journal of a student teaching superv~sor provides a look at how some of the areas and activities formerly labeled as "play" and considered to be less significant than "work" have been blended to be included as learning experiences: circle time is purposeful. the children take turns reading the daily message. the rule seems to be that no one can help the child unless the child points to the word and looks at them. that is the signal that the class can help. children are invited to read. if they decline, it is all right. "perhaps, next time," lois [a pseudonym] suggests. lois reminds them that the schedule is changed and thanks them for being patient. one boy is asked if he needs to sit alone for awhile. he shakes his head. lois then reminds the class of the science experiment they are doing with their snails. she shows the class printed sheets with the words light and dark on them. the word "light" has a red dot sticker by it. the word "dark" has a blue dot sticker. in rows next to each category are several stickers of the appropriate color. lois asks the children who completed the sheet to come up and tell the class how they conducted their experiment, what they watched for, and what the results were. the final question she had for each was "which one has more or less and how did you figure it out?" it fascinates me to hear how each child explains it in a way. the children are not given a choice as to where they will spend the work time. lois has it planned. these four at the housekeeping corner, two more at blocks, two at the computer, 55 five to the table for the science experiments, two more to construct homes for their snails so that they can do light and dark observations, two boys go to the library, four children play table games and three children go to woodworking. lois first dismissed the children to the block areas so that she could talk about the masking tape that she had placed on the floor in that area. the tape was supposed to represent a city and where and what the children should be building on it. when the students gave suggestions on types of city buildings that they could build during this meeting, lois took notes. (later she copied the sheet over and displayed it in the block area for the students to refer to when building. kindergarten has not always looked this way, of course. there were many people involved in the early kindergarten movementi kindergartners, they were called, who influenced the course of the kindergarten curriculum. no american, however, was as influential as miss patty smith hill of louisville, kentucky, a bright, energetic young woman who was to change the american kindergarten curriculum forever f fusing it to the elementary school as the essential initial experience in public education. patty hill described the kindergarten curriculum of her day as based on the romantic-idealistic movement in germany, characterized by the philosophies of kant, fichte, schelling and krause, and strengthened in america by the idealism of the transcendental school in new england (hill, 1909). in practice, teachers in american kindergartens embraced the pedagogy froebel (1897) f the german philosopher who had founded many kindergartens in europe. froebel's methods brought to life the belief that humanity was becoming more civilized as time progressed, and that this process would be enhanced by the resolution of the conflict between instinct and the goal of public education was essentially to help the masses to accomplish this resolution in their own lives. the beginning of the transfer of the derivation of motivation, the impulse as it was called then, from instinct to duty was the training children received in froebelian kindergartens. a kindergarten taught by a miss emma and miss julia in the church basement of a "prairie town" in the united states of the late 19th and early twentieth centuries was described in this way: in those days, one f s chief responsibility in kindergarten, as in school, was to learn to do as one was told. there was a white circle painted on the floor. there was a locked cupboard to which miss julia kept the key. one sat on the white circle while miss emma told a story embodying some spiritual "lesson" and one did not squirm or ask questions. one sat in a little red chair, "hands folded at the edge of the table," when miss julia unlocked the cupboard, placing in front of each child the gift, while miss emma explained precisely what was to be done with it. richard might aspire to a pattern of his own design on his pegboard. kathleen might feel more like clay modeling than paper weaving. margery might prefer cutting paper doll dresses from her blue paper to folding it into a geometric form. but in the kindergarten one did as one was told, all except david who blew into tantrums of outraged dignity and thwarted ambition and was finally refused as a kindergarten pupil by miss emma (amidon, 1927, p.506). patty smith hill's reaction to a similarly critical student during circle time was quite different from miss emma's. as an educator, miss hill was resolved to listen to her students and to learn from them. in a 1927 interview, she stated, when i look back on my long experience in teaching, i am always grateful for what i have learned from the children. if one is not administering "a can learn so much room! absorbed in , one a school 56 there was little howard, for instance, back in the first louisville kindergarten. howard could always manage to say what he meant. every school room ought to have one child who is able to express to the teacher what others only feel. we were sitting in the traditional kindergarten circle, the children and i. in those days it was part of a good kindergartner's job to get over to the children f the topic of the day.' i was earnestly holding forth looking to the right and left, to the front, and to the children on each side when howard lifted his face to mine. • say, teacher, . he demanded, • who are you talking to anyhow?' at once i realized what artificial nonsense the whole performance was. in the circle i was not talking to anyone. i was just spraying my ideas over a group of children, who had to listen whether they wanted to or not. the circle as a i symbol' was disbanded then and there. after this i did my talking with individual children and little groups who came to discuss matters of genuine interest. as soon as we ceased to make a rite of it, it was easy to get exchange of ideas and vigorous discussion among little children. this was an enormous gain in reality and directness, but given our small, spontaneous groups as working units, i found myself asking: how can we develop social consciousness in children of this age? (quoted in amidon, 1927, p. 508) how, indeed, can one develop social consciousness in children? a childhood filled with commitment there is a lot to learn about fostering the development of social consciousness from the story of patty smith hill's childhood. born in the reconstruction south in 1868, miss hill was the fourth child in a family of six: two boys and four girls of an educated, influential, but very non­ traditional family of louisville, the children were encouraged to be independent thinkers who worked hard for others as well as for themselves. it was written many that each of the hill , as they matured, nundertook some big of work and thirty years after the father's death louisville people to say that louisville, like rome, was built on seven hills" (chaffee, 1925). patty smith hill's father, w. w. hill, who, as a d~och1j'~ minister was not el for service in the civil war, a college for the the south near kentucky, as his contribution to the reconstruction years" (bailey, 1931, p.5). dr. hill, a of princeton university, that education should be available to women as well as to men so that they could be prepared to live an independent life. reminiscing in 1925 about her childhood, miss hill related that, though her family was financially well-to do, the hill girls were encouraged to pursue a profession. "this was a radical thing everywhere fifty years ago, particularly in the south. my father had a horror of girls marrying 'just for a home' and he said that the only way to avoid this catastrophe was to prepare every young woman to 'stand on her own feet' economically. for this reason from our earliest years sisters and brothers alike discussed together and with our parents the type of work we wished to pursue when we were grown" (amidon, p. 507). patty hill's mother was, it seems, a perfect match for a man who held such beliefs. she was a writer for the louisville courier-journal who had grown up on a pre-civil war plantation. she valued literacy and human dignity, and as a young girl had taught all the captives who labored on her family's plantation to read and write. she had attempted to be admitted to a nearby college, the center college, but was refused formal matriculation because she was a woman. she was tutored privately by professors from the college, but never was allowed to earn a degree. professor hill's that children should and follow their own as learn the value of mother believed be free to play my mother's of one. she said have every there was not some reason should not have--a radical view in those puritanical well we children each had our own small we were also allowed to with hammer and nails. we to work for , and our home was 57 open to other people's children. my mother used to , she'd rather have other at her house than children at other then she'd always our home was open. the cook was was for was for if an was necessary. and we what it was to sit down ." (chaffee, 1925, p. 1-2) later attributed much and its success in classrooms upbringing in a home with an atmosphere of freedom where was valued as much as work. she her parents as role models whom she followed in the way which suited her most. she recalled that by the time she was eight or nine, she knew what she wanted to do when she grew up, though she had never heard of kindergartens. "when i was about eleven, someone told me about a foundling's asylum, and i decided that a whole houseful of babies would be the finest thing in the world, and i went as far as to ask my mother to help me take charge of one when i grew up." (chaffee, 1925) mentors there were other people to whom patty smith hill attributed her success and ability to have such a deep impact on education. one was her first kindergarten pedagogy teacher, miss anna e. bryan, the director of a kindergarten training school in louisville. miss bryan had studied in chicago and opened up the training school the year that patty hill turned eighteen. she entered as one of miss bryan's first students. .. i was the youngest in the class, but from the very beginning, miss bryan would say, "do not follow froebel blindly. i want to see what you, yourself will do" (amidon, 1927, p. 507) . the free of froebel's of in at that if miss hill courageous miss , and one would have so the froebelian if she had not of the hill head teacher of the smith demonstration in her school the year that miss hill hill was a masterful teacher who inspired those around her, especially the children, to think creatively and independently. she believed that she was actually following froebel's teaching, since she interpreted him as constantly searching, "sending out material to mothers and teachers urging them to criticize it after experimentation. those who came after him did not have this fresh and adventurous spirit. in their hands his incomplete experimentation grew into a cult. the purpose of the kindergarten movement ceased to be a progressive scheme of education and became a ' system' .. (amidon, 1927) . many educational leaders of the day were emerging as advocates of the froebelian 'system' so decried by patty smith hill: elizabeth peabody, william t. harris, and miss susan blow, a national leader in kindergarten and a lecturer at teacher college, who would later become an intellectual adversary and close personal friend of miss hill. miss bryan and miss hill experimented with different methods in their campus school kindergarten in louisville, deciding that children would rather build houses and doll beds with froebel's gift of rectangular blocks, rather than the square dictated by the followers of his system. the two women travelled together to the nea meeting of 1890, where miss bryan presented a paper titled "the letter killeth," a critique of the dictation-like, systematized method of teaching children to draw so commonly practiced at that time. miss hill illustrated the talk with drawings and students' original work, revolutionary techniques in the kindergarten of the 19th century. that summer they went to study with francis parker at the cook county normal school in chicago. "whenever there was anyone that either miss bryan or i could study with, we did so" (chaffee, 1925, p.4). they studied with g. stanley hall of clark university in 1895, after receiving a questionnaire from him which was obviously critical of the traditional techniques. she later reported, "while a large number of kindergartners responded to dr. hall's invitation, at the close of his first class only two students remained for the exceedingly strenuous summer course he proposed miss bryan and myself. this gave us a rare opportunity, as we had the whole summer for uninterrupted study under dr. hall and professor burnham. here we were introduced to the new child study movement, to the for 58 changing materials, curricula, and methods in the light of new knowledge about both physical and mental health" (amidon, 1927, p. 508). even as she was spending her summers studying with many of the leading progressives of the day, among them john dewey, william james, and dr. luther gulick, she was adapting the progressive philosophy to kindergarten methods. miss hill had worked with the poor children of the ravaged southern states of the reconstruction era. she was deeply moved by the malnutrition, child labor, and high death rate among children of poverty. she had developed a life-long commitment to democratic ideals and the importance of self-determination in activity, especially in childhood, as a means of empowering children to overcome social and economic disadvantages. as she put it, "even tiny children have a right to 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. ' (undated interview) in 1893, miss bryan went to chicago to study with john dewey, leaving patty smith hill as principal and supervisor of the louisville kindergarten training school. that year, miss hill went to mount an exhibit on her new kindergarten methods in the education building at the chicago world's fair. by then, more than 3000 visitors had signed the register as guests who had observed her kindergarten in louisville, among them, colonel parker, dr. jenny b. merrill, supervisor of the kindergartens of the new york city public schools, miss caroline t. haven of the ethical culture school, and mr. milton bradley, the first manufacturer of kindergarten materials (fine, undated) . the exhibit at the world's fair drew a great deal of attention to louisville and patty hill. she became a leader of the kindergarten movement, was a prominent lecturer at the meetings of the international kindergarten union, and was appointed that organization to head the committee of the committee of nineteen in 1904. by 1905, when dean james earl russell invited her to an appointment as lecturer at college, she had travelled allover the united states, and twice to europe, speaking on her progressive ideas and methods for teaching young children (jammer, 1960). she had become a strong voice, not only for children, but for their teachers as well. her in teacher education curriculum at the louisville training school included many academic subjects. she strongly encouraged the development of attitudes which would promote independence in teachers rather than dependence on the methods of others. it was only through the study of children, she felt, that teachers could know how to react to them in their classrooms, and it was only through independent thought that each teacher could develop a program suited for her particular children (hill, 1901). late in her career, she summed up her ideas on teachers this way: there are two great divisions of teachers, you know, cookbook teachers and checkerboard teachers. a cookbook teacher sits down every evening, measures out so much arithmetic, so much spelling, so much music, according to a pedagogical recipe and next day spoon-feeds it into his pupils. he calls the process education. but suppose he were getting ready for a game of chess or checkers. would it do any good to take the board the evening before and figure out the campaign-first this move, then that move? when he sat down with his opponents, he would find that the vital factor had been entirely omitted from his calculations: the reaction of the other mind. i tell my students that that is our main concern as teachers the reaction of the other mind. of course cook book teaching is easier. but the other kind well, from the child's point of view the other kind offers possibilities of real adventure. and for the teacher it is a lot more fun (amidon, 1927, p.509). it is easy to see why russell persevered in persuading miss hill to leave louisville to seek her fortune in new york city, though she was very reluctant to do so. the teachers college years of all her mentors, the last was one of the and had the most profound effect on patty smith hill's life and work: james earl russell. russell was aware of the two opposing views in the movement, 59 and already had a major proponent of the traditional methods as a lecturer at teachers college, miss susan blow. patty hill had attended teachers college in the summer of 1905, and received an invitation from dean russell to lecture there that fall. she impressed everyone with her open­ mindedness, sincerity, and dedication so much that russell asked her to extend the leave she had taken from the louisville kindergarten to a full year, offering her an honorarium of $20.00 per lecture (russell, 1937). when she demurred at the low pay and the prospect of an extended absence from her job, russell replied: i have your letter of january 29, 1905. you perhaps will think of the old saying concerning the camel, who, if he gets his head in, crowds in his whole body. perhaps i did that. but you should take it as a compliment that we are so anxious to extend your period of residence, and at the same time attribute the scaling of salary to our unavoidable poverty. nevertheless, i have telegraphed you that, womanlike, you may have your own way (february 2, 1905). thus began a friendship which lasted through the rest of patty smith hill's career. russell gave miss hill the opportunity to experiment with her ideas in the kindergartens of the speyer school and the horace mann schools. he encouraged her to carry on her work, and served as a sounding board for her complaints, as well as an advisor in her dealings with her enemies. she had come to teachers college as a "radical" who was too unorthodox for many kindergarten educators. sometimes she did not feel up to the task. russell recounted the story of his offering miss hill a full-time appointment in a 1927 letter: when it became necessary to reorganize our kindergarten department, i found that there was sharp competition between two schools of thought. miss blow and her disciples adhered very religiously to the formal interpretation of froebel's philosophy and practice. miss hill was one of the two or three prominent leaders of the more liberal my plan at first was to have sides in teachers col as it is part of my policy to see that no one mode of thought is here represented to the exclusion of the others. consequently for some time, i tried to drive the team abreast by making provision for both parties to present their case. this he did first by having the two women share a course of lectures which were open to the public in january of 1906. each lectured her point of view every other week, alternating with the other (jammer, 1960). the prospect of facing the impressive and powerful miss blow, who had been the chairperson of the traditional committee of the committee of nineteen in 1903, almost caused miss hill to decline dean russell's invitation. she had already encountered miss blow in her activities in the international kindergarten union. in fact, the committee of fifteen had become the committee of nineteen in 1904, when it became obvious that there were two opposing points of view in the kindergarten movement. [the committee later split into three groups, with miss blow chairing the conservative committee, miss hill, the liberal, and miss wheelock, the liberal­ conservative, which issued their final reports in 1913 (i.k.u., (1913).j dean russell's reply to miss hill indicated the intensity of her concern at facing the formidable miss blow on a weekly basis: dear miss hill: i can hardly believe that your present mental condition is other than temporary stage fright. otherwise, how can you explain the apparent despondency of an able­ bodied young woman at the head of the graduate department in her subject in the leading teachers college of the world when she thinks of the specter of one who is a master of the same field but who has at best a few months or a few years in which to work? . but it is still worse than even this. the younger woman occupies not only the headship of the department but has a permanent appointment; the specter to which i refer has a temporary lectureship on gifts received (jan. 11, miss hill replied to that letter in the affirmative, with a vow to enter upon her new work with enthusiasm and determination to make it a success if the possibil (jan. 25, 1906). and miss lectured their views every other week. miss 60 hill later found it amusing. "the same group of students were exposed to diametrically opposed points of view on different days. it's a wonder the class survived!" (amidon, p. 508) from the beginning, smith hill, with the continuous blessing and encouragement of dean russell began a process of change and experimentation which never ceased dur ing her tenure at teachers college. her first students, mostly kindergarten teachers and supervisors from the new york area, had been staunch advocates of traditional ways and the students of miss blow. patty hill's methods were sometimes too liberal for the new york audience. dean russell, seeing this, allowed miss hill to establish a "play" room at teachers college in which miss hill, along with miss luella palmer, could experiment with their new methods with children who had not attended traditional kindergartens. they recruited children from three to seven years of age with no previous school experience and set to work designing materials and a curriculum suited for the children they had, and not for an ideal of what someone thought children should be (hill, 1906a; palmer, 1906). miss hill had studied with dr. luther gulick in 1898, in what she called the first school of play in america. it was there that she had started to experiment with different size blocks to see if the children, like she and her brothers and sisters, enjoyed building structures large enough for them to play inside. her own childhood had an effect on her work long after she left louisville. she recounted: i looked back on my own childhood when my sisters and i tried to make houses big enough to get into but the available materials were not suited to our purposes. we tried placing boards on top of barrels but the construction was so shaky that we were compelled to lie down after creeping 'upstairs. · ... we worked on this scheme twelve or thirteen years before we devised set of blocks which allover the world are (amidon, 1927, p.509). because the new york crowd was so conservative, miss hill dared not call her first school room a in the beginning. gradually, however, her reputation grew, and her ideas gained acceptance. she led the move toward abandoning froebelian materials and developing materials based on activities relevant to the child's experience. she maintained, however, that true to her interpretation of froebel's experimental attitude toward his philosophy, she "kept the froebelian attitude and spirit". she never adopted montessori's methods, feeling that they were too rigid and artificial for american children (amidon, p. 509). one of miss hill's ideas which revolutionized teaching in the kindergarten was the notion that young children had minds and personalities of their own: that they were unique individuals with interests and needs which were important enough to be heeded. she could not see the connection between froebel's gifts and occupations and the children's taking pride in their work. in her study of young children, she saw that children of two or three cared little for their products, but those who were four, five or six, cared a great deal. why, then, should the product be dictated to the child, when the child has ideas of his/her own? show a boy of five the kite fold which, when completed, will form one of a series to be pasted in the flat in a scrap book; then show him the same form made of tough paper and sufficiently large to experiment with in the wind. ask him which he prefers to make, and you will see whether products are of importance. also, watch the difference between his passivity and eagerness in the two cases (hill, 1906b, p. 11). miss hill was very vocal in her belief that young children had personalities and that they were capable, with the right teaching, of being taught to think for themselves. a teacher who knew her children, could help each child to develop his or her own individual she encouraged teachers to records of children's , even during free play so that might know each child as a person. she encouraged parent interviews as a means of getting to know each child's personality and so that the teacher could know that the child has a life outside of school.in this way, she could the 61 curriculum most suited to each child. the child as a social learner patty hill did not merely acknowledge the young child's individual needs. based on years of observation, she knew the importance of the child's social needs as well. in addition to her child study, she attributed the philosophical basis for her ideas to froebel, writing in her part of the report of the committee of nineteen that froebel believed that the organization of the subject matter, the curriculum of the kindergarten, grew out of the social life of the child (i.k.u., 1913). she told of how she fostered cooperation through the use of large blocks too heavy to handle alone, and how children worked together to solve problems in their play. a true sense of purpose, she said, came from the child's own life, and not from the purposes set out by the teacher in her lessons: a group of six year olds taught me about this many years ago. they worked for a week over a model of a fifth avenue bus which they built with blocks. they criticized, discussed plans, and improved the model with undiminished enthusiasm, till they were satisfied. we had to learn through these children what real concentration is when a job challenges their interest. it is astonishing the difference between attention which is only a response to the teacher;s demand and the concentration inspired by enthusiasm for a job (amidon, p. 509) . miss hill firmly believed that young children could learn democratic principles only if they were involved in democratic group situations. she also believed that these principles could not be learned unless they were experienced in a meaningful context: that of the child's own interests (hill, 1915). she fostered independence and leadership in much the same manner as it had been for her as a child growing up in louisville, and later as a woman apprehensive about to teachers college to continue her work. she advocated allowing children the freedom to choose their own means and ends, yet also allowing for aid and if they needed it. jack me about this. jack was in miss garrison's group, here at teachers college. a canary bird had been given to the children. when miss garrison carried the cage into the room, they all crowded about her, admir ing and asking questions. the cage was finally placed in the window, and the children scattered to their various occupations. presently jack tugged at miss garrison f s sleeve. "what's the bird's name?" he asked. "i don't believe he has a name." "then i will name him," said jack. iti will name him for myself: jack." "but jack, does the bird belong to you?" asked miss garrison. "no, he doesn't." "to whom does the bird belong?" "i suppose he belongs to all of the children in this room." "well, then, who has the right to name him?" "i suppose all the children ought to name him, " jack answered slowly. garrison, please children together to name call "miss the the bird!" miss garrison waited a moment and then suggested, "but jack, you are the one who wants the bird named. can't you call the children together?" it was a big undertaking for a five-year-old. jack hesitated, uncertain how to organize a "town meeting," but convinced of the need of one. finally he went from one group of children to another saying, "our bird hasn't a name come on, let's name him. you can nail that afterward let's name our bird right away." jack persuaded leland and margot and sally to help him arrange chairs. they placed them in a big circle, "so we can all see each other," with a seat for miss garrison. but when all the chairs were occupied, it was jack, not the teacher, who began to hold forth. the group entered into animated discussion, jack insisting that jessie mustn't talk till emily was through and that everyone must be quiet when harold, who stuttered, began to talk. at last a name was chosen, the big circle broke up and the children returned to their and carpentry and painting. but jack had taught about that we 62 small, spontaneous group is the natural unit for work with little children. a common interest is the only basis for calling together a large group. given such an interest, a large group can function simply and spontaneously, and through it the children gain experience as parts of a social whole (amidon, 508-509). patty smith hill held forth with her beliefs and wrote, and spoke frequently in the two first decades of this century on the value of making the interests of the child the central motivating force in classroom activity. she knew that young children, in their play, imitated adult behaviors and work activities, and encouraged them to engage in all kinds of occupations in the kindergarten classroom: carpentry, cooking, gardening, and painting, and though the products may not have been perfect, she saw social value in their exposure to all kinds of labor (jammer, 1960). respect for all occupations would, she asserted, help to reduce the divisions between social and economic classes. the kindergarten, as the first formal stage in education, was the first place to begin formal lessons in this process (hill, 1912). the importance of play patty smith hill believed that, for the child, play was learning. she had observed many children, and though she made a distinction between free play and directed play, realized through her observations that, for children, all play was valuable. free play developed initiative, self-reliance, and freedom, while directed play helped the young child, who was rather "fragmentary," to grow less impulsive and more focused (hill, 1906b). she advocated a balance between the two, with free playas a time for the teacher to observe children and to promote the development of democratic ideals. more and more, she departed from the blind acceptance of european methods and materials, espousing the development of a truly american method of school young children, using american materials and activities as the basis for learning (hill, 1913). she was appointed head of the kindergarten department at teachers col in 1910, and moved her play room to the horace mann school students came from all and the world to study kindergarten methods and supervision with patty smith hill. she was able to report, at the time of her retirement in 1935, that there was kindergartner trained in her methods in every state of the union, and many countries around the world (chaffee, 1925; amidon, 1927; fine, 1936/nd). in order to continue the development of a truly american kindergarten, she advocated that every city maintain at least one experimental kindergarten for research and development (hill, 1915) . there was a danger in developing a truly american kindergarten, however. this country and its schools were founded on a puritan ethic which valued work and devalued playas idleness. this ethic also implied an acceptance of the inherent drudgery in work and enjoyment in play. she wrote as long as we limit work to ends which authority considers sufficiently valuable to impose upon willing workers, secured through processes which are unendurable to them, and limit play to the pleasant processes which result from whim or caprice, there will necessarily be a battle in adjusting the motives of play and work in elementary education. not only does such a conception of work apply more directly to drudgery, but such a conception of play is inadequate to explain the serious significance of play in the period of prolonged infancy. so long as we regard work as activity leading toward an end imposed by authority, and play as whimsical indulgence inactivities leading toward no end of worth to the child or society, the battle will wage between the kindergartner and primary teacher (1906b, p. 4). though patty smith hill and the conservative movement in the kindergarten avowed a debt to the teachings of froebel, her major points of departure in kindergarten curriculum and teaching were in the value of play, the of the child as an autonomous with needs and interests and the ability to be self-directed, and the belief that democratic principles could be modeled in the early childhood classroom and that they could be learned through the experience of the child, rather than through the dictates of adult authority (hilll 1907; 1925). she was indeed a radical. 63 other innovations of patty smith hill her years of labor at teachers college were rewarded with honors and worldwide acclaim as a leader of the progressive education movement in america. in 1922, the trail-blazing patty smith hill was the third woman promoted to full professor at teachers college. in 1929 1 she was awarded an honorary doctorate from columbia university by nicholas murray butler, again, one of the few women to be so honored. in his speech, butler said of miss hill, "year in, year out, dr. hill is answering the age-old question of epictetus, 'what constitutes a child?' in the spirit of froebel, she is finding new ways and means to make the child the father of the worthwhile man" (quoted in fine, 1936) • she continued to write and lecture, and students continued to come to new york to study with her and her colleagues, including the aforementioned miss garrison, who had been a student in the famed blow hill lecture course of 1906 (jammer, 1960). on her retirement, miss hill was pleased to announce, "we have people in charge of kindergarten work in almost every teacher-training school in the country and the world. in the 47 years that i've taught, i've seen the whole thing change. i don't believe there' s a normal school in this country without one of our graduates substituting the new ideas for the old" (undated interview) • with the onset of the great depression, patty smith hill became an even more strident voice in the call for universal pre-school education, and the coordination of the kindergarten curriculum with that of the primary grades. she also advocated parent education so that there could be greater coherence between the values of the home and the values of the school. with great vision, which we can only now appreciate, she said, "never has the kindergarten been more needed than in modern life, with its limited home space for play, its out-family mother employed in the mills, the factories, and mines, and in other commercial these conditions were serious enough, but when the wave of unemployment the whole country, the dangers of neglect were multiplied a hundred-fold" (undated interview). in her retirement, she opened the hilltop center in a building donated by on 123rd st., one block from teachers col there, doctors by the new deal provided health care for the neighborhood children and their parents. teachers, again provided by the government, with the help of an experimental teacher training program at teachers college administered by miss hill and dr. agnes snyder, provided education on furniture donated by the salvation army. miss hill had a vision of the center being the focal point for all positive activities in the economically poor and ethnically and racially diverse neighborhood (fine, undated). miss hill stated, "whether the mother is economically employed or in search of a job, the new deal has a grave responsibility in setting leaders to work to create a new code for the protection of young children, a code for which we will include in its plans proper and increasing care of pre­ school children of all classes of society whether they are found in large cities, small villages, or rural communities" (fine, undated). patty smith hill worked at the hilltop community center as a volunteer until her death in 1946 at the age of 78. children in kindergartens allover the world encounter her every day in their singing of "happy birthday," a song she co-authored with her sister, mildred, from a folk melody. this was in keeping with her philosophy of following the natural rhythms of the music of the child's culture and language. they also encounter miss hill when they do large motor movement and play in rhythm bands; when they paint freely at the easel; when they play with large blocks; when they choose their own activity centers; when they visit the school nurse for a school physical; when they drink from water fountains or from separate cups; when they use paper napkins at snack time; and when the custodian come into their classroom to wash the floor at night (vitae of patty smith hill). though the memory of miss hill does not loom large in our minds, it certainly has been a large enough part of our early childhoods so that we, as william f. russell, the son of james earl russell, and dean of teachers college at the time of smith hill's retirement can also , "miss hill brought me up!" ( fine, undated) 64 references references from the james earl russell papers and the patty smith hill collection teachers college, columbia university amidon, b . ( 1927 ) . kindergarten: an patty smith hill, 1(6), 506-509; 523. forty years in interview with chaffee by miss correspondence of patty smith hill and james earl russell, 1905-1925. james earl russell papers, teachers college, columbia university. fine, b. (1936). patty smith hill: a great educator, reprinted from american childhood, may-june. boston: milton bradley, co. fine, b. (no date). patty smith hill and progressive education. patty smith hill papers, teachers college, columbia university. patty smith hill: miscellaneous biographical data, 1925-1936. patty smith hill papers, teachers college, columbia university. russell, j. e. (1927). letter to i1se forest, february 23. works by miss hill hill, patty s. (1901). simplification of gifts and occupations, international kindergarten union proceedings, 94-96. washington, dc: iku. hill, patty s. (1906a). the speyer school experimental play room, kindergarten review 17, 137-140, boston: milton bradley. hill, s. (1906b). of work and play education, address i.k.u. convention, the relation in modern at the milwaukee, ( 1 ) , hill, patty s. ( 1907) . some conservative and progressive phases of kindergarten education, kindergarten and its relation to elementary education, national society for the study of education yearbook, part ii, 61-85. chicago: university of chicago press. hill, patty s. (1909). the future of the kindergarten, teachers college record 10, 371-398. new york: bureau of publications, teachers college, columbia university. hill, patty s. (1912). democracy in the kindergarten, kindergarten review 22, 432-33. boston: milton bradley. hill, patty s. (1913). some hopes and fears for the kindergarten of the future, proceedings of the international kindergarten union, 89-101. washington, dc: i.k.u. hill, patty s. (1915). experimental studies in kindergarten theory and practice. new york: bureau of publications, teachers college, columbia university. hill, patty s. curricula kindergarten education l, (1925). changes in and method in education, childhood 99-106. 65 other sources bailey, c. s. (1931). who's who in the schools: patty smith hill, american childhood 17(1),5-6;55-56. froebel, f. (1897). trans. by york: appleton. international kindergarten union. (1913). the kinderqarten: reports of the committee of nineteen on the theory and practice of the kindergarten. new york: houghton­ mifflin. jammer, m. c. (1960). patty smith hill and reform of the american kindergarten. doctoral dissertation, teachers college, columbia university. palmer, l. (1906) . resul ts of observations in the speyer school experimental play room, kindergarten review 12, 140-147. boston: milton bradley. russell, j. e. (1937). founding teachers college. new york: bureau of publications, teachers college, columbia university. a veterinary tale of two buildings: transformation to meet the needs of the modern student rachel k. turner eliel hinojosa, jr. texas a&m university abstract buildings, like the people who occupy them, are storied. the buildings on the campus of texas a&m university tell curricular stories as their initial construction responded to the educational needs of a growing university. the civil engineering building and francis hall, originally built as the veterinary hospital and the school of veterinary medicine, are examples of this response. since their construction varying degrees of edificial transformation represent the changing narrative of each building. introduction the campus of texas a&m university bustles with life as students, faculty, staff, and guests move about attending to their schedules. construction crews actively work to improve campus buildings. at present, there are several major building projects underway and spread across the campus. tucked unassumingly into the one of the older sections of the campus, sit several buildings. these buildings, mostly erected along ross street, have served tens of thousands of aggies – some for over a century. among these buildings one finds the civil engineering building and, just a short distance away, francis hall, two buildings whose histories provide glimpses into the changing needs of the university. the stories of these buildings began in 1908 when the need for formal facilities for a school of veterinary medicine sparked the construction of several buildings, the civil engineering building and francis hall taking center stage. since that time the varying needs of a growing university have led to curriculum history 2018: 134-145 physical changes and, consequently, new chapters in the narrative of each building. vested in tradition and with narratives that speak to their service and success, civil engineering building and francis hall remain testaments of tradition in a university whose mission continues into the 21st century. this is their story…or at least a tale. a college is born texas a&m university owes its creation to the morrill land-grant act. the morrill act was first approved in 1862 by the 37th united states congress. the act approved the donation of public lands for states to use for educational purposes. figure 1. texas a&m in 1876. cushing memorial library & archives, texas a&m university. education was to specifically include military, agriculture, and mechanics training. in 1866 the state of texas created a college under the conditions established by the morrill act. the state legislature formed the agriculture and mechanical college of texas. to acquire land and a location for the college, the citizens of brazos county 135 donated 2,416 acres to be used to house the college. on october 4th, 1876 classes officially began (dethloff 1975). only white males were admitted to the college and all students were required to participate in military training as required by the morrill act. shortly after the establishment of a&m college, in 1888, dr. mark francis arrived. figure 2. dr. mark francis, cushing memorial library & archives, texas a&m university. dr. francis was the first trained veterinarian to become part of the faculty. he originally lectured to agricultural students in old main with no labs and little equipment. francis recalled: there were no laboratories or equipment for this work. we had a room about 14x16 feet that was on the ground floor on the main building that served as office, classroom and laboratory. at the end of the school year the adjoining room became vacant and was assigned to us as a classroom. in this unsuitable place we toiled for 15 years. there was no hospital. along about december 1888, a frame barn was built to serve this purpose. it was about 20x36 feet…the following year a frame building was provided that served as a dissecting room. it wasn’t until 1908 that proper facilities for veterinary medicine were built (dethloff 1975). 1908 veterinary hospital on september 23, 1908, the first building to be used as a veterinary hospital was erected on campus near the corner of ross street and bizzell street (the battalion 1950). the building was erected as the universities veterinary program was growing. the main location for classes, old main, did not have adequate space for labs and housing of animals. this veterinary hospital was two stories and made entirely from wood and plaster (the battalion 1908). figure 3. 1908 veterinary hospital, cushing memorial library & archives, texas a&m university. the building was 135 feet long and 35 feet wide (the battalion 1908). the hospital was raised on a northwest corner of an open field and included, on the lower level, box stalls and rooms with dividers (the battalion 1908). this allowed horses and cattle with contagious diseases to be quarantined (the battalion 1950). while a majority of the building was to be used for large animals, the hospital also included stalls to accommodate smaller animals and two rooms for dogs (langford 1963). other rooms on the lower 136 level included a large clinic room, a feed room, and a medicine room (langford 1963). the second story included a small space for veterinary students to live as well as office space and laboratories (langford 1963). concrete floors throughout the hospital were used to ensure that the animals could be treated in the most sanitary manner (the battalion 1908). traps from each stall were attached to the sewer in order to exclude contagious diseases and allow for disinfection of each stall (langford 1963). this made cleaning easier and drastically improved sanitation throughout the hospital. the creation of this veterinary hospital allowed the clinical work being done on campus to move out of the chemical and veterinary lab and take place in one central location (langford 1963). this amounted to progress on campus. as specific and specialized facilities were built, the college showed marked improvement in their abilities to provide services and treatments to animals and provide students with practice. however, this sentiment was not universal. according to an architecture professor on campus ernest langford, a local professor by the name of dr. huber schmidt referred to the veterinary hospital as having “excessive space” (langford 1963). francis hall while the college continued to utilize the 1908 veterinary hospital, by 1916 the need for a more formal location for a school of veterinary medicine was evident. the college was looking to expand the work they were doing in veterinary medicine to include more classes and programs. an investment in livestock of $500 million dollars and the fact that there were less than 100 licensed veterinarians in the state, helped contribute to state and federal support for a veterinary school. having taught in old main for years, dr. francis, among others, advocated for a home for the school of veterinary medicine. additionally, research conducted at the college on texas fever and hog cholera serum necessitated a formal place of study for future veterinarians (the battalion 1916). originally proposed to the 33rd texas legislature in 1913, a new building for the school of veterinary medicine was not an immediate sell. though it passed the legislative body it was vetoed by governor o.b. colquitt. the request was passed in 1915 by governor james e. ferguson and the veterinary school became a reality. the school was established as an extension of the department of veterinary science (aggieland 1956). the newly established school appointed dr. mark francis as dean and the building carried his name (dethloff 1975). francis hall was built west of the veterinary hospital on the site of the original campus infirmary. at three stories, francis hall housed small classrooms, larger lecture rooms, an elevator system suitable for animals and a large, central lecture hall with tiered seating that allowed overhead viewing of operations and procedures. figure 4. francis hall, cushing memorial library & archives, texas a&m university. steps toward formality it didn’t take long to see the need for expansions and improvements to both francis hall and the veterinary hospital. the college’s continual growth caused a need for additional space. renovations were made to make existing facilities more suitable for educating future 137 veterinarians. this included additional space to accommodate classrooms, laboratories, clinics, and offices. these improvements began as early as 1920. after only few years in operation, the main amphitheater style lecture hall, in francis hall, continued to remain unfinished and, therefore, underwent major renovation. a design flaw in the four-tier, semicircle prevented seats from being placed in the room. an additional 30 tons of concrete was added to make the aisles wider to accommodate seating. this additional concrete required engineering crews to place supporting columns underneath the floor (the daily bulletin 1920). after renovations were completed the room was used for large lectures and observations of veterinary procedures. figure 5. dr. francis addresses a class in francis hall around 1920, cushing memorial library & archives, texas a&m university. 1932 veterinary hospital an expanding veterinary school eventually led to the need for a newer and larger hospital than the 1908 facility. therefore, in 1932, a new veterinary hospital was built. the building was constructed in the same location as the older, wooden veterinary hospital that was built in 1908. the u-shaped building allowed for offices, wards, and laboratories (langford 1963). it included a pharmacy and x-ray rooms (texas a&m catalogue 1932-1935). the design and construction of this new hospital displayed modern amenities which allowed for the study and teaching of animal diseases (texas a&m catalogue 19321935). according to an article in a 2016 issue in spirit magazine, the veterinary hospital was known as the “crown jewel of the college of medicine” (spirit magazine 2016). the article also mentions the hospital was built as one of the most modern and well equipped veterinary facilities of the time in the united states (spirit magazine 2016). the hospital was built along with three other smaller buildings which included a veterinary anatomy laboratory and two large animal stables (langford 1963). the new hospital, along with the laboratory and stables, were built by henger and chambers company from houston, texas. the total cost was $200,671.25 (langford 1963). the design of the 1932 veterinary hospital was unique. it displayed fluted pilasters which extended through the two stories while the entrance detail is reduced to a single story (langford 1963). the exterior of the building is decorated with various animal heads and figures on the corners and sides made from cast stone. a shield on the exterior of the building, above the front entrance doors, bears the veterinary symbol which includes a v with two snakes wrapped around a center pole and wings on each side of the v. encompassing the veterinary symbol are various sculptures and decorations including flowers, ram heads, cow skulls, and horse heads. on top of the veterinary symbol is a five-point star. endress and watkin: francis hall francis hall was designed by r. adelsperger in the romanesque style. original estimates for the total construction of the building were $100,000. according to an informal history written by dr. francis, in an attempt to remain on budget, the original design dimensions were reduced. further, dr. francis states that the reduction in scale caused problems with custom, pre-ordered furniture for the classrooms and 138 laboratories. considering the design changes, it is likely that this alteration contributed to the seating issues in the large four-tiered auditorium. though originally intended to be of romanesque influence, francis hall, as completed by endress and watkin, conformed in a general way to campus buildings of the era. langford confirms that more than the scale was altered in the final design. the doric columns were replaced by brick pilasters that were crowned with both ionic and doric capitals. a typical entablature extends entirely around the building at the elevation of the third floor; window sills in the third-floor rest on the cornice of this entablature – all of which makes the building anything but romanesque in character as langford states, the romanesque attributes originally designed were vacated in favor of a more classical or “roman” design. despite this, adelsperger’s interior floor plan remained largely unchanged (langford 1963). figure 6. original design of francis hall, cushing memorial library & archives, texas a&m university. giesecke and vosper: 1932 veterinary hospital the new 1932 veterinary hospital building was one of 10 buildings that architects frederick giesecke and charles vosper built on the campus in a 5 year period (nixon 1981). giesecke was born in 1869 in latium, texas (nixon 1981). giesecke entered the agricultural and mechanical college of texas in 1883 at the age of 14 and graduated first in his class (nichols 2016). upon graduation, he entered the faculty at the college as an instructor in mechanical engineering (nichols 2016). within two years, at the age of 19, giesecke became head of the department of mechanical drawing (college of architecture 2017). he left texas shortly after becoming department head to pursue graduate work and received a degree in architecture from massachusetts institute of technology and a ph.d. from the university of illinois (college of architecture 2017; nichols 2016). upon completion of his studies, he returned to the agricultural and mechanical college of texas and continued teaching until 1912 (nichols 2016). he then left and moved across the state to the university of texas, to accept a position as head of their newly formed department of architecture (nichols 2016). he stayed at the university of texas until 1927 when he again returned to the agricultural and mechanical college of texas as head of the architecture department and college architect (nichols 2016). during his time as college architect, giesecke also served as director of the engineering experimentation station on campus (college of architecture 2017). he earned his fifth degree some years later, in 1943, in civil engineering from illinois university (college of architecture 2017). not only did giesecke contribute to numerous buildings on campus at the agricultural and mechanical college of texas, he also wrote several research articles and textbooks (nixon 1981). he was a member of numerous architectural and engineering groups and organizations until his death in 1953 (nixon 1981). charles vosper was born in 1887 in new jersey where he lived and trained until he joined the famous lasky players corporation in 1913. with the corporation for seven years, vosper designed theater sets for their many productions across the united states. he began working at the university of texas in 1921 while frederick giesecke was head of the department of 139 architecture. in 1928, one year after giesecke left the university of texas to return to the agricultural and mechanical college of texas, vosper was dismissed from the university of texas. it was rumored that he was dismissed by the university due to inappropriately hiring a female nude model for an unknown purpose. he followed his former colleague frederick giesecke to college station to work for the architecture department. he was at the agricultural and mechanical college of texas until 1933 when he left to work for the civil works administration in san antonio and austin. from 1933 to 1935 he also did work for the university of texas supervising architect’s office and the national parks service. vosper was known as a texas history fanatic and while working for the civil works administration, he restored some of texas’ historic landmarks including independence hall. he also helped restore nuestra señora del espíritu santo de zúñiga mission outside of goliad, a project that took six years to fully complete. during the late 1930s, vosper moved to washington, d.c. and designed post office buildings for the treasury department during world war ii. in 1945, he returned to texas and worked in pampa, san antonio, and bryan until his death in 1958 (smith 1989). during their time working together at the agricultural and mechanical college of texas, giesecke and vosper transformed the campus by designing 10 buildings between 1928-1932. around 1928, with oil revenue generating monies for new buildings on campus, the two men literally turned the campus around. the men changed the entrance of the campus to face east, toward the newly formed state highway six, rather than the previous west which faced the local train station (mccoy 2013). figure 7. new entrance of campus facing east, cushing memorial library & archives, texas a&m university. during their years they worked together, the men were responsible for the design of the chemistry building, cushing library, hart hall, walton hall, the administration building, the petroleum engineering building, the agricultural engineering building, the animal industries building, the veterinary hospital, and a horse barn. these buildings cost a total of $3 million. in an article in texas architect, author nancy mccoy describes vosper’s unique interest in decoration as his own means of artistic expression. ernest langford described the designers as being “creative in their use of ceramic tile and cast stone” (langford 1963). vosper was known for using ornamental metals, stained glass, plaster and decorative paintings in his designs. the interior of the veterinary hospital displayed vosper’s use of special finishes by materials such as scagliola, sgraffito, caen stone, metallic paints, glazing and stippling. langford quoted one source in his unpublished manuscript here we’ll build the college, as saying that the veterinary hospital was the best of the buildings by giesecke and vosper (langford 1963; mccoy 2013). 140 figure 8. architectural elements on veterinary hospital which is now civil engineering building on texas a&m campus. image courtesy of rachel k. turner. remodeling, relocating and repurposing: the 1950s as a result of continued growth of the agricultural and mechanical college as well as the veterinary medicine department, the veterinary department was slated for relocation. this relocation was completed in 1954. the veterinary department moved to a 275-acre tract of land on the northwest side of campus on highway 60 (aggieland 1956). in 1950, a three-story addition was built onto francis hall. this addition was approved as a part of a long-range master plan supervised by carleton w. adams, the a&m system architect (the eagle 1950). the contract for the 10,000-square foot addition was awarded to a.w. brunson of dallas, texas at a planned cost of $150,000 (the battalion 1950; the eagle 1950). francis hall was also approved for a remodel. $110,000 was appropriated for a remodeling of the francis hall interior in preparation for use by the business school (a&m system news 1950). as the school of veterinary medicine settled into its new home, the remodeled and larger francis hall was repurposed to house the business department. moved from its temporary structure, francis hall served as the first of two homes for the business school prior to moving to its current figure 9. completed veterinary medicine complex in 1954 on university drive, cushing memorial library & archives, texas a&m university. location in the wehner building on the west campus of texas a&m university. the new wing housed the main offices and some of the classrooms of the business department. additionally, by 1963, francis hall had air conditioning installed throughout the building. a 1963 headline and accompanying article in the battalion was very suggestive. it read, “sleeping in lectures, labs should improve this year” (the battalion 1963). a 1956 article in the local newspaper detailed the college board of director’s summary. it included a description of the contract awarded to leftwich, stenis and harris company to remodel four veterinary medicine buildings to be used for the civil engineering department (the eagle 1956). the leftwich, stenis and harris company came in with a low bid of $238,153 for the renovations (the eagle 1956). during this meeting, the leftwich, stenis and harris company also received a contract for remodeling the library building at prairie view agriculture and mechanical college (the eagle 1956). by 1956 the engineering department was seeing extensive growth and housed 11 departments including aeronautical, architectural, chemical, civil, 141 electrical, geological, geology, industrial, industrial education, mechanical, and petroleum (aggieland 1956). a year later in 1957, the local newspaper released an updated summary where the board of directors for the college accepted an additional $4,000 increase to the plans and expenses for the remodeling of the four veterinary buildings to accommodate the civil engineering department (the eagle 1955). civil engineering department in 1957, with increasing enrollment, the civil engineering department moved from its single building in nagle hall to five facilities that previously housed portions of the school of veterinary medicine (college of engineering 2016). the building previously known as the 1932 veterinary hospital reopened as the civil engineering building and was comprised mostly of classrooms and office space (ramsey 1984). from 1957 to 1964 the building housed civil engineering faculty offices and classrooms and as the department grew, classrooms were turned into faculty offices (ramsey 1984). shortly after it re-opened in 1957, a story appeared in the battalion that stated a concrete block was stolen from outside the building. the block weighed ten pounds and, while it looked innocent, the 18x6x4 inch package was not harmless. the block was compressed by a device with four steel rods on each corner and two steel plates. between the steel plates was a ball bearing and heavy springs holding the plates together. the ends of the steel rods were tightened by large nuts. loosening of the nuts could cause the block to slip out of position and explode like dynamite. the block was used by the civil engineering department to test a special compressing machine. it was compressed until a reading of 24,000 pounds, or 12 tons was registered. in an article that appeared in the battalion on april 2, 1957, henson stephenson, a research engineer and manager of the texas transportation institute explained “that for about a year we have been taking data and readings from the block.” he later goes on to say, “i am only interested in warning whoever has the device to be careful and not try to tamper with it in anyway. i am very much concerned over its disappearance and would like to have it back because of its research value.” the article goes on to state that the thief can write an anonymous letter to the department stating where the block is located and the department will see to it’s safe return. no follow up articles were found that mentioned the fate of the block (the battalion 1957). figure 10. article in the battalion 1957, cushing memorial library & archives, texas a&m university. winds of change: the 1960s during the 1960’s the agricultural and mechanical college of texas experienced intense change in the student body. the student population, up until this time, was comprised of only white males. however, the 1960’s brought a wind of change. in 1962 and 1963, the college changed its official acceptance policies and extended admission to african american students and, on a limited basis, women. women were allowed unrestricted admittance a few years later. additionally, all students prior to 1965 were required to be members of the corps of cadets. this compulsory membership ended and new 142 students were given the opportunity to choose to become members of the corps of cadets. finally, in 1963, the agricultural and mechanical college of texas changed its name. by texas legislative approval, the school became texas a&m university. this name was an expression of the school’s growth. the “a” and “m,” once the initials denoting the school’s roots in agriculture and mechanical engineering, came to become simple representations of the university’s origins. presumably, these changes, particularly those allowing african americans and women admittance, altered the demographic in all university programs (dethloff 2016). remodeling, relocating and repurposing: the 1980s the 1980s brought about further changes. first, francis hall, which had been home to the school of business administration required a new home. in 1981, the business school was relocated to the new john r. blocker building. this vacancy provided a home for the department of recreation and parks. endearingly known as the “gypsies of a&m,” the rpts department made francis hall its sixth home in 15 years. according to dr. reid, who served as the first department head, francis hall brought an end to the nomadic life of the rpts department. dr. reid believed francis hall would serve as the permanent location of the department. in fact, francis hall served as the home for recreation, parks, and tourism science until 2011 when it was moved to the newly constructed agriculture and life science building on the west campus of texas a&m university (reid 1991). in the fall of 1983, the university opened bidding to companies for renovation to the civil engineering building. in a june 9th, 1983 issue of the campus newspaper the battalion, an article summarized the board of regents meeting where texas a&m was expecting to award a contract late in july of 1983. the article quotes dr. donald mcdonald, head of civil engineering. according to the article, construction would probably begin in september of 1983 and last about 13 months. dr. mcdonald goes on to say that the building is presently used for faculty offices and once renovations are complete, the building will house more classrooms, laboratories, and project rooms. this will require some faculty offices to be moved to laboratories, academic buildings, agency buildings, and the highway research center. the battalion article also mentions the majority of the renovation will be geared towards ensuring that the building is brought up to modern standards since this is the first work that would be done on the building since the 1960s (tindel 1983). during the renovation process, classes relocated to various buildings in the area. classes that usually took place in the civil engineering building took place in goodwin hall, the animal industries building, zachry engineering center and mcnew engineering lab. administration offices in the civil engineering building were moved across the street to the highway research center. there was talk during this time of renovation to the exterior of the building as well. this information did not sit well with former aggies. former students requested that the university save the exterior stonework and sculptures due to their history and character. dr. robert m. olson, liaison at the time between the civil engineering department and the architects and builders, explained to the battalion that the sculptures would be carefully cleaned and sandblasted, along with a brand-new roof. john merchant, facilities construction manager at the time, said renovations would be completed by october 1984. the total cost of the renovation project was $2,444,000. money for the project was provided by the university available fund which is income that was received from investments made by the permanent university fund. also remaining is the original tile work in the entrance of the building as well as stained glass pieces 143 (ramsey 1984; winkler 1983). figure 11. tilework seen in entrance of civil engineering building in 2017l. image courtesy of rachel k. turner. the 21st century in 2001, a 19-member campus master plan committee was formed to make determinations regarding the growth of university facilities in the 21st century. additionally, this committee was charged with reorganizing the university campus. reorganization was aimed at, “developing an ‘academic corridor’ that would place most of the educational aspects of the university in the middle of campus and push service-oriented and nonstudent-geared departments to the campus’ periphery.” the article goes on to list several buildings on the proposed demolition list. francis hall made the list. interestingly, only the 1950 addition onto francis hall was listed for demolition (the eagle 2004). the entirety of francis hall escaped the proposed demolition list when, in 2012, the building was offered to the department of construction science. in order to accommodate the new department, the building needed major renovation. the complete remodel, designed by brw architects and completed by satterfield & pontikes construction inc. was budgeted at $10 million. the remodel was completed in 2014 (brw architects). to date, francis hall is the only, fully dedicated building used by a university construction science department. the building interior was completely rebuilt and now includes state-of-the-art classrooms, labs, and collaboration areas. a unique feature of the building is the exposed mechanical, electrical, and structural systems that serve as a learning laboratories. the exterior of the building was also fully updated and restored. although the original design by adelsperger was romanesque, the restoration by satterfield & pontikes construction inc. maintained the redesigned, classical appointments changed by endress and watkin (satterfield & pontikes construction, inc. 2015). today, the works of giesecke and vosper can still be seen on all 10 of their buildings. all of these buildings continue to remain in use (mccoy 2013). the works of these two men have left a legacy to former students as well as the architectural community. in fact, the civil engineering building is well known amongst architects. the building was photographed and described extensively in cite, an architectural and design review magazine in houston, texas (fox 1998). this influence even extends into the arts and crafts. rebecca ewing peterson authored a book titled dreams of aggieland, designed to help various levels of quilters create products that exemplify the aggie spirit (novak 1996). due to its rich architectural history, one of the patterns in her book is the civil engineering building (novak 1996). peterson includes patterns in her book that range from architectural structures to contemporary designs of a&m logos and emblems (novak 1996). though officially known on campus as the civil engineering building, a plaque inside the building dedicates it as the reta and bill hayes building. bill and reta supported texas a&m through their leadership, character and respect. the civil engineering building not only houses classrooms but is home to the zachry department of civil engineering undergraduate student services office and the zachry department of civil 144 engineering graduate student services office (texas a&m university 1940). when approaching the civil engineering building, it is hard not to notice the distinctive exterior design. this design includes sculptures and ornate tile. students, faculty, and guests pass through wooden doors decorated with glass inlay. the foyer is decorated with the original blue and brown tilework. while a majority of the building houses offices and faculty, there are still a few original classrooms equipped with modern audio/visual equipment. conclusion buildings, like the people that occupy them, each tell their unique story. each narrative tells the story of their birth, their development, their changes, and sometimes their end. francis hall and the civil engineering building on the campus of texas a&m university each have a rich heritage that continues. these buildings, once appropriated for veterinary use have, since their construction, been repurposed in response to the expanding curricular needs of a growing university. indeed, their ultimate use may continue to change – time will tell as the university continues to grow in perpetuity. these two buildings, surrounded by others with stories all their own, demonstrate the need to uncover and make available the unique histories of the stalwart edifices that surround and serve the university. references a&m system news. 1950. “architectural council selected to aid giant building program.” january 1950, cushing memorial library and archives, texas a&m university. aggieland. 1956. cushing memorial library and archives, texas a&m university. brw architects. “texas a&m university francis hall renovation.” http://www.brwarch.com/ project/texas-am-university-francis-hallrenovation/ college of architecture. 2017. “frederick e. giesecke.” texas a&m university, https://www.arch.tamu.edu/community/forme rstudents/outstanding-alumni/past honorees/24/. college of engineering. 2016. “history: reflections on more than 140 years of civil engineering history at texas a&m university.” (2016). texas a&m university. https://engineering.tamu.edu/civil/ about/history. dethloff, henry. 1975. a centennial history of texas a&m university, 1976-1976. college station, tx: texas a&m university press. dethloff, henry. 2016. texas a&m university: a pictorial history, 1876-1996 (2nd ed.). college station, tx: association of former students, texas a&m university. fox, stephen. 1998. “bryan-college stationa&m: an architectural tour.” cite: the architecture and design review of houston, 41, 14. langford, earnest. 1963. “here we'll build the college.” cushing memorial library and archives, texas a&m university: college station, tx. mccoy, nancy. 2013. “giesecke and vosper at texas a&m.” texas architect, 6306, 37-40. nichols, linda. 2016. “frederick ernest giesecke.” the handbook of texas online. modified may 16, 2016. https://tshaonline.org /handbook/online/articles/fgi10 nixon, lisa. 1981. “they don't make 'em like that anymore: buildings worth remembering.” the texas aggie, may edition, cushing memorial library and archives, texas a&m university. novak, joseph. 1996. “patterns of tradition: quilts stitch spirit, warm hearts.” the battalion, november 15, 1996, cushing memorial library and archives, texas a&m university. ramsey, casey. 1984. “carved stone figures to http://www.brwarch.com/%20project/texas-am-university-francis-hall-renovation/ http://www.brwarch.com/%20project/texas-am-university-francis-hall-renovation/ http://www.brwarch.com/%20project/texas-am-university-francis-hall-renovation/ https://engineering.tamu.edu/civil/ https://tshaonline.org/ 145 stay on civil engineering building.” the battalion, february 15, 1984, cushing memorial library and archives, texas a&m university. reid, l. m. 1991. “some remarks on the early history of the department of recreation and parks: the first twenty-five years.” http://aglifesciences.tamu.edu/rptsweb/wpcontent/uploads/sites/21/2011/08/les-reidhistory-paper-1.pdf satterfield & pontikes construction, inc. 2015. “renovation of historic francis hall complete.” march 4, 2015. http://www.satpon.com/renovation-ofhistoric-francis-hall-complete/ smith, h. t. 1989. “austin, its architects and architecture 1836-1986.” texas architect, november/december edition. spirit magazine. 2016. “architectural gems: two men changed the landscape in depression-era aggieland.” spring 2016 edition, cushing memorial library and archives, texas a&m university. texas a&m catalogue. 1932-1935. cushing memorial library and archives, texas a&m university. texas a&m university. 1940. “mapping historic aggieland.” http://arcgis.library.tamu.edu/mgl/mha/. the battalion. 1908. “the new buildings.” cushing memorial library and archives, texas a&m university. the battalion. 1916. “preparations complete for opening veterinary school.” july 7, 1916, cushing memorial library and archives, texas a&m university. the battalion. 1950. “construction bids ready for board.” march 15, 1950, cushing memorial library and archives, texas a&m university. the battalion. 1957. “concrete block could prove dangerous to curious thief.” april 2, 1957, cushing memorial library and archives, texas a&m university. the battalion. 1963. “sleeping in lectures, labs should improve this year.” september 1963, cushing memorial library and archives, texas a&m university. the daily bulletin. 1920. “lecture room in francis hall is being improved.” january 18, 1920, cushing memorial library and archives, texas a&m university. the eagle. 1913. “a&m college building statement.” march 27, 1913, cushing memorial library and archives, texas a&m university. the eagle. 1950. “$9 million building program now more than half complete at a&m system branch colleges.” october 3, 1950, cushing memorial library and archives, texas a&m university. the eagle. 1955. “a&m physical improvement appropriations are made”. june 6, 1955, cushing memorial library and archives, texas a&m university. the eagle. 1956. “will remodel vet buildings for civil engineering use.” april 29, 1956, cushing memorial library and archives, texas a&m university. the eagle. 2004. “face-lift coming to a&m.” march 7, 2004, cushing memorial library and archives, texas a&m university. tindel jr., joe. 1983. “bidding opens in july for building renovations.” the battalion, june 9, 1983, cushing memorial library and archives, texas a&m university. winkler, wanda. 1983. “civil engineering building renovation starts thursday.” the battalion, august 29, 1983, cushing memorial library and archives, texas a&m university. https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3a__www.satpon.com_renovation-2dof-2dhistoric-2dfrancis-2dhall-2dcomplete_&d=dwmcag&c=odft-g5sujmigrkuojjjvg&r=j1h72ua7tgb_p4dnes1wvq&m=ttzjyvxjs34xqmmneoq5qzsnltqyttlkpudhrdmogxc&s=uy34k7sqxp-w3nafi9hqymc_mpdhwezpzsdwrgonyqs&e= https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3a__www.satpon.com_renovation-2dof-2dhistoric-2dfrancis-2dhall-2dcomplete_&d=dwmcag&c=odft-g5sujmigrkuojjjvg&r=j1h72ua7tgb_p4dnes1wvq&m=ttzjyvxjs34xqmmneoq5qzsnltqyttlkpudhrdmogxc&s=uy34k7sqxp-w3nafi9hqymc_mpdhwezpzsdwrgonyqs&e= http://arcgis.library.tamu.edu/mgl/mha/ curriculum and the 1970s culture wars: man: a course of study carolyn a. weber julie marie frye connie ables-rigsbee indiana university indiana university franklin college jesse goodman indiana university the recent “culture wars” (hunter 1991) in the united states has not been kind to the k-12 curriculum found in our public schools. as rorty (1999) noted, conservatives have come to dominate what we teach our pre-college age children. conflicts over reading and writing, history, mastery learning, sex and drug education, high stakes testing, and the predetermination and standardization of content have resulted in the near complete demise of progressive pedagogy and curriculum development in our public schools. 1 while many educators wait for the pendulum to swing back towards a more thoughtful and progressive pedagogy, apple and whitty (2002) argue that it may have swung too far to ever return. even with the election of a progressive president who has rejected the conservative foreign, health care, and economic policies of the bush administration, obama seems little interested in changing the direction of k-12 education in our society. as dillon (2009, a1) stated, “we have watched the continued allocation of federal funding to expand the usage of students’ test scores to evaluate teachers (and schools).” no child left behind (nclb) continues under the obama administration which significantly threatens a return to more intellectually engaging curriculum and pedagogy in our public schools. we continue to see the trivialization of learning through the “deskilling” of teachers, the push to “cover” (skim) the topics being taught (i.e., the “skipping stone” curriculum), and an overdependence on rote memorization of facts. due to the hegemony of conservatism, educational practice over the last three decades (and especially during the last bush administration), progressive teachers and administrators are now considered an endangered species by some (e.g., hayes 2006). a few education professors (e.g., cochran-smith 2004; zeichner 2009) have fought this extinction of progressive ideals and practices through teacher education and doctoral programs, but their impact on the elementary teaching and curriculum has not been extensive. with the threat of extinction lurking, progressive educators need to protect and reproduce the rich curriculum for which they stand. one way education historians can help these efforts is to revisit examples of progressive curriculum. they can serve as a reminder of the good fruit that is produced when our focus is on student inquiry, intellectual engagement, and depth of knowledge. man: a course of study (macos) deserves such a revisiting. in response, this paper will first provide a brief review of the historical context and content of macos. next, we describe the macos curriculum, explore the controversies that surrounded the use of this curriculum, and 41 then speculate on what lessons might be learned from this historical event. historical context after the soviets launched sputnik in 1957, the united states responded in many ways, including a call for major reform of public school curriculum. people were frightened by the prospect of a world dominated by the soviet union, and looked to public schools to change their curricula in ways that would promote the sciences as potential occupational goals for the next generation. however, rather than look to educators for generating this curricula, the federal government called upon scientists to create radically new and exciting k-12 curricula for their respective fields (e.g., chemistry, physics, biology). although concerned about how much freedom they would have to create these curricula, many scientists were drawn into this project by the high esteem the government placed upon it and the substantial funding that came with these curriculum grants (rudolph 2002). they wanted curricula that would not only provide students with information, but more importantly, saw knowledge as a catalyst for intellectual engagement and activity (rudolph 2002). in general, they wanted to reproduce, as much as possible, the experiences of being a scientist. as schwab (1963) noted, these new courses were to be based upon students engaging in inquiry projects and depth of study over merely covering material. as one might expect, social scientists did not want to be left out of this government project, and they successfully lobbied for inclusion. one of the leading social scientist of the day, dr. jerome bruner, recruited a number of social scientists and educators in order to create a radically new social studies curriculum. peter dow (personal communication, may 29, 2009) stated that bruner not only wanted to provide knowledge of the social world to children, but more importantly, give students opportunities to “be” social scientists. like their natural science colleagues, bruner wanted to create curricula that encouraged students to make observations, think deeply about these observations, engage in thoughtful discussions with their peers based upon this thinking, and conduct inquiries that would lead to insights about humanity (dow 1991). in addition, bruner advocated for a social studies curriculum that would teach students comparative analytic skills concerning diverse societies, and how to thoughtfully examine the individual’s role within these societies (dow 1991). with this emphasis on diverse societies and the self, developers of this new social studies had high hopes that by creating this curriculum they would give children opportunities to reflect upon what being human means and the state of the human condition. as we (goodman 2006) and others (e.g., gabbard 2008) have discussed, the country was also in the early stages of what became a powerful “conservative restoration.” hursh (2008) noted, this movement represented a “backlash” to the “new left” radicalism of the late 1960s/early 1970s (e.g., elbaum 2002; garfinkle 1995; gitlin 1993; isserman & kazin 2000; kurlansky 2004; rorty 1998). political ideas, policies, and officials that use to be 42 considered “moderate” or “centrist” were recast as “liberal” or “radical” (e.g., easton 2000, wallerstein 1995). within the political realm of society this backlash included events as richard nixon’s “southern strategy” that successfully incorporated the conservative democrats into the republican party, the subsequent election of ronald reagan (and for educators the publication of a nation at risk), which in turn set the stage for the “dixification” of the u.s. economy and culture (cummings 1998) and the election of george w. bush. other examples of this restoration included: the rise of conservative and fundamentalist, christian talk radio such as rush limbaugh, oliver north, gordan liddy, and dr. laura and conservative television networks such as fox news and shows such as the o’rielly factor, hannity, and glenn beck (andersen 1995; durham & kellner 2001); the establishment of numerous well funded, conservative “think tanks” and institutions such as the heritage foundation, john olin foundation, hudson institute, american enterprise institute, and free congress foundation (stefancic & delgado 1996); and the public promotion of conservative intellectuals such as milton friedman, william bennett, and chester finn. local and state school boards were particular targets for conservatives, and their agenda included policies such as public supported vouchers for children going to private schools, high stakes testing, legislation of curriculum content (i.e., standards), emphasis on drilling and memorization of facts, internal racial segregation through tracking, the deskilling of teachers, and a deepening of “savage inequalities” (kozol 1992) related to the inequitable resources provided children of wealthy versus impoverished children (e.g., apple 2001; miller 1995). conflicts over sex education (e.g., laker 2006; moran 2000), history and religion (e.g., zimmerman 2002), and evolution (e.g., humes 2007) began to emerge across the country. as previously mentioned, one of the first conflicts arose over the macos curriculum. however, before exploring this struggle and what can be learned from it, we review a few more details of this innovative program of study. the beginnings of macos after watching early implementation trials of the physical science study committee’s (pssc) curriculum, bruner became determined to create a course in the social sciences (dow 1991). what gave him academic momentum was more than just his established career as a cognitive psychologist. he wanted to connect two of the main topics within the field of social studies education: the interest in the self’s relationship to society and the need for intellectually engaging, inquiry-focused curricula and pedagogy. he was particularly interested in the possibility of relatively young children engaged in sophisticated intellectual activity. his rationale was: if 10 and 11 year olds can conduct thoughtful inquiries around a substantive topic (e.g., the nature of humanity), then educators could make similar efforts for older children. as a result, he focused his team on developing a fifth grade social studies curriculum (kraus 1977). according to dow (personal communication, may 29, 2009), bruner 43 selected this target audience to determine if children could learn inquiry skills that were often associated with advanced college-aged students. he decided to do this through the social science lens of anthropology. the curriculum team: bruner, practicing educators, and respected scholars after bruner took a sabbatical to teach public school fifth graders, he was well-positioned to be the “architect” of a new curriculum aimed at the intellectual engagement of this age group (evans, 2004 p. 126). because the curriculum development project was well-funded by the federal government, with contributions of well over four million dollars, bruner was able to sign on like-minded, creative experts to contribute to the macos curriculum with the promise that they could design something completely different from what had been previously taught in social studies classrooms (kraus 1977). differing from the other federally funded curriculum development projects in which scientists were sole designers, bruner partnered with elementary school teachers in the writing of an anthropology curriculum for 10 and 11 year-olds. one educator, peter dow, became especially interested in bruner’s efforts. dow (1991) claimed that “hearing bruner…deepened my conviction that collaboration between scholars and teachers could improve the process of schooling” (4). in addition to educators, bruner sought assistance from a number of his harvard colleagues in the anthropology department (lutkehaus 2008). he asked these anthropologists to help him “find better ways to bridge the gap between the organizing conjectures of [anthropology] and the developing intelligence of the young” (dow 1991, 72). thus, they were not serving just as content experts, but also were fully invested in the pedagogical goals of macos. the team agreed that the best way to teach social studies was not through the recitation of surface-level facts, but through looking at one discipline in great depth (dow 1991). this would allow students to reach a broader understanding of curriculum concepts. after much discussion, the anthropologists suggested that the following three questions be at the core of the macos curriculum: 1) what is human about (wo)man? 2) how did humans become who they are? 3) how can one become more human? (kennedy 1973). to help students explore these questions, macos focused on a re-creation of the netsilik indians’ traditional lifestyle, thus providing an indepth study of humans in a pre-modern environment. 2 the macos curriculum bruner’s team of scholars and educators worked from 1963 to 1969 in developing the materials for macos: 24 student booklets, nine volume teachers’ guides, 16 color films with natural sound; five filmstrips; four audio records; three simulation games; eskimo cards; and 23 maps, posters, and photomurals (kraus 1977). they also carefully wrote these materials in ways that reflected a progressive approach to pedagogy including, 44 but not limited to: offering fascinating and informative visual and reading materials, having students make observations and speculations about this material, and regularly involving students in reflective exercises, frequently asking students to draw connections between the curriculum and their own lives. perhaps the most innovative concept was introduced by ethnographer balikci’s film which gave students the opportunity to view a pre-modern culture without a narrator explaining what was taking place in the films. instead, balikci designed the films to ask students to summarize and interpret the unique, cultural rituals and other activities viewed, while also reflecting on their own cultural beliefs and identity. as previously mentioned, an integral part of the curriculum was reflection. daily, students were encouraged to organize their thoughts of newly introduced concepts and ideas and share them aloud (laird 2003). macos designers wanted to ensure that teachers modeled life-long-learning for their students. thus, receiving this curriculum also required teachers to participate in training sessions in which they would discuss its core ideas and receive additional resources and strategies for classroom use. as wolcott (2007, 199) explained, “in addition to summer institutes, macos teachers in each district gathered for a day or two of inservice training several times throughout the school year.” it was not acceptable for teachers to merely read through the teachers’ manuals and use them verbatim. instead, manuals were designed to deepen and enrich teachers’ knowledge of the subject matter as well as stimulate their curiosity and intellect. for the macos team, it was important to stress that this curriculum was to be “scientific,” or more specifically, anthropological. professional development sessions revealed that macos wanted teachers and their students to learn about their own culture through studying one that was far removed from their daily lives. this in-service training would often raise subtle issues for teachers to consider. for example, the curriculum was never intended to critique the “american values” (as critics claimed), but rather provide them with opportunities to understand the role values played in the construction of culture and how the size, history, geography (cultural and natural), and economics of a given culture influences its values (laird 2003). in responding to critics, dow (1991, 192) explained this position by claiming “schools…should concern themselves with the growth of the mind, not with the transmission of belief.” according to dow (personal communication, may 29, 2009), teachers found these training sessions to be beneficial in terms of not only understanding what should be taught, but also for their own intellectual engagement. the controversy while sputnik encouraged the idea that schools needed to do more to prepare students for the space age, american education did not change quickly, and politicians had much to say about that change. as dow (1991, 8) explained, “historically, we have been more concerned about promoting democratic values, 45 transmitting universally accepted skills like the three r’s, and socializing the young into useful lives within their local communities than about cultivating the intellect.” the mood sputnik created changed this orientation towards reform very briefly, but soon the old ideas of value transmission and surface level knowledge returned. the macos curriculum developers conducted a pilot study during the summer of 1966 to work through any problems. they tested the textual content and teacher participants revealed potential concerns. dow (1991, 68) explained that this inappropriate content illustrated a chasm between “scholars preparing materials and [those] who were using them.” however, most of these concerns related to the level of abstract thought required of students rather than the topics found in the curriculum. as dow noted in an interview, some teachers also questioned if students could understand the number of different concepts (e.g., evolution, cultural values, myths, rituals, modernism) explored in macos. in response to these concerns, macos designers did make a few alterations to the curriculum. this feedback, however, completely overlooked possible critiques that eventually emerged from politicians, conservative community activists, and parent allies. perhaps the reason for this lack of foresight was, in part, due to the fact that the teachers involved in the pilot study shared bruner’s progressive views towards teaching and learning. unfortunately, the creators never anticipated the previously mentioned conservative backlash that was taking place in the united states during the 1970s, and would soon focus its attack on the macos curriculum. one of the first signs of the mounting conservative backlash in the united states was manifested by political attacks against macos. the controversy began with conservatives voicing objections to a number of progressive pedagogical activities from the late 1960s, and included, “a distrust of federally sponsored curriculum innovation, an increased involvement of parents in curriculum choices, and a demand for a return to the ‘basics’ of reading, writing, mathematics, history, and judeochristian values” (dow 1991, 178). because macos was anything but the basic or conservative, “the historical timing for macos…could not have been worse. caught in the crossfire between social upheaval, a counterculture movement, and a new-conservative reaction, cognitive processes and relativistic social studies were doomed from the start” (goetz 1992, 520). at its peak in 1972, macos was taught to over 400,000 students; however, by 1975 it was at the forefront of the argument in congress about the federal government’s control over education. distancing itself from the cultural debate, the national science foundation withdrew the majority of macos funding (laird 2003). by the late 1970s macos barely existed inside american schools. as the program director, dow was responsible for defending macos to congress in 1975. upon reflection, he (1991, 5) realized that in the united states (and probably most, if not all, other countries), “decisions about educational reform are driven far more by political 46 considerations, such as the prevailing public mood, than they are by any systematic effort to improve instruction.” within the political arena of society where traditional values came face to face with what conservatives considered to be shocking and immoral lessons of macos, conventional values prevailed. many united states’ politicians and citizens were not ready to accept macos’ respect for and understand of a hunting/gathering culture as a way for young people to comprehend our own modern society. consequently, macos received intense criticism from conservatives. they raised a number of concerns that resulted in an emotionally charged attack on progressive curricula and learning experiences that continues up to the present. various interest groups and individuals fueled opposition against macos, ranging from right-wing extremists to those with educated concerns. challengers included parents, ministers, textbook critics, and politicians. in particular, macos foes found a national voice in arizona representative john conlan who used his house committee on science and technology membership to undermine macos in congress. 3 this committee had partial control over the national science foundation’s budget. according to dow (1991), instead of introducing macos during a subcommittee meeting as typically done when a member has a concern about a particular appropriation, conlan waited until the full committee’s meeting and then viciously attacked the curriculum. dow (1991) claimed conlan did this with the full knowledge that fellow committee members knew little or nothing about macos. very few members of congress actually studied the material, even after conlan railed against it (dow 1991). conlan’s first amendment to end funding for macos failed after missouri congressman symington “recounted the history of conlan’s opposition to the course, describing his various political maneuvers, including the latest amendment, as a strategy for circumventing a solution already agreed to by the national science foundation” (dow 1991, 214). however, progressive educators were not able to celebrate long, as a more conservative amendment passed which required “congressional review of all nsf grant proposals every thirty days” (dow 1991, 215). as a result, during the next round of approved grants, conlan was determined to terminate financial support of macos. as noted by kraus (1977), conlan argued that macos: 1) taught children to accept senilicide and female infanticide; 2) required children to view excessive blood and gore in scenes of killing and butchering animals; 3) condoned inappropriate sexual behavior such as trial marriages, polygamy and polyandry, wife swapping, and bestiality; 4) treated religion as myth; 5) promoted the teaching of evolution as fact; and 6) excused instances of murder and other acts of revenge. while many concerns were inaccurate or exaggerated, others had some merit. however, as will be discussed below, even these were often exaggerated and misleading. unfortunately, with the exception of a few congressmen, no one at the time seemed interested in whether or not these charges were accurate, half truths, or 47 outright lies. our analysis suggested that there were three types of criticisms that doomed this innovative curriculum. misleading and scandalous criticisms many of the controversies raised had no validity; in fact, opposition was raised by people who had not even read all (or possibly any) of the macos materials and thus jumped to erroneous conclusions. as kraus (1977) explained, many of the criticisms were sensationalized. for example, a floridian baptist minister argued macos taught children about sex which horrified his followers (dow, 1991). he jumped to this conclusion after learning that the macos teachers’ manual encouraged classrooms to have “live animals such as grasshoppers, mealworms, crickets, gerbils, or mice in the classroom so that pupils could observe life cycle stages, including the birth of offspring” (dow 1991, 179). the sheer shock value of claiming that macos was teaching ten-year-olds about sex was enough to generate fear and anger among many who had not read any of the course materials. similar to the example above, most of the criticisms that fueled controversy were based on information that was not mentioned in books to which pupils had access. most of this information was found exclusive in teachers’ manuals as explanatory and background information for adults, not intended for students. for example, one of the most sensationalized charges was that the macos curriculum legitimized cannibalism which was mentioned in the teacher’s manual, talks to teachers. tuneq, a netsilik who, during a famine, chose to: save his own life by eating his wife. at first he only cut small pieces from her clothing and ate them…the wife knew that the spirits had said her husband should eat her, but she was so exhausted that it made no impression on her. … she ran for her life, and then it was as if tuneq saw her only as a quarry that was about to escape him; he ran after her and stabbed her to death… tuneq’s brother itqilik ate his younger brother….his younger brother was frostbitten in both feet so that he was unable to walk. gangrene set in, and as his feet were quite numb, itqulik cut them off his living brother and ate them (rassmussen 1968, 91). obviously, modernist values do not endorse cannibalistic activity. yet, it was not in any way part of the students’ curriculum and was intended only for teachers’ background knowledge as a way to illustrate the differences between modern american society and this isolated culture where survival was often extremely difficult. its purpose was to enhance teachers’ understanding of the complexities embedded in anthropology. similar to cannibalism, the topics of divorce, trial marriage, polygamy, polyandry, and wife-swapping are only mentioned in talks to teachers. the issues of divorce and trial marriage within the netsilik community were described as “common as long as there [were] no children, and there [were] women who [went] through seven or eight trial marriages before they finally settle[d] down” 48 (rassmussen 1968, 108). polygamy was also acceptable in the netsilik culture: “if a man has more than one wife it is consequently always a sign of good standing and especial skill as a hunter” (rassmussen 1968, 109). a common practice among netsilik women was polyandry: “it [was] no rare occurrence for a woman to have two husbands…these marriages [seldom] run smoothly, especially if the men are young, for it very often ends in one of them being killed” (rasmussen 1968, 109-110). finally, wife-swapping occurred in netsilik communities for: men who usually follow one another at a song festival. [they] are considered to be so closely associated that not only after the ceremony but at all times when they feel inclined they can exchange wives…if a man is about to set out on a long journey – perhaps to trade and his wife is with child, sick or in some other manner unfit to go with him, he can borrow the wife of his iglua (song-fellow) to accompany him, giving his own in exchange (rassmussen 1968, 110). these five controversial topics would be difficult to defend if they were found as directions for living in students’ textbooks. if teachers used the instructor guides as originally intended, students would never have been exposed to this information. critics seemed to suggest that if teachers had this information, they would pass it onto their students. they implied that the discussion of these issues in talks to teachers was, in fact, an endorsement of these practices rather than as an illustration of how diverse cultures live by different values based upon their environment. suggesting otherwise was a gross (and purposeful) misreading (or non-reading) of the materials. exaggerated concerns some of the grievances conlan and others raised were technically valid, in that they did exist in the macos student materials; however, the substance of these concerns was greatly exaggerated. for example, bestiality is found in the student books as critics noted. however, their implication was that macos materials somehow encouraged this type of sexual activity. although no images or discussion of bestiality was presented as something the nestilik indians did, it was mentioned in the discussion of their myths. for example, the story of kiviok, a man who traveled “from village to village, taking animals as wives” (kraus 1977, 74) was presented as a myth. macos was clearly not suggesting that the nestilik indians actually engaged in this sexual practice. yet, this charge was made many times against macos. what is particularly disturbing was that many elementary, social studies texts published similar myths at the time, but only macos was singled out for criticism. for example, greek myths tell the story of zeus changing into a bull to seduce europa, a young woman, and changing into an eagle to kidnap ganymede, a young male. in this regard greek myths were no different than the netsilik myths, just more culturally familiar. again, the opponents to macos 49 exaggerated the inclusion of this controversial topic for political and religious reasons, and these exaggerations had only the slightest connection to the full truth. in response, these myths were “quietly eased out of the program” by macos curriculum developers even before some of the public complaints about the myths began, and yet this exaggeration continued to be widely expressed (wolcott 2007, 200). the macos adversaries cared little and only intensified their campaign to remove it from schools. similar to bestiality, senilicide also appeared in students’ books. however, the portrayal of this act in the course was very different than how those arguing against macos presented it. in the materials, the choice by an elderly woman to remain behind so that the rest of her family could survive a hunting journey was done as an act of community/family survival and not as a systematic death ritual (kraus 1977). opponents misrepresented the story pretending the woman was brutally forced into staying behind against her will (kraus 1977). even though it was the choice of the old woman to remain behind, macos curriculum developers were sensitive to the presentation of senilicide to students. teachers not prepared to discuss this cultural practice were carefully trained through the teachers’ manuals. senilicide was presented in a chapter of talks to teachers as a common way of life for the netsilik, where the elderly were culturally expected to commit suicide once their children or grandchildren would have to care for them: “old people, who can no longer keep themselves, prefer to put an end to their life by hanging rather than drag themselves through life in poverty and helpless old age” (rassmussen 1968, 92-93). netsilik peoples believed that senilicide was “how it is, and we see no wickedness in it” (rassmussen 1968, 94). in explaining this practice, it was noted that “they do this merely not only to rid [one] life that is no longer a pleasure, but also to relieve their nearest relations of the trouble they give them” (rassmussen 1968, 95). given this careful discussion, macos developers were surprised it was used as ammunition against them, and had a difficult time responding to the charge that macos “supported” the killing of old people (dow, personal communication, may 29, 2009). conlan made another exaggerated criticism that the macos films contained gore and excessive blood in scenes of killing and butchering animals. upon careful review of the films, we and others (e.g., wolcott 2007) found a couple of hunting scenes with some (but not excessive) blood; however, these encompassed only an extremely small fraction of screen time. curriculum opponents presented this “gore” as if it were much more frequent and detailed (kraus 1977). these films were a realistic portrayal of what hunting actually involved. while there were elements that supported conservatives’ concerns within the student materials (i.e. bestiality, senilicide, and excessive gore and violence), our careful review of the curriculum did not support these attacks. one might think in light of these criticisms that the creators of macos were completely insensitive to conventional 50 family values of american citizens. however, this accusation is inaccurate. during the design of macos, content was removed because the developers were concerned that certain aspects would be too controversial. for example, they chose not to use videos of african bushmen because they were “half-naked” even though the teachers and students spoke highly of these films in early reviews (dow 1991, 122). the other films were also carefully made and edited to avoid unnecessary attacks. nevertheless, in their attempt to create an intellectually engaging curriculum, the macos scholars did make some ironically naive decisions. valid concerns a couple of the issues on conlan’s “hit list” did have some validity. with hindsight, one might have cautioned against the macos section in which the practice of female infanticide was presented even though teachers were trained to discuss it thoughtfully with students. the children’s books explained that the custom of killing a female child, not promised in marriage, was done so with great sorrow and difficulty in order to save the rest of the family from starvation during harsh winters (kraus 1977). however, trying to help young children understand the justification for killing female children for whatever reason was bound to cause objections. while this criticism was fostered by conservatives, one can imagine contemporary feminists also objecting to the presentation of this information unless the killing of female babies was overtly condemned in the materials. there are clearly other points of information found in macos that one might consider inappropriate for young children. however, the conservative attacks were designed to destroy this curriculum rather than modify its content in order to make it more suitable for children’s sensitivities. as previously mentioned, dow defended macos in his role as project director. for example, in 1971 he was asked to debate two critics on an arizona radio station, where the radio host was also against teaching macos. dow’s (1991, 191) reaction to this debate illustrated the difficulty of advocating for a curriculum that many simply would not tolerate and had no real interest in understanding: the debate with musselman and day and stuart proved to be more thought-provoking and less painful than i had feared. although serious dialogue was impossible, since my opponents were close-minded and fanatically rigid in their views, i admired their perseverance and their devotion to what they believed. dow noted that musselman and day diverged from most of the detractors in that they had actually read and studied the macos materials, as well as other works by bruner (dow 1991). they also made dow think about what macos included and why. he left the confrontation questioning why they had included some of the more controversial information and images and if these were good educational decisions. while these topics of controversy may have been interesting and important, in 51 reflection, dow (may 29, 2009) questioned if their inclusion in macos was necessary to foster students’ intellectual engagement. if the creators had considered more carefully how their content might be received by the general public or even teachers, would they have been able to avoid some of the major controversies? the expressed goals of macos creators certainly were not controversial. as dow (1991, 56) stated, it was hoped that macos would “stress those features of the western tradition that would help young people comprehend the philosophical roots of american democratic beliefs and institutions.” however, these beliefs were likely connected to american scholarly values of making warranted assertions without regard for the social implications of this information. while this ideal is central for scholarship, macos educators would have done well to be more sensitive to the intended audience of this curriculum. in any case, these goals were overshadowed by these controversies. even though most criticisms were unfounded, misleading, or exaggerated, macos was successfully removed from schools. lessons learned a return to this controversial curriculum has given us opportunities to consider what might be learned from macos and the political struggle that surrounded its implementation. although many implications can be explored, due to space limitations we focus our attention on three of what we consider the most important for progressive-thinking educators who work in schools or teacher education programs. substantive curriculum development as several scholars (e.g., apple 2001; gabbard 2007; meier & wood 2004; ravitch 2009; sunderman, kim & orfield 2005) have noted, nclb has forced many educators to focus all of their attention on getting students to improve their scores on math and language arts standardized tests. the curriculum in this environment rarely encourages teachers to engage their students intellectually as they emphasize test taking preparation. in addition, many elementary schools in an effort to avoid being declared “failures,” have narrowed the official curriculum and all but eliminated social studies, science, and art (e.g., boyle-baise, hsu, johnson, serriere & stewart 2008). the punitive outcomes for schools whose students fail to perform on standardized tests keep teachers in professional development training focused on teaching to the test. national funding is focused on a narrow definition of “scientific-based” teaching methods. teachers and curriculum developers are rarely encouraged to stimulate children’s curiosity, reflection, imagination, synthesizing abilities, or analytical reasoning. exploring interesting topics in the social or natural sciences is extremely limited in this age of accountability and test scores. children are almost never asked to understand the unfamiliar or delve into questions such as what it means to be human as macos curriculum encouraged. ironically, perhaps more than ever (due to globalization and the need for greater 52 democracy and social justice), young people would benefit from intellectually engaging materials that teach them to speculate about the world around them; inquire about cultural beliefs; and learn to develop their own conclusions based on a diversity of resources. we would be wise to teach them that it is okay to question basic cultural assumptions and the nature of the human condition. despite its unpopularity, educators would do well to resist the current myopic view of school curriculum. we realize that in current school climate, teachers and curriculum designers must take risks and must exercise their civic courage in order to provide our children with a substantive education. fortunately, there are still teachers and other educators willing to go beyond drilling and testing of utilitarian skills and help children develop their powers of thought and intelligence (e.g., boylebaise, bernens-kinkead, coake, loudermilk, lukasik, podany; johnstonparsons in press). anticipating controversy the mere idea of significantly changing the pre-established curriculum and substantively reforming the way curriculum is taught is controversial in and of itself. teachers are often overwhelmed by the constant stream of new “programs” they must adopt each school year. when schools change from one curriculum to another – or alter how things are taught, teachers often feel frustrated and threatened. what was wrong with the “old” way and the “old” curriculum? do i have to design new curriculum or teach in different ways? do i have to learn new information and concepts? in the case of macos, many teachers said “yes” to these and other questions. years later, dow recognized this dynamic. he (1991, 4-5) claimed that “by challenging many of the conventional assumptions about both the content and methodology of instruction, [curriculum developers] threatened teachers, alienated publishers, and confused parents.” this oversight caused more problems than the macos team ever expected. progressive educators would do well to approach curriculum reform by collaborating with practicing educators and the public at large in order to be successful. we might learn from bruner’s mistake of gathering a team of people with few diverse pedagogical or social values or experiences. while most educators would value harvard scholars and well-respected scientists as contributors to the curriculum, their expertise was not necessarily the most crucial in terms of developing a successful elementary social science curriculum. their ideas and feedback failed to take into consideration the conservative backlash that might occur. while the macos team did make some important revisions, like editing out the half-naked african bushman from the curriculum, their efforts were not enough. without diverse feedback on a curricular project, its impact is unpredictable because of the highly political nature of education. macos designers did not really “consider the social and political ramifications of their work” (dow 1991, 30), and in our interview with dow, he once again remarked “how politically naive we were” (personal communication, may 29, 2009). 53 this naiveté begs the question: could macos have avoided the controversies it generated? certainly, if the macos designers had sought out reactions from a more politically diverse group of individuals, they might have avoided some of its more inflammatory content. for example, this feedback might have suggested that macos was geared at the wrong age group. one must ask if there would have been the degree of controversy if macos was taught as an elective, high school anthropology course, rather than a fifth grade required social studies class. others might have pointed out that an anthropology course in the fifth grade would replace the traditional focus on american history for these children. the insight of educators with more diverse ideologies or those working in non-academic environments, particularly on the teachers’ manual, might have illuminated the controversial components of the curriculum that could have been more competently explained, defended, or revised. for example, the curriculum was accused of questioning sacred cannons of christianity in the name of moral relativism which might have been prevented or defended more successfully if the creators of macos had been more fully prepared. getting this more diverse feedback might have forewarned the macos scholars about the turbulent political and religious temperatures of the politicians, teachers, and the communities of the time. perhaps more diverse feedback would have provided the makers of macos with ideas to avoid a public protest that “wanted a more traditionally ‘american’ and authoritative perspective fed to students” (evans 2004, 144). as wolcott (2007, 200) stated, “the initial inclusion of such potentially controversial material (e.g., the kiviok myth) illustrates the blinders toward public criticism that those connected with the program tended to wear at the time.” however, in light of the conservative restoration and backlash that has emerged in reaction to the 1960s new left (and now the obama administration), it can be argued that macos was doomed from the beginning. if nothing else, its support of biological evolution would have been a cause for controversy. the united states is, when it comes to education, much more conservative than it was during the turbulent 1960s/70s. one lesson progressive educators would do well to learn is to recognize that our nation has a large, well organized and financed, conservative activist group, which often appeals to basic fears and prejudices of americans. creating an effective discourse to counter this conservative ideology is crucial if education in our public schools is ever to become more stimulating and meaningful. progressive educators are known for our sensitivity to other cultures; it is time we consider our own when creating curriculum. this sensitivity is especially needed when it comes to children. as luker (2006) insightfully notes in her study of the culture wars over sex education, although most progressive thinking citizens and educators believe that it is best to expose children to scientific and modernist cultural ideals (e.g., democracy, social justice, tolerance, diversity), conservatives view much of our modern society with trepidation and believe 54 they must protect their children from evil and sinful ideas and images. in our imperfect democracy, we would be wise to take these fears and ideas into consideration when creating thoughtful and intellectually engaging curricula. had the macos creators thought more about the content they were presenting to these young children and focused more on the types of learning experiences they wanted children to have, or developed the materials for teenagers, these controversies might have been avoided and macos might still be with us today. however, as previously mentioned, it is also very possible that the creators of macos could do nothing to protect their work in light of the larger socio-political conservative trends of the times. preservation of materials a final lesson to be learned from the macos experience concerns the possibility that excellent ideas which are out of step with the times may be lost to future generations. educators, and more specifically school administrators, are known for adopting a given instructional program one year only to adopt a different program the following year. as kliebard (1970) demonstrated long ago, being aware of our curricular history is extremely important. what happens to discarded curricula, such as macos, that might not have had adequate time to be successful in our schools’ quest to improve the education of our children? after 1975, when it was all but eradicated from the public schools, the macos curriculum spent decades in dow’s basement with little interest from educators or scholars (personal communication, may 29, 2009). morrissett (1975) noted, instead of building upon macos’ innovation, educators ignored what they had once believed to be a very successful curriculum. this abandonment was (is) indicative of the way in which the censorship of the social studies curriculum affected the national climate in terms of decreasing their “optimism about the climate for innovation” (morrissett, 1975). yet forty years later, our review of the materials point to a clear indication of the intellectual value macos had. more than being just a template to revise anthropological or an inquiry-based curriculum, macos represents an historical battleground where progressive educators struggled for academic freedom. educators need opportunities to view historical, controversial teaching materials to make sense of the battles between traditionalists and progressives. during the last three decades progressive educators have completely failed to articulate ideas that illustrate the value and benefits of inquiry based pedagogy and intellectually engaging curricula. perhaps future generations of progressive educators and scholars will be more successful if they study what happened to macos and other progressive curricula and instructional programs. if libraries are to be repositories of our cultural past, protectors of our cultural heritage, collections like macos need to be preserved in academic libraries whose collections are published in worldcat and that boast flexible interlibrary loan policies (cloonan 2007). these preservation efforts will play an important role for future educators and scholars who are interested in 55 progressive pedagogy. furthermore, this may be the only way to teach the next generation of curriculum designers and scholars how to anticipate similar attacks on future progressive efforts. without preserving collections like macos, the lessons learned are merely waiting to be discovered in the basements and cellars of progressive educators who stand alone in their belief in the power of intellectually engaging curriculum. if hayes (2006) has correctly predicted the extinction of progressive educators, then the special collections of academic libraries are the final remnant for progressive ideals to firmly take root in american public education. conclusion although one can understand why the creators of macos were unprepared for the culture war that erupted in the late 1970s, we have few illusions of such activities today. as previously mentioned, conservatives have clearly taken over control of the public school curriculum. this control has been solidified through the creation of state standards by elected members of state boards of education, and as previously mentioned, high stakes testing. however, conservatives have not stopped their efforts to completely dominate what children are taught in our schools. for example, the texas board of education recently passed new textbook standards which minimized (at first the effort was to eliminate) any mention of thomas jefferson’s support for the “separation between church and state” and reduced many references to people of color who have contributed to our nation’s and other nation’s democracy and social justice. this development is particularly problematic given the power texas has in influencing the content of textbooks across the nation (mckinley 2010). similarly, arizona recently passed a law that forbids the teaching of ethnic studies in public schools (santa cruz 2010). given the political nature of school curriculum, and the conservative attitudes that dominate our electorate, it is, perhaps, not surprising that macos was only one effort in what has become a movement to eliminate all progressive curricula or pedagogy from our children’s schooling. macos was one of the most intellectually engaging and meaningful curriculum ever created for public schools. although the curriculum did not overtly condemn cultural practices that most united states’ citizens find disturbing, the criticisms were by and large misleading and unfair. in particular, macos asked students to explore fundamental questions of what it means to be human; how cultures have changed over the centuries, and the relationships and commitments we have towards each other. it did not merely provide information for students to memorize and regurgitate, but rather, used information to foster students’ powers of imagination, speculation, analysis, synthesis, and curiosity. it did not tell students what to think or value, and this fact alone, was disturbing to our more conservative citizens. its complete removal from our public schools was unfortunate and unjustified. macos is exactly the type of curriculum that in a democracy, even an imperfect democracy such as our own, educators 56 should build upon. however, if curricula, such as macos, are ever going to find their way into american public schools, then educators and scholars will have to articulate ideas in ways that avoid unnecessary controversies and in ways that the public at large find important and appealing. 57 notes 1 one curricular struggle that conservatives have failed to win is the battle over teaching evolution versus “intelligent design” or “creationism” in science classes (humes 2007). although the courts have prevented the latter pseudo-sciences from being officially recognized and taught, many teachers teach as little evolution as possible to avoid conservative attacks. in addition, the obama administration has supported comprehensive instead of “absence only” sex and drug education, but here, too, the impact on most classroom curricula has been minimal. of course, as recent efforts by conservatives in texas and arizona illustrate, many conservatives still believe that our k-12 schools are too “liberal” (e.g., mckinley 2010; santa cruz 2010). 2 macos also had students study animals to help children understand humans’ basic relationship to other mammals, other pre-agricultural people such as the bushmen as a way to draw comparisons between early and modern humans. 3 dow (1991) suggests that conlan might have used macos as a way to further his own political future. whether or not conlan authentically believed that this curriculum would be harmful to students or if he was just trying to make political gains at its expense is difficult to confirm. most likely, there were elements of both 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practising them. they are to be accepted willingly as desirable forms of conduct; they cannot be developed by coercion. the school, therefore, must be organized to permit their exercise and growth in situations that require their practice. hence, opportunities should be provided for children to work together in groups, each child sharing in the planning, execution, and completion of worth-while tasks. 1 abstract this essay considers ontario as a space of reception for progressive education in the period immediately following world war i. it discusses the reforms to ontario's curriculum that were heavily inspired by progressivist thinking. in the context, progressive education concerned three themes, which reflected a concern for building schools that fit the modern, progressive age; these concerned a focus on the individual learner, promoting active learning, and correlating schools with social life. the curriculum reforms, it is argued, attempted to weave consistency and order out of three parallel progressivist orientations: child study, social efficiency, and social meliorism. introduction this paper considers the period between 1937 and 1942, which entailed broad and thorough revisions to ontario‘s public school curricula. also, canada‘s participation in world war ii and the very significant threat that global conflict posed for the maintenance and preservation of democracy brought about some shifts in progressivist rhetoric. the province‘s popular educational journals, which had heretofore consistently and almost stubbornly adverse to discussing or debating political matters, rallied behind the cause of a democratic education for a progressive world. still, the progressivist articles did not engage in any rhetorical disputes regarding different visions for school reform. despite their willingness to engage with democratic pedagogical themes on a large and international scale, the journals remain diffident with regards to oppositional progressivist discourses within ontario. as such, there is a stark absence of editorial critiques about the curriculum reforms or of commentary on the government‘s stance on matters such as labour disputes. the journals were, in general, supportive of the ontario government. 2 many voices were absent in these sources. those that were included weighed in on pedagogical matters with cautious optimism, leaning toward a consensus view that democracy was a beacon of hope in times of darkness. in this context, duncan mcarthur, as a major figure in the curriculum revisions and a voice in the periodicals, was aiming to weave together progressivist currents of opinion into a broad and cohesive vision to guide ontario‘s school reforms. 62 reforming the provincial curriculum in 1934, as the worst of the depression began to ease, a new government led by mitchell hepburn was elected to lead ontario to better days. among his many campaign promises, hepburn‘s vow to overhaul the education system was particularly appealing to ontario‘s educationists, who for fifteen years following the end of world war i had presented progressivist visions in the periodicals. since 1923, ontario‘s premiers had retained the education portfolio for themselves; consequently, hepburn argued that the department of education had been led by men lacking ―particular training‖ in educational matters. 3 dr. leo j. simpson, the new minister of education, had been a school board trustee in barrie and was considered a good party organizer with grassroots support among trustees and educators. 4 the new deputy minister of education and chief director of education, duncan mcarthur, would become the driving force behind the department‘s push to reform ontario‘s schools. in robert stamp‘s view: actual leadership was assumed by the new deputy minister, duncan mcarthur. this was the outstanding educator hepburn had been seeking for over a year—a queen‘s university history professor, member of the kingston board of education, and a man who had the respect of the province‘s teachers. hepburn had failed to lure mcarthur into the political arena as a liberal candidate in the 1934 election, but the subsequent offer of the senior civil service position in the department had its appeal. eventually, mcarthur would have a taste of both worlds, for he moved from deputy minister to minister following simpson‘s death six years later. 5 among the first announcements by the newly formed department of education was a promise to review and revise ontario‘s course of study. 6 the curriculum of ontario‘s schools did undergo considerable change, most notably in 1937 and 1938. the reforms to the program of study in those years represent a culmination of the progressivist reform energies and an attempt to institutionalize progressivist practice in schools. the revised curriculum embodied the core progressivist principles as defined in this thesis, making provisions for individual learners, active learning, and studies of relevance to contemporary society. e. j. transom from the central public school in timmins, trying to be objective in his assessment of ontario‘s curriculum revisions, explained the primary difference between the ―old‖ and ―new‖ courses of study as follows: ―the old course stressed, almost exclusively, subject matter to be learned. the new course introduces other factors, like personality development, and socialization or citizenship.‖ 7 it also brought together many of the concerns raised in progressivist journal articles since 1919, including the study of extant social problems, the fostering of community, enterprise learning, health studies, and opportunities for students to have options regarding their courses of study. 8 as far back as 1911, reference had been made to the need for ontario‘s educational system to broaden the course of study so that it could better relate to a modern world and its various needs. 9 one prime focus was the need to differentiate between a program that would provide general learning leading to university matriculation and a program that would prepare students more narrowly for particular domains in society. 10 it was not until 1937 that the shift toward a progressivist paradigm would fully transform ontario‘s program of study. 63 one of the most significant themes in the revised program was the attempt to balance a concern for developing a common curriculum and an interest in enabling individual choice. consequently, upon entering high school, all of ontario‘s students were introduced to a common grade 9 program that featured certain compulsory subjects: ―english, social studies, health and physical education, business practice and writing, mathematics, general or agricultural science, french, general shop for boys and home economics for girls, and music and art.‖ 11 english, social studies, and health remained compulsory subjects in grade 10, whereas in grades 11 and 12 history replaced social studies as the third compulsory subject. further, students had to select four of the following optional subjects to supplement their core curriculum: ―mathematics, science or agriculture, shop or home economics, and music and art or music or art.‖ 12 there were slight variations in the optional courses available to students in the industrial, home economics, commercial, and art courses. as w. g. fleming argues, with respect to program revisions for the elementary schools, the programme of studies for grades i to vi of the public and separate schools, 1937 ―was an event of considerable importance of the evolution of curriculum in elementary schools in ontario because of the progressive outlook defined in the introduction and embodied in the recommendations.‖ 13 the ontario program had been developed by a committee of educators led by thornton mustard and s. a. watson and was heavily influenced by the deputy minister of education, duncan mcarthur. in 1936, mcarthur had selected mustard, of toronto normal school, and watson, from keele street public school, and instructed them to lead the committee. these two educationists ―were pragmatists, convinced by the realities of the depression that a different approach to classroom learning was necessary to prepare students for an uncertain future.‖ 14 in light of the dramatic effects wrought by modernity, faith in a stable, predictable future had been shaken. 15 their report and the ensuing revised programme drew many of their ideas and phrasing from reports of the consultative committee of the board of education in great britain, which dealt with the topics of adolescence, primary schooling, and nursery schools. 16 the ontario programme dealt with many similar interests, but not exclusively so. a concentration on health was one relatively new domain for education stressed in the revised curriculum, involving the maintenance of healthy environments in schools and the provision of experiences that could produce lifelong healthy habits. the instructional aspects of health education were framed in terms consistent with my definition of progressive rhetoric, as described most consistently by child study progressivist articles. in other words, the instructional aspects should relate to social life and activity as experienced outside of the school. so important was this aim of health promotion that the department of education issued a handbook for teachers in 1938 to facilitate its implementation in the schools. 17 the teaching aid, titled health: a handbook of suggestions for teachers in public and separate schools was prepared by members of a joint committee on the teaching of health, appointed from the department of education and the department of health of the province of ontario. 18 its chapters addressed a variety of topics, including the ―need and meaning of health education,‖ ―health instruction in the grades,‖ ―the human body: scientific and technical information for the teacher,‖ and ―communicable diseases.‖ 19 further, the 64 handbook included a glossary of terms, which related the daily school program to health instruction. 20 the definition of homework offered in the resource is notable, as it most succinctly strikes all the chords of progressivist rhetoric: the child needs to play out-of-doors. for his [sic] growth he requires an adequate amount of sleep. homework which curtails the child‘s time for recreation and sleep is open to serious question. there are types of homework which have important values in linking up the activities of the school with the child‘s home and community life. these types give the child an opportunity for outdoor and creative activities and may lead him to explore his own latent abilities. such homework becomes a contribution to his physical mental, and social health. 21 here, the three domains of progressivist thinking that were predominant in ontario‘s progressivist discourse meet and intertwine; these involved concern for: a) the individual child‘s interests and development; b) his or her active participation in learning tasks; and c) the linking of school to society are brought together under the canopy of health. the handbook of suggestions for teachers did not veil its progressivist rhetoric: ―more and more does the progressive teacher appreciate the importance of the physical, mental, emotional, and social capabilities and limitations of the individual pupils under his [sic] care.‖ 22 the progressivist themes were projected to offer a viable pedagogical alternative to the traditional curriculum, which was depicted as inflexible, narrow, and overly academic. 23 this alternative sought to actively engage ontario‘s teachers in the ongoing experimentation with and definition of progressivist schooling, while building a community of educators who would be stakeholders in the province‘s educational future. 24 duncan mcarthur explicitly described health education as a powerful way of approaching education holistically, taking into account various aspects of students‘ development and linking children‘s school lives to their home lives. 25 he described the revised curriculum initiated during his tenure at the department of education as: essentially an educational program involving the training of both body and mind. it will endeavour to improve the health of our youth by providing greater facilities for games and out-of-doors recreation. we will endeavour to bridge the gap between school and home even should that involve a drastic revision of our traditional views regarding the function of the school. whatever affects the physical and mental well-being of the children is properly the concern of the educator. the interest of the school in the boy [sic] must not be confined to what happens in the classroom between 9 a.m. and 4 p. m. 26 with the introduction of health study into the programme of studies, mcarthur found a means of knitting together all three domains of progressivist concern. health was one theme that involved activity and active learning, concerned the individual development of students, and related studies to life outside school. healthy habits, for instance, were described as the results of doing, not ―reading and talking. instruction in health, therefore, should be active rather than formal in its nature, and should be linked as closely as possible to the child‘s daily experience.‖ 27 health, the document argued, ―should not be regarded simply as a ‗subject‘ of 65 the curriculum but as a programme pervading the whole life of the school and the whole life of each pupil.‖ 28 with respect to individual subjects, english represented the core of the curriculum. it was seen as occupying ―first place among the intellectual exercises of the elementary school. it is of prime importance that children learn to speak and write their mother tongue clearly, accurately, and gracefully.‖ 29 emphasis was placed on clarity of expression and mastery of reading and writing, both oral and written. supplemental reading was described as ―the most important phase of the english course … [because] the child who has learned to love reading is not only likely to continue his [sic] education all through life, but is prepared profitably to enjoy his leisure.‖ 30 a child who developed a love for reading and mastered the required skill set was capable of self-directed, lifelong learning. libraries were positioned as important sources of this supplementary reading. a list of suggested topics and resources for each grade was provided in the programme, including domains of english instruction such as conversation, reading, verse speaking, verse making, storytelling, dramatization, letter writing, word study, sentence study, and writing. the introduction of social studies was the most meliorist progressivist element of the 1937 curriculum revisions in ontario. this new subject was explicitly designed to relate school learning in more intimate ways to the broader social context of the province. 31 it strove to engage students in active examinations of the world as it presently was and could be, not with its past or its heritage. as mcarthur himself noted, upon entering the department of education, it was apparent to him that ―both elementary and secondary school courses were out of harmony with the times, and accordingly sought a remedy.‖ 32 the expressed aim of the course for social studies was ―to help the child to understand the nature and workings of the social world in which he [sic] lives …. the course aims, also, to develop in the pupils desirable social attitudes.‖ 33 the subject matter would be drawn from contemporary problems and issues in the world, which would then be contextualized in light of geographical and historical study. the progressive concern for active learning was not neglected; it was ―expected that much of the course will be carried out through co-operative activities of various kinds.‖ 34 active learning—a means of developing the right attitudes of mind— should be encouraged. teachers should ―guard against merely talking about the duties of boys and girls, but must provide, instead, daily cooperative activities through which the practice of mutual helpfulness will grow.‖ 35 the revised description for the course in natural science reinforces this theme that the new style of education should emphasize the cultivation of habits of mind more than the absorption of facts or figures. the sciences were important because they could foster in students ―a genuinely scientific spirit,‖ wherein a community of scholarship would thrive. 36 engaging students, as a community of learners, in active scientific inquiry would mean the cultivation of an orientation to learning required of future citizens in a progressive, evolving world. the purpose of the course was to provide experiences for children so that they might learn ―to observe carefully and dispassionately, to formulate one‘s observations in words or in other ways, and to make proper inferences from what has been observed.‖ 37 experiential interactions ―with real things‖ in the scientific realm, such as field excursions and experiments, were preferable means of achieving these aims than set ―‗lessons at set periods‖ in a day. 38 66 emphatic concern for relating school studies with actual life beyond the confines of classrooms permeates the programme. the stress on active learning that is somehow self-directed or takes into consideration the individual child‘s interests is a persistent one. mathematics education, for example, involved helping the child to see the ―value of numbers in the ordinary affairs of life, to provide him [sic] with training in the use of numbers for his own practical purposes, and to form the foundation upon which his subsequent mathematical knowledge will be built.‖ 39 art and music, while portrayed as useful media for active and creative expression of instinctive urges in children, were also means of correlating all the subjects and permitting individuals to construct and ―express more and more successfully their own ideas.‖ 40 what united both the revised curriculum document and mcarthur‘s broad vision for progressivist reform of schools was a desire to transform a course of studies seen as overly concerned with the inculcation of academic knowledge. such knowledge was seen as bearing little or no relevance to contemporary life, social activity, or democratic citizenship. it is for this reason that the revised course of study refused to authorize a standardized textbook or reader for each subject and discouraged the use of examinations as the sole measures of progress. 41 mcarthur, shortly after his appointment within the department, had advised ontario‘s educationists in 1934 that ―the relaxation of the examination system may prove to be of definite encouragement to teachers to promote reading beyond the limits of prescribed texts.‖ 42 indeed, by 1940, only the departmental examinations for high school entrance remained. 43 textbook learning, he continued, was not only narrow, but also its mandate compelled teachers to push through textbooks at the peril of ignoring broad student interest, activity, and exploration: the system of authorizing special textbooks for courses of study has likewise led to the encouragement of the formation of habits of mind which cannot be regarded as otherwise than undesirable. the authorizing of a particular book as a text gives to the printed word within the book a literal inspiration. it becomes easy for the student to assume that all of the truth relating to a subject is contained within the covers of the book. 44 further, the facts and figures contained within textbooks, once ―committed to memory are soon forgotten. the information temporarily acquired is seldom related to the structure of knowledge or experience possessed by the pupil.‖ 45 standardized departmental examinations were as ill-suited to progressivist thinking as was the authorization of any single textbook for a subject because both reinforced a passive, acquisitive model of learning. 46 consequently, mcarthur explained, ―the relaxation of the examination system may prove to be of definite encouragement to teachers to promote reading beyond the limits of prescribed texts.‖ 47 in addition to liberating students from prescribed texts and rote learning, the new model aimed at liberating the teacher. by seeking to dethrone an academic curriculum taught through authorized textbooks and tested via provincial examinations, mcarthur staked his progressivist visions on the teachers of ontario who would necessarily enact such principles. as reported in a 1941 supplement in the school, reporting on the new curriculum in ontario, ―the successful operation of any plan of education depends upon the teacher. the full benefits of the new curriculum can be realized only if the teacher 67 understands the objectives and is able to secure results.‖ 48 if the traditional, academic curriculum depended on standardized texts and assessments, the progressivist program of study would succeed only if teachers and principals were permitted freedom to make activities relevant, interesting, and interactive in different contexts. 49 there is a cliché regarding a french inspector of schools who boasted that on any given day he could know what page of the textbook every child in the country was reading. it was against such very standardized visions of schooling that the 1937 and 1938 programs were positioned. 50 it is because the notion of standardization, at its very core, conflicted with the progressivist stress on individualized instruction and the freedom to choose a personally meaningful course of study that the curriculum revisions provided ample opportunity for electives. beyond the common grade 9 program, mcarthur contended there should be ―a wide range of studies available for the various qualities of minds in the boys and girls.‖ 51 it is in this context that the department of education‘s loosening of language requirements and the demise of latin and greek as compulsory subjects can best be understood. as mcarthur told j. f. mcdonald in response to the university college professor‘s argument that the loss of latin would make ontario a weak and effeminate culture, ―the psychology that it doesn‘t matter what you teach a boy [sic] so long as it‘s unpleasant is antiquated.‖ 52 mcarthur‘s progressivist sensibilities found that compulsion in learning was neither useful nor desirable. 53 aside from its implications for ontario‘s curriculum reforms, this exchange between professor mcdonald and minister mcarthur most clearly indicates the extent to which the periodicals would go to isolate pedagogical statements from any political controversy and rhetorical debates. firstly, neither the school nor the canadian school journal published articles directly critical of mcarthur‘s progressivist reforms. secondly, mcarthur‘s debate with mcdonald was not reported at all in the journals, only in newspapers that covered the o.e.a. conference that year, the globe and the toronto daily star. the school provided no account of the conference. the canadian school journal, the official organ of the association, offered a terse but positive summary of mcarthur‘s thesis that ―the greatest service the teaching profession could render to humanity would be to make french and latin optional instead of compulsory subjects.‖ 54 there is no mention of mcdonald or of any critical response to mcarthur‘s address. the summary does remind the reader that ―dr. mcarthur said that the universities in this province are more rigid in their requirements than oxford, cambridge or aberdeen.‖ 55 in general, patrice milewski‘s assessment that ―the programme can be understood as signifying a fundamental transformation that broke with previously existing pedagogies‖ is generally correct. 56 milewski identifies the 1937 curriculum as ―a rupture in educational discourse.‖ 57 in his view, ―it conditioned or defined what could be said about teaching, learning, children and schooling for the greater part of the twentieth century.‖ 58 in robert stamp‘s assessment, both ―culturally and politically, the revised program of 1937 implied a partial rejection of absolute values passed on to former generations of pupils.‖ 59 the new programme emphasized preparation for the present and the future more than it did transmission of past triumphs, heritage, and tales. the actual extent to which progressive discourse and rhetoric actually affected classroom practice and, even, educationists‘ conceptions of what direction progress should pursue is 68 debatable. a rupture in the official discourse, howsoever dramatic or bold, does not necessarily correlate with a rupture in the modes and methods of instruction. w. g. fleming touches on this point directly: the programme of studies for grades i to vi of the public and separate schools, 1937 demonstrates a highly progressive orientation and might have set the schools of ontario on an entirely new path had certain circumstances been more propitious. the main reason why the point of view expressed in the document was ‗ahead of its time‘ was that the short period of preparation for elementary teachers … made it impossible to induce them to abandon the patterns by which they themselves had been taught. 60 fleming is right: progressive rhetoric takes on a very different character within the confines of a school or a particular classroom. if, however, as is the case here, the language of progressive schooling is of prime interest, the 1937 and 1938 curriculum documents represent significant ruptures in the discourse of systematized and departmentally sanctioned visions of progress. ontario’s curriculum revisions in relation to the various progressivist orientations yet at this juncture, it is fitting to ask how ontario‘s curriculum revisions in the late 1930s and early 1940s can be assessed in light of the different progressivist orientations that populated the context. progressive education was received and interpreted variously by educationists. this matter of competing, or divergent, progressivists is too often ignored in historical studies of progressive education, but the heuristics used here for describing different groups of progressives pursues a model laid out by herbert kliebard in the united states. kliebard saw the field of progressives as populated by shifting coalitions of competing interest groups, each competing for influence over school reforms. 61 as kliebard argued, the very term progressive education begged a question: i was frankly puzzled by what was meant by the innumerable references i had seen to progressive education. the more i studied this the more it seemed … that the term encompassed such a broad range, not just of different, but of contradictory, ideas on education as to be meaningless. 62 kliebard identified three distinct and divergent progressive interest groups embroiled in a struggle for the curriculum and school policy, each advocating a particular reform aim: efficiency, social reconstruction, and developmental psychology. the developmentalist interest group held, kliebard argued, an almost romantic faith in nature and the unfolding stages of child development. the developmentalists traced their ―ancestry as far back as comenius, most prominently to rousseau, and then to the work of pestalozzi and froebel.‖ 63 pedagogically, the orientation, which was geared principally toward the scientific and psychological understanding of human development, had a central principle of striving ―first of all to keep out of nature‘s way.‖ 64 the social efficiency advocates saw scientific management of schools as the best means to reform schools and make them more progressive. ―of the varied and sometimes frenetic responses to industrialism and to the consequent transformation of american social institutions,‖ kliebard noted, ―there was one that emerged clearly dominant both as a social ideal and as an 69 educational doctrine. it was social efficiency.‖ 65 the third interest group that kliebard considers in relation to progressive education are the social meliorists, whose zeal for confronting social injustice in society through educational reforms reached its zenith during the great depression. 66 returning to the subject of ontario‘s progressivist curriculum reforms, what follows is an exploration of the extent to which the revised programmes of study reflected the concerns of distinct progressive interests. despite the coexistence of varying versions of progressive education in the province, all progressivist educators were bound by the parameters of particular themes, which they debated. these themes, referred to here as the domains of progressivist rhetoric, were: a) concern with the promotion of active learning; b) promotion of education that conformed to the interests of individual learners; and c) relation of education to the needs and realities of modern, contemporary reality. themes: activity, individuality, and the relationship between education and society. as an example, the relationship of the individual to the larger social order in ontario can be considered. efficiency progressivists were primarily concerned with the maintenance and management of the existing economic and social orders. progressivist reforms would help those orders run more smoothly and efficiently. schools could be managed and operated as industries were run. ultimately, they needed to follow the industrial models in order to relate school studies as specifically as possible to the vocational realities in ontario. students‘ aptitudes and interests could be gauged, businesses could be surveyed, training programs could be implemented, and guidance programs could help individuals find their vocational niches. the meliorist position was most frequently, at the very least implicitly, critical of business, rampant individualism, and laissez-faire capitalism. the social order was, from this progressivist orientation, not only changeable, but also requiring change. greater social cooperation was necessary if future citizens, the students in ontario‘s schools, could approach social problems and deal with them adequately. a healthy democracy required active citizens who would challenge the established social orders and think critically about their contexts. the good of any one person was indivisible from the good of all. similarly, child study progressivists depicted cooperation and social activity as vital in education, but for different reasons. development and adjustment to different stages throughout life were characterized as necessarily social processes. individuals had freedoms and needed to exercise these in order to retain distinct senses of self through life, but all actions had consequences with social implications. social adjustment was not the same as social conformity, and the latter was unacceptable because it imposed a pattern of living and thinking that limited the individual‘s activity and creativity. reviewing the various types of progressivist positions, albeit summarily, reveals how difficult the department of education‘s task of bringing these together coherently was. as mentioned earlier, the introduction of health studies was one way of stressing the common concerns of ontario‘s progressivists. v. k. greer‘s appraisal of the new programme of studies made clear that the department had aimed to cast its net broadly and appeal to all kinds of progressivists: those successful teachers who had found the former courses somewhat rigid 70 now enjoy the freedom which they may use in the choice of subject matter.… the parents are also keenly interested, and very largely because they have noted the increased interest on the part of the children. a prominent university professor states that the psychology of the course is thoroughly sound and quite abreast of the present-day opinions of leading psychologists. the man on the street comments that his child is reading more and enjoying the activities and projects of the classroom. on the whole, there can be no doubt that a childcentred programme is a better programme than a subject-centred one. 67 the department of education believed that centring the new course of studies on individual students as opposed to academic content would give ontario‘s educational stakeholders an agreeable foundation for reform. greer stated confidently at the conclusion of his long appraisal: ―there need be no turning back. all are agreed that we are now making progress under this new programme.‖ 68 if greer‘s assessment of the situation was accurate, what did the curriculum revisions offer to progressivists of fundamentally different orientations to garner their support? health, which reached out to all progressivists, would have particularly appealed to child study concerns. indeed, the core themes in the revised programme of studies appear to be influenced in greatest measure by developmentalist concerns. in the programme‘s discussion of ―the child‘s need for success,‖ for instance, blatz appears to have written the following statement on the topic of security: the development of the individual takes place largely through social participation. indeed, many capacities of the individual are brought out only under the stimulus of associating with others. but in order that development may be continuous, the efforts of the individual must be attended by success. it is true that ―we learn from our mistakes,‖ but it is equally true that continued and prolonged failure stops growth altogether. 69 an introductory section titled ―fostering individual talent‖ is similarly imbued with child study rhetoric: ―this programme of studies accordingly attempts to provide for differences in the abilities, tastes, and interests of individual pupils; and requires that the teacher be alert to detect and foster the growth of individual talent.‖ 70 just as health studies were introduced with the intention that they would be woven through all aspects of the school, the ethos of developmental psychology permeated the entire document. it suggested that mathematics, for example, be instructed in a way respectful of the learner‘s stages of development and understanding. 71 further, promotion from one grade to another would be based on the age of the student, and not solely on annual external examinations. 72 the notion that school activities needed to be centred on the learner‘s interests in order to engage him or her in studies that are meaningful and motivating is woven throughout. 73 the social efficiency progressivist rhetoric also weaves in and out of the document at various instances. on occasion, it is wedded to a child study theme in a way that seems to show the two orientations as perfectly compatible: ―learning takes place most efficiently when the interest of the learner is aroused.‖ 74 such instances beg the question as to whether a teacher should aim to arouse the learner‘s interest in order to make 71 education more meaningful for the student or more efficient for the teacher. the programme of studies was most certainly seeking to establish common progressivist ground; in this case, the engaged student is less likely to provoke disturbance and more inclined to work fastidiously on a task. similarly, the provision of greater options and elective courses following the common grade 9 program seems favourable to both child study and efficiency progressivists. for the former, elective subjects would allow for greater experimentation and individual choice in school whereas, for the latter, freedom to select courses would permit the tailoring of educational programs suitable for particular abilities or vocational channels. in other sections of the programme of studies the school‘s role was depicted as having to ―assist the pupil to master those skills that are essential to human intercourse in a modern society.‖ 75 these skills included those involving ―the conversion of materials to serve human purposes,‖ such as agriculture, home economics, manual training, and crafts. 76 the descriptions of these subjects in the programme of studies, however, do not go nearly as far in their espousal of efficiency rhetoric as the mildest of such articles in the source journals. the value of the course in crafts, for example, is stated in very deweyan language: the value for older children of some training in the traditional crafts is now generally recognized. in doing and making, students not only develop manual skill, but the ability to think their way through the difficulties presented by materials and processes. handwork has value also in helping children to realize the importance of accuracy, for mistakes in the concrete are easily recognized and can seldom be erased or wholly corrected. moreover, it cannot be too strongly emphasized that the brighter children require manual activity of this type as much as those of lower mental capacity. 77 manual and craft work were thus presented as subjects that could help students develop useful skills and habits independently of any vocational pursuit. further, manual training was not to be treated as a subject toward which students would be streamed if their academic work was insufficient. the message promoted greater inclusivity, not classification. home economics is a very notable exception, clearly stating that the subject: possesses a definite educational value, not unlike that of craftwork for boys, but more important in its practical bearing. chief among these educational values is the development of a girl‘s natural interest in her home, together with the cultivation of desirable attitudes towards the privileges, duties, and responsibilities of life in the home. scarcely less important, educationally, is the opportunity afforded by the work in home economics to train the girls in proper habits relative to their personal appearance, the care of their belongings, and the conservation of their health. 78 in terms of the efficient management, maintenance, and preservation of social order, nothing in the programme of studies makes a statement as transparently social efficiency progressivist as this: ―the practical value of skill in the various activities of the home must be apparent to all. regardless of their station in life, practically all girls will share, sooner or later, in the management of a home.‖ 79 gauging by the descriptions of courses offered in the curriculum alone, one might surmise that only ontario‘s girls 72 required particularized training for their predestined domestic role in society. 80 on the whole, however, the programme of studies did not go as far in its espousal of efficiency rhetoric as it did with the language of child study and meliorism. the social meliorist emphasis is emphatically clear in a number of instances, most notably in relation to social studies. ―the aim of the whole course in social studies is to help the student to understand the social world in which he [sic] lives,‖ announced the provincial curriculum document. 81 the meliorist concern for studying current events in the contemporary context was encapsulated in this new subject, which offered an opportunity to relate historical, geographical, and social studies to problems in students‘ lives outside of school. 82 discussion was identified as a useful tool for the teaching of social studies, a tool by which students could develop critical habits of mind: children will acquire in a very meaningful way a great deal of geographical and historical material, and what is more important, learn to think geographically and historically and to watch for further items of information confirming or refuting the views expressed in class. 83 while espousing such meliorist ideas, the programme of studies weighed in far more cautiously than many of the discussions in the source journals did. teachers were advised to confine the discussion of current events to matters of fact, rather than opinion: ―little good and much harm can come from airing opinions upon international, political, or religious problems—opinions probably founded on inadequate information.‖ 84 the note of caution can be interpreted as suggesting that teachers lead their students to make claims based on warrants and evidence, which would stimulate research. it can also be seen as a way of limiting potential controversy associated with this new subject arising from overly provocative discussions or critical attitudes expressed in school. ultimately, the programme of studies stood firmly in its assertion that the principle of cooperation and the ideal of democratic citizenship were foundations for future social growth and activity. as asserted in the 1942 edition of the document, published in the midst of world war ii: ―the world has become an interdependent social and economic unit, and the future advancement of civilization, following the settlement of our present troubles, will be dependent upon the establishment of ideals of cooperation rather than those of rivalry.‖ 85 social studies, of course, came at the expense of history and geography, which were no longer treated as separate subjects in ontario‘s elementary schools. the province‘s humanists could have, at the very least, found the centrality of english in the programme of studies valuable. the first aim for english study identified in the document was the cultivation of ―a genuine and abiding love of good reading,‖ which implied that literature would persist in schools. 86 in fact, every classroom was seen as requiring ―a small, well-chosen, attractive library‖ that would help ―to cultivate properly the love of reading and to form the habit of finding in books information and enjoyment.‖ 87 the second aim, ―to develop in the students the power to express themselves correctly and effectively in oral and written language,‖ suggested that formal study of grammar and usage should remain in the school program. 88 v. k. greer‘s assessment of the new curriculum stated clearly that a progressive program did not imply unfettered activity catering 73 entirely to children‘s ―whimsical desires‖ and ―changing interests.‖ 89 in fact, greer seemed to acquiesce to humanists‘ critiques of progressivist reforms, stating that ontario‘s schools would maintain their academic rigour: it will be wrong to interpret the new course as inviting the teacher to do away with all distasteful tasks. it will also be wrong if the acquiring of factual knowledge is belittled. it will be dangerous also if too much emphasis is placed upon play and upon activities which have very little or no worth-while purpose. the inexperienced teacher may easily mistake physical bustle for mental activity, with the result that much energy may be spent and little progress made. drill, review, and examinations will still be needed, and it will continue to be very important that the child‘s factual knowledge at the end of any period will be at least equal to, if not greater than formerly. 90 in fact, greer cited charles w. eliot, president of harvard university, stating that the pupil should ―use his own language with exactness, freedom, and charm.‖ 91 for the time being, english, a broad term ―made to include english literature, english grammar, english composition, supplementary reading, spelling, and writing,‖ remained useful in ontario‘s programme of study. 92 world war ii, ontario’s schools, and the educational journals as the 1940s and world war ii neared, certain minor revisions to the 1937 and 1938 curriculum documents were undertaken. in w. g. fleming‘s assessment, the ―general nature of the recommended approach remained essentially the same. the introduction was rewritten in 1941 with much greater stress on the objective of preparing children to live in a democratic society.‖ 93 indeed, ―education for social living‖ was the first theme treated in the 1942 publication by the department of education. 94 ―co-operation in a democratic group,‖ was depicted as the highest social value, requiring that students practice ―self-control, intelligent self-direction, and the ability to accept responsibility.‖ 95 ontario‘s schools, the introduction argued, needed to facilitate opportunities for students to work together in order to plan, execute, and complete worthwhile and common learning tasks. so vital were these cooperative activities to the vitality of democratic education that a lengthy, nine-page description of ―enterprises‖ was included in the document immediately following the introduction. 96 while the 1937 curriculum had stressed individualized learning and self-direction, in 1941, in light of the war experience, the individual learner was depicted as having to learn and practise cooperative and democratic habits of mind. 97 fleming has argued that the stress on democratic citizenship also affected themes and topics in ontario‘s textbooks and educational resources from the late 1930s and early 1940s. 98 modifications made to the province‘s curriculum documents when reprinted in the early 1940s reflected the most dominant theme running through the school and the canadian school journal between 1940 and 1942. in that period, the editorial articles in the two journals repeatedly reinforce the necessity of fostering democratic habits of living in ontario‘s schools to counter the forces of nazism and fascism. and duncan mcarthur, as befit the minister of education, demonstrated his commitment to the idea of democratic education in a flurry of speeches and publications between 1941 and 1942. 99 74 on december 7, 1941, for example, mcarthur published an article in saturday night titled ―education for democracy‖ that the canadian school journal found compelling enough to discuss at length for trustees and ratepayers throughout ontario. 100 in the article, mcarthur stated that the purpose of education was the creation of good citizens. there were no self-contained individuals, he argued, who were not also social beings with responsibilities to the school, town, municipality, province, dominion, and empire. ontario‘s schools had to prepare the province‘s youth to ―undertake the responsibilities of citizenship, fortified by habits of mind which accustomed them to the recognition of the rights of others and to their obligations to the community.‖ 101 eventually, the war would end, mcarthur stated; at that time, society would require citizens with courage, endurance, and understanding capable of building a new and forward-looking world. in his christmas message to ontario‘s trustees and ratepayers, the minister of education reminded readers of the canadian school journal that the strains provoked by world war had imposed extra responsibilities upon the province‘s schools. 102 because many fathers were engaged in military service and many mothers were occupied in war industries, ―the home has too frequently become one of the first of our war casualties.‖ 103 the teachers, in particular, had borne a greater burden in providing anchorage for boys and girls in the province, through curricular and extracurricular supervision. education had come to represent for mcarthur a great model of public service and citizenship committed to the preservation of democracy. ―in no other war or national crisis,‖ explained an editorial in the canadian school journal, ―has the school occupied such an important place as at the present time.‖ 104 ivan schultz, minister of education for manitoba, echoed this sentiment when classifying ―teaching as a war profession.‖ 105 the first duty of teachers, he argued, was to the schools and the children. schultz implored educators across the country to remain in the classrooms, where they could be of best service to the community and the youth of society. the canadian broadcasting company (cbc), with radio broadcasts reaching homes across the entire province, was increasingly regarded as having ―direct responsibilities, educational and cultural‖ with regards to the fostering of democratic citizenship. 106 ―the citizen‘s task,‖ explained the cbc‘s gladstone murray, ―might be described as learning how to play his or her individual part—through selfsacrifice, discipline and initiative—in adaptation to new conditions.‖ 107 preserving democratic ways of life was the primary responsibility of schools; radio, like education, touched the lives of the entire body of ontario‘s citizenry. in times of war, murray argued, the responsibility of public institutions was to exert a unifying influence on the public‘s temper and thought, stimulating national consciousness. in times of peace, which would follow, educational organizations had the responsibility to impart information and opinions that could enable citizens to participate in democratic life, ―i.e., reconstructing and reshaping the post war [sic] world.‖ 108 it is, perhaps, these last two points which can best describe the responsibilities that ontario‘s two most popular educational periodicals – the school and the canadian school journal, published by the ontario college of education and the ontario educational association, respectively – appeared to assume in the context. the exclusion of oppositional discourses from, for example, socialist and 75 separate school sources, offered a limited range of definitions regarding progressive education. it can even be argued that the progressivist editorials in the journals represented a consensus view of educational reform, casting a net not broad enough to encompass actual debate, tension, or rhetorical cutting and thrusting. both the journals considered here depended on subscriptions for their survival. generally speaking, the school reached an audience of teachers, teacher educators, and teacher candidates. the canadian school journal appealed directly to taxpayers and school trustees. the rousing of political debates and controversy was not in the interests of either source journal, and, perhaps to a fault, the journals isolated pedagogical matters from any political entanglements. there certainly were differences between the publications, but these were most evident outside of the editorial articles and reports concerning this thesis. the school, for instance, included sections on model lessons, assessments, and templates that could be of immediate practical use to educators. the journal reported on matters happening in schools and of interest to those who worked in schools. the canadian school journal included sections reporting on meetings of trustees, school councils, and school boards. the journal brought to the attention of its readership events related to taxation, policy, jurisdiction, and funding. this journal, in particular, concentrated its editorial topics during the early 1940s on themes related to democracy and citizenship. this emphasis reflected the journal‘s base in the o.e.a., which, in the early years of world war ii, had emphasized the idea of education for citizenship, with the aim of bringing together ontario‘s educationists for that purpose. 109 this is not to say that the school neglected the war effort and its implications for canadian students. the journal‘s angle on events was one that typically addressed classroom practice. in 1940, for example, under the editorial management of charles phillips, the school began publishing a monthly diary that teachers used to help their pupils ―follow the course of momentous events in europe.‖ 110 the diary recounted significant events happening in europe during the war, and suggested that students mark these happenings on an outline map, follow the reports in local newspapers, and write a monthly essay recounting the ―achievements of the month.‖ 111 two months later, a lengthy article by h. e. smith from the university of alberta reminded ontario‘s teachers that the basis of the educational philosophy ―caught up in the phrase ‗progressive education‘‖ could be summed up in ―an abiding belief in the superiority of the democratic way of life over any other known way of life.‖ 112 living democratically, he explained, entailed an emphasis on ―the desire to co-operate rather than to compete, tolerance of the rights of others rather than selfishness, critical-mindedness rather than suggestibility, and concern with present conditions of living rather than with the life of the past.‖ 113 progressivist rhetoric in the early 1940s predominately represented a means of asserting democratic attitudes and dispositions in educational contexts. in this meliorist progressivist vision, active and critical citizens were the greatest hope for democracy. 114 what is certain is that both journals, despite their editing out of certain controversial or oppositional discourses, were forums where the moulding of ontario‘s educational future could be explored. this future, particularly with regards to citizenship education and training, was depicted by progressivists as necessarily broadening the 76 vision of education to include more than book learning and academic knowledge. schools were means of bringing ontario‘s youth into contact with the actualities and problems of life outside the classroom. faced with global conflict and world war, progressivist articles generally depicted the school‘s role as one promoting greater interest in public affairs, readiness to subordinate individual welfare to the common weal, and national unity. 115 shifts within the spheres of politics and pedagogy the co-operative commonwealth federation (c.c.f.) was a socialist party that had emerged from the depression years as a national political force. in ontario, partly in response to ―hepburn‘s anti-labour policies during the 1930s and the substantial growth in labour organizations and collective bargaining during the war years,‖ many of ontario‘s educationists rallied behind the party. 116 it was, according to robert stamp, a ―mixture of status consciousness and utopian idealism that prompted some ontario teachers to flirt with the c.c.f. and other left-wing political groups in the early 1940s.‖ 117 his assessment might explain why the canadian association for adult education put forward a 1943 document advocating greater social responsibility and social planning, and why the national council for canadian–soviet friendship gathered 15,000 people in toronto‘s maple leaf gardens that same year calling for teacher exchanges between russian and canadian institutions. in the 1943 election, ontario‘s liberal government was ousted from power in favour of colonel george drew‘s progressive conservative party, which secured a minority government by gaining a mere four more seats at queen‘s park than the c.c.f. 118 while the start of world war ii had provoked a shift in progressivist rhetoric, leaning it predominately toward meliorist espousals of democratic citizenship, the global conflict would persist longer than the almost singularly meliorist visions for progressive education could endure. in robert stamp‘s assessment, ―while a few educational leaders would keep the progressivist spirit alive throughout the war years, its viability as an educational philosophy was now under consistent attack. education for peace had been shelved in favour of military preparedness.‖ 119 the league of nations, which had been represented as the model of educational cooperation and democratic citizenship, had proven feeble and toothless in the face of nazi and fascist threats. 120 in 1945, with the war in europe clearly won, drew lost a vote in the legislature and immediately called a new provincial election. emphasizing the word progressive in his party‘s name, drew equated the c.c.f. with fascist germany‘s national socialism and represented the impending election as one between the warring forces of fascism and freedom. 121 the progressive conservatives actually did secure a majority government; the c.c.f. slipped to eight seats. w. g. fleming‘s suggestion that the 1937 programme would have borne very different fruit had certain events transpired differently is abundantly clear in light of the politics of postwar ontario. less than four months before the sudden passing of duncan mcarthur due to illness, drew made clear that he had assessed progressivist ideas and found them wanting: ―teaching democracy was important, but there‘s been a little too much carrying the ideas of democracy to the point that children have as much right to express opinions as the teachers.‖ 122 the toronto daily star, with an ominous tone, predicted the end of progressivist thinking in the department of education, noting: 77 what the colonel has overlooked is the fact that the only way to learn democracy is to practise it. and the best way the teachers can put their lesson across is by fostering and encouraging self-confidence, initiative, and independent thinking among children. col. drew would have the youth strapped into obedience. 123 premier george drew, like his conservative predecessors george s. henry and howard ferguson, maintained the education portfolio and steered the department in a different direction from his liberal predecessors, including the progressive-minded duncan mcarthur. summary robert gidney, whose historical consideration of ontario‘s system of schools from hope to harris begins where this thesis ends, at world war ii, described the province in 1945 as ―just beginning to emerge from fifteen years of wrenching dislocation and haunting insecurity.‖ 124 while the war, which stimulated economic growth and instilled a sense of common purpose, solved some of the serious problems provoked by the depression, it also ―bred its own dislocations, of people and resources, and the dominant mood of the immediate post-war years was a deep yearning for normality, security, and stability.‖ 125 gidney‘s general observations regarding ontario‘s population in the latter part of the 1930s and early 1940s have some relevance with regards to progressivist rhetoric in the province‘s journals. canada‘s active involvement in world war ii began in 1939 and, by 1940, the sense of common purpose just referenced coalesced as a common interest in democratic education. the discursive communities brought together by the journals agreed, despite different interpretations of what progress in schooling might entail, that democratic schools providing opportunities for active learning and citizenship training were vital to the nation. in robert stamp‘s words, ―teachers‘ magazines and teachers‘ meetings were preoccupied with the question of how best to teach citizenship and democracy.‖ 126 perhaps, beyond the war effort, the coalescence can be attributed to the efforts of the department of education in ontario, which, under the influence of duncan mcarthur, brought together various progressivist themes in the revised programmes of studies. the new curricula introduced in 1937 and 1938 attempted to weave together distinct visions for progressive schools in the province and to derive some order and consistency from them. the revised course of studies rejected a strictly academic model of learning based on memorization and examination of facts or figures contained within textbooks. in so doing, it related to the domains of progressive education treated in this paper: active learning, individualized instruction, and links to contemporary society. in the foreground of the revised curriculum, seen as weaving its way through all the subject matter, was the introduction of health study. social studies, a new course at the time, was likewise intended to bring together various subject matters. social studies, history, geography, and civics could be interrelated thematically for the purpose of addressing extant social problems or questions. enterprise tasks and project-based learning were depicted as useful ways of engaging students in the active and cooperative study of issues that had actual relevance outside of academic texts. students in secondary schools were given a common foundation through a general grade 9 program that would allow them to explore various subjects before deciding on a focus. from grade 78 10 onward, they had increasing opportunities to select courses of study that were both useful and relevant to their interests and vocational or academic paths. the loss of latin as a mandatory subject caused some concern, but it was, mcarthur argued, the only way of ensuring that the individual learner could ―try himself [sic] out along different lines under the guidance and direction of teachers, that he might reach conclusions regarding his particular capabilities and aptitudes.‖ 127 the varied program enabled ontario‘s students to actively engage with ―different lines of approach to education‖ in order to free them from the bonds of a strictly academic and traditional course of study. 128 79 endnotes 1 programme of studies for grades vii and viii of the public and separate schools, 1942 (toronto, on: department of education, 1942), 6. 2 in fact, the source journals generally heaped praise on minister of education, duncan mcarthur. particularly following his appointment as minister following the death of leo simpson, the journals reiterated mcarthur‘s credentials, experience, and commitment to ontario‘s schools. see, for example, ―the new minister of education,‖ the canadian school journal (september 1940): 319; ―the new education,‖ the school (october 1940): 172; and ―personal,‖ the school (october 1940): 174. having reported, in ―the new education‖ that ―a revision of the programme of studies has just been published,‖ the following commentary in ―personal‖ extols the virtues of the minister, arguing ―the province is fortunate in having a distinguished educationist in the cabinet post charged with the administration of the schools.‖ the canadian school journal, likewise, praised mcarthur and expressed confidence that he would ―vitally affect the youth of ontario and influence the critical period which will follow the war. ontario looks forward to still greater progress in the field of education and recognizes the valuable service which dr. mcarthur will contribute as a member of the cabinet in all matters affecting public interest.‖ 3 see, for example, ―education criticism,‖ the globe, june 5, 1934: 5. 4 see, for example, ―notes and news: ontario,‖ the school (september 1934): 65–68. simpson was a medical doctor as opposed to an academic, like mcarthur. 5 stamp, the schools of ontario, 1876–1976, 155. 6 ―notes and news: ontario,‖ 66–68. 7 e. j. transom, ―time off for thinking,‖ the school (february 1941): 507. transom believed the new, progressive schools drew their principles from the study of contemporary society: ―the work of the teacher, principal, or supervisor now is to study society, ascertain modern trends and movements, learn the fundamentals of personality, child development, and child psychology.‖ 8 these concerns, on the whole, are dominated by those espoused by meliorist and developmentalist journal articles. the department of education‘s concern for efficiency were predominately directed at reforming the system of taxation and consolidating school boards. see, for example, ―summary of dr. mcarthur‘s address,‖ the canadian school journal (may 1940): 192–93. 9 john seath, education for industrial purposes (toronto, on: king‘s printer, 1911). 10 ibid., 263. seath actually noted seven domains for study in ontario‘s schools: courses leading to university matriculation, courses leading to normal schools or faculties of education, household science courses, commercial courses, agricultural courses, manual training courses, and middle school art courses. 11 fleming, schools, pupils, and teachers, 129. 12 ibid., 130. 13 ibid., 123. 14 stamp, the schools of ontario, 1876–1976, 167. 15 the preparation of students for an uncertain future, as well as the overall concern for trying to manage or control education in a mutable, unpredictable world was a common theme in progressivist texts, including john dewey‘s. see, for example, richard d. mosier, ―progressivism in education,‖ peabody journal of education 29, no. 5 (1951): 274–81. 16 programme of studies for grades i to vi of the public and separate schools, 1937 (toronto, on: department of education, 1937). the british publications are most commonly referred to as the hadow reports. 17 health: a handbook of suggestions for teachers in public and separate schools (toronto, on: the ryerson press, 1938). 18 ibid., v. in the foreword, the handbook is described as having taken shape following experiments on the teaching of health in elementary schools in ontario. the experiments were initiated by the department of health, supervised by the department of education, and implemented by progressivist educators: ―this experiment was initiated by dr. j. t. phair, chief medical officer of health for the province. through the offices of mr. v. k. greer, chief inspector of public and separate schools, the co-operation of six inspectors was obtained. these inspectors, in turn, enlisted the services of a number of progressive and interested teachers who were prepared to undertake the work.‖ 19 ibid., vii–viii. 20 ibid., 6–16. 21 ibid., 15. 22 ibid., 28. 23 ibid. in the handbook‘s discussion on ―the individual child,‖ the concentration on health is depicted as a means of enabling a flexible curriculum. the traditional program was described as setting up arbitrary academic levels of achievement and insisting that they be met by every child: ―the inevitable result has been rigidity and inflexibility of the school programme. there has been over-emphasis on arbitrary academic standards. the neglect or inadequate consideration given to the physical, emotional, and social development of the individual child has resulted in the adoption of class-room procedures which too frequently are inelastic and ineffective in developing a wellbalanced personality,‖ 28. 24 ibid. the text‘s foreword states the following: ―the handbook is submitted for use in schools, not as a final guide, but as an experimental and tentative outline of procedure. it is hoped that the teachers will accept it as such, record their observations and suggestions, and forward them to the department of education. such observations and suggestions should prove of great value in future revisions,‖ vi. 80 25 see, for example, ―dr. mcarthur‘s views on youth,‖ toronto daily star, july 30, 1943: 6. the article, incidentally, praises mcarthur‘s ―progressive views on education.‖ 26 ibid., 6. 27 programme of studies for grades i to vi of the public and separate schools, 1937, 25. 28 ibid., 25. 29 ibid., 35. 30 ibid., 35. 31 ―editorial notes: new approaches to the social studies,‖ the school (april 1937): 645. 32 ―ontario‘s educational system,‖ toronto daily star, july 19, 1943: 6. 33 programme of studies for grades i to vi of the public and separate schools, 1937, 71. 34 ibid., 71. 35 ibid. 73. 36 ibid., 87. 37 ibid., 87. 38 ibid., 87. 39 ibid., 101. 40 ibid., 127. emphasis in original text. 41 see, for example, ―new school course to discourage exams, abolish homework,‖ toronto daily star, september 14, 1937: 1. this front-page article in the newspaper summarized the spirit of the 164-page curriculum document as leading to ―less stress on factual type of teaching.‖ 42 mcarthur, ―education for citizenship,‖ 286. 43 harris, quiet evolution. the high school entrance examinations were not withdrawn until 1949. 44 mcarthur, ―education for citizenship,‖ 288. 45 ibid., 288. 46 ibid. mcarthur explained the relationship between examinations and textbooks as follows: ―the presumed necessities of examinations, again, encourage the teacher to attempt to satisfy the requirements of education by demanding that the pupil make himself [sic] familiar with the information contained within the authorized text. instruction in such cases is degraded to the mere reciting of facts set forth on the pages of the text. such a process, by no stretch of the imagination, can be found to have any relation to education,‖ 288. 47 ibid., 288. 48 ―supplement: reports on educational progress in canada and newfoundland, 1940–1941,‖ 919. 49 see, for example, ―new school course to discourage exams, abolish homework.‖ recall, also, the cliché regarding french education, which postulated that at any given moment of the school day all children of the same age will be having exactly the same lesson. this vision of a standardized and centralized educational system reflects how entrenched le programme―the national curriculum, dating from napoleonic times―had become in the country‘s educational system. 50 see, for example, julian nundy, ―education: teachers as lone wolves: france, 750,000 children sit down to be tested on the same day,‖ independent, june 10, 1993. 51 ―optional french and latin urged by deputy minister,‖ toronto daily star, march 30, 1940: 27. 52 ―optional french and latin urged by deputy minister,‖ 27. the globe attributes a slightly different quotation to mcarthur: ―it does not matter what you teach, as long as it is unpleasant. that educational psychology is absolutely antiquated,‖ ―mcarthur would cut language requirement,‖ the globe (march 30, 1940): 5. 53 ―optional french and latin urged by deputy minister,‖ 27. 54 ―latin,‖ the canadian school journal (april 1940): 155. 55 ibid., 155. 56 patrice milewski, ―‗the little gray book‘: pedagogy, discourse, and rupture in 1937,‖ history of education 37, no. 1 (2008): 92. 57 ibid., 92. emphasis in original text. 58 ibid., 92. my emphasis. the parallels that milewski draws between the educational rhetoric and medical discourse seem to go too far, and it seems a further stretch to assert that ―this discourse formed a body of knowledge that intervened in the experience of teaching and learning to shape or define normal child development, teaching, learning and schooling,‖ 92. 59 stamp, the schools of ontario, 1876–1976, 175. 60 fleming, schools, pupils, and teachers, 9. 61 kliebard, the struggle for the american curriculum; filene, ―an obituary for ‗the progressive movement,‘‖ 20. 62 kliebard, the struggle for the american curriculum, xi. 63 herbert m. kliebard, ―keeping out of nature‘s way: the rise and fall of child-study as the basis for the curriculum, 1880–1905,‖ in forging the american curriculum: essays in curriculum history and theory (new york, ny: routledge, 1992), 51. 64 g. stanley hall, ―ideal school based on child study,‖ journal of proceedings and addresses of the national education association (1901): 474–88. 65 kliebard, the struggle for the american curriculum, 76. 66 ibid., 151–74. 67 greer, ―appraisal of the new programme of studies,‖ 194. 68 ibid., 231. greer‘s article is spread over seven pages in the canadian school journal. 69 programme of studies for grades vii and vii of the public and separate schools, 6. 70 ibid., 7. 71 greer, ―appraisal of the new programme of studies.‖ greer boasted: ―the new courses and the new textbooks in arithmetic will make the work more interesting and will delay complex processes until they are more readily understood by the pupils,‖ 198. see also, ―the aim of the course‖ in the programme of studies for grades vii and viii, which states: ―the teacher should endeavour to lead his [sic] pupils at each stage of their growth to 81 explain for themselves, in terms that are intelligible to them at the time, the social world in which they are a part,‖ 26. 72 greer, ―appraisal of the new programme of studies.‖ greer argued that the new curriculum offered a more holistic view of learners, focusing attention on the individual‘s development and not merely on academic achievement: ―no doubt the authors of the new courses intended that less emphasis should be put upon the annual external examination used solely as a basis for the promotion of pupils. it would be an equally faulty extreme, however, to promote all pupils on the basis of age. the best procedure will be the careful study for the work being done by pupils when they first begin to show retardation. individual attention will then be given, and there is no doubt that by doing this we shall avoid demotions and failures to a much greater extent than we have done in the past,‖ 199. 73 see, for example, the section on ―activity and interest,‖ in the programme of studies for grades vii and viii of the public and separate schools, 1942, which states the following: ―all learning involves activity and effort on the part of the learner. ‗learning is an active process.‘ ‗we learn to do by doing.‘ ‗the child develops through his own activity.‘ in applying these precepts one must remember that the term ‗activity‘ does not refer to physical movement only. it must be borne in mind that mental processes—thinking, reflecting, planning—are as truly ‗activities‘ as conducting an experiment or acting in a play,‖ 9. 74 ibid., 9. 75 ibid., 9. 76 ibid., 9. 77 ibid., 105. 78 ibid., 116. 79 ibid., 116. 80 the value of home economics extended from the cultivation of girls‘ ―standards of good taste in clothing and homefurnishings‖ to the fostering of ―an appreciation of scrupulous cleanliness in person, dress, and surroundings,‖ 116. the content of the course included particular activities that each girl needed to learn, including: needlework, familiarity with various textiles and sewing equipment, cooking, laundering, and furnishings. 81 programme of studies for grades vii and viii of the public and separate schools, 1942, 26. 82 ibid. the document states: ―every event occurs in a geographical setting, has roots in the past, has implications for the present and may have repercussions in the future,‖ 29. 83 ibid., 29. 84 ibid., 29. emphasis in original text. 85 programme of studies for grades vii and viii of the public and separate schools, 1942, 29. 86 ibid., 40. 87 ibid., 43. see also greer, ―appraisal of the new programme of studies.‖ greer argues for the importance of libraries in schools to support academic work: ―the course places strong emphasis on the advantages of supplementary reading, and again the success of the course will depend largely on an ample and well-chosen library and on the ability of the teacher to inspire the pupils to read good books,‖ 197–98. 88 programme of studies for grades vii and viii of the public and separate schools, 1942, 40. 89 greer, ―appraisal of the new programme of studies,‖ 196. 90 ibid., 196. 91 ibid., 197. greer‘s use of eliot is all the more interesting in light of herbert kliebard‘s identification of eliot as standing ―in the forefront of the humanist interest group.… eliot, a humanist in his general orientation, was also a mental disciplinarian, but, although this thinking affected his thinking on curriculum matters to a large extent, he was not exactly a defender of the status quo in curriculum matters.‖ kliebard, the struggle for the american curriculum, 9. emphasis in original text. 92 greer, ―appraisal of the new programme of studies,‖ 197. incidentally, l. j. bondy, writing in the same year as greer, wondered for how long english would be deemed useful by progressivists. the humanities had lost ground with the demise of classics, and they would continue to be marginalized in the face of ongoing reforms: ―it is enough for my purpose that, in a scheme of this kind, it is only by mere accident that modern languages will be found useful, and their defenders will find it increasingly difficult to explain why they should be retained.… for a brief moment a few of the more thoughtless among the defenders of modern languages seemed to welcome the change. the loss of the ancients would be the gain of the moderns. now it is becoming more and more evident that the forces that have achieved such success in ostracizing greek and latin are being arrayed with the same deadly purpose against the modern languages. the success of these efforts is already being felt. italian and spanish have practically disappeared from our high schools; german is slowly yielding ground. for reasons that are largely extraneous to education, french has not suffered so much in this province. however, unless something is done to improve its position, we may confidently expect that it will join its vanishing companions. and all this in the magic name of progress.‖ bondy, ―the present situation in modern languages in our schools,‖ 121. emphasis in original text. 93 ibid., 128. 94 programme of studies for grades vii and viii of the public and separate schools, 1942, 5. 95 ibid., 6. 96 ibid., 13–21. the section provided ontario‘s teachers with directions regarding how to use enterprise activities to foster purposeful activity, natural ways of learning, integrated subject matter, self-direction, and fundamental skills. 97 fleming, schools, pupils, and teachers, 128–30. 98 ibid. these themes, fleming noted, dealt more with contemporary social problems and issues. increasingly, they 82 concerned canada‘s growing relationship to the united states and its role in the north atlantic. 99 see, for example, mcarthur, ―education for democracy,‖ the canadian school journal (january 1941): 13; mcarthur, ―education and the empire,‖ the empire club of canada speeches (toronto, on: empire club of canada, 1941); and ―message from the minister of education,‖ the canadian school journal (december 1942): 373. 100 mcarthur, ―education for democracy,‖ 13. 101 ibid., 13. 102 ―message from the minister of education,‖ 373. 103 ibid., 373. 104 ―schools and the war,‖ the canadian school journal (june 1942): 174. 105 ―notes and news: teaching as a war profession,‖ the canadian school journal (october 1942): 324. 106 gladstone murray, ―radio and citizenship,‖ the canadian school journal (april 1942): 113. 107 ibid., 113. 108 ibid., 113. murray argued that ―radio listening has become a part of the defence mechanism of democratic society,‖ 113. 109 murray, ―radio and citizenship,‖ 114. 110 a. s. h. hill, ―towards victory: a current events notebook,‖ the school (september 1940): 7. 111 hill, ―towards victory: a current events notebook,‖ 7. 112 h. e. smith, ―the new education in alberta,‖ the school (november 1940): 187–88. 113 ibid., 188. 114 see, for example, charles phillips, ―editorial: school and society,‖ 1. phillips informs readers of the school that ―many articles on a variety of subjects will be found to refer repeatedly to education for democratic citizenship. beginning with this issue, emphasis will be placed on a particular monthly theme.‖ these themes were all related to classroom practice. in september 1941, for example, the theme was classroom management. 115 see, for example, c. c. goldring, ―some educational gaps,‖ the canadian school journal (april 1942): 140–41. 116 baskerville, ontario: image, identity, and power, 204. hepburn, ontario‘s premier, bitterly opposed labour unions and refused to allow the congress of industrial organizations (c.i.o.) to form unions in the province. he not only took the side of general motors when a c.i.o.-led strike began in oshawa on april 8, 1937, but also formed a volunteer police force to suppress the striking workers. at the same time, the c.c.f. supported the strike. 117 stamp, the schools of ontario, 1876–1976, 180. 118 baskerville, ontario: image, identity, and power, 205. 119 stamp, the schools of ontario, 1876–1976, 174. 120 the social meliorist concerns for social justice, international cooperation, and active citizenship were persistent throughout the interwar period and survived the demise of the league. 121 baskerville, ontario: image, identity, and power, 205. 122 ―notes and comment,‖ toronto daily star, march 16 1943: 6. 123 ibid., 6. in fact, when critiquing democratic, progressivist education, drew had argued that ―firm measures supported by the mandate of the strap still have an important place.‖ 124 robert d. gidney, from hope to harris: the reshaping of ontario’s schools (toronto, on: university of toronto press, 1999), 10. 125 ibid., 10. 126 stamp, the schools of ontario, 1876–1976, 177. 127 ―dr. duncan mcarthur,‖ canadian school journal (april 1937): 126. this article reproduced a speech that mcarthur, then deputy minister of education, delivered to the trustees‘ department at the o.e.a. conference in 1937. 128 ibid., 126. mcarthur depicted grade 9, which provided opportunities for students to sample different topics and programs, as the core of modern schools: ―that year, i say without any hesitation, will be the most important year for the boys and girls of our collegiate institutes. the decisions likely to be made during the course of that year, discussions with parents and teachers, will have a most important bearing on the future of our boys and girls.‖ righteous pledge: the pledge of allegiance and the implicit curriculum of american civil religion in the eisenhower era dennis gunn iona college abstract the insertion of the words “under god” into the pledge of allegiance in 1954 represents the implicit curriculum of american civil religion during the eisenhower era and attempts to preserve the place of religion in america’s public schools during the cold war. this article examines efforts to amend the pledge against the backdrop of trends in american society during the 1950’s and how it impacted the patriotic curriculum of both public and parochial schools. introduction in 1954 the united states congress officially changed the pledge of allegiance to include the words “under god,” which would be recited as part of a daily ritual already wellestablished in america’s public schools. at a time when religion was fading from the explicit curriculum in u.s. public schooling, this change symbolized a renewed emphasis on education for “godly citizenship” as part of the implicit curriculum of american civil religion in public schools in the 1950’s. this article explores how the notion of “one nation, under god” represented attempts to infuse religion into the civics curriculum in public schools in the united states throughout the eisenhower era. it contextualizes those efforts within broader social trends of a religious resurgence during the 1950’s. and it interprets those efforts against the backdrop of a renewed national narrative that saw america as a religious nation in opposition to the forces of “godless” communism during the cold war. while others have highlighted the symbolic significance of the change to the pledge as representing the wider culture of american civil religion in the 1950s (marty 1996; ellis 2005), i argue that “under god’s” addition to the pledge had educational significance as well by becoming part of a curriculum of civil religion that recast the ideal of american patriotism as a religious value during the cold war-a time of changing u.s. religious values and political interest in those values as part of the ideological arsenal against communism. at the same time, i suggest that catholics-who promoted the change to the pledge through the knights of columbussaw this as an opportunity to bolster their place in the mainstream of american society by promoting the values of patriotic citizenship in catholic schools. overall, this article examines the way in which the change to the pledge of allegiance reflected wider shifts in american society in the mid-twentieth century and ways in which religious and patriotic sensibilities continued to influence the curriculum of public and parochial schools in the united states as part of a cold war ethos. method and sources this article utilizes both archival and historiographical sources. it examines popular support for the revised pledge and a renewed citizenship curriculum by civic and religious groups through an analysis of materials published during the 1950’s. it draws on archival sources from the collections of the knights of columbus-which spearheaded the change to the pledge-whose supreme council archives are located in new haven, connecticut as well as material from the archives of the religious education association in the special collections at yale university divinity school library, also in new haven. it uses material from the papers of francis julius bellamy, who authored the original version of the pledge, archived in the special collections in the riverside library of the university of rochester. and it analyzes educational policy and citizenship curricula at the state level by examining guidelines issued by various state education departments alongside 24 curricular material used to teach citizenship in public and parochial schools throughout the 1950s. insertion of the words “under god” into the pledge of allegiance the pledge of allegiance in its original form-minus the words “under god”had been composed by magazine editor francis bellamy, the son of a baptist minister, in 1892 and was first published in the youth’s companion, a popular children’s magazine during the nineteenth century, whose contributors included mark twain and jack london. james upham, whose uncle, daniel sharp ford, was owner and editor of the youth’s companion, was manager of the magazine’s premiums department and was responsible for boosting circulation. with an eye toward both advertising and advancing patriotism upham devised a plan for the magazine to promote having a flag above every schoolhouse in america. in coordination with this effort, he commissioned bellamy to compose a pledge that schoolchildren could recite while saluting the flag as part of their daily school ritual to coincide with the 400th anniversary of columbus’ coming to the americas. (ellis 2005) as bellamy later explained: i was at that time with the youth’s companion of boston doing work with james b upham, a member of the firm. mr. upham felt that a flag should be on every schoolhouse. the youth’s companion fostered a plan of selling flags to schools through the children themselves, at cost, which was so successful that 25,000 schools acquired flags in one year. mr. upham also had a greater scheme, the result of which was that every school in the land on a certain day would have a flag raising, under most impressive conditions. the day was to be columbus day 1892-the 400th anniversary of the discovery of america…i was made chairman of the executive committee for that work and immediately began to enlist the support of not only the superintendents of education in all the states, but also worked with governors, congressmen, and even the president of the united states. the result was a universal holiday for columbus day, 1892 by proclamation of benjamin harrison (francis julius bellamy papers, box 3, folder 5). bellamy went on to describe how the pledge itself came about: “of course the nub of the program was to be the raising of the flag with a salute to the flag recited by the pupils in unison…it was my thought that a vow of loyalty or allegiance to the flag should be the dominant idea. i especially stressed the word ‘allegiance.’ so, mr. upham told me to try it out on that line” (francis julius bellamy papers, box 3, folder 5). the result was simple: i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. thus, from its inception the pledge of allegiance was intended to be a part of the implicit curriculum of american patriotism and was designed to foster a spirit of patriotic fervor among america’s schoolchildren. it quickly gained in popularity and became a staple in american public schools by the early twentieth century (ellis 2005; leepson 2005). knights of columbus and the pledge of allegiance as early as april 1951, at the quarterly meeting of the supreme board of directors, the knights of columbus voted to amend the pledge of allegiance by inserting the words “under god” after “one nation” for use in its own fourth degree assemblies throughout the united states (knights of columbus supreme council archives, columbia magazine, august 1955). 25 the following year, various state councils of the knights of columbus adopted resolutions that the knights “instigate the general adoption of an amendment to the pledge of allegiance to read ‘i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.’” among these were florida, new york, michigan, south dakota, and georgia (knights of columbus supreme council archives, proceedings of the supreme council 1952). in september 1952 luke hart, who had been elected supreme knight of the knights of columbus, acting in his role as president of the national fraternal congress of america suggested adopting a resolution calling on the u.s. congress to amend the pledge of allegiance to include the words “under god,” pointing out that it was a phrase used by abraham lincoln in the gettysburg address (knights of columbus supreme council archives, box 646, file 1998). the proposal was greeted with enthusiasm and was adopted by the national body with several state fraternal congresses following suit. a month earlier the supreme council of the knights of columbus had adopted a similar resolution petitioning congress to officially change the pledge and copies of the resolution were sent to the president, vice president, and speaker of the house (knights of columbus supreme council archives, columbia magazine, august 1955). hart, a lawyer from the midwest, served as supreme knight of the knights of columbus from 1953 to 1964 and oversaw the expansion of the catholic fraternal organization in the mid-1950’s and early 1960’s just as catholics were entering the american mainstream (kaufman 2000, 114). the 1960 election of fellow knight and the first catholic to become a u.s. president, john f. kennedy, signaled shifting attitudes toward catholics in american society-despite the persistence of anticatholic bias on the part of some-and indicated the eagerness of american catholics to embrace their identity as patriotic citizens. the knights of columbus had been founded in the previous century at a time when anti-catholic bias was rampant. established in 1882 in new haven, connecticut by father michael mcgivney, a parish priest concerned about the inability of many working-class catholics to provide for their families in case of death, the knights started as a way to provide life insurance benefits to low-income catholic families and to promote fraternity among catholic men, many of whom were recently arrived immigrants (kaufman 1992). quickly gaining in national popularity, the knights of columbus as a fraternal organization, at once, represented the desire of american catholics to emulate the values of americanism and, at the same, time defend catholics over and against incursions by the protestant majority. throughout the nineteenth century anti-catholic sentiment had found various expressions including the emergence of the “know nothing” party earlier in the century and attempts to keep protestant values front and center in public schools-a move which sparked the development of a parallel system of parochial schools by u.s. catholic bishops (loughery 2018, 111-138). when a catholic, al smith, ran for president in 1924 the issue of his religion remained a stumbling block for many protestant voters. by the mid-1950’s, however, catholics were beginning to assert greater political influence and to find an even greater voice on the national stage (dolan 1992, 417). the knights of columbus’ leadership over the issue of amending the pledge of allegiance offered an opportunity to demonstrate catholics’ loyalty as americans and to influence the public discourse over the place of religion in american life. creation of the modern pledge in april 1953 michigan congressman louis rabaut, a catholic whose son was a jesuit priest, introduced a resolution on the floor of the u.s. house of representative to insert words “under god” into the pledge of allegiance-the measure previously proposed by the knights of 26 columbus and which had been replicated by numerous fraternal organizations throughout the united states including the american legion. however, his efforts did not gain traction until 1954 when president eisenhower threw his support behind the resolution after hearing a sermon at new york ave presbyterian church by reverend george docherty, who was then chaplain to congress. in his sermon, docherty spoke of the “little muscovites” who could pledge allegiance to the hammer and sickle, but who could not pledge allegiance to their nation “under god,” which he argued was “a distinctive factor in the american way of life” (quoted in marty 1996. 299). this sentiment resonated well with eisenhower’s own belief in the significance of the religious character of the united states. in many ways eisenhower himself represented the revival of a religious spirit in american life during the 1950’s. schooled in the bible as young boy, yet not particularly religious himself, he said that during his time as supreme allied commander in europe during world war ii he had rediscovered his faith which led him to be baptized as an adult. he even went so far as to compose and deliver a prayer for his own inauguration, reportedly telling evangelist billy graham “billy, i believe one reason i was elected president was to lead america in a religious revival” (quoted in marty 1996, 306). after hearing docherty’s sermon, eisenhower enthusiastically endorsed the idea of inserting the words “under god” into the pledge, believing that it was an opportunity to instill in american schoolchildren a firm conviction of the “dedication of our nation and our people to the almighty” (marty 1996, 300). on february 10, 1954, senator ferguson of michigan introduced a resolution calling for the amendment of the pledge on the floor of the senate. when he discovered that a similar resolution had been pending in the house for ten months, he withdrew the resolution and rabaut’s resolution to insert the words “under god” into the pledge of allegiance-with eisenhower’s endorsement-received unanimous bipartisan support in both the house and the senate with not a single dissenting vote (marty 1996, 301). louisiana congressman overton brooks captured well the spirit of the resolution when he endorsed it by saying, belief in god distinguished “free people of the western world from the rabid communist;” that “we in effect declare openly that we denounce the pagan doctrine of communism and declare ‘under god’ in favor of free government and a free people” (marty 1996, 301). this sentiment echoed the feeling of many, including the president, that the religious character of the united states needed to be preserved and codified for future generations. on flag day, june 14, 1954, on the steps of the u.s. capitol senator ferguson and representative rabaut recited together the newly revised pledge. this marked the culmination of a concerted effort to maintain a religious emphasis in the implicit curriculum of american patriotism and marked the beginning of further efforts to ensure that religion would not disappear from u.s. public schools. supreme court cases involving the flag salute in public schools in the 1940s ironically, in the decade prior to the insertion of the words “under god” into the pledge of allegiance there had been legal challenges to the intrusion of the state into religious matters of conscience precisely around the issue of saluting the flag in public schools. during the 1940s the u.s. supreme court heard two significant cases that dealt with freedom of conscience regarding students’ refusals to salute the flag based on religious reasons. the jehovah’s witnesses objected to saluting the flag which they believed served as an idol and was therefore prohibited. listing “reasons why a true follower of jesus christ cannot salute a flag” they outlined their case stating that not only was a flag salute a form of idolatry, but also “flag saluting is part of a creed of a sect of socalled patriots, teaching a ritual of patriotism and from such, all true christians are commanded to turn aside” (quoted in fennell 1936, 8-9). in 27 1938, the gobitises, a jehovah’s witness family from minersville, pennsylvania won a district and appellate court ruling that allowed their children to return to school after they were expelled from the local public school for refusing to salute the flag based on their religious convictions. the school district appealed the ruling of the lower courts and the case minersville school district v gobitis appeared before the u.s. supreme court in 1940. surprising many, justice felix frankfurter, who had been appointed to the court by fdr and had a reputation as a civil libertarian-having helped organize the aclu in the 1920s-sided with the school district in this case. writing the majority opinion of the court he stated that “the ultimate foundation of a free society is the binding tie of cohesive sentiment” and that since the flag was “the symbol of our national unity,” public schools were allowed to compel students to salute the flag in order to promote “that unifying sentiment without which there can ultimately be no liberties, civil or religious” (minersville school district v gobitis 310 u.s. 586, 591-601 (1940)). this ruling only served to underscore the place that the daily recitation of the pledge held in u.s. public schools as part of the implicit curriculum of american patriotism and it reinforced the significance of the pedagogy of symbols in promoting american values and the american way of life. a related case also involving the jehovah’s witnesses and the saluting of the flag in public schools came before the court in 1943west virginia state board of education v barnette. the barnett sisters had been expelled in 1942 from their local four-room schoolhouse in charleston, west virginia for refusing to salute the flag since, like the gobitises, they too were jehovah’s witnesses. in this case, however, the court reversed its earlier ruling in gobitis and ruled that students do have the right to refuse to salute the flag based on religious grounds. the court noted that “the compulsory flag salute and pledge requires affirmation of a belief and an attitude of mind” (west virginia state board of education v barnette 319 u.s. 624 (1943)). thus, if this belief conflicted with one’s religious beliefs it was a legitimate expression of religious freedom to refuse to salute the flag. by then, the backlash against the gobitis ruling had mounted in both the religious and secular press. the christian century said of the ruling it is “bitterly ironical that a free government should inflict a penalty for refusal to salute a symbol of freedom” (quoted in marty 1996, 217). the secular press also balked at the ruling with 171 newspapers attacking the decision. a year before barnette came before the court, congress had also considered the issue of requiring the flag salute and passed a law officially recognizing the pledge of allegiance while also making the flag salute and recitation of the pledge voluntary. it is also interesting to note that this same law changed the flag salute from the traditional “bellamy salute” with a raised right arm-which was considered too reminiscent of a nazi saluteto the right hand placed over the heart (ellis 2005). writing the majority opinion in barnette, justice robert jackson cited the purpose of public schools in a free society, emphasizing that schools serve the vital role of “educating the young for citizenship.” he went on to state that public education in a democracy should “not strangle the free mind at its source [or] teach youth to discount important principles of our government as mere platitudes.” rather, public education should lead students to make their own informed decisions about what they believe, value, and cherish most as free citizens. here, the court recognized that a patriotism that it is compulsory is weaker than that which is voluntarily. jackson concluded: “if there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in matters of politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion… or force citizens to confess by word their faith therein.” (west virginia state board of education v barnette 319 u.s. 624 (1943)). 28 in his dissenting opinion, hearkening back to his earlier decision in gobitis, justice frankfurter stressed “we are told that a flag salute is a doubtful substitute for adequate understanding of our institutions. the states that require such a school exercise do not have to justify it as the only means for promoting good citizenship in children, but merely as one of diverse means for accomplishing a worthy end.” he recognized that while “patriotism cannot be enforced by the flag salute,” in this case “the right of west virginia to utilize the flag salute as part of its educational process is denied” since “only a persistent positive translation of the faith of a free society into the convictions and habits and actions of a community is the ultimate reliance against unabated temptations to fetter the human spirit” (west virginia state board of education v barnette 319 u.s. 624 (1943)). no doubt, frankfurter believed that the flag salute in schools played an important role in the implicit curriculum of american citizenship by symbolically reinforcing those values around which a democratic society ought to be unified. yet, the gobitis and barnette cases and the controversy surrounding them in the 1940s-a time when american democracy was seen as under attack around the globe-reveal the inherent tension between the centripetal and centrifugal forces within american democracy itselfwhether the unum ought to overshadow the pluribus or whether there truly can be an e pluribus unum. debates about how best to instill those same democratic values in american schoolchildren reflected that same tension and seemed to tip the scale to one side or the other while trying to maintain a delicate balance between the two. by the mid-1950s, however, after emerging victorious against threats to democratic freedom in the form of fascism during world war ii and after entering into the cold war struggle against forces of communism, there was a decided shift in american society back toward frankfurter’s earlier notion that “the ultimate foundation of a free society is the binding tie of cohesive sentiment” and that the flag served not just as “the symbol of our national unity” but as a sacred symbol of our democratic values. this shift toward the unum laid the groundwork for the insertion of the words “under god” into the pledge, thus enshrining it even more prominently on the altar of american civil religion during the eisenhower era. the implicit curriculum of american civil religion in 1955-the year after the words “under god” were inserted into the pledge of allegiance president eisenhower told the american legion as part of their “back to god” campaign that “recognition of the supreme being is the first, the most basic expression of americanism. without god there could be no american form of government, nor an american way of life” (new york herald tribune february 21, 1955). that same year, sociologist will herberg published a book that captured this american creed at midcentury. the book titled protestant-catholic-jew emphasized the “common faith” of the american people and the united states as a “judeochristian” nation. to describe the essence of this “common faith,” herberg coined the phrase the “civic religion of the american way of life” (1955, 101-2). this description reflected well the religious values that were on display during the eisenhower era-an era that produced religious celebrities who reflected popular religiosity in the united states represented by figures such as billy graham, fulton sheen, and norman vincent peal who used the media to appeal to wider audiences beyond traditional sectarian boundaries. the era also gave a receptive public platform to theologians like reinhold niebuhr, paul tillich, and abraham joshua heschel who became members of a new religious intelligentsia, often appearing in the popular press and offering intellectual justification for the emergence of a uniquely american approach to religion that was broad, inclusive, and cohesive. pulled to the center of american life by the homogenizing effects of suburbanization in 29 the post-world war ii era, many americans found comfort in the values of family, stability, and prosperity-values that seemed to converge at the confluence of politics, economics, and religion in the 1950s (krause 2015). at that center, both church and school offered stabilizing influences to counterbalance fears-both real and imagined-of the communist menace that seemed to threaten that very way of life. in the wake of the baby boom and riding the crest of post-war prosperity, the suburbs grew at a tremendous rate. between 1951 and 1970 the suburban population more than doubled in the united states, going from thirty-six million to seventyfour million in just twenty years (kaledin 2000, 121). as a largely white emerging middle class migrated to the suburbs previously marginalized ethnic and religious groups were integrated into the modern democratic experiment of suburbia, while cities themselves became increasingly more segregated along racial, ethnic, and economic lines. moving beyond the ghettoization that many catholics and jews experienced in american cities earlier in the century, the newly created suburbs invited a new way of being religious as part of the american mainstream. church basements became the new meeting houses where school, religious, and civic groups converged around a culture of conformity marked by bake sales, pot-luck suppers, and jello molds in support of raising children in the american way of life. among the rows of freshly built houses, car lined driveways, and nondescript houses of worship, civic associations, like the american legion and the knights of columbus dotted the landscape of america’s suburbs and became agents for promoting the american creed. schools, both public and parochial, became central to their project as places of socialization into this common faith in the 1950’s and the pledge of allegiance became a rallying point for various groups seeking to reassert the central place of religion in american civic life. these values were also reflected in the ubiquitous medium of television which spread the gospel of middle-class prosperity. alongside religious celebrities, like catholic bishop fulton sheen, who offered an explicit curriculum of a generic “feel-good” faith well suited to the era, television presented an implicit curriculum of a new social imaginary of solid, middle-class values that reinforced the culture of affluence being lived out in the newly emergent suburbs (krause 2015). margot henricksen observes that “reflecting american society of the baby boom and suburban sprawl, television upheld the family as the unifying center of values and as the firm base of american security.” she contends that “this world focused itself internally, particularly on the lives of the children” as found in popular television shows of the era such as “leave it to beaver “which portrayed the nuclear, suburban family as a stable place for children to grow up (1997, 90). here, “parental authority was wise, necessary, and beneficent” as “parents taught their children to be responsible and honest citizens” (henricksen 1997, 90). although not explicitly religious, such portrayals neatly coalesced with the aims which the advocates of american civil religion sought to promote: god, country, and family. the cold war and a “common faith” the insertion of the words “under god” into the pledge of allegiance and subsequent revisions to the citizenship curriculum in the nation’s public schools in the 1950s represented an attempt at introducing an implicit curriculum of american civil religion at a time when religions’ explicit influence in public schools was beginning to wane. it was a revision of the curriculum of american patriotism which recast the traditional protestant trope of america’s providential destiny in a new light to reflect a new national awareness of america as a “judeochristian” nation. or, as president eisenhower suggested, “millions of our school children will daily proclaim in every city and town, every village and rural schoolhouse, the dedication of 30 our nation and our people to the almighty. to anyone who truly loves america, nothing could be more inspiring than to contemplate this rededication of our youth, on each school morning, to our country's true meaning.... reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in america's heritage and future” (eisenhower, 1954). such sentiments openly expressed by a u.s. president reflect the religious ethos of the 1950s which became the high-water mark for formal church affiliation with nine out of ten americans professing belief in the divinity of jesus christ according to one survey in 1954 and ninety-six percent of respondents professing a particular religious faith in 1957 (whitfield 1996, 83). historian martin marty argues that this religious resurgence in american society in the 1950’s was tied to a popular patriotism framed over and against the “godless communism” of the soviet union (marty 1996, 313). to be a good american meant to be a religious citizen and to be a religious citizen meant to be a good american. this sparked a renewed emphasis on developing a moral education for godly citizenship in public schools. encouraging a nonsectarian approach to teaching the value of religious faith and common moral principles consistent with the american way of life became of paramount concern for many civics educators who stressed the religious character of american citizenship. for example, the religious education association’s journal character which was started in the 1930’s became character and citizenship in the 1940’s and simply the american citizen by 1950, taking the religious aspect of good citizenship as a sine qua non (rea archives, record group 74, boxes 38-39). along similar lines, a 1956 report by waco public schools in waco, texas emphasized “respect for symbols of democracy” as an essential component of the civics curriculum. here, a group of junior high school teachers asserted that “the corner stone of our american way of life was faith in god” and that “christianity in action is the essence of democracy” (waco independent school district 1956, 15). listed among the “symbols of democracy with which all american schoolchildren should be familiar” was not only the pledge of allegiance but also “grace (“each in his own way”)” (waco independent school district 1956, 45). it stressed belief in god as foundational to democracy in the united states, not only respecting but endorsing religious principles and practices as part of the school civics curriculum. such sentiments were reflected in similar reports and various civics curricula from school districts throughout the united states during this period. a year later, a report on nebraska’s public schools stated “in our school program, and especially in our social studies, we have much opportunity to emphasize moral principles which undergird our nation’s liberties. we have furthermore the opportunity to develop in our young people an appreciation and understanding of the significant part that faith in god has played in the development of our great country.” citing the words “under god” in the pledge of allegiance and the recently added inscription, “in god we trust,” to u.s. currency, it affirmed that a common faith in god is foundational to the principles of american democracy wherein belief that “man is a spiritual being of dignity and worth because he has his origins and destiny in god, his creator” is “fundamental in our nation’s moral and spiritual foundation” (nebraska dept of education 1957, 10). yet, this emphasis on teaching the moral and spiritual foundations of the united states was not limited to schools in the south or midwest; rather, even more liberal states such as new york adopted “an appreciation of the moral and spiritual values of the past” and an “enthusiasm for the american way of life” as aims for its civics curriculum during the 1950’s (bureau of secondary curriculum development 1954, 13). as a 1955 report of the national education association on public education and the future of america states: “the great ethical concepts of judeo-christian morality could be 31 taught without reference to particular sectarian interpretations. the moral foundation of the school program could be preserved while the rights of individual conscience were honored” (nea 1955, 20). it goes on to extol the value of public schools as promoting those values whereby “public schools contributed magnificently to making ‘one nation, under god, indivisible with liberty and justice for all,’” highlighting how public schools have “sought to develop in children the moral and ethical commitments which are common to all of the great religions” and that “this common basis of ethical values has both raised the level of the nation’s morality and left each individual free to pursue the religious dictates of his own conscience” (nea 1955, 68-69). “thus,” the report concludes, “while public schools are prohibited by their very nature from teaching sectarian religious doctrines, they have contributed immeasurably to the spiritual growth of the american people, to the ethical foundation of american democracy, and to harmonious working relations among the varied groups within the united states” (nea 1955, 70). against the backdrop of such concerns for finding ways to promote a moral education rooted in a common faith which supported the principles of american democracy were fears that the american way of life itself was under a constant existential threat both ideologically and materially by the forces of an atheistic communism. the year after the nea report was issued, for example, the civil defense education project of the u.s. department of health, education, and welfare published a manual titled education for national survival: a handbook on civil defense for schools (u.s. dept of health, education, and welfare 1956). opening its first pages with a photograph of a hydrogen bomb exploding over bikini atoll along with an artist’s rendition of “a hydrogen bomb fireball over the skyline of new york,” it cautions that “civil defense is today a vital aspect of our daily lives and probably will remain so for some time,” covering topics such as “the nature of possible enemy attack,” “warning time,” and “civil defense planning” (u.s. dept of health, education, and welfare 1956, 5, 8, 10-12). civil defense films, pamphlets, and even comics books instructing student what to do in case of a nuclear attack became a regular staple of classroom life across the united states during the 1950’s alongside “duck and cover” air-raid drills which impressed upon schoolchildren a real sense of potential imminent danger lurking just over the horizon. as margot henricksen observes in dr. strangelove’s america: society and culture in the atomic age: “american children perhaps felt the psychological impact of living in the atomic age most keenly, but their anxious experiences spoke of the larger cultural anxiety that impugned, if quietly and underhandedly, the tranquil reputation of postwar america.” she argues that “the civil defense debate revealed an america divided between the nervous and the calm (whether that calm was real or induced), and children were introduced to this split life through school drills, where fear suddenly intruded, then receded, where—as one educator put it—children were trained to become both ‘disaster­minded’ and ‘competent to survive’” (henricksen 1997, 108). these cold war fears helped shape the curriculum of american civics throughout this period and gave an added sense of urgency to concerns for bolstering religious values in public schools under the broad canopy of promoting a common faith in american civil religion in juxtaposition to the “communist threat.” schools relied on the implicit curriculum of american civil religion to reinforce the values of the united states as a “judeo-christian” nation, seen as essential for upholding the american way of life. such concerns crystalized around the insertion of the words “under god” into the pledge as a concrete expression of that common faith not only in “one nation, under god, indivisible,” but in the very future of the united states itself. american civil religion and the pledge of allegiance 32 in his analysis of civil religion in u.s. public schools, sociologist adam gamoran emphasizes that the daily ritual of saluting the flag and the content of the pledge of allegiance was designed to promote belief in a national community, that the nation is subordinate to god, and that loyalty is owed to the nation. (1990, 235). along similar lines, peter gardella argues that the american flag itself came to be seen as “a sacramental object” which symbolizes the land, the people, the government, and the spirit of the united states (2014, 81). gardella points out that “the values and icons of american civil religion serve to help unify the ethnically and religiously diverse citizens of the united states, and to help them identify as americans” (2014, 7). thus, the ritual aspects of schooling serve to reinforce the implicit curriculum of patriotism through the values, behaviors, and expectations embedded in the daily rituals of school life (eisner 1985, 90-97). in the case of the pledge of allegiance, the values of conformity and uniformity are reinforced through unison recitation, collective participation, and shared attention to the flag as an object of ritual devotion. leisa martin in her contemporary study of students’ perceptions of the daily recitation of the pledge of allegiance in schools concludes that it does, in fact, reinforce the values of loyalty and patriotism and serves to instill in students a sense of pride in the nation (2012, 58). these were precisely the educational aims that the originators of the pledge hoped to achieve and ones that those who amended the pledge in the 1950’s hoped to promote. gamoran argues that “schools may be the most important agent of civil religion in contemporary american society” through its “symbols, rituals, and holiday celebrations” (1990, 236). such was certainly the case in the 1950’s with its stress on the united states as “one nation, under god” (marty 1996, 294). educators, politicians, and religious leaders during the eisenhower era found solace in extoling this ideal as expressing their aspirations of what they hoped and believed america to be. the daily recitation of the pledge, the singing of patriotic songs such as “god bless america,” and the reading of foundational documents in american history which made explicit reference to god such as the gettysburg address served to promote the implicit curriculum of american civil religion in public schools and foster a collective sense of national unity which merged patriotism with piety in pursuit of a national identity. in 1956 congress passed house resolution 243 which adopted the motto “in god we trust” as the official motto of the united states, having already made it mandatory to be imprinted on all u.s. coins the year prior (knights of columbus supreme council archives, box 417, file 011). along with the insertion of the words “under god” into the pledge, this move further solidified efforts to place religion at the center of american life in the 1950’s. popular responses popular support for the change to the pledge was largely favorable. hearst newspapers under the direction of william randolph hearst jr.-a rabid anti-communist like his father who died in 1951-promoted the insertion of the words “under god” from the beginning. in 1954 the journal-american published an editorial, which ran in all hearst papers, titled “under god” and suggested that “all americans support a worthy change” (editorial new york journal-american, may 3, 1954). other news organizations such as cbs news televised the recitation of the newly revised pledge in front of the u.s. capitol on flag day 1954 under the story heading “new glory for old glory.” popular television journalist walter cronkite, who covered the event for cbs, commented “if we remember to display our flags today and every special day, we will remember more clearly the traditions of freedom on which our country is founded” (quoted in bishop 2007, 78). as the flag was raised, a bugler played onward christian soldiers in the background. yet, despite the hype 33 and despite hearst’s propaganda, not everyone supported the move. a gallup poll in 1954 found that 69 percent of americans favored the change, while 21 percent opposed it (gallup vault 2017). and a small minority of religious groups, such as the unitarian ministers’ association of boston, also voiced opposition, suggesting that it threatened religious liberty (marty 1996, 300). nonetheless, the change to the pledge appears to have received widespread popular support, sentiments echoed by one local newspaper which suggested “america, whose foundations were laid in a deep-felt respect for the almighty, is today a god-fearing nation” (knights of columbus supreme council archives, box 646, file sc-1). such comments reflect the general pulse of a cold war, anti-communist ethos and the renewed religious sensibilities of the united states at mid-century. the curriculum of american patriotism in american catholic schools in august 1954 president eisenhower sent a letter to supreme knight luke hart expressing his gratitude for the knights of columbus’ role in promoting the change to the pledge: i am happy to send greetings to the knights of columbus on the occasion of the annual meeting of your supreme council. your tireless work for charity and brotherhood in communities throughout our land has long done much to keep americans aware of the religious values which we hold. and this year we are particularly thankful to you for your part in the movement to have the words “under god” added to our pledge of allegiance. these words remind americans that despite our great physical strength we must remain humble. they will help us to keep constantly in our minds and hearts the spiritual and moral principles which alone give dignity to man, and upon which our way of life is founded. for the contributions which your organization made to this cause, we must be genuinely grateful (knights of columbus supreme council archives, box 646, file 2004). this letter was enlarged and prominently on display behind the rostrum at the gathering of the supreme council of the knights of columbus in st. louis in august 1954 where it was greeted with enthusiasm by the delegates for whom it represented the catholic move toward the center of american life-a move which would further crystalize with the election of john f. kennedy as president of the united states six years later. yet, despite eisenhower’s recognition, there were numerous attempts on the part of others to take credit for originating the idea of inserting the words “under god” into the pledge, including reverend docherty and congressman rabaut. against these, hart vigorously and vociferously defended the place of the knights of columbus in the history of the pledge, writing to small, local papers such as the huntington advertiser of huntington, west virginia as well as national ones like the washington post to correct the record (see knights of columbus supreme council archives, box 646, file 2000). in one such letter, dated july 25, 1957, to the editor of the tri-city herald in pasco, washington which failed to credit the knights in an article about the pledge, hart told the editor “this is a complete fraud and there appears to be a studied campaign to promote it” (knights of columbus supreme council archives, box 646, file 2011). or, in a detailed six-page letter to the washington post in march 1955 outlining the role the knights played in amending the pledge, he rebuked the editor for an article it published suggesting docherty was the originator of the words “under god” in the pledge: “i am quite surprised that dr. docherty would make such a claim and i am just as greatly surprised that you would write an article setting forth such a claim” (knights of columbus supreme council archives, box 646, file 2012). hart’s zealous defense of the knights’ role in the history of the 34 pledge indicates the importance which he attached to it and the value he and others saw in fixing the place of american catholicism in the patriotic imagination of the united states. catholic schools and civil religion while the catholic school system had been established in the nineteenth century as a bulwark against the protestant-dominated public school system and while it continued to offer an enclave for american catholic schoolchildren well into the twentieth century, by the mid1950’s most american catholic schools were just as eager to appear american as they were catholic. a letter to supreme knight of the knights of columbus, luke hart, dated june 25, 1956 expressed thanks for the knights’ production of posters of the pledge, stating, “the holy name men’s club placed framed copies of the pledge of allegiance in each of the seventeen school rooms and we encourage many societies and organizations to do likewise for their schools and soon we may look forward to the time when every catholic school room will display these works of art, piety, and patriotism” (knights of columbus supreme council archives, box 646, file 2000). this illustrates the patriotic fervor which american catholics at mid-century embraced as part of their identity in the american mainstream. as a recruiting poster for the knights of columbus from this period asked “why be an american? why be a catholic? why not be a communist?” it implored “to meet this [communist] threat to our precious freedomssave our american constitutional form of government, our institutions of freedom, and our way of life” (knights of columbus supreme council archives, box 646, file 2016). father gerard sloyan of the catholic university of america insisted at the beginning of the decade: “the child in catholic the school is being formed in the national tradition. patriotism does not suffer the slightest threat within the walls of the church’s institutions…one of the achievements of american democratic life is its unity in diversity. the catholic curriculum prepares children for worthy participation in the life of the nation, with all the rights and obligations attendant thereon” (sloyan 1950, 77-78). a sociological study of a typical middle-class parochial school in the midwest toward the end of the decade by jesuit father joseph fichter bore this out. he observed that in addition to the teaching of civics and the assigning of “citizenship” grades on report cards, the school’s parent teacher association included committees on “citizenship” and “character education” which alongside a parish-sponsored boy scout troop and camp fire girls troop were designed to promote civic virtues among the students (fichter 1958, 264). fichter stressed that in catholic schools, “the next generation are here being socialized as maturing catholics in the american culture” (1958, 1). he went on to observe that the students had moved beyond the “ghetto-mentality” of earlier generations and displayed the traits of “conformity and selfcontrol” which he identified as “integral values of the american culture” (fichter 1958, 134). overall, he found that, like public schools, parochial schools in 1950’s by and large promoted an implicit curriculum of american citizenship that encouraged catholics to assimilate into the dominant mainstream culture. catholic reaction to american civil religion yet not all catholics were happy to assimilate. criticizing what he called a “homogenizing americanism,” father leonard feeney in a 1952 editorial in his archconservative catholic magazine the pilot, warned that “the generic religion of the united states of america is a meetinghouse christianity” which, he argued would lead to “a confused christianity” (knights of columbus supreme council archives, box 417, file 005). these sentiments reflected the tension in american catholicism between traditionalists who saw american civil religion as a threat and progressives who saw entry into the american mainstream as vital to promoting american catholic values. feeney who was later 35 censured by the vatican for his views that salvation was reserved only for catholics represented the more extreme traditionalist view (marty 1996, 407). in contrast, more liberal catholic commentators in publications such as commonweal and the jesuit weekly america expressed hope at the opening of american catholicism up to the center of american life (see marty 1996, 416-433). more broadly, the knights of columbus’ efforts to insert the words “under god” into the pledge represented the catholic rapprochement with american values in the eisenhower era, a rapprochement that would find further expression in the following decade not only with the election of john f. kennedy, but also with catholic involvement in the civil rights movement, and the implementation of the reforms of the second vatican council (19611965) which made explicit efforts to update the catholic church, bringing it into dialogue with the modern world. by defending their role in inserting the words “under god “into the pledge, the knights of columbus hoped to recast the trope of american patriotism, which had deep roots in american protestantism, as inclusive of catholics as well. in one sense, it was seen as a mark of catholic respectability in american culture just as catholics were moving in large numbers from cities to suburbs in the 1950s. there, they built catholic schools which continued to promote the values of american patriotism where catholic schoolchildren, like their public-school counterparts, would daily recite the pledge of allegiance, professing a common faith in “one nation, under god.” conclusion while the implicit curriculum of american civil religion in the 1950’s found various expressions, nowhere was it more prominently featured or enduring than in the insertion of the words “under god” into the pledge of allegiance. in one sense, it represents the cold war mentality that dominated the eisenhower era that saw the american way of life besieged by the forces of “godless” communism. yet, in a larger sense, it also represents fears that the american way of life was somehow losing its religious moorings. the secularization of american society which fueled those initial fears which led to efforts to amend the pledge continued to accelerate throughout the following decade. supreme court cases in 1960’s that deemphasized religion’s place in public schools firmly established a strict wall of separation between church and state, forbidding the devotional reading of the bible as well as prayer in public schools (delfattore 2004, 52-66). the culture of conformity that appeared to mark the eisenhower era seemed to give way to a culture of confusion which marked the next decade. just ten years after “in god we trust” was adopted as the official motto of the united states, time magazine featured a front cover asking the question “is god dead?” (elson 1966). on the one hand, such dramatic shifts in american religious sensibilities seem to make the words “under god” in the pledge of allegiance appear to be a quaint relic of a bygone era. on the other hand, they also reflect more perduring concerns over the place of religion in public schools. at a time when religion was fading from the explicit curriculum, proponents of the change to the pledge sought to ensure that religion would remain, at least, part of the implicit curriculum, lest it fade completely into the null curriculum of american public education. given the rapid changes in society in the later half of the twentieth century, their concern was not wholly unfounded; nor was their desire to preserve an appreciation for the religious heritage that shaped american values. at the same time, as catholics entered the mainstream and asserted their right to be called loyal americans, the pledge became for them a symbol of their loyalty to the american creed. thus, the insertion of the words “under god” into the pledge continues to serve as a reminder of the struggles over the implicit curriculum of american civil religion and debates concerning the role of religion and 36 patriotism in american education both public and private. references bishop, ronald. 2007. “that is good to think of these days: the campaign by hearst newspapers to promote addition of ‘under god’ to the pledge of allegiance.” american journalism 24(2), 61-85. bureau of secondary curriculum development. 1954. citizenship education: a syllabus for high school students. albany, ny: state department of education. delfattore, joan. 2004. the fourth r: conflicts over religion in america's public schools. new haven, ct: yale university press, 2004. dolan, jay. 1992. the american catholic experience: a history from colonial times to the present. notre dame, in: university of notre dame press. editorial. 1954. “in the mailbox.” new york journal-american, may 3, 1954. eisenhower, dwight. 1954. statement by the president upon signing bill to include the words "under god" in the pledge to the flag. online by gerhard peters and john t. woolley, the american presidency project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/23215 3 eisner, elliot. 1985. the educational imagination: on the design and evaluation of school programs, 2nd edition. ny: macmillan. ellis, richard j. 2005. to the flag: the unlikely history of the pledge of allegiance. lawrence, ks: university of kansas press. elson, john. 1966. “is god dead?” time april 8. fennell, william. 1936. compulsory flag salute in schools. ny: committee on academic freedom, american civil liberties union. fichter, joseph. 1958. parochial school: a sociological study. south bend, in: university of notre dame press. francis julius bellamy papers. special collections. university of rochester riverside library. rochester, ny. gallup vault. 2017. gallup vault: americans favored putting god in u.s. pledge. gallup. https://news.gallup.com/vault/220232/gallupvault-americans-favored-putting-godpledge.aspx gamoran, adam. 1990. “civil religion in american schools.” sociological analysis 51:3 235-256 gardella, peter. 2014. american civil religion: what americans hold sacred. ny: oxford university press henriksen, margot. 1997. dr. strangelove’s america: society and culture in the atomic age. berkley, ca: university of california press. herberg, will. 1955. protestant-catholic-jew: an essay in american religious sociology. garden city, ny: doubleday. kaledin, eugenia. 2000. daily life in the united states, 1910-1959: shifting worlds. westport, ct: greenwood press. kauffman, christopher j. 2001. patriotism and fraternalism in the knights of columbus: a history of the fourth degree. ny: crossroad publishing company ——— 1992. faith and fraternalism: a history of the knights of columbus, revised edition. ny: simon and schuster. knights of columbus supreme council archives. knights of columbus museum. new haven, ct. kruse, kevin m. 2015. one nation under god: how corporate america invented christian america. ny: basic books 37 leepson, marc. 2005. the flag: an american biography. ny: thomas dunne books/st. martin's press. loughery, john. 2018. dagger john: archbishop john hughes and the making of irish america. ithaca, ny: cornell university press. martin, leisa a. 2012. “blind patriotism or active citizenship? how do students interpret the pledge of allegiance?” action in teacher education, 34:1, 55-64 marty, martin. 1996. modern american religion, vol 3: under god, indivisible 19411960. chicago: university of chicago press. nea. 1955. public education and the future of america. washington, dc: national education association. nebraska dept of education. 1957. building better american citizens in nebraska elementary schools: a guide for teaching social studies. lincoln, neb: division of supervision. rea archives. special collections. yale university divinity school library. new haven, ct. sloyan, gerard. 1950. christian concepts in social studies in catholic education. washington, dc: the catholic university of america press. u.s. dept of health, education, and welfare. 1956. education for national survival: a handbook on civil defense for schools. washington, dc: united states government printing office. waco independent school district. 1956. we teach democracy in the waco public schools. waco, tx: waco independent school district. whitfield, stephen. 1996. the culture of the cold war, 2nd edition. baltimore: the johns hopkins university press. 103 analyzing the past: looking for change the history of ohio art education credentialing practice mary anne zahner university of dayton abstract this study brings the following question to the fore: how past curriculum paradigms solved problems? in the 1900s teaching drawing morphed into a diverse art curriculum. then, victor lowenfeld found a developmental approach to understanding children’s art. however, elliot eisner and manuel barkan challenged art educators to think differently about curriculum, bringing about new standards for teacher preparation. today, however, legislation and curricular shifts stretch the carrying capacity of art education practice. the history of ohio art education credentialing practice art education preparation in the state of ohio includes a process of mastering the curriculum for teaching visual art prekindergarten through grade twelve (prek-12), including actual practice in a classroom. licensure, the vehicle for art education curriculum, provides preservice teachers with a plan to acquire pedagogical theory, knowledge about art and actual classroom practice. however, since 1900, the curriculum constantly changed while credentialing remained about the same. consequently, shifts in visual arts curriculum are interwoven with state and national legislation that effect credentialing preservice art educators. to understand the importance of these issues this study follows the history of ohio art education curriculum practice from the 1900s to the present. curriculum history 2018: 103-114 although this study is limited to curriculum events in ohio it is representative of similar art education credentialing in many u.s. states in terms of legislation and curricular shifts. the purpose of this study is to bring the following questions to the fore: how have past curriculum paradigms solved problems? does the existing prek-12 licensure function to adequately promote a robust visual arts curriculum? what issues would occur if selective credentialing replaced the present prek-12 licensure? in the beginning in the early years of the 20th century, teacher training was limited and eclectic. according to foster wygant, art was being taught in ohio schools in the mid-1860’s. for example, in 1868, cincinnati public schools hired arthur forbriger to become the first supervisor of drawing. classroom teachers, under forbriger’s guidance, usually conducted drawing lessons in the primary grades, while classes in high schools were taught by forbriger himself. wygant also recognized the ohio cities of columbus and cleveland as having notable drawing programs during the 1800’s (wygant 1983, 44, 52, 53). by 1900, the ohio department of education provided provisional certificates to teach in kindergarten, elementary, and high school (including chemistry, homemaking, mathematics, physical education, english, spanish, etc.). music and visual art were included under the rubric, special all, meaning credentialed to teach all grades (ohio department of education, n.d). data on the number of credentials for art 104 teachers were sporadic until the 1960s. however, a 1929 report on ohio high school standards, indicated that visual art had evolved beyond forbriger’s drawing curriculum in cincinnati: art has so many phases, and so many levels, that it is difficult to outline any one content for the courses. there may be general courses in sketching and appreciation available to any who are interested. . .or there may be courses elected by those with taste and talent for art, whether design, representation, illustration, commercial art, painting, or art metal. (winters 1929, 131) it was not until 1935 that the first ohio teacher training standards were established by the ohio legislature. certificates (temporary, provisional, professional, or permanent) were given to eligible teachers and administrators (cyphert and nickelson 1984). it so happened that the year 1935 fell in the middle of america’s great depression, and a limited teacher force had to cover multiple certification areas in order to meet various curriculum requirements. moreover, this paucity of teachers continued through the 1940’s as a result of world war ii efforts. changes in sight in an effort to strengthen ohio certification requirements, a committee on teacher education of the ohio college association, drew up a series of reports to investigate the possibility of making changes in the requirements of the ohio state department of education for the certification of teachers (cottrell et al.1950). members were concerned about the present emergency certification provisions, especially the problem of elementary education certification, requiring less than four years of college preparation. they believed that preparation for teaching required better facilities, adequate collegiate experiences, and a longer time than was presently available in colleges and universities. they also were struggling to find what was required to prepare a teacher in terms of professional and general education, as well as subject matter curriculum. therefore, by april 1951, the committee on teacher education presented a plan to survey ohio school administrators, teachers, and recent high school graduates, to find what changes should be made in the requirements for teacher certification. because requirements were more numerous for the specials (art, music, and physical education), it was decided to concentrate the survey on these three subject areas (committee on teacher education, the ohio college association 1952). survey questionnaires were mailed in 1952 to 396 administrators, 898 special teachers, and 600 former students, who attended these special classes and were now in ohio colleges. the survey also invited respondents to write their comments and suggestions on the back of the questionnaires. the following comments were among the most repeated responses: administrators said that professional education courses were too theoretical and impractical; teachers should be taught how to maintain effective classroom discipline; while in training, more field-work and practical classroom experience was needed; and, teachers of special subjects must be able coordinate their subjects with the curriculum as a whole. art, music, and physical education teachers felt that they needed more time student teaching; art teachers, especially, felt that they should be prepared for actual situations, where equipment and supplies were meager; and, all the special teachers felt that they needed better knowledge of child growth and development. former students felt that special teachers lacked the ability to clearly teach abstract concepts and 105 techniques in their area of expertise; teachers also needed a better understanding of, and more sympathy for young peoples’ problems, interests, and backgrounds; many special teachers were teaching courses for which they were not prepared; and, teachers needed to get students to think; memorizing was not learning (committee on teacher education 1952, 26,28,32). while the committee on teacher education understood the certification problems of special teachers, actual reform did not take place until 1980, under the auspices of state and national legislation. this survey was concerning because it revealed skills that took art education from forbriger’s drawing lessons in cincinnati to a different skill set needed for future art educators. members of the committee also knew that to be aware of the problem was to have some responsibility for it. from the vivid survey statements of: administrators, who thought more classroom experience was needed; teachers of special subjects, who needed more time student teaching; art teachers who needed better knowledge of child growth and development; and, former students who felt teachers lacked empathy and the ability to clearly teach abstract concepts; it was obvious that a change in teacher preparation was needed. in fact, the field of art education was failing to do the work that administrators, former students and the teachers themselves wanted done. clearly, this survey showed that there was a failure to provide better preservice instruction, and mentors who would help future art teachers learn about teaching in the classroom. such a response is cause for an argument to be made: are preservice art teachers adequately prepared to teach in the public schools? this investigation into the weaknesses of art teacher preparation was prophetic. but, something much more engaging was about to happen. the unveiling of a theory for teaching art to children in the meantime, victor lowenfeld (1947) wrote his first edition of creative and mental growth to demonstrate to art teachers how a child’s growth is intertwined with creative development and how creative development is intertwined with growth. consequently, this approach to teaching children was a method resulting from the child’s needs. lowenfeld provided teachers with an understanding necessary for teaching art in an age-appropriate manner. however, as knowledge about children’s physical, emotional, social, mental, perceptual, aesthetic, and creative growth expanded; curricular content grew from teaching technical skills to teaching the whole child. in lowenfeld’s second edition (1952), he added assessment charts of ageappropriate stages in each of the growth domains. these graphic charts prompted teachers to evaluate the progress of children’s creative development. the third edition (1957), included additional chapters on discipline in the classroom, adolescent art as a course of study for high school, and therapeutic aspects of art education, including children who were physically and mentally challenged. in fact, arthur efland wrote that creative and mental growth “became the most influential art education textbook of the post war era. its success was due to the fact that it provided a developmental basis for understanding children’s art” (efland 1990, 235). the birth of art education research and curriculum development however, 1957 was also the year that soviet scientists put the first satellite, sputnik i, into orbit, an event that forced americans to reevaluate their scientific capabilities and educational system. this national crisis brought federal assistance to education. for instance, it 106 triggered the passage of the “national defense education act of 1958,” which made millions of dollars available for educational reforms (zahner 2003, 128,129). furthermore, the passage of the elementary and secondary education act of 1965 was a primary stimulus for federal support of research and development in education (madija 1977). as the 1960s evolved, art educators began to plan for what has since become a benchmark in the field: a seminar in art education for research and curriculum development, also known as the “penn state seminar,” sponsored by the arts and humanities division of the u.s. office of education. the purpose of the 10-day seminar, held from august 30-september 9, 1965, was the stimulation of research and curriculum development in art education. consequently, the lasting impact of the papers presented by elliot eisner’s, “concepts, issues, and problems in the field of curriculum,” (1966), and manuel barkan’s, “curriculum problems in art education.” (1966), resonate in the ohio visual arts standards for today’s licensure (ohio board of regents 2007). the seminar’s eisner-barkan duo was fortuitous. both found a discipline-based curriculum more relevant than lownfeld’s theory of creativity and self-expression. eisner, having recently received his ph.d. from the university of chicago, was entrenched with the theories of the university’s cadre: ralph w. tyler, john a. goodlad, and benjamin bloom. all three researchers played an important role in shaping the structure of eisner’s paper, and consequently barkan’s response paper. eisner modified tyler’s rationale to academic curriculum, subject matter curriculum, and course curriculum. the first level, academic curriculum, included what to teach and provided the ground rules for planning. eisner warned that “the place a subject matter is to have in the curriculum cannot be professionally determined unless one examines the context, both personal and social, within which that subject matter is to function” (eisner 1966, 231). in responding to eisner’s academic curriculum framework, barkan, professor and chair of the division of art education, college of the arts, the ohio state university, argued that curriculum development in elementary and secondary art education was limited. agreeing with eisner, barkan saw curriculum research as a translation of basic knowledge into an instructional program. he said, on one hand, “there is a massive task for curriculum development, and there appears to be ready resources to support it” (barkan 1966, 243). on the other hand, art educators must be guided by an open theory of aesthetics, synthesizing this knowledge with the artist, the aesthetician, critic, and historian. the problem in art education is that “we have anchored curriculum almost entirely in relation to the artist” (barkan 1966, 243). eisner’s second level of curriculum, subject matter curriculum, organized learning experiences. he suggested employing continuity, sequence, and integration, and then using these to guide time and teaching sequence. he referred to john goodlad’s (as cited in eisner 1966) organizing centers to achieve important concepts and generalizations in a subject. for example, organizing elements of different levels of complexity could provide sequence. organization of learning could begin with simple to complex, similar to different, present to past, and so on. barkan's reply to eisner’s interpretation of goodlad’s organizing centers, was to use edmund feldman’s (as cited by barkan 1966) use of humanistic inquiry as the source for organizing centers, by asking questions about problems confronting people, such as urban, suburban, rural 107 life, or, the effect of many forms of available media. these issues, barkan (1966, 245) argued, had “force for engagement.” barkan then turned to jerome bruner’s (as cited by barkan 1966) work to address the issue of structure in teaching art. the discipline of art was different from bruner’s structure of mathematics and science. however, barkan argued that “there are controls operating in competent work by artists, critics, and others engaged in art; and to this important extent, they engage in structured inquiry which is disciplined” (barkan 1966, 244). he then explained that a problem-centered approach required the student to perform the task as a professional. eisner’s third level, course curriculum, included educational objectives “stated in terms of desired student behaviors as well as in terms of the content in which these behaviors are to be displayed” (eisner 1966, 226, 227). more specifically, eisner recommended that behavioral objectives be stated in: bloom’s taxonomy in the cognitive domain, which orders behaviors in a hierarchy of complexity; or, krathwhol’s taxonomy which orders behaviors in terms of internalization. hence, teachers were in a position to alter the curriculum due to the availability of materials, their own competencies, and the students’ abilities to comprehend concepts. it was at the course curriculum level that the teacher was dominant. in fact, the data acquired by the teacher in the act of teaching could make better predictions for a specific situation than a formulation constructed for students in general. in response to eisner, barkan (1966) designed a structure for visual arts curriculum at the goal level, which embraced john goodlad’s organizing centers morphed into feldman’s life problems, making them organizing centers for criticism-production and criticism-history. students could use criticism to evaluate their own work and the work of their peers; find meaning in the canon of art; and, read and review, perhaps in writing, historical accounts of art and culture. he was aware that centering curriculum on the nature of knowledge de-emphasized the nature of society; so, he introduced feldman’s humanistic life problems as organizing centers. feldman’s life problems, also the artist’s problems, were aesthetic in nature, and included description, visual design relationships, media, function, and critical interpretation leading to meaning. instead of isolating criticism as a separate subject, barkan used criticism as a catalyst for production and history. however, he detected problems emerging: the amount of emphasis, the class time allowed, and the order in which each component was presented. barkan thought that answers lay in the knowledge of child development, social-economic conditions, previous learning, and the teacher’s expertise. he also believed that behavioral objectives held promise for the articulation of art education instruction, for they could be used to evaluate student involvement in production, criticism, and history. since schools did not have the resources to develop the materials to meet this curriculum design, it would be necessary to develop collections of reproductions. barkan added that materials would be needed in profusion, designed and packaged not only for use with students of different levels, but also to meet the various socio-economic groups. by taking a critical look at the 1960s-art education practice, eisner and barkan challenged art educators to think differently about content and pedagogy in preparing preservice teachers. they assumed responsibility for the future of the profession by designing a conceptual framework for k-12 learners to ask questions about art: what is it; what is its story; how do i respond to what i see; how does it relate to my culture and to the cultures of other times and places; and, how can i produce works that reflect a vision of my world? 108 ohio’s art education credentialing requirement the aftermath of the “penn state seminar” led to a concentrated focus on the needs of art teacher education. in fact, all teacher preparation and certification requirements were being redesigned. in their study of teacher education redesign, cyphert and nickelson (1984) found that an advisory council of teacher education and certification was appointed by the ohio state board of education in 1967. the findings from studies developed under the auspices of the advisory council resulted in on-site evaluations of accrediting institutions at least once every five years, beginning in 1972. by 1974 the state board of education adopted new standards for teacher preparation, these standards required all preservice teachers to participate, prior to student teaching, in 300 clock hours of field and clinical experiences. also, cooperating teachers in preservice teaching experiences must have certification and at least three years of classroom teaching experience. knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values served as the basis of the curriculum, and included: the act of teaching reading, as it pertained to the visual arts; teaching in a culturally pluralistic society; self-analysis of teaching performance; ability to deal with behavior problems; and. the selection, preparation and effective utilization of educational media (ohio department of education 1980, 330125-02). cyphert and nickelson (1984, 7) described the reforms to be “so sweeping that the state board of education deferred full implementation until july 1980.” meanwhile, during the 13 years spent redesigning ohio teacher certification standards, the federal government passed the 1975 education for all handicapped children act (eha) (u.s. congress, s.pl 94-142 1975). this legislation was important for preservice art teachers because it included a provision that children with disabilities should receive a free appropriate education in the least restrictive environment. with a multi-age license this rule meant that preservice teachers would have to be familiar with accommodations, adaptations, and supports for children k-12, who were on individualized education programs (ieps). in response to the influx of national and state mandates, faculty at the ohio state university proposed a “new undergraduate major in art education,” with or without credentialing. this response was brought about because the art education program was now “determined by the state of ohio rather than by the nature of the field” (the undergraduate committee, et al. 1977, 2). committee members held that state requirements were too restrictive for study in art education: “too narrow, too brief, and too vocationally oriented” (1977, 3). moreover, art education now was not considered a major in the sense that history, chemistry, and mathematics were majors. the proposal coincided with the view that the field of art education had potential for discovering how society learned “about and through art” (1977, 4). instead, the new methodology of “art education had locked itself into a rather small, narrowly confined curricular box of strictly vocational aims” (1977, 4). this response from osu faculty attracted the attention of policy makers, and in attempt to make the new standards and government legislation palatable to teachers and teacher candidates, the ohio state board of education (1983) published a booklet, fine arts and physical education: minimum standards implementation series. under the heading, “visual arts,” the document began by describing three areas in which the teacher must have knowledge: information about the developmental needs and capabilities of students in kindergarten through twelfth grade; 109 knowledge about new developments in art and art education; and, knowledge about the larger social context. a visual arts philosophy entailed: fostering personal development through art; transmitting artistic heritage; and, heightening awareness of art in society. while at the same time, students should also know how to express and respond to art (ohio state board of education 1983, 29,40,42). the document also listed philosophy statements, program goals, scope and sequence, program objectives, and art content (subjects, themes, media, products, design, styles, and subject objectives). the most salient features from this enormous set of visual arts standards were the behavioral objectives for each grade and course taught, k-12. evaluation included examples on how to assess the work produced, verbal responses to art, tests, student behaviors, and checklists. a section about children on individualized education programs emphasized that subject objectives (student will be able to) are a primary resource to be used in the development of ieps. evaluation should reflect appropriate subject objectives, iep objectives, and learning styles, as well as the development of social skills. additional areas of attention when working with children on ieps included providing appropriate instructional experiences; net working with teachers of children with special needs; managing class so that students experience placement in the least restricted environment, and providing extracurricular activities to all students (ohio state board of education 1983, 55). by april 1985, the ohio teacher education and certification advisory commission issued “a concept paper for the revision of teacher education and certification standards.” members of the commission recommended that a restructuring of certification fields be implemented because of the absence of academic concentration in, for instance, elementary certification; the lack of teacher preparation for middle grades in subject matter to be taught and learner developmental characteristics; and, the need for course work, as well as, ”clinical and field experiences in teaching and learning appropriate to the age level of pupils for each certification field” (ohio teacher education & certification advisory commission 1985, 7). also, in 1985 the state board of education adopted minimum standards for elementary and secondary schools. since that action, testing in english composition, reading, and mathematics occur in at least three grades. by 1990, proficiency testing was to be administered in grades 9-12 (ohio department of education 1987, 5). the following 1987 recommendations restructured certification fields: early childhood certificate (prekindergarten through grade three); comprehensive certificate (grades 4-8, with a specialization in one or more subjects); and, high school certificate (grades 9-12), with a concentration in a subject. however, the art certificate remained k-12 (ohio department of education 1987, 8). as a consequence of credentialing redesign, the visual arts certificate became multi-age license valid for teaching prekindergarten through grade twelve (ohio department of education 1996,14). although art education was not affected in terms of credentialing, except for the add-on prek12 license, it was affected by not having free access to teaching adolescents and early learners. these students were either taking more science, technology, and mathematics courses, or they were in early childhood classrooms that gave license for their classroom teachers to teach the visual arts. the birth of discipline-based art education as the revision of teacher education and certification was proceeding, the j. paul getty 110 trust, a private foundation with programs dedicated to making significant contributions to the visual arts, stepped up to help art educators put the eisner-barkan theory into practice. leilani lattin duke, director for the getty center for education in the arts, advocated holding conferences and collaborative projects to move the curriculum reform forward by applying what the trust termed, “discipline-based art education” (dbae). this disciplinary approach integrated art history, criticism, aesthetics, and production. in the area of preservice teacher education, contracts were awarded to several american universities, including the ohio state university, to devise and implement plans for preservice teachers (duke 1988, vii). one of the first concerns of the getty trust was preservice education, and by 1987, a seminar was held in snowbird, utah. because dbae was being accepted as a new paradigm for teaching children how to create, understand, and respond to art, it was incumbent on teacher education institutions preparing future art specialists and classroom teachers to teach in this more comprehensive and substantive way (duke 1988, vii). the ohio state university faculty member, nancy macgregor (1988, x), chaired the seminar committee in planning the event. the first four days of the seminar were devoted to keynote addresses and panel presentations on issues having impact on preservice programs. in the latter part of the week, individual university teams convened to review their current programs and coursework; and, develop plans for strengthening either single classes or programs to reflect discipline-based art education. consequently, among the most important features of the seminar were planning sessions. as a result, university teams developed ideas for curriculum redesign which seminar members took back to their home universities. legislation and curricular shifts after the support of the getty trust waned in the 1990s, national and state standards still included knowledge about historical influences on works of art, and the application of art criticism strategies to describe, analyze, interpret and judge works of art (ohio board of regents 2007). however, the practice of teaching changed from teaching the canon of art to teaching about visual culture. writing about the significance of visual culture, smith-shank advocated that the development of new visual genres and technological innovations for creating and accessing them, had multiplied the forms of information that were available. even, ordinary objects, places, and events were visually-loaded aesthetic signifiers that had the power to “inform, modify desires, and educate, at least as well as high art, and in some cases, maybe better”(smith-shank 2004, vii). furthermore, the visual culture paradigm morphed into action for social justice manifested through strategies such as “the inquiry method, project-based learning and dialogical practices” (lópez, pereira, and raw 2017, 33). this mass of intertwining legislation and curricular shifts stretched the carrying capacity of the field of art education. by using the ecological term, carrying capacity, i refer to the areas within art education curriculum that must “operate to maintain efficiency and carry out its requisite activities. new requirements, initiatives, or activities that extend the system beyond its established limits strain its carrying capacity” (national institute of child health and human development et al. 2007, 28). the carrying capacity of prek-12 teacher education programs in art education is most critical for supporting and sustaining future teachers with substantial learning which results in powerful thinking and flexible, proficient performance on the part of students. 111 to answer the question, what should preservice teachers experience in their education, linda darling-hammond (2000, 12) led a research team in studying seven teacher education programs that were acknowledged as exemplars for preparing prospective teachers. some common features they found included: extensive clinical experiences (at least 30 weeks), a curriculum grounded in substantial knowledge of child and adolescent development, learning theory, cognition, motivation, and subject matter pedagogy, taught in the context of practice. one obvious feature, which was not addressed in the study, was the close age range of the students in each of the seven studies. no study included a prek-12, range. on the one hand, in the prek-12 credential, the restructure of the teaching field weakens the already stretched carrying capacity of art education, especially in the early childhood and the adolescent components. on the other hand, if there were separate licensures for early childhood and high school art education, these licensures could provide new career opportunities for preservice art teachers. the addition of an early childhood license in visual art would enable creative curricular visual arts experiences for children; which would expose them to a growth-promoting aesthetic environment by helping them develop executive function and self-regulation skills. these skills help young children to plan, focus attention, remember instructions, and juggle multiple tasks successfully (center on the developing child 2017). in her study, thompson (2006) noted that the typical early childhood classroom harked back to lowenfeld’s developmental stage methodology. most of all, a rich knowledge of developmental stages is needed in teaching young children. however, she cautioned that stage theories were founded on a culture-free assumption and neglected to consider the cultural and social context of the art making situation (thompson 2006, 228, 229, 238). children need exposure to various materials; clay, paint, markers, collage materials, blocks for building, etc. she added that there is a need to study children making and interpreting visual images in the company of other children and adults in contexts where significant learning about art occurs. communication with other children is necessary, especially as they discuss their seeing and making. by the same token, the problem could be solved in another stretched area of art education involvement, by upgrading the already available ohio adolescence to young adult license, valid for teaching grades 7-12 (ohio department of education 1996). the curriculum would also allow the preservice art teacher to prepare serious art students for portfolio interviews, and increase the percentage of students taking advanced placement courses. consequently, a 7-12 visual arts teacher could build a career ladder leading to a master of arts or a master of fine arts. with these degrees, art teachers could teach college credit courses, grades 9-12. furthermore, ohio high school students enrolled in college-level courses receive both high school and college credit. this policy of dual enrollment keeps students academically challenged throughout their high school career, and closes the gaps between high school and the university (state board of education task force on quality high schools 2004). forward to the future because of the need for depth of knowledge in the various stages of student development, future visual arts teachers may prepare for separate visual arts credentialing: early childhood, middle childhood, or adolescent. however, such a reform would change the cultures of classrooms, schools, and university art 112 education programs. according to fullan (2016), the organizational culture would change. cohen and spillane (1994), also point out that in the united states, because of its size and diversity, local and state governments have tremendous force. if licensure/certification policy would change, it would come from change in the culture within the universities, the cooperation of local schools, and the governance of the states. however, a successful transition from one licensure to another would attract the next generation of art educators because it would imply a more rigorous definition of art education curriculum. it is only through a robust curriculum that the professional community of art educators will achieve a favorable outcome. references barkan, m. 1966. curriculum problems in art education. in e. mattil, ed. a seminar in art education for research and curriculum development. 240-255. cooperative research project no. v-002. university park: the pennsylvania state university. the center on the developing child. 2017. executive function & self-regulation (in brief). updated october 14, 2018. http:// developingchild.harvard.edu/science/keyconcepts/executive-function/ cohen, d. k. and j. p. spillane. 1994. policy and practice: the relations between governance and instruction. in n. cobb, ed. the future of education. perspectives on national standards in america. new york: college entrance examination board. committee on teacher education: the ohio college association. march 1952. report of survey of opinion of ohio school administrators, teachers, and recent high school graduates, regarding certification requirements. the ohio state university, college of education and human ecology records, rg.16. a, the ohio state university archives, the ohio state university, columbus, oh. cottrell, d. p., chairman, l. bixler, h. j. bowers, and h. f. white, april 22, 1950. report of the committee on teacher education of the ohio college association. the ohio state university, college of education and human ecology records, rg.16. a, the ohio state university archives, the ohio state university, columbus, oh. cyphert, f. r. and j. e. nickelson. 1984. teacher education redesign in ohio: past, present and future. the ohio state university, college of education and human ecology records, rg.16. a, the ohio state university archives, the ohio state university, columbus, oh. darling-hammond, l. ed. 2000. studies of excellence in teacher education: preparation in the undergraduate years. washington dc: american association of colleges of teacher education. duke, l. l. 1988. foreword. in the preservice challenge: discipline-based art education and recent reports on higher education. seminar proceedings. los angeles, ca: the getty center for education in the arts. efland, a. d. 1990. a history of art education: intellectual and social currents in teaching the visual arts. ny: teachers college press. eisner. e. w. 1966. concepts, issues, and problems in the field of curriculum. in e. mattil, ed. a seminar in art education for research and curriculum development. 222235. cooperative research project no. v-002. university park: the pennsylvania state university. fullan, m. 2016. the new meaning of educational change. 5th ed. new york: teachers college press. 113 lópez, v., a. pereira, and s. s. rao. 2017. baltimore uprising: empowering pedagogy for change. art education. 70 (4): 33-37. lowenfeld, v. 1957. creative and mental growth. 3rd ed. new york: the macmillan co. lowenfeld, v. 1952. creative and mental growth. 2nd ed. new york: the macmillan co. lowenfeld, v. 1947. creative and mental growth. new york: the macmillan co. macgregor, n. 1988. in the preservice challenge: discipline-based art education and recent reports on higher education. seminar proceedings. los angeles, ca: the getty center for education in the arts. madeja, s. s. 1977. introduction. arts and aesthetics: an agenda for the future. 1-20. st. louis, mo: cemrel, inc. mattel, e. i. ed. 1966. a seminar in art education for research and curriculum development. cooperative research project no. v-002. university park: the pennsylvania state university. national institute of child health and human development (nichd), national institutes of health, u.s. department of health & human services, and national council for accreditation of teacher education (ncate). 2007. section iii: integrating child and adolescent development research into teacher preparation programs. 27-30. in child and adolescent development research and teacher education; evidence-based pedagogy, policy, and practice. washington, dc: u.s. government printing office. ohio board of regents. 2007. multi-age visual arts. columbus, oh: department of education. ohio department of education. 1996. teacher education and licensure standards. columbus, oh: state of ohio. ohio department of education. 1987. ohio’s statewide testing program: assessing student competency. columbus, oh: state of ohio. ohio department of education. 1980. standards for colleges or universities preparing teachers. 3301-25-02 curriculum. columbus, oh: state of ohio. the ohio state board of education. 1983. fine arts and physical education: minimum standards implementation series. columbus, oh: ohio department of education. ohio teacher education and certification advisory commission. 1985. a concept paper for the revision of teacher education and certification standards. columbus, oh: ohio department of education. smith-shank, d. l. 2004. introduction. in semiotics and visual culture: sights, signs, and significance. reston, va: national art education association. state board of education’s task force on quality high schools. 2004. high-quality high schools: preparing all students for success in postsecondary education, careers and citizenship. 9. columbus, oh: ohio department of education. thompson, c. m. 2006. repositioning the visual arts in early childhood education: a decade of reconsidering. in spodek, f. and o. n. saracho. eds. handbook of research on the education of young children. 2nd ed. 223-572. mahwah, nj. lawrence erlbaum. the undergraduate committee: macgregor, n., chairman, r. degge, j. kibbey, (graduate student), t. linehan, k. marantz, r. norris, and c. schmidt, (undergraduate student). february, 1977. proposal for a new undergraduate major in art education. the ohio state university, college of the arts records. rg 31.a, the ohio state university 114 archives, the ohio state university, columbus, oh. u.s. congress, public law 94-142, education for all handicapped children act. november 29, 1975. s. public law no. 94-142 1975. rec. 3500 enacted. winters, t. h. 1929. ohio high school standards. columbus, oh: f. j. heer printing. wygant, f. 1983. art in american schools in the nineteenth century. cincinnati: interwood press. zahner, m. a. 2003. barkan. reston, va: national art education association. curriculum history 2018; 10-18 10 visiting the past: ernest horn’s conception of historical imagination for the social studies classroom james schul winona state university abstract ernest horn, a curriculum professor at the university of iowa, was known within the progressive education movement for his work on spelling education. he was also well regarded within the community of social studies educators. recent research has revealed horn’s role within the american historical association’s commission on the social studies, namely his contribution to its dialogue on the role of standardized testing in the school experience. this article focuses upon the social studies methods textbook that horn wrote while serving within the commission. the text had a central theme of eliciting students’ historical imagination. this theme of historical imagination is analyzed both contextually within the historical perspective as well as how horn’s views relate with curricular adjustments made in history education throughout the twentieth century to the contemporary era. introduction hope attached itself in 1929 to the american historical association’s (aha) newly conceived commission on the social studies. its mission was to investigate the social studies in american schools and provide recommendations to teachers and other school leaders as to the purposes of the social studies to identify best practices for teachers to achieve those purposes. the commission consisted of some of the most prominent figures in both education and the social sciences. headlining the cast of commission members were the revered historian charles beard and the up and coming scholar of education, george counts. the commission was a working body for five years, completing its task in 1933 that produced work both significant and extensive in scope. however, the commission became mired in a political controversy as it was sharply criticized by education critics for its radical stance on the american socio-economic environment. unfortunately, this criticism led to some historians (ravitch 2000) to relegate the commission as simply another failed effort within the social reconstruction movement. recent research on the aha commission (schul 2013) shed light on the significance of the commission itself. this research exposed the commission as being a pioneer in the debate over the use of standardized tests in the school experience, which continues today. the purpose of this current research investigation is to shed further light on the work on the commission, particularly upon the history classroom practices proposed by one of its significant members, curriculum professor ernest horn of the university of iowa. by relying heavily upon ernest horn’s 1937 book methods of instruction in the social studies that he contributed as a member of american historical association’s (aha) commission on the social studies, this investigation seeks to answer the following question: what was ernest horn’s conception of history teaching and learning and what is its relevancy for today? aha commission: background and context the american historical association (aha) formed a commission to investigate the social studies in american schools. the 11 commission commenced in 1929, remained an active body until 1935, and was supported by a grant from the carnegie foundation. the general purpose for it was to provide a uniform and comprehensive examination on the social studies that provided clarity on curricular guidance for the social studies that teachers and school administrators might use when mired in the midst of a society experiencing massive economic and social changes. capitalism within the nation and across the world was threatened by the collapse of the fiscal markets and a wave of political movements surfaced that promised to break the conventional socio-political climate as well as what constituted appropriate citizenship education. according to charles beard (1932), author of the first installment of the aha commission’s work, a charter for the social sciences, the early portion of the twentieth century saw a “need of a wise readjustment in our thinking and our educational program to a world that has become urbanized, mechanized, and interlocked in its social, economic, political, and cultural interests” (vi). to add to these social changes, another external factor influencing the work of schools was the fact that high school enrollment had been increasing for the first three decades of the twentieth century: from 6.7% in 1890 to 32.4% by 1920 (kliebard 2002). tagged with the enrollment increase was a concern by school officials and curricularists toward transforming the school curriculum so that it met the needs of a growing general school population. the curricular readjustment came in the form of several committee reports, as explained by beard (1932): “by 1922, nearly all of the great national associations had published committee reports suggesting more or less extensive remedial measures.” history education: a brief history the aha commission on the social studies emerged at a time when history education was undergoing a curricular adjustment. in 1916, the nea commission on the reorganization of secondary education published its report of the social studies. the report of the social studies, often referred to as the document that gave birth to the broad field of social studies education, proposed that history be taught conceptually with an emphasis on current issues. ronald evans (2004), curriculum historian, asserted that the report “argued for selection of aspects that met the qualifications of ‘functioning in the present’” (37). this conception of history education correlated with the one proposed by john dewey (1916) where history is to be taught using patterns that reflect contemporary issues. a wave of new history curriculum emerged in the wake of the report. the most prominent of the emerging curriculum was harold rugg’s popular textbook series for secondary social studies classrooms. rugg’s texts provocatively connected themes and concepts from the social sciences with contemporary issues and events. for instance, rugg’s text series included two key components: the use of what he called “dramatic episodes” and the problem-based workbook that served as a companion to the texts. rugg (1929) insisted that the use of dramatic episodes, or narratives that connected themes of the past with contemporary society was essential because, as he put it: if young people are to be brought to an understanding of our complicated civilization, it must be chiefly through the medium of words. hence, the imperative need of dramatizing the past and present story of american civilization and its relations to the modern world. (rugg, v) 12 while rugg sought to engage students into contemporary society with his texts, he intended that his workbook engaged students in a problem solving process. “the very center of this course in the social studies is the problem-solving activities of the pupil’s workbook,” rugg (1929, vi) declared in describing his curriculum. according to rugg (1929), the workbook “constantly confronts the pupil with stimulating problems, insight into each of which is important for an adequate understanding of american civilization” (vi). however, the actual practice of history teaching and learning in the schools was a mixed bag. some history teachers did not always practice strategies that matched the proposal of the report on the social studies nor what was contained in rugg’s textbook series. for instance, a 1935 study of a suburban high school in new york city revealed that 80% of teachers relied heavily on a textbook in their courses with the same percentage “engaged in traditional recitation” (cuban, 1993, 71). however, there is evidence that other teachers were indeed engaging students in stimulating and creative strategies to learn history. the historical outlook, the premier practitioner’s journal for history teaching and learning in the 1920s, for instance, revealed many examples of teachers engaging students with the past through such means as current news magazines and primary archival sources. in 1921 jennie l. pingrey, a history teacher from vermont, proposed her idea of teaching history by providing writing prompts that placed the student in a significant period or event of the past and requiring them to employ their imagination. for instance, some of the prompts included “my part in the french revolution” and “when i helped alexander the great to conquer asia” (pingrey, 1921, 295). this example illustrates the fact that historical imagination was something some history teachers were already emphasizing. it may be presumed, therefore, that ernest horn’s conception of historical imagination was influenced by the practices of such teachers that he either knew or read about when he wrote his methods text. ernest horn and the progressive era ernest horn was born in 1882. he majored in elementary education at the university of missouri and was appointed as principal of the university’s first laboratory elementary school at the completion of his junior year. this was the genesis of what would be a long and successful career as a curriculum professor. after some initial experience in the professoriate at colorado state university, horn moved toward advanced graduate studies at columbia university teachers college where he earned his phd in 1915. at the conclusion of his time at columbia, he accepted a position as professor at the university of iowa college of education, where he would spend his remaining professional career (stein, 1973). while at iowa, horn established the university of iowa elementary school, a school well known for nurturing inquiry-based instruction among its in-service and preservice teachers. horn’s research focused on spelling instruction where he aimed to decipher which words were most commonly used in life outside the school (stein, 1973). although he was best known for his work on spelling education, horn’s educational interests and influence spread wide, particularly with the area of social studies education. a longtime member of the national council for the social studies, horn was greatly interested in the issue of moral education within the public schools (schul & hamot, 2011). horn believed that moral education should be taught through cases where the teacher would guide students through 13 the moral issues related to those cases. these cases revolved mostly around issues of property rights and sought to position the student to consider the perspective, right, and responsibility of the property owner and property user. horn’s interest in social studies education led to his selection as one of the members of the aha commission on the social studies. while horn’s contribution to the controversy surrounding testing that surfaced around the aha commission has been investigated (schul, 2013), his explicit contribution to its work has not. horn’s direct contribution to the commission was a social studies methods book titled methods of instruction in the social studies (1937). the text reveals horn’s meticulous concern for detail and his ongoing focus on the pragmatic with regard to public education. the text: methods of instruction in the social studies the methods text produced by horn for the commission was exhaustive on many fronts and could be the source of multiple research investigations. it was underpinned theoretically with the connection between instructional method and social purpose, subject matter, and nature of the learner. horn included provocative sections about indoctrination and propaganda that asked such questions as: shall the schools have a social program? shall controversial issues be taught? shall the schools teach pupils how to think or what to think? a section entitled “reading in relation to learning in the social studies” examined issues such as the relationship of a students’ intelligence, interest, and experience to reading. additionally, the methods text examined the use of a textbook in correlation to other tools at a teacher’s disposal such as oral instruction, the radio, visual aids, museums, and dramatization. imbedded throughout the methods book, particularly with regard to the sections that emphasized reading and instructional strategies is the theme of imagination. as a case in point, one of the latter sections of the book entitled “devices for stimulating the imagination” emphasized the use of graphic aids, and dramatization as a means to evoke students’ imagination. within this section, a chapter entitled “the imaginary journey” focused on imaginary trips a teacher may position students to take, as a means to better understand the concepts of a particular geographic region or era of the past. rather than provide multiple examples of possible imaginary journeys, horn (1937) spent the bulk of the chapter on warnings about employing such a strategy and he shared his concerns that many teachers tend to focus too much on the journey itself, as he explained is a misstep often made in geography courses: … the fundamental concepts are commonly obscured by the great amount of emphasis given to buying imaginary tickets, to making passports, to dramatizing the inoculation against diseases, to packing american flags in ‘little imaginary suitcases,’ to ringing bells, to blowing whistles, to shouting and waving good-bys as the boat or train departs, to tipping the porter, to making paper trains that steam ‘joyously across the desert,’ to keeping diaries of the imagined trip, to writing letters home, and to carving souvenirs out of soap. (horn, 1937, 466) horn (1937) categorized such activities as “intellectual sloppiness” because it emphasizes an interest in the journey itself rather than “the interest developed in basic geographical and 14 social problems” (469). horn saw potential with instructional strategies that employed students’ imagination as long the teacher emphasized the teaching of subject matter with the strategy rather than the strategy having a life of its own. a common theme throughout horn’s methods book was its analysis of benefits and disadvantages of various classroom practices. one of horn’s most significant analyses of classroom practices, which he provided in his text, was the use of the textbook in relation to other reading material that teachers may have at their disposal. integrating literature into the history curriculum horn conceded that textbooks were going to remain in the school experience. in his text, he cited research that revealed the dominance of the textbook in the american classroom. however, he also recognized that the ideas of the progressive education movement were gaining some traction in some classrooms: “there are, however, an increasing number of school systems, as indicated by the available courses of study, in which the textbook is regarded as an introductory manual to be used with classroom libraries and other equipment” (horn, 1937, 209). horn proceeded in his methods book to critique textbooks by providing numerous deficiencies of their use, including their poor reading quality, students’ own poor reading ability, a lack of visuals such as maps and pictures, and their lack of treatment of contemporary social issues. horn went on to provide guidance for teachers in how they should use the text. he valued the text for providing an outline of the course of study for both teachers and pupils, their inclusion of lists of questions and supplemental reading suggestions, and the summary of a topic or time-period that students may use for review as they seek to better understand the concepts and generalizations taught to them by their teacher. but, for the most part, horn envisioned the textbook as a curricular resource and not the dominant influence in the curriculum. horn (1937) was skeptical of the use of workbooks in the classroom as he feared that most of them contained “many exercises that are little better than busywork” and that they often “increase rather than to offset the formalism and verbalism that, in the past, have pervaded the teaching of the social studies” (222). horn (1937) believed that “dynamic teaching centers upon ideas rather than upon books” (223). with that said, horn believed that no single text could effectively address historical and contemporary problems that students should seek to address in their courses. it is for this reason that horn believed teachers should include what he called collateral readings (although he was not comfortable with the term collateral since it signals a deference to the textbook). horn’s rationale for employing collateral readings in the history classroom, as you will see, ran parallel with his reasoning with strengths associated with employing historical fiction in the classroom (see table 1). he believed that additional readings were necessary with eliciting curiosity and students’ use of imagination in their learning about the past. horn (1937) also suggested that employing literature in the history classroom offered a clear opportunity for history teachers to engage in interdisciplinary partnerships with literature teachers as “each enriches and supplements the other: literature in giving a sense of atmosphere, and history in providing authentic factual background of the period or conditions” (291). the most prominent area of the methods book that emphasized the employment of students’ imaginations was the section entitled “the use of imaginative literature.” 15 table 1. ernest horn’s analysis of historical fiction in the history classroom strengths weaknesses gives atmosphere inadequacy of sources used to reconstruct the past shows more vividly and intimately the bearings of past conditions upon the people the distortion and false color caused by interpreting the past from the point of view of the writer’s own time enables the reader to enter imaginatively into the experiences of past times the bias of a limited point of view or purpose stimulates an interest in historical study the necessity for meeting the demands of a well-rounded plot even though historical data are lacking horn used this chapter to explain his conception of the relationship between history and literature, particularly fiction and historical fiction. the following section illuminates horn’s conception of what we will term the historical imagination. horn and historical imagination ernest horn’s interest with employing historical fiction as a means to teach history had a practical purpose. “the intellectual diet of the average reader – either immature or adult – contains little social knowledge that is substantial or scholarly” combined with “the dominance of fiction in the leisure-time reading of both children and adults” (horn, 1937, 265) made it apparent that fiction may be an effective means to attract students’ interest in the social problems in history. horn categorized fiction appropriate for the history classroom into two types: contemporary fiction and historical fiction. contemporary fiction, according to horn, was written by an author who “consciously or unconsciously, deals with what is going on in his own time” (269). horn provided harriet beecher stowe’s uncle tom’s cabin as an example of contemporary fiction. historical fiction, according to horn, was written by an author who “reconstructs or refers to the events, persons, or manners of a former time” (269). sir walter scott’s ivanhoe was provided as an example of historical fiction. as was customary for horn in his methods book, he spent a considerable amount of effort warning the teacher of pitfalls with employing literature to teach history. for instance, horn warned that bias of the author can sometimes be very strong in works of fiction and the reader must be on guard for this. horn later conceded that general histories also contain bias. horn (1937) went on to provide a series of guiding questions for those teachers who chose to employ “imaginative writing” into their classroom: he should have in mind especially the distinction between contemporary and historical fiction and should realize why, in general, contemporary fiction is preferred by the historian. he should understand the difference between the purposes and methods of history and fiction. he should know that portrayals may be vividly impressive and yet be false. he should be aware that the language, the points of view, and the sentiments of a historical novel are likely to be of the time of the writer rather than of the period treated. he should be critical of the limited horizon or the personal bias of the writer. above all, he should understand that the child, even more than the adult, is not in a position 16 to tell what is authentic and what is either imaginary or erroneous (291-292). horn sought to provide a balanced overview of the strengths and weaknesses with employing historical fiction into the history classroom. in many ways this analysis of the dichotomy of strengths and weaknesses encompass the aforementioned questions that horn asked as a means to warn the teacher. again, the weaknesses espoused by horn focused mostly on the inaccuracy and bias of the author much as he warned with his series of questions to teachers. the strengths centered on the lure of historical fiction to engaging the reader into experiences and issues of the past. a correspondence ensued between horn and a.c. krey, just before the publication of the methods text that focused on horn’s inclusion of imaginative literature as a means to teach history in the social studies curriculum. krey (1936a), a prominent ancient historian from the university of minnesota and the chairperson of the aha commission, praised horn for providing “excellent concrete illustrations developed sufficiently for to give the teacher a realizing sense of what is involved.” he praised horn for his dichotomization of historical fiction and contemporary fiction. krey, however, wanted horn to emphasize how the characteristics of historical fiction depart from the conventional history textbook in engaging students with the past: there is a certain value in the historical fiction, shared to some extent by fiction in general, which the ordinary textbook treatment of history fails to yield. the latter is too generalized, too far away from the ordinary, practical details of life to give the pupil any sense of the reality or vitality of history (krey 1936b). krey found a kindred spirit in horn who sought to make students’ history experience engaging, meaningful, and impactful. krey went on to suggest pieces of historical fiction, such as william stearns davis’ a day in old athens (1914) or his life on a mediaevall barony (1923) as well as rudyard kipling’s puck of pook’s hill (1906) as examples of historical fiction that “convey some impression of the culture pattern of the age with a vividness that helps to link the generalized material of the textbook to life in fact as the pupil actually knows it” (krey 1936b). horn included the lone example of davis’ a day in old athens into his chapter entitled “the textbook and collateral reading” that actually preceded the aforementioned chapter entitled “the use of imaginative literature” and served as a backdrop of how horn envisioned teachers may practically fit supplemental (or collateral, as horn called them) within their instructional repertoire. history education since horn ernest horn wrote about historical imagination in 1937 with a primary concern for the educational process that contributed to students’ interest in history and the affective objectives of history that would position the student to envision and explore the past. in sum, horn was interested in the life of the mind. there have been numerous trends in history education since horn wrote his methods book. curriculum reform in the 1950s was influenced by criticisms of the progressive movement, spurred by aspects of the cold war, which led to a return to academic disciplines in social studies courses (evans 2004). this meant that history education, for instance, included less emphasis on 17 contemporary social problems and more emphasis on a distinct study of the narrative of the past. the new social studies movement emerged in the 1960s with the aim to “transform … students into junior historians and social scientists” (evans 2004, 123). at this time edwin fenton, a historian at carnegie institute of technology in pittsburgh, began developing curriculum that included an employment of primary sources in middle and secondary history classrooms. teachers, influenced by fenton’s work, widely used a popular series of primary source packets entitled jackdaws that were widely used across the nation. the standards movement of the 1990s and 2000s placed an emphasis on the academic outcomes of teacher instruction. history education, as a result, emphasized students’ learning of facts and a reemphasis upon the narrative of the past. however, a reform movement entitled historical thinking, led by sam wineburg (1991) arose simultaneously with the standards movement. historical thinking, like the new social studies movement of the 1960s, emphasized student interpretation of primary sources as a means to learn history. disciplinary thinking became the objective of historical thinking. history educators such as keith barton and linda levstik (2004) began to emphasize the affective objectives that learning history through primary sources may include, most notably the development of students’ historical empathy (an individual’s ability to understand the thoughts and feelings of those who lived in the past). this contemporary emphasis on historical thinking as a means to develop empathy resembles some of the objectives that horn envisioned with integrating imaginative literature as a means to teach history. horn’s emphasis on imagination as a key component of history teaching and learning has its roots in the philosophy of history. r.g. collingwood (1946), the renowned philosopher of history, said nearly a decade after horn’s methods book that “every present has a past of its own, and any imaginative reconstruction of the past aims at reconstructing the past of this present” (247). horn’s suggestion of employing historical fiction and other types of what he called “imaginative literature” positions students to reconstruct the past using their imagination. although horn focused primarily on students’ consumption of fiction as a means to engage their historical imagination, a line can easily be drawn to how students writing their own tales of history may further employ historical imagination. horn’s suggestion of employing fiction in the history classroom may have been thought of, at the time of the publication of the methods text, to be a strategy exclusive to garner interest in history for the student in school and less necessary for the serious historian. however, in recent times, some historians have asserted that imagination plays a more central role in construction of the past than what other historians may be willing to admit. history educator david staley (2007), for instance, asserted that history is an “imaginative discipline, in that much of the work occurs in the ‘staging area’ or ‘workspace’ of the imagination, and is only then made external when we transcribe that product of our imagination into words” (101). staley (2007) elaborated further on the significant role that imagination plays in the construction of history in that it “allows our minds to recombine, juxtapose, invent, and create in novel ways” (102). likewise, horn envisioned students experiencing the past as a means to better understand it because it frees the students to reflect and create their own conception of the past– and subsequently apply it to issues surrounding the students’ contemporary times. horn deserves some credit for lining up his methods text, written nearly eighty years ago, with what some history educators are currently 18 striving to have unleashed more often in contemporary classrooms. horn’s emphasis on imagination in history teaching and learning is indicative of the progressive era’s emphasis on classroom practices that empower students to connect their own experiences to what they are learning. imaginative literature, according to horn, fostered such experiences for the students and enabled them to have an encounter with the past that was lasting and useful in their life. in many ways, this affective purpose for history teaching and learning that horn had nearly eighty years ago is still relevant for history teachers today who aspire to foster a love of history in their own students’ lives. references barton, k. c. and levstik, l. s. 2004. teaching history for the common good. new york: routledge. beard, c. 1932. a charter for the social sciences. part i: report of the commission on the social studies. new york: charles scribner’s sons. collingwood, r. g., 1946. the day of history. oxford: oxford university press. cuban, l. 1993. how teachers taught: constancy and change in american classrooms, 18901990. new york: teachers college press. davis, w. s. 1914. a day in old athens. new york: allyn and bacon. evans, r. w. 2004. the social studies wars: what should we teach the children?. new york: teachers college press. horn, e. 1937. methods of instruction in the social studies. new york: charles scribner’s sons. kliebard, h. m. 2002. changing course: american curriculum reform in the 20th century (vol. 8). new york: teachers college press. krey, a. 1936a 20 january. letter to ernest horn. american historical association collection, library of congress, washington, dc. krey, a. 1936b 31 january. letter to ernest horn. american historical association collection, library of congress, washington, dc. pingrey, j. l. 1921. imagination in the teaching of history. historical outlook, 12(8), 295. ravitch, d. 2001. left back: a century of battles over school reform. new york: simon and schuster. rugg, h. o. 1929. an introduction to american civilization: a study of economic life in the united states. boston: ginn& company. schul, j. e. 2013. ensuing dog fight: the aha commission on the social studies' testing controversy. journal of educational administration and history, 45(1), 1-27. schul, j. e., & hamot, g. e. 2011. an engaged pragmatist: uncovering and assessing ernest horn's view of moral education. journal of social studies research, 35(2). staley, d j. 2007. history and future: using historical thinking to imagine the future. langham: md: lexington books. stein, f. j. 1973. ernest horn’s ideas on education within the context of the progressive education movement in america. doctoral dissertation, university of iowa. williams, r. c. 2011. the historian's toolbox: a student's guide to the theory and craft of history. new york: me sharpe. wineburg, s. s. 1991. historical problem solving: a study of the cognitive processes used in the evaluation of documentary and pictorial evidence. journal of educational psychology, 83(1), 73-87. the making of a progressive educator: the making of a progressive educator: flora white’s letters from africa (1885-87) linda c. morice southern illinois university edwardsville abstract this paper explores factors contributing to flora white‟s transition from teaching in a public school to founding a private, child-centered school during the progressive era. letters white wrote from southern africa in 1885-87 suggest her transition was encouraged by the following: normal school training, the liberating effect of overseas travel, a restrictive environment that intensified her focus on students, and an organizational structure that provided leadership opportunities she might have been denied at home. introduction in founding mothers and others: women leaders during the progressive era, sadovnik and semel (2002) explore the lives of female teachers who established independent schools in the united states at the turn of the twentieth century. during a time when most progressives concentrated on improving public schools through scientific management techniques, curricular reform, and vocational education, these women created innovative schools that focused on the needs of middle class children. although many of the biographical subjects in founding mothers and others were virtually unknown, rugg and shumaker had, as early as 1928, highlighted the importance of practitioners who worked outside existing systems of public and higher education to create child-centered schools. the authors posed a question to readers: where in the american school system could it start? not easily in the great body of public schools, committed to mass education and domineered over by the disciplinarian conception. not even in the laboratory schools of the new schools of education that were springing up all over the country, for they were immersed in a veritable slough of technique—the investigation of intelligence, the analysis of the learning processes in the school subjects, and the statistical study of school practice. no, the movement for a freer type of education had to be launched almost altogether from outside the school system. it came, after the preparatory years, essentially from laymen, parents of means desiring the best in the way of schools for their children, and enthusiastic free-lance teachers. (rugg & shumaker, 1969, pp. 48-49) despite the recognition of the free-lance teachers‟ critical role, few sources reveal the process by which they came to eschew widelyaccepted educational practice to found their own child-centered schools. some insights are offered in memoirs written by two educators who are featured in founding mothers and others. in 30 years with an idea, marietta johnson (1974) explained why she rejected the prevailing pedagogy in public education (in which the curriculum was sacred) to found the child-centered organic school in fair hope, alabama. johnson reported that, after reading development of the child by nathaniel oppenheim (1898), she had a “conversion” experience which changed her “entire scheme of thinking and teaching” (1974, p. xi). she recalled: i discovered that i had been forcing children „way beyond their powers, that i had practically been maiming their minds and emotions, and that the entire system under which i taught went 2 directly contrary to the natural needs of the child. i determined to do no more teaching until i knew more about children, and for several years i worked and studied, trying to find out what children needed, and what sort of environment would make for their finest growth. (johnson, 1974, pp. xi-xii) johnson found a practical course of action in education and the larger life by charles manford henderson (1902), and she began to experiment with her own small sons. eventually she moved to the utopian colony of fairhope, alabama, where she opened the organic school in 1907. in i learn from children, caroline pratt (1948) likewise discussed the life experiences that led to her founding of the city and country school in new york city in 1914. she recalled, “my own education was given me, not in teachertraining courses, not by professors of pedagogy, but by children themselves.” (1948, p. 7). pratt‟s book details her first experiences in education— as a teacher in a one-room country school, a student at teachers college, a teacher of manual training in the normal school for girls in philadelphia, and a free lancer who ran manual training shops in new york city. these initiatives culminated in pratt‟s founding (in a three-room apartment in greenwich village) the city and country school, emphasizing first-hand discovery. while johnson‟s and pratt‟s books are helpful, they have the limitation of being memoirs written years after the fact for commercial audiences. this paper explores a unique primary source—a collection of letters written by flora white (1850-1948), whose early initiatives in child-centered education preceded those of johnson and pratt. white opened her first “experimental” school in springfield, massachusetts, in 1887, and in a letter to anne hathaway from 17 june, 1940 she described her first school as an “experiment in motor training as a means of education.” during the course of her career, white spoke on child-centered education to parent and professional groups; gave lectures in boston that alternated (every other week) with those of william james; and taught at westfield normal school in an effort to meet an “acute” need for new teaching methods (“life facts,” 1939, p. 5). she received a job offer from colonel francis parker to head a department at the cook county normal school, which she declined because her westfield appointment was “so recent” (“life facts,” 1939, p. 5). in 1896, she presented a paper at the annual meeting of the national education association (nea) at a time when, according to rousmaniere (2005), nea speakers were “all male and almost all administrators” (p. 106). one year later she founded miss white‟s home school for children in concord, massachusetts; it received the endorsement of child-study advocate g. stanley hall “for its general methods and scope, and for the devoted personal attention each pupil is sure to receive.” (miss white’s home school, 1900, p. 7). contextualizing the letters flora white wrote her letters in 188587—immediately after teaching in a public school, and immediately before founding a childcentered school in springfield. during that twoyear period she traveled to the cape colony (now part of south africa) where her sister hattie was a teacher at the huguenot seminary at wellington. hattie had suffered a “breakdown,” and flora resigned her teaching job in a springfield public elementary school to lend assistance (flora white to harriet m. white and mary a. white, 6 june, 1887). she accepted a position (with paid 3 transportation) teaching english to the sons of dutch, english, and huguenot settlers in “the paarl” (dutch for “pearl”), near wellington. as she traveled by steamship from the u. s. to liverpool (with a short visit in london) and then to cape town on h. m. s. “spartan,” white was accompanied by abbie ferguson, a founder of the huguenot seminary. eleven years earlier, ferguson and anna e. bliss—both graduates of mount holyoke seminary in massachusetts—had gone to wellington at the invitation of andrew murray, moderator of the dutch reformed church. murray was troubled by what he perceived to be a dearth of rigorous academic instruction for middle class white girls in the cape colony. ferguson and bliss brought the curriculum, rules, traditions, and architectural plans of mount holyoke to southern africa, where they were greeted by an overflow of young women between the ages of fifteen and twenty. although flora white resided at huguenot seminary for a short time before returning home during the summer of 1887, her long-term residence in the cape colony was at the paarl in the rural home of her principal mr. le roux, his wife, and their children. by the time white returned to massachusetts, hattie‟s health had improved. the record of flora‟s two-year experience exists in 31 letters she wrote to her sister mary (a public school teacher) and their mother, harriet m. white, both of springfield, massachusetts. the letters show that white did not experience a conversion as described by marietta johnson. neither did her lessons in child-centered education come exclusively from children, as caroline pratt contended. rather, white‟s evolution as a child-centered educator was encouraged by several sources: her normal school training, the liberating experience of overseas travel, a restrictive environment that intensified her focus on students, and an organizational structure that allowed her to gain leadership experience that might have been denied to her at home. these points will be amplified below. review of literature apart from those already named, few sources describe the process by which educators rejected widespread instructional practices in public schools and adopted a child-centered curriculum. according to sadovnik and semel (2002), most of the founders of child-centered schools were women. tyack (1974) details the bureaucratization and standardization in public education to which child-centered teachers objected, as well as the gender stereotyping that caused men to be appointed as administrators supervising a feminized teaching force. three classics provide helpful background on the antecedents of child-centered schools. kliebard (1986) discusses the ideological lines in u. s. education at the turn of the twentieth century in a chapter entitled “the curriculum versus the child.” his focus, however, is on g. stanley hall and john dewey, not women teachers. cremin (1969) emphasizes g. stanley hall‟s role in changing pedagogical opinion by shifting attention from teaching to the student. in life and confessions of a psychologist, hall (1923) details his own involvement in child-study assisted by four female kindergarten teachers. the result was a paper titled “the contents of children‟s minds” that suggested teachers could not assume a common body of knowledge among children entering school (pp. 374-414). hall‟s book offers the names of other women who collected bodies of data that were important to his work on childhood. it is noteworthy that flora white‟s transformation from public school teacher to founder of a child-centered school occurred 4 during her two years of overseas travel. marietta johnson‟s founding of the organic school also occurred during a significant relocation when she and her husband moved from their native minnesota to fair hope, alabama. caroline pratt‟s gradual evolution to child-centered educator involved multiple changes of place, from her original home in upstate new york to philadelphia and new york city. given those commonalities, it is appropriate to consult the literature of women‟s travel writing to gain further insight into white‟s experience during 1885-87. schriber (1997) wrote that although men have a long history of travel in the west, women did not venture to other parts of the globe until the early nineteenth century. those who did were “accidental” tourists accompanying their fathers or husbands, largely for commercial or political reasons (p. 2). with the advent of steam-powered ships of the 1820s—and the subsequent introduction of “luxurious steam palaces” that traversed the atlantic beginning in the 1860s— u.s. women began to go abroad in larger numbers, and for their own reasons (p. 2). siegel (1994) noted that the women “skirted a delicate course” because their travel—especially when unchaperoned—was viewed as inappropriate for their gender (p. 2). mcdowell (1999) wrote that this was in part because the concept of women‟s travel challenged the west‟s spatial association between women and home. bijon and gacon (2009) and blunt (1994) found that women who wrote about their travels experienced an increase in individual freedom. blunt (1994) contended that this occurred because travel presented an opportunity to transgress or question ideas that were accepted at home. schriber (1997) noted that travel gave women an opportunity to interact with “the other” and afforded them a sense of freedom that helped to prepare the way for the “new woman” of the progressive era (pp. 21, 37). she also asserted that travel gave americans a sense of cultural and intellectual superiority over their fellow citizens. blanton (2002) noted, however, that women who traveled in colonial environments also demonstrated sympathy for subjugated people. she suggested this stemmed, in part, from the women‟s position outside the dominant patriarchal structure at home and abroad. sources and methodology primary sources for the paper include letters flora white wrote to her widowed mother, harriet m. white, and sister, mary a. white, who resided in springfield, massachusetts, when flora lived and traveled in the cape colony. other important primary sources include white‟s unpublished manuscript titled “life facts of flora white and family recorded march 18, 1939” as well as her published and unpublished speeches. the secondary sources—in addition to those already cited—include white‟s school bulletins, duff‟s (2006) thesis on the history of the huguenot seminary, and histories of south africa by thompson (2000), ross (2008), meredith (2007), and elphick and davenport (1997). the methodology was, first, to carefully review white‟s letters for expressions of dissatisfaction with public schools and, second, to juxtapose her correspondence against six “new articles of faith,” that rugg and shumaker identified in 1928 as exemplifying child-centered education (1969, p. 54), and will be described below. a third step was to examine white‟s professional work following her return to massachusetts to determine the extent to which she acted upon expressed sentiments that reflected the “new articles of faith.” the discussion of white‟s letters begin with a 5 consideration of her experience with public schools. flora white’s experience with public education prior to going to the cape colony, white had over eight years of experience teaching in public schools. with no formal training, she had decided to “try…[her] hand” at teaching in a rural school at hawley, massachusetts and then in 1875 entered a two-year teacher training program at westfield normal school (“life facts,” 1939, p. 3). westfield primarily prepared residents of the five western massachusetts counties for teaching jobs in the public schools. during white‟s attendance there, the principal was john dickinson, a follower of pestalozzi who later became secretary of the massachusetts state board of education. dickinson believed that learning occurred in stages associated with the age of the child. he also utilized “object teaching” in which new material was introduced to children “through senses other than words” (brown, 1988, p. 51). dickinson‟s beliefs strongly influenced the teacher training program during white‟s attendance at westfield. white graduated from normal school in 1877 and taught in public schools in west springfield and springfield during a time when massachusetts became the most urban of the states. industrialization was occurring rapidly as homogenous communities of yankee farmers strained to absorb large numbers of immigrants. urban superintendents responded to demographic changes by replacing the decision-making processes of village schools with top-down, bureaucratic practices designed to control students, teachers, and principals. tyack (1974) noted that, in the new order, “each step of the educational process was carefully prescribed by professional educators” (p. 40). looking back on her career in 1896, flora white criticized the standardization and regimentation of the period, noting, “it has long been a fancy of mine that nature covers her face and weeps whenever she beholds a schoolhouse” (“physical effects of sloyd,” 1896 , p. 3). white bemoaned the “dreary brick buildings on small plots of ground, where children are driven into rooms by fifties and sixties, yes even by hundreds with the hobgoblin of the law and the truant officer behind them, and then compelled to sit for five long hours each day” with few opportunities for movement (“physical effects of sloyd,” 1896 , p. 5). article one: freedom v. control rugg and shumanker wrote that the first “new article of faith” was, “free the legs, the arms, the larynx of a child, … and you have taken the first step towards freeing his mind and spirit” (1969, p. 55). to accomplish that end, childcentered educators replaced the “lock-step precision” of scientific managers and “[f]ixed seats nailed to the floor” with an “informal, intimate atmosphere” evidenced by “[l]ight, movable tables and chairs” ” (1969, p. 55). in march 1887—months before she left the cape colony to return to massachusetts—flora white was already envisioning a school that encouraged student movement. she urged mary to resign her public school position and expressed hope that the sisters might open a new school in springfield: i do dread your going on in the public school and i think if you have a comfortable house and a nice little school in it you will be much better off than now. don‟t you think you could send a doz. or so chairs and 1 or two low tables, like the kindergarten table, for them to sit around in place of desks. would not mr. bradley let you have them? (flora white to mary a. and harriet m. white, 6 march 1887) 6 in the same letter, white imagined the “informal, intimate atmosphere” described by rugg and shumaker: i care more about a plot of ground than the house & we would only be cozy in small quarters—i can‟t explain to you now the tremendous importance in my mind of the plot of ground if our school becomes what i want it to become. it would be nice if we could have a house quite to ourselves… i want the school rooms a part of the house or at least joined to it in some way when we have our own.” (flora white to mary a. and harriet m. white, 6 march 1887) to rugg and shumaker, the first “new article of faith” involved “an easier, more natural group life” and “[f]reedom to develop naturally, to be spontaneous, unaffected, and unselfconscious…” (1969, p. 56). before white could promote freedom in children, however, she had to establish personal freedom in her own life. white‟s correspondence suggests that, through travel, she had new opportunities to develop in that direction. early in her journey, white sensed the opportunity for liberation and growth that foreign travel presented. the transformation is evident in her letters. on the first night of her initial voyage across the atlantic, she told herself, “there is nobody i want to know except those lovely looking people [mrs. babcock and her daughter mrs. martin, both of chicago] who kept by themselves & noticed no one… i did not expect in the least to become acquaintances with them” (flora white to harriet m. white and mary a. white, 3 august, 1885). by the time she arrived in england white wrote, “i formed such a pleasant friendship on board the steamer with those chicago people… mrs. martin & i are going to write one another” (flora white to harriet m. white and mary a. white, 3 august, 1885). less than one month later, as white traveled to the cape colony via madeira on the steamship “spartan,” she viewed the trip with optimism—even exhilaration—writing, “i do not have a single feeling of dread about anything and mean to enjoy everything and everybody” (flora white to harriet m. white and mary a. white, 30 august, 1885). as she anticipated her arrival at cape town, white confidently wrote to her mother and sister, “i really am a fine sailor and stand the rolling beautifully—in fact i rather like it today. i have been exalting myself generally but i await your reprimands. you are both home now and i do hope as well & happy as i am” (flora white to harriet m. white and mary a. white, 30 august, 1885). another example of white‟s growing personal freedom is seen in her stopover in london. abbie ferguson became ill, and white stayed with her for two days. as ferguson showed signs of improvement, white consulted a guidebook and explored london on her own. the correspondence suggests this was new behavior on white‟s part. she reported, “i started off by myself. imagine me prowling about the big city alone—it is very easy & does not seem bigger than any city when you are in it” (flora white to harriet m. white and mary a. white, 6 august, 1885). white‟s developing self confidence is also evident in interactions with women and men on the “spartan” who—unlike the chicago travelers—were not u. s. citizens. in august 1885, white wrote, “everybody is so very nice to me that i am afraid my head will be quite turned with attention. i have had so many toasts & speeches & compliments & things made to me i feel like locking my cabin door & not coming out at all” (flora white to harriet m. white, 30 7 august, 1885). white reported that her fellow travelers looked to her for entertainment. to their delight, the spontaneous young woman staged tableaux (depictions of scenes) and arranged other group activities. for example, white convinced passengers to dress up in a “sheet and pillow masquerade” noting, “you could not tell the gentlemen from the ladies” she also persuaded an english traveler to give a talk on london, organized singing, and narrated a “comic pantomime” of the eve of waterloo, with six passengers acting the parts. white reported, “it was simply killing” (flora white to harriet m. white, 30 august, 1885). just before her arrival in cape town, the ship captain extracted a promise from white, thereby suggesting her life in the cape colony might differ from the relaxed spontaneity of the “spartan.” white wrote, “the capt. made me promise to write him if i got blue and wanted my address. he told me over and over again not to change or allow myself to rust” (flora white to harriet m. white, 30 august, 1885). article two: child initiative v. teacher initiative rugg and shumaker characterized the second “new article of faith” as the “reorientation of the entire school around the child,” in marked contrast to the teacher-centered or principal-centered school (1969, p. 56). white‟s school at the paarl was not childcentered; however, it lacked the bureaucratic organization of the springfield public schools. this created professional opportunity for a creative and resourceful teacher who demonstrated leadership potential. as early as november 1885, white was weighing school leadership opportunities. she wrote her mother: there is a girls school here at the paarl & i have been asked to take charge of it if i would like to—it has been badly managed & a great need is felt of having a change created—i think perhaps i shall take charge of the primary department another quarter—i am not sure—there is certainly more need of good teaching there than in mr. le roux‟s school for he keeps his in excellent working order— there is nothing to influence my taking it except my own personal choice in the matter—mr. le roux would be very sorry to have me go from his school— but he would get the benefit of it if i did as the boys from the primary school go into his. so he is willing i should do just as i like in the matter. (flora white to harriet m. white, 14 november, 1885) although white opted to stay with mr. le roux, he left the school before she returned to massachusetts. white assumed some of his duties before the new principal‟s arrival. in april 1887 she wrote, “in one week more we will have our new principal and i will be glad—the school is too headless now though it goes pretty well on the whole” (flora white to harriet m. white, n.d. april 1887). throughout her stay at the cape colony, white‟s letters indicate that students were the focus of her interests. this was due to her diligence as a teacher as well as to her isolation and general lack of opportunity for young women in the cape colony. white‟s letters confirmed this as, for example, when she wrote her mother and sister in may 1886, “i don‟t know if you will be interested in all this about my boys but they are the only thing i have to interest me” (flora white to harriet m. white and mary a. white, 23 may, 1886). the degree to which the paarl contrasted with the atmosphere white encountered on the “spartan” is evident in a letter 8 white wrote to her sister shortly before returning home: it will seem so sweet to have real companionship again after these two years of hermitage. i hope i have not grown crusty [an apparent reference to the captain‟s comment]. i am firmly convinced though that prolonged stay would transform me outwardly and as far as all practical purposes are concerned entirely into a wide, stolid, prolific dutch “vrau.” you will have to pinch me to keep me trim. i never think to smile now. i incline my head slowly and very slightly to show recognition, and impassively shake hands on all possible occasions. however i am not seriously alarmed but when the presence is removed i shall rebound fast enough. i find that i am of a very cock-like and rubbery temperament. i can sustain a good deal of pressure without being ultimately affected by it (flora white to mary a. white, 28 february, 1887). some of white‟s dissatisfaction with her environment may have stemmed from her dislike of mrs. le roux, whom she described as selfish, jealous, unchristian, and having very few friends. when mr. le roux was no longer principal of the school and white moved to live at the huguenot seminary, she regarded her new living situation as an improvement. in communicating her primary focus on students, white described one class of boys between the ages of ten and twelve as follows: “they are not very bright as scholars, but i mean to make them as i never enjoyed teaching any pupils more than the boys of this school” (flora white to harriet m. white, 9 august, 1886). in another letter she reported that her boys were away from school for two days, taking standardized exams. white expressed hope that they would do well, noting, “i have worked ever so hand for them and i think the boys appreciate it. i am not tired now though” (flora white to harriet m. white, 20 march, 1887). on another occasion she wrote: i am as well as can be and very much interested in my boys and work. they are such nice boys—one of them, a handsome jew, who is gentlemanly and a beautiful scholar is going to leave in a few days—his people are going up to the diamond fields to live—he feels very badly about leaving school but thinks his father will be able to send him back as a boarder after a few months— they have not been in the colony but a few years and came from london. (flora white to harriet m. white and mary a. white, 23 may, 1886) article three: the active school rugg and shumaker noted that in childcentered schools, “pupils are active—physically active, mentally active, artistically active. there is a large amount of actual physical exertion, of overt bodily movement of a wide variety of sensory contacts, of the type of energy-release which is ordinarily designated as play” (1969, p. 58). there are several instances in which white‟s letters show her preference for active learning. in one letter white chides her sister mary: “[y]ou don‟t seem to think much of my dear little school. you make me laugh calling them brats & bedlam” (flora white to mary a. white, 27 december, 1885). when she and hattie prepared for a student concert in wellington, white referred to “about 20 children in all, such splendid bright-rollicking boys, just as affectionate and sweet as they can be” (flora white to harriet m. white, 25 november, 1886). she and hattie took the children into the laundry room for practice. white described the scene: 9 you should have seen the little fellows there, singing with might—and … me tapping out the time with a broom stick as demurely as possible. they just graded in size, each one a tiny bit higher than the next younger—such dear little fellows i never saw—they went right for my heartstrings with a tug. (flora white to harriet m. white, 25 november, 1886) another letter describes a pageant given by the older boys that recalled white‟s tableaux on the “spartan”: they have a few scenes from king john and a little modern drama besides. maggie [abbie ferguson‟s niece] and i made a complete set of armor for king john out of paste board covered with tin foil—the shield was of dark glazed paper bordered with silver and a huge lion in the center—the result of my artistic genius? —we got a real helmet and covered it properly and managed the whole thing very nicely. (flora white to harriet m. white, n.d. winter 1887) article four: child interest as the basis of a new educational program rugg and shumaker wrote that while a traditional school was organized around subjects, the new school sets up a program of work that “has a personal connection with the immediate life of the child” (1969, p. 61). although white‟s school at the paarl was organized by subject, she was quick to respond when students expressed a need or interest. for example, one night when she was reading in the le roux home white was approached by a representative of five boys who boarded in the dormitory outside. the boys wanted to join her and asked to come inside for a prayer. white did not want to refuse them and requested that they return at nine o‟clock. she stopped what she was doing and used the available time to look for and write a prayer that would be appropriate for them. white explained: i am in the habit of petitioning in my private devotions and though wonderfully adapted to my own needs they did not seem to apply exactly to the case of family devotions—i was quite wild—i rushed to my room & got the prayer book. everything was too short, besides the boys knowing them was a drawback—i tried to piece some… [prayers] together but the patchwork was not a success. i decided that the prayers for public service in church did not exactly apply to family worship either— i then tried to make up a nice one & learn it by heart but it was no use, there was not time enough. i rushed to my room again, seized pen & paper & wrote out one—a very good one i think—i hid it in a book on the table—i knelt by the table & prayed into the book & read—i think i was not discovered by the boys— if i was not they surely must have thought me very fluent in prayer…what i wanted i prayed for—so i am not at all ashamed of the performance. (flora white to harriet m. white, n.d. august or september, 1886) article five: creative self-expression rugg and shumaker noted that traditional schools sought to encourage “conformity to a pattern imposed from without” (1969, p. 63). the new school, by contrast, elicited “self expression in all of the arts, in discovering a marvelously creative youth” (ross & shumaker, 1969, p. 63). white—who frequently illustrated her letters with sketches—had a strong interest in her students‟ creative self expression. in november 1885 she reported, “my boys are doing so well in drawing and enjoy it so much. i feel quite 10 enthusiastic” (flora white to harriet m. white, 14 november, 1885). white devoted one letter to her efforts at encouraging a budding student poet. as an adult, the subject of her letter—eugene marais—became a famous naturalist and poet and who led the afrikaans language movement. white described the young marais‟ creative talents as follows: i am sure the boy has genius and i am so anxious if he has to have it developed— he is such a sweet demure boy that cares only for reading and being in the fields by him self—he has read dante & petrarch, milton, shakespeare—in fact nearly all the classics but if course knows nothing of modern literature—i mean that which is first afloat now. he has the truest ring in his appreciation of the beautiful—he comes from the transvaal and is of french huguenot decent—the other day he wrote some verses full of patriotic resentment against english rule for the colony—i will send you some things he has written in the package that goes by miss bliss and you must show them to mr. brooks and perhaps mrs. foote and see what they say of my little boy poet. he is such a sweet boy and has had no chance of being spoiled in any way— i had a nice long talk with him last night about his reading and writing—he says sometimes he gets quite agitated in school or some place where something is said or occurs which arouses him and he wants to write it but he can‟t then and in an hour or two the feeling has passed away and he thinks no more about it—i am so interested in him and feel quite sure that he has real genius in him. he is a very fair scholar—he would be about in the sophomore class at amherst or any ordinary college—and he is about 15 now i think. (flora white to harriet m. white and mary a. white, 23 may, 1886) new article six: personality and social adjustment rugg and shumaker characterize the final “new article of faith” as providing an environment by which each child can learn to live with others and yet retain his personal identity” (1969, p. 64). in one letter to her mother, white applauded a plucky student who came to her defense when white challenged the paarl‟s traditional gender roles. an adult reader had written the local paper to question the wisdom of having “a lady teacher” in the boys‟ school. the “offended” pupil responded, stating “that he would defy the paarl to produce a more competent or capable teacher than miss white. she reported that it “of course was too silly & boyish a thing to do for no one had spoken of me & those who said (about a lady teacher) knew nothing about me except i was a female. but i liked the boy‟s spirit in standing up for his teacher (flora white to harriet m. white, 9 august, 1886). whether she was discussing the plucky youngster, the jewish student, or eugene marais, white showed little interest in limiting the boys‟ individuality. at the same time, she emphasized the importance of living harmoniously with others, as evidenced by a thank-you letter she received from one of her students: “i thank you very much for your good instructions you have given me in school & another thing that i want to tell you is that, that you have learned me to behave in school for at first you yourself know that i had no manners to behave in school” (john van breda to flora white, 15 june, 1887). white’s return 11 during the summer of 1887, flora white returned to massachusetts with a clear focus. shortly after her arrival, she and mary founded a small private school in a springfield home “to experiment in motor-training as a means of education” (flora white to anne halfpenny, 17 june, 1940). motor-training, or the development of fine and gross motor skills, reflected the first and third “new articles of faith” described by rugg and shumaker (1969). while no documents remain from the white sisters‟ springfield school, the progression of flora‟s career show that she continued to be engaged by issues of student freedom and physical movement. during the summer of 1891, she studied motor training and pedagogy in sweden and paid her way with a short story she sold to harper’s. (the story, “zan zoo,” appeared under a male pen name in 1891. set in the cape colony, it sympathetically portrayed a black servant girl who was abused by her white mistress, who bore a resemblance to mrs. le roux!) white also trained under baron nils posse at the normal school of gymnastics in boston (becoming his associate principal in 1895), and taught woodworking and gymnastics at westfield normal school. in 1897 she received a diploma from the sloyd training school in boston (sloyd” is an english adaptation of the swedish slojd, or handcraft, and the sloyd training school used physical activity in handcraft production as a means of formative education) and also founded miss white‟s home school for children in concord, massachusetts. the school operated until 1914 when it closed at mary white‟s request, due to her health. the sisters had hoped to travel in europe, but the first world war prevented them from doing so. instead, they retired to heath, massachusetts, the town of their birth. flora white described the concord school as “an effort in the direction of organic education” (miss white’s home school 1900, p. 1) with an unusual feature: the mental work is reinforced by opportunities for motor training that cannot be obtained elsewhere. through childcraft, sloyd, games, gymnastics, and careful attention to department, the body is made the ready instrument of the mind. (miss white’s home school 1906, p. 2) throughout her career, white lectured to women‟s clubs and professional groups on a variety of educational topics. in her speeches she promoted a respect for each child‟s individuality and cautioned against interfering with nature‟s plan for its development. white felt the teacher should “surround the growing life with suitable materials for its use and… watch and wait patiently for its unfolding, letting it select and draw until itself those things which it desires and needs” (“child training and evolution,” part 2, p. 11). she advised teachers to “learn of the child the road of its desires, and travel along that road—hand in hand with it—beside it, not in front of it….[or] above it” ( “physical effects of sloyd,” 1899, p. 9). her advice coincides with rugg and shumaker‟s (1969) second, fourth, and sixth “new articles of faith.” finally, white was a strong advocate for fostering students‟ creative self expression, as in the fifth “new article of faith.” her views stemmed from a belief that the goal of education is “more life and fuller” for all students (rugg and shumaker, 1969). white thought that too often schools imposed their own systems of work on children and concentrated excessively on task completion, which signaled the end of growth. in one unpublished speech, white described a boy whose mind was seen by the “orthodox school” to be in a chaotic state. rather than training the 12 boy‟s mind to a predetermined standard (thereby causing resentment in the child), white felt the school should accept the chaos of the boy‟s mind as normal, and let him “test and do and dare” (“child training and evolution,” part 2, pp. 610). miss white‟s home school produced alumni who excelled at creative self expression, including sculptor mary ogden abbott (a graduate of the museum of fine arts in boston who exhibited her work in the department of the interior in washington, d. c.) and henry howard brooks (a member of the guild of boston artists who exhibited at the pennsylvania academy of fine arts and the corcoran gallery in washington). conclusion and epilogue in june 1940, at eighty years of age, flora white wrote the president of the alumni association at westfield state college, her alma mater. recalling her professional accomplishments, white observed it had been an “extremely crowded” career. she noted with pleasure that miss white‟s home school was “a marked success” and “the climax of my educational work” (flora white to anne halfpenny, 17 june, 1940). still resistant to predetermined standards of education, she was quick to note: i made it clearly understood that…[miss white‟s home school] was an experiment in educational values; that it stood upon the merits of its theories and would be in no way dominated or influenced by college requirements. my pupils however found no difficulty in passing college examinations. (flora white to anne halfpenny, 17 june, 1940) flora white‟s correspondence in 1885-87, as well as her subsequent professional work, show her transition to child-centered education occurred not because of a conversion experience, nor because of lessons learned solely from children. rather, white‟s evolution was the result of multiple factors, including her normal school training, the liberating experience of overseas travel, a restrictive environment that intensified her focus on students, and an organizational structure that provided leadership opportunities she might have been denied at home. ever the child-centered educator, white‟s career fulfilled the hope expressed by one of her boys as she left the paarl in 1887: “dear miss white we thank you very much for all the trouble you have taken to teach us… if you perhaps intend teaching again in america i hope that you may take it up as diligently as you have done it here” (isaac roos to flora white, 16 june, 1887). references bijon, b., & g. gacon, eds. 2009. in-between two worlds: narratives by female explorers and travelers, 1850-1945. new york: peter lang. blanton, c. 2002. travel writing: the self and the world. new york: routledge. blunt, a. 1994. travel, gender and imperialism: mary kingsley and west africa. new york: guilford press. brenda, j.v. 1887. john van breda to flora white, 15 june, 1887. letter. brown, r. t. 1988. the rise and fall of the people’s colleges: the westfield normal school, 1839-1914. westfield, ma: institute for massachusetts studies, westfield state college. cremin, l. a. 1969. the transformation of the school: progressivism in american education, 1876-1957. new york: alfred a. knopf. 13 duff, s. e. 2006. head, heart and hand: the huguenot seminary and college and the construction of middle class afrikaner femininity, 1873-1910. master of arts thesis, university of stellenbosch, south africa. elphick, r., and r. davenport, eds. 1997. christianity in south africa: a political, social and cultural history. berkeley, ca: university of california press. hall, g. s. 1923. life and confessions of a psychologist. new york: d. appleton and company. heath, g. 1891. zan zoo. harper’s new monthly magazine, august, 345-355. henderson, c.m. 1902. education and the larger life. boston: houghton, mifflin. johnson, m. 1974. 30 years with an idea: the story of organic education. tuscaloosa, al: university of alabama press. kliebard, h. m. 1986. the struggle for the american curriculum, 1893-1958. new york: routledge. meredith, m. 2007. diamonds, gold and war: the british, the boers, and the making of south africa. new york: public affairs. mcdowell, l. 1999. gender, identity & place: understanding feminist geographies. cambridge, uk: polity press. miss white’s home school 1900. miss white’s home school 1906. oppenheim, n. 1898. development of the child. new york: mcmillan. pratt, c. 1948. i learn from children. new york: harper & row. roos, i. 1887. isaac roos to flora white, 16 june, 1887. letter. ross, r. 2008, , 2 nd ed. a concise history of south africa. cambridge, u. k.: cambridge university press. rousmaniere, k. 2005. citizen teacher: the life and leadership of margaret haley. albany, ny: state university of new york press. rugg, h., and a. shumaker. 1969. the childcentered school. new york: arno press. sadovnik, a. r., and s. semel, eds. 2002. founding mothers and others: women educational leaders during the progressive era. new york: palgrave. schriber, m. s. 1997. writing home: american women abroad, 1830-1920. charlottsville, va: university press of virginia. siegel, k. ed. 2004. gender, genre, & identity in women’s travel writing. new york: peter lang. thompson, l. 2000. a history of south africa. new haven, ct: yale university press. tyack, d. b. 1974. the one best system: a history of american urban education. cambridge, ma: harvard university press. white, f.j. child training and evolution. ms. ---. flora white to harriet m. white and mary a. white, 3 august, 1885. letter. ---. flora white to harriet m. white and mary a. white, 6 august, 1885. letter. ---. flora white to harriet m. white, 30 august, 1885. letter. ---. flora white to harriet m. white and mary a. white, 30 august, 1885. letter. ---. flora white to harriet m. white, 14 november, 1885. letter. ---. flora white to mary a. white, 27 december, 1885. letter. ---. flora white to harriet m. white and mary a. white, 23 may, 1886. letter. ---. flora white to harriet m. white, 9 august, 1886. letter. ---. flora white to harriet m. white, n.d. august or september, 1886. letter. ---. flora white to harriet m. white, 25 november, 1886. letter. 14 ---. flora white to mary a. white, 28 february, 1887. letter. ---. flora white to mary a. and harriet m. white, 6 march 1887. letter. ---. flora white to harriet m. white, 20 march, 1887. letter. ---. flora white to harriet m. white, n.d. april 1887. letter. ---. flora white to harriet m. white and mary a. white, 6 june, 1887. letter. ---. flora white to harriet m. white, n.d. winter 1887. letter. ---. flora white to anne hathaway, 17 june, 1940. letter. ---. life facts of flora white and family, mar. 18, 1939. heath (ma) historical society. ms. ---. physical effects of sloyd. buffalo, ny: annual meeting of the national education association. 1896. paper presentation. ---. physical effects of sloyd. sloyd bulletin. 2 (march, 1899), pp. 5-10. ‘students know what they are doing’: the introduction of the simulation to classrooms in the united states paul binford mississippi state university abstract the scholarly consensus is that simulations were introduced to classrooms in the united states during the 1960s. however, a closer examination clearly establishes classroom simulation usage much earlier. the theories of friedrich frobel and john and evelyn dewey were becoming increasingly influential in schools. the use of war games for military training purposes and as parlor games was widespread. some pioneering teachers experimented with the simulation method in the early decades of the twentieth century. “the justification for the [simulation] method and the philosophy is a general recognition that the students know what they are doing.” bernard markwell, history teacher francis w. parker school if we are to believe several modern accounts, teachers in the united states first used classroom simulations approximately fifty years ago. for example, sarane s. boocock and e. o. schild wrote, “the design of simulation games for classroom use is essentially a phenomenon of the last decade” (1968, 15). they go on to assert: in a sense, even games with simulated environments are not new. war games, really a type of simulated game, have been in existence for centuries, and have been used by most governments for training and prediction purposes. however, it is only since world war ii that simulations have found any extended use in the social sciences, and curriculum history 2018 : 29-40 their introduction into elementary and secondary schools is very recent (italics mine). (1968, 24). likewise, robert maidment and russell bronstein claim simulations were introduced into elementary and secondary classrooms during the 1960’s (1973). this conclusion was also echoed by d. r. cruickshank and ross tefler, who declared, “schools pioneered the use of instructional simulations through the 1960s and 70’s” (1980, 77). finally, brent d. ruben concluded, “[in] the late 1960’s … the idea of designing simulated environments for teaching and learning was novel to say the least” (1999, 498). as these examples suggest, the scholarly consensus is that classroom simulations are of recent advent—the last half century. however, a closer inspection of the historical record proves otherwise. teachers were experimenting with the simulation method no later than the early part of the twentieth century. this paper explores the lineage of classroom simulations by answering the following questions: what were the historical roots and theoretical underpinnings of the classroom simulation? when were classroom simulations first introduced to classrooms in the united states? how did the pioneering teachers use simulations in their classrooms? 30 simulation: defined and described the essence of the term “simulation” has been distilled into the following definitions: “it is an activity in which participants interact within an artificially produced environment which recreates some aspect of social reality” (maidment and bronstein 1973, 9). “an untaught event in which sufficient information is provided to allow the participants to achieve reality of function in a simulated environment” (jones 1987, 9). “a replica of a real world situation worth learning” (lee 1994, 12). as the previous definitions indicate, educational simulations allow individuals to be active participants in their own learning experience. john l. taylor and rex walford contended that educational simulations possess three basic attributes: 1. players take on roles which are representative of the real world, and then make decisions in response to their assessment of the setting in which they find themselves. 2. they experience simulated consequences which relate to their decisions and their general performances. 3. they “monitor” the results of their actions, and are brought to reflect upon the relationship between their own decisions and the resultant consequences (1972, 17). the simulation method calls for individual participation in a simplified, representational environment with guidelines that establish parameters for this educational activity (taylor and walford 1972). as active participants, students soon realize decision-making has consequences. unavoidably, some decisionmaking is faulty, but this is not an indictment of the simulation method. in fact, student error can be a simulation’s greatest virtue. as ken jones, the author of a handbook on simulations, averred: “a basic reason for using simulations is that mistakes are both inevitable and desirable. it is experiential learning” (1987, 18). experiential learning allows students to profit from the simulation experience by modifying subsequent behavior. a simulation’s value is, in part, “the transfer of knowledge and experience to other situations in the future” (jones 1987, 89). origin of the simulation educational simulations are the more enlightened cousins of ancient war games. sun tzu, the military philosopher who wrote, art of war, is credited with creating the first war game known as wei hai (encirclement) about five thousand years ago. little is known about this original war game except that an abstract playing surface was used; players maneuvered their armies represented by colored stone; the object of the game was, as the name suggests, outflanking the army of your opponent (maidment and bronstein 1973). at about the same time, similar strategy games emerged in other parts of the east asia. in japan, the game of go bears a strong resemblance to its chinese predecessor. in india, the foursided board game of chaturanga became popular among the nobility. the elaborate playing pieces were representations of “foot soldiers, chariots, elephants, and cavalry” (perla 1990, 16). the maneuvering of these pieces was set by rules, but a roll of the dice decided the outcome of player moves. the modern game of chess likely evolved from chaturanga (perla 1990; maidment and bronstein 1973). even with its strategy, tactics, and clear objective, chess bears only a remote resemblance 31 to the demands of leading an army—even a seventeenth century army. in 1664, christopher wikhmann created koenigspiel (king's game) in the german town of ulm (perla 1990). the game was based on chess, but with a larger board with each player having thirty pieces. koenigspiel and similar games became known as “war chess,” and they were considered valuable training devices (perla 1990, 17). in 1797, a scholar and military author named georg venturini designed a new war game that evolved into the famous kriegsspiel. venturini published a sixty-page rulebook. he expanded the board to roughly 3,600 squares (each representing one square mile), and each square was colored to represent the actual terrain along the french and belgium border. the game pieces not only represented the infantry and cavalry units, but also included supporting arms and equipment. various pieces also symbolized bridges, fortifications, supply magazines, artillery, convoys of wagons, and even field bakeries. piece movement was restricted to simulate the actual time needed for movements of men, animals, and supplies. through the adaptations of baron von reisswitz and his son, versions of kriegsspiel were adopted and used by the prussian military for training purposes throughout the nineteenth century (lee 1994; perla 1990). the reaction of general von muffling, the prussian chief of the general staff, upon watching a demonstration of the game is reflective of its realism and popularity “‘this is not a game! this is training for war! i must recommend it to the whole army’” (quoted in perla 1990, 26). in 1879, german style war games were introduced to the united states. in that year, w. r. livermore published the american kriegsspiel (perla 1990). the u. s. army, like most of europe and japan, began using this technique for training purposes. war games were also popularized during the early part of the twentieth century. in 1913, h. g. wells published little wars. this is credited as the first textbook on war-gaming for fun (sandars 1975, 15). simulation’s theoretical foundations at the turn of the twentieth century, the works of friedrich frobel, john and evelyn dewey, edgar james swift, and john a. keith provided the theoretical foundation for the introduction of simulations to america’s classrooms. they wrote about learning by doing—often referred to as “child activity” as well as the value of play. their ideas influenced teachers of the early 1900s who began to experiment with new instructional methods including simulations. froebel believed that the spirit of god is most clearly manifested in the form of a child. therefore, the child from birth, in conformity with his/her divine nature, should be given freedom to develop his/her powers. prescriptive education resulted in training that will “annihilate, hinder, and destroy” the child (froebel 1907, 9). this type of education prevented the divine from being exhibited in the life of children. froebel wrote: “education in instruction and training, originally and in its first principles, should necessarily be passive, following (only guarding and protecting), not prescriptive, categorical, interfering” (1907, 7). the aim of all education and instruction must be in this direction. in order to evoke these qualities from a student, education must be adapted to the nature and needs of the pupil (froebel 1907, 10, 12-14). in schools of tomorrow, published in 1915, john and evelyn dewey described the innovations occurring in schools throughout the united states, and the theoretical foundation that supported these changes. the deweys wrote that froebel was one of the most influential modern educators shaping school practice (46). while the deweys affirmed the value of child activity, their view of the origin of these actions contrasted with froebel’s belief that a child’s actions were a manifestation of the “spirit of god.” the deweys 32 saw child behavior through the lens of science. they wrote, “modern psychology has pointed out the fact that the native instincts of a human being are his tools for learning” (1962, 210). a child’s instincts were expressed through his/her body. a child’s senses were means to learning. to stifle or restrict instincts, bodily activities, or the use of the senses was to resist the child’s “natural method of learning” (j. dewey and e. dewey 1962, 210). the deweys noted that schools that have recognized a child’s natural method of learning are using physical activities as a means of cultivating a child’s reasoning and judgment (1962, 215). in summary, they wrote: but in schools where the children are getting their knowledge through by doing things, it is presented to them through all their senses and carried over into acts … the muscles, sight, hearing, touch, and their own reasoning processes all combine to make the result part of the working equipment of the child. (1962, 215) at the beginning of the twentieth century, there were several educators singing the praises of child activity. if john dewey was the first tenor of “learning by doing,” there were other voices in the chorus, not the least of whom was edgar james swift, who published his educational philosophy, learning by doing, in 1914. swift also echoed the deweys’ psychological explanation but added an evolutionary bent. in a chapter entitled, “the revolt from monotony,” swift contended that instinctively children yearn for adventure, for activity, for play. conventional educational wisdom attempted to stifle these impulses. children’s thoughts and interests were those that give them immediate pleasure. they do not possess the derived interests of adults for reputation, business standing, or money. even adults reverted back to the interests of children when in moments of leisure. what else could explain the popularity of adventure books, recreation, and spectator sports? camping, fishing, and hunting, which required individuals to surrender modern conveniences and endure the basest physical challenges, were evidence of humankind’s true nature. swift observed, “if men will go through such torture and call it fun there must be something deep down in their nature that makes it worth the game. and that ‘something’ seems to be the primitive instincts which civilization has been unable wholly to eradicate” (1914, 9). john a. keith was also a member of the “learning by doing” chorus. in an address before the schoolmasters club in 1907, keith recognized that both social and psychological force affected learning (1907, 175). keith held that the deepest law of human nature is that, “one becomes by being” (1907, 174). keith believed that the mission of education is to condition children through various types of activities, so they may progressively become more socially efficient. education must be viewed within a social context. children are inherently interested in topics that have a social utility and a social significance. as children are able to build wider and deeper social relationships, they become more socially efficient. furthermore, keith asserted that school subjects were social products. subjects were “aspects of a past and existing social life and have their values for education because of the increased social efficiency which their mastery confers” (1914, 175-176). this social construction had a bearing on the curriculum. subject matter should be organized around social and psychological considerations rather than what was logical. in other words, the child should approach a subject or topic based on how it affects his/her relationship with others. schools improved society through a social construction of knowledge, accompanied by activities, which progressed toward invention and discovery (1914, 175-176). 33 in addition to the importance of child activity, froebel extolled the virtues of play. he believed play was the highest phase of development in early childhood. play, at this stage is not trivial, but carries great significance. parents are encouraged to cultivate playful activities for their child. the way a child plays reflects on his future behavior as an adult (froebel 1907, 54-56). froebel wrote, “the plays of childhood are the germinal leaves of all later life; for the whole man is developed and shown in these … tendencies” (1997, 55). furthermore, he asserted that the purpose of play changed as children matured: for, while during the previous period of childhood the aim of play consisted simply in activity as such, its aim lies now in a definite, conscious purpose; it seeks representation as such, or the thing to be represented in the activity. this character is developed more and more in the free boyish games as the boys advance in age. this is observable even with all games of physical movement, with games of running, boxing, wrestling, with ball-games, racing, games of hunting, of war etc. (1907, 55) children enjoyed games because they fed their growth in power both individually and as a part of a group. froebel believed that childhood play is the result of vital energy and buoyancy. childhood play makes pupils “intelligent, and quick to learn, quick to see and to do, diligent and full of zeal, reliable in thought and feeling, efficient and vigorous” (1907, 111). it also contributes to the development of physical, intellectual, and moral power (1907, 112-114). the deweys also recognized, what froebel had observed, that the quintessential activity of children is play. they believed play had an educational value noting that some schools made “organized games, toymaking, and … other construction based on play motives” an integral part of the curriculum (1962, 78-79). children spend the greatest part of their time in play. typically, they create their own play activities, which often involve imitation of the occupations of adults. nearly all children will play house, doctor, or soldier. the deweys concluded, the educational value of this play is obvious. it teaches the children about the world they live in. the more they play the more elaborate becomes their paraphernalia, the whole game being a fairly accurate picture of the daily life of their parents in its setting, clothed in the language and bearing of the children. through their games they learn about the work and play of the grown-up world. besides noticing the elements which make up this world, they find out a good deal about the actions and processes that are necessary to keep it going. (1962, 79) froebel, the deweys, swift and keith provided the theoretical support for the classroom use of simulations. their ideas found a receptive audience among some teachers who found traditional practices ineffective. learning by doing, child activity, and play were concepts that could be readily incorporated into the simulation method. it is not surprising then that in this regard boocock and schild concluded: dewey’s general education philosophy contains most of the premises upon which the simulation games being designed . . . are built” (1968, 57). simulations are introduced to classrooms in the united states anecdotally, there are many examples of simulations being used in classrooms during the first decade of the twentieth century. the deweys indicated that schools all over the country were making use of the “child's instinct for play” (1962, 78). they cite numerous instances where children were learning by doing, some of which were simulated experiences. swift noted several 34 examples of classroom simulation use, which he described as experiments. he lauded their implementation and noted that they grew out of the needs of students. swift exclaimed, “they [experiments] have been actually tried in schools” (1914, 70). the purpose of these experiments is to practice the “pedagogical maxim, ‘one learns by doing’” (1914, 98). handwork simulations some simulations, often referred to as “handwork,” were being tried in schools at the onset of the twentieth century. handwork is defined as “construction based on play motives” (1962, 78-79). handwork can be broadly construed as a simulation that combined child-directed play with an educationally productive activity. the evidence indicates that handwork was most commonly used at the elementary level (richards 1900). c. b. shaw, a fourth-grade teacher, decided to experiment with “self-organized group-work” after hearing a presentation made on this topic by dr. scott of the boston normal school. shaw allowed students to choose a group project or activity that interested them (wells 1900). the activities students selected included sewing, crocheting, drawing, arithmetic, playing house and store. children were only allowed a half an hour each week to work on these activities. this modest time allotment points to the tentative nature of the experiment. in spite of this, the teacher observed students spending much extra time on their projects before and after school and during recess (wells 1900). this experiment was continued the next school year. the groups for acting plays, stories, and poems attracted many students, but pupils also participated in a variety of other activities including cooking, sewing, and doll dressmaking. from the results of the two-year experiment, shaw felt “encouraged to continue the group-work” (334). the deweys also described a number of schools that used handwork. the elementary school of the university of missouri, under the direction of professor j. l. meriam, allotted handwork for one quarter of the instructional day. professor meriam believed that schools of the past had ignored the needs of individual children. he believed that “the work and play of the school should be children’s work and play; that the children should enjoy school” (quoted in dewey and dewey 1962, 32). the guiding question for the curriculum was: “what would these children naturally be doing if there were no school?” (quoted in dewey and dewey 1962, 32) meriam held that children would be: playing outdoors, exercising their bodies by running, jumping, throwing; they would be talking together in groups, discussing what they had seen or heard; they would be making things to use in their play, which might include boats, beanbags, dolls, hammocks, or dresses . . . again, these occupations are all closely connected with the business of living, so we send our children to school to learn this. what, then, could be more natural than making the school’s curriculum of such material? (quoted in j. dewey and e. dewey 1962, 32) consistent with this view, professor meriam divided the school day into four periods devoted to the following elements: play, stories, observation, and handwork. the kindergarten at columbia university found that they were most successful when the children’s instinctive activities were linked with their social interests and experiences. a young child’s social ties and experiences revolved around his/her home. the educators at columbia believed that a child’s intense interest in dolls was indicative of the importance a child placed in human relations. the doll thus served as the 35 starting point for the kindergarten's educational activities (j. dewey and e. dewey 1962). children had all sorts of things they wanted to do and make for their doll. the doll needed clothes, so students designed patterns with paper and scissors. experimenting as needed, children received suggestions from the teacher. when the patterns were finished, the children chose and cut the cloth. then, they learned to sew. the doll not only needed clothes, but also shelter so the children constructed a house from a great chest of big blocks found in the corner of the room. they used long flat boards for the walls and roof and square blocks for the foundations and window frames. when the house was completed, it was obviously in need of furniture, so students constructed tables, chairs, and beds from blocks of wood and thin boards. the doll needed dishes for its food, so this need served as a motivation to learn clay modeling. student creations were not always useable, but the finished product was not the point. the children had been involved in problem solving, and they enjoyed the process. children developed manual dexterity, and they knew the sense of accomplishment of working towards a definite end (dewey and dewey 1962). the francis w. parker school in chicago provides a final example of handwork. history education, at the time this school was founded in 1901, was described this way: history teaching . . . had been planned largely to give information in chronological sequence. teachers carefully selected the amount of subject matter for a grade but gave little or no effort to the end that it be comprehended by the children. the test consisted in the quantity of learned facts that could be held in memory. (stone 1976, 169) colonel parker was a freeing influence upon the teaching of history at thefrancis w. parker school. parker encouraged teachers to discover the interests of children at each age. parker believed that history materials should consider a child’s interests; thereby adding meaning to children’s activities and giving social significance to the life around them. his attitude led to experimentation: step by step, as new ideas came, colonel parker applied them, tested them, and rejected or accepted them, according to their appeal to, and effect upon, the children. for instance, colonel parker happened one day to see a group of young children making play-houses in the workshop, and he believed that they might be interested in the way in which people of other lands built their houses. he suggested that children be … allowed to reproduce in miniature the simple homes and belongings of interesting primitive people in different environments. (stone 1976, 169) if simulations are in part, a simplified reality, then, clearly, handwork was a simplified, simplified reality. in the examples cited above children were active participants. they were given decision-making responsibility for their handwork. perhaps, the simulation attribute lacking was a consequence(s) for student decisions. classroom organization and management simulations at the turn of the 20th century, simulations were also used for classroom management and organization. an implicit goal of this simulation type was to teach democratic principles. in 1904, lotta a. clark, a history teacher in charlestown, massachusetts, decided to try an “experiment” with her ancient history high school classes (1907, 336). she had two objectives: “(1) [students were] to co-operate-to work together; and (2) to give each individual a chance to do the sort of thing which he particularly wants to do (italics in the 36 original)” (1907, 336-337). with these objectives in mind, clark turned over the classroom recitations to her students. a student chairman was appointed. a committee was formed to nominate candidates for the classroom president, vice-president, and secretary. these officers were elected by ballot for one month. students faced a perplexing problem when they had to decide the teacher’s role. this question was resolved when clark was given the title “chief executive officer” (1907, 336-337). the new recitation took on the following order: 1. the president called the class to order and took roll. 2. the secretary's report was corrected and then formally accepted. 3. the president called for any unfinished business. 4. the lesson of the day was called for. with the call for the day’s lesson, students volunteered to describe the day’s assigned historical event. if an error was made in describing the event, any other student could secure the recognition of the president and make the necessary corrections. any question that was not satisfactorily resolved was left for the next day’s unfinished business. students often researched these unresolved issues that evening and presented their findings the next day (clark 1907). clark also found classroom discipline satisfactory using this method. an incident, where a boy was severely reprimanded by the teacher, was well documented by the class secretary. the whole incident, in minute detail, was presented in the secretary’s report. the report was accepted by the class and placed on file. no further disciplinary incidents occurred in that class section (clark 1907). the most compelling example of organizing a classroom through simulation is the case of miss nellie hammond, who taught american history and government and modern and current history at woburn, massachusetts. towards the middle of the school year, she was disabled by a physical malady. the symptoms were such that she was forbidden to use her eyes—a condition from which she later recovered. since hiring a substitute at midyear seemed unwise, miss hammond was allowed to formulate a plan, so she could continue to perform her duties in the classroom. she decided upon creating a “pupilgovernment” in the classroom (swift 1914). for her senior class, a school committee of eight students already existed. the eight-committee members were given the responsibility of assigning lessons, topics, and readings. students eagerly discussed the local issues facing the city of woburn. the class had also set up the simulated school/city of woburnia. a student portrayed the mayor of woburnia and delivered an inaugural address to the entire school (swift 1914). unlike the seniors, miss hammond’s junior class lacked an existing governmental structure. the class decided to write a constitution. after establishing the constitution’s preamble, that the government should increase the interest and efficiency of schoolwork, the constitution called for the establishment of several committees with various responsibilities. the committees included the topic committee, library committee, far east committee, near east committee, the committee on european affairs, the committee on united states affairs, and the committee on woburn affairs (swift 1914). content related simulations there are a handful of documented instances of content area simulations being used at the beginning of the last century. these simulations provided an opportunity for students to put abstract concepts to practical use. they contain the basic attributes of a simulation as 37 previously delineated: participants take on roles representative of the real world; they make decisions; they experience consequences related to these decisions; they reflect on the decisions and the resulting consequences. lotta a. clark, who in 1904 had used simulations heretofore for classroom organization and management purposes, decided the following year to use another simulation with her united states history and civil government classes. clark held two mock state and city elections. each class was divided into two wards, appointed officers, and every pupil registered as if s/he was a voter. typed lists of registered voters were posted on the bulletin board, and ballots were prepared. on election day in massachusetts, clark’s students got to vote like everyone else. in order to simulate the australian ballot, children voted at their desks with desktops raised. completed ballots were placed in sealed ballot boxes. the ward officers counted the votes, posted the results, and the election was declared (clark 1907). another example of a content related simulation involved a fifth-grade teacher ingeniously establishing a post office. students made the money and the stamps. they brought bundles to school to be mailed. two boys took the part of postmen. they weighed the packages, consulted the map, looked up the postal rate, and gave change to the customers. the simulation required the students to make use of the weight and multiplication tables (dewey and dewey 1962). mason d. gray, a teacher at east high school, in rochester, new york, tried a highly involved experiment with his latin students. mason had considered and tried other methods to make the study of latin more meaningful. he found that mere descriptions of everyday life in ancient rome were not illuminating unless his students could join in the daily activities of roman life. mason desired a method that would be both “continuous and self-sustaining” (1906, 297). he wanted an activity that would provide background and coherence to his students’ study of latin. mason decided upon simulating the political contests of the roman republic. this he hoped would garner student interest. the roman state was organized, initially, by assigning each latin section a trade guild (collegia opificum). the guilds, assigned by lot, included: garlic-dealers, grocers, carpenters, goldsmiths, porters, and dyers. each trade guild selected from its members a president (princeps) with the remainder of the class section in the role of apprentices (discentes). the room in which students recited their lesson became their clitia or place of assembly. gradually, additional tasks were assigned to the guild including drawing-up of membership rules, the choice of a patron deity, and of a roman patronus (mason 1906). mason concluded, “we have reproduced, as completely and accurately as a limited number of pupils would permit, the ancient roman political organization” (1906, 296). each member of the trade guild was assigned a name by the president. the names were taken from notable military, political, and literary figures of the last century of the roman republic. students were assigned these names randomly, and they retained the name for the entire school year. students were expected to learn the life of the person whose name s/he had taken, as well as becoming acquainted with the names and deeds of those taken by their peers. students were encouraged to use their latin names in addressing one another (mason 1906). once students had received their latin names, they were then classified as citizens either by birth, naturalization, or by manumission. the students then successively enrolled in the four political units of curia, tribus, classis, and centuria. this was done on the basis, respectively, of birth, geography, wealth, and age. property of a definite amount was assigned to each citizen within the limits of his/her class. each pupil was assigned a 38 tribal name on a geographical basis. the student then incorporated, in his/her name, the name of the tribe. students were also assigned an italian town as a place of residence. finally, once student has a thorough understanding of their political status, various political assemblies were organized and operated (mason 1906). d. c. knowlton, a teacher at barringer high school in newark, new jersey, sought an effective way to teach his students about the events and lessons of the peloponnesian war. he realized that while the events were complex, they were also filled with drama and human interest. knowlton also recognized that students could readily connect with the democratic institutions in ancient greece. when he heard about innovations at other schools, he decided to conduct his own experiment (1910). knowlton implemented a simulation in his greek history classes. each class would be transformed into an athenian assembly during the time of the peloponnesian war. two or three students from each of his three greek history classes were asked to research the athenian assembly. they determined the officers needed for the assembly and their exact duties. they were also asked to find the procedures that governed the assembly. these rules were modified to fit the constraints of the classroom and were as follows: (1) solemn curse on traitors, pronounced by the herald (2) declaration by the chairman (epistateis) that the gods are propitious (3) reading of the day’s resolutions by the herald (4) inquiry by the chairman as to whether the assembly wishes to discuss the resolutions, or to put them immediately to a vote (5) discussion of the measures (6) voting on the measure (7) adjournment (knowlton 1910, 483-484) after explaining the rules of parliamentary procedure, the simulation ensued. the assembly elected a presiding officer (epistateis). students were also selected for the offices of herald and sergeant-at-arms. the assembly meeting was opened daily with the formula, “cursed be anyone who betrays athens by thought, word, or deed” (knowlton 1910, 485). each day students debated resolutions similar to those, which came before the original assembly. the following resolutions are representative: (1) that athens is prepared for war (2) that the plan of pericles for the conduct of the war should be supported by all athenians (3) that the proper time to make peace with sparta was after the blockade on sphacteria (4) that the only hope for athenian victory is in making an alliance with persia (knowlton 1910, 485) commenting on this experiment, knowlton observed, “it is simply one of the many attempts which are constantly being made to stimulate that self-activity which is the real end and aim of all good teaching” (1910, 483). as a result of the simulation, knowlton found, “at no other time throughout the course were so many books consulted and used so intelligently” (1910, 486). at the conclusion of the simulation, students were tested. they were asked to take and defend their position on some of the war resolutions. their experience was so real students often wrote in the first person, as this pupil’s response indicates: athenian citizens, we ought to ally ourselves with persia. there is nothing else left for us to do. you say perhaps that the fact that alcibiades is the one who proposes this ought to condemn it. even if alcibiades is not a true patriot, he will never dare turn traitor to athens again 39 … we will have time to recover from our losses if persia aids us. it will tide us over this defeat. an alliance with persia does not necessarily mean subjection to persia. we need money. persia has offered us money. why not accept? (quoted in knowlton 1910, 487) conclusion the literature of this period frequently employed the term “experiment” to describe the use of simulations. of course, the word “experiment” is revealing. it suggests simulations were still a novelty in american classrooms; some teachers used this instructional method, but it was not yet widely practiced. the words of lotta a. clark are telling. she wrote of “experimenting” with group work at her high school (1907, 335336). her article opened with this statement: “ a child, like everyone else, learns to do by doing (italics in the original)” (1907, 335). while clark believed this statement was broadly recognized as a truism in her day, she claimed it was not widespread in its application. early simulation usage served a variety of functions. at the elementary level, it usually took the form of handwork. at the secondary level, simulations were used for classroom organization and management including democratizing the classroom. other teachers sought a more effective means of teaching than the traditional fact-based instruction often referred to as recitation. they used content related simulations to engage students in the subject matter. simulations transformed abstract topics into meaningful experience. the simulations “the roman state” and the “athenian assembly” provide persuasive evidence that the simulation method was introduced to american classrooms at the birth of the last century, if not before. students were assigned roles that so closely approached reality that they continued in their role after the simulation had concluded. the complexity of these simulations is surprising. the roman state involved the majority of students in a large metropolitan high school, while students in the athenian assembly researched this political body before it was organized. student decisions had consequence. both simulations replicated ancient democratic institutions with the power to make decisions for the welfare of their peoples. the athenian assembly made decisions that would determine the fate of the city-state. these two examples and others that have been previously cited meet the modern criteria for a simulation. undeniably, simulations have a lengthier and richer history than previously believed. given the evidence, it should not surprise that simulations were introduced to students in u.s. classrooms at the dawn of the twentieth century. the voices of froebel, the deweys, swift, and keith appealed to teachers disenchanted with antiquated teaching methods. some educators realized children needed more developmentally sound educational methods and practices. the concepts of learning by doing, child activity, and play could readily be incorporated into a simulation. this method, as seen in war games, was being popularized through parlor games. these various historical forces converged to bridge the chasm between experiential theory and the practice of simulation. some pioneering teachers were willing to cross that divide during the twentieth century’s morning light. references boocock, s. s. and e. o schild, ed. 1968. simulation games in learning. beverly hills, ca: sage publications, incorporated. clark, l. a. 1907. group-work in the high school. the elementary school teacher 7:335344. cruickshank, d. r. and tefler, r. 1980. classroom games and simulations. theory into practice 1:75-80. 40 dewey, j. and e. dewey. 1962. schools of tomorrow. 3rd. ed. new york: e. p. dutton and company, incorporated. froebel, f. 1907. the education of man. translated by w. n. hailmann. new york: d. appleton and company. general der infanterie a.d. dannhauer. das reisswitzche kriegsspeil von seinen beginn bis zum tode des erfinders 1827. the reisswitz wargame from the beginning to the death of its inventor, 1827. unpublished translation by william leeson. militar wochenblatt, no. 56. quoted in perla, p. p. 1990. the art of wargaming: a guide for professionals and hobbyists. annapolis, maryland: naval institute press. gray, m. d. 1906. the modern roman state. the school review 14:296-306. hughes, j. l. 1894. the educational value of play and the recent-play movement in germany. educational review 9:327-336. jones, k. 1987. simulations: a handbook for teachers and trainers. london: kogan page. keith, j. a. 1907. socializing the materials and methods of education. the school review 18:174-177. knowlton, d. c. 1910. an athenian assembly: an experiment in history teaching. the school review 18:481-487. lee, j. 1994. effectiveness of the use of simulations in a social studies classroom. eric, ed 381 448, 1-68. maidment, r. and r. h. bronstein. 1973. simulation games: design and implementation. columbus, oh: charles e. merrill publishing company. perla, p. p. 1990. the art of wargaming: a guide for professionals and hobbyists. annapolis, maryland: naval institute press. richards, c. r. 1900. the function of hand work in the school. teachers college record 1:249259. sandars, j. 1975. an introduction to wargaming. london: pelham books limited. stone, m. k. 1976. between home and community: chronicle of the francis w. parker school 1901-1976. chicago: francis w. parker school. swift, e. j. 1914. learning by doing. indianapolis, in: the bobbs-merrill company, 1914. tansey, p. j. 1973. educational aspects of simulation. london: mcgraw-hill. taylor, j. l. and r. walford. 1972. simulations in the classroom. london: penguin books, limited. wells, c. b. 1907. some experimentation in group-work. the elementary school teacher 7:329-334. the purpose of schooling: the german community in indianapolis alexander butler florida international university abstract german immigrants in the mid-1800s advocated to have german language instruction adopted into many public school curricula across the united states. though indianapolis is not unique in how or why germans desired instruction in their native tongue, the city provides an excellent case study for examining their purposes. the german community in indianapolis supported bilingual education as a way of helping americanize their children, as well as instilling german high culture in the community. introduction german immigrants in the mid-1800s advocated to have german language instruction adopted into many public school curricula across the united states. large cities such as cincinnati, cleveland, chicago, st. louis, milwaukee, and indianapolis each developed some form of bilingual german instruction after the mid-1800s (ramsey, 2008). though indianapolis is not unique in how or why germans desired instruction in their native tongue, the city provides an excellent case study for examining differences in perspectives in the purpose of education between german immigrants and native-born u.s. citizens because of the impact german migrants had in the establishment of quality schools in indianapolis and across the state of indiana (fessler, 1997). the german community, both religious and secular, fought to promote bilingual education as a way of helping americanize their children, preserve their culture, and germanize u.s. students into high culture. it is the last of these purposes that is relevant to this paper. the influence of the german community on schooling in indianapolis is particularly important because the german community sought a better education not only for their own children, but all children in the city. they believed germans had the best quality of schools in the world (ramsey, 2009). german belief about the purpose of schooling went beyond those of most advocates of public education, for whom key objectives of schooling were limited to educating the masses and later americanizing immigrants; for them, education was not about sustaining or inspiring participation in high culture, but rather producing good citizens. the germans in indianapolis’ commitment to introducing and teaching their high culture to their community can be seen in the rise and fall of the most prominent private school in the city of indianapolis in relation to the rise of public schooling within the city and clemens vonnegut’s participation in both as president of the german-english school and a trustee for indianapolis public schools. the germans in the city by the mid-1800s free public schooling had yet to be offered in indianapolis. though indiana was admitted into the united states as the 19th state in 1816 and endorsed free public education in its first constitution, the state’s financial constraints meant education remained a local issue. reflecting the state’s geographic and educational status, indianapolis was known as the “capital in the wilderness” for many years (mckinney 1994). by the late 1800s this moniker had begun to change due to the influence of germans in the city, specifically 80 within education. between the state’s admittance into the union and the opening of free public schools in indianapolis, german immigrants were one of the most active groups in educating youth of the city. though germans were already present in indianapolis before 1848, and were the state’s largest immigrant group, there was a large influx of german immigrants after 1848 due to the revolution in germany. by 1850, the german population in indianapolis accounted for 12.9% of the population (hoyt 1994). many of the new immigrants, called “48ers” were young idealist revolutionaries who were on the wrong side of the uprising. these new immigrants clashed with the older established germans in the city, many who had immigrated in the 1830s and primarily were farmers (dunn 1910, 202). the indiana volksblatt reported this clash occurred over politics (as cited in stempfel 1991, 7). for the more political and secular “48ers,” language and cultural maintenance was particularly important if they were to return to germany, which many of them were prepared to do if there was another revolution in germany. despite their clashes, both groups valued education as a tool to promote the german language and culture. the german churches in the area also valued education. the catholics and lutherans saw the teaching of their language as a sign of the continuation of their christian faith, and the relation between faith and language can be clearly seen in the parochial school curricula. despite these different commitments, and the schism between the 48ers and the farmers, the german community, were unified in the importance of bilingual educating for their children because it gave their children access to their culture which they considered to be of the highest quality. considering that they immigrated from a highly respected country to a state considered “the capital of the wilderness,” the idea of german cultural superiority is not a far stretch of the imagination (mckinney, 1994). at the time, many germans considered germany to be a leader of nations in many ways because of their sophisticated culture, purpose, and character (stein 1913, 82). fifty years after the 48ers immigrated to the u.s. they still believed this. in a speech at the opening of a large building used for community gatherings called das deutsche haus, on june 15, 1898, herman lieber, the president of the stock association asked; is it not rather an expression of american pragmatism when we contribute our share trying to keep alive the german language as much as possible for this country’s [u.s’] benefit? after all, this language contains treasures of a thousand years of cultural development in the arts and sciences, in literature, history and philosophy, in all areas of life. is it not our duty to make sure that the thorough german method of education, from kindergarten on up, will also benefit the common good of the american nation? (stempfel, 1991) the germans in the city believed the language and their cultural values would benefit the u.s. the best way to do these things was to educate their children and the children of the city in the reputed german educational style and in the german language. as mentioned previously, these goals went beyond those of most advocates of public education in the u.s., for whom key purposes of schooling were limited to educating the masses and making good citizens (kaestle 1983). schooling in the city during the first half of the 19th century, the schools in indianapolis included a combination of self-education, private 81 schools, county seminaries, and taxsupported, but not free schools. free public schools were not introduced to the city until april 25, 1853. despite opening in 1853, free public schools in indianapolis would struggle for many years to remain open consistently. at one point during the late 1850s and early 1860s the high school closed for several years due to funding. one example of these irregular terms was in august 25, 1859, the indianapolis journal announced public schools would not reopen until february of 1860 because of a lack of state funding (as cited in stein 1913). besides the inconsistent openings, the schools were often considered in poor condition and there were issues with the quality and effectiveness of public-school teachers. in comparison to the techniques of the trained german schoolmaster, which were considered second to none, public school teachers were often ineffective. the consequences of the inconsistency and poorly trained teachers were that instruction covered only the most basic knowledge. despite these issues, german citizens presented a resolution to the indianapolis city council in 1856 to have german taught and as a medium of instruction in schools. not only would this help preserve their language, but it would also introduce one teacher to the public schools that had been influenced by the superior german educational system. though their resolution was rejected, this led to an eventual expansion of german’s presence in city schools in 1859, there were still significant funding and quality issues. in response to the lack of quality consistent schooling german private schools had been and continued to open. these german private schools were not necessarily bilingual, but rather instructed only in german. as early as 1842 there was a german day school in the house of the pastor associated with the german evangelical lutheran congregation (st. paul’s lutheran church 2015). in the early 1850s there were at least four additional german schools located around the city. the scottish church at the corner of delaware and ohio streets, zion’s church in the second ward between michigan and vermont streets, the verein freier maenner (freemen’s club), and a school led by theodore hielscher on washington st. opposite the courthouse were all operating during this time (stempfl 1991, 19). the zion’s church and the german reformed church only taught a german language course. the teachers of these two schools, like other schools associated with churches were often the pastors of the congregations. more emphasis was placed on the catechism than on grammatically correct german (stein 1913, 11). the freemen’s club, an organization advocating against religious or monarchical governments and for the education of free men (stempfl 1991, 5), along with the hielscher school, used german as a medium of instruction for other subjects (stein 1913, 87). hielscher’s school and several other independently run private schools would open and close their doors periodically through the late 1850s due to a lack of funding. despite inconsistent funding, these schools were often open ten months of the year. amidst the inconsistency and ineffectiveness of the public schools and the german community’s desire for a school to americanize, preserve their language, and introduce their high culture, the most prominent of german schools was envisioned. it is at this moment where the growth and decline of the german private schools became intertwined with the public schools. though parochial and other private schools had been in existence for nearly two decades, prominent freethinkers in the city did not become involved until the formation of the german-english school. 82 through 1858 and 1859 school funds were collected within the german community for the purchase of a lot and construction of a schoolhouse for the german-english school. one of two german newspapers in indianapolis at the time, the freie presse, reported on the progress and meetings of the school’s committees. the freie presse not only reported on the progress of the german-english school but also deplored those in the german community who would not support the school either by funds or by competition (as cited in stein 1913, 26). finally, on may 14, 1860 the die deutschee-englishe schule (the german-english school) opened (stein 1913, 14-39). two private schools within the city, one having been run by hielscher, were combined with the german-english school. these two schools alone brought 110 students to the school. the school would be open for ten months of the year, quite a contrast from the public schools of indianapolis. not only did the german-english school serve german students, but also french, english, and american students. parents of other nationalities sent their students for several reasons. first, the public schools in indianapolis were inconsistently open. for example, many high school students attended the german-english school because the indianapolis high school, having only been opened since 1853, stayed closed from 1858-1864. second, parents sent their students to the germanenglish school because of the strong reputation of a german education. unlike the public schools that often hired inexperienced teachers with no training, the german-english school hired native german teachers who had been teaching in cincinnati’s thriving bilingual public schools. cincinnati’s public-school german programs were so strong, that in 1867 indianapolis public schools would send representatives to observe their program and hire teachers. even the indianapolis journal, a newspaper for english speakers, supported german language acquisition and instruction as important to everyone. their editorials and columns praised german schools’ successes (indianapolis journal, 1859). the education students received was so strong that by the fall of 1862, the school had enough students to start a third classroom and hire a third english teacher (stein 1913, 49). within two years the indianapolis journal reported plans to build an additional school building and floor. the new construction was needed according to the indianapolis journal on june 15, 1864 because of the “great and constantly increasing number of german children in the city, whom their parents desire to have educated in both languages” (as cited in stein 1913, 58-59). the editorial also advocated for german to be taught in the public schools but until it was, exhorted indianapolis citizens to support the school not out of generosity but justice. the article reasoned the germans were not only paying the city tax for public schools but also taxing themselves for the german-english school. by this time the school had 180 students. by 1866 the school had a waiting list of students to attend the school (stein 1913, 59). the increase in numbers might suggest the german parents in the community thought the school was successfully americanizing their students and promoting the continuation of their high culture and nongerman parents felt their students were receiving a quality education. despite the success of the germanenglish school, german community leaders continued to heavily petition the publicschool trustees to establish german as a medium of instruction. clemens vonnegut, a leader within the german community, and who would eventually become a leader within the city was one of these people. he 83 was a shop owner in the downtown area, a freethinker, and heavily involved in the german-indianapolis community. by 1865 vonnegut was on the board of trustees for indianapolis schools. he would serve from 1865-1869 and again from 1871-1894. not only did he serve as a trustee for the city’s schools, but he was a member of the schulervein (school club) and became president for the school’s last eleven years. at one point he was the president of the german-english school and a trustee member of the city’s public schools. it seems vonnegut was working both sides of the aisle to establish good schools, which included encouraging the acquisition of the german language and exposure to german culture.1 as a freethinker he exemplified the belief that the best way to advocate for an ideological or political position was through education. vonnegut defended the inclusion of the german language through public letters. the letters argued learning german would not supplant the learning of english and german influence in indiana had been healthy. finding their financial situation improved in 1863, the indianapolis board of trustees in may of 1863 established a committee to investigate employing german teachers. they formed this committee after witnessing the growth, popularity, and success the german schools were having at teaching and attracting students. the promulgation of german’s high culture was not only evident in the success of the german-english school, but in the manufacturing industries work force where one quarter of all workers were german (probst 1989, 69). this success would also 1 eventually the school board of indianapolis named the ninth ward school, the clemens vonnegut school, to honor vonnegut’s work on behalf of public schools in indianapolis. the school was closed in 1973. manifest itself in the ability to influence the state legislator. up until 1869 there had not been much state support for german as a medium of instruction. state legislator support for german as a medium of instruction in public schools was important for the german community around the state, but particularly in indianapolis, because the indianapolis public schools had not moved to include german due to their interpretation of state law. however, in indianapolis in the late 1860s german implementation gained significant ground because of german leaders and the german press. the german community and the german press of indianapolis worked hard to promote german as a medium of instruction. both believed this would improve the local public schools. the german newspapers’ demonstrated a strong concern and a desire to reform public education in the state. the papers also encouraged germans to support public education once improved. the educational reform the press sought allowed a said number of voters in a district to demand the hiring of a german teacher. though the press was supportive of educational reform, the telegraph on february 1, 1867 recommended parents of children attending the german-english school cautiously inspect the public schools before sending their children to them. if the schools were compared to one another, the telegraph believed public education still left much to be desired (as cited in ellis 1954, 126). the telegraph increased the fervor of its reform support when on february 11, 1867 william e. mclean of terre haute introduced a bill to the legislature regarding the introduction of german in the state’s elementary schools. the paper published editorials on the subject regularly through the month of february (as cited in ellis 1954, 126). frances h. ellis a professor of german 84 at indiana university in the 1940s interprets the frequency of the telegraph’s articles as representing the tenacity in which the germans held onto their language and culture (ellis 1954, 126). the editorials discussed the origin of the german language, its relation to other european languages and english, the connections between the cultures, and praised the language’s beauty. although the german community and press pushed for changes in state legislation, there was a delay at the state level. this delay led german leaders in indianapolis to present a resolution to the city council stating that the members of our city school board be, and they are hereby, earnestly requested to introduce, in at least one of the wards of this city, the system of joint instruction in the english and german languages, by employing at least four teachers who are capable of instructing in both languages. (proceedings 1867, 754) the resolution was adopted. clemens vonnegut was considered an instigator of the board’s support to further german studies. this is an interesting turn of events because eleven years earlier the trustees had not approved the german proposal. one of the reasons had been state law. by this time state law had still not been changed and the city was prepared to use german as a medium of instruction alongside english in part because of the success of the german-english school. vonnegut and fellow trustee a.c. shortridge were sent to cincinnati to hire the teachers and observe the successful cincinnati german public school programs. despite issues at the state level and contrary to state law, indianapolis moved forward to teach german and other courses in german in the ninth ward. on may 29, 1867 the telegraph reversed its questioning of public schools and published a column encouraging germans to send their children to the ninth ward school. reasons to support the school included the hope of having more wards with german teachers (as cited in ellis 1954, 129). the overwhelming support for the ninth ward school led the school trustees to add german instruction in the sixth ward school in 1868 (ellis 1954, 131). in less than three years indianapolis had gone from having german taught in english to having other courses be taught in german. around the same time the indianapolis compromise took place, the telegraph returned its focus to state issues because the general assembly was getting ready to reconvene. editorials gave reasons for why german instruction should be allowed, letters to the editor were published, and petitions and reports on meetings of germans in the city printed. a committee of german leaders proposed an amendment to state law similar to the one in 1867. their amendment and petition were published in the telegraph on january 20, 1869. clemens vonnegut was one of these petitioners (indiana 1869, 185). despite the continued expansion and prominence of the germanenglish school in the german community, the also supported the state’s education reform. vonnegut and other german-english school leaders at the schulervein meeting on january 24, 1869 decided to adjourn early in order to attend a meeting of the state legislature. the leaders, including vonnegut, joined other petitioners for the inclusion of german in public schools at the legislator (stein 1913, 77). these actions beget the question of why school leaders would petition for teaching german in the public schools even though teaching german in free schools would surely undermine their constituency base? john r. coffroth introduced the proposed amendment to the house with one change, the minimum number of voters needed to request german instruction in a 85 school was reduced from forty to twenty-five (indiana 1869, 415). a representative suggested the amendment be recommitted to the committee for a report that there would not be a greater expense to the state (indiana 1869, 437). other objections included the bill favored germans, immigrants should be americanized through english not by being educated in their native language, the bill did not represent the majority of citizens in indiana, it would open the door for other subjects or constituents to make demands on the curriculum, it endangered public wellbeing, there could be issues with teacher certification, the school terms were short and already struggle to cover the expected curriculum without having to teach in a second language, and it could result in an unwanted language (possibly referring to pennsylvania dutch). arguments on behalf of the amendment as stated in the indianapolis journal on february 9, 1869 included the benefit children gained by knowing two languages, german immigrants would be attracted to the state, german literature and science would could be understood in their original form, americanization of immigrants would be hastened because germans would begin attending public rather than private schools, germans were the largest minority and paid more in taxes than other minorities, and the minor additional expense was not enough to prevent a desirable bill to be rejected. in the middle of the previous list, is the idea that knowing the german language would give access to german literature and science. this is important to notice because it suggests even the legislator respected the high culture of the germans. though english newspapers like the indianapolis journal suggested objectors would have voted for the bill because it would hasten americanization of immigrants, it is clear proponents of the bill valued german language for its relation to german culture. after several weeks of engrossments, the telegraph rounded up support and encouraged supporters to go to the state house on february 10, 1869 and make their desires known. finally, on february 17, 1869 the state passed legislation that included german in the course of study. the bill stipulated that if there were twenty-five parents or guardians in a school district demanding german, then german as a branch of study would be introduced. the bill passed the house by a vote of 77 to 7. the telegraph had worked hard to report and support the passing of the bill. at this point the bill stalled again on its way through the state senate. the senate convention was half over when the telegraph began writing editorials to encourage action. one editorial drew attention to the large population of approximately 2000 students attending private german schools in indianapolis (as cited in ellis 1954, 135). the telegraph published a letter written by vonnegut, sediensticker, and köhne in response to the newspaper’s call to action on april 26, 1869. the letter called for the gathering of those interested in the passage of the bill at 9am the following morning to go together to the senate chamber. supposedly, when the senators saw the flood of germans entering the state house the senate immediately organized for business, suspended the rules, and moved the bill up to the third order of business. the german delegation made it known they would not leave until a vote was cast (as cited in ellis 1954, 135-136). after some deliberation it passed the senate by a vote of 37 to 3 (indiana 1869, 535). vonnegut and the telegraph had won the passage of the bill. all that was needed was the signature of the governor to make it law. the telegraph cautioned for the supporters of the bill to keep vigilance but their concern was for naught. when the governor received the bill on the fifth he signed it into law. 86 similarly to the indianapolis journal’s quote earlier about the justice of helping the german-english school, reflections on the passage of the law say the bill was passed in recognition of the services of the german community (dunn 1910, 214). what were these services to the greater community, they were the running of strong businesses, promoting the welfare of the city, and helping build a stronger educational system. though the passage of the law would be the deathblow to the school by 1882, the german-english school’s attendance began to decline because of the inclusion of german as a medium of instruction and therefore the growing effectiveness of the indianapolis public schools under the influence of clemens vonnegut and the german press within the state. by 1882 there were at least ten public schools in indianapolis teaching german or using it as a medium of instruction. the germanenglish school had existed for over twenty years and was known for its thoroughness and high standards. this might demonstrate the real purpose germans had for education. supporting german in public schools was a way to continue to promote their heritage and americanize their students, but it was also a way to promote a higher culture throughout the city. vonnegut and the german community would continue to bring german educational innovations to the indianapolis public schools throughout the rest of the 19th century. in the 1880s, vonnegut along with other leaders also introduced both manual training, the gewerbeschul (vocational school), and physical education to indianapolis public schools (probst 1989, 100-01). the vocational school would meet in the old german-english school building. subjects such as descriptive geometry, architectural drawing, design work, machine draughting, ornamental drawing, and ornamental modeling were taught. at one point, the school applied to the school board for a monetary appropriation. though the board could not legally financially support the school, they assigned william h. bass as a teacher there for a year. the manual training curriculum was considered a great contribution to the city and one of the few programs like it at the time. in fact, within a few years after watching the gewerbeschul’s success, the school board opened their own program at shortridge high school in 1888 under the direction of mr. bass. six years later the school board opened manual high school dedicated to manual training (dunn 1910, 276). physical education was introduced into public schools through vonnegut and the turnvereins, a german gymnastics club. vonnegut was also founding member and president of the turnvereins at the time of physical education’s introduction to indianapolis public schools. physical education was an important part of german high culture. the turnverein club was made up of many 48ers who believed a strong mind grew best in a strong body (probst 1989, 89). these types of innovations alongside the introduction of german as a medium of instruction demonstrate how the german community was not only interested in educating their own children, but in raising the culture in indianapolis to their cultural standards. the german press and vonnegut state acceptance of german may not have happened without the german press. the newspapers, especially der täglicher telegraph in indianapolis helped advocate, organize the movement, and provide reports on the progress of german’s acceptance. alongside the newspaper, were critical leaders such as clemens vonnegut. he would go on to serve twenty-seven years on the board of trustees for indianapolis schools. for a stretch of eleven years he was the president of the german-english school 87 and a trustee on the board of trustees. when the german-english school closed in 1882 he continued to serve as a trustee for the city schools until 1894. as a freethinker and an astute businessman, he used his connections to hire other german freethinkers to hold important positions in the public schools. vonnegut helped hire his fellow freethinker, charles e. emmerich, as the administrator over the german program in the city. emmerich held the post into the early 1890s. under the guidance of vonnegut and emmerich the german program quickly flourished. the state law passed in 1869 only called for german to be added to the course subjects, however, in indianapolis, under the instigation of vonnegut and other leaders the public schools would offer german-english bilingual education in some schools. by 1883 there were sixteen public schools in the city providing german language instruction to 2,432 students (twenty-second 1883). unlike other cities that had adopted bilingual instruction in their public schools as a mechanism of assimilation (st. louis) or as a political concession to appease the large minority population of germans (chicago), though these reasons were present in indianapolis, it was the germans themselves who had pushed for the inclusion of german through their participation in local and state politics as well as being civically active. the indianapolis political climate more closely resembled that of cincinnati, where germanenglish bilingual education was highly valued for its reputation, than st. louis or chicago (ramsey 2008, 285). also like cincinnati, germans had quickly taken up some of indianapolis’ leading political positions and ran prosperous businesses. though it had taken many years to get german into the school system, once it was there it grew quickly. by 1888, 1,200 students were enrolled in the bilingual german-english programs in the city (twenty-seventh 1888). conclusion it is interesting how the germanenglish school grew out of necessity and declined in necessity. when the public schools were unable to provide adequate education for the community, german community leaders formed their own highly respected school. these same german leaders, especially clemens vonnegut and other freethinkers, fought for the inclusion of german in the public schools for the benefit of all children. had vonnegut and other members of the schulervein not lent their support to the public schools or encouraging german to be a part of the course of study there is a strong possibility the german-english school would have survived until 1919. consider the state law to include german in any school was passed during the peak years of the german-english school. without the german press and vonnegut’s support, state educational law would not have been changed. however, when the time was right, the schulervein shut down the german-english school and put all their support behind the public schools. the german community had helped germanize the local school system in order to provide a better education for all students. epilogue after the german-english school closed in 1882, the public schools’ german programs took off. though there would be obstacles to german’s inclusion in public education in the late 1880s, it would not be until 1919 when the state whipped itself into a nativist hysteria that the mccray bill was passed. the bill made teaching german illegal and a punishable offence (indiana 1919, 133). though other foreign languages were permitted under the mccray bill, it would not be until the u.s. supreme court ruled in 88 meyer v. nebraska in 1923 that indiana would remove the mccray bill from state law. despite this ruling in 1923, bilingual education in indianapolis has taken a slow path to return for at least two reasons. first, germans after wwi did not work to reestablish the once flourishing german program in the city. second, nativists concerns have continued to play a role in the shaping of language acquisition in indianapolis. it was not until 1994 that two schools opened up in indianapolis that have language immersion programs. one is the private international school of indiana. the other was forest glen elementary school in lawrence township. it took until the early 2000s for indianapolis public schools to open their own elementary immersion program in school 74. the two public schools are application only magnet schools. one reason these schools have grown over the last few years is a shift in the purpose of language acquisition in the minds of many. though bilingual education exists as a process of americanization, these schools are less about assimilation into american culture and more about language acquisition to participate in a global world (clevinger 2015). references clevinger, tim. 2015. interview by the author. november, 4, 2015. dunn, jacob piatt. 1910. greater indianapolis: the history, the industries, the institutions, and the people of a city of homes. vol 1. chicago: the lewis publishing co. ellis, frances h. 1954. “historical account of german instruction in the public schools of indianapolis 1869-1919.” indiana magazine of history 50 (2): 119-38. fessler, paul r. 1997. “speaking in tongues: german-americans and the heritage of bilingual education in american public schools.” doctoral thesis. texas a&m university. hoyt, giles r. 1994. “germans.” in the encyclopedia of indianapolis, edited by david j. bodenhamer and robert g. barrows. indianapolis: indiana university press. indiana. 1869. journal of the house of representatives of the state of indiana: during the forty-sixth regular session of the general assembly. indianapolis: state printer. indiana. 1919. journal of the house of representatives of the state of indiana during the seventy-first session of the general assembly. indianapolis: william b. buford. kaestle, carl f. 1983. pillars of the republic: common schools and american society, 1780-1860. new york: hill and wang. mckinney, marianne w. 1994. “performing arts.” in the encyclopedia of indianapolis, edited by david j. bodenhamer and robert g. barrows. indianapolis: indiana university press. probst, george theodore. 1989. the germans in indianapolis: 1840-1918. revised by eberhard reichmann. nashville: ncsa literatur. proceedings of the indianapolis common council and city-county council. 1867. indianapolis university purdue university archives. indianapolis. https://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/ccci /issue/archive. ramsey, paul j. 2008. “a polyglot boardinghouse: a history of public bilingual schooling in the united states, 1840-1920.” doctoral thesis. indiana university. st. paul’s lutheran church. n.d. “history.” accessed december 4, 2015. http://www.stpaulsindy.com/index.php/ aboutus top/history-top.html. 89 stein, theodore. 1913. our old school: historical sketch of the germanenglish independent school of indianapolis. indianapolis: the cheltenham-aetna press. stempfel, theodore. 1991. fifty years of unrelenting german aspirations in indianapolis. translated by. giles r. hoyt and others. nashville: indiana university press. twenty-second annual report of the public schools of the city of indianapolis for the school year ending june 30, 1883. indianapolis: sentinel co.. twentyseventh annual report of the public schools of the city of indianapolis for the school year ending june 30, 1888. indianapolis: sentinel printing co. newspapers der täglicher telegraph. indianapolis: 1865-1907. freie presse. indianapolis: 1853-1867. indianapolis journal. indianapolis: 18671904. indiana volksblatt. indianapolis: 1848-1875. 124 civic education in a multicultural and conflicted society like israel miriam ben-peretz meir steinhart university of haifa university of haifa abstract teaching civic education in multi-cultural and multi-ethnic countries presents a basic difficulty concerning the creation of a common national identity. our study investigated the views of arab and jewish teachers concerning issues of national identity and teaching civics identity. data was collected through in-depth interviews with arabs and jewish principals and teachers. analysis was conducted of compulsory textbooks of civic education and of circulars of the director general of the ministry of education. instructions for civic educators and guidelines concerning matriculation exams in civic education where also examined. analysis of different versions of textbooks published in different times shows that as time passes, the jewishness of the state is dealt with greater depth than its democratic nature. interviews with arab and jewish civic teachers show that arab teachers hesitated to voice criticism of civic teaching. all jewish teachers in our study had comments concerning the curriculum from different points of view. it is important to note that the jewish teachers voiced critisim about the way that arab citizens were related to in teaching of civics. introduction one of the important topics of civic education in any society is educating citizens to be productive, law abiding, contributing to society and fulfilling their own needs, ambitions and hopes. multicultural and conflicted societies require a civic education that will help all parts of society to live together peacefully. overlooking curriculum history 2018: 124-133 the differences among sectors of society might promote a general image of citizens loyal to their country. a multicultural country might be viewed as a collection of different identities, sharing a common obligation to adhere to the norms and laws of their country. in israel, the declaration of independence (1948) mentions equality of citizens without considering religion, race or gender: “…the state of israel… will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex;” the process of education is in the hands of teachers, who form the link between subject matter to be taught and the minds of students. in a conflicted society like israel, that includes two main groups of citizens – jews and palestinian arabs – the question arises: how do jewish and arab teachers interpret the goals of civic education as mandated by the ministry of education? it is important to note that since the establishment of the state of israel, about 70 years ago, the jewish and arab populations live together under a common rule and set of laws. still, since the time of the british mandate, after the first world war, israel has separate systems of education for jews and arabs under the same ministry of education. this separation provides each population with the opportunity to teach in their own language and maintain their own culture. in order to find out how teachers in both populations understand the nature of civic education, we conducted an analysis of texts relating to civic education, and interviewed jewish 125 and arab civic education teachers with a set of questions relating to civic education. among the different sources that shape the way teachers teach the discipline of citizenship in israel our paper relates to hebrew and arabic versions of civic textbooks, several circulars of the ministry of education and the list of themes for the matriculation exam in civics. methodology the study adopted a multiple method approach using content analysis of educator interviews, as well as analysis of government documents and civic and instruction materials. research methods and data collection in this study are based on a naturalistic approach that is, seeking answers to questions concerning reallife situations in schools (lincoln & guba, 1985). data was collected through in-depth interviews with one arab principal and two arab teachers, one jewish deputy principal and teacher, and three jewish teachers, and analysis of following documents: 1. the compulsory textbook of civic education (to be citizens in israel, two versions: 2001 & 2016). 2. circulars of the director general of the ministry of education on civic education (2008, 2009, 2014). 3. instructions issued by the supervisor of teaching civics for educators concerning announcements of professional training, as well as distribution of new education material. 4. instructions concerning the matriculation exams in civic education related to mandatory areas of content. all books and ministry documents are published in hebrew and arabic. analysis of these materials was carried out using appropriate strategies according to the practice of content analysis (meyring, 2014). research population since the time of the british mandate, different ethnic religious sectors in israel have the right to determine their education system according to their religious beliefs. therefore, the arab sector has a christian as well as a muslim educational network. the jewish sector has a religious as well as secular educational network. each sector and each network serves a different population of students and has separate schools, supervisors, principals and teachers. the ministry of education and its administration constitute a unifying factor in terms of curriculum, textbooks, assessment and final exams. accordingly, the teachers interviewed in our study come from the various ethnic and religious sectors in order to obtain as wide a range of opinions as possible about civic education: 1. principal and two teachers from the arab sector (arab christian school and arab muslim school) 2. deputy director and two teachers of civic education in the jewish secular sector 3. one civic education teacher from the religious jewish sector. the interview questions: • what are the goals of civic education according to the teachers? • what differences can be identified between views of jewish and arab teachers of civic education? 126 • does formal civic education in israel over time recognize differences between jews and arabs? • what changes mandated by the ministry of education characterize civic education in israel over time? • what kind of teaching modes and materials are used by civic teachers beyond the official text books? results textbook analysis in israel there are two different versions of textbook concerning citizenship since the year 2000. the first version was published in 2001 and the second in 2016. analyzing these two versions, the main focus is how these textbooks relate to the arab minority and jewish majority in israel. we will relate to the first version as “version a” and to the second version as “version b”. our analysis will be structured around a series of questions about the textbooks. the first question is about the nature of the state of israel. this includes two parts: one concerning the nature of israel as a jewish state, and the second relates to the nature of israel as a democratic state. first part: what is the jewish state? version b devotes a double number of pages to the nature of a jewish state compared to version a (92 pages versus 42 pages). version b adds the historical basis for jewish life in israel, whereas version a limits itself to facts concerning citizenship in present time. it is interesting to note that version b includes a large sector of history of the return of jews to the country of israel before 1948. this sector of history does not mention the arab population living in this area during those years. thus, the beginning of version b shows preference of the jewish issue. second part: what is a democratic state? the second part of the first question concerns the nature of israel as a democratic state. this part concerns the rights of different populations: the majority and minority groups. version a explains the issue of ethnic differences in general and notes both hebrew and arabic as official languages. version b adds a special part called “group rights in israel”. this part is mostly devoted to a description of the jewish sector. for instance, the arab language was an official language as noted in version a. in version b the arab language is mentioned in content of street signs in mixed cities only. third part: policies and politics in israel. a third part in versions a and b is policies and politics in israel. this part of the books relates to major policies that govern the life of citizens in israel, and shows several differences between the two versions of textbooks. for instance, version a discusses feelings of arabs as discriminated against as far as government funds are concerned (p. 482). moreover, this version emphasizes the widespread poverty in the arab population and lack of employment opportunities. contrary, version b does not mention this issue. both topics are ignored. the two versions relate differently to one of the important laws of israel, namely, the law of return (1950), which provides every jew the right to come to israel and become israeli citizens upon their entry into the country. a central issue in israel concerns the absorption of jewish immigrants into 127 israel. the right provided by this law does not exist for israeli minorities like arabs. the ethical justification for this inequality is the holocaust that wiped out about a third of the jewish nation – the establishment of a strong jewish state is conceived as the most important response to that horror. israel is the only jewish state that can decide freely on an unlimited absorption of jews. the declaration of independence states: “…the state of israel will be open for jewish immigration and for the ingathering of the exiles” (israeli declaration of independence, 1948). whereas, version a includes only a brief paragraph on the law of return, version b devotes a much larger portion to this subject. the different between these two versions might be accounted for several reasons. one reason might be that many years have passed and the history of jewish immigration into israel is not known to present day students. another reason might be, that version b tends to emphasize and focus on the jewish identity of israel. the years that passed between the publication of version a and version b of the textbook in civic, saw the development of a strong jewish state characterized by the growth of different aspects of statehood like economy, food production, industry, science and art. the most important link between the education bureaucracy and students are teachers, who tend to interpret the guidelines and textbooks in their teaching. interviews with educators the views of teachers expressed in their responses to our questions serve as examples of possible types of views and are not presented as reflecting the views of all jewish and arab teachers. the results are organized according to the interview questions. what are the goals of civic education according to the teachers? the ministry of education decreed that in class discussion teachers have to present a position in accordance with the framework of the state education law: in the framework of the class discussion, if, and when, the teacher takes a position, he must do so in accordance with the framework set forth in the state education law, in a manner that will not be construed as obligating the students to a particular perception and considering that it represents the school, the state and sometimes the entire society. (the ministry of education director-general's circulars in 2008) teachers’ responses to the question were as follows. according to one of the arabic sector civic education teachers: i understand the principles in teaching civic education, and it does not matter to me what they dictate to me from above…i educate not by religion or color but by human rights so that the students know how to respect other human beings… more than half of the teachers interviewed were close to the opinion of this teacher and therefore were asked whether they also expressed their personal political principles in their lessons. another arab teacher’s opinion was: …i will not reveal my personal political convictions to my students, and not only because the law determines this, but because it is my duty to educate the youth and to open to him all the legitimate possibilities and beliefs that exist so that 128 he will choose his own path. it would not be fair to expose him to my opinions because then he would follow me without reaching his personal opinion. on the other hand, another teacher from the religious-zionist sector argues the opposite referring values: …i add everything that is possible within the few hours in the classroom to educate to related values to settle in judea and samaria, and the students know my positive opinion about the settlements. otherwise i would have been wrong in my role as an educator. on one hand, teachers might hesitate to introduce their own political views in a discussion of goals of civic education. on the other hand, some teachers, especially those who teach in an extreme ideological sector, might choose to try to influence students according to their own values. the next question deals with differences between jewish and arab teachers. what differences can be identified in the views of jewish and arab teachers of civic education? teachers from the jewish sector are not afraid to express criticism of the ministry of education, although, they are aware of the difficulties. one teacher of civics in the jewish sector claims: "…i say civic education now is like entering a minefield ... another teacher from the religious-jewish sector voiced his right to express his opinion in the classroom: …i am interested in influencing them because i am not ashamed of my opinions. contrarily, i see it as a duty to shape their opinions in the direction of my opinions. minority educators might find it difficult to criticize civic education in their country. an example of such hesitation is shown in the words of a principal of a christian arab high school: "we are committed to the core of the ministry of education… you need to show wisely that there is a law and there are courts that come to protect the minorities… from the point of view of minorities, it is important to make students aware of the means that exist in their country to defend their rights. both jewish and arab teachers are aware of the difficulties in teaching civics based on ethnic identity. whereas, the jewish teachers might feel free to introduce their own ideas, arabs might voice a more accepting view of the curriculum. on the other hand, as the arab principal says, one of the goals of civic education in the case of minority students is to show that the law of the country provides opportunities to protect the rights of minority. does formal civic education in israel over time recognize differences between jews and arabs? in order to answer this question we turned to official publication of the ministry of education for jewish and arab sectors. the august 2008 official ministry of education publication marks the difference between the ministry's approach to jewish and arab sectors. the quote from the publication of the ministry shows that the duality of israeli citizens, including both jewish and arab people, is not mentioned in the directives for studying civics for the matriculation exams. the guidelines refer to the jewish content only in both sectors, as shown in the table below: 129 table of the matriculation exam instructions to the jewish and arab sectors each sector will study and do a matriculation exam on subjects of one of the clusters only for jewish school for arab and druze schools state of israel-jewish state nationality and nation-state the state of israel: different approaches the issue of the identity of israeli citizens the characteristics of the state of israel as a jewish state what is a jewish state nationality and nation-state the state of israel: a jewish nation-state the characteristics of the state of israel as a jewish state the issue of the identity of israeli citizens 1.views and approaches to the character of the state of israel 2.the state of israel and the jewish people in the diaspora 3.the status quo 4.the religious rift 1.local government in israel 2.elections in israel 3.parties in israel 4.supervision and auditing of israeli government authorities the only place in these guidelines for civic education that provides opportunities for dealing with the citizenship of arabs in israel is the nature of local government, elections and parties in israel. it is important to note that the guidelines for jewish students mention the relationship of israeli citizens with members of their ethnic group outside israel. whereas, in jewish schools the relationship to jews in the diaspora is one of the topics of learning, the nature of arab people outside of israel is not covered in the non jewish schools. we now turn to the views of teachers. the principal of an arab-christian high school, concerning the jewish and democratic issue stated that ...there are laws and courts that protect the minority. in this respect there is democracy in israel. but in everyday life you cannot reach a complete democracy between majority and minority. arab students know all about this. an arab teacher claimed that it is not always positive when the system relates equally to both sectors, the jewish and the arab: "one of our problems is the literal translation of textbook and matriculation exams into arabic... the culture of reading comprehension is different between jewish and muslim students. literal translation of text is detrimental to the success of arab students. one of the jewish teachers said that in the past special texts were written for the arab sector in the matriculation exams. it seems that there is less consideration now of different needs of the jewish and arab sectors. 130 what changes mandated by the ministry of education characterize civic education in israel over time? in the background to this question is the decision of the ministry of education to double the number of study units of civic education (2008). the goals of civic education at that time were based on the kremnitzer report (ministry of education report 1996). the kremnitzer committee was appointed in 1995 by the minister of education. the underlying principles of the kremnitzer report concern values of good citizenship and involvement in the public life of a democratic jewish state. according to kremnitzer, the aim of civic studies is: to develop the capability to analyze complex social and political issues…to analyze issues related to the tension between different human rights […], the capacity to form a founded and reasoned criticism, the capacity to take part in a civil dialogue with others holding different opinions […], and the capacity to understand, appreciate, and respect other cultures. (davidovitch & soen, 2015) civic education might focus on technical aspects of forms of government like monarchies, republican or other. extension of civic education to issues of values and principles of public life were the basis for doubling the number of study units for civic education and caused the publication of textbooks in civics. these versions of civic textbook were analyzed above. one of the changes in civic education in relation to the kremnitzer report concerns the content of teaching. one of the teachers from an arab christian school stated that in this content "… the jewishness of the state is expressed more than its democracy." the transformation of civic education from learning about technical aspects of governments to dialogues between different views raised divered responses among teachers of civics. of particular interest is the response of a teacher who belongs to the zionist-religious sector, who stated: …i am interested in long-term education and to this end i must convince and explain our jewish-political position. i have to inspire and share with my students developments in israel. all these cannot happen when teachers are dictated by materials, thus reducing the breadth and depth of my educational work. the ministry of education should rely on me and on my ideology. we relate to these changes in light of the views of teachers of civics. the different views stem from the ideological background of the school. thus, we found that arab-christian teachers object to the great weight that jewishness occupies in teaching civics in relation to lesser emphasis on the democratic aspect of the state. on the other hand, jewish teachers view their role as freedom to express their own views without letting instructional materials dictate their teaching. teachers might go so far as suggesting that the ministry of education should leave the content and process of teaching in the hand of teachers. the voices of these teachers tend to diminish the impact of formal education guidelines replacing them by teacher ideology. one of the outcomes of such an approach might be contrary to the underlying principle of civic education, namely to educate citizens who are loyal to their state, in general, not only to one sector in this state. this situation might lead to undermining the whole notion of a common state. 131 teachers who tend to introduce diverse values into the teaching of civics might tend to use teaching materials beyond the official text books. what kind of teaching modes and materials are used by civic teachers beyond the official textbooks? in response to this question, teachers expressed their desire to diversify and enrich their lessons by means of motivational media …we will always have an hour of current events in the system…this week they held a demonstration on the road to support the disabled. we invited a representation of the disabled to speak at the demonstration and was very beautiful… in the words of another teacher: …motivational activities about the jewisharab conflict through the regular meetings with their schools ... for example, at the moment with the muslim ort school… third teacher: …i encourage them to bring me news material this week ... fourth teacher: ... we invite people like the mother of a student who is a former mk orly levy abekasis ... and another human rights fighter for the eritreans… teachers might ask their students to conduct some studies concerning civic issues and submit the report of their studies as part of their final grade in civics. this teaching mode transforms the reports of the students to study material beyond the official textbook. discussion civic education in a conflicted society raises deep and meaningful problems and issues. israel is an example of a country with a majority belonging to one ethnic-religious group and a minority of about 20% of citizens belonging to another ethnic-religious group. these two groups were involved in a series of violent conflicts over many years. since the establishment of the state of israel, about 70 years ago, they live together under a common law as equal citizens. our study sought to define and exemplify how teachers of civic education of both the israeli jewish and the israeli arab sectors teach citizenship to their respective audiences. though these two sectors are fully aware of the long time conflict between them, based on their different ethnicity and religion, the common goal of all teachers in our study is to educate their students to live together. in order to reach this goal, the teachers of civics interviewed focus on the democratic processes that are part of israeli life, for instance, free elections, a common set of laws and freedom of speech. a minority of teachers interviewed voiced radical views concerning civic education and emphasized their own religious ethnicity. civic education in israel has a clear agenda of teaching good citizenship and rational involvement in the public life of a democratic jewish state (davidovich & soen, 2015). according to a special committee appointed by the minister of education in 1995 (the kremnitzer committee) one of the major goals of the aim of civic studies is to promote the capability to analyze complex especially issues related to the tension between different human rights and the capacity to understand and respect other cultures. 132 a mandatory textbook in citizenship education in common use for senior high school, analyzed by us, views the essence of israel as a jewish state. the israeli declaration of independence states clearly that it is based on the ancient history of jewish life in the middle east geographical area. it is important to note that the declaration of israeli independence (1948) emphasizes equity among all citizens with no differentiation according to race, religion or gender. these basic values are reflected in the curriculum of citizenship in israel. as mentioned above, the present day version of textbook of citizenship is centrally focused on the jewish narrative of the state. nevertheless, israeli citizens of all background are governed by an equal set of laws and enjoy the same rights. there is one exception to this situation, namely, the law of return. this law provides every jew all over the world with the right to become an israeli citizen by coming to live in israel. this automatic citizenship is not provided for all other people coming to israel to live. the moral justification for this difference between jews and non-jews is related to the century long historical injustice suffered by jews. this situation is a basis for ongoing tension between jewish and non-jewish citizens. the historical basis to civic law in israel has been shaped in the time of turkish law before world war one, and since this war during the time of the british mandate of palestine. family laws were determined by each religion that existed in palestine in that time providing ethnic and religious autonomy in this matter. this autonomy concerning family law is kept until today in israel. in multiethnic countries it is difficult to develop a curriculum in civic education. indeed, both arab and some jewish teachers note that the text in civics has to relate to the different ethnic background of jewish and arab students. the present day official arab textbook in civics is a word by word translation of the jewish textbook and does not take into consideration the different background of students. relating to the arab minority in israel in teaching citizenship requires a more balanced description of this community and its values in the textbook. conclusion teaching civic education in multi-national and multi-cultural countries presents difficulties concerning the major message of the teaching process and the creation of national identity. in israel the place allocated to the jewish component of the population as far as civic education is concerned is much greater than the place allocated to the arab population. this lack of symmetry is noticeable as well in the languages spoken in israel. many arabs speak hebrew as well as arabic whereas most jews do not speak arabic in spite of the fact that both languages are officials ones. both arab and jewish teachers who participated in our study are not satisfied with teaching civics. these teachers have different reason for their lack of satisfaction. in some cases this lack of satisfaction is caused by problems in translation from hebrew to arabic and sometimes in the nature of teaching the subject matter. it is important to note that teaching civics in israel is a dynamic theme. this process of changes is noticeable in the textbooks, as well as, in the teachers words. in spite of the long time conflict between the jewish and arab populations, they live together in a common state without violence. as the years of peace accumulate, the integration of arabs minorities into israeli society grows. the city of haifa might serve as an example of this development. citizens of haifa of different of ethnic and religious background, feel equal to each other and enjoy a common life. it is hoped 133 that this development will become the norm all over israel. it is difficult to foretell the future. still there is place for hope that as time passes and jewish and arabs states around israel will sign peace treaties with it, the peace process will strengthen. references adan, h., ashkenazi, v., & alperson, b. (2001). to be citizens in israel: jewish and democratic state. jerusalem, maalot publishing. ashkenazi, v., & alperson, b. (2016). to be citizens in israel: jewish and democratic state. jerusalem: ministry of education. circulars of the director general of the ministry of education on civic education (2008, 2009, 2014). retrieved from: http://cms.education.gov.il/educationcms/ap plications/mankal/chipuspashut/search.htm? reff_guid=%7b613b5e5e-b338-4e929096-6998632bfc1a%7d (hebrew) davidovitch, n. & soen, d. (2015). teaching civics and instilling democratic values in israeli high school students: the duality of national and universal aspects. journal of international education research, 11(1), 7-20 kremnitzer, m. ( 1996). the kremnitzer report. in davidovitch, n. & soen, d. (2015). teaching civics and instilling democratic values in israeli high school students: the duality of national and universal aspects. journal of international education research, 11(1), 7-20. lincoln, y. s., & guba, e. g. (1985). naturalistic inquiry (vol. 75). creative education, vol 6 no. 23, december 30, (2015). mayring, p. (2014). qualitative content analysis: theoretical foundation, basic procedures and software solution. klagenfurt 2014. supervision of civic education, 2008. the ministry of educations circular no. 1. jerusalem the declaration of the establishment of the state of israel (1948). retrieved from: https://www.knesset.gov.il/docs/eng/megilat_ eng.htm (6.12.2018) 19 the historical u. s. curriculum field’s sense of the past william wraga university of georgia abstract contrary to claims by curriculum historians that the historical field of curriculum development in the us was ahistorical, this analysis of curriculum writings from the period 1918 to 1964 found that, from the beginning, the us field of curriculum development manifested a persistent historical perspective. this historiographical analysis offers a view of the historical curriculum field’s perspective on the past and identifies past curriculum development initiatives that may serve as potential research topics. when in the late 1960s the us curriculum field began to become increasingly aware of its own history, the historical field of curriculum development, spanning the second through the sixth decades of the twentieth century, was characterized as having been ahistorical. subsequently, interest in the history of curriculum and curriculum development grew, resulting in, among other things, the founding in 1977 of the society for the study of curriculum history (e.g., kridel 1989; burlbaw and field 2005; burlbaw 2011). a review of literature from the historical field of curriculum development, however, reveals a somewhat different reality. in fact, from the beginning of the us curriculum field a significant number of curriculum works devoted substantive attention to the history of curriculum and of curriculum development. this historiographical study attempts to document and explain a persistent historical perspective manifest in the literature of the curriculum field in curriculum history 2018: 19-28 the us. by doing so it corrects, or qualifies, a misrepresentation of the historical field of curriculum development, offers a view of the historical curriculum field’s perspective on the past, and identifies past curriculum development initiatives that may serve as potential research topics. in perhaps the first such characterization of the curriculum field, kliebard proclaimed, “as a field of study, we have been a peculiarly ahistorical lot,” and referred to the “ahistorical posture” of the field (kliebard 1968, 69). echoing kliebard, bellack suggested that such an “ahistorical stance seems to be characteristic not only of the current crop of curriculum reformers, most of whom are university professors of academic disciplines, but also of educationists who claim curriculum building as their field of professional specialization” (bellack 1969, 283). kliebard argued that during the 1920s the curriculum field was influenced not only by nationalism, immigration, “faith in the methods of science, and a concern for the uplift of the masses,” but also “seems to have been shaped by . . . a reaction against what was believed to be a kind of education that was static, irrelevant to modern life, and nonfunctional” (kliebard 1970, 31). this “tendency to denigrate the past in favor of an enlightened and inspired present” led to, among other things, “the ahistorical posture in the field of curriculum” (kliebard 1970, 32). hazlett later documented these and other claims about the ahistorical nature of the historical curriculum field, but he took some issue with them. hazlett argued that rather, “the curriculum field is historically 20 aware” in that proposals for reform typically are responsive to current historical contexts, yet he admitted that the north american curriculum field “is ahistorical in the sense that it lacks a wellproportioned historiography” (hazlet 1979, 130). hazlett surmised that “the question of why there have not been more historical studies of curriculum making still remains” (hazlet 1979, 131). such characterizations of the field became so entrenched that as late as 1995, pinar et al. made reference to the “ahistorical posture of the traditional field” (pinar et al. 1995, 69). an examination of ten significant works from the historical field suggests that although the curriculum field may not have enjoyed a formal historiography, it did have a record not only of viewing curriculum change in historical context, but also of recounting the history of curriculum and curriculum development which, in effect, was a history of the field. granted, many classic curriculum development textbooks focused on the techniques of curriculum development at the neglect of a detailed discussion of the history of curriculum (e.g., bobbitt 1918; caswell and campbell 1935; stratemeyer, et al. 1947; smith, stanley, and shores 1950; saylor and alexander 1954)—though they did typically couch the process of curriculum development in the social context of the contemporary historical moment. and this neglect could be explained by the fact that curriculum texts were written for curriculum courses that were component parts of professional programs of study that also included foundations courses in which a historical perspective on the curriculum would be provided. nevertheless, a number of curriculum works expressly examined the history of curriculum and of processes of curriculum making. in principles of secondary education, often considered one of four founding publications of the us curriculum field (e.g., kliebard 1968, 71), inglis identified three phases in the history of secondary education in the us, described continuity but especially changes in the control, support, aims, and curriculum of secondary schools in each phase, explained curriculum changes as responses to social change, and even reproduced portions of historical documents to illustrate his historical analysis. during the latin grammar school phase of the colonial era the secondary school “was almost exclusively classical” (inglis 1918, 164). during the academy movement of the late 18th century and the first half of the 19th century the secondary school added courses to its curriculum beyond the college preparatory classical studies, including modern academic subjects and courses such as surveying and navigation, in response to changing social conditions. during the public high school phase beginning in the third decade of the 19th century and continuing into the early 20th century, academic courses continued to be offered alongside commercial courses. in the fashion of progressive historians (gaither 2003, 99), inglis used history to illuminate a current social problem as a basis for recommending reforms to a social institution. similarly, the first volume of the celebrated twenty-sixth yearbook of the national society for the study of education (whipple 1926) presented a history of curriculum-making in five chapters prepared by harold rugg in a section titled, “a century of curriculum-construction in american schools.” in his first chapter rugg established the dynamic change in american life of the previous century and maintained that, despite this change, the school curriculum, with its emphasis on academic formalism, remained “in complacent aloofness” (rugg 1926, 13). in his second chapter rugg described the curriculum of the grammar schools and the academy, explained that textbooks came to dominate the curriculum, and described how the high school largely supplanted the academy by 1890. for rugg, 21 although commercial courses were added to the high school, the curriculum remained a “patchwork” of subjects, still largely academically narrow and formalistic, and dominated by formal discipline. thus, for rugg a gap remained between the school curriculum and life. in his third chapter, rugg articulated examples of “curriculum-making via national committees” which he saw as characterizing the period 1890 to 1920 (rugg 1926, 33). by focusing on prescribing subject matter, for rugg these committees continued to maintain the gap between the school curriculum and american life. (he avoided the cardinal principles report’s efforts to relate the school to life by only discussing the crse’s subject-focused sub-committees.) in his fourth chapter rugg identified 1910 as a turning point away from the previous methods— curriculum development by textbook and by committee—which he characterized as “armchair” curriculum making, and toward a period of “scientific” curriculum making which he described as a “fact-finding era” that employed the “quantitative method” in a sort of “educational laboratory” (rugg 1926, 67, 80). he discussed studies of society and of the child as two new considerations in addition to subject matter. rugg recognized that in its extremes the “quantitative method” applied to curriculum making could be mechanistic (rugg 1926, 81). in his fifth chapter rugg distinguished between the old approach to education that “concentrates the effort of the school in exclusive preparation for adult life” and the new approach that centered “on the dynamic active growth of the child” (rugg 1926, 84). he described curriculum making in about half a dozen laboratory schools, offering in footnotes brief biographies of notable curriculum makers. inglis’s and rugg’s works demonstrate that the us curriculum field began with and was established upon an examination of the history of curriculum and of curriculum making. subsequently, curriculum scholars sustained and expanded this historical perspective. norton and norton noted that between 1915 and 1935 “not less than 35,000 courses of study were issued” (norton and norton 1936, 3). they argued that broad historical changes, such as the rise of the experimental method, acceleration of invention, increasing diversity of cultural backgrounds, the close of the frontier, and the advance of democracy in the us, presented new conditions that the schools, as well as other institutions, must face. moreover, they saw recent changes in american life, including industrialization, “extension of educational opportunity,” “expansion and revision of knowledge,” and “increase of human interdependence,” also placing the onus on the school curriculum to respond (norton and norton 1936, 9-17). although norton and norton granted that responses could be varied, the fundamental point they made was that recent curriculum change was a result of both recent and historical social changes. thus, they placed the recent curriculum development movement in a long historical view, manifesting the historical awareness that hazlett (1979) identified. similarly, the joint committee on curriculum opened its report with survey results that indicated, “organized curriculumdevelopment programs are now under way in well over seven tenths of the cities of above 25,00 population, whereas slightly less than a half and exactly a third of the school systems serving communities of 5,000 to 25,000 and below 5,000, respectively, reported such enterprises” (joint committee on curriculum 1937, 1-2). the survey found that while only about ten percent of such curriculum work predated 1929, over seventy percent began after 1932 (joint committee on curriculum 1937, 2). drawing on the nsse’s twenty-sixth yearbook, the committee recognized the growth of curriculum development 22 efforts during the first three decades of the twentieth century that led to the explosion in the 1930s of curriculum making initiatives. as the us curriculum field developed over time, so did historical accounts of it. in curriculum principles and social trends, gwynn provided a detailed historical overview of the curriculum of us schools, organized into four periods according to the respective prevailing “motive” of the curriculum. during the period 1635 to 1770 the “religious motive” guided the school curriculum, accommodating various protestant denominations as well as catholicism, with regional variations. during the period 1770 to 1860 the “political motive” guided school curriculum in which education served “the preservation of liberty and the new democratic form of government” and included the development of the common school (gwynn 1943, 10). gwynn summarized changes in patterns of course offerings, drawing from inglis (1918). according to gwynn during the period 1860 to 1920, as a response to industrialization, immigration, and enhanced transportation, the “utilitarian motive” was “brought rapidly to the front” (gwynn 1943, 17), at which time the high school became gradually accepted, the federal role in education increased, the kindergarten was introduced, and normal schools were established. to illustrate curriculum changes, gwynn reprinted courses of study from this period from high schools in chicago and new york. gwynn also discussed high profile committee efforts to reform the curriculum, beginning with the committee of ten report and concluding with the cardinal principles report. gwynn provided a table indicating courses that had been dropped from or added to the elementary and high school curriculums during this period, but observed that as enrollments expanded rapidly, especially after the turn of the century, it was all school leaders could do to construct buildings, find well-trained teachers, and secure needed finances, and thus attention to systematic curriculum development was delayed. in short, gwynn presented a long history of the american curriculum organized periodically around characteristic motives, explaining historical contexts that conditioned the curriculum, and identifying changes as well as continuities in the course of study. gwynn identified the “mass education motive” as the prevailing guide to curriculum since 1920 and devoted an entire chapter to tracing the emergence of curriculum development as a professional activity, which began in his utilitarian period and continued into the mass education period, and which he called the “modern curriculum movement” (gwynn 1943, 36, 137). drawing from rugg, gwynn organized the development of the curriculum movement since 1910 into “five stages of growth.” the “aims-and objectives stage and activity analysis” (gwynn 1943, 138) was characterized by the work of bobbitt, charters, harap, and uhl. the “survey movement in curriculum revision” (gwynn 1943, 143) included the classical investigation, the modern foreign language study, the aha commission’s work of the 1930s, the national survey of secondary education, and other projects (gwynn 1943, 138-150). the “development of the unit technique” (gwynn 1943, 150) gwynn attributed to h. c. morrison’s 1926 book and dedicated a separate chapter to it. the “systemwide curriculum revision” (gwynn 1943, 150) stage included curriculum work on the systemlevel, such as in winnetka, denver, detroit, and los angeles, and state-level curriculum work including in virginia, alabama, georgia, oregon, and california (gwynn 1943, 151-53). the “core curriculum movement and the large unit procedure, including the fusion movement” (gwynn 1943, 153) stage included core curriculum development conducted in the eight-year study and in california schools, large unit and fusion development in alabama, and fused curricula in 23 california, greenville, south carolina, and denver (gwynn 1943, 153-162). we see again in gwynn’s work a historical perspective on both curriculum and curriculum making. in curriculum improvement in public school systems, caswell and associates dedicated a chapter, titled, “the changing curriculum,” to providing a broad-brush perspective on the history of curriculum change. they traced the beginnings of the american curriculum in transplanted european models, identified franklin’s proposals for the academy as the first significant departure from european forms of education, described generally the values that served as the foundation of and found expression in education developments during the first half of the nineteenth century, and considered the implications of industrialization during the second half of the nineteenth century for education development (caswell and associates 1950, 1-8). caswell identified philosophical experimentalism and psychological connectionism as significant influences on curriculum thought, recognized the social role of the school that emerged during the early twentieth century, particularly the 1930s, and, finally, beginning in the 1930s, the influence of gestalt psychology on curriculum making (caswell and associates 1950, 8-19). miller, moyer, and patrick opened their book on planning student activities with a historical overview of the co-curriculum that referenced precedents in ancient greece and rome before examining the history of co-curricular activities in us education. drawing from a 1935 teachers college dissertation by galen jones, miller, moyer, and patrick documented the expansion of co-curricular activities that occurred during the early twentieth century. they cited 1920 as a turning point in the development of cocurricular activities, the decline of such activities in schools during the depression, and their expansion following world war ii (miller, moyer, and patrick 1956, 4-11). the association for supervision and curriculum development’s 1957 yearbook, research for curriculum improvement, devoted a chapter prepared by margaret g. mckim to “curriculum research in historical perspective,” in which mckim summarized “the trends in research in curriculum improvement over the past 50 years” (mckim 1957, 14) in three periods. mckim characterized curriculum work during the first quarter of the twentieth century as concerned with “objectivity” and “social utility” (mckim 1957, 16). major developments in research related to curriculum development during this first period included the emergence of educational psychology, the measurement movement, research focused on meeting individual differences, and on teaching and learning in school subjects. mckim saw this period as characterized by the beginning of teacher participation in curriculum making and the challenge to traditional subject matter offered by progressive education. she noted that, nevertheless, the subject organization of the curriculum prevailed and that such curriculum research sought efficiency and accepted society as it was. mckim characterized curriculum research during the great depression as concerned with “social analysis and values,” the “dynamic aspects of learning,” and expansion of the measurement movement (mckim 1957, 21). during this second period, mckim saw in the eight-year study and state curriculum development programs “increased concern with the needs of the learner in his society” (mckim 1957, 25), and also saw in the eight-year study an attempt to assess “experimental high school programs” (mckim 1957, 26). the third period, from world war ii to the mid 1950s, mckim saw as occupied “with the dynamics of human relationships—as a fundamental aspect of democracy, as an essential 24 in good teaching, as a crucial element in cooperative curriculum improvement, and as a part of the research process itself” (mckim 1957, 27). this period included recognition of the importance of interpersonal and group relationships necessitated by increased participation of teachers not only in curriculum development, but also in curriculum research. mckim considered these historical developments as the basis for new research focused on areas such as classroom dynamics, curriculum designs, and increased teacher engagement in curriculum research. in improving the quality of public school programs, mcnally and passow similarly prefaced their overview of selected school improvement efforts with a brief history of curriculum making in the us. they characterized curriculum change in us schools from the mid nineteenth to the early twentieth century as “piecemeal and haphazard” (mcnally and passow 1960, 29). they identified textbook writers as among the most influential curriculum developers during the nineteenth century, as textbooks served as the dominant source of curriculum content. they noted that by the late nineteenth century some cities were developing courses of study, and that teachers typically played little part in this work. they identified the 1890s and 1900s as a period of “curriculum making by national committees” (mcnally and passow 1960, 31). mcnally and passow provided the following summary or early curriculum making: until the close of world war i, the major influences on curriculum-making were largely outside the local school system. the national committee, the textbook writers, the college professors and university researchers, the school survey and the laboratory school personnel—all made recommendations which determined, to a greater or lesser extent, local practice. at the local level, the courses of study were prepared by a select few central office administrators or heads of departments; they decided what subjects were to be added or modified and which textbooks would be adopted and used in the classroom. in a few exceptional systems instructional committees did include classroom teachers who were either subject specialists or persons who might facilitate the use of a committee’s finished product. in most instances, a product of some kind—syllabus, guide, book, report, test—was seen as the end goal of curriculum activity. (mcnally and passow 1960, 31-32) mcnally and passow then identified world war i as a turning point in curriculum making. for mcnally and passow, three forces— viewing the “school as a whole and as a social force,” realizing from research in teaching and learning “the need for relating educational ends to educational means,” and post-world war i reevaluation of educational “tools and stock” (mcnally and passow 1960, 33)—combined to propel the emergence of comprehensive, systemwide curriculum development initiatives, which they called the “curriculum movement” (mcnally and passow 1960, 34). between the early 1920s and the mid 1930s curriculum development efforts were characterized by a comprehensive or whole school approach, expanded teacher participation, the use of committee work, a diversification of instructional materials, designated responsibility for curriculum development, and approaching curriculum improvement on a “broken front” (mcnally and passow 1960, 35-36). despite these developments, mcnally and passow recognized that in many instances curriculum making proceeded as it had for decades, unchanged. 25 finally, mcnally and passow observed that following the first two decades or so of comprehensive curriculum making “an administrative approach to curriculum building” (mcnally and passow 1960, 38) took over, comprised of an arrangement of committees emanating from the district office. then, with the recognition that “little real curriculum improvement occurs without continuous professional and personal growth of teachers, concern shifted from administrative structure to include the complexities of educating the professional staff” (mcnally and passow 1960, 38), which they implied was the approach accepted at the time of their writing. they indicated that in this approach, “it is the teachers and students who, in the last analysis, determine what the curriculum actually is” (mcnally and passow 1960, 39)— something of a far cry from the approach dominated by textbook writers and national committees of fifty years earlier. in his curriculum development textbook, ronald c. doll included a chapter titled, “historical foundations of curriculum decisionmaking.” after identifying a number of enduring curriculum issues that still obtained in the early 1960s, doll offered a brief historical overview of changes in the curriculum and in the process of curriculum change. he identified three types of education brought to north america by european colonists during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the church-state type, the parochial school type, and charity education. despite regional variations, doll noted that, “education everywhere in the colonies was designed chiefly for boys, and the chief method of learning was memorization” (doll 1964, 9). doll discussed the subsequent replacement of the latin grammar school with the academy, the spread of public schooling with westward expansion, the rise of the common school during the mid-nineteenth century, and the rise of the high school during the late nineteenth century. doll identified two dozen historical events between 1860 and 1960 that brought the public school curriculum to where it was at the time of his writing, and identified ten trends in the development of the american school curriculum. doll then provided a brief “history of the process of curriculum development,” recognizing both change and continuity in the prevalence of various approaches to curriculum making (doll 1964, 14, emphasis in original). he identified the 1920s as the period in which in which a more systematic, system-wide approach to curriculum making began to be described in the professional literature, noting, as had mcnally and passow (1960), that at that time curriculum development was an administrative function that typically gave little truck to the teacher‘s perspective. doll identified a change in the conception of curriculum since the 1920s from the course of study to “all the experiences which are offered to learners under the auspices or direction of the school” (doll 1964, 15, emphasis in original) and described nearly a dozen characteristics of contemporary curriculum making. based upon this examination of ten works published between 1918 and 1964 that provided historical overviews of curriculum and of curriculum making in the us, it seems reasonable to suggest that a historical perspective ran through the historic us curriculum field and that the contention that the field was ahistorical was premature—and ahistorical in itself. the following six findings emerge from the above review of this incipient curriculum history literature. first, these early curriculum histories offered a long view of curriculum history, identifying european origins of the american curriculum and its modifications during the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries (inglis 1918; rugg 1926; gwynn 1943; caswell and associates 1950; mcnally and passow 1960; 26 doll 1964). second, in the process, early curriculum histories offered a variety of periodizations of phases of the history of curriculum (inglis 1918; rugg 1926; gwynn 1943; doll 1964) that may be worth reexamining. third, early curriculum histories consistently contextualized both curriculum and curriculum making in broad social, economic, and professional developments, confirming hazlet’s (1979) observation. fourth, while in some cases the proffered historical perspective served to identify past practices that should be abandoned, as kliebard (1970) suggested, this was not always the case, particularly after the 1920s when the us curriculum field began to chronicle recent curriculum making activities, as discussed below. fifth, early curriculum histories attended not only to the history of the school curriculum per se, usually in terms of subjects added to and deleted from the program of studies, but also to the history of curriculum making. indeed, these early histories manifested an awareness of the “curriculum development movement” that occurred during the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s as a historical phenomenon in and of itself, and even organized twentieth century curriculum making activities into various periodization schemes (rugg 1926; gwynn 1943; ascd 1957; mcnally and passow 1960). sixth, as early curriculum histories discussed these changing emphases in curriculum making, they tended to depict the brief history of the field as one of gradual accumulation of effective curriculum development procedures, presenting previous curriculum making activities not as obsolete practices to replace, but as additions to curriculum knowledge that emerged from curriculum development practice, and as practices to build upon. early histories recognized uneven development and dissemination of such procedures and tended to state these developments as fact without touting a progress narrative. the historical field of curriculum development exhibited a persistent historical consciousness and perspective on curriculum and curriculum making, which may seem to go some way toward providing a “well-proportioned historiography” that hazlet (1979) saw lacking. or perhaps not so much. for, despite the existence of such historical accounts and perspectives, together they do not quite amount to a historiography in the formal sense of the term. these accounts were rarely, if ever, interpretive, nor did they offer a summary of previous historical accounts. when previous accounts were referenced, which in these works was rare and only of inglis and rugg, it was for informational, not explanatory, purposes. that is, there were no literature reviews, historiographical analyses, or debates over historical explanations, but rather just contextualization and accounts of past practice. this is not to say that curriculum historians cannot profit from an examination of these early histories. they certainly provide past perspectives on the curriculum past that may have been lost not just to the passage of time, but also in the interpretive cacophony of more recent curriculum history work. for example, with all of the critique of activity analysis as a mechanical expression of scientism that served social efficiency and control (e.g., franklin 1986), the consistent representation of that movement in the historical accounts of the historical curriculum field as a “scientific,” quantitative, and objective approach to curriculum making can provide a clue to its significance at the time not only as a departure from curriculum making by textbook and by committee, but also as a reflection of the progressive era method of reform, which has been overshadowed by the social efficiency-control thesis. progressive era historian richard l. mccormick described this method as follows: reformers “typically began by organizing a voluntary association, investigating a problem, gathering relevant facts, and analyzing 27 them according to the precepts of one of the newer social sciences” (mccormick 1997, 122). thus, from the perspective of the time, the “scientific” method of curriculum development championed by the likes of bobbitt, charters, and others, can be understood as reflecting the progressive era faith in social science as a promising aspect of reform. in another example, we can perhaps gain an insight into the historic field’s perspective on its past by drawing a composite periodization of curriculum making from the works consulted here. from the perspective of these works, a history of curriculum making in the us could be organized according to a chronology of: in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, curriculum making by textbook and by national committee; and subsequently in the twentieth century as curriculum making by the “quantitative” or “scientific” method (c. 1910 into the 1920s), as a comprehensive, system-wide effort (1920s), as an administrative function (1930s on), as concerned with social analysis (1930s), as concerned with dynamics of human relationships (1940s), and as curriculum development as teacher development (1940s-1950s). this periodization is similar to but also departs from and complements the chronologies of the historical field that we are accustomed to, that is, those provided by kliebard (2004) and tanner and tanner (1990). these early histories can also bring attention to past curriculum making activities that present significant topics of curriculum history research. for example, do we have good histories of the speyer school, the unit method as originated by morrison (1926), the national committee on mathematical requirements (1920-23), the modern language study (1924), the national survey of secondary education, the interest in gestalt psychology and interpersonal and group dynamics as considerations in effective curriculum development of the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s? these initiatives and others identified by this early curriculum history literature may present fruitful curriculum history research opportunities. in conclusion, despite claims by curriculum historians that the historical field of curriculum development in the us was ahistorical, this analysis of curriculum writings from the period 1918 to 1964 found that, from the beginning, the us field of curriculum development exhibited a persistent interest in and sense of the past. perhaps the persistent historical perspective on curriculum and on curriculum making manifest in the literature of the curriculum field in the us can offer useful insights into the curriculum past for curriculum historians today. references association for supervision and curriculum development. 1957. research for curriculum improvement. washington, dc: ascd/nea. bellack, a. a. 1969. history of curriculum thought and practice. review of educational research 39: 283-292. bobbitt, f. 1918. the curriculum. boston: houghton mifflin co. burlbaw, l. m., and s. l. field, ed. 2005. explorations in curriculum history. greenwich, ct: information age publishing. burlbaw, l. m., ed. 2011. a record of scholarship, 1977-2010. college station, tx: society for the study of curriculum history. caswell, h. l.., and d. s. campbell. 1935. curriculum development. ny: american book co. caswell, h.l. and associates. 1950. curriculum improvement in public school systems. ny: bureau of publications, teachers college, columbia university. doll, r. c. 1964. curriculum improvement: decision-making and process. boston: allyn and bacon. 28 franklin, b. m. 1986. building the american community. philadelphia: falmer press. gaither, m. 2003. american educational history revisited: a critique of progress. new york: teachers college press. gwynn, j. m. 1943. curriculum principles and social trends. new york: macmillan. hazlett, j. s. 1979. conceptions of curriculum history. curriculum inquiry 9:129-135. inglis, a. j. 1918. principles of secondary education. boston: houghton mifflin. joint committee on curriculum. 1937. the changing curriculum. new york: d. appletoncentury. kliebard, h. m. 1968. the curriculum field in retrospect. in technology and the curriculum, ed. p. w. f. witt, 69-84. new york: teachers college press. kliebard, h. m. 1970. persistent curriculum issues in historical perspective. in educational comment, 1970: a search for valid content for curriculum courses, ed. e. c. short, 31-41. toledo, oh: college of education, university of toledo. kliebard, h. m. 2004. the struggle for the american curriculum, 1893-1958. new york: routledge farmer. kridel, c., ed. 1989. curriculum history: conference presentations from the society for the study of curriculum history. lanham, md: university press of america. mccormick, r. l. 1997. public life in industrial america, 1877-1917. in the new american history, ed. e. foner, 107-132. philadelphia, pa: temple university press. mckim, m. g. 1957. curriculum research in historical perspective. in research for curriculum improvement, association for supervision and curriculum development, 1440. washington, dc: ascd/nea. mcnally, h. j., and a. h. passow. 1960. improving the quality of public school programs. new york: bureau of publications, teachers college, columbia university. miller, f. a., j. h. moyer, and r. b. patrick. 1956. planning student activities. englewood cliffs, nj: prentice-hall. morrison, h. c. 1926. the practice of teaching in the secondary school. chicago, il: university of chicago press. norton, j. k., and m. a. norton. 1936. foundations of curriculum building. boston: ginn and company. pinar, w. f., w. m. reynolds, p. slattery, and p. m. taubman. 1995. understanding curriculum. ny: peter lang. rugg, h. o. 1926. a century of curriculum construction. in the foundations and technique of curriculum-construction, ed. g. m. whipple, 3-116. twenty-sixth yearbook of the nsse. bloomington, il: public school publishing company. saylor, j. g., and w. m. alexander. 1954. curriculum planning for better teaching and learning. new york: rinehart & company. smith, b. o., w. o. stanley, and j. h. shores. 1950. fundamentals of curriculum development. yonkers-on-hudson, new york: world book co. stratemeyer, f. b., h. l. forkner, m. g. mckim, and associates. 1947. developing a curriculum for modern living. new york: bureau of publications, teachers college, columbia university. tanner, d., and l. tanner. 1990. history of the school curriculum. new york: macmillan. whipple, g. m., ed. 1926. the foundations and technique of curriculum-construction. twentysixth yearbook of the nsse. bloomington, il: public school publishing company. microsoft word manuscript final.docx j. f. herbart on the art of teaching: bildsamkeit and pedagogical tact christine becks (nee salmen) wissenschaftliche mitarbeiterin universität duisburg-essen abstract johann friedrich herbart (1776-1841) was a profound systematic thinker of early 19th century germany whose work on pedagogical tact and educability speaks to the history and historiography of the foundations of modern education. his uncompromising commitment to pedagogy for and with the enlightened human being informs current policy developments toward systems of accountability and standardized instruction by invigorating a humanistic view of teaching and learning grounded in enlightenment philosophy. johann friedrich herbart (1776-1841) was one of the most renowned philosophers in early 19th century germany. for many historians, his writings on pedagogy mark the beginning of education as a science. for historiography, the reception of herbart’s scholarship provides a fascinating example of how ideas are translated through time and space. the german herbartianismus of the late nineteenth century, and its american export, bear little resemblance to herbart’s original ideas (siljander, 2012). rather, each co-opted herbart’s name and authority to support curricular movements quite alien to his central concepts. given the current interest in german education and philosophy, it is thus instructive to reframe herbart’s ideas through the lens of the intellectual and political events of his day. what emerges is a more profound thinker than is represented in popular historical texts—and a benchmark for understanding the adaption and application of ideas in different socio geographic contexts. building upon the enlightenment concept of educability (bildsamkeit) herbart sought the methods necessary to promote the full and harmonious development of human powers both for the good of the individual and the benefit of the state. this was to be a process of self-formation that would lead to the creation of moral beings and rational citizens. as english (2013) explains, “selfdetermination (selbstbestimmung) is connected to the ability to critique not only one’s own thoughts and actions, but also the values and norms that govern society at large” (p. 3). central to this project was a new understating of teaching, what herbart termed pedagogical tact, that blended theoretical knowledge and practical experience into the dynamic art necessary to cultivate each child’s diverse interests and talents. it is also helpful to read herbart’s views on pedagogy against the convulsions wrought by the napoleonic wars (clark 2006). in the wake of prussia’s defeat intellectual and political leaders sought to rebuild the nation through a system of public education. social order had to rest on rational thought and cooperation through the education of an enlightened citizenry. precisely because citizens are not born but made (tröhler, 2016b, p. 284), schooling was to be organized around a common instructional plan designed to develop the knowledge, skills, and values necessary to meet civic responsibilities. a formal, politically legitimized administrative curricular structure would create and oversee curricula and teach the beliefs and values of the future german society (tröhler, 2016a, p.11). the ideal captured in the concept of bildung was the development of autonomy necessary for a free, virtuous, and reasoned mind (kinkel, 1908). the historical herbart herbart was born on 4 may 1776 in oldenburg to lucie, a “remarkable woman with a lively sense of imagination … with quick decision-making, power of will and persistence in what she wanted” (kinkel, 1908, p. 8). fusing her own intellectual curiosity with the genius of her son, she worked side by 42 side with herbart studying greek, science, and mathematics under a series of private tutors. herbart entered the city’s gymnasium at age 13 as its veritable protégé: at the age of 17, he gave a graduation address on national growth and the decline of morality. at his own graduation a year later, he spoke on the highest good and the principles of practical philosophy in cicero and kant at the age of 18 (kinkel, 1908, p. 11). the following year he published his reflections on kant’s practical philosophy. herbart also had significant musical talent: he played concerts for duke friedrich august of schleswigholstein and published numerous compositions throughout his life. these achievements together with his own unique education would inform his later three-year service as tutor to the sons of the regional governor in the swiss canton of bern. following his father’s wishes, herbart entered the university of jena in 1794 to pursue a career in the law. his mother followed him to support his studies and remained by his side over the coming years advancing his career. herbart soon gravitated to philosophy and came under the orbit of fichte, who directed his readings in kant and german idealism— a movement from which he would later turn. in addition, thanks to his mother’s social networking, frequenting local salons and literary circles, he enjoyed the company of schiller, goethe, and numerous other leading intellectuals of the day (kinkel, 1908, p. 13). from 1797 to 1800, herbart embraced his role as tutor to the steiger family. charged with the instruction of three boys, aged 8, 10, and 14, he perfected his instructional skills in what amounted to a pedagogic laboratory for his future works on education. his philosophical thought was also taking shape. by 1798, his friend böhlendorff spread the word that herbart was formulating a new system (kinkel, 1908, p. 24) and it was during this time that he met and observed pestalozzi’s classes at burgdorf. although he found pestalozzi’s psychology vague and underdeveloped, he was impressed by his efforts to develop the mind’s faculties through practical, sense-based learning within the natural environment. pestalozzi was concerned with elementary instruction while herbart’s interests lay mostly with gymnasium and university students. even so, he became an authority on pestalozzi, publishing and lecturing on his methods, culminating in his expansive 1802 text pestalozzi’s abc of senseperception. indeed, he credits reflection on pestalozzi’s concept of intuition as he a stimulus to his own mathematical view of mind (herbart, 1903). herbart focused the steiger boys’ schooling on general learning, the perfection of character, and the development of rational thought. specific skills could be acquired in later life, as needed. the classics were particularly useful for understanding human nature. in concert with the neo-classicism of the day, and the lessons of his own schooling, herbart was convinced that greek and latin were a gateway to the powerful ideas of the ancients, an invaluable resource for the growth of moral insight. in a like manner, scientific instruction began with curiosity about nature, prompting the development of reason by revealing common principles and lawful relations, not as facts but as instruments of judgment. in 1800, when his mother fell ill and his parents’ divorce was imminent, herbart relocated to the estate of a friend near bremen where he prepared for the culmination of his university studies. after a mere two years of preparation, he successfully defended his dissertation on pestalozzi 15 october 1802. based on his impressive performance, the faculty invited him to defend his 12 theses in his habilitation disputation, through which he achieved full professor status the very next day. by 1802 he lectured in göttingen and over the next six years he proved a highly popular teacher. where other professors read their texts, herbert employed an open socratic style, engaging students in the effort to get them to think for themselves. his scholarly productivity was also impressive, resulting, in addition to his main educational work, the general pedagogy (1806), important texts in philosophy that earned him the reputation as one of germany most promising scholars. although initially happy in göttingen, herbart’s situation changed in 1808 when the 43 conquering french authorities imposed draconian rules on the university. the unexpected offer of a professorship at the university of königsberg arrived at the right moment. that fall he was appointed to the chair of philosophy previously held by kant. a condition of his appointment was the establishment of a teacher training seminar. this was just the expertise prussian authorities needed to rebuild the country after its defeat to napoleon. indeed, the following year he was drafted into the government department charged with establishing a national system of schooling. under the leadership of wilhelm von humboldt, he worked on the curriculum of secondary education, emphasizing the need to guide future teachers in the kind of practical experience he had enjoyed as tutor to the steiger children. he and humboldt shared a commitment to the classics, the political importance of individuality, and the educational ideal of bildung. in 1810 the didaktisches institut was founded. a few talented students were required to work privately with pupils through the week before demonstrating their perfected lessons to herbart and the group. this smallscale experiment continued until the end of the napoleonic wars, when funds were made available to establish a boarding school adjacent to the university. opened in 1818, the pädagogisches seminar was intended as model for future normal schools suitable for the preparation of gymnasium teachers (kenklies, 2012, p. 270). but waning government interest in educational reform undercut herbart’s grand plans of exporting his pedagogic ideas to the country. ultimately, his academic work faced a similar fate. for while herbart’s production of scholarly works was unmatched, his overarching goal of formulating an empirical psychology based on the principles of mathematics gained few adherents. thus, while he published introductory textbook of philosophy (1813), textbook of psychology (1816), psychology as a science (1824/1825), general metaphysics (1828/1829) and the concise encyclopedia of philosophy (1831) during his years in königsberg, he failed to secure the prestigious chair of philosophy at the university of berlin vacated after hegel’s death. disappointed, herbart returned to göttingen in 1833 as dean of the faculty of philosophy. here in the in the final years of his life he published a systematic, compact overview of pedagogy, the outlines of educational doctrine (1835). after suffering two strokes, he died on 13 august 1841 age 64 (dollinger, 2011). the reception of herbart’s educational ideas was intimately related to his professional reputation. staying true to his theorized conception of pedagogical knowledge, he understood that teaching philosophy as a tool for understanding the world and focused on the intellectual development of his students rather than the transmission of set views on knowledge (kinkel, 1908, p. 33). when he left königsberg for göttingen in 1833, he received many accolades. but above all, for colleagues and students alike, he was a true child of rationalism with an incorruptible commitment to truth and rational thought (p. 48). these ideals live on in his written works, finding their clearest expression in his first lecture of pedagogy (herbart, 1802/1986), and his later 1806 treatise general pedagogy derived from the purpose of education. by the age of 28 herbart had woven ethical and psychological ideas about human nature and the social good into a comprehensive and practical theory of education. while the entire orbit of this expansive system is beyond the reach of this paper, two of herbart’s central concepts serve to capture the spirit of his thought and its enduring value for educators of the present day: pedagogical tact and individuality. herbart’s science of education in part, the influence and authority of herbart’s educational thought flowed from his larger reputation as a systematic thinker the fields of philosophy and psychology. as kim (2015) explains, herbart’s “interpretation of space had an important influence on helmholtz’s empirical theory of vision, and on natorp’s ‘logicization’ of kantian spatiotemporal intuition. herbart’s arguments against psychological faculties were taken over by wundt, and his notions of the limen and the 44 ‘subconscious’ were fundamental to freud’s psychoanalytic theory. in philosophy, herbart anticipated key ideas of phenomenology.” indeed, drawing upon these wider ideas he sought to establish education as an independent science grounded in the laws of mind. following the example of newton, herbart’s goal was to establish a mathematical science of the mind. just as the physical world was governed by measurable forces, mental states and their intersections could be quantified to explain the development of the cognitive structures. what he termed the apperceptive mass served as the mechanism of thought. in contrast to faculty psychology, herbart argued that mental powers were formed in the course of experience. this constructive process was the result of the struggle to create meaning through the subject’s interactions with the external world. ultimately, herbart’s central argument was that the active mind within had to perfect itself into the free, rational, and autonomous moral agent and teachers could help bring about this development by facilitating educative experiences. the role of pedagogy was thus to expand and strengthen the apperceptive mass that constituted the student’s horizons, their circle of thought (gesichtskreis). this meant assimilating new content into a pre-existing mental structure and thereby continuously forming it. interest had to be engaged, properties understood, and new objects of knowledge integrated into the cognitive whole under a common set of rules and principles. herbart’s efforts to form a science of education must be read against enlightenment conceptions of human nature and knowledge. rather than imposing truth and goodness from without, he followed kant in developing understanding and character from within. comenius’ great didactic (1910) drew upon the child’s everyday experiences in order to teach fixed truths about god’s creation so that all would understand their religious duties. the german enlightenment reversed this project. the internal powers of mind were to be developed so the individual could form their own rational judgments about the world and their conduct within it. through the aesthetic representation of the world, human judgment is to be formed by exemplary representations of the world through which students learn modes of understanding world as such, the modi des weltverstehens (sivesind & luimes, 2017, p.21) for herbart, education was about "what students should become" (sivesind & luimes, 2017, p.24) rather than what they should know. human self-formation had to be at the forefront of the teacher’s mind and instruction transforms content into knowledge of the world, i.e. turning subject matter into meaning, as hopmann (2007) explains: “any given matter can represent many different meanings, and any given meaning can be opened up by many different matters” (p. 116). consider, for example, a flower. once plucked and in the classroom, it is no longer what it is in the world, yet it offers pathways into poetry about flowers, films, or the chemistry behind photosynthesis. how the content is approached and to what educative end-in-view it is used is entirely a matter of didaktik and pedagogical tact. the essential art of teaching rests on utilizing, as hopmann (2007) pinpoints, “different approaches to one and the same subject matter based on the different possibilities to unfold an educative meaning for different learners“ (p.117). professional autonomy is captured in the very act of choosing and sequencing content, and it calls for experience-based judgment and flexible decision-making. in the modern german tradition, this process is known as didaktik (see figure 1). 45 figure 1: didaktik model of teaching in the context of schooling, figure by author. pedagogical tact addressing university students on the nature of pedagogy as a discipline in his first lecture of pedagogy (1802), herbart introduces the concept of tact, an idea similar to the greek notion of phronesis. his goal is to unite theory (episteme) and practice (techne) by demonstrating that teaching must be understood as an art informed by science. like phronesis, tact is a power of mind and character that permits the individual to make rapid, creative, intelligent, and informed judgments in infinitely diverse contexts. pedagogical tact thus stands opposed to any technocratic manual of actions. what herbart offers the future teacher is not a skillset, but a humanistic ideal, something to aspire to and create within themselves. this clearly parallels his distinction between education and teaching, i.e. the transmission of knowledge. only the educated teacher can hope to foster the pedagogic ideal of bildung. herbart’s argument begins with a distinction between the theory and art of education. theory is an organized set of axioms and principles; art a set of means-end skills brought together for some practical purpose. one is a product of philosophical thought, the other requires immediate action (herbart, 1802/1986, p. 55). theory provides knowledge of the universal at the expense of the particular; grounded in the particular, practice is effective yet circumscribed and routine. one can almost hear a kantian maxim; theory without practice is empty, practice without theory is blind. in specific conditions, an effective art might be discovered through “accident, through empathy, or indeed parental love,” but an expert educator must “know how to treat each temper, each disposition and each age differently” (herbart, 1802/1986, 55). educational theory provides such insights, deepens knowledge and broadens perspectives, yet, it cannot operate effectively unless it is applied to the concrete conditions of the learning situation. this demands a unique form of thought that “occupies the place that theory leaves vacant, and so becomes the immediate director of practice” (herbart, 1903, p. 20). students were to realize their innate potential through a sequence of multiple, different, and intellectually inspiring tasks that would help them perfect their inner abilities and talents. each person had to create their own nature. teachers could aid and prompt students, but it was up to the individual to realize their own potential. pedagogic tact enabled the teacher to choose the most appropriate material for the student to engage with. it included an assessing each student’s readiness and learning horizons based upon knowledge about their background, progress, and ability. each educational experience had to be dovetailed for the specific learning situation. this complex, multifaceted challenge is what qualifies teaching as a profession. the appraisal of a teacher hinges on how tact emerges within that person and whether the person remains truthful to the laws that science provides. tact forms “through deliberation, thinking, inquiry” (herbart, 1806/1986, p. 57) whereas teachers prepare themselves—not individual future actions, but their art of teaching on a whole—through science. it further needs ingenuity to do what each situation requires, because each action is only relevant to the degree that it contributes to the enterprise of pedagogy (herbart, 1806/1986, p. 58). the important point was to provide the tools necessary for this intellectual construct. it is by reflection, reasoning, inquiry, in short, by science, [that] the educator must prepare not his future action in individual cases so much as himself, his tone of mind, his head as well as his heart, for correctly receiving, apperceiving, feeling, and judging the phenomena awaiting him and the situation in which he may be placed. (herbart, 1903, p. 21) “only in action,” he continues, do we learn the art and acquire tact, 46 aptness, quickness, dexterity; but even in action only he learns the art who has in previous thinking learned the science; has made it his own; by it has attuned himself; has predetermined the impressions to be made upon him by future experience. (herbart, 1903, p. 22) by itself, theory could not produce “an infallible master of the educator’s art” (herbart, 1903, p. 22). but it can teach how to learn from pedagogic successes and failures. armed with an appreciation of the moral ends of education and the psychological principles governing learning and development, theory empowers the reflective educator to analyze, assess, and methodize their practice in increasingly powerful ways. the parallel with moral autonomy is instructive. the virtuous person, herbart insists, is not one who mechanically obeys conventions but, through the “long, attentive, and impartial contemplation of human relations to himself and to all that surrounds him” (herbart, 1903, p. 26). has developed a principled understanding of the moral order: this tact, which impels the man of character to swift and resolute action, is especially needed also by the educator, in order that he may know on the spot what is to be done and do it rightly and with energy. if an educator lacks this tact his personality will not have weight; never will he prevail by authority. (herbart, 1903, p. 26) this is a telling insight for those who would challenge the professional standing of the teacher. the lecture concludes on the notion that forming tact relates to a way of pedagogical thinking (pädagogische sinnesart) that is unique to pedagogy and the teacher, a way of seeing the world, so to speak. it emerges from the balance of theory and practice, and it contributes to the debate of education theory and education practice that has been “an integral part of development of education science in the 18th century” (kenklies, 2012, p. 265) and to this day. his contribution to this debate is what makes herbart an “iconic author of german education science” (kenklies, 2012, p. 265), no less because he distinctly argues against education practice void of any theory. herbart demands that teachers “realize their own horizons and the dependency on their own thoughts and practices … by acknowledging the existence of other ways of educating (kenklies, 2012, p. 270). this is what others coined restraint in teaching (hopmann, 2007; westbury, 2000): education theory generates awareness that protects teachers against the jogtrot and it tasks them as much as the student to exhibit morality in acting as moral persons. autonomy as foundation of the teaching profession and the enlightened human being is the expression of such morality (kenklies, 2012, p. 271). herbart’s lecture remains a foundational reading to this because it speaks to core understandings of what it means to teach for the purpose of education (bildung); it continues to be at the core of what future teachers read at universities and in programs that follow the didaktik tradition. keeping the concern for the learner’s growth at the forefront of each consideration, tact informs “the agile teacher’s action towards wise, situational judgment“ (english, 2013, p. 49). as such, it is improvisational yet grounded in education theory and it gives productive meaning to teachable, golden moments that emerge from a teacher’s creative, ingenious reaction to a situation (english, 2013, p. 51). in that way, the teacher develops the “educated conscience of pedagogical responsibility” (english, 2013, p. 52), a specific way of pedagogical thinking that knows about the limits of teaching, as herbart taught his students: “world and nature do more for the student than education may pride itself on.” (herbart, 1802/1986, p. 58) individuality herbart’s general pedagogy opens with that paradox at the center of his theory; how to educate another for self-determination. as english summarizes, herbart unpacks the 47 paradox of educating for self-determination through determination-by-another through “developing and listening closely to their own inner self-critical voice.” (english, 2013, p. 48). reflective practice tasks teachers with questioning their judgments and with forming an inner censor that knows about the limits of teaching. developing individual potential not only promotes personal happiness and wellbeing, but it also serves the diverse needs of the modern state. with these strictures in mind, herbart repeatedly warns about the consequences of not allowing character to form in its own way and against authoritative schooling that asks students to replicate their teachers as “small children treat their dolls the way they are treated themselves” (herbart, 1806/1986, p. 76). he also opposes overeducation. he calls for restraint, for abstaining from everything that is expendable: no breaking the child’s will, no dominating its mood or disturbing its cheerfulness. the teacher must not “cripple the action of the future man” (p. 84) but instead develop the student’s ability to think for themselves rather than serving the needs and interests of others. developing pedagogical tact necessitates the same self-formation in the teacher that herbart advocates for students. “what a teacher strives towards depends on his horizon” (herbart, 1806/1986, p. 71), so developing and forming this horizon is essential to becoming a teacher. as a role model, they “seriously and purposefully engage with a student with work that meets (the student’s) interest and against which all games become petty (…) and disappear.” (p. 72) given the complexity of these tasks, herbart’s standard for teachers is high. as role models, they must exemplify what guides their students. only a teacher who can demonstrate the role of self-reflection in the government of their thought and behavior is equipped to lead students and to “cultivate the inner struggle for selfeducation and selfgrowth” (english, 2013, p. 184). no profession could be more important to personal and national progress. “comfortable excuses” (p. 74) about the teacher’s ability or the student’s intelligence cannot be tolerated. “the residue of pedagogical experiments are the mistakes of the student as a man” (p. 74). herbart’s ideas of pedagogy offered a radically new understanding of the relationship between theory and practice, an exciting agenda for practical research, and a powerful justification for the authority of the teacher. these powerful insights proved central to the development of the german educational thought. as kenklies (2012) summarizes, in the didaktik tradition, pedagogical tact is what enlightens education practice through its theory and in doing so, strengthens the teaching profession as a reflective practice that theorizes itself. it accepts the categorical difference between theory and practice and offers a better understanding of both. (p. 274) herbart also remains iconic for his demand that teachers “realize their own horizons and the dependency on their own thoughts and practices . . . by acknowledging the existence of other ways of educating (kenklies, 2012, p. 270). this call for open mindedness has been identified as the imperative of restraint in teaching (hopmann, 2007; westbury, 2000); the recognition that educational theory protects teachers against routine, tasking them—as much as the student—to exhibit intelligence and creativity in their work. the teaching profession must model the autonomy the enlightened reason (kenklies, 2012, p. 271). above all, herbart’s writings remain foundational because they speak to the core understanding of what it means to educate for bildung and employ pedagogic tact to inform theoretically grounded, wise action in diverse learning situations. travelling ideas: the german herbartianismus and its united states export thirty years after herbart’s death in 1841, tuiskon ziller (1817-1882), chair of pedagogy at the university of leipzig, and wilhelm rein (1847-1929), who held a similar position to ziller at the university of jena, 48 spearheaded the german herbartian movement (herbartianismus) determined to improve public education through the employment of scientifically informed instruction. by that time, herbart’s metaphysical and psychological theories had been discredited and replaced by positivistic and experimental studies of sensory and cognitive processing. even his basic goal of moral development was easily ignored. however, his herbartianism had a very different tenor to its namesake. where herbart looked to the preparation of university students for the gymnasium, ziller—responding to the social, economic, political realities of the late nineteenth century—sought the improvement of the population through standardized instruction in the elementary school. his chief insight, in line with herbart’s teachings, was that this could best be achieved through a general education that enriches the child’s circle of thought. wilhelm rein also led the way in producing the materials for this extensive curricular reformation. he aformulated what was to be the most enduring feature of the herbartianist movement, the fivepoint lesson plan—preparation, presentation, association, generalization, and application. herbart’s structures on the formation of the apperceptive mass were thus turned into a series of technocratic steps indicating how external content can be imparted into the student’s mind. ziller and rein’s work spread internationally, most notably to the united states where it dominated educational thought for more than a decade. its introduction can be traced to edmund j. james who returned to illinois state normal university in 1875 with his doctorate from jena after studying in berlin, leipzig and halle. in the following years, a number of his students—including charles degarmo, charles and frank mcmurry— traveled to study under rein (oelkers, 1989). the program in jena included a theoretikum with lectures on ethics, psychology, the pedagogical horizon, subject-matter, and cultural-historical steps of teaching. the praktikum offered hands-on practice with teaching units and the kritikum discussed observed lessons. upon their return they quickly popularized these central concepts, stimulating a flood of curricular materials for american schools. framed by degarmo’s essentials of method (1889) and mcmurry’s elements of general method (1892), the movement quickly gained momentum. by 1895, with the support of prominent reformers such as john dewey and nicholas murrey butler, the national herbart society was born. but the high tide of herbartianism soon receded. many, such as dewey, who had aligned themselves with the cause in opposition to traditional views of instruction found the core ideas of cultural epochs ill-formed and out of phase with developments in child psychology. herbart’s notion of the apperceptive mass was particularly problematic. but if these elements rapidly dropped out of curriculum theorizing, the herbartian emphasis on logical organization of content became a mainstay of efficiency era planning. the five-step lesson plan was an ideal means to regulate what and how teachers taught. what had started as pedagogical tact eventually evolved into an instrument of technocratic control (dunkel, 1970). herbartianismus had initially dovetailed with the positivistic thought and the zeitgeist for the natural sciences (dunkel, 1970, p. 82) but forty years later, it faced the same accusations originally levelled against the original herbart. its teachings were called old, speculative, dilletante, and obsolete. like the original, herbartianismus was attacked for being too focused on individuals at the expense of societal rules. it was charged with being too moralistic, too intellectual, and incompatible with the emerging personality research and social pedagogy of the 1920s. moreover, as herbart’s psychology was attacked as being too speculative, so the herbartians’ view of mind and learning was discredited by advances in experimental psychology. in 1908, while rein describes their paradigm as bendable and preceptive, less a theory and more theorems and tenets, the “ruinous debate was already ongoing” (oelkers, 1989, p. 82). notwithstanding its broad success in germany, german herbartianismus had vanished by 1926. its rise and disappearance 49 are a story of a paradigm shift from initial optimism to the same cries of crisis that had secured its rise. indeed, it fell before the same criticisms that were levelled against herbart. its teachings were characterized as speculative, dilletante, and obsolete. like the original, it was attacked for being too focused on individuals at the expense of societal rules. it was charged with being too moralistic, too intellectual, and incompatible with the emerging methods of psychological research (oelkers, 1989). a standard claim is that german herbartianismus misconstrued its master. oelkers’ (1989) more plausible thesis is that herbart’s initial work was adapted to the changing times and the needs of the day. but what might have been feasible for building the foundations of public schooling was unfit for the purpose of teacher education in the present day. german and american herbartianism teach valuable lessons about the translation of ideas through time and place. both have little to do with herbart’s writings and his pedagogical thought. it was easy to distort his arguments and interpret his pedagogical insights through the lens of current concerns. a more valuable project, perhaps, is to reconstruct herbart’s thought in its original context to reclaim his conceptually powerful philosophy of education. a renaissance: herbart’s education philosophy for education reform interest in german-speaking philosophy of education, and particularly in herbart’s work, is high and rising. his contributions to pedagogic thought have been rediscovered by a new generation of scholars seeking alternatives to currently prevalent views on teaching and learning (banks, 2005, p. 208; hopmann, 2009; kim, 2015). this renaissance reinvigorates an earlier peak of interest in the 1980s (metz, 1995) and validates the import of his ideas for contemporary discussions about the future of public schooling. in search for alternatives to the american accountability paradigm of the past 20 years, debates about transitioning from narrow accountability toward a more humanistic vision of public schooling are ongoing. equity and excellence had been the pillars of education reform before the no child left behind act (nclb) (2001) shifted this balance in favor of excellence. in doing so, it disregarded the original policy intent of the 1965 elementary and secondary education act (mathis & trujillo, 2016, p. 6) and even though the every student succeeds act (2015) is less narrowly constructed and less punitive, it replicates the nclb accountability paradigm in which equity remains a mere means to excellence’s end. herbart’s pedagogy as a science places the teaching in the hands of experienced practitioners. pedagogical tact is their intellectual ability to identify a case of something is situational judgment based on experience and theory alike, both informing pedagogical action (hopmann, 2009). in that sense, herbart is practical without being technocratic and firm on educability as the grounding on which teaching for morality and rationality rests. competing purposes of education are constitutive to education as a field and a practice, not a problem to be solved (labaree, 2017), and herbart’s pedagogical tact accepts dissonances as a precondition for creating educative experiences. herbart’s philosophy of education of herbart’s life can teach teachers to think situationally in their pedagogical practice, and there is a desperate need of thoughtful teachers (english, 2013, p. 158) given the scholarly debate of public schooling in both the united states and german-speaking and nordic europe. the history of educational thought that formed the first systems of public schooling might provide an inspiration for finding alternatives to the “what works” paradigm that commands technocratic structures and so called achievement tests. how to assure the quality of public schooling remains open for debate; herbart’s work offers insight into the art of teaching that carries wisdom and power to transform social interaction into teachable, golden moments. it makes the profession interesting and worthy, engages educators and students alike, and focuses on each of their own 50 self-formation processes. herbart's work informs scholars of education history and historiography that seek to understand the foundations of modern german-speaking and nordic education. scholars interested in education reform find inspiration and clarity in herbart's uncompromising commitment to pedagogy for and together with the enlightened human being. it foregrounds situational judgment and experiential understanding of schooling. it affirms that the world as we experience is the real world. that calls upon education to capitalize on people and education as a reflective practice that readily meets its responsibility for each student as an individual. this is particularly relevant in view of the current policy developments in the german-speaking world that move away from the roots of didaktik and toward systems of accountability reminiscent of the past 40 years of american education policy. references banks, e. c. (2005). kant, herbart und riemann. kant-studien; philosophische zeitschrift, 96(2), 208-234. https://uaccess.univie.ac.at/login?url=https: //www-proquestcom.uaccess. univie.ac.at /scholarly-journals/kant-herbartriemann1/ docview/229392439/se2?accountid=14682 clark, c. (2006). iron kingdom: the rise and downfall of prussia 1600-1947. penguin. comenius, j. a. & keatinge, m. w. (1910). the great didactic: of john amos comenius. london: a. and c. black. dollinger, b. (2011). klassiker der pädagogik. vs verlag für sozialwissenschaften. dunkel, h. b. (1970). herbart and the herbartians: an educational ghost story. university of chicago press . english, a. r. (2011). critical listening and the dialogic aspect of moral education: j. f. herbart’s concept of the teacher as moral guide. educational theory, 61(2), 171-189. english, a. r. (2013). discontinuity in learning. dewey, herbart, and education as transformation. cambridge university press. herbart, j. f. (1903). pestalozzi’s a b c of sense-perception: and minor pedagogical works. d. appleton. herbart, j. f. (1802/1986). die erste vorlesung über pädagogik. in: benner, d. & schmied kowarzik, w. (eds.). johann friedrich herbart. systematische pädagogik. klettcotta. (english title: the first lecture of pedagogy) herbart, j. f. (1806/1986). allgemeine pädagogik aus dem zweck der erziehung abgeleitet. in: benner, d. & schmiedkowarzik, w. (eds.). johann friedrich herbart. systematische pädagogik. klettcotta. (english title: general pedagogy derived from the purpose of education) herbart, j. f. (1895). the science of education: its general principles deduced from its aim and the aesthetic revelation of the world. dc heath & company. hopmann, s. t. (2007). restrained teaching: the common core of didaktik. european educational research journal, 6(2), 109-124. doi: 10.2304/eerj.2007.6.2.109 hopmann, s. t. (2009). mind the gap: dewey on educational bridge-building. journal of curriculum studies, 41(1), 7-11. https://doi.org/10.1080/002202708021721 09 kenklies, k. (2012). educational theory as topological rhetoric: the concepts of pedagogy of johann friedrich herbart and friedrich schleiermacher. studies in philosophy and education, 31, 265-273. doi 10.1007/s11217-012-9287-6 kim, a. (2015). johann friedrich herbart. the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. edward n. zalta (ed.). https://plato. stanford.edu/archives/win2015/entries/joha nn-herbart/ kinkel, w. (1908). johann friedrich herbart. sein leben und seine philosophie. j. ricker’sche verlagsbuchhandlung giessen. labaree, d. (2017). futures of the field of education. in: g. whitty & j. furlong (eds.). knowledge and the study of education. oxford 51 studies in comparative education. mathis, w.j., trujillo & t.m. (2016). lessons from nclb for the every student succeeds act. boulder, co: national education policy center. http://nepc.colorado. edu/publication/lessons-from-nclb oelkers, j. (1989). das ende des herbartianismus. überlegungen zu einem fallbeispiel der pädagogischen wissenschaftsgeschichte. in: p. zedler, e. könig (hrsg). rekonstruktionen pädagogischer wissenschaftsgeschichte (77-116). weinheim. siljander, p. (2012). educability and bildung in herbart's theory of education. in: siljander, p., kivelä, a. & sutinen, a. (eds.), theories of bildung and growth (87-105). sensepublishers, rotterdam. sivesind, k. & luimes, m. (2017). didaktik and curriculum studies. a european perspective. in: l, j. chi-kin & kennedy, k. j. (eds.). theorizing teaching and learning in asia and europe. routledge. tröhler d, popkewitz t.s. & labaree, d. f. (eds). (2011). schooling and the making of citizens in the long 19th century: comparative visions. new york: routledge. tröhler, d. (2016a). curriculum history in europe: a historiographic added value. nordic journal of educational history, 3(1), 3-24. tröhler, d. (2016b). curriculum history or the educational construction of europe in the long nineteenth century. european educational research journal, 15(3), 279297. doi: 10.11177/1474904116645111 westbury, i., hopmann, s. & riquarts, k. (eds). (2000). teaching as a reflective practice. the german didaktik tradition. routledge. manuscript received, march 9, 2022 revision received, august 28, 2022 manuscript accepted, august 29, 2022 adolescence and guidance in the early comprehensive high school: an analysis of the works of milo h. stuart, 1917-1931 kyle steele joshua garrison university of wisconsin oshkosh abstract milo stuart rose to national prominence as a high school principal, lecturer, and author. in 1916, he was chosen to serve on the nea committee that produced the influential cardinal principles report (1918). his subsequent works were firmly rooted in his position as a practitioner-author and reveal his ideas about adolescence and guidance, as well as his commitment to developing schools that prepared all young people for their roles in increasingly complex, urban-industrial communities. background and stuart’s influence the child of quakers, milo h. stuart was born in 1871 in hamilton county, indiana, just outside of sheridan and forty miles north of indianapolis. tall and slender (one friend referred to him as the “hoosier sycamore”) he was a precocious and hardworking student, known for his public speaking ability and, in the words of a memorial booklet published upon his death, an “insatiable desire to learn.” stuart began his career as an educator when he was just a teenager. he worked for schools in and around sheridan while a high school student and, too, as an undergraduate at the university of indiana. following his years in bloomington, where he graduated phi beta kappa in 1898, he studied botany for a year at the university of chicago (arsenal 1940, 11-12). stuart then embarked on his remarkable thirty-year career in administration, which has been largely unexamined by historians of education. he took over as principal of sheridan high school in 1899 and was chosen superintendent of all sheridan public schools the same year—just shy of his thirtieth birthday. in 1900, having caught the attention of school leaders in indianapolis, he was hired to teach botany at the manual training high school, which had opened as the city’s second high school in 1895. stuart left for two short years to serve as principal of the cleveland grade and high school in st. paul, minnesota, but returned to manual as an assistant principal in 1909 and was promoted to principal in 1910 (faculty and students 1940, 14-15). while at manual, stuart presided over a nationally renowned program in manual and industrial education, which, in the words of the school’s motto, offered its pupils an “education of mind, hand, and heart” (griffin 1969, 6). situated on indianapolis’ more working-class south side, manual initially stood in contrast to shortridge high school, indianapolis’ first high school (founded in 1864), which was located on the more affluent north side. at shortridge, pupils engaged with a decidedly narrower and more academic curriculum (gaus 1985, 25-30). historians such as kliebard (1999) and engs (1999) have documented well the national rise of manual education in this period, making clear that it was often framed by its proponents as more suitable for the children of the working class, as well as black and indigenous students. in this regard, indianapolis, with its clear northsouth curricular division, was more similar than different. owing to sheer demand, the indianapolis school board decided to open a third public high school in 1912, and they chose stuart to lead it. the new school, eventually named arsenal technical high school, or tech for short, was notable for two reasons, both of which made it novel in indianapolis but emblematic of prevailing national trends regarding the urban public high school. first, tech was massive. it was situated on a former united states arsenal (operational from 1863 to 1902), and had also been used as the winona technical institute 26 from 1903 to 1911 (faculty and students 1940, 26). as such, the beautifully wooded, seventysix-acre campus was already outfitted with multiple classroom buildings, a quadrangle, a library, and a cafeteria. in a few years’ time, tech was the largest high school in the city and, by 1925, educated over 5,000 students per year (stuart 1926, 4). second, tech was comprehensive in organization. as was the case with a growing number of large urban high schools, stuart and his staff offered more paths to graduation than ever before. some, for the college bound, were academic; others, for those who planned to immediately enter the workforce whether they graduated or not, were vocational. by the mid 1920s, this meant that tech, on a single campus, provided training for higher education and jobs in the areas of “automobile construction, machine shop work, sheet metal work, foundry, plumbing, pattern making, cabinet making, carpentry, electrical construction, agriculture, home economics, printing, drafting, and commercial art” (stuart 1926, vi-vii). no matter a student’s likely path or interests, stuart and tech provided options. even early in his tenure as head of tech, stuart spoke and wrote often about his work leading a cutting-edge comprehensive high school. as a marker of his standing professionally, he was chosen in 1916 to serve as a member on the committee of the national education association (nea) that would produce the cardinal principles of secondary education report, released in 1918. historians have aptly characterized the influential cardinal principles report as a direct repudiation of the nea’s 1892 report of the committee of ten (reese 2011; kliebard 1995). the latter, led by then-president of harvard charles eliot, argued that high schools should provide a college preparatory curriculum for all students, no matter their plans after high school. the former, led by clarence kingsley, a retired high school educator, claimed that “college prep for all” was elitist, undemocratic, and, all told, a waste of time and money (mirel, 2006). instead, the report argued, america needed more high schools like tech and more high school leaders like stuart. students needed a training in service of the seven objectives it listed: “health,” “command of fundamental processes,” “worthy home membership,” “vocation,” “citizenship,” “worthy use of leisure,” and “ethical character” (commission 1918, 10-11). during and after his work on the cardinal principles report, stuart continued to lead tech and to write extensively about high school leadership and organization. for the purposes of this essay, two of his books and two essays, written in a fourteen-year span, provide the opportunity for an analysis of his ideas about adolescence and guidance in the comprehensive high school, as well as the school’s role in an urban, industrial community: “the manualtraining high school” (1917), the organization of a comprehensive high school (1926), “the problem of the ninth year” (1927), and guidance at work (1931). these texts demonstrate the import of the cardinal principles report on stuart’s career, but each is tinged with the urgency and pragmatism of a school leader rooted in a community and in the throes of day-to-day operations and decisionmaking. they offer, therefore, a unique window into the ways in which national curricular trends—watersheds like the cardinal principles report—were developed over time, and how they found life in the minds of school leaders and in the halls of american public high schools, an enduring challenge for historians of education (cuban 1984; cohen 1990; tyack and cuban 1995). while stuart was an active school administrator during this period of publishing, it is worth noting, too, that his influence extended well beyond these texts and his control over arsenal technical high school. like many other administrators of his time, he found regular opportunity to discuss and disseminate his ideas. he was, among many roles in professional organizations, the president of the north central association of high schools and colleges (1922-1923), president of the secondary school principals in the nea (19291930), and president of the indiana state 27 teachers’ association (1930-1931). in his time away from tech during the summers, stuart taught courses for the university of california, the university of michigan, and columbia university. shortly before his death in 1933, moreover, he served at the request of president hoover on a white house committee on vocational education (faculty and students 1940, 8-9). in an era of remarkable growth of the comprehensive high school, stuart was among its leading voices and staunchest champions. a note on race while stuart’s ideas about the comprehensive high school merit investigation, his reticence on race is notable, especially because the secondary schools in indianapolis were subject to a segregation order during the period under study. as jackson (2000), pierce (2005) and thornbrough (1993) have explained, the high schools in indianapolis had been integrated since their beginnings in the nineteenth century. as the number of black students interested in pursuing secondary education rose in the early twentieth century, however, several civic groups—the chamber of commerce and federation of civic clubs, of note—began pressuring the school board to segregate the system. in 1922, with hundreds of black students enrolled in the city’s high schools, the board acquiesced. it took several years before the new segregated school was built, but in 1927 (under the direction of a school board backed publicly by the ku klux klan) the all-black crispus attucks high school welcomed its first students. for stuart, this remarkable change in service of a segregated and racist school system meant, in practical terms, that black students he led as principal were moved from tech to crispus attucks under his watch. as this process played out, a period in which stuart published regularly, he wrote next to nothing about the role of race in the high school. in line with his administrative peers nationally, he conceded on occasion that the comprehensive high school had to take account of all students. in one illustrative example, he wrote that “a public secondary school has no choice but to meet the interests, the abilities, and the economic necessities of its every individual student, be he dull, normal, or brilliant, and irrespective of his social position, wealth, creed, or race” (stuart 1926, 3). stuart’s thoughts and actions as a school leader and reformer, then, reflected the maintenance of the existing racial order of his time, both in indianapolis and much of the nation. his stated position on race, or lack thereof, reflects tyack’s (1974) observation that “[u]rban schools did not create the injustices of american urban life, although they had a systematic part in perpetuating them” (12). “occupational civics” and the new industrial order chief among the cardinal principles’ concerns was how to reorganize the secondary school and its curriculum in order to prepare youth to be responsible and productive members of a new urban-industrial order. the factory and its machines required a new sort of specialized worker, while the city and its temptations threatened to upend traditional american systems of social control. “these changes in american life call for extensive modifications in secondary education,” wrote stuart and his fellow members of the commission, and, as noted, they provided seven objectives to guide that work (commission 1918, 8-11). stuart’s writings never strayed from these principles, and his professional mission was to operationalize the ideas found in the commission’s report, which had been in development in high schools across the country well before its 1918 release. as kliebard (1995) explained, the cardinal principles report was less of a trailblazing document than a concise reflection of “the winds of change that had swept the educational world in the previous quarter-century” (99). for stuart, tech was the site of that operation, an urban laboratory deeply connected to the city of indianapolis and its industries, where he and his staff conducted organizational, curricular, and pedagogical experiments in their efforts to realize the 28 promises of “industrial democracy” (commission 1918, 8). first-year students at tech were introduced to the complex and changing world in which they lived. from there, they were carefully guided in their efforts to find a place in it. this process—from introduction to placement—occurred during the freshman year, in an exploratory course on “occupational civics.” the first year of high school was an especially important one, as it was the age at which indiana’s compulsory education laws provided “the legal right of a child to break his training” (stuart 1927, 127). quitting school was “socially dangerous” (stuart 1931, 79) and would consign the dropout to “that great army of occupational drifters who are helpless in our economic scheme” (stuart 1926, 46). in response, the year-long civics curriculum at tech sought to provide students with a social and vocational purpose that would “develop an appreciation of the real business of going to school” (stuart 1931, 41) and would “inspir[e] children with strong enough purpose to go on intensively after the ninth year” (stuart, 1927, 126). freshmen began by studying their immediate environment—the school—where they had just entered “as into a new country, with strange laws, customs, and traditions” (stuart 1926, 47). the school was conceived as a “prototype” of society at large, a social organization unto itself, in which the new arrivals would have to find a place and a purpose. from the school, the first semester student moved to a “general survey of community life” and studied “the essential nature of the organization of modern society” (stuart 1931, 37). it was hoped that students would begin to see themselves as members of cooperative social groups, whether those groups be educational, recreational, political, industrial, or otherwise. “when an intellectual basis for appreciation of social organization has thus been established,” wrote stuart, “the essential factor in citizenship is to get the individual to sense his own peculiar relation to such an organization and to get himself best adjusted therein” (stuart 1926, 47). for stuart, the most important social relationship for the urban-industrial citizen was “the economic one,” as vocation defined one’s purpose and place in the social and economic order (stuart, 1926, 48). but work was more than a means to earn money and status. stuart elevated vocation to the level of service. it was one’s civic duty to do “that work in the community for which he is best fitted” (stuart, 1931, 38). choosing a vocation might determine an individual’s prospects, but it was also an important choice that would greatly impact the welfare of society. wrong choices would lead to “social waste,” while the right ones would contribute to the general good. so conceived, stuart’s vision of vocational education modeled the one set forward in the cardinal principles: “vocational education should equip the individual to secure a livelihood for himself and those dependent on him, to serve society well through his vocation, to maintain the right relationships toward his fellow workers and society, and, as far as possible, to find in that vocation his own best development” (commission 1918, 13). vocational education, in stuarts mind, was not strictly a utilitarian endeavor; it was a communal one, and one vital to the civic health of society. adolescence and bureaucracy in pursuit of his mission to fit young people for their adult roles, stuart unsurprisingly developed an educational philosophy of adolescence, and his most complete formulation of it is found in m.v. o’shea’s edited volume types of schools for boys, where he authored a five-chapter essay on the manual training high school. the project, which also included sections on military and church schools, was premised on the position that modern social and industrial life required a variety of specialized institutions of secondary education “to give the kind of training which is deemed to be most suitable for the different industrial, economic, and social groups” (stuart 1917, n.p.). stuart eschewed footnotes and 29 rarely referenced scholarly works in his writings, making it difficult to provide a genealogy of his scholarly inspirations; still, it is apparent that he was influenced by the major progressive thinkers of his day, john dewey and g. stanley hall included. it is impossible to determine whether stuart studied these thinkers directly, or if he received their ideas indirectly, through secondary interpretations in professional publications and conferences, which is where stuart found his intellectual home. his surfacelevel understanding of each does not qualify one to label him a “deweyan” or “hallian” per se, but traces of each can be found throughout his works. stuart was, at times, reminiscent of dewey in his unwavering faith that student interest should inform curricular decisions and in his organic view of social life in which the individual was deeply connected to the whole. for dewey, it was a “pedagogic blunder” to ignore the adolescent’s natural interest in exploring the connections between self and the social whole, an interest that was more pronounced during adolescence than at any other time in life (dewey, 1896, 9). dewey recommended that high school students study “social ethics,” a guided examination of social life based on the premise that the individual and whole were interdependent: “society is a society of individuals and the individual is always a social individual. he has no existence by himself” (dewey, 1903, 8). stuart’s course on occupational civics is strikingly similar to dewey’s social ethics. further, the overall mission of arsenal technical high school—to connect adolescents’ individual interests to a course of study that had as its ultimate aim the improving general welfare of society—was markedly deweyan. the spirit of g. stanley hall lingers, too: both hall and stuart worried that the modern adolescent would be corrupted by the urbanindustrial environment; each man romanticized and revered the adolescent to an almost cloying degree; and both respected student interest and, more importantly, entrusted the adolescent with the freedom and responsibility to pursue those interests. stuart institutionalized and operationalized some of the key educational reforms recommended by hall in his seminal 1904 work, adolescence. considering stuart’s membership on the nea’s commission on the reorganization of secondary education, it is worth noting that adolescence contained a lengthy and incisive critique of the committee of ten, whose work had been built on “three extraordinary fallacies,” among them the belief that fitting students for college was the same as fitting them for life, a position that hall found absurd and irrational (hall 1904b, 510). hall and stuart both argued that subject matter should be subservient to student interest; stuart, a strong advocate for the elective system, wanted students to choose courses “which will best serve his interest, no matter what this may be” (stuart 1931, 83). but the freedoms granted by course election required a faith on the part of educators that the developmental capacities and instincts that accompanied adolescence could and should inform educational choices. stuart possessed this faith, arguing that educators should work to grasp the “connection between what a boy craves and what his whole system needs” (stuart, 1917, 144-145). a more concise summary of hall’s child study movement can hardly be found. that is not to say that stuart, hall, and other educators focused on adolescent education did not harbor deep suspicions and uncertainties about those youth they cherished most. adolescence was a developmental stage rife with risks, and adolescents could quickly slide into “abnormal,” “antisocial,” and “criminal” behaviors that could undermine the efforts of even the most expert pedagogue. the problem of truancy, for example, was a special one during adolescence, a period when “youth long intensely for the utter abandon of a wilder life” and instinctively rebel “against limitations of freedom and unnatural methods of education” (hall 1904a, 348). hall argued that a youthful tendency toward truancy was natural and drew from his theory of recapitulation to locate its cause in those “primitive” instincts that subsumed adolescence. stuart accepted the “world-old truant boy” (stuart 1926, 70) as a 30 professional given, and characterized adolescence as “period of impatience” and “restless energy” (stuart 1917, 147). but each thinker possessed a simple solution to the problem of absenteeism. in stuart’s case, truancy and school failure could be solved by “adapting the work of [arsenal technical high school] to the needs of indianapolis youth” (stuart 1926, vii). thus, while truancy might be a symptom of the adolescent stage, hall and stuart argued that the cure to this and all other problems of adolescent education lay in carefully study of their needs, seriously considering their interests, and crafting a responsive curriculum that would engage them. in stuart’s words, “cases of irregularity are not so much cases for discipline so much as they are symptoms of maladjustment and such that need helpful guidance” (stuart 1931, 70-71). g. stanley hall made a similar point, albeit a touch more poetically: the apex of the runaway and truancy curve is here. it is the age of spring fever, when previous life seems dead, and the soul would moult it and be done with it. it is the most vulnerable and difficult of all the periods after infancy, the severest test of parent, teacher, and pedagogical methods…what shall we do with the hobbledehoys, backfische, larrakins, is the oldest problem of education, and one answer is plain. we must first study them (hall 1901, 34-35). and study stuart did. arsenal technical high school was not just an educational laboratory, it was designed with impressive bureaucracy to function as an observatory as well. much of the organization of a comprehensive high school (1926) and guidance at work (1931) were devoted to meticulous and technical descriptions of a complex and insatiable information-gathering network of offices, committees, and forms. no detail, however small, about a student’s life was deemed insignificant in stuart’s effort to reveal each individual’s aptitudes and interests. all members of tech’s administrative and teaching corps participated in the study of the school’s students. teachers were not merely instructors, they were “mental and social diagnostician[s]” (stuart 1926, 79) who took into account classroom performance as well as “all the elements of home surroundings, family attitudes, and personal traits” (stuart, 1931, 14). the ideal teacher, according to stuart, would be described by a student as someone “who knows all about you and likes you anyhow” (stuart 1926, 84). teachers recorded grades, as they always had, but they were also expected to maintain a “record of personal traits” of all their students (stuart 1931, 88). stuart instructed his staff to conduct “a natural and moral observation of individuals such as occur in the affairs of everyday life” (91) and log those observations on a card. they were to record instances in which students exhibited “desirable personal qualities under one of three types” (89). over the course of an entire four-year career at tech, each student generated forty such cards, all of which were included in the “pupil’s permanent record and becomes an item of specific, definite, and lasting evidence of the pupil’s personal worth.” finally, each card was measured and ranked against other students’ cards and students falling within the top quintile were recognized as “superior” (91). stuart’s “system of record of personal traits” did “not provide for record of adverse qualities”—that work fell to other personnel and was recorded on different forms (stuart 1931, 91). tech’s imposing bureaucracy included the sinister sounding “department of reclassification” and its erudite partner, “the council of research and personal record.” the former concerned itself with failing students who had no hope of earning credits for a class in which they were enrolled. “it is futile to have the machinery for detecting the needs of pupils,” stuart wrote, “unless there be established at the same time the machinery to make teaching adjustments to meet individual needs” (65). only the most thorough system of record keeping and analysis could help stuart accomplish his ultimate goal: to provide a 31 population of 5,500 students with “a program of courses which would make possible five thousand five hundred curriculums, each adapted to the five thousand five hundred individual needs” (stuart 1926, 4). “the council of research and personal record” had an equally ambitious assignment: “collect, classify, and interpret information about individual pupils and to make such available for every other agency of guidance within the school” (stuart 1931, 67). all manner of academic details, personal information, and even physical characteristics were collected, as were iq scores and results from the thorndike test of word knowledge. further, the council was endowed with the power to administer further tests if circumstances warranted. “[c]onstantly active in finding new ways to find new facts about pupils,” the research group served as a clearing house, disseminating information and recommendations to all of tech’s administrative, counseling, and teaching personnel (69). such work, in stuart’s mind, took full “advantage of aids which modern science is fast applying” (69). stuart sought to transform his high school into a full-fledged technocracy. at times, tech is portrayed as an overwhelmingly bureaucratic environment, governed by a corps experts and “scientists” who endlessly tabulated the interests and aptitudes of students and recorded their findings on a stack of dull forms. but stuart was also a humanist. this spirit was best captured in his 1917 publication “the manual-arts training school.” “for a school worth the name is not building nor equipment, nor even course of study. it is people. wherever boys and girls are drawn to a real man or woman and there learn the beauty of soul and mind, or useful accomplishments, there is a great school,” he wrote (stuart 1917, 130). he also claimed that the modern manual arts high school was “one of the least ‘institutional’ and most intensely human projects that has entered into the heart of a man for a long time” (133). the school stuart built was decidedly institutional, and his later works are less sentimental, far more technical, and chronicle, perhaps, the efforts of a man committed to serving g. stanley hall’s romanticized adolescent while simultaneously remaining loyal to the professional imperatives of his day, social efficiency and scientific management included. guidance and social sorting according to stuart, the high school freshman “is ready to consider life as a whole and he is going to think out what he wants to do” (stuart 1927, 128). but incoming secondary students also required careful and expert guidance from teachers and administrators to ensure they selected vocations that fit with their individual interests and aptitudes, since most “come to high school lacking purpose in any form. all that they do is a result of chance. they change their courses according to whim; ofttimes their decisions are determined by the prejudices of a chum” (stuart 1931, 37). in response, the first year at tech was “considered a year of exploration and finding.” male students were provided with numerous opportunities to test and try out various “industrial processes” in the building and metal crafts. the exploratory courses continued into the following year, by the end of which sophomore completers were exposed to “12 distinct processes of industry,” including carpentry, automobile construction, cement work, and foundry work (56). as was typical nationally, vocational courses were segregated by sex, and female students, after studying the “evolutionary history of woman’s work” in occupational civics, were introduced to those occupations associated with home economics, with especial focus on domestic, culinary, and textile work (stuart 1926, 49). while the boys tried their hands in the woodor machine shops, girls divided their time between the food and clothing “laboratories,” where “an attempt is made to present to the girl such a range of activities as will awaken a new interest in the science and art of home making” (stuart 1931, 58). this was considered foundational work for those young women who hoped to join fields deemed 32 appropriate, such as “journalism, dietetics, salesmanship, occupations in libraries and laboratories, social service, secretaryship, nursing, [and] interior decorating” (48). none of the above signaled a departure from the cardinal principles, where the idea of guidance played a significant role. but stuart did define the term more broadly. the commission typically paired “guidance” with “vocation.” stuart’s definition, on the other hand, was more expansive. he reimagined guidance as a more holistic endeavor. to be sure, successful navigation through tech’s comprehensive course catalog—which contained over 270 semester-long offerings— would require careful guidance, but stuart frequently reminded his readers that the purpose of secondary education extended well beyond the formal curriculum. among the high school’s most important objectives, he wrote, was fostering “the development of every desirable personal attribute”; ultimately, the educator’s primary aim lay in “molding human lives.” to accomplish this “higher purpose,” stuart called for every administer, department, and faculty member to be “integrated and unified in the interest of the care and guidance of each individual pupil” (stuart 1931, 3). though all students were met with a robust and complex system of guidance at tech, some, in stuart’s mind, needed more attention than others. he sparingly addressed the social inequalities wrought by industrial capitalism and was careful explain the sorting of students at tech as more practical than socially reproductive. however, he made as clear as any of his contemporaries that the project of the comprehensive high school, with its myriad options and attention to the individual, “were not introduced primarily for the sake of the pupils who were in the schools [already], but for those who were out of them” (stuart 1917, 138). he accepted that the nineteenth-century high school, with its narrow and largely academic curriculum, had worked well for the small number of mostly middle-class children who had attended it. instead, his most coherent thoughts on social class centered on the children of the working-class or poor, who left school before freshman year or earlier to earn money as “elevator boys, and cash girls, [and] delivery boys.” he acknowledged they were likely proud to be wage-earners with some level of independence, but he feared they might be inattentive to the reality “that most of them are doomed to remain among the unskilled” (stuart 1917, 138). at tech, as an alternative, they might have a chance to consider their prospects and catch “a vision of the possibility of training in exactly what they wished to do” (146). he accepted, nonetheless, the likelihood that “the personal limitations” of a student’s “economic and social environment [were] factors in determining the degree to which the abilities of the individual may be developed” (stuart 1926, 3). the world needed management and labor; the high school, stuart discerned, should begin fitting people for jobs in both. despite his demonstrably classist views on student potential, stuart took seriously the task of framing the various subjects of study at tech, whether academic or vocational, as equals. to his mind, other subjects had followed a similar trajectory in the past, both in the high school and the academy. “physics has done it; chemistry, botany, zoology, and modern languages. skepticism regarding these has almost vanished,” he noted. the process would be an uphill battle, however, because of what he referred to as the “taint of toil.” that is, while physics and botany recalled for most the degreeholding and sophisticated scientist, sheet metal work and plumbing were “connected in our minds with toil, real manual labor which soils the hands and calls for overalls. we might as well own it.” it was a class-based “bigotry,” one “which mental training has always assumed toward manual,” and, he believed, one that implicated “our colleges and universities” and the common person alike (stuart 1917, 151-152). it was more society’s problem than the high schools’. along those lines, stuart viewed the practice of definitively labeling classes as 33 “vocational” or “academic” (he often used the term “cultural” for the latter) as a difference of perspective at its best and implicitly elitist at its worst. “greek is a vocational study to the future greek professor, and [a class in] forging a real piece of culture, acquainting [the future professor] with a contrasting phase of life,” he argued. “this is just as true as is its converse, that to the future blacksmith forging is vocational and greek purely cultural” (stuart 1917, 168). what truly marked the difference— between the professor and the forger—was unrelated to whether their studies led directly to an occupation, and was instead tied to a value judgement, inexorably bound to social class, of the importance and status of their lines of work. stuart explained sardonically that “[w]e deserve no credit at all in this country for not having a caste system. fancy our trying to rate a man’s social standing according to his occupation!” (174). no matter the path one might pursue at tech, stuart saw the time his pupils spent together in high school as the great “introducer” of the social classes. under ideal circumstances, the future manager and laborer could study together, maybe even developing a respect and mutual appreciation that would be unlikely should they have an encounter as adults, hardened by the realities of the workplace. “right beside the boy who is taking auto construction because he wishes to understand his father’s packard touring car, works a boy who will run a packard truck instead,” he explained. just down the hall perhaps, “[a]long with the boy who intends to make printing his trade, studies the boy who will inherit his father’s printing establishment” (stuart 1917, 193). aside from serving as a safeguard against future class animosity, stuart also believed there was great benefit in the future managers studying the trades in-depth and with seriousness. a manager “may, or may not, assist in the manual work himself, but he must understand it in every detail.” in the same vein, the head of a business “may not keep his own books, but he must know when it is rightly done.” judging from the records of students, stuart found that an appreciable number of his well-to-do pupils agreed, noting that “[m]any of our most purposeful boys in the shops are sons of manufacturers” (178). ultimately, stuart viewed the comprehensive high school, regardless of its efficacy as a lever of social uplift, as among the bottom layers of an expanding social safety net. because society recognized that schools such as tech existed to educate all young adults, “be [they] dull, normal, or brilliant, and irrespective of…social position, wealth, creed, or race,” he knew they could not simply ignore or turn away pupils (stuart 1926, 3). the cost to society was too great, though his rationale on this point was distinctly more practical than romantic: “and ‘keep him in [school]’ must be the verdict for the sufficiently normal if future society is to be spared an unduly institutionalized population” (4). as with the cardinal principles report, stuart portrayed the institution of the comprehensive high school—as complex and substantial as it was—as vital. conclusion through careful study and constant guidance, arsenal technical high school sought to pair individual interests and aptitudes with the needs of a growing city. stuart designed his school to foster curiosity in those technical and industrial disciplines “for which there is a recognized community demand” (stuart 1926, 14-15). but stuart’s educational vision was not purely vocational; he “believe[d] that if our school should attempt to make a boy of high school age a mechanical expert without a grasp of the social problems of the community at large…it would be failing its duty to the individual and to the state” (23). he hoped tech’s graduates would be free and thinking beings, not mere cogs in an industrial machine. if their work did not inspire thought, then the student “needs to be educated all the more to think for himself above the grind of the machinery” (stuart 1917, 179). stuart’s approach—however “modern,” “scientific,” and sometimes bureaucratic it was—had a 34 humanistic element at its core. he wanted tech to humanize both individuals and their labor. beyond tech, stuart’s role in producing the cardinal principles report, along with only twenty-five other committee members, places him among the most cited and influential authors on the high school curriculum from his era. returning to the texts that he produced on his own in the wake of the report, however, allows for important historiographical lines of inquiry. it situates stuart’s ideas among the most prolific writers on education and adolescence of his day, including john dewey and g. stanley hall, which serves to recognize that he found his intellectual home among professional educators but did not operate in a theoretical or conceptual vacuum. moreover, the analysis captures the perspective of stuart as a prolific practitioner-author, one who evolved over time, was limited by the constraints of time and money, was rooted in time and place, and who dealt daily with high schoolers and the staff who served them. if the comprehensive high school was, as stuart put it, its own “country, with strange laws, customs, and traditions,” then the ideas of its leader and innovator provide a glimpse into such a place (stuart 1926, 47). references cohen, ronald d. 1990. children of the mill: schooling and society in gary, indiana, 1906-1960. bloomington: indiana university press. http://www. worldcat.org/oclc/19847191 commission on the reorganization of secondary education. 1918. cardinal principles of secondary education. washington: us government printing office. http://www.worldcat.org/ oclc/926689412 cuban, larry. 1984. how teachers taught: constancy and change in american classrooms, 1890-1980. new york: longman. http://www. worldcat.org/oclc/956743626 dewey, john. 1903. ethical principles underlying education. chicago: university of chicago press. http://www.worldcat.org/ oclc/27000093 dewey, john. 1896. “the influence of the high school upon educational methods.” the school review, volume 4, no. 1 (january): 112. engs, robert francis. 1999. educating the disfranchised and disinherited: samuel chapman armstrong and hampton institute, 1839-1893. knoxville: the university of tennessee press. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/800661196 faculty and students of arsenal technical high school. 1940. milo h. stuart, 1871-1933: his vision, wisdom, and leadership inspired and directed the development of the arsenal technical schools. indianapolis: arsenal technical high school graphic arts department. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/ 28155104 gaus, laura sheerin. 1985. shortridge high school, 1864–1981, in retrospect. indianapolis: indiana historical society. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/624393835 griffin, carolyn. 1969. emmerich manual high school: a history, 1895–1969. indianapolis: manual high school. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/38738536 hall, g. stanley. 1904a. adolescence: its psychology and its relations to physiology, anthropology, sociology, sex, crime, religion and education (vol. 1). new york: d. appleton and co. http://www.worldcat.org/ oclc/56947845 hall, g. stanley. 1904b. adolescence: its psychology and its relations to physiology, anthropology, sociology, sex, crime, religion and education (vol. 2). new york: d. appleton and co. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/ 56947845 hall, g. stanley. 1901. “the ideal school as based on child study.” forum, volume 32, no. 1 (september): 24-39. indianapolis school board. 1923. school board minutes (november). jackson, eric r. 2000. “the endless journey: the black struggle for quality public schools in indianapolis, indiana, 1900– http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/956743626 http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/956743626 35 1949.” phd diss., university of cincinnati. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/45146822 kliebard, herbert. 1999. schooled to work: vocationalism and the american curriculum, 1876–1946. new york: teachers college press. http://www. worldcat.org/oclc /40881589 kliebard, herbert. 1995. the struggle for the american curriculum, 1835–1958, 2nd ed. new york: routledge. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/844311955 mirel, jeffrey. 2006. “the traditional high school: historical debates over its nature and function.” education next, volume 6, no. 1 (winter): 14–21. http://www.worldcat.org/ oclc/425321328 pierce, richard. 2005. polite protest: the political economy of race in indianapolis, 1920-1970. bloomington: indiana university press. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/748854105 reese, william j. 2011. america’s public schools: from the common school to “no child left behind.” baltimore: johns hopkins university press. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/746261031 stuart, milo h. 1931. guidance at work: a description of the plan of organization and integration of the various guidance agencies of the arsenal technical schools, indianapolis, indiana. new york: mcgrawhill. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/786426 stuart, milo h. 1917. “the manual-training high school.” in types of schools for boys, edited by m.v. o’shea, 129-196. indianapolis: bobbs-merrill company. http://www.worldcat. org/oclc/613267332 stuart, milo h. 1926. the organization of a comprehensive high school; a presentation of plans and devices of the arsenal technical schools, indianapolis, whereby the interest of the individual is kept paramount. new york: the macmillan company. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/903871305 stuart, milo h. 1927. “the problems of the ninth year.” yearbook of the national association of secondary-school principals, volume: 11, no. 15 (march): 125-131. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/19403825 thornbrough, emma lou. 1993. the indianapolis story: school segregation and desegregation in a northern city. indianapolis: indiana historical society. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/27919535 tyack, david. 1974. the one best system : a history of american urban education. harvard university press. tyack, david and larry cuban. 1995. tinkering toward utopia: a century of public school reform. cambridge: harvard university press. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1041149658 the authors would like to acknowledge that this article was written using research funded by two land-grant universities, the university of kentucky which benefits from the theft of land belonging to osage, shawnee, and cherokee nations, and the university of illinois at urbana-champaign which benefits from the theft of land belonging to the peoria, kaskaskia, piankashaw, wea, miami, mascoutin, odawa, sauk, potowatomi, ojibwe, and chickasaw nations. these lands were the traditional territory of these native nations prior to their forced removal; these lands continue to carry the stories of these nations and their struggles for survival and identity. these nations remain in relationship with these lands, and as land-grant institutions these universities have a particular responsibility to acknowledge these relationships, their roles in this dispossession, and their duties to facilitate restoration. 1 how progressive were the progressives? a new look at the building america classroom magazines. jared r. stallones, university of northern colorado lindsay stallones marshall, university of oklahoma introduction in 1934, paul hanna, a professor at teachers college, columbia, proposed that the society for curriculum study (scs) publish a monthly magazine designed to help teachers lead classroom discussions of “social problems” and possible solutions. the society claimed the series was a response to the "persistent and widespread demand by educators for a new type of classroom material that will give students a working knowledge of social and economic forces and institutions" (society for curriculum study 1935a, 1). christened building america, the series lasted nearly ten years, first published by scs, then by the national education association’s department of supervision and curriculum development. the series was widely popular and was used in military training and in the educational rehabilitation of axis nations after world war ii. the series eventually ran afoul of red scare mongers and curricular conservatives in the late 1940’s. opponents raised objections both about the magazines’ content and the “social problems” pedagogical approach they encouraged. before its demise, however, the series tackled subjects from housing, healthcare, and labor to gender, technology, and foreign relations. this study will contextualize building america within the history of progressive educational and political thought and will compare the pedagogical methods of building america to contemporary approaches in the social studies. it will investigate the magazine’s representation of native americans as an example of how it dealt with issues that are still the subject of discussion in schools and society. building america as a product of progressivism progressives advocate improvement or reform, as opposed to maintaining the status quo. progressivism in education took many forms in the united states in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, but few acted with the passion and urgency of the social reconstructionists during the economic and social crises of the great depression. progressive ideas and practices in education had been in the ascendancy for decades, spawning curriculum elements focused on enlisting student interest in learning, project-based learning, and experiential teaching methods. educators began to pay greater attention to children’s psychological and emotional development. the dislocations wrought by the great depression accelerated the adoption of progressive education in the schools as the public cast about for new solutions to economic and social devastation. the depression also shifted the focus of progressive reforms in the schools away from the individual child to the child’s place in society. social reconstructionist educator 2 henry harap recalled that at that time, "many people thought that we were on the brink of an economic disaster...it was a time of a terrific awakening of the schools to their educational responsibilities" (harap 1970, 157). this “awakening” took many educational forms. the progressive education association (p.e.a.) suffered a split as social reconstructionists leveled heavy critiques at the organization. they accused the p.e.a. of passively clinging to its original focus on the child rather than more aggressively addressing the social and economic conditions in which the child grew and learned. no criticism was more strident than george counts’ “dare the schools build a new social order?” delivered at the 1932 p.e.a. convention. john dewey was not as critical as some, but clearly lined up with the social reconstructionists in his 1934 article “can education share in social reconstruction?” in that piece he asserted that schools alone could not change society, but that they could provide the “intellectual and moral” basis for citizens to do so (in boydson 1986, 207). other organizations joined the conversation, as well. the american historical association had been reviewing the social studies curriculum for some time, and its commission on the social studies published a charter for the social sciences in the schools in 1932 and conclusions and recommendations of the commission in 1934. both documents argued that the purpose of social studies in the schools was to describe “the conditioning elements, realities, forces and ideas of the modern world in which life must be lived” and in which citizenship must be exercised (american historical association 1932, 98). at its 1932 annual meeting, the national education association’s (nea) department of superintendence organized a committee to recommend “such adjustments in the social studies curricula in our junior and senior high schools as our present social and economic situation has made necessary and vital” (kelley 1932, 208). the nea’s department of social studies also focused on the need for “free and thoughtful discussion in the schools of the complex social and economic issues” (newman 1960, 28). individuals and institutions responded to these calls in various ways. in 1934, william heard kilpatrick’s “dinnerstudy” group began publication of social frontier, a periodical “to help teachers explore their responsibilities in the rapidly changing cultural milieu” (newman 1960, 17). meanwhile, kilpatrick’s colleague at teachers college, columbia, herbert bruner, produced a series of informational pamphlets for high schools on the national crisis, called the “social legislation series” (society for curriculum study 1933, 10). and, of course, harold rugg’s man and his changing society textbook series was in its heyday during these years. the books’ depiction of american society, which many saw as overly critical, fit the educational spirit of the times. not surprisingly, these figures formed a network of educators with common interests and often worked on projects together. the launch of building america many in the network were also members of the society for curriculum study. by 1934, the society was one of the most influential forces in the american curriculum field. its membership included curriculum directors, teachers, university professors, and those working with curriculum in non-school settings. for some years, the society had been concerned about schools’ roles in addressing the economic and social impact of the great depression, so its 1934 meeting in cleveland was an ideal venue for paul hanna to propose the 3 building america project. he did so in a meeting of the society’s committee for the collection and construction of curriculum materials treating modern problems. the committee, chaired by herbert bruner of teachers college, columbia, was an expression of the society’s “intention of constructing curriculum materials dealing specifically with the social, economic, and political phases of american reconstruction for use in our schools and colleges” (society for curriculum study 1934a, 39). hanna displayed an impressive collection he had assembled of extant curriculum materials on the topic and “distributed a very carefully selected 27 page bibliography of current and supplementary materials on social, economic, and political problems” (ibid.). he then read a paper entitled “building america” which he and james mendenhall had written and earlier presented to the society’s executive committee. the paper decried the lack of effective classroom resources for discussing “social problems,” especially because the curriculum materials failed to make good use of graphics to accompany text. they wrote, [with few exceptions] none of these materials uses what is known through research and practical experience concerning visual presentation. photographs, graphs, charts, maps, etc. give a depth of meaning to a study of contemporary problems which can never be attained by the printed word alone (ibid., 40). hanna and mendenhall called on the society to cooperatively produce a series of “picture texts” on various topics, each issue would attempt to present a comprehensive picture of the present status and future possibilities of american agriculture, industry, commerce, mining, transportation, communication, housing, social and governmental institutions, etc. (in newman 1960, 38). the authors conveniently suggested a list of possible topics for the texts, described as ‘problems,” which resonated with progressive views of the era. these topics included “our government in business,” “conservation of natural resources,” “socially useful work by children,” “financial control,” “depressions (causes and effects),” and “planning america” (society for curriculum study 1934a, 43). the list also suggested an issue on “american indians,” which will be discussed in detail below. at the conclusion of the meeting the membership voted to study the proposal, but the following week the society’s executive committee went ahead and launched the publication. it placed paul hanna in charge of the project and named an editorial board that included hollis caswell, jesse newlon, harold hand, and william s. gray, all notable leaders in education. the executive committee was also careful to assert the ideological neutrality of the publication, affirming that “in controversial social and political areas the society does not sponsor materials designed to further any particular program of social reconstruction” (society for curriculum study 1934b, 2). but use of the word “particular” belies the firm roots the society, and building america, had in political progressivism. those roots would ultimately contribute to the project’s demise in the post-wwii era. building america’s pedagogy building america received a warm reception from the educational community. by its second year of publication, the society for curriculum study was unable to accommodate the number of requests for 4 subscriptions and had to contract with a publisher better equipped to handle the large volume of printing and distribution. testimonials from teachers and administrators across the country were used to promote the project. a high school teacher from philadelphia stated, "building america seems to me decidedly teachable material...i hope the series goes on and on" (hanna 1936, 4). a junior high school teacher in maine wrote, "i find it of great help in teaching vocational information" (ibid). a superintendent in minnesota commented, "this material challenges the imagination" (ibid, 6). one in arkansas claimed, "this publication is very unique and we think it will serve to 'build america'" (ibid). an elementary school principal in michigan wrote, "this looks like a real contribution to teaching. i hope to see it widely used in our system" (ibid). one in new york city predicted, building america promises to be an excellent magazine for all grades from kindergarten up. covering so many subjects it will assist in complete correlation. it solves the difficulty of securing suitable pictures and of course is highly educational as a visual aid (ibid, 7). a junior high school principal thought that the series was so "beautiful and suggestive" that it "ought to be on the new york city supply list for junior high schools" (ibid). a curriculum director in virginia thought, "the material is a most valuable tool for teaching. it deals with vital problems in an interesting and understandable way for girls and boys. it seems to be a splendid contribution to education" (ibid). one reason for the acclaim building america received is that it represented a confluence of many popular trends in pedagogy and curriculum. the magazines reflected the growing sophistication in use of visual materials and their combination with clear, concise textual descriptions. the presence on the editorial board of edgar dale, a leader in the use of audio-visual materials in classrooms, helped ensure that high quality graphics were used, and of william s. gray, an authority in the field of children’s reading, helped ensure the integrity of the textual components. threequarters of the space in each issue was devoted to pictorial representations with the text as a supporting feature, much more like textbooks today than the text-dense books of the time. building america was also deeply committed to problem-solving as a pedagogical method. problem-based curricula already had a long heritage in progressive education, going back to john dewey’s experimentalism and william heard kilpatrick’s project method. the teacher’s guide to the first issue included this introduction, every issue of building america is presented to the student as a problem to be solved. the facts and ideas presented in each number and the questions raised are all intended to challenge the student's thinking and help to him enter upon some constructive line of thought toward a solution to these problems (society for curriculum study 1935b, 1). a modern analog to the problems-based approach is inquiry-based instruction, as expressed in the next generation science standards and in the guiding principles of national council for the social studies’ college, career, and civic life (c3) framework. building america encouraged teachers to guide students along lines of inquiry. the guide to the “housing” issue suggested that teachers frame instruction in 5 the topic with challenging questions such as, “how can young americans help in building good homes? what can we do in our community to assist in bringing the problems of housing to the attention of the public?” (ibid). like the c3 framework, building america went beyond simply conveying information and called learners to action, even if it derived from social critique. paul hanna called on teachers to accept “the challenge that our culture may be improved by the process of analyzing the culture’s shortcomings, projecting solutions, and taking the necessary action to translate plans into achievement” (hanna 1938, 144). interdisciplinarity is another trend of progressive education that was reflected in building america. if education is a process of problem-solving, interdisciplinary approaches follow naturally because real life problems do not present themselves in discrete disciplinary packages. it made sense to teach subjects in relation to one another, or to eschew “subjects” altogether and teach topically, in the manner of building america. in fact, the field of social studies was founded on the view that the social sciences and humanities were best taught in integrated ways and generations of materials have been formatted this way, from hanna’s ‘expanding communities’ design to teach about basic human activities to the highly integrated man: a course of study curriculum. building america was firmly in this line. each teacher’s guide contained a table of magazine topics cross-referenced with the variety of courses they could be used in, with most topics applicable to many courses. for instance, the teacher’s guide to the “housing” issue suggested that its topics could be used in almost all areas of the curriculum and recommended ways to use the issue in history, sociology, economics, geography, english, mathematics, science, home economics, and industrial arts (society for curriculum study 1935b, 1). perhaps because of this interdisciplinary approach, building america was used in all grades, in colleges, adult study groups, and civilian conservation corps camps. building america was intended to appeal to students’ natural interests, one of the hallmarks of progressive education. a teacher’s guide advised, one of the most important principles of psychology is that people learn by doing [emphasis theirs]. this principle applied to education means that the teacher should provide a wealth of activities in which students participate. these activities stimulate their interest in a problem, help them to acquire vital information, assist them in achieving habits of cooperative work, and finally bring them face to face with the world outside the school (society for curriculum study 1935b, 2). the suggestions for teaching with each issue are replete with ideas to engage students in interesting activities around the topic and not passive exposure to content. recommended instructional activities included conducting community surveys, creating maps, presenting findings to community groups, and writing editorials. even the rationale for producing heavily visual materials was based in a belief that pictorial depictions of life conditions engaged children’s interest more effectively than textual explanations alone. every issue included a “note to the teacher or group leader,” which advised, “if a student is to gain most from his study, he must respond actively both to illustrations and text. in examining a photograph, he should be encouraged to inquire, and answer for himself, ‘does this portray a typical or an unusual condition?’ in reading the text, he should ask himself, ‘does this check with other facts i have read?’” (department of 6 supervision and curriculum development, n.e.a. 1943, ix-x). finally, building america also claimed high standards of scholarship. the society claimed that, "the facts presented in the building america series are the result of painstaking research into the most reliable sources available. in addition, these materials are carefully reviewed by a representative editorial board and by reputable authorities on the topics treated" (society for curriculum study 1935a, 1). this scientific approach to curriculum appealed to many progressive educators who considered accurate information and expert analysis to be foundations of good civic education. for instance, harold rugg consulted a group of “frontier thinkers,” including charles a. beard, frederick jackson turner, thorstein veblen, and john r. commons, to inform his textbook series (rugg 1941, 200). this practice also shaped paul hanna’s scott, foresman textbooks and no major textbook today lacks a long list of prestigious experts and educators on its editorial board. following the inaugural issue on housing, building america was published each month, october through may, from 1935 until 1948. each issue included many photographs and enough text to inform students and stimulate discussion. the project was an earnest attempt to employ the “social problems” approach to develop critical thinkers capable of taking informed action. ultimately, though, building america ran afoul of changing trends in education. the world war ii and postwar eras saw a turn away from practices of educational progressivism such as social criticism and the problems method of instruction. the ultra-patriotic mood of the times caused some to look on social criticism with suspicion. some politicians of the time chose to further their careers by attacking such practices. in california in 1947 this led to a legislative investigation of the ideological foundations of building america and its founders. the negative publicity generated from this investigation resulted in canceled subscriptions and the magazine's ultimate demise. depictions of native culture in textbooks during the 1947 legislative investigation of building america, hanna defended the curriculum’s problem-centered approach. in a lengthy public statement he assured readers that despite the accusations against it, “when people take the time to carefully read the building america bulletins themselves rather than take a critic’s word for it, the overwhelming majority will agree that these study units are strongly patriotic and american” (hanna 1948). united states history curriculum has, since its earliest design, been first and foremost a vehicle for instilling a sense of american identity in schoolchildren. from their earliest iterations schools established, valued, and functioned as “pillars of the republic,” using u.s. history courses as opportunities to teach students the virtues and pride of living in, as thomas jefferson famously declared, an empire of liberty. it is not insignificant that jefferson’s first recorded use of the phrase in a 1780 letter to george rogers clark punctuated instructions for attacking “the british and indian savages… preparing to invest our western frontier.” jefferson, like his predecessors and his successors, saw native nations primarily as obstacles to american progress. therefore, seizure of their lands was merely the opportunity to “add to the empire of liberty an extensive and fertile country...” (jefferson 1780). the contradiction inherent in jefferson’s phrase is the contradiction at the heart of the country’s history. it allows a revolution for liberty to establish a country built through slavery, a doctrine of 7 discovery to authorize one people to violently drive others from their homeland and declare it had been unoccupied wilderness. to teach this history in a way that promotes the formation of a positive sense of american identity is fundamentally in competition with an honest examination of the historical past. as a result, united states history curriculum often misrepresents the stories of groups whose histories complicate that positive sense of identity. because native history is the context in which united states history occurs, its narratives are in starkest contradiction to the claims of american triumphalism. in order for schools to maintain the fiction of an empire of liberty, native history is therefore the most dramatically misrepresented topic in u.s. history curriculum. as events from tippecanoe to standing rock have demonstrated, refusing to acknowledge native sovereignty has long been the linchpin of establishing american legitimacy both in law and in popular imagination. as the power dynamics between native nations and the u.s. state shifted over the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, u.s. history curriculum reflected a narrative of events that favored increasing erasure of native history in favor of the growth of the united states. as ruth miller elson noted in guardians of tradition, nineteenth century textbook depictions of native people were firmly rooted in racist theories of white supremacy, caught in the tension between mythologizing the violence and primitivity of native people in order to justify colonization and heralding native nations as exceptional both in their roles as the “first americans” and to depict them as formidable obstacles in order to valorize westward expansion (elson 1964, 71). the wars of westward expansion that followed the civil war amplified the narrative that native people were obstacles to american progress. curriculum coalesced around the unifying theme that there would be “no dissent from the doctrine of the manifest destiny of the americans to take land from the indians,” with textbooks offering the development of the u.s. west as proof it was a positive good (ibid., 76-7). in the twentieth century textbook narratives hardened around the westward expansion narrative, following in frederick jackson turner’s footsteps to recast all u.s. history as a frontier experience. with open warfare waged by the u.s. army against native nations over, textbooks continued to center narratives of westward expansion as a form of nationalistic redemptive violence, if sometimes regrettable in its means. for the next hundred years, in textbook narratives native people either became inspiration for the melting pot ideals of american society through dawes-act-fueled assimilation, or authors wrote their part as the “vanishing indian,” figures like sitting bull frozen in time in the glory days of the old west, rarely mentioned at all after 1890. as patricia limerick writes, “with very few exceptions, the textbook treatment of the west follows a deeply-worn set of ruts” (limerick 1992, 1382). although the civil rights movement inspired some curricular change of native depiction in textbooks that change was superficial, and in many cases that change reinforced stereotypes rather than challenging them. in their 1970 survey of over 300 textbooks, a team of scholars led by rupert and jeannette costo’s american indian historical society found “not one could be approved as a dependable source of knowledge about the history and culture of the indian people in america.” worse, they concluded, “most books were, in one way or another, derogatory to the native americans” (costo 1970, 11). over a decade later frederick hoxie, historian and director of the newberry library’s d’arcy 8 mcnickle center for american indian and indigenous studies, conducted his own survey. finding the same inadequacies hoxie decried textbook authors’ failure to incorporate even decades-old scholarship, saying “it is easier to add a brief biography of geronimo to a chapter on the west than to surrender our self-image as tamers of the wilderness or settlers in a virgin land” (hoxie 1984, 2). in 1941, however, building america had attempted something different. native culture in building america part one of building america’s series our minority groups, the american indians introduced students to challenges facing modern native nations through the lens of native history. following the footsteps of harold rugg’s ill-fated problems in american democracy curriculum, hanna explained “to deny our youth a chance to study a balanced statement of the good and evil in our own nation and in the world is to render our future citizens weak and unprepared for the struggle of our time” (hanna 1948). that dedication to asking students to wrestle with the moral inconsistencies of u.s. history led the issue’s authors to craft a curriculum about native history that radically departed from limerick’s well-worn ruts of u.s. west history in textbooks. but, dedicated as the curriculum was to the larger goals of social studies education to promote social cohesion and a sense of common american identity building america also exhibited the difficulty of offering students an honest examination of the inherent contradiction of u.s. history narratives concerning native people. challenging stereotype and historical myth only to reinforce both under the assumption of normative whiteness, building america took one step back for every two steps forward. nevertheless, the unit offers a glimpse into the direction u.s. history curriculum could have taken, and a cautionary tale for would-be reformers prone to making similar errors. our minority groups: 1. the american indians opens by subverting the erasure of native people from modern u.s. history. under the subheading “the vanishing american?” the text begins with the legal challenge some six nations (the haudenosaunee, or iroquois, confederacy) members brought against the selective service act of 1940. introducing students to native history by starting not with seventeenth century lithographs but a recent photo of native men on the steps of a federal courthouse powerfully challenged the assumptions and stereotypes that students brought to the text (department of supervision and curriculum development, n.e.a.. 1941, 98). the section notes that while six nations members challenged the draft, they had proudly served in the u.s. military during world war i and their challenge was not rooted in unwillingness to serve, but rather the fact that compelling that service was a violation of their sovereignty guaranteed through the 1784 treaty of fort stanwix. in addition, the section contrasts the six nations’ response with the response from navajo nation, where young men arrived at draft registration centers eager to sign up. this opening vignette highlights the ways in which the american indians represents uncharacteristically progressive perspectives on native people in u.s. history curriculum. by acknowledging the modern existence of tribal nations and their members’ active participation in national life, the diversity of experience, belief, and relationships among tribal nations, and emphasizing the struggle over sovereignty, the american indians presented students with a new framework for thinking about native history. like so much progressive social studies curricula, building america’s instructional goals included offering 9 students pathways for thinking about how to live in a harmonious, diverse society. while comparable curriculum like rugg’s presented native people in modern society, the american indians made disrupting the myth of the vanishing indian its central goal. to many people, the text reads, native people “are more like a race that once lived, and died when the settlers crossed the great plains in wagons… there are few subjects on which the public holds so many mistaken ideas as it does about the indians” (ibid., 99). the issue is therefore structured to present native people as members of modern american society who face challenges that are directly related to the history of u.s. antagonism against native nations. the issue’s modern focus on native people transforms what would otherwise be a standard narrative of native history from the pre-contact era through the late nineteenth century. instead, the sections that focus on historical narrative reflect the understanding that what happened in the past continues to harm native people in the present. with more frankness than leading textbooks published in the 1940s, the american indians notes that colonization was rooted in injustice perpetuated against native nations. the pre-contact period is likewise arranged to emphasize the diversity of native nations and goes to lengths, extraordinary for textbooks of the era, to describe that diversity in detail and highlight the strengths of native societies. however, that does not preclude the issue from falling into white supremacist narrative patterns. while the authors took care to highlight aspects of early native society they found noteworthy, the section is marred by the racism that pervaded social studies curriculum of the time. the text offers descriptions of native warfare as particularly violent (and scapegoating “the sioux” in the process), claims “agriculture came late” to native america, and heralds the technological contributions europeans brought to native nations while mentioning only canoes and snowshoes as technology native people could offer in return (ibid., 100-3). the sections detailing the history of u.s. relations with native nations are more radical. offering unusually nuanced descriptions of events and their contexts, these sections also introduced students to the issue of tribal sovereignty. in fact, the text’s discussion of u.s.-native relations begins with the 1789 act of august which declared “their land and property shall never be taken from them without their consent” and outlined the inviolable authority of treaties with native nations (ibid., 106). although the text fails to discuss the problem of coercive and illegitimate treaties, this is another step forward. explicitly linking sovereignty to land is not merely unusual for textbooks of the 1940s, it’s unusual for textbooks today as well. the authors established this principle early in the issue in order to support their later discussion of land rights as “the most important indian problem” and the chief barrier to selfsufficiency (ibid., 112). the u.s. history sections of the issue also contain a surprising level of detail concerning the diversity of native nations. the author notes in the issue’s introduction “it is almost impossible to talk of “the” indian,” and the issue’s coverage of complicated tribal interrelationships with the u.s. government bears that out, especially in places like oklahoma with the complex and contradictory legacy of removal (ibid., 98, 106). radically unlike other textbooks of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, rather than tout the dawes act of 1887 as a triumph of assimilationist policy, the american indians outlines the ways in which allotment facilitated white settler theft of native treaty land. the text also pulls no punches in explaining the harm white 10 supremacy has done to native people. in “a century and a half of trouble,” the author argued that native people were already deeply religious, democratically-minded, and virtuous in their dealings with each other and others. rather than depicting assimilation as the salvation of a vanishing race as other textbooks did, the american indians claimed assimilation was a violent attempt at dehumanization, events that america “would like to forget” (ibid., 108). most important, the author noted, assimilation did not work. native people persisted; “the dying race would not die” (ibid.). from an analysis of the text and the works listed in the bibliography, it is clear that the author was heavily influenced by john collier. commissioner of the bureau of indian affairs during the new deal, collier vigorously opposed federal attempts to use force of law to erase native culture and promote assimilation. collier’s views did not amount to full self-determination and sovereignty, and his advocacy of native cultural preservation was limited by his paternalist attitude toward native people. sometimes those views had disastrous results for native nations, such as the destructive livestock reduction program in navajo nation, which the american indians presents as a success in helping navajo people move toward self-sufficiency. nevertheless, collier’s advocacy for native culture, religion, practice, and social structures shaped federal policy toward native nations in ways that enabled tribes to claim greater sovereignty over their affairs even though that sovereignty was restricted by settler colonial claims to land and cultural superiority. the american indians is a text equally torn by competing ideals, elevating native people and parsing myths of american exceptionalism on the one hand, but limited by anti-native prejudice and the larger goal of promoting a common narrative of u.s. history, one that fundamentally relies on the negation of native claims to land and sovereignty, on the other. it is in that final contradiction between native sovereignty and the settler colonial history of the united states that the american indians falls short of being truly revolutionary. the inclusion of an entire section on the indian arts and crafts board and crow and menominee land use initiatives offered students in the 1940s a more solid foundation for understanding native people as dynamic, modern people than even the vague passing references to post-1890 native history do in textbooks today. yet for all its progressive achievement, the text never quite manages to challenge the underlying assumptions of white supremacy that lie at the core of injustice against native people. as part of its problem-solving model of pedagogy, the issue concludes by asking students to judge whether the indian reorganization act of 1934 (ira) was successful in nullifying barriers to native self-sufficiency. presenting opposing views of the ira, this inquiry rightly identifies white racism as the true barrier to self-sufficiency. however, the text concludes “the indians can only become a true part of our democracy when they and the rest of the american people both really desire it” (ibid., 123). it does not ask students to consider whether becoming a true part of american democracy is the goal of native people. presenting an extraordinarily progressive depiction of native history as fully modern, diverse, and fundamentally driven by a struggle over sovereignty, the american indians succeeded in asking students to wrestle with the injustice of the treatment of native people under american democracy. but in failing to ask students to wrestle with the injustice embedded in the founding principles of that democracy itself, 11 the american indians missed the opportunity to enact the deep change necessary to correct false narratives about native history in u.s. history curriculum. how progressive is building america’s the american indians? the answer is two-fold. it is both surprisingly progressive, yet not nearly progressive enough to facilitate an honest examination of the historical past. the curriculum stands out dramatically among other progressive-produced material about native history, yet falls prey to the same pressures of patriotism, assimilation, and american exceptionalism that continue to prevent students from reconciling with our complicated past in classrooms today. conclusion building america’s format and methodology reflected the views of progressive educators of its day, many of which are still in use. based on an analysis of our minority groups: 1. the american indians, the publication was also remarkably forward thinking in its socio-political positions. unfortunately, it succumbed to the tension of serving two masters. the editorial board adopted the dual missions of presenting both a critical and an optimistic picture to american students. the two missions were not always compatible, as seen in the american indians. the tension may have been a result of the rapidly changing world in which building america existed. the publication was born during the great depression, when many educators felt that the schools had failed america’s youth and that they must do more to build informed citizens equipped with tools to take action and solve the multitude of social and economic problems the depression revealed. a critical outlook was appropriate to that task, but by the time the american indians was published in 1941 national needs had changed. the nation faced the prospect of total war and the need to unify the country for the coming storm. in fact, the issues that preceded the american indians were entitled total defense, training for national defense, and america’s outposts, with special focus on u.s. territories that lay between north america and imperial japan. clearly, the editorial board was preoccupied with preparation for war. as is often the case, national unification was predicated on the assumption that the dominant culture was normative, which meant subordination or assimilation for others. this assumption is at the heart of the american indians. it is regrettable that building america found itself caught between incompatible goals, because its role as a voice for social change was blunted by its assumption of how to achieve national unity. like billy collins’ history teacher in the poem below, the attempt to smooth over the historical record only perpetuates the damage. building america published more than 64 issues on topics ranging from gender and ethnic minorities to the criminal justice system, social security, and urban planning. social critique is a cyclical, but persistent theme in social studies education that is enjoying a resurgence with the rise of the c3 framework. past experience may inform modern approaches to grappling with societal issues in the classroom and may help explain why we continue to address the same issues. the history teacher 12 trying to protect his student’s innocence he told them the ice age was really just the chilly age, a period of a million years when everyone had to wear sweaters. and the stone age became the gravel age, named after the long driveways of the time. the spanish inquisition was nothing more than an outbreak of questions such as “how far is it from here to madrid?” “what do you call the matador’s hat?” the war of the roses took place in a garden, and the enola gay dropped one tiny atom on japan. the children would leave his classroom for the playground and torment the weak and the smart, mussing up their hair and breaking their glasses, while he gathered his notes and walked home past flower beds and white picket fences, wondering if they would believe that soldiers in the boer war told long, rambling stories designed to make the enemy nod off (collins 1999, 77-78). 13 references american historical association, commission on the social studies. 1932. a charter for the social studies in the schools. new york: scribners. boydson, j.a., ed. 1986. john dewey: the later works, vol.9. carbondale: southern illinois univ. press. collins, billy. 1999. questions about angels. pittsburgh: university of pittsburgh press. costo, rupert and jeannette henry, eds. 1970. textbooks and the american indian. san francisco: indian historical press. counts, george s. 1932. dare the schools build a new social order? new york: john day. department of supervision and curriculum development, n.e.a.. 1941. our minority groups: 1. the american indians. new york: americana corp.. ---. 1943. building america: illustrated studies on modern problems. new york: americana corp.. elson, ruth miller. 1964. guardians of tradition: american schoolbooks in the nineteenth century. lincoln, nb: university of nebraska press. jefferson, thomas. 1780. letter to george rogers clark, 25 december 1780. founders online. national archives. http://founders.archives.gov/documents/je fferson/01-04-02-0295. hanna, paul r. 1936. “general comments.” typewritten document. in the hanna collection, hoover institution library, stanford, ca. hanna, paul r. 1938. teacher participation in curriculum making. the national elementary principal (april): 142-146. hanna, paul r. 1948. statement on building america. typewritten document. in the hanna collection, hoover institution library, stanford, ca. harap, henry. 1970. the beginnings of the john dewey society. educational theory 20 (spring): 157-163. hoxie, frederick. 1984. the indians versus the textbooks: is there any way out? occasional papers in curriculum series no. 1. chicago: the newberry library. kelley, fred j. 1932. report of the committee on social-economic objectives. proceedings of the seventeenth annual meeting. june 25-july 1. washington, d.c.: national education association. limerick, patricia nelson. 1992. the case of the premature departure: the transmississippi west in american history textbooks. the journal of american history 78 no. 4 (march): 1380-1394. newman, robert e. 1961. history of a civic education project implementing the social-problems technique of instruction. edd diss., stanford university. rugg, harold. 1941. that men may understand. new york: doubleday, doran. society for curriculum study. 1933. social legislation series. news bulletin, iv (november 27): 10. society for curriculum study. 1934a. proposal to publish a picture text. curriculum journal v. 5, n. 3, part 1: 3944. society for curriculum study. 1934b. notes on the meeting of the executive committee. news bulletin, v (april 9): 2. society for curriculum study. 1935a. building america. promotional brochure. new york society for curriculum study. society for curriculum study. 1935b. teachers’ guide for the housing issue of building america. new york: scs. victor cousin and the cause of national education stephen tomlinson university of alabama victor cousin’s report on prussian schooling served as a blueprint for the “guizot law” of 1833, which established a system of elementary education across france. translated into english the following year by sarah austin, it also played a pivotal role in both the british movement for national education and the common school revival that resulted in the establishment of the massachusetts board of education. central to cousin’s account was a description of pestalozzian pedagogy and its potential to ensure political rights and preserve social order by instilling principles of practical christianity in the population. this answered the prayer of english reformers facing a volatile working class and american clerics concerned by the erosion of religious piety. but cousin’s report also extolled a second educational aim; the humanistic concept of bildung, which would become the guiding ideal for the more philosophically minded john stuart mill (austin’s closest associate in reform) and edward everett, the massachusetts governor who shepherded the board of education into law. taken together, these sister concepts reveal the extensive impact of german ideas about history, culture, and the importance of education for the progress of civilization. victor cousin’s 1832 report on the state of public instruction in prussia is without doubt one of the most influential documents in the history of education. more than any other work it provided french, english, and american reformers with a compelling model of efficient schooling and an authoritative justification for enlightenment ideas about the role of education in the historical advancement of culture and civilization. on both sides of the atlantic leading political and intellectual figures drew upon cousin’s vivid and detailed account of german schooling to justify government involvement in public education. it was instrumental in the framing of the guizot law of 1833 that established elementary schools across france and played a key role in the common school crusade that resulted in the establishment of the massachusetts board of education in 1837. translated by sarah austin, the report was also central to the 1830s campaign for national schooling in england. in part its appeal lay in the practicality of the system, which cousin presented as cheap, efficient, and easily adaptable to other political contexts. comprehensive tables recording student attendance and state expenditure demonstrated that in a largely protestant country similar in size to britain the entire school age population was being educated for less than £50,000 per year. but the chief message of the report was less the cost of public schooling than the character of the instruction provided. the prussian teacher, cousin explained, had the power to transform society. over the previous century, a new philosophy of education had given rise to pedagogic methods that could meet the needs of the modern nation state. if the mind and character of the population were elevated to accept the guidance of an intellectually informed class of moral leaders, the rights of citizenship could be married with the necessity of order to produce a rational society capable of fostering material progress and the advancement of christian civilization. what should not be lost in this account are the underlying commitments of those who embraced cousin’s arguments. the report was clearly written to serve a political agenda itself informed by the german enlightenment. cousin had spent the best part of two decades studying german philosophy and was very familiar with the ideas of its most progressive thinkers. indeed, it was while accompanying hegel to cologne—on the latter’s return from paris in the fall of 1827— that he first met sarah austin. like hegel, cousin (1852) wanted to establish a rationally ordered 64 secular state. a new epoch was at hand, he explained the following year, when religious intuition would be superseded by reason. critical reflection and the rule of intelligence were now the spirit of the age and france had to develop an informed leadership equipped with the intellectual skills to guide its development. this did not mean any loss of faith; reason would convert the “truths offered to it by religion into its own substance . . . it destroys not faith . . . [but] illuminates it and promotes its growth, and raises it gently from the twilight of the symbol to the full light of pure thought” (p. 22). evidently, he envisioned the same relationship writ large in the state. ever the student of plato, social order was to be achieved by harmonizing the religious feelings of the working classes with the expert guidance of a moral and intellectual elite. while this idealized picture hardly reflected the reality of prussian schooling in the early 1830s, cousin’s (1834) report, with its clear and crisp description of legal statutes, compelling statistics, and detailed accounts of institutional practices proved a highly authoritative resource for those who embraced a similar vision of reform. most importantly, he justified the establishment of pestalozzian normal schools while calming fears about expenditure and the prospect of social levelling. this dovetailed perfectly with austin’s concerns about the provision and quality of monitorial instruction for the volatile populations of britain’s industrialized town and cities. it also spoke to the problems of the american common school, which for new england divines like charles brooks was failing in its mission to impart basic religious principles. but the notion of practical christianity cousin imported from prussia also pointed to a second, more profound educational aim; the humanistic concept of bildung, which would become the guiding ideal for more the philosophically minded john stuart mill (austin’s closest associate in reform) and edward everett, the massachusetts governor who shepherded the board of education and america’s first normal schools into law. the guizot law cousin arrived in berlin in june 1831. warmly received by the minister of education, karl von altenstein, he was assigned a staff assistant to explain all the legal statues governing the prussian system. he reports witnessing “the most secret workings of the administration” and being conducted around educational establishments of the city, from elementary schools to the university. he also visited the large burgher normal school in potsdam. throughout he followed the same course of action; “first to procure the laws or regulations, and render myself perfectly master of them; next, to verify them by an accurate and detailed inspection” (p. 3). he reviewed hundreds of documents but admitted that the primary object of his report was “the legislative project of 1819 which has the force of law, and regulates the present order of things throughout the country” ensuring, he noted, the near complete education of the nation’s children (p. 25). achieving a perfect balance of class interests, all parties—local, state, and religious—worked toward a single end, “the civilization of the people” (p. 106). there was “no injudicious spirit of centralization or of official despotism … almost everything is left to the parochial, departmental, or provincial authorities” (p. 106). even local clergy worked in concert with municipal officials in the management of public education. moreover, unlike the abstract blueprints of the early french republic, the law was built upon practices that had evolved since the time of the reformation. “founded on reality and experience,” it “methodized” proven traditions producing “the happiest results with extraordinary rapidity” (p. 108). mindful that france lacked such historical precedents, cousin explained how easily this welloiled machine could be adapted to meet the distinct character of the french people. most important for cousin was the absolute need to follow prussia in the provision of instruction suited to the different ranks of society. first and foremost, an intellectual elite had to be schooled in lycées styled on the german gymnasium. france might claim 65 superiority in mathematics and the physical sciences, but it must also look to the classics. these, he maintained, “were without any comparison, the most important of all” (p. 114). for it was through language, literature, history, and philosophy of the ancients that students gained the clearest knowledge of human nature. of course, such studies were not suitable for the entire population. as in the prussian elementarschulen, those at the lower end of the social ladder would be better served by an education which concentrated on basic skills and the cultivation of religious sentiments. the urban middle-class presented a different problem. not only was classical learning irrelevant to their future rank and occupation, it would inevitably generate false ambitions, rendering them discontent with their lot in life. it was thus “of the highest importance to create in france, under one name or another, burgher schools” equipped to impart more extensive and useful knowledge (p. 119). the whole enterprise turned on a new kind of teacher, the product of the pestalozzian seminaries. trained in methods “adapted to the natural growth and improvement of the human mind” they led the child “by enlightened observation and their own experience to simple and lucid principles” (p. 65). this did not mean the establishment of an expensive new estate. prussia was careful not to remunerate its teachers above others of their social station. their service to the public good was an act of charity, conducted in the “spirit of poverty, humility, courageous resignation, and modest dignity, which christianity, rightly understood and wisely taught, can alone give to the teachers of the people” (p. 291). jurgen herbst (1991) raises the question of whether cousin was misled, confused, or even deceptive in his employment of “the legislative project of 1819,” süvern’s abortive scheme to enact a unified and progressive system of schooling. certainly, cousin (1834) quotes the plan extensively and even concludes that “the different stages” form “a single great establishment of national education, the system of which is one” (p. 52). but he then qualifies this by explaining that while “intimately connected together,” each branch “pursues its own peculiar end”—with the clear implication, for the common good (p. 52). accordingly, it is hard not to conclude that combined with his slippery language—claiming “the force of law”—cousin used süvern’s text to defend his own deep-seated philosophical convictions and promote the political agenda of louis philippe’s government, which in the wake of the july revolution, viewed the constitutional promise of public education as an immediate priority. professor of philosophy at the ecole normale, cousin studied in germany during the 1810s before returning to offer the first lectures on kant in france. his own eclectic synthesis “spiritualism” started with the free activity of the human will and stressed the inner development of the mind through engagement with the truths of diverse traditions. he translated plato into french and shared the neo-humanist passion for all things greek. given his relationship with hegel and other prominent german thinkers during the 1820s, it is safe to assume he was well versed in the concept of bildung and the aims of prussian education. as for knowledge of politics, the six months he spent in a berlin jail during 1824 charged with subversive activities no doubt provided a practical lesson that the conservative forces reigning in germany were no less potent than those currently dominant in france. françois guizot (1787-1874) , author of the 1833 law, shared cousin’s intellectual and political sympathies. after graduating from the university of geneva, he served as tutor to the children of albert stapfer, the former minister of the helvetic government charged with establishing a system of public education in the new swiss nation. stapfer had set pestalozzi up at burgdorf, and later as ambassador to france, helped promote his pedagogy among the paris literati—even recommending it to napoleon (johnson, 1963). with stapfer’s support guizot soon established himself as one of france’s most promising writers, publishing numerous articles on german literary 66 and philosophical thought. in 1812, at the age of 25, he was appointed chair of modern history at the sorbonne. his major works were clearly influenced by the historicist approach of his german peers. ignoring the particularities of the past, he focused on the development of social institutions and their influence on the human faculties. in this context, education was all important; indeed, as editor of annales de l'éducation between 1811 and 1815 he and his wife were instrumental in the popularization of pestalozzian and other international approaches to childcare and instruction. by 1816 guizot had joined the doctrinaires, a centrist party committed to forging a middle path between the political rights promised by the revolution and the social structures of the ancien régime. envisioning a secular, expert led state united by a sense of civic responsibility and national loyalty, he helped draft a plan for a national system of education in which individuals would be schooled for life within the largely impermeable bands of a fixed hierarchical order. local authorities were to replace the centralized bureaucracy of the empire and infuse wisdom throughout the body politic. out of favor during the bourbon restoration, in 1828 guizot and cousin cemented their standing as leaders of the liberal cause in a celebrated series of public lectures. two years later, in the aftermath of the july revolution, cousin was made a peer of france and appointed to the council for public instruction. guizot became the minister of education in 1832. adamant that the nation had to be regulated by reason rather than force, by july of the following year, he had carried the majority of cousin’s recommendations into law determined to establish what he termed “a government of minds” (johnson, 1963). cousin, who remained on the powerful council for public instruction while serving as director of the ecole normale oversaw the reform of secondary education along the lines of the prussian gymnasium, determined to produce “a legitimate aristocracy” for the french nation (goldstein 1968). sarah austin the extraordinary task of rendering a french government report into english must be put into context. close friends and next-door neighbors of james mill and his family, sarah austin and her husband john were integral members of the intellectual circle that followed the teachings of the radical utilitarian theorist jeremy bentham. john austin, a legal scholar, taught mill’s son (the future philosopher john stuart mill) law; sarah—whom he would refer to his as his “mutterlein”—tutored him in german. two foundational principles underwrote the group’s political agenda; an expanded franchise and the promotion of education so that an informed electorate could make intelligent judgments about their best interests. john arthur roebuck brought their case for public schooling before the first reformed parliament in july 1833. drawing upon the example of prussia he sought to minimize questions about personal liberty and confessional difference while stressing education as the panacea for the pressing social problems that beset the country. while in favor of expanding public instruction, the commons found roebuck’s vague and expansive plan—along with the “regimental” example of prussia—ill-suited to free institutions and religious character of the nation (hansard, 1833). the incursion of the state would only undermine the voluntary efforts to expand schooling; it was far better the majority agreed to offer incentives for individual initiative to than to hand the cause of education over to an impersonal bureaucracy. the best roebuck could achieve was the promise of a select committee to investigate the matter in greater detail. determined to raise understanding and rally public support, sarah austin (1833a) published a detailed account of the prussian system in the october issue of the foreign quarterly review countering critics on the principle of compulsion, the adequacy of the free market, and the religious character of instruction. in the interim—following the arguments of henry brougham, the whig government’s leading voice on education—a grant of £20,000 was approved to support the monitorial schools of the church of 67 england affiliated national school society (ns) and the non-sectarian british and foreign school society (bfss). austin (1833b) was livid. given the alarming conditions of urban and agricultural life, government had to recognize its fundamental responsibility to improve the mind and morals of the population. adding a postscript to her article, she complained about the lack of oversight and accountability for the use of public money. without some central authority to ensure that the schools newly built shall belong to the public, and that the system of teaching followed in them shall be deserving of approbation, all grants of public money for the education of the poor will either be wholly wasted, or so misapplied, that they will only produce a very small fraction of the good with might, under a better system, be derived from them. (p. 496) the following year, intent on detailing this better system, she published her translation of cousin’s (1834) report together with a rather more dramatic preface that emphasized the power of pedagogic methods to transform the character of the lower orders. “society,” she insisted, “is no longer a calm current, but a tossing sea. reverence for tradition, for authority is gone. in such a state of things, who can deny the absolute necessity for national education?” (p. ix). this did not mean leveling; like prussia and france, britain could school the masses to accept their place under the leadership of wise and virtuous elite. the key to this progressive reform was a new breed of schoolteacher trained to raise the humanity of the child. instruction had to be transformed from an economy of memorization and compliance to one of understanding and prudent judgment. without nurturing unrealistic aspirations, she insisted that our “humbler friends” could develop “gentle and kindly sympathies,” a “sense of self-respect,” and even appreciate the “nobility of virtue” (p. xvii). the intellectual faculties could be trained to bring understanding of the world in which they lived, and habits could be formed for the “business of life, so as to extract the greatest possible portion of comfort out of small means.” (p. xvii). it was evident that such worthy aims could never be realized by the mechanical methods employed in the monitorial schools of the ns and the bfss. the lancastrian method, she quoted a “german writer” (presumably edward biber), “may be of use in humanizing the lowest mob of england ... but where men and christians are to be formed, is defective and ill contrived.” (p. xix). building upon a century of pedagogic science, german educators had proven that such mental and moral powers could be fashioned by teachers who understood how to perfect human nature. in contrast to the preparation of monitorial masters, where the machinery of the system did the work of instruction, this would require the establishment of teaching seminaries. for those who questioned the expense or feared the specter of a new professional class, austin pointed to the “most affecting, and i must say, sublime example” of the spirit inherent in the prussian system, “the little schools for training poor schoolmasters in such habits and with such feelings as shall fit them to be the useful and contented teachers of the humblest cottagers of the most miserable villages” (p. xv-xvi). with no aspirations of advancement, they labored happily in their own poverty, “raised above their poor neighbors in education, only that they may become the servants of all, and may train the lowliest children in a sense of the dignity of man, and the beauty of creation, in the love of god and of virtue” (p. xvi). grounded in proven and well-accepted practices, there was nothing new or experimental in this system. the british were simply ignorant of the pedagogic advances made on the continent. an extensive passage quoted from james pillans on the history of teacher training from august francke to pestalozzi demonstrated just how much the country had to learn about the art of instruction (p xx-xxiv). whatever concerns might be held about prussian despotism, its schoolmasters had perfected the ability to educate even the humblest 68 of its population into sensible, independently minded, and industrious citizens, able to direct their own actions under the guidance of their betters. curiously, austin did not draw further on biber (1831), biographer and former associate of pestalozzi, now master of the school in hampstead attended by her daughter lucy. trained in the pietistic theology of wurttemberg, biber’s (1830) lectures “on christian education” not only offered an unremitting critique of monitorial instruction they provided a detailed outline of the religious education promoted by francke and his followers. the mechanical routines of bell and lancaster, he concluded, operated like “an engine of evil” to strengthen base passions and suffocate the good, inner spirit of the child. like francke, biber’s overriding concern was to overcome mankind’s carnal nature by restoring the intellectual and moral powers weakened by the fall of adam. employing a christian philosophy reminiscent of comenius’ pansophy, he maintained that the study of the world and all its contents must be related to the purpose of creation so that the idea of god “as the maker and supporter of all things” would “impress the child’s mind with that reverential awe, which is declared to be ‘the beginning of wisdom’” (p. 253). the holy word would spark a similar transformation of the emotions. employing the inspirational power of scripture and the living example of the savior, the child would be led freely and lovingly to embrace christ as their monarch. like cousin, austin insisted that religious instruction must be the main tool of elementary schooling but struggled to explain how this could be achieved by a weak government in the face of fierce sectarian rivalries. in contrast to prussia and france where religion operated as an arm of the state, intrusion into the domain of the church only invited political ruin. john stuart mill’s (1984) article, “reform in education,” written in 1834 while vacationing with the austins in cornwall, illustrates the point. while including a four page exert from “on christian education” in support of pestalozzian schooling, he studiously avoided the theological kernel of biber’s argument. although a strong supporter of national education, mill had grown up without god and was highly uncomfortable with the prospect of religious indoctrination. like his father, he favored more extensive instruction in the branches of useful knowledge. in any case, stymied by the seemingly intractable problems of church and state, his attention was focused on an even more pressing concern, the education of worthy political leaders. the 1830s was a challenging time for the austins. struggling to support her intellectually brilliant but emotionally troubled husband as his academic and legal career faltered, sarah maintained the family finances through the translation of german and french works (hamburger & hamburger, 1985). in 1836 the family moved to malta when john was offered the opportunity to help frame the maltese constitution. things did not go well; two years later they were back in england. then, in 1841 they returned to the continent, first to dresden and then paris, where in line with her professional interests and social proclivities sarah held court with many of europe’s leading political and intellectual figures—cousin and guizot included (goodman, 2002). returning to britain amid the turmoil of the 1848 revolution, she continued her work as a translator while pursuing her own literary projects, and the publication of john’s papers after his death in 1859. this included one more work on education, a pamphlet on the schooling of workingclass girls—much along the lines of her earlier remarks—stressing the moral culture of the faculties and useful instruction for the child’s appointed station, “lest the seeds of uneasy ambitions” be sown evoking “disgusts at the realities of life.” (austin, 1857, p. 5). but sarah (and john) austin’s contribution to education should also be weighed in the light of the intellectual influence they had on one of the century’s most profound thinkers. for despite john stuart mill’s coolness to his onetime “mutterlein,” his thought was clearly shaped by german ideas on the nature of mind and society imbibed during his formative tutelage under the austins. from bentham to bildung 69 in 1826, john austin journeyed to the university of bonn hoping to broaden his knowledge of jurisprudence in preparation for his academic appointment at the soon to be opened university of london. this two-year sojourn led to something of a sea change in his political views. by the time austin returned, mill (1981a) tells us, “the influences of german literature and of the german character and state of society had made a very perceptible change in his views of life” (p. 184). building upon benthamite foundations, austin solidified his underlying conviction that law and politics could be rendered moral sciences with principles that ensured the greatest happiness of the greatest number. but departing from bentham’s democratic radicalism, he and sarah came to believe that power must be grounded with an intellectual class who knew how to guide the state and ensure the population’s interests—rather than their inclinations—are best served. in short, legislators had to lead rather than follow the will of the people. “let them disregard all the clamors about tyrannical interference” sarah austin (1835) wrote, “and remember that it is not the vox populi, but the salus populi, which is suprema lex” (p. 301). reflecting on his own intellectual development, mill (1981a) later confessed that john austin was the person with whom he shared “the most points of agreement” (p. 184). convinced that scientific expertise was necessary to address complex economic and political problems of the day, he came to believe that the public must accept the authority of experts on matters of social policy much as they did the wisdom of physicians on questions of health. “it is right,” mill (1986) argues in “the spirit of the age,” that every man should attempt to understand his interest and his duty. it is right that he should follow his reason as far as his reason will carry him, and cultivate the faculty as highly as possible. but reason itself will teach most men that they must, in the last resort, fall back upon the authority of still more cultivated minds, as the ultimate sanction of the convictions of their reason itself. (p. 244) but society was not developing such cultivated minds. weighing the educational achievements of the day, mill questioned whether the “mental light” of the age has not lost in intensity, at least a part of what it has gained in diffusion;” is the “march of intellect” not “a march towards doing without intellect, and supplying our deficiency of giants by the united efforts of a constantly increasing multitude of dwarfs? (p. 330) the consequence, he feared, was the ascendency of a powerful mindset able to establish a fixed body of doctrine and employ institutional practices to engineer blind conformity. mill’s worries for the governing leadership were motivated by the limits of his own education at the hands of his father. determined to create a future philosopher who could continue bentham’s reforms, james mill immersed his son in an extraordinarily demanding course of academic study. from plato to political economy, his days were spent in the analysis of texts. as a result, mill reports growing up socially and physically awkward with little practical knowledge of the world. even more disturbing, his father’s emphasis on the abstract and the analytical rendered him emotionally insensible. mill’s (1981a) autobiography thus serves as a bildungsroman recounting his adolescent efforts to refashion himself through the education of the sentiments. “the maintenance of due balance among the faculties, now seemed to me of primary importance. the cultivation of the feelings became one the cardinal points in my ethical and philosophic creed” (p. 118). this project of selfformation was a central motif of the german literature and philosophy popularized in england by samuel taylor coleridge and thomas carlyle. no doubt sarah austin—who translated goethe 70 and wrote on the history of german culture—also had an influence. but it was coleridge who spoke most directly to mill’s struggles. rejecting the mechanical associationism of british empiricism for the dynamic philosophy of kant, coleridge insisted on the primacy of an active, organizing subject able to generate meaning and value through creative power of imagination. rather than being impressed from without, the development of mind and morals had to come from within. the intellect would be awakened not by providing information that can be conveyed into … [a] passive mind … as if the human soul were a mere repository,” but, as plato showed, by placing it in “such relations of circumstance as should gradually excite its vegetating and germinating powers to produce new fruits of thought, new conceptions, and imaginations, and ideas. (coleridge, 1854, p. 45) this was the concept of bildung—growth, cultivation, humanization—which mill, citing the influence of pestalozzi and von humboldt, identified as the “grand, leading principle, towards which every argument” of his later philosophical masterpiece, on liberty would converge; “the absolute and essential importance of human development in its richest diversity” (mill, 1981a, p. 215). but what was being done to cultivate the powers, perfect the mind, and realize human individuality? even in the great schools mill (1981b) observed in his 1832 essay “on genius,” education was “all cram—latin cram, mathematical cram, literary cram, political cram, theological cram, moral cram” (p, 338). this did not constitute learning. knowledge was a personal construction that “comes only from within; all that comes from without is but questioning, or else it is mere authority” (p. 332). rather than “grinding down other men’s ideas to a convenient size, and administering them in the form of cram,” he was adamant that education must “form the thinking faculty itself” (p. 335). here, as the german neohumanists insisted, the moderns had much to learn from the ancients. the athenian agora was a scene of perpetual conflict of adverse intellects, struggling with each other, or struggling with difficulty and necessity. every man had to play his part upon a stage where cram was of no use—nothing but genuine power would serve his turn. . .. this was the education to form great statesmen, great orators, great warriors, great poets, great architects, great sculptors, great philosophers; because, once for all, it formed men, and not mere knowledgeboxes. (p. 336) much as von humboldt had argued for prussia, mill was adamant that improving the national character required leaders with vigorous and original intellects. such powers could only be acquired through a secular education—like that of germany and france—which combined freedom of thought with a love of truth. neither condition, to his constant distress, seemed remotely likely at any level of english schooling. oxford and cambridge, eaton and westminster, he complained in 1836, only taught the mechanics of greek and latin to promote eloquence and persuasion (mill, 1982a). even more troublingly, they demanded blind obedience to the authority of the church. concerned to make disciples not thinkers, learning was reduced to the memorization of dogma. his prime concern was the cultivation of character. mill recognized how liberal society had improved the quality of life, but he also noted its tendency to suffocate the higher and broader expressions of the mind. here, in the name of culture, he looked to greek philosophy and literature, not as a model to imitate, but a distant standpoint from which to question and critique all that the modern world takes for granted. to guide the nation, future leaders also needed to understand the logic of inquiry employed in the physical and moral sciences. history was particularly important, as it demonstrated the plasticity of human nature 71 and the influence of institutions. finally, and radically, he also called for the introduction of the fine arts hoping that by elevating the sentiments and refining taste, the university might fuel visons of a more noble life. adapted to the national context, the parallels with von humboldt’s ideals of wissenschaft and bildung are unmistakable. education as a national object written between march and september of 1834, mill’s (1982b) “notes on the newspapers” in the monthly register record his thoughts on the second sitting of the reformed parliament—a body he had little respect for. the country needed rulers “who can teach us what we should demand,” but the current house was composed of men who “have neither the intellect, the knowledge, the energy, the courage, nor even the wish” to guide the people. rather than leading the nation, the nation was leading them! (p. 154). their duty to institute a national system of education was a case in point. together with “reform in education” and a short review of cousin’s report in the examiner, mill voiced his strong support for a select committee and the principle of compulsion justified in austin’s preface—arguments liberally studded with personal attacks on brougham and his voluntaryism. inevitably, mill’s prediction was confirmed. these men were not cut from the same cloth as the excellent stein and hardenberg, architects of the enlightened policies that had transformed prussia (p. 515). on april 16th, brougham rose in the lords to defend the whig policy on schooling. unlike prussia, where “education was forced under the rigour [sic] of military punishment—under the dread of the serjeant [sic]—under the fear of the corporal,” he was adamant that england must not compel public instruction (hansard, 1834, april 16, p. 849). this did not mean that the leading societies should be left without assistance. with state aid and direction, he was confident that private initiative would be sufficient to meet the educational needs of the nation. the commons agreed. when roebuck presented his motion on june 3rd, widespread support for expanding instruction was tempered by religious and political opposition to government control of schooling. rather than exploring the feasibility of a national system based upon the example of prussia, the members would only accept an inquiry “into the state of the education of the people in england and wales, and into the application and effect of the grant made last session for the erection of schoolhouses, and to consider the expediency of further grants in aid of education” (hansard 1834, june 3, p. 139). the committee met throughout the summer, taking testimony from leaders of the two school societies and prominent voices on education; including extensive evidence on the prussian system from pillans and nicholas julius of berlin (editor of a berlin journal charged with popularizing the altenstein ministry’s reforms). the following year they reconvened to interview further witnesses, but evidently found little common ground, concluding only with the terse and telling comment that they were “unable to report their opinion to the house” (p.iii). the most significant feature of the published minutes was the remarkable seven-day evidence of james simpson, author of the recently published necessity of popular education as a national object (1834). in concert with george combe, simpson spearheaded the public campaign for a state system of secular education in the second half of the decade. this was not the godless instruction charged by its critics, but a non-sectarian program of practical christianity that stressed both the development of mind and the dissemination of useful knowledge. closer to the curriculum of the prussian burgher school, questions of doctrine would be left to the church. although austin was not called before the committee, she did attempt to inform the inquiry by publishing an extended commentary on the passage of the guizot law, “the first born offspring” of the prussian system (austin, 1835, p. 260). again, her focus was on the dignity of human life and the problem of social order. she even quoted kant to the effect that instruction must tame “the brood of vices, born of undisciplined and 72 lawless thoughts” and “enthrone wisdom as the ruler of mankind” (p. 261). this was the essential task of public education. schoolmasters would constitute a “new priesthood,” not to usurp the church, but to nurture the religious feelings upon which all denominational teaching must depend. following guizot’s example, austin’s argument then turned to practical questions of content and method—teacher training and textbooks. here she aligned herself with “excellent” work of simpson which provided a compelling explanation of the social conditions that beset industrial britain. drawing upon the phrenological theory expounded in combe’s (1828) constitution of man (yet another offshoot of german anthropology), simpson painted a terrifying picture of the laboring classes. wallowing in ignorance, he judged some seven-eighths of the population sickly and impulsive creatures, unable to govern their actions by reason. without a national system of education to elevate and inform this volatile mass, crime and disorder would soon reign across the land. but a scientific understanding of human nature was at hand. the anatomy of the brain revealed the hierarchical organization of mental organs generating all thought and behavior. properly adapted to physiological laws of growth and exercise, pestalozzian methods could strengthen (or weaken) the child’s faculties. combined with a basic knowledge of health and economics, even the lowest in society could comprehend the material conditions and moral imperatives that governed their life. moreover, their improved character would be passed on to future generations, ensuring the historical progress of civilization. pointing to the ideal of a perfectly balanced brain—the harmonious order of powers gifted by god, corrupted by mankind—the romantic and religious language of spiritual development was appropriated within a naturalistic theory of moral and economic improvement. simpson, combe, and their allies had strong support even within the highest ranks of government, but the practical question of how to push educational reform was constrained by the standing interests of the church. forced to work within the existing order, the whig ministry looked for a mutually acceptable way to exert greater control over the provision and quality of education. in a famous speech to the lords, brougham acknowledged the need to improve teacher preparation (hansard. 1834, april 16). three years later, amid widely voiced concerns that instruction was not being extended to the most needed areas, he proposed the establishment of a board of education empowered to operate a normal college and inspect schools. intent on moving the plan forward, in 1839 the ministry—avoiding the need for a parliamentary vote—created an educational committee within the privy council. initially this raised little opposition, but with the publication of its first minute outlining the measures proposed by brougham, it was greeted with loud and determined resistance. what was to be the faith of a future master? if their training was to be purely secular, would god’s word be left out of schooling? who would monitor the work of an anglican or dissenting teacher? and so on. chastened by tory opposition, the government capitulated, dropping its scheme for a teaching seminary and limiting the committees’ duties to the administration of government funds. oversight of instruction would rest with inspectors approved by the respective societies—a far cry from the pedagogically-empowered and rationally structured system of state schooling envisioned by austin. charles brooks if the prussian system did not take root in britain, it soon found more fertile ground in new england. while historians have long noted american interest in european education, attention has typically focused on native movements for school reform (kaestle, 1983; katz, 2001). david komline (2020) presents a more nuanced picture of transatlantic influence, tracing the 1837 formation of the massachusetts board of education—and the subsequent establishment of state normal schools—to the agitation of the reverend charles brooks, a unitarian minister from plymouth county. building a pan-protestant alliance, brooks 73 employed cousin’s report to justify the religious rejuvenation of the state through public education. in the summer of 1835, on the final leg of his european tour brooks attended a gathering at the home of sarah austin’s cousin, harriet martineau. here he was introduced to julius, who after his testimony before the select committee, was en route to investigate american prisons for the german government. the two struck up an immediate bond and agreed to share a cabin on the 41-day passage across the atlantic. as brooks (1865) later recalled, this “sound scholar” and “pious christian” found a ready disciple. “i fell in love with the prussian system; and it seemed to possess me like a missionary angel” (p. 6). determined to master the details of european schooling, he immersed himself in study, even initiating correspondence with cousin (who he had met in paris). six months later, when julius visited massachusetts, brooks was certain god had called upon him to “introduce it into my native state” (p. 6). with austin’s translation now available in america, he composed a thanksgiving address on the importance of education reform, which he then expanded into three extensive lectures on the nature, implementation, and benefits of prussian schooling. the following year he traversed the state preaching the cause to religious and educational conventions. collecting resolutions for action, by 1837 he was ready to petition the legislature. submitted to the massachusetts house of representatives (1837a) on behalf of plymouth country on january 24th, brooks laid out the compelling evidence of cousin’s report. “the object of education,” he asserted, “is to develope [sic] all the powers, faculties, and affections of human nature in their natural order, proper time and due proportion; so that each one may occupy the exact place in the grown-up character which god at first ordained in the infant constitution” (massachusetts. house of representatives, 1837a, p. 5). the prussian system, he continued, was designed to unfold “the whole nature of man as the creator designed; thus bringing out all the talent of the country, and thereby giving to every child the chance of making the most of himself.” it was thus “emphatically a christian system” (p. 6). adapted to local needs, massachusetts needed a committee in each town to oversee its schools, a superintending board of education in each country, and a secretary of public instruction to disseminate information and report to the legislature. most important, as the prussian model proved, was the establishment of normal schools. a new “era of light and of love” demanded masters able to educate virtuous and comprehending citizens (p. 9). accordingly, he concluded, “the first of all favors, which you can grant to your constituents. . . [is] to secure to every county ‘seminaries for the preparation of teachers’” (p. 9). brooks was invited to lecture the house of representatives, and three months later a bill drafted by james g. carter forming a state board of education was signed into law by then governor edward everett, with horace mann as its secretary. normal schools were soon to follow. brooks (1864) later pointed with some pride to his pivotal role in the process, a claim dismissed as “absurd” by everett, with the observation that “my agency is as much ignored as possible” (cited in frothingham, 1925, p. 137). the same criticism could be leveled at historians of american education who have paid little attention to one of most powerful and influential voices of the early republic. edward everett a prodigious scholar and gifted orator, everett graduated from harvard divinity school in 1813. after two years as unitarian minister to boston’s brattle street church he was appointed, at age 19, professor of greek literature at his alma mater. in preparation for the position, everett was permitted a four-year sojourn in europe. two years were spent at the university of göttingen (where he became the first american ever to be awarded a doctorate) and two years travelling between continental capitals. in addition to being schooled by germany’s leading theological and classical scholars everett, together with his companion george ticknor, met a veritable galaxy of europe’s literati and political leaders—including byron, 74 alexander and wilhelm von humboldt, and, during their 1817-1818 stay in paris, madame de stael whose 1813 book de l'allemagne had fueled their interest in german learning and culture (gura, 2007). they were also deeply impressed by european institutions. during a six week break from studies in the fall of 1816, they toured the north of germany visiting, according to ticknor’s biographer, “all the principal cities, and every distinguished university and school, whether in a city or small town” (hillard, 1876, p 107). this included dresden, berlin, leipsic, wittenberg, halle, and weimar—where they conversed with goethe. according to jaeck (1915) they were accompanied by cousin, who is said to have considered everett “the best grecian he ever knew” (p. 256). no less than ticknor, everett was also deeply impressed with the superiority and dedication of the german teacher. his diary records his thoughts on improving instruction at home and praises the “schoolmaster’s institute” at weimar, “an establishment for the forming young men to be teachers in the free schools” (cited in yanikoski, 1987, p. 102). bringing the german model to america became the leading idea of ticknor’s friend joseph cosgwell (who matriculated at göttingen later that year) and everett’s student george bancroft (who followed in 1818). uncertain about the direction of his studies, bancroft floated the idea of returning home to set up a german high school. everett responded positively, encouraging him to observe all he could, adding “we can do nothing at cambridge till we contrive the means of having the boys sent to us far better fitted than they are now” (cited in jaeck, p. 263.) like everett and ticknor, bancroft and cogswell returned to teach at harvard, but soon found their careers mired by conservative politics. determined to make their mark, they combined in 1823 to open an american gymnasium (round hill in northampton) with the aim of employing the classics to develop the mind and character of future university students. for their part ticknor and everett sought to reform harvard from within. ticknor challenged the traditional method of recitation; everett introduced the greeks through the lens of heyne and the bible through the teachings of eichhorn. for students like emerson, the experience was electrifying; the ancient world was revealed anew as a source of meaning and value for the mind of a striving nation (mathews, 1990). everett took the same message to boston’s leading citizens in a series of popular lectures. more significantly, as editor of the north american review between 1820 and 1824, he worked tirelessly to introduce european ideas in the hopes of igniting a new culture of higher learning that could inform the moral and material progress of the republic. true to his nickname, “ever-at-it,” some 61 articles flowed from his pen: 116 by midcentury (frothingham, 1925; varg, 1992). elected to congress alongside his great friend daniel webster, everett spent the next ten years in washington, before returning to serve as governor of massachusetts between 1836 and 1838, the momentous years of the common school crusade. his long-standing commitment to the importance of education, evident in the length and breadth of his voluminous writings, flowed naturally from his schooling within the unitarian church and his subsequent ascendance to its intellectual hub at harvard. as daniel walker howe (1970) explains, cambridge theologians and moralists saw public instruction as a religious project, complementing the church’s efforts to prefect the self-directed, informed, and pious citizenry of a christian republic. building upon the legacy of the pilgrim fathers and the teachings of scottish common-sense philosophy, they embraced a commitment to the inherent moral and rational capacity of the individual. certainly, the republic needed wise and virtuous leadership, but this did not mean the kind of social elitism embraced by europeans. the ideal of the common school promised equal opportunity for all according to merit. it was also necessary for an informed and conscientious citizenry willing to perform their social and civic duties. both goals were informed by everett’s experiences and europe, and more particularly the intellectual commitments he had imbibed from german 75 philosophical and religious thought. the comparison with mill is instructive. both looked to the advancement of democracy through public schooling, and both recognized this would require the education of a cultured elite. intelligence, everett (1832) explained to the working men of boston, was the wealth of a democratic nation. equally distributed across the population, it had to be cultivated and employed for the material and spiritual benefit of all. vocational education was important, but like his continental peers, he was more interested in the realization of the spiritual powers bestowed by the creator. mankind’s true nature depended upon the complete and balanced development of all the mind’s faculties, a process of humanization that would bring men and women to a more ethical and rational understanding of themselves and god. “drawing out the divine” required a new form of instruction. “the mind was not a vessel to be filled up from without’ (p. 14). such knowledge, he continued, could make someone learned, but it could not make them wise. the point of public lectures was “to kindle the understanding to consciousness of its own powers; to make it feel within itself that it is a living, spiritual thing; to feed it, in order that it may itself begin to act and operate, to compare, contrive, invent, improve and perfect (p. 15). indeed, this was the larger purpose of all social institutions. like a great school, all the instruments of intelligence—from infant to college education, libraires, public lectures, and even newsprint—had to be employed to improve the population. while the state could not be permitted to exercise control over the interplay of ideas, with mill, he recognized its obligation to provide resources for individual improvement and promote the future civilization of the nation. accounts of the deplorable condition of the state’s common school and its inadequately prepared teachers naturally concerned everett and other likeminded leaders. as his article on “university education” demonstrates, the example of europe only heightened the impetus for fundamental reform at home. praising jefferson’s rockfish gap report, he celebrated the use of public money—virginia’s literary fund—for the expansion of education (everett, 1820). public schooling was an obvious good. but more important, as jefferson would also argue, was the improvement of higher education (tomlinson, 2005). everett’s overriding concern was the establishment of a national university based upon the german model. building upon a rigorous gymnasium education, he envisioned an advanced professional school that promoted the generation of knowledge through free interchange between the disciplines (a counterpart of the elective system subsequently adopted at the university of virginia). this could not be left to the states, or to private beneficence. in contrast to the many prestigious colleges supported by the modest, worn-torn monarchies and principalities of germany, america had “never founded a literary institution of any description or sort;” a free republic, “which ought to see every thing as sacred which belongs to the enlightening, instructing, and elevating the nation,” stands in shame, allowing an array of petty aristocrats to be “the guardians of the highest good, the cultivation of the intellectual man” (p. 137). the massachusetts board of education as it turned out, with his election as governor in 1836 everett inherited the opportunity to use public funds for the advancement of schooling in massachusetts. the question of educational reform had occupied the state legislature for more than a decade. led by james g. carter, critics complained that inadequate resources and unprepared teachers had corrupted the historical mission of the common school, most notably, in its duty to ensure the piety and morals of the population. in 1827 carter submitted a memorial to the senate requesting funds to establish a teaching seminary. when his petition was narrowly rejected, he joined with other prominent schoolmen in 1830 to press the cause through the formation of the american institute of instruction (kaestle, 1983). the opportunity for progress came in 1834 when massachusetts received a sizable reimbursement from the federal 76 government for the sale of land in maine and its services in the war of 1812. a law was enacted allocating the money to the support common schools, but crucially provided no formula for its disbursement. weighing the merits of civil and religious liberty with the importance of education to propensity and social order, then governor john davis suggested that the legislature approve employing the fund to aid local and voluntary efforts (massachusetts. house of representatives, 1835a). chaired by everett’s older brother alexander, the house committee on education accepted the brougham-like logic. half the sum would be allocated based upon population; the other half used to stimulate local initiate. more importantly, the money was not to be wasted on inadequate buildings, books, or instruction. the quality of education had to be improved. here the committee turned to the example of prussia, whose methods of training teachers now engaged “the attention of the friends of education throughout the christian world” (massachusetts. house of representatives, 1835b, p. 8). applying some portion of the fund for establishment of similar schools, the committee concluded, “would do more for the cause of public instruction in this commonwealth, than almost any innovation on the existing institutions that could well be imagined (p. 8). to support their case, the committee appended an “outline of the prussian system” provided by julius as a short but faithful summary of cousin’s valuable work. they also recommended distributing copies of austin’s translation to every town in the state—which alexander everett (1835) then reviewed in the april 1835 issue of the north american review for the broader benefit of the nation. evidently concerned that the fund might be distributed without due attention to the quality of instruction, the american institute of instruction submitted a memorial the following year calling for the appointment of a state superintendent of schools (massachusetts. house of representatives, 1836a). in contrast to prussia and france, they pointed to the lack of system, the necessity of teacher training, the value of accurate records, and importance of inspection. the institute’s annual conventions had done much to encourage mutual support and edification, but far greater direction and encouragement was needed for effective reform. the education committee was in complete agreement. authored by its new chair, james g. cater, their 1836 report recommended immediate enactment by the legislature. however, the committee was divided on the question of teacher seminaries pushed by carter. the example of prussia weighed heavily, he explained, but the majority held that the current proposal must be in place before any attempt was made to establish normal schools (massachusetts house of representatives, 1836b). when the house failed to move on the committee’s modest recommendation, everett used his january 1837 address introduce a more robust proposal (massachusetts. senate, 1837). insistent that the “wealth of massachusetts always has been, and always will be, the mind of her children,” he noted the urgent need to improve facilities, equipment, and instruction; utility alone suggested “the creation of a board of commissioners of schools, to serve without salary, with authority to appoint a secretary, on a reasonable compensation, to be paid from the school fund” (pp. 16-17). determined not to let the cause of teaching seminaries languish, supporters called upon brooks to address the house. articles appeared in the press and the american institute of instruction weighed in with a second memorial (massachusetts. house of representatives, 1837b). carter’s first tactic was to secure a portion of further federal funds flowing from the sale of western lands. when this failed—contrary to the two-step process agreed previously—he drafted a bill combining his proposal with everett’s plan, only to have it stripped away in the house debate. the amended motion proved successful, and by april the board of education had been signed into law, but without any commitment to the establishment of normal schools. komline (2020) provides a reconstruction of these events, detailing how brooks’ agitation was complemented by the political maneuvering of the state’s powerbrokers. 77 in his efforts to secure passage of the bill, everett enlisted the help of edmund dwight, a wealthy businessman with powerful connections. his support and influence provided the “crucial momentum” (p. 143). but it came at a cost; a seat on the board of education and, what appears to be the added condition, that horace mann, not james carter, be appointed secretary. everett, who chaired the board and wrote its first two reports, soon discovered that mann was an inspired choice (massachusetts. senate, 1838). his duties, loosely defined, were to report on “the condition and efficiency of the common schools” and communicate information across the commonwealth “on the most approved and successful methods of arranging the studies and conducting the education of the young’ (p. 6). to this end it was decided that he should arrange annual conventions and offer lectures in each of the state’s 13 counties. after six months everett reported “the happiest effects.” mann’s zeal “had awakened a new interest in the cause of school education” (p. 7). comparing reports, it is striking how closely they cooperated on the core problems of facilities, record keeping, administration, textbooks, teaching, and the encouragement of public support for schooling. for both men, the elevation of mind and morals was key to the progress of christian civilization, the project of the american republic. curiously, while detailing the poor preparation of teachers, mann’s first report did not mention normal schools (massachusetts senate, 1838). that was everett’s special project, evidently taking shape behind the scenes. after detailing the example of foreign nations, he cryptically expressed his “sanguine hope that the time is not too far distant, when the resources of public or private liberality will be applied in massachusetts for the foundation of an institution for the formation of teachers” (massachusetts. senate, 1838, p. 12). again, dwight had come to the rescue, this time with a $10,000 donation, matched by the legislature the following april. mann’s (1845) second lecture thus expanded on the preparation of teachers in time for the opening of the nation’s first normal school in lexington, the following year. here a new influence became apparent: phrenology. where everett’s (1859) speech to teachers at tisbury in 1838, “education the nurture of the mind,” employed highly metaphorical allusions to the “spiritual essence,” “heavenly flame,” and “vital spark” in the cultivation of powers and talents, mann looked to physiological laws of cause and effect. george combe’s physiology of the mind mann’s journal reveals the pivotal role combe’s (1828) constitution of man played in his decision to accept the secretaryship. trading his lawbooks for “the improvability of the race,” he dedicated himself the larger sphere of mind and morals. “having found the present generation composed of materials almost unmallable, i am about transferring my efforts to the next. men are cast-iron; but children are wax” (mann, 1865, p. 83). simpson’s (1834) necessity of popular education illustrated its application to schooling. in what reads like a precis of combe’s moral philosophy, mann laid out the import of phrenology for the training of teachers. like any other art, education required a knowledge of materials and the means of transformation. the former was revealed in the architecture of the brain. a hierarchy of discrete emotional, moral, and intellectual organs governed every aspect of human behavior. the latter utilized laws of heredity and exercise. while individuals varied between and within nations according to the influence of social institutions, their innate powers could be strengthened or weakened through appropriate activities. in addition to imparting the most useful knowledge of life, the overarching goal was the perfection of human nature through the full and harmonious balance of the faculties gifted by god. in his notes on the united states of america during a phrenological visit in 1838-9-40.) combe (1841a)—who had travelled with mann and everett to the taunton convention—reported “i never listened to a more sound, philosophical, comprehensive, practical, eloquent, and felicitous composition” (p. i. 65). in fact, he had found his most ardent disciple. 78 combe’s influence on mann is apparent in all his later writings, most especially his famous seventh annual report (massachusetts. senate, 1844). on his return to europe combe took up residence in germany in the hopes of popularizing phrenology in the land of its origin. mann wrote asking for “a series of letters in relation to the german schools,—their course of studies, modes of instruction, disciplines, order, qualifications of teachers, attainments of scholars, results, &c.” in order to improve the training of teachers in the massachusetts normal schools (mann,1865, p. 159). combe wrote back suggesting he come see for himself. by 1843 the tour was set. but combe, suffering from an acute case of hemorrhoids, was unable to travel (stack, 2008). limited to making introductions and arranging visits, mann drew upon his “large & comprehensive views” to complete his “impulsive report” (cited in tomlinson, 2005, p. 267). framed in terms of national character, mann compared the brutalized populations of industrial england with the more elevated character of despotic prussia. public schooling was creating a new breed of men and women. the same practices would also work in democratic america, after all “the human faculties are substantially the same all over the world, and hence the best means for their development and growth in one place, must be substantially the best for their development and growth elsewhere” (mann, 1865, p. 242). those in favor of the scientific approach to education, he told readers of the common school journal, were "helping to elevate mankind into the upper and purer regions of civilization, christianity, and the worship of the true god;” those who obstruct “the progress of this cause are impelling the race backward into barbarism and idolatry" (mann, m. & pécant, f (1891), v. p. 163). what gets lost in this transatlantic tale is the reciprocal role massachusetts played in the movement for public education in britain. determined to reinvigorate the 1930s campaign for secular schooling, combe (1841b) published “education in america,” a cousin-like description of the legal, administrative, and practical workings of the massachusetts system. in contrast to the centralized and authoritarian institutions of despotic prussia he hailed the local and democratic traditions of the united states. as evidenced by public records and copious reports, in its first four years under mann’s stewardship, the board had worked effectively to improve instruction across the state. most important for british readers— given the disputes of the previous decade—this had been achieved without legal compulsion or religious rancor. the secretary’s power was limited to the force of argument; clergy of all denominations embraced its nonsectarian focus on practical christianity. here was “strong evidence of the possibility of operating on the public mind by means of an organized system, and authorized functionaries, wielding moral powers alone,” a lesson highly “instructive to ourselves” (pp, 495496). after his return from germany in 1844, combe (1847a, 1847b, 1848) was ready to take this message to the country. with the government struggling to institute reforms under the yoke of the church, he published a series of influential papers on science, religion, and schooling—and rallied richard cobden and other veterans of the anticorn league to the cause of national education. as maltby (1918) explains, it was combe’s massachusetts blueprint that provided the core principles of this manchester based campaign to establish public schooling, first in lancashire, and then the nation; the movement which ultimately led, under the leadership of william edward forster, to the english elementary education act of 1870. 79 references austin, s. 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(1987). edward everett and the advancement of higher education and adult learning in ante-bellum massachusetts. the university of chicago. manuscript received, march 8, 2022 revision received, august 28, 2022 manuscript accepted, august 29, 2022 action research: exploring the role of curriculum in preparing students to be efficient members of society salma ali texas a&m university abstract: this study explores the role of the secondary curriculum entitled, “ethical pathways to human development”, in which students were engaged in this module with the issues of society by examining the impact of poverty, illness, illiteracy, homelessness and social injustice on communities across the world, and in dubai. the study concludes that this curriculum encourages students to analyze their own contemporary situations and to reflect on the social and ethical challenges of an increasingly plural world. introduction to curriculum as a teacher and educator, i observe that most students were unable to apply their classroom knowledge outside the classroom to the larger society. to me, application of knowledge is crucial to enable students to create meaningful learning environment (holbrook & rannikmäe, 2010), and this research study explores the role of the curriculum entitled “ethical pathways to human development” in creating a meaningful environment in which students learn about the societal issues. the institute of education (ioe), located at the heart of london is one of the world’s leading centers for education research and development. the institute’s collaboration with the institute of ismaili studies builds on more than 40 years of successful joint provision of curriculum development and teacher development programs. the institute of education, university of london and institute of ismaili studies (iis) in london developed a secondary curriculum “ethical pathways to human development” to foster in students an understanding of problems in society by examining the impact of poverty, illness, and other issues in communities across the world. the curriculum addresses “human issues that are of critical significance to individuals, communities and societies” (ethical pathways to human development 2004, 8). a contextual approach is adopted to issues of development, and their impact on the quality of life of people in different regions. the major part of the curriculum is devoted to exploring and examining major world issues and the role of ngo’s and other institutions through case studies of innovative approaches to development in selected parts of the world. the entire ethical pathways curriculum consists of six units and each unit discusses the major issues and challenges of one selected region. in addition, it evaluates the role of the institutions in that region that work on those issues. the curriculum focuses on major global issues and challenges including poverty, illness, homelessness, race and social justice, cybercrime, bullying, application of technology, and unequal distribution of world’s resources. the overall key message of this curriculum is to encourage students to take responsibility for improving the quality of their own lives, at the same time not neglecting their responsibility towards their fellow human beings. theoretical framework the organization of schooling has long been associated with the idea of a curriculum. researchers have grappled with questions like of which include: what is a curriculum? and, how might it be 2 conceptualized? kelly (2009) criticizes curriculum merely as a product and states 67 that curriculum is to be thought in terms of activity and experiences which continue to develop and respond appropriately to the changes in society and educational processes. this notion of examining broadening of curriculum is also seen by brookfield (1990) curricula is not studied in some kind of artificial isolation, but that ideas, skills, and insights learned in a classroom are experienced in real life. essential to praxis is the opportunity to reflect on experience, so that formal study is informed by some appreciation of reality. (50) dewey (1937) explains that curriculum serves a broader social purpose, which helps pupils become more effective members of society. it does not simply instruct young people about what is true or false, but curriculum enables the learner to inquire how is this experience related to other things they know? how can this learning be utilized in a new setting? and how will the knowledge affect other people? what clearly emerges from the discourse above is the notion that curriculum is not just simply the material that the teachers and students use in the classroom, rather it also involves the processes where the experience of the learner and the teacher through dialogue and pedagogies recognizes the relevance of the subject matter that is to be taught and learned in an educational and real world setting. harrison, blakemore, and buck (2001) stated that the curriculum should reflect the society and should discuss the surroundings where we live. i agree with harrison, blakemore, and buck (2002) that curriculum should contain features of producing awareness in students about the main issues of the society and of their role to fight with these issues. in order to explain the relationship of curriculum with students and society, harrison, blakemore, and buck (2001) introduced a model, diagram of which is given below, about curriculum development stages. this model tells about the goals of educational curriculum, which includes producing interest in students to serve their society well. however, this depends also on schools and teachers to implement the curriculum in the educational institutes. after studying ethical pathways curriculum, and comparing the goals of the ethical pathways curriculum to the details of harrison’s model, ethical pathways seems follows the harrison’s (2001) model in which students learn about the societal issues, and develop a sense of responsibility. therefore, this study explores whether or not (a) this curriculum engaged students in dialogues, collaborative inquiry, and continuous reflection on worldwide issues that helped students develop a sense of responsibility. whether or not (b), after gaining knowledge and understanding of major global issues, ethical pathways curriculum inspires human empathy and sympathy in students for motivating them to play their role to minimize those issues. the diagram of a model is given below shows the relationship between curriculum and society. it gives a link where students use their school-based knowledge outside the classroom. 68 (harrison, blakemore, and buck 2001, 109) method and methodology qualitative research in order to understand the situation in its natural setting, i chose the qualitative research method, rossman and rallis (1998, 39) state, “qualitative research is done in the natural setting and the researcher’s purpose is to learn about some aspects of the social world and to generate new understanding”. in the research, all activities, observations and interviews were conducted in a real classroom setting and focus was on the process of students’ learning. therefore, primarily concerned of this qualitative research was to focus on the process rather than outcomes (creswell 1994). action research the nature of the research calls for an action based approach due to its main focus on developing theoretical understanding, and develop a sense of responsibility (denscombe 1998). carr and kemmis (1986) define action research as “a form of self-reflective enquiry undertaken by participant in social situation, in order to improve the rationality and justice of their own social and educational practices” (162). accordingly, during the research, students were given the opportunity to improve their understanding of world major issues by thinking rationally and engaging in reflective dialogue and collaborative inquiry. in this process, i was confronted with new issues, challenges and opportunities to explore the curriculum. action research allowed me to engage in an ongoing cycle of systematic planning, acting, observing and reflecting (carr and kemmis 1986). denscombe (2002) explains that use of findings and an assessment of the impact on teaching and learning must be a part of cycle of study in the action research process. i found action research gives the findings which generate some possibilities for change and then practitioner can apply and evaluate them for further inquiries or investigations (denscombe 2002, 58) to enhance students learning. 69 for this study, i taught 2 classes a week for 8 weeks: each class lasted for one hour. so i taught sixteen classes (16 hours of instruction) in total. during this study, i taught three units of ethical pathways curriculum. in the first unit “our world our challenges” contains pictures with descriptions, and video links that helped the students to explore some of the major issues that are facing the majority of people in the world such as gender equality, poverty, war and conflicts, security issues, climate changes and global warming issues. then i taught unit 2 “understanding the issues', in which students read some case studies that focus on the root causes of these issues, and then students discuss some possible solutions of them. finally, in unit 3 “our surroundings”, students explore some of the local major issues that our country or communities are facing. students reflect on their own role in causing those issues, and what can we do to minimize these issues. overall, students spent eight classes on exploring unit 1 & 2 in total to have an understanding of world major issues, and another six weeks to explore unit 3 to have an understanding of the local issues. research context and participants in dubai, the majority of the schools follow the reception learning model. in reception learning students are dependent on a teacher for their learning. teachers control the classroom and students are trained to acquire knowledge rather than to think and build knowledge from their own or through peers’ experience. a similar reception learning model is in practice at the dubai latifa high school in which this study was conducted. the teaching methods in this high school is predominantly lecture-based in which much of the knowledge dissemination is done by teachers. dubai latifa high school’s grand campus, in the grecian architectural design, is located on the perimeter of one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in dubai. the racial, and cultural mix of youth attend this high school including citizens, immigrants, and the residents of dubai. dubai is the place where just 20% of the residents are citizens and 80% of the population consists of foreigners. out of those 80%, more than 50% are from south asian countries as a worker or immigrants, and they always struggle to maintain their visas. within this context, i pursued this research study to deepen my understanding about the role of the issue-based ethical pathways curriculum. for this study, the local and immigrant students between 15 to 16 years from grades 9 or 10 enrolled as participants, who had been living in dubai for at least one year, without any other prior requirement. among those participants, there were eight girls and seven boys in the grade 9 while six girls and seven boys were in grade 10. these students attended classes for 8 weeks (2 days a week); each day i taught a one hour lesson and in this way students received 16 hours of instruction (16 classes) in total. in addition, three girls, and three boys mix-cultural local or immigrant students were recruited for the focus group, without any other prior requirement. i made sure that all of the participants had been living in dubai at least for one year, in order to know their understanding about the local issues. data collection methods a variety of information was collected through these methods below thereby highlighting different perspectives. ● questionnaire (pre & post) ● focus group interviews ● teacher’s reflective journals questionnaires the questionnaire method is easier to arrange and organize the data as compared to other forms of collecting data (derry 1990). therefore, i used one as a key method for data collection. the questionnaire, a 4 items open response form (see appendix a), was devised and 70 administered to students prior to the ethical pathways curriculum teaching. i conducted two questionnaires, in the beginning as prequestionnaire, and end of this study as postquestionnaire. all student participants completed the two questionnaires. .i spent the first class session (one hour) collecting students’ prior knowledge about world major issues, then i spent the next seven classes teaching the ethical pathways curriculum. then, i spent another seven classes to explore local (dubai) issues, and finally the last class was used to get post questionnaires, and post focused groups interviews. pre-questionnaire: the pre-course questionnaire of four questions, was used in the first class to create a baseline of students’ perception towards their understanding about the global issues of the society in which they live, and to know the sense of responsibility they feel. post – questionnaires: in the last class session, i administered a post-test questionnaire to the students consisting of the same questions that students answered on the precourse questionnaire. by doing this, i was able to gain insight into the effect of the intervention on students’ learning. focus group interview according to cohen, manion, morrison, and morrison, (2007) a focus-group is designed where the topic of discussion focuses on issues of relevance that are to be evaluated. the focus group interview was conducted with students where open ended questions were asked about a specific topic (robson 2011). eight student participants, 4 students from 9th and 4 students from 10th grades were selected for the focus group. a purpose of the focus groups to have detailed responses about their understanding of world global issues. (denscombe 2002). each focus group lasted an hour, during which students responded to my open ended questions and had conversations with each other. i audio recorded their responses, conversations and later transcribed them. the discussion was specifically undertaken in a conducive environment in which students were asked to freely share their thoughts and opinions (hopkins 2008). this focus-group discussion allowed me to see how change in pedagogy influenced the learning outcomes for the students. as i mentioned that the focus-group discussion was held two times during the research with the same students. the data from the first focus-group discussion informed my further practices. i observed how they know about societal issues and how they were feeling about societal issues. the post focus groups interviewed from the same students showed me how the students shifted in their learning of the core themes of the ethical pathways curriculum during this study. also, their conversation with each other helped me to understand their willingness to play their roles in minimizing the global issues after studying the edm curriculum (laws, harper, jones, & marcus, 2013). teachers’ reflective journal as brockbank and mcgill (2007) suggest, to facilitate students learning, teachers must themselves engage as reflective practitioners, the journal helped me critically examine how the learning environment and strategies motivate students to actively engage in the learning process. this journal helped me reflect on classroom teaching and allowed me to revisit the lesson and teaching strategies according to students' understanding and reflection. throughout the research, i used a four column reflective journal, suggested by moore (2006), and wrote my reflections after every class. findings and analysis findings are based on my analysis of the data obtained via questionnaire, focus group interview, teacher’s reflective diary, and observations. after my analysis of the responses, the findings were clustered into these three areas of reporting. 71 ● students’ prior knowledge about the major global issues ● students’ understanding of global issues through ethical pathways curriculum ● students’ understanding of some of the local (dubai) issues through ethical pathways curriculum the first part analyses students’ initial perception about the global issues and the second and third parts discuss the students' understanding of the global issues through the ethical pathways curriculum. students’ prior knowledge about the major global issues in the first class, i collected data with a pre-research questionnaire. in relation to this theme, two questions were asked about the global issues, 1) what are the major challenges of the world? and what is the number –one global challenge in today’s time? this question provided me with an understanding of their vision of global issues. in analyzing the data, i discovered that the students seemed to emphasize quite specific things with regard to the numberone challenge of the world such as visa issues, handicapped access, and how to save money. below is the figure 1 that represents students’ responses on global issues from the questionnaire. figure 1: pre-lesson questionnaire responses on what is the number-one global challenge in today’s time? as the data reveals that 14 of 28 students wrote that visa issues is a major global issue, 5 students mentioned food quality, 3 students thought how to save money can be a world’ biggest challenge, and 6 students thought that world needs handicapped access everywhere and this is the kind of issue that needs to be addressed immediately. after the students completed the questionnaire, i conducted a focus group to get the details about the issues that they mentioned in the questionnaire. in the focusgroup interview, further probing also resulted in similar concerns being expressed by the students about the global issues. some of the responses are listed here. i am not sure but i saw many handicapped access that means physical disabilities are the major challenges of the world. also, we need more handicapped access for disabled people and i think this is the biggest issue that all the world is facing. (sam) the global issues are not necessarily the way you are facing. it could be the challenges that come to you if you are struggling with your living like in a village and crops not growing properly that could be one of the global issues. because it is affecting the quality of food. (ali) i think it includes many things such as visa issues. when people travel to other country they need a visa to enter in this country, and there is no global visas. even to come to dubai we need a visa that expires soon. i think people need a global visa so they can travel anywhere in the world, and i think this is the biggest global issue. (jose) oh yes, residence and work visa should not expire, i think all around the world people are worrying about it. (zack) no, i think it can be related to income, means about you earned the money you spend and the money you save. (sarah) 72 i think children playing fort night (game) is biggest issue in the world. (zack) this initial data, from the questionnaire, and the focus group conversation revealed that students identified some of the issues but they don’t seem the actual current or major issues that the majority of the world is facing now as per the current ethical pathways module. ethical pathways module follows the list of global challenges and issues of the united nations. however; it seems that what the students see or hear around them are considered as genuine global issues by them. ethical pathways lessons provide a venue for discussing major issues such as climate change, gender equality, equal opportunities of education, poverty and illiteracy in major continents in the world, peace and security, population, health related issues, and migrations. students’ understanding of global issues through ethical pathways curriculum my aim was to facilitate students’ awareness of world issues, and some of the major local issues. to achieve this, i taught sixteen classes (16 hours) in total, where i used content from the ethical pathways curriculum and designed activities for students to explore global issues such as social, economic, and justice issues. i designed those activities based on the student’s prior knowledge about global issues. students responses on the first class (from the questionnaire and focused group interview) led me to take a closer look at the ethical pathways curriculum to explore the ways to make the students aware about their role as a global citizen. i picked the case studies from the ethical pathways curriculum that illustrated some of the major issues that the world is facing now. hence, i planned the lesson in a way that it enhanced and developed students’ knowledge about some of the major issues such as economic, environmental and communal issues facing the world today. in the second, and third classes, before using the case studies, i picked some pictures from unit 1 “our world our challenges,” of the ethical pathways curriculum that show poverty, illiteracy, global warming and health issues in the major countries in world countries, and presented them on the slides. to further enhance students’ awareness about the major issues of the world i played a short clip “our world our challenges”. this video explores a lot of issues the world is facing today; students watched episodes on poverty, illiteracy and global warming. to explore the issues in detail i asked: ● what global issues or conflict did you see here? ● who are held responsible for these events or issues? students thought individually first and then discussed the facts about the video in groups and replied to me as well as exchanged ideas between themselves. shown here is one student conversation: oh my god, we have lots of problems that we did not know. (sam) for me, unemployment and poverty are the main issues from the clip and we all are responsible for them. (jose) do you mean we can reduce those issues by ourselves? (zack) of course, if we minimize our greediness then everybody will get food and jobs. in this way poverty can be reduced. (sam) this discussion demonstrated that students were becoming aware of some of the issues that faced not just them, but the major population in the world. this conversation and dialogue between the students acknowledge that they even 73 considered themselves (human beings) responsible for those issues. sam’s and zack’s comments show that students themselves realize the issues and gradually start to discuss the causes and the possible solutions of these issues. then in the 4th and 5th classes, students read the case studies from the different parts of the world that exhibit major issues they are facing. those case studies are taken from the unit 2 “understanding the issues” in the ethical pathways curriculum. my purpose to use those case studies was that students just are not aware of those issues, but understand the causes of the issues. therefore, for understanding the issues in depth students encountered three major categories of issues; economic issues, social issues and environmental issues of the world. students divided into 3 groups (mix group of 9th & 10th grades) and each group was assigned a category, i.e. social, economic or environmental, where they had to choose one issue under the assigned category. in the group, students read the assigned case studies, then identified the issue or challenge in this story, and then discussed the root causes and possible solutions about that issue. the students’ responses are captured in figure 2 below: groups major issues causes possible solutions 1 (economic related): poverty lack of education, overpopulation, diseases and limited employment opportunities individuals and institutions should provide support to increase awareness about savings, quality education, facilities to get skills 2 (environmental related issue): global warming high use of fossil fuel and electricity do not waste electricity, change cars to natural gas, conserve water 3 (social issue): conflicts and wars misunderstandings, no dialogues, different religious aspects uno should play it's role to minimize the conflict, individuals should respect human rights, respect to pluralism figure 2: categorization of some of the world major issues during this entire activity, i observed that students deeply engaged in the discussion to identify the issues, and possible causes of the issues. in addition, i noticed that their understanding of the issues are not just roaming around them, but they are aware of the issues that people of the world are facing. while analyzing data, clearly, i could see a shift in the students’ understanding of some of the major issues that the majority is facing such as poverty, global warming and conflicts. in the next class, after completing the above chart, students presented their case study, identified issues, and causes and possible solutions to the entire class. after the presentation, during the whole class conversation, ali who identified that improper growth of the crops was the main global issue, in the initial class, asked; “what is our responsibility because there are many people in our country who are also facing such problems?” i took this opportunity and assigned students to write what they can do for the development of the society in which they live in. here are two of the suggestions that the students came up with; 74 we agree that quality education and training facilities for people to get skills could help the people of congo to fight against poverty. (jose) however, we need an efficient leadership who eliminates corruption in the country and will utilize resources responsibly. (sam) during all the activities students demonstrated great interest to work in their groups which created a good level of motivation in students and evoked in them a sense of responsibility. this group activity pushed them a little to think about their own context in which they live in and we have regional issues, too. students’ understanding of major local (dubai) issues through ethical pathways curriculum therefore, after spending eight classes to explore, and understand the world major issues through ethical pathways curriculum, i spent another eight classes on understanding local issues (dubai’s issue) after discussing global issues, i started a lesson entitled “let us develop an understanding of local (our surrounding) issues” which is based on unit 3 “our surroundings” for exploring local issues to facilitate students’ awareness towards understanding the issues. to achieve this, i used different strategies to understand students’ learning and their perceptions throughout this period. in relation to this theme, in the 9th class i started off by asking a question from students in pre-questionnaire and focus group interviews; q: what are some of the major challenges in dubai? how aware are we aware dubai’s major issues or challenges? students’ responses informed me that as there is no substantial coverage of media (tv and newspaper) due to contextual sensitivity it is hard to be aware of the current issues of uae. a few students reported in the general discussion in the classroom that there were no major problems in dubai. some students pointed to minor issues that they and their family face such as finding parking for the cars. overall, students’ responses don’t reflect some of the major dubai’s issues in dubai such as running out of fresh water and labor issues. therefore, some students pointed out minor issues which were frustrating for them and their families like finding a car parking spot or getting tickets. for example, haya said in the focus group interview; “i think only getting fines and tickets is the main issue of uae.” zack agreed and responded to haya; “for me, finding a parking for a vehicle is also an issue in uae” interestingly students describe the issues which are disturbing them personally, although the issue of traffic jams leads to the awareness about other important issues like energy wastage and global warming. however, they did not think about the lack of fresh water or energy wasting in uae but they pointed to the traffic jam and issues of car parking. such responses made me a little bit worried, which was evident from my reflection that day; how can i start to guide them about the major local issues which could be understood by students and their parents due to the conservative society of uae? how can i prepare them to get ready to accept their role as an active citizen of the country? (teacher’s reflection1st feb 2017) these views from students led me to think about teaching strategies which i could apply to facilitate students’ awareness about social service through exploring local issues. for that i again explored the ethical 75 pathways curriculum, and created an activity about teaching the current local issues to students so that they can be encouraged to serve the society. for exploring current local issues, i provided some basic information about current dubai issues through newspaper clippings. the clippings describe most urgent issues of dubai such as shortage of fresh water, wastage of energy, non-existing recycling, labor issues. then i divided students into groups and allowed them to discuss the issues presented in the articles. students’ discussion showed that before reading these clips from newspapers, they were not aware of local issues such as running out of fresh water and energy usage. findings suggest that this basic information played a vital role in students’ understanding about urgent issues facing dubai. while analyzing data, i found that students learned some of the facts and figures written on the charts and graphs about the local issues in the articles. one of my students haya said; “in dubai water is becoming more valued than oil. it will disappear and run out in our lives because 70% of fresh water is being used in homes and 30% in businesses.” similarly, ali expressed her views in her feedback diary on energy issue; “dubai needs to put more efforts towards important issues of the energy sector, like generating power and desalination of water. i believe, there is no future of dubai without sustainable energy in order to keep continuing their developments." findings indicated that now students at least knew some urgent issues of dubai through articles and group discussion. i prepared a role play activity for inspiring the students with human empathy and sympathy so they could get involved in social services practically. role play activity was designed about the changes that have taken place in the modern life of dubai. students discussion revealed how some of these changes have improved their lives however; others have created new problems and challenges in dubai as well. while analyzing the data, this activity made the students understand how they manage the changes so that it improves our quality of life instead of becoming a problem. findings also tell that a role play activity helped the students to know the causes of the current issues in uae which led them to bring some possible solutions. haya. acting as a person who wasted a lot of energy, says, “oh my god, i wasted so much natural resources which i cannot re-produce.” one of the students ali came up with the idea after playing a role of thirsty man, “please save water, save life and save dubai.” one of the students from the same group quoted, “each and every drop of fresh water counts.” later on, for getting deep understanding of how to address these local issues, i invited a guest speaker from ngo(abc). abc is a recycling company that provides recycle bins on demands. schools, and industries, and even residents can ask the companies to provide the recycle bins on a weekly basis. however, the important thing is to educate ourselves, and others to use those bins. students inspired through the work that abc company is doing to save dubai, and wrote a letter to the principal to have a recycle bin from abc company on daily basis. then studentsparticipants asked the principal to go in different classes in the school and provide the information about the recycling and how to use those bins. 76 at this stage, students had enough information about the main issues of dubai which our local people are also facing. therefore, they feel little responsibility to make others aware about those issues, and how we can play a vital role in minimizing them. in the last class (sixteenth class), i conducted a post-questionnaire, in which i did see a clear shift in students' understanding of global, and local issues. in the focus groups interview, students discussed not just the issues that the majority of the world is facing but discuss the causes, and the possible solution of them. in the focus groups interview, students were so excited about using the recycle bins for recycling of some of the resources and seemed motivated to educate others about it. discussion learning is defined as a change in skills, knowledge and attitude of the learners; both the definitions of learning and teaching show their interdependence on each other (mckinney, 2004). in light of the above, the findings of this research suggest that during the exploration of global and local issues, students critically engaged in the process of learning, which gradually helped them to find the relevance of the text to their societies. while knowing about issues, students felt that applying the knowledge to the “real world” situations motivated them to become involved in finding a solution to some of the poverty problems people encountered (butin, 2003). the findings indicate that approaches to explore issues for enhancing social services in students took the learners beyond the text and got them involved in the practical application where they learnt a sense of civic responsibility (dewey, 1937). this shows in several statements made by the students (see 11) as well as from data which was gathered and analyzed during research. the findings of the study showed that exploring issues with students strengthened the suggested pedagogical approach of the curriculum where students‟ learning lead them through a guided inquiry, reflective articulation and creative expression of their thoughts” (teachers guide, 2011, 49). i used different strategies to explore the issue for producing awareness in students about social services for example using video clips, where content of clips brings perspective of the outside world into the classroom which gives real life experiences to students (oddone, 2011). video clips help to make the curriculum even more relevant to students’ lives (brennan, & resnick, 2012). as a teacher, i learned that exploring global and local issues contributes in promoting a sense of social responsibility in students where they look at their active role in the society and community (rodrigogonzález & caballer-tarazona, 2015) as it is also shown in sam and zack quotes (see 16). however, social and communityservices activities are not a huge part of schools’ regular practices in dubai context. that is why i found through this research that students were not much aware of the local or dubai’s issues. the reason could be a print and digital media in dubai which is not so strong to explore the issues facing dubai's residents (senteni, & tamim, 2011). in addition, the findings about exploring local issues led me to think that the majority of students belong to the well settled family in dubai. therefore, interestingly, students pointed out the issues about parking the cars in rush hours and traffic jam rather than thinking about global warming and energy issues in dubai. in that case, ethical pathways curriculum helped them explore the major issues of dubai which came out in student’s post questionnaire and focus group interviews. conclusion literature reviews report that students can play an active role in the process of learning if they are emotionally 77 involved in the learning process (dewey, 1937; vygotsky, 1978). dewey (1937) argued that learners need to be empathizing for creative learning towards problem solving and utilizing hands-on experiences. interestingly, the ethical pathways curriculum offers the approaches and teaching methods that help students gain empathy and sympathy to understand others’ pain. in conclusion, the ethical pathways curriculum provides an additional means to reaching the educational aims and objectives of this curriculum. however, there is need to use different approaches in teaching classes for producing awareness of issues and challenges locally and globally (clarke, & drudy, 2006). the reason is that classes in the ethical pathways schools are based on text centered-learning where students get fact based islamic educations and they do not engage in the process of critical thinking. in contrast, i took an approach where students focus on real life issues and challenges, which engages them in critical thinking through a variety of teaching techniques. in this way, the ethical pathways curriculum helps students to bring and use their faith-based learning outside the classroom where others can benefit from their services. i also developed my learning that external sources like video clips help the students to inspire with human empathy and sympathy which enhance their motivation to play their active role to society for minimizing the issues. all over, the strategies for making students understand about local and worldwide issues which enhance their responsiveness, bring new life in the classroom. in addition, students enhanced problem solving skills and made a process of learning and teaching more enjoyable. references brennan, k., & resnick, m. 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(1978). interaction between learning and development. readings on the development of children, 23(3), 34-41. 79 appendix 1 pre & post-course questionnaire name: ___________________________ date: ___________ 1 what are the major challenges or issues of the world? and what is the number – one global challenge in today’s time? _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ 2 who do you think is the responsible for these issues? _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ 3 what are the major challenges or issues of dubai? _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ 4 howwould you contribute to minimize any of the local issues? _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ reappraising the roles of girls' preparatory schools quynh dang indiana university historiography of women's education in the united states has been dramatically enriched both its depth and breadth since the publication of the foundational work in the company of educated women by barbara solomon (solomon 1985). solomon contributed significantly to the exploration of women's struggles for access to higher institutions and furthered the understandings of the contestations between achieving higher education and complying with gender expectations. since then, historians and education scholars have researched extensively about seminaries, academies, women's organizations, and the implications of the power structures, class, ethnicity, and nationalities on the educational experience of women (nash 2008 2018; woyshner, hao kuo tai 1997) contemporary scholarship has continued to refine the understandings of female institutions and the impacts of social stratifications on women's education. andrea turpin's work underscores the two contrasting educational philosophies of catherine beecher and mary lyon (turpin 2010). catherine beacher, the founder of the hartford female seminary, believed that education should help women fulfill the role of mothers and wives. meanwhile, mary lyon founded the mount holyoke female seminary on the basis that knowledge should help to liberate women and serve their own purposes. in recent years, more research has investigated the impacts of social class, ethnicities, and nationalities on women's educational experience. regarding the relationship between race and education, linda perkins (1983) uncovered the educational experience of african american women during the mid-and late nineteenth century and asserted that the primary purpose of their education was to "uplift" their race. perkins (1983) also points out the social barriers such as racial segregation and discrimination that impeded women of color from receiving the same quality of education as white women. the research concerning women's social, racial, and ethnic backgrounds has both enriched and complicated the history of women's education in the united states. in the field of the history of curriculum, scholars have analyzed the curriculum for men and women to understand opportunities and challenges for women better once they had access to schooling. while popular beliefs had that female institutions were more ornamental or less intellectual curriculum than that of male counterparts, margaret nash (2016) argues that both men and women in most academies shared similar curricular subjects in the eighteenthcentury. as science has become more accessible for women, the history of women in science has drawn attention of scholars. in the groundbreaking book the science education of american girls, kim tolley (2014) enunciates the structural and cultural obstacles limiting girls' access to science from the antebellum area to the twentieth century. whether it was the curriculum or the treatment of women in different fields, women nonetheless had to overcome significant impediments and prejudices to earn their education. a missing piece in the history of female institutions – girls' preparatory schools preparatory schools were established during the transitional time between the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. by the end of the nineteenth century, female seminaries and academies were being criticized and gradually replaced by common schools. at the same time, colleges were established mainly for men and women who wanted to attain a higher degree. however, in their early days, public high schools were considered unqualified for preparing students for college administration; 15 thus, most collegial preparation work was done through private study (kliebard 2004). this demand offered a great opportunity for establishing a specialized kind of school under the name preparatory schools were rapidly established as an alternative choice for those who wanted to pursue higher education. these preparatory schools played woody's book informs that nineteenthcentury girls' high schools such as the new york high school for females (1826), the girls high and normal school of philadelphia (1848), or the boston girls' high school (1852) aspired to provide a thorough education for women (woody 1929). while these high schools offered secondary education for women, they did not perform well in preparing their students for colleges. students needed to attend college preparatory departments or private study to prepare for college entrance (krug 1969). as a result, private pre-collegiate institutions played an increasingly prominent role in preparing young men and women for colleges. that said, historical research so far has not been paying adequate attention to preparatory schools (eisenman 2001). there are two probable reasons for the scarcity of research on preparatory schools. first, research on female institutions in the nineteenth century has heavily investigated seminaries and academies, the most dominant kinds of female schools. second, by the end of the nineteenth, co-educational high schools grew noticeably, and more women could make their way to colleges. female colleges and higher education institutions conveniently became an appealing research site as they were the newest educational frontier for women at that time. the preparatory schools whose names differed from seminaries, academies, and colleges did not fit into any category. while these schools contributed profoundly to the achievement of many women's education, they did not receive enough attention from researchers. therefore, a study of girls' pre-collegiate schools offers critical insights into the changes in women's educational experience in the late nineteenth century. this article examines the curriculum and practices of the classical school for girls in indianapolis, indiana. theodore a. sewall (1853-1895) and may wright sewall (18441920) founded the school in 1882. mr. and mrs. sewall were college graduates from harvard university and northeastern university, respectively. they shared the same commitment to educational reform and transformed their visions into practice. in 1876, mr. sewall founded the indianapolis classical school for boys, where mrs. sewall later taught german. the notice of the classical school for girls' establishment appeared six years later in an announcement of the boys' school in june 1882. while theodore a. sewall's name remained as the school's principal until he died in 1895, mary wright sewall was the person in charge of running the school. as stated in the announcement for school establishment, classical school for girls served to "provide a thorough course of study preparatory to the colleges that admit women" (indianapolis classical school scrapbook vol. 1 n.d). the school curriculum for girls was similar to that of the school for boys, which "modeled on the plan of the leading new england academies" (indianapolis classical school scrapbook vol. 1 n.d). the review of sources – including school catalogs, scrapbooks, personal manuscripts, and newspaper articles – reveals a broader reform agenda that was infused in the school curriculum and practice. the school presented itself as a pioneering institution that confronted popular norms about women's intellectual and physical capacities. not only did the school provide female students with an equally rigorous curriculum as the males' school but also did it offer innovative courses such as physical training and domestic sciences. the classical school for girls furthered women's access to higher education and reimagined gender norms related to women's ability and their place in society. this study contributes to 16 the understanding of female preparatory schools in the late nineteenth century and calls for a reappraisal of this kind of school in shaping women's educational experience. improvements and challenges of female education in the late nineteenth century the last few decades of the nineteenth century saw significant achievements in secondary education for women in the united states. vocal proponents supported the establishment of secondary schools for girls and promoted women's education. in 1840, alexander dallas bache submitted a plan for a high school for girls and a seminary for female teachers to the controller of the public school of philadelphia. he asserted that "yes, the high school for girls! that is what philadelphia lacks" and "educate the girls properly, and the world will soon be a better and nobler race of men" (woody 1929, 524). the establishment of high schools and female colleges allowed more women to pursue secondary and higher education. between 1850 and 1870, there were approximately 160 public high schools, and the number increased to 2,536 in 1890. by 1890, more girls attended and graduated from high schools than boys (woody 1929, 545-46). private schools and academies provided a wide range of courses for students and prepared them for colleges. some academies even extended their course of study and obtained the pretentious name of colleges, and many male colleges started accepting coeducation (dexter 1919, 433). the growth of women's colleges offered more significant opportunities for those who aspired to pursue higher education. between 1875 and 1885, the number of female students in non-coeducational increased from 9,572 to 14,049 (dexter 1919, 440-44). solomon (1985) suggests several factors that promoted women's attendance at colleges, such as family finance and beliefs. middle-class families were among those who often supported their children's higher education, intending to maintain economic prosperity. in the annual reports of the present of the columbia college presented to the trustees in 1882, frederick a.p barnard affirmed women's positive impacts on improving the standard of scholarship. he also disputed the assumption that women's constitutions did not fit the rigorous course of study in colleges (barnard, 1882). despite the increasing support, women continued facing some intense opposition. in 1872, edward clarke, a harvard medical school professor, proposed one of the most profound critiques of women's intellectual capacity. clarke (1874) claims that the study at schools and colleges was strenuous for women's brains and potentially caused nerve disease or mental power loss. in other words, women's physical and intellectual capacity could not meet the intensity of higher schooling. another objection came from the fear that education would adversely affect women's marriage. men perceived educated women as those who might engage in public discussions and neglect housework (burstyn 2016). opponents to women's education in the late nineteenth century fiercely denounced co-education. they perceived co-education as a cause of the masculinization of women and the feminization of men. opposing people also believed that women's participation in the same environment could impede men's success (nash 2016). multisided attacks on women's capacity and dignity indeed impeded most women to access higher education, yet did not necessarily affect middle-class families who could afford private schooling for their children. education in indiana in the nineteenth century. it took several decades for the state of indiana to constitutionalize common schools. in 1816, indian's first constitution included education provision, which called for "a general system of education" (carmony and peckham 1950, 22). however, it was only until 1852 that indiana passed a school law for establishing a common school fund. the "county seminary law of 1818" was the first 17 state's attempt to encourage the establishment of a trustee to fund public seminary. that said, the law was not meant to secure public funds for education. seminaries were ultimately dependent on tuitions, which were afforded by only a few (boone 1892). in the 1840s, indiana faced the challenge of illiteracy that happened one-seventh of the entire population (moores 1905). caleb mills, a professor at the wabash college, acknowledged the state of emergency in indiana's education system and actively advocated public education through his publications. in his infamous writing, the series of one of the people submitted to the legislature members; mill presented suggested plans for free public schools for indiana children. his proposal influenced the governor and the legislature makers to pass an act that collected public opinions on free education between 1847 and 1848 (moores 1905). in 1851, the new constitution acknowledged the formation of a common schools system, "where tuition shall be without charge, and equally open to all" (indiana constitution 1851). in the following year, the school law of 1852 mandated the use of state taxation to support public education, including building schools and hiring teachers. the proliferation of public schools resulted in the decline of private schools. over four decades, indiana transformed an education system from a mostly private and charted to a state-funded one. education for indian women underwent some similar experiences with women in other parts of the country. in the early nineteenth century, female seminaries emphasized the teaching of etiquette rather than academic rigor. the two first female schools in indianapolis were the indianapolis female school and miss hooker's female school. the former school was founded in 1830 and offered coursed in english grammar, geography, astronomy, and needlework. the latter was opened in 1834 and extended its courses of study to history, natural philosophy, and painting (ubriel 1994). these seminaries were often short-lived and offered limited opportunities only for those who could afford their tuition. by the 1840s, female education achieved growing recognition and momentum for improvement. the number of female seminaries and colleges increased noticeably across the state. the rockville female seminary was founded in 1840; then, the de pauw female college at new albany opened five years later (boone 1892). many of the girls' schools remained private and under churches' influences. the curriculum emphasized less on subjects like needlework, astronomy but more on english and history. the development of private schools ceased in the 1850s by the time public education and coeducation became viable (boone 1892). by the 1860s, co-education became a favorable option in indiana. boone (1892) claims that the county seminaries were nominally open to both sexes, although, in some exceptions, female students were not as welcomed as males. as early as 1819, rev. william martin founded the martin's academy in livonia, washington county, which opened the door to both male and female students. the monroe county seminary admitted both sexes in 1833. when caleb mills advocated for free public education, he also acknowledged his support for girls' education. in his speech, "knowledge is power," mills disputed the notion of intellectual inferiority and expressed his belief in the impacts of education for women and public goods (natali 2007). after the school law in 1852, public schools steadily developed across the states and offered free education for all children (boone 1892). not only girls attended the same schools as boys at all levels, but also high school female graduates outnumbered males (littell 1916). however, private institutions such as female seminaries and preparatory schools continued to play a critical role in women's education until the end of the nineteenth century. students who intended to go to college chose private schools over public high schools for college examination training. the public high schools did not offer the courses that were required by colleges, and teachers were not 18 qualified to teach those courses either (boone 1892). a majority of the township high school was finishing schools. their primary purpose was to "do the best things it can for those who presumably will go no farther" (cotton 1904, 473). after finishing high school, students needed to take courses at private schools or college preparatory departments to be considered qualified for admission. this new development generated renewed and favorable conditions for the revival of seminaries, academies, and private schools of their kind. between the 1850s and 1870s, an estimate indicates that more than 70 seminaries were founded across the state. this estimation included co-educational institutions and other institutions, which listed under the names of colleges yet preserved the seminary functions. there are four major groups of seminaries (boone 1892). the first group consisted of the revived academies built on the ruins of the early nineteenth-century county seminaries. the second group was formed and run by churches. the third kind of seminaries was mostly privately developed and run. the schools of this kind provided good-quality teaching and made a notable reputation. the last category, the least mentioned, was named under "business schools" or "farmer's academies." among the four groups, the privately-owned schools committed the most to academic works, thus played the most prominent part in furthering education for students. may wright sewall and the classical school for girls may wright sewall was a dedicated and eminent educator. she was born in milwaukee in 1844. she graduated from the northwestern female college in 1866 and received her master of arts degree at the alma mater in 1871. after earning her master's degree, mrs.sewall taught at schools in mississippi and michigan, where she became the first woman principal. in 1882, she served as the classical school for girls' principal until the close of the school in 1907. she advocated for higher education for women and asserted its values in developing a better society. sewall disputed the public doubts on women's intellectual capacity and encouraged women to use education for the domestic and public good (sewall 1887). since the beginning of her career, sewall had been devoted to education and worked for its betterment. may wright sewall and her husband theodore l. sewall established the classical school for girls – later named as girls' classical school, a leading preparatory school in indianapolis, indiana, in 1882. the school opened in september 1882 in the southeast corner of north pennsylvania and st. joseph street (catalogue of the classical school for boys n.d). the school was privately-owned, which aimed "to provide a thorough course of study preparatory to the colleges that admit women" (classical school scrapbook vol.1 n.d). the founders also saw the school's foundation as a timely response to the need for preparing young girls for higher education. the school opening announcement in 1882 wrote: "the present state of higher education for women makes schools of this character as necessary for girls as for boys" (classical school scrapbook vol.1 n.d). more importantly, the school was an ideal place for sewall to practice her education reformist ideas. under her leadership, the school became the best female school in indianapolis with pride in curriculum rigor, advanced physical training program, and a comprehensive course of study (ubriel 1994). within a few years of its foundation, the classical school for girls established a widespread and prestigious reputation in indiana and the nearby areas. in the first year, the school enrolled forty-four students, and the enrollment increased to fifty-nine in the following year. the school was proud of offering a similar course of study as in the classical school for boys. in 1886, the two graduates from the school became the first indiana girls to take harvard examinations and obtained admission certificates (classical school for girls 1886). in the first year, the school mostly offered courses in the advanced department, which consisted of five years of study. this department was 19 designed for girls who finished secondary school from other institutions and only attended classical school for girls for college preparation. after a few years, the school provided a whole range of levels from kindergarten, primary, upper primary, intermediate to advanced. by the ninth year, the school admitted 176 students, among which 27 residence students came from other states such as california, utah, kansas, minnesota, and washington dc. beyond its emphasis on academic excellence, the classical school for girls embraced a bold reform agenda. the analysis of the school curriculum and practices further uncovers the reformist aspects of this school. a commitment to academic excellence since its establishment, the classical school for girls had made a strong statement on its dedication to academic excellence. the school arranged the courses at the advanced department following the latest requirements for the harvard examinations for women. it explained that harvard's requirements were "the highest, and therefore including all others" (classical school for girls 1889). other female education advocates shared the same vision that admission to harvard was both a significant academic achievement and a success in the fight for equal access to higher education. however, together with other elite male-dominant private institutions such as princeton and yale, harvard remained a close door for women in the nineteenth century. the push by the women's education association of boston only led to the harvard examinations for women set up in 1874. in 1894, harvard cooperation agreed to have havard president countersign on the degree granted by radcliffe college. that said, co-education was still not accepted on the harvard campus (solomon 1985). the classical school for girls aspired to send girls to colleges and prepared them for the most distinguished one. by 1889, the school's catalog named dozens of students who successfully passed the havard examinations. due to harvard's restriction, these highly-achieved female graduates could only attend female colleges or co-ed institutions such as smith college, bryn mawr college, or the university of michigan (classical school for girls 1891). that said, their achievements demonstrated females' determination and competence to meet the demands of the highest-ranking college. the school viewed education as "a paramount business" and raised female education standards (classical school for girls 1889). the program in the advanced department consisted of five years of study with intensive training in such subjects as mathematics, latin, greek, history, french, natural sciences, and english. the catalog emphasized that these courses were "more extended than the courses in these subjects usually given in preparatory and high schools" (classical school for girls 1889). an article on the indianapolis news assessed the classical school for girls' range of study as "higher than many famous female colleges and female seminaries" (dean 1888). reading culture played a significant role both at school and at home. at school, students were expected to read english words correctly with taste and expression. the school sent home a reading list in response to mothers' questions, "what do you advise me to have my daughter read?" (classical school for girls1891) the recommendations for a reading list underscored an ultimate principle: read books of permanent value. in other words, the school encouraged students to read books not just for short-term amusement but, more importantly, for long-term intellectual development. the business of study required an investment of a measurable amount of time. apart from the study time at school, sewall, in an announcement, advised students in the upper department (or advanced department) to spend two to three hours daily to study at home. the rigor and comprehensiveness of the school curriculum and practice dispute the most common critiques of female institutions in the nineteenth century for having either an ornamental or lax curriculum. 20 the school took great pride in employing college-bred teachers who were "familiar with college methods and college requirements" (classical school for girls1903). this statement was best reflected in the list of the teachers on the annual catalogs. for example, the catalog of the school year 1886-1887 enumerates the names of teachers graduating from the university of michigan, indiana university, and wesley college. sewall herself obtained a master's degree at northwestern university. she insisted on the implications of higher education for women, especially for those who served as teachers. in her words, higher education was the essential instrument for women who entered "the lists of competitive intellectual service as paid workers" (sewall 1887). therefore, having college-trained teachers reinforced the school's commitment to providing excellent academic education for students. employing female college-bred teachers also demonstrated an appreciation for women's higher education achievement. these teachers were the best role models for girls who aspired to obtain a college education. in short, the team of college-graduated teachers exemplified the school's quality and orientation. physical education and women's images in the nineteenth century, physicians and doctors believed that the magnitude of schoolwork and a lack of health provisions at school were the causes of female health deterioration (clarke 1874). they called for establishing a system of calisthenics or gymnastics training at school and domestic training at home. catherin beecher was among proponents for physiology and calisthenics for young women. she published the book physiology and calisthenics: for schools and families simple to propose a system of physiology and a short and comprehensive course for physical training and hygiene (beecher 1867). however, physical activity truly gained public attention in the 1860s thanks to the boston educator's work, dio lewis. he suggested different calisthenics exercises such as the dumbbell exercises, gymnastics crowns, exercises with rings, and wands in the articles the new gymnastics published on the atlantic (lewis 1862). he lectured on gymnastics at various schools and put his ideas into practice at the short-lived dr.dio lewis's school for young ladies school (1864-1867) (woody 1929). his writings, lectures, and training contributed to popularizing calisthenics at female institutions. by the end of the nineteenth century, physical training or gymnastics was a part of high schools and academies' curriculum. with the advantages of a private school, the classical school for girls offered a thorough course of physical training. the introduction of calisthenics, physical training, and hygiene courses to girls' schools and academies responded to critiques about the exclusion of health provision in their curriculum. the school dedicated the third floor that was 64 by 41 feet, with a height of 21 feet, to be the gymnasium. the gymnasium was equipped with jumping poles, horizontal ladder parallel bars, weights, and rings. its spacious area could even afford to march. at the beginning of the school year, students received physical examinations to decide on the types and intensity of the exercises. the availability of resources allowed the school to provide individualized programs for students (classical school for girls 1886). from monday to friday, students of all departments spent 30 minutes at the gymnastics class. mrs. sewall also reinforced the school's standards of excellence in gymnastics. accordingly, the physical training course concentrated on improving both students' health and vigor, precision, and accuracy. the school catalog consistently highlighted the success of the program over the years. "the gymnasium work, so conducted for eight years, has proven uniformly beneficial. the good effect upon the health and carriage of the girls has been most marked, and many girls have been brought from a state of physical weakness to settle, robust health by means of their gymnasium practice" (classical school for girls 1891). the provision of the physical training program reassured a 21 balance between mental health and physical health. the gymnastics program contributed to reshaping the images of the feminine both at school and in public. in the school year 18881889, the school appointed pauline morton, a graduate from woman's medical college, new york city, as the gymnasium director. morton was in charge of the gymnasium instruction and the lectures on health and hygiene throughout the school year. these lectures were open to students and parents to educate them on the role of physical training and hygiene for women's health (classical school for girls catalogue 1889). the annual gymnastic examination was one of the most significant school events that promoted the image of strong and physically skilled young ladies. local newspapers praised sewall for introducing physical culture into girls' schools and advertised it as a pleasing experience (indianapolis classical school scrapbook vol 2. n.d). the school invited parents and friends to attend the annual examination. the annual gymnastic examination program in 1899 consisted of freestanding for stronger movement and general posture improvement, heaving movement for expansion of chest, club swinging for the shoulder joint and hand development, and vaulting for courage, elasticity, and coordination. these exercises' purposes were utterly different from the common beliefs of the images of middle-class women in the nineteenth century. female students at the classical schools for girls were not feeble creatures with incapable minds for academic work. they were trained to be intellectual, physically capable, and courageous young women who pursued excellence and life balance. household science and women's roles in society the household science curriculum resonated with the emerging trend of the social efficiency curriculum in the 1890s. the social changes demanded adjustments in the curriculum to fit the demands of a broader population instead of affording only a few brightest ones. the social efficiency reformers attacked the college-preparatory curriculum for being distant from real-life circumstances, thus called for more practical subjects (kliebard 2004). the birth of household science responded to that call. the emergence of home economics or domestic science among white middle-class women in the nineteenth century was partly influenced by the notion of separate spheres which ditates women’s roles involving around the house. however, catherine beecher, a renowned education reformer, pushed this discourse further to promote domestic science as a field of study in women’s schools – a public space (puaca 2020). on the one hand, the introduction of this course could be understood as a reinforcement of normative gender roles that associated housework with women's responsibilities. on the other hand, this course represents a new definition of woman's roles and a reappraisal of their work in the public sphere. the girls' classical school announced the establishment of a household science department in 1899 under the director of anna hedges, a drexel institute, philadelphia graduate (classical school for girls 1889). the guiding principle of this department was that housekeeping was both an art and a science. the pupils who signed up for the class would attend two hours per week. one hour was designated for theory, and the other was for practice. for the first time, a course at the girls' classical school was open for the general public who were interested in the scientific knowledge of home subjects and improving their housekeeping skills. this department offered two separate courses – an applied science course and a cooking course. the former class embraced four scientific subjects, including chemistry, physics, physiology, and composition of food and cooking. these subjects promised to provide students with intellectual knowledge about the science of housekeeping. the cooking class, on the other hand, offered practical opportunities to apply 22 theories. the initiative at the girls' classical school resonated with a shifting trend in women's education in which the topics of household science and domestic economy had a position in formal educational settings (youmans 1856). the most fundamental distinction of the household science courses at sewall's school was rooted in her perception of these courses' roles. most social efficiency reformers believed that schools should teach subjects that prepared students for life. household science subjects, in particular, should meet the home needs and help the girls be more efficient at home. women's worth depended on their contribution to the home, for instance, how well they could cook, take care of the children, or do other housework (united states bureau of education 1919). in other words, the teaching of household science served the house's needs rather than the desires of individual women. in contrast, sewall asserted that household science should appreciate the "dignity of labor" and the "intelligence and skill required in the practical service of any family" (sewall 1900). she referred to the household science as exemplary work that could yield happiness, yet being in a deplorable condition among middle-class families. sewall criticized the middle class or the leisure class for condemning housework. she affirmed that educating the minds should be of equal importance as educating the body. the household science courses at the girls' classical school aimed at developing an appreciation for the women's labor work and not necessarily to meet a home need. more than a course that taught people how to cook properly, the household science course was designed to change a social class's perspectives on women's domestic work values. conclusion during twenty-five years in operation (1882-1907), the girls' classical school initiated trail-blazing practices that shaped the educational experiences of its students and created changes in the community. first and foremost, the school provided a pathway for women who aspired to go to college. it successfully sent female students to respected colleges and disputed the belief of women's inferior intelligence. the course in physical training was a bold statement that attested to female physical capability. the course in household science advocated for a reappraisal of the domestic work and women's roles. the school's initiatives contributed to promoting the new images of women and changing public perspectives. the story of the classical school for girls demonstrates distinctive attributes of nineteenth-century girls' preparatory schools that were often overlooked in the history of women's education. the examination into the growth and changes of preparatory offers critical understandings of women's educational experiences and the female school leaders' reformist ideas. ultimately, the changes that happened within the four walls of a female school could out to the public and reshaped women's images in society. 23 references barnard, frederick augustus porter. 1882. the higher education of women annual reports of the president of columbia college, presented to the trustees in june. 1879, june, 1880, and june, 1881. columbia college. beecher, catharine esther. 1867. physiology and calisthenics: for schools and families. harper. boone, richard gause. 1892. a history of education in indiana. r. appleton. burstyn, joan n. 2016. victorian education and the ideal of womanhood. routledge. carmony, donald f., and howard h. peckham. 1950. a brief history of indiana. indiana historical bureau. clarke, edward hammond. 1874. sex in education, or, a fair chance for girls. james r. osgood and company. catalogue of the classical school for boys. n.d. indiana state library. classical school for girls. 1886. classical school for girls catalogue 1885-1886. indiana state library. classical school for girls. 1889. classical school for girls catalogue 1888-1889. indiana state library. classical school for girls. 1891. classical school for girls catalogue 1890-1891. indiana state library. classical school for girls. 1903. classical school for girls catalogue 1902-1903. indiana state library. cotton, fassett allen. 1904. education in indiana: an outline of the growth of the common school system, together with statements relating to the condition of secondary and higher education in the state and a brief history of the educational exhibit. prepared for the louisiana purchase exposition, held at saint louis, may 1 to november 30, 1904. wb burford, contractor for state printing. dean, mary 1888. "the girls' classical school." indianapolis news, 1888. dexter, edwin grant. 1919. a history of education in the united states. macmillan. eisenmann, linda. 2001. "creating a framework for interpreting us women's educational history: lessons from historical lexicography." history of education 30 (5): 453-470. https://doi.org/10.1080/ 00467600110064735 indiana constitution. 1851. https://www.in.gov/history/2473.htm "indianapolis classical school scrapbook vol.1." indianapolis, indiana. education in indiana. indiana state library. http://cdm16066.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/co mpoundobject/collection/p16066coll52/id/27 57/rec/15. "indianapolis classical school scrapbook vol 2." indianapolis, indiana. education in indiana. indiana state library. http://cdm16066.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/co mpoundobject/collection/p16066coll52/id/34 95/rec/17. kliebard, herbert m. 2004. the struggle for the american curriculum, 1893-1958. psychology press. krug, edward august. 1969. the shaping of the american high school, 1880-1920. university of wisconsin press madison. lewis, dio 1862. "the new gymnastics." the atlantic 1862. https://www.theatlantic.com/ magazine/archive/1862/08/the-newgymnastics/305408/. littell, harold. 1916. "development of the city school system of indiana 1851-1880." the indiana magazine of history: 193-213. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27785749 moores, charles washington, caleb mills, and joseph farrand tuttle. 1905. caleb mills and the indiana school system. wood-weaver print. company. nash, margaret. 2016. women's education in the united states, 1780-1840. springer. nash, margaret a. 2008. "the historiography of education for girls and women in the united states." in rethinking the history of american education, 143-159. springer. nash, margaret a. 2018. "thoughts on the history of women's education, theories of power, and this volume: an introduction." 24 in women's higher education in the united states, 1-21. springer. natali, bethany leigh. 2007. "the impact of caleb mills on the hoosier education debate: an edition of two unpublished addresses." thesis. https://scholarworks.iupui.edu/handle/ 1805/1001 perkins, linda m. 1983. "the impact of the "cult of true womanhood" on the education of black women." journal of social issues 39 (3): 17-28. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.15404560.1983.tb00152.x puaca, laura m. 2020. "home economics, "handicapped homemakers," and postwar america." history of education quarterly 60 (3): 380-406. sewall, mary w. 1900. personal letter of mary w. sewall. indiana public library. sewall, mary w. . 1887. the domestic and social effects of the higher education of women indiana university. solomon, barbara miller. 1985. in the company of educated women: a history of women and higher education in america. yale university press. tolley, kim. 2014. the science education of american girls: a historical perspective. routledge. turpin, andrea l. 2010. "the ideological origins of the women's college: religion, class, and curriculum in the educational visions of catharine beecher and mary lyon." history of education quarterly 50 (2): 133-158. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.17485959.2010.00257.x ubriel, alexander 1994. "education, female." in the encyclopedia of indianapolis, edited by david j. bodenhamer, david gordon vanderstel and rober graham barrows, 526528. indiana university press. woody, thomas. 1929. a history of women's education in the united states. vol. 2. science press. woyshner, christine, and bonnie hao kuo tai. 1997. "symposium: the history of women in education." harvard educational review 67 (4): v-xiv. https://doi.org/10.17763/ haer.67.4.385197673w145773 youmans, edward livingston. 1865. the handbook of household science: a popular account of heat, light, air, aliment, and cleasing in their scientific principles and domestic applications, with numerous illustrative diagrams. d. appleton. curriculum history 2018; 10-18 10 visiting the past: ernest horn’s conception of historical imagination for the social studies classroom james schul winona state university abstract ernest horn, a curriculum professor at the university of iowa, was known within the progressive education movement for his work on spelling education. he was also well regarded within the community of social studies educators. recent research has revealed horn’s role within the american historical association’s commission on the social studies, namely his contribution to its dialogue on the role of standardized testing in the school experience. this article focuses upon the social studies methods textbook that horn wrote while serving within the commission. the text had a central theme of eliciting students’ historical imagination. this theme of historical imagination is analyzed both contextually within the historical perspective as well as how horn’s views relate with curricular adjustments made in history education throughout the twentieth century to the contemporary era. introduction hope attached itself in 1929 to the american historical association’s (aha) newly conceived commission on the social studies. its mission was to investigate the social studies in american schools and provide recommendations to teachers and other school leaders as to the purposes of the social studies to identify best practices for teachers to achieve those purposes. the commission consisted of some of the most prominent figures in both education and the social sciences. headlining the cast of commission members were the revered historian charles beard and the up and coming scholar of education, george counts. the commission was a working body for five years, completing its task in 1933 that produced work both significant and extensive in scope. however, the commission became mired in a political controversy as it was sharply criticized by education critics for its radical stance on the american socio-economic environment. unfortunately, this criticism led to some historians (ravitch 2000) to relegate the commission as simply another failed effort within the social reconstruction movement. recent research on the aha commission (schul 2013) shed light on the significance of the commission itself. this research exposed the commission as being a pioneer in the debate over the use of standardized tests in the school experience, which continues today. the purpose of this current research investigation is to shed further light on the work on the commission, particularly upon the history classroom practices proposed by one of its significant members, curriculum professor ernest horn of the university of iowa. by relying heavily upon ernest horn’s 1937 book methods of instruction in the social studies that he contributed as a member of american historical association’s (aha) commission on the social studies, this investigation seeks to answer the following question: what was ernest horn’s conception of history teaching and learning and what is its relevancy for today? aha commission: background and context the american historical association (aha) formed a commission to investigate the social studies in american schools. the 11 commission commenced in 1929, remained an active body until 1935, and was supported by a grant from the carnegie foundation. the general purpose for it was to provide a uniform and comprehensive examination on the social studies that provided clarity on curricular guidance for the social studies that teachers and school administrators might use when mired in the midst of a society experiencing massive economic and social changes. capitalism within the nation and across the world was threatened by the collapse of the fiscal markets and a wave of political movements surfaced that promised to break the conventional socio-political climate as well as what constituted appropriate citizenship education. according to charles beard (1932), author of the first installment of the aha commission’s work, a charter for the social sciences, the early portion of the twentieth century saw a “need of a wise readjustment in our thinking and our educational program to a world that has become urbanized, mechanized, and interlocked in its social, economic, political, and cultural interests” (vi). to add to these social changes, another external factor influencing the work of schools was the fact that high school enrollment had been increasing for the first three decades of the twentieth century: from 6.7% in 1890 to 32.4% by 1920 (kliebard 2002). tagged with the enrollment increase was a concern by school officials and curricularists toward transforming the school curriculum so that it met the needs of a growing general school population. the curricular readjustment came in the form of several committee reports, as explained by beard (1932): “by 1922, nearly all of the great national associations had published committee reports suggesting more or less extensive remedial measures.” history education: a brief history the aha commission on the social studies emerged at a time when history education was undergoing a curricular adjustment. in 1916, the nea commission on the reorganization of secondary education published its report of the social studies. the report of the social studies, often referred to as the document that gave birth to the broad field of social studies education, proposed that history be taught conceptually with an emphasis on current issues. ronald evans (2004), curriculum historian, asserted that the report “argued for selection of aspects that met the qualifications of ‘functioning in the present’” (37). this conception of history education correlated with the one proposed by john dewey (1916) where history is to be taught using patterns that reflect contemporary issues. a wave of new history curriculum emerged in the wake of the report. the most prominent of the emerging curriculum was harold rugg’s popular textbook series for secondary social studies classrooms. rugg’s texts provocatively connected themes and concepts from the social sciences with contemporary issues and events. for instance, rugg’s text series included two key components: the use of what he called “dramatic episodes” and the problem-based workbook that served as a companion to the texts. rugg (1929) insisted that the use of dramatic episodes, or narratives that connected themes of the past with contemporary society was essential because, as he put it: if young people are to be brought to an understanding of our complicated civilization, it must be chiefly through the medium of words. hence, the imperative need of dramatizing the past and present story of american civilization and its relations to the modern world. (rugg, v) 12 while rugg sought to engage students into contemporary society with his texts, he intended that his workbook engaged students in a problem solving process. “the very center of this course in the social studies is the problem-solving activities of the pupil’s workbook,” rugg (1929, vi) declared in describing his curriculum. according to rugg (1929), the workbook “constantly confronts the pupil with stimulating problems, insight into each of which is important for an adequate understanding of american civilization” (vi). however, the actual practice of history teaching and learning in the schools was a mixed bag. some history teachers did not always practice strategies that matched the proposal of the report on the social studies nor what was contained in rugg’s textbook series. for instance, a 1935 study of a suburban high school in new york city revealed that 80% of teachers relied heavily on a textbook in their courses with the same percentage “engaged in traditional recitation” (cuban, 1993, 71). however, there is evidence that other teachers were indeed engaging students in stimulating and creative strategies to learn history. the historical outlook, the premier practitioner’s journal for history teaching and learning in the 1920s, for instance, revealed many examples of teachers engaging students with the past through such means as current news magazines and primary archival sources. in 1921 jennie l. pingrey, a history teacher from vermont, proposed her idea of teaching history by providing writing prompts that placed the student in a significant period or event of the past and requiring them to employ their imagination. for instance, some of the prompts included “my part in the french revolution” and “when i helped alexander the great to conquer asia” (pingrey, 1921, 295). this example illustrates the fact that historical imagination was something some history teachers were already emphasizing. it may be presumed, therefore, that ernest horn’s conception of historical imagination was influenced by the practices of such teachers that he either knew or read about when he wrote his methods text. ernest horn and the progressive era ernest horn was born in 1882. he majored in elementary education at the university of missouri and was appointed as principal of the university’s first laboratory elementary school at the completion of his junior year. this was the genesis of what would be a long and successful career as a curriculum professor. after some initial experience in the professoriate at colorado state university, horn moved toward advanced graduate studies at columbia university teachers college where he earned his phd in 1915. at the conclusion of his time at columbia, he accepted a position as professor at the university of iowa college of education, where he would spend his remaining professional career (stein, 1973). while at iowa, horn established the university of iowa elementary school, a school well known for nurturing inquiry-based instruction among its in-service and preservice teachers. horn’s research focused on spelling instruction where he aimed to decipher which words were most commonly used in life outside the school (stein, 1973). although he was best known for his work on spelling education, horn’s educational interests and influence spread wide, particularly with the area of social studies education. a longtime member of the national council for the social studies, horn was greatly interested in the issue of moral education within the public schools (schul & hamot, 2011). horn believed that moral education should be taught through cases where the teacher would guide students through 13 the moral issues related to those cases. these cases revolved mostly around issues of property rights and sought to position the student to consider the perspective, right, and responsibility of the property owner and property user. horn’s interest in social studies education led to his selection as one of the members of the aha commission on the social studies. while horn’s contribution to the controversy surrounding testing that surfaced around the aha commission has been investigated (schul, 2013), his explicit contribution to its work has not. horn’s direct contribution to the commission was a social studies methods book titled methods of instruction in the social studies (1937). the text reveals horn’s meticulous concern for detail and his ongoing focus on the pragmatic with regard to public education. the text: methods of instruction in the social studies the methods text produced by horn for the commission was exhaustive on many fronts and could be the source of multiple research investigations. it was underpinned theoretically with the connection between instructional method and social purpose, subject matter, and nature of the learner. horn included provocative sections about indoctrination and propaganda that asked such questions as: shall the schools have a social program? shall controversial issues be taught? shall the schools teach pupils how to think or what to think? a section entitled “reading in relation to learning in the social studies” examined issues such as the relationship of a students’ intelligence, interest, and experience to reading. additionally, the methods text examined the use of a textbook in correlation to other tools at a teacher’s disposal such as oral instruction, the radio, visual aids, museums, and dramatization. imbedded throughout the methods book, particularly with regard to the sections that emphasized reading and instructional strategies is the theme of imagination. as a case in point, one of the latter sections of the book entitled “devices for stimulating the imagination” emphasized the use of graphic aids, and dramatization as a means to evoke students’ imagination. within this section, a chapter entitled “the imaginary journey” focused on imaginary trips a teacher may position students to take, as a means to better understand the concepts of a particular geographic region or era of the past. rather than provide multiple examples of possible imaginary journeys, horn (1937) spent the bulk of the chapter on warnings about employing such a strategy and he shared his concerns that many teachers tend to focus too much on the journey itself, as he explained is a misstep often made in geography courses: … the fundamental concepts are commonly obscured by the great amount of emphasis given to buying imaginary tickets, to making passports, to dramatizing the inoculation against diseases, to packing american flags in ‘little imaginary suitcases,’ to ringing bells, to blowing whistles, to shouting and waving good-bys as the boat or train departs, to tipping the porter, to making paper trains that steam ‘joyously across the desert,’ to keeping diaries of the imagined trip, to writing letters home, and to carving souvenirs out of soap. (horn, 1937, 466) horn (1937) categorized such activities as “intellectual sloppiness” because it emphasizes an interest in the journey itself rather than “the interest developed in basic geographical and 14 social problems” (469). horn saw potential with instructional strategies that employed students’ imagination as long the teacher emphasized the teaching of subject matter with the strategy rather than the strategy having a life of its own. a common theme throughout horn’s methods book was its analysis of benefits and disadvantages of various classroom practices. one of horn’s most significant analyses of classroom practices, which he provided in his text, was the use of the textbook in relation to other reading material that teachers may have at their disposal. integrating literature into the history curriculum horn conceded that textbooks were going to remain in the school experience. in his text, he cited research that revealed the dominance of the textbook in the american classroom. however, he also recognized that the ideas of the progressive education movement were gaining some traction in some classrooms: “there are, however, an increasing number of school systems, as indicated by the available courses of study, in which the textbook is regarded as an introductory manual to be used with classroom libraries and other equipment” (horn, 1937, 209). horn proceeded in his methods book to critique textbooks by providing numerous deficiencies of their use, including their poor reading quality, students’ own poor reading ability, a lack of visuals such as maps and pictures, and their lack of treatment of contemporary social issues. horn went on to provide guidance for teachers in how they should use the text. he valued the text for providing an outline of the course of study for both teachers and pupils, their inclusion of lists of questions and supplemental reading suggestions, and the summary of a topic or time-period that students may use for review as they seek to better understand the concepts and generalizations taught to them by their teacher. but, for the most part, horn envisioned the textbook as a curricular resource and not the dominant influence in the curriculum. horn (1937) was skeptical of the use of workbooks in the classroom as he feared that most of them contained “many exercises that are little better than busywork” and that they often “increase rather than to offset the formalism and verbalism that, in the past, have pervaded the teaching of the social studies” (222). horn (1937) believed that “dynamic teaching centers upon ideas rather than upon books” (223). with that said, horn believed that no single text could effectively address historical and contemporary problems that students should seek to address in their courses. it is for this reason that horn believed teachers should include what he called collateral readings (although he was not comfortable with the term collateral since it signals a deference to the textbook). horn’s rationale for employing collateral readings in the history classroom, as you will see, ran parallel with his reasoning with strengths associated with employing historical fiction in the classroom (see table 1). he believed that additional readings were necessary with eliciting curiosity and students’ use of imagination in their learning about the past. horn (1937) also suggested that employing literature in the history classroom offered a clear opportunity for history teachers to engage in interdisciplinary partnerships with literature teachers as “each enriches and supplements the other: literature in giving a sense of atmosphere, and history in providing authentic factual background of the period or conditions” (291). the most prominent area of the methods book that emphasized the employment of students’ imaginations was the section entitled “the use of imaginative literature.” 15 table 1. ernest horn’s analysis of historical fiction in the history classroom strengths weaknesses gives atmosphere inadequacy of sources used to reconstruct the past shows more vividly and intimately the bearings of past conditions upon the people the distortion and false color caused by interpreting the past from the point of view of the writer’s own time enables the reader to enter imaginatively into the experiences of past times the bias of a limited point of view or purpose stimulates an interest in historical study the necessity for meeting the demands of a well-rounded plot even though historical data are lacking horn used this chapter to explain his conception of the relationship between history and literature, particularly fiction and historical fiction. the following section illuminates horn’s conception of what we will term the historical imagination. horn and historical imagination ernest horn’s interest with employing historical fiction as a means to teach history had a practical purpose. “the intellectual diet of the average reader – either immature or adult – contains little social knowledge that is substantial or scholarly” combined with “the dominance of fiction in the leisure-time reading of both children and adults” (horn, 1937, 265) made it apparent that fiction may be an effective means to attract students’ interest in the social problems in history. horn categorized fiction appropriate for the history classroom into two types: contemporary fiction and historical fiction. contemporary fiction, according to horn, was written by an author who “consciously or unconsciously, deals with what is going on in his own time” (269). horn provided harriet beecher stowe’s uncle tom’s cabin as an example of contemporary fiction. historical fiction, according to horn, was written by an author who “reconstructs or refers to the events, persons, or manners of a former time” (269). sir walter scott’s ivanhoe was provided as an example of historical fiction. as was customary for horn in his methods book, he spent a considerable amount of effort warning the teacher of pitfalls with employing literature to teach history. for instance, horn warned that bias of the author can sometimes be very strong in works of fiction and the reader must be on guard for this. horn later conceded that general histories also contain bias. horn (1937) went on to provide a series of guiding questions for those teachers who chose to employ “imaginative writing” into their classroom: he should have in mind especially the distinction between contemporary and historical fiction and should realize why, in general, contemporary fiction is preferred by the historian. he should understand the difference between the purposes and methods of history and fiction. he should know that portrayals may be vividly impressive and yet be false. he should be aware that the language, the points of view, and the sentiments of a historical novel are likely to be of the time of the writer rather than of the period treated. he should be critical of the limited horizon or the personal bias of the writer. above all, he should understand that the child, even more than the adult, is not in a position 16 to tell what is authentic and what is either imaginary or erroneous (291-292). horn sought to provide a balanced overview of the strengths and weaknesses with employing historical fiction into the history classroom. in many ways this analysis of the dichotomy of strengths and weaknesses encompass the aforementioned questions that horn asked as a means to warn the teacher. again, the weaknesses espoused by horn focused mostly on the inaccuracy and bias of the author much as he warned with his series of questions to teachers. the strengths centered on the lure of historical fiction to engaging the reader into experiences and issues of the past. a correspondence ensued between horn and a.c. krey, just before the publication of the methods text that focused on horn’s inclusion of imaginative literature as a means to teach history in the social studies curriculum. krey (1936a), a prominent ancient historian from the university of minnesota and the chairperson of the aha commission, praised horn for providing “excellent concrete illustrations developed sufficiently for to give the teacher a realizing sense of what is involved.” he praised horn for his dichotomization of historical fiction and contemporary fiction. krey, however, wanted horn to emphasize how the characteristics of historical fiction depart from the conventional history textbook in engaging students with the past: there is a certain value in the historical fiction, shared to some extent by fiction in general, which the ordinary textbook treatment of history fails to yield. the latter is too generalized, too far away from the ordinary, practical details of life to give the pupil any sense of the reality or vitality of history (krey 1936b). krey found a kindred spirit in horn who sought to make students’ history experience engaging, meaningful, and impactful. krey went on to suggest pieces of historical fiction, such as william stearns davis’ a day in old athens (1914) or his life on a mediaevall barony (1923) as well as rudyard kipling’s puck of pook’s hill (1906) as examples of historical fiction that “convey some impression of the culture pattern of the age with a vividness that helps to link the generalized material of the textbook to life in fact as the pupil actually knows it” (krey 1936b). horn included the lone example of davis’ a day in old athens into his chapter entitled “the textbook and collateral reading” that actually preceded the aforementioned chapter entitled “the use of imaginative literature” and served as a backdrop of how horn envisioned teachers may practically fit supplemental (or collateral, as horn called them) within their instructional repertoire. history education since horn ernest horn wrote about historical imagination in 1937 with a primary concern for the educational process that contributed to students’ interest in history and the affective objectives of history that would position the student to envision and explore the past. in sum, horn was interested in the life of the mind. there have been numerous trends in history education since horn wrote his methods book. curriculum reform in the 1950s was influenced by criticisms of the progressive movement, spurred by aspects of the cold war, which led to a return to academic disciplines in social studies courses (evans 2004). this meant that history education, for instance, included less emphasis on 17 contemporary social problems and more emphasis on a distinct study of the narrative of the past. the new social studies movement emerged in the 1960s with the aim to “transform … students into junior historians and social scientists” (evans 2004, 123). at this time edwin fenton, a historian at carnegie institute of technology in pittsburgh, began developing curriculum that included an employment of primary sources in middle and secondary history classrooms. teachers, influenced by fenton’s work, widely used a popular series of primary source packets entitled jackdaws that were widely used across the nation. the standards movement of the 1990s and 2000s placed an emphasis on the academic outcomes of teacher instruction. history education, as a result, emphasized students’ learning of facts and a reemphasis upon the narrative of the past. however, a reform movement entitled historical thinking, led by sam wineburg (1991) arose simultaneously with the standards movement. historical thinking, like the new social studies movement of the 1960s, emphasized student interpretation of primary sources as a means to learn history. disciplinary thinking became the objective of historical thinking. history educators such as keith barton and linda levstik (2004) began to emphasize the affective objectives that learning history through primary sources may include, most notably the development of students’ historical empathy (an individual’s ability to understand the thoughts and feelings of those who lived in the past). this contemporary emphasis on historical thinking as a means to develop empathy resembles some of the objectives that horn envisioned with integrating imaginative literature as a means to teach history. horn’s emphasis on imagination as a key component of history teaching and learning has its roots in the philosophy of history. r.g. collingwood (1946), the renowned philosopher of history, said nearly a decade after horn’s methods book that “every present has a past of its own, and any imaginative reconstruction of the past aims at reconstructing the past of this present” (247). horn’s suggestion of employing historical fiction and other types of what he called “imaginative literature” positions students to reconstruct the past using their imagination. although horn focused primarily on students’ consumption of fiction as a means to engage their historical imagination, a line can easily be drawn to how students writing their own tales of history may further employ historical imagination. horn’s suggestion of employing fiction in the history classroom may have been thought of, at the time of the publication of the methods text, to be a strategy exclusive to garner interest in history for the student in school and less necessary for the serious historian. however, in recent times, some historians have asserted that imagination plays a more central role in construction of the past than what other historians may be willing to admit. history educator david staley (2007), for instance, asserted that history is an “imaginative discipline, in that much of the work occurs in the ‘staging area’ or ‘workspace’ of the imagination, and is only then made external when we transcribe that product of our imagination into words” (101). staley (2007) elaborated further on the significant role that imagination plays in the construction of history in that it “allows our minds to recombine, juxtapose, invent, and create in novel ways” (102). likewise, horn envisioned students experiencing the past as a means to better understand it because it frees the students to reflect and create their own conception of the past– and subsequently apply it to issues surrounding the students’ contemporary times. horn deserves some credit for lining up his methods text, written nearly eighty years ago, with what some history educators are currently 18 striving to have unleashed more often in contemporary classrooms. horn’s emphasis on imagination in history teaching and learning is indicative of the progressive era’s emphasis on classroom practices that empower students to connect their own experiences to what they are learning. imaginative literature, according to horn, fostered such experiences for the students and enabled them to have an encounter with the past that was lasting and useful in their life. in many ways, this affective purpose for history teaching and learning that horn had nearly eighty years ago is still relevant for history teachers today who aspire to foster a love of history in their own students’ lives. references barton, k. c. and levstik, l. s. 2004. teaching history for the common good. new york: routledge. beard, c. 1932. a charter for the social sciences. part i: report of the commission on the social studies. new york: charles scribner’s sons. collingwood, r. g., 1946. the day of history. oxford: oxford university press. cuban, l. 1993. how teachers taught: constancy and change in american classrooms, 18901990. new york: teachers college press. davis, w. s. 1914. a day in old athens. new york: allyn and bacon. evans, r. w. 2004. the social studies wars: what should we teach the children?. new york: teachers college press. horn, e. 1937. methods of instruction in the social studies. new york: charles scribner’s sons. kliebard, h. m. 2002. changing course: american curriculum reform in the 20th century (vol. 8). new york: teachers college press. krey, a. 1936a 20 january. letter to ernest horn. american historical association collection, library of congress, washington, dc. krey, a. 1936b 31 january. letter to ernest horn. american historical association collection, library of congress, washington, dc. pingrey, j. l. 1921. imagination in the teaching of history. historical outlook, 12(8), 295. ravitch, d. 2001. left back: a century of battles over school reform. new york: simon and schuster. rugg, h. o. 1929. an introduction to american civilization: a study of economic life in the united states. boston: ginn& company. schul, j. e. 2013. ensuing dog fight: the aha commission on the social studies' testing controversy. journal of educational administration and history, 45(1), 1-27. schul, j. e., & hamot, g. e. 2011. an engaged pragmatist: uncovering and assessing ernest horn's view of moral education. journal of social studies research, 35(2). staley, d j. 2007. history and future: using historical thinking to imagine the future. langham: md: lexington books. stein, f. j. 1973. ernest horn’s ideas on education within the context of the progressive education movement in america. doctoral dissertation, university of iowa. williams, r. c. 2011. the historian's toolbox: a student's guide to the theory and craft of history. new york: me sharpe. wineburg, s. s. 1991. historical problem solving: a study of the cognitive processes used in the evaluation of documentary and pictorial evidence. journal of educational psychology, 83(1), 73-87. analyzing curriculum models from the 20th century: a focus on integration rachel turner southeast utah state university introduction the debate on organizing curriculum in schools persists, particularly regarding the division of specialized subject education vs. general education. even the elementary school, at one time devoted to self-contained classrooms, operates differently. younger students, tasked with difficult discipline specific goals, find themselves segmented by content area. elementary schools reflect semidepartmentalization, grouping subjects based on state testing requirements rather than curriculum goals or teacher expertise. in many states, one often sees an elementary teacher responsible for either math and science or language arts and social studies. the most popular reason for this arrangement is the fact that math and reading include sate assessments. by departmentalizing teachers, administrations hope to reduce teacher stress as they focus on a single tested subject, math or reading, rather than both. the goal for semi-departmentalization is increased student performance due to more intensive instruction. this leads to higher emphasis on the tested subjects, reducing time and focus on the nontested subjects such as science and social studies. however, social studies and science inclusion in the elementary school curriculum causes growing support for teachers to use integration as a method to incorporate social studies and science into the tested subjects. this primarily occurs in reading. however, in my own experience and according to elementary teachers with whom i have worked, teacher supports for understanding methods for organizing curriculum for integration does not exist. purpose as i explored approaches for organizing curriculum across the 20th century, i found the most prominent approaches cited include correlation, fusion, multidisciplinary, broad fields, interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and core curriculum. as i analyzed each approach, i noticed some approaches push for total integration of subject matter while others advocate for partial integration. i set out to determine how teachers use these organizational approaches, with their varying degrees of integration, to meet student needs, such as realworld application of knowledge, while also providing fundamental skill development within the content areas. i designed a disciplinary scale that allows me to rate each organizational approach along this scale. i hoped, through this process, to determine • what methods are used to organize curriculum to bring multiple subjects together? literature one of the most prominent education debates over the past century centers around the separate subject approach vs. the experience approach. the separate subject approach impacted the education system in the united states, particularly curriculum and school organization. curriculum integration emerged as an instructional approach as the progressive education movement pushed back against the separate subject approach. in the following section, i summarize the debate around separate subjects, as well as knowledge integration, and highlight the ways integration of ideas is important for student education and development. the single subject approach according to hopkins (1937), “the subject curriculum is characterized by a large number of subjects taught independent of each other. it assumes that education is something 39 which an individual does before he enters adult life” (198). the separate subject curriculum tends to be teacher driven, fact and skill driven, and relies heavily on students meeting essential benchmarks to move forward (hopkins 1937). each separate subject includes a unique background, education, training, procedure, methods and content areas (piaget 1972). the national education agency (1895) significantly impacted curriculum within schools as the committees of ten and fifteen emphasized separate subjects in both the elementary and high school. advocacy for the study of traditional subject and disciplines as the best method to provide optimal learning continues (tanner & tanner 1995). according to tanner and tanner (1995): when the evidence fails to reveal these claimed benefits, instead of seeking ways of integrating these studies and relating them to the life of the learner and to social reality, there is a tendency to look to extreme learner centered approaches and to negate systematically organized knowledge. (65) this shift towards student centered approaches has impacted curriculum integration in the 20th century. the emphasis on separate subjects continued into the 1950s with the space race emphasizing math, science and foreign languages. in the 1960’s, bruner’s work placed emphasis on separate subjects with his focus on structure of the disciplines (beane 1997). by the 1970’s the discipline-based movement reemerged (evans 2004). this tradition continues today as separate subject organization remains prevalent in all levels of schooling. this prevalence is due to the extensive systems formed around specific subjects within school systems and educational organizations (beane 1997). additionally, teachers’ tradition of teaching using the same methods they experienced as students impacted the staying power of separate subjects (beane 1997). the organization of teachers and schools into discipline departments also influenced the popularity, as teacher identity and teaching certifications revolve around specific subjects (beane 1997). this connection between teachers and curriculum continues to push the separate subject approach forward. the single subject approach can lead to a disconnected curriculum. the separate subject curriculum “tends to neglect natural and logical connections between and among the separate subjects and between the subjects and life outside school” (wraga, 2009, 89). with reform efforts such as a nation at risk (1983) and no child left behind (2001), subject matter has become a conduit for passing high stakes tests. this sends the message to students that schooling is to study subjects and pass tests, rather than prepare for life and solve problems (wraga, 2009). why curriculum integration? curriculum integration emerged in the late 19th century and throughout the 20th century was a prominent method to move away from the separate subject approach. a number of scholars and theorists who shifted away from the separate subject approach in the late 1800’s into the early 1900’s include herbartian society members charles a. and frank m. mcmurray and charles degarmo’s ideas about correlation between content and development (gutek 1995). charles a. mcmurray (1857-1929) was most known for his views on interdisciplinary curriculum, while his brother frank m. mcmurray (1862-1936), was most known for developing student teaching practices. charles degarmo (1849-1934), another prominent herbartian society member, wrote extensively on educational practice and theory. additionally, francis parker’s (18371902) problem centered experiences (mcmurry 1927), and dewey’s (1859-1952) social experiences related to school life (dewey 1938) helped push forward the experience approach. 40 john dewey (1916), who tested his progressive ideas while at the university of chicago, felt that one of the biggest problems with education itself was the separation of curriculum from everyday life. even with these scholars pushing against separate subjects, curriculum makers continued to focus on the school experience on separate subjects. two major issues raised around the separate subject approach include overcrowded and disjointed curriculum. wesley and adams (1946) stated “since each subject tends to set its own limits and to demand that its requirements be met, their mere presence leads to an overcrowded curriculum” (161). this overcrowded curriculum makes integration much more difficult, as focusing on separate subjects leads to isolated and unrelated topics (wesley & adams, 1946). separate subjects make it more difficult to draw connections between subject areas and make it more difficult to draw connections to life itself. curriculum integration developed because teachers had an “unease about the dissociation of what is taught in school and what is experienced in life, their despair at the practical difficulties raised by the proliferation of knowledge and so on” (ingram 1979, 20). educational reform movements also influenced the move away from separate subjects. harold alberty (1890-1971), known for his work on the eight-year study and general education, explains three influences that led to breaking down subject matter lines within the curriculum (1938). first, the “success of the activity movement in elementary education” allowed teachers to experiment with broad units that cut through subject area distinctions (alberty 1938, 223). second, the push to see school as a focus on community life led to curriculum focused on home and community problems, naturally blurring of subject matter lines (alberty 1938). third, changes within psychology influenced the push away from separate subjects as focus shifted away from the view that “behavior as being made up of mechanical elements, and toward an organismic view. according to this conception, not only does the learner respond to an organic whole, but he responds to the total situation as well” (alberty 1938, 223). these educational reforms of the activity movement, community and psychology helped facilitate the push away from separate subjects. while problems with the separate subject approach exist, educators and administrators acknowledge the correlation between separate subjects and integrative approaches. a critical feature of integration is the relationship between subjects and disciplines (ingram 1979). ingram (1979) described the debate around subject matter vs. curriculum integration as an all or nothing matter; choose subjects or choose integration. this view is problematic because the two connect and “dependent upon association with each other” (ingram 1979, 24). there is need for further exploration of the relationship between discipline specific approaches and integrative approaches. integrating curriculum benefits student learning because it supports connections made across content area lines. according to some scholars, integrated curriculum provides students with needed skills (drake & burns 2004), improved learning outcomes (beane 1995) and engagement (drake 1998). many scholars find students supported through integration as the curriculum is more relevant to their needs and interests (jacobs 1989) while also providing real world application (beane 1997). for teachers, benefits include support for understanding content and support for their teaching community (ingram 1979). knowledge integration according to the national council for the social studies, “the primary purpose of social studies is to help young people make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world” (national 41 council for the social studies 1994, 3). if developing students into good citizens serves as our main goal, we must expose them to a variety of topics, issues, themes and ideas. these topics, issues, themes and ideas that occur in real life transcend content area or disciplinary boundaries. as crowell states, “the more ways we tell students that the universe is made up of independent fragments, the more their minds will conceptualize and reproduce such a world” (1989, 61). ultimately, we want civically competent students who use knowledge and experiences in the real world (national council for the social studies 1994; beane 1995). across the 20th century we see knowledge specialization become more and more dominant. all levels of schools are organized around disciplinary lines, teachers are certified to teach specific subjects, and course requirements are built around specific disciplines. curriculum integration emerged as a way to prepare students for life. ward, suttle and otto (1960) describe the importance of understanding integration within the individual prior to understanding integration of curriculum. integration of the individual involves “all that makes up that which is called an individual” (ward, suttle & otto 1960, 10). integration, involving the idea of self, is the process of “correlating parts, seeing relationships, making generalizations and syntheses” (ward, suttle & otto 1960, 26). the role of integration is one of internal and external awareness (ward, suttle & otto 1960). ultimately, we want our students to understand specific disciplinary skills, objectives, philosophies and methods, yet within the context of life itself. content integration can take many forms. teachers today must attend to the grade level content area learning and standards while also attending to district or school scope and sequences. historically, integration takes three forms, what wraga (2009) describes as “vertical articulation, horizontal articulation and diagonal articulation” (91-92). vertical articulation refers to the integration of the same content area across grade levels (wraga, 2009). horizontal articulation refers to integration of different content areas within the same grade level (wraga, 2009). lastly, diagonal articulation refers to the integration of different content areas across grade levels (wraga, 2009). the remaining analysis of each curriculum approach is situated within the horizontal articulation. this was chosen because most elementary teachers are responsible for more than one subject area. shedding light on the approaches to organizing curriculum within the horizontal approach allows teachers to see how they can integrate content areas within their classroom. table 1 example of single subject approach social studies math science elar s in g le s u b je ct teacher teaches students to use bar graphs to show population of states teacher teaches students to use bar graphs to represent numbers of items teacher teaches students to use bar graphs to show numbers of fauna in a field collection teacher does not teach bar graphs – not in curriculum standards; students don’t represent data they read about table 1 shows how bar graph skills are taught by two of the three teachers. however, the teachers fail to connect the use of bar graphs in other discipline areas. correlation correlated curriculum presents a first step away from the separate subject approach on the continuum of organizational approaches shown in figure 2. the goals of correlated curriculum 42 remain guided by separate subject lines (hopkins 1937; wesley & adams 1946). correlated curriculum involves relating subject matter when possible but with little attempt to change the ultimate goals of the learning or the teaching methods (hopkins 1937). essentially, correlation occurs with connections between subjects, while not compromising “that which has always been recognized as important” (hopkins 1937, 201). essentially, connections to life and other content areas occur yet prove unplanned and not the focus. making connections between disciplines is often misunderstood as integration, indicating issues with teachers utilizing correlation under the name of integration. for example, during a reading unit on summarization, an elementary teacher reads the picture book “coming to america: the story of immigration” by betsy maestro (1996), and tasks students to summarize the beginning, middle and end of the book. the primary learning skill in focus, summarizing, was applied using a social studies themed book. while the picture book contains social studies topics and themes, the book served as a tool for summarizing, not for its social studies content. though connections to life or other disciplines may occur, no planned attempt to connect the learning standards from multiple curriculums exists. table 2 illustrates how the various teachers organizing content in a correlated approach address the content skill of bar graphs. table 2 example of the correlated approach social studies math science elar c o rr el a ti o n – t h es e ex p la n a ti o n s a re n o t co o rd in a te d a n d d o n o t h a p p en a t th e sa m e ti m e in t h e sc h o o l y ea r. social studies teacher teaches students to use bar graphs to show population of states. social studies teacher explains how students can use bar graphs in math, science and reading. math teacher tells students that bar graphs can be used in math to represent numbers of items. math teacher tells students bar graphs can be used in social studies to represent populations and numbers in science. science teacher tells students to use bar graphs to show numbers of fauna in a field collection. science teacher tells students bar graphs can be used in social studies to represent populations elar teacher isn’t likely to tell students bar graphs can be used in social studies to represent populations. social studies teacher tells students they can represent data found in literature using bar graphs. table 2 represents an example of bar graph skills taught by three of the four teachers. it shows how three of the four teachers mention how the topic applies in other subjects. however, the elar teacher, whose curriculum does not focus on bar graphs, does not make those connections. fusion fusion provides problems to be solved in which a variety of disciplinary learning is included (hopkins 1937). as park and stephenson (1940) wrote, fusion is the organization of learning units that do not take account of specific subject boundaries. hopkins (1937) and wesley and adams (1946) explain how this approach looks in social studies, where the separate subjects of geography, history, civics, economics and others no longer exist, but instead included a general course of social studies. fusion was particularly popular in the elementary social studies classroom in the 1940’s (halvorsen 2013). in her work on the history of social studies, halvorsen (2013) described the elementary social studies fusion curriculum as “structured around topics, issues, geographic areas, or time periods” (78). according to halvorsen (2013), during the 1940’s, aspects of 43 separate subjects remained, however fusion remained most popular. the fusion approach does not apply only to the social studies. fusion applies to courses or units of study where multiple disciplines come together. for example, this occurs when reading teachers focus on a particular genre and cover reading, writing, listening and speaking skills in the unit. table 3 shows another example of the fusion approach. table 3 example of the fusion approach social studies math science elar f u si o n – t ea ch er s in o th er s u b je c ts a re n o t in cl u d e d i n i n st ru ct io n content knowledge is not focus – teacher engages students in exploration of change in population over time social studies teacher makes connection to knowledge and skills from other subjects. no participation ss teacher uses line graph knowledge taught in math to represent change over time. no participation ss teacher has students calculate change in food availability and relation to population growth. no participation ss teacher has students read and write reports that tell about population growth and contributors to growth. table 3 highlights one example of fusion where only the social studies teacher connects the topic of population change to other content areas. the social studies teacher has students explore population change in ways that require other content area knowledge to make sense of the topic. topics and skills taken from math, science and elar, (line graphs, food availability, and reports) may not comprise the topics and skills covered in the math, science and elar curriculum at that time. multidisciplinary the multidisciplinary approach brings together subjects around a central unit or theme (beane 1997; harden 2000). while subjects come together in multidisciplinary approaches, the lens remains focused on the separate subjects. according to gibbons (1979), “if the concepts and propositions about the same object were allowed to lie side by side without any attempt to synthesize, this would be called multidisciplinary study; alternatively, in attempting synthesis, one is attempting integration” (323). additionally, harden (2000) points out that “the characteristic of multidisciplinary integration is that, whatever the nature of the theme, it is viewed through the lens of subjects or disciplines” (554). robin fogarty highlights several multidisciplinary approaches within her book “how to integrate the curricula” (2009). she highlights 10 ways of integrating curriculum, five of which fall under the multidisciplinary organization. these five approaches include sequenced, shared, webbed, threaded and integrated (fogarty 2009). fogarty provides practical descriptions utilizing graphics and diagrams to represent the approaches. the multidisciplinary approach differs from fusion in that fusion makes a new topic based on the integrative parts, while the multidisciplinary approach brings integrative parts together but still identifies them as separate. the representation shown in table 4 provides an example of the multidisciplinary approach as applied to state populations. in practice, multidisciplinary curriculum takes on a variety of formats. for example, in a self-contained elementary classroom, it is popular for teachers to organize curriculum into 44 thematic units. a first-grade class might study weather as a unit. this allows the teacher to cover science and social studies concepts regarding weather patterns and how they affect the environment. this weather unit also provides opportunities to expose students to a variety of texts involving weather and how humans interact with weather. table 4 example of the multidisciplinary approach social studies math science elar m u lt id is ci p li n a ry th es e ex p la n a ti o n s a re c o o rd in a te d a n d h a p p en a t th e sa m e ti m e in t h e sc h o o l y ea r. teacher teaches students to use bar graphs to show population of states. math teacher teaches students about how to construct and analyze bar graphs as a way of representing data. science teacher teaches students to represent data from experiments in bar graphs. elar teacher teaches students to analyze text features from expository texts which include a variety of graphs and charts including bar graphs. in table 4, notice that each teacher provides opportunities for students to apply knowledge and skills around the topic of bar graphs. the teachers collaborate to ensure that they each apply the focus topic or skill at the same time. broad fields broad fields curriculum is made up of several large fields of study (hopkins & hammer 1937). the social studies form a broad field because it is made up of the fields of government, civics, cultural studies, geography, history and economics. the broad fields curriculum is present in the elementary schools, with general subjects such as social studies, language arts, science and math (hopkins & hammer 1937). in fact, all subject areas listed previously fall under the broad fields classification as they pull together numerous aspects of a discipline to make up the curriculum. hopkins and hammer (1937) describe how broad fields approaches vary depending on the philosophy guiding the curriculum, either the experience curriculum or the subject philosophy. in experience guided broad field curriculum, specific situations avoid the meticulous planning as seen in the subject guided curriculum (hopkins & hammer 1937). the learning is also much more restrictive in the subject guided broad fields curriculum approach, although much less so than the traditional separate subject approach (hopkins & hammer 1937). the term “broad” fits this method well, as it encompasses a broad range subjects and applicability. while similar to fusion, the broad fields approach is different because it focuses on integrating knowledge across an entire disciplinary field, where fusion is focused on bringing together a few disciplines to create a new course or curriculum. the organization of elementary content area standards in texas is an example of the broad fields method. for example, in all elementary math classes, the content area standards include specific learning expectations in numbers and operations, algebraic reasoning, geometry and measurement, data analysis, personal financial literacy and problem solving. as students’ progress through their educational careers, each of these areas become more and more specialized with their own courses and curriculum. 45 table 5 example of the broad fields approach social studies math science elar b ro a d f ie ld s – t h es e ex p la n a ti o n s a re n o t co o rd in a te d a n d d o n o t h a p p en a t th e sa m e ti m e in t h e sc h o o l y ea r. modern history course which brings together history, civics, culture, government, economics and geography but applied to 20th century. precalculus course where students apply concepts and connect ideas in geometry, probability, statistics, trigonometry, and calculus to model physical situations. integrated physics and chemistry (ipc) course that brings together knowledge of both physics and chemistry and how they work together. teacher teaches a unit on expository text where students reading, listen to, speak about and write expository texts. table 5 illustrates how the broad fields approach emphasizes building connections within the discipline. a new course of study or unit forms around a disciplinary field, pulling together several specific areas. the new course of study or unit includes its own specific goals and, because there exist connections with other disciplines, those goals are included. interdisciplinary interdisciplinary refers to the type of curriculum that occurs when disciplines or subdisciplines come together around a common theme. this occurs by bringing together different disciplines, such a math and science to study measurement. jacobs (1989) describes interdisciplinary as “a knowledge view and curriculum approach that consciously applies methodology and language from more than one discipline to examine a central theme, issue, problem, topic or experience” (8). however, jacobs (1989) argues against the use of interdisciplinary methods for the sake of using them. like any other instructional method, interdisciplinary methods are best utilized when the unit of study and expectations for student learning are the central focus. while interdisciplinary curriculum sounds similar to multidisciplinary curriculum, the two differ. interdisciplinary curriculum pays “no reference to individual disciplines or subjects, and subjects are not identified as much in the timetable” (harden 2000, 555). instead of focusing on the separate subjects, emphasis rests on the themes of study and the commonalities shared among the disciplines as they relate to the theme of study (harden 2000). in “how to integrate the curricula” (2009) fogarty highlights three approaches within the interdisciplinary approach. these include cellular, connected and nested (fogarty 2009). by focusing on the theme of study, separate subjects become secondary, brought in based on needs, and allow for in depth analysis. while organized around real-world questions in a way that removes content area segmentation, interdisciplinary curriculum strives to meet specific curriculum goals. in practice, interdisciplinary curriculum takes a variety of forms. for example, an elementary class that completes a project-based learning unit around recycling, allows students to apply science and social studies concepts such as natural resources and conservation. student activities include creating recycling plans for their school, inclusion of media and financial literacy topics to determine how to raise money and buy materials for their recycling goal serve as a few examples. table 6 provides a picture of the interdisciplinary approach as it applies to conservation. 46 table 6 example of the interdisciplinary approach social studies math science elar in te rd is c ip li n a ry th es e ex p la n a ti o n s a re c o o rd in a te d a n d h a p p en a t th e sa m e ti m e in t h e sc h o o l y ea r. teacher teaches unit on conservation and students solve conservation problems using social studies knowledge and skills. teacher teaches unit on conservation and students solve conservation problems using math knowledge and skills. teacher teaches unit on conservation and students solve conservation problems using science knowledge and skills. teacher teaches unit on conservation and students solve conservation problems using elar knowledge and skills. table 6 also highlights how the interdisciplinary approach primary focus on the topic or theme, applied within a variety of content areas. each of the content areas cover the topic or theme at the same time, whether by one or multiple teachers. transdisciplinary transdisciplinary integration, “transcends the individual disciplines” with a focus “not a theme or topic selected for this purpose, but the field of knowledge as exemplified in the real world” (harden 2000, 555). the idea of transdisciplinary integration stems from the work of alfred north whitehead (1929) and his push for education based on life experiences rather than separate subjects. the transdisciplinary approach allows for life problems to become areas of study within the classroom. the transdisciplinary approach answers real life problems and brings relevance to student learning. the transdisciplinary approach is predominantly built around student raised concerns or questions (drake & burns 2004; beane 1997). transdisciplinary curriculum also includes negotiation, where teachers and students negotiate the curriculum, teaching methods and assessments based on their own interests and questions (drake & burns 2004). as with all other approaches, a variety of applications exists when putting the approach into practice. fogarty, in how to integrate the curricula (2009) provides two approaches to integration utilizing the transdisciplinary approach, immersed and networked. with the transdisciplinary approach, students play a vital role in both the material taught and how they learn it. with the transdisciplinary approach, teachers include concepts as they apply to the questions raised and the negotiated curriculum. for example, a second-grade class poses a question ‘how do we want to help our world?’ the class works together to determine how to help people meet their basic needs. content area instruction emerges as students plan projects that answer the posed question. specialized content instruction is given to each student or group. therefore, the teacher works with students and groups individually to ensure project success. table 7 displays another example of the transdisciplinary approach. table 7 shows how knowledge from each discipline forms around the relevance of the topic as well as individual student needs. after posing a question, the students work to answer the question, applying knowledge and skills as needed. 47 table 7 example of the transdisciplinary approach social studies math science elar t ra n sd is ci p li n a ry – n o s ep a ra ti o n o f co n te n t a re a s o r in st ru ct io n a l ti m e the teacher and students generated a question to study: “how can human behavior change the environment?” the students worked in groups to determine answer this question and design a project that displays their findings. one team wanted to represent numerical data and the teacher worked with the students on displaying data in a variety of ways, including bar graphs while not all the groups needed to know about displaying data, the students that did were able to gain the necessary skills to display their findings. the previous sections included explanations of seven different models of organizing content. for each, the examples provided show how a similar content topic, bar graphs, appear in the disciplinary teachers’ instructional activities. the last two approaches, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary, include the goal of integrating knowledge within the students. the interdisciplinary approach adheres to disciplinary areas but integrates the learning, thereby ensuring all content is covered. the transdisciplinary approach ignores specified content areas and focuses on issues important to the learner, incorporating only the disciplinary knowledge needed to address the questions. the disciplinary scale the disciplinary scale was created as a way to provide information about the major types of curriculum organization approaches. due to the organization of schools around subject disciplines, as well as the major curriculum goals students need to achieve in separate subjects, most school environments cannot utilize a 100% integrated approach. when determining what curriculum approach to utilize, it is essential to understand how the approach is structured. the disciplinary scale acts as a crosswalk that provides information to aid in understanding the variety of organizational approaches to subject area learning. figure 1 includes a list of each category within the disciplinary scale. figure 1 disciplinary scale categories justification for disciplinary scale the first category, disciplinary knowledge indicates a primary emphasis on disciplinary knowledge and skills. this category involves teaching subject areas independent of other subjects with no emphasis on connecting learning together. approaches primarily focused on disciplinary knowledge tend to be teacher, fact and benchmark driven. the second category on the scale is connections within the discipline. these approaches focus on curriculum goals and objectives while also building connections within the disciplinary field of study. for example, in a geometry lesson, links to other math disciplines, such as algebra or trigonometry, may exist. connections across disciplines is the third category, indicating an approach is focused on building connections across disciplines. • disciplinary knowledge • connections within the disciplines • connections across disciplines • real world problems • separate instructional time 48 connections are made across disciplines and include subjects a teacher teaches, previously learned content from former grades or units, or future learning at upcoming grades or units. when utilizing an approach that makes connections across disciplines, it is critical the teacher has knowledge of curriculum goals and objectives in other content area. real world problems is the fourth category on the scale, indicating an approach focused on real world problems and issues. this includes building connections to real world situations, solving real world problems, and allowing student input in the learning process. the last category on the scale, separate instructional time, indicates how teachers organizes the learning experiences for students. some approaches keep the school day organized around traditional content areas while other approaches organize the day around problems or projects, making the separate subject topics less identifiable. analysis of curriculum organization approaches while many organizational and disciplinary approaches to curriculum exist, the most popular approaches in the 20th century include correlation, fusion, multidisciplinary, broad fields, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary. these approaches vary in how they view disciplinary knowledge. figure 2 illustrates the continuum of curriculum organization approaches. figure 2 continuum of curriculum organization approaches each approach represents a unique view on how discipline knowledge organization. while each approach did not intend to integrate student knowledge, each approach did intend to bring disciplinary knowledge together in a unique way. in the following section, i describe each of the organizational approaches, and analyze each approach based on the categories outlined in the disciplinary scale, described above. see table 8 for the complete analysis of all approaches. as district administrations urge campus administrators and teachers to utilize curriculum integration in their elementary classrooms, these descriptions and the disciplinary scale helps them determine the best approach for their environment. the disciplinary scale also helps administrators and teachers understand connections between theories and practices that differentiate these approaches. table 8 shows an example of how a teacher following the correlation model emphasizes disciplinary knowledge and separate instructional time for the subject. on occasion, when appropriate, teachers utilizing correlation make connections within the discipline or across disciplines. with correlation, there is no emphasis on relating discipline to real world problems or questions. separate subjects correlation fusion multidisciplinary broad fields interdisciplinary transdisciplinary 49 table 8 analysis of curriculum organization approaches using the disciplinary scale disciplinary knowledge connection within the discipline connection across disciplines real world problems separate instructional time single subject + + correlation + 0 0 + fusion + 0 + multidisciplinary + 0 0 0 + broad fields + + 0 + interdisciplinary 0 + + 0 transdisciplinary 0 0 0 + key + = primary focus 0 = there when needed = totally ignored notice disciplinary knowledge is the primary focus for most of the approaches shown in table 1. only the interdisciplinary approach maintains the primary focus of building connections within and across disciplines. none of the approaches focus on both disciplinary knowledge and answering real world questions. the approaches that separate instructional time make it difficult to connect across disciplines, either from a lack of teachers’ content area knowledge or a lack of opportunities to collaborate. when utilizing approaches such as correlation or multidisciplinary approaches, opportunities to collaborate with other content area experts, to form authentic connections, are essential. conclusions while bringing subject areas together seems like the best way for elementary teachers to include social studies in their classroom, while simultaneously meeting the demands of testing and accountability; the truth is, little knowledge exists related to the effects of integration on student learning. though the term integration is used in elementary schools when joining subjects like social studies and reading, little support or professional development occurs on the types of integration. we know that young students must understand specific disciplinary knowledge and skills, yet how it relates to the world outside of schools is also of importance. we need to approach integration as one method to meet the needs of students. at the present time, integration is primarily seen as an organizational method that merely provides an accidental way to include content areas, such as social studies, when there is not enough time, support or knowledge to teach them adequately. within each of the approaches discussed, correlation, fusion, multidisciplinary, broad fields, 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band, 1869-1905. r. eric platt university of memphis abstract few scholars explore late nineteenth-/early twentieth-century music education in the american south. even less pay attention to related phenomena at southern catholic colleges. as such, this study provides an analysis of the st. mary’s brass band record book—penned by students attending a louisiana marist institution of higher education and participating in an early college brass band. contextual analysis sheds light on the intersection of religion, regionality, and americanization on college-level music learning and performance. introduction music education, as part of the larger us curricular landscape, has experienced significant changes, particularly during the nineteenth century. historically, nineteenth-century music instruction could encompass subjects from individual vocal, piano, and string lessons to organized wind and percussion ensembles at schools, colleges, and universities. indeed, music education at the collegiate level underwent numerous transitions during the latter half of the nineteenth century—of particular note was the emergence of college brass bands. such phenomena have been recounted in various music education history texts (mark 2008, weiss & taruskin 2007, keene 1982). however, music education in the american south has been under-researched. southern states with significant musical legacies, such as louisiana, have been largely omitted from the existing cannon of historical music education publications. most history books and articles focus on music instruction in european academies and us educational institutions located in northern states. while overlooked, formal music education in the american south existed during the nineteenth century— particularly at religiously-affiliated academies. in south louisiana, parochial education and catholic higher education took root due to the region’s strong ties to the catholic church. instructors at the early catholic academies of new orleans and south louisiana incorporated music instruction, as did professors at the region's first catholic institutions of higher education (gray 1991). while focused examinations of music education in south louisiana's catholic higher education scene have yet to be performed, attempts have been made in recent years to address portions of louisiana's overall music education history. in his book, concert life in nineteenth-century new orleans: a comprehensive reference, john h. baron (2013) devotes an entire chapter to the subject. still, the text only briefly references music instruction in the state’s catholic academies. though baron and other historians acknowledge the rise of american brass bands in antebellum french creole louisiana as well as the reconstructionera growth of african american-led brass bands (burns 2006, white 2001), no in-depth research explores the advent and evolution of music education in louisiana’s nineteenth-century catholic academies. and yet, nineteenth-century catholic brass band activities were common enough that baron cited several reconstructionera ensembles, including the christian brothers parochial school brass band, saint mary’s orphan boys asylum band, the st. joseph’s school brass band, and st. mary’s brass band of st. mary’s jefferson college (baron 2013). st. mary’s brass band is the only ensemble associated with a catholic college featured in baron’s text, despite the existence of several regional, period catholic colleges. 37 regarding the history of catholic higher education in the american south, various catholic institutions opened during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. unfortunately, many closed due to poor finances, low social support, curricular intransigence, and failure to compete with statesupported institutions of higher education. historically, the american south was hostile to the catholic church, owing to the region's predominantly protestant population, and anticatholicism was a regular occurrence. subsequently, catholic colleges and schools suffered. those institutions that experienced success were located in geographic spaces with relatively high catholic populations, such as new orleans, louisiana, and mobile, alabama. in addition, several catholic rural communities existed in louisiana that boasted active nineteenth-century colleges. for example, grand coteau was the site of louisiana’s first catholic college: st. charles college (founded 1831). similarly, in 1864, the society of mary (marists) established st. mary's jefferson college in convent, louisiana, the first us marist college. at each of the aforementioned institutions, music was a part of the instructional paradigm. regardless, these, and several other louisiana catholic colleges closed for reasons similar to the above described. today, three catholic institutions of higher education remain in louisiana: loyola university new orleans, xavier university of louisiana, and university of holy cross—all founded in the early twentieth century and largely supported by the southern metropolis of new orleans (manning 2006, capace 1999). given the rise and fall of so many southern catholic colleges, it is no surprise that their histories have not been properly recorded. nor have the histories of their students, administrators, and curricular activities. many higher education origin stories occurred at colleges that have closed, as is the case with this study’s subject. what may have been the earliest catholic college brass band in the american south was founded, thrived, and ultimately perished at the defunct st. mary’s jefferson college, in the heart of louisiana’s sugar plantation region. taking into consideration the lack of published literature concerning nineteenth-century music education in south louisiana, this study attempts to shed light on the foundation, development, maintenance, and evolution of music instruction at a catholic college founded at the end of the american civil war (1861-1865). as has been mentioned, us music instruction underwent extensive instructional and instrumental change during the latter half of the nineteenth century. music education in south louisiana followed suit. though several curricular catalogs and newspapers advertisements depict late nineteenth-century music instruction at louisiana’s catholic educational institutions, a singular archival document sheds light on the advent and evolution of one early catholic college brass ensemble—the record book of st. mary’s brass band. the record book’s entries, penned by student secretaries, detail not only the ensemble’s activities, but also the effects of regionality, religion, and americanization on music instruction. figure 1. “st. mary’s], jefferson college, la.” c. 1900. image courtesy of the archives of the society of mary, atlanta, ga. 38 catholic music instruction, louisiana’s early colleges, and the brass band movement recorded accounts of music education extend back to approximately 500 bce. as the western expansion of education progressed, the catholic church not only engaged in pedagogical practices centered on catholic dogma and the spread of christianity, priests also permitted music instruction and student performance as a means to glorify god (mark & gary 2013). with the advent of protestantism (1517), religious education for both catholics and protestants progressed simultaneously— though not always amicably. though limited to the offspring of affluent men and women or those associated with clerical training, religiously-affiliated education spread throughout europe with music affixed to curricular designs (sternfeld 1948). from the 1603 establishment of the first catholic school in colonial american by franciscan friars (st. augustine, florida), music instruction was attached to new world parochial education in the form of vocal and instrumental instruction (gray 1991). though us catholic education experienced waves of anti-catholicism, catholic schools and colleges persisted. while northern states such as maryland, michigan, and new york experienced significant catholic numbers, most southern states, save geographic regions formerly located in french or spanish colonial territories (south louisiana, south alabama, coastal mississippi), played host to smaller catholic populations (woods 2011). in 1725, the first catholic school opened in new orleans. one of the academy’s genesis instructors was a music teacher, pierre fleurtet (baudier 1939). though state-supported higher education had been a part of the louisiana landscape since the founding of the collège d’orléans in 1812, chartered catholic colleges in louisiana did not emerge until 1837. that year, members of the society of jesus (jesuits) established st. charles college. soon after, jesuits founded the college of the immaculate conception in new orleans (1849). at these catholic colleges, music instruction was included (platt 2014). as louisiana’s educational scene progressed through the antebellum period, music instruction evolved from song and occasional violin lessons to include brass and percussion instruments. though music was taught in regional parochial schools and colleges, most music instruction was conducted by private tutors. during the early nineteenth century, private music instructors advertised their pedagogical services in newspapers (baron 2013). private music tutors offered their services to affluent families and often taught in area plantation homes (pryor 1981). regardless of the occurrence of private, home-based music instruction, formalized music education remained a part of south louisiana’s catholic schools and colleges. as the us music scene progressed, so did instrumentation and instruction. during the 1840s and 1850s, the united states experienced a surge in industrialization and agricultural wealth. it also experienced an increase in public music performances and the recasting of traditional instruments in group ensembles. public events, parades, promenades, and concert halls (formerly reserved for string and vocal performances) witnessed the birth of the american brass band. early brass bands were small groups of male performers who played cornets, valved trombones, early tubas, drums, and cymbals. they provided music to the public (something that was historically reserved for private homes or ticketed events) and played marches or brass arrangements of popular period tunes (newsome 1998). as brass bands became commonplace, such ensembles were incorporated into us military units as well as college campuses. perhaps the earliest establishment of a college brass band in south louisiana was at centenary college in jackson, louisiana. despite louisiana’s french heritage, jackson, located in east feliciana parish, was largely populated by anglo-americans representing other southern states such as virginia and south carolina. following the 1803 louisiana purchase, 39 protestant anglo-americans moved to louisiana en masse to profit from the sugar industry (rehder 1999). this new population of anglo-american southerners steadily increased throughout the antebellum period, affecting the region's cultural and political landscape. when the collège d’orléans closed in 1825, angloamerican legislatures plied for state funding to found a new academy in jackson. funds were granted and louisiana college opened in 1825. that same year anglo-american legislatures converted the instructional language used in regional schools from french to english. outraged, catholic french creoles put forth funds to establish an institution that would venerate french creole heritage. the result was jefferson college, located in the french creole populated st. james parish, surrounded by fields of sugarcane and plantation vistas (morgan 2008, platt 2017) when louisiana college closed in 1845, the campus was purchased by the methodist episcopal church in 1846 and renamed centenary college. american traditions and practices were commonplace at the protestantaffiliated institution. in 1851, the college’s administration ordered a cadre of brass instruments to establish a band under the direction of a us music educator, mr. blackmar (gipson 2002). at antebellum french creole jefferson college, however, music instruction was relegated to the periphery (statutes, plan of education, and rules, adopted in jefferson college, louisiana 18—?). despite french creole pride in jefferson college, funding dropped following the 1837 agricultural panic and a crippling campus fire in 1842. due to rebuilding debts and poor financial support, jefferson college closed in 1848. in 1853, the college was reopened under the administration of french immigrant and educator, louis dufau. however, owing again to poor social support the college closed in 1856 (carriere 1974). three years later, regional planters revived the institution once more, only to have it close for a third time in 1862, due to the civil war. fearing that the college would be converted into a freedman’s school by union authorities, planters offered the campus to the society of mary (marists) who reopened the institution in 1864 as st. mary’s jefferson college (de sennegy 1877). prior to the marist arrival, music instruction under each of the former jefferson college regimes was maintained by private instructors via individual lessons. after the civil war, brass band popularity significantly increased due to the connection with confederate and union military units and the need to improve regional morale in the wake of southern war losses, emancipation, and political reconstruction. as local colleges became symbols for community pride and celebration, festivals tied to campus life became sought after for entertainment. as a result, brass bands formed at colleges across the american south. additionally, as military instruction was a fixture at several southern colleges prior to and after the civil war, brass bands were often affixed to student cadet corps, donned similar uniforms, and led student military units in parades, competitions, and commencement ceremonies. the same was true at various southern catholic colleges (andrew 2001; platt, mcgee, king 2016). with the end of the civil war, french creole plantation wealth was ruined, as were the fortunes of various anglo-american families. anglo-american culture had slowly subsumed french creole culture during the late antebellum period due to the increase in anglo-americans relocating to the sugar parishes between new orleans and baton rouge. as reconstructionera french creoles sold plantation properties to american sugar corporations and representatives from northern states, south louisiana’s sugar region was further americanized (rehder 1991, rodrigue 2001). soo too was regional curricula. after the war, south louisiana college curricula shifted from wholly liberal arts to encompass science, commercialism, and brass band instruction. to compete with regional private and statesupported institutions of higher education, the marist administrators of st. mary’s jefferson 40 college incorporated new curricular and extracurricular trends such as business management, accounting, mechanical science, football, baseball, debate, cadet training, and even student journalism (platt 2017). st. mary’s brass band and the st. mary’s brass band record book before the establishment of athletics and military training at st. mary’s jefferson college, one particular americanism significantly influenced the institution. in 1869, several brass instruments were ordered from france by the college’s marist administrators. “on january 22nd, 1869, . . . sixteen brass instruments, one bass drum, a pair of symbols [sic], three snare drums, and a triangle” arrived at the campus. that same year, st. mary’s brass band was established under the direction of three marist priests: jean-baptist bigot, antoine halbwachs, and antoine pompallier. the purpose in establishing the ensemble was “to encourage the study of music to afford the members of that philharmonic society an agreeable and useful pastime during the year and add solemnity and spirit by their performances to the celebration of the religious and literary festivals of the college” (blanc 1878, 6). the brass band comprised the majority of music education at the rural catholic academy. in time, a small string orchestra was operated in addition to the brass ensemble, but it never gained the popularity of st. mary’s brass band. in 1878, the ensemble’s new director, father george s. rapier, ordered a custom record book from the mobile register bindery in south alabama to record the ensemble’s activities. during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, student record books, diaries, etc. were not uncommon. various examples exist in academic archives or have been published as edited and annotated volumes (dabney 18631869, jeffrey 2016). even so, detailed record books kept by students regarding singular extracurricular organizations—in this case a music ensemble—are not as common. the record book of st. mary’s brass band comprises 250 figure 2. “st. mary’s brass band [record book], jefferson college, la.” 1878-1905. image courtesy of the archives of the society of mary, atlanta, ga. lined and numbered pages, almost two-hundred of which contain copious written documentation that depicts more than three decades of student memory, musical performances, and related activities. when directorship of the brass band was turned over to a us music educator in 1882, members of the brass band were encouraged to engage in a level of student leadership and decision making that had been unheard of in other, similar music organizations at regional catholic schools and colleges—the election of student leaders by majority vote, music selection and performance by vote, and the maintenance of ensemble record keeping, which had first been established under the directorship of father rapier. the first entry in the record book was penned by the brass band’s 1878 student secretary, j. c. s. blanc. the opening entry extols the ensemble’s history, rules and regulations, and list of the band’s twenty members. finally, the entry ends with the names of eight “aspirants” who practiced with the 41 ensemble, but would not perform with the group until their musical talents improved sufficiently to warrant full membership. each subsequent page provides colorful details of student festivals, catholic bazaars, funeral parades, mardi gras celebrations, commencement ceremonies, changes in instrumentation, the results of student elections, etc., accompanied by or associated with the college brass band. as time passed, music selections performed by the brass band reflected local cultural changes. in this historically french creole region influenced by nineteenth-century paris, music often displayed aspects of french culture. however, as the band progressed into the late 1800s, music selections and performances changed to reflect regional americanization trends. though the americanization of st. mary’s brass band is evident in the ensemble’s record book, regional changes related to the nineteenth-century influx of german and irish immigrants are also apparent. while french creole influence gave way to an americanized music repertoire, religion, in this case catholicism, remained omnipresent throughout the lifespan of the student organization. a detailed analysis of the record book’s myriad entries illustrates three aspects germane to the existence and evolution of music education at a south louisiana catholic college in the latter-half of the nineteenth/early twentieth century: religion, regionality, and americanization. as a record of a catholic academy situated in louisiana’s french creole sugar plantation region slowly acclimating to anglo-american culture, numerous instances in this significant primary source showcase how religion, regionality, and americanization each influenced music education and performance. religion when st. mary’s brass band was founded in 1869, the student ensemble was organized under the patronage of st. mary. mary, the mother of jesus, was also a patron saint of st. mary’s jefferson college. in addition to honoring mary, the ensemble also venerated the holy family. the names jesus, mary, and joseph are often inscribed on record book pages via the acronym “jmj.” such symbolism did much to link the brass band to the college and to the catholic church. reflecting these continuing ties, father henry gaud, president of the marist college (18701874), presented the ensemble with a “costly banner” that was blessed during a high mass at the campus chapel (blanc 1878). religious symbolism is evident in the record book, but equally important are the entries recounting the group's participation in catholic ceremonies and festivals. the brass band regularly performed at fairs and fundraising bazaars in support of local churches such as st. james church in vacherie, louisiana, nearby st. michael’s church in the town of convent, and holy name of mary church in algiers, across the mississippi river from new orleans (tuxillo 1886, derivas 1892, middleton 1895). figure 3. “st. mary’s brass band [record book], jefferson college, la.” 1878-1879 rules entry. image courtesy of the archives of the society of mary, atlanta, ga. 42 likewise, the band often led the campus procession of corpus christi near the end of each academic year, as well as processions associated with the feast of the assumption of mary in august (lacassagne 1883). in 1886, the band’s student secretary, robert truxillo, recorded that year’s feast of corpus christi, the associated religious pomp and circumstance, and the ensemble’s role in venerating the body of christ: “the band was called to order in front of the [campus] chapel; to join in the procession. . . . immediately following the cross . . . [came] the banner of st. mary’s brass band . . . followed by the sodalists, headed by their banner . . . and lastly the clergy. . .” (1886, june 24) st. mary’s brass band became a regular fixture at campus and local religious celebrations. the band so often performed at holy services that archbishops and other religious leaders commented on the ensemble’s ability. in 1885 the brass band performed for father james gibbons, archbishop of baltimore, maryland. the following year, the ensemble performed for sénior staniero, a delegate from rome (e. rapier 1886). in march of 1888, new orleans archbishop francis janssens visited the college and “administered the sacrament of confirmation to about 24 boys.” when janssens arrived, the band “burst forth in a loud but harmonious strain.” the archbishop was so taken by the band’s performance that he requested their presence at a similar confirmation ceremony at the nearby convent of the sacred heart. after the ceremony, “the boys immediately fell into ranks, and another march was played during the retreating procession. the band marched under a small tree which afforded but a scanty shade, and there prepared to give a concert.” janssens heaped so much praise on st. mary’s brass band that the student musicians offered up “three cheers for the archbishop [sic]” (dornier 1888, march 14). st. mary’s brass band performed not only for sacramental ceremonies, but also for marriages, funerals, and catholic processions that honored the deceased. when father rapier, the band’s former director and college president died in 1887, the ensemble not only accompanied the mass for the repose of rapier’s soul, they marched and played at the front of his funeral procession. they continued to play while rapier’s body was interred in a crypt next to the campus chapel (lauve 1887). likewise, the band regularly attended and performed for the november 1st feast of all saints, in veneration of the faithfully departed. the band’s secretary, sidney montéguh, recorded events related to the group’s cemetery performance: “in the evening the sorrowing train [of people] moved towards the graveyard where reverend father mandy preached an eloquent sermon . . . the sermon being finished, the auditors, most of them now ‘with beads of sorrow on their cheeks,’ took a farewell parting to the city of the dead. with weary steps and sorrowed hearts, we arrived at college there to meditate on what we had seen and heard during the course of the day” (1887, november 1). in 1894, additional details about the band’s presence at the annual feast of all saints were recounted: “there were many eyes dimmed with tears [at the cemetery]. the crowd then repaired to the church lawn where the band played several lively pieces to allay their spirits” (coco 1894, november 1). the presence of st. mary’s brass band at the annual mourning rituals, as well as other catholic festivals and services, illustrates the influence of religion on the ensemble’s music selection, regular practices to perfect appropriate compositions, and promotion of the college’s strong catholic affiliation. this strong influence is perhaps unsurprising, for as previously mentioned, catholicism in south louisiana was and remains an important part of regional culture. aspects of catholicism intertwined with the area’s french creole heritage, irish and german immigrant culture, as well as the ethos influenced by southern secession, the confederacy, and post-civil war society. 43 regionality catholicism has long been a part of louisiana’s cultural heritage. so too has francophilia, confederate “lost cause” sympathies, and aspects of southern history tied to racism and segregation. though louisiana became a us state in 1812, many of its nineteenth-century residents claimed a lineage that crossed the atlantic ocean. as many st. mary’s jefferson college students were part of french creole families, they, like their progenitors, heralded france as the mother of louisiana. in 1869, members of st. mary’s brass band performed the “marseillaise” and “galop de la bande noire” to acknowledge regional ties to paris. while the band occasionally played french music, the ensemble also performed pieces that resonated with other louisiana immigrant populations. the band sometimes played “wearing of the green” (blanc 1878), which was popular with irish individuals who immigrated to louisiana during the nineteenth century (kelley 2014). furthermore, in postcivil war louisiana, music that venerated the confederacy was often performed. in 1870, st. mary’s brass band performed “overture [to] stonewall jackson,” in veneration of the confederate general. similarly, in 1872, brass band members played “dixie’s land,” a famed pro-confederate tune (blanc 1878). when former confederate officers visited the college, brass band members heralded their arrival with musical scores that venerated the confederate lost cause. in 1887, louisiana governor francis tillou nicholls, former confederate brigadier general (dawson 1990), visited the marist college to review the campus and its academic activities. the band’s secretary recorded the following regarding nicholls’ arrival: “the college threw open her massive doors to receive an honorable visitant, francis t. nicholls . . . a true patriot—one who was, in turn, a brave warrior . . . who stood with unflinching hand at the helm of his cherished country to guide her free-born sons in the broad pathway of duty and virtue.” the student secretary not only regarded nicholls as a southern patriot, but also one who defended the confederacy and its “free born” white citizens. nicholls was moved by the musical reception and requested that the college president declare the rest of the day a holiday (montéguh 1887, november). us archbishops, louisiana governors, and even local celebrities appear to have frequented the campus of st. mary’s jefferson college. for example, in 1891 the famed female journalist for the new orleansbased times picayune newspaper, martha field, visited the campus while writing about latenineteenth-century sugar plantation life. during her visit, field (who wrote under the pseudonym catherine cole) was afforded the opportunity to listen to the college brass band (mclaughlin & mclaughlin 2006). thereafter, she wrote a positive review of the ensemble in her newspaper column (brou 1891). interest in south louisiana’s post-civilwar plantation vestiges brought many tourists to the sugar parishes. travelers not only commented on the region’s sugarcane crop, they also recognized the importance of the mississippi river to local residents. indeed, the river not only influenced agriculture, but also the travel performances of st. mary’s brass band. ensemble members often practiced marching while playing their instruments on the winding road adjacent to the river. the brass band’s secretary recorded that residents watched the ensemble march by playing a crowd favorite, “les dragons de la reine” (1886). the tune, composed by austrian pianist and 1867 new york immigrant, heinrich maylath, honored the queen of france’s personal guard (remy 1919). not only did the brass band practice on the river road, they also traversed the waterway to perform for social events. multiple record book entries reference traveling and performing on “floating palace” river boats (blanc 1878, groetsch 1893). student secretaries wrote about trips on steamboats such as the pelican to perform at plantation picnics (points 1898). at the home of hector hymel, the band played to a local crowd. thereafter, “the band proceeding to a large oak, 44 where a sumptuous meal awaited them. the boys were well treated and enjoyed themselves exceedingly well.” that evening, the band “marched as far as thibodaux’s, where they were invited to take a glass of wine” (groetsch 1893, february 5). alcohol was commonplace at south louisiana festivals and brass band students often recorded their enjoyment of both. at one particular event, the band’s student secretary leon j. coco recorded, “we were indeed very hospitably treated. at 11 we were given an excellent supper. our appetites were as sharp as swords and we did ample justice to the meal. punch, soda, lemonade, beer and even champagne were at our demand” (1894, september 16). recollections of local celebrations and social gatherings fill the pages of the record book. during the christmas season, the band marched from the college campus to the earthen levees that flanked the mississippi river. bonfires roared atop the levees while the band played festive overtures and marches for onlookers who attended the annual tradition (bourgeois january 6, 1884). similarly, the ensemble participated in yearly mardi gras parades and festivities (lacassagne 1883). though these regional traditions long influenced the performances of st. mary's brass band, the americanization of south louisiana continued. by the end of the nineteenth century the ensemble reflected more american traditions than it had in the past. americanization as early as 1869, st. mary’s brass band began playing us favorites such as john howard payne’s “home, sweet home” (blanc 1878). payne was an american actor and singer who made the tune popular following its inclusion in the 1823 opera, clari, or the maid of milan (sylvester 1922). that same year, the band played “hail columbia,” one of the unofficial us anthems prior to the 1931 adoption of the “star-spangled banner” (blanc 1878, collins 2003). excerpts from european composers popular in america during the latter half of the nineteenth century were often performed by the college band. pieces such as the overture from the barber of seville and the “anvil chorus” were heard at events that featured the ensemble. as in the american south, racism permeated the larger sphere of nineteenthcentury us society. racist aspects often appeared in music composed by northerners as well as southerners. for example, during the 1870s, the brass band played “shoo fly, don’t bother me” by american composer t. brigham bishop (blanc 1878). bishop composed the song during the civil war while in command of a union african-american military unit. originally, the song contained racial slurs and references to bishop’s regiment—company g (macintyre 1916). as music selections and performances were influenced by americanization, so too was the ensemble’s organizational structure and operation. in 1882, directorship of the band was turned over to an american musician and music educator, professor f. greene (lacassagne 1883). when greene assumed directorship, he introduced another facet of americanization: democracy. despite the democratic state governmental conversion of louisiana in 1812, local catholic organizations remained authoritarian. st. mary’s jefferson college was similarly governed with marist priests comprising all high-level administrative positions. even so, the continued americanization of south louisiana caused the region’s cultural stance to favor collective voice in lieu of strict dictatorial leadership. while the marist college’s administrative structure resembled the hierarchical norm of the catholic church, student organizations such as st. mary’s brass band experienced an increase in democratic practices. during the early 1880s, yearly democratic elections for student president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer were incorporated (lacassagne 1882, middleton 1894, nargassans 1905). likewise, if an aspirant wished to join the performing group, he had to 45 figure 4. “st. mary’s brass band,” c 1903. image courtesy of the archives of the society of mary, atlanta, ga. formally apply, audition, and be voted in by existing ensemble members. organizational rules and monetary fines for infractions were also decided by vote (lacassagne 1883, bourgeois 1885). the group went so far to ensure a collective, democratic voice by having the student secretary submit draft reports for peer review before they were entered into the record book (landry 1889). in addition to democracy, other aspects of americanization influenced the brass band. american militarism was common at southern colleges during the nineteenth century. militarism at st. mary’s jefferson college, on the other hand, seems to have begun with the brass band. military marches had been popular among brass band members since the 1870s. during the 1890s, the organization adopted several marches composed by “the march king,” john phillip sousa, director of the us marine band. the group performed sousa’s “in memoriam: president garfield’s funeral march” to honor college presidents that passed away (middleton 1895). the band played other sousa marches such as “the bells of chicago” and “red, white, and blue” (a sobriquet for “stars and stripes forever”) at campus ceremonies (points 1898). just as american militarism influenced the band, so too did american athletics. due to the proliferation of college sports in the american south (baseball and football in particular), brass bands often performed at athletic events. the same was true for st. mary’s brass band. indeed, a popular tune played by the ensemble during the 1880s and 1890s was titled “base-ball” (truxillo 1885). in 1901, it was recorded that the ensemble performed at regional athletic events including st. mary’s jefferson college baseball games as well as local catholic academy sporting events. at the end of these athletic events, the band would play “home sweet home” if requested by the crowd (broussard 1901). towards the end of the nineteenth century, additional elements of americanization became evident at the marist college and were observable in the brass band. in the 1890s, cadet training was incorporated at st. mary’s jefferson college. student cadets, along with members of the brass band, donned fatigues similar to west point uniforms. the band was thereafter attached to the college cadets and led the uniform-clad students in military drills (groetsch 1893). donning military attire, members of st. mary’s brass band performed on national holidays including the january 8th holiday that commemorated president andrew jackson’s victory at the 1812 battle of new orleans. per the band’s student secretary: “just as the blush of morn began to mantle in the east, the old jefferson bell tolled the dawn of that legal holiday which commemorated the birth of american freedom. . . . [t]he sun, emerging from the eastern horizon, shed the blithesome rays of liberty over the fantastic oaks & white washed walls of our beloved alma mater. that pride which animated our forefathers roused the spirits of every student. the band rendered a few national airs & was enthusiastically applauded” (broussard 1902, january 8). though st. mary’s brass band entered the twentieth century playing military marches and newly-learned american rag-time tunes, the ensemble languished in the early twentieth century. in 1900, professor greene stepped down as director and professor l. staiert, a recent european immigrant, assumed the 46 position. staiert, it would appear, did not share greene’s enthusiasm for record keeping or the brass band in general. from 1901 until 1905, detailed student secretary recording keeping dramatically decreased. in 1905 the record book ends with a list of that year’s 29 brass band members (nargassans 1905). from 1906 until staiert resigned in 1912, the brass band performed sporadically. the college’s orchestra, however, took center stage as stairt seemed to prefer european orchestral traditions to american brass band instruction. thereafter, the ensemble experienced almost yearly directorship turnover (“st. mary’s jefferson college catalogs” 1900-1920). many of these new music educators were also european immigrants who paid little or no attention to the college brass band. instead, they highlighted orchestral instruction and performance. while the brass band diminished, st. mary’s jefferson college was also weakening. due to curricular competition with large, regional public and private universities such as tulane university of louisiana and louisiana state university, st. mary’s jefferson college began to decline. in 1927, the mississippi river rose to an unprecedented level and flooded south louisiana’s agricultural region. countless livelihoods were lost and the marist college was further diminished. the college closed that year, ending more than six decades of catholic higher education in the sugar parishes (platt 2017). conclusion after the closure of st. mary’s jefferson college, all related records, including the record book of st. mary’s brass band, were sent to the marist archives in washington, d.c. during the twentieth century, the archives were relocated to the marist school in atlanta, georgia. until now, the record book has gone largely unexamined. despite the myriad details provided about the band, no significant accounts of national politics, regional social class struggles, or elements regarding race or gender were recorded by student secretaries. only one entry makes note of race. on may 29, 1886, the ensemble attended a fair at st. james catholic church. while there, the student group witnessed a “band of colored musicians” passing by the churchyard (truxillo 1886, may 29). likewise, aspects related to gender are mentioned infrequently. a handful of entries mention female students attending the local sacred heart convent school. it appears that the record book reflects the limited world in which the students of st. mary’s jefferson college lived, confined to the events of rural campus life and local performance venues set amidst the backdrop of sugarcane fields and americanized south louisiana culture. still, this significant primary source allows for unique insights concerning student life and music education at a south louisiana catholic college. despite the closure of st. mary’s jefferson college and the end of st. mary’s brass band, the brass band movement had taken hold at other colleges and universities across the american south. though the marist college brass band no longer exists, the organization’s detailed record book does much to illustrate more than three decades of social and music education evolution as influenced by religion, regionality, and the americanization of higher education in the sugar parishes of french creole louisiana. references andrew, rod. long 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relevant publications (dedicated to southern medical higher education or briefly acknowledging it), three themes emerged: southern nationalism, racial ethos, and the impact of the 1910 flexner report. introduction medical higher education in the united states has experienced dynamic changes over the last two-hundred years as scientific knowledge and illness diagnoses have expanded and improved. after the establishment of the college of philadelphia department of medicine in 1765, the practice of training physicians slowly spread throughout the country. due to the lack of academic regulation and the allure of lucrative medical training, however, various questionable medical colleges were founded in both the north and south. (duffy 1984; halperin, perman & wilson 2010; ludmerer 2010). following the american civil war and the horrors of battlefield medical tents, academic leaders at institutions such as harvard university, yale university, and johns curriculum history 2018: 70-85. hopkins university championed rigorous medical training coupled with quality clinical experiences and thorough student examinations. while other northern institutions took note and adapted, southern medical colleges lagged (ebert 1977; slawson 2012). due to the rich history of progressive medical education in the northern states, copious research and publications have been dedicated to institutions in illinois, michigan, maryland, new york, pennsylvania, etc. these texts do much to illustrate predominantly northern curricular trends while southern medical higher education is only briefly addressed (rothstein 1987; ludmerer 1999; solberg 2009; grauer 2012; aptowics 2015; gotto & moon 2016; boster & howell 2017). though some research has been published regarding southern physician training, the extant literature is either concerned with solitary institutions or only briefly addresses singular issues within the larger region. to date there has been no expansive, overarching text published concerning regional trends like medical college founding, curricular development, and/or physician training in the southern states. as such, the purpose of this article is to provide an exploration of literary themes drawn from twentiethand twenty-first-century publications. these themes, in turn, can provide a useful framework for future archival enquiries regarding southern medical higher education. resulting from a careful analysis of existing literature, three themes were apparent as concerns the development of medical departments/colleges 71 in the american south: southern nationalism, racial ethos, and the influence of the 1910 flexner report. all of which directly impacted how physicians were trained in a region typified by slavery, sectionalism, and curricular intransigence. despite the dearth of overarching southernspecific literature, some regional institutions such as the medical college of louisiana, the medical college of georgia, and morehouse school of medicine have been examined in book-length detail, but with little consideration given as to how they correlate with peer colleges located in surrounding states (duffy 1984; spalding 2011; gasman, bush, & sullivan 2012). in addition, there are a handful of journal articles that examine issue-specific subjects associated with individual southern medical colleges. topics range from the investigation of period-specific medical journals, such as the medical college of georgia’s southern medical & surgical journal, to the use of enslaved persons as the subject of antebellum anatomical experiments (savitt 1982; worthington 1991; stewart 2015). as well, some articles explore the influence of southern nationalism, racism, and sectionalist ideology on medical instruction and college development (duffy 1957, 1968). in addition to racial ethos and southern nationalism, there are a handful of texts that chronicle the rise and fall of short-lived southern medical colleges that failed to adapt to radically changing instructional, clinical, and facility (laboratories, associated hospitals, etc.) expectations posed in abraham flexner’s 1910 assessment, medical education in the united states and canada: a report to the carnegie foundation for the advancement of teaching (mitchell 1944; harley 2006; rhodes 2007). even so, in-depth historical analysis of defunct southern medical colleges is sparse as related primary documentation has been destroyed, misplaced, or scattered amongst other archival repositories. regardless of this brief literature review, the south has yet to be examined as thoroughly as other areas of the country. as such, this article, “towards a history of medical higher education in the american south”, provides a genesis narrative that explores southern medical higher education development. in the sections that follow a synopsis of regional medical higher education is provided to contextualize the aforementioned literary themes. next, each theme is explored as regards their geographic and temporal setting. finally, considering both historic context and publication analysis, the authors assert the need for extensive southern medical higher education research guided by the realities of nineteenthcentury nationalism, racism, and academic legitimization. overview medical higher education in the united states was still in its early stages of development in the nineteenth century. prior to 1800, there were only four medical colleges in the country, and physicians-to-be learned primarily through apprenticeships with practicing clinicians (miller & weiss 2008). as john duffy (1984) notes, given the need for formal training opportunities, institutions with affiliated medical programs began to open, one of which was maryland medical college, founded in 1807. in the south, one of the earliest medical academies was the medical college of virginia, which was established in 1838 (bowman 2011). these emerging institutions, though varying in admission standards and courses of study, were popular in both the north and south for providing opportunities for middle-class males to acquire lucrative careers post-graduation. to garner additional monies, these early institutions, largely controlled by their faculty, sold public lecture tickets (ebert 1977; geiger 2000; slawson 2012). examples of public lectures 72 include those of dr. w. byrd powell and dr. edward h. barton, both of the medical college of louisiana. in the late 1830s, powell gave lectures on physiology and pathology both on campus and at his private offices. likewise, barton gave lectures on the influence of louisiana’s quasitropical climate on general health and endemic diseases at the medical college and in off-campus rented rooms (fossier 1998). in addition to public faculty lectures, instructors at the medical college of louisiana developed the new orleans medical and surgical journal, which, for most of the nineteenth century, focused on illnesses that plagued south louisiana (duffy 1957). similarly, the medical department at the kentucky-based transylvania university founded both the transylvania journal of medicine and associated sciences in 1828, and, later in 1849, the transylvania medical journal to disseminate region-specific healthcare information (savitt 1982). by 1850, fifty medical colleges had been established nationwide (miller & weiss 2008; stowe 2004) but only five of said institutions were in the south (mitchell 1944). these included the transylvania medical college in lexington, kentucky, charleston’s medical college of the state of south carolina, the medical college of georgia in augusta, the medical college of louisiana in new orleans, and the louisville medical institute in louisville, kentucky (stowe 2004). by the onset of the civil war, there were 63 us medical colleges, 16 of which were located in states that eventually seceded from the union (slawson 2011). examples of these southern institutions include the memphis medical college, the botanico-medical college of memphis, and the alabama medical college (delaney 1981; kirkland 2011). this rather quick establishment of southern physician training academies is largely table 1: medical colleges in the american south prior to the civil war founded institution location 1824 medical college of south carolina charleston, sc 1825 university of virginia charlottesville, sc 1826 winchester medical college winchester, va 1831 medical college of georgia augusta, ga 1835 medical college of louisiana new orleans, la 1846 memphis medical college memphis, tn 1846 botanico-medical college of memphis memphis, tn 1850 university of nashville nashville, tn 1852 savannah medical college savannah, ga 1854 medical college of virginia richmond, va 1854 reformed medical college of georgia macon, ga 1855 atlanta medical college atlanta, ga 1856 new orleans school of medicine new orleans, la 1856 oglethorpe medical college savannah, ga 1858 shelby medical college nashville, tn 1860 medical college of alabama mobile, al 73 attributed to a rise in sectionalism and southern nationalism (duffy 1957). however, with the coming of southern secession and war, the coming of southern secession and war, the majority of southern colleges closed due to both students and faculty enlisting in confederate armies (cohen 2012). by 1861, only one of the 16 confederate state medical colleges, the medical college of virginia in richmond, remained open (slawson 2011). in addition to these war-caused closures, battles associated with the sectionalist cause brought with them the horrifying reality that medical training, particularly in the american south, was far from adequate. although the engineering science of warfare had advanced to include explosive mortar shells and flesh-tearing minié musket balls, medical science still consisted of only a limited array of curative strategies. penicillin and effective anesthetics had yet to be discovered and amputation was an all too common occurrence that cast a dark shadow over army doctors’ tents. infection was rampant sans antibiotics, and wounds excreting puss were inaccurately diagnosed as a positive sign of healing. consequently, “the common soldier,” as simon winchester puts it, was “monstrously treated by all the new weaponry, and yet only moderately treated with all the old medicine” (2005, 52). likewise, wartime disease was widespread. soldiers regularly died of typhoid and pneumonia, which were “treated with the ignorance of the day, with little more than . . . opium or calomel, painkiller and purgative” (winchester 2005, 66). if anything, the bodily damages of the civil war taught medical practitioners and educators alike that medical science and instruction needed to advance. as reconstruction medical science progressed with new surgical instruments and more advanced pharmaceutical applications, the number of medical colleges increased. in the century following the civil war, 457 medical colleges opened in the united states and canada, the majority being proprietary (ebert 1977). by 1900, enrollment in us medical higher education reached approximately 49,000 students (burke 1982). even so, as historian roger gieger (2000) reports, of those attending medical colleges, only 7.9% graduated and received a medical degree in 1880, 9% in 1890, and 10.2% in 1900. equally disappointing, a significant portion of these institutions, such as the medical college of alabama, closed prior to the mid-twentieth century (brown 2018). in addition to poor graduation rates and short-lived institutions, clinical study in nineteenth-century proprietary medical programs was rare as very few were even affiliated with a university, let alone a hospital that could readily supply experiential student opportunities. understanding the need to provide practical learning experiences, early medical colleges went to great lengths to deliver clinical opportunities. to offset this curricular deficit, medical doctors with preexisting hospital affiliations were often hired as instructors in lieu of those physicians who had no infirmary or sanitarium connections (ebert 1977). while some institutions hired faculty affiliated with local hospitals, other colleges founded their own clinics or hospitals to provide needed practitioner encounters (slawson 2012). institutions that had clinical opportunities advertised their hospital connections to recruit new students. an example of this important affiliation can be seen in the case of tulane university medical center, which was created in 1847, when the medical college of louisiana merged with then university of louisiana (present-day tulane university of louisiana) (mohr 2011). in his 1984 history of tulane university medical center, duffy points out that the new orleans-based 74 institution had a long-standing clinical, studenttraining relationship with charity hospital—a colonial infirmary opened in 1736 that remained in existence until the devastation of hurricane katrina in 2005 (duffy 1984; salvaggio 1992). in fact, this all-important affiliation influenced abraham flexner, who would soon go on to cause enormous changes in the field of medical education. after visiting the new orleans institution in january of 1909, flexner declared tulane university medical center as being “one of a very few existing southern schools that deserve development” (1910, 233). prior to flexner’s 1910 report, medical colleges, north and south, possessed curricular structures like those developed at early on at harvard medical school. academic terms lasted approximately four or five months, depending on the institution. these lecture-based courses and associated anatomical laboratory experiences were then repeated for a second year. medical students typically followed one of two curricular tracks. students who desired employment as “surgeons” post-graduation were usually provided intensive clinical and/or laboratory experiences (human examination and, when possible, dissection) and apprenticeship/internship opportunities to perfect their skills at surgery, amputation, and bleedings (wilder 2013). students who wished to become “physicians,” on the other hand, spent more time in the classroom studying internal medicine, chemistry, and pharmaceutical application. having completed this relatively brief retinue of courses, and with the payment of graduation fees (in addition to tuition costs), students were awarded a doctorate of medicine degree (wilder 2013). as most states had licensure laws that granted practicing rights upon graduation, the proliferation of low rigor proprietary medical academies swelled. the widespread existence of such low rigor institutions, particularly in the south, led historian colin b. burke to note, “the body of formalized medical education [in the mid-nineteenth century] was inadequate, if not incorrect and dangerous . . . ” (1982, 252). however, as both johns hopkins medical school in baltimore, maryland and the harvard school of medicine began to modernize their curricular structures, hire more astute professors, and employ harsher student examination procedures, other period medical colleges, like those associated with yale university or the university of michigan, followed suit (cremin 1988; geiger 2000). as roger geiger explains, “not only had the requirements for a m.d. been greatly expanded, but the advantage to future practitioners shifted decisively away from cheap degrees in favor of rigorous preparation” (2000, 273). between the late 1800s and early 1900s, american medical higher education underwent a transition from practices solely based on theory to training based on scientifically supported treatments and diagnostic evaluations. before this transition, medical education and practice was dictated by various conflicting theories that aimed to explain health and disease (cardinal & kaell 2017). before these late-nineteenth-century curricular revisions, the admission standards for most us medical colleges were slack and unregulated (ludmerer 1999). it was not until 1905 that a high school diploma became mandated nationwide as an admission standard for medical programs (cardinal & kaell 2017). eventually, having a bachelor’s degree was required to enroll in medical study. the period between 1870 and 1910 saw sweeping change in medical higher education but only in a handful of leading institutions. despite advances in some northern medical colleges, southern medical higher education failed to improve instruction and 75 scientific considerations. it was this uneven trajectory of reform that ultimately led to the development of a mass medical training inspection that culminated in the flexner report of 1910 (cremin 1988), wherein southern institutions were harshly judged for delays in improvement. even so, throughout the nineteenth century, southern medical higher education relied on a precedent of “exceptionalism” that painted regional medical needs as being unique to the quasi-tropical climate and racially bifurcated social strata once capitalized by radicalized slavery and later substantiated by sharecropping and jim crow law. such, in the minds of southern intellectuals, set the south apart from the instructional and practitioner norms of the north. southern nationalism the idea of “southern medicine,” being inherently different from the medical practices of the north, exemplified the extent to which southern nationalism had permeated academia. there are numerous examples of authors establishing “southern medicine” as a unique phenomenon in the landscape of medical history (mitchell 1944; duffy 1957; o’brien 2010), whether due to the climate and the resulting differences in prevalent diseases (stewart 2015) or through the inherently racist views pertaining to physiological differences between white patients and the enslaved “negro” population (duffy 1968; kenny 2013 & 2016; willoughby, c.d. 2017). this kind of sectionalism reinforced the ideological need to establish state medical colleges and attract those southern students who had, for the first half of the nineteenth century, attended northern physician training institutions. duffy (1968) illustrates how southern nationalism manifested itself in period medical practices via the reliance on eighteenth-century medical treatises that described a variety of diseases that were linked to regional climate and topography. in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, burgeoning southern intellectuals reasoned that sicknesses present in the american south were inherently different from those in the north. sectionalist medical professionals argued in editorials that students who received medical training in the north were unprepared to deal with illnesses brought on by the southern climate (duffy 1957; 1968). in one such editorial, physician james c. billingslea declared that anyone with aspirations to practice medicine in the south should receive a southern education because medical practice in the humid, muggy, tropicalfever-ridden region “is entirely different from that taught in northern institutions, and by northern writers” (1856, 215). as early as the 1830’s, before there were any established medical colleges in the south, there was a call by sectionalist medical professionals demanding that medical students study the peculiarities of southern diseases or obtain remediation after graduating from northern medical colleges if they intended to practice in the south (kilbride 1999; stewart 2015). as late 1850s sectionalism intensified and the threat of disunion and civil war grew, the demand for southern medical colleges increased (duffy, 1984). due to intense southern nationalism and enhanced numbers of southern medical colleges, students who heralded from such states as arkansas, mississippi, and tennessee returned in ever-increasing numbers to enroll in newly minted medically academies firmly affixed in their home states (mitchell, 1944). this exodus of southern students from northern medical colleges culminated in december of 1859, when approximately 200 students withdrew from colleges in philadelphia and transferred to southern institutions. the majority of these students enrolled at the medical college of virginia. this educational egress was celebrated in 76 a variety of southern newspapers published in cities such as new orleans and richmond (mitchell 1944; duffy 1957). as the exodus of southern students from northern medical colleges progressed, many southern academies relied on southern nationalist propaganda to recruit. medical colleges like virginia’s hampden-sydney college framed their clinical opportunities as uniquely southern in nature (stewart 2015). similar, the medical college of louisiana touted its expertise and proximity to yellow fever outbreaks and other tropical diseases to entice interested students (duffy 1984). to a greater or lesser extent, all southern medical colleges, regardless of state association, relied on a careful mixture of regional pride and racist ideologies to lure southern students who were likewise supportive of segregation. racial ethos southern nationalism went far to wed racism and slavery to regional medicine. as a result, physicians cataloged numerous physiological and mental conditions that applied to slaves (wilder 2013). southern doctors and medical educators, when espousing the exceptionality of their medical colleges, argued that the physiological differences between whites and the large enslaved population required scientific attention to address diseases that were relevant to each race. for example, it was commonly held that individuals of european descent were more susceptible to yellow fever than persons of african descent (carrigan 2015; willoughby c.d. 2017). it was also argued, largely due to the american eugenics movement and the marginalizing effects of pseudo-scientific phrenological claims, that there were significant intellectual disparities between individuals of european ancestry and those of african descent. even more disturbing was the reliance on nineteenth-century medical practices (such as forced gynecological examinations) to determine which enslaved females should procreate with healthy slave males in order to produce new generations of forced labor (smith 1998; goodson 2003; winfield 2007; tomlinson 2013; kenny 2013 & 2016; sublette & sublette 2016; forret 2016; willoughby u.e. 2017). indeed, southerners from all professions attempted to rationalize the institution of slavery by arguing that the anatomical differences between blacks and whites were so great as to warrant separate medical practices. samuel cartwright, a native of virginia who had practiced medicine in both mississippi and louisiana, published profusely about the social requirement of segregated medical facilities and diagnostic sciences. he even went so far as to “discover” uniquely “negro” disorders, such as drapetomania, a mental illness that cartwright asserted caused slaves to run away from their plantation masters (duffy 1968). while not all physicians of the era were as outspoken as cartwright, most of his contemporaries subscribed to an ideology that insisted on wholly different medical treatments for each race (mitchell 1944). in 2017, historian christopher d. willoughby highlighted this phenomenon of period specific, race-based medical theories and practices after examining over 4,000 nineteenth-century medical students’ theses. in his research, willoughby observed a distinct ideological shift toward racial medical differences in periods of increased sectionalism and southern nationalism (2017). in addition to the physiological differences highlighted by nineteenth-century medical professionals, southern medical academies made regular use of slave labor to perform tasks including, but not limited to, resurrection—the illegal exhumation of human remains for autopsy (schultz 1992). prior to emancipation, some medical colleges, such as the medical college of 77 georgia, used enslaved persons to procure corpses for instructional dissection and student surgical practice. grandison harris, a slave purchased for $700 by the faculty of the georgia-based medical institution, not only dug up corpses and transported them to the college under cover of night, he was also forced to bury the dismembered remains in the college’s basement to conceal the illicitly procured bodies (cohen 2012; wilder 2013). as well as providing labor for unpleasant tasks such as the abovementioned, slaves were also exploited for clinical purposes and were easilyacquired specimens for antebellum colleges. as described by historian todd l. savitt: “southern white medical educators and researchers relied greatly on the availability of negro patients for various purposes. black bodies often found their way to dissecting tables, operating amphitheaters, classroom or bedside demonstrations, and experimental facilities. . . . blacks were particularly easy targets, given their positions as voiceless slaves or ‘free persons of color’ in a society sensitive to and separated by race. . . . blacks were considered more available and more accessible in this white-dominated society: they were rendered physically visible by their skin color but were legally invisible because of their slave status” (1982, 331-332). a majority of southern medical education institutions engaged in slave examination and experimentation including, but not limited to, transylvania university medical department in kentucky, louisville medical institute, atlanta medical college, and the medical college of south carolina. faculty at the medical college of south carolina advertised in local newspapers requesting that plantation owners bring sick slaves to the institution for diagnosis, pharmaceutical treatment, or, in some cases, surgery (savitt 1982). in short, slaves were exploited as medical specimens to both train students and attract potential enrollees. medical colleges that advertised training with live humans (in addition to the dissection of corpses) were more likely to attract larger enrollments than those who could not provide human subjects, living or deceased, black, white, or otherwise. knowledge of medical college slave abuse spread throughout the south and, as a result, enslaved persons were frightened by the notion that, after they or their loved ones passed away, their bodies would be used for medical student autopsies and discarded without proper burial. this fear spilled over into the reconstruction era and spawned such nightmarish tales amongst black communities as “’night doctors’ who stole, killed, and then dissected black people (savitt 1982, 340). these fears would become all too real in 1930s alabama when members of the us public health service, in conjunction with officials at tuskegee university, performed unethical syphilis studies on hundreds of unknowing african american males (jones 1993). these ties to the institution of slavery should come as no surprise given that, in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, founders of medical colleges in both the north and the south were entrenched in the tradition of purchasing and keeping human chattel. according to historian craig steven wilder (2013), cofounders of the medical college in philadelphia, john morgan and william shippen, jr., both owned slaves and were wed to major slave holding families. likewise, “new york surgeon john bard, president of the local medical society, secured his family’s economic position by investing in land and slaves” (wilder 2013, 228). during the antebellum era, plantations owners provided rudimentary health care for slaves. after emancipation, however, freedmen were devoid of basic medical attention. even though the freedman’s bureau provided some 78 financial assistance for healthcare, most hospitals were predominantly white serving with little time or attention given to black patients. prior to the civil war, the need to provide physician training to african americans was recognized by some northern medical colleges. as a result, some integrated. in 1848, bowdoin medical school in maine conferred medical degrees to john v. de grasse and thomas j. white. less than ten years later, berkshire medical school in massachusetts graduated two african american in 1858. by 1860, nine northern medical colleges in total had admitted black students (“black history month: a medical perspective, education” 2018). on the contrary, in the south, per the steadfast precepts of late-nineteenth-century southern segregationists ideology, enhanced by the 1896 “separate but equal” ruling in plessy v. ferguson and de jure jim crow law, separate educational institutions to train black doctors were founded. as a result, fourteen african american medical colleges, such as flint medical college in new orleans and the raleigh, north carolinabased leonard medical school, opened to provide training for black men who were expected to care for an expansive population bereft of medical attention (rhodes 2007; harley 2006). however, half of these institutions closed before the twentieth century, leaving only seven to educate black medical professionals. while howard university college of medicine and meharry medical college remain viable in the twenty-first century, the remaining five closed before the 1920s due to the crippling results of the 1910 flexner report, decreased student numbers, and loss of external funds. for example, flint medical college, (opened in 1889 as a physician-training department associated with new orleans university) was originally supported by the freedman’s aid society, the methodist episcopal church, and private citizens (rhodes 2007; hart 2013). however, during the early twentieth century enrollment steadily decreased as funding from the aforementioned religious, organizational, and private citizen sources waned. when the flexner report was published, damaging claims about the college’s inability to provide adequate training further dampened enrollments and the institution’s board of trustees decided to close the college in 1911 (rhodes 2007). per flexner, “flint medical college is a hopeless affair, on which money and energy alike are wasted” (1910, 233). table 2: early-twentieth-century african american medical colleges founded institution location 1869 howard university college of medicine washington, dc 1873 meharry medical college nashville, tn 1882 leonard medical school raleigh, nc 1888 louisville national medical college louisville, ky 1889 flint medical college new orleans, la 1900 knoxville medical college knoxville, tn 1900 university of west tennessee medical department memphis, tn 79 impact of the flexner report as a step toward standardizing medical higher education, medical organizations such as the american medical association (founded in 1847) pressed for curricular revisions in nineteenth-century medical colleges. admission requirements also became a focus of these standardization efforts, and some colleges began to tighten their requirements in the mid-1800s, with the trend becoming more widespread following the civil war (miller & weiss 2008). these reform efforts were often met with objections from faculty due to the limitations they would impose on the number of eligible students (slawson 2012). medical colleges in the south, even those with excellent reputations, were often unable to meet the american medical association’s standards, particularly with difficulties associated with reopening institutions temporally closed by the civil war (duffy 1984). as academic reform became commonplace in medical higher education, malpractice and low standards become evident at southern institutions. though the requirement for potential students to possess bachelors’ degrees had become an accepted norm, it was reported that tulane university medical center, in the early twentieth century, was still accepting students with no undergraduate degree whatsoever. despite being one of the south’s “premier” medical colleges, the louisiana institution had continued to rely on an age-old and outdated policy that applicants provide their high school diploma alone for program admittance (platt 2014). it was amidst these early attempts at reform, and the resulting academic push back, that abraham flexner was commissioned by the carnegie foundation, with the approval of the american medical association, to determine deficiencies in us and canadian medical instruction and make recommendations for the standardization of medical training practices (halperin, perman, & wilson 2010; ludmerer 2010; leslie 2011). flexner spent the better part of a year touring each of the then existent 155 us and canadian medical colleges before publishing his recommendations. the report laid out deficiencies noted at each medical college and included harsh recommendations for improvement. flexner went so far as to call for the closure of 117 us institutions (flexner 1910; ebert 1977). resultantly, deficiencies described in the report such as inadequate laboratories, poor equipment funding, unacceptable admission standards, etc. ultimately led to the closure of most us proprietary medical colleges (miller & weiss 2008). the report was especially harsh concerning medical colleges in the south. flexner grouped the institutions he visited into three divisions. the first division which listed sixteen institutions—none from the south—was dedicated to medical academies deemed worthy of operation and recognized as providing quality educational services to their home states (1910). the second division, containing fifty colleges, listed institutions that should be kept open, so long as they were significantly improved. only one southern medical college, tulane university medical center, was included in the second division of the flexner report, but not without criticism. the louisiana medical college needed to enhance admission standards and increase academic rigor if it was to continue operation (duffy 1984). various northern institutions, as well as all other medical colleges in the american south, fell into flexner’s third division. these academies were condemned for a variety of reasons including, but not limited to, extremely lax entrance requirements. flexner explained that the majority of students attending these colleges were allowed 80 to enroll with the “equivalent of a high school education” or with educational certificates “from non-existent schools as well as from non-existent places” (1910, 36). it was discovered that 80% of the students enrolled at the mississippi medical college in meridian had been admitted with only minimal education requirements. the meridian institution was deemed “totally without merit” (250). flexner went on to admonish those colleges that “apologize[d] for their wretchedness by alleging the shortcomings of the student body” (41). this, per flexner, was not an acceptable excuse. in flexner’s opinion, such weak medical colleges did nothing to improve academic merit in their home states and should be closed instead of allowing them to remain open and besmirch the public with inadequate instruction. flexner was disappointed to report that most southern institutions insisted on maintaining lax admittance to warrant continued operation. such defenses were, to flexner, wholly inexcusable, as medical physicians and surgeons ought to be of the highest academic caliber in order to effectively treat disease and execute safe medical procedures. flexner not only recommended that institutions improve or close, but he also maintained that there were far too many medical students relative to the us population. as flexner explained, it was better to have an adequate number of well-trained doctors than a surplus of unqualified physicians (1910). african american-serving medical higher education was also addressed in the flexner report. though flexner indicated the importance of these institutions, he concluded that if african american medical academies, such as knoxville medical college and the louisville national medical college in kentucky, were to persist, extreme measures had to be taken. entire campuses needed refurbishment; new laboratories with up-to-date medical apparatuses were required; well-organized residency programs were mandatory; and sufficient endowment funds were needed to support organizational longevity. though flexner gave a crippling assessment of african american medical education, he emphasized that only two such training programs were worthy of retention: meharry medical college in nashville, tennessee and the medical department of howard university in washington dc (1910). originally, flexner championed the survival of the nashville institution: “the urgent need in respect to the medical education of the negro is concentration of resources slender at best on a single southern institution. much the most favorable situated for this purpose is meharry medical college at nashville” (1910, 233). however, he eventually advised that howard university’s medical division alone was to be nurtured through the creation of a $500,000 endowment due to the institution’s associated with the city’s freedman’s hospital. even so, meharry medical college remained in existence. per flexner’s assessment, the other five african american medical colleges were ill equipped to provide adequate african american medical training and should be shuttered (epps 1989; thomas 2011; miller & weiss 2012). conclusion the results of the flexner report were slow to take effect nationwide but, by 1928, only 76 us institutions were open. seven years later, that number had dropped to 66 (beck 2004; ludmerer 2010). by, the start of the 1930s, approximately 75% of southern medical colleges had closed. the rapid growth of medical higher education during the nineteenth century, the substantial scientific advancements made during the late nineteenth/early-twentieth century, and the south’s slow advancement of medical instruction 81 makes this region and era significant for historical research. certainly, this period of southern medical higher education was heavily influenced by southern nationalism, slavery and racism, and the lasting impact of the flexner report. as a result, a more in-depth exploration of the region and its medical educational practices are warranted. to be sure, southern nationalism and increased sectionalism leading up to the civil war led to a dramatic increase in the establishment of medical institutions in the south. this epoch of distinctly southern medical institutions was encouraged and touted by medical practitioners due to the promotion of “unique” regional diseases and racialized pseudoscientific medical claims (duffy 1968). during reconstruction, efforts were being made nationwide to adopt more stringent standards for medical instruction. the lack of compliance with these reform efforts led directly to the creation of the flexner report of 1910, which exposed the deficiencies present in most us medical colleges—particularly those in the american south. flexner, as explained above, was especially harsh in his assessment of southern medical higher education, to the degree that only three institutions were designated as worthy of continuance: meharry medical college, howard university, and tulane university medical center, two of which were black institutions (flexner 1910). despite this literature-fueled narrative, there is a need to further explore the history of southern medical higher education through intense archival source analysis. by instituting a conceptual framework centered on southern nationalism, racial ethos, and the impact of the flexner report, greater care can be taken to produce a text rooted in significant primary data that inclusive of all southern medical academies, defunct or otherwise. such a text will go far to enhance an understanding of higher education, medical training, and southern intellectualism in an era rife with sectionalism and segregation. references aptowics, cristin o’keefe. dr. mutter’s marvels: a true tale of intrigue and innovation at the dawn of modern medicine. new york: avery publishing, 2015. beck, andrew h. “the flexner report and the standardization of ameican medical education.” the journal of the american medical association 291, no. 16 (may 2004): 2139-2140. billingslea, james c. “an appeal on behalf of southern medical colleges and southern medical literature.” the new orleans medical and surgical journal 13 (1856): 214-217. “black history month: a medical perspective, education.” duke university 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founding of the university of berlin in 1810 and the reform of the prussian schools during the early nineteenth century. schleiermacher is widely known as a theologian, but within the german-speaking field of education, he is also considered a key reformer and theorist, who laid the conceptual groundwork for the modern research university as well as prussia’s public school system. friedrich daniel ernst schleiermacher (1768-1834) is viewed as a foundational theorist within the german-speaking field of education. despite this, schleiermacher’s work on education is barely known in the anglophone world, where he is primarily recognized for his protestant theology, his hermeneutics, and his philosophy of language and translation. the stanford encyclopaedia of philosophy features an entry on schleiermacher some thirty pages in length, but less than one of those pages is dedicated to his contributions to education (forster, 2017). theodore vial (2013), who authored an often-referenced english introduction to schleiermacher, acknowledges the limited attention he has received beyond his theology. he specifically states his desire “to provide an introduction that covers a wider range of disciplines than is currently available” (p. 2). yet there is no mention of schleiermacher’s thoughts on education and only a brief section on his involvement in the founding of the university of berlin (pp. 18-20). in his brief overview of schleiermacher biographies available both in english and german, vial names kurt nowak’s (2001) as “the definitive one” (p. 120). this volume is more than six hundred pages in length, only roughly fourteen of which are dedicated to schleiermacher’s academic work on education (nowak, 2001, pp. 318-327 & pp. 500-507). even wilhelm dilthey’s (1870) seminal biography, leben schleiermachers [life of schleiermacher], does not include his pedagogy (redeker, 1966, p. lxiii). the chief reason for the neglect of schleiermacher’s educational thoughts possibly lies within his limited number of academic publications in the field. he published a review of johann friedrich zöllner’s (1804) ideen über national-erziehung [ideas on national education] in 1805. in 1808, he wrote an essay on his gelegentliche gedanken über universitäten in deutschem sinn; nebst einem anhang über eine neu zu errichtende [occasional thoughts on universities in a german spirit, with an appendix on one about to be founded], which he pointedly declared to not be “scientific” (schleiermacher, 1808, p. iii). beyond that, he presented three lectures on pedagogy at the university of berlin in the years 1813/14, 1820/21, and 1826. in these, he examined the nature of education as an art (in the greek sense of techne) and pedagogy as its corresponding theory. in his works, schleiermacher uses the term erziehung [education] to refer to the act of educating itself. pädagogik [pedagogy], by contrast, refers to the scholarly engagement with education practice and theory, i.e., erziehungswissenschaft [philosophy of education / education science]. together with the work of johann friedrich herbart (1776-1841), his arguments are credited with establishing education as an autonomous academic discipline (nowak, 2001, p. 502; kenklies, 2012, pp. 272f). although schleiermacher’s lectures were not published at the time, they have since been reconstructed, from his notes, and those of two of his students (beljan et al., 2017). schleiermacher’s contributions to the field of education as a whole go beyond his academic work. his 1808 text had a profound influence on the founding of the university of berlin in 1810. although wilhelm von humboldt is widely credited with what has become to be the model of the modern research university, and the 53 university of berlin is named in his and his brother alexander’s honor, there is an argument that its blueprint bears “more schleiermacher’s signature than the one of humboldt” (kenklies, 2012, p. 266). he also contributed to the reform of prussia’s schools as member of the government’s deputation for public education, into which he was invited by wilhelm von humboldt in 1810. he served first as member, then as interim director and finally as director. the deputation was tasked with laying the conceptual groundwork for the reform of prussia’s schools in the years after the napoleonic invasion and to advise the members of the section for cultus and public education (beljan et al., 2017, p. xxxvii). these reforms still reverberate in the german school system today. in this paper, i introduce schleiermacher as a philosopher of education, much as he was introduced to me. specifically, i will show how his work on education was shaped by personal as well as political circumstances, which had a profound influence on both his understanding of the pedagogic purpose of schooling and university education. historical and biographical context as wilhelm dilthey (1870) maintains, schleiermacher’s philosophy can only be understood against the background of his personal life and historic context (p. i). hence, i will give a brief, biographical introduction, focusing on his formative years and early career. schleiermacher was born in november 1768 in breslau (today’s wroclaw, poland) to johann gottlieb adolph schleyermacher, a prussian military chaplain, and his wife maria catharina. by all accounts, schleiermacher’s first experience of schooling was “disastrous” (nowak, 2001, p. 20) and disenfranchised the boy, despite his performing well. he was particularly troubled by his inability to organize the fragmented knowledge he was taught into a cohesive whole. yet, he did not observe that same concern in his classmates, which led him to doubt his own abilities as he assumed what vexed him so must be clear to the others. he feared he would be discovered a fraud (nowak, 2001, p. 20). following his father’s regiment during the war of bavarian succession (1778/79), the family moved to the small town of pless (today’s pszczyna, poland). there, his father came into contact with a colony of the pietist moravian church and experienced an “awakening” (nowak, 2001, p. 21). as a result, he sought to place his children in the highly sought-after schools of the moravian church. since schleiermacher’s father was neither of noble birth nor wealthy, the church initially declined his request, but granted the family a providential test. after moravian custom, a lot was cast, which coming up positive indicated god’s favor. accordingly, in may 1783, schleiermacher, now aged fourteen, was admitted into the pädagogium at niesky (nowak, 2001, p. 23). here schleiermacher received a comprehensive education in various languages, mathematics, history, the natural sciences, as well as music and art. moreover, schleiermacher found faith, as he professed in letters to his sister, charlotte. this set him on the path of becoming a preacher. in 1785, he matriculated at the moravian teacher seminary in barby, about eighty miles south-west of berlin (nowak, 2001, p. 25f). the rules at the seminary were strict. the works of enlightenment and romantic authors such as kant and goethe were censored. yet still, schleiermacher and his friends secretly acquired and read this literature, leading them to question the seminary’s strict practices and narrow pietistic curriculum. eventually schleiermacher experienced a crisis of faith, prompting him to ask for his father’s permission to leave the barby to study theology at the university of halle. his father agreed to finance his studies for three semesters, despite his serious disappointment in his son not following through with his education. schleiermacher enrolled at halle university in april 1787 (nowak, 2001, pp. 30ff). these early educative experiences seem to be relevant to schleiermacher’s later works in two ways. where, as a young child, he found that his instruction lacked meaning and order, his mature conceptualization of schooling stressed the systematic progression of learning. the reductive approach to content based on the pietistic beliefs that he encountered in niesky and barby stood in opposition to schleiermacher’s 54 desire for a more academic and culturally open education. to him, religion obscured reason as the true source of morality (nowak, 2001, p. 43). at the university of halle, schleiermacher appears to have attended only few classes, preferring, it seems, to pursue his studies in solitude. to this end, his philosophy professor, johann august eberhard, became an important mentor (nowak, 2001, p. 35). the university had seen an academic struggle between pietistic theology, established by august wilhelm francke, and the naturalistic teachings of christian wolff, from which the followers of enlightenment had emerged victorious. however, pietism still had a strong standing at the university (nowak, 2001, pp. 32f). during schleiermacher’s time, kant’s critical philosophy gained momentum, but it was not well-received at halle. eberhard, who followed the tradition of wolff, sought to return philosophy to its roots. at the core of eberhard’s approach was a dedication to thorough critique, which schleiermacher shared. he had read kant even before enrolling at halle, but he also was impressed by the university’s philosophical tradition. thus, he tried to balance the two, merging “elements of [kant’s] transcendental philosophy with the empirical-psychological system of the halle philosophy” (nowak, 2001, p. 39). in this way, schleiermacher can be seen as a scholar of his time, schooled in the values of pietism, but open to the intellectual thought birthed by german enlightenment. after the three semesters granted by his father came to an end in early 1788, schleiermacher was faced with a lack of employment opportunity, as “the university cities were bursting at the seams with young academics looking to make a living” (nowak, 2001, p.41). for lack of options, schleiermacher remained at halle a further year. still without any employment prospects, and encumbered with debt, he then moved to his uncle’s house in rural drossen, just east of berlin. with little intellectual stimulus to pursue his scholarly interests schleiermacher’s academic ambitions waned (nowak, 2001, pp. 42-46). eventually, he gave in to his father’s request that he take the theological examination in berlin. it seemed to be the only viable option for the impoverished young man. he travelled to berlin and acquired his licentia concionandi in july 1790 (nowak, 2001, p. 47). at this point, schleiermacher was hired as a private tutor to the sons of count friedrich alexander zu dohna-schlobitten, one of prussia’s foremost noble families. he would also deliver sermons to the dohna family at the count’s request, for which he received high praise. schleiermacher remained in rural schlobitten (today’s słobity, poland) until may 1793. during that time, he formed lasting friendships with the family’s two eldest sons, wilhelm and alexander, who were close to his age. this friendship with alexander would have a profound effect on schleiermacher’s life in at least two ways: in december 1796, alexander introduced him to a social circle of romanticists in berlin that included, amongst others, wilhelm and alexander von humboldt (vial, 2013, pp. 11f). also, alexander zu dohna-schlobitten would serve as prussia’s interior minister from 1808 to late 1810, overlapping with schleiermacher’s service to the deputation for public education. after his time as tutor in schlobitten had come to an end, schleiermacher moved to berlin. driven again by financial need, he attended friedrich gedike’s seminarium, prussia’s first independent normal school catering to teacher candidates rather than university students (nowak, 2001, p. 59). gedike’s seminarium focused on instruction practice rather than educational theory. students would serve as adjunct teachers at the friedrichswerder gymnasium in berlin, where they initially attended classes of experienced teachers, including gedike himself, before they were entrusted with their own teaching load of eight to ten hours per week. the candidates’ lessons would be observed by gedike and discussed afterward. in addition, candidates were required to write pedagogical and philosophical papers on the practice of teaching, which were discussed within the group on a monthly basis (paulsen, 1960, p. 90). schleiermacher’s time at the gedike seminarium ended in 1794, when he moved to landsberg to assume the office of adjunct pastor (nowak, 2001, p. 69). even so, as nowak argues, schleiermacher’s experience as a tutor in 55 schlobitten and gedike’s supervision were fundamental to him becoming “a notable theorist of education” (nowak, 2001, p. 61). at the behest of prussian king friedrich wilhelm iii, schleiermacher was appointed extraordinary professor of theology and philosophy as well as university preacher at the university of halle in 1804, after he had been offered a professorship at the bavarian university of würzburg, as the king wanted to secure schleiermacher’s scholarly talents for prussia (nowak, 2001, p. 145). he could now pursue his academic interests without having to give up on his passion for preaching. the following year he published his review of zöllner’s (1804) ideas on national education. but his time at halle ended shortly after, when napoleon’s forces occupied the city on october 17th, 1806. by november teaching was suspended and university was closed. the following may schleiermacher moved to berlin. schleiermacher’s conceptualization of public schooling johann friedrich zöllner published his ideas on national education in 1804, asking for critical responses to his thoughts on the reform of prussia’s schools (p. vi). hermann patsch, editor of schleiermacher’s schriften aus der hallenser zeit 1804-1807 [writings from the halle times 1804-1807], identifies zöllner’s work as the “prologue of prussian education reform” (1995, p. xxx). it was set in motion by king friedrich wilhelm iii in 1798 by instating julius eberhard von massow as minister of state with orders to create a plan to reform prussia’s schools. zöllner was a member of the department for the lutheran church and the schools and thus directly involved in von massow’s undertaking. he himself was a respected scholar. he had studied theology and philosophy and held high offices within the protestant church in berlin. as such, he was closely involved in questions of schooling, which were under the purview of the church, and he had the ear of both the king and von massow in questions of education (wienecke, 1910). in the introduction to his review of zöllner’s first volume of the ideas, schleiermacher identified two parallel approaches to the question of public education at the time; on the one hand were those who sought to apply philosophical principles to pedagogy. according to patsch, this included kant’s 1803 on pedagogy. on the other hand were practitioners who developed new methods of instruction unworried by theory, which patsch suggests was a nod to pestalozzi (patsch, 1995, p. 3). as the prussian state sought immediate reform of schooling it was no longer possible to wait for a philosophical solution to the questions of public education. but blind reproduction of revered practices was equally unacceptable. given the political situation, schleiermacher (1995, pp. 3-4) recognized that zöllner’s work (a defense of the traditional social order) had to be submitted to careful critique, which he regarded as the only viable way forward in this imperfect situation. schleiermacher’s first point of criticism concerned zöllner’s definition of education [erziehung] as “the continuous, purposeful concurrence to prepare the young human to become what he ought to become at an older age” (zöllner, 1804, p. 1). this conceptualization, schleiermacher argued, lacked clarity in regard to several, fundamental questions. for instance, education cannot be reduced to the role of the educator alone. it would always be partly determined both by the learner’s development, their needs and interests, as well as by random, circumstantial influences. these three elements must be balanced against each other, and zöllner’s understanding of education did not address how that might be accomplished. nor did it stipulate the specific ends educators should aim at. zöllner’s definition postulated the existence of a specific purpose guiding all educative measures. it remained unclear on how this purpose could be determined, which by necessity must precede any education for otherwise it cannot be purposeful. schleiermacher argued that this determination must be negotiated between the teacher and the learner. since it cannot be ascertained ex ante what the student’s role in life would be, a general education had to be the main focus of instruction, ensuring that the specific knowledge required in future life could be readily acquired. given the complexities of life, this raised the question of how disparate elements of 56 the curriculum could be harmoniously ordered. how should the constituent subjects—reading, writing, mathematics, ethics, and so on—be combined into a coherent and purposive course of study? (schleiermacher, 1995, p. 6) his own answer was that students ought to “learn how to learn and to acquire the skill to acquire skills” (p. 9). for this, schleiermacher pointed toward pestalozzian tenets of education, which zöllner had positioned himself against (pp. 9-10). schleiermacher also criticized zöllner’s failure to differentiate between education [erziehung] and instruction [unterricht]. to explain this dualism, schleiermacher distinguished disposition [gesinnung] from knowledge [kenntnisse]. instruction aims at developing knowledge (and skills) through example: students emulate their teachers and thus learn mechanically to replicate what they are shown. education, on the other hand, aims at instilling a moral disposition in students, which cannot be achieved through mere example. by its very nature, an example is always an external, immediate representation of a given subject matter. for instance, writing a word or carving a piece of wood can be observed and copied by the student. however, in the case of a moral disposition, no example will in and of itself allow the student to grasp the internal motive. at best, students could learn the specific, exemplary contexts in which a moral disposition appears, but they could not grasp its universal, generative nature as a whole. yet the title of zöllner’s book, ideas on national education, clearly implied the object of his deliberations was the moral disposition of prussia’s future citizens. but in his considerations of how to achieve this, he consistently referred back to examples and knowledge as the means of such education, “so that, if one believes this account,” schleiermacher concluded, “the intention is merely to improve the disposition through assorted knowledge taught to the people, which is a highly hollow and unfortunate thought” (p. 7). schleiermacher then turned to the purpose of public schooling that was set out in prussia’s allgemeiner schulplan [general school plan], authored mainly by von massow around 1800, which zöllner’s work heavily, if implicitly referred to. first and foremost, it addressed the need to unite the various ethnic groups under prussian rule into a nation (p. 11). he then discussed zöllner’s suggestions how to design public education to achieve this aim. schleiermacher agreed with zöllner’s assessment that the differences in language were the main obstacle to the purpose identified. he argued that “the appreciation of another as human initially originates from communication” (p. 12). like zöllner, schleiermacher firmly opposed the forcible suppression of non-german languages. zöllner suggested that all elementary school books should incorporate parallel texts in german and the locally spoken language. instruction would begin in the latter and slowly transition to the former. schleiermacher was not convinced. the more prudent approach, he argued, was to make german language schoolbooks more accessible. zöllner also suggested that classes should be ethnically diverse, so that students learn from each other. again, schleiermacher saw this as impractical since regions were usually populated by people of the same language and there was barely any mixing of cultures (pp. 12-13). another major obstacle for the formation of a nation was the unfamiliarity most of the population had with the whole idea of prussia as a nation state. for zöllner, this had to be acquired through instruction in prussian history and geography, including knowledge of the heroic deeds of the king and his predecessors. on this, schleiermacher laconically commented that “it might be awkward […] to foster the allegiance of the new subjects to throne and state based on the very deeds that preceded their annexation” (p. 16). comprehending such deeds properly, he argued, demanded an understanding of the historical context, the inner and outer circumstances of the state—a task far beyond the orbit of elementary education (p. 16). to the contrary, schleiermacher argued that initial instruction should focus on regional specificities rather than the national whole. hence his opposition to zöllner’s nation-wide, unified schoolbooks, which would prohibit the teaching of localized content. schleiermacher favored a common plan of how to organize such books but suggested leaving any curriculum decisions to 57 the provincial school authorities (p. 17). in conjunction with his disapproval of the idea of unified books, schleiermacher also positioned himself against a uniform organization of schools themselves. both zöllner’s and von massow’s plans sought to standardize not only books, but the entire curriculum and school regulations as well. so much so that “it almost seems as if no difference other than that of method should find room” (p. 20). but teaching method alone, schleiermacher argued, cannot give a school its own character, especially when considering the high teacher turnover prevailing at the time. such character can only be achieved if school regulation is adaptive to the specific needs of the student body. trying to enforce uniformity was futile, because eventually principals would allow for deviations from regulations that were at odds with their school’s context, and supervising authorities would tolerate them, thus reproducing the “malady” (p. 20) prevalent in the prussian state as a whole: the existence of laws which were knowingly not enforced. and public education, he insisted, must not replicate this practice, but instead instill “disgust” (p. 20) towards it. on the question of girls’ schools, schleiermacher found both zöllner’s and von massow’s plans rather brief, “as if they are not viewed as substantial components of the overall scheme” (p. 21). he criticized this and maintained that any state—and prussia specifically—should take the education of its daughters into account when reforming its schools. otherwise, their education would be left to chance and the influence of untrained governesses and parents. it must be noted, however, that schleiermacher failed to offer any alternative to their plans. schleiermacher’s review of zöllner’s ideas demonstrates his fundamental approach to the question of schooling. he posited that there must be a systematic progression of content knowledge, beginning with the particular and expanding into the general. from the understanding of the specific, its interconnectedness with the whole can then emerge. a broad, general education would be the foundation of learning vocational skills and knowledge later in life. in a way, it can be argued that schleiermacher advocated for what he himself lacked in his own school education, which was characterized by a profound lack of systematized content progression and coherence. schleiermacher’s conceptualization of public schooling exhibited in his 1805 review was clearly progressive for the time. he was opposed to religious education in schools and even argued against the introduction of the bible, as “nothing, absolutely nothing in the bible, apart from a few disembodied sentences, is understandable to children in its true sense and context” (p. 19). he argued against a standardized approach to schooling, especially as regards elementary education, and in favor of individual school character (pp. 19-20). he demanded the inclusion of questions of girls’ schooling in any revision of the school system (p. 21), and even proposed schools be granted land to make them less dependent on the state and to ensure that they were not exploited financially (p. 24). in 1808, schleiermacher published his treatise on the university in a german spirit, outlining his ideas on the organization of higher education. the second chapter of this essay includes an examination of the interconnectedness of the university with its preparatory academic school, the gymnasium, and the national academies, which serve as the ultimate institutions of scholarship. he likened the organization of these three steps to the structure of a guild: “school as the gathering of masters and apprentices, then with journeymen at the university, and the academy as the masters amongst themselves” (schleiermacher, 1808, p. 23). as such, the ultimate goal of academic education was to first lead the individual to insight based on the systematic pursuit of knowledge or wissenschaft, the collective achievement and property of all educated peoples. this was primarily the task of the gymnasium. subsequently, individuals would then contribute to the furthering of wissenschaft itself as members of an academy (pp. 23f). the university, therefore, was to be the bridge between the two. to schleiermacher, admission to the gymnasium must be based on the students’ “better nature and outstanding gift, which suggest he might be receptive to wissenschaft or at least 58 be capable of gainfully processing a variety of knowledge” (p. 24). to prove themselves truly suitable for higher education, students had to display two traits. on the one hand, a specific talent binding their interest to a single field of knowledge. on the other hand, a “systematic, philosophical spirit” (p. 24), that is, a sense for the unity and coherence of all knowledge central to wissenschaft. no doubt drawing upon his own experience, schleiermacher was insistent that attending university must under no circumstances be dependent on the parents’ wealth. in fact, he demanded that those who cannot afford attending university should be financially supported by the state, so long as they demonstrate a modicum of talent and philosophical spirit (p. 156). the same logic applied to the preparatory gymnasium. all citizens would have access to an academic education, so long as they displayed a certain potential. indeed, schleiermacher was prepared to admit students who appeared insufficiently capable, as it was near impossible to predict early on if a student possessed the mind necessary for university studies. even if the majority of students admitted were not capable, “this would be far less disadvantageous than if one single, great, and staunch talent were to be deprived of the beneficial influence of [the university]” (p. 52). those students who did not progress to the academy would surely still be of great service to the state in a different capacity than that of a scholar (pp. 53f). every student brings different talents and scholarly interests to their schooling. both must be fostered according to the uniqueness of the individual. this requires directed, intentional effort—schleiermacher here referred to art in the sense of techne, a bringing forth, or shaping of character. the gymnasium thus had a twofold task; on the one hand, students must be presented with a basic outline of all content knowledge, “so that any dormant talent may be drawn to its subject matter” (p. 25). on the other hand, gymnasium instruction should demonstrate the unity and coherence of knowledge basic to the concept of wissenschaft. given that students need the simplest and most reliable operations to approach any given subject matter, schleiermacher placed mathematics and grammar at the center of the curriculum (pp. 2526). however, he acknowledged that there would inevitably be differences between schools. some would focus more on the development of talent, others on the fostering of the academic mindset. this can be seen as corresponding with his 1805 assessment that schools ought to have a distinct character. yet one-sidedness needed to be avoided, which is why he suggested installing a superordinate administration tasked with guiding each school to its full academic potential (pp. 2627). given the gymnasium’s integral role in academic education, the school principal had to possess the same “prudence, the same immaculate spirit of observation as one who furthers wissenschaft itself, and the development of the youth that he oversees is probably more difficult than any single study” (p. 43). as such, the position of gymnasium principal must be held in as high a regard as that of the university professor or a member of an academy. ideally, all three would spearhead academic matters in unison, infusing a sense of community among scholars (pp. 44f). he thus decried those university professors who felt themselves superior to teachers, and those teachers who regarded professors as otiose, ungrateful, and contributing only little to society by comparison. such prejudices were at odds with the overall goal of wissenschaft and must be prevented (pp. 42f). schleiermacher not only extolled the unity of knowledge, he also insisted on the unity of those who foster it. here was the distinct vocation of the german people, the advancement of wissenschaft would make germany the “center of all bildung” (p. 22). this project brings the reader to the core of schleiermacher’s 1808 text, his discussion of the university. arguably, it is these thoughts which proved most influential, notably for the founding of the university of berlin. this becomes apparent when one compares wilhelm von humboldt’s on the inner and outer organization of the higher academic institutions in berlin (1809/1903) with schleiermacher’s proposals. schleiermacher’s influence on the founding of the university of berlin 59 wilhelm von humboldt is widely credited with the founding of the university of berlin, which is known today as the humboldt university, a name bestowed in 1949 to honor both wilhelm and alexander von humboldt. before that, it bore the moniker of king friedrich wilhelm from 1828 until 1945 and was called simply the university of berlin under soviet occupation (berlin university alliance, 2019). its founding mission—the model of the modern research university—has also been associated with humboldt, but again not during his lifetime. with these qualifications in mind, humboldt’s role has to be read in the context of numerous other works, most notably the writings of fichte (1807/1960) and schleiermacher (1808) (weischedel, 1960; ash, 2006). schleiermacher met wilhelm von humboldt during 1796, when he was introduced to the berlin literary circle by his friend alexander zu dohna-schlobitten. between 1802 and 1808 humboldt served as a prussian envoy to the vatican. although it seems they did not communicate during these years—there is no known correspondence before january 1808— schleiermacher initiated contact to request contributions to the museum der alterthumswissenschaft [museum of classical studies], an anthology of historical scholarship (gerber & schmidt, 2015, p. 34). in his response that march (gerber & schmidt, 2015, pp. 76f), humboldt tactfully declined but expressed his interest in reuniting upon his return to berlin, which he anticipated for the summer of 1808. eventually a friendship was formed around their mutual interests. in july 1809, as head of the section for cultus and public education, humboldt petitioned the king to compensate schleiermacher for his lost income after the university of halle was closed by the french. humboldt also mentioned that schleiermacher was strongly considered for a professorship in the 1807 plan for the to-be-founded university (humboldt, 1809/1903, p. 80). schleiermacher served on the implementary commission, adding his voice to the foundation of the institution’s official charter, and was eventually appointed dean of the faculty of theology in 1810 (nowak, 2001, pp. 220f). humboldt’s treatise on the organization of the higher academic institutions, written during 1809 or 1810, set out the basic principles for what would become the university of berlin. it bears strong parallels with schleiermacher’s (1808) thoughts on universities, suggesting a close intellectual relationship between both texts. with schleiermacher’s text preceding humboldt’s, it can be assumed the former left its mark on the latter. both discussed the nature of wissenschaft—which would be the central goal of the university—and its relation to teaching. they also reflected on the relationship between the university and the state, and the question of financing. the task of any higher academic institution, humboldt insisted, was to promote “wissenschaft in its full depth and breadth” (humboldt, 1809/1903, p. 251). along with schleiermacher, he understood wissenschaft as the unity of all intellectual pursuits. “the success of one should inspire another, and make apparent to all the universal, primordial force that is only ever singular or derivational in the specific” (humboldt, 1809/1903, p. 251). for both men, wissenschaft was the overarching, conjoining theme of human endeavor at the core of german philosophy and the spirit of its people (schleiermacher, 1808, p. 22f; humboldt, 1809/1903, pp. 253f). wissenschaft demanded the freedom necessary to pursue knowledge and bring it into the fold of the “academic edifice,” as fichte put it (1960, p. 30). both schleiermacher and humboldt pointed to this prerequisite (schleiermacher, 1808, p. 56; humboldt, 1809/1903, p. 251), and both combined the liberty of scholarship with the rights of individual insight (schleiermacher, 1808, p. 43; humboldt, 1809/1903, p. 251). this had profound implications for the role of the state, which traditionally exercised strict control over the production and dissemination of knowledge. toleration of ideas was not sufficient. for schleiermacher, government involvement must not go beyond the founding and financing of institutions. this was the true interest of the state as wissenschaft would always be beneficial to the nation and its citizens. indeed, the principle is even more expansive as wissenschaft is by its 60 own nature an endeavor of all educated peoples and therefore cannot and must not be confined to and by a state for narrow political interests (schleiermacher, 1808, pp. 6-9; pp. 45-48). humboldt, whose limits of state action (1851), offered a classic defense of limited government, took the argument further. independence of thought and diversity of ideas are essential to human development (bildung). even in society at large, “one man would muse and compile by himself, another would seek association with his peers, and yet another would gather a circle of disciples to himself” (humboldt, 1809/1903, p. 252). in order to give this natural process a more orderly form, the state must recognize that its involvement will always be a hindrance to the natural course of the scholarly endeavor, including education. its only positive role was to provide what was necessary to support the pursuit of wissenschaft within society (humboldt, 1809/1903, p. 252). humboldt also embraced schleiermacher’s institutional triad of the gymnasium, the university, and the academy. although the gymnasium worked with a body of finalized knowledge, it was conceptualized as a preparatory institution whose goal was to prepare students with the skills for independent learning, thus laying the groundwork for the scholarly approach at the university. it should instill curiosity in its students and thus set them on the path to wissenschaft, enabling them to transition to university where they would engage in independent study without the supervision of teachers (schleiermacher, 1808, p. 26; humboldt, 1809/1903, pp. 255f). the university, in turn, would treat wissenschaft as a yet unsolved, unfinished problem in need of research. both authors agreed that schools must not overstep their allotted function and try to “anticipate university teaching, and neither are universities merely a congeneric complement, merely a higher school grade” (humboldt, 1809/1903, p. 255; see also schleiermacher, 1808, p. 31). the academy would then form the pinnacle of academic pursuit and scholarly exchange among peers (schleiermacher, 1808, p. 31; humboldt, 1809/1903, p. 258). the ideas first expressed in schleiermacher’s (1808) thoughts on universities were clearly in accord with humboldt’s views on knowledge and society and surely influenced his arguments on the organization of higher academic institutions in general, and the university of berlin in particular. but schleiermacher’s influence did not end there. he served as the university’s sixth president in 1815/16 (from the early years of the university until 1934, its president would be elected for a one-year term). it was not uncommon for them to serve for multiple terms, albeit not successively (humboldt-universität zu berlin, 2016). as dean of theology in berlin, he was a leading voice on the commission that drafted the university’s statutes, which were presented in 1817 (weischedel, 1960, p. xxiv). most significantly, perhaps, as a member of prussia’s academy of sciences, he presented lectures in 1813/14, 1820/21, and 1826 on the nature and importance of pedagogy as a distinct field of study (beljan et al., 2017, p. xviii). these influential arguments, as historians of german education attest, “marked the beginning of a modern, explicitly academic thinking on pedagogy […] that conclusively detached pedagogy from theology and philosophy” (beljan et al., 2017, p. xvii, see also nowak, 2001, pp. 318-319). following kant, schleiermacher’s philosophy of education starts with the generational imperative of instruction, and frames teaching as an acquired art that is instrumental to the progress of society (schleiermacher, 2017, pp. 548). like herbart, he acknowledged the primacy of practice (kenklies, 2012, p. 267). but he also recognized—in line with the concept of pedagogical tact—that the informed use of education theory could improve teaching. combining the “dignity of practice” and the efficacy of self-reflection, the promotion of wissenschaft and bildung, schleiermacher’s lectures became foundational texts of the german education tradition—despite the fact that pedagogy was never at the center of the many and diverse academic subjects he pursued in his tenure at the university of berlin until his unexpected and swift death from pneumonia in 1834. 61 references ash, m. g. (2006). bachelor of what, master of whom? the humboldt myth and historical transformation of higher education in german-speaking europe and the us. european journal of education, 42(2), 245267. beljan, j., ehrhardt, c., meier, d., virmond, w., winkler, m. (eds.). (2017). friedrich daniel ernst schleiermacher. vorlesungen über die pädagogik und amtliche voten zum öffentlichen unterricht [friedrich daniel ernst schleiermacher. lectures on pedagogy and votes on public education]. berlin: de gruyter. berlin university alliance (2019). umbenennung zur humboldt-universität jährt sich zum 70. mal [name change to humboldt university has its 70th anniversary]. https://www.berlin-universityalliance.de/news/items/20190208humboldt-universitaet-70.html dilthey, w. (1870). leben schleiermachers. erster band [life of schleiermacher. first volume]. berlin: georg reimer. fichte, j. g. (1807/1960). deduzierter lehrplan einer zu berlin zu errichtenden höhern lehranstalt, die in gehöriger verbindung mit einer akademie der wissenschaften stehe [deduced curriculum for the higher education institute to be established in berlin and that is to stand in proper relation to an academy of sciences]. in w. weischedel (ed.), idee und wirklichkeit einer universität. dokumente zur geschichte der friedrich-wilhelms-universität zu berlin (193-203). berlin: de gruyter. forster, m. (2017). friedrich daniel ernst schleiermacher. in e. n. zalta (ed.), the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (fall 2017 edition). https://plato.stanford.edu/ archives/fall2017/entries/schleiermacher/ gerber, s., schmidt, s. (eds.). (2015). friedrich daniel ernst schleiermacher. briefwechsel 1808 (briefe 2598–3020) [friedrich daniel ernst schleiermacher. correspondence 1808 (letters 2598–3020)]. berlin: de gruyter. humboldt, w. v. (1809/1903). über die innere und äussere organisation der höheren wissenschaftlichen anstalten in berlin [on the inner and outer organization of the higher academic institutions in berlin]. in b. gebhardt (ed.), wilhelm von humboldts politische denkschriften. erster band. 1802-1810 (250-260). berlin: b. behr’s verlag. humboldt, w. v. (1851). ideen zu einem versuch, die gränzen der wirksamkeit des staats zu bestimmen [ideas on an attempt to delineate the limits of state action]. breslau: verlag von eduard trewendt. humboldt-universität zu berlin (2016). rektoren und präsidenten bzw. präsidentinnen der humboldt-universität zu berlin seit 1810 [chancellors and presidents of the humboldt university since 1810]. https://www.huberlin.de/de/ueberblick/geschichte/rektoren _html kenklies, k. (2012). educational theory as topological rhetoric: the concepts of pedagogy of johann friedrich herbart and friedrich schleiermacher. studies in philosophy and education, 31, 265-273. nowak, k. (2001). schleiermacher. leben, werk und wirkung [schleiermacher. life, works, and impact]. göttingen: vandenhoeck & ruprecht. patsch, h. (ed.). (1995). friedrich daniel ernst schleiermacher. schriften aus der hallenser zeit 1804-1807 [friedrich daniel ernst schleiermacher. writings from the halle times 1804-1807]. berlin: de gruyter. paulsen, f. (1960). geschichte des gelehrten unterrichts auf den deutschen schulen und universitäten vom ausgang des mittelalters bis zur gegenwart. zweite ausgabe [history of academic teaching at german schools and universities from the outset of the middle ages until the present. 2nd volume]. berlin: de gruyter. (original work published 1921) redeker, m. (ed.). (1966). wilhelm dilthey. leben schleiermachers. zweiter band: schleiermachers system als philosophie und theologie [wilhelm dilthey. life of schleiermacher. 2nd volume: schleiermacher’s system as philosophy and theology]. berlin: de gruyter. schleiermacher, f. d. e. (1808). gelegentliche gedanken über universitäten in deutschem 62 sinn. nebst einem anhang über eine neu zu errichtende [occasional thoughts on universities in a german spirit, with an appendix on one about to be founded]. berlin: realschulbuchhandlung. schleiermacher, f. d. e. (1995). rezension von johann friedrich zöllner: ideen über national-erziehung [review of johann friedrich zöllner: ideas on national education]. in h. patsch (ed.), friedrich daniel ernst schleiermacher. schriften aus der hallenser zeit. 1804-1807 (1-25). berlin: de gruyter. (original work published 1805) schleiermacher f. d. e. (2017). vorlesungen über die pädagogik im sommer 1826 [lectures on pedagogy, summer 1826]. in j. beljan et al. (eds.), friedrich daniel ernst schleiermacher. vorlesungen über die pädagogik und amtliche voten zum öffentlichen unterricht (543-858). berlin: de gruyter. vial, t. (2013). schleiermacher: a guide for the perplexed. london: bloomsbury. weischedel, w. (ed.). (1960). idee und wirklichkeit einer universität. dokumente zur geschichte der friedrich-wilhelmsuniversität zu berlin [idea and reality of a university. documents on the history of the friedrich wilhelm university of berlin]. berlin: de gruyter. wienecke, f. (1910). zöllner, johann friedrich. allgemeine deutsche biographie 55, 423425. https://www.deutsche-biographie. de/pnd104197102.html#adbcontent zöllner, j. f. (1804). ideen über nationalerziehung besonders in rücksicht auf die königlich preußischen staaten. erster theil [ideas on national education with particular regard to the sovereign prussian states. first part]. berlin: realschulbuchhandlung. manuscript received, march 9, 2022 manuscript revised, august 22, 2022 manuscript accepted, august 29, 2022 introduction stephen tomlinson university of alabama evolving from post-reformation visions of religious piety, prussia and other german states looked to the expansion of public schooling to improve literacy and promote practical christianity. this necessitated instruction grounded in a theocentric conception of human nature and the social good. reason and action had to be guided by the dictates of scripture and a biblically sanctioned knowledge of creation. enlightenment thought brought a profound shift in ideas about mind and society, initiating what might best be described as a copernican revolution in pedagogy. rather than imposing order from without, educators now looked to the development of the innate potential within. educability and the notion of bildung—variously applied to the instruction of different social classes—justified humanistic ideals of individual autonomy and the historical progress of civilization. papers in this special issue examine these changing visions of pedagogy and explore how they were exported to the world as a panacea for the social ills that beset modern society. throughout the 1830s reformers in both britain and america looked upon educational developments in france and germany with great interest. victor cousin’s 1832 report on the state of public instruction in prussia translated into english by sarah austin (1834), provided a compelling blueprint for how the state might organize an effective system of public schooling. from the funding and supervision of district schools to the training of teachers, the measures adapted to rejuvenate the nation after the napoleonic wars made prussian education the envy of europe. indeed, under the guidance of francois guizot, the minister for public instruction during the july monarchy, cousin’s report formed the basis of the 1833 law that established elementary schooling throughout france. the report also played a central role in parallel english and american campaigns to engage government in the administration of schooling. on both sides of the atlantic, the expansion and improvement of instruction was presented as an obligation of the state; a moral responsibility to raise the character of the population and ensure all citizens understood their civic and religious duties. the problem of social order was key, especially in urban-industrial areas. but progressive voices also looked to the historical advancement of christian civilization. rather than an economy of compliance, the pedagogic methods perfected in prussia promised to create a society based upon rational cooperation and the imperatives of a shared faith. historical accounts of this crucial decade have typically focused on the dynamics of church and state relations to explain why entrenched sectarian differences thwarted fundamental reform in britain, while pan-protestant cooperation ensured the movement’s success in america (smelser, 1991; komline, 2020). rather less attention has been paid to the religious and philosophical traditions that underwrote the instructional methods at the heart of prussian schooling. it was sufficient, it seems, to associate the new pedagogy with the iconic names of pestalozzi or fellenberg. certainly, their celebrated achievements at yverdon and hofwyl inspired the establishment of teaching seminaries across germany, but these institutions and the practices they perfected also drew upon a long and rich history of ideas about the aims and methods of education not readily apparent to the anglo-saxon reader. often described as “the age of pedagogy,” german thought in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was preoccupied with questions about human nature and the social good (munzel, 2012). understanding the mind—the role of language, reason, and the passions—offered a key to the ii meaning and purpose of life. it also pointed to the power of education as an instrument of human improvement. a copernican revolution in pedagogy the papers in this issue explore the situated roots of pedagogic theory from the religiously inspired missions of comenius and the german pietists, to the idealistic notions of perfection and historical progress that arose in the course of the german enlightenment. while there are substantial continuities between these theological and the philosophical approaches, they nonetheless frame the human condition in radically different ways. stephen tomlinson explains, in “comenius and the didactic order of a godly society,” that comenius sought to initiate a second reformation through a program of universal schooling designed to overcome the evils of original sin and restore mankind to its prelapsarian state. employing a developmentally appropriate ramist logic, revealed and scientific truths about god’s creation would be used to teach the imperatives of practical christianity and heal the faculties damaged by adam’s fall. while comenius’ efforts to initiate this program in england were frustrated by the advent of war, his christian philosophy and realistic, sense-based methods of instruction played a significant role in the pietistic pedagogy developed by august francke at the university of halle—the site of prussia’s first teaching seminary. stressing praxis over doctrine, fancke sought to reformulate theological training in order to prepare clergy and teachers with the practical skills necessary to lead a pious christian community. crucially, tomlinson continues in “german pietism and the pedagogic reformation of human nature,” this involved expanding comenius’ focus on rational understanding to the awakening of the individual’s spiritual nature. harnessing the power of the divine word, the inspiring lessons of scripture would be employed to excite religious sentiments and encourage conversion; the free acceptance of god’s will and a life modeled on the example of christ, the new adam. this psychologically based method of internal control also served an important political purpose. seamlessly aligning with the interests of the state, its core values of obedience, neighborly love, and personal industry were embraced by the prussian monarchy to further the ideological control of the population. in “piety rationalized: cotton mather, jonathan edwards, and the ramsit logic of method” douglas mcknight reveals how puritan divines in england and north american colonies embraced similar hopes for the transformative power of religious education. indeed, francke’s work at the halle orphanage, translated and popularized in britain by his former student anthony william boehm, informed and energized the society for promoting christian knowledge both in its support of charity schooling and its missionary efforts to instrumentalize the spiritual power of the bible (jones, 2019). francke’s place in the history of education is also marked by his academic and personal contest with the rationalist scholar christian wolff, a clash over the nature of mind that affirmed the supremacy of the theological faculty at halle. but wolff’s expulsion from the university in 1723 only served to highlight the claims of reason. with the spread of enlightenment thought, his forceful writings gained authority, restoring philosophy to the forefront of academic learning; even at halle, where he was reinstated by fredrich ii in 1740. “enlightenment,” kant (1999) famously argued, “is man’s release from his self-imposed minority (1999) to make use of his understanding without direction from another” (p. 17). this vision of education stands in stark contrast to his own schooling at the pietist academy in konigsberg—a program, he later complained, that “that robs people of the courage to think for themselves . . . and spoils the genius” (kuehn, 2001, p. 45). inspired by locke and rousseau, his own writings on pedagogy offered a fundamentally different view of human nature and a radically different course of instruction. rather than imposing order from without, he would develop the innate potential within. iii kant’s early scholarly work embraced wolff’s rationalism. adopting the newtonian worldview, he sought an empirical explanation for the lawful structure of experience. central to this project was an understanding of the self as a knowing subject, an ever-present topic throughout his many works but the special focus of the anthropology (2007). here he noted mankind’s unique capacity for rational thought. animals had instincts perfectly adapted for life, but humans were born incomplete; socially dependent, our nature must be formed through education. this raised the pivotal question, “what should men and women make of their lives?” kant’s answer went beyond meeting physiological needs and promoting happiness to moralization, the realization of the individual’s capacity for free and rational action. contrary to pietistic teachings of his youth, kant (2007) thus extolled the essential dignity of humanity. given the power of the emotions, he recognized this ethical goal would not be achieved easily; the movement from animality to autonomy would be the work of history. “an immense series of generations, each of which transmits its enlightenment to the next” was required for mankind “to propel its germs . . . to that stage of development which is completely suited to its aim” (p. 110). refinement in the arts would produce more elevated sentiments and the laws and customs of increasingly just societies would help temper the passions. formal education was also important. schooling had to guide children through the same stages of discipline, cultivation, civilization, and moralization the species was undergoing through history. if this were not yet possible for all, he called for an educated elite others could emulate (louden, 2011). kant’s (2007) ideal of human formation (bildung) involved a moment of “crystallization” or “rebirth” when, after discovering the power of their own thought, an individual could assert their capacity to govern themselves rationally. similar tropes aside, this epistemological shift from a theologically to a philosophically based anthropology marked a profound reformulation of the educational project. rather than facing god fearful of their corruption, children were to cultivate their nature as free, rational, and moral beings. this formative sketch, laid out in kant’s (2007) fragmentary lectures on pedagogy, was the starting point for his successor at königsberg, johann friedrich herbart. in “j. f. herbart on the art of teaching: bildsamkeit and pedagogical tact,” christine becks describes how herbert became one of the most influential (if misunderstood) theorists among nineteenth century english and american educators. the overarching goal of his foundational science of education (1896) was to help teachers facilitate the student’s personal struggle for autonomy (much as dewey psychologized the learning situation) through an empathic understanding of their developing ability to reason—the practical art of teaching captured in the concept of pedagogic tact. faced with the problem of developing an efficient system of schooling to meet the needs of the modern society, late nineteenth century german and american educators looked to herbart’s insights as the basis for scientific approach to instruction. but while herbartianism’s focus on the learner caught the spirit of progressive era reforms, its quest for standardization and technocratic order undermined the uniqueness of the individual and the educational situation. for becks, such narrow conceptions of learning continue to frustrate effective approaches to the pedagogic art. drawing upon the framework of practical action central to german didactic tradition she thus offers a compelling justification for revisiting the foundations of curricula thought envisioned by herbart and his even more influential contemporary, wilhelm von humboldt. the linguistic turn the product of a similar pietistic education, kant’s one-time student, johann gottfried herder offered a significant adaptation of this educational project. while committed to a scientific explanation of mind, he rejected the narrow enlightenment focus on reason for a broader iv appreciation of the holistic relationship between language, thought, and the social context of experience. drawing upon the teachings of the göttingen naturalist johann friedrich blumenbach, herder explained all life through the action of vital forces. in the case of human beings, these formative drives (bildungstriebe) led to the development of mental powers adapted to cultural norms and practices (herder and churchill, 1803). the mind was thus shaped by the historically situated institutions and arts that comprised the character and values of a people. this suggested a rather different approach to schooling. starting with the inherent diversity of human talents, herder looked to the social encounters by which individuals constructed meaning and thus formed their own unique identity—a dynamic process that began within the intimate and tradition-based context of family and community life and continued through wider exchanges with other cultures. bildung resulted from the varied and rich interactions that promoted the full and harmonious development of each person’s innate potential. as herder knew from his own teaching experiences the narrow orbit of traditional schooling offered little to the expanding mind (clark, 1955). in place of proficiency in latin and the memorization of text, he advocated vernacular instruction that would encourage the child and the nation to think for themselves. schooling had to excite the student’s natural curiosity and demonstrate their essential agency as creators of meaning and value. in 1776 herder was appointed superintendent of schools and churches in the duchy of weimar. here, in the home of goethe, wieland, and schiller, he sought to enact the pedagogic ideas that flowed from his philosophical project—most importantly, through the refashioning of secondary education. convinced that emulation of the ancient greeks would enliven the german spirit, he instituted classical studies designed to engage students with the most remarkable minds in history; a program of humanization, which under the reforms initiated by von humboldt, would shape the german gymnasium and university in the coming century (schleunes, 1989). the politics of bildung von humboldt’s own commitment to the notion of bildung took root in the intense and exciting intellectual culture fueled by the ethical, linguistic, and historical ideas of kant and herder. combined with a deep reverence for the greeks, human development itself became an object of aesthetic interest; a creative task of self-formation in which the individual must struggle to realize their inner potential. it is remarkable that this profound philosophical vision and its associated pedagogic practices would become the governing rationale for the revolutionary educational reforms set in motion during the most desperate moments in prussia’s history. following its devastating defeat to napoleon in 1806, half the nation was annexed, and its economy burdened with crippling reparations. under the terms of the treaty agreed the following year at tilsit, prussia was also forced to enact the republican reforms required of france’s compliant states (clark, 2007). granted sweeping powers by frederick william iii, baron karl von stein set about dismantling the political structures of the ancien régime. serfdom was abolished, laws governing trade and the ownership of property were liberalized, and municipal governments were established across the country. subjects were to become citizens whose common rights would be protected by an efficient and wellordered bureaucracy. as stein recognized, the entire process turned on the promise of education. best captured in fichte’s 1808 addresses to the german nation (2008) prussia’s rejuvenation from material destruction rested on the creation of a free, independent, and ethical population united in their loyalty to king and country. fichte also identified the instructional methods perfected by pestalozzi as the best means to secure this spiritual rebirth. stein was equally enthusiastic. establishing a ministry of the interior with a section dedicated to religion and public instruction, he appointed the königsberg professor johann wilhelm süvern and v a number of other liberal thinkers to advance the training of teachers in the new pedagogy as he pressured von humboldt into accepting leadership of the department (sweet, 1978). by january 1809 when von humboldt finally took control, stein had been ousted by napoleon. his own tenure would last a mere 15 months, but during that time he was able to marshal the incipient plans developed by the group into a single, coherent program that would serve as an ideal for future reform. given his aristocratic upbringing at the hands of private tutors left him with little knowledge of public schooling, von humboldt was happy to support the measures already underway for the improvement of elementary instruction; most notably through the establishment of pestalozzian teaching seminaries. his interest lay more with the equally pressing problem of reorganizing secondary and higher education. a confusing patchwork of schools with widely varying curricula and academic standards had to be reconciled; and, in the wake of napoleon’s conquests, the loss of the university of halle was to be remedied by a new site of learning in berlin. this was an opportunity to establish a higher standard of intellectual and moral leadership for the nation. no task could have been more suited to his personal preoccupation with human genius. nurtured in his youth by the leading lights of the berlin intelligentsia, humboldt’s nascent interests in philosophy and language led him to the university of göttingen, which by the 1780s, had become germany’s premier institution for scientific, historical, and philological studies. here the goal of wissenschaft united with that of personal growth, suggesting the intimate relationship between the ordered advancement of knowledge and the harmonious development of the human faculties. he was particularly taken with the progress of the german mind—surely now able to rival that of france. two years later his own quest for excellence brought him to weimar and the circle of schiller and goethe (sweet, 1978). by the 1790s, however, the conditions that fostered such intellectual and aesthetic brilliance were under attack. with frederick william ii on the throne, a more conservative ministry chastened by events in paris looked to roll back the religious freedoms enjoyed under fredrich ii; even kant’s (2001) religion within the boundaries of mere reason was censored. von humboldt’s response was to defend the notion of bildung in what would become a classic text of laissez-faire policy, the limits of state action (2008). much as herder argued, he drew upon blumenbach’s vitalism to explain human development and demonstrate that individuals would only realize their unique potential when given the freedom to encounter the widest variety of experiences. forces of centralization and political conformity only served to narrow and stultify the opportunity for growth. government, he insisted, had to “refrain from every attempt to operate directly or indirectly on the morals and character of the nation,” most especially in the regulation of education and religion (p. 81). by 1809 humboldt’s thought had evolved to embrace a more positive role for the state. given the historical situation, he recognized the government’s duty to create the conditions necessary for human bildung. from the elementary school to the university, every individual had to receive a common, general education designed to develop their moral and intellectual powers. vocational and narrowly focused class-based teaching would only undermine the larger political object of nation building. this was a truly radical departure from earlier proposals to improve public instruction which stressed sperate schooling for the different social orders (melton, 2003). but von humboldt was adamant that the realities of life would prevent social levelling. the key thing was to create a sense of national identity by unifying the population with a common appreciation for the worth and dignity of all, irrespective of their station. the example of göttingen had clear and obvious implications for the new university of berlin. after the loss of halle, schelling, fichte, and others offered programmatic visons of a future institute dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge (howard, 2006). even so, stefan becks argues in vi “more than a theologian: friedrich schleiermacher’s mark on education,” it was the blueprint of friedrich schleiermacher that most impressed von humboldt. greatly influenced by herder’s writings on language and mind, he put forward a passionate case for a university true to the spirit of the german nation. in contrast to the special schools and technical academies of the french, this required a commitment to the twin goals of individual development and intellectual inquiry. if the majority would not become researchers themselves, schleiermacher was adamant that they should understand the purpose of rational advancement; indeed, he argued, there was no better preparation for professional training. free from religious and political constraint, philosophy would be allowed to thrive for the benefit of the individual and the nation. even theology would prosper by embracing science. presented by von humboldt, this union of bildung and wissenschaft underwrote the blueprint for the university of berlin (officially opened in 1810), which by midcentury would become the model of the modern research university. as robert anderson (2004) notes, the same holds true for von humboldt’s vision of secondary education. regulations were instituted to standardize the gymnasium around a secular, classically oriented curriculum designed to perfect the mind and character in preparation for higher education. teachers had to earn a university degree (more often in philosophy than theology) and students were required to complete an eight-year course of study ending in a culminating examination, the abitur. but von humboldt’s plans for elementary schooling proved far less successful. while the expansion of teacher training moved forward, the wars that engulfed the continent between 1812 and 1815 undermined any opportunity for meaningful reform. then, with napoleon’s defeat, the congress of vienna completely redrew the map of europe, restoring prussian territories and granting lands that greatly expanded its size. a new problem thus emerged; how to unite a linguistically, religiously, and culturally diverse population within a single state. recognizing the role of education, the department was transformed into a ministry under the leadership of karl von altenstein and charged with developing a comprehensive law for elementary schooling across prussia (schleunes, 1989). in 1819 a proposal drafted by süvern was sent out for review. true to the philosophical aims and egalitarian spirit of von humboldt’s program it quickly fell foul of conservative critics. in place of nation building, events across europe now stirred fears about the destructive passions of the masses. indeed, by teaching peasants to think for themselves many feared pestalozzian pedagogy would incite revolution. looking back to the stability of the traditional order brought calls for a firmer hierarchy of functionally distinct classes. far from fostering an idealistic notion of humanity, education had to focus on vocation and the practical needs of life. most importantly, the lower ranks had to be taught the kind of religious conformity celebrated by francke. accordingly, where süvern proposed a general curriculum composed of language, literature, mathematics, history, and geography the leading voices of the prussian vormärz demanded that elementary education for the largely rural population be restricted to “positive christianity” (schleunes, 1989). burgher schools could be established to provide occupationally relevant coursework for the urban manufacturing and commercial classes, but neither would serve as a steppingstone to the gymnasium. tailored to the higher orders, this remained the sole avenue to university and the learned professions. given the linguistic, legal, and religious differences of prussia’s new lands, no comprehensive legislation was enacted. however, teaching seminaries were held to a tighter mission. eschewing unnecessary learning, rural schoolmasters were pressed to focus on religion, morals, and basic literacy. contrary to süvern’s proposal, the goal of bildung firmly planted in the secondary and higher education of the higher classes, was replaced by the cultivation of religious piety for the general population. in one respect at least, the prussian system was highly successful. after analyzing altenstein’s vii returns for 1831, cousin could report that with the extension of attendance laws to the new territories, 99% of children aged 7 to 14 were enrolled in elementary schools, more than twice that of france or england. along with the modest cost to the government, such statistics clearly impressed foreign observers. yet as tomlinson demonstrates in the final paper of this issue, “victor cousin, sarah austin, and the cause of national education,” it was the quality of instruction that proved key for british american reformers. impressed by the transformative power of pestalozzian pedagogy, the prussian master and the teaching seminary were presented as proof that education could improve human nature and create a more religious and enlightened society—a project itself informed by the spread of german ideas about mind, culture, and civilization. references anderson, r. (2004). the idea of the secondary school in nineteenth‐century europe. paedagogica historica, 40(1/2), 93106. clark, c. (2007). iron kingdom: the rise and downfall of prussia, 1600-1947. penguin books limited. clark, r. t. (1955). herder: his life and thought. university of california press. cousin, v., austin, s. (1834). report on the state of public instruction in prussia. effingham & wilson. fichte, j. g. (2008). fichte: addresses to the german nation. cambridge university press. herbart, j. f. (1896). the science of education, its general principles deduced from its aim. dc heath & company. herder, j. g., churchill, t. o. (1803). outlines of a philosophy of the history of man. j. johnson. howard, t. a. (2006). protestant theology and the making of the modern german university. oxford university press. humboldt, w. v. (2008). the limits of state action. cambridge university press. jones, m. g. (2019). the charity school movement: a study of eighteenth century puritanism in action. taylor & francis. kant, i. (1999). practical philosophy. cambridge university press. kant, i. (2001). religion and rational theology. cambridge university press. kant, i. (2007). anthropology, history, and education. cambridge university press. komline, d. r. (2020). the common school awakening: education and religion, 18001848. oxford university press. kuehn, m. (2001). kant: a biography. cambridge university press. louden, r. b. (2011). kant's human being: essays on his theory of human nature. oxford university press. melton, j. v. h. (2003). absolutism and the eighteenth-century origins of compulsory schooling in prussia and austria. cambridge university press. munzel, g. f. (2012). kant's conception of pedagogy: toward education for freedom. northwestern university press. schleunes, k. a. (1989). schooling and society: the politics of education in prussia and bavaria, 1750-1900. berg pub limited. smelser, n. j. (1991). social paralysis and social change: british working-class education in the nineteenth century. university of california press. sweet, p. r. (1978). wilhelm von humboldt: 1767-1808. ohio state university press. manuscript submitted march 8, 2022 revision received august 23, 2022 manuscript accepted august 24, 2022 piety rationalized: notes on cotton mather, jonathan edwards, and the ramist logic of method douglas mcknight university of alabama all the learning that many have, serves only as a bag of gold about a drowning man; it sinks them the deeper into the scalding floods of the lake that burns with fiery brimstone: but the knowledge of the lord jesus christ is a saving thing. (cotton mather, 1690) abstract jonathan edwards and cotton mather, two of the most significant colonial new england intellects and ministers, began to develop an educational theory that aligned the intellect, the powers of rationality and natural world secular disciplines, with the emotional experience of evangelical tradition. simply, they sought a union of the head and the heart. this was not an easy union. they understood the need for a pedagogical means to help the congregation seek the most important experience of the head and the heart, conversion, and a life of visible sainthood, also known as piety. they found such a method in ramist maps, which provided a step-by-step technique for revealing how to live a godly life and how to achieve piety, which involved behaviors one contemplated and practiced before the actual conversion, then transforms into visible sainthood and a model for all would-be elect to observe. simply, whereas one worked on being pious before conversion, one became pious after the experience. in colonial new england during the earlyto-mid 1700s, jonathan edwards and cotton mather, important members of an expanding group of american intellectual ministers, departed upon an “evangelical” expedition in educational theory that disclosed a distinct alignment of intellect and emotional experience -a union of head and heart (cremins, 1970). this theological and secular betrothal birthed tensions and ambiguities necessary to navigate for any hope of a reasoned conversion dependent upon piety and a renewed fervor for the divine path to knowledge. this was a difficult passage. both men recognized a tacit need for the right tools of interpretation and the right map giving order to the journey and a sense of certainty to help quiet the anxiety of whether one was truly chosen or not. the new england puritans found such a technique and practice in 16th century pedagogical schematics known as ramist maps, the invention of a puritan favorite schoolmaster and eventual martyr of the protestant cause, petrus ramus (1515-1572). the ramist maps endorsed step-by-step, general-to-specific representations that “logically” guided one through what was considered providential and secular knowledge of the day. in effect, the maps and corresponding methods were more than merely means for the categorization of knowledge, but a system for illuminating the maxims of a godly life. in fact, signposts dotted the map an ever-building stream to be circumnavigated and ruminated upon then delivered by minsters and/or schoolmasters as they guided the congregation to the map’s final point of arrival - piety, a type of behavior one contemplates and practices before the actual conversion, then transforms into visible sainthood and a model for all would-be elect to observe. for mather and edwards, piety was to absorb all of life, not only in themselves but in their congregation. a pietistic minister saw himself as a failure if he (sic) found salvation, but his flock foundered. mather and edwards both wrote jeremiads exhorting church members to open their hearts and minds to the 29 emotional conversion experience by following the right path to possible salvation and a new kind of pious state of existence. simply, whereas one worked on being pious before conversion, one became pious after the experience. toward that end, mather’s intellectual labor extended to developing pietistic traits within minister training at harvard, along with a life-long correspondence with european philosophers and theologians operating under an umbrella of pietism, which ultimately linked “the psychology of religious experience with the psychology of learning,” thus making “the educative process” (cremins, 1970, p. 291) analogous to the conversion process and subsequent life of piety. edwards agreed with and followed mather’s intellectual efforts on this conceptual wedding. however, mather did not deliver this pietistic conversion framework ex nihilo. mather’s ideas fermented through lifelong correspondence with august francke and his pietist followers at the university of halle. mather also cooperated both directly and through his english associates at the society for the promotion of christian knowledge (spck). an international network collaborated in what they hoped would be a second protestant reformation that refashioned the soul to facilitate the kingdom of peace and piety under the reign of christ as promised in biblical prophecy. with his pen, building upon the edifice of john winthrop’s famous sermon, a model of christian charity (1630), mather laid out the colonial puritans purpose and responsibilities in the new world. new england was to regain the biblical prophecy of their new world home as winthrop’s “city upon a hill,” whose congregations full of visible saints would shine a light to all other protestant enclaves and compel them to join the colonials in bringing about the end of time. later american thinkers failed to appreciate and give enough weight to just how powerful of an impulse toward such grandiose beliefs and expectations was, nor how these impulses would persevere after long after the disappearance of puritanism proper. even though the theological language that explained and demonstrated these impulses became hidden, institution after institution continued to carry them along in different guises. in fact, education, beginning with the family and extending to church and school sustained these desires without ever actually employing the puritan language. simply, the compulsions were embedded in all the rituals and practices of schooling and education in general. however, 19th and 20th century educational historians tended to dismiss any real impact of the colonial puritan theological narratives on education and schooling. colonial puritans were painted as disconnected artifacts not relevant to later ideologies of the fathers of the revolution (e.g., thomas jefferson and noah webster) and the political framework of the common school in mid -tolate 1800s. the overall assumption was that colonial puritans served as a quaint if not odd and curious collection of congregationalist whose worship of a providential plan, framed within the “errand into the wilderness” and “city upon a hill” narratives, foretold a national rhetorical inclination toward political rhetoric and lofty nationalism, such as the concepts of american exceptionalism and “manifest destiny.” however, while the new england puritans dispersed into enclaves that eventually stretched and broadened out and lost much of its geographical coherence, the same could not be said for their cultural and intellectual beliefs, pedagogies, and institutional frameworks. these assemblages endure but go unspoken in current educational thought. the puritans were the first to provide a european imprint on the imagination of what it meant to be an “american.” as miller (1953) wrote, “the first puritans did indeed succeed in impressing upon the tabula rasa of america a european and protestant seal. with their articulated sciences of theology, psychology, logic, and rhetoric, they possessed coherent answers to all conceivable contingencies” (p. 14). simply, their ideology of theological and secular impulses still directs the national consciousness and narratives about the aims and methods of schooling even as the rhetoric has shifted from theological to capitalistic metaphors. the colonial puritan footprint goes beyond that. they were the 30 first intellectuals to spread their gospel of secular and spiritual mission, the first to provide a national literature, local and national histories (nash, 2009) and theological narratives with an accompanying social ethics (bercovitch, 1975, 1993) the creators of spiritual autobiographies, public testimonials and the act of witnessing so important in protestant culture (hall, 2004), not to mention the first to develop conceptions of science in relation to god’s material world. for all forms of secular scholarship attempting to understand the world was just another means by which to access god presence in the world, another means to serve the spiritual. in the material world were clues to be accessed and interpreted as part of the conversion and piety journey. only would the divine plan come to fruition if all learning aims pointed toward the pious life and finally, if all the elect are truly converted, the end of life all together as foretold by biblical prophecy. for the puritans that involved eschatology, which was both a burden and an inspiration about which the pietist especially obsessed. annihilation of the world was both end and beginning. only through destruction, made so vivid to the puritan by the medieval paintings of god's horrific final act of justice, would regeneration of the spirit occur (miller, 1953, 1957). all these new england products converged and led to the origination of the first higher educational institutions, primarily harvard and yale. these foundational initiatives still speak through the inherited forms of their modern descendants. indeed, the puritans were particularly situated to embody and carry out these changing social, scientific, intellectual, educational, and theological lines of flight. giving such thought its significant spiritual qualities was the profound principal of piety, which for fervent new england pietist such as mather and edwards, was god’s ecstatic gift for a congregation to renew and sustain the evangelical roots. puritan piety and ramism pietism was a 17th and 18th century religious movement—often recognized in histories of the great awakening of 1740—that stressed individual bible study, spiritual experience, religious fervor, and the daily impact of jeremiads upon the ears and the souls of a congregation that gathered its weekly practical religious charges from the mouths of ministers. pietism demanded that the individual engage in an “errand into the wilderness” (miller, 1957), an interior and exterior passage of suffering and possible grace and salvation, or at least a chance to craft some godly order out of the overgrowth of sin. as cremin (1970) explains, during the early-to-mid 1700s mather and edwards amplified this message with the creation of a “rational piety,” combining secular knowledge with a practical theology propelled forward by a passionate, emotive condition of being. together, the head and the heart, along with the minister’s instruction, would steer the congregation along the flight god intended for a pious life and away from a state of malaise and declension. edwards claimed a state of acceptance and purely reasoned existence had curtailed most congregations. edwards bemoaned the loss of the “errand into the wilderness” and the emotive passion crucial to pursue and banish evil and its conterminous suffering. however, edwards shared a commonplace puritan dilemma -doing right in a world that does wrong so that the end may arrive, and the spirit be rejuvenated (miller, 1953, 1957). through his words, edwards painted horrific images of what a life without passion and emotion would become unless the congregation burned away their sin and allowed a revival spirit to emerge from the ashes. in sinners in the hands of an angry god (edwards, 1740), a jeremiad written during the time of the great awakening and at the height of his call for preparation and conversion to beat back declension and overt rationality, edwards tackled the threat of back sliding and the evil that awaited. if the congregation waited too long, they would experience a physical and spiritual devastation that no rational solution could either ignore or arrest. life was on a razor edge, with the fear of failure generating as much emotion as experiencing god’s presence. edwards began 31 his most famous jeremiad on the inevitability and hopelessness of backsliding in true ramist fashion -setting up the general theme, then breaking it down into its constituent parts, each leading to the necessity but improbability of piety through god’s grace: the expression i have chosen from my text, their foot shall slide in due time, seems to imply the following things . . .. 1. that they were always exposed to destruction; as one that stands or walks in slippery places is always exposed to fall . . .. 2. it implies, that they were always exposed to sudden unexpected destruction. as he that walks in slippery places is every moment liable to fall . . .. there is no want of power in god to cast wicked men into hell at any moment. (edwards, 1740, pp. 65-66) but all was not lost. if one prepared enough, studied enough, prayed enough, acted righteously enough, and opened the spirit up for emotional exploit by god, the individual (and so the whole congregation) yet might be saved. this spiritual and intellectual exertion was employed for one purpose and desire – conversion. in fact, for mather and edwards, true christianity started with the moment of conversion, the acceptance of god’s permeating presence, and how this profound experience must stir all thought and conduct. a reader concerned with piety was to become intimate with scriptural knowledge and appreciative of god’s creation and our place within it, for only then could one begin to perceive correctly divine knowledge. when a young puritan began the process of accessing the theological and natural world (secular knowledge), the possibility of conversion came one step closer. and conversion meant guaranteed salvation and a life of piety that made salvation visible. in other words, chosen status (elect) was revealed through these rituals of contemplation of and acting with piety. or not. there were no guarantees. yet god charged the minister and the minister pleaded with and threatened the congregation to accept this state of uncertainty as necessary. it was divine mystery. it was also a mystery for mankind to understand and embrace. and only with all the intellectual and emotional efforts going into pre-conversion, the conversion, then living a life a piety, did one begin to understand. the significance of this experience was tied to the puritan (as good calvinists) belief in predestination, which generated a persistent anxiety as one struggled to engage in a true conversion experience. one was never quite sure even after the conversion experience. the intellectual and emotive vigilance was a way of indicating that the individual was truly a member of the elect. thoughts were nothing without poignant feelings, and feelings were but fleeting impulses without rational order and correspondence to the natural world. as such, the colonial puritans were literate people raised in the educational movements toward “rational” thought taking place in europe during the reformation, conversion was believed to occur through an interaction of faith and reason. as point out above, one had to prepare through study and prayer, which would result in exacting moral behavior of piety. the elect’s actions were to demonstrate visible sainthood, especially due to the uncertainty (mcknight, 2004). this uncertainty of salvation, given their schooling, led to the creation of instructional methods developed by the 16th century pedagogue, peter ramus. leading from general to specific, his method for classifying and presenting knowledge provided an easy and efficient step-by-step process for all learning. as mages (1999) explains, “employing this ramean method, one first identified the concept to be investigated then divided it into halves, halved these again in turn, and so on until all the components were established. once all the reasons or concepts were laid out, then an individual could start combining them to form arguments” (p. 97). essentially, ramus developed techniques, or better, the technology of standardization to administer and transmit knowledge effectively to a great mass of people. it was tailored for the puritan world view, which sought eclectic truths that felt 32 right and supported their faith. according to morrison (1936) ramism was the first system taught to students attending grammar schools and then harvard, and its method of diagramming concepts became highly popular with educators throughout new england (ong 1958; miller 1953; morison 1936; hamilton 1990). it provided neat dichotomies of wisdom, “branching out like a family tree, and on which the student could conveniently hang all the knowledge that he acquired from either books or lecture” (morison 1936, 155). as president of harvard “mather’s father [increase] had been a devotee of the ramean logic” and his own “copy of ramus was heavily glossed” (woody, 1969, p. 11). ramus’ appeal to the pietistic puritans of colonial new england flowed from its practical power (miller 1953; ong 1958, 1956; morgan 1986). morgan (1986) identifies its utilitarian value for different audiences, both high and low. first, those who were learned but who had not yet been converted could be brought to an “external’ (or preparationist) appreciation of the procedures of christianity; secondly, for those whom faith had already made regenerate, the structures of reason, familiar from secular existence, could be shown to be compatible with the truths of revelation. while ramism did not overwhelm its opposition in the [english] universities … it became extremely popular among those who sought to explain their knowledge to a wider audience. these included puritan preachers and schoolmasters. (p. 112) the ramus method was not just for the schoolroom, but also applied by clergy, most notably within jeremiadic works, such as edward’s famous 1741 “sinners in the hands of an angry god,” which sought to spark fear and trembling within the congregation, and to reveal and reject any notion that they could achieve their fate without god’s grace and salvation. god had to call them. and they had to learn how to hear it. in contrast to aristotle, ramus’ logic complemented this instructional goal. as miller (1953) explains ramus held that logic was derived from experience by ‘invention.’ therefore, logic had to remain faithful to reality [nature]: it could not create fanciful constructions, but only make replicas of that pattern of ideas embodied in creation. if god so desired, he could call his saints by an audible voice, or by investing them with a halo visible to the naked eye. instead, he had chosen to deal with them as with rational creatures. …he has provided that the word should come to men’s ears externally and sensibly. (pp. 7475) the system of mapping knowledge served to structure life. as william doll (1997) notes, “there was an affinity between the discipline, order, and control calvin [puritans were strict calvinists] felt all christians should bring to their lives and that which ramus brought to pedagogy” (p. 11). thanks to ramus’ instructional turn knowledge gained a new utility within the modern world its utility was key. indeed, for ong (1971) “there is an obvious relationship between this mentality and the mentality of a commercial, merchandising world, where good had to be thought of in terms of operations with a view to possible users or consumers” (p. 171). ramism combined naming, ordering, analyzing, and storing for quick reference; it explained experiences, brought control, and charted a linear flight toward a desired end. edwards, fortified with the ramist methods he learned at harvard, implied that the pious life could not be sustained purely on emotion. individuals also needed a sense of meaning and order. as a master teacher (a term often used for the head minister of the congregation) he thus sought to unite fear of god with the explanation of the rational pathway to salvation. 33 figure 1 ramus map of charity from william ames, the marrow of sacred divinity (1642) which edwards and mather would have read at harvard. this ramean pedagogical desire generated the cultural muscle needed to sustain an early national narrative constructed by the colonial puritans that coupled their religious, symbolic typology and their literal historical situation as settlers in a “new world.” this symbolic narrative configured the “new world” as a “city upon a hill” throwing light onto the rest of the world. this “light” was one element in the symbology of the broader “errand into the wilderness” (bercovitch, 1975, 1978; 1993; miller, 1957). the errand was constituted by the colonial puritan’s godly ordained mission in the “new world” to shape and order the primitive “american” wilderness. this errand could not occur happenstance. it needed a means. hence, order and god’s will could be achieved only by applying a spiritual, yet earthly bound map, constructed with the techniques revealed and mastered through the observations and study of god’s world – both internal and external (bercovitch, 1975, 1993; mcknight 2003; miller, 1957). pedagogy of the exterior and the interior true to the spirit of christian philosophy, ramus methods offered a powerful and efficient means to instill and guide piety across the colony. that is, the ramist technology, understood as the ordering and administering of knowledge to reflect the divine form of thought, was perceived as the key pedagogic instrument to help the individual find salvation and play their part in god’s plan. miller identifies this impulse toward technique, the technology of method, that allowed a minister, teacher, student, church member and, finally, any literate puritan to “break down” in a linear generalto-specific map imprinted with what constituted knowledge in both bible and textbook. this map contained only the simplest and plainest of words expressing accepted translations so that anyone could easily grasp, organize, manage, and recall the information imprinted upon it. importantly, it was this ease of managing knowledge that enabled the individual to analyze and seriously engage with the meaning of the content. this was key to a godly learning that helped students comprehend god’s plan and voluntarily embrace their religious and social duties. in sum, it provided a technique by which to map out and explicate the path to spiritual conversion and a life of ethical action. god could be located and listened to not only by way of objective study of natural world, but through objective and reasoned observation and study of the interiority of mankind as well. the inner world, just as much a wilderness to be made over as the landscape of “america,” was considered an object to be analyzed, reflected upon, and made anew. to make over one’s inner world and outer world was an effort to make oneself and one’s surroundings coincide with the god’s intention, the ultimate in pietistic hopes. for the puritans ramus’s visual branching maps served not only to facilitate the study of god’s creation, but also as a tool to by which to interrogate the interior landscape of the soul (e.g., see above ramus map of charity), a part of the “errand into the wilderness” narrative framework. they objectified divine norms capturing the guiding light of christ’s (sola fide) example; a mirror by which the individual could quantify their sinfulness. in this way, the inherent dialectic of god’s material world and spiritual plan was 34 revealed, providing a pedagogy of religious education that would teach the straight and narrow path of christian piety—as evident in the jeremiadic tradition still in use today (bercovitch, 1975; mcknight 2004). the sense was that even if one was not truly saved, at least they could follow the path along with the elect and give the impression of piety and salvation. ramist methodology enabled the schoolmaster and minister to “break down” knowledge in both the bible and the textbook and convey it in a clear and distinct manner readily understandable. given the corruption of the faculties caused by the fall, knowledge did not come through pure intuition, it had to be built through the careful guidance of christian reason. the wisdom inherent in the order of things radiated “to the brain through the perceiving senses, as is the smell of flowers through the nostrils” (miller 1953, p. 428). ramist logic, miller explains was derived from experience by ‘invention.’ therefore, “logic had to remain faithful to reality: it could not create fanciful constructions, but only make replicas of that pattern of ideas embodied in creation. if god so desired, he could call his saints by an audible voice, or by investing them with a halo visible to the naked eye. instead, he had chosen to deal with them as with rational creatures. …he has provided that the word should come to men’s ears externally and sensibly” (miller 1953, pp.74-75). the danger came with the human imagination, which had to be constrained to spiritual revelation and manifested within the experience of emotions. ramist dialectic provided a logical form to the subject content which facilitated comprehension and easy communication to the learner. indeed, over time, according to miller (1953, 1957) the puritans shifted in their understanding of reason from the act of interpreting text of perceptions to the clear apprehension of a given, self-evident truth as presented in the ramus map. plain style required the pedagogical expediency of simplifying, ordering, and transmitting ideas in order that the learner could understand self-evident truths through the light of reason granted by god. human reason led to vice and error, christian wisdom to the pious life. for the new england puritans, the capacity to read and understand the bible was a beginning burden of every citizen, making basic, primary schooling in reading a must, though the reading of the bible began even earlier, a healthy habit of the family, a sacrament carried into every part of daily life, including work and church. every individual had to read the bible and other devotional texts for themselves – with the correct guidance of ramus methods and ministerial jeremiads -to determine the meaning of god’s plan. they also had to master sufficient secular learning to support their vocational duties and appreciate the splendor of god’s creation (bercovitch, 1993; miller, 1957; morgan, 1986). accordingly, the puritans were not isolated from the general shifts taking place in europe in the late 16th and 17th centuries, as the quest for useful knowledge (reinhold, 1975) became more and more of a consideration in the daily lives of individuals. perhaps the broadest statement one can make concerning this era, was the pursuit for efficient techniques to organize and apply to all areas of life (ong, 1958, 1971). for the puritans this charge wedded theological and secular impulses into an ethos that entertained no conflict between religious and worldly education (greaves, 1969; merton, 1938; morgan, 1986). this utopian scheme—the vision of a godly community of christian service—could only be achieved by overcoming evils and errors that flowed from mankind’s sinful nature. it demanded a spiritual rebirth brought about by the profound experience of religious conversion. as introduced above, only then could the mind be freed from selfish passions and deceits of human reason. first and foremost, therefore, the puritans looked to the preparation of the soul, an interior labor that found its logic and narrative through the concept of errand. this began with a recognition that the fall of adam rendered all lost without god. to reclaim their original identity, men and women had to analyze and transform within. like the wilderness without, the soul was overgrown and disordered. an interior turn was needed to cultivate 35 reason and restore the innate powers granted by god so that the individual could see, embrace, and mirror the truths revealed in the example of christ. during the inward interrogation, evil was not something to turn away from, but to confront and root out. in fact, due to the fall, the notion of evil served as a prime motivation in this struggle to succeed. all things, the puritans believed, were naturally depraved and as such needed a purifying will to impose goodness upon them. simply, evil became the object of purification. evil became the lowly matter by which the puritan will would mold goodness. evil was not to be ignored, eschewed, or even feared. it was opportunity. it was a means by which to focus the tendency to identify and struggle with moral dilemmas. each dilemma was an occasion for the individual to impose upon the world a form, a moral structure, carved out of the symbolic narrative of the “errand into the wilderness.” (mcknight, 2004, p. 44) simply, the soul’s original identity vanished, along with paradise. meaning and reality was no longer transparent, the harmonious order of god’s creation had become a thicket of confusion. a method was needed to reform this interior wilderness. simply, to have any chance of achieving a return to the garden, the individual required a lens, a language by which to comprehend god’s reality. central to this paradigm, therefore, was the assumption that not only could one locate god in the external world through the objective study of nature, but he was also to be found in the inner life of the soul (greaves, 1969). certainly, a significant portion of the “errand into the wilderness” journey was that the interior world was as much confused and overgrown as the new world, literally an unknown forest waiting to be given form and order so that a “city upon a hill” could arise – or so they believed. just as cutting down forest and building “civilization” was an arduous task, so was it important to recognize that finding god was a demanding and profound experience that—given our corrupt nature—did not come easily. conversion without “soul searching” was no conversion at all. moreover, emotional outbursts that lacked the means or technique to understand and sustain rebirth was useless. as such, the results of the conversion experience would always be suspect. one had to be born to christ every day. careful preparation, which involved confessional writings, fervent acknowledgment of failures and humble notices of success, spiritual autobiographies, study of the minister’s ramist map sermons from the day before, and so forth, all were necessary to toil through a sinful nature so that when conversion did occur, the extent of its truth would be revealed and acknowledged. importantly, they also had to know how to methodize and sustain it. aligned with their german brethren, mather and edwards understood that emotion was the prime mover of any individual called by god, but reason was also necessary to channel this energy into a productive, practical faith. it is important to remember that the end game was nothing less than salvation. the curriculum thus went far beyond the mastery of scholarly learning to encompass christian knowledge about the proper order of individual, family, church, and community life. hence, piety was possible only once order was established. the pedagogy of conversion pietism can also be read as a rebuke to the intellectualism and dogmatics of orthodox theology, in favor of the centrality of spiritual experience. edwards offers the most striking example of the vitality of the imperative. religious faith demanded more than knowledge of the bible it required the correct emotional response (marsden, 2003). but he was far from discounting the positive and necessary role of reason, he demanded members of his congregation keep a diary—a spiritual autobiography—reflecting the trials and tribulations of the inner life and struggles. only through such organized and methodical 36 examination could the emotional fervor of conversion be rationally cultivated and sustained. being “born again” was both a cognitive and an affective task. to this end, edwards penned and presented jeremiads, such as “sinners in the hands of an angry god” as ramist maps (represented as short notes to memorize and follow the step-bystep instructions toward conversion) that identified the dangers lurking in the dark wake and threatening the individual’s relation to the congregation. such sermons revealed a method of revelation of god’s light, burning and cleansing the spiritual and material weeds lodged deep in both the interior and exterior existence (ong, 1958; miller, 1957). edwards harangued those in his congregation to hear and speak and experience the powerful light of god’s knowledge, insisting that all possible forms of experience must be attended to by way of the senses, the emotions, and the intellect, the faculties of reason. the soul had to be stirred through the full and broad engagement of both the mind and the emotions. this method, as marsden point, had been honed under the influence of his father, timothy edwards. jonathan was required to report vigorously on his spiritual progress; his first fervent moments of faith and the litany of personal failures that inevitably followed. “first was ‘conviction’ or ‘an awakening of a person’s sad estate with reference to eternity” (marsden, 2003, p. 27). after the initial explosion of powerful emotions, an inevitable relapsing would commence, making real to all in the congregation just how helpless one was without god’s grace. as laid out above, the only way to temper the relapsing narrative and prevent its consummation of the soul was to spend all waking hours working through an extensive spiritual chronicling. the form of prose was a humble recounting of triumph, but more importantly, it was often a melodramatic account of the tiniest disappointments. each failure, no matter how small, served as a warning of what will happen when, not if, one falls asleep to god’s purpose. such writing was nothing less than a necessary preparation toward awakening to the difficulty of conversion as well as staying on the path of piety. true conversion occurred through this writing and reporting because the narrative becomes one of humiliation leading to humility. “potential converts not only had to recognize their guilt deserving eternal flame but be truly humbled by a total sense of their unworthiness. only then was one sufficiently prepared to reach the third step—if god graciously granted it—of receiving god’s regenerating ‘light’” (marsden, 2003, p. 28), as guided by the holy spirit, which was found in all god’s creation and all acts of mankind. the more one worked at it, the greater the light, the better chance of receiving god’s grace. only then was one truly ready to receive it. this narrative entered edwards’ preaching during the religious awakening of the 1730s and 1740s, as well as to his more theological and philosophical explanations with other theologians. edwards had to walk a fine line. while true to the strict doctrines of congregationalism, he also sought to excite and incited his congregation to engage in an emotional turn to god—represented in his hell and brimstone sermons—warning his congregation that if they failed in the methods of following a pietistic life, they would be doomed in all possible physical and spiritual domains. an emotional attachment was to be formed with pious existence so that the journey could be sustained. even more important, however, was the imperative that emotion embed itself in the actions one takes in the world. the ramean curricular layout of how to move from emotion to emotion, from experience to experience, tied his narrative to a providential order of life. cotton mather’s pietism the strict religious instruction demanded by the founders of the common school had gradually been diluted both by the apathy of communities and the demand for more relevant and useful instruction. even harvard was straying from its foundational mission, as liberal clergy (tiring of doctrinal disputes) introduced the secular uses of classical learning. certainly, boston was awash 37 with the latest intellectual currents of enlightenment thought; mather himself was a professed cosmopolitan. but science had to be married to scripture. most importantly for mather aristotelian logic had to be supplanted with a christian philosophy—the discoveries of baconian experimentalism he extolled in his magnalia christi americana (lovelace, 1979). the discovery and understanding of god’s works were a natural instrument for the promotion of piety. indeed, the schooling of children in texts embedded learning in their sense experience of the world. in short, knowledge of nature complemented the divine word, reinforcing the pious life through knowledge of god and his works. the secular and the sacred were thus tools in the all-important project of conversion. mather identified and celebrated this union of heart and mind in many of his writings. he wrote that “the power and process of reason is natural to the soul of man” we have to do with god, as often as we have right reason calling upon us …. and i will now say, we never transgress any law of reason, but we do at the same time, transgress the law of god. . .. g0d sets up reason in man. if we do not keep reason in the throne, we go to dethrone the infinite god himself. the voice of reason, is the voice of god. (mather, 1718, p.7) accordingly, while mather looked to the religious traditions of europe with suspicion, he found a kindred spirit in august francke, whose “strong emphasis on the authority of scripture and the necessity of individual spiritual rebirth as a foundation for social reform” matched his own deep-seated aspirations for the regeneration of religiosity in new england (peterson, 2019, p. 235). “for mather,” peterson continues, francke’s pietism “complemented and confirmed a range of ideas that he had independently been developing” during the period when his “interest in practical piety, reform, and social benevolence was at its height” (peterson, 2019, p. 237). no less than edwards mather wanted to transform the religious education of the whole community though active clerical engagement. he spent his life as an associate minister of boston’s north church offering christian council for families in the community, advocating in concert with the spck for charity schools, the reformation of prisoners, the instruction of native americans and the other “uncivilized” peoples of the world. notably, this included enthusiastic support of francke’s efforts to export the message of christian piety through the tranquebar mission in india. this raised the all-important question of ministerial education. how should harvard prepare future clergy for this more expansive and demanding religious mission? his father, increase mather had been president of harvard between 1681 to 1701, and cotton long hoped to follow in his footsteps. but his candidacy for the presidency in 1708 and then 1724 failed to convince the university’s liberal trustees. even so, in one of his last works he laid out his vision for the reform of university instruction along the lines francke had pioneered at halle. mather had been in communication with francke and his english disciple anthony william bohme, a leading member of the spck who translated francke’s works into english and english works into german in support of the growing protestant cause. he also translated the key pietist text, johan arndt’s true christianity, which was highly valued by both mather and edwards. bohme supplied mather with a latin copy of francke’s (1727) pietas hallensis, detailing the aims and methods of the halle project which mather then summarized in english and published for the benefit of new england clergy. as the tract’s title explained, these “good & great things: a doing for kingdom of god in the midst of europe” mirrored the essential commitments of his own rational piety and evangelical biblicism. drawing upon francke’s achievements, mather drew inspiration from halle for the reform of his beloved alma mater. it too had to educate ministers able to advance practical christianity and help promote the good works necessary to realize 38 the prophesied millennium of peace and prosperity under christ’s monarchy. mather’s view of clerical education laid out in manuductio ad ministerium, his 1727 prospectus for reform at harvard, has notable similarities to the program of instruction instituted at halle. both operated off certain shared principles, themes that ran throughout their conceptualization of the university. indeed, mather borrowed directly from francke his understanding of the purpose of pietist universities (woody, 1969). mather worked diligently to provide universities in the colonies with a means for “candidates of the ministry, how to order their studies, that they may become useful servants of god” (mather, diaries, quoted in woody 1969, p.9). a beginning principle emphasized the centrality of biblical knowledge, which possessed the power of the holy word that served to spiritually edify the reader. mather’s pietist colleague from germany, francke, believed that conversion depended upon an emotive experience and use of the scripture. he insisted that only the converted was up to the task of working for god’s glory and participating in the conversion of other souls. mather and francke insisted that knowledge of the bible’s spiritual power was best learnt through hebrew and greek, the languages most closely aligned to the original tongue of the inspired authors. the secular discourses and disciplines that begun to shape how mankind conceptualized, understood, and shaped the world were only as useful to the point they could serve christian philosophy. they had no standing on their own without the teleology of god’s divine plan, which only christian philosophy could speak of directly. however, such discourses as science, history, and geography all provided insights into god’s creation—revealing the purpose and duties of life. all were encompassed with a christian philosophy. this replaced aristotelianism, but it also steered away from pure rationalism. francke and mather, for example both rejected secular ethics—religious piety, which developed higher sentiments, was the proper source of moral action. students, according to francke and mather were to read arnt’s true christianity (n.d.) rather than philosophical texts on virtue. through this text students were supposed to exemplify and demonstrate their piety, and their state of conversion, by working in concert to interrogate and support their spiritual growth by way of confessional “solidarities,” intense examinations of one’s failings and desire for forgiveness, which revealed their true piety and conversion status. for mather and francke, this theology and pious method of virtue were nothing if not practical arts with the purpose of pushing the student ever further down the pious path, constant spiritual growth as opposed to some final doctrinal orthodoxy. in other words, “man should want the illuminations’ of knowledge not just ‘to gain a comfortable subsistence in the world,’ or to be the recipient of other men’s praise; he should want to become a better servant of god and ‘an instrument of good unto others’ (mather, 1724, p. 24-26). in other words, every word in the bible had to pierce the heart of every soul in the congregation, compelling them to fall to their knees and swear to serve god in a pietistic fashion, meaning with fervor and commitment and a confessional method to keep himself honest as to god’s intention. whereas francke had economic resources to realize his vision of a godly city (literally a “city upon a hill”) and put into mass practice this form of pietism. this was made possible due to the political support of the prussian monarchy. situated in more liberal and commercially oriented boston, mather’s ideas failed to convince in any widespread way throughout new england. mather gathered francke’s german pietistic works and communications and used them to seed and grow and renew his congregation. and in reference to piety as focusing on practical yet spiritual matters, the question in each other’s correspondence often centered upon practical concerns over this renewal. in fact, as an example of just how practical the concerns were, the two would correspond on matters such as what sort of jeremiads were best to instruct the congregation 39 during the week and what sort worked best on the holy days. both recognized that the congregation needed different curriculum during the week, usually providing ramus maps for the congregation to read and prepare and practice the next few days during the week. however, underlying every jeremiad was the guiding principle of renewal and revival. these practical considerations always emphasized the need for each minister to go through the renewal process of building a sermon that compels the congregation to engage in a great revival, and then develop sermons that attempt to confront, scare, beatify, and consume the congregation in a way that increases everyone’s emotive listening and reading, which could then secure piety and sustain the powerful act of renewal and revival. each sermon had a specific job in this, and so needed a tool, a narrative form and logic by which to make this task easier for not just the reverend preacher, but the congregation whom he was attempting to teach and instruct on the methods of renewal, on conversion (lovelace, 1979). in fact, as discussed above, while both men celebrated the value of reason, reason itself was not adequate when it came to living a pious life. unless reason was employed at the service of determining how notions such as good and evil were to operate in a divine way as opposed to operating in a purely secular sense of what these concepts can speak to in everyday life. as edward’s wrote in his works (1957-) “to show how all arts and sciences, the more they are perfected, the more they issue in divinity, and coincide with it, and appear to be parts of it. and to show how absurd for christians to write treatises of ethics distinctly to from divinity as revealed in the gospel” (as quoted in marsden, 2003, p.134). simply, marsden (2003) argued, while the law could reveal the basic rights and wrongs of a community as well as the law showed the unregenerate their true state and was the delight of the converted, driving them toward a holiness they would never perfectly obtain in their life. if calvinist orthodoxy collapsed in new england…so would piety and so would strict morality. mere moralism would never do because it depended on flawed human efforts rather than on god. in short, the future of their civilization and the light it might provide for the world depend on maintaining the doctrine of the sovereignty of god. (p.138) as edwards’s extensive exchanges with cotton mather demonstrate, a true christian life demanded the coupled guidance of both reason and emotion (marsden, 2003). and he was tasked with the difficult charge of explaining and convincing other theologians of the rightness of his approach. edwards spent much time in discussion and explanation with cotton mather during his life doing just that (marsden, 2003). this correspondence mattered as it heightened the importance of education, because reason and emotion had to formed, controlled, guided to achieve the correct results. simply, it had to be taught. the puritans rested their whole system upon the belief that "every grace enters into the soul through understanding; and since children were born without understanding they had to be taught.” (morgan, 1944, p. 46; quotes mather 1724, p. 34). references arnt, j. (n.d.). true christianity. william ames (1642) the marrow of sacred divinity. bercovitch, s. (1975). the puritan origins of the american self. new haven: yale university press. bercovitch, s. (1978). the american jeremiad. madison, wis.: university of wisconsin press. bercovitch, s. (1993). the rites of assent. new york: routledge. cremin, l. (1970). american education: the colonial experience, 1607-1783. new york: harper and row. doll, w. (1997). ghosts in the curriculum. in w. doll, n. gough & w. schubert (eds) 40 curriculum visions. new york: teachers college press. edwards, j. (1740) sinners in the hands of an angry god. sermon. boston. edwards, j. (1957). the works of jonathan edwards. new haven: yale university press. francke’s (1727) pietas hallensis. greaves, r. (1969). puritanism and science: the anatomy of a controversy. journal of the history of ideas, 30 (3). pp. 345-368. hall, d. (2004). puritans in the new world: a critical anthology. princeton university press. hamilton, d. (1990) curriculum history. geelong, victoria, deakin university press. lovelace, r. (1979). the american pietism of cotton mather: origins of american evangelicalisms. eugen, oregon: wipf and stock publishers. mages, m. (1999). magnalia christi americana: america’s literary old testament. san francisco: international scholars publications. marsden, g. m. (2003). jonathan edwards: a life. new haven: yale university press. mather, c. (1718). a man of reason. boston. mather, c. (1724). manuductio ad ministerim. boston. mcknight, d. (2004) schooling, puritan imperative and the molding of american national identity, education’s ‘errand into the wilderness.’ mahweh, nj, lawrence erlbaum. merton, r. (1938) science, technology and society in seventeenth-century england. the history of science society. university of chicago press. miller, p. (1953). the new england mind, from province to colony. cambridge, ma: belnap press, harvard. miller, p. (1957). errand into the wilderness. cambridge, ma: belnap press, harvard. morgan, e. (1944). the puritan family: essays on religion and domestic relations in seventeenthcentury new england. boston: trustees of the public library. morgan, j. (1986). godly learning. puritan attitudes towards reason, learning, education, 1560–1640. cambridge, ma: cambridge university press. morison, s. e. (1936). harvard college in the seventeenth century in morison, three centuries of harvard. cambridge, ma, harvard university press. morison, three centuries of harvard 1636–1936. belknap press of harvard university press. nash, m. (2009). “contested identities: nationalism, regionalism, and patriotism in early american textbooks.” history of education quarterly (49)4 november. ong, w. (1958). ramus, method, and the decay of dialogue: from the art of discourse to the art of reason. cambridge, ma: harvard university press. ong, w. (1971). rhetoric, romance, and. technology. ithaca: cornell university press, peterson, m. (2019). the city-state of boston: rise and fall of an atlantic power, 1630-1865. princeton university press. reinhold, m. (1975). the quest for ‘useful knowledge’ in eighteenth-century america. proceedings of the american philosophical society, 119 (2). pp 108-132. woody, k. (1969). “manuductio ad theologian; more quiet and hopeful way.” early american literature, fall, v. 4, no. 2. manuscript submitted, march 21, 2022 revision received, august 25, 2022 manuscript accepted, august 29, 2022 creative collaboration: a phenomenological study of a science faculty curriculum project andrea foster william a. jasper sam houston state university abstract creative collaborations between scientists and educators can be difficult. it is often the case that faculty members from the college of science and college of education resist collaboration. is the culprit ego, agenda, busy schedules, lack of support or something else? this phenomenological study unravels the secret behind successful collaboration between scientists, a mathematician, and a science educator. this study identifies seven critical actions that are necessary for successful curriculum collaborations. educational reform must be collaborative to succeed. in the case of science, mathematics, and technology education, the scientific community must enter into partnership with the education community.” (aaas, 1990, 224) introduction collaboration is the cornerstone of most successful, innovative, and meaningful pursuits. “the notion of the solitary thinker still appeals to those molded by the western belief in individualism. a careful scrutiny of how knowledge is constructed and artistic forms are shaped reveals a different reality. generative ideas emerge from joint thinking, from significant conversations, and from sustained, shared struggles to achieve new insights by partners in thought” (john-steiner, 2000, p. 3). creative collaborations are necessary for clever solutions to the plethora of problems facing our educational curriculum history 2018: 86-102 system today, particularly in the area of mathematics and science education reform (moolenaar, sleegers and daly, 2012). for decades, the call for significant changes in science, mathematics, and technology education have been loud and clear. and yet, most american students are still not performing at a level deemed “proficient” in science (robelen, 2011). data from the nation’s report card science 2011 show that less than one-third of the american elementary and high school students were at or above the proficient level science, and that the united states is trailing their counterparts in many european and asian countries (banchero, 2011). this trend has continued for the 2015 data (the nation’s report card 2015), with the following percentages of students achieving at or above proficient ratings: 4th grade – 38%, 8th grade – 34%, and 12th grade – 22%. often faculty members from colleges of arts & sciences and colleges of education resist collaboration. is the culprit ego, agenda, busy schedules, lack of support, or something else? this phenomenological study unravels the secrets behind a successful collaboration between scientists and educators. this paper first reviews prior research on collaborations in higher education, particularly in science and mathematics education, and then elaborates on how faculty collaboration between college of arts & science and college of education faculty designed an innovative science curriculum program at our institution. research on collaboration in higher education in the past few decades, numerous studies 87 on transforming science, mathematics, and technology education through interdisciplinary collaboration in higher education have surfaced (laursen, thiry, and hunter, 2008; tanner, chatman, and allen, 2003; bower, 2005; carr, 2002; sunai et al., 2001; loucks-horsely and matsumoto, 1999; girgus, 1994; and goldston and bland, 2002). the “work and research findings within collaborative initiatives support the early work conducted by darling-hammond (1994), who discussed the necessity of generating shared vision among collaborators, and loucks-horsley, hewson, love, and stiles (1998), who pointed out that partners must have equal status for a collaborative to be successful” (goldston & bland, 2002, 1). many researchers claim to have struggled with negotiating personal/professional agendas while working with their partners to create a shared vision for the collaborative. to improve collaboration, “it’s not technology, it’s leadership. to create an environment where people like to collaborate, you literally have to understand every single member of the group. it’s a fascinating flock of birds phenomena that makes this whole experience rewarding” (abele, 2009, 1). defining roles, establishing a common language, and building the necessary relationships to create and sustain such partnerships is exhausting work. nonetheless, in spite of these struggles, in the spirit of shared responsibility for preparing highly qualified k-12 teachers in science, mathematics, and technology, most collaborators are inspired and motivated by the opportunities to share ideas, generate a shared vision, and devise action plans to accomplish this goal (goldston & bland, 2002). most educators also recognize that recruitment of quality teacher candidates doesn’t happen without conscientious efforts and “buy-in” from both scientists and educators. a number of collaborative efforts identify “lessons learned” in regard to the collaboration experience. for example, a case study (girgus, 1994) that focused on working together to achieve diversity in science and mathematics identifies the following indicators of success: • working with like-minded souls on problems of common interest is extremely energizing. • committed energetic leadership and smoothly running administrative processes are as crucial to the success of the collaborative projects as they are to every other kind of enterprise. • collaboration permits you to do things you probably would not or could not do alone. • most importantly, conversation counts - every successful collaboration depends on opportunities for participants to develop mutual respect and explore shared priorities band interests. this applies equally to individuals working on a project, to a department revising its curriculum, and to institutions engaged in planning. (girgus, 1994, 3) a greater commitment by science faculty to focus on science education could drive education reform at universities and public schools, according to a report co-authored by several researchers from california state university and one from purdue university (laursen, thiry, & hunter, 2008). in what works: building natural science communities (narum 1991), the focus was on the concept of community from the perspective of the learning environment for students: what they learn, how they learn, where they learn. this dialogue recognizes that creating an effective community of learners requires dissolving any boundaries that inhibit dialogue and action, and thus community. how to achieve the systemic reform this nation needs in science, mathematics, engineering and technology 88 education is a key question for collaborators. the basic pieces are the same students and faculty, program and institution but now there are questions about communities of interest: about stakeholders across the educational sectors, in public and private agencies. all have a stake in ensuring that the undergraduate science/mathematics community serves the national interest into the next century. a plethora of questions arise as we consider the challenge of collaboration. how do the patterns change when we ask questions about financing reforms at the local and national level; when we consider exploring new collaborations between departments and between institutions? how do the patterns change when we decide to take some risks asking some hard and uncomfortable questions of ourselves and of our colleagues? how do the patterns change when there is an individual, institutional, and national commitment to dialogue and action to overcoming inertia? (laursen, thiry, & hunter, 2008). girgus (1994) cautions creative collaborators that an innovation that works well in one context may not be transplanted into a different context. as innovations move out from their original settings, they must be adapted to the dynamics and the needs of each new setting. imagine a series of collaborative opportunities that spiral outward from the faculty member as a series of concentric circles. in the innermost circle are colleagues from the faculty member’s own department, in the next circle are colleagues from intellectually adjacent departments, in the next circle are the deans, provosts, and presidents, in the next are colleagues in other institutions. according to girgus (1994), if we can learn how to harness good collaboration as we move from circle to circle, we might be able to institutionalize a particular reform into the curriculum and adapt the reform to the needs of a growing number of institutions. figure 1.1 illustrates this model of collaborative relationships between and among institutions. pushkin (2008) reminds scientists that it is imperative to take on some responsibility in the preparation of science teachers. he recognizes that as the number of teacher education courses required for initial certification dwindles, the predominantly de facto pedagogical influence on k-12 science teaching comes from undergraduate science professors, not teacher education professors. there is a tremendous need for collaboration between science and education faculty. carr (2002) tells us that powerful preparation of science teachers involves significant contributions from both scientists and teacher educators. ironically, faculty and students in science and teacher education departments are often isolated from one another, not only across the physical boundaries of the university, but across the cultural boundaries of academe. coordination and collaboration between science and education faculty requires careful negotiation of these cultural boundaries. carr illustrates patterns of difference in both teacher education departments and science departments in table 1 on next page. these cultural differences, if not understood or recognized, can be a key barrier to successful collaboration. carr (2002) also highlights the conflicting epistemologies among scientists and educators. “science is hard and teaching is easy,” represents a very real epistemological belief of many scientists and one that we confronted in our collaborative effort. the following section describes the methodology and the players in our collaborative experience. 89 this model, created to illuminate girgus’ (1994) ideas, highlights the significant collaborative relationships between and within institutions which is required for real and meaningful educational reform. figure 1: model of collaborative relationships between and among institutions pattern of difference teacher education dept. science department communication style direct and clear communication is valued but sometimes must be sacrificed to preserve relationships. direct and clear communication is highly valued and rarely compromised. attitude toward conflict direct conflict is avoided, especially in public between colleagues. conflict is an integral part of the process of creating knowledge and is often carried out publicly. approaches to completing tasks tasks are seen as ongoing and the process malleable, the building of relationships sometimes interferes with task completion. tasks meticulously planned and carried out with efficiency. decision-making style group consensus delegation by authority learning and knowing everybody is seen as a co-learner, and knowledge is gained through not only individual effort, but a result of relationships and dialogue. learning is the assimilation of knowledge delivered by experts. table 1: carr’s (2002, 9) comparison of the patterns of difference between teacher education and science departments colleagues from other institutions dean, provosts, president faculty from art & sciences faculty from the college of education 90 methodology for this study, the researchers used a phenomenological approach to make sense of our experience working with scientists and educators. according to lester (1999), the purpose of a phenomenological approach is to “illuminate the specific and to identify phenomena through how they are perceived by the actors in a situation” (p. 1). this translates into gathering “deep” information and perceptions through inductive, qualitative methods such as interviews, discussions and participant observation, and representing it from the perspective of the research participant(s). the deep information gathered for this study are derived from weekly meetings where the participants shared ideas, understandings and visions for a premiere middle school science program. there were key participants in this study, a science educator, a mathematics educator, and a scientist. several additional scientists representing all the scientific fields were also part of the process of this study. the scientists, who came to the table, showed an interest in improving science education at our institution and helped to create course outlines for biology, physics, and an existing chemistry course that were aligned to the state science standards. for this study email transcripts, memos, and meeting notes were key to making sense of the episodes that occurred during the collaborative process. data from the document artifacts (email correspondences, meeting notes, and interactions among the participants) were analyzed using a constant comparative method (lincoln & guba, 1985) in an effort to enhance meaning making – in other words, to make sense of the process of collaboration between the participants and individual scientists who share a common goal – an improved science education program. themes emerged from the participants’ interaction with the data sets which shed light on their collaborative process. these themes helped the researchers better understand the challenges and triumphs of their work to build a successful middle school science teacher preparation program. the participants the science educator in the collaboration brings sixteen years teaching middle school and high school science to the collaborative triad. during her inner city public school experience, she was closely involved with the american association for the advancement of science (aaas) project 2061’s k-12 national reform effort in science, mathematics and technology education as a project 2061 texas team member. her early teaching experiences were enhanced through collaborations with scientists and educators from across the country including jim rutherford, andrew (chic) ahlgren, and joellen roseman, key visionaries that produced critical reform documents such science for all americans, benchmarks for science literacy, designs for science literacy, blueprints for reform (aaas, 2002), and the atlas for science literacy. this science educator was charged early in her science teaching career to become an ambassador for science literacy, a challenge she took very seriously. after becoming a national presidential awardee for excellence in science teaching, she shifted her work to higher education and for the past thirteen years, she has been teaching science methods to prospective elementary and middle school teachers. her role in the collaboration was to promote new and innovative ways of thinking about middle school science teaching and to educate the science faculty about the state standards for middle school science teaching with the texas essential knowledge and skills (teks); career and college readiness standards (ccrs); and the project 2061 reform tenets. she also worked on reducing the physical barriers of the 91 university campus by walking to and from the college of arts & science once a week for regular “dream building” sessions with her two other main collaborators. the college of arts & sciences mathematics educator the mathematician, or rather as he would prefer to be identified, the mathematics educator in this story played a critical role in creating and sustaining the significant relationships within the collaboration. his prior career in the air force provided the foundation for the many tactical and logistical approaches to bringing key players together. he knew exactly who to talk to first, what groups to gather informally and formally to share our ideas for the innovative program. his middle school and university mathematics teaching experience afforded the necessary understanding of appropriate pedagogy and content for the science and mathematics disciplines. in fact, the highly successful mathematics education program (arguably the best in the state) served as a model for building the middle level science program. his constant energy, friendly demeanor coupled with the knowledge of how to navigate the hierarchy that comprises the university system were invaluable to the overall collaborative effort. he was not simply the glue that held the group together but the “superglue!” he was also the collaborative initiator. the college of arts & sciences research scientist & associate dean the scientist in the story is an entomologist/parasitologist who also was the associate dean of the college of arts & sciences. she was more than willing to take on a worthy project that would mean better prepared middle school science teachers. her position and her passion for the innovation moved the collaborative effort closer to its goal. her communications to the science department chairs were crucial to the ongoing participation and support of the project. she was completely committed to seeing this project to fruition. her guidance and “reality checks” meant a great deal to the scientists and was, most likely, the primary reason for the high attendance at meetings. the science faculty had a great respect for her expertise as she was truly, “one of them.” her knowledge of the curriculum process was a strength as well. she kept the group informed of the deadlines for submitting new course proposals as well was as what possible barriers to anticipate with regard to the department/college political climate. these individual collaborators came together each week for two years to grapple with how to develop a new program for middle school science. they dreamed, argued, debated, celebrated, and experienced the unique phenomenon of very different faculty members coming together to build something worthwhile – a middle school science program with newly aligned, inquiry-based, project-based science courses. their relationship formed a very supportive “triad” structure that showed others that with teamwork and commitment, that effective communication between the colleges could occur and curricular change could happen. see figure 2 on next page. what worked for us -key factors of collaboration at the university level establishing university partnerships four years ago, there was virtually no contact among the science department chairs in the college of arts and sciences and the primary science educator in the college of education. the mathematics educator on this project set up initial contacts and meetings among these key players. another key player in establishing these 92 figure 2. the three essential components of the triad that hold the collaborative together are the science educator, the mathematics educator and the scientists. the college deans are represented at the top of the figure to illustrate their overall direction and support. collaborations was the associate dean of the college of arts and sciences, who strongly supported improving science teacher preparation programs, and who chaired frequent meetings among scientists and educators. initially, most science department chairs were not excited about enhancing the science teacher preparation program at our university, and were more focused on recruiting students as majors in their respective departments. as a result, there were only a few students seeking high school science teaching certification, and none seeking middle school science teaching certification at our university. however, these initial meetings opened up communication channels and regular meetings began. with communication, collaboration began. support from key administrators once an initial vision of our program was created, presentations were made to the deans of the colleges of arts and sciences and education. both deans enthusiastically endorsed creating a model science teacher preparation program, recognizing the need for exceptional science teachers in our public schools. without the strong support from the deans, it is unlikely that science department chairs and key educators would have responded favorably to this effort. it was important for the dean to assure science faculty members that work on this project (in addition to hard research within their discipline) would be respected and honored. most university faculty members are very busy within their own domains, and it takes special interest in a new project to dedicate precious time. course release time and other support would help even more, but we did not have this as an option at our university. in addition, the associate dean of the college of arts and sciences communicated directly with the science department chairs, scheduled meetings, and served as a bridge between the two colleges. the top-level enthusiastic approval of the project helped science department chairs realize the importance of the project. this would have been harder to accomplish if only a science educator in the college of education were dealing with science department chairs. the dean and associate dean for the college of education expressed their strong support for the collaboration via these email correspondences. this is so great! thank you so much for all your thought and hard work on this vitally important issue. i am excited about the possibilities. this is so exciting, and i'm so glad you all are doing this work......our university really could be a leader in texas in science education. and, since candidates planning to teach science are eligible for the teach grants, they could have their tuition and fees entirely covered for their junior and senior years! we really look forward to the deans of coas and coe science educators scientists mathematics educators 93 development process and to the new beginning for middle school science education. you three make a fantastic team! communicating the need for a new science teacher preparation program several years ago, the state of texas changed the certification levels of teachers to grades 7-12; 4-8, and early childhood-6. the 712 certifications only cover the high school science teaching requirements, and the ec-6 certification prepares teachers for the elementary grades. because the ec-6 program is very popular with pre-service teachers, middle school programs (grades 4-8 certification levels) saw reduced enrollments. at our university, the 4-8 science teacher certification plan was deleted due to low numbers of students. so, who will teach middle school science in the future? (authors, 2010). the need for a middle school certification program with strong science content and pedagogy is very high. once scientists at our university realized this, they raised their commitment levels to our project. in november, the associate dean for the college of arts & sciences, in an effort to jumpstart the collaborative effort to revive the middle level science program at our institution sent a long email to the science and education department chairs and copied to the deans of both colleges. the emailed outlined the need for collaboration and recapped efforts during the preceding two years (see appendix 1). that email was followed by another email setting a date to begin work on the middle grades certification program (see appendix 2). the second email was also sent to key science faculty. mutual respect and appreciation for science and education faculty at regular meetings with the science department chairs, the need to improve science teacher preparation programs, vision sharing, and program development guidelines were analyzed and discussed. these discussions were sometimes heated, yet, over time, there developed a sense of respect and appreciation for the positions, ideas, and limitations of both the scientists and educators. this was not easy to accomplish and it was sometimes difficult for scientists to visualize good educational practices, and also for educators to understand the requirements of rigorous course study in the sciences. but scientists began to empathize with the need to create a great teacher preparation program, and educators came to understand the needs and limitations of the science departments. gradually, we made compromises and we developed a great vision for our program together. this would not have happened without respect and appreciation for each other. team building once science department chairs committed to the program, we recruited volunteer science faculty members in biology, physics and chemistry who were interested in the teaching side of science, and who were passionate about our mission to create a model science teacher preparation program. now it was time for the detailed work to begin. because these scientists strongly believed in this program, they worked diligently to construct the science course content needed to best prepare future science teachers. the science educator worked closely with the scientists, and strong bonds were formed among these faculty members, with high levels of respect for each other, and good understanding of the needs of the program. this working group was the heart of the collaboration effort. in fact, these 94 same dedicated faculty members also began to work together on other related projects, and one result was submission of a national science foundation grant proposal for scholarships for future science teachers. overcoming hurdles – moving beyond the misunderstandings and the harsh reality that change is difficult “everyone in the college of education should be shot!” these words still resonate with the science educator at the very first meeting with the group of scientists to discuss the possibility of a new middle school science program. the antagonist was a distinguished professor who wanted to make it quite clear that he was not happy with how things were done in the college of education. rather than back down, cave in, or runaway from the direct assault, the science educator discovered why he felt this way. as it turned out, his course was haphazardly removed from the 4-8 integrated mathematics/science degree plan implemented in several years before. this faculty member had good reason to be upset. his lively debate and argumentative style could have been a bit difficult to take; but, he was the very person who would leave the meetings with negative comments and then send thoughtful, reflective, and brilliant communications to the group about how to better prepare prospective science teachers. the multi-page email can be found in appendix 3. disagreement and compromise are expected and necessary – we must overcome the deep antagonism. it becomes very personal. because there was disagreement, a better program evolved. collaborators must not expect a group of “yes-men” and they do not want them either. the power of the collaboration lies within these provocative conversations. this is a painful process because people generally don’t like to be disagreeable. again, carr (2002) reminds us that scientists and educators represent entirely different epistemologies and academic cultures. after the dust settles, we realize that we all saying the same thing, yet in different ways. our goals were not that far apart. there was not a huge valley between our positions and vision. continuing conversations and overcoming perceived obstacles became an important and necessary part of the collaborative process. a special meeting was set up to meet with the geology department chairs to discuss the draft middle school science plan, and many of their suggestions were incorporated into the revised plan. feelings of discouragement there were times when the core collaborators left meetings thinking that our “vision” had been squelched or waylaid by the scientists. nonetheless, the passion for the program was still there—so we recharged our batteries, revised our goals, and set up another meeting to discuss our plan of action. over time and some degree of compromise a stronger program evolved and that was supportable, sustainable, and had the buy-in of the scientists. we all have automatic negative reactions to change, to education; to teaching . . . we are all programmed to protect our empire and epistemologies. frustration was a two-way street. the science educator did not understand the resistance by the science faculty (many of whom had served as department chairs and deans). “we can’t do that.” “we have never done that before.” “we don’t have faculty lines to teach those courses.” “why not just use our existing courses.” the science educator wondered why the scientists were resistant to the idea of creating the ideal without worrying about the obstacles. why were these scientists so concerned with why this will not work rather than the possibilities that could exist if 95 we create it? again, compromise and understanding each collaborative member’s patterns of difference seemed to help us to overcome some potential paralyzing obstacles. reaching a “common ground” and understanding the professional cultures of the scientists and educators in the group made the difference. summary and implications the lessons we learned from our collaborative experiences were many. when working with scientists and educators, the following actions are critical to successful collaborations. • identify a shared need • achieve support from key administrators • know your collaborators and their patterns of difference • demonstrate mutual respect and appreciation for science and education faculty • recruit enthusiastic and talented faculty to form a working team • recognize that disagreements are a healthy part of the process • expect to be discouraged and, most importantly, don’t give up! these actions sustained our efforts to create a strong science program at our institution and led to enduring professional relationships between and among faculty and administrators from both colleges within our university. we see our collaboration to build a middle school science program as a successful endeavor. we accomplished our initial goal of aligning a set of science courses to the science teks and the texas career and college readiness standards, created scope and sequences, course descriptions, we have mapped out an exciting degree plan for the new middle school science teacher preparation program which is strong in content and includes extensive field experiences. we have reached consensus with regard to having our program recognized by both college administrators and key faculty. as our journey continues, relationships have to be maintained, communications must continue. we have plans to present the new courses to each of the science departments for their approval before it moves through the formal institutional curriculum process. we are very excited about the new interdisciplinary science literacy course that will serve as a recruiting ground for future middle school science teachers as well as the upper level biology and physics courses that will use inquiry, project, and problembased approaches. the bottom-line to the success of creative collaborations is that there is no secret formula to getting it done. the process is tricky, egos must not get in the way of ideas, and key support structures through productive relationships are necessary. a greater commitment by science faculty to focus on science teacher education could drive education reform at universities and k-12 classrooms. communication and patience are needed. effective collaboration does not happen overnight. references abele, j. 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(1999). research on professional development for teachers of mathematics and science: the state of the scene. school science and mathematics association, 99(5), 258-271. moolenaar, n., sleegers, p., & daly, a. (2012). teaming up: linking collaboration networks, collective efficacy, and student achievement. teacher and teacher education, 28(2) 251262. narum,j. l. (1991). what works: building natural science communities. cedar rapids, ia: stamats communications. the nation’s report card (2011). science 2011. http://www.nationsreportcard.gov/science_20 11/summary.aspx the nation’s report card (2015). science 2015. http://www.nationsreportcard.gov pushkin, d. (2008). planting seeds: the influence of college science teaching on the next generation of science teachers. journal of college science teaching, 38 (2) 14-15. robelen, e. (2011). proficiency eludes u.s. students on science naep. education week. http://www.nas.edu/rise/backg2a.htm http://www.pkal.org/%20documents/movingintothefuture.cfm http://www.pkal.org/%20documents/movingintothefuture.cfm http://www.sld.demon/ http://www.nationsreportcard.gov/science_2011/summary.aspx http://www.nationsreportcard.gov/science_2011/summary.aspx http://www.nationsreportcard.gov/ 97 http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/01/2 5/10naep_ep.h30.html. sunai, d., hodges, j., sunai, c, whitaker, k., freeman, m., edwards, l. et al. (2001). teaching science in higher education: faculty professional development and barriers to change. school science and mathematics association, 101 (5), 246-257. tanner, k., chatman, l., and allen, d. (2003). approaches to biology teaching and learning: science teaching and learning across the school-university divide – cultivating conversations through scientistteacher partnerships, cell biology education, vol. 2, winter. http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/01/25/10naep_ep.h30.html http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/01/25/10naep_ep.h30.html 98 appendix 1 sent: wednesday, november 11th to: science faculty cc: college deans and department chairs subject: middle-level science teacher prep dear science educators, as you recall, last spring we met to discuss a potential model middle level science teacher preparation program at shsu. we appreciated your input, ideas, expertise, and positive response towards this endeavor. even though we have all been extremely busy with ncate accreditation, conferences, teaching, and research efforts, we have managed to find some time to move forward with this project, incorporating your input from last spring. we are now to the point that we have a number of items ready for discussion and further input. over the past two years, interested faculty from the college of arts and sciences (coas) and the college of education (coe) have been working together to strengthen an almost non-existent middle level science teacher preparation program at shsu. we are in the initial stages of designing five new science courses targeted specifically to middle school science teacher candidates. our goal is to align the five courses to the tccrs and at the same time further develop the courses at the scope & sequence level. our plan is to invite a talented coas faculty from physics, geology, biology and chemistry with a science educator from coe to align the texas college and career readiness standards for science (tccrs) with the new innovative, interdisciplinary science content courses. the tccrs will serve as a framework and provide a necessary infrastructure for as these new science courses as they come to fruition. we are proposing a standalone 4-8 science program in which we recruit earlier in their program to turn teacher candidates on to science, strengthen science content knowledge with additional courses specialized for middle level education; and align content of those courses with what these students are expected to teach (science for all americans, national science teachers association standards, the tccrs, and the teks framework for middle school science). the second item for your consideration is a proposed sequence of courses for this program (see attached file “program proposal”). briefly, we propose two, 3-credit hour freshmen level interdisciplinary courses, one each, 4-credit hour upper level course in biology, geology and physics, and four freshmen level courses already offered by our science departments. this proposal is based on the new teks (texas essential knowledge and skills) framework for middle school science. the new teks focus primarily on physical science, life science, and earth and space science. what we hope to discuss with you is whether you feel that our proposed sequence of courses adequately addresses these standards and based on these standards if you feel we should also include an upper level chemistry course in the proposed course sequence. i have attached an electronic copy of the new 99 teks. we have developed a very preliminary scope and sequence for the two new freshmen level courses using the teks as a guideline and based on the text book “the sciences: an integrated approach” 5th ed. by trefil and hazen, 2007. i have attached draft forms for these two courses and we are hoping to discuss our ideas with you. if you are interested in continuing the discussion about creating an excellent program for middle-level science education, please let me know if you are available for a meeting either november 17th or december 1st at 3:30 pm in the coas dean’s conference room. also, please invite any other faculty in your departments that you feel would be interested in pursuing the development of such a program. thank you so much for your consideration. we look forward to hearing from you soon. cheers appendix 2 hello all, we hope that your semester is off to a great start and that you are ready to continue discussing middlelevel science teacher preparation. we feel that the discussion thus far has been very productive (and provocative at times) and are eager to start developing a plan. to that end, i have attached a document outlining some ideas stemming from our initial discussions. through continued discussions, we would like to have the foundation laid for a middle-level science teacher preparation program by the end of the semester. please let me know at your earliest convenience if you are available for a meeting on monday february 8th at 3 p.m. to discuss the attached document. all the best. 100 appendix 3 to: the science collaborative team from: geology department date: november 20th subject: middle school science teacher preparation cc: science department chairs please see my attached response. it is meant to be provocative. permit us to offer some comments by way of a follow-up from tuesday’s meeting as well as response to science department chair memo of november 19th. scientific literacy obviously, i endorse the basic thesis of the memo: the underlying copout that pervades, so it seems, the whole of science teacher preparation is a continuing scandal – both institutionally and nationally. ultimately the solution to the ills of all levels of science education – but particularly k-12 – is to actually impose some real rigor. colleges of education must seek to move beyond the detroit model (viz: ill-trained, border line illiterate students churned out like so many irrelevant gas guzzling monster suvs that are justified in terms of “volume” rather than anything that connects with relevance or modernity or real rigor.) as far as i am concerned only the highest possible standards should be acceptable in terms of preparing students for the critical task of teacher training – offering contentless or dumbed-down (“for non-science…”) or baby math courses (here i do not include customized math course such as the x8x course) should not be an option for any prospective teacher, no matter the grade they intend to teach. while i strongly endorse the concept of a science facility that addresses the specific needs of middle school teachers i also feel that to only focus on this grade range is to apply the band aid a tad too late: the damage has already been done to school children by equally limited elementary teachers who are perhaps even more math and science phobic. if colleges of education are to genuinely attempt to deal with the crushing scientific and mathematical illiteracy of teachers they will have to revise their requirements for all teachers. given the dependency of the united states on science and technology it is beyond my comprehension that critically important elementary teachers are to all intents and purposes little better than the modern equivalent of those wonderful ladies that populated the dame schools and the single room schools of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries: kind to children, competent at instilling basic values but woefully undereducated when it comes to science and mathematics. it is this part of the educational system that instills the basic malaise of math and science phobia. elementary teachers who encounter such a shallow education in science and mathematics beget future generations of young people who are wonderfully motivated to teach but who lack a solid half of what is now required of modern teachers. that being said i do admire the clever approach at relevant customization that underpins our existing math education approach. i think we can and should respond positively to its transfer to science. science education resource center (serc) 101 i support the notion of the development of some form of science facility to be housed in the college of arts and sciences. while a model based on the present configuration of math education seems desirable there are some serious challenges to a simple copy. math is a single discipline. the sciences are necessarily all different. thus, they need a more complex system of loose affiliation that leads to a meaningful amalgam composed of different, mutually respectful, disciplines. my colleagues suggest a hub-like configuration and propose a notion of a “science education resource center”. the center might offer courses in its own right – content loaded science foundation course(s) including, perhaps sci courses such as the existing fundamentals of sciences courses that appear to me to be illhoused in individual discipline departments; cross-listed science discipline courses; or upper level capstone course(s). the center would also provide to the scientific disciplines insight and guidance as to how best to customize their content, order, pacing, etc. that would best service the specific pedagogical interface needs of this program. however i do not foresee the educational weak dog wagging the scientific tail. geoscience course offerings as chemistry chair noted, geology and geography do not offer “not for science majors” courses. all of our introductory level courses (gel132/112 geological hazards; 133/113 physical geology; 134/114 historical geology; geo 131/111 weather and climate) exist as part of the science core and are used to various degrees as prerequisites for upper level courses in the majors. it would be a relatively simple task for us to identify and customize either individual sections for 6-8 science teachers or to engineer combined courses (for example, our reading of texas college and career readiness standards appears to demand not just an introduction to physical geology (gel133/113) but also to historical geology gel134/114) and also to weather and climate (geo131/111). perhaps three full individual courses from a single discipline would be unfair to the other disciplines and it may perhaps be better to think about a combined foundation course in earth (geological) science (gel133/134). beyond the introductory foundation level we might contemplate a selection of existing and new courses that would reflect the sort of structure outlined (by our chemistry professor) on tuesday – rigorous content-heavy courses that also specifically bridge down to the limited foundation provided by the 100level courses. in the development of the detailed content of these courses we envisage some significant guidance and nudging from our science educator to make them sensitive not only to our particular scientific discipline but also to the customized needs of grades 6-8 teachers-to-be. our broad, possibly integrated, focus for all three grades but specifically for grade 8 requirements would be on earth cycles. to this end we are cogitating (!) the following: page 3 existing courses: gel 330 oceanography already directed at an education and/or general science audience could be adapted to deal more directly with ocean/atmosphere cycles already contains a human impacts component new courses: gel 38x earth cycles biogeochem (c; s, o, hydro, etc.) cycles in space and time 102 rock/wilson cycles human impacts and influences geo 38y climate cycles global climate change biogeography human impacts and influences both geography and geology would like to be active players if this proposal moves forward. we foresee a symbiotic linkage for certain new courses that would service both a science education purpose and, perhaps, also a major(?)/minor purpose. however, like chemistry chair, we are presently at, indeed beyond, capacity with faculty already teaching overloads in order to accommodate our basic major/minor teaching responsibilities. for the time being i doubt that any contribution that we might make will amount to much more than applause from the sidelines! for this idea to move forward into reality will, i suspect, need 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bibliography on curriculum making, 1941. j. murray lee and others. 13 (1942):211-214. annual bibliography on curriculum making, 1942. j. murray lee and others. 14 (1943):219-223. annual camp for county teachers. helen kearley. 13 (1942):80-82. annual list of judged outstanding curriculum materials. herbert b. bruner, c. maurice wieting, and fern d. schneider, 10 (1939):359-364. annual list of outstanding courses of study. herbert b. bruner and c. maurice wieting. 8 (1937):360-365. annual list of outstanding courses of study. herbert b. bruner and mabel cassell. 5, no. 8 (1935): 1-9. annual list of outstanding courses of study. herbert b. bruner and c. maurice wieting. 9 (1938):364-369. annual list of outstanding curriculum materials. c. maurice wieting and herbert b. bruner. 12 (1941):263-267. annual list of outstanding curriculum materials. herbert b. bruner, c. maurice wieting, and fern d. schneider. 10 (1939):359-364. annual meeting of executive committee. j. paul leonard. 13 (1942):177-178. annual meeting of the society. 8 (1937):34-36; 81-84. annual meeting of the society. by j. cecil parker. 10 (1939): 149-154. annual meetings: 1940. 11 (1940):30. annual meeting of the curriculum society. b. o. smith. 12 (1941):163-165. annual meeting of the society. b. o. smith. 11 (1940):222-224. annual report of members' activities. 7 no. 1 (1936) 15-35. annual report of the executive secretary. 8 (1937):70-72. annual report of the executive secretary. 9 (1938):82-84. annual summary of curriculum activities of members. 2 (1934):6 14. another workshop. chester c. carrothers. 12 (1941):19-22. appraisal of activity program in new york city. 10 (1939):374 375. appraisal of the curriculum in new york state. luther gulick. 8 (1937):264-265. april bulletin on work books. s. a. courtis. 5, no. 2 (1935):19-20. argo, a. c. social living course at sequoia union high school. 8 (1937):111-114. arizona's first curriculum workshop. george w. ebey. 12 (1941):362-364. armstrong, w. earl. a cooperative study of teacher education. 10 (1939):257-260. arndt, c. o. experimental program in foreign language. 10 (1939):126-127. art education in kalamazoo. fillette many. 8 (1937):150-152. arts program at cranbrook school. lloyd l. waite. 11 (1940):263266. aten, harold d. functional mathematics. 9 (1938):157-162; functional geometry. 12 (1941):23-25. audio-visual aids for rural schools. etta schneider. 12 (1941):166-168. ayer, fred c. the society and conflicting points of view. 5, no. 4 (1934):13. babson, helen. the place of the core in the curriculum. 11 (1940):317-320. bacon, clara s. teacher growth through curriculum building. 14, no. 5 (1943):135-138. baird, hal. a functional course in the physical sciences. 8 (1937):13-15. baisden, leo b. and e. p. o'reilly. elementary social studies curriculum. 10 (1939):60-63. bane, l. c. the elementary speech program. 10 (1939):25-28. barbour, richmond. getting parental opinion on the curriculum. 11 (1940):310-312. barham, thomas c., jr. new york city's activity program experiment. 13 (1942):161-165. barnhart, rebecca, and o. i. frederick and committee. beginning the battle creek curriculum study. 10 (1939):268-270. basic curriculum philosophy of source-thinkers--a proposal. franklin bobbitt. 5, no. 1 (1934):9. basic viewpoint on arithmetic. r. l. morton. and committee. 9 (1938):299-305. basis for curriculum planning. william l. wrinkle. 11 (1940):229-331. basler, roosevelt. tacoma curriculum program. 9 (1938):174-177; workshop for course of study production. 13 (1942):222-225. bathurst, effie g. materials for conservation education. 12, no. 8 (1941):209-212. bawden, h. t. the structural pattern of the unit. 9 (1938):313315. baxter, bernice. curriculum development in oakland. 12 (1941):170-173. beals, w. l., w. h. johnson, c. j. lunak, and j. e. mccade. experimental curriculum programs in chicago. 7, no. 5 (1936):6-8. beck, robert holmes. american progressive education: 1875-1930. 14 (1943):115-118. beginning the battle creek curriculum study. o. i. frederick, rebecca barnhart, and committee. 10 (1939):268-270. bennett, raymond d. the revision of the curriculum in the college of education at ohio state university. 5, no. 5 (1934):9-10; prospective superior teacher. 8 (1937):201204. berkeley, california, program of curriculum revision. lewis wilbur smith. 5, no. 2 (1934):20. bibliography of curriculum making. henry harap. 1, no. 2 (may 1929-30):1-13. bibliography concerning curriculum making, march 1930-march 1931, henry harap. 2, no. 2 (1931):1-12. bibliography of curriculum making. march 1931-1932. henry harap and edgar dale. 3, no. 5, part ii (1932):1-29. bibliography of curriculum making. march 1932 march 1933. henry harap and edgar dale. 4, no. 3 part ii (1933):1-15. biddick, mildred a. developments in denver secondary schools. 10 (1939):304-308; this business of writing for teachers. 11 (1940):56-60. biddle, william w. propaganda and the curriculum. 9 (1938):306308. bimson, oliver h. democracy in administration. 11 (1940):321323. birmingham program to improve instruction. i. r. obenchain. 8 (1937):26. black, elizabeth mc d. a college class explores a county. 9 (1938):68-71. blair, witt. the elementary curriculum of fort smith. 12 (1941):356-358. bobbitt, franklin. a summary theory of the curriculum. 5, no. 1 (1934):2-4; basic curriculum philosophy of sourcethinkers--a proposal. 5, no. 1 (1934):9. books and pictures for every child. rebecca j. coffin. 5, no. 8 (1935):18-21. bostwick, prudence. a high school core program. 9 (1938):204207. boutelle, margaret w. experiment with integration. 8 (1937):216. bowen, genevieve. the curriculum in rural schools. 11 (1940):8081. bowers, f. e. nebraska high school program. 11 (1940):35-36. boyce, george a. making mathematics a tool. 8 (1937):161-163. boys request instruction in personal conduct. f. j. sickles. 10 (1939):37. brewton, john e. louisville program of curriculum revision. 7, no. 3 (1936):7-8; the challenge of the little red school house. 9 (1938):226-229. briggs, t. h. critical review of the report on integration. 7, no. 4 (1936):21-22. bristow, william h. proposal to exchange curriculum bulletin. 4, no. 2 (1933):2; parent's part in the curriculum. 9 (1938):58-63. brogan, peggy. the democratic organization of the glencoe schools. 12 (1941):297-300. brough, t. a. revising curriculum in british columbia. 8 (1937):107-110. brown, e. e. the oklahoma state curriculum program. 12 (1941):28-30. brown, marion. high school health program. 10 (1939):218-220. brown, william b. liberalizing the curriculum of the los angeles city schools. 5, no. 6 (1935):16-21; leadership and democratic procedures in an effective program of curriculum development. 7, no. 7 (1936):16-21; pattern for culture units. 7, no. 8 (1936):5-6; the core is not all of the curriculum. 9 (1938):210-212; instructional aids for community study. 10 (1939):135-136; summer workshop in los angeles. 12 (1941):359-361; curriculum planning for wartime consumer action. 14 (1943):29-30. brown, william b., and t. m. riley. secondary core curriculum. 7, no. 5 (1936):8-10. browne, margaret. a close-up of the peabody curriculum laboratory. 8 (1937):23. browning, angela m. the work book and the teacher. 5, no. 4 (1935):26-29. brueckner, j. l. the improvement of work books. 6, no. 4 (1935):41-45; family life and the curriculum. 12 (1941):5861. bruner, herbert b. the curriculum and changing ecomomic life. 4, no. 2 (1933):5; committee on new economic materials. 5, no. 2 (1934):21; new economic materials. 5, no. 3 i (1934):33-39; report of the committee on economic materials. 5, no. 4 (1934):10; outstanding courses of study of 1934. 5, no. 1 (1935):2-8; the curriculum laboratory in action. 10 (1939):199-202. bruner, herbert. b., and mabel cassell. annual list of outstanding courses of study. 5, no. 8 (1935): 1-9. bruner, h. b., and a. v. linden. selected bibliography of courses of study published 1930-1932. 3, no. 6, part ii (1932):2-12. bruner, herbert b., and florence b. stratemeyer. elementary school courses of study. 4, no. 5 (1933):2-4; junior high school courses of study. 4, no. 5 (1933):5-6; senior high school courses of study. 4, no. 5 (1933):6-7. bruner, herbert b., and c. maurice wieting. the list of outstanding courses of study. 7, no. 8 (1936):14-18; annual list of outstanding course of study. 8 (1937):360365; annual list of outstanding courses of study. 9 (1938):364-369; annual list of outstanding curriculum materials. 12 (1941):263-267. bruner, herbert b., c. maurice wieting, and fern d. schneider. annual list of outstanding curriculum materials. 10 (1939):359-364. buck, j. l. blair. conference reviews virginia curriculum program. 11 (1940):79-80. building a course in retail selling. howard stewart. 8 (1937): 19. building a rural community. eugene smathers. 11 (1940):110-114. building america. paul r. hanna. 6, no. 5 (1935):1-4. building america reports progress. paul r. hanna. 6, no. 6 (1935):29-33. building america sounds out the experts. james mendenhall. 8 (1937):115. building the community school program in reading, michigan. max s. smith. 10 (1939):370-372. burnett, r. will. science teachers' opinions on social issues. 12 (1941):175-177 burton, william h. children's civic information an abstract. 7, no. 8 (1936):7. bush, norris f. functional science for grade ten. 10 (1939):324-325. c. c. c. -the american folk school. sam f. harby. 6 (1935): 1-8. cadle, elizabeth f. a community recreational program for youth. 11 (1940):23-26. california plan for improving secondary schools. aubrey e. douglas. 7, no. 3 (1936) 2-7. california plans for improving secondary education. walter r. hepner. 5, no. 7 (1934):2-5. california secondary school reorganization. john a. sexson. 6, no. 3 (1935):3-5. campbell, doak s. possibilities and limitations of teachers' contributions. 7, no. 4 (1936):26-27. campbell, jennie and burton k. farnsworth. curriculum improvement in utah. 12 (1941):31-33. campbell, laurence r. journalism in high school. 11 (1940):7275. carothers, m. w. university of florida 1939 summer workshop. 10 (1939):271-273. carrothers, chester c. an adventure in community relations. 10 (1939):69-72; another workshop. 12 (1941):19-22; visitation should follow workshop. 12 (1941):365-367. case history in curriculum development. paul w. harnly. 13 (1942):206-210. cassell, mabel, and h. b. bruner. annual list of outstanding courses of study. 5, no. 8 (1935): 1-9. cassels, john m. consumer education at stephens college. 9 (1938):370-371. cassidy, rosalind. planning a physical education program for the adolescent. 10 (1939):313-316; group work in physical education. 13 (1942):26-29. caswell, h. l. curriculum laboratory at peabody college. 4, no. 2 (1933):11-12; curriculum program in arkansas. 4, no. 3 (1933):1; practical application of mechanistic and organismic psychologies to curriculum making. 5, no. 3 i (1934):15-22; the function of the curriculum director. 9 (1938):245-249; national defense and the school curriculum. 11 (1940):248-251. caylor, r. l. use of environmental materials in the elementary school. 8 (1937):117. central library for the elementary school. john b. gurskey. 13 (1942):71-73. challenge of the little red school house. john e. brewton. 9 (1938):226-229. changing curriculum (in the gist), a. k. loomis. 3, no. 3 (1932):8. changing emphases in research in elementary education. j. murray lee. 10 (1939):276. characteristics of good in-service education programs. galen saylor. 12 (1941):313-315. charters, w. w. stephens college program for the education of women. 5, no. 5 (1934):2-4; neglected areas in teacher education. 8 (1937):197-200. chicago bureau of curriculum. william h. johnson and mary g. lusson. 10 (1939):265-267. child study and the guidance function. c. gilbert wrenn. 13 (1937):262-263. child, eleanor d. and hardy r. finch. motion picture and radio: an english elective. 10 (1939):253-256. children cooperate in school improvement. k. d. wann. 11 (1940):361-364. children study construction of building. franchon yeager. 11 (1940):123-125. children survey the community. miriam sutherland. 10 (1939):317319. children's civic information an abstract. william h. burton. 7, no. 8 (1936):7. citizens help build consumer mathematics. walter a. wittich. 13 (1942):181-182. civics afloat. winfield l. rice. 9 (1938):319-320. clapp, w. f. the county program for improving instruction. 11 (1940):184-186. clark, harold f. relation of the curriculum to the present economic crisis. 3 (1932):5; housing and the curriculum. 10 (1939):12-14. 8; a comprehensive program of consumer education in the school. 12 (1941):253-256. classification of selected courses of study, 1932. 2 (1934):17. clevenger, a. w., and f. c. hood. curriculum changes in illinois high schools. 6, no. 3 (1935):26-29. close-up of the peabody curriculum laboratory. margaret browne. 8 (1937):23. cocking, walter d. vocational education and social welfare. 9 (1938):295-298. coffin, rebecca j. books and pictures for every child. 5, no. 8 (1935):18-21. college and its community. ralph m. lyon. 10 (1939):9-11. college class explores a county. elizabeth mcd black. 9 (1938):68-71. college curriculum to fit the individual. o. c. schwiering. 6, no. 7 (1935):31-32. college experiment in integration. m. l. jordan. 9 (1938):78-79. college freshmen study their environment. hermann r. muelder. 11 (1940):170-172. college participation in a curriculum revision program. harry little. 7, no. 6 (1936):19-21. collier, r. c., jr. functional course in high school chemistry. 7, no. 3 (1936):14-16. collings, ellsworth. it does not matter whether or not the fundamentals are learned. 4, no. 2 (1933):7; how an activity high school won the respect of a liberal arts college. 7, no. 5 (1936):4-6. collins, walter l. curriculum development in the state of ohio. 12 (1941):30-31. columbia revises the architecture curriculum. 5 (1934):16-17. colvert, clyde c. the public junior college curriculum. 11 (1940):136-137. combining english and social studies. katherine fisher. 9 (1938):272-274. comments on bobbitt's summary theory of the curriculum. jesse h. newlon. 5, no. 2 (1934):15. comments on bobbitt's summary theory of the curriculum. j. l. meriam. 5, no. 2 (1934):15-16. comments on bobbitt's summary theory of the curriculum. david snedden. 5, no. 2 (1934):16-17. comments on the society's list of textbooks. m. e. herriott. 5, no. 5 (1934):18-19. commercial education practices in fifty-two schools. victor f. dawald. 9 (1938):372-373. committee on annual list of new textbooks. m. e. herriott. 4, no. 5 (1933):8. committee on integration. l. thomas hopkins. 8 (1937):171. committee on new economic materials. herbert b. bruner. 5, no. 2 (1934):21. committee on regional conferences and meetings. r. d. russell. 7, no. 8 (1936):7-8. committee on the community school. samuel everett. 7, no. 8 (1936):8-10. committee suggests curriculum program for nebraska. belle m. ryan and galen saylor. 9 (1938):127-128. committees of the society. 4 (1934):14-16. committees of the society. 5 (1935):9-10. community council and the school. leeds gulick. 10 (1939):273274. community recreational program for youth. elizabeth f. cadle. 11 (1940):23-26. community service in the curriculum. glyn a. morris. 10 (1939):161-163. community study in teacher education. margaret o. koopman and a. s. hatch. 12 (1941):205-208. community-wide recreational program. walter scott and lloyd a. rochford. 10 (1939):130-132. comparison of viewpoint of pupils and educators. paul w. harnly. 11 (1940):126-128. comprehensive concept of evaluation. ernest o. melby. 10 (1939):300-303. comprehensive concept of evaluation: a reply. paul r. grim. 11 (1940):32-35. comprehensive program of consumer education in the school. harold f. clark. 12 (1941):253-256. concept of need and the curriculum. j. s. kounin. 11 (1940):205208. concepts of curriculum construction. lillian a. lamoreaux. 8 (1937):266. concerning the exchange of curriculum bulletins. paul hanna. 4, no. 3 (1933):2. concerning values in curriculum making. phillip w. l. cox. 2, no. 5 (1931):2-3. conference appraises denver secondary program. c. l. cushman. 9 )1938):316-318. conference at peabody on curriculum problems. 5 (1934):17. conference reviews virginia curriculum program. j. l. blair buck. 11 (1940):79-80. conger, n. curriculum study in teacher training institutions in oklahoma. 3, no. 7 (1932):1-2. conservation in the school curriculum. james t. worlton. 12 (1941):260-262. construction of a curriculum in parent education. ralph h. ojemann. 6, no. 6 (1935):9-12. consumer education at stephens college. john m. cassels. 9 (1938):370-371. contribution of chemistry to an integrated curriculum. a. v. overn. 8 (1937):27. contribution of the foreign-language teacher. walter v. kaulfers. 10 (1939):168-171. cook, lloyd a. uses of community in teacher education. 10 (1939):261-264. cooner, jay d. a summer curriculum development center. 14 (1943):166-169. cooperation: core for grade ten. gladys hill and vera r. hackman. 12 (1941):316-318. cooperative curriculum enterprise. 2 (1935):22-23. cooperative curriculum study in santa monica. m. evan morgan. 11 (1940):37-38. cooperative procedure in development of vocational related content. joseph r. strobel. 13 (1942):35-37. cooperative production of textbooks. edgar dale. 4, no. 4 (1933):6-7. cooperative study of teacher education. w. earl armstrong. 10 (1939):257-260. coordinating instructional material in curriculum planning. walter johnson. 13 (1942):126-128. core is not all of the curriculum. william b. brown. 9 (1938):210-212. cornehlsen, john h., jr. the junior division curriculum at bennington college. 14 (1943):138-139. correlating american literature and history courses. c. maurice wieting. 4, no. 3, part i (1933):5. counts, george s. education in an age of decision. 13 (1942):303-307. county conducts own summer study program. hallie m. tierney and francis l. drag. 12 (1941):159-162. county program for improving instruction. w. f. clapp. 11 (1940):184-186. county provides in-service education for teachers. mary eva hite. 13 (1942):225-228. county schools attack community problems. jane franseth. 8 (1937):313-315. county survey reveals educational needs. h. odelle harman. 9 (1938):326-327. county teachers' workshop. hallie m. tierney and leonard grindstaff. 13 (1942):178-181. course building for teachers of agriculture. george p. deyoe. 11 (1940):313-316. course of study an outgrowth of six-year curriculum program. t. w. smith. 13 (1942):264-266. course of study trends. shih kuo ya. 10 (1939):180-181. course on youth for youth. c. c. harvey. 14 (1943):86-88. courses and enrollments in missouri high schools. 11 (1940):8485. courtis, stuart a. the essentials can be mastered with purposeful effort. 4, no. 2 (1933):8; discussion of bulletin on workbooks. 5, no. 5 (1934):19; april bulletin on workbooks. 5, no. 2 (1935):19-22; the why and how of instructional aids. 5, no. 4 (1935):14-19. cox, mary hodge. learning how to read a newspaper. 10 (1939):172-174. cox, phillip w. l. concerning values in curriculum making. 2, no. 5 (1931):2-3. crawford, irene. the role of the school in planning for county improvement. 14 (1943):31-32. crawford, will c. san diego studies curriculum. 10 (1939):3637. creative quality in industrial arts. c. warren moore. 12 (1941):173-175. critical review of the report on integration. t. h. briggs. 7, no. 4 (1936):21-22. cross, a. j. foy. curriculum planning in omaha. 12 (1941):127129. crothers, m. w. florida program of internship. 13 (1942):31-33. cultural contacts for teachers. lillian a. lamoreaux. 9 (1938):327-328. cultural unification as a foreign language objective. walter v. kaulfers. 13 (1942):323-324. current conflicts in the curriculum. j. paul leonard. 11 (1940):298-302. current curriculum construction in maine elementary system. edward e. roderick. 12 (1941):126-127. current projects of members. 3, no. 2 (1932):3-6. current social scene and the curriculum. h. g. lull. 7 no. 6 (1936):12-16. current uses and effects of work books. bess goodykoontz. 6, no. 4 (1935):30-40. curricula of experimental high schools. 1 (1934):11-12. the curriculum and changing ecomomic life. herbert b. bruner. 4, no. 2 (1933):5. curriculum and the crisis in democracy. jesse h. newlon. 12 (1941):200-204. curriculum building at fordson. ervin howard. 11 (1940):36-37. curriculum improvement in wakefield, michigan, schools. john w. thomas. 11 (1940):173-175. curriculum study in proviso township high school. florence b. williams and e. r. sifert. 11 (1940):81-83. curriculum activity on the pacific coast. i. keith tyler. 6, no. 3 (1935):29-31. curriculum activities in city schools. 12 (1941):178-184; 226 231; 318-322. curriculum activities of state departments. 12 (1941):33-38. curriculum activities of the office of education during 1934. 2 (1935):21-22. curriculum approach to supervision. dorothy neubauer. 10 (1939):132-133. curriculum building as group thinking. paul j. misner. 10 (1939):55-59. curriculum bulletin for elementary teachers. cecilia u. stuart. 8 (1937):322-323. curriculum bureau for secondary education. mildred f. mcchesney. 12 (1941):269-271. curriculum bureau of the pennsylvania state department of public instruction. 3, no. 7 (1932):4-5. curriculum changes for better citizenship. howard v. funk. 12 (1941):250-252. curriculum changes in alabama secondary schools. gladstone h. yeuell. 11 (1940):179-181. curriculum changes in illinois high schools. f. c. hood and a. w. clevenger, a. w. 6, no. 3 (1935):26-29. curriculum conference based on classroom work. james knight, f. c. mcconnell, and lloyd h. taylor. 12 (1941):223-224. curriculum construction in demonstration-research centers. kenneth l. heaton. 7, no. 3 (1936):11-14. curriculum construction in illinois. charles c. stadtman. 10 (1939):80-81. curriculum development as teacher growth. frederick j. weersing. 11 (1940):166-169. curriculum development in city schools, introduction, by c. l. cushman. 7, no. 7 (1936):1-2. curriculum development in city schools: houston, long beach, los angeles. 12 (1941):74-77. curriculum development in illinois. charles c. stadtman. 12 (1941):364-365. curriculum development in kentucky. bert r. smith. 10 (1939): 327-328. curriculum development in oakland. bernice baxter. 12 (1941):170-173. curriculum development in quincy public schools. bertrand l. smith. 11 (1940):369-370. curriculum development in safety education. g. h. reavis. 13 (1942):33-35. curriculum development in the state of ohio. walter l. collins. 12 (1941):30-31. curriculum development in waynesboro high school. r. c. jennings. 12 (1941):224-225. curriculum experimentation in minneapolis schools. prudence cutright. 8 (1937):119-120. curriculum implications of motion pictures. charles f. hoban, jr. 11 (1940):365-368. curriculum improvement in a small high school. van miller. 10 (1939):356-358 curriculum improvement in providence. elmer r. smith. 13 (1942): 133-135. curriculum improvement in salem, oregon. m. j. elle. 9 (1938):32-33. curriculum improvement in the individual school. helen r. gumlick. 8 (1937):267-268. curriculum improvement in utah. burton k. farnsworth and jennie campbell. 12 (1941):31-33. curriculum improvement in virginia. george j. oliver. 12 (1941):77-79 curriculum in rural schools. genevieve bowen. 11 (1940):80-81. curriculum in the program of the department of superintendence meetings. 7 (1934):14-15. curriculum laboratory at peabody college, h. l. caswell. 4, no 2 (1933):11-12. curriculum laboratory at the university of washington. elmer kennedy and ray hawk. 9 (1938):178. curriculum laboratory in action. herbert b. bruner. 10 (1939): 199-202. curriculum maker's responsibility for guidance. walter v. kaulfers. 9 (1938):213-217. curriculum making at state teachers college, farmville, virginia. j. p. wynne. 6, no. 6 (1935):12-16. curriculum making at waco, texas. lorena b. stretch. 9 (1938):75-77. curriculum news from the southwest. w. w. kemmerer. 5, no. 7 (1934):12-13. curriculum of the general college of the university of minnesota. malcolm maclean. 5, no. 5 (1934):4-6. curriculum of the palo alto junior high schools. j. r. overturf. 8 (1937):118. curriculum of the small high school. fred j. greenough. 13 (1942):319-321. curriculum organization of the elementary schools in cheyenne, wyoming. p. t. pritzkau. 13 (1942):318-319. curriculum planning for wartime consumer action. william b. brown. 14 (1943):29-30. curriculum planning in omaha. a. j. foy cross. 12 (1941):127 curriculum planning through a central committee. florence m. gleitz. 11 (1940):213-215. curriculum practices and curriculum trends in kansas senior high schools. althaus, carl b. althaus. 10 (1939):85-86. curriculum principles for manhasset schools. 9 (1938):33-34. curriculum problem in adult education. j. v. melton. 10 (1939):221-223. curriculum program in arkansas. h. l. caswell. 4, no. 3 (1933):1. curriculum progress at wells high school. paul r. pierce. 10 (1939):207-210. curriculum projects, bureau of educational research, ohio state university. edgar dale. 4, no. 1 (1933):5-6. curriculum reorganization in a chicago high school. paul r. pierce. 8 (1937):156-160. curriculum research at the graduate library school of the university of chicago. douglas waples. 4, no. 3 (1933): curriculum revision as in-service training in baltimore. nannette s. levin. 9 (1938):31-32. curriculum revision at colorado state teachers college. earl u. rugg. 5, no. 5 : 10-12. curriculum revision at rochester athenaeum and mechanics institute. mark ellingson. 5, no. 4 (1934):7-9. curriculum revision at the lincoln school. l. thomas hopkins. 3, no. 4 (1932):2-3. curriculum revision for rural schools of south dakota. j. f. hines and john w. headley. 13 (1942):74-76. curriculum revision in a diocesan system. sister mary depaul. 11 (1940):132-133. curriculum revision in city schools. 8 (1937):88-95. curriculum revision in higher education. g. r. koopman. 7, no. 4 (1936):4-6. curriculum revision in higher education. malcolm maclean. 7, no. 4 (1936):3-4. curriculum revision in michigan state teachers colleges. paul v. sangren. 5, no. 5 (1934):12-13. curriculum revision in the springfield, missouri, public schools. v. m. hardin. 8 (1937):67-68. curriculum revision in west virginia. f. w. stemple. 6, no. 7 (1935):27-28. curriculum revison promotes teacher growth. ruth henderson. 11 (1940):162-165. curriculum study in boulder, colorado. lindley j. stiles. 13 (1942):170-173. curriculum study in state departments of education. helen k. mackintosh. 13 (1942):355-358. curriculum study in teacher training institutions in oklahoma. n. conger. 3, no. 7 (1932):1-2. curriculum survey at the university of chicago. 3, no. 3 (1932): cushman, c. l. recent curriculum projects of denver public schools. 5, no. 2 (1934):20-21; curriculum development in city schools, introduction. 7, no. 7 (1936):1-2; conference appraises denver secondary program. 9 (1938):316-318; how to improve the curriculum. 10 (1939):346-349. cushman, c. l., and t. d. rice. a suggested technique for the selection of textbooks. 5, no. 6 (1935):23-28. cushman, leslie. a plea for building america. 13 (1942):271272. cutright, prudence. recent curriculum projects of minneapolis public schools. 4, no. 1 (1933):4-5. cutright, prudence. installing curricula in a city school system. 3 (1935):18-22; factors which enter into the development of the curriculum of a city school system. 7 no. 7 (1936):6-8; curriculum experimentation in minneapolis schools. 8 (1937):119-120. cypreansen, lucile. teachers' experiment in speech correction program. 14 (1943):80-82. dale, edgar. a reply to mr. cox. 3, no. 1 (1932):3; activity analysis. 3, no. 2 (1932):7; curriculum projects, bureau of educational research, ohio state university. 4, no. 1 (1933):5-6; cooperative production of textbooks. 4, no. 4 (1933):6-7; work of the curriculum divison of ohio state university educational research bureau (in educational research bulletin, 1933). 5, no. 1 (1934):13; motion pictures and radio. 7, no. 4 (1936):10-12. dale, edgar, and henry harap. bibliography of curriculum making, march 1931-1932. 3, no. 5, part ii (1932):1-29; bibliography of curriculum making, march 1932 march 1933. 4, no. 3 part ii (1933): 1-15. dale, edgar; henry harap, and vivian weedon. annual bibliography of curriculum making: march 1933--march 1934. 5, no. 6 (1934):11-37. dale, edgar, and vivian weedon. annual bibilography of curriculum making. 6, no. 7 (1935):1-26; annual bibliography. 7, no. 7 (1936):28-41; annual bibliography of curriculum making 1936-37. 8 (1937):249-263. davidson, percy e. the social task of education. 10 (1939):111113. davis, j. earle. the relation of the curriculum to the present economic crisis. 3, no. 3 (1932):5. dawald, victor f. commercial education practices in fifty-two schools. 9 (1938):372-373. deam, thomas m. the work of the committees of the commission on unit courses and curricula of the north central association. 3, no. 4 (1932):4. deboer, john j. subject teachers plan a unified curriculum. 11 (1940):271-273. democracy in administration. oliver h. bimson. 11 (1940):321323. democracy in the classroom. archie w. troelstrup. 11 (1940):219222. democratic approach to community development. ralph m. lyon. 11 (1940):252-255. democratic organization of the glencoe schools. peggy brogan. 12 (1941):297-300. democratic practices in the springfield public schools. v. m. hardin. 9 (1938):267-269. depaul, sister mary. curriculum revision in a diocesan system. 11 (1940):132-133. developing a curriculum laboratory. william w. wattenberg. 9 (1938):355-357. development of the language arts program in seattle. edna l. sterling. 14 (1943):182-183. developments in denver secondary schools. mildred l. biddick. 10 (1939):304-308. deyoe, george p. course building for teachers of agriculture. 11 (1940):313-316. dickerson, margaret k. the professional library for a curriculum program. 8 (1937):369-370. dillinger, claude m. missouri secondary school curriculum program. 13 (1942):117-121; the missouri program of curriculum revision. 14 (1943):84-86. directed teaching and the new curriculum. w. morrison mccall. 9 (1938):64-67. discussion of bulletin on workbooks. s. a. courtis. 5, no. 5 (1934):19. discussion of mechanistic and organismic psychologies. 3 i (1934):22. dix, lester. american culture--an integrated course. 8 (1937):64. doctors' theses in curriculum making, 1932-1933. carter good. 4, no. 3 part i (1933):6-7. doctors' theses in curriculum making, 1933-1934. h. g. good. 5, no. 5 (1934):13-15. does the child-centered school have a technique of curriculum making. j. l. meriam. 3, no. 3 (1932):5-6. douglas, aubrey e. california plan for improving secondary schools. 7. no. 3 (1936) 2-7; the teacher, the expert, and curriculum improvement. 8 (1937):305-309. douglass, harl r. report of a study of the secondary curriculum by a committee of the secondary education board. 3, no. 3 (1932):6-7. dr. dewey's philosophy and the curriculum. a. l. threlkeld. 8 (1937):164-165. drag, francis l. and hallie m. tierney. county conducts own summer study program. 12 (1941):159-162. draper, e. m. relating the secondary school curriculum to the community. 7, no. 4 (1936):1-2; relating the secondary school curriculum to the community. no. 5 (1936):11-16; a reply to dr. l. thomas hopkins. 7, no. 7 (1936):21-24; the inland empire curriculum society. 8 (1937):24-25. drost, paul e. news about building america. 7, no. 5 (1936):30-32. dubois, rachel davis. adventures in intercultural education. 9 (1938):277-279. dutton, w. h. and f. g. macomber. eugene's core curriculum. 10 (1939):117-119. dutton, w. h. a study group type of meeting. 11 (1940):274-275. ebey, george w. arizona's first curriculum workshop. 12 (1941):362-364. eclectic approach to curriculum revision. kenneth l. heaton. 6, no. 7 (1935):28. economic education in the elementary school. ruth wood gavian. 11 (1940):11-14. economic enterprises for high school students. s. r. logan. 12 (1941):301-304. edgerton, ronald b. salvaging current social materials. 10 (1939):133-135. edmonson, j. b. field course in curriculum trends. 7 no. 2 (1936):6-7. education of youth in the future. 13 (1942):76-78. education and work experience. c. c. harvey. 13 91942):30-31. education for home and family life. 11 (1940):130-132. education for leisure. charles c. peters. 12 (1941):246-249. education for vocations and college life. carl h. waller. 11 (1940):157-161. education in an age of decision. george s. counts. 13 (1942): 303-307. education, democracy, and social planning. william stanley. 14 (1943):207-210. educational research in science teaching. s. r. powers. 12 (1941):118-119. educational trends in latin america. ernesto galarza. 9 (1938):35-36. edwards, newton. socio-economic data show need for educational planning. 8 (1937):344-348. eighth grade studies homes. sallie lay. 11 (1940):19-22. elementary curriculum development bureau in new york state. helen hay heyl. 11 (1940):128-130. elementary curriculum of fort smith. witt blair. 12 (1941):356358. elementary school courses of study. herbert b. bruner and florence b. stratemeyer. 4, no. 5 (1933):2-4. elementary school helps student teachers. john b. gurskey. 14 (1943):77-79. elementary social studies curriculum. leo b. baisden and e. p. o'reilly. 10 (1939):60-63. elementary speech program. l. c. bane. 10 (1939):25-28. elementary textbooks of 1931-1933. j. l. meriam, c. h. woodruff, and m. e. herriott. 5, no. 2 ii (1934):2-16. elle, m. j. curriculum improvement in salem, oregon. 9 (1938):32-33. ellingson, mark. curriculum revision at rochester athenaeum and mechanics institute. 5, no. 4 (1934):7-9. emergency language program. jacob ornstein. 13 (1942):221-222. enlisting the high school teacher's interest in curriculum revision. charles w. knudsen. 8 (1937):7-12. essentials are learned. l. thomas hopkins. 4, no. 2 (1933):7-8. essentials can be mastered with purposeful effort. stuart a. courtis. 4, no. 2 (1933):8. essentials cannot be mastered. ernest horn. 4, no. 2 (1933):9. essentials of a social education program. w. l. van loan and mildred williams. 14 (1943):225-228. estes, charlotte. an activity program in a san francisco school. 9 (1938):79-82. eugene's core curriculum. f. g. macomber and w. h. dutton. 10 (1939):117-119. evaluation in the eight-year study. cyril o. houle. 14 (1943):18-21. evaluation of the arkansas curriculum program. ralph b. jones. 8 (1937):22. everett, samuel. report of the committee on secondary education. 5, no. 7 (1934):11-12; preliminary report of the committee on secondary education. 6, no. 3 (1935):7-12; pamphlets and other enrichment material. 7, no. 4 (1936):710; committee on the community school. 7, no. 8 (1936):810; summer curriculum conferences. 8 (1937):291-298; survey of the community school. 8 (1937):368-369. evolution of instructional aids. h. g. good. 6, no. 4 (1935):39. evolving pattern of a high school curriculum. paul r. pierce. 12 (1941):70-73. experience curriculum for young children. by ruth andrus. 11 (1940):259-262. experience in curriculum making. earle rugg. 8 (1937):205-207. experiment in building a functional curriculum. h. h. ryan. 7, no. 2 (1936):4-5. experiment in consumer education. hubert b. risinger and c. maurice wieting. 11 (1940):323-325. experiment in local curriculum construction. a. c. krey. 7, no. 3 (1936):8-11. experiment with integration. margaret w. boutelle. 8 (1937):216. experimental curriculum programs in chicago. w. h. johnson, w. l. beals, c. j. lunak, and j. e. mccade. 7, no. 5 (1936):6-8. experimental program in foreign language. c. o. arndt. 10 (1939):126-127. experimental social studies curriculum. alma m. jensen. 10 (1939):15-18. experimentation at university of iowa elementary school. maude mcbroom. 4, no. 1 (1933):5. experimenting with a core curriculum. nell lawler. 8 (1937):310 312. exploring new areas of measurement. l. thomas hopkins. 6, no. 5 (1935):22-25. extensive program of articulation. c. c. trillingham. 10 (1939):34-35. eyster, elvin s. fort wayne commercial curriculum. 10 (1939):3536. factors which enter into the development of the curriculum of a city school system. prudence cutright. 7 no. 7 (1936):68. falk, charles, j. wartime adjustments in san diego schools. 14 (1943):65-68. family life and the curriculum. leo j. brueckner. 12 (1941):5861. farm electrification and the curriculum. allyn a. walters. 14 (1943):69-72. farnsworth, burton k. revision of the social studies in utah. 14 (1943):180-182. farnsworth, burton k., and jennie campbell. curriculum improvement in utah. 12 (1941):31-33. featherstone, w. b. research in curriculum development. 11 (1940):105-109. february meeting at minneapolis. 3, no. 7 (1932):1. february meeting at washington. 2, no. 5 (1931):1. field course in curriculum trends. j. b. edmonson. 7 no. 2 (1936):6-7. fifteen years of curriculum making in little rock. charles f. allen. 8 (1937):270. fifth annual conference. 2 iii (1934):1-4. financial report, 1931. 3, no. 2 (1932):2. financial report for 1933. 2 (1934):6. finch, hardy r. and eleanor d. child. motion picture and radio: an english elective. 10 (1939):253-256. fisher, katherine. combining english and social studies. 9 (1938):272-274. fite, d. harely. an activity program on the college level. 11 (1940):273-274. fite, mary d. and arthur t. jersild. the influence of nursery school experience on children's social adjustments. 10 (1939):279. fitzgerald, j. c. rural school sponsors long summer journey. 12 (1941):213-215. flexible daily program. lucia gray. 13 (1942):364-366. florida program for curriculum improvement. h. e. nutter and m. l. stone. 10 (1939):123-125. florida program of internship. m. w. crothers. 13 (1942):31-33. florida's long-range curriculum program. tom byrd vanbrunt and h. e. nutter. 12 (1941):62-65. flowers, william r., j. carey taylor, and charles f. willis. present status of curriculum building in baltimore. 9 (1938):115-119. floyd, oliver r. and lucien b. kinney. a unified secondary curriculum. 9 (1938):275. follow-up of non-college-going graduates of commercial, general, and college preparatory curricula in two jersey city high schools. thomas a. fraser. 12 (1941):136 fort wayne commercial curriculum. elvin s. eyster. 10 (1939):3536. foster, frank c. summer school innovations. 10 (1939):37-38. franklin bobbitt: pioneer in curriculum making. cloy s. hobson. 14 (1943):14-17. franseth, jane. county schools attack community problems. 8 (1937):313-315; rural high schools improve their curriculum. 10 (1939):214-217. franseth, jane, and patterson, s. c. teacher growth through individual child study. 14 (1943):124-127. fraser, thomas a. follow-up of non-college-going graduates of commercial, general, and college preparatory curricula in two jersey city high schools. 12 (1941):136. frederick, robert w. future trends of the high school. 6, no. 5 (1935):16-19. frederick, o. i. launching the saginaw curriculum program. 9 (1938):120-123; pupil interests and needs as a basis for curriculum development. 9 (1938):321-322. frederick, o. l., rebecca barnhart, and committee. beginning the battle creek curriculum study. 10 (1939):268-270. frederick, o. i. and eldon c. geyer. study of battle creek community. 10 (1939):325-327. frederick, o. i. and george h. hilliard. new professional program for teachers. 13 (1942):315-317. frederick, o. i., and d. r. patterson. mississippi curriculum program. 8 (1937):239-244. freeing the rural school curriculum. helen hefferman. 10 (1939):211-213. french, will. north central association's recent accomplishments and plans. 6, no. 3 (1935):5-7; the high schools of new york state. 10 (1939):224-226. function of the curriculum director. hollis l. caswell. 9 (1938):245-249. functional course in high school chemistry. r. c. collier jr. 7, no. 3 (1936):14-16. functional course in the physical sciences. hal baird. 8 (1937): 13-15. functional curriculum development in higher education. w. e. peik, 5, no. 6 : 2-5. functional curriculum. kenneth l. heaton. 8 (1937):189-192. functional geometry. harold d. aten. 12 (1941):23-25. functional health course. h. g. mcmullen. 9 (1938):151-156. functional mathematics for college freshmen. cleon c. richtmeyer. 10 (1939):76-79. functional mathematics. harold d. aten. 9 (1938):157-162. functional organization of school subjects. j. r. mcgaughy. 4, no. 3 (1933):4. functional physical science. m. e. herriott and charles h. nettels. 13 (1942):362-364. functional science for grade eleven. edward l. long. 11 (1940):209-212. functional science for grade ten. norris f. bush. 10 (1939):324325. functional social studies program. james a. michener. 9 (1938):163-164. functions of the curriculum bureau. warren w. knox. 11 (1940):76. fundamental factors in building a business education curriculum. eleanor skimin. 6, no. 6 (1935):21-23. funk, howard v. curriculum changes for better citizenship. 12 (1941):250-252. future trends of the high school. robert w. frederick. 6, no. 5 (1935):16-19. galarza, ernesto. educational trends in latin america. 9 (1938):35-36. garrison, charlotte g. the length of a unit of work. 3, no. 3 (1932):7-8. gates, arthur i. an analysis of certain purposes and merits of work book materials. 6, no. 4 (1935):20-25. gavian, ruth wood. economic education in the elementary school. 11 (1940):11-14. general concepts basic to the curriculum. a. r. mead. 11 (1940):69-71. general education for high school students: a beginning. harry p. study. 13 (1942):78-80. general education in seventeen california secondary schools. h. n. mcclellan. 14 (1943):177-178. general education in will rogers high school. katherine moran. 14 (1943):131-133. gestalt psychology and the curriculum worker. charles r. spain. 12 (1941):305-309. getting parental opinion on the curriculum. richmond barbour. 11 (1940):310-312. geyer, eldon c., and o. i. frederick. study of battle creek community. 10 (1939):325-327. gleitz, florence m. curriculum planning through a central committee. 11 (1940):213-215. glicksberg, charles i. semantics and the educative process. 11 (1940):354-357; radio appreciation in the secondary school. 14 (1943):73-76. goals in teacher education. florence b. stratemeyer. 8 (1937): 185-188. gold, douglas. montana begins program of curriculum improvement. 13 (1942):132-133. good, carter. doctors' theses in curriculum making 1932-1933. 4, no. 3 part i (1933):6-7. good, h. g. doctors' thesis in curriculum making, 1933-1934. 5, no. 5 (1934):13-15; the evolution of instructional aids. 6, no. 4 (1935):3-9. goodykoontz, bess. current uses and effects of work books. 6, no. 4 (1935):30-40; leadership in the coordination of social agencies. 13 (1942):257-260. gordon, philip. the improvement of high school music. 14 (1943):128-130. gowe, verne. natural science for better living. 13 (1942):6870. grace, alonzo g. redirection of education in connecticut. 12 (1941):82-83. grace, cyril w. a teachers college studies its environment. 11 (1940):256-258. granger, oscar. pennsylvania studies the non-college pupil. 11 (1940):270-271. gray, j. stanley. a statement concerning mechanistic psychology. 5, no. 3 i (1934):4-11. gray, lucia. a flexible day program. 13 (1942):364-366. greenough, fred j. the curriculum of the small high school. 13 (1942):319-321. gregory, francis. vocational training for national defense. 11 (1940):327-328. grim, paul r. social studies in the junior high school. 10 (1939):274-275; a comprehensive concept of evaluation: a reply. 11 (1940):32-35. grindstaff, leonard and hallie m. tierney. county teachers' workshop. 13 (1942):178-181. group work in physical education. rosalind cassidy. 13 (1942): 26-29. guidance in the secondary curriculum. david sellars. 12 (1941):105-107. guide to curriculum adjustment for mentally retarded children. elise h. martens. 6, no. 8 (1935):10-15. guiding principles for the reconstruction of the curriculum of a college of education. b. o. smith. 7, no. 5 (1936):20-23. gulick, leeds. the community council and the school. 10 (1939):273-274. gulick, luther. appraisal of the curriculum in new york state. 8 (1937):264-265. gumlick, helen r. curriculum improvement in the individual school. 8 (1937):267-268. gurskey, john b. a central library for the elementary school. 13 (1942):71-73; elementary school helps student teachers. 14 (1943):77-79. gwynn, j. minor. north carolina builds curriculum laboratory. 11 (1940):77-79. hackman, vera r., and gladys hill. cooperation: core for grade ten. 12 (1941):316-318 hagerty, crede d. the newark valley school summer camp. 13 (1942):129-131. hammer, irwin a. and c. b. smith. program of improvement of teacher education. 10 (1939):203-206. hanna, lavone. the plan of the core corriculum in tulsa. 10 (1939):350-352; the operation of the core curriculum in tulsa. 11 (1940):66-68. hanna, paul r. new fundamental courses in the curriculum offered at teachers college, columbia university. 3, no. 7 (1932):2-3; concerning the exchange of curriculum bulletins. 4, no. 3 (1933):2; report on building america. 5, no. 4 (1934):9-10; building america. 6, no. 5 (1935):14; building america reports progress. 6, no. 6 (1935):2933; organization for curriculum development. 10 (1939):104107. harap, henry. bibliography of curriculum making. 1, no. 2 (may 1929-30):1-13; bibliography concerning curriculum making, march 1930-march 1931. 2, no. 2 (1931):1-12; minutes of the meeting of the executive committee. 5, no. 3 i (1934):2-3; report of the chairman of the executive committee for 1936. 7, no. 2 (1936):1-3; minutes of the executive committee. 7, no. 3 (1936):21-23. harap, henry, and edgar dale. bibliography of curriculum making, march 1931-1932. 3, no. 5, part ii (1932):1-29; bibliography of curriculum making, march 1932 march 1933. 4, no. 3 part ii (1933): 1-15 harap, henry; edgar dale, and vivian weedon. annual bibliography of curriculum making: march 1933--march 1934. 5, no. 6 (1934):11-37. harby, sam f. c. c. c.the american folk school. 6, no. 6 (1935):1-8. hardin, v. m. curriculum revision in the springfield, missouri, public schools. 8 (1937):67-68; democratic practices in the springfield public schools. 9 (1938):267-269. harlan, h. grady. music in the schools. 13 (1942):218-220. harman, h. odelle. county survey reveals educational needs. 9 (1938):326-327. harnly, paul w. comparison of viewpoint of pupils and educators. 11 (1940):126-128; a case history in curriculum development. 13 (1942):206-210 harris, pickens e. philosophy and problems of scope and sequence. 9 (1938):110-114. hartmann, george w. psychological basis of curriculum development. 9 (1938):6-10; psychology and problems of scope and sequence. 9 (1938):105-109. harvey, c. c. education and work experience. 13 (1942):30-31; a course on youth for youth. 14 (1943):86-88. haskyn, f. p. work experience: basic issues. 14 (1943):22-25. hatch, a. s., and margaret o. koopman. community study in teacher education. 12 (1941):205-208. havighurst, robert j. survey courses in the natural sciences. 7, no. 7 (1936):26-30. hawk, ray, and elmer kennedy. curriculum laboratory at the university of washington. 9 (1938):178. headley, john w. and j. f. hines. state-wide curriculum revision for the rural schools of south dakota. 13 (1942):74-76. heaps, willard a. the library in the core curriculum. 12 (1941):9-13. heaton, kenneth l. state curriculum problems department. 6, no. 6 (1935):33-36; state leaders in charge of curriculum research. 6, no. 6 (1935):40-45; an eclectic approach to curriculum revision. 6, no. 7 (1935):28; state curriculum department. 6, no. 8 (1935):26-30; curriculum construction in demonstration-research centers. 7, no. 3 (1936):11-14; state curriculum programs for 1936-1937. 8 (1937):42-48; a functional curriculum. 8 (1937):189-192; summer workshops for teachers. 11 (1940):152-156. heffernan, helen. freeing the rural school curriculum. 10 (1939):211-213. heil, louis m. science in the secondary school curriculum. 10 (1939):19-21. henderson, ruth. curriculum revison promotes teacher growth. 11 (1940):162-165. hendricks, jake j. proposal for state curriculum program for texas. 5, no. 2 (1934):18. hepner, walter r. california plans for improving secondary education 5, no. 7 (1934):2-5. herriott, m. e. committee on annual list of new textbooks. 4, no. 5 (1933):8; comments on the society's list of textbooks. 5, no. 5 (1934):18-19; textbooks of 1935. 7, no. 3 (1936):15-41; textbooks of 1936. 7, no. 8 (1936):19-34; textbooks of 1937. 9 (1938):19-30. herriott, m. e.; j. l. meriam, and c. h. woodruff. elementary textbooks of 1931-1933. 5, no. 2 ii (1934):2-16; secondary textbooks of 1931-1933. 5, no. 3 ii (1934):1-43; junior college textbooks of 1931-1933. 5, no. 3 ii (1934):44-76; textbooks of 1934. 6, no. 1 (1935):9-46. herriott, m. e., and charles h. nettels. functional physical science. 13 (1942):362-364. herzel, a. h. how a school determined pupil needs. 11 (1940):358-360. heyl, helen hay. the elementary curriculum development dureau in new york state. 11 (1940):128-130. high school commercial curriculum: commercial director club. 5 (1935):25-27. high school core program. l. thomas hopkins. 9 (1938):208-209. high school core program. prudence bostwick. 9 (1938):204-207. high school core program. t. d. rice. 9 (1938):201-203. high school english based on social problems. elizabeth utterback. 10 (1939):353-355. high school health problem. marion brown. 10 (1939):218-220. high schools of new york state. will french. 10 (1939):224-226. highsmith, j. henry. a twelve year program for north carolina public schools. 13 (1942):215-217. hill, clyde m. the program of the graduate work in education at yale university. 5, no. 5 (1934):5-6. hill, gladys, and hackman, vera r. cooperation: core for grade ten. 12 (1941):316-318. hilliard, george h., and frederick, orie i. new professional program for teachers. 13 (1942):315-317. hines, j. f., and headley, john w. state-wide curriculum revision for the rural schools of south dakota. 13 (1942):74-76. hite, mary eva. county provides in-service education for teachers. 13 (1942):225-228. hoban, charles f., jr. curriculum implications of motion pictures. 11 (1940):365-368. hobson, cloy s. franklin bobbitt: pioneer in curriculum making. 14 (1943):14-17. hogan, ralph m. the norris school cooperative. 8 (1937):59-63. holland, kenneth. work camps for america. 11 (1940):224-227. holland, marie. activities in curriculum improvement in the new mexico state department of education. 12 (1941):129-131. holmes, chester w. activities in curriculum improvement in the district of columbia. 12 (1941):123-125. home economics based upon community needs. ronella spickard. 12 (1941):122-123. hood, f. c., and a. w. clevenger. curriculum changes in illinois high schools. 6, no. 3 (1935):26-29. hopkins, l. thomas. curriculum revision at the lincoln school. 3, no. 4 (1932):2-3; progress report of the committee on a proposed bulletin of units of work. 3, no. 7 (1932):10; the essentials are learned. 4, no. 2 (1933):7-8; progress report of committee on proposed bulletin of units of work. 4, no. 2 (1933):9-11; exploring new areas of measurement. 6, no. 5 (1935):22-25; report of the society's committee on integration. 7, no. 4 (1936):17-21; principles and techniques of curriculum making. 7, no. 7 (1936):30-32; the committee on integration. 8 (1937):171; a high school core program. 9 (1938):208-209. horn, ernest. activity curricula. 4, no. 1 (1933):3-4; the essentials can not be mastered. 4, no. 2 (1933):9; the role of methods in the social studies. 5, no. 3 i (1934):23-24; possibilities and limitations in integration. 7, no. 4 (1936):27-30. houle, cyril o. evaluation in the eight-year study. 14 (1943):18-21. house building as a school project. richard l. sandwick. 9 (1938):264-266. housing and the curriculum. harold f. clark. 10 (1939):12-14. houston, texas, experiment with an integrated course of study. w. w. kemmerer. 4, no. 4 (1933):3-4. how a school determined pupil needs. a. h. herzel. 11 (1940):358-360. how an activity high school won the respect of a liberal arts college. ellsworth collings. 7, no. 5 (1936):4-6. how shall we think of the curriculum? by h. k. mackintosh. 7, no. 7 (1936):2-6. how to improve the curriculum. c. l. cushman. 10 (1939):346-349. how to organize a curriculum laboratory. hugh b. wood. 9 (1938):345-349. how to prepare simple reading matter. e. genevieve pickup. 12 (1941):370-371. howard, emma. social living in the classroom. 10 (1939):120122. howard, ervin. curriculum building at fordson. 11 (1940):36-37. huggett, albert j. what is wrong with secondary school subjects? 11 (1940):176-178. hulse, m. l., and hurlburt, a. s. a school faculty at a summer workshop. 13 (1942):21-25. hulsizer, allan. selection of experiences in the curriculum for the dakota. 12 (1941):14-18. hunt, herold c. inservice education of teachers in wartime. 14 (1943):161-165. hurlburt, a. s. and m. l. hulse. a school faculty at a summer workshop. 13 (1942):21-25. hutchins, robert m. incorporation of last two year of university of chicago high school in the college program. 4, no. 3 (1933):4-5. hynson, garrett. a note on art education. 8 (1937):320-321. improvement of high school music. philip gordon. 14 (1943):128130. improvement of instruction in the wartime emergency. bert r. smith. 14 (1943):224-225. improvement of work books by l. j. brueckner. 5, no. 4 (1935):41-45. in-service education of teachers in wartime. herold c. hunt. 14 (1943):161-165. in-service teacher education for new curricula. vernon c. lingren. 14 (1943):211-214. incorporation of last two year of university of chicago high school in the college program. robert m. hutchins. 4, no. 3 (1933):4-5. influence of nursery school experience on children's social adjustments. arthur jersild and mary d. fite, 10 (1939):279. inland empire curriculum society. edgar m. draper. 8 (1937):24 25. installation of the south dakota courses of study. hazel h. ott. 4, no. 1 (1933):6. installing curricula in a city school system. by prudence cutright. 6, no. 3(1935):18-22. installing curricula on a state-wide basis. ralph d. russell. 6, no. 3 (1935):12-18. institute for consumer education. 9 (1938):180-181. institute for the study of personality development. caroline b. zachry. 12 (1941):66-69. instruction aids for community study. william b. brown. 10 (1939):135-136. integrated curriculum. 1 (1934):13-14. integration and the education of teachers. heber hinds ryan. 9 (1938):222-225. integration from the psychologist's viewpoint. r. h. wheeler. 7, no. 4 (1936):22-23. integration of professional education. frank adams. 10 (1939):114-116. integration through the group cooperation plan. 2 (1934):21-22. internal organization of the curriculum. hugh b. wood. 11 (1940):61-65. is the needs approach valid?. walter e. snyder. 12 (1941):111113. it does not matter whether or not the fundamentals are learned. ellsworth collings. 4, no. 2 (1933):7. jacobs, j. m. social mathematics for grade ten. 10 (1939):320322. jacobson, paul b. resource units for teachers. 12 (1941):369370. james, concha romero. trends in latin-american education. 14 (1943):133-135. jennings, r. c. curriculum development in waynesboro high school. 12 (1941):224-225. jensen, alma m. an experimental social studies curriculum. 10 (1939):15-18. jersild, arthur t. activity program in new york city: a reply. 13 (1942):228. jersild, arthur t. and mary d. fite. the influence of nursery school experience on children's social adjustments. 10 (1939):279. johnson, harry b. the oregon plan of curriculum development. 8 (1937):20-21. johnson, leslie and c. m. wieting. trends in curriculum thinking. 10 (1939):367-369. johnson, w. h., f. l. beals, c. j. lunak, and j. e. mccade. experimental curriculum programs in chicago. 7, no. 5 (1936):6-8. johnson, william h. and mary g. lusson. the chicago bureau of curriculum. 10 (1939):265-267. johnson, walter. coordinating instructional material in curriculum planning. 13 (1942):126-128. jones, ralph b. an evaluation of the arkansas curriculum program. 8 (1937):22. jordan, m. l. a college experiment in integration. 9 (1938):7879. journalism in high school. laurence r. campbell. 11 (1940):7275. judd, charles h. the scientific development and evaluation of the curriculum. 4, no. 2 (1933):13. judicial decisions on curriculum content. carl tanke. 8 (1937): 349-354. junior college textbooks of 1931-1933 by j. l. meriam, c. h. woodruff, and m. e. herriott. 5, no. 3 ii (1934):44-76. junior colleges study terminal education. edward f. mason. 11 (1940):231-232. junior division curriculum at bennington college. john h. cornehlsen, jr. 14 (1943):138-139. junior high school courses of study. herbert b. bruner and f. b. stratemeyer. 4, no. 5 (1933):5-6. kansas program for the improvement of instruction. dale zeller. 10 (1939):164-167. kaulfers, walter v. the curriculum maker's responsibility for guidance. 9 (1938):213-217; the contribution of the foreign-language teacher. 10 (1939):168-171; cultural unification as a foreign language objective. 13 (1942):323324. kearley, helen. annual camp for county teachers. 13 (1942):8082. kefauver, grayson n. personal growth of teachers. 8 (1937):193196; new features in the school of education program at stanford university. 5, no. 5 (1934):7-9; university cooperation in a program of curriculum development. 14 (1943):112-114. kefauver, grayson n., and lillian a. lamoreaux. problem approach in teaching. 13 (1942):267-269. keliher, alice v. montevallo erosion project. 8 (1937):213-214. keller, franklin j. out of guidance into curriculum. 8 (1937):340-343. kemmerer, w. w. the houston, texas, experiment with an integrated course of study. 4, no. 4 (1933):3-4; curriculum news from the southwest. 5, no. 7 (1934):12-13. kendall, glenn. the norris community program. 10 (1939):108110. kennedy, elmer and ray hawk. curriculum laboratory at the university of washington. 9 (1938):178. kersey, vierling. reorganization of educational programs. 5, no. 2 (1934):18-19. kilpatrick, w. h. reactions to bobbbitt's summary theory of the curriculum. 5, no. 4 (1934):10. kinney, lucien b. and oliver r. floyd. a unified secondary curriculum. 9 (1938):14-18. knight, james, f. c. mcconnell, and lloyd h. taylor. curriculum conference based on classroom work. 12 (1941):223-224. knowlton, daniel c. vital issues in the social studies. 8 (1937):299-304. knox, warren w. functions of the curriculum bureau. 11 (1940):76. knudsen, charles w. enlisting the high school teacher's interest in curriculum revision. 8 (1937):7-12. koopman, g. r. curriculum revision in higher education. 7, no. 4 (1936):4-6; secondary education in unified program. 9 (1938):275; progress of the curriculum program in michigan. 10 (1939):178-179; recent developments in the michigan curriculum project. 12 (1941):257-259. koopman, margaret o., and a. s. hatch. community study in teacher education. 12 (1941):205-208. kounin, j. s. the concept of need and the curriculum. 11 (1940):205-208. krey, a. c. experiment in local curriculum construction. 7, no. 3 (1936):8-11. laboratory school as center for curriculum study viola theman. 9 (1938):358-360. lamoreaux, lillian a. concepts of curriculum construction. 8 (1937):266-267; cultural contacts for teachers. 9 (1938):327-328; the santa barbara city schools workshop. 11 (1940):27-29; lamoreaux, lillian a. and grayson n. kefauver. problem approach in teaching. 13 (1942):267-269. landis, emerson h. wartime adjustments in dayton schools. 13 (1942):308-310. laporte, william ralph. a physical education curriculum. 9 (1938):72-74. latin america and the curriculum. george i. sanchez. 11 (1940):303-305. launching the saginaw curriculum program. o. i. frederick. 9 (1938):120-123. lawler, nell. experimenting with a core curriculum. 8 (1937):310-312. lay, sallie. an eighth grade studies homes. 11 (1940):19-22. leadership and democratic procedures in an effective program of curriculum improvement. w. b. brown. 7, no. 7 (1936):16-21. leadership in the coordination of social agencies. bess goodykoontz. 13 (1942):257-260. learning democracy in the classroom. corinne a. seeds. 9 (1938):270-271. learning how to read a newspaper. mary hodge cox. 10 (1939):172174. learning through first-hand contacts in secondary schools of fort worth, texas. j. c. parker. 6, no. 3 (1935):25-26. leary, bernice e. survey of curriculum laboratories. 9 (1938):350-354. lee, j. murray. the meetings in new orleans. 8 (1937):169-170; changing emphases in research in elementary education. 10 (1939):276. lee, j. murray, and others. annual bibliography on curriculum making, 1940. 12 (1941):216-220; annual bibliography on curriculum making. 13 (1942):211-214; annual bibliography on curriculum making, 1942. 14 (1943):219-223. length of the unit of work. charlotte g. garrison. 3, no. 3 (1932):7-8. leonard, j. paul. what is a unit of work? 8 (1937):103-106; meeting of the executive committee. 10 (1939):232-234; some reflections on the secondary core curriculum. 10 (1939):250-252; report of the executive secretary. 11 (1940):181-184; meeting of the executive committee. 11 (1940):216-219; current conflicts in the curriculum. 11 (1940):298-302; meeting of executive committee. 12 (1941):169-170; survey of guidance in a large city. 13 (1942):122-125; annual meeting of executive committee. 13 (1942):177-178. levin, nannette s. curriculum revision as in-service training in baltimore. 9 (1938):31-32. liberalizing the curriculum of the los angeles city schools. w. b. brown. 5, no. 6 (1935):16-21. library in the core curriculum. willard a. heaps. 12 (1941):913. library in the elementary school. tullye borden olds. 12 (1941):155-158. limitations, illusions, and dangers in the evaluation of learning. jesse newlon. 7, no. 4 (1936):12-15. linden, a. v., and h. b. bruner. selected bibliography of courses of study published 1930-1932. 3, no. 6, part ii (1932):2-12. lingren, vernon c. in-service teacher education for new curricula. 14 (1943):211-214. list of members. 5 (1934):20. list of members. 5 (1935):28. list of outstanding courses of study. herbert b. bruner and c. maurice wieting. 7, no. 8 (1936):14-18. literary magazine for children. beryl parker. 10 (1939):175-177. little, harry. college participation in a curriculum revision program. 7, no. 6 (1936):19-21. local cooperation in missouri curriculum project. l. a. van dyke. 11 (1940):30-32. loftus, john j. the activity program in new york city. 8 (1937):245-248. logan, s. r. economic enterprises for high school students. 12 (1941):301-304. long, edward l. functional science for grade eleven. 11 (1940):209-212. long-time program for the society. 9 (1938):129-131. loomis, a. k. the changing curriculum (in the gist). 3, no. 3 (1932):8; reorganizing the curriculum of the university high school of the university of chicago. 5, no. 4 (1934):2-5. louisville program of curriculum revision. j. e. brewton. 7, no. 3 (1936):7-8. lucke, elmina r. travel study at lincoln school. 10 (1939):6668. lull, h. g. current social scene and the curriculum. 7 no. 6 (1936):12-16. lunak, c. j., w. h. johnson, w. l. beals, and j. e. mccade. experimental curriculum programs in chicago. 7, no. 5 (1936):6-8. lusson, mary g. and william h. johnson. the chicago bureau of curriculum. 10 (1939):265-267. lyon, leverett s. the relation of the curriculum to the present economic crisis. 3, no. 3 (1932):4-5. lyon, ralph m. a college and its community. 10 (1939):9-11. lyon, ralph m. democratic approach to community development. 11 (1940):252-255. mackintosh, h. k. how shall we think of the curriculum? 7, no. 7 (1936):2-6. mackintosh, helen k. curriculum study in state departments of education. 13 (1942):355-358. maclean, malcolm. the curriculum of the general college of the university of minnesota. 5, no. 5 (1934):4-6; curriculum revision in higher education. 7, no. 4 (1936):3-4. macomber, f. g. and dutton, w. h. eugene's core curriculum. 10 (1939):117-119. making mathematics a tool. george a. boyce. 8 (1937):161-163. many, fillette. art education in kalamazoo. 8 (1937):150-152. marshall, l. c. social life and problems of scope and sequence. 9 (1938):165-169. martens, elise h. a guide to curriculum adjustment for mentally retarded children. 6, no. 8 (1935):10-15. martin, v. g. vocational training for farm boys. 10 (1939):8182. maryland begins program of curriculum study. 13 (1942):82-83. mason, edward f. junior colleges study terminal education. 11 (1940):231-232. materials for conservation education. effie g. bathurst. 12 (1941):209-212. mathematics for the crowd. j. a. nyberg. 7, no. 3 (1936):16-20. matthews, j. c. midway in the teacher education study. 12 (1941):310-312. mayo, s. s. toward more functional mathematics. 13 (1942):321323. mcbroom, maude. experimentation at university of iowa elementary school. 4, no. 1 (1933):5. mccade, j. e., w. h. johnson, w. l. beals, and c. j. lunak. experimental curriculum programs in chicago. 7, no. 5 (1936):6-8. mccall, w. morrison. directed teaching and the new curriculum. 9 (1938):64-67; progress of curriculum development in alabama. 10 (1939):29-31; state-wide improvement of teacher education. 11 (1940):15-18. mcchesney, mildred f. curriculum bureau for secondary education. 12 (1941):269-271. mcclellan, h. n. general education in seventeen california secondary schools. 14 (1943):177-178. mcconnell, f. c., knight, james, and taylor, lloyd h. curriculum conference based on classroom work. 12 (1941):223-224. mccuistion, ed. the role of teacher education in the new arkansas curriculum. 8 (1937):164. mcdade, james e. the activity program in the chicago elementary schools. 6, no. 8 (1935):17-18. mcgaughy, j. r. the functional organization of school subjects. 4, no. 3 (1933):4. mcmullen, h. g. a functional health course. 9 (1938):151-156. mead, a. r. general concepts basic to the curriculum. 11 (1940):69-71. meaning of subject matter in the new curriculum. kenneth norberg. 13 (1942):64-67. meeting of the executive committee. 8 (1937):172-173. meeting of the executive committee. j. paul leonard. 10 (1939):232-234. meeting of the executive committee. j. paul leonard. 11 (1940):216-219. meeting of the society for curriculum study. hugh b. wood. 13 (1942):157-160. meetings in new orleans. j. murray lee. 8 (1937):169-170. melby, ernest o. a comprehensive concept of evaluation. 10 (1939):300-303. melton, j. v. the curriculum problem in adult education. 10 (1939):221-223. mendenhall, james. building america sounds out the experts. 8 (1937):115. menge, j. w. and parker, j. cecil. the michigan secondary curriculum workshop. 9 (1938):361-363. meriam, j. l. does the child-centered school have a technique of curriculum making. 3, no. 3 (1932):5-6; comments on bobbitt's summary theory of the curriculum. 5, no. 2 (1934):15-16; our progressing education. 9 (1938):257-260. meriam, j. l.; c. h. woodruff, and m. e. herriott. elementary textbooks of 1931-1933. 5, no. 2 ii (1934):2-16; secondary textbooks of 1931-1933. 5, no. 3 ii (1934):1-43; junior college textbooks of 1931-1933. 5, no. 3 ii (1934):44-76; textbooks of 1934. 6, no. 1 (1935):9-46. methods--scientific and otherwise. earl k. peckham. 13 (1942): 37-38. micheals, william j. unifying the arts in high school. 10 (1939):22-24. michener, james a. a functional social studies program. 9 (1938):163-164. michigan secondary curriculum workshop. j. w. menge and j. cecil parker. 9 (1938):361-363. michigan study of the secondary school curriculum. j. cecil parker. 8 (1937):366-368. midway in the teacher education study. j. c. matthews. 12 (1941):310-312. miller, van. curriculum improvement in a small high school. 10 (1939):356-358. mills, h. h. varied curriculum patterns create need for guidance. 14 (1943):88-90. minnesota state department makes curriculum plans. 9 (1938):276 277. minutes of the executive committee. henry harap. 7, no. 3 (1936):21-23. minutes of the meeting of the executive committee. henry harap. 5, no. 3 i (1934):2-3. minutes of the meeting of the executive committee. 3, no. 3 (1932):3-4. misner, paul j. curriculum building as group thinking. 10 (1939):55-59. mississippi curriculum program o. i. frederick and d. r. patterson. 8 (1937):239-244. mississippi program for the improvement of instruction. 7 (1934): 5-7. missouri program of curriculum development. arty b. smith. 8 (1937):269. missouri program of curriculum revision. claude m. dillinger. 14 (1943):84-86. missouri secondary school curriculum program. claude m. dillinger. 13 (1942):117-121. montana begins program of curriculum improvement. douglas gold. 13 (1942):132-133. montevallo erosion project. alice v. keliher. 8 (1937):213-214. moore, c. warren. creative quality in industrial arts. 12 (1941): 173-175. moore, m. e. news notes. 6, no. 5 (1935):11-12. moran, katherine. genral education in will rogers high school. 14 (1943):131-133. morgan, m. evan. cooperative curriculum study in santa monica. 11 (1940):37-38. morris, glyn a. community service in the curriculum. 10 (1939):161-163. morrison, j. cayce. survey of activity program in new york city elementary schools. 13 (1942):13-16. morrow, paul r. progress in curriculum reorganization in georgia. 6, no. 8 (1935):15-16; progress of the georgia curriculum program. 9 (1938):218-221. morton, r. l. and committee. a basic viewpoint on arithmetic. 9 (1938):299-305. motion picture and radio: an english elective. eleanor d. child and hardy r. finch. 10 (1939):253-256. motion pictures and radio. edgar dale. 7, no. 4 (1936):10-12. muelder, herman r. college freshmen study their environment. 11 (1940):170-172. mushlitz, m. e. and elda l. schreiner. the ventura county, california, curriculum laboratory. 12 (1941):268-269. music in the schools. h. grady harlan. 13 (1942):218-220. nambe: a community school. l. s. tireman. 10 (1939):323-324. national committee on education and defense reports progress. 12 (1941):273-274. national committee on industrial arts. m. m. proffitt. 11 (1940): 371-372. national defense and the school curriculum. h. l. caswell. 11 (1940):248-251. natural science for better living. verne gowe. 13 (1942):68 70. nebraska high school program. f. e. bowers. 11 (1940):35-36. needed changes in our schools. 9 (1938):178-179. needed research in curriculum improvement. verner m. sims. 13 (1942):351-354. neglected areas in teacher education. w. w. charters. 8 (1937): 197-200. nettels, charles h. and m. e. herriott. functional physical science. 13 (1942):362-364. neubauer, dorothy. the curriculum approach to supervision. 10 (1939):132-133. new curriculum at chicago teachers college. william w. wattenberg. 10 (1939):228-230. new curriculum of the horace mann school. rollow g. reynolds. 5, no. 2 i : 2-4. new economic materials. herbert b. bruner. 5, no. 3 i (1934):33-39. new emphasis in british curriculum. 9 (1938):36-37. new executive committee. 3, no. 2 (1932):7. new features in the school of education program at stanford university. grayson kefauver. 5, no. 5 (1934):7-9. new fundamental courses in the curriculum offered at teachers college, columbia university. paul r. hanna. 3, no. 7 (1932):2-3. new members. 3, no. 4 (1932):1-2. new mexico program of curriculum development. l. s. tireman. 8 (1937):65-66. new professional program for teachers. george h. hilliard and orie i. frederick. 13 (1942):315-317. new publications. 8 (1935):31-33. new york city's activity program experiment. thomas c. barham, jr. 13 (1942):161-165. newark valley school summer camp. crede d. hagerty. 13 (1942): 129-131. newlon, jesse h. the administration of the curriculum in a modern school system. 4, no. 3 (1933):3; comments on bobbitt's summary theory of the curriculum. 5, no. 2 (1934):15 ; the role of leadership in the reconstruction of education. 5, no. 3 i (1934):24-32; limitations, illusions, and dangers in the evaluation of learning. 7, no. 4 (1936):12-15; the curriculum and the crisis in democracy. 12 (1941):200-204. news about building america. paul e. drost. 7, no. 5 (1936):3032. news bulletin. 1, no. 1 (1929-30). news from the pacific coast region. i. keith tyler. 5, no. 7 (1934):8-9. news notes. m. e. moore. 6, no. 5 (1935):11-12. newspaper editors look at the curriculum. rhodes r. stabley. 14 (1943):61-64. norberg, kenneth. meaning of subject matter in the new curriculum. 13 (1942):64-67. norris community program. glenn kendall. 10 (1939):108-110. norris school cooperative. ralph m. hogan. 8 (1937):59-63. north carolina builds curriculum laboratory. j. minor gwynn. 11 (1940):77-79. north carolina state program of curriculum revision. 2 (1935):2021. north central association's recent accomplishments and plans. will french. 6, no. 3 (1935):5-7. northwest regional council. seattle children study their region. 12 (1941):114-117. note on art education. garrett hynson. 8 (1937):320-321. notes from the field. 8 (1937):138-142. notes on teacher education. 9 (1938):124-126. notice of the february meetings. 3, no. 1 (1932):1-2. nutter, h. e. and m. l. stone. florida program for curriculum improvement. 10 (1939):123-125. nutter, h. e. and tom byrd vanbrunt. florida's long-range curriculum program. 12 (1941):62-65. nya residential project. claude l. purcell. 11 (1940):325-327. nyberg, j. a. mathematics for the crowd. 7, no. 3 (1936):16 20. o'reilly, e. p. and baisden, leo b. elementary social studies curriculum. 10 (1939):60-63. obenchain, i. r. the birmingham program to improve instruction. 8 (1937):26. odell, william r. two approaches to high school curriculum revision. 11 (1940):115-118. ojemann, ralph h. construction of a curriculum in parent education. 6, no. 6 (1935):9-12. oklahoma state curriculum program. e. e. brown. 12 (1941):28-30. olander, h. t. reaction to bobbitt's summary theory of the curriculum. 5, no. 4 (1934):11. olds, tullye borden. the library in the elementary school. 12 (1941):155-158. oliver, george j. curriculum improvement in virginia. 12 (1941):77-79. one view of curriculum organization, harold o. soderquist. 8 (1942):59-63. operation of the core curriculum in tulsa. lavone hanna. 11 (1940):66-68. oregon plan of curriculum development, harry b. johnson. 8 (1937):20-21. oregon reading survey. frank w. parr. 11 (1940):370-371. organismic psychology. goodwin watson. 5, no. 3 i (1934):11-15. organismic viewpoint of evaluation, hugh b. wood. 8 (1937):96 102. organization and administration of curriculum programs in cities of over 50,000 population: an abstract. c. c. trillingham. 4, no. 4 (1933):5-6. organization for curriculum development. paul r. hanna. 10 (1939):104-107. organization of a city school system for effective curriculum development. j. c. parker. 7, no. 7 (1936):8-15. organizing science around local resources. b. j. polga. 12 (1941):119-122. organizing science on a functional basis. ralph d. russell. 7, no. 6 (1936):21-26. orientation of the social studies curriculum. william m. alexander. 10 (1939):32-34. ornstein, jacob. an emergency language program. 13 (1942):221222. ott, hazel h. installation of the south dakota courses of study. 4, no. 1 (1933):6. otto, henry j. program for improvement of rural schools. 10 (1939):230-232. our progressing education. junius l. meriam. 9 (1938):257-260. out of guidance into curriculum, franklin j. keller. 8 (1937): 340-343. outstanding courses of study of 1934. herbert b. bruner. 5, no. 1 (1935):2-8. overn, a. v. contribution of chemistry to an integrated curriculum. 8 (1937):27. overturf, j. r. the curriculum of the palo alto junior high school. 8 (1937):118. owatonna art education project. edwin ziegfeld. 8 (1937):143 149. palm, reuben r. the role of the laboratory school in curriculum development. 11 (1940):350-353. pamphlets and other enrichment material. samuel everett. 7, no. 4 (1936):7-10. parent's part in the curriculum, william h. bristow. 8 (1938): 58-63. parker, beryl. a literary magazine for children. 10 (1939):175177. parker, j. cecil. learning through first-hand contacts in secondary schools of fort worth, texas. 6, no. 3 (1935):25-26; relating the secondary school to the community. 7, no. 4 (1936):2-3; organization of a city school system for effective curriculum development. 7, no. 7 (1936):8-15; the michigan study of the secondary school curriculum. 8 (1937):366-368; annual meeting of the society. 10 (1939):149-154. parker, j. cecil and menge, j. w. the michigan secondary curriculum workshop. 9 (1938):361-363. parr, frank w. the state curriculum program in oregon. 8 (1937):370-371; the oregon reading survey. 11 (1940):370371. parr, frank w. and hugh b. wood. progress of curriculum improvement in oregon. 12 (1941):79-82. participation of the teachers college in curriculum development. j. p. wynne. 9 (1938):11-13. pattern for culture units. william b. brown. 7, no. 8 (1936):56. patterson, d. r., and o. i. frederick. the mississippi curriculum program. 8 (1937):239-244. patterson, s. c. and jane franseth. teacher growth through individual child study. 14 (1943):124-127. paulsgrove, eleanor a. summer projects for girls. 12 (1941):367-369. peckham, earl k. methods--scientific and otherwise. 13 (1942):37-38. peik, w. e. functional curriculum development in higher education. 5, no. 6 (1934):2-5; research needed in teacher-education. 8 (1937):208-211. pennsylvania studies the non-college pupil. oscar granger. 11 (1940):270-271. personal growth of teachers, grayson n. kefauver. 8 (1937):193 196. peters, charles c. education for leisure. 12 (1941):246-249. peters, d. w. the virginia curriculum program and the rural schools. 9 (1938):261-263. pamphlets and other enrichment material. samuel everett. 4 (1936):7-10. philosophy and problems of scope and sequence. pickens e. harris. 9 (1938):110-114. physical education curriculum. william ralph laporte. 9 (1938):72-74. pickup, e. genevieve. how to prepare simple reading matter. 12 (1941):370-371. pierce, paul r. curriculum reorganization in a chicago high school. 8 (1937):156-160; curriculum progress at wells high school. 10 (1939):207-210; the place of study in general education. 11 (1940):119-122; the evolving pattern of a high school curriculum. 12 (1941):70-73. pistor, frederick. teaching some principles of democracy. 11 (1940):7-10. pittenger, a. o. school camps: a needed postwar development. 14 (1943):215-218. place of study in general education. paul r. pierce. 11 (1940):119-122. place of the core in the curriculum. helen babson. 11 (1940):317-320. plan of the core corriculum in tulsa. lavone hanna. 10 (1939):350-352. planning a physical education program for the adolescent. rosalind cassidy. 10 (1939):313-316. planning a program of evaluation, hugh b. wood. 8 (1937):355 359. plea for building america, leslie cushman. 13 (1942):271-272. polga, b. j. organizing science around local resources. 12 (1941):119-122. policy making in business education. herbert a. tonne. 10 (1939):309-312. possibilities and limitations in integration. ernest horn. 7, no. 4 (1936):27-30. possibilities and limitations of teachers' contributions. doak s. campbell. 7, no. 4 (1936):26-27. powers, s. r. educational research in science teaching. 12 (1941):118-119. practical application of mechanistic and organismic psychologies to curriculum making. h. l. caswell. 5, no. 3 i (1934):1522. practical program of evaluation. j. wayne wrightstone. 11 (1940):306-309. practice in activity schools and the experimental theory of knowledge. g. max wingo. 12 (1941):351-355. preliminary report of the committee on secondary education. samuel everett. 6, no. 3 (1935):7-12. preparing a schedule for comprehensive evaluation. hugh b. wood. 11 (1940):267-269. present status of curriculum building in baltimore. william r. flowers, j. carey taylor, and charles f. willis. 9 (1938):115-119. preston, ralph c. some neglected areas of experience. 10 (1939):182-184; scope without sequence. 12 (1941):221-223; sequential arrangement of studies in the elementary school. 14 (1943):119-123. principles and techniques of curriculum making. l. t. hopkins. 7, no. 7 (1936):30-32. principles in curriculum making, d. c. rucker. 8 (1937):215. pritzkau, p. t. summer workshop for cheyenne teachers. 12 (1941):275-277; the curriculum organization of the elementary schools in cheyenne, wyoming. 13 (1942):318-319. problem approach in teaching, grayson n. kefauver and lillian a. lamoreaux. 13 (1942):267-269. professional growth of teachers in tulsa. b. l. shepherd. 12 (1941)108-110. professional library for a curriculum program, margaret k. dickerson. 8 (1937):369-370. proffitt, m. m. national committee on industrial arts. 11 (1940):371-372. program for improvement of rural schools. henry j. otto. 10 (1939):230-232. program for the improvement of instruction in illinois. c. c. stadtman. 14 (1943):170-172. program of annual meetings. 8 (1938):93-96. program of annual meeting. 13 (1942):93-96. program of improvement of teacher education. irwin a. hammer and c. b. smith. 10 (1939):203-206. program of the february meeting. 3, no. 2 (1932):1. program of the february meeting. 3, no.1 (1932):1. program of the february meeting. 6, no.2 (1935):27-28. program of the graduate work in education at yale university. clyde m. hill. 5, no. 5 (1934):6-7. progress in curriculum reorganization in georgia. paul r. morrow. 6, no. 8 (1935):15-16. progress of curriculum development in alabama. w. morrison mccall. 10 (1939):29-31. progress of curriculum improvement in oregon. hugh b. wood and frank w parr. 12 (1941):79-82. progress of the curriculum program in michigan. g. robert koopman. 10 (1939):178-179. progress of the georgia curriculum program. paul r. morrow. 9 (1938):218-221. progress report of committee on proposed bulletin of units of work. l. thomas hopkins. 4, no. 2 (1933):9-11. progress report of the committee on a proposed bulletin on units of work. l. thomas hopkins. 3, no. 7 (1932):10. progress report on evaluation in the eight year study. ralph w. tyler. 6, no. 7 (1935):32-34. promotion of curriculum study: membership committee reports. r. d. russell. 7, no. 1 (1936):6-8. propaganda and the curriculum. william w. biddle. 9 (1938):306308. proposal for state curriculum program for texas. jake j. hendricks. 5, no. 2 (1934):18. proposal to exchange curriculum bulletin. william h. bristow. 4, no. 2 (1933):2. proposal to publish a picture text. 5, no.3 i (1934):39-44. proposed bulletin on sample units of work. 2, no. 3 (1931):3. proposed volume on the curriculum. 8 (1937):69. prospective superior teacher, raymond d. bennett. 8 (1937):201 204. psychological basis for curriculum trends. may v. seagoe. 9 (1938):309-312. psychological basis of curriculum development. george w. hartmann. 9 (1938):6-10. psychology and problems of scope and sequence. george w. hartmann. 9 (1938):105-109. public junior college curriculum. clyde c. colvert. 11 (1940):136-137. pupil interests and needs as a basis for curriculum development. o. i. frederick. 9 (1938):321-322. pupils acquire and improve a school park. donald a. schwartz. 14 (1943):26-28. purcell, claude l. an nya residential project. 11 (1940):325327. radio appreciation in the secondary school. charles i. glicksberg. 14 (1943):73-76. reaction to a recent survey of curriculum activities of city and state school systems from the school and society, dec. 5, 1931. david snedden. 3, no. 1 (1932):2. reaction to bobbbitt's summary theory of the curriculum. w. h. kilpatrick. 5, no. 4 (1934):10. reaction to bobbitt's summary theory of the curriculum. h. t. olander. 5, no. 4 (1934):11. reavis, g. h. curriculum development in safety education. 13 (1942):33-35; the secondary curriculum in cincinnati. 13 (1942):269-271. recent curriculum projects of denver public schools. c. l. cushman. 5, no. 2 (1934):20-21. recent curriculum projects of minneapolis public schools. prudence cutright. 4, no. 1 (1933):4-5. recent developments in the michigan curriculum program. g. robert koopman. 12 (1941):257-259. recommendation of the survey staff concerning the curriculum of chicago schools. g. d. strayer, and others. 3, no. 7 (1932):3-4. redirection of education in connecticut. alonzo g. grace. 12 (1941):82-83. regional curriculum planning. erwin h. sasman. 8 (1937):49-53. relating the secondary school to the community. edgar draper. 7, no. 4 (1936):1-2; no. 5 (1936):11-16. relating the secondary school to the community. j. c. parker. 7, no. 4 (1936):2-3. relation of music to social studies. lawrence g. thomas. 13 (1942):166-169. relation of the curriculum to the present economic crisis. harold f. clark. 3 (1932):5. relation of the curriculum to the present economic crisis. leverett s. lyon. 3, no. 3 (1932):4-5. reorganization of educational programs. vierling kersey. 5, no. 2 (1934):18-19. reorganization of secondary education at colorado state teachers college, greeley, colorado. w. l. wrinkle. 5, no. 6 (1934):6-10. reorganizing the curriculum of the university high school of the university of chicago. a. k. loomis. 5, no. 4 (1934):2-5. reply to dr. l. thomas hopkins. e. m. draper. 7, no. 7 (1936):21-24. reply to mr. cox. edgar dale. 3, no. 1 (1932):3. report of a study of the secondary curriculum by a committee of the secondary education board. harl r. douglass. 3, no. 3 (1932):6-7. report of the chairman of the executive committee. 5, no. 2 (1934):4-5. report of the chairman of the executive committee for 1936. henry harap. 7, no. 2 (1936):1-3. report of the chairman of the executive committee. 6, no.2 (1935):24-26. report of the committee materials by herbert b. bruner. 5, no. 4 (1934):10. report of the committee on secondary education. samuel everett. 5, no. 7 (1934):11-12. report of the executive secretary. j. paul leonard. 11 (1940):181-184. report of the georgia state curriculum conference. 5, no. 7 (1934):10-11. report of the society's committee on integration. thomas hopkins. 7, no. 4 (1936):17-21. report on building america. paul r. hanna. 5, no. 4 (1934):910. reports and records in the eight year experimental plan. e. r. smith. 7, no. 5 (1936):16-17. reports of projects for the year preceding february 1, 1931. 2, no. 1 (1931):1-5. research and curriculum offices cooperate. elizabeth l. woods. 13 (1942):359-361. research in curriculum development. w. b. featherstone. 11 (1940):105-109. research needed in teacher-education, w. e. peik. 8 (1937):208 211. resource units for teachers. paul b. jacobson. 12 (1941):369370. revising curriculum in british columbia, t. a. brough. 8 (1937): 107-110. revision of home economics in seattle. 8 (1938):328-329. revision of the curriculum in the college of education at ohio state university. raymond d. bennett. 5, no. 5 (1934):9-10. revision of the dental school curriculum. 7 (1934):13-14. revision of the social studies in utah. burton k. farnsworth. 14 (1943):180-182. reynolds, rollow g. the new curriculum of the horace mann school. 5, no. 2 i (1934):2-4. rice, t. d. a high school core program. 9 (1938):201-203; staff states views on teaching of controversial issues. 12 (1941):271-273. rice, t. d., and c. l. cushman. a suggested technique for the selection of textbooks. 5, no. 6 (1935):23-28. rice, winfield l. civics afloat. 9 (1938):319-320. richardson, h. d. what is a good unit? 14 (1943):178-180. richtmeyer, cleon c. functional mathematics for college freshmen. 10 (1939):76-79. riley, t. m., and w. b. brown. secondary core curriculum. 7, no. 5 (1936):8-10. risinger, hubert b. and wieting, c. maurice. an experiment in consumer education. 11 (1940):323-325. rivett, b. j. status of consumer education. 8 (1937):316-317. robinson, myra z. vitalizing the study of genetics. 13 (1942):366-368. robinson, ormsbee w. work as education: an experiment. 10 (1939):73-75. rochford, lloyd a. and scott, walter. a community-wide recreational program. 10 (1939):130-132. roderick, edward e. current curriculum construction in maine elementary system. 12 (1941):126-127. role of instructional aids in teaching. wendell vreeland. 6, no. 4 (1935):10-13. role of leadership in the reconstruction of education. jesse h. newlon. 5, no. 3 i (1934):24-32. role of method in the social studies. ernest horn. 5, no. 3 (1934):23-24. role of teacher education in the new arkansas curriculum. ed mccuistion. 8 (1937):164. role of the laboratory school in curriculum development. reuben r. palm. 11 (1940):350-353. role of the school in planning for county improvement. irene crawford. 14 (1943):31-32. rucker, d. c. principles in curriculum making. 8 (1937):215. rugg, earl u. social studies committee of the colorado education association. 5, no. 4 (1934):11-12; curriculum revision at colorado state teachers college. 5, no. 5 (1934):10-12. rugg, earle. experience in curriculum making. 8 (1937):205-207. rural high schools improve their curriculum. jane franseth. 10 (1939):214-217 rural school reconstructs its curriculum. walter a. anderson. 9, no. 8 (1938):170-173. rural school sponsors long summer journey. j. c. fitzgerald. 12 (1941):213-215. russell, ralph d. installing curricula on a state-wide basis. 6, no. 3 (1935):12-18; promotion of curriculum study: membership committee reports. 7, no. 1 (1936):68;organizing science on a functional basis. 7, no. 6 (1936):21-26; committee on regional conferences and meetings. 7, no. 8 (1936):7-8. ryan, belle m. and saylor, galen. committee suggests curriculum program for nebraska. 9 (1938):127-128. ryan, heber hinds. an experiment in building a functional curriculum. 7, no. 2 (1936):4-5; integration and the education of teachers. 9 (1938):222-225. st. louis county commission on the teaching of the social studies: a project in curriculum revision. j. c. aldrich. 7, no. 6 (1936):16-18. salvaging current social materials. ronald b. edgerton. 10 (1939):133-135. san diego studies curriculum. will c. crawford. 10 (1939):36-37. sanchez, george i. latin america and the curriculum. 11 (1940):303-305. sandwick, richard l. house building as a school project. 9 (1938):264-266. sangren, paul v. curriculum revision in michigan state teachers colleges. 5, no. 5 (1934):12-13. santa barbara city schools workshop. lillian a. lamoreaux. 11 (1940):27-29. sasman, erwin h. regional curriculum planning. 8 (1937):49-53. state curriculum programs for 1936-1937. kenneth l. heaton. 8 (1937):42-48. saylor, galen. what makes a curriculum program successful? 12 (1941):151-154; characteristics of good inservice education programs. 12 (1941):313-315. saylor, galen and belle m. ryan. committee suggests curriculum program for nebraska. 9 (1938):127-128. schneider, etta. audio-visual aids for rural schools. 12 (1941):166-168. schneider, fern d., herbert b. bruner and c. maurice wieting. annual list of outstanding curriculum materials. 10 (1939):359-364. school bulletins on the war effort. 13 (1942):272-274. school camps: a needed postwar development. a. o. pittenger. 14 (1943):215-218. school faculty at a summer workshop, m. l. hulse and a. s. hurlburt. 13 (1942):21-25. school-community cooperation and the teacher. john b. whitelaw. 11 (1940):201-204. schreiner, edla l., and m. e. mushlitz. the ventura county, california, curriculum laboratory. 12 (1941):268-269. schwartz, donald a. pupils acquire and improve a school park. 14 (1943):26-28. schwiering, o. c. a college curriculum to fit the individual. 6, no. 7 (1935):31-32; adding a curriculum to ccc camps. 9 (1938):323-325. science in the secondary school curriculum. louis m. heil. 10 (1939):19-21. science teachers' opinions on social issues. r. will burnett. 12 (1941):175-177. scientific development and evaluation of the curriculum. charles h. judd. 4, no. 2 (1933):13. scope without sequence. ralph c. preston. 12 (1941):221-223. scott, walter and lloyd a. rochford. a community-wide recreational program. 10 (1939):130-132. seagoe, may v. psychological basis for curriculum trends. 9 (1938):309-312. seattle children study their region. northwest regional council. 12 (1941):114-117. secondary core curriculum. t. m. riley and w. b. brown. 7, no. 5 (1936):8-10. secondary curriculum improvements. ralph w. tyler. 10 (1939):6465. secondary curriculum in cincinnati, g. h. reavis. 13 (1942):269 271. secondary education in unified program. g. robert koopman. 9 (1938):275. secondary textbooks of 1931-1933. j. l. meriam, c. h. woodruff, and m. e. herriott. 5, no. 3 ii (1934):1-43. seeds, corinne a. learning democracy in the classroom. 9 (1938):270-271. selected bibliograghy on work books. 4 (1935):45-49. selected bibliography of courses of study published in 19301932. h. b. bruner and a. v. linden. 3, no. 6, part ii (1932):2-12. selection of experiences in the curriculum for the dakota. allan hulsizer. 12 (1941):14-18. sellars, david. guidance in the secondary curriculum. 12 (1941):105-107. semantics and the educative process. charles i. glicksberg. 11 (1940):354-357. senior high school courses of study. herbert b. bruner and f. b. stratemeyer. 4, no. 5 (1933):6-7. sequential arrangement of studies in the elementary school. ralph c. preston. 14 (1943):119-123. sexson, john a. california secondary school reorganization. 6, no. 3 (1935):3-5. shepherd, b. l. professional growth of teachers in tulsa. 12 (1941)108-110. shih kuo ya. course of study trends. 10 (1939):180-181. showalter, benjamin r. o. what is the unit? 8 (1937):318-319. sickles, f. j. boys request instruction in personal conduct. 10 (1939):37. sifert, e. r. and florence b. williams. curriculum study in proviso township high school. 11 (1940):81-83. simpson, i. jewell. the social studies in maryland's elementary schools. 12 (1941):26-28. sims, verner m. needed research in curriculum improvement. 13 (1942):351-354. skimin, eleanor. fundamental factors in building a business education curriculum. 6, no. 6 (1935):21-23. smathers, eugene. building a rural community. 11 (1940):110114. smith, arty b. the missouri program of curriculum development. 8 (1937):269. smith, b. othaniel. guiding principles for the reconstruction of the curriculum of a college of education. 7, no. 5 (1936):20-23; spring and summer curriculum conferences. 9 (1938):250-256; the annual meeting of the society. 11 (1940):222-224; annual meeting of the curriculum society. 12 (1941):163-165; the war and the educational program. 13 (1942):113-116. smith, bert r. curriculum development in kentucky. 10 (1939):327-328; the study center as in-service training for teachers. 11 (1940):133-134; improvement of instruction in the wartime emergency. 14 (1943):224-225. smith, bertrand l. curriculum development in quincy public schools. 11 (1940):369-370. smith, c. b. and irwin a. hammer. program of improvement of teacher education. 10 (1939):203-206. smith, e. r. reports and records in the eight year experimental plan. 7, no. 5 (1936):16-17. smith, elmer r. curriculum improvement in providence. 13 (1942):133-135. smith, lewis wilbur. the berkeley, california, program of curriculum revision. 5, no. 2 (1934):20. smith, max s. building the community school program in reading, michigan. 10 (1939):370-372. smith, t. w. course of study an outgrowth of six-year curriculum program. 13 (1942):264-266. snedden, david. a reaction to a recent survey of curriculum activities of city and state school systems from school and society, dec. 5, 1931. 3, no. 1 (1932):2; comments on bobbitt's summary theory of the curriculum. 5, no. 2 (1934):16-17; a summary theory of the curriculum. 5, no. 4 (1934):6-7; what learnings are of most worth? the answer lies in analysis. 8 (1937):16; valuations through analysis or synthesis. 8 (1937):166-168. snyder, walter e. is the needs approach valid? 12 (1941):111113; teacher growth through environmental study. 13 (1942):174-176. social life and problems of scope and sequence. l. c. marshall. 9 (1938):165-169. social living course at sequoia union high school, a. c. argo, 111-114. social living in the classroom. emma howard. 110, no. 8 (1939):120-122. social mathematics for grade ten. j. m. jacobs. 10 (1939):320322. social studies committee of the colorado education association. earl u. rugg. 5, no. 4 : 11-12. social studies in maryland's elementary schools. i. jewell simpson. 12 (1941):26-28. social studies in the junior high school. paul r. grim. 10 (1939):274-275. social task of education. percy e. davidson. 10 (1939):111-113. society affairs. 8 (1938):183-186. society and conflicting points of view. fred c. ayer 5, no. 4 (1934):13. society's bulletin on units of work. 2, no. 5 (1931):2. society's bulletin on units of work. 3, no. 3 (1932):3. society's committee on new economic curriculum materials. 3, no. 4 (1932):1. socio-economic data show need for educational planning, newton edwards. 8 (1937):344-348. soderquist, harold o. one view of curriculum organization. 13 (1942):59-63. some neglected areas of experience. ralph c. preston. 10 (1939):182-184. some reflections on the secondary core curriculum. j. paul leonard. 10 (1939):250-252. spain, charles r. gestalt psychology and the curriculum worker. 12 (1941):305-309. spickard, ronella. home economics based upon community needs. 12 (1941):122-123. spring and summer curriculum conferences. b. othanel smith. 9 (1938):250-256. stabley, rhodes r. newspaper editors look at the curriculum. 14 (1943):61-64. stadtman, charles c. curriculum construction in illinois. 10 (1939):80-81; curriculum development in illinois. 12 (1941):364-365; program for the improvement of instruction in illinois. 14 (1943):170-172. staff states views on teaching of controversial issues. ted d. rice. 12 (1941):271-273. stanford university conference on curriculum. 5, no.4 (1935):12 13. stanley, william. education, democracy, and social planning. 14 (1943):207-210. state curriculum department. kenneth l. heaton. 6, no. 8 (1935):26-30. state curriculum problems department. kenneth l. heaton. 6, no. 6 (1935):33-36. state curriculum program in oregon, frank w. parr. 8 (1937):370 371. state leaders in charge of curriculum revision. kenneth l. heaton. 6, no. 6 (1935):40-45. state uniformity vs. local adoption. f. w. stemple. 7, no. 4 (1936):23-26. state-wide improvement of teacher education. w. morrison mccall. 11 (1940):15-18. statement concerning mechanistic psychology. j. stanley gray. 5, no. 3 i (1934):4-11. status of consumer education, b. j. rivett. 8 (1937):316-317. stemple, f. w. curriculum revision in west virginia. 6, no. 7 (1935):27-28; state uniformity vs. local adoption. 7, no. 4 (1936):23-26. stephens college program for the education of women. w. w. charters. 5, no. 5 (1934):2-4. steps in curriculum construction. m. madilene veverka. 7, no. 1 (1936):5-6. sterling, edna l. development of the language arts program in seattle. 14 (1943):182-183. stewart, howard. building a course in retail selling. 8 (1937):19. stiles, lindley j. curriculum study in boulder, colorado. 13 (1942):170-173. stimulating teacher growth. clark h. stone. 11 (1940):346-349. stone, clark h. stimulating teacher growth. 11 (1940):346-349. stone, m. l. and h. e. nutter. florida program for curriculum improvement. 10 (1939):123-125. stratemeyer, florence b. goals in teacher education. 8 (1937):185-188. stratemeyer, florence b., and herbert h. bruner. elementary school courses of study. 4, no. 5 (1933):2-4; junior high school courses of study. 4, no. 5 (1933):5-6; senior high school courses of study. 4, no. 5 (1933):6-7. strayer, g. d., and others. recommendations of the survey staff concerning the curriculum of chicago schools. 3, no. 7 (1932):3-4. stretch, lorena b. curriculum making at waco, texas. 9 (1938):75-77. strobel, joseph r. cooperative procedure in development of vocational related content. 13 (1942):35-37. structural pattern of the unit. h. t. bawden. 9 (1938):313-315. stuart, cecilia u. a curriculum bulletin for elementary teachers. 8 (1937):322-323. study center as in-service training of teachers. bert r. smith. 11 (1940):133-134. study of battle creek community. o. i. frederick and eldon c. geyer. 10 (1939):325-327. study of physical education and recreation. 11 (1940):278. study, harry p. general education for high school students: a beginning. 13 (1942):78-80. subject teachers plan a unified curriculum. john j. deboer. 11 (1940):271-273. suggested technique for the selection of textbooks. c. l. cushman and t. d. rice. 6, no. 6 (1935):23-28. summary theory of the curriculum. david snedden. 5, no. 4 (1934):6-7. summary theory of the curriculum. franklin bobbitt. 5, no. 1 (1934):2-4. summer curriculum conferences, 7, no. 7 (1936):6-10. summer curriculum conferences, samuel everett. 8 (1937):291-298. summer curriculum development center. jay d. cooner. 14 (1943):166-169. summer projects for girls. eleanor a. paulsgrove. 12 (1941):367369. summer school innovations. frank c. foster. 10 (1939):37-38. summer workshop for cheyenne teachers. p. t. pritzkau. 12 (1941):275-277. summer workshop in los angeles. william b. brown. 12 (1941):359361. summer workshops for teachers. kenneth l. heaton. 11 (1940):152156. supervisors and curriculum directors have a common function, dale zeller. 13 (1942):311-314. survey courses in the natural sciences. robert j. havighurst. 7, no. 7 (1936):26-30. survey of activity program in new york city elementary schools, j. cayce morrison. 13 (1942):13-16. survey of curriculum activities of city school systems. 2, no. 4 (1931):2-11. survey of curriculum activities of state school systems. 2, no. 4 (1931):11-14. survey of curriculum laboratories. bernice e. leary. 9 (1938):350-354. survey of general aims of education. felix h. ullrich. 10 (1939):128-129. survey of guidance in a large city, j. paul leonard. 13 (1942): 122-125. survey of state curriculum programs. tom byrd vanbrunt. 11 (1940):227-229. survey of the community school, samuel everett. 8 (1937):368 369. survey recommends curriculum revision. 8 (1938):181-182. suter, marvin n. the teacher's experience with integration. 8 (1937):116. sutherland, miriam. the children survey the community. 10 (1939):317-319. tacoma curriculum program. roosevelt basler. 9 (1938):174-177. tanke, carl. judicial decisions on curriculum content. 8 (1937):349-354. taylor, j. carey, flowers, william r., and willis, charles f. present status of curriculum building in baltimore. 9 (1938):115-119. taylor, lloyd h., knight, james, and mcconnell, f. c. curriculum conference based on classroom work. 12 (1941):223-224. teacher education at claremont. f. c. wooten. 7, no. 5 (1936):17-20. teacher growth through curriculum building. clara s. bacon. 14 (1943):135-138. teacher growth through environmental study, walter e. snyder. 8 (1942):174-176. teacher growth through individual child study. jane franseth and s. c. patterson. 14 (1943):124-127. teacher's experience with integration, marvin n. suter. 8 (1937): 116. teacher, the expert, and curriculum improvement, aubrey a. douglas. 8 (1937):305-309. teachers college and the curriculum, w. h. zeigel. 8 (1937):212. teachers college studies its environment. cyril w. grace. 11 (1940):256-258. teachers' experiment in speech correction program. lucile cypreansen. 14 (1943):80-82. teaching some principles of democracy. frederick pistor. 11 (1940):7-10. ten years of curriculum planning by the north central association, l. w. webb. 8 (1937):234-238. tentative program of annual meeting. 8 (1938):48. texas college plans summer school course in curriculum revision. 5, no.4 (1934):13-14. textbooks of 1934. m. e. herriott, j. l. meriam, and c. h. woodruff. 6, no. 1 (1935):9-46. textbooks of 1935. m. e. herriott. 7, no. 3 (1936):15-41. textbooks of 1936. m. e. herriott. 7, no. 8 (1936):19-34. textbooks of 1937. m. e. herriott. 9 (1938):19-30. theman, viola. laboratory school as center for curriculum study. 9 (1938):358-360. this business of writing for teachers. mildred biddick. 11 (1940):56-60. thomas, john w. curriculum improvement in wakefield, michigan, schools. 11 (1940):173-175. thomas, lawrence g. the relation of music to social studies. 13 (1942):166-169. threlkeld, a. i. dr. dewey's philosophy and the curriculum. 8 (1937):164-165. tierney, hallie m., and francis l. drag. county conducts own summer study program. 12 (1941):159-162. tierney, hallie m., and leonard grindstaff. county teachers' workshop. 13 (1942):178-181. tireman, l. s. nambe: a community school. 10 (1939):323-324. tireman, l. s. the new mexico program of curriculum development. 8 (1937):65-66. tonne, herbert a. policy making in business education. 10 (1939):309-312. toward more functional mathematics, s. s. mayo. 13 (1942):321 323. travel study at lincoln school. elmina r. lucke. 10 (1939):6668. trends in curriculum thinking. c. m. wieting and leslie johnson. 10 (1939):367-369. trends in latin-american education. concha romero james. 14 (1943):133-135. trillinghan, c. c. the organization and administration of curriculum programs in cities of over 50,000 population: an abstract. 4, no. 4 (1933):5-6; an extensive program of articulation. 10 (1939):34-35. troelstrup, archie w. democracy in the classroom. 11 (1940):219-222. twelve-year program for north carolina public schools, j. henry highsmith. 13 (1942):215-217. two approaches to high school curriculum revision. william r. odell. 11 (1940):115-118. tyler, i. keith. news from the pacific coast region. 5, no. 7 (1934):8-9; curriculum activity on the pacific coast. 6, no. 3 (1935):29-31. tyler, ralph w. secondary curriculum improvements. 10 (1939):64-65; progress report on evaluation in the eight year study. 6, no. 7 (1935):32-34. ullrich, felix h. survey of general aims of education. 10 (1939):128-129. unified secondary curriculum. lucien b. kinney and oliver r. floyd. 9 (1938):14-18. unifying the arts in high school. william j. michaels. 10 (1939):22-24. university cooperation in a program of curriculum development. grayson n. kefauver. 14 (1943):112-114. university of florida 1939 summer workshop. m. w. carothers. 10 (1939):271-273. use of environmental materials in the elementary school, r. l. caylor. 8 (1937):117. uses of community in teacher education. lloyd a. cook. 10 (1939):261-264. utilization of community planning. harry a. wann. 6, no. 5 (1935):20-22. utterback, elizabeth. high school english based on social problems. 10 (1939) 353-355. valuations through analysis or synthesis, david snedden. 8 (1937):166-168. vanbrunt, tom byrd. survey of state curriculum programs. 11 (1940):227-229. vanbrunt, tom byrd, and h. e. nutter. florida's long-range curriculum program. 12 (1941):62-65. van dyke, l. a. local cooperation in missouri curriculum project. 11 (1940):30-32. van loan, w. l. and williams, mildred. essentials of a social education program. 14 (1943):225-228. varied curriculum patterns create need for guidance. h. h. mills. 14 (1943):88-90. ventura county, california, curriculum laboratory. edla l. schreiner and m. e. mushlitz. 12 (1941):268-269. veverka, m. madilene. steps in curriculum construction. 7, no. 1 (1936):5-6. view of a unit of work. laura zirbes. 2, no. 5 (1931):3-4. virginia curriculum program and the rural schools. d. w. peters. 9 (1938):261-263. visitation should follow workshops. chester c. carrothers. 12 (1941):365-367. vital issues in the social studies, daniel c. knowlton. 8 (1937):299-304. vitalizing the study of genetics, myra z. ronbinson. 13 (1942):366-368. vocational education and social welfare. walter d. cocking. 9 (1938):295-298. vocational training for farm boys. v. g. martin. 10 (1939):8182. vocational training for national defense. francis gregory. 11 (1940):327-328. vredovoogd, laurence e. adding a camp to the curriculum. 8 (1937):54-58. vreeland, wendell. the role of instructional aids in teaching. 6, no. 4 (1935):10-13. w. p. a. adult education curriculum service. mildred j. wiese. 10 (1939):82-83. waite, lloyd l. the arts program at cranbrook school. 11 (1940):263-266 waller, carl h. education for vocations and college life. 11 (1940):157-161. walters, allyn a. farm electrification and the curriculum. 14 (1943):69-72. wann, harry. a. utilization of community planning. 6, no. 5 (1935):20-22. wann, k. d. children cooperate in school improvement. 11 (1940):361-364. waples, douglas. curriculum research at the graduate library school of the university of chicago. 4, no. 3 (1933):2-3. war and the educational program, b. o. smith. 13 (1942):113-116. wartime adjustments in dayton schools, emerson h. landis. 13 (1942):308-310. wartime adjustments in san diego schools. charles, j. falk. 14 (1943):65-68. washington meeting of the society. 3, no. 3 (1932):1-3. watson, goodwin. organismic psychology. 5, no. 3 i (1934):11-15; what learnings are of most worth? the answer lies in synthesis. 8 (1937):17-18. wattenberg, william w. developing a curriculum laboratory. 9 (1938):355-357; new curriculum at chicago teachers college. 10 (1939):228-230. webb, l. w. ten years of curriculum planning by the north central association. 8 (1937):234-238. weber, c. a. what techniques of curriculum development are most effective? 14 (1943):173-176. weedon, vivian, and edgar dale. annual bibliography of curriculum making. 6, no. 7 (1935):1-26; annual bibliography. 7, no. 7 (1936):28-41; annual bibliography of curriculum making 1936-37. 8 (1937):249-263. weedon, vivian; harap, henry; dale, edgar. annual bibliography of curriculum making: march 1933-march 1934. 5, no. 6 (1934):11-37. weersing, frederick j. curriculum development as teacher growth. 11 (1940):166-169. west virginia issues new courses of study. 8 (1938):128-129. what is a good unit?. h. d. richardson. 14 (1943):178-180. what is a unit of work? j. paul leonard. 8 (1937):103-106. what is the unit? benjamin r. showalter. 8 (1927):318-319. what is wrong with secondary school subjects?. albert j. huggett. 11 (1940):176-178. what learnings are of most worth? the answer lies in analysis, david snedden. 8 (1937):16. what learnings are of most worth? the answer lies in synthesis, goodwin watson. 8 (1937):17-18. what makes a curriculum program successful? galen saylor. 12 (1941):151-154. what services do local educational workers want from the state department? william m. alexander. 13 (1942):17-20. what techniques of curriculum development are most effective?. c. a. weber. 14 (1943):173-176. wheeler, r. h. integration from the psychologist's viewpoint. 7, no. 4 (1936):22-23. whitelaw, john b. school-community cooperation and the teacher. 11 (1940):201-204. whither secondary education, wilford m. aikin. 8 (1937):153-155. why and how of instructional aids by s. a. courtis. 5, no. 4 (1935):14-19. wiese, mildred j. w. p. a. adult education curriculum service. 10 (1939):82-83. wieting, c. maurice. correlating american literature and history courses. 4, no. 3, part i (1933):5. wieting, c. maurice and herbert b. bruner. list of outstanding courses of study. 7, no. 8 (1936):14-18; annual list of outstanding courses of study. 8 (1937):360-365; annual list of outstanding courses of study. 9 (1938):364-369; annual list of outstanding curriculum materials. 12 (1941):263267. wieting, c. maurice, herbert b. bruner, and fern d. schneider. annual list of outstanding curriculum materials. 10 (1939):359-364. wieting, c. maurice and leslie johnson. trends in curriculum thinking. 10 (1939):367-369. wieting, c. maurice and hubert b. risinger. an experiment in consumer education. 11 (1940):323-325. williams, florence b. and sifert, e. r. curriculum study in proviso township high school. 11 (1940):81-83. williams, mildred and van loan, w. l.. essentials of a social education program. 14 (1943):225-228. willis, charles f., flowers, william r., and taylor, j. carey. present status of curriculum building in baltimore. 9 (1938):115-119. wingo, g. max. practice in activity schools and the experimental theory of knowledge. 12 (1941):351-355. wittich, walter a. citizens help build consumer mathematics. 13 (1942):181-182. wood, hugh b. an organismic viewpoint of evaluation. 8 (1937):96-102. wood, hugh b. planning a program of evaluation. 8 (1937):355359; how to organize a curriculum laboratory. 9 (1938):345349; the internal organization of the curriculum. 11 (1940):61-65; preparing a schedule for comprehensive evaluation. 11 (1940):267-269; meeting of the society for curriculum study. 13 (1942):157-160. wood, hugh b., and parr, frank w. progress of curriculum improvement in oregon. 12 (1941):79-82. woodruff, c. h.; j. l. meriam, and m. e. herriott. elementary textbooks of 1931-1933. 5, no. 2 ii (1934):2-16; secondary textbooks of 1931-1933. 5, no. 3 ii (1934):1-43; junior college textbooks of 1931-1933. 5, no. 3 ii (1934):44-76; textbooks of 1934. 6, no. 1 (1935):9-46. woods, elizabeth l. research and curriculum offices cooperate. 13 (1942):359-361. wooton, f. c. teacher education at claremont. 7, no. 5 (1936):17-20. work as education: an experiment. ormsbee w. robinson. 10 (1939):73-75. work book and the teacher by angela m. browning. 5, no. 4 (1935):26-29. work camps for america. kenneth holland. 11 (1940):224-227. work experience: basic issues. f. p. haskyn. 14 (1943):22-25. work of the committees of the commission on unit courses and curricula of the north central association. thomas m. deam. 3, no. 4 (1932):4. work of the curriculum divison of ohio state university educational research bureau (in educational research bulletin, 1933). edgar dale. 5, no. 1 (1934):13. workshop for course of study production, roosevelt basler. 13 (1942):222-225. worlton, james t. conservation in the school curriculum. 12 (1941):260-262. wrenn, c. gilbert. child study and the guidance function. 13 (1942):261-263. wrightstone, j. wayne. a practical program of evaluation. 11 (1940):306-309. wrinkle, william l. the reorganization of secondary education at colorado state teachers college, greeley, colorado. 5, no. 6 (1934):6-10; a basis for curriculum planning. 11 (1940):229-231. wynne, j. p. curriculum making at state teachers college, farmville, virginia. 6, no. 6 (1935):12-16; participation of the teachers college in curriculum development. 9 (1938):11-13. yeager, franchon. children study construction of building. 11 (1940):123-125. yeuell, gladstone h. curriculum changes in alabama secondary schools. 11 (1940):179-181. youth addresses the teacher, anonymous. 8 (1937):324-325. zachry, caroline b. institute for the study of personality development. 12 (1941):66-69. zeller, dale. the kansas program for the improvement of instruction. 10 (1939):164-167; supervisors and curriculum directors have a common function. 13 (1942):311-314. ziegel, w. h. a teachers college and the curriculum. 8 (1937):212. ziegfeld, edwin. the owatonna art education project. 8 (1937):143-149. zirbes, laura. a view of a unit of work. 2, no. 5 (1931):3-4. 