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 se1f- direction, 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 ) . 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