WESTERN JOURNAL OF EDUCATION Vol. XXIII Bay Section the California Teachers' Association, Supt. C. J. Du Four, Alameda. Northern California Teachers' Association, S. P. Robbins, President, Chico, Cal.; Mrs. Minnie O'Neil, Secretary. Central California Teachers' Association, F. H. Boren, Lindsay, President; E. W. Lindsay, Fresno, Secretary. Southern California Teachers' Association, Mrs. Grace Stanley, President, San Bernardino; J. O. Cross, Secretary, Los Angeles. California Council of Education, E. M. Cox, Oakland, Cal., President; A. H. Chamberlain, San Francisco, Cal., Secre tary. "California Federation of School Women's Clubs, Miss Ethelind M. Bonney, Stockton, President; Miss Alma Simon, Stockton, Secretary. California Education Officers, Sacramento, Cal., Hon. Edward Hyatt, Superintendent of Public Instruction; Dr. Margaret Schallenberger-McNaught, Commissioner Elementary Schools; Edwin R. Snyder, Commissioner Vocational Education; Will C. Wood, Commissioner Secondary Schools. State Board of Education, E. P. Clarke, President; Mrs. O. Shepard Barnum, Charles A. Whitmore, T. S. Montgomery, Marshall De Motte, Mrs. Agnes Ray, George W. Stone. Little Talks by the Way By EDWARD HYATT The Desert Again I have been out on one of our California deserts again. 'Twas the Colorado, that arm of the great arid Southwest which runs up into California, deprived of the breezes and moisture of the coast by an abrupt barrier of forbidding mountains. It is always an interesting trip in any season, hot or rainy. The sight of that old shore line on the mountain side, telling of the longvanished lake or sea once filling this valley, the sand dunes with their delicate tracery, the tales of the Salton Sea, with its dramatic rise, and passages hidden to the view, all mark this as an historic place. And there is romance, modern history unfolding before our eyes in the dwindling desert, the coming of the settlers, the spreading of the alfalfa fields and cottonwood lanes. Each time I go back I see less of the old gray plain, and find cabins, tents, bungalows and pastures where once I plodded through the sand, hoarding water and energy to reach the next well. Then and Now Time was when this trip such as I took a few weeks back was not to be undertaken in a moment, light-heartedly, and of a sudden. Equipment, plans, dates demanded careful consideration. To be sure, there was the railroad, but it does not reach everywhere, and official duties often called from schools and settlements back in the hills, and along the river. The horses (or hills, and along the river. The horses (or mules) for such a trip must be stout-hearted and willing; the iron tires of the wheels must not be too narrow lest they sink deep ly into the sand. There must be a supply of the ever useful coal-oil container, to carry water between the wells; canned tomatoes in plenty, canned beans and corn to second them. In those days, my friends, LERANCISCO, MARCH, 1917 JUNIOR UNIVERSITY such vegetables were meek and lowly members of our outfit, utilitarian, common, despised. Today they sit in the seats of the mighty, and the poor "desert rat" must needs own several tungsten claims ere he load his burro with such staples. Potatoes were indulged in sparingly, but not for the financial reason of today. They were too bulky, must be cooked, and were most inconvenient to pare gingerly spitted on a fork to keep them as clean as possible during the process. Water for rinsing was scarce. The Easier Way The difference that the automobile makes today! We may carry any luxury (we can afford), and gaily skim over those once long monotonous miles, skipping from orange grove to date orchard without half the effort it once took to "hitch up" in the morning and get under way. Leaving Riverside with the morning well advanced this time, we swirled into Coachella in ample time for the dedication ceremonies of the splendid new school. With horses as the motive power it would take several days, listening to the crunch of the wheels in the sand, every inch an effort. On the River Resuming our journey we headed on out into the desert. Our trail led through the Painted Canyon, whose rainbow coloring is not for me to describe. Those who have never seen the desert colors would not believe my mildest statement, while those who know would curl their lips in scorn at such a tame, milk-and-water description. 'I'll just remark, it is unbelievably beautiful, with soft tints and shades, blending and contrasting in marvelous array, and we'll let it go at that. Between the brilliant cliffs of the Painted Canyon we sailed, over the Chuckawalla Bench (I like that name), then down from the sandy, rocky plateau to the fertile strip which fringes the Colorado River, to Blythe, Here, in the Palo Verde Valley, which less than two decades ago was an almost impenetrable tangle of mesquite and twisting shallow lagoons, there is a high school of sixty lagoons, there is a high school of sixty pupils, and a fine big grammar school full of healthy, happy youngsters. Here again were they dedicating a fine, new school building. California's favorite indoor sport is the building, dedicating and filling of schools of the finest type. A Wizard of the Camera Since my return I have had the pleasure of looking over some unusually fine photo graphs of studies of the desert. Mr. E. P. Clarke, on his last trip to Sacramento for the State Board meeting, brought with him. a collection of pictures. These show that we have one more name to add to our long list of talented people who do things worth while. A young man with his camera has caught the intangible spirit of the desert, the lonesome wastes, the compelling mystery and romance of it, the grandeur and the hush that lies over it. Would I were an artist, that I might speak as with authority of the wonderful composition, the grouping of masses and shadows, the perspective and feeling they show. Some are delicately colored, with a masterly touch, others are soft gray reproductions. There is one in particular, of hoary, lovely old Mount San Jacinto from its steep desert side, shouldering up abruptly from the level floor of the desert to the snows twelve thousand feet above. It is a wonderful picture of a wonderful bit of scenery, with misty canyons leading the eye into the dis tance and ever upward. A New National Park Not only are they good to look upon, but they are even now on their way to accomplish a mission. For all these studies have as the central theme the stateliness, the graceful beauty of our native palms. Did you know that we have right here in our own state, colonies of palmswild ones, mark you-nestling in canyons at the base of the rude barrier between the gray desert and the green coast regions. They are peculiar to this region, growing in the most forbidding places, in clusters and groups, here and there a solitary one standing out bold, stately, majestic. little stream, fed by the snows, comes through a rocky and steep canyon, its margins lined with the palms, forming a most picturesque and interesting spot. A A movement is on foot to have these trees, which rival the famous Royal Palm of the tropics in their beauty, cared for, appreciated and preserved. And to that end, these pictures have been sent to Secretary Franklin Lane, to plead for government adoption and protection for the trees. If the powers that be shall see fit to accede to the request, we shall have within our borders a new park, reservation, or whatever the technical term may be, for park, but an unique one, and vastly interour only native palm. It will be a small park, but an unique one, and vastly inter esting. If you are ignorant of these treasures of ours, or are interested in artistic scenes of the desert, by all means possess yourselves of some of these pictures of young Stephen Willard's. They are well worth owning, not alone because of their interest, but because they are artistic, splendid, decorative pictures in themselves. They are a worthy addition to the artistic achievements of California. "Good English" The School Teachers' Page Opinions long held and openly advocated by myself strike me with force, and become stronger convictions when expressed by another. Hence it is with particular pleasure that I quote from Wilhemina van de Goorberg in the March issue of "Los Angeles Teachers' Bulletin": "It is my opinion that the present generation of adults is suffering from the effects of too much instruction in grammar, and the rising generation from too little of it. "We have been teaching a hazy subject known as 'Language' for the last dozen years. What is the result? The eighth grade and high school teachers can tell you. "The student's spoken and written English (except when he is quoting verbally) lacks proper construction, and because he does not understand the underlying principles of sentence-structure, it is impossible to explain the fault to him. "One finds a surprising lack of ability to write clearly and coherently among the teachers themselves. "Buy a first-class English grammar, and go through it as though you had never seen one before. "Also, get a good rhetoric-not a fancy one for orators, but one that sets forth the best forms of English for every-day use. "The classroom work might be divided into four periods a week, like this: "1. Lesson in oral or written expression, with emphasis on some definite fea tures. "2. Lesson in dictionary use and definition of words, with ample illustrations in sentences. "3. Memorizing of poems and passages from the literature lesson (latter chosen by the pupil). "4. Lesson in grammar. "Grammar does not teach us to speak correctly. It is analytic. As a detailed study it may well be left to the high school, but the fundamentals can and should be mastered in the three highest grammar grades. Nor is it necessary to avoid all technical terms. The point to keep in mind is, that what is taught should have a vital connection with the pupil's own use of English. "The literature lesson is, of course, also a study of English, but it should not be interrupted by any discussion of mechanical details. A language period can be taken for this with much profit, beforehand. "A fine passage of literature should be read continuously or the effect is ruined." The Writer's Monthly Frequently have I spoken of the Home Correspondence School of Springfield, Mass., and its publications entitled "The Writer's Library." I wish that every high school, every school where English is taught, could have a set of these books in its library and Eliza D. Keith the pupil could be permitted to read these books for interest and for profit. The same publishers-that is, The Home Correspondence School-issue "The Writer's Monthly," edited by J. Berg Esenwein. A little magazine of this sort coming into a schoolroom and circulated among the pupils would do much to stimulate an interest in "Composition." It would take English out of the rut of a dry study and revivify it with up-to-date life and energy. Try it send for a sample copy and turn it loose in the class. The Gordon System for For those who are held to the phonogram method of teaching reading there can be no greater help than the "Gordon Pasteboards." By that I mean the three big charts, practically a yard square, holding used as a phonogram drill, or to be used perhaps six columns of phonograms, to be used as a phonogram drill, or to be used in word-building helped out by the big initial cards, held in the hand of the child, to be placed at either end of a phonogram in the column, and a word formed. But best of all for quick reading drill words at sight is the folding hand chart, by which, with a few turns of the wrist spring into being in plain sight of the and a fold of the pasteboard, new words ive and enlivening drill. children. It is a most interesting, instruct Any teacher whose course of study includes the use of phonograms should immediately possess herself of a set of the Gordon Reading System chart, the "Gordon Pasteboards," as an aid to teaching reading. Published by D. C. Heath & Co., Market street, San Francisco. The Gordon Manual will be found to be full of excellent material, arranged in a most effective manner. How to Create An Interest Have you ever used Thompson's Mini- The grammar forms are particularly valuable, covering as they do the essential facts in grammar and of language, and make it possible for the entire class to engage in a quick, snappy drill. The teacher can supplement these forms with work of her own, but an earnest student, eager to cover the course-in fact, to double up on the requirements-could easily do two years' work in one, with no other teacher than his text-books in connection with the Thompson Minimum Essentials. I have used these papers for several years in grades, ranging from the fourth through the eighth, and I find the Thompson Minimum Essentials simply unequaled for content, for advance, and for review. Carpenter's Readers Prime favorites are the Frank G. Carpenter's supplementary readers, published by the American Book Co., and so greatly in demand that the Free Public Library branches sometimes limit the length of time that these books can be retained by a borrower to one day. This is especially true of the series on Science and Industry-"How the World Is Fed," "How the World Is Clothed" and "How the World Is Housed." Take, for instance, what the author says. in his book on "How the World Is Fed": "Its purpose is to give the children a knowledge of the production and preparation of foods, and to show how civilization and commerce grow from man's need of foods and the exchange of foods between the different nations of the earth." This prepares the children to take up the study of commercial geography with an understanding mind ready to grip the facts and to understand what is meant by the markets of the world and why some nations wish free trade, why others clamor for a protective tariff, and why the wars of today are contests for commercial opportunity rather than wars for conquest or for acquisition of territory. The chapter on rubber in the reader "How the World Is Clothed" will prove most interesting and helpful in the study of South America. During the week of March 11th Director Frederick H. Meyer of the California School of Arts and Crafts in Berkeley and Director of Art in the Oakland public schools, spoke twice before the C. T. A., Central Section, in Fresno. Before the Grades and Art sections he discussed the subject of "Poster Art and What Can Be Done with It in the Schools." In conjunction with his talk he showed a large collection of foreign posters. In the Art and Manual Training sections he discussed "Modern Furniture" with particular reference to that which could be designed and constructed in the schools. He illustrated this talk with the stereopticon. Many of the slides showed furniture, single pieces and completely furnished rooms, designed by students in interior decoration in the School of Arts and Crafts and made by pupils in the Oakland public schools. In the same week Harry Kendall Bassett, Educational Director in the school, appeared before the institutes in Merced, Madera and Stanislaus counties. These institutes were held in Merced, Madera and Modesto, respectively, preceding the Association meeting in Fresno. In each city Mr. Bassett spoke in the elementary and high school sections and in the general sessions of the in stitutes. THE EDWARDS INKS If you want a superior quality of ink, use the inks of the H. Edwards Manufacturing Company, San Francisco. Their "Superior Black," "Blue Black," Carmine, Combined Writing and Copying, Crimson, Extra Copying, Mucilage, Library Paste, are superior in quality, satisfactory in action and lasting in effect. Patronize home manufacture. Buy goods made in California. Be an active supporting member of the Home Industry League. Buy the Edwards Inks and library supplies. Conducted by W. H. Weeks The above picture is of the beautiful new High School Building to be built at Clovis, California. This building of classical design is to be constructed of reinforced concrete with concrete fireproof corridors and stairs. The ornamental trimmings on the exterior to be of terra cotta, and the roof to be of terra cotta tile. The plan of the building will be along lines of the larger and more complete High School buildings now being built in the State, containing, besides the usual number of classrooms, a large assembly hall, a large and well equipped commercial and drawing department, and a very complete and up-to-date domestic science department consisting of cooking room, model housekeeping room, sewing and fitting room, etc. The mechanical equipment of the building will be very complete, including the Program Clock System, Vacuum Cleaning Systém, Steam Plenum Heating System, and electric cooking in the domestic science department. Mr. W. H. Weeks, of San Francisco, is the architect. I have received a number of communications recently in regard to school building and architecture. The greater number of these letters are not of general interest. Many I have answered directly by letter. Questions of general interest in connection with school buildings will be considered and answered in these columns. One communication lately received is of more than passing interest. It is in regard to the merits of the one-story school building compared with other types. This opens up a very important subject and one I feel well qualified to answer intelligently, having designed the first one-story unit-type building, about eight years ago. This school designed by me was a development of the cottage plan, in vogue a few years ago in some Eastern communities, probably used to greater extent in Colorado and Illinois than in any other State. That many mistakes have been made in the planning of the one-story school buildings is evident to anyone who has investigated the subject, and that serious mistakes are made in the planning and erecting of many of these buildings at the present time, due to lack of experience in both trustees and architect, who are blindly following the lead in this style of building set by such cities as Oakland and Berkeley, laboring under the impression that because cities of this class adopted a particular type of building it must necessarily be an acceptable type. Mistakes were made in the placing of many of these buildings as well as in the planning-mistakes which can be avoided in future school buildings by more careful study of the problem. It is my intention, in the near future, to go into detail in regard to the good and bad features of the one-story school. CLOTH WINDOWS FOR SCHOOLS Experiments are being made in the use of cloth windows in school, thus allowing air to enter at such a low velocity as to avoid draughts. The Heating and Ventilating Magazine tells of such an experiment in a 16-room school which was equipped with a hot-blast heating system, supplemented by direct steam radiation, located along the outer walls under the window. The ventilating system was such as required that doors and windows be kept closed. "Certain rooms were selected in which wooden screens were placed in the lower sashes of the windows, the screens (36 by 40 inches) being covered with a medium grade of unbleached cotton cloth." The rooms were first heated and the air humidified by means of a steam jet. Just before the opening of school the hot-air inlets were closed and the cloth windows used. It was found that the stuffiness and odors previously noticed entirely disappeared, as did also the coughing and manifestations of cold on the part of the pupils. This was continued throughout the season except for a few days in midwinter when the wind was high. Ordinarily there were no cold draughts even within five feet of the windows. It is stated that the temperature of the room was maintained without difficulty, while the humidity was practically that of the outdoor air, and the dust in the air was reduced one-third. The cloth screens, kept clean, did not interfere with the lighting of the room. Southern California Section Under Direction of Editorial Dr. Millspaugh, President Emeritus That President Millspaugh, who has guided its destinies during the past fourteen years, is to be retained in an advisory capacity as president emeritus, speaks well for the foresight of the trustees in charge, and is also a fitting tribute to the man who has devoted his life to the sacred cause of education, has made for himself a distinct place among the larger school men of the country, and has brought this Normal School to its present state of efficiency. It would be hard to devise a more appropriate sequel to the situation than to call Dr. Ernest C. Moore from Harvard to assume the responsibilities of the enlarged institution proposed. Dr. Moore's previous experience as superintendent of the Los Angeles city schools gives him an intimate knowledge of the local situation and the problems involved. It also puts him in immediate touch with the practical phase of the work whose sole and ultimate end is the education and development of boys and girls. His years' of labor in the university field gives him that breadth of view that must seek to harmonize all the elements in the problems of education in its larger aspects. Thus from every point of view Dr. Moore is well qualified to undertake to enlarge the service of the State to the people of Southern California in an educational way. Whatever the change may mean in the way of extended facilities and service, it is to be granted that the normal school point of view is not to be lost sight of nor the elementary school problem lose any of its tremendous significance and importance. Methods and materials for the education of children rather than adults. must always remain the dominant issue in our educational affairs, and the training of teachers to determine this specific thing must be the supreme aim in any institution denominated normal school or teach ers' college. At the same time, teachers of elementary children as well as those of adolescent and more advanced age need that broader education and culture, that world view of things, that best comes through a well chosen university course. Fortunate will be the teacher and children of Southern California when this larger prospect becomes a reality. Chancellor's Motives, Ideals, and It is an interesting experience to go into time that give evidences of never having As a type of this latter class may be Furthermore, it is interesting to glance through a book and see indications of the most frequently read parts, or chapters. The book above mentioned opens most readily at the chapter on Personal Success and Failure in Life, and a little deeper sig nificance is that it opens at pages 78 and 79, where Mr. Chancellor delineates so clearly his notion as to what success and failure in life really consist of. The contrast is so clear that we venture to quote him at length, that more of our fellow men who having not read the book may yet get his basis for self-analysis and reflection: "I call him successful," Mr. Chancellor says, "who numbered a sufficiency of days; who found a deep satisfaction in life; who learned sympathy, patience, fortitude, courage, through trials; who brought himself to order and the things of the world to order in relation to himself; who promised within his power of performance and changed not, though promising to his own hurt; who injured none more than himself, and desired not to injure even himself; who rendered to the world in product and in service more than he received; who lived as celibate in chastity or as husband in continence; who made of his body a temple for his soul; who loved truth and pursued it; desired freedom and granted it; was first just, then merciful; first honest, then generous; became desciple and apostle of of the laws of essential Nature; and re joiced to be a servant of God." As antithesis to these elements of the successful life, he says: "And him I call unsuccessful who by fault of his own failed of sufficiency of days to bring his soul to completeness; who found no meaning and satisfaction in life; who grew hard, impatient, timid, fretful; who became erratic and disorderly, and set the world about him in disorder; who in anxiety for the the morrow promised more than his power ing all; who injured himself or others deto fulfill, and being hurt, shrank from paybasing life from purposes of joy and delight-purposes inalienably the property of all living things; because of whom the world was poorer in material wealth; who by unchastity and incontinence defiled life at the fountains; who forced his soul to abide in a body degraded into a mire, or etherealized into a shadow or converted into a prison; whose yea was not yea, nor his nay, nay; who accepted servitude. and enforced it; founded mercy upon inpreached and practiced the natural laws justice and generosity upon dishonesty; of the elements and of the brutes; and declined the service of God." * Health Preparedness Any definite movement to safeguard the health and development of children meets a ready response from all right-minded people. Such an organization has been formed among the school physicians of Los Angeles under the title School Hygiene Association. With Dr. Herbert T. True as its president and his worthy associates intensely interested in the work, there is no question but much good will come from the organization. Indiana, in 1873, was the direct outgrowth of a desire on the part of educators and students The University year comprises four quarters of twelve weeks each. The regular Summer Ses comprising two hundred and eighteen instruct sion opens May 29th, 1917. The regular faculty, ors, is retained throughout this session. Special attention is given to the particular needs of summer students. Credits obtained during the summer quarter may be applied on any of the regular courses of study. The following depart ments are maintained by the University in the summer: Preparatory, High School, Primary Methods, Kindergarten Methods, Education, Arts and Sciences, Bible Study, Commerce, Phonography and Typewriting, Review for Teachers, Enculture, Public Speaking, Music, Fine Art, Home gineering, Architecture, Manual Training, Agri Economics and Pharmacy. The cost of living is very reasonable. mation, will be mailed free upon request. The University catalog, containing full infor |