.1 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 II! I: 
 
 019 605 229 A 
 
Parent-Teacher Associations 
 
 By 
 EDITH E. HOYT 
 
 Assistant Professor *6f Education 
 
 Department of Debating and Public Discussion 
 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION DIVISION 
 
 The University of Wisconsin * 
 MADISON 
 
 BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 Serial No. 1122, General Series No. 906 
 
 Price 15 cents 
 
INDEX 
 
 Page 
 
 Activities, Sug-g-estions for 23 
 
 Afternoon meetings 17 
 
 Aid offered 
 
 Bureau of Community Development 43 
 
 Bureau of Instruction by Lectures 44 
 
 Bureau of Visual Instruction , 44 
 
 Department of Correspondence-Study. 45 
 
 Department of Debating and Public Discussion 43 
 
 Americanization, study outline 35 
 
 Better schools 6 
 
 By-laws and committees 13 
 
 Caution '. 14 
 
 Club study subjects 29 
 
 Clubs, Rural parent-teacher 30 
 
 Committees 13 
 
 Community betterment 7 
 
 Gatherings 22 
 
 Organization 6 
 
 Singing 21 
 
 Community recreation, study outline 32 
 
 Constitution 12 
 
 Evening meetings 19 
 
 Program for 21 
 
 Financial support 18, 22 
 
 Forum teaching 31 
 
 Americanization 35 
 
 Community recreation 32 
 
 Health centers 40 
 
 Mental hygiene 37 
 
 Public health 41 
 
 Sex hygiene 3 6 
 
 Studies in citizenship 33 
 
 Wisconsin State Conference of Social Work 38 
 
 Games 21 
 
 Gatherings, Community 22 
 
 Group study plans 45 
 
 Health centers, study outline 40 
 
 Hints for community gatherings 22 
 
 How to organize 10 
 
 Lines of effort 23 
 
 Meetings 16 
 
 Afternoon 17 
 
 Evening 17, 19, 2I 
 
 Place 9, 19 
 
 Time 19 
 
 Mental hygiene, study outline 37 
 
 Music and recreation 22 
 
 Organization ] . 9 
 
 Community ' * g 
 
 Organize, How to 10 
 
 Outline of program. . .,. .!!!!! .17, 21 
 
 Plans of work '. '24 
 
 Program committee 19 
 
 Program for afternoon meetings 17 
 
 Evening meetings 21 
 
 Public health, study outline '.**.* 41 
 
 Purpose \\\ 4 
 
 Rural parent-teacher clubs '.'.'.'.'....'...'.■... 30 
 
 Schools, better 6 
 
 Sex hygiene, study outline 36 
 
 Studies in citizenship, study outline 33 
 
 Study plans, Group '. 45 
 
 Subjects, Club study 29 
 
 Suggestions for activities " * * 23 
 
 Evening meetings I9 
 
 Meetings 16 
 
 Teaching, Forum " 31 
 
 Topics for rural clubs 30 
 
 Work is twofol d,. 16 
 
 Plans of . . .[. . T'.'T ''r.-Trrrrrrrrr-r':-^^ 24 
 
 What par§!nt-t^ach4jt)a^l3yiOFoe©{^p@|5^5^ne : '. . '. '. '. ". '. '. . ' ' \ 14 
 
 { 
 
 wnat par§!nt-t*achijtJl:«©%BViOFoe©fiaaBecjioi 
 
 What^U^rijnt-tfeacher association is^itttTT...' 
 
 Wiscons.in^ Sta|e Conference'"<aVBOcial Work, studv outline 38 
 
 f MAY 8 1922 / 
 

 Department of Debating and Public Discussion 
 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION DIVISION 
 
 The University of Wisconsin 
 
 Administrative Staff 
 
 Edward A. Birge, Ph.D., Sc.D., LL.D., 
 
 President of the University 
 
 Louis E. Reber, M.S., Sc.D., 
 
 Dean, University Extension Division 
 
 Almere L. Scott, B.A., 
 Secretary, Department of Debating and Public Discussion 
 
 Parent-Teacher Associations 
 
 (Copyrighted, March 1918.) 
 
 By Edith E. Hoyt 
 
 It is one of the hopeful signs of our times that com- 
 munities are becoming more and more self-conscious 
 in the sense that they are beginning to realize com- 
 munity obligations and responsibilities and needs, as 
 distinguished from those of the individual, and that 
 they are coming to appreciate the fact that through 
 community betterment individual well-being and suc- 
 cess are promoted also. 
 
 Moreover, it may be said that for most communities 
 the problems now confronting them are more per- 
 plexing and difficult than those heretofore met. The 
 need for a spirit of tolerance and understanding and 
 
 — 3 — 
 
friendly cooperation in every community was never 
 so great as today. 
 
 Of the various forms of community organization, 
 the parent-teacher association occupies a position 
 both unique and indispensable. It is unique because 
 it is the only organization whose members belong to 
 it whether they join it or not. They belong, not be- 
 cause of their own interests nor to serve their own 
 ends ; they belong because they are related to chil- 
 dren either as parents or guardians or grandparents 
 or friends or teachers. Ever since schools were es- 
 tablished, parents and teachers have been associated, 
 even though they ignored or criticised one another. 
 
 But the time has come when this association of 
 teacher and parent can no longer be incidental or 
 accidental ; it must become conscious and vital and 
 concrete for the sake of the children. Such organiza- 
 tions are indispensable to every community and 
 should exist in every school whether it be rural, vil- 
 lage, or city school. Since the home and the school 
 are the agencies which share in the training of chil- 
 dren, they should certainly cooperate in that training; 
 they cannot afford to work at cross-purposes, nor to 
 regard one another with indifference or hostility. 
 
 Purpose 
 
 The ultimate purpose of parent-teacher associations 
 is, of course, the welfare and successful training of the 
 children of the school. But the more immediate pur- 
 pose is the creating of a means or vehicle by which the 
 community can come into constructive relationship 
 with the school in practical ways, and by hearty and 
 
 — 4 — 
 
sincere cooperation with teachers and school boards 
 provide means and stimulus for the greater effective- 
 ness of the school plant. Moreover, the parent-teach- 
 er association is in a sense a clearing-house of infor- 
 mation between parents and teachers. It enlightens 
 the parents as to the needs of the school, the difficul- 
 ties the teacher has to confront, and the kind of sur- 
 roundings in which the child spends his school life. On 
 the other hand, it enables the teacher to come into 
 a more helpful and sympathetic attitude toward her 
 individual pupils through contact with their parents. 
 Nothing so easily clears up misunderstanding and 
 suspicion as frank, informal conferences between per- 
 sons out of harmony with one another, and this un- 
 fortunate condition often obtains between teachers 
 and parents. 
 
 What the Parent-Teacher Association is Not 
 
 The parent-teacher association is not in any sense 
 an organization whose function it is to sit in judg- 
 ment upon the academic work of the school, or to in- 
 terfere in its methods of instruction or administration. 
 The qualifications of teachers in Wisconsin are care- 
 fully prescribed by law ; ample and excellent provi- 
 sion is made for the training of teachers by the state ; 
 and the professional work of teachers is constantly 
 scrutinized by competent inspectors from the State 
 Department of Education. It would be well for the 
 children of our state if parents as a rule possessed a 
 corresponding insight into the nature and needs of 
 children and youth and the same intelligent devotion 
 toward meeting those needs that most teachers show. 
 There have been instances, fortunately rare, where 
 
 — 5 — 
 
the parent-teacher association has meddled inexcus- 
 ably with the academic work of the school ; where it 
 has discussed the dismissal or retention of teachers ; 
 or where it has used political methods to determine 
 the personnel of the school board. This is plainly an 
 unwarranted and improper use to make of the or- 
 ganization. 
 
 Again, the parent-teacher association is not an ex- 
 clusive club, dominated by the socially elect, and used 
 to further the social ambitions of a few leaders. The 
 schools are for all the children of all the people, and 
 the parent-teacher association is for all the parents and 
 friends of all the children and youth in the community. 
 It is, therefore, the organization above all others that 
 touches impartially every home ; for it invites into its 
 membership not only parents but everyone interested 
 in children and youth. It is the one really democratic 
 society in many communities ; for it sets up no barriers 
 whatever to membership.^ 
 
 Parent-Teacher Associations are Community 'Organi- 
 zations for Better Schools 
 
 It has just been said that the work of parent-teacher 
 associations is done outside the classrooms ; and its in- 
 fluence is indirect as far as the actual instruction of 
 children is concerned. But it must not be forgotten 
 that every forward step in education has come about 
 because of the enlightened interest and cooperation of 
 people outside the school, who, in conjunction with 
 teachers and boards of education, have provided means 
 for larger educational advantage than would be pos- 
 sible to provide for at once out of the ordinary school 
 funds. But when the parents of the community have 
 
 — 6 — 
 
understood and realized the value of the new opportu- 
 nity for their children they have willingly taxed them- 
 selves to provide it. For example," in this way the 
 kindergarten has become an integral part of many 
 school systems in our state. Manual training and do- 
 mestic science, the vacation school, medical inspection, 
 the school nurse, the dental clinic, playgrounds, the 
 open air school, school gardens, and other opportuni- 
 ties indispensable to the sound training of children 
 have by outside help become incorporated into many 
 schools. These things can be had by any community 
 if only the parents and friends of children will coop- 
 erate with the teachers and the school board to secure 
 them. 
 
 These, then, are some of the prime functions of the 
 parent-teacher society : to make possible new depart- 
 ures in the educational field ; to provide means for the 
 enlarging and enriching of school opportunity for the 
 children of its community ; to add to the scholastic 
 regimen opportunity for physical and social develop- 
 ment. 
 
 May Serve Also for Community Betterment 
 
 Through the parent-teacher association two other 
 kinds of activity can be carried on, each of which is of 
 the utmost importance and value in the guidance of 
 children and youth. 
 
 First, the parent-teacher association may become 
 the means of a general awakening of interest in com- 
 munity betterment. Through such an organization the 
 great questions of amusement, recreation, vocational 
 guidance, public health and sanitation, and many other 
 matters which can be properly handled only through 
 
 _7_ 
 
community cooperation may be discussed and working 
 plans for improvement in all these matters put into 
 operation. 
 
 The subject of amusement and recreation for the 
 young people of a community is one of its most vital 
 problems whether these young people are all in school 
 or not. One of the most valuable services a community 
 organization can perform is to serve as a means for pro- 
 viding and directing the recreational activities of its youth. 
 
 The parent-teacher association can easily become 
 the nucleus of musical and dramatic clubs and thus 
 reach a larger public and secure a greater influence 
 than it could otherwise hope for. The importance of 
 ■ stimulating and directing community interest in music 
 and drama cannot be overestimated. Of all the fine arts 
 these two are the most universal in their appeal and 
 democratic in their effect. Community efforts in the 
 developing and directing of interest in these two great 
 arts are sure to be richly rewarded. Such efforts bring 
 together in natural and friendly ways all classes and 
 conditions of people, and thus foster community spirit. 
 They serve to discover and develop talent which would 
 otherwise remain unknown and wasted. They also 
 afford an incomparable means of wholesome enjoy- 
 ment and recreation for those who participate in the 
 singing or the acting, as well as for 'those who are 
 spectators or auditors merely. In this way the parent- 
 teacher association may prepare the way for larger 
 community cooperation and may become the forerun- 
 ner of the social center or the community center. 
 
 In the second place, small groups within the parent- 
 teacher association may undertake the serious study 
 of problems affecting children and youth, and may 
 
pursue organized consecutive courses in child study 
 and kindred subjects for the sake of self-improvement, 
 and to become more efficient parents and better citi- 
 zens. 
 
 Organization 
 
 The rallying point of each parent-teacher associa- 
 tion should be a specific school building. It may 
 be the rural schoolhouse or the ward school in a city, 
 but such an organization should always comprise 
 neighborhood groups — those who send their children 
 to the same building, and the teachers in that build- 
 ing ; for such a group has common problems. It riiight 
 be well, perhaps, where the high school is in the same 
 building with the lower grades, to have two such or- 
 ganizations, one for the high school, anA one for the 
 grades below it; for the problems of the high school 
 are quite different from those of the grades, and re- 
 quire different treatment and a somewhat different 
 point of view. But where two organizations are thus 
 found necessary, they may often unite in their meet- 
 ings, and may cooperate in whatever pertains to the 
 general interest of all the pupils of the building. In 
 cities and large towns where there are several ward 
 schools, there will naturally be as many parent-teach- 
 er associations as there are school buildings. Parochial 
 schools also find much advantage in parent-teacher 
 organizations. When all the schools in a community 
 are thus organized, the officers in control of them 
 naturally will organize themselves into a Parent- 
 Teacher Council which, meeting once a month or 
 once in three months, serves to coordinate and unify 
 the work for the entire community. Such a unifying 
 and organizing of the friends of children and youth 
 
 — 9 — 
 
can accomplish almost any needed work for com- 
 munity improvement. 
 
 While the parents of children actually in school 
 will naturally be the largest factors in such organiza- 
 tions, and teachers are of course expected to belong to 
 them, other adult citizens living in the neighborhood 
 who have no children in any of the schools represent- 
 ed should be urged to ally themselves with the parent- 
 teacher organizations. Such people are of the very 
 greatest service, partly because they frequently have 
 more leisure than busy fathers and mothers, and part- 
 ly because they can bring to discussions of school 
 problems a dispassionate attitude which many par- 
 ents are unable to take. 
 
 How to Organize 
 
 Assuming that in any community a number of pro- 
 gressive people (always including the head of the 
 schools) have agreed upon the desirability of form- 
 ing a parent-teacher association, we offer the following 
 suggestions which may contribute to the effectiveness 
 and success of the organization. The person or group 
 interested to form such an association should talk 
 with carefully selected persons in the community 
 whose influence will determine the attitude of differ- 
 ent classes of people, for example, some physicians, 
 public health nurses, president of school board, presi- 
 dent or leading member of women's organizations, 
 clergymen, teachers, etc. and get their interest and 
 cooperation. 
 
 An evening meeting should be held, if possible, so 
 that the men of the community can attend; and a date 
 selected that will not encroach upon other regular 
 
 — 10 — 
 
social or religious gatherings. Invitations to attend 
 this meeting should be sent by means of the children 
 to the parents of every child in the school district or 
 ward, and these invitations should clearly state the 
 purpose of the meeting. Public announcement of the 
 meeting and invitation to attend it should be made 
 through press and pulpit also. Before the meeting, 
 the personnel of the officers to be chosen may be can- 
 vassed, and their promise to serve secured.* They can be 
 nominated from the floor or by persons selected to do so, 
 or someone may move that the chairman appoint a 
 nominating committee to bring in names. 
 
 In some cases a speaker from outside may be ob- 
 tained to set forth the need and purposes of such an 
 organization; but this is not at all essential. Often 
 some one in the community who is a ready speaker 
 can present the matter far more eflfectively than can 
 a stranger with no knowledge of local conditions. 
 Music will add greatly to the success of the meeting, 
 and the help of local musicians should always be se- 
 cured. It is especially desirable that some community 
 singing also be had, at least to the extent of one or 
 two patriotic songs. 
 
 if possible, the school principal should act as chairman 
 of the meeting, and introduce the speaker ; if this is not 
 possible, some leading citizen, banker, editor, minister, or 
 lawyer should be called upon to preside. 
 
 After music and a brief address on what parent- 
 teacher associations are and why they are needed, the 
 meeting should be thrown open for an informal dis- 
 cussion; several people should be ready to speak by 
 previous arrangement, and the ice having been broken, 
 
 ♦Nothing so quickly kills the interest and enthusiasm of a 
 meeting- as to have one person after another who is nominated 
 for office refuse to serve. 
 
 — 11 — 
 
the fullest and freest discussion should follow. After 
 this the chairman of the meeting should take a viva 
 voce vote of the meeting as to the desirability of 
 organizing a parent-teacher society. Then, when the 
 meeting has committed itself to the undertaking,, an 
 organization should be effected. A committee should 
 be appointed to draw up a constitution, and when it is 
 adopted, officers should be elected in accordance with 
 its provisions. 
 
 The following constitution, recommended by the 
 Wisconsin Branch of the National Congress of Moth- 
 ers,^ is admirable in its simplicity and sufficient as a 
 basis for any such organization. 
 
 Constitution of Parent-Teacher Association 
 Article I 
 
 This society shall be called the Parent-Teacher As- 
 sociation of the School. 
 
 Article II 
 Its object shall be better mutual understanding be- 
 tween parents and teachers and their cooperation in 
 all work for the interest of the children. 
 
 Article III 
 Anyone interested in the purpose for which the club 
 is. organized is qualified for membership. 
 
 Article IV 
 The officers of the club shall be a President, a Vice- 
 President, a Secretary, and a Treasurer, elected an- 
 nually at the meeting of the year. 
 
 Article V 
 Regular meetings of the club shall be held on the 
 
 afternoon (or evening) of each month. 
 
 Special meetings by order of . 
 
 iSee Tfiar Book, 1918. 
 
 — 12 — 
 
Article VI 
 
 This constitution may be amended at any annual 
 meeting or by unanimous consent at any regular meet- 
 ing when previous notice has been given. 
 
 By-laws and Committees 
 
 The By-Laws should contain standing rules of the 
 society of such importance that they should be placed 
 out of the power of any one meeting to modify, as 
 dues, duties of officers, method of election, etc. 
 
 One of the by-laws should specify a number of 
 standing committees to serve for six months or a year, 
 through whom much of the practical work of the 
 association is carried on. The following ^committees 
 are recommended as essential in any community ; more 
 may be added to advantage under some circumstances. 
 
 1. Committee to confer with teachers as to prob- 
 lems and needs of various schools. These conferences 
 may be informal, out of school hours, or regular visits 
 to the schools in session. 
 
 2. Committee on program for monthly meetings, 
 including music. 
 
 3. Committee on social activities of the community, 
 including amusements and recreation. 
 
 4. Committee on safeguarding the general welfare 
 and health of school children. 
 
 These committees should report at each meeting; 
 and, through these reports and the discussions follow- 
 ing them, the association as a whole should come into 
 close and sympathetic connection with the school. 
 
 — 13 — 
 
A Caution 
 
 It may not be out of place to remind the promoters 
 of the organization that much of its success depends 
 upon the kind of officers first selected. They should 
 be chosen with care and not at haphazard upon the 
 spur of the moment. The officers should represent 
 widely different interests and yet they should be cap- 
 able people in whom all have confidence. While the 
 school principal or some well-known and highly re- 
 spected teacher should have a place among the offi- 
 cers, it is usually best to have a school patron for 
 president. 
 
 What Some Parent-Teacher Associations Have Done 
 
 It may be of value to suggest briefly some of the 
 constructive activities carried on by parent-teacher 
 organizations in our own state. 
 
 They have taken over and carried on the work of 
 school gardens ; they have bought victrolas and play- 
 er pianos for their schools, and lanterns and moving 
 picture machines so that the schools might have the 
 benefit of the film service offered by the Extension 
 Division ; they have equipped playgrounds ; they have 
 provided facilities for domestic science and manual 
 training; they have started the movement which has 
 resulted in the purchase of additional playgrounds ; 
 they have been instrumental in bringing about the 
 improvement of school buildings or in the securing of 
 entirely new buildings. In some communities, they 
 have cooperated with other organizations to secure a 
 police matron ; to supervise dance halls and pool 
 rooms ; to secure a curfew ordinance ; they have un- 
 dertaken community dances and community festivals 
 
 — 14 — 
 
and pageants; they have taken up seriously the prob- 
 lem of moving picture shows and have brought about 
 greatly improved conditions in many cases ; they have 
 been instrumental in providing school lunches, medical 
 inspection, the school nurse, the dental clinic. These 
 are some of the more obvious and spectacular activi- 
 ties of parent-teacher associations in Wisconsin. But 
 in more indirect and subtle ways they have worked 
 constructively in the interest of children and youth, 
 and for better feeling and understanding between the 
 school, the parents, and the children. 
 
 One valuable kind of help that such associations 
 may confer upon parents should not be overlooked. 
 For the solving of the most difficult problems parents 
 have^ the problems relating to the trainin|f of youth, 
 can be greatly assisted if parents will cooperate, and 
 agree upon a definite policy which all will pursue. If 
 the parents of one high school pupil debar him or 
 her rigorously from public dances, nightly visits to 
 movies, and other doubtful forms of recreation, while 
 all the other parents permit these things, the pupil 
 thus deprived is quite likely to rebel under the re- 
 strictions and to be regarded with pitying superiority 
 by the others. It is very hard indeed for one family 
 to hold out against the practices of all the rest; but 
 parents who get together on this important question 
 of the recreation of high school pupils, and formulate 
 a definite policy to which all will adhere, may, to a 
 large extent, solve the whole problem. 
 
 One further advantage that parent-teacher organi- 
 zations offer to a community is this : they bring to- 
 gether in a friendly spirit people who would never 
 come to know one another. There are many things to 
 
 — 15 — 
 
separate people in the same community; conflicting 
 business interests, differences in politics, religion, 
 nationality, and social status. The parent-teacher 
 association ignores all differences and appeals to the 
 commonest and most fundamental impulses in adult 
 life, affection for children and youth and interest in 
 what conserves their welfare. 
 
 The parent-teacher organization is a great gener- 
 ator of social feeling and energy, which like the power 
 of electricity may be turned into a thousand beneficent 
 channels. In other words, this organization is so flex- 
 ible and so democratic that it can turn its efforts into 
 new and unexpected directions and keep pace with 
 the needs of the time. 
 
 Parent-Teacher Work is Twofold 
 
 There are, then, two aspects of parent-teacher ac- 
 tivity closely related and interdependent : one is the 
 holding of regular meetings ; the other the accomplish- 
 ing of actual results in educational and social better- 
 ment. Neither of these two types of activity can suc- 
 ceed alone; the two must be coordinated. The par- 
 ent-teacher association has not justified its existence 
 when it confines its activities to holding meetings once 
 a month; nor is it fulfilling its complete function 
 where it ignores its social opportunity and turns its 
 attention wholly to raising money for school equip- 
 ment and the improvement of material conditions. 
 
 I. Suggestions for Parent-Teacher Meetings 
 
 It is to be noted that two types of meetings are de- 
 sirable for parent-teacher associations and that they 
 demand quite different programs. The two types of 
 
 — 16 — 
 
meetings are: First, an afternoon meeting, especially 
 for women, held at the close of the school session in 
 which teachers and mothers participate, in which the 
 specific needs of the school are discussed, in which 
 mothers of the school district may come into friendly 
 cooperation and neighborly activity for the benefit of the 
 school, and where mothers may confer with the county 
 nurse or school nurse on the health of their children; 
 second, a meeting for both men and women, held in the 
 evening, in which all may participate. The second type 
 of organization is to all intents and purposes a commu- 
 nity club. 
 
 Outline of Program for Afternoon Meetings 
 
 1. Calling the meeting to order by the presWent of the 
 association and the transaction of necessary business, such 
 as reading of minutes, hearing the reports of committees, 
 and any other matters to come before the meeting. 
 
 2. Some music, either by the children of the school 
 singing school songs, or some person in the district 
 giving a selection either vocal or instrumental. 
 
 3. A brief talk on a timely subject by some com- 
 petent person. 
 
 4. A demonstration of some kind of school work 
 might be given at times. This might be a demon- 
 stration in cookery and the possibilities of a hot lunch, 
 or the remodeling of clothing by the domestic science 
 teacher or the home demonstration agent if one is 
 available. It might be a demonstration of a method 
 of teaching reading or number work; of geography 
 by the use of a sand table; of story telling by a kin- 
 dergartener or primary teacher; of dramatization by 
 the children; of folk dancing; of "project work" of 
 
 — 17 — 
 
various kinds which the school undertakes, the pur- 
 pose being to interest the mothers in the actual work 
 of the school and to indicate to them how they may, 
 in the home, cooperate with the school and reenforce 
 the instruction there given. 
 
 5. At the conclusion of the formal part of the 
 meeting, the chairman should ask for suggestions for 
 the next meeting, either in the way of a program, or 
 information as to conditions in the school or neighbor- 
 hood which call for assistance. In other words, there 
 should be free discussion of the actual situation in 
 which mothers have first-hand information and in 
 which, through conference, they may be able to bring 
 about better conditions. 
 
 6. If the school furnishes facilities for doing so, 
 light refreshments may be served with the help of 
 the older girls of the school. This will give them 
 valuable training and serve also as a means of develop- 
 ing social feeling. Since one of the principal objects 
 of these meetings is the development of friendly feel- 
 ing and the satisfying of social hunger, ample time 
 should be allowed for an informal social time. 
 
 These afternoon meetings should be held at least 
 once a month, and in some way funds should be pro- 
 vided to meet the necessary expenses. This might 
 be done by each one contributing a very small amount, 
 ten cents for example, at each meeting; by yearly 
 dues of one dollar ; by having a candy or cake sale at 
 the meetings occasionally; or by giving an evening 
 entertainment some time during the year to raise a 
 fund to draw upon. It is not feasible to carry on this 
 work without a small sum of money for contingent ex- 
 penses and to help provide the refreshments. 
 
 — 18 — 
 
If possible, a room should be provided where young 
 children and babies may be cared for by older girls of 
 the school during the meeting so that mothers who 
 must bring young children may have a chance to en- 
 joy the meetings without anxiety or embarrassment. 
 
 General Suggestions for Evening IVIeetings 
 
 The second type of meeting is held in the evening 
 and is intended to interest all of the community, young 
 and old, men and women. At the beginning of the 
 school year the organization should decide how many 
 meetings of this kind are to be held. Usually there 
 will be eight such meetings, one each school month, 
 beginning in October and concluding in May. The 
 program committee, which is appointed b^ the presi- 
 dent of the organization, should hold a meeting early 
 in the year in September, and plan carefully for these 
 eight meetings. A different sub-committee should be 
 appointed to be directly responsible for each meeting, 
 in order to distribute opportunity for leadership and 
 enlist wide cooperation. 
 
 The time and place of these meetings should be 
 determined by the program committee, and tirtie 
 enough allowed before the first meeting for general 
 publicity. A brief outline of the meetings for the 
 entire eight months should be published in the local 
 press so that people will understand when these meetings 
 are to be held and not permit other things to encroach 
 upon them. 
 
 So far as possible, the interest dominant in the sea- 
 son should be utilized for determining the kind of 
 program presented ; for example, the October meet- 
 ing will naturally be influenced by the autumn senti- 
 
 — 19 — 
 
ment and especially the Halloween frolic. The Novem- 
 ber meeting will naturally be influenced by the idea 
 of harvest and Tl^anksgiving ; December suggests 
 Christmas. January might be set apart for a civic 
 program and to looking forward to better conditions 
 for the community. February commemorates the 
 birthdays of Lincoln and Washington and would 
 naturally lend itself to patriotic programs. In March 
 the committee might select from several general in- 
 terests, such as, need for more playgrounds, for the 
 supervision of recreation, the censorship of movies, a 
 city clean-up campaign, or whatever seems to be the 
 most urgent at the time. April might be given over 
 to stimulating interest in school gardens and in beauti- 
 fying the school grounds; or in a thrift campaign; or 
 a discussion of the meaning of the spring election. 
 May, which is the last month, should conclude the 
 meetings of the year in some appropriate way which 
 is both social and civic. It might be a large community 
 party, a fete, pageant, or community picnic. 
 
 At each meeting some topic of vital interest to the 
 community should be presented by a person selected 
 because of his knowledge of the subject or connection 
 with the matter under discussion. This discussion of 
 such matters of fundamental interest and importance 
 is the essential part of the program in that it serves 
 to enlighten the community as to its needs and its 
 obligation toward its children and youth. No par- 
 ent-teacher organization can consider itself justified 
 which confines its activities merely to social inter- 
 course, valuable as this is. The presentation and 
 discussion of such subjects as. Community Health, 
 Recreation, Educational Opportunities, Protective 
 
 — 20 — 
 
Measures for Youth, and similar topics should be 
 given concretely and simply and an opportunity for 
 informal discussion should follow. Material on all 
 such topics will be provided upon application to the 
 Department of Debating and Public Discussion, Ex- 
 tension Division, University of Wisconsin. 
 
 The following general outline is suggested as in- 
 dicating the type of program which may be given to 
 advantage, the modifications being made according to 
 the season and to the month. 
 
 Program for Evening Meetings 
 
 1. Community singing (songs appropriate for each 
 program will be furnished upon application to the 
 Bureau of Community Development of tfte Extension 
 Division, University of Wisconsin). 
 
 2. As indicated in a previous paragraph, a fifteen 
 minute talk by some competent person in the com- 
 munity should be given, and the relation of this topic 
 to community needs should be pointed out. Free dis- 
 cussion should be encouraged, and appropriate action 
 taken. 
 
 3. Games or "stunts" of various kinds should be 
 introduced, the purpose being to enlist the interest of 
 every person present and to break down all barriers 
 of reserve. These should be followed by refreshments. 
 The schoolroom in which the meetings are held 
 should be appropriately decorated for the various 
 meetings, and different committees should be called 
 upon from month to month for this service. The ex- 
 pense incident to these meetings should be met in 
 some definite way decided upon by the executive com-, 
 mittee of the parent-teacher organization in its first 
 
 — 21 — 
 
meeting. Money can be raised, if necessary, at each 
 meeting by having something to sell, such as candy 
 or cake, or by a free-will contribution from each per- 
 son, or by levying membership dues upon the families 
 in the organization. 
 
 Hints for Musical and Recreational Features of Community 
 
 Gatherings 
 
 (Prepared by Professor Edgar B. Gordon, Chief, Bu- 
 reau of Community Development, University Extension 
 Division.) 
 
 There is no device which will more quickly unify 
 a group of people and develop in them an interest 
 in the occasion than that of group singing. During 
 the past few years the value of this device has been 
 increasingly recognized so that at the present time 
 there are few occasions where community singing is 
 not utilized. 
 
 Contrary to the impression which sometimes pre- 
 vails, trained leadership is not essential to successful 
 singing. To be sure, trained musicianship plus certain 
 other qualities are of value. The important consider- 
 ation, however, is one of personality on the part of the 
 leader. A person with a pleasing personality and a 
 few gifts of leadership can secure results that are de- 
 sirable. As for the technique for directing, the Bureau of 
 Community Development has prepared a special leaflet 
 which may be procured upon application. 
 
 All parent-teacher associations and community 
 clubs should provide themselves with such well- 
 known books as, "Social Games and Group Dances" 
 by J. C. Elsom and Blanche M. Trilling, published by 
 J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia, Pa., and 
 "The Mary Dawson Game Book" by Dawson, pub- 
 
 -^ 22 — 
 
lished by David McKay, Philadelphia, Pa. The pub- 
 lishing house, Dennison Manufacturing Company, 62 
 East Randolph Street, Chicago, publishes attractive 
 catalogs containing their materials for all kinds of 
 decorative effects for parties, which may be procured 
 upon application. Another part of the equipment of 
 every parent-teacher association and community 
 club should be enough copies of some community 
 song books to supply all those who attend the 
 meetings. The best book available is "Twice 55 Com- 
 munity Songs," published by C. C. Birchard Company, 
 Boston, Massachusetts, price 10c per copy with a 
 small discount when purchased in lots of one hundred. 
 
 II. Suggestions for Parent-Teacher A:tivities 
 
 We turn now to a consideration of the serious and 
 tangible work for school or community improvement 
 which the parent-teacher association may undertake 
 to bring about. 
 
 It is evident that the practical work of these or- 
 ganizations will depend to a large extent upon the lo- 
 cal situation. Community problems are always local, yet 
 some general principles, derived from the experience of 
 many such organizations, may be helpful and suggestive. 
 
 Three Lines of Effort 
 
 Three distinct lines of effort are open to parent- 
 teacher associations. All of these are important, each 
 will aid the others, and none will ever conflict with 
 any of the others. These three lines of effort are as 
 follows : 
 
 First, work for the school. 
 
 — 23 — 
 
Second, work for general community betterment, es- 
 pecially with reference to youths who are no longer 
 in school. 
 
 Third, serious study of the nature of childhood and 
 youth, and problems pertaining to them ; or of other 
 problems of equal importance such as municipal or- 
 ganization and government, and problems connected 
 therewith. 
 
 Plans of Work 
 
 Following is an outline which is intended to be sug- 
 gestive rather than complete, of some subjects for in- 
 vestigation and some kinds of activities which parent- 
 teacher associations may undertake to advantage. 
 
 I. The school. 
 
 A. The external and physical characteristics of 
 the school. 
 
 1. School grounds, are they ample for 
 play? Have they apparatus or other 
 appliances for outdoor gymnastics? 
 What improvements are obviously 
 needed ? 
 
 . 2. The building, — its heating, ventilation, 
 toilet facilities, cleanliness, and gen- 
 eral care may be investigated. 
 
 3. Equipment for successful teaching. 
 
 Study should be made of the lighting, 
 seating, blackboard space, necessary 
 appliances, general homelikeness, and 
 cheer of the various rooms. 
 
 4. Each teacher should be asked this ques- 
 
 tion : What do you need most to make 
 
 — 24 — 
 
your work more effective? A list of 
 real needs as teachers see them might 
 be made the subject of investigation, 
 and means taken to supply them. 
 B. Organization and administration of the 
 school. 
 
 1. A general study may be made of the last 
 
 school report. 
 
 2. The school fund— how much ; how great 
 
 a proportion of the total tax; how di- 
 vided and administered? 
 
 3. How is the school board constituted? Is 
 
 there a woman on the school board? 
 
 4. Are teachers adequately paid? 
 
 5. Get from the city superintendent or sup- 
 
 ervising principal a list of the most 
 urgent needs of the school, and discuss 
 the same. 
 
 6. All schools should be visited regularly 
 
 and reports made as to their needs and 
 problems. 
 C. Curriculum and management of the elemen- 
 tary school. 
 
 1. Are any children out of school who be- 
 
 long there? Is there an attendance 
 officer ? 
 
 2. How many children repeated grades ac- 
 
 cording to last report? 
 
 3. Are defective children especially provided 
 
 for? Is there an ungraded room? 
 
 4. Do all children have training in music, 
 
 drawing, domestic science, manual 
 work, gymnastics? 
 — 25 — 
 
5. Is there medical and dental inspection? 
 
 6. What vocational guidance if any does 
 
 the school provide? 
 
 7. A study should be made of 
 
 a. The vacation school. 
 
 b. The open air school. 
 
 8. Nutrition of school children. 
 
 a. The school lunch. 
 
 b. Milk for school children. 
 
 c. Providing scales for weighing school 
 
 children. 
 
 d. Record cards for physical measure- 
 
 ments of school children. 
 
 D. The high school. 
 
 Some of the subjects most vital to the interest of the 
 high school are as follows : 
 
 1. The Junior high school. 
 
 2. Music in the high school. The high 
 
 school band or orchestra. 
 
 3. High school athletics. 
 
 4. Standardizing the dress of high 
 
 school girls. 
 
 5. High school parties. 
 
 6. High school dramatics. 
 
 7. Supervision of amusement and rec- 
 
 reation for high school pupils. 
 
 8. Fetes, pageants, and folk dancing in 
 
 the high school. 
 
 9. Vocational training in the high 
 
 school. 
 10. The simplifying of high school com- 
 mencements. 
 
 — 26 — 
 
II. The community. 
 
 The second large division of the possible activities 
 of a parent-teacher association has to do with the com- 
 munity. The school is only one community enterprise, 
 though the greatest and most important. But indirect- 
 ly the school is a reflection of the standards of the 
 community, and cannot rise much higher than they do. 
 Some vital community subjects are as follows : 
 
 A. Public health. 
 
 1. Clean streets. 
 
 2. Efficient health officer; the visiting 
 
 nurse. 
 
 3. Safe water supply. 
 
 4. Some pure food legislation. 
 
 5. Conditions in bakeries anii meat mar- 
 
 kets. 
 
 6. Sewage disposal. 
 
 7. Garbage disposal. 
 
 8. Pure milk. 
 
 B. Public morals. 
 
 1. The proper lighting of streets and 
 
 parks. 
 
 2. The need of a police matron. 
 
 3. The supervision of public dances. 
 
 4. The motion picture show. 
 
 5. Are the ordinances strictly enforced? 
 
 6. The juvenile court. 
 
 7. The probation officer. 
 
 C. Public safety — safety-first movement. 
 
 1. Desirable automobile and motorcycle 
 
 regulations. 
 
 2. Special provision for the safety of 
 
 school grounds. 
 — 27 — 
 
3. Provisions for enabling every child 
 to learn to swim, and for first aid 
 to the injured. 
 
 D. Public recreation. 
 
 1. Community dances. 
 
 2. Community fetes, pageants, and the 
 
 community Christmas, and other 
 festivals. 
 
 3. Public parks and facilities for bath- 
 
 ing, rowing, skating, and coasting 
 are a necessity in any progressive 
 community. 
 
 III. Club study for mothers. 
 
 The third kind of activity which may be fostered by 
 the parent-teacher association is the serious study by 
 small groups of mothers of the various problems per- 
 taining to childhood and youth. This kind of work 
 will of necessity be pursued by mothers rather than 
 fathers for the most part, and it should be carried on 
 as an adjunct to the more obvious and public work of 
 the organization. Small groups of mothers, not to ex- 
 ceed fifteen or twenty, may meet once in two weeks or 
 once a month for such work. A study club of this kind 
 has a threefold value. It is in the direction of self- 
 improvement ; it will make mothers more alert, intelli- 
 gent, and efficient in the training of their children ; 
 and it will bring together in an informal and sociable 
 connection women who are interested in the same 
 problems and seeking the same ends, but who often 
 are separated from one another by conventional bar- 
 riers of nationality, religion, or social stratification. 
 
 — 28 
 
Club Study Subjects 
 
 Two large general subjects should occupy the atten- 
 tion of such mothers' clubs, viz. : 
 
 I. The physical welfare and care of children and 
 
 youth. 
 
 1. Stages of growth and physical development. 
 
 2. Dietaries suited to various stages. 
 
 3. The school lunch. 
 
 4. The care of children's teeth. 
 
 5. Gymnastics and athletics suitable to various 
 
 ages. 
 
 6. Sex hygiene. 
 
 II. The mental and moral training of children and 
 
 youth. 
 
 1. Stages of mental growth and %development. 
 
 2. A study of human instincts. 
 
 3. How children learn. 
 
 4. Habit formation. 
 
 5. Some fundamentals of good character. 
 
 6. Some common faults of children. 
 
 7. The possibilities and perils of the adolescent 
 
 period. 
 
 As has been indicated previously, the scheme out- 
 lined above is intended to be suggestive rather than 
 arbitrary. It is presented as a basis from which diver- 
 gence and adaptation may be made. Every communi- 
 ty has its own specific problems. Much depends upon 
 the size of the place ; the kinds of industry predominat- 
 ing; the characteristics of the population, whether 
 homogeneous in nationality, religion, and social tra- 
 ditions, or highly diversified in culture, religious affili- 
 ations, and economic conditions. 
 
 But all communities are alike in this : they have a 
 
 — 29 — 
 
vast responsibility toward the children and youth in 
 their midst, and it is in the hope of assisting them 
 somewhat to discharge their obligation that this bulle- 
 tin has been prepared. For no community is so in- 
 different that it cannot be aroused to better things ; and 
 to accomplish this three things are needed. 
 
 First, the community must learn to see its defects, 
 and recognize its needs. 
 
 Second, it must get together. The various elements 
 composing it must sink their differences and cooper- 
 ate with loyalty and persistence toward the common 
 end. 
 
 Third, there must be competent, unselfish leader- 
 ship. 
 
 Since the strictly rural community has problems 
 peculiarly its own, there is herewith appended a list 
 of topics especially adapted for discussion and study 
 by such clubs. 
 
 Topics for Rural Parent-Teacher Clubs 
 
 Sanitation of the schoolhouse ; how may its ventila- 
 tion, lighting, heating, and toilet facilities be im- 
 proved? 
 
 School water supply — well or cistern. 
 
 School lunches. 
 
 How may the school grounds be improved? 
 
 How may simple and inexpensive playground equip- 
 ment be provided? 
 
 How may sewing and cooking be introduced into 
 a rural school? 
 
 How may elementary manual training be introduced 
 into a rural school? 
 
 Why and how should provision be made in the rural 
 school for play and recreation? 
 
 — 30 — 
 
What should growing children eat? 
 
 The value of school gardens and school agriculture. 
 
 Organizing school agricultural contests such as corn 
 growing and potato raising, tomato clubs and bread clubs. 
 
 Training girls to help in the home. 
 
 Giving school credit for work done at home. 
 
 How to keep children well ; the cause and prevention . 
 of childhood ailments such as colds, headache, coughs, 
 and communicable diseases. 
 
 First aid to the injured; what to do in common ac- 
 cidents. 
 
 Teaching boys and girls to save. 
 
 How can the school library be improved? 
 
 The visiting nurse in rural communities. 
 
 Forum Teaching % 
 In some communities where club study groups are 
 not practicable, the parent-teacher association may 
 take up under local leadership general discussions of 
 questions concerned with community problems, es- 
 pecially those affecting the welfare of children and 
 youth. At a general meeting held in the evening if 
 possible, a talk can be given by some person in the 
 community qualified to do so, setting forth the general 
 facts and principles of the subject under discussion, 
 after which the meeting should be thrown open for 
 free and informal discussion. Any subject of general 
 or local interest may be discussed by this method of 
 forum teaching; but there are some subjects of para- 
 mount importance upon which all communities should 
 be informed. Outlines are herewith given upon eight 
 such subjects. These are Community Recreation, Studies 
 in Citizenship, Americanization, Sex Hygiene, Mental 
 Hygiene, Wisconsin State Conference of Social Work, 
 Health Centers, and Public Health. 
 
 — 81 — 
 
Outlines for Forum Teaching 
 Community Recreation 
 
 (Prepared by Professor E. B. Gordon, Chief, Bureau of 
 Community Development.) 
 
 1. The Relation of Recreation to Life. 
 
 General discussion of the problem of leisure with spe- 
 cial reference to the social and educational value. 
 
 2. The Recreation Movement. 
 
 Survey of the social settlement, Y. M. C. A., Y. W. C. 
 A., and the Institutional Church as agencies for the 
 promotion of organized recreation. 
 
 3. The Recreation Movement (Continued). 
 
 The Playground Association of America as an agency 
 for the promotion of organized recreation. 
 
 4. The Recreation Movement (Continued). 
 
 Wider use of the school plant and the community cen- 
 ter as agencies for the promotion of organized rec- 
 reation. 
 
 5. The Socialized School. 
 
 New emphasis upon training for the social relation- 
 ship and the leisure occupation through the develop- 
 ment of group activities. 
 
 6. Community Music. 
 
 A reaction against over-emphasis upon professional- 
 ism. The value of music as a social agency. 
 
 7. Community Drama. 
 
 A movement for developing a large participation in 
 the pleasures of dramatic expression. Pageantry and 
 community festival work and their use in the pro- 
 motion of community cooperation and good citizen- 
 ship. 
 
 8. Recreation in the American Army. 
 
 Recognition of the value of wholesome recreation by 
 the U. S. War Department — organization and activi- 
 ties of the Fosdick Commission on Training Camp 
 Activities. 
 
 9. Importance of Recreation as an After-war Protlem. 
 
 Obligation to the returning soldier — the passing of 
 the saloon, and the social approach to the problem 
 of Americanization. 
 
 10. A Community Program of Recreation. 
 
 A survey of the Ideal community and the outlining of 
 a plan for the correlation of the various recrea- 
 tional interests for the development of a construc- 
 tive program of community leisure involving the 
 schools, community centers, various social, musical, 
 and dramatic groups. 
 
 — 32 — 
 
Studies in Citizenship 
 
 (Prepared by Edith E. Hoyt, Assistant Professor, Uni- 
 versity Extension Division.) 
 
 I. What Oovernment Is. 
 
 1. Government defined, 
 
 2. Types of government. 
 
 a. Autocracy. 
 
 b. Limited monarchy. 
 
 c. Democracy. 
 
 3. Functions of government. 
 
 a. Legislative (law-making). 
 
 b. Executive (law-enforcing). 
 
 c. Judicial (law-interpreting). 
 
 II. History of the American Constitution. 
 
 1. The Constitution as related to the Magna Charta. 
 
 2. The Constitution compared with the Articles of 
 
 Confederation. 
 
 3. The Builders of the Federal Constitution. 
 
 % 
 
 III. How Laws Are Made. 
 
 1. Congress 2. State Legislature 
 
 a. How composed. 
 
 b. How elected. 
 
 c. Qualifications of electors. 
 
 d. How limited. 
 
 IV. Powers and Duties of Executive. 
 
 1. The President. 2. The Governor. 
 
 a. Election. 
 
 b. Qualifications. 
 
 c. Powers. 
 
 v. How laws Are Interpreted, — the Courts. 
 1. Supreme. 2. Inferior. 
 
 a. United States. 
 
 b. State. 
 
 VI. The Administration of State Oovernment, — Wisconsin 
 
 Boards and Commissions. 
 
 1. Name and number. 
 
 2. Powers and duties. 
 
 VII. Relation Between State and Federal Government. 
 
 1. Legislative. 
 
 2. Executive. 
 
 3. Judicial. 
 
 — 33 — 
 
VIII. Government in Municipalities. 
 
 Legislative, executive, and judicial functions of gov- 
 ernment in: 
 
 1. County. , 
 
 2. Town. 
 
 3. Village. 
 
 4. City. 
 
 IX. Elections and Political Parties. 
 
 1. Qualifications of electors. 
 
 2. Classes of elections. 
 
 a. General elections. 
 
 b. Spring elections. 
 
 c. Special elections. 
 
 X. Prohlems of City Government. 
 
 1. City planning. 
 
 2. Health in cities. 
 
 3. Public recreation. 
 
 4. Tbe problem of juvenile delinquency. 
 
 5. Americanization in cities. 
 
 (Additional suggestions including topics, questions, and 
 references on each one of these studies may be secured at 
 five cents a copy.) 
 
 — 34 
 
Americanization 
 
 (Prepared by Professor D. D. Lescohier, Associate Pro- 
 fessor of Economics.) 
 
 1. Americanization. 
 
 Introductory meeting explaining the idea of Ameri- 
 ization and bringing out the conceptions of different 
 people. 
 
 2. The Old Immigration. (Immigration 1820-1890.) 
 
 Contributions of English, Irish, Scotch, Germans, 
 Scandinavians, to our population, our institutions, 
 our culture, our political and social ideals, our eco- 
 nomic development. 
 
 3. The New Immigration. (Immigration 1890-1919.) 
 
 Racial composition of recent immigration, causes of 
 their influx, their contributions to our economic, po- 
 litical, and social life. 
 
 4. The Races of Southern Europe. 
 
 Outstanding physical, mental, spiritual, educational, in- 
 dustrial, domestic characteristics of I^ilians (North 
 and South), Greeks, Spanish, Syrians, Jews. 
 
 5. The Balkan and Slavic Peoples. 
 
 Some data on Jugo-Slavs, Czecho-Slovaks, Albanians, 
 Poles, Russians, Rumanians, Montenegrins, Magyars. 
 
 6. America's Need for Americanization. 
 
 1. National unity essential to national safety. 
 
 2. National unity essential to America's international 
 relations. 
 
 3. National unity essential to democracy. 
 
 4. Contrast between European nationalism of selfish- 
 ness and American nationalism of serrice. 
 
 7. O'btacles to Americanization. 
 
 8. Agencies of Americanization. 
 
 9. A Community Program of Americanization. 
 10. Women's Functions in Americanization. 
 
 35 — 
 
Sex Hygiene 
 (Prepared by Wisconsin State Board of Health.) 
 
 1. What is meant by sex education? 
 
 Is there a relation between knowledge and moral be- 
 havior? 
 Situation in schools, and children generally. 
 Aims of sex education clearly defined. 
 
 (Constructive and protective.) 
 Why the homes have generally failed. 
 Debate: Is ignorance or knowledge better? 
 
 II. How to approach the subject with children. 
 
 Age of child and types of questions. 
 Dangers of early repressions. 
 Common mistakes. 
 
 How much should be told at oije time. 
 How the subject may be kept free from embarrassment 
 and restraint. 
 
 III. The approach of puberty and the early teens. 
 Age of change in boy and girl. 
 Character of change in both body and mind. 
 Differences in boys and girls. 
 What both should know at this time. 
 Relation of school girl's dress to moral problem. 
 Should there be evening parties? 
 Relation of delinquency to this age. 
 Recreations. Movies. 
 
 What should be done for children whose parents refuse 
 their responsibility? 
 
 36 
 
Mental Hygiene* 
 
 (Prepared by Elizabeth L. Woods, Clinical Psychologist 
 and Supervisor of Special Classes, State Department 
 of Public Instruction.) 
 
 I. How Children Differ. 
 
 1. Physiological age. 
 
 2. Mental age. 
 
 3. Personality and social adaptability. 
 
 II. Training^ — for Living. 
 
 1. Retarded children. 
 
 a. The dull normal. 
 
 b. The psychopathic. 
 
 c. The border-line defective or subnormal. 
 
 d. The feebleminded. 
 
 2. Accelerated children. 
 
 a. The hard worker. 
 
 b. The psychopathic. 
 
 c. The superior child. '^ 
 
 3. Delinquent children. 
 
 a. The neglected child. 
 
 b. Mental deviates. 
 
 c. The criminalized child. 
 
 4. Average children, — and most others. 
 
 a. The greatest teacher. 
 
 b. Sex instruction. 
 
 c. Special abilities and disabilities. 
 
 Note:*From bulletin "Talks With Every Teacher on Every 
 Child" prepared by Dr. Woods and published by the State De- 
 partment of Public Instruction. 
 
 — 37 
 
Wisconsin State Conference of Social Work 
 
 (Prepared by E. J. Lynde, Executive Secretary of Wis- 
 consin Conference of Social Work.) 
 
 I. History of Conference of Social Work. 
 
 1. National. 
 
 2. Other states. 
 
 3. Wisconsin. 
 
 a. Before reorganization, March, 1920. 
 
 b. Distinctive features of Wisconsin plan since re- 
 organization. 
 
 II. Present Organization of Wisconsin State Conference. 
 
 1. Membership. 
 
 a. Individual. 
 
 b. Clubs and associations. 
 
 2. Local development committees. 
 
 3. Local representatives. 
 
 4. Officers. 
 
 5. Committees. 
 
 a. Rural social work (including public recreation). 
 
 b. Mental hygiene and social hygiene (including 
 
 delinquency.) 
 
 c. Family and child welfare. 
 
 d. Industrial welfare. 
 
 e. Public health. 
 
 f. Library and study. 
 
 g. Social legislation. 
 
 6. Executive committee — elected by the State Confer- 
 
 ence. 
 
 7. Full-time executive secretary. 
 
 III. Support of Conference. 
 
 1. State agencies. 
 
 2. Memberships. 
 
 a. Individual. 
 
 b. Clubs and organizations. 
 
 IV. What the State Conference Has Accomplished. 
 
 1. Surveys. 
 
 2. Services of the Executive Secretary to communities. 
 
 3. Information on pending social legislation. 
 
 4. Initiation and securing of social legislation. 
 
 5. Annual state-wide meeting. 
 
 6. District conferences and rural conferences of social 
 
 work. 
 
 — 38 — 
 
V. Future Outlook. 
 
 VI. Why Parent-Teacher Associations Should Affiliate with 
 State Conference. 
 
 1. Benefits of membership. 
 
 a. Information. 
 
 b. Cooperation. 
 
 c. Coordination of existing agencies. 
 
 2. Survey of your community. 
 
 3. A district conference in your community. 
 
 4. Aid al^orded by the State Conference. 
 
 a. Publicity. 
 
 b. Program. 
 
 — 39 — 
 
Health Centers 
 
 (Prepared by Mrs. Mary E. Morgan, Director of Chil- 
 dren's Bureau and Bureau of Public Health Nurs- 
 ing of the State Board of Health. ) 
 
 I. What Health Centers Are. 
 II. Development, 
 
 1. In the United States. 
 
 2. In foreign countries. 
 
 III. Health Centers in Wisconsin. 
 
 1. Where located. 
 
 2. Survey of your locality, demonstrating need. 
 
 3. Steps in organization. 
 
 a. Aid from State Board of Health. 
 
 1. A pamphlet on Child Health Centers Is being 
 prepared by the State Board of Health and 
 tentative outlines for the Health Center and 
 Loan Closet may be secured at any time. 
 
 2. The State Board of Health will, after inspection 
 of health centers, issue permits for their con- 
 tinuance and give every assistance possible in 
 the operation of them. 
 
 b. Securing of local cooperation. 
 
 1. Medical. 
 
 2. Social. 
 
 3. Educational. 
 
 IV. Essential Features. 
 
 1. Staff. 
 
 2. Room. A waiting room and an examining room; or 
 
 a large room divided by screens or curtain. 
 
 3. Equipment. 
 
 a. A scale and a measuring trough or padded basket 
 for babies. 
 
 b. Good supply of water. 
 
 c. Toilet facilities. 
 
 d. Two kitchen tables for examination and records, 
 e. Shelves for literature and other material. 
 
 4. A dependable committee to have entire charge if 
 
 a full-time nurse is not available. 
 
 40 
 
Public Health 
 
 (Prepared by Dr. W. D. Stovall, Director, State Labora- 
 tory of Hygiene.) 
 
 I. Scope of Work. 
 
 1. What is meant by Public Health work? 
 
 2. What agencies are at work to carry out disease pre- 
 
 vention worli in this state, and what are they do- 
 ing to apply in each community specific means for 
 the prevention of disease. 
 
 II. Need of Public Health. 
 
 1. Prevalence of tuberculosis. 
 
 2. Interstate migration of tuberculosis. 
 
 3. Problem of charitable societies in the care of tuber- 
 
 cular patients. 
 
 4. Institutions for the care of tubercular patients. 
 
 III. Accomplishments of Pudlic Health. 
 
 1. Problems overcome in the construction of the Pana- 
 
 ma Canal. 
 
 2. Reduction of typhoid fever in civil and military life. 
 
 3. Prevention and treatment of diphtheria, meningococ- 
 
 cal meningitis, tetanus, rabies, and blindness due 
 to gonococcus infection. 
 
 4. Effect of malarial control by treating individuals, 
 
 and mosquito eradication. 
 
 5. Typhus fever control by delousing. 
 
 IV. Communicahle Diseases. 
 
 1. Why are certain diseases said to be communicable 
 
 or contagious and what means can be taken to pre- 
 vent their spread? 
 
 2. Communicable disease control — information neces- 
 
 sary concerning each disease. 
 
 a. Infective agent. 
 
 b. Source of infection. 
 
 c. Mode of transmission. 
 
 d. Incubation period. 
 
 e. Period of communicability. 
 
 f. Methods of control. 
 
 — 41 — 
 
1. The afflicted individual and his environment. 
 
 a. Recognition of disease. 
 
 b. Isolation. 
 
 c. Immunization. 
 
 d. Quarantine. 
 
 e. Concurrent disinfection. 
 
 f. Terminal disinfection. 
 
 2. General measures. 
 
 3. Epidemic measures. 
 
 V. Organization Necessary for Effective Disease Control. 
 
 1. Health bureaus an integral part of national, state, 
 
 and county governments. 
 
 2. Centralization of health activities in those bureaus. 
 
 3. Health bureaus organized to meet the demands ade- 
 
 quately of improved methods for disease control. 
 
 — 42 
 
Aid Offered 
 
 In all the kinds of work suggested as appropriate 
 lor parent-teacher organizations to undertake, some 
 outside help will be necessary. The Extension Divi- 
 sion of The University of Wisconsin is equipped 
 through its several bureaus to give assistance in a 
 variety of ways, and this help is freely offered to any 
 community or to any citizen of our state. Among the 
 bureaus most useful for this purpose are the following : 
 
 I. Department of Debating and Public Discussion, 
 Miss Almere Scott, Secretary. 
 
 This department is organized to serve individuals 
 and various kinds of organizations in the state which 
 are engaged in group study, public discission, and 
 forum teaching. 
 
 This service is in the form of material on all sub- 
 jects compiled from the most recent and authoritative 
 sources by trained librarians. 
 
 Cities and toAvns having public libraries can without 
 doubt enlist the cooperation of librarians in securing 
 material for the discussion and study of the various 
 subjects listed in this bulletin. Where this material is 
 not available at the local library, or where there is no 
 library, material on all the foregoing subjects will be 
 lent to any resident of Wisconsin free of charge in the 
 form of books and package libraries, upon application 
 to the Department of Debating and Public Discussion, 
 Extension Division, University of Wisconsin, Madi- 
 son, Wisconsin. The purpose for which the package is 
 needed should be definitely stated so that a judicious 
 selection may be made. 
 
 II. Bureau of Community Development, Professor 
 
 — 43 — 
 
Edgar B. Gordon, Chief. This bureau is interested in the 
 promotion of wholesome and spontaneous group activities, 
 such as, community music, community drama, pageantry, 
 festivals, sports and play. Advice and assistance are given 
 in the organization and development of community cen- 
 ters, parent-teacher associations, and other types of com- 
 munity cooperative effort of a social character. 
 
 One of the most valuable services offered under the 
 general direction of this bureau is that given in con- 
 nection v^^ith community music and drama. This bureau 
 offers advice and direction free to any community in 
 the state which is interested in the formation of musi- 
 cal or dramatic clubs ; it also lends plays and music 
 suitable for the use of such clubs. The chief of the 
 bureau has prepared a bulletin giving full and com- 
 plete information and direction for the successful 
 carrying on of such clubs, including a valuable bibli- 
 ography of suitable material for them. This bulletin 
 is sent upon request and without cost to any resident 
 of the state. 
 
 III. Bureau of Instruction by Lectures, R. B. Dun- 
 can, Chief. 
 
 The Bureau of Instruction by Lectures provides in- 
 struction and entertainment for the people of the state 
 and it stimulates and reinforces the various other lines 
 of activity carried on through the Extension Division. 
 One very appropriate activity for a parent-teacher or- 
 ganization might be the establishment of lecture and 
 entertainment courses under the direction of this bu- 
 reau. 
 
 IV. Bureau of Visual Instruction, W. H. Dudley, 
 Chief. 
 
 The Bureau of Visual Instruction, through its print- 
 ed lectures, stereopticon slides, and moving picture 
 
 — 44 — 
 
films dealing with a great variety of subjects of in- 
 terest to parents as well as to children and young peo- 
 ple, is another agency which if utilized will be of the 
 utmost service to parent-teacher associations. This bureau 
 has available 100,000 educational lantern slides and 3,000 
 reels of educational motion picture film. These are dis- 
 tributed to schools, churches, clubs, parent-teacher asso- 
 ciations, etc., either on a circuit or direct service plan at 
 cost of transportation plus an annual registration fee of 
 from $5.00 to $10.00. 
 
 The services of this bureau are of value not only for 
 entertainment and instruction but the use of slides and 
 films gives an opportunity also for the raising of funds 
 for local needs, since a small admission fee can appro- 
 priately be charged for these entertainments. 
 
 Of Special Interest to Parent-Teacher Associations 
 
 For the benefit of groups of people wishing to pur- 
 sue consecutive study of special topics and yet who are 
 unwilling to conform to the requirements of correspond- 
 ence study, the University Extension Division has devel- 
 oped a new type of service known as the Group Study 
 Discussion Plan. The following courses are available : 
 
 1. Prevention of Disease and Home Care of the 
 Sick. 
 
 2. Feeding Children for Health and Growth. 
 
 3. Child Nature and Training. 
 
 4. Home Furnishing and Decoration. 
 
 5. Voting Methods and Elections. 
 
 For full information regarding work of all Depart- 
 ments of the Extension Division, address 
 University Extension Division, 
 University of Wisconsin, 
 Madison, Wisconsin. 
 — 45 — 
 
UNIVERSITY EXTENSION DIVISION 
 
 THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRESPONDENCE STUDY 
 
 offers instruction in studies required in each of the following 
 lines, bulletins on which will be mailed free on request: 
 
 IN THE COIiliEGES 
 
 Ag-rieulture 
 
 General basic studies 
 liCtters and Science 
 
 Studies required for liberal 
 arts degrees 
 
 Engineering 
 
 Basic and technical studies 
 La^v 
 
 Prerequisite liberal arts 
 studies 
 
 Medicine 
 
 General basic studies 
 IN COURSES AND DEPARTMENTS 
 
 Manual Arts 
 Mathematics 
 
 Commercial and Engineer- 
 ing-, High School and Acad- 
 emy, College 
 
 3Iechanical Drawing 
 
 Music 
 
 Pharmacy 
 
 Philosophy 
 
 Physical Sciences 
 
 Astronomy, Bacteriology, 
 Botany, Chemistry, 
 Geology, Physics 
 
 Political Science 
 
 Sociology 
 
 Surveying 
 
 Business 
 
 Accounting-, Administration, 
 Correspondence, Geogra- 
 phy, Law, Management, 
 Organization, Retailing 
 
 Chemistry 
 
 Commerce 
 
 Education 
 
 Engineering 
 
 Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, 
 Structural 
 
 English 
 
 History 
 
 Home Economics 
 
 Languages 
 
 French, German, Greek, He- 
 brew. Italian, Latin, Span- 
 ish 
 
 THE DEPARTMENT OF DEBATING AND PUBLIC DIS- 
 CUSSION will mail bulletins on request free within the state, 
 and elsewhere on receipt of price. 
 
 THE DEPARTMENT OF GROUP AND COMMUNITY 
 SERVICE will communicate with citizens of the state in re- 
 gard to the service offered by the following bureaus: 
 
 Bureau of Instruction by Lectures 
 
 Bureau of Municipal Information 
 
 Bureau of Community Development 
 
 Bureau of Visual Instruction 
 
 Bureau of Health Information 
 
 Bureau of Commercial and Industrial Relations 
 
 46 — 
 
BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 
 
 OCTOBER, 1921 • 
 
 Issued monthly by the University of Wisconsin, at Madison, Wis. 
 
 Entered as second-class matter, July 11, 1916, at the postoffice 
 
 at Madison, Wis., under the Act of Aug-ust 24, 1912. 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 The bulletins listed below are publishec 019 605 229 
 Division of The University of Wisconsin, i.„^ ^_„^ ^.^„ — -^ 
 are sent upon application without charge to citizens of the 
 state. Copies will be mailed to addresses outside the state 
 upon receipt of list price. 
 
 Price 
 
 Annexation of Ci^ja (out of print). 
 
 Central Reserve Association, 1912 (out of print) $ .05- 
 
 Civic Clubs, 1912 .. .05 
 
 Closed vs. Open Shop (temporarily out of print). 
 
 Commission Plan of City Government, 1911 (out of print) 05 
 
 Consolidation of Rural Schools, Free Textbooks (out of print). 
 
 Constitution for Triangular Debating Leagues 05 
 
 Debating Societies, 1918 (temporarily out of print). 
 Farmers' Clubs (out of print). 
 General Statement (out of print). 
 
 Great War, The, 1917 10 
 
 Guaranty of Bank Deposits, 1909 (out of print) 05 
 
 w to Judge a Debate, 1912 (out of print) 10 
 
 )ome Tax (out of print). 
 Increase of Navy, Ship Subsidies (out of print). 
 Independence of Philippines, with references (out of print). 
 
 Inheritance Tax (out of print) 05 
 
 Initiative and Referendum, 1913 05 
 
 League of Nations, 1919 10 
 
 Municipal Home Rule, 1914 05 
 
 Parcel Post (out of print) 05 
 
 Parent-Teacher Associations, 1921 10 
 
 Poetry vs. Prose (out of print). 
 
 Popular Election of United States Senators (out of print). 
 
 Postal Savings Bank (out of print) 05 
 
 Principles of Effective Debating 15 
 
 Proportional Representation (out of print). 
 
 Recall 05 
 
 Restriction of Immigration (out of print). 
 
 Salaries of Legislators, 1920 10 
 
 School Literary Societies, 1913 10 
 
 Shall We Increase Our Army and Navy? . .10 
 
 Sim,plified SpelWig (out of print). 
 
 Tariff on Trust-Made Steel Articles (out of print). 
 
 The Great War, 1917 10 
 
 Triangular Debating Leagues, 1917 05 
 
 Triangular Discussion Leagues, 1918 10 
 
 Woman Suffrage (out of print). 
 
 The Correspondence-Study Department of the University 
 Extension Division gives some excellent courses for public 
 speakers and men interested in public affairs. These courses 
 are so arranged that they can be followed readily by individual 
 students or by clubs and societies. 
 
 For further information in regard to debating and public 
 discussion, address 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF DEBATING AND PUBLIC DISCUSSION, 
 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION DIVISION, 
 
 Madison, Wisconsin.