every physical educator knows how to bring this to pass so far as it is possible. The possessor of a human carriage is in it for life. He cannot exchange it for a new model. Whether or not his model meets with current aesthetic approbation he can at least make the most of it. Those who attempt to direct the care of carriages must see that the owner has ample materials and time for daily re between the condition of the carriage and the well-being and well-working of its occupant. It is desirable to make them as pleasing as possible according to the aesthetic ideas of the day. Compared with man-made vehicles, and from a man-made point of view, the human carriage seems mechanically impossible. The vehicle is in unstable equilibrium and to prevent collapse is constantly pulled back and forth, with continuous outlay of energy, about a vertical axis by its many muscular supports. With the ebb of energy, which occurs earliest in those where least is stored, the carriage droops to conserve that energy. The natural model therefore becomes modified temporarily by fatigue or illness and may be habitually modified by continuous abuse or overCarriages in such condition can be restored by appropriate means but use. only if preceded by adequate restoration of energy for maintenance. School seats allow least wear of the carriage when most fitting and, for the sake of comfort and economy, such furniture should be supplied. We should make the most of the human carriage just as we should make the most of every other bodily feature by preventing or repairing serious faults and by due but not too obsequious consideration for the dictates of fashion. Carriage tinkers will do well, however, to keep in mind that the type with which the child is endowed cannot be essentially changed and that it is more readily preserved than restored. The Detroit public schools are making extensive use of broadcasting to acquaint the public with the work of the schools. Electrifying Education Unposed, untrained American model. Some call it "fine"; some "fair"; some "good"; some "not so good." conditioning if the original type is to be maintained. For the few ill-finished, ill-shapen, asymmetrical, or damaged carriages special mechanical treatment under the direction of a physician may make them more presentable and more usable. In other words The "carriage", "posture", "stance", or what you will of the school child is, like any other of his physical features, the outcome of inheritance and early experience. No two carriages are quite alike or ever will be alike. They vary in outlines from median curvatures, with which the majority are endowed, to more, or to less, vertical lineaments. A few carriages are marred in the making by misadventure or by disease. Something may be done by a physician to recondition such vehicles. Aside from these exceptions there seems no relation Urban and Rural School Expenditures $ VARIATIONS in the total current expenditure per pupil in urban and rural schools as shown in the accompanying table, column 9, are as great as 245 percent for urban schools and 318 percent for rural. schools in different sections of the country. Such outstanding variations show the need for a more uniformly adequate system in the financing of the public schools over the nation. The length of the school term. (column 12) varies 15 days or 9 percent for urban schools and 33 days or 23 percent for rural schools in To adjust the different sections. cost figure for this difference in length of term, the daily cost and cost for a uniform term of 100 days are given in columns 10 and 11. These are, basically, the more comparable figures given in the table, and indicate the inadequacy of educational opportunities in many sections. In the comparisons of per pupil costs for the six major items of current expenses for all sections combined (columns 3 to 8, inclusive, at the end of the table) it is noticeable that for every item except coordinate activities and auxiliary agencies the urban schools spent more than twice as much per pupil as did the rural schools. The rural schools spent more for auxiliary agencies because transportation cost is the largest part of this item. Surveys of Youth NE of the evidences of a growing concern youth is the considerable number of communities which during recent years have conducted investigations into the conditions, needs, and interests of young people. The United States Office of Education, through its Committee on Youth Problems, a year or more ago set out to assist communities desiring to make such studies. In the undertaking, effort was made to secure information regarding investigations completed or in progress. Attention is invited to the Summary of Characteristics of Youth Surveys herewith presented. The reader should not conclude that this summary lists all the surveys which have been made of youth. It, for instance, makes no mention of surveys in progress or of surveys for which data were gathered before 1933 '; moreover, it must be realized that many worthwhile studies which have been made, have not been circulated through printed or otherwise duplicated reports. Those surveys, of which copies were secured through a rather thorough canvass of sources, are included in the summary. Most of the surveys are made in and by local communities such as cities, counties, or school districts. Eight of the studies reported are in the nature of State surveys, although it needs to be borne in mind that many of those classified as State surveys included a number of communities within a State, but made no attempt to secure an adequate sample of the youth resident in the entire State. In the last column of the summary is given some suggestion regarding the number of communities participating and the number of young people enumerated in the various surveys. Considerable variety exists in the types of youth from whom information was secured. Judgment may be gained 1 Some of the surveys listed are parts of a series. Earlier studies of similar character to those listed have been made, for instance, in Denver, in Minneapolis and in the State of Minnesota. The time limitation has also caused omission of reference to the notable series of studies which have been made from time to time of graduates from the high schools of Oakland, Calif. Carl A. Jessen, Senior Specialist in Secondary Education, Office of Education, Presents Some of the Characteristics of Youth Surveys on this point from the titles given to the publications and from the data in the column headed "Those enumerated." Ten of the studies were limited to highschool graduates and two included also those who had attended or completed courses in higher institutions. Five dealt only with out-of-school youth. Four considered unemployment the center of the problem-so much so that the enumeration was made for the primary purpose of securing information on the unemployed. Eight are limited to rural youth. In only ten cases reported in the "Summary" can it be said that those enumerated were not selected on some such basis as amount of school training, present school attendance, unemployment, or residence in rural regions; and among the 10 a number made no attempt to secure an enumeration which could be defended as a representative sample of the entire youth population of the community or of the State. Without prejudice to the many excellent findings of the surveys it may be said that most of them show a special interest in some group or class of youth rather than in the entire youth population. In the matter of ages of those studied it appears that the ages 15 to 29 encompass all who are usually regarded as belonging to the youth group. Many of the surveys stop their enumeration with 24 or 25 as the upper age limit. In the surveys of high-school graduates the follow-up usually was made within 1 year after graduation from high school; consequently, those reporting were in most cases about 19 or 20 years old. The subjects of inquiry are numerous. Some of the surveys report information on such matters as church and civic interests of the young people, the responsibilities which they take around the home, the sources of their spending money, the guidance services which they have enjoyed, the effects which the depression has had upon them, their marital status, place of residence and mobility of residence, their health, and their attitudes toward drinking, war, work, school, and other subjects. The greatest number of the inquiries, however, center around three important areas, namely, school, employment, and use of leisure time. The questions related to education aim to get data on such subjects as present attendance in school, number of years out of school or age at time of quitting school, last school grade completed, amount of school training since leaving high school, vocational training, and future educational plans. Data asked for on employment and unemployment include present occupation, usual occupation, length of time in present job, working hours and pay, number of different jobs held, length of time unemployed, desire for work, efforts made to secure work, and occupation desired. The inquiries regarding recreation and use of leisure time are directed toward learning what recreational activities these young people engage in most frequently, how they use their spare time in general, their reading interests, and the types of recreation which they desire. The specific questions asked on the various topics differ greatly among the surveys. The modifications and qualifying statements which are brought into questions on the same subject in different surveys result in widely different information being secured. From what has been stated in earlier paragraphs it may well be surmised that the drawing of general conclusions from the data presented in the various surveys is an uncertain undertaking. It is difficult to add the findings of one survey to those of any other and come out with a sum which can be regarded as representative of both. In the data gathered, in the procedures used for securing the data and in the tabulations of results, practices are so varied that, while general judgments may issue SCHOOL LIFE June 1936 273 from examination of the findings, pooling of data statistically is hazardous unless the reader can be informed concerning the features of incomparability which exist." Interest in youth out of school is an unmistakable characteristic of the surveys. Communities are not asking so many questions about those who are still in school; their well-being is to a considerable extent taken for granted. The concern is for those who are not in school. Frequently, too frequently per 2 In a forthcoming publication of the U. S. Office of Education entitled "Youth-Community Surveys" will be found discussion of results from independently conducted surveys as well as from surveys conducted cooperatively by 13 communities in various sections of the Nation. haps, the inquiries are made only of those who have been graduated from high school. More often, however, the surveys went out to gather data either on all youth, regardless of high-school graduation, or specifically on that part of the youth population which is out of school. This interest in out-of-school youth is one which should not be passed over lightly by the educator. The people of the United States have shown a disposition to place upon the secondary school responsibility for educating ever increasing percentages of the youth of the land. While all realize that the educational service offered to those in attendance is not all that can be desired or hoped for, the implication in these surveys is clear that some agency must take responsibility also for those who are not in school. The schoolman needs to broaden his horizon to include this large group. In comprises not only those who have been graduated but also that far more numerous army-those who have dropped out or are about to withdraw. By and large these latter are the ones who have not been appealed to by the type of services offered. They constitute a problem to society and they present a problem in educational planning since their needs are not met by the schools as now organized. |