WATCH YOUR TEETH A minute examination of your teeth made several times a year will enable you to arrest any incipient disease of the gums before it has a chance to reach the acute stage. It will also reveal any cavities that may be forming. Our examinations are free. If there is no immediate need of our services there will be no charge. We are always pleased to talk it over. Red gums or sore teeth sometimes lead to serious disorders. Watch your teeth. You will like our nerve blocking system; it takes away all the pain and keeps you happy. DR. HOAGLAND "THAT CAREFUL DENTIST” The Story Hour AROUSES in the child a keen desire to learn to read. GIVES him, easily and quick ly, the ability to read orally as well as silently. SATISFIES his natural craving for a story and cultivates his imagination. SUPPLIES a wholesome, broad outlook on life. IMPLANTS a love of good reading. PROVIDES a wide and useful vocabulary—a valuable instrument for clear thinking as well as for self-expression. HOLDS before the growing boy and girl high ideals and standards of conduct, leading him to appreciate and value the finer things of life. STORY HOUR READERS REVISED (Grades one to three, inclusive) STORY HOUR READINGS (Grades four to eight, inclusive) American Book 121 Second St., San Francisco Oldest and Best-Established School Board Periodical on the Pacific Coast. . . . Representative of California Federation of School Women's Clubs, Teachers' Association of San Francisco and devoted to the interests of 20,000 Teachers of California VOL. XXXII. The Western Journal of Education HARR WAGNER, Editor. RUTH THOMPSON, Assistant Editor. OFFICIAL DEPARTMENT-Official News and Articles furnished by Will C. Wood and other members of the State Department of Education. ALICE ROSE POWER, School Director, City and County of San Francisco, San Francisco, Associate Editor. Founded in 1895, it commands the support of every teacher who is interested in the newest lines of educational thought, and of every trustee who desires to keep in touch with movements for the betterment of the schools. It is not run in the interest of any special organization, of any interest ог type of educational doctrine. Its field includes an optimistic support of the best class of educational uplift, both of men and measures. of Manuscripts, Contributions of an educational character, including Methods, Devices, School News, Matters Special Interest to School Trustees, etc., desired. Published Monthly Subscription, $1.50 per Year Single Copies, 15 Cents Address all Communications to THE WESTERN JOURNAL OF EDUCATION 149 New Montgomery St., San Francisco, Cal. Entered at San Francisco Post Office as second class matter HUMBOLDT STATE COLLEGE TO HOLD SUMMER SESSION Education and outdoor recreation will be combined during the Summer Session of the Humboldt State Teachers' College at Arcata, according to announcement by Ralph W. Swetman, president. Besides a comprehensive program of courses directed by the faculty, there will be organized excursions into the Redwood Empire and along the nearby ocean beaches. The summer session will extend from June 21 to July 30. Included in the curriculum will be courses in various phases of education, school administration, library training, English, news writing, dramatics, music, art appreciation, economics, history, nutrition, biology, nature study, physical education and recreation. Under President Swetman will be a staff of experienced instructors, with these visiting membersLeo B. Baisden, superintendent of schools, Longview, Washington; George C. Jensen, developer of the Eureka School plan, which has attracted nation-wide attention of educational authorities; and Mr. F. L. Kaughan, expert on nutrition for the California Dairy Council. The subjects offered have been selected with a view to inspira tion as well as instruction. Most of them will carry credits in university standing and with the California State Board of Education. The Arcata Chamber of Commerce is cooperating with the college authorities to the end that attendants at the summer session may combine study and recreation amid the natural beauties of Humboldt county. A series of week-end excursions has been arranged to nearby points of interest. The redwood forests both north and south of Arcata, the big lumber mills and logging camps, the whaling station at Trinidad, the lagoons on the Redwood highway, the wooded sand-dunes along the beach west of Arcata, are a few objectives for outing trips. Enrollment for the summer session is being made by Ralph W. Swetman, president, Humboldt State Teachers' and Junior College, Arcata. SAN FRANCISCO, JUNE, 1926 Price 15 Cents PRE-PRIMER COURSE WORKED OUT FOR Ruth Thompson One of the educational problems with which California has to cope is the teaching of foreigners. Children who come from homes in which the English language is not spoken are comparatively common in the schools. The primary teacher, particularly, has this problem to meet and has the task of teaching children to speak English as well as that of giving them instruction in the "three R's." In Alameda county there are a number of schools where from 95 per cent to 98 per cent of the children do not hear the English language spoken at home, according to County Superintendent David E. Martin. "About 72 per cent of our population in this county is either from foreign countries or one generation removed from the Old World conditions," Mr. Martin recently declared. Realizing the situation and feeling anxious to meet it in a practical and effective manner, Alice Orne Martin, deputy county superintendent of schools in Alameda county and supervisor of primary grade work, has made a close study of conditions and remedies and she has recently completed a pre-primer course, which will be tried out in Alameda county the coming year. The course is aimed to give the child a language background and to establish a preparatory course in reading, phonics and number work. The course may be called developmental, as it presents a definite plan of work for children who are not prepared to do first grade work as outlined in the course of study. The pupils are of three types: (1) The pupil of foreign parentage, who is handicapped by lack of familiarity with our language. This condition will continue unless special efforts are made to develop his English vocabulary with its proper use. (2) The retarded pupil, when such retardation has been caused by physical disability or frequent illness. (3) The pupil of low mentality. Mrs. Martin's course as presented to the schools for work beginning next September, follows: It is the object of the course to provide: (1) A language background, by increasing the vocabulary of the pupil to that of the normal child, and by familiarizing him with a few of the best known nursery tales and Mother Goose rhymes. development in language, or who are retarded mentally or physically, are unable to succeed in the work of the grade and hence form the nucleus of the holdovers and perennial failures. It has also been. noted that at the end of a year's residence. in school, in nearly all cases, they seem no better able to attack the work than they were upon entering, and the logical conclusion is that we have been offering them a mental diet which they cannot digest. Experiments show that they will make real progress at their own rate of speed if the work is properly adjusted. Time Allotment for the Course: As the material is developmental, the period of instruction must be determined by the need of the child. It may be of three, six, or even ten months' duration, or a matter of only a few weeks. At the end of the time the pupil should be fitted for the regular work of the first grade, as arranged for the normal six-year-old child, and he should then be promoted to this grade. Selection of Pupils: At any time during the first month or six weeks of school the pre-primer pupils may be easily segregated. The work outlined and the texts suggested should be reserved exclusively for this group, in order that they may retain their interest and may not suffer discouragement from comparison with the more advanced pupils. Some pupils, originally included in this group, may develop very rapidly, as extreme shyness sometimes causes normal pupils to appear retarded, and as a result they may have been wrongly classified. When this occurs, they should be advanced immediately to the normal group. It is far better to include pupils in the pre-primer group and advance them, than to over-grade pupils and then find it necessary to demote them. I. READING Picture Story Reading Lessons). In case this does not suffice, and a little more material is needed, read the first twenty-five pages of any easy supplementary primer, preferably not folk lore or nursery rhymes, but one with an every day vocabulary, as "The Pathway to Reading.' (b) Sentence Cards. (To be prepared by the teacher and presented dramatically.) (1) How do you do? (2) How are you? (3) Good-bye. (4) Come again. (5) Good morning. (6) Good night. You are welcome. (7) Thank you. (8) (e) Ship. (g) Airplane. (8) Our Animal Friends. (9) Our Bird Friends. (10) The Circus. (11) The Church. Nursery Rhymes: To be dramatized, memorized, and used for hand work until characters are perfectly familiar to the children. Texts: For the teacher-A copy of Mother Goose. Instructor Poster Patterns, Books 1 and 2, 60 cents. (F. A. Owen Publishing Company.) (1) Old Mother Hubbard. (7) Little Miss Muffet. Nursery Tales: To be told, reproduced by the children and dramatized. (1) The Three Bears. (2) The Three Little Pigs. (3) The Little Red Hen (4) The Old Woman and Her Pig. (5) Chicken Little. IV. NUMBER WORK AND SENSE TRAINING (1) Learning to take directions: (a) up and down. (b) back and forth. (c) north, south, east, west. (e) over and under (f) inside and outside. (2) Counting by objects to twenty. (3) Counting and writing numbers to ten. (4) Recognizing group of objects corresponding to numbers up to ten. (5) Number games 1-10. (6) Recognizing the colors and learning to read their names. This may be done by using color charts with the names printed beneath the colors. (7) Forms-square, circle and oblong, and one-half of the same by cutting, tearing, drawing. (8) Paper folding-16-square, and models developed from them. (9) Furniture making for doll house. Texts for Teacher: First Journeys in Numberland, Harris Waldo; A Child's Book of Number, Stories. V. PENMANSHIP Blackboard work only. Big arm movement: circles, slanting lines, swing and curves. VI. MUSIC AND SINGING GAMES When possible, use Mother Goose Rhymes set to music, and the simplest of singing games in order to develop a strong sense of rhythm. SEASONAL JEWELRY Weddings Gifts Holiday Presents Birthday Remembrances Should be purchased only from a wellknown, reliable Jeweler This Journal has patronized the J. G. HATCH CO. for fifteen years Watchmakers and Jewelers 210 Phelan Bldg. (Arcade floor). San Francisco, Cal. Official watch inspectors for the United Railroads. The Typist at Practice by Mrs. Esta Ross Stuart Berkeley High School, Berkeley, California A Combination of Typing Practice Pad and Filing Folder A practice pad that fairly forces the student to become proficient! It automatically overcomes his tendencies to carelessness, and trains him along lines of skill and efficiency from the very start. Each lesson covers a school week, Exercise for every providing an day. Each assignment is a short task, and the instructions are So clear and concise as to leave no possibility for misunderstanding. The work is so graduated and arranged that, in order to complete it within the period, the student must work to capacity all the time. The exercises in this practice Pad are not mere meaningless repetitions of various letter combinations. Each has been carefully planned to produce a definite result. Five years of careful laboratory study preceded the publication of this Pad. Not only in the Berkeley High School, where it was responsible for the development of State Champion Typists for four years in succession, but in other high schools and adult evening schools, every exercise was tested not once but many times, under varying conditions. The Error Sheet and Practice Sheet introduced in this Pad relieve the teacher of the drudgery and time-consuming work of studying the errors of individuals and prescribing exercises for their elimination. Follows "Rational" Method "The Typist at Practice" follows the "Rational" Method of learning the keyboard, training the index fingers first, and gradually proceeding to the more difficult exercises. Schools using the "Rational" textbook find that this pad is an excellent supplement. "The Typist at Practice" consists of 320 letter-size sheets, of which half are in type, the other half blank for student's practice. List Price, 67c THE GREGG PUBLISHING COMPANY Phelan Building, San Francisco One of the most interesting studies our class has made this year is that of the wildflowers of our locality. Beginning with a suggestion from our principal that each room make a collection, the project has grown to proportions that I did not believe possible at the start. We have one hundred thirty-two flowers on our list, and now specimens are brought in right along. The children became interested at once. On their way to and from school, on their hikes and automobile trips, they keep on the lookout for both old and new specimens. In some instances the parents have brought flowers to the children when they were not with them on a trip, which shows that we have reached beyond the members of our class. When the children bring flowers to school, they name as many of them as they can. Those which they do not know, others of the class may remember. The new ones are put aside until such time as we can find out their names. Each kind of flower is kept in a glass by itself, and is labeled and placed where all may see it. We have had splendid help from the Oakland Museum in naming unknown specimens. We have correlated our Nature Study with English, in their stories telling of their trips, when we did not have time to hear all of them orally. The following is the language contribution of one of the children, a little girl who was particularly happy while working on this project: Eileen Goodwin Age 9-High Four Grade. A SPRING DAY Oh how nice it is to have spring again, for now I can wear my light dresses. I love to have the flowers spring up. They are a great help to me for I can brighten up my house with pretty colors like a rainbow. I can wave my hands to the flowers as they nod in the wind. My dollies and I will play house in the grass where the yellow dandelions can watch us. When I am tired with my dollies I will play with the dandelions for my pupils. They will write on the blades of grass with their yellow fingers. When I go to bed I dream of the spring flowers. During the drawing period covers for two booklets are being made, using a conventionalized flower for the decoration. The cover for "Our Wild Flower" booklet will have the one unit used which the children have worked out. In this book each child will write his own story of our project, together with a list of all the flowThe other booklet for penmanship ers. will have a border using the unit worked out for the first one. The project, which began in a small way, has reached out in various directions. The alertness of the children for different kinds of flowers has led them to see other things going on in nature, which went unobserved before. They take great pride in keeping the room filled with flowers of all kinds, both wild and cultivated. We have had as many as fifty different kinds of wild flowers, and fifteen cultivated flowers in the room at one time, in addition to plants, pretty vases and pictures, which the children either give or "loan" to the room. Lastly, before a flower was a flower, or just a "weed," now it is individual. To them it is not a weed any more, and not even ugly, for it has a name and a definite place in nature. Not only has their sense of beauty been awakened, but they have learned for themselves that it is only helping to care for, and not to destroy, these flowers, that they will have beauty of the same kind again next year. The project culminated in a fine exhibit of community pride when the members of the class bought packages of flower seed and in a carefully planned trip, scattered their seeds on the hillsides around Grant school, and upon every empty lot within a radius of four blocks of the building. The children are anticipating a profusion of flowers next spring. Their labors may produce no visible reward, but their respect for property, and their desire to save the flowers, both wild and tame, from ruthless destruction are tangible results of this project. The appended list shows the flowers collected and studied up to this time: 95. Soap Plant. 96. Solomon's Seal. 97. Sorrel. 98. Sour Clover. 99. Stickey Monkey Flower. 100. Sun Cups. 101. Sunflower. 105. Twin Berry. 106. Vetch. 107. Violet Snapdragon. 108. Wall Barley. 109. Water Buttercups. 110. White Clover. (Continued on page 18, column 2) |