veloped into a system, then will the "right arm" of the school be brought into a service that is filled with promise and power of larger social good.

"The common problem-yours, mine, every one's—

Is not to fancy what were fair in life,
Provided it could be; but finding first

What may be, then find how to make it fair
Up to our means."

CHAPTER XIII

THE SCHOOL'S CO-OPERATIVE AGENCIES

STANTON OLINGER, M.A., B.D.

PRINCIPAL WESTMINSTER HALL, LAWRENCE, KANS.

The School a Social Creation. The school is a creation of society to fulfil a needful function. It therefore serves its purpose best when a vital and intimate interrelationship is established between it and the community to which it ministers.

If education is to fulfil its mission to present society, all of the social forces that are related to the educative process should be correlated and converge upon the subject and object of education-namely, the growing child.

Many social forces influence the education and development of the child, such as home, school, pulpit, press. theatre, and the community. It is generally conceded by schoolmen that the home and school exercise a more determining and direct influence upon the child than do any othe institutions. The relation of the home and the school in the education of the youth is, therefore, of primary importance. It should be vital, positive, and harmonious.

Criticisms of the School.-Frequently, however, the attitude of the parents to the school is one of indifference and sometimes of antagonism. In many localities a great gulf seems to exist between the school and the commu

nity. Practical people often look upon the school as impractical. The many current magazine criticisms of the school, while often unjust and not to the point, nevertheless are an index to popular dissatisfaction.

The Criticisms of the School Not Pully Justified. The school of the present is not less efficient than in the past; but, in consideration of the new functions that have been given it, it is not relatively accomplishing its purpose as in the past. This situation is due largely to the unusual rapidity with which the social consciousness has been developing. The term citizenship has come to have a much broader significance than formerly. We are coming to see that no man can live unto himself and that citizenship means membership in the community. A good citizen will identify his interests with the collective interests of the public. We are recognizing the organic unity of society as never before. Pulpit, press, clubs, and many organizations are stressing the development of the social consciousness. The position of the school must be readjusted to this new meaning of education.

These criticisms, however, contain certain elements of truth. They are not altogether just for the following reasons: first, what can be accomplished with immature minds of limited experience is often overestimated; second, the school, like all other institutions,should not seek to introduce changes too rapidly. Changes should be brought about with a certain degree of conservatism and deliberation. In the third place, society as an organism develops regularly in an orderly, not haphazard, way. Adaptation and co-ordination, therefore, may become artificial if too great pressure is brought to bear in producing a change. This time element, on general principles, should be recog nized in all progressive movements. Since the school is

the expression of community ideals, the responsibility belongs to the entire community. However, in the division of labor necessitated by the increasing complexity of modern life, the schools have been more or less set apart from the community life. There has, in consequence, developed a tendency on the part of the citizens to delegate the entire education of their children to the schools. The result has been that the home and the school have grown apart.

Causes for Separation of Home and School. There are at least two other contributing causes to the distance between the schools and the home. One is the economic condition of the home. With the vast majority of families the parents are preoccupied. The business of making a living is so strenuous that they feel they have little time and energy left for active participation in the life of the school. The other is that the method of instruction is technical. The courses of study and curriculums have little meaning to the average parent. Thus the separation of home and school has come about naturally. The modern social movement, in one of its phases, is an attempt to bring home and school into closer relationship. Here, as elsewhere, retrospection may teach us a valuable lesson.

The Teacher Formerly a Part of the Community. In the pioneer days, when the community was less populous, the teacher was naturally more a part of the community than at present. He was acquainted with the patrons and was often received into their homes. This afforded the opportunity to discuss school problems; and the old-fashioned school-teacher talked about his work. He had a personal interest in each child in the community. The school and its work were often the principal

topic of conversation in the family circle. But to-day, with the daily papers, magazines, telephones, trolleycars, and automobiles, both parent and children are too much preoccupied to make the school the chief topic of conversation; not even when the teacher visits in the homes of the community.

The activities that centred about the school building itself formerly exercised a determining influence in bringing home and school into closer relationship. Here the debating and literary societies met; here the politicians of every party came with their campaign speeches; the preachers of every denomination were welcomed and listened to; even the "wandering astronomer” and “peripatetic lecturer on phrenology" were granted a respectful hearing. "Socials," spelling-bees, school exhibitions, and "last-day" exercises all had a tendency to establish a strong and vital union between home and school.

The Formation of a Home and School Association.— Perhaps the most effective way to establish a closer bond of relationship between the home and the school is the formation of home and school associations. These organizations should include all of the school's voluntary co-operative agencies such as women's and mothers' clubs, and citizens' leagues; also such patriotic and religious orders as the Grand Army of the Republic, the Ladies' Circle and Relief Corps, the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Women's Christian Temperance Union, the Young Men's and Young Women's Christian Associations, the churches, and other organizations that have for their object the public welfare.

These Agencies Are the School's Definite Social Assets. In view of the present wide-spread interest in the public schools, the insistent need is for some method of