Evening star., 1914-02-15
WHAT THE GOVERNMENT is DOING

Uncle Sam is interested in the wider
use of the public school plant The social
center idea has
! Wider Use of taken such firm hold
School Plant. 0aanv 0n 'he narts ps0ele af the ,a
country that the United States bureau OF
education has asked for and obtained the
ready corporation of the Russell Sage
foundation in planning and carrying for
| ward the most extensive investigation
yet made in this country to obtain infor-
nation in regard to the use Of school
houses and equipment for activities and
interests other than those of ordinary
| school work. The only extensive studies
of the social center movement made up
to the present time have been carried
on by the Russell Sage foundation. work.
| ing without government cooperation and
| alone.
| Commissioner P. P. Claxton Of the bu-
reau Of education has addressed more
| than 1.3o0 letters to school superintend-
ef1ts In practically all cities and towns
OF more than 1000 population, asking for
| a complete record of all after-school uses
of the buildings for special purposes dur
ing the months of February. March and
April. These blanks when filled out will
| be returned to the bureau of education
| for use in compiling what will be the
| most complete report yet made of the
progress of the "Wider-use- of-the-school-
plant movement.
| Clarence Arthur Perry. assistant di-
rector of the department of recreation
OF the Russell Sage foundation, and Off
GERS Of the bureau of education will be
| In charge of the cooperative study. The
| object of the investigation Is to prepare
l fnr fha
port on just how much progress has
| been made in the use of school buildings
| as civic centerS and to help to show how
| the results of a program of effort in one
school can be compared with that Of an
other city and how the results of one
administrative plan compare with those
obtained by different system in another
| city.
Widespread interest in the evening use
Of public school buildings for social CEN
ter activities is reported in all parts of
the country. Different cities have differ
ent ideas of just what is social center.
| In many places the institution is not even
known under this name, being variously
called recreation center" "evening CEN
ter, civic center" community cen
ter and other terms. The character of
the uses to which the schools are put
| varies great deal in many cities and
also the amount of use of the school
Some cities open the schools six nights
week for social center purposes. while
others restrict this use of the school
plant to once a week or several times
| month. In urging upon school superin-
tendentS the need of a comprehensive re-
port on social center work and compari-
son Of results obtained Mr.. Perry SAYS:
Evening occasions in public schools
are multiplying with great rapiditv. In
| their increase we see the school gradHaIl'
developing new function. closer and
III 1-At III
! Like all other exhibitions of power. the
new function brings with it the universal
administrative necessity of devising meth
DDS for testing various expenditures of
energy in the terms of the results OBJ
tanned In q growing number of school
these systems efforts are constantly put
| forth to arrange entertainments. discus
! sions and club activities
Another problem connected with the
| evening use of school edifices arises ont
of the need, felt chiefly by the promoters
| of the new movement. of annually taking
stock. estimating progress and reportine
| achievements to the public. In certain
| cities the evening activities have CRYSTAL
| lizei into an institution known as social
| center or recreation center and there
| is both propagandist and admins
| trative need of being able to rerort at in
| tervals upon the number Of these CEN
terS' But the increase of miscellaneous
| occasions in schoolhouses has in recent
Years become SO great and general
| that 1t Is now practically irpossib]e to
say which buildings are social centers'
! and which are not
| THE DIFFICULTY here is largely due to
the fact that the school center has not
| been described I'm terms SO concrete and
definite that it can serve a criterion.
| Such a standard. to be applicable a
| measuring unit. cannot be set up arbi-
/ xrr,r 1N,tt hoe
and prevalent underta kings. and before
one can he formulated data which are
| both precise and comparable must be oh
| tanned regarding existing activities The
information. however. which school Of
| ticials now have regarding their under
| takines of a social center character is
| not only fragmentary. but usually SO
| different from that nossessed by the Of
| ficia's of another city as to render COM
| parison irnpra cticabe'
President Wilson is a stron" advocate
| of the social center idea and three years
| ago. at the first national social center
| conference held at Madison. Wis. made
| an address which is considered as one of
| the classics among the speeches and
| writings on the movement.
The plan of using the school as a place
| where the reople can meet to discuss
| economic and rublic questions and as
recreation center is a deve'oOment or
| the last seven wears. and. while the idea
| has spread rapid1v in all warts of the
| country there is still much misunder-
| standing on the movement. In many cases
onposit on to the movement has been de-
| ve'oned among princina!s and teachers ot
| dav schools. who are already oVerour-
| dened with work. and who fear that the
1 use of the schoolhouse as social center
/ will throw upon them considerable addl-
| tional work and most of the responsi-
bility for the success of the movement
| I leaders, in the social center movement
| realize that the uses of the school prom
| ertv and machinery to meet the larger
| community needs will REQUIRE adc'ti"hs
| to the school staff. and that the extra
| work must he provided for bv assistants
| trained for social center service and that
| the regular day school teachers should
not be further b,rdened with additional
| labor and responsibility.
| x !:
| The next step in the government hsht
against the Illicit traffic in habit-forming
| drugs may be made within
Cocaine the next few days when
| members of the Senate
| 4Idulc. finance committee expect to
report favorably the so-called Harrison
bill, already passed by the House ot
| Representatives and providing for regis
tration and tax on all sales of opium,
| coca leaves. cocaine or their derivatives
or prcparations thereof. The bill pro-
noses to restrict the traffic in morphine,
| coc,,ne and other habit-forming drugs
so that sales can be made only for me-
.taC