The Bridgeport times and evening farmer. (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1918-1924, 1918-05-22
have The
SCHOOL CENTER
OF COMMUNITY

Every schoolhouse a community
capitol and every community a de-
mocracy."
With this his motto, DR.. Henry E.
Jackson, of the Bureau of Educatlon
of the Department of the Interior, mas
prepared a special wartime bulletin
on 1.-The Community Center; what Is
it, and how to organize it" The bull
letin was prepared for use in connec-
ton with the joint campaign conduc-
ted by the Council of National De-
tense and the Bureau of Education,
to organize local communities for Ma
tionaI Service. 1t will be distributed
free.
In his bulletin DR.. Jackson says:
"Our three most urgent national
needs are to mobilize intelligence,
food and money. But it Is not pos
sible to mobilize them until we first
mobilize the people. The Nations
present need has made apparent the
necessity or organizing local commu-
mites. The Council of National De-
Tense discovered it through its ex-
perience in the war. The Bureau OF
| Education had begun the task before
we entered the war. These two Or
ganizations have now united their
forces for the accomplishment Of their
common purpose to promote commu-
nifty organization throughout the Ma
ton. The slogan of the one is: Every
school district a community council
for national service" The slogan Of
the other is: Every schoolhouse a
community capitol and every commu-
nifty a little democracy" President
Wilson has clearly indicated the pro-
found significance of this movement
| in the letter he wrote to commend it.
1.-THE creation of democratic and
intelligent social order is essentially
the same task, whether our approach
to it be local, national, or information
al. To establish free trade in friend
ship in all three communities is the
goal of the community center move
ment.
1.-The post office, corner store, and
saloon are passing as social centers,
but they must be replaced with some
thing better if they are not to be re-
placed with something worse. For on
ly he can destroy who can replace.
The public school therefore stands
before an open door of opportunity
to become\a neighborhood club, where
the people can meet on terms which
preserve their self-respect.
THE schoolhouset used as a neigh
borhood club renders an invaluable
public service. It. seeks to create the
neighborly spirit essential for concer-
ted action. The means employed are
various-games, folk dances, dramas,
chorus singing-which require the
subordination of self to cooperative
effort, dinner parties, where the peo-
pie break bread in celebration of their
lcommunion with each other as neigh
bors. These activities not only rend-
ed a service to the individual by pro-
noting his happiness and decreasing
his lonliness, they discover in the
communion unsupported abilities and
unused resources. To set them to
work not only develops the individu-
al but enriches the community life.
at thus becomes apparent that the
: neighborhood club furnishes the key
, to the possible solution of a variety
of problems-the AmericanizatioI
problem, for example. The object O.
1.-The community-ce center movement Is tt
achieve freemen's citizenship, both FOL
native and foreign born alike. Blu
citizenship means membership. 1t il
obvious that the teaching of English
to aliens is not sufficient to make then
members of America. To acquire tn,
f language as a means of communica
ton with their fellows is, of course
\ a necessary preliminary. But it is on
q ly a means to an end. If they ar
+ ever to feel that sthey belong with us
a the right hand of fellowship must b
. extended to them. The neighborhoo
spirit alone can create in them tn
spirit of America"