Evening star., 1935-09-08
PUPIL CHARACTER
WORK TO CONTINUE
Comprehensive Plan Drawn
for Cooperation of School
and Home.
BY BERTHE BACKUS.
Assistant Superintendent of schools
in Charge of Character Education.

in Charge OF Character Education.
The character education experiment
inaugurated last September in the pub
lie schools at the request of the Sem
ate's Committee on the Prevention OF
Delinquency. will be continued this
year. The first years work was highly
suCC essful. Research assistants. coun-
selors. teachers and school officials
worked together in setting up the goals
and mapping out the program. The
first year was necessarily one of fact
finding. OF thinking and discussion in
order to effect common purpose and
evolve a comprehensive plan.
This comprehensive plan implies the
cooperation between the public
schools, the home, and other educa-
tional. civic and social agencies in
Washington, such as the George Wash
ington University. Department Of Pub
lie Health, Juvenile Court and Board
of Public Welfare. Therefore, during
the coming year the work will be
directed toward the development of a
practical program within the 10
schools, but 1t will also include plans
designed to bring teachers and school
officials in close touch with these
agencies.
Special emphasis will be placed this
year upon the participation of teachers
and parents in the program. DR.. Cloyd
H. Marvin, president Of George Wash
ington University, has put at our dis
posal all the resources of the uni
versity for the Inauguration of pro-
gram of in-service seminars for teach
ers. A member Of the character
education staff will have charge of this
program. About 10 seminar groups
will be organized, each group studying
one phase of the program.
Subjects Tentatively Suggested.
The subjects tentatively suggested
for the study are: Problem and de-
linquent children. gifted children. be-
havior records, health and physical
education programs, vocation guidance
in the senior high school. character
education through school organization
and school life, character education as
an integral part of school curricula
Qiterature, history and science), char
acter education and the activity pro-
gram, character education through
programs for recreation.
Each seminar group will be made up
Of teachers interested In the work and
prepared to make contribution to the
study, parent active in parent
teacher organizations, school officials
and a member of the staff from George
Washington University. Other educa-
tional agencies in the city which have
expressed a willingness to participate
In this program are: The United States
ONCE of Education, the National Edu-
cation Association, the American
Council on Education, the Juvenile
Court, the Community Center Depart
ment and the Playground Department.
George Washington University will
credit work done in these seminars
toward any degree in education 1t
confers.
Another point to be stressed this
year will be the development Of i'm
proved techniques OF teaching reading,
with emphasis on the special needs Of
individual children and upon methods
Of study reading in the upper grades.
Relation to Success Clear.
The relation between ability to read
and school success is clear; the rela-
tion between ability to read and
growth in character has not been so
well understood. A moments refiec-
ton, however, will make the relation
ship clear. Teachers Of retarded
pupils all paint q common picture.
The pupil Is not able to do his work
In school: loses interest in school: does
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