Imperial Valley press., 1941-09-30
PLANNING CAN HELP
THE CHILDREN, TOO

f. Centro's current discussion about
supervised pIaygroundS-to be or not to
be-haS one extremely good feature. II
develops more public thought than would
be given had the matter been treated IS
a Cut-and-drled routine in which the de
cison Was foregone conclusion. And
If ever there Was a project deserving
yes, even demanding a considerable
amount Of thought. this IS i.
In this matter. as in anything elSt. We
either progress OF We hach>l.d2 Ia
stand Stil is 10 osslfy.
Right now. there are 4 lot of gaps u
bc filled IN. There arc i lot of questions
10 be answered There are Il lot ot tlr-
tors To ! considered Whatever final
plan the cor~lumty makes. it should
make after filling in the gaps. answer
lng the questions, considering the tac-
tors Where the welfare of our children
Is at stake. We want no hit-or-n}tSS pro-
gram.
We want a program that will do IL
most good for the greatest number Of
children. in the most intelligent way
What thar program is remains TO he de-
termined. The determination should he
arrived al only after We have arrived II
a clear understanding Of what il is We
want.
Some things are Sclt-evidtnt. Obvious
", We want the greatest possible good
from the expenditure Of every dollar;
the taxpayers made that desire clear at
the last city election. Therefore we've
got to resolve whatever differences might
arise between the public in its role as
taxpayer and the public in It's role of
guardian of childhood Obviously. too.
we've got an all-year problem that can
not be met by :. School-year solution. 30
we've got To face tht fact that the sum
mer cannot be overlooked il is the period
when the youngsters have the most time
and the least TO do.
One thing We do not Want-State social
ism in the care Of our children. No matter
what name YOU might give it, there would
remain the, embryo of state socialism IN
any program which permits or encour-
ages parents to stuff off their own re-
spOnsibilties by turning over to publicly
employed officials the care Of their chill
dren for any extended period Of time.
SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS
DEVELOP A MASTER PLAN
An overall program is E. Centro'S
gravest need in its consideration Of public
encouragement for Juvenile recreation.
1t should be a program into which all
related plans can be dOVetaled without
break To arrive at such program,
the most searching analysis should he
put to Use
In meeting this need details cannot be
decided until the broader phases of the
problem have been studied and resolved
into Som2 decisive form. We cannot de
eide for instance. what we are going to
do until we know for whom we are going
to do it. What age groups do We most
want to reach? The question is impOr-
tant For. after all, this program is aim
ed at solving a community problem-not
just at giving parents of the little tlkes
some place to send them. What children
present the greatest problem? Those IN
the lower grades Of elementary school,
or the adoleScents from the seventh and
eighth grades on up? And what can We
do to occupy the age group which pre-
sentS this biggest problem?
Another question: shall we correlate
the city's park system with the lrcrea-
tionaI program? 1t would seem. from
hen :, to be wise step. Il could be made
into step the by-product Of which would
be permanent improvement Of the city
appearance as well as new provisions for
the recreation Of young and old alike.
We are not now making th- most use Of
the almost barren areas designated q
parks Why not use them 10 heIp ou'
in the broader program