The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1942-10-30
FIVE YEARS OF LIVING In THE
SOCIAL WORK LABORATORY

between the community's social ant
economic groupings must be elimi
mated before any real approach car
be made toward solution of our prob
lens, here in Missoula, or in any
other place in the state or nation
Third we were convinced that oul
many agencies-both public and pri
vate, educational recreational, wei
fare, health, industrial patriotic, re
ligious, and as many other types as
might be Northumberland learn to
cooperate with one another, to co
ordinate their efforts, to supplement
each other instead of competing with
each other, and to formulate common
goals of social and economic well-be-
ing before we as a community, state,
or nation can have any real hope
that the evils in our collective lives
will be even touched, much less be
eventually eliminated.
Working in the Lab Itself
During these last two years, | also
had the opportunity of doing some adj
ministrative work in the Laboratory
mechanism. For three quarters l was
Personnel Director of the Laboratory
which involved the task of orienting
new members into the procedures of
the field work lab, counseling of in
dividual members, attending project
group meetings, aiding in the planning
of these meetings, acting as laisOn
officer between the groups and the
executive committee of the lab in GER
tain matters of policy, psychological
testing, project evaluation, and the
issuance of personnel rating sheets
for each student in the laboratory.
The administrative training afforded
by job of this nature is extensive,
to say the least, and those of us who
have done it count the experience as
highly profitable indeed. We learned
ways and means of expediting the
business of a complex set-up such as
the laboratory is. We had experience
in solving the difficulties which rose
around personality clashes among
members of the lab, or between lab
members and their supervisors. We
learned the prime importance of at
tanning the nice balance between
planned and implanted action, which
would assure a well-organized pro-
gram and a steady rate of growth,
while at the same time it would pro-
vide flexibility adequate to encompass
the contributions which could be
made by momentary flashes of insight |
and inspiration.
With the Pre-SchooI Child
In recent article of his series, Dr. !
Tascher described the University |
School, and how it evolved. |
Some of my most enlightening mo-
ments came during my eleven months
spent as teacher in the Laboratory
Play School. Three of these months
was a cadet under the supervision
of the WPA head teacher and DR..
Tascher. Eight months l worked on
graduate scholarship basis as head
teacher of the school. Equipped as
ing in the techniques of nursery
school education, l was forced to rely
On DR.. Tascher, the cadet teachers,
and on my quite extensive reading in
literature on the subject
Of pre-school education, to give me
he information necessary for building
Up program which would adapt it.
self to the needs of the children en-
oiled.
The Evolving Program
That the social and emotional
growth of the average pre-school child
las been woefully neglected, was evil
lent through the entire year. Rela-
lively few children were able to enter
he play group without being faced