The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1943-12-10
EXTENSION
SERVICE In
wide USE

During the past three years, 80
counties in Montana have used the
elementary extension service of the
State Department of Public Instruc-
ton, as a means of providing educa-
ton for those elementary children for
whom teachers could not be obtained.
The increased demand for this service
has come about largely since war con-
ditions have curtailed the use Of the
family car in transporting children to
school, and increased farm production
has required year-round ranch resi-
dence Coupled with these two con-
ditions are the shortage of teachers
and lack of provision of bus trans
portation of school children. Provi-
sion for elementary extension educa-
ton, like providing of transportation,
tuition, or board and room, aids in
equalizing educational opportunity in
isolated rural areas.
Most of the children who benefit
from the elementary extension pro-
gram live in districts with closed
schools, and on isolated ranches from
three to forty-five miles from an open
school, AS a rule they live in areas
where roads are unimproved /and
where even short distances may be
extremely difficult to travel.
The children usually study under
the guidance of the mother, who re-
ceives carefully prepared suggestions
on how to direct the work. Actual
instruction is carried on by the cor
respondence teacher. Her comments
and the printed study-guides tell what
and how to study, about how long it
should take to complete a specified
amount of work, and what lessons
should be mailed to the correspon-
dence teacher The children take
standard achievement tests. at the be-
ginning and end of the school year
and on the whole have made salts
factory progress.
Although Montana is considered a
pioneer in the field of public elemen-
tary extension education in the
United States, correspondence study
has been widely used in many sparse
ly populated countries, such as Aus
tralia, New Zealand, and the Cana
dian provinces. In these countries,
as in Montana, demand for the extern
sion service comes from those who
are maintaining homes in isolated,
agricultural, mining, and other remote
areas.
The Hill County Plan, an education
al bulletin discussing the extension
work carried on during the past year
in one of the counties of the state,
was published in September 1913, by |
the State Department of Public In
1t is an illustrated, 100 |
page account of the educational prob
lens faced by many Hill county pa
irons and what they did to solve
them. 1t tells about the children,
their homes, their meetings with the
formed, their work with the Junior
Red Cross and other war agencies, |
and their visits to points of interest !
in Hill county. 1t tells, too, of the
cooperation of the county health serv-
ice in testing the pupils hearing and
vision, giving general health check
ups, keeping cumulative health rec
Ords, and advising on nutrition and
liet, treatment of infections, sprains,
and contagious diseases. The story
has suggestions for those who use
The elementary extension service of
The Department of Public Instruction,
as well as for the teacher in the class
room.
At the present time approximately
800 high school students enroll an
nually for part or full time high
school work. Among these students
are many farm boys and girls who
cannot attend regular high school
md who therefore study at home or
n rural school.
Parents whose children are not in
school may obtain information on ele-
nentary or high school work from the
lirector of the State Correspondence
School, Missoula, Montana.
DEMAND THE UNION LABEL