The globe-independent. (Hagerstown, Md.) 1943-19??, 1952-10-09

AlGSC1 OGO"4i 4AASoi1 ANAACOA NF4ACS NNNNNN~~
the sponsorship of the Hagerstown
Chamber of Commerce, attended the
National Conference on Citizenship
held recently in Washington, was the
guest speaker at the regular lunch
con meeting of the Board of Direc-
tors, held at the Hotel Alexander on
Monday.
Miss Britner gave, not only re-
port of the Conference, but also a
very fine synopsis of the Citizenship
Education Project being carried on
at the high school,
The following is the text of Miss
Britner's talk:
First of all, I would personally like
to thank you for making it possible
for me to attend the National Con-
ference on Citizenship. Hagerstown
High School was selected to partici-
pate because we are taking part in
the Citizenship Education Project,
sponsored by the Teachers College at
Columbia University, and the Car
negie Foundation.
Citizenship Education can only be
improved on the basis of practice
what happens to the pupil in the
classroom, in the school and in the
community. I'd like to tell you about
our Citizenship Education Program
at school, but first 'What is Citizen
ship"
Citizenship is a concept with many
meanings and interpretations. To
some it refers to personal conduct;
to others it means being a respected
and cooperative person; while to
still others it means being honest
and responsible, or contributing to
public service, or making unselfsh
decisions on a state or national level,
or holding certain attiture toward
world affairs. The idea of Citizen
ship can be narrowed down to this
question-How can the large ma
jority of the American public learn
to make the decisions which affect
them? The source of power in a
democratic society is by law and by
implication placed in the people.
Unless the people understand this;
unless the people have the skills to
exercise their influence in demo-
cratic ways; unless the people have
the will and the knowledge con-
stantly to arouse themselves about
the policies which are made in our
society and the manner in which they
are carried out, we stand in the dan
ger of the deterioration of our form
of government.
Now, at high school, we are using
the laboratory practice technique.
That is, learning by actual participa-
ton. The primary purpose of the So
cial studies department has been to
develop the skills, knowledges, and
attitudes which are essential for re-
sponsible citizenship. During last
years study of U. S. History we went
out into the community and studied
at first hand how our city and county
governments function. This was
done through interview, observation,
and participation. AS means OF
securing specific information we in
terviewed most of the city and coun-
ty officials. We attended a City
Council meeting, Town meeting, and
a Board of County Commissioners
meeting. We observed sessions of the
Circuit Court, and heard both GRIM
inal and civil cases. The late States
Attorney, Martin Ingram, explained
our state judiciary system and help
ed two students put on skit dem
onstrating direct and cross examina-
ton.
We visited the United States De-
partment of State, where authorities
on Point 4 and Mutual Security dis
cussed these programs in detail. To
better understand these programs
we visited six Embassies. The rep
resentatives of the foreign countries
commented on Point 4 or Mutual
Security, whichever program they
were participating in; how they
benefited from American aid, and
what they each contributed.
Another unit was concerned about
Labor Management Relations. Mem
bers of the class interviewed lead
ers of our local ALL and Clio and
then reported back to the students.
The Hagerstown Manufacturers
Bureau gave a banquet and open
forum for the students, at which we
told them what the high school stu
dent expected from management, and
how the high school curriculum pre-
pares the student for intelligent citi-
zenship. The Manufacturers fur
Their indicated their interest in our
project and requested permission to
come back to the high school to con-