Show PUBLIC EDUCATION ION AND OUR SOCIAL ECONOMIC TRENDS TREND S wherever machinery technology and corporate management of industry and wealth prevail society is swept by a crosscurrent cross crosa current of many theories of government g these theories are based on the social and economic problems which have developed with the rise jise j ise of modern modem industry the theories which have gained in various parts of europe are arc fascism socialism and communism the force of these theories has long been felt to some extent in america since the financial debacle in 1929 A few of our citizens have lost faith in the present economic systems competency to feed clothe and culturally sustain our people and would embrace socialism immediately others would go farther and accept communism immediately A another n 0 t h e r group supporting the present system would adopt fascism immediately but the vast majority the sob er thinking rank and file of our citizenry who are studying the various social economic problems insist that our salvation is in in a steadfast adherence to the ideals and principles of the founders of our government adapting the social and economic complexities as they develop to our great national heritage of individual liberty and freedom this group sees no necessity for any changes certainly not abrupt in the structure of our government toward any extreme whether it be the autocracy of fascism controlled by entrenched wealth or the autocracy of communism controlled by an entrenched proletariat the greatest contributions to the social growth of the race in all the ages of man are constitutional government and the free public school system the one affo affords ads stability of society with opportunity to effect governmental changes as economic and social conditions would seem to demand with the least possible disturbance to the social order the other makes possible the development of a social intelligence needful in evaluating social end and economic changes in their relation to govern government mem our great leaders in public education have not failed in our expectations of them to note social economic trends and to suggest ways and means of interpreting and maintaining our democratic principles of government in light of such trends trenda no matter if the radicals scoff at the simplicity of the ideas of these tl sc leaders there is now being developed in ili many schools throughout the country a conscious conz clous social intelligence pupils are being taught laught to think in terms of their relations to one another to their immediate community to their state to their nation and in the more advanced classes their lams as individuals to the world problems that our own schools are falling in line with this trend in education was evidenced by the discourses of the superintendent and teachers at the sevier district teachers institute held here friday various means are used to develop social intelligence among public school pupils the research bulletin published by the national education association for may hay 1935 described many interesting and excellent practices of working out our school problems in the charles eliot junior high school at altadena california social ideals the appreciation of spiritual values and faith in humanity are arc emphasized by keeping before the minds of the pupils the elements of the character of the man whose name the school bears in this school there are also student organizations which so function that their members may i n the words of the principal wallace A I 1 newlin Nylin live richly and whole bomely in the present and be prepared to meet problems of life that will be met in a complex and rapidly changing world the unit system instituted last year in the sevier district high schools works toward this goal mary mars E christy in a work entitled the social studies curriculum in denver states that the aim of hc denver courses in soda social studies is to develop citizenship by training the pupils in social living the goal she points out is not inert knowledge of facts but rather the growth of functional 11 powers the committee on social eco goals of america created by the national education I 1 association in 1931 rendered a partial report to the association in 1933 in its it set forth without explanatory statements the goals iu in terms of ten inalienable rights for each individual the committee pointed out that although a good school contributes to all of these goals by every one of its varied activities it was found advisable to select a saries of ten subcommittees committees sub of specialists to consider how hov the schools may contribute most effectively to each of the ten goals thus the public school leaders would develop a social intelligence among the nations children as a means of orderly safe progress under the institutions founded by our fathers with such an intelligence developed rapidly enough in both our schools and forum centers for civic education there need be little fear of the inroads of fascism and communism in this country |