father or boy. I asked if the boy could drive a horse. He couldn't.
He could not work a single piece of the machinery on the farm. That
is most unusual in Nebraska, for the light soil can be worked by
machinery which a boy can learn to run if he can also guide horses.
The father would not teach the boy--had no patience with him. So
the mother and I made our plans. She approached the father with the
question of getting a team and machine for the boy. It happened
to be a cornstalk cutter that was needed. The father consented,
provided the mother would teach the boy! She had done such work,
though she was not strong enough to do it this year.
But I saw her that Saturday toiling in the hot sun, walking up and
down the rows, touching up the horses. The boy proved most apt.
I soon saw him going up and down alone, still under his mother's
eye, however. The boy seemed to grow two years in importance,
self-reliance, and ambition in that day's work! This training was
kept up out of school hours for some time, and the boy learned to
work other machinery, the last thing a corn-planter.
As soon as the father realized what the boy was doing, he was a
transformed man. The knowledge that he had a helper seemed to clear
the atmosphere. Before this the boy had always kept out of the
father's way. Now he forsook the mother! It was "Papa and me" from
that time in his talk. This new attitude made it all the easier
for the wife, for it was a relief from what had been her greatest
trouble--having to stand between the two.
The father's pride and confidence in his son kept on growing. In
many ways he was just a good-natured big giant, but he turned like
a bear on anything that annoyed him.
I remember the first day the boy stayed out of school to work, how
it seemed to me a deciding day in his life. I rarely like to see
a child stay out of school, but that day I thought the industrial
training much more important than anything I could teach the boy in
those hours of school. He came regularly after the rush of work was
over.
A SCHOOL IN MONTANA: MRS. HOAGLAND'S FIRST LETTER TO THE AUTHOR
Last September I heard your lecture on credit being given in
school for home work. I have tried it lately after working the
children up to grade. I started by getting acquainted with the
homes, finding out what the children did and what they could do
further. I made inquiries as to whether the children, in their
play, left things around for the mother to pick up and so on.
The spirit the work is done in counts, too, in credit given. The
work must be done pleasantly and cheerfully; the mother must be
asked for work; she is not to be hunting the child up to get him
to do the work.
One little girl of eleven made bread from beginning to end,
never having tried it entirely before. She has an overworked
mother. In another home I found the two older children took
charge of a teething baby while the mother, an ex-teacher and
rather delicate, did the housework. The little girl, six years
old, could do dishes and otherwise help the mother. In another
home the boy has grown to be the pride of his father's heart by
forcing the father back into the chair, when he was weary, and
doing the chores himself.
One boy, his father told me two weeks ago, was growing as
dependable as his brother five years older, and helped bring the
cows, herd cattle from one field to another before and after
school and on non-school days. There was much other work, light
in itself, but wonderfully helpful to his father, that was taken
charge of cheerfully.
One child's father had a hired man. The boy did but little.
He is eight years old and large. While visiting there, I saw
his father bringing in coal. I told the boy he would find it
necessary to look up work if he cared for credit. His mother
visited school shortly after this; I was telling her of the idea
and she said she now understood why Bennie had started to clear
the table several times, and so on. We had a very happy laugh
over it. The boy hunts the eggs, gets in the wood and coal,
makes the mash for the chickens, and helps wash the dishes.
Another child, aged thirteen, has to do much outside work, so
she feels good over getting credit for it. It is a kind of pay
that makes her days pleasanter. I believe each child richly
deserves the credit I have given. The results have been to make
the tie between the parents and myself stronger, and I am asked
to come back next year. I have seen a gladder, prouder light
in the parents' eyes concerning their children. It has helped
to make our school in some respects without a superior in the
county, according to the county superintendent's own word. A
member of the board says the children never have made such
progress since the school was built, and all say these children
never have made as much progress before. They are learning, as
far as I can teach them, the honor of labor and the beauty of
being useful, willing, and dependable. I have had a hard battle
to wage here for good, thorough work and application, but the
right has won.
I enclose a report that shows the kinds of work the children are
in the habit of doing.
I am the teacher who spoke to you about the new oats being
brought into the dryland country. It is now being introduced
into another part of Montana where my homestead is. You will
perhaps remember me.
Very sincerely,
MRS. S. J. HOAGLAND.
BENNIE McCOY ADDISON SHIRLEY
_Aged 8_ _Aged 9_
Dries dishes Takes out ashes
Makes fire Gets eggs
Pulled up sunflower stalks Gets coal and kindling
Milks (some) Feeds horses oats (15 head)
Gets in coal and kindling Cleans out barn
Gathers eggs Milks cows sometimes
Brings in wood Drives cattle
Carries ashes out Harnesses up
Smashes big coal for stove Hunts eggs
Turns churn Waters horses
Feeds cats Dries dishes
Gets chicken feed Cooks (eggs, pancakes, coffee)
Feeds sitting hen Sets table
Helps catch calves Fries apples and bakes them
Gets clean hay for chicken nests Peels potatoes
Clears table Fries potatoes
Turns windmill[3] Feeds chickens
Slops hogs Carries slop to hogs
Kills flies Drives to town
Fixed his hand cart
[3] Probably means turns the power on or off.
JOHNNIE MAHONEY LOVILO MURRAY
_Aged 6_ _Aged 5_
Feeds pig Opens gate for calves
Hunts eggs Gets kindling
Waters horse Gets coal
Told where sow and her new pigs Takes care of baby
were when no one else could Closes chicken-house door
find them Carries wood
Minds baby Dries dishes
Hunts firewood Leads horses to plow
MAY MAHONEY ALEEN MURRAY
_Aged 11_ _Aged 7_
Bakes bread Washes and dries dishes
Washes dishes Sweeps floor
Minds baby Does simple ironing
Gets coal and water Gets wood, water, and coal
Gathers eggs Closes chicken-house door
Makes cake Dresses baby
Gets cows Tends baby
Waters horses
Pumps water SUSIE MARCKINO
Sewed a doll petticoat _Aged 13_
Sewed sleeves in waist for little
brother Cooks meals
Scrubs Washes dishes
Irons Scrubs
Cooks meals Irons
Peels potatoes Sews--made a waist and a baby
Takes out ashes dress
Dusts Gets coal
Sweeps Feeds chickens
Makes beds Goes for horse
Airs bedding Brings water
Milks cows Gets hay and feeds horses
Feeds calf Builds fires
Hays horses Turns churn
Builds fires Polishes stoves
Turns churn Cares for young chickens
Feeds chickens Dusts
Feeds sitting hens Salts horses
Sets and clears table
Washes range ROSIE MARCKINO
Polishes cutlery _Aged 6_
Does light washing
Prepares vegetables Gets water
Did dishes with four-year-old sister
when all else were gone
A general little helper
A LETTER FROM MRS. E. H. BELKNAP, MARION COUNTY, OREGON
I believe intensely in an education that teaches the boy or girl
not only how the book says to do a thing, but how, by actual
experience and practice, that thing is best worked out and brought
to perfection....
In this district we have used home credits for two years. First,
in order to make this a success, the teacher must believe in it,
and must be a worker. We have given credits for everything from
plowing to washing the baby for breakfast. As a result we have the
little girls dressing their own hair for school, the older ones
cooking breakfast, washing, ironing, etc. The boys plow, milk, clean
stables, cut wood, feed horses, do all kinds of work for credits;
_doing it, they have become interested in it, and before they knew
it a habit has been formed of doing things at the right time in the
right way_. It is truly wonderful what these children do. Some of
them walk three or four miles, and still earn hundreds of credits in
a week. Some of my girls milk as many as eight cows twice a day, and
the boys plow and harrow acres of ground. They do the work gladly,
too.
Monday mornings we give out blanks to be filled out, signed by
parents, and returned the following Monday morning. We always go
over the cards carefully. _I call the names aloud, and the pupils
report quickly. If extra work has been accomplished I always try to
praise the effort. It is a happy hour when the reports are rendered._
At first we agreed that when any pupil earned six hundred or more
credits he should be entitled to a holiday. Thousands of credits
have been earned, but no one has asked for the holiday! Frequently,
when the pupil has been ill, or forced to miss a day, he has asked
that the credits be applied to blot out the absent marks, and this
has always been granted.
PART TWO
I
ILLUSTRATIVE HOME CREDIT PLANS
Upon the demonstration of the success of the home credit plan in
the Spring Valley School I began to hear of other Oregon schools
that had taken it up and were carrying it on successfully. During
the school year 1913-14, three hundred and twenty-five teachers in
Oregon and in Washington were giving school credit for home work,
while the scheme had been adopted by some schools in other States.
For the aid of those who may contemplate its use, the outlines of
several plans that have been instituted are printed here, together
with excerpts of letters we have received, and cards made out by
pupils. These reports come from teachers who have used the scheme
successfully in various forms. The daily report plans are given
first, and the letters are arranged according to the frequency of
the report from the home to the school.
It will be noted that some teachers use a card that is supposed to
last for a whole year, being returned to the teacher monthly as
school cards are often returned to the parent monthly; others have
cards that are marked daily, and last for only a week. Some teachers
use a contest plan of awards like Mr. O'Reilly's; others add credits
to the average obtained in school subjects; and others do both. The
first user of the parent-signed report, Mr. O'Reilly, used no cards,
but had the children write little notes with lists of their labors
every day for their parents to sign. A bulletin from the Kansas
Agricultural College suggests that pupils should furnish the reports
themselves over their own signatures.[4] The only record of failure
we have was in a school where monthly report cards were used, and
no definite scheme of duties was laid down,--merely so many minutes
of unspecified labor. I find that children are more interested when
their performance of particular duties is recorded.
[4] See Appendix.
I should never advise the wholesale adoption of any one plan, but I
would suggest that superintendents and teachers adapt plans to the
needs of their districts. Several schools have been reported where
an enthusiastic principal has put the plan into operation throughout
his school, regardless of the ideas of his teachers. I find that
teachers never feel inspiration in a work that they do not want
to undertake. Therefore, it would be my suggestion that under no
circumstances should a teacher be asked to use home credits unless
she herself desires it.
DAILY REPORTS
The following is the method which Mr. A. I. O'Reilly originated at
the Spring Valley School, in 1911-12:--
_Rules of the Contest_
1. No pupil is obliged to enter the contest.
2. Any pupil entering is free to quit at any time, but if any
one quits without good cause, all credits he or she may have
earned will be forfeited.
3. Parent or guardian must send an itemized list (with signature
affixed) to the teacher each morning. This list must contain a
record of the work each child has done daily.
4. Each day the teacher will issue a credit voucher to the
pupil. This voucher will state the total number of minutes due
the pupil each day for home work.
5. At the close of the contest pupils will return vouchers to
the teacher, the six pupils who have earned the greatest amount
of time, per the vouchers, receiving awards.
6. Contest closes when term of school closes.
7. Once each month the names of the six pupils who are in the
lead will be published in the county papers.
8. Ten per cent credit will be added to final examination
results of all pupils (except eighth graders) who enter and
continue in the contest.
9. When a pupil has credits to the amount of one day earned,
by surrender of the credits, and by proper application to the
teacher, he or she may be granted a holiday, provided that not
more than one holiday may be granted to a pupil each month.
10. Forfeitures--dropping out of contest without cause, all
credits due; unexcused absence, all credits due; unexcused
tardiness, 25 per cent of all credits due; less than 90 per cent
in deportment for one month, 10 per cent of all credits due.
11. Awards--the three having the highest credits, $3 each; the
three having second highest, $2 each. Awards to be placed in a
savings bank to the credit of the pupils winning them. Funds for
awards furnished by the school district board out of the general
fund.
_List of duties with minutes credit allowed for each_
1. Building fire in the morning 5 minutes
2. Milking a cow 5 "
3. Cleaning a cow 5 "
4. Cleaning out the barn 10 "
5. Splitting and carrying in wood (12
hours' supply) 10 "
6. Turning cream separator 10 "
7. Cleaning a horse 10 "
8. Gathering eggs 10 "
9. Feeding chickens 5 "
10. Feeding pigs 5 "
11. Feeding horse 5 "
12. Feeding cow 5 "
13. Churning butter 10 "
14. Making butter 10 "
15. Blacking stove 5 "
16. Making and baking bread 60 "
17. Making biscuits 10 "
18. Preparing breakfast for family 30 "
19. Preparing supper for family 30 "
20. Washing and wiping dishes (one meal) 15 "
21. Sweeping floor 5 "
22. Dusting furniture (rugs, etc., one
room) 5 "
23. Scrubbing floor 20 "
24. Making beds (must be made after
school), each bed 5 "
25. Washing, ironing, and starching own
clothes that are worn at school
(each week) 120 "
26. Bathing each week 30 "
27. Arriving at school with clean hands,
face, teeth, and nails, and with hair
combed 10 "
28. Practicing music lesson
(for 30 minutes) 10 "
29. Retiring on or before 9 o'clock 5 "
30. Bathing and dressing baby 10 "
31. Sleeping with window boards in bedroom
(each night) 5 "
32. Other work not listed, reasonable
credit
While it is sometimes more convenient to have printed record slips,
it is not necessary. Mr. O'Reilly carried on the grading by having
each child write out his home credit work on ordinary tablet paper.
The great majority of home credit schools have used the plan in 1914
without any printing whatever. It affords the children practice in
written expression.
I give here two sample slips brought in by Mr. O'Reilly's pupils in
the first home credit contest in the United States.
_Tora Mortensen_
Jan. 31, 1912.
Prepared supper 30
Washed and wiped supper dishes 15
Made 3 beds 15
Swept 1 floor 5
Washed teeth 10
Was in bed at 9 o'clock 5
------------
Total 1 hr. 20 min.
(Signed) _Mrs. Emma Savage._
_La Vern Holdredge_
April 16, 1912.
Fed chickens 5 minutes
Gathered eggs 15 "
Split kindling 10 "
Carried in wood 15 "
Swept four floors 20 "
Fed one horse 5 "
Dried dishes 15 "
In bed before nine 5 "
April 17, 1912.
Washed teeth. 10 minutes
Swept three floors 15 "
Put up lunch 10 "
------------
Total 125 minutes
(Signed) MRS. HOLDREDGE.
Superintendent A. R. Mack, of Holton, Kansas, has issued the
following plan for daily reports and the issue of credit vouchers
monthly, in bulletin form. Notice that the pupil who is paid in
money, or in any other way, for home work receives no credit. This
card gives a very desirable emphasis to manners and personal care:--
_Rules_
1. No pupil is obliged to enter contest.
2. Any pupil entering is free to quit at any time, but if any one
quits without good cause, all credits he or she may have earned
will be forfeited.
3. Parent or guardian must send daily to the teacher an itemized
list with signature attached; this list must contain the record of
the work each child has done daily.
4. At the end of each week the teacher may read the number of
credits due the pupil for that week. At the end of each month the
teacher shall issue a credit voucher to the pupil giving the total
number of credits due to the pupil up to date, for home work.
5. The pupil in each grade making the highest number of credits each
month will receive an added credit of 10 per cent of all credits due.
6. The school shall be divided into two divisions. The boy and the
girl in each division in each building receiving the highest number
of credits at the end of each half-year shall be awarded a suitable
medal.
7. The boy and the girl in each division in each building receiving
the second highest number of credits shall at their own option be
awarded a medal or an additional 10 per cent of credits already due.
8. Ten per cent credit will be added to final examination results of
all pupils who enter this contest before November 1, and continue in
it until the end of the year. Those entering school after November 1
must enter contest before January 1, in order to receive examination
credit.
9. Pupils entering the contest before November 1 or January 1 will
be given credit not only on final examination grades, but on
monthly examination grades.
10. In case a pupil enters the contest after November 1 or January
1, credits for home work will apply on monthly examination grades
only.
The following schedule has been adopted:
Grades of 95 to 100, additional credit of half the amount between
the grade and 100.
Grades of 90 to 95, a credit of 3 is given.
Grades of 85 to 90, a credit of 2 is given.
Grades of 80 to 85, a credit of 1 is given.
Below 80, no credit.
11. Any pupil in the first three grades earning 600 credits during a
given month may have a quarter holiday. Pupils in the fourth grade
must make 700 credits; pupils in the fifth grade must make 800
credits; pupils in the sixth grade must make 900 credits; pupils in
the seventh and eighth grades must make 1000 credits for a quarter
holiday.
All holidays are at the discretion of the teacher; _provided_, that
the pupil may not have more than one quarter holiday in any 20 days,
and _provided_, that the teacher thinks that it will not interfere
with school work.
In case deportment is below 90 per cent, the holiday will be refused.
12. Forfeitures--
(_a_) Dropping out of contest without cause forfeits all credits due.
(_b_) Unexcused absence forfeits all credits due.
(_c_) Tardiness forfeits 25 per cent of all credits due.
(_d_) Less than 90 per cent in deportment in one month forfeits 10
per cent of all credits due.
(_e_) Loss of temper forfeits 5 credits.
(_f_) Bad table manners forfeit 5 credits.
(_g_) Impoliteness to elders forfeits 5 credits.
(_h_) Bad language at home forfeits 5 credits.
(_i_) Discourtesy to parents forfeits 10 credits.
(_j_) Unnecessarily soiling clothes forfeits 5 credits.
(_k_) Unnecessarily tearing clothes forfeits 5 credits.
(_l_) Report cards kept home 3 days forfeits 5 per cent credits and
an additional 5 credits for each succeeding day.
(_m_) Forgetting books forfeits 5 credits per book.
13. Once each month the names of the six pupils who are in the lead
will be published in the Holton papers.
14. A pupil who receives compensation for work done, whether he is
paid in money or in any other way, shall receive no school credit
for such work.
_Credit Slip for Primary to Third Grades, inclusive_
Credits.
1. Carrying in cobs or kindling 5
2. Carrying in night wood for kitchen stove 10
3. Feeding and watering chickens 5
4. Dusting one room 5
5. Making one bed 5
6. Wiping dishes 5
7. Washing dishes 10
8. Setting table 5
9. Cleaning teeth 5
10. Combing hair 5
11. Properly preparing for school (washing face,
ears, neck, hands; cleaning teeth and finger
nails) 20
12. Dressing without help, buttoning shoes, etc 5
13. Going to bed at or before 9 P.M. 5
14. Sleeping with window open each night 5
15. Dressing younger child and washing its face 5
16. Caring for younger children half-hour 15
17. Proper use of handkerchief one day 5
18. Cleaning mud or snow from feet 5
19. Practicing music lesson 30 minutes 15
20. Cleaning snow from porch 5
21. Cleaning snow from walks inside yard, each
walk 5
22. Scrubbing porch 5
23. Mending stockings, per pair 5
24. Filling the water bucket 5
25. Returning report card on first day 10
26. Returning report card on second day 5
27. Polishing the shoes 10
28. Getting home before 4.30 and remaining home
30 minutes 15
Other work not listed, reasonable credit.
_Credit Slip for Fourth to Eighth Grades, inclusive_
Credits.
1. Building a fire in morning 5
2. Milking a cow 5
3. Cleaning out a barn 10
4. Splitting and carrying in wood, 12 hours' supply 15
5. Bringing in kindling 5
6. Bringing in coal, per bucket 5
7. Filling water bucket 5
8. Cleaning a horse 10
9. Feeding and watering chickens 5
10. Feeding pigs 5
11. Feeding horse 5
12. Feeding cow 5
13. Blacking stove 5
14. Making and baking bread 60
15. Making biscuits 10
16. Preparing breakfast for family 30
17. Preparing supper for family 30
18. Washing and wiping dishes, one meal 15
19. Sweeping one room 5
20. Dusting one room 5
21. Making one bed 5
22. Scrubbing one floor 20
23. Making a cake 20
24. Practicing music lesson half-hour 15
25. Tending flowers in window 10
26. Working in garden half-hour 15
27. Cleaning snow from sidewalk 25
28. Mending stockings, per pair 5
29. Washing, starching and ironing own school
clothes each week 60
30. Bathing (each bath) 30
31. Cleaning teeth 5
32. Combing hair 5
33. Properly preparing for school (washing face,
ears, neck, hands; cleaning teeth and finger
nails) 20
34. Retiring at or before 9 P.M 5
35. Getting up at or before 7 A.M 5
36. Bathing and dressing baby 10
37. Sleeping with window open each night 5
38. Dressing younger child, washing its face, etc. 5
39. Caring for younger child, each half-hour 15
40. Home study, each half-hour 10
41. Making pies, 10 credits for the first and 5
credits for each additional pie.
42. Ironing one hour 30
43. Running washing machine one hour 30
44. Bringing cow from pasture, 2 or 3 blocks 5
45. Bringing cow from pasture, 8 or 9 blocks 15
46. Errands down town 10
47. Carrying clothes 10
48. Helping prepare the meal 10
49. Pumping a tank of water 60
50. Harrowing 2 hours 60
51. Carrying dinner 10
52. Churning 20
53. Dressing a chicken 25
54. Returning report cards on first day 10
55. Returning report cards on second day 5
56. Polishing the shoes 10
57. Getting home before 4.30 and remaining home
30 minutes 15
Other work not listed, reasonable credit.
_General Rule_
For unlisted work credit will be given. One credit will be given
for every two minutes' work.
Mr. N. V. Rowe, the teacher at St. John, Whitman County, Washington,
describes a novel plan:--
At first I used a credit card arranged after the order of a
meal ticket. The plan was to have the card hold credits enough
for one school day of 360 minutes, arranged by 5's, 10's, 15's,
20's, 25's, and 30's. The idea is all right were it amplified
so as to include a school week. The teacher has a punch, and
punches or cancels credits as presented. I found this took
too many cards for each pupil. Some brought in as high as
360 minutes in credits each day, and even more than that in
some cases. At present I am using a plan similar to a grocer's
manifolding or duplicating book where totals are forwarded each
day. This saves time and in some ways is better than the ticket
plan.
The results have certainly justified the effort here. (1) It
lessens tardiness; (2) it enlists the attention of parents
quicker than anything else; (3) it stimulates to better work
in school; (4) it creates a wholesome rivalry. I have heard
the following objections to it: It requires too much time of
a teacher already very busy; and pupils get a holiday when
they ought to be at their studies. These objections are weak.
The plan certainly has a sound pedagogic principle for its
foundation.