The first meeting of representatives of the schools with the members of the Commission was held in March, 1933. College presidents, deans and professors, school principals and teachers were there. For two days-morning, afternoon, and evening-schools told what they expected to do with their freedom.

The schools look back now upon that first meeting with some amusement and with realization of the inadequacy of their preparation at that time for the hard tasks ahead. The proposals for their new work ranged over a wide field, all the way from plans to teach "The Progress of Man through the Ages" to instruction in "Football from the Spectator's Point of View." Most of the plans were quite ambitious, stated in glowing, general terms. One school proposed to do these two things: "The school will present to its students the opportunity for fullest development as individuals, both in their formative years and in adult life; it further will contribute to the progress of society through increasing the value of _their participation in present and future situations." Another school proposed this for its work in English: "The literature which grew out of the life of the peoples who participated most actively in the development of the new patterns of civilization in the last 300 years will be studied." That would seem to be a sizeable job, but another school proposed "to study primitive man and to continue over a three year period to include the history of our own country together with problems of international scope." Another school set for itself an even larger task: "Our program attempts lo aid pupils to come to an understanding and appreciation of what civilization has meant from time to time in different cultures and continues to mean in terms of social organization, production and consumption, standards of living, order, individual liberty, group co-operation, ethical standards and achievements in the arts and literature."

Other changes proposed were of a quite different nature. Illustrative of these were plans announced by various schools "to include social dancing in the curriculum," "to eliminate the motive of individual competition," "to provide for distribution of time for each student as follows: major field of interest or ability, 40%; minor field of interest, 15%; physical recreation and health, 20%; social studies, 15%; maintenance of basic skills, 10%." Several schools planned to provide for longer class periods with less rushing from room to room. Many expected to eliminate the division between curricular and "extra curricular" activities. One school proposed to graduate students, not when the student had accumulated sixteen credits, but when, in the judgment of teachers, parents, and the student himself, his growth would be promoted more effectively in college or in a vocation. A few of the schools which had been established as "experimental schools" proposed to use the freedom granted by the colleges to expand new work already under way.

Anyone familiar with the numerous demands made upon schools in the United States will not wonder that the Thirty Schools began in some confusion and with diversified purposes. Many teachers, looking back upon those early days, feel with the one who says, "At the beginning of the Eight-Year Study all of us were rather frantic in our new undertaking. We wanted to do everything, omit nothing. That, of course, was wrong. We have learned so much from this fine experience that it makes one laugh sometimes at the way we started out."

Uncertainty there surely was. One private school was even uncertain of its continued existence because of the discontinuance of a large annual contribution of funds by one of its founders. However, those beginning proposals indicated a significant move away from the conventional college preparatory curriculum.

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