The creation of a high school appropriate to democratic society involves not only fundamental change in school administration, but also effective collaboration of home and school. I Few of the Thirty Schools realized fully in the beginning that changes in the school cannot be satisfactorily made without participation and understanding by parents.

Alost parents of the present high school generation went to high school for at least a year. They think of it as they knew it when they were students. Anything different from their own school experience tends to disturb them. When their sons and daughters tell of "integrated subjects," 11 core courses," "culture epochs," excursions for community study, teacher-pupil planning, and the like, parents wonder what in the world is going on at school. They are inclined to have confidence in the teachers, but these strange things cause doubts to arise. Most: parents want schools to be alive and to make progress, but they want to be sure that established curriculums and ways of teaching are not changed without good reason and that the new ways are sensible and sound. Of course, every school has a few patrons who object violently and noisily to any change from "the good old days of the little red school-house on the hill." If principal, teachers, and students have one concept of education and parents quite another, misunderstanding, conflict, and unhappiness are inevitable. To avoid such misfortune, many of the Thirty Schools arranged frequent conferences with parents for full explanation of changes so that home and school might work in harmony. More important still, some of the schools⁸ brought parents into effective participation with teachers and students in studying the function of the school in the life of the community and in formulating guiding principles. Where this was done, school and home moved forward together.⁹

Through general parent-teacher meetings, grade parent conferences, small group discussions, and individual teacher-parent interviews the school's work was interpreted so that doubts were dissipated through understanding. Some of the schools have organized parent groups to study major educational issues. Out of such study the most reactionary parent often becomes a vigorous advocate of change and a strong supporter of innovations in school practice. Usually the extreme conservative in education is one who does not know young people well. He has not entered into their lives or faced with them the serious problems which confront them. The schools startled many a hidebound parent and teacher out of his complacency by having him visit a few of the miserable homes from which some boys and girls come to school.

Belief in education and faith in its possibilities are almost universal in American life. No phase of our common life has greater appeal to our people. In every community there are many men and women able and ready to serve the cause of education. Schools are learning through experience how to draw upon these rich human resources for counsel and support.

| Previous Page | Top of Page | Next Page | | 8 Year Home | Chapter 2 Home | Index | Email Comment |