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DETROIT PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Character Education in Detroit

The First Report of the Detroit Committeeon

Character Education

Published by the Authority of theBoard of Educati n

City of Detroit1927

DETROIT PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Character Education in Detroit

The First Report of the Detroit Committeeon

Character Education

Published by the Authority of theBoard of Education

City of Detroit1927

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Part Page

I Account of Activities --....... .......... .- .... ... 7

II The 1925 Experiment ....... . ......... ........... 11

1. The General Set-Up2. The Test Used3. Results as Shown by the Test4. Results as Judged by Principals

and Teachers5. Summary

III Contributions Made by Subject .................................... 31

Appendix "The Things I Do" Test ................................... ..... 53

(2P

iiIj1'

-Y

T

wf"_ f

LIST OF TABLES

Page

I Ratings of Teachers in the Three Groups ............ 12

II Median Scores by the Various Groups....................... 19-

III Correlation between Initial and FinalTests ...................... .. . .................................. .. ...... 20

IV Distribution of Changes from Initial toFinal Tests .................................. .. 21

V Summary of Changes from Initial to FinalTests ........................... ............... ................................... .... 21

VI Median Scores of Four Classes who Markedthe Ideal on One Trial of the Test .......... 22

VII Intercorrelations for the Four Classes .......... 22

VIII Medians and Correlations of Activity Typeswithin the Test............ . ....................... 23

IX *Correlations between Scores and TeacherRatings......................................... 24

X Relationship of Intelligence to CharacterS cores ............ ................................. . 26

Part I

ACCOUNT OF ACTIVITIES

In order to correlate better Detroit's effort-s

in the field of character education, Superintendent

Frank Cody appointed in October 1924 a committee to

study character education. It was made up as follows:

Chairman, George Birkam, District PrincipalH. J. Baker, Clinical PsychologistArthur Dondineau, Associate Dean of Teachers

College in Charge of SupervisionH. L. Harrington, Supervising Principal of

Intermediate Schools ,E. L. Miller, Assistant SuperintendentClaudia M. Parker, Assistant Supervisor of ReadingPaul T. Rankin, Assistant Director in Charge of

Research

Mr. Milton Fairchild, Chairman bf the Character Education

Institution, met with the committee in order that Detrolit

might have the benefit Of his experience and t'hat there

might be added cooperation with the Character Education

Institution.

Purposes

The.committee decided at an earply meeting that its workshould'lie along three main lines.. In the first place, it seemedimportant to collect information on the steps which were beingtaken in regular class work to insure development of desirablecharacter traits. It was realized that there were many individ-ual teachers who were securing very good results in this wayand that there were individual subjects which provided rather alarge amount of character training within the Subject itself.Therefore, the committee considered it important to collect.andorganize such instances of character development as were found inexistence in diffe'rent parts of the .system.

The. second major purpose of the committee was to develop anorganization of methods and materials which might later be recom-mended for general adoption in the Detroit schools. It was feltthat in order to realize such a purpose it would be necessary tomobilize all the interest and enthusiasm and experience of theentire teaching corps.. In addition to -this, it would be necessaryto have a small group of teachers who .would devote considerabletime and attention to the general problem. The general plan-wasthat this group should be relatively free to try such proceduresas their past experience indicated might be effective and thatthey would have the advantage of group conferences and of super-vision.

The third .general purpose of the committee was to carry onperiodically experimental studies of the effectiveness o.f themethods used. Thus, it was felt that from the beginning theprogress in character development being made by the pupils whowere working under the above mentioned group of teachers shouldbe compared, constantly with the progress made by similar chi ldren-:in rooms where no formal method was prescribed for meeting theproblem of character education.

Progress

Considerable time has been spent by members of the committeein attempting to become acquainted with the different ways inwhich character education is being attacked by teachers in differ-ent departments and schools of the city. However, this generalactivity of information gathering has been carried on sporadicallyand at present only a very general statement of existing materialsand methods can be made.

8 DETROIT PUBLIC: SCHO~OOLSS

. RCHARACTER EDUCATION

Much has been* done along the line of the second purpose stat-ed above. A member of the supervisory group, Miss Claudia M.Parker, Assistant Supervisor of Reading, was given the major re-sponsibility in this. connection. She was assigned definitely tospend a .portion of her time in an attempt to organize more ade-quately methods and materials of character education into a formwhich might be used later throughout the schools. During the firstyear of- the activity of the committee, Miss Parker met -periodical-ly with the group of teachers who were carrying on the so-calledDetroit Plan. Much time was spent in the collection and compar-ison of experiences.

During the second semester of the year 1924-1925, the com-mittee carried on a small experiment designed to secure someevidence as to the effects upon children of the so-called DetroitPlan and of the Five-Point Plan advocated by Mr. Fairchild in com-parison with the effects of the normal class-room conditions whereno special methods were being used. In order t.o make measurementsof progress in character development it seemed desirable to devisemeasuring instruments in addition to those which were availableat the time. Dr. Baker', Clinical Psychologist, developed a testknown as "The Things I Do" test. This was an attempt to measurethe effects of work in character training upon the way in whichchildren actually behaved.

9

Part II

THE 1925 EXPERIMENT-

1. GENERAL SET UP

During the semester from February to June 1925, a preliminaryexperiment in character education was tried out in several Detroitschools.

Purpose

The specific problem which was investigated was the differ-ences in the effects on character development of three sets ofteaching materials: (1) the Fairchild Five-Point Plan, (2) theso-called Detroit plan in its, initial form, and (3) as a control,regulaar classroom work, with no special materials. Originally itwas intended to investigate at the same time differences in theeffects of the three types of method,* disciplinary, socialized,and purposing, under which teachers are classified in Detroit.This portion of the problem was not completed because of the dif-ficulty of securing sufficiently comparable ratings as to method.

Procedure

Twenty-eight classes in grade four in platoon schools wereincluded in the experiment. The attempt was made to have thethree groups include about -the same proportion of superior, average,and inferior teachers, and also about the same proportion of teach-ers using -the ,different types of method. Since materials for usein character training need to be used by all teachers, it is appar-ent that any comparison of materials should be made with typicalgroups. This explains the somewhat uncommon procedure of usingnot only superior, but also average and inferior teachers.** Thecloseness of matching on the basis of the teacher's rating by herprinc.ipal i.s. shown in Table I., It is seen that the general meritrating is about the same in the three groups. In method, the"Detroit" and control groups were closely similar, but the Five-point group had a larger proportion who used the disciplinarymethod .

*See Manual of Directions for Making Efficiency Card Ratings.Detroit; Board of Education, 1924.

**This procedure is unquestionably the proper one so far asthe comparison of materials is concerned. For the development ofa "Detroit" program, the inclusion of average and inferior teach-ers probably was not desirable.

12 DETROIT PUBLIC SCHOOLS

TABLE I RATINGS OF TEACHERS IN THE THREE GROUPS

General Merit Rating Five-Point "Detroit" Control

Superior A or B+ 3 3 4Average B 3 5 4Inferior B- or C' 3 2 1

Total 9 10 9

Method Rating

Purposing 0 0 0Purposing and

Socialized 1 2 3Socialized 2 5 2Socialized and

Dis ciplinary 5 2 3,Disciplinary 1 0 0

Total 9 9* 8*

*One teacher was not rated as to method.

Aside from the differences outlined above, the conditions inthe three groups of children were kept as nearly constant as pos-sible. Fifty minutes per week were used in the home-room on the

special character work in the Five-Point and "Detroit" plans.This time was taken out of the reading allotment.

At the outset it was agreed that the relative effectiveness-of the three methods should be appraised partly by means of a testspecially prepared for the purpose, and partly on the basis ofthe judgment of the principals and teachers who were concerned.

The Five-Point Plan*

The first group of teachers used the Five-Point Plan. Thisplan was devised by Mr. Fairchild to meet the need for a simply

organized procedure in character education for use in regularclassrooms. He attempted to take the best features of the IowaPlan of Character Education, and adapt them for use in averageclassrooms.

*The Five-Point Plan for Character Education in ElementarySchool Classrooms. Washington; Character Education Institution.

POINT ONE is the organization of Uncle Sam's Boys and Girls.The teacher assists her pupils to form a club known as."UncleSam's Boys and Girls." Membership is open to all the childrenbut good citizenship is required of all members. The children ingood standing wear the Uncle Sam's badge. Loyalty to Uncle Samand to the obligations of good citizenship is stressed. A set ofapprovals and disapprovals is prepared for the use of clubs.

POINT TWO is the use of the children's Morality Code whichwas prepared by William J. Hutchins and distributed by the Char-acter Education Institution., Ten minutes each day are devoted tothe discussion of words or phrases in the Code which seem to beof special importance to the children at that time. Children andteacher share their experiences and ideas on the point at issue,and try to apply the Code to the situations which are brought up. .

POINT THREE is the making by the teacher of a character di-agnosis of each pupil in the class. A"By means of this knowledgeof the personality of the children better judgment will be madepossible as to the best ways and means to be used for encouragingand guiding the growth of each boy and each girl in the develop-ment of a personality having desirable characteristics and suchbehavior habits as are appropriate in the United States and incivilized society the world around."

POINT FOUR is the carrying on of character projects by theclub. The purpose is to give expression to the important moralideals, and to tend to form habits in accordance with them.

POINT FIVE is a report to parents on the character develop-ment of their children, as well as on their intellectual develop--ment.

The "Detroit" Plan

The "Detroit" plan was the name given to the work in char-acter education carried on by the second group of teachers. Itwill be understood that, at the time this study was made, the"Detroit" plan was not fully developed. The teachers were allottedfifty minutes per week, just as in the Five-Point Plan, this timeto be broken into such periods as the individual teacher saw fit.They met several times during the semester with a supervisor* whoacted in the capacity of leader and adviser. At the first meeting,it was explained that the teachers in this group were to develop,to the best of their ability, methods and materials which seemedto them effective in stimulating character growth. In addition,they were to feel free to use and adapt procedures already avail-able in the field of character education.

,-u ..r •r~l~aa lrr~r l" L-~~p )- ~ rn~ l~~rll rre lir .lr ~ lnllW & ~ i

*Miss Claudia M. Parker

CHARACTER EDUCATILON 13

Subsequent meetings were spent in the presentation and discussionof the plans used and of the results obtained by individual mem-bers of the group. During the term the supervisor visited theseteachers in their classrooms and made suggestions to each, rela-tive to possible lines of improvement in the character Instruction.

As was to be expected from instructions given, there was con-siderable variation in methods and materials used by the variousteachers. The entire group made use of the Children's MoralityCode, and all gave a printed certificate at the end of the termto the pupils who were deemed worthy of it. Stories which broughtout character traits, and notebooks containing material which il-lustrated the laws of character were quite generally used also.Individual teachers made use of other devices, such as the for-mation of a club, the listing of ways in which fourth-grade chil-dren could practice the Morality Code, the securing of reports from

parents, having pupils .judge their own actions and insert instancesin their notebooks, and having pupils judge each other's ac.tionsin relation to particular sections of the Morality Code.

2. THE TEST USED

In order to carry out the conditions of the experiment itseemed necessary to have some measure of the efficiency of results.The literature on character was reviewed and there were quite anumber of character tests found available. However, very few ofthese were of such a nature that they could be administered bythe group method to pupils at the fourth grade level, thereforeit was decided that a test should be constructed which shouldserve as an initial and a final test -for the experiment. Thetest which was developed by Dr. H. J. Baker, and was known as"The Things I Do" test.

The Measurement of Character

The nature of character and the best means of its measurementwere very pertinent topics when the construction of a measuringscale for character was undertaken. The nature of character hasalways been an interesting topic for speculation. But up towithin recent years speculation rather than measurement has beenthe rule. In fact, the measurement of character seems to be fullyas difficult as the measurement of native ability or intelligence.In many respects it is even more difficult. By reference to thetopic of mental measurement there was disclosed a situation whichwas somewhat analogous to this problem and hence offered somehelpful suggestions.

14 DETROIT FUBLIG--s~~E'' ISCHf~OOLS

Mental measurement- resembles character measurement in thatit has been an und'eveloped science for centuries. While it was atopic which excited, great speculation it was only in recent yearsthat mental measurement has achieved valid and practical results.Such results were made possible by measuring the behavior of in-dividuals which in turn reflected their native intelligence orcapacity. In the field of character measurement it appeared rea-sonable therefore that the products of character could be bettermeasured than some abstract conception of character. Characteris expressed through the reactions to a multitude of commonplacesituations which obtain daily. In other words, the manner inwhich we meet our fellow beings, and the degree of considerationwhich we tender them, reflect a fundamental trait in our liveswhich we have associated with the term "Character." Once thishypothesis of character measurement is accepted, the testing pro-gram becomes greatly simplified.

Activities Which Reflect Character

Since character is to be measured through its by-productsthe nature of these by-products and a system for their classi-fication needed attention and study. In the review of charactertests and rating scales certain topics appeared to be common tomany of them. Character was measured by its expression in thepupil's actions at play, or in school, or in various other ways.There appeared to be a fairly definite series of situations inschool, at play, and in the home, which were found in many re-ports on character measurement. In addition to these three specialfields there were situations of a general social nature, such aspoliteness, which could scarcely be classified under any one ac-tivity. There was still another group of situations which involvedideals of right and wrong, which was also difficult to localize.Therefore, these two generalized topics were accepted as thefourth and fifth sub-topics in the activities which might be said'to express character. It is not assumed that a final and correctclassification has been made. .Such a classification will requirepatient and detailed study. In its present tentative form theactivities as stated in "The Things I. Do" test were formulatedaround the five ideas as follows:(1) school; (2) home; (3) play; (4) social; (5) ethical-moral.

-.--GHARACTC TER- ,EDUCAT A ION~ 1 5

It is. obvious that there is some overlapping of topics whichis practically unavoidable. A classification of activities thatis'truly accurate and mutually exclusive will furnish a topicworthy of long and detailed study and research.

The Test Items

The first ten items of the test were as follows:1. At night

1. I go to bed late2. I go to bed early3. I don't go at all

2. In school1. I don't look out of the window2. I sometimes look out3. I look out all the time

3. Fire Drill1. I do it, if told to2, I don't like it-3. I like to do it

4. Crossing the street1. I never look first2. I always look first3. I look if told to

5. Slamming doors1. I sometimes slam them2. I never slam them3. I like to slam them

6. In coming to school1.. I am never tardy2. I am sometimes tardy13. I:am tardy about once a week

7. In eating1. I often hurry2. I always eat fast3. I eat slowly

8. In playing1. I always go first2. I always take my turn5. I sometimes take my turn

9. In talking1. I always talk too loud2. I often talk too loud

DET'ROIT PUBLI C SC'HOOLS16

10. In giving1. I give gladly2. I give, if asked to.3. I will not give

The first five of these items were used as samples andwere not counted in the scoring. These introductory exerciseswere designed to show the technique which the pupils were expect-ed to follow amd to encourage pupils to tell what they do. Theexaminer, by means of the instructions regarding these items,attempts to get the pupils into a frame of mind where they willanswer what they actually do.

The test proper therefore begins with item number 60. It willbe noted that item number 6 refers to behavior in school, number 7to behavior at home, number 8 to behavior at play, number 9 tobehavior in a social situation, and number 10 to behavior in anethical-moral situation. These types of behavior situations arethen repeated in the same order in later items. Thus item 11relates to school, 12 to home, etc.

The test was designed for use as a group test. It was untimed,all pupils being allowed to finish. The time actually requiredwas usually less than thirty minutes. The directions were madesufficiently explicit so that the classroom teacher might administerthe te'st herself.

The Calibration of Test Items

Every question or situation in the test has three answers:one that is quite ideal; a second that is of neutral or of doubtfulimportance; and a third of relative undesirableness. The most idealitem in each question has been assigned a value of three points;the next in order, two points; and the least desirable, one point.Consequently the highest possible score on the test was 225 points,and the lowest possible was 75 points. The items are so arrangedthat the most desirable answer occurs first in one question; third,in a second question; and second in a third question. By this .ar-rangement any success due to a stereotyped procedure is largelyeliminated.

In order that there should be no doubt as to which answerr wasthe most ideal, fifty or more adults, principally of the DetroitSupervisory group, were asked to determine the order of desir-ability for the three answers under each question. The compositejudgment of this group was accepted as the final standard. Someitems showed lack of agreement, but in all cases the majority rulewas accepted. There were no items where the answers were nearlyenough tied for votes to require further opinions.

:CHARACTER~; -:'%U bL I Qi l7

Effect of Actions upon Character

It will be observed from a study of "The Things I Do" testthat a large number of very commonplace actions occur as testitems. In the reader's mind there wil doubtless be raised a ques-tion as to what effect, if any, items such as tardiness have upona pupil's character. If tardiness is caused by the pupil's ownactions there is little need for debate that tardiness does re-flect the presence of an undesirable trait. However, if tardi-ness is caused by the indifference of parents in getting him readyfor school, does tardiness mean anything about the child's char-acter? It was the opinion of the committee that some effect isprobably felt, for the other pupils and the teacher do not alwaysconsider the motive of tardiness, but they do note the fact oftardiness. Inasmuch as punctuality is a virtue, the tardy pupilfinds that he is not considered as highly on account of it, andthis lack of consideration probably has more or less effect uponhis character.

It is true that all our actions are more or less of this na-ture. The sharp differences that are supposed to exist betweencharacter and reputation are often not sharp lines at all. Wemerely like to believe that character and reputation are markedlydifferent. The differences are probably real for short periodsof time, but when expressed in long time units character andreputation become nearly synonymous., It is also true that nomatter what may be the motive behind our actions, the true motiveis frequently.overlooked and we are credited or discredited withsome defect of character. Any trait or situation which becomeswell fixed through continued practice is certain to have a lasting

effect upon the character.

The Nature of Children's Test Reactions

When an adult' studies "The Things I Do" test he is quite im-pressed at once with the exact meaning of the suggested answersto the questions.. For example, a pupil is asked if he helps at.home and in answering he is allowed three alternatives: (1) always

helps; (2) never helps; (3) helps when asked. Can a definite re-ply be made? Standards vary from home to home and from time totime in the same home. Long and mature reflection by adults mightlead to such endless contemplation that no decision is reached.

18 DETRO IT' P PBLIC---'.SCHOOL

It should be remembered that children ten years of age do notoften bring such deliberation or experience to bear upon decisions.The confusion that ovrcomes the adilti does not affect the child.Quick and intuitive responses and judgments are the rule in thechild's life. In taking this test as well as other types of testsquickness lof decision rather than deliberation is the rule.

3. RESULTS AS SHOWN BY THE TEST

The test results are, presented under the three general headsof the conditions of the experiment 1, The Detroit Plan; 2, theFive-Point plan; 3, the Control group. The first comparison madewas in terms of median scores. (Table II)

TABLE II

MEDIAN SCORES BY THE VARIOUS GROUPS

Group Pupils Initial Final Gain

The Detroit Plan 309 193 194 1The Five-Point Plan 269 195 204 - 9The Control Group 263 199 195 -4

In the Detroit Plan the median increased one point betweeninitial and final tests; the Five-Point plan increased nine points,and the Control group lost four points. If judgment of resultswere based upon this statement of medians only, it is evident thatthe Five-Point plan would be the superior one. However, othermethods of comparison were available and will be considered in thefollowing statements.

Comparison of Results by Means of Correlation

.In making informal comparisons between the scores of individ-ual pupils upon the initial and final tests, a considerable numberof cases were noted in which marked changes in scores had resulted.It seemed entirely possible that with minor changes of medians theresults for individual pupils might be radically different.

In order to take account of these changes in scores the co-efficient of correlation (Pearson) was determined between theinitial and the final scores in each of the three groups. Thesecorrelations were as follows:

C HARACTER I EDUCATION8 9 :N 19

DETROIT PUBLIC SCHOOLS

TABLE III

CORRELATION BETWEEN INITAL AND FINAL TESTS

Group Cases r P.E.

Detroit 309 .442 .031Five-Point 269 .694 .022Control 263 .751 .019

It is evident from these results that in the control groupwhere little or no emphasis was put upon,character training thepupils marked themselves much more consistently the same, thanthey did in the training groups. The. Five-Point plan stood sec-ond in amount of consistency, and in the Detroit plan the great-est changes took place between initial and final scores. If wewere able to interpret changes in score as indications of desir-able results of character training, the "Detroit" plan standsfirst, and the Five-Point Plan is second by a considerable margin.

Extent of Change of Scores

In order to show further the extent of change of scores be-tween initial and final te.sts the distributions of changes inscores were obtained. In addition to this the cumulative totalswere computed and expressed in percentage form.

20

CHRATR D CTINI~ 21-l ~-Y F- lCII-- IiIC

,TABLE IV

DISTRIBUTION OF CHANGES FROM INITIAL TO FINAL TESTS

Change in PointsUp- or Down

Detroit_ PlanCases Cum. 90 Five-Point Plan

Cases Cum. ZControl GroupCases Cum. o

0 to 45 to 9

10 to. '1415 to 19

20 to 24

25 to 29

30 to 3435 to 39

40 to 4445 to 49

4881

1642

62 6235 73

24 8115 86

15 9011 94

107

1

309

50 or over

Total

9799

100

62 2482 54

64 7732 89

16 954 96

10

3

269

66 2580 56

4138

2112

30

02

9899

9999

100 0

263

7186

9398

9999

99100

100

TABLE V

SUMMARY OF CHANGES FROM INITIAL TO FINAL TESTS

Cases Cum. f Cases Gum. lo Cases Cum. ZChange up or down,

O to-4Change up, 5 or moreChIange down, 5 or more

Total

48 16134 43127 41

309

62 24109 4198 35

269

6695102

263

253639

As indicated fr.om the correlations,.. the summary of changes(Table V) shows that.the control group shifts scores least, theFive-Point Plan second, and the "Detroit" plan most. Thus thegroups which received definite character training do change morein-their self rating from inital to the final test than does thecontrol group. One possible , explanation of this greater .amoun.t.of change is that the children after training were able to judgetheir irbehavior more- accurate,.$y. ,,Inded, some teachers in theDetroit plan remarked that it has been .a sucessful issue of train-ing that. ppilshad learned to ra r te themselves more accuratelyupdn the final markings than upon the. initial. This ability ofjudging character is in itself an important test of,: character.

C HA RACTE R .EEDUC - ON 21

Influence of the Ideal.Thing to Do upon Scores

Some members of the committee raised the question as to whateffect knowledge of the ideal thing to do had upon the pupil'sestimate of what he actually did. It was rather strongly sus-pected that the influence would be great. In order to check upon the effect of this factor, four additional control classeswere selected and given the initial and the final tests under thesame conditions as the other groups. But in addition, about tendays after the initial test, the test was repeated with the direc-tion that the pupils mark the ideal or right thing to do.

Table VI

MEDIAN SCORES OF FOUR CLASSES WHO MARKED THEIDEAL ON ONE TRIAL, OF THE TEST

Initial Ideal Final

193 219 202

The median score on the "Ideal" marking was 26 points higherthan the initial, and 17 points higher than the final scores. Itwas also within six points of a perfect score of 225 points. Theincrease of 9 points between initial and final medians was equalin points to the increase in medians for the Five-Point group.

The intercorrelations among the different trials were com-puted also. (Table VII)

Table VII

INTERCORRELATIONS FOR THE FOUR CLASSES

r P.E.Initial and Ideal .083 .067Ideal and Final .129 .067Initial and Final .118 .067

It is evident from these correlations that there is littlepositive relationship between knowledge of the ideal and the ac-tual situation on either the initial or the final test. However,it is obvious that after attention had once been called to theideal situation the correlation between the initial and the finalscores was considerably affected, for in this special controlgroup the correlation between initial and final was only .118whereas in the regular control group it was .751 between initialand final scores.

22 DEETROIT FUBLI C. S:CHOOL*S

Correlations of Sub-parts of-the Test

It will be recalled that after the five sample questionsthere were seventy-five other questions in "The Things I Do" test.These seventy-five questions were divided-into five equal groupsof fifteen each, representing the five activities which are listedin Table VIII. Four classes, including 114 pupils, in the Five-Point Plan group were selected at random and the inital and finalpapers were rescored under the head of the five separate activities.The correlation was determined between the initial and Jthe final 'sub-score for each type of activity. (Table VIII)

Table VIII

MEDIANS AND CORRELATIONS OF ACTIVITY TYPES WITHIN THE TEST

Type of Activity Initial FinalMedian Median r P.E.

1. School 40 39 .632 .0412. Home 40 40 .620 .0423. Play 40 40 .550 .0464. Social 41 40 .558 .0465. Ethical-Moral 42 42 .733 .030

If character training had some effect upon pupils as measuredin changes in scores, which in turn are reflected in correlations,it is evident that the training had the greatest effect in play; ,

second, in social situations; third, in the, home; fourth, in theschool; and last or fifth, in ethical-moral situations. It maybe true that the ethical-moral situations are more fundamentallyfixed ina child's personality make-up than the other factors andhence less susceptible to change. The fact that the school situ-ation also was little affected may perhaps be explained by statingthat the pupils on both tests were probably aware that theirteachers-knew more exactly about their school behavior and hencethey felt the importance of rating themselves very accurately uponthe school situations. It should be added that "The Things I Do"test was-aimed to be a general test of character rather than aspecialized diagnostic instrument.

Validation by Other Estimates

Three teachers in the Detroit plan rated their pupils uponthe Chassell-Upton "Scale for Measuring Habits of Good Citizen-ship," Form A. The correlations with the initial and final scoreswere as follows: (125 pupils)

Initial Final.420 .483

23-CHARAC-TER EDUC~Tji~JATON

Since the two tests were quite diffe.rent in character, andin one instance rating was made by teachers while in the other itwas made by the pupils themselves, the correlations reported areprobably fairly high, It is evident also that as a result oftraining in character the pupils rated themselves more accuratelyupon the final, than upon the initial markings.

Three other teachers in the Detroit plan rated their pupilsupon as many of the points of "The Things I Do" test as they feltqualified to do. ,,The initial and final papers of these pupilswere re-scored, to include the actual score upon the same itemsupon which they had been rated by their teachers. The correla-tions between the ratings by teachers and initial and final scoresfor these groups were as follows:

Table IX

CORRELATIONS BETWEEN SCORES AND TEACHER RATINGS

Teacher No. Pupils No. Items Initial Final

A 27 74 .339 .350B 41 48 .390 .280C 32 22 .008 .221

These relationships seem to be small. They are based uponso few cases, however, that no final conclusions can be drawnfrom them. In two of the three cases the correlation with teacherrating improved between the initial and the final scores, in theother case it was less.

Information from Particular Cases

In order to validate further.the scores on "The Things I Do"test as a test of character, teachers in the Detroit plan and inthe Five-Point plan were asked to make brief statements aboutcertain pupils whose scores were outstanding in some respect. -Thepupils upon whom such special statements were made were dividedinto four, groups, as follows: 1, Pupils whose initial and finalscores on "The Things I Do" test were 210 points or higher; 2,Pupils whose scores upon the initial and final test were 159points or less; 3, Pupils whose final score was more than thirtypoints higher than their initial score; 4, Pupils whose finalscore was more than thirty points lower than the initial score.

Twenty-eight pupils were found whose initial and final scoreswere 210 points or higher. Reports show that 21 pupils or 75% ofthese had rated themselves correctly, in the opinion of the teach-ers.. Three of the seven pupils whose characters were rated toohigh, were reported according to the teachers judgment as being

2.4" DEElTROIT; T. PUBLIG .,. :$(LCHGOLSd

spoiled or over-indulged at home. A fourth pupil was a greattalker but her ac:complishments ended there, and the other pupilsreally paid little attention to .her. A fifth pupil was "frivolousand flighty," a sixth pupil was very old for her grade and al-though a slow learner was sophisticated enough to rate her char-acter high. The seventh pupil was of a very seclusive nature witha personality which might be described as negative. No one under-stood: her, and the teacher ,was quite at a loss to know why she hadrated herself so high upon both tests,

Eleven pupils had initial and final scores of 159 points orless. According to the teachers' estimates six of these ratedthemselves correctly and five underrated themselves. Of the fivewho underrated themselves two were timid and retiring, and appar-ently were unaccustomed to receive praise. One other pupil whounderrated himself was a pupil of superior mental ability who,since his school work was easy for him, liked to squander histime and have lots of fun on every possible occasion.

The :six ,pupils who rated themselves low and did so correctlywere bad characters in the opinion of teachers. Truant, bully,mischief-maker, no personality at all, - were terms used in de-scribing these cases. It might even be suspected that their bad-ness was expressed in seeing how poorly they could rate themselveson the character test. Such cases come to light from time to time,and they should have careful diagnosis and treatment.

Ten cases were reported whose final scores were thirty pointsor more higher than the initial scores. Three of these underratedthemselves on the initial test. One of the three had languagedifficulty and understood the teslt better upon the final testing..Three cases were reported as being greatly improved in character.One of these cases was deprived of his special character badgefor a, time by the vote of the class. Afterward, he earned itback and did not forget his lesson.

Four cases were reported as being quite well rated at firstbut became egotistical as a result of character training! How-ever, it is probably true that vanity may come through other chan-nels and in other places than the classroom, so the experimentcannot be censured too severely for these four cases.

To counterbalance the effect upon the last group of pupilsmentioned above, it might be said that two of the nine pupils whorated themselves lower on the final test, were reported as havinglost some of their egotism. Three of the nine cases underratedthemselves on the final test. Three others were reported as "notdependable," while one got into a bad gang and deteriorated mark-edly between the initial and final tests.

,CH-ARA;ICTE.R, EDUCATION,-:-Qba 25

It is. rather difficult to summarize into any statisticalform the results obtained on the four types of cases listed above.In the first two types, those with both scores either high or low,twenty-seven of thirty-nine cases were reported as being correctlyrated. In the last two types, those with strikingly large gainsor losses between tests, the cases were of a very miscellaneousnature, but with a tendency toward instability. Egotisticalpupils, meek pupils, quiet pupils, personalities crushed from toostrict home discipline were brought to light.

Relation to Intelligence

There seems to be a slight relationship between intelligencegroup and score upon the initial test. In both grades the X groupare highest; the Y group second; and the Z group third. The over-lapping of scores between groups is probably of greater signifi-cance than the small difference between medians. These differ-ences support the observations of Terman and others that the moreintelligent pupils tend to possess also the more desirable traitsof character.

Table X

RELATIONSHIP OF INTELLIGENCE TO CHARACTER SCORES

B Fourth Grade A Fourth GradeGroup Cases Median Cases Median

X 106 197 90 203

Y 203 195 337 195

Z 70 184 78 187

Unclassified 7 192 11 204

Total 386

II II II~(IIIIIII~L Y CI P CII ICCIII-- II -II ~ I~CI ~~~ CIIPP II~PCCIICIII I~ I~ I IIII~ 11 I

26 DETROIT PUBLICC'SCHOOLS~

194, 516; 197

4.. RESULTS AS JUDGED BY PRINCIPALS AND TEACHERS

In order to discover the attitude of the principals andteachers included in the experimen.t in regard to the effect ofcharacter education, they were asked during the following fall toanswer briefly the following question:

Was- there any more, appreciable growth incharacter evidenced in the children in the rooms orsections working in the Character Education experi-ment last year than in rooms where there was nospecial time allotted to the subject? In otherwords, do you feel that the time spent on charactereducation was worth while?

Judgments of Principals

In the experiment there were two or three teachers from the

same school in some instances so only eleven principals repre-sented the' eighteen rooms included in the two methods, The FivePoint Plan and The Detroi-t Plan.

Of these eleven principals, four felt the growth was not more

appreciable, five felt there was a more noticeable gain in char-

acter. development, one principal had been ill and away so much

that she felt she wasn't able to judge, and one felt that shemust answer separately for her two teachers. With one teacher,

pupils coming under her influence always showed.a gain. in moralconduct, self-control, and behavior while the influence of the

other teacher was negligible,

Six principals thought the time spent very much worth while,three thoUght it was not worth while to give a special time to the:

teaching of character and two did not express themselves. One

principal stated herself thus--"There has been a marked growth in

character development in that class and it certainly is well worth

while. Personally, I should like .to have some such attentiongiven to all of the children, if only for five or ten minutes

every.day." Another said that while she saw no appreciable growththe children were much interested and she felt did derive somebenefit from the instruction but she believed that more appreci-able growth would be made if the subject were:-taught daily. Oneprincipal averse to a specified time stated herself in this way,"I feel that character development is stressed. in many ways at alltimes by any good teacher, and I did not see any marked resultsthat would warrant a special time for the subject. Of course,there were cases which showed a change, but as a group, the differ-ence between the groups engaged in the experiment and those notengaged, was not marked."

C,.HAR,.-A'C.TER EDUCATIONO~ 27

28A DETROIT PUBL IC SCHOOLS

Judgment of Teachers

Of the eighteen teachers engaged in the experiment, threewere lost sight of due to resignations. The results from the fif-teen reporting are as follows:

Five teachers felt there was an appreciably greater growthin character development in the section using the special methodsand time allotment. Seven felt there was no appreciable differ-ence. Three felt they could make no comparisons as their two

sections differed so widely. In one case the section the teacherwas working.with was a low type of Z's on whom it was difficult

$,o mzrke any impression while the secition she would naturally com-pare them with was a good X group. Inh another case the teacherwas working with a very superior group which seemed to requirelittle of such teaching.

Nine thought it was worth while to have a special time de-voted to the subject while six thought it was not. A number ofquotations from teachers are given in order that their views maybe presented directly.

"To me there is no line between character education and all,our classroom work. It is the underlying purpose of all our work,and teaching which does not function in character building is afailure. Time spent in character education can be spent in noother way as worthily. However, I do not believe this is a sub-

ject which can be put under a separate, head."

"I do not believe I can see any marked improvement in thechildren having had character work, over those not having had it.It seems to me that if Courtesy, Self-control, Patriotism arediscussed in a class as a result of the stories children have read,or as some occasion demands, rather than at a set time, it meansmdre to the child. I believe if the teacher is on the alert towatch for opportunities to bring these things before pupils, theyare more impressed than if a set time for a class is followed."

On the o therhand one teacher felt that the time set asidefor the work was much worth while because it afforded an oppor-tunity to keep these traits before the children as they would notbe if the subject were only taught incidentally. She said shewas pleased to see the results in them carry over the followingyear. "It is noticeable in the schoolroom and on the playgroundthat the children who had the work last year are consciouslytrying to live up to their morality code this year."

5. SUMMARY

1. When measured in terms of increase in median scoreson "The Things I Do" test, the Five-Point Plan ranked first,the Detroit Plan second, and the Control group third.

2. When measured in terms of shifting between theinitial and final tests, as measured by the lowness of thecorrelation, the Detroit Plan ranked first, the Five-PointPlan second, and the Control group third.

3. The teachers and principals involved in the Five-Point and Detroit Plans were divided about evenly as to thedesirability of these two types of training as contrastedwith the customary (incidental) type of character training.

CHARACTEER EDUCATIONPO 29

PART III

*CHARACTER CONTRIBUTIONS MADE BY SUBJECTS

In order to get at the contribution to character training ofeach of the subjects of the curriculum in Detroit the committeehas chosen to have each of the subject experts express in his ownlanguage the way in which the work under his dire.ction makes adefinite contribution to this subject . 'No effort ha's been madeby the committee to restate or remould any statement made by anyone of the, many people making the contributions. The, committeewas of the opinion that teachers, principals, and others inter-ested in knowing just how the courses of study made .provision forcharacter education would prefer to have the exact language ofthe expert. who had worked over the field.

Those who read this bulle.tin and particularly this chapterwill be impressed by the general agreement of the supervisors asto the values of ethical training and the proper considerationwhich ought to be given to ethical behavior. The particularproduct which.it is believed results from such training isexpressed' individually by each of the supervisors. In the mainthe supervisors agree, first, that character training resultsfrom both.direct and indirect methods of teaching; second., thattraining is most effective when resulting from a well chosensituation or activity which provides experiences involving ethicalchoice followed by- an opportunity for action based upon such achoice; third, that the instructional materials, situations and.activities used as a medium of- instruction should and do providefor repeated experiences which tend to develop traits of characte'rwhich are generally accepted. as being desirable.

*This part of the bulletin was contributed by the members of thesupervisory staff. Following is a list of those contributing:

Alice Guysi, Art in Intermediate and High SchoolsMabel Arbuckle, Art in Elementary SchoolsC. Louis Thiele, Exact ScienceLoren M. Post, Health EducationClara Beverley, EnglishNina Beglinger, Work for Foreign BornLily Lindquist, Foreign LanguagesMarion Lovis, School LibrariesRegenia Heller, Reading and KindergartenLena M. Shaw, HandwritingC. C. Barnes, Social ScienceJohn Trybom, Vocational Education

The very few illustrations provided will suggest to thereader the manner in which the various subjects in the curriculumof the Detroit Public Schools stress the ethical values and pro-vide for character training.

ART

Intermediate and High Schools

To one possessing an understanding of art, love of country,and of his fellow men, teaching art offers unlimited opportunitiesfor servilce. The true. ideal of art is to do the thing attemptedin the best possible way; .patience ceases to be a virtue; and be-comes a necessity., The effort to do the thing better and stillbetter as understanding and power are developed leads the studentinto: new and wider fields of expression and achievement. We teachhonesty through doing honest work, accuracy through training theeyes to judge and the hands to execute, order through design, andreverence through the study of the beautiful in nature and in art.All lasting art is based on principles which are identical withthe laws- of right living.

The feeling for fine proportion is, accompanied by. the abilityto place emphasis where emphasis belongs, to minimize things oflesser importance and to eliminate the non-essentials. Good tasteis the ability to choose between the beautiful and commonplace.

Appreciation of art demands breadth of judgment, toleranceand recognition of- the desirability of individual expression ofthe same idea, and a realization that "Beauty is its own excusefor being." These' things are true of all the fine and alliedarts; rightly understood they apply equally-to the art-of livingand the appreciation and practice of this,, the finest of all artsI take it, is the aim of all education. The true art teacherwill not fail to hold this as her ultimate goal.

Elementary Schools

Character building dominates all art instruction. Through

the socialized activity method of work in the art course, theguidance of conduct assumes important consideration. Attitudes,habits, and ideals become moving forces in conduct through indi-rect teaching, which is being carried on all of the time that theart work is being developed. Attitudes, habits, and ideals ofoutstanding importance are listed in the Standards of Attanmentin the Art Course of Study for definite achievement along withthe standards of knowledge and skills for the activities suggestedon the grade level in the various unrts of subject matter.

3y2 DETROIT PUBLIC SCHOOLSr

CHARACTER EDUCATION 53

Through socialized group activity moral education becomesrelated to life situations rather than to formal and mechanicalschool situations which do not transfer efficiently into life use,.

The social spirit of service for others is developed notonly in this group arrangement, but in types of activity which arecarried on; as in projects executed for the Junior Red Cross todistribute to children in hospitals at Christmas and Easter;projects for use in other departments of the school, as auditorium,literature, exact science, social science, handwriting, music.Individualistic motives are discouraged and the good of the wholeemphasized through personal achievement.

Through the activities which cla-rify the units of subjectmatter in the art course, as home planning and furnishing, clothesdesign, home.grounds designs, and civic art, are developed in-directly important qualities Of right living and good citizenship,unselfishness, honesty, fairness, justice, respect for rightopinion of others, cooperation, helpfulness, kindness-, courtesy,thoughtfulness of the comfort and r.ights of others, industry,loyalty, thrift, generosity, love for that which is fine and trueand beautiful, simplicity, sincerity, cleanliness,;neatness,orderliness, scientific-mindedness, initiative, persistence,courage, sympathy, right emotional reactions or responsiveness.

Power to use these habits, attitudes, and ideals in lifecomes through actual experiences in conduct in the child'sdevelopment and not through talking about them. It is in thedoing of these things in free social work that they develop andbecome a part of conduct or behavior. Esthetic environment with aproportioned appreciation of the beautiful is a subtle and power-ful force in character molding and moral development found in allart instruction.

EXACT SCIENCES

The exact sciences contribute to character training by bothdirect and indirect methods. By direct methods is meant thetraining resulting from actual participation in activities whichin themselves provide opportunity for the formation of desirablesocial habits. Direct training results when individuals andgroups of individuals act in situations for which.a range ofresponses is possible. Direct training, in short, is trainingthrough actual doing.

Indirect character training is training resulting entirely fromth-e acquisition of ideas obtained as information and facts. Whetheror not exposure to facts results in the formation of ideas, whichmight influence substequent action depends 'upon the workings ofindividual minds; it depends upon mental t.ransfer. It is obviousthat many variaibles operate in such a subtl.eprocess as the f:orma-tion of character. Direct and indirect methods of charactertraining resulting from the teaching of arithmetic will be dis-cussed separately.

From the point of view of direct training many situationsarise in a natural way in the teaching of arithmetic. Theses-ituations involve such elements of character as honesty, self-0onfidence and "desire for excellence.." Pupils may very earlyin their arithmetic learn the lesson that it "doesn't .pay"' tocheat; the only one who suffers therefrom is the doer. The re-sults of .quantitative thinking are such that pupils may knowwhether or not they are succeeding. Continued success, knowingwhen work has been well done may give:a feeling of self-confidencein one's accomplishments. This feeling leads to the expenditure ofmental energy in a free and unhampered manner. AC "desire .forexcellence" may be developed by holding'before children the idealof a "job well done." .. In this age of quantitative production everymeasure available must be taken to stress qualitative values.Dissatisfaction ,with careless work and partially correct restultsis the key to a " desire for excellence.".

In an indirct way the social content of arithmetic may alsoinfluence character building. Some one made the claim that the,attitudes of the pupils toward such institutions as capital, labor,government, schools, industry, and business may be influenced ;morethrough a study of arithmetic than through any other subject :becauseit presents exact facts. For example through an intensive studyof "ftom producer to consumer" pupils will obtain a sympathetic at-titude toward the agriculturists. Although there is danger inentering the field of controversial questions we must develop atechnique for the presentation of "real reasons" for the causes ofsocial, industrial, and governmental successes and failures.Partibcular reference: in the field of attitudes is made to thenecessity for well based judgments in managing indiviidual and groupaffairs.

It is obvious from the above discussion that arithmeticalinstruction can contribute toward correct attitudes regarding apreparation for life"s work. Study of the following facts publishedby the United States Department of Education bear out this point.The facts are:

4

4 DETROIT, FU BLIC-i .SICH OOL% ISO~i

CHARACTER EDUCATION: 35

Out of 5,000,000 with no education, only 1 attained distinc-tion.

Out of 33,000,000 with elementary schooling, 808 attaineddistinction.

Of 2,000,000 with high school education, 1,245 attained dis-tinction.

Of 1,000,000 with college education,, 5,768 attained distinc-tion.

These facts and many others can be used in giving boys andgirls vocational attitudes which will contribute in shaping char-acter.,

This brief discussion has merely pointed to some of the op-portunities for character training in the teaching of arithmetic.However it must be born in mind that the final outcomes along thelines of character development depend upon the teacher. In the..last analysis it remains for the teacher with insight, interest,and enthusiasm to make use of the opportunities which any subjectof instruction offers.

HEALTH EDUCATION

There are many situations in which the teacher of health ed- .

ucation has tremendous opportunity to give real character educa-tion. The defining and teaching of sportsmanship is probably the.most outstanding thing upon which to do the job.

To teach sportsmanship to a boy is to teach him to respectEnd obey laws. It teaches him.to respect his fellow man; to re-spect the rights of others and. to see situati-ons .from different,angles. A boy who learns to play the game fairly is more liableto play the game of life fairly than the one who does not.

In playing games the individual becomes a part of a team.His wishes to execute plays as an individual must be submerged andhe must be a unit of a small community and act in conjunction andharmony with his fellows. If this is taught and taught properly,a decisive step is taken toward character education.

The teaching of health habits should, in all cases, havethis end in view. Health habits in their final scope should in-clude public health and sanitation. When the individual is taughtnot to spit on the sidewalk or public places, not to cough orsneeze except smothered in a handkerchief, he is developing anattitude of respect for and a consideration of his fellow man.

Finally, the whole' subject of health speaks for character.To be healthy means to be independent, self-sustaining, and to-have ability to not only care for one's self, but to contributeto the public welfare.

ENGLISH

Materials and methods of the Course in English contribute,directly and indirectly, to the development of desirable traitsof character. in fact, this purpose is implicit in the coursethroughout .

In the section devoted to literature, a story exemplifyinga desirable trait is worked out specifically for each grade. Inthe fourth grade, for instance, the old fairy story, "Diamondsand Toads," presents an ideal of courteous speech. The methodof teaching the.story has appreci,ation for its specific purpose.The children realize that "diamonds" and "toads" may drop fromtheir own mouths, and become watchful to guard themselves fromunkind words.

The section on poetry opens with the following passage byMatthew Arnold:

"Good poetry does undoubtedly tend. to form the soul andcharacter; it tends to beget a love of beauty and of truth inalliance together; it suggests, however, indirectly, high andnoble principles of action, and it inspires the emotion so, help-ful in making principles operative. Hence its extreme importanceto all of us."

The purpose ...of the study is to develop a real love for beauti-ful poletry. If pupils come to regard poetry as "just somethingto memorize," time spent upon it is wasted.

Spelling and composition, when properly taught., serve atevery step to emphasize right ideals of conduct.

Inventory tests make it possible for each pupil to dis-cover and concentrate on words he does not, know and on grammaticalforms and rules for ..capitals and punctuation marks which he hasnot learned to put in practice. This teaches him ECONOMY OFTIME. He is taught to discover his task for himself and toattack it by means .of a definite procedure. When he has. mastereda lesson, he is allowed to go on with the next. He knows thatresponsibility for his rate of progressirests largely upon hisown effort and this stimulates INITIATIVE, .CONCENTRATION, andPERSEVERANCE. The desire to become a leader and so to .help othersleads some pupils to make greater effort.

36 ETROIT ,PUBLIC- SCHOOLS;

Composition may be genuine and at the same time so guidedas to encourage respect for parents, helpfulness, a fine sense ofhumor, courtesy, fair play, leadership, tolerance, and honesty.Through these activities, also, children learn to feel the powerof language. A pupil who is able to amuse and interest his class-mates is adding to the joy of life at the moment as well as de-veloping ability in oral and written expression.

One definite aim in composition activities is to make child-ren observant of life about them, thus helping them to realizethe signifi.cance of many common things. William James relateshow the sight of a workman doing something on the dizzy edge of-a high building opened his eyes in an instant to the fact thatone need not go far in search of the heroic. "Not in clangingfights and desperate marches only is heroism to be looked for,but on.every railway bridge and fire-proof building that is goingup today. On freight trains, on the decks of vessels, in cattleyards and mines, on lumber-rafts, among the firemen and thepolicemen, the demand for courage is incessant; and the supplynever fails."

Lessons in literature, in grammatical forms, in punctuationand capitalization are all designed to develop good habits ofstudy, honesty with one's self, perseverance, self-direction,neatness, accuracy, and pride in good English. The particularmerit of all English work is to make pupils self-directing, andself-reliant.

The English Course, then, aims to develop right ideals andto make these ideals active in conduct.

WORK FOR FOREIGN BORN

Teachers who are in charge of special rooms for foreignchildren find themselves facing problems common to all teachingsituations as well as speci'al problems peculiar to the foreignchild.

The foreign child is likely to be living in a congestedsection adjacent to or in vice districts. Hie has usually had the

type of home training that forces a child into paths of virtueand guides his continuance therein by decidedly forcefUl measures.The religious training of these children is usually provided for,each child responding according to his individual interest. Inthe public schools they manifest their extreme tendencies to agreater degree than the average American child, owing to the factof the rigid discipline at home as opposed to the freer atmosphereof the schoolroom.

3?1CHARACTER" EDU CATION1 IO~dl

DETROIT PUBLIC SCHOOLS3 8

Special training in fundamental .attitudes of right and wrongis, essential, .Property rights, t ruthfulness, personal cleanli-ness, etc. are taught direct. Content material carries detailedinformation regarding community duty. in safeguarding generalhealth and public property, law enforcement, standards of livingin the home, all types of personal health protection and preven-tion against diseases and general safety education. How to makeuse of community privileges without infringing upon the rightsof-others is discussed in detail in varied situations. The subjectof usefulness and constructive production is continually beforethem with the American ideal that a. man may make of himself whathe will.

Added to this direct .teaching the usual social science stud-ies carr.ying biographies in history and special literature aswell as idealism-in personal habi'ts, tend to develop in a lessdirect way. They.- contribute generally to character building.

The basic tex-t used in special foreign children's classesand carrying a special vocabulary, has as its content subjectsthat build for idealism in the home and in home relations. Weare convinced that the strength of the nation is dependent uponmoral cleanline.ss in its homes and a strong character developmentfor right living in the individual citizen.

In the adult classes our character, building takes the formof information which assists the individual to readjust his dailylife on a better plane of living than that to which he has beenaccustomed. Points are covered in community duty carrying -backt.o the situation that no one can contribute constructively tothe community who is not fundamentally right. Information,carrying into duties regarding -health, c.ivic duties, culturalduties, economic duties and the duty that every individual owesto himself in the matter of personal growth in character, isincluded in content material used in the class room.

The basal text used in the adult classes for beginners carriesclassified material under the above headings which gives details,of how to use community privileges, how to develop habits ofthrift, how to achieve and conti.nue a. high health standard, andthe usual idealism developed through social science subjects.Law enforcement is stressed and teachers are constantly cautionedto set a 100 example in connection with the entire situation.No teacher who does not thoroughly believe in America and itsopportunities for character development is encouraged to continueworking in the Department of Work with Foreign Born.

CHARACTER -EDUCATION 39

FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDY

The study of foreign langiiages, particularly with brightchildren, contributes in many ways to character building.

It inculcates go-od habits, such as: the ability to concen-trate, to be accurate and precise, to observe closely, to weighthe pros and cons, to view critically and form judgments. Itopens up a vast field of rich material; it leads to a broad in-terest in many problems and helps to develop right attitudes to-

wards social and moral situations. It brings an understanding offoreign people and awakens a sense of world-brotherhood. It bringsthe pupil face to face with other races, with a different civili-zation and with a different outlook on life.

The Spanish of South America, Mexico, and Cuba brings usfirst-hand knowledge of these people, shows them to us in theirdaily life. Their philosophy of life is not the same as ours, and

yet we become aware of the necessity for mutual respect and under-standing.

Distrust and misunderstanding cause much unnec'essary miseryand discord and anything that dispels these lifts the, individualto a higher moral plane and makes him a better and happier citizen.Narrow-mindedness is one of the worst causes of quarrels and war- give the individual the breadth of view and tolerance that goeswith good judgment and a clear understanding and you have taken a

long step towards universal peace.

Judgment and understanding are developed by the study offoreign nations, their ideals, their attitudes, their literature,their art, and their government. The more nearly we can get intotouch with others by a first-hand knowledge of their language,the less dependent we are on interpreters, the more it strengthensthe bonds of good will and sympathy. Reading the original French,Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, Japanese, etc. means more thanmere translations, the actual contact through the knowledge ofthe foreign language makes a much stronger bond.

From our study of the classics we have taken much of our

philosophy of life, our laws, our art, and our ideal of government.The wisdom of a Plato, a Socrates, and a Marcus Aurelius has les-sons for us always. The fables of La Fontaine, the stories ofFabre, Goethe's Faust, all have moral lessons that are ever new.But why name only these - there are thousands of such teachers inthe world, ancient and modern, who speak or spoke in diversetongues, but whose wisdom is ours for the taking, so much thebetter if we can take it unadulterated in the original language.

THE SCHOOL LIBRARY

We think of the school library as one of the school's oppor-tunities to introduce the child into an atmosphere where life maybe felt as something possibly a little finer, more gracious, andmore serene thanin the child's other manifold activities.

The first presupposition of ethical behavior is a conscious-ness of ethical values and principles of conduct. The knowledgeof ethical values and principles comes to the child through directhome teaching and naturally and pre--eminently through his reading.Since the library is a place of books, we may claim that throughthe library children are gaining this consciousness, and tha~tstandards of conduct are being set up in their minds through theactions and reactions of characters whom they admire or disapproveof in books.

One child says in a composition about the library, "I have'learned through books to be always brave'. There are many storiesabout brave people who do their duty." The very small childrenin the first grade have the consciousness of right and wroigbehavior as encountered in the Picture Books and "easy booksI."For instance,-'the, librarian finds always , in telling the "Pied-Piper of Hamelin" that the children have a strong sense of theMayor',s wrong-doing in his failure to keep his promise. The, hero-worship period in the child's life is well recognized and theideals and standards set'up at this period are of great influence.

Principles of clean play and good-sportsmanship are learnedthrough books such as Ralph Barbour's "For the Honor of - t.he ,School,and through the- Spalding Hand-books of: the various "sports. Co-operation, courage., duty, justice, kindness, loyalty, and, s erviceare recognized 'in such books as "Hans Brinker," Helen Keller's"Story of My Li-fe," Loosings "The Two Spies," "Black Beauty,""Joan of Arc," Grenfell's "A Labrador .Doctor," and innumerableothers with which ,the child comes into natural contact in thelibrary. Home :responsibility and right family relationships aresensed in "Little Women," and the fairy tales all .point -a "'moral."Children, moreover, like "morals" in their stories.

This setting-up of standards and ideals through books is ofcourse shared with the class-teaching of: literature, but thelibrary provides a wider variety of choice for the child's ownselection of a congenial book.

40 DETROIT -FUBLIC.::. '1SISCHOOLS~

We have in the library also "DIRECT" teachi.ng of right con-duct. From the entrance of the first grade class, courtesy isemphasized. The consideration of the rights of others is dis-cussed, quietness in entering the room, in walking to and fromthe shelves is stressed. In Detroit schools one is likely to hearyoung children reminded of "library shoes" as they move about -a fiction which they,all understand. The "book fairies" too, areagents by which the children are taught to take good care of thebooks, since the "book fairies" live in the books and are muchdisturbed by those who are careless. Among the older childrenresponsibility is presented as necessary in the taking home andreturning of books. Care' of public property is called to theirattention, and orderliness in leaving chairs under tables, andbooks in. the right places on the shelves is insisted upon. Directteaching of social behavior is carried on in all school libraries.

F-or character building there must also be experiences whichinvolve ethical choice, followed by actions based upon suchchoices.

In the library many of these experiences are obtained vicar-iously through books, and are valid to the extent to which thechild identifies himself with the character and lives in his ex-.perience. Children "LIVE" their reading.to an extent not measuredby any possible scale; and ethical or non-ethical behavior mightwell be traced to the influence of the child's reading in manycases.

There are reactions to the necessities for courtesy and con-sideration of others which are noticeable. There is very strong,public opinion in a library against a disturber. Children attemptto correct each other for any conduct which interfers .with enjoy-ment of their reading, This public opinion expresses itself to'prevent the selfish use of a book by one person, his failure toreturn it on -time, or to correct the carelessness of a child who-does' not' return his book to the right place on the shelves.Children naturally tend to act according to the group's standards.

There is not only opportunity in the library for making ethicalchoices, there is also a "force for righteousness" in the demandfor social behavior in the groups as a whole.

Undoubtedly there is an emotional content in the effect ofthe library environment and the spirit and freedom with which achild may find what his own nature demands in a book.. There is aconscious attempt to create an environment of charm and quiet hap-piness. Librarians often hear comments from the .departing lineof children such as "I wish the bell would never ring." "It's sonice and still here;"

..CH-ARACTER- EDUCATION~ X Q 41 1

The habit of right conduct is built up through repeated ex-periences involving right ethical, choices. Children visit thelibrary regularly twice a week throughout the platoon schoolgrades, and it is possible to observe _that habits of right con-duct in the library are actually established in this repeatedexperience. We feel that there are actually to be seen in allthe school libraries the evidences of the children's habitualgood social behavior. We observe courtesy, consideration of therights of others, helpfulness, quiet, orderliness in the use ofmaterials, and individual responsibility. In addition, we mayobserve contentment, absorbed readers, keen interest in individ-ual research; and we may sense that the atmosphere is one inwhich the best impulses of the child are encouraged to blossom.

KINDERGARTEN

Perhaps the, greatest single contribution of the kindergartento education is the opportunity given the child to make socialadjustments. He is placed where he learns to work and play hap-pily with others. He acquires approved social habits. He becomesincreasingly aware of himself and society and their mutual rela-tionships. He grows steadily in appreciation of the duties andadvantages of group, living.

The spirit of play manifests itself very early in life. Theplay at this time is very simple without form or rule. Laterrules are established and standards set up. One to continue inthe game must play fair; to develop strength of character, one mustcontrol one's emotions and make repeated attempts after failureuntil the goal is won. It is only by working and playing togetherthat: the virtues of fair play, sympathy, and obedience to lawfulauthority can be learned.

Lessons in ,health stimulate the child to follow some of, thehealth rules. To have a child abstain from some food of whichheis very fond means development of strength of mind; to eat foodfor which he does not care but which is advocated as having healthvalue also means strength of mind.

The activities in the kindergarten are numerous and varied.The industrial and fine arts, music, language, literature, andnature work give opportunity for another type of character train-ing. Improvement in ,manipulation, 'skill, initiative, and addedinformation are brought about by the constructive criticism ofthe class given during judgment periods held each day.

4.2 DEROIT PUBLI'G '.:&CHOOLS

This work in constructive criticism develops gradually,changing the child's attitude toward his product. He begins to seeits shortcomings and is willing to accept suggestions and makes aneffort t'o profit by :them. The ,pupil really begins to get outsideof himself and criticizes objectively. This is an important stepin :character training.

READING

The chief function of the reading is the development of abili-ties of intelligent interpretation of content and factual materialsInterpret.ation is-an outcome of- clear thinking under the guidanceof a writer. The outstanding method of aiding comprehension isthe analysis of a selection in order to determine the central andcontrolling idea and the supporting details. This form of organi-zation gives training in selective thinking - reasoning.

S It, is not uncommon- for individuals who have acted in a stupidor unfortunate way to say, "I didn't think." It -would be veryencouraging to be able to believe that the habit of thinkingthrough a reading unit would carry over in some measure in aconduct situation. Dr.- Jacoby, commenting on the conditions ly-.ing back of a young woman's ste-aling, says in part,"Her inferior,intelligence and judgment are the factors in her personalitylargely responsibl'e for -her present situation and we should expectthe same factors might readily get her int-o future difficulty."

Significant attitudes and habits of fidelity ordinarilyemerge from a pupil's attempts to comprehend what he reads. Pupilsdeficient in quality and amount of concentration miscall shortwords which they know perfectly well in isolation when they appearin phrases and clauses. To overome this very serious shortcoming,efforts are made to establish habits of directing attention tothe content of what . is read- more particularly than to recognitionof words .

In the event of inadequate or false interpretation the pupilis --required to select the stat ements from which he deduced themisinterpretation. Ordinarily re-reading results in a clearerunderstanding of the meaning of. the passage. The habit of takingpains with one's reading andl reporting the thought faithfully mightconceivably have far-reaching results. To achieve effective habi sin content and factual materials - in history, civics, science,industry - means the ABILITY TO GARNER LARGE STORES OF KNOWLEDGEAND TO DEDUCE RIGHT STANDARDS OF LIVING AND HIGH IDEALS OF CONDUCT.

CHA.RAC7TER 'EDIEUCATI ION 43

HANDWRITING

The present aim in the teaching of handwriting is to equipthe child with a functioning tool. He .must acquire sufficientspeed and legibility so that he can take care of whatever writingis required in his school activities, correspondence with friends,and such aspects of business as. a re not taken care of by variousmechanical devices now in use.

The material and method used in attaining these goals pro-vide situations for growth in the development of good habits ofconduct as well as skill to write.

The handwriting tests make it possible for each pupil todiscover whether he is a good, fair, or poor writer for his par-ticular grade level. The child is challenged to compete with him-self to improve his writing. He is taught to discover his ownwriting problems and to attack them in an intelligent manner. Heknows that he is responsible for his own rate of progress and thathis success depends largely upon his own efforts. These exper-iences tend to stimulate initiative, self-direction, concentra-tion, and perseverance on the part of the child.

Judgment is developed by means of a handwriting scale con-sisting of samples of writing ranging from very poor to very good.The child learns to appraise his work and to determine his successby means of this scale..

Courtesy and consideration for others are shown in the usemade of writing ability. If a child is able to write quality70 (Ayres Scale), in his writing clAss, he knows that the writingof his compositions, spelling work, and- other writing activitiesshould be of that ,same quality or better. In other words, thechildren are stimulated to make their good writing felt through-out the building.

Many pupils become very good wri-ters and render a real serviceby aiding in activities about the building involving writing suchas writing names on report cards, writing invitations, filling in

the cards for the weighing and measuring of pupils and the variousrecords kept on file for pupils.

Handwriting instruction provides experiences so that eachchild is stimulated to become as good a. writer as he is capableof being and is encouraged to feel a keen sense of satisfactionin having all units of work well written and well arranged. Inthis way, good habits and right ideals are encouraged.

44, DETROIT FUBLIC!SC HOOLS.~1bS

THE SOCIAL SCIENCES

In the Course of Study in Social Science certain aims arelisted for the purpose of developing in the young child fundamentalconcepts of civic virtues such as: social service, cooperation,loyalty, respect for law and justice.

This aim as illustrated by the following line is taken fromthe course of study.

I. To lead the child to a realization that he is a part ofthe community and nation in'which he lives.

This aim may be accomplished through the teaching of thepart the child must play in the life of the community such as-:

1. Helpful cooperation in the home(a) Obeying the rules of the home(b) Running errands and assisting in household duties(c) Taking care of personal property in a neat and orderly

manner.(d) Caring for the younger children in the family(e) Coming promptly when called(f) Being on time for meals(g) Being loyal to the family group

2. Helpful cooperation in the school(a) Participating willingly and cheerfully in the social

activities of the class and school(b) Performing to the best of his ability the part as-

signed to him(c) Helping others of the group when possible(d) Being loyal to the class and school

3. A desire to help keep the yards, streets, and alleys cleanand orderly

4. A willingness to learn and obey traffic rules and otheroregulations of the city

(a) Crossing the street(b) Playing in the street(c) Picking flowers in parks(d) Disposing of waste paper and garbage in parks(e) Protection of private and public property

CHARACThC ERI EDUCAT ION 4-5

Other. aims which contribute to the development of characterbuilding are:

:'I. To begin to foster a spirit of consideration for therights of the weaker on the playground, in the classroom, and inthe home.

III. To foster the spirit of toleration in school, at home,and in dealing with other people.

IV. To foster the spirit of national loyalty through storiesof national heroes such as Washington, Franklin, Lincoln, andRoosevelt.

History has been called the memory of the race. The earneststudent of history sees great fundamental truths behind the activ-ity of the ages. While men and events pass in a never ending andever changing procession, the scene reveals certain things thatdo not change. Love, justice, right-eousness, intelligence, loyal-ty, purity, and patriotism are seen to be the only abiding foun-dations upon which nations and individuals can build.

The great purpose of education is citizenship training.Here the social sciences, because of their iparticular character,admirably fit into the program. Is, "citizenship training" toovague a term? Then use the phrase "character building" in itsplace.

The social sciences provide this knowledge of human rela-tions and s-ocial ihstitutions. Social and civic and thereforemoral training must aim at far more than information. It -should

aim just as fully at awakened interests, a sense of social respons-ibility, an awakened social conscience, willingness to exert one'sself in promoting the general welfare, powers of self-direction,and self-control in the performance of civic and social activ-ities.

If the use of history for cultivating a socialized intelli.-gence constitutes its moral significance, its teaching must: notbe so much an ethical use of history ,as an effort to create moralimpressions by means of more or less authentic material. In do-ing this all that a teacher need do is to present the materialsof history in their true light and leave the seed thus sown togrow. There is probably no field that is richer in inspiring ex-amples than history. The character of boys and girls is mouldedby the lives of their heroes.

4 66 DETROIT PUBLI.C SCHOOLS

If a pupil knows the history of a law or reform, his attitudetowards it will be that of interest and sympathy. If he knows whatit has cost to establish a condition that he otherwise might simplytake for granted, he will make an effort to maintain it. If he.

knows the history and. the interests of his city he will be stirred

with civic pride. If he knows the long story of industry, inven-

tion, and reforms in labor, it will make his work more interesting.

In Community Civics the student becomes interested in thehome, the school, and the community, their relations to each other

and his relatlion to each. In this study, he should acquire cer-tain ideals such as cooperation, fair play, honesty, civic virtue!,

and industry,

Good citizenship and good character are found together even

if they are not one and the same. A study of the social sciencesis the most direct road to good citizenship. Can we then claimfor the social sciences the best avenue through which to teachand develop character?

VOCATIONAL EDUCATION

* The Law of Health.

Household Arts-

The outlines in domestic art emphasize the study of clothing

in relation to health: kind of clothing, best fibre, material,etc. Dress hygiene is studied in all grades, i.,e. warmth, venti'

lation, freedom of movement and cleanliness.

"The most important single factor in health is diet" (Dr. E.V. McCullom). The principles of nutrition are the basis of the

work in domestic science and in this subject these principles are

taught by trained nutrition specialists. The contributions to

health of the subject's 'of household arts are4 therefore, of extreme

importance.

Industrial Art:s

Shop work serves as a useful change to the sedentary occupa-

tions in school. Emphasis is placed on correct working positionin relation to health and effectiveness. A study is made of healthconditions in connection with various occupations.

* Mr. Trybom used the Hutchins Code of Morality for his classifi-

cation and as a basis for his analysis.

GHARACT:'J' R -EDUCATION"'L~$( 47-

The Law of- Self-Control

Household Arts

The exercise of patience and perseverance is constantlyrequired in the household arts. Success depends on it in alllessons. The work is carried on in a social situation allowingconsiderable freedom and demanding .constant self-control, sothat this freedom shall not become license. In the instructionin cooking, for instance, the girls work independently in groupso-f two or more, depending upon the project. The lesson is con-stantly impressed upon the girls that success is attained bydiligent attention to details in a situation in which self-con-trol and concentration on the problem to be solved are outstand-ing factors.

,Industrial Ares

The industrial arts contain the same opportunities fortraining habits in self-control as the household arts. A keeninterest in the completed project is generally present in alllessons. An oral lesson on the value of self-control means lit-tle to a group of children as compared with the actual experiencein the construction of a project in which the worker is intenselyinterested.

He will learn that good workmanship results from concentrationof effort on the problem under construction and on the other hand,that inattention and lack of self-control are synonymous with failure.

-The Law of Self-Reliance

Household Arts.

Girls are taughttto think, choose., and act for themselves inall their lessons. In fact, one of the main points in our method:is the emphasis placed on the development of self-reliance. Theteachers stimulate and guide the students to plan, direct, andjudge their own activities. It is estimated that 85% of all womenare engaged in the occupation of home-making.

The household arts are the only subjects that prepare di-rectly for this occupation. The element of self-reliance as per-taining to activities in a home acquire extreme significance ifwe keep .this in mind.

DEITROI~T -PUBBLIG. 1 S SCf-OOL48

Industrial Arts

Success in solving problems helps to develop self-reliancein related activities. In the industrial arts we have a largevariety of activities each helping to produce self-reliance inits particular field. A boy receives instruction and practiceon faucets,. In his home he will gain further practice in re-pairing faucets and besides, he will receive commendation fromparents. As at least 75% of the men in Detroit work with theirhands to earn a living the practice with tools in schools assumesspecial significance by giving the students a degree of confidencein the use of their hands.

The Law of Reliability

Household Arts

It is constantly held up before the girls that quality andnot quantity is the thing that counts in doing our work. One wellmade garment is better than two not well made. A food dish notwell prepared may be useless., Responsibility placed on the stu-dents for the care of the many items of equipment in the labor-atory during all lessons under careful supervision by the teacherand group leaders tends to develop dependability in a similarsituation.

Industrial Arts

A student is accustomed through the various exercises inconstructive work to exert his best effort. He is constantly.shown by experience that inaccuracy means failure. He also learnsthat success results from keen persistent .effort. We can there-fore say that he receives valuable training in reliability in thelarge group of activities included under the industrial arts.

The Law of Clean Play

Household Arts

Cooperation between individuals and between groups .is con-stantly demanded .in all lessons By having to use the samematerials, tools, and utensils, elements of fairness to co-workersenter constantly in the household arts activities.

Industrial Arts

In the present enthusiasm for physical education and competi-tive play the value of constructive play has been lost sight ofto some extent. Such activities as building playhouses, carts,kites, model airplanes, etc., often involve group work and co-operative activity to a great extent. It is play carried onwith a common purpose. It may involve competition or it may not.

CHARACATER EDUCATIONN 49

DETROIT PUBLIC:: SCHOOLS

Working for a common end as the building of a playhouse, for in-stance, will tend to develop the truth that a fair considerationof .,the various abilities of the members of the group is the bestway of reaching that end.

The Law of Duty

Household: Arts

The household arts are constantly trying to develop in thestudents certain- attitudes of service and responsibility in their-home relations. Furthermore, this instruction gives the studentthe ability to perform many of these duties, Duties peculiar towomen in the welfare of society are taught, such as child welfare,pure water, pure food, free clinics, city sanitation.

Industrial Arts

The industrial .arts make a point of inculcating such know-ledge and such abilities as will make the performance of home ser-vice possible and interesting. The ordinary arts of helpingmother or father in the upkeep of the house. are applications ofprinciples of-duty .nearest at hand to the growing child.

The Law of Good Workmanship

Household Arts

Comparison scales consisting of samples of the various de-grees of workmanship are used to encourage careful work. Theyhave :proved very helpful in making a.child do her best at alltime.s. Cooperative self-appraisal of results among the studentshas been another e-ffective way of enicouraging a high standard inworkmanship. A significant thing about vocational subjects, isthe fact that students can appraise their own work, which is notthe case in the same degree in many other subjects,

Industrial Arts

...he pleasur.e derived from accomplishing something of a ser-viceable nature is enjoyed repeatedly by the student of the in-Adusrial arts. He ,can :see the outcome of his efforts, measureand test it, and his parents also c:an serve as judges. In thisway, he receives pleasure out of doing a thing well, i.e., outof good workmanship which will lead to the repetition of similaractivities in the same manner.

~~e~9~c~am .. ~~lll~? ~s~ ~ ~prr-~ qC? ~~ ~? ~L rlC~~I~~FTI~ JI _- -~-~nS ~ )~~-C-)....'~---~- -.~~P~... ... .~.. .-. -~~--~.i~... ----*T=-= ---i-_ . -~Z ~-rP~.~.;.. ....-~L-~;~ ..^.,~- ...- ----"~-r~-- - c~r.50

The .Law.- of Team Work

Household Arts

Good, teamwork is essential ;to success in most of- the activ-ities in the household arts. :.:The -laboratory work in a ll lessonson food is carried on by groups of two or more girls. The prep-aration of meals for faculty members, parent-teacher .meetings,etc., gives excellent practice in teamwork. Other activities ofthis kind are: the making of costumes for auditorium-, garmentsfor poor children in school, for the Junior Red Cross, for theNeedle: Work Guild of America, etc.

Industrial Arts

Many of the problems in the classroom involve teamwork or

group work sometimes under the direction of a b.oy foreman. Repair

jobs for the school are d one...n..,this way. Training in team work

is given under natural conditions.

The Law of Kindness

Household Arts

Helpfulness towards co-workers in the various jobs are ameans of demonstrating acts of service and kindness towards chil-dren of difference in race, color, and conditions. Our subjectsfurnish children the ability to help mothers and other members ofthe family.

Industrial Arts

By giving th boys the ability to assist in various duties

of the home and by encouraging jobs of this kind even to the ex-

tent of giving school credit in many cases for such work, we be-

lieve we encourage a spirit of helpfulness and kindness in home

relations.

The Law of Loyalty

Household Arts

Loyalty to humanity is inculcated by acts of service ofhumanity. By putting it within the power of the students to givesuch service and by encouraging it the subjects of household andindustrial arts are valuable as a means of training in loyalty.Many projects for the home, for the school, and for the communityare'carried by the children taking household arts. Garments aremade for small brothers and sisters at home, for auditorium activ-ities, and for sick children in hospitals.

; CHARACT ER- E D U CATI M~ I~ ~ 5 1

5.2 DETRO I T ""PUBLIC- SCHOOLS

Many of the contacts with hospitals and institutions for needychildren are made through the Junior Red Cross and the Needle Work.Guild of America who provide materials for thousands of garments.In the same way, some food products are made by the girls in thedomestic science classes for the hospitals and distributed andfood materials :paid . for by the Junior Red Cross.

Indus trial Arts

The, boys make many thousands of toys at Christmas time fordistribution by the Junior .Red Cross to children's hospitals andother institutions. They construct birdhouses, feeders, and shel-ters in large quantities for the protection of insect eatingbirds and contribute besides acts of service in the interest ofthe home and the school.

Department of Special Education

The Things I Do

Name. --------------........---------... ..... ......--------------------- School---------oo---.....--...........--.. ......... ---...... Grade..........--------.........First Last

Years----------.................... Months........................ Boy..-----------...................... Girl--------...................... Date----...................................------------------

In this little book you are to tell many things that you do. Some of these things we may know aboutyou already, but we want you- to tell us yourselves.

Please do not look at any paper but your own, for we want to find out just what you do. Be sure totell what you do.

If the words are too hard,, raise your hand and we will tell you what the words mean. You will knowmost all of them.

Each question has three answers. You are to draw a line under the one answer in each set that tellswhat you do, then put the number of that answer in the parentheses at the end of the line.

1. At night1 I go to bed late 2 I go to bed early 3 I don't go at all ( )

2. In school1 I don't look out of the win- 2 I sometimes look out 3 I look out all the time ( )

dow

3. Fire-drill1 I do it, if told to 2 I don't like it 3 I like to do it ( )

4. Crossing the street1 I never look first 2 I always look first 3 I look if told to ( )

5. Slamming doors1 I sometimes slam them 2 I never slam them 3 I like to slam them ( )

.6. In coming to school1' I am never tardy 2 I am sometimes tardy 3 I am tardy about once

a week .( )7. In eating

1 I often hurry 2 I always eat fast 3 I eat slowly ( )

8. In playing1 I always go first 2 I always take my turn 3 I sometimes take my

turn ( )9. In talking

1 I always talk too loud 2 I often talk too loud 3 I talk nicely ( )

10. In giving1 I give gladly 2 I give, if asked to 3 I will not give ( )

11. As to school1 I stay out often 2 I stay out a little .3 I am always in school ( )

12. In the morning1 I sometimes lie in bed a 2 I get right up 3 I always lie in bed a

while while ( )13. My playthings

1 They just seem to break 2 I break them after a while 3 I break them rightaway ( )

Prepared for the Committee by Harry J. Baker

Fo1nm 3009-7-26-5M-D-BW

Detroit Public Sch~ools

14. In sitting1 I always wiggle 2 I keep sti

15. When I borrow anything1 I give it back, right away 2 I give it

16. As to books1 I keep them pretty well 2 I keep th(

17. At home1 I always help 2 I never h

18. When I lose a game1 I quit playing 2 I keep on

19. In talking1 I use just nice words 2 I use bad

20. When I, see our flag1 I like it a little 2 I always

21. In school1 My desk is very dirty 2 My desk

22. In caring for my teeth1 I sometimes brush them 2 I brush th

23. After school1 I always play alone 2 I play wit

24. As to old people1 I am always nice to them 2 I make fu

25. Taking more than my share1 I don't, when watched 2 I never d(

26. Running in the hall at school1 I run, if I can 2 I never r

27. At home1 I wait on myself 2 I sometim

28. With my playmates1 I always quarrel 2 I quarrel

29. In passing people1 I go in front of them 2 I go behin

30. If I get too much change at the store1 I give it back 2 I keep it.

31. To my teachers1 I am not always nice 2 I try to b

32. To keep clean1 I wash before meals 2 I don't w;

33. When with small children1 I pick on them 2 I let them

34. In talking1 I use my hands sometimes 2 I always 1

35. If I do something wrongJ I tell, if I have to 2 I tell righ

11

back, if asked

em very clean

elp

trying

words often

love it

is very neat

iem every day

th just one

in of them

o it

un

es ask for help

a little

id them

)e nice

ash at all

alone

use my hands

t away

3 I wiggle a little (

3 I try to keep it (

3 I tear and dirty them (

3 I help, if asked to (

3 I don't care (

3 I use bad words some-times (

3 I don't care for it (

3 My desk is clean some-times (

3 I never brush them (

3 I want a crowd (

3 I don't bother withthem (

3 I often do it (

3 I often run (

3 I always want help (

3 I never quarrel (

3 I push them out of theway (

3 I give it back, if foundout (

3 I talk back to them (

3 I wash once a day (

3 I am nice to them (

3 I keep my hands still (

3 I will not tell (

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

)

36.

37.

38.

39.

40.

41.

42.

4-3.

44.

45.

L16.

47.

48.

49.

50.

51.

52.

53.

54.

55.

56.

57.

2 I talk and play

2 I sometimes comb it

When the teacher leaves the r1 I am quiet and study:

As to my hair1 I comb it once in a while

My own playthings1 I want them just for mysel

When we have company1 I am not always nice

As to my playmates1 I always stand up for ther

Passing in the hall at school1 I am good, if watched

If asked to go on errands1 I go, if told to

In playing1 I try to be fair

When anybody plays a joke on1 I get mad

Every day1 I try to work hard

In marching1 I don't keep in step

To animals1 I am always nice

In games1 I won't play them

New pupils1 I don't care for them

In doing work1 I do it pretty well

In getting my lessons1 I never copy from any one

At home1 I make lots of, noise

When I get through with my1 I put them away, if told t

When anyone speaks to me1 I won't listen

If something has happened1 I always tell the truth

In school1 I sometimes whisper

With my money1 I am careful what I, buy

2 I try not to whisper

2 I buy useless. things

If 2 I let others play with them

2 I am nice, if asked to be

n 2 I go back on them

2 I am always good

2 I won't go at all

2 I am fair

Sme2 I laugh, too

2 I don't try to work hard

2 I keep in step if watched

2 I sometimes hurt them

2 I want to play

2 I make fun of them

2 I do the best I can

2 I copy, if I can

2 I am noisy sometimes

playthingso 2 I always put them away

2 I listen sometimes

2 I don't tell the truth

3 I talk, only if othersdo

3 I always keep itcombed

3 I let others see them

3 I am always naughty

3 I sometimes stand upfor them

3 I am good most of thetime

3 I am willing to go

3 I am not fair

3 I don't care if otherslaugh

3 I try, if told to

3 I always keep in step

3 I like to hurt them

3 I play, if asked to

3 I am nice to them

3 I don't care how I doit

3 I often copy

3 I keep very quiet

3 I won't put them away

3 I always listen

3 I tell, if I will be foundout

3 I never whisper

3 I am careful sometimes

( )

( )

( )

( )

( )

( )

( )

( )

( )

( )

( )

( )

( )

( )

( )

( )

( )

( )

( )

( )

( )

( )

58. In playing1 I like just one game

59. When my friends are in trouble1 I always help them out

60. When I want something1 I just take it

61. Study1 I always like to study

62. At home1 I don't like to mind

63. When some one is teased1 I help tease them

64. When people are sick1 I try to help them

65. When we have a play at schcol1 I want to help

66. In getting ready for gymnasium1 I am the last one ready

67. At home1 I am good sometimes

68. Most games seem to me1 hard to play

69. In talking1 I never talk about myself

70. If something happens at home1 I keep it to myself

71. In the care of the school1 I always help

72. When leaving home1 I sometimes tell where I am

73. When %things go wrong1 I always get mad

74, For the blind1 I feel sorry

75. My habits are1 Mostly bad ones

76. In my lessons1 I am never ready

77. In getting along at home1 I do well sometimes

78. In telling what happened in pla31 I tell the truth

79. As to other people1 I never think of them

80. When my folks go away1 I am good sometimes

2 I don't like any games

2 I don't try to help

2 I always ask first

2 I sometimes like to

2 I like to mind sometimes

2 I try to stop it

2 I do nothing

2 I help, if asked to

class2 I am last sometimes

2 I am always good

2 very hard to play

2 I always talk about myself

3 I like many games

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

I tell it to every one

I am careless about it

I never tell

I never get mad

I try to help them

Many good ones

I am ready sometimes

I always do well

I tell, if found out

I don't care about them

I always try to be good

I won't help them

I sometimes take it

I hate to study

I always like to mind

I do nothing

'I sometimes help

I don't like to help

I get ready quickly

I am not very good

easy to play

I sometimes talk aboutmyself

I tell my best friend

I don't care how itlooks

I always tell

I often get mad

I make fun of them

All good ones

I am always ready

I have trouble

I won't tell

I always want to help

I am often bad

( )

Directions for Administering

In order to carry out the spirit of this test, suggestionsas to its real nature should be carefully avoided. No mentionshould be made to the pupil that this is a test of "character."It is merely a statement of the things the pupil does.

The examiner should be very careful to ask the pupils to markthe thing they DO, not the thing they know or think is the bestthing to do . The two may be entirely different.

As far as possible the test should be given with as littleexcitment or change of routine work as can be obtained. Itshould be just a very ordinary event in the day's work.

Tell the pupils to take pencils and get ready to answer somequestions in a little booklet. After the booklets are passed havethe pupils fill in the headings. Mention each item of the headingseparately and have the pupils fill them in item by item as youcall attention to them. After the word "Boy" have the boys writea "B"; after the word "Girl" have the girls write a "G." Afterthe headings are completed have the pupils put their pencils down.

The examiner says; "Just below where you have been writing,it tells you just what to do. Listen and I will read it to you.

'In this little book you are to tell many things that you do.Some of these things we may know about you already, but we waniyou to tell us yourselves.

'Please do not look at any paper but your own, for we want tcfind out just what you do. Be sure to tell what you do.

'If the words are too hard, raise your hand and we will tellyou what the words mean. You will know most of them.

'Each question has three answers. You are to draw a lineunder the one answer in each set that tells what you do, thenput the number of that answer within the parentheses at theend of the line.'

"Now look at number 1 - It says:'1. At night I go to bed late; 2. I go to bed early; 3. I don't

go at all.'How many of you go to bed late? Hold up your hands and wewill see how many there are." (At this point if the pupilshesitate and a few falter in holding up their hands, encouragethem to hold up their hands.) "Now, put your hands down.""How many go to bed early? Hold up your hands. Now put yourhands down.

57CHAhRACTER EDUCATIONbTJ03f

"Now of course, there is no one who doesn't go to bed atall, so no one should hold up their hand for the last one.

"Those who said they go to bed late, draw a -Line under thewords, 'I go to bed late,' and put number 1 within the parentheses.Those who said they go to bed early, draw a line under the words,'I go to bed early,' and put a number 2 within the parentheses."(Look around among the pupils enough to see that they have actual-ly done this marking and placed the corresponding number withinthe parentheses.)

"Now look at question number 2. It says:'2. In school

1. I don't look out the window; 2. I sometimes look out ofthe window; 3. I look out all the time.'

"Those who do not look out of the window, hold up your hands."(If anyone holds up his hand for this answer, ask the class to ex-press its opinion whether or not this is true in his case. If itis not true, you then advise the pupil to lower his hand, and an-swer what he really does do.)

"Those who sometimes look out of the window hold up your hands.Now put down ,your. hands.

"Those who look out of the window all of the time, put up yourhands. Now put your hands down.

"Now those who said they do not look out of the window, drawa line under the words, 'I don't look out of the window,' and puta number I within the parentheses.

"Those who said they sometimes look out of the window, draw aline under the words, 'I sometimes look out,' and put a number 2within the parentheses.

"Those who said they looked out all the of time , draw a lineunder the words, 'I look out all the time, ' and put a number 3within the parentheses.

"Now look at question number 3. It says:'3. Fire drill

1. I do it, if told to; 2. I don't like it; 3. I like todo it.'

"Those who do it if told to*, hold up your hands. Now put yourhands down."

"Those who don't like it, hold up your hands. Now put your

hands down."Those who like to do it, hold up your hands. Now put your

hands down."Now those who said they do it if told to, draw a line under

the words, 'I do it if told to,' and put.a number 1 within the par-entheses.

"Those who said they don't like it, draw a line under thewords, 'I don't like it' and put a number 2 within the parentheses.

"Those who said they like to do it, draw a line under thewords, 'I like to do it' and put a number 3 within the parentheses.

58 DETROIT9 PUBLICC SCHOOLSr

"Now look at question number 4. It says:'4. Crossing the street

1. I never look first; 2. I always look first; 3. I look iftold to.'

'"Those who never look first draw a line under the words, 'Inever look first,' and put a number 1 within the parentheses.

'Those who always look first, draw a line under the words, 'Ialways look first,' and put a number 2 within the parentheses.

"Those who look if told to, draw a line under the words, 'Ilook if told to,' and put a number 3 within the parentheses.

"Now look at question 5. Read the question to yourself,then draw a line under the thing that you do, and put the numberof that thing within the parentheses." (Pause about one minutefor them to do it.)

"Those who put number 1 within the parentheses, hold up yourhands.

"Now those who put number 2 within the parentheses, hold upyour hands.

"Now those who put number 3 within the parentheses, hold upyour hands.

"That is very good. Now go ahead and do all of them in justthat same way. Be sure to draw a line under the thing you do andput its number within the parentheses. Mark just one of the an-swers in each set. Ready, go ahead."

Instructions for Scoring

1. Place the unused blank labeled "Key" so that the answers ofthe "Key" are just beside the answers given within the parentheseson the pupil's paper. The first five questions are samples andare not scored.

2. In the key the answer values for question No. 6 are 3, 2, 1respectively, for answers 1, 2 and 3. That is, answer No. 1 hasa value of three points; answer No. 2 has a value of two points,and answer No. 3 has a value of one point. All answers as shownin the key are designated in this manner. The best answer is as-signed three points, the neutral answer two points, and the poor-est answer one point.

3. The number in the parentheses on the pupil's paper indicateswhich of the three answers he does. For example, if a pupil hasput No. 1 in the parentheses in question No. 6, he has marked an-swer No, 1. According to the key the value of answer No. 1 inquestion No. 6 is three points, so you should place a number threein the right margin of the pupil's blank just after the parenthe-ses. If he had placed a 2 in the parentheses, the score would be2in the margin, and if he placed a 3 in the parentheses, thescore would be 1.

CH-ARACTER E ~DUCATIONN 59

.60 DETROIT 'PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Score all questions in this manner. A simple aid in scoringis to read the pupil's answer "1" as first, and then look at thefirst of the three answer values in the key for the score; readhis 2 as second, rather than as 2. In case a pupil has omitteda number from the parentheses but underlined an answer, place thenumber of that answer within the parentheses and score as usual.

This book is a preservation facsimile produced forthe University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

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2012