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'SUMMER NEBRASKAN
Thursday, July 21, 1955
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Last week an all-Teachers College conference con
sidered the function of education in any community.
Several speakers discussed various facets of the confer
ence's theme: "Strengthening Community Life Through
Education." Their consensus was that education should
take upon itself the responsibility of setting up a group of
community leaders, of civic-minded citizens, to consider
ways of "strengthening community life."
Two days of thorough discussion raised this all-important
question: What is the role of education in a
changing society?
The conference recognized that education is only
one of many social institutions. Teaching is one of, five
learned professions, each with its own specialized respon
sibility to society. Medicine safeguards and promotes hu
man physical and mental well-being. Engineering applies
the results of basic scientific research for human benefit
and comfort. Religion is charged with ministering to
man's spiritual ailments and maintaining the moral order.
And law, or government, protects and regulates indivi
duals in the manner willed by the majority of them. And
education too has its function.
What is it?
Education has the primary and sole responsibility for
passing on the race's accumulated wisdom and knowledge.
An important and implicit duty is the development of the
character of children and adolescents. But other social
institutions also share this responsibility. Religion, medi
cine, and to some extent government play their parts. But
fcbove all it is the home which in any community has the
primary duty of shaping: young people's characters.
The development of that aspect of the young person's
character regarded as rational, mental, or intellectual, is
the sole function of education. Traditionally, the method
of performing this function has been to pass on the cul
tural heritage of the civilization.
Former Chancellor Robert Hutchins of the Univer
sity of Chicago once observed that "since in a democracy
all men are rulers, all men must have the education ap-
propria te to rulers." Classical education was regarded as
the most appropriate education for the rulers, the aristo-
crats. The founders of the American public school system, j
including the illustrious Horace Mann, contended that I
classical education was also the most appropriate one for j
au citizens, m tne rwentietn Century, however, this con
cept has come into au tional disrepute. This fact has
been bemoaned by many sincere and intelligent critics of
current trenfla in tniblic education. Albert L.ynd deplored
it vociferously. Mortimer Smith took professors of edu
cation to task for their "anti-intellectualism." And a
University of Illinois professor of history. Dr. Arthur E.
Bestor, traced the historical development of U.S. educa
tion and set forth his excellent educational philosophy in
"Educational Wastelands."
These critics raise a highly fundamental question:
What ought to be the role of public education in modern
American communities?
As has been stated earlier, that role is to inculcate
in the nation's children the knowledge, wisdom and cul
tural heiritage accumulated over the years.
These critics, who are not lightly to be disregarded,
contend that public education today is not doing nearly
as effective a job aa it should do, as it once did in the
r-ot-so-distant past. They charge that public education
has lost a sense of unity and of singleness of purpose.
A clinic was recently held on "Religion and the Public
Schools," sponsored by the department of philosophy. A
professor of one of the humane letters asked a panel con
sisting of school superintendents, a professor secondary
education, an American Legion official and a rabbi what
they thought was the purpose of education. No one an
swered him; there was a long silence. The rabbi later con
fided to us that h-e had an answer but did not give it be
cause he had just finished a lengthy presentation of his
opposition to religion in public education.
That panel's failure to give the professor an answer
is, to be sure, only one isolated instance, but nevertheless
it is significant.
If it has no coherent sense of rurpose, how can public
question perform its function effectively ?
Once public education becomes reoriented to its
Troper function, it wffl be doing its part to strengthen
community life. R. W.
Little man on Campus
by Dick Bibler
'Is It true that you recently gave a
aa unassigned material?"
class a test aver Irrelevant
The Changing Role
Community . Project
New In Education
By KAY XOSKY
It has been astonishing to dis
cover what lies behind doors of the
summer session classes aud behind
the somewhat ordinary wording of
summer sessions pamphlets. This
week, it is the seminar on "meth-
al Community Education Programs
designed to "study recommended
nation-wide programs of community
education and to develop methods
and materials appropriate for use
in Nebraska communities . . ."
cut this is
The Summer Nebraskan
Member: Associated CoHegbste Prew
Iatr.rrtale Prem
CepreM-irfathr: .Vatkmal Advertising Service,
Incorporated
Editorial Staff
The JCebraskan is published by students U the Diversity of Ne
braska under the authorization of the Committee on Student Affairs
as an expression of stadent cpLiaon. Publication under the jurisdic
tion of the Subcommittee on Student Publications shsU be free from
editorial censorship cm the part of the Subcommittee, or on the
part cS zxsy member of the faculty of the C veity, or on the part
of arj person outside the University. The members of the Nebras
kan stiff are personally responsible for what they say, or do or
cause to be printed. r
ditor . ... - . Sam Jensen
Assistant Editor Roger Wait
EasSaess Staff
Easiness IZbLsgsr Barbara Eidte
no . ordinary
project. The
work being
done in this
seminar re
volves around
Com m unity
E d u c ation
Project, the
organization of
which was set
up in January.
r
Cowmr Standby
ifiul ana fcoar
The purpose of the project is: 1. to
provide resources for members of
communities, so that they can im
prove their community and the
key words are "they" and "their';
and 2. to make a research report
on progress in action and on the
conceptual image people bold of
the community and its needs.
The project was set up with
Walter K. Beggs Admisiaraler
and Dale Hayes as associate 4
iwic locator. The project persoaael
include the sspcriBiesdest of
schools la each of four communities
to serve as eo-ordinator and aa
atsoriate ro-ordianlor jeini2y se
lected by tfee four boards of e2n
e atios and the u&mmliitrihm r
ganijriios of the project.
These four communities York,
Sidney, Mullen and Syracuse were
selected for the project at their
own request when they heard that
it was in existence. The person
nel of project staff make up the
summer workshop, and members
of each community are working
with the seminar for the purposes
of orientation.
What business do educators have
in something that should be handled
through the mayor's office or across
the city council table? What do
the personnel have in mind for
each of these communities? And
why don't they stick to educating
the lads?
These are the questions which
use project personnel nave laced.
The project administrators stress
that they do aot have a specific
design for any of. the communities
for they are not sure what the
seeds of aa individual community
are. Bat they are sore that each
community has some seeds and
that community members can and
should meet, discuss the problems
and take actios.
For example, perhaps the appear
ance of the community needs im
proving. Perhaps Entertainment
is available for only limited age
groups. Or perhaps a cultural
development program is needed in
the community.
The program has a legitimate
place within education, the admin
istrators of the project feel, be
cause to them education has broad
ened to mean much more than ;
teachers, students and classrooms. 1
The community school board ' is :
more fully representative of all
citizens than the city council par-;
ticulariy those outside the city
limits.
The project pcrsousel are fae
isg maay problems, some of which
are being worked out Is this sum-;
mer's seminar. They must, first
of aO, impress it spos the minds J
of community members that the
project has so desiga for specific'
actios Is each eommasity. They I
m$uA develop ways of getting citi
zens together to study problems !
and seeds of the eommtrsity. They
mat find a way to iavofve all
age groups and to sse 3 baaiaa
resources, partly to achieve con
tinuity of leadership. They must
help people to recognize an re
sources that are available Is the
eommasity, and fa Nebraska.
Understanding of the project,
which was set up for two years
with the possibility of extension
to five years, depends upon un
derstanding of the broader mean
ing of education which is difficult
to define and the realization that
small communities can be strength
ened and revitalized.
The well-being of the community
depends on the efforts and well-
being of the citizens. And a good
community will improve the well-
being of each of the citizens. Per
haps the purpose of the project
is to start the ball rolling from
within.
The Editor's Deslf
Undergraduate politicians and le
gal experts often react in a rather
strange and unpredictable way to
announcements' issued by the Uni
versity. Several members of this par
ticular species say that they will
not pay the additional $10 tuition
which the Regents recently ap
proved. These campus barristers
say that they registered in the
spring when the cost was $80 and
they will be standing on their Con
stitutional rights when they refuse
to pay the added fee this fall.
The Square Dance Fun Roundup
now in session at the University
should be a success since all the
participants are interested in the
sport (I call it a sport since it
cculd hardly be termed social,
ballroom dancing) and there should
be little problem in getting enough
squares (groups of eight )r
But, I wonder how many teach
ers or former phys ed. students
remember the practice that is used
in many -high schools which is
based upon Darwin's theory of na
tural selection. .
The process involves two physi
cal education classes, one boys
group and one class ot girls.. The
next step is to place a partition
in the middle of the gym and then
line the girls up on one side of
the room and the bcys on the
otner.
At the command "forward
march" both groups march toward
the partition and move in a 90
degree angle when they reach the
obstacles. When the student reaches
the end of the partition he, or she,
sticks out his hand and there, sure
enough, is his, or her, very own
partner for the Dance The first
four couples cempose the first
square and so forth.
This process is very ingenious
and almost foolproof. The couple
is joined together for the remaind
er of the festivities and the stu
dents have a chance to become
acquainted with the opposite sex
which seems to be one of the
aims of education these days,
any way.
Probably the only other sure
fire plan for selecting couples (this
will also work at a YWCA dance,
is to have what is snewn as "la
dies" choice." This is really quite
heartless since it eliminates the
small element ot chance that was
contained in the natural selection
process.
Excessive speed was 'the prin
cipal cause of traffic accidents in
1954.
Quality
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for every occasion
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