MEETINGS! MEETINGSI
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION
DPI ENLISTS 2,000 TEACHERS IN
CURRICULUM PLANNING
The DPI’s curriculum staff has announced the formation of state-wide curricu¬
lum planning committees to study and recommend changes in the arrangement of
courses of study.
An estimated 2,000 teachers and administrators have been asked, directly and
indirectly, to assist in revising the content and sequence of all-grades English,
mathematics, science, social studies, and common learnings.
SECONDARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS
are invited to attend a meeting in the
Department of Public Instruction on
Thursday, May 8, to discuss the operation
of summer school programs, new gradu¬
ation requirements, and general curricu¬
lum changes and recommendations
growing out of the Governor ’ s Conference
on Instruction. The meeting will be held
in the Forum of the Education Building
beginning at 10 A.M. This announcement
constitutes an invitation to all secondary
school principals to attend this meeting.
DIRECTORS OF CURRICULUM AND
SUPERVISORS OF INSTRUCTION are
invited to participate in a May 15 con¬
ference on curriculum and instruction.
The meeting will be held in Room 321,
Education Building, beginning at 10 A.M.
Proposed changes in the elementary and
secondary program of instruction will
be discussed at this meeting.
ANY TEACHER, PRINCIPAL, OR
SPECIALIST IN CURRICULUM who is
especially interested in any phase of
curriculum improvement and who is
currently working on a curriculum
project may be added to the special State
curriculum committees now being
formed. Kindly communicate with Miles
Albright, Educational Leadership Serv¬
ices Bureau, Department of Public
Instruction, or with your Regional
Curriculum Chairman.
(For other meetings, see last page)
*
CURRICULUM BUREAU STUDIES
FOREIGN LANGUAGES IN GRADE
SCHOOLS
The DPI’s Bureau of Curriculum De¬
velopment is studying the teaching of
foreign languages in elementary schools
of Pennsylvania both for its own purposes
and as part of a national survey being
made by the Association for Childhood
Education International.
Dr. Catherine Coleman, bureau
specialist, reports that so far only 17
school systems have indicated they teach
foreign languages to elementary children
and these are in grades 4, 5, and 6.
French is the most popular language
(9 systems), Spanish a close second
(6 systems), and German a third (2
systems).
The Department is also extending its
survey to foreign languages in the high
school but data is not yet complete.
Superintendent Boehm has expressed
his opinion that language study, to be of
real value to a student, should continue
for three years in the high school, as
Dr. James Conant, former president of
Harvard, has suggested.
The Superintendent also feels that
foreign-language teaching certificates
should be comprehensive for all grades;
that is, certified teachers should be
qualified to teach both elementary and
secondary language courses.
TEACHER-EDUCATION CONFERENCE
ASKS HIGHER QUALIFICATIONS
More than 200 top-flight educators
and a sprinkling of laymen met in
Harrisburg April 11 to recommend im¬
provements in Pennsylvania’s teacher-
education and certification policies.
At least two delegates from each of
the State’s 75 colleges preparing teach¬
ers and other educators spent the day
in 20 seminars grappling with the
answers to "How must a teacher be ed¬
ucated?”
The main topic of 11 discussion points
was on the amount of "general” edu¬
cation the colleges should give. A total
of 176 conferees voted that at least 50
per cent (60 credits) of course work in
the four-year program of teacher edu¬
cation should be devoted to general
education in the humanities, natural
sciences and social studies.
This recommendation will be sent to
the State Council of Education on April
29 for their decision to make it a state
regulation.
Another important recommendation
agreed to by 152 of the delegates: Provi¬
sional College Certificate issued after
August 1, 1958, shall require for valua¬
tion for the permanent form of the
certificate,the completion of 12 semester
hours of graduate work subsequent to the
granting of the bachelor’s degree.
Superintendent Boehm summed up the
significance of the conference in these
three points:
1. The agreement that requirements
for permanent teacher certification
should be based eventually on 30 hours
of post graduate work not necessarily
aimed at a master’s degree.
2. A general demand for considerable
upgrading of present requirements for
superintendents.
(Sea CONFERENCE lost page)
The committee-forming action is a
direct result of recommendations grow¬
ing out of January's Governor’s Confer¬
ence on the Improvement of Instruction.
State Council of Education regulations
increasing the required units for grad¬
uation in English, mathematics, science
and social studies necessitate a re¬
vamping of course-of- study program¬
ming.
The Bureaus of Curriculum Develop¬
ment and Curriculum Services report
the following progress:
ENGLISH- Dr. Sheldon Madeira, English
curriculum specialist, reports that 200
English classroom teachers are re¬
sponding to questionnaires on current
practices in teaching high school English.
College students are being polled for
their reaction to high school English
courses. Businessmen are asked to cite
weaknesses in the English preparation of
young employees. When results are tabu¬
lated, the committee on English will study
and recommend a revised curriculum
bulletin for distribution from the DPI.
MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE- Dr. Lee
Boyer, mathematics and science special¬
ist, has formed two committees— 52 in
mathematics and 40 in science— com¬
posed of secondary teachers and admin¬
istrators and a sprinkling of college
teachers. Boyer has already distributed
drafts of “track” programs and question¬
naires to his committees. These will
study them, call in hundreds of other
teachers to study them, and recommend
changes. When all precincts are heard
from, Boyer will prepare a report which
may be the basis of a revised curriculum
publication.
SOCIAL STUDIES— Clarence Stephenson,
social studies specialist, has formed a
seven-member committee to steer a
state- wide committee of 49 social studies
experts. Stephenson has already pre¬
pared a six- track study program now
being considered by the committees.
(Sea CURRICULUM I a a , pago)
