DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION
~^t*> newsletter
s'* Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
VOLUME 7, NUMBER 5
HARRISBURG
NOVEMBER, 1962
STRONG SENTIMENT DEVELOPING
FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGES
Prospects look bright for the establishment of community colleges in the Common¬
wealth, according to Dr. Lester Johnson, director of the Department of Public In¬
struction’s 'Bureau of Higher Education Special Services .
Parent Teacher Associations, local civic groups, and educators are surveying
the need for community colleges in their areas and coming up with figures which
show the necessity for a post- secondary school that meets the needs of the com¬
munity not now being met and which a community college system would provide.
LACK OF ECONOMIC KNOWLEDGE
CITED BY ED. CONGRESS SPEAKER
A bleak picture of the level of ec¬
onomic literacy of high school students
was presented to the 41st Annual Ed¬
ucation Congress by Jack Busby, Pres¬
ident of the Pennsylvania Power and
Light Company.
The PPLCO official said that a sur¬
vey made by Industrial Management
Clubs on a nationwide basis, showed
that 61 percent of high school seniors
see no need for industrial profits, 82
percent do not believe there is compe¬
tition in American industry, and 63 per¬
cent are in favor of government owner¬
ship of banks, railroads, and steel com¬
panies. More than 60 percent of the
teenagers thought the average invest¬
or’s return was 24 per cent— nearly seven
times die investment return average.
“Three-fifths thought that the average
investment by a company per worker
was $81. The actual average is about
$15,000. In capital-intensive industries,
much more. More than 60 percent thought
that company profits averaged 50 per¬
cent, against the actual fact that cor¬
poration profits averaged about 3 per¬
cent of dollar sales volume, "Busby told
the gathering of 600 school administra¬
tors.
“These facts do not in and of them¬
selves disclose the full extent of the
need for teaching economics in our
secondary schools. We must also note
two other considerations— the number
of our young people for whom grad¬
uation from secondary school is the
terminal point of formal education, and
the extent to which colleges are effect¬
ively teaching economics for those who
continue their education at this level.
“We cannot dilly dally in undertaking
to broaden the base of economic under¬
standing in our society. Without min¬
imizing the importance of adult edu¬
cation, the most fruitful area for im¬
provement and thus the key area, is
the education of those who will be the
citizens of tomorrow— our young people
now in our school system. It is these
young people who represent our main
potential for progress.
“There is no doubt that there is a
big job to do in this field. Survey
findings on economic literacy among
our young people point to a dismal
situation. A survey by the Opinion Re¬
search Corporation of high school se¬
niors revealed that only 1 in 5 under¬
stood that the best way to raise die
country’s living standards is to pro¬
duce more goods per man-hour. Only
2 out of 5 high school students thought
it was essential to keep the profit in¬
centive alive. Three-quarters had the
mistaken notion that most of the pro¬
ductivity gains from new machinery go
to the owners. The fact is that gains
in real wages have outstripped gains
in property income. Two-tiiirds of pro¬
ductivity gains go to the worker,” the
power company president said.
PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE PROGRAM
Governor David L. Lawrence ad¬
dressed more than 100 Pennsylvania
college and university students recently
concerning the University People- to-
People Program, a movement designed
to promote understanding among students
of the world.
The Governor emphasized diat the re¬
sponsibility for an international student's
impressions of the United States lies
basically with his fellow students. He
asked Pennsylvania students to seek
to understand as well as to be under¬
stood.
The program provides a blueprint
for hospitable accommodation of stu¬
dents from other nations living and
working in the United States. It sug¬
gests that student committees be set
up in colleges and universities to write
to international students before arrival;
meet them upon arrival and introduce
them to campus and community life;
arrange tours of historic and cultural
sites, industrial and farming areas;
sponsor forums and panels at which the
visitors can discuss international events ;
find vacation- time jobs for those that
need them; and plan social and rec¬
reational activites.
DPI ASSISTS TEMPLE COURSE
Temple University's problem of se¬
curing qualified personnel to help staff
its first off-campus course on “The
School Curriculum, K— 12,” has been
solved through the cooperation of the
DPI. Specialists in the Bureau of Cur¬
riculum Development and General and
Academic Education have been scheduled
as guest lecturers at the Harrisburg
Area Center for Higher Education where
the course is being offered this year.
Dr. Morton Alpern, Professor of Edu¬
cation at Temple, is the instructor.
With wide support in many quarters
for the program, it is indicated that en¬
abling legislation will be presented to
the next legislature. The Department of
Public Instruction is prepared to take
immediate action in suggesting the ap¬
portioning of the funds allocated if an
appropriation is made. Priority lists are
being prepared to determine the lo¬
cation of community colleges based on
demonstrated need.
The Department has requested county
superintendents of schools to indicate
if there is need for a community college
program in their area. They have been
asked to present their case supported
by information based on a survey show¬
ing the need for continuing education
programs beyond the secondary school
that will prepare students for a mul¬
tiplicity of occupations and vocations
the potential enrollment of college- age
students in such a program; the or¬
ganizations and associations who would
support and endorse the program: and
its estimated cost of operation.
Dr. Johnson reports that he and mem¬
bers of his bureau have visited 17 com¬
munities in the past 18 months to assess
the need for the program in these areas.
Bucks County has submitted a report
for the southern half of the county
which shows real need for a commu¬
nity college in that area. They have
employed an assistant county super¬
intendent to give full time to collect¬
ing data to establish need in other parts
of the county.
Metropolitan Philadelphia has issued
a report prepared by the Commission
on Higher Education in support of a
municipal community college sponsored
by the city government. Mayor James
H„ J. Tate has endorsed the establish¬
ment of more post-secondary facilities.
Dr. Alfred W. Beattie, Superinten¬
dent of Allegheny County Schools, has
prepared a summary of statistics es¬
tablishing the need for a program in
that area.
