The Public School System of Memphis, Tennessee. Report of a Survey Made Under the Direction of the Commissioner of Education. Bulletin, 1919, No. 50. Part 2

Book excerpt: In April, 1919, at the request of the Board of Education of Memphis, Tennessee, the United States Commissioner of Education submitted the conditions on which the Bureau of Education would make a survey of the public school system of that city. This study of the Memphis schools is intended to be a study of policies and practices; not of persons. The report is issued in seven separate parts for general circulation. Part 2 is divided into two distinct chapters. Chapter I, The Elementary Schools, covers: (1) The kindergarten; (2) The primary grades; and (3) The grammar grades. Recommendations include: (1) The material of the course of study should be based upon the social, intellectual, and physical environment; (2) The course should be flexible enough to admit new material, as it proves its value for the child's growth; (3) All the teaching should employ the fundamental principles of self-activity of the children, concreteness, correlation, and apperception; and (4) Teachers' meetings should be held at regular intervals, with definite program of work laid down for such meetings. Chapter II, The High Schools, is divided into five parts: (1) Introduction; (2) The high school curriculums; (3) High-school teachers; (4) High-school administration; and (5) Summary of conclusions and recommendations. Recommendations include: (1) Teachers should be encouraged to make experiments in methods and use educational measurements for testing the results of their work; (2) The supervised study feature should be continued, but should be made more efficient; and probably the time schedule should be remodeled; (3) Other modern features of administration known as the socialized recitation, and pupil participation in self-government, which are in operation to a very limited extent, should be further developed, expanded, and perfected; and (4) The school needs more equipment of various sorts; and better and more frequent use-should be made of that which it already possesses. [For Part 1, see ED541284. For Parts 3-7, see ED541286-ED541290. Best copy available has been provided.].