Dear HKMS families,

In 1924 Dr. William T. Root, Jr., of the Educational Psychology Department at the University of Pittsburg, created a series of seven “radio talks” entitled  PSYCHOLOGY FOR PARENTS, which was so popular the university turned the broadcasts into print publications.  Knowing my interest in both history and psychology, Mr. Dolecki lent me his family’s original 1927 copy.  Afraid to damage the pamphlet, I charged our library staff to scan the document in so it could be read closely.  Thanks to our LMS para-educator, Mrs. Joann Bujdud, who painstakingly scanned in the copy using a doc camera, creating the PDF version I have included in our From the Archives section below.

This archive is full of “the latest [c. 1924] research” on child behavior and advice on how to best rear and educate children.  After a quick first read two I have gleaned a few interesting insights:

1. The concerns parents and educators had in raising children 100 years ago are basically the same as the concerns we have today: we want healthy, happy, and socially well-adjusted children who are prepared for the rigors of the world they will face.

2. Parents were (and are) the most important teachers and “incidental learning” (that which happens in the process of day-to-day life), has been and will always be the most important provider of knowledge, understanding, and wisdom (pp.12-16). 

3. Raising productive members of society, from discipline and intellectual development to emotional stability and life-long success, requires strong habits of mind and body (p. 40).  

4. Students need to be individually challenged and supported and need to connect the “real world” to the classroom (pp. 30-31).

5. How we should go about educating students and achieving these outcomes, has also been remarkably consistent since 1924. We have to move from rote memorization of facts that can be found in resources to help students construct their knowledge and understanding (p. 16).

In the years following WWI, educational psychology was in its infancy but the insights were profound and are still affecting us today.  This was the Progressive Era of Education when John Dewey developed  Education and Experience, full of ideas about teaching and learning we are still doing today. So when one of your friends or relatives says,  “I wish teachers would go back to…” or “these kids today are…” you can point them to an archive such as the PSYCHOLOGY FOR PARENTS and remind them they were likely reared and educated with many of the same principles and practices 100 years ago as we see in schools today…just add in cell phones.  :)

This week’s family newsletter is a good example of many of the tried and true educational practices that have made for a good education are alive and well at HKMS.  Check out the classroom peeks section for real-world connections between what students are learning and how they are demonstrating their knowledge from science to writing.   Students in Spanish are seen working through logic problems, young historians developing inquiry research projects, and readers working through sophisticated literature in ILA classes.  Our musicians are in final rehearsals for their concerts next week and our young thespians prepare for our school musical 13 coming in March.   

While the goals of raising students have not fundamentally changed, I believe the partnership between home and school has deepened and strengthened over the last 100 years.  Parents have become more aware, invested, and engaged in the schooling process, and good teachers have brought parents into the work of educating their children.   As we all know, it takes a village, and you should all be proud of the partnership and community we have here in Easton schools.  

I hope you get a chance to review this nearly ancient manuscript and find your own connection to modern parenting and education. Sounds like a nice Sunday in front-of-the-fire sort of thing to do now that the Patriots season is over (every time I want the Jets to win I am sorely disappointed).   :)  

Hoping you have a great weekend,

Steve Clapp

Principal

Helen Keller Middle School

Find your strength, build upon it, and share it!