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EDUOATIONAL BULLETIN
#

A REPORT OF THE FOURTH ANNUAL
GONFERENGE

Published by

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

WENDELL P. BUTLER
Superintendent of Public Instruction

Frankfort, Kentucky

ISSUED MONTHLY

Entered as second-class matter March 21, 1933, at the post office at
Frankfort, Kentucky, under the Act of August 24, 1912.

POSTMASTER: SEND NOTICES OF
CHANGES OF ADDRESS ON FORM 3579

VOL. XXVIII FEBRUARY, 1960 NO. 2

vvvvv

FOREWORD

In August 1959, the State Department of Education, in cooperation
with the University of Kentucky, the five State Colleges, the Kentucky
Education Association, the Kentucky Congress of Parents and Teachers,
and the Kentucky School Boards Association, sponsored the fourth
conference on Advancing Education in Kentucky.

Since new and increasing emphasis has been placed upon the
importance of the curriculum, this conference was devoted to “New
Dimensions for Better Schools.”

It is quite significant that this conference was built upon the
three preceding conferences and recognizes the values inherent in
continuity in educational planning. In the planning and proceedings,
due acknowledgement has been given to progress in Kentucky Edu-
cation under its new Foundation Program Law and equal emphasis
placed upon the task ahead. New dimensions for education in Ken-
tucky represent, in great measure, the expectations of our citizens as
revealed in two major state—wide surveys. This further recognition of
the needs in education has strengthened the cause and renewed the
hopes of the profession that the stark reality of the present may soon
be relieved by the inevitable breakthrough in education so essential
for the future of Kentucky.

This publication is a compilation of the addresses, and panel and
group discussions presented at the conference. It is hoped that the
material herein will be useful to the members of the profession as they
strive to improve educational opportunities for the youth of the
Commonwealth.

WENDELL P. BUTLER
Superintendent of Public Instruction

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Keynote Address: “The Task Ahead”
Robert R. Martin, Superintendent of Public Instruction ______ 93

Address: “Quality Education and the Art of Living”
Frank G. Dickey, President, University of Kentucky __________ 96

Address: “Images of the Future”
]. Lloyd Trump, University of Illinois ______________________ 100

Questions from the Discussion Groups with a
Discussion of Each ______________________________________ 106

THE TASK AHEAD
by
ROBERT R. MARTIN
Superintendent of Public Instruction

It is a real pleasure for me to be here this morning, and may I
assure you now that the most gratifying thing that has come to me in
the last three and one—half years is to see the members of the staff of
the Department of Education and local school officials participating
in conferences designed to improve educational opportunities for

children.

This morning I came prepared to make some remarks but now I
find that I am scheduled for an address.- This is perhaps the only
mistake that our staff has made in preparing the program.

Those of us assembled in this room will have more to do with
education this year than any other group that could be assembled in
the State of Kentucky. We will set the stage. We will provide a
climate in our districts and school buildings. We will help create an
environment in which good teaching can take place. It is, therefore,
most important that we stand together inasmuch as we are on the
threshhold of great opportunities in this Commonwealth.

We have seen many improvements during the last three and one-
half years; such as new teacher preparation programs, standards for
accrediting elementary and secondary schools, program of studies,
and the twelve-grade systemwide evaluation approach. All of these
accomplishments represent the kind of work which Was needed to set
the stage for educational improvement. It is a tragedy that it had
not been accomplished earlier.

We are now in a situation where we can provide the kind of
leadership needed if we only can convince the people that they must
have a fervent desire to make progress on all fronts.

One of the first things that we must do is to maintain our Foun-
dation Program essentially as we now have it. Maintain it because it
is sound. Beware of those who believe that juggling a few phrases
will bring about educational improvement. Our experience does
not indicate weaknesses in the law other than the basic weakness of
insufficient funds for financing the program. As you know, our most

important need at this time is trained teachers in every classroom.
It is a tragedy that we have not been running fast enough to stand
still. When we talk of trained teachers we are talking of a situation
in which each year we are falling farther behind the national average.
We must see to it that the trend is reversed and this can only be
accomplished by paying our teachers the salaries that are necessary
to keep them in Kentucky.

In connection with our building program, it is encouraging to
know that we have constructed more buildings in the last four years
than has been constructed in any comparable period in the past. We
have built good buildings. We have not attempted to economize,
but at the same time, we must accept the fact that we can never hope
to catch up because there is not the revenue to construct and operate
the number of buildings necessary to house all boys and girls in the
Commonwealth.

We also have a great need in the textbook field. We have failed
to provide the textbooks that we need. This is a situation which
never should have developed at all, but now that it exists we must
find ways to make improvement.

We have already developed a new transporation formula. This
has been given to you for your reaction. YOu may be assured that
if there needs to .be any further changes they can be made. It is my
opinion that in rural areas boys and girls should be transported to
adequate educational centers. This is just a matter ofgood common
sense.

Let us not overlook the great need for providing opportunities
for boys and girls with unusual abilities. Certain pupils in the class-
rooms of today will be the mathematicians and scientists of tomorrow.
I do not mean that all pupils should be given this type of instruction
since it would be a waste of time to try to make mathematicians and
scientists out of all of them. But, certainly, those with special abilities
should be given special opportunities.

We must also find a way to provide for the physicially handi-
capped. It has been shown over and over that many of the handi-
capped make the mos-t efficient workers in society.

In our desire to provide opportunities for all let us not forget
the many who are mentally retarded who could be contributors to
society rather than wards of society. It is also my opinion that more
emphasis should be placed on guidance and counseling. One of our
greatest weaknesses has been shown in this field. 4

Progress must continue in vocational agriculture since it is in this
field that we expand our economy. In fact, we will never be able
to compete with other states until we compare favorably on all counts.
While we may not agree as to the advantages of Federal Aid, I am
sure that we do agree that when state and local funds have been
exhausted Federal Aid will be mandatory in order to equalize educa-
tional opportunities in this nation.

These great needs not only extend to the elementary and second-
ary schools but our colleges and universities must find ways to expand
their staffs and facilities.

As the cost of living continues to move upward, we must give
attention to the teachers who are approaching retirement age. Many
of these have not had the opportunity to acquire a satisfactory equity
in the system. We, therefore, have an obligation to increase the
annuities to this group.

It goes without saying that the staff of the Department of Edu-
cation must be dedicated to the improvement of education. I believe
that the present staff and the organization now in operation is carrying
this responsibility in a most effective manner. But, this situation could
be changed with each administration. We must continue to employ
individuals on the basis of professional qualifications and professional
leadership if the job that lies ahead is to be completed.

I have talked entirely too long. You have been a most patient
audience. I shOuld like to say in closing that the last three and one-
half years have been most stimulating and challenging to me. They
have been challenging because I know that you have not agreed with
me all of the time; but, your desire to assume responsibility and to
become a member of a team has helped improve educational programs
for boys and girls throughout Kentucky.

I am sure that the members of my staff have planned a worth-
while program for this conference. I especially urge all of you to be
here tonight to hear a great man who is providing dynamic leadership
in the State of Kentucky.

QUALITY EDUCATION AND THE ART
OF LIVING

FRANK G. DICKEY
President, University of Kentucky

The topic of quality in education is a most timely and cogent one
and it is with real pride that we can point to certain steps which have
been taken within our Commonwealth to give new strength and quality
to our educational programs; The requiring of certain fundamental
subjects of secondary school students, the continued upgrading of
teacher certification requirements, the constant striving to improve
curriculum, building facilities, personnel policies, and community
relationships — these are but a few instances of the progress being
made; however, there are certain other elements that transcend even
these in importance — things that cannot necessarily be legislated by
boards. These are the ideas that I shall ask you to consider with me
this evening.

I have entitled my remarks for the evening “Quality Education and
the Art of Living.” The basic questions related to this topic are:
How does the work which we are doing in our schools, particularly
our secondary schools, impinge on our everyday life, our attitudes and
outlook, our ideals and values? What are the basic purposes of. our
schools — academic or social? Should they be concerned also with
the development of character and moral integrity? Or do our schools,
as I shall propose tonight, comprehend all these purposes? These are
basic questions which it is high time we consider.

The profession of bridge building has always been a fascinating
one for me. I have just returned from San Francisco where I had
the opportunity to marvel again at the Golden Gate Bridge and the
Oakland Bridge. As I viewed those bridges and thought about this
meeting, I was attracted by the idea that we as school people have an
obligation to build a broad, spacious bridge across territories which
should be brought into living relationships but which have been kept
apart by conservatism or lack of understanding. I am attracted by
the idea of school personnel building a bridge undergirded by quality
education which will span the distance from the preparation for various

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professions, trades, and crafts to the other side — the gracious art of
living. In the process of providing such an education, it seems to me
that it is essential that we give a significant place to the development
of our sense Of values.

Throughout the ages, man has sought certain simple but deep
satisfactions which give meaning and poise to life — the grace of
friendship, the art of conversation with one’s fellows, the cultivation of
sincere social relationships, the readiness to share with others, the
capacity to relax in one’s own company or in the company of great
books and writers, or the quiet enjoyment of beauty in art and nature.
It seems that in the increasing tempo of modern life, these things
are becoming less accessible to many of us, as are the values
associated with them. We should, therefore, see to it that education
concerns itself with these problems. In other words, if education is to
deal with the art of living — it must of necessity be quality education
and it must deal with the intellectual, the social and the value phases of
living.

I think the first task for the school is to do a quality job of
harmonizing the various elements which go to make up the complex
nature of man. Man is, on the one hand, a subject of nature and, as
such, governed by its inexorable laws, and on the other, the citizen of
a strictly human world in which he makes most of his own choices.
Man must develop a unified and well—integrated personality which may
function effectively in these different worlds with consistency.

What is the kind of educated person who can meet the demands
of such a situation? I recall a simple but rewarding definition of a
truly educated man as enunciated by one of the great thinkers of our
day. He said that a man should ask himself three questions and, if he
can honestly answer them in the affirmative, we must take it that he
is genuinely educated. Let us look at these questions.

Firstly: “Can you entertain an idea? That is, have you the
Openness of mind, the objectivity of outlook, the concern for truth
which would enable you to entertain every idea on merit — not
aCCepting or rejecting a new idea because it happens to be fashionable;
not welcoming an old idea because it has the backing of traditiori nor
Spurning it because it has ceased to command popular favor.” This
responsiveness to ideas is, therefore, the crucial question in the realm
of intellectual education.

The second question is: “Can you entertain the other fellow?
That 157 have you the willingness and the capacity to share the joys

and sorrows of others? Can you expand the frontiers of your ego so
as to include other human beings in the sweep of your sympathy and
understanding?” This is the core and objective of emotional education,
which covers the whole field of social relationships.

The third question is: “Can you entertain yourself? That is,
have you any inner reserves to fall back upon which will enable you,
as it were to enjoy your own company, or must you always be rushing
from one thing to another — whether in the way of so-called work or
so-called amusements — in order to avoid the boredom of your com«
pany?” Are you, by any chance, like the man who complained to his
doctor that he had got into the habit of talking to himself and, who
when reassured that this was no serious complaint, as many persons
did so, plaintively replied: “But doctor, I am such a frightful bore!”

These are the three tests which I suggest be applied to current
education. Does it give intellectual receptivity, integrity, and toler-
ance? Does it break down the cramping barriers of egotism, selfish-
ness, and prejudice — individual and national? Does it release any
creative impulses in the individual so that he may be able to find
some enduring satisfactions in life which are not entirely dependent
on the titillation of the senses from outside?

To provide educational experiences to meet these needs, is, of
course, more easily said than done; but, if education is an art — as I
firmly believe — is it not the task of the educator to build a bridge
between the distant goal, the remote ideal, and the day-to—day, hour—
to-hour work that goes on in the classroom?

Let us remember that there are many different ways of building
up and leading decent, useful, happy, and socially rewarding lives.
Let us keep to the “pursuit of excellence,” by all means, but we shOuld
guard against taking a narrow and restricting view of excellence. The
Rockerfeller Report says: “Our conception of excellence must em-
brace many kinds of achievement at many levels. . . . There is ex-
cellence in abstract intellectual activity, in art, in music, in managerial
activities, in craftsmanship, in human relations, in technical work.”
The educational problem, it seems to me, is not how much knowlege
the school or college or university can pour into the student, but
whether it can create in him the desire to learn and teach him the
techniques of learning on his own so that, in later life, he may be
able to acquire the knowledge required to meet his expanding needs
both in the sphere of work and in his leisure. There is another reason
which reinforces this argument. Knowledge, especially in the natural
and social sciences, is tending to become outdated quickly, and, in a

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