A proposed guidance program for the Loomis Union Elementary School

59 Pages·02.469 MB·English

by  McMahon, Hosmer Clair

A PROPOSED GUIDANCE PROGRAM
FOR THE LOOMIS UNION. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
A Project
Presented to
the Faculty of the School of Education
The U niversity of Southern C alifornia
In P a rtia l Fulfillm ent
of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Science in Education
by
Hosmer C lair McMahon
June 1949
UMI Number: EP45954
All rights reserved
INFORMATION TO ALL USERS
The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted.
In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript
and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed,
a note will indicate the deletion.
Dissertation Publishing
UMI EP45954
Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author.
Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC.
All rights reserved. This work is protected against
unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code
ProQuest LLC.
789 East Eisenhower Parkway
P.O. Box 1346
Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346
This project report, written under the direction
of the candidate’s adviser and approved by him,
has been presented to and accepted by the Faculty
of the School of Education in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the degree of Master of
Science in Education.
Date ........
Adviser
Dean
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. BACKGROUND FOR THE PROGRAM . . . . . .................... 1
A b rief h istory and survey of the school . . 1
The need for the program • 3
The objectives of the p ro g ra m ............................. 4
I I . ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION .............................. 6
The d is tric t superintendent ............................... 8
The guidance committee . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Special services personnel . . . . ................... 9
The*teacher«counselor ................................................ 12
The classroom teachers ................................ 14
I I I . LAUNCHING THE PROGRAM ........................ 16
S etting up the guidance a c tiv itie s
of the program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
In-service training .................................................... 18
IV. TYPES OF GUIDANGE OFFERED ............................................ 20
Group and social ................................. 20
Individual g u id a n c e ............................................ 23
Educational guidance • 27
Health guidance ................................ 31
Vocational guidance .................................................... 34
V. IMPLEMENTS OF GUIDANCE..................................................... 35
O rientation p ro g ra m . 35
l i i
CHAPTER PAGE
Cumulative records . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Progress reports . . . ........................ . . . . . 42
The testin g program . ........................................... 44
Follow-up program . . . ........................................... 52
\
LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE PAGE
1. O rganizational Plan of the School Guidance
Program .......................................................................................... 7
2. Teacher-Counselor Observation Check L ist . . . . 25
3* Interview Card . . . . . . . . . . . . .................... 28
4. Pupil Cumulative Record Card—Front Side . . . . 38
5. Pupil Cumulative Record Card—L eft H a l f ....... 39
6. Pupil Cumulative Record Card—Right Half . . . . 40
7. Progress Report—Left H a l f ............................................ 45
8. Primary Progress Report—Right H a lf ................ 46
9* Upper D ivision Progress Report—Right Half . . . 47
10. Socio-M etric T e s t .......................................................... 50
CHAPTER I
BACKGROUND FOR THE PROGRAM
The public schools, from the kindergarten through the
junior college, have generally come to accept the concept of
the ’’whole” child w ith his many physical, mental, so cial, and
emotional problems. Also, there has followed a recognition
that a sound, comprehensive guidance program is the best means
through which a pupil can a tta in self-d irectio n and realize
his objectives in school and la te r lif e . I t is in lig h t of
the foregoing philosophy th at the guidance program, contained
herein, was planned and suggested sp ecifically for the Loomis
Union Elementary School.
A h rief history and survey of the school. The Loomis
Union Elementary School, w ith which this project report is
to be concerned, is located in Loomis, Placer County, C alif­
ornia. . Loomis, a town of 600 resid en ts, is the shopping and
business center of an ag ricu ltu ral area, consisting mainly
of pear orchards and d a irie s. About ninety per cent of the
populace is of Caucasian stock, with the remainder being
people of Japanese and Mexican descent. The economy of th is
area is a fa irly stable one, and most of the property owners
have been residents of the community for ten or more years.
As for the school its e lf , the present plant was com­
pleted in 1923, approximately one year a fte r a special elec­
tion authorized the unionization of the five surrounding
d is tric ts to form a union d is tric t. The assessed evaluation
of the d is tric t is $2,097,335* and the present tax rate is
$.0090. The school d is tric t owns and operates three recently
purchased school buses and hires three bus d riv ers. Two
ja n ito rs, one with fu ll-tim e duties and the other working
only half a day, are responsible for the operation and main­
tenance of the school plan t.
The average daily attendance for the 1947-8 school
year was 383, and at a special election, held in May, 1948,
the voters decided in favor of flo ating a $100,000 bond for
new buildings. Extra rooms are necessary to handle an ex­
pected influx of new pupils when construction of a dam a t
the neighboring town of Folsom commences. The school board
of tru stees elects th irteen full-tim e and two part-tim e
teachers annually and selects a d is tric t superintendent every
four years. At the time of th is w riting, a proposal, whereby
the Loomis Union Elementary School would serve as a training
school for student teachers of Sacramento State College, was
being considered by the au th o rities of both In stitu tio n s.
In lig h t of the foregoing data, a proposed guidance
program, commensurate with the needs of th is p articu lar school
in its present statu s and adherent to modern principles of
education and guidance, is herein offered.
The need for the pro pram. Few children in the elemen­
tary school are capable, without effective guidance and
counseling, of developing c ritic a l in sig h t into th e ir own
strengths and weaknesses. I t is , therefore, most essential
th at teachers and adm inistrators realize th a t, with proper
guidance, the a ttitu d e of the elementary grade child toward
his own lim itatio n s and a b ilitie s w ill develop into one of
sincere se lf-criticism and self-an aly sis. Therefore, a
strong, effectiv e, and complete guidance program is manda­
tory for any elementary school that purports to guarantee its
pupils rich and wide areas of experience, well-rounded person­
a litie s , and worthwhile a ttitu d e s.
I t is well known th at children who have had the
benefit of guidance in the elementary grades do not have the
adjustment d iffic u ltie s when entering the secondary schools
as do those who are not so fortunate. Many cases of mal­
adjustment and much of the juvenile delinquency of today may
be ju stifia b ly attrib u ted to the lack of guidance in whole­
some and constructive recreational a c tiv itie s in the elemen­
tary school.
I t has been said that the best teaching in any of our
educational in stitu tio n s is done in the elementary schools.
The foregoing situ atio n ex ists only in those elementary
schools th at can offer a comprehensive, functional guidance
program.
The obj ectives of the pro gram. This guidance program,
in attem pting to assure each student consideration of his
a b ilitie s and needs, w ill have the following as its objectives
1. To help parents, teachers, and adm inistrators
become more conscious of the a b ilitie s , in te re sts, and edu­
cational needs of the pupils.
2. To help motivate pupil a c tiv ity through d efin itio n
of goals and d esires.
3* To help students to choose those out-of-school
a c tiv itie s th at contribute most to social w elfare and in d i­
vidual happiness.
4. To help students formulate appropriate plans for
p articip atio n in lif e a c tiv itie s .
5» To help students obtain inform ation concerning
th e ir p ro b ab ilities of success and satisfactio n in various
types of school and out-of-school a c tiv itie s .
6. To a s s is t the pupil to recognize and improve the
weak points that may lim it his future success.
7« To a s sist pupils to recognize and develop th e ir
strong points.
8. To stim ulate and a ssist the pupil to make optimum
adjustments in the organized lif e of the school.