value of such n enterprise to the com-munity. They ned t conide whetherits location will make the prlk availableto those who need it most, whetherplans for its developnment will make itn area to be used-or showplace to

be admired at a distance. They need toconsider the new park from the .view-point of all the citizens.

All the youngsters need to know thatevery child in the commauity does notlive in a big house like Larry's, thatsome of them don't even have a modesthome like Woody's. They need tounderstand that these differences maynot necessarily be due to shiftlessness onthe part of one group of citizens. Theyneed to be awakened to the social andeconomic prestsres that sometimes seemto make a farce of our Bill of Rights.

It is not always easy for teachers to

understand what goes on around them.They may turn to the daily papers, andso may the youngsters; yet they mustlearn to analyze what they read, toweigh one .editor's viewpoint againstanother. They must be careful not tofall under the spell of any one groupof citizens, but always to keep an openmind and hear all sides. They must teachboys and girls to develop similar powersof discernment. Together they and theyoungsters may talk over what goes onin their community, all benefiting fromthe ideas presented by a Larry, aWoody, and a Henry. An understand-ing based on a grasp of communityproblems can help these students tomake intelligent analyses of state, na-tional, and international matters. It canhelp them to wavnt to understand. That,perhaps, is most important of all.

Pe-t' L P)ook Tdindd tMe AmAanwA..iWALTER K. BEGGS

Som me thod, of studying the no ds of ti esommiunty and trying to fifill dte needsar we her by Walter L Bes, ameiate professor, Teachers Coilee, Universityof NebrasL Lineoln, "h o oalasb ise pord it questions oncerning the maintenanceof eulturs wory of its future participnts.

THE CURRENT preoccupation ofAmerican educators with meeting com-munity needs may produce results thatare synthetic or real depending uponhow deep we are prepared "to dig."The point holds regardless of the factthat meeting needs is certainly theprovince and responsibility of teachingand educating. But stating a respon-sibility or recognizing it in theory isquite apart from discharging it ade-quately.

Curriculum bulletins and professional

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publications of the present day are filledwith suggestions for approaching cur-riculum study through a survey ofcommunity needs. At first glance suchstatnements appear innocent enoughand by any standard should be one ofthe steps involved in curriculum revi-sion. But what then? What is impliedby a community survey? Does it mean"digging out" the unique experiencepattern of a given social and economicunit of American culture in order tosee the reflection of the pattern in the

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daily behavior of the people? Does itmean putting the local citizenry underthe research microscope to determinetheir individual and composite poten-tial? Does it mean untangling thetwisted skein of folkways and mores,prejudices and pressures that fashioncommunity thinking--or does it meansimply counting people, occupations,bathrooms, radios, and refrigerators?

If the latter, our methods of pro-cedure to date are quite adequate. Weare remarkably adept at counting. If wecan assume that a community is a simpleorganism we can count with impunity.Or we can gather around a conferencetable and "talk through" communityneeds. When we agree that one existswe can "set about to meet it."

Or-we can adopt a method thatsomewhat resembles research. In itsfirst stages it follows the counting andtalking through technique. A "jury ofexperts" meets and agrees on the char-acteristics of a good community andthen carefully formulates these into acheck list or evaluative instrument. Acommunity is measured against the in-strument and wherever it fails to meas-ure up we have uncovered a need.

Or-we can quit kidding ourselves.No community-even a very small one-is a simple organism, and the fact thatwe generally act as though it were,doesn't alter the situation a particle.In reality the reason why we over-simplify our approach is probably be-cause the complexity of our communi-ties scares the living daylights out ofus. Sociologists and anthropologists havebeen pointing out the complexity foryears. However, they have been con-cerned in the main with symptoms whilewe as educators are supposed to do

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something about the maladjustmernsthat are believed to exist.

THE FRAME OF REFERENCE

Suppose we look behind the armchairfor a moment. Where communities areconcerned we must stop dealing inaverages and recognize individualityjust as we do in people. We mustrecognize that patterns of experiencediffer in communities and that eachlocal unit stamps its own impress onthe requirements of the culture ofwhich it is a part and thus each com-munity interprets the overall culturalpattern in a specialized system ofmores. Then comes the really toughpart of the job-discovery and inter-pretation. Obviously, we want a pic-ture of the local behavior pattern, buteven more, we want to uncover theforces behind the behavior. Below aresuggested three questions that mightserve as a frame of reference for abeginning. It is not implied that thisis the only frame of reference nor thatit is not subject to additions or revision.But we have to have a point of depar-ture from which to move.

What Lasting Impressions Has thePattern of Community Experience Lefton the Inbhabitants? About thirty yearsago a northern Kansas town lost thebranch-line railroad that had served itfor years. Actually the loss should havemade little difference in the economicand cultural life of the community be-cause ;a surfaced highway was com-pleted about the same time and theservices supplied by the railroad werepromptly assumed by motor bus andtruck lines. But the emotional shocksuffered by the people almost ruinedthe town. The catastrophe-their own

name for the experiec-genuinelydismayed them at first Then graduallysomething resembling self pity set inand they began to enjoy the memoryof the dear departed. The reactionmight have been merely humorous hadthey not projected the loss of the rail-road into almos" every phase of com-munity life. It became a ready escapemechanism for community shortcom-ings. One still hears such statements as"we are an inland town you know" or"things were different when we had arailroad," even from citizens unbornwhen the supposed tragedy happenedor who have moved into the com-munity since.

Obviously it would be absurd toconsider the needs of this particularcommunity without taking such ex-periences into consideration. Sometimesthey are not as apparent as the one justdescribed. Bank failures, fires, periodsof drought, a long, involved strike; eventhe type of work that the people door the influence of a prominent citizencan condition community reaction.Often the event itself has long sincebeen forgotten but its effect remainsand will crop out when the time fordecision comes around.

The problem of ferreting out theseinfluences and forces is difficult becausethey are often so subtle and deeprooted that to recognize them requiresthe highest type of analysis and inter-pretaiom The task is perhaps somewhatanalagous to that of the psychiatrist. Hispatient presents a mahladjustment--per-haps a gnawing fear-for which thereis no apparent cause. He must, withwhatever tools he can command, searchbehind the symptoms for an experienceor combination of experiences that are

responsible. Once brought to light suchinformation is invaluable.

What is the Ceiling for CommunityAchievement? Two elements are in-volved here-natural and human re-sources. With natural resources it is amatter of discovery and exploitation. ANebraska town has recently uncovereda rich deposit of natural clay in its ownback yard, so to speak, which couldconceivably alter the entire economicoutlook of the community. The clayhas always been there, as a potentialsource of wealth, but not recognized.Now the community is faced with theproblem of intelligent exploitation.

How such exploitation is carried ondepends upon a number of factors. Thehuman resources of the communityloom large in this connection. Inherentability is the natural base from whichto work, but what are the types andcombinations of ability? It isn't enoughto find the median intelligence level, al-though even that much requires somedoing. Which way is the curve of in-telligence skewed? Is it possible that onetown has sufficient human resources tosupply adequate leadership, while inanother not enough imagination anddrive exist to pull it out of the dol-drums? Too little research has beendone to answer these questions, but theymust be answered if we are really siw-cere in our efforts to determine com-munity needs.

There are other questions just asimportant. During the war a number ofmanufacturing plants moved into theprairie states. They employed workersfrom the area who knew nothing ofassembly line techniques and had tostart from scratch to learn the handskills involved. Yet they easily met the

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output quotas assigned to them andoften surpassed those of establishedplants. Does this mean that we have ahigher level of manual dexterity here?Is attitude the determining factor, or thenovelty of new work, or is basic in-telligence higher? No one knows. Todate we have heard only speculation.Of course all of this is wonderful am-munition for the big guns of chambersof commerce, especially where they areafflicted with hyperthyroid, but it is ofno value to the educator. Until heknows basic facts about the human com-position of his community he is in noposition to help outline its needs.

In What Specific Ways Do the Peo-ple Respond to the Pressures of theOverall Culture in Which They Live?In a nation as vast and diversified as theUnited States it is difficult to define acultural pattern, especially when onelives in the pattern and is subject to itspressures. And yet American culturedoes make some specific demands uponits people. It is not our purpose here todiscuss why the pressures exist orwhere they come from, nor to arguethat those we use for illustration are theonlyr ones or even the most important.Our point is made if the reader willadmit that such pressures do exist. Thetwo most generally recognized are thatour culture demands that we make aliving and that we keep healthy.

The Pressure of Getting a Living

In our culture, making a living meansmuch more than gaining subsistence.We have been accused of developingthe highest level of material existenceever known at the expense of someother aspects of a balanced culture. Bethat as it may, to live successfully in

February 1947

our economy requires that we gain pos-session of a reasonable number of itsgadgets, and rightly or wrongly we findthe people of most communities in theUnited States busily engaged in doingjust that. If we are interested in testingthe power of this pressure all we needto do is to examine our attitude towardthe few communities that do not re-spond in kind. Or, better still, our at-titudes toward other cultures. Our serv-ice men and women are inclined to ratethe people of other nations in directratio to their possessions from bathtubson down-or up-as the case happensto be.

Such a pressure is certain to have aprofound effect on the activities in-volved in getting a living in any unitof our culture. Local circumstancesblunt the pressure and give it direction,but the general impact is the samenationwide.

Hence, money to secure the gadgetshas loomed more and more importantto us. The self-sustaining economy ofmany rural units is gradually disappear-ing-if it has not altogether disappearedfor all practical purposes. Money hasbecome so important that the pressureis to get it even though it has meantdangerously depleting our resources inmany instances to do so.

Another result has been high special-ization in almost every area. The effectof this factor on local communities isstartling. It has meant a draining ofpopulation to the centers of specializa-tion. Also many of the services thatwere formerly supplied locally are nowprovided by absentee entrepreneurs andeither shipped in or the people musttravel to distribution centers to getthem. Purely cultural things like art,

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muic, and drama ar produced oftenthousands of miles away and sent invia radio, movies, and s}!ndicated col-umn. At present the trend seem to beaccelerating and what the eventual di-rection will be may depend on forcesand events as yet not apparent.

Obviously, the pressure discussed getsinto the thinking of the people and helpsto shape their sense of values. For thatreason they may resist any considerationof needs that runs contrary to what theythink is important. It is difficult to per-suade young people to look with favoron an occupation that does not appearto carry enough monetary reward toinsure the possession of the gadgets theyconsider essential to live properly.Those of us who are interested inrecruiting talented youth for the teach-ing profession are constantly meetingsuch resistance. Similarly, place of oc-cupation is chosen to insure monetarygain more often than not. As a result wenote some peculiar social phenomenaunique in our culture. Rapid shifting ofpopulation is one, but more revealing isthe shift from small to large, not only asconcerns numbers, but as concerns sig-nificance.

Thus, in the consideration of com-munity needs these factors cannot beignored. We may be able to make anexcellent case for the need of conserva-tion of natural resources. We may pointout services that need to be providedlocally rather than at some distant point.We can argue that more young peopleneed to remain in small communitiesor that the community should investmore money in cultural activities, butwe are working against a pressure builtup widely in our culture that maydictate otherwise in the thinking of the

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people Perhaps the need that reallyhas priority is to persuade thinkingpeople to examine the presures thatmotivate them and analyze the effectIf this brings them to a careful ex-amination of what they think is impor-tant and why they think so, they maybe better able to adjust their own feltneeds to the reality of circumstances.

The Prrmre to Keep ealhy

Health is almost a fetish in Americanculture. Its value is editoralized andsermonized, to say nothing of beingadvertised from practically every maga-zine page and billboard. The pressurehere is many sided. Copywriters playon our fears, our vanities, and our ambi-tions, sometimes using all three in thesame advertisement. The medical pro-fession has become more verbal of latein an attempt to teach us the hard factsof good health, as have schools, dieti-tians, and departments of home eco-nomics. Along with these, however, areother barrages of perhaps less altruisticintent. Every commodity that can pos-sibly be made to appear as a healthagent is publicized as such, from vitamincapsules down through the gaudiestassortment of patented pills and reme-dies ever perpetrated on an unsuspectingpublic. Even clothing manufacturersclaim health benefits for their products,and cigarettes are advertised as beingless unhealthy than other brands. Addto these, an assortment of family reme-dies handed down from generation togeneration, along with "old wives'tales of what to do" that may rangefrom pure superstitious incantations towitches brews of herbs and entrails.

It is little wonder, then, that thepicture of health as seen by the Amer-

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ican citizen may be a little distorted.Unfortunately the absence of sicknessis apparently one of the minor factorsthat he considers, as is his fitness towork. A body type appears to be moreimportant. The cover girl format isthe one constantly flashed beforewomen's eyes, while the broad-shoul-dered, narrow-hipped Adonis serves asthe model for men. Moreover, per-formance figures largely in the concept-- to be an outdoor girl, to be able to"dance the whole night through," to bea man among men, even though flaccidmuscles and hardening arteries protestthe abuse for weeks afterward.

There is little provision in our culturefor growing old gracefully and con-tentedly. Our idealism is too strong tolet us be hardboiled about our oldpeople as in some primitive cultures thatkill them off and as in modem col-lectivist economies where food andcomforts are denied them. But neitherhave we been too successful in treatingage as much more than a necessary evil.True we provide meagre pensions andhave made a national gesture towardold age security, but there is little evi-dence that we have our hearts in theprocess. Meanwhile we are lengtheningthe life span and are finding that a largerproportion of our people are above theage of sixty-five, and these are becom-ing more and more restive and makingtheir own needs known as a "trouble-some" political minority.

Here again the pressure invades thelocal citizen's concept of what is im-portant. And again we are likely to meetresistance unless the concept is takeninto consideration. Dietitians havegiven us a very excellent check list ofproper foods. We can find out what

Febrnry 1947

people eat and note the deficiencies intheir diet, and hence conclude that whatthey need is to change their eatinghabits. Very well, but here is a younglady whom nature has endowed with astocky figure. She is busily engaged intrying to melt herself down to fit thestreamlined number adorning a manne-quin in the window of the localemporium. Milk means pounds to hernot health. Or here is a middle-agedbusiness man deficient in vitamins "B"or "A" or what have you. Advise himto stop eating pancakes and take upgreen and yellow vegetables. He maypoint you to the comer drug storewhere vitamins "A" and "B" abound incolorful boxes. Besides he likes pan-cakes, they have been a family delicacyfor generations on end.

Important as proper diet is in health-ful living, important as are properrecreational habits, or annual medicalcheckups, or any of the elements in-volved in keeping healthy, the forcesthat shape human behavior and attitudesare more important to the educator whois trying to meet community needs.

THE NEBRASKA WORKSHOP ONCOMMUNTrr NEEDS

The foregoing paragraphs are a some-what rough summary of the thinkingof a workshop group that met on thecampus of the University of Nebraskaduring the summer of 1946. The ob-jective was to develop a guide for thestudy of community needs. To be per-fectly frank the group did not accom-plish very much. No criteria or checklists were evolved, though many wereconsidered. Out of all of the "sweatand tears" came only a very crudequestionnaire which is far from being

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in finished form. No one of the groupholds any brief for it, nor is any onesure how valuable the information willbe that it produces. In fact, the groupwas divided as to just how it should beused. Some felt that it should be placedin the hands of the people of a com-munity in order to get as wide a spreadof response as possible. Others wereequally sure that it should serve only asa basis for interviews. As a compromisewe have decided to try it both waysand compare results.

Although the questionnaire mayprove to have no particular value, thegroup reached some tentative conclu-'sions that may pay dividends. We werestruck first of all with the cold factthat none of us were very wellequipped, if at all, to make a com-munity study. In assembling the tech-niques available to us we contacted thework of the sociologists and anthropol-ogists and studied their methods. Weconcluded that there are some tools wewill have to master in order to secureand properly evaluate needed in-formation.

Assuming, as we did, that communityopinion and attitudes are significant, amethod of ascertaining what they areis essential. Obviously, every personcannot be contacted and interviewed,hence a sample must be taken and testedstatistically. It will probably be neces-sary for us to experiment with an

adaptation of such techniques as Gallupor Roper use until we can refine one ofour own. Whether these same tools canbe used to reveal a community behaviorpattern is questionable. We can onlytry them out and see.

We will also have to experiment withnon-directive type interviews. But thisrequires specialized skill and may bean area where the specialist must becalled in to make the actual interview,or at least to interpret those that havebeen held.

Finally, as we worked into the prob-lem we became convinced that it re-quires more than the efforts of educa-tors alone. Is there any reason after allwhy we should not join forces with thesociologist and the anthropologist in oureffort to discover and meet communityneeds? And we might add to that listthe engineer, the business administrationspecialist, the economist, the geologist,and even the archeologist, because thisjob is no simple undertaking. Perhapsit is too vast to even be considered. Per-haps we will have to narrow it downand tackle one small phase at a time, butin any event, we are virtually at the"put up or shut up" stage. We oughteither to marshall all of the resourcesavailable to us and focus them on com-munity study or we ought to quit talk-ing altogether about surveying com-munities and meeting the needs whichexist in them.

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SURPRISE]Supervisor to a student teacher after three or four weeks of school:"How do you like teaching, Miss West?"Miss West, with thoughtful enthusiasm, "Oh, it's just fine. I love the'children.But the work's so daily!"

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Copyright © 1947 by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. All rights reserved.