Document:
Johnston, Charles Hughes. The upward extension of the high school In his Modern high school, New York, 1914, Scribners & Sons.
Comment:
While not offering fresh insights into the value - or failings - of the public junior college, Johnstons essay, which was appended to his larger work on the American high school, warrants in this collection of readings for several reasons. First, he provides a useful summary of the arguments advanced by those progressive educators of the time who advocated for the upward extension of the public high school. Langes list of 6 positive characteristics of the public junior college was not unique to Lange, but repeated fairly commonly by other junior college proponents.
Further, Johnstons inclusion of the comments by the University of Chicagos Judson on the junior college reflect the fact that a concern with efficiency, and especially the potential of the junior college to help shorten the number of years Americans typically spent in formal schooling, was never very far from the thoughts of these schoolmen. Unfortunately, their desire to reduce the years spent in school would run head long into the desire of parents to keep their children at home, and under parental supervision, for as long as possible. In the end, as the parents of high school graduates at Kansas City, Mo., demonstrated, the desire of schoolmen for efficiency was no match for parental concerns with virtue, and 12 years of pre-collegiate public school education would remain the norm.
Last, on first reading, it would appear that the curriculum of what was, in 1914, one of Americas few established public junior colleges was traditionally academic and hardly designed to accommodate the needs or interests of non-traditional students. However, a close reading of the footnotes indicates that junior college students were, in fact, free to take whatever courses the high school offered, with the understanding that they might not be eligible for the junior college certificate. It would be interesting to know what percentage of Fresnos junior college students opted for the pre-university curriculum, and what percentage chose, instead, to take courses of personal interest with no intention of transfer.
Document
APPENDIX
THE UPWARD EXTENSION OF THE HIGH SCHOOL
BY CHARLES HUGHES JOHNSTON, EDITOR
The following statement from Superintendent C. C. Starr, of Fresno, Cal, dated February 4, 1914, is of interest and significance as relating to the problem of the upward extension of the American high school:
The junior college had its origin in California in Fresno. It is proving entirely satisfactory to patrons and educators in this community. The element of uncertainty on the start was that of the amount of patronage. The city is growing rapidly, and with it the junior college, so that now it is on a firm footing from every point of view. The junior college would probably not be successful except in the larger centres of population. The smaller the attendance, the higher the cost per capita.
The junior college has the advantage of being a college at home. Home life and home influence are best for the student. The economy of free home education is evident. The free home college opens up a college education to many who either could not or would not otherwise be able to secure its advantages. The junior college enlarges the number of centres of college influence in the State, and in that way leaves its impress upon a larger and better-distributed citizenship.
The close relation to the high school results in economy in administration. The instructors in the junior college become heads of the high school departments, and teach some of the advanced high school subjects. The library and apparatus of the junior college are also at the command of the high school, and the high school department becomes unusually well equipped and strengthened as a consequence.
California has, indeed, taken the lead in this junior-college
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policy. Bills for State aid are formulated and are expected in the near future to be enacted into law.
Professor Alexis F. Lange, Dean of the Faculties of the University of California and head of its Educational Department, in tracing the development of the movement for the upward extension of high schools in California, says that this movement aims to relegate the work of college freshmen and sophomore years in universities to the high schools sufficiently equipped to carry such work, and so to have American universities gradually approximate the standards for entrance of the continental European universities. It is becoming more and more necessary to eliminate secondary studies in our highest institutions of learning and to put them in high schools where they belong. Presidents James of the University of Illinois and Judson of Chicago University are vigorous proponents of this same idea.
At the University of California the courses are divided into lower division and upper division. The lower division includes the freshman and sophomore years, and the completion of the lower-division work entitles the student to the junior certificate. Only then, when he has qualified for this certificate, is the student enabled to become a member of the university proper; for the real university commences with the junior year and extends through the graduate courses. Hence, the first two college years are essentially preparatory, for the work of these years is only a continuation of preparatory education. By commencing to relegate all this secondary work to the secondary schools, the university aims to lessen the swamping of its premises with enrolments of freshmen and sophomores it is not equipped to care for. The present equipment is only sufficient for upper divisions, real university work. In view of the rapidly increasing population of this State, this policy becomes all the more imperative. President Judson, of Chicago, in this connection points out that thirty per cent of the work of the four-year A.B. course of the Liberal Arts College is of secondary not collegiate grade.
Furthermore, Doctor Lange stated that, because of having to mass lower-division students at the University of California in very large classes, it is impossible to give them anything like the opportunities they need. The instructors and the equipment are overtaxed. He asserted expressly that Fresno students had a
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better chance and could do better college freshman and sophomore work in their local junior college than at the university. Here, at home, in their small classes, they could get closer to, and keep closer to, their studies and to their instructors.
One point Doctor Lange emphasizes clearly, namely, that the University of California would recognize, and could afford to recognize, the college work done by Fresno students in their home institution; that if the principal approved of the college work done by any student in Fresno High School, that work would be accepted by the university, and that it would count in every respect the same as if the work had been done at the University of California, and without the necessity of any further examinations.
Doctor Lange also dwells on the opportunity upward extension in the high school affords to students who will never go to a university, and who never intend to go, and how desirable it is for this college work to adapt itself to the needs of the community. Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, and other cities are following the lead of Fresno in this development.
The Fresno six-year high school curriculum, it should be noted, is also preparatory to the affiliated colleges at San Francisco, Hastings College of Law, and the California College of Medicine and Dentistry. Commencing with the year 1913, these colleges will require for entrance two more years of preparatory studies in addition to graduation from the regularly accredited high school. Students promoted from Fresno Junior College will be admitted to any of these affiliated colleges on equal terms with students who have completed the sophomore year at the University of California, and without any examinations or conditions.
Stanford University is also recognizing this upward extension movement. In fact, the term junior college is said to have originated with President Jordan. Professor Bentley, Stanford inspector, has expressed great interest and solicitude in having lower college work done in high schools. The two great California universities are, therefore, one in their attitude toward junior-college work in our secondary institutions.
In addition to the advantages already indicated, the fact should commend itself, to parents particularly, that they are enabled to have their children at home, and under home influ-
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ences for two years longer, to say nothing of economy in expenses This applies more especially to students living in or near the home city, but also to students from more remote homes who are enabled to be at home during the weeks end.
The State law governing high school tuition will also apply to junior-college students.
President David Starr Jordan in 1912 thus expressed his views:
1 am looking forward, as you know, to the time when the large high schools of the State in conjunction with the small colleges will relieve the two great universities from the expense and from the necessity of giving instruction of the first two university years. The instruction of these two years is of necessity elementary and of the same general nature as the work of the high school itself. It is not desirable for a university to have more than about two thousand students gathered together in one place, and when the number comes to exceed that figure then some division is desirable. The only reasonable division is that which will take away students who do not need libraries or laboratories for their work. The value of the university is highly dependent on its possession of great and expensive libraries, I am interested in the experiment which is going on at Fresno and in high schools in Los Angeles.
Professor Alexis F. Lange, Dean of the Faculties, University of California, has this to say:
Far-sighted and progressive educators are agreed that the establishment of Junior Colleges denotes a necessary development in the right direction. Such extensions of the four-year high school would (1) enable the universities to concentrate their efforts on university work proper, (2) receive for young people from eighteen to twenty years of age the immense educational advantage of being taught and trained in small groups, not far from home, (3) make it possible for thousands who are unable to attend a university to round out their general education,.(4) reduce very materially the cost of college and university education, (5) providea most important factorfinishing vocational courses in agriculture, the industries, commerce, applied civics, domestic science, etc., which cannot be adequately provided either by the four-year high school or by the universities, (6) tend to create a number of educational centres of a high order whose
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| Literary | Scientific | Pre-Normal | Com-mercial | ||||||
| Pre-Social Science | Pre-Law | Pre-Medicine Dentistry Pharmacy |
Pre-Mechanics Mining Civil Engineering |
Agri-cultural | Industrial | ||||
Regular Courses
|
Freshman 1
|
E1. L1. M1. G1. GS1. |
E1. L1. M1. H1. |
E1. L1. M1. H1. |
E1. L1. H1. M1. GS1. |
E1. H1. L M1. GS1. |
E1. H1. L1. M1. GS1. |
E1. L1. M1. H1. |
E1. H1. L1. M1. GS1. |
Sopho- more 2
|
E2. L2. ML2. M2. H2. D(2) |
E2. L2. M2. H2. |
E2. L2. M2. GS1. |
E2. L2.H2.Ag2. M2. D(2) |
E2 Ag2 M2. W.D(2).. |
E2. D(2).Ag2 M2. H2. |
E2. GS1. M2. H2. |
E2. ML2.Ag2. M2. H2.D(2) | |
Junior 3
|
E3 L2. ML2. M2. H2. D(2). |
E3. L3.
H3. GS1. C3 |
ML2 or E3 D(2).
H3. C3. |
ML2 or E3 GD3(2).
M3. C3. |
Ag2. GD3(2). W. M3. C3. |
W. GD3(2).
M3. C3. |
E3. BK(1) & D(1). A & Gr. DT.ML2. |
E3.C3. Bk3 or S3. H3. W. CA. | |
Senior 4
|
E4. L4 or ML4
H4 P4. Mu4. |
E4. L4.
H4. P4. |
ML3 or E4. W.
H4. P4. |
ML3. E4. M4.
H4. P4. |
Ag4. MS.
H4. P4. |
MS. M5.
H4. P4. |
E4. ML3. W(1) & Mu(1). H4. P4. |
CL4.Ec4. BK4 or S4. H4. P4. | |
Junior College
|
College Freshman 5
|
E5. L5. ML4. ML5. H5. M5. M3. C5. Su5. |
E5.L5.ML. (CE). H5. M3. C5. P5. |
E5. ML4. (CE). H5. M3. C5. |
E5. ML. Su5. H5. M5. C5. (CE). |
||||
College Sophomore 6
|
E6. L6. ML5. ML6. H6. M6. M5. (CE). (P6). |
E6.P6.ML. (CE). H6. (CE). (CE). C6. |
E6. (CE), H6. H2. C6. |
E6. ML. C6. H6. M6. P6. |
|||||
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influence for good would extend in many directions over large areas of the State.
The State University has stood for the junior-college plan for more than fifteen years, and its policy is to further the establishment of junior colleges in every possible way. This implies, of course, that the university stands ready to recognize the courses of junior colleges as the equivalent of corresponding courses at Berkeley and to give full credit for successfully completed work.
The city of Fresno is to be greatly congratulated on being the first city in the State to establish a junior college. May this prosper and become year by year more useful, especially to those who would otherwise have to forego the chance of higher vocational training. Those recommended for university work at Berkeley will, I feel confident, have no reason to regret that their freshman and sophomore work was done in Fresno.
President E. J. James, of the University of Illinois, further calls attention to the necessity that high schools, thus extended in equipment and instructorial force, relieve State universities of much of the present elementary extension service they are now forced to render communities, such as water analysis, elementary advice in sanitary and other forms of engineering, agriculture, and public health.
In this connection it should be noted that five high schools in Illinois have now practically Junior College annexes.
The schematically arranged instructional programme for the thus extended public-school system of Fresno gives the reader some idea of the scope and differentiation of work now possible, and also of the possible further extensions in various directions.
STUDIES AND ABBREVIATIONS
LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
EnglishE.
Pre-Normal, English Grammar (A) Gr.
LatinL. Modern LanguageML.
GermanG.
FrenchF.
SpanishSp.
HISTORY
Ancient HistoryH1
Med. And Mod. HistoryH2.
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English HistoryH3.
U.S. History and CivicsH4.
Mod, European HistoryH5.
Industrial HistoryH5.
Institutional HistoryH6.
MATHEMATICS
Elementary AlgebraM1.
Plane GeometryM 2.
Solid Geometry (B)M3.
Trigonometry (A)M3.
Advanced AlgebraM4.
Synthetic Projective Geometry (B)M5.
Plane Analytical Geometry (A)M6.
Differential Calculus (B)M6.
Integral Calculus (A)M6.
SURVEYING
SurveyingSu5.
Pre-Normal Arithmetic (B)A.
SCIENCE, PURE AND APPLIED
General ScienceGS 1.
General AgricultureAg2.
ChemistryC3.
Dairying (B)Ag3.
Soil and Crops (A)Ag3.
Animal Husbandry (B)Ag4.
Farm Mechanics and Management (A)Ag4.
PhysicsP4.
Advanced PhysicsP6.
Organic ChemistryC5.
Qual. Chem. Analysis (B)C6.
Quant. Chem. Analysis (A)C6.
Music
Technic and HistoryMu3.
History and InterpretationMu4.
DRAWING AND ART WORK
Free-Hand DrawingD.
Art MetalAM4.
Geometric DrawingGD3.
COMMERCIAL
Coml ArithmeticCA3.
Short HandS.
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TypewritingT.
Coml Law (B)CL3.
Economics (A)Ec.
MECHANICAL TRAINING
WoodworkW.
Machine ShopMS.
DOMESTIC TRAININGDT
Cooking and Sewing.
College Electives(CE) elected from high school undergraduate subjects, comprising E3, E4, L3, L4, G2, G3, G4, F2, F3, F4, Sp2, Sp3, H4, M3, M4, C3, P4, D(2), GD3(2), which studies are available for advanced university credits.
NOTES
1. In the courses, expressed by abbreviated notation used on the recitation schedules, the heavily typed subjects are required. Studies in lighter type are recommended as preferable, but students may substitute other electives.
2. The following studies are required: E1, E2, two years of history including H4 usually, two years of science for boys, one of which must be either C3 or P4, at least one year of science for girls, which must be either C3 or P4 for girls intending to enter the university, and M1 andM2 except for pupils taking only two years commercial course.
3. Undergraduate students are expected to carry four full studies; in addition they may, without asking permission, carry also a half-credit study, i. e., one period per day in one of the following: AM, D, GD, T, and W. But pupils may not take five full studies without the permission of the principal, except in the senior year in order to graduate.
4. Junior-college students who expect to continue work in the university must take five full subjects for two years in order to qualify for the junior certificate at the university.
Junior-college students not intending to go to the university are free to elect any studies given in the high school.
5. Pupils who do not wish to pursue a regular course, as listed above, may elect studies as they wish, except that they must meet the requirements mentioned in note 2.
6. One year of Latin is urged before commencing any modern language. Students commencing a modern language are urged to continue at least two years in the language selected.
7. (B) Denotes first term, (A) second term subjects. The number after abbreviations denotes the year in which the study regularly comes. The number in parenthesis alter the study denotes periods per day.
8. If L3 and L4 are not taken in the high school, social-science students
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must complete them at the university. The university recommends that these studies be finished in the high school.
9. Members of musical organizations, if working under the direction of the musical director, and practising the equivalent of one hour per school day throughout the year are entitled to a full-term credit.
10. Any single study five times per week for one year counts as 1 unit; 16 units are required to graduate.
From the important point of view of the future character of strictly collegiate and university work, contingent upon the above-sketched developments in high school education, the following quotation from President Judson, taken from The Presidents Report of the University of Chicago, 1911-12, may well be carefully considered:
In the Annual Report for 1910-11 (pp. 11-15) attention was given to what was believed to be the undue length of the course of study in our various schools and colleges. It was urged that at least two years should be eliminated from this course, and that this ought to be done without lessening efficiency of instruction.
As a further contribution to this study I am glad now to report that in the University Elementary School (one of the laboratory schools in the School of Education) one step toward this timesaving has already been taken successfully. It has been found possible to accomplish all the purposes of the elementary school in seven grades instead of eight, and this change has been effected. Boys and girls, in other words, hereafter will pass through the elementary school and reach the high school one year earlier than heretofore has been the case, and it is believed that they are no less qualified to take up high school work.
This leaves the question of saving still another year as between the high school and the early years of the colleges.
As bearing on this subject, attention is invited to the situation in the curricula of the colleges. An investigation of this subject shows plainly that from 20 to 30 per cent of the work required in the four-year college course is in content and essentially in mode of treatment merely high school work. In other words, we require the student in order to enter one of the colleges to have
1 It will be seen that the suggestion of saving only one more full year is a modest one when we observe from Table XX, p. 196, that the median age of graduation June, 1912, was 22.90, showing that the median age of entering college for these students was about 19.
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spent four years in a good high school, and then, not satisfied with that, we require him before taking serious college work to spend at least a year more in high school training.
Obviously this leads to the question as to what is the distinction, if any, between work properly adapted to the high school and work better adapted to the college. Is not almost every subject taught in colleges also made a part of the high school curriculum?
The answer to these questions is on the whole not difficult and is rather easily found by an inspection of the content of the courses of instruction. In general terms it may be said that the content of a high school course is essentially elementary, whereas the content of a college course, involving more maturity of mind and of treatment, is distinctly advanced in character.
The application of these principles is obvious. In the first years of the colleges instruction is given for two full years in elementary French and in elementary German, and one full year in general history; to the extent of two thirds of a year in English composition and literature; to the extent of one quarter in political science; and also there is more or less elementary work in Latin, in physics, in chemistry, in mathematics, and in biology. The content of these courses is not different essentially from that of the same subjects as treated in the high school classes. The students, of course, are a year older; otherwise there is no material difference. All of these things should be taught in the high school, and it is difficult to see any adequate reason for requiring five years instead of four years of high school instruction. A student really begins his college work when he has finished his fifth high school year, usually misnamed the college freshman year.
What is gained by doing this large amount of elementary work at the beginning of the college course? No doubt, the student is put in the way of learning something of some branches of knowledge which did not come his way in the high school. Would not this, however, quite as well justify a sixth year or a seventh year of the elementary subjects? The field of knowledge is wide, and the amount of elementary knowledge which any given individual can attain on a multiplicity of subjects is limited only by
1 Also, no doubt, a college course may well include subjects which in their nature belong to a relative maturity of mind. Perhaps Sanskrit and philosophy may be cited as illustrative.
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the time at his disposal. Is it not idle to attempt to cover the whole field of human knowledge in the case of any one student? Why not frankly recognize that there are some things which even an intelligent and educated man is not expected to know very much about?
A distinctly injurious effect of this additional high school year lies in the fact that when a studenta young man or woman seventeen or eighteen years oldenters college he finds that there is not a more intellectual atmosphere; he finds himself doing the same sort of things in essentially the same sort of way, perhaps in fact not quite so well, as was the case in the school from which he comes. How can we expect under these circumstances that the student shall get any new intellectual eagerness? How can we expect that he will not make up his mind that, after all, study doesnt yield anything very fresh or of any great value? How can we expect that he should not find far more interest and value in the multiform activities which beset the student on his entering college? The average student is by no means deficient in intellectual acumen. He generally forms a fairly accurate judgment as to what is worth while and what is not worth while, and I strongly suspect that the dissipation of energy which marks the early years of the college course is not something which results primarily from the innate pernicious qualities of freshmen but that it comes more likely from an irrational requirement by college authorities. In other words, on entering college the student should find that he is studying advanced subjects in a new way, treated seriously, and yielding results which he at once realizes to be of importance to himself.
An examination of the record sheets of a number of our own students who have been graduated from the colleges in recent years substantiates what has been said above as to the amount of elementary subjects of high school nature which form part of the college curriculums. No complete study has been made of the curriculums of other colleges. Still it may be said that conversation with parents and students who are in a position to know what some other important colleges are doing would lead to the same conclusion as above.
The best thing to do with the freshman year is to abolish it.