Source Documents

Le Grand (California) Advocate, 14 December, 1912

Le Grand (California) Advocate, 12 April, 1913

Interpretation

These two articles reflect the initial enthusiasm with which many small communities embraced the junior college (or, as it was as commonly known early in the century, a "post-graduate course"). Le Grand, located near Modesto, was an aspiring community that not only sought to provide its residents with every advantage of such larger, more established communities as Fresno, but to use these advantages as an inducement to attract new residents -- particularly "good" families. While, in many communities, especially in California, the very deliberate policy of boosterism proved successful, Le Grand is noteworthy because the policy failed completely. The town, for a variety of reasons, failed to attract new residents and their business and, by 1920, entered a period of protracted decline that continues to this day. But, in 1912, Le Grand's civic leaders viewed the future with hope and optimism, and it was in this spirit that they endorsed a post-graduate program. Had a "booster" spirit alone been sufficient to guarantee the fulfillment of a community's aspirations, Le Grand would have undoubtedly prospered and its post-graduate course quickly emerged as a successful junior college. But the fate of this one town, and its venture into higher education, are good reminders that aspiration, alone,

This article, intended to "boost" for what, at the time, were more commonly known in California as post graduate courses, and would only come to be referred to more generally as junior colleges following the state's adoption of its first Junior College Act in 1917, is noteworthy on three counts. First, Le Grand had no business even contemplating adding a post graduate program to its fledgling high school, which had graduated a mere handful of students and could not support a full complement of faculty. Second, and despite the community's lack of resources to support a viable post graduate program of any size, the Le Grand Advocate's publisher clearly viewed a post graduate program as simply one more progressive improvement (on a par with paved streets and a water system) to set its community apart from the competitive crowd, most notably the communities of Poterville and Merced. But third, and most importantly, this brief article captures much of the booster spirit that informed so many local newspapers of the early 20th century. Key to the remarkable expansion in the number of small and moderate-sized communities after 1900 was the attitude, shared by a great many civic leaders and reflecting the views of the contemporary (and native Californian) philospher, Josiah Royce, that progress was not a matter of chance, but of deliberate action. Civic growth was not something that came by accident, but by design. First post graduate courses, and then, as in Kansas City, Joliet and Detroit, full fledged junior colleges were key elements in overall programs of civic betterment, consciously planned and carefully executed over two and even three decades by broad alliances of civic leaders. The emergence of the public junior college was not an isolated phenomenon, but an integral part of a far more general trend in small and medium-sized communities across America's Mid and Far West to replicate, as closely as possible, the civic institutions that characterized a true metropolitan center.

Texts

POST GRADUATE COURSE

[Le Grand Advocate, 14 December, 1912]

Porterville is contemplating adding the two-year post graduate course to its high school. Down there everybody seems to be in favor of it, as does everybody whom we have heard express an opinion with regard to it. No doubt all the high schools will take it up before many years and our high school should fall in with every advanced movement of worth. Our graduating class this will number six. This number with several outside will make a good class to begin with.
There are many good reasons for establishing this addition and no good reason for not doing so. We have the building and equipment, a large enough faculty, save one, and pupils enough to start off properly. These pupils, if this addition is not made, will all probably end their schooling with the completion of this year's work. With the post graduate course added probably three fourths of all the high school graduates would take the added course and half of these at least, once they were started, would manage in some way to complete the university course.
Of course in urging this we are presuming that every parent, with out doubt, desires to have his children secure the best education possible. The necessity of securing a thorough education is be coming more and more apparent, if anyone hopes to successfully cope with conditions in this world as they are and are likely to be for some time to come. It is no more than right that the greatest number possible should be given every inducement and advantage to acquire a thorough education. Boost for a. post graduate course. We don't get good things by passively waiting and hoping they will come in their own good time.

 

High School Items

[Le Grand Advocate, 12 April, 1913]

The two years post-graduate course has been added by our board of trustees and our principal has grouped the courses under three heads, the academic, the engineering and the industrial. The work will be accepted by the University of California and Stanford as well as other colleges so that one will only need take the two years, the junior and senior to receive the degrees. This work is being rapidly added to the high schools of the state, this however is the first except Fresno in this portion of the state. It offers every boy and girl an opportunity to get an education that will put them where they can earn their way or easily finish the University at slight expense.

Contributor: R. P. Pedersen

Last Updated: July 1, 2002