Table Of ContentA COURSE OF STUDY FOR HOME MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR
A P roject
Presented to
the Faculty of the School of Education
The U niversity of Southern C alifornia
In P a rtia l F ulfillm ent
of the Requirements fo r the Degree
M aster of Science in Education
fey
Eldon L. B lodgett
June 1950
UMI Number: EP46200
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D.isswtafen FltfriiaMng
UMI EP46200
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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.............jlyne.....195_0.................
Adviser
(R .'Z U s
Dean
ii
COURSE OUTLINE
PAGE
PREFACE............................................................................ iv
TOOL L IS T S ............................................................................... i i i
CHAPTER
PART I. PROBLEMS
HOW TO SOLVE HOME MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR PROBLEMS.
1. REDECORATING: How to redecorate your home................... 2
2. FURNITURE: How to rep air and m aintain home
f u r n itu r e ...................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3* PLUMBING: How to make rep airs on home plumbing . . 19
4. ELECTRICITY: How to service home e le c trie a l
equipment and w iring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
5. HEATING: How to m aintain home heating equipment . 34
6. DOORS: How to solve door p ro b le m s .................................. 41
7. WINDOWS: How to solve window p ro b le m s ........................ 47
i
8. FLOORS AND FLOOR COVERINGS: How to keep floors and
flo o r coverings in good condition ................... 53
TO THE TEACHER
PART II. PLANNING AND ORGANIZATION
HOW TO ADAPT THIS COURSE TO YOUR SITUATION.
9* AIDS: How to se t up th is course for your students. 62
10. THE SCHOOL SHOP: How to se t up a school shop for
th is course . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
11. THE HOME SHOP: How to se t up a student home rep air
center ............................ 73
BIBLIOGRAPHY......................................................................... 82
iii
TOOL LISTS
LIST PAGE
A. For the sm all home shop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
B. For the medium sized home s h o p ........................................... 79
C. For the complete home s h o p .............................................. 80
Iv
PREFACE
As a teacher of in d u stria l a rts you are aware of the
in te re sts, needs, and a b ilitie s of your students. You want
your shop courses to achieve ce rtain desirable behavior
changes in th e ir d aily lif e . In form ulating the objectives
or aims of your shop course you have found th a t the most
effectiv e courses are those which have a close relatio n sh ip
to the out-of-school or home a c tiv itie s . John Dewey says:
. . . the d e sira b ility of sta rtin g from and w ith the
experiences and capacities of the learn ers, . . . has
led to the introduction of forms of a c tiv ity , sim ilar
to those in which youth engage outside of school.*1
In teaching the youth of our country one of the most
im portant aims must be to bring the school in closer contact
w ith actual lif e situ a tio n s. To do th is there must be a
d efin ite program w ithin the secondary school curriculum . The
fundamental worth of such a program w ithin the areas of indus
tr ia l arts is recognized by one of America's leading educators,
John Dewey, who says;
Study of mental lif e has made evident the fundamental
worth of native tendencies to explore, to m anipulate tools
and m aterials, to construct, e tc . When exercises which
are promoted by these in stin c ts are a p a rt of the regular
school program, the whole pupil is engaged, the a r tif ic ia l
gap between lif e in school and out is reduced, motives are
afforded fo r atten tio n to a large v ariety o f m aterials and
processes d istin c tly educative in e ffe c t, and cooperative
1 John Dewey, Democracy and Education (New York: The
Macmillan Company, 1916), p. 228.
associations which give inform ation a so cial se ttin g are
provided.2
One of the “seven aims of secondary education11 is
"worthy home membership."3 You w ill find the home and fam ily
a very im portant p art of your stu d en t’s lif e . The projects
he makes in your shop w ill increase his statu s w ith h is par
en ts, his frien d s, and his brothers and s is te rs . Edmonson,
Roemer and Bacon, in th e ir book, The A dm inistration of the
Modem Secondary School, point out, "The home has always been,
and is s t i l l , the in stitu tio n to which school systems must
4
give f ir s t consideration." How can you, an in d u stria l a rts
teacher, aid the high school student in becoming a more worth
while member of his home? C ertainly a most valuable course
would be one which would involve home improvement. You w ill
find th is course has been designed to meet th is challenge.
This course is divided in to two p a rts: (1) To pro
vide many of the most im portant home maintenance and rep air
problem s. I t is addressed to the student, as a model fo r
the teacher to use in presenting the course* (2) To give
d e fin ite d irectio n s to help the teacher in the planning and
preparation fo r the courses. The f ir s t of these functions
2 Ib id . . p. 228.
_
J. B. Edmonson, Joseph Roemer, and Francis L. Bacon,
The Modern Secondary School (New Yorks The Macmillan Company,
194-8), p. 30 (quoting C ardinal P rinciples of Secondary
Education. U. S. Bureau of Education B u lletin , 1918, No. 35).
4 Ib id ., P. 28.
would require several volumes to give adequate d irectio n s for
solving a ll the problems of home maintenance and re p a ir.
Therefore, a selected l i s t of references have been included
to give ad d itio n al help and d irectio n . The second function,
likew ise, could not be accomplished in three chapters. But,
again, i t is hoped th a t the references to other sources w ill
make possible clear insig h ts in to d e ta ils which th is course
is forced to om it.
You w ill find th is course based on the functional
philosophy of education, which is "train in g fo r the moment
in such a way th a t the future w ill be able to take b etter
cr
care of its e lf ." The content has been selected for its value
to the "g reatest number" of youth attending our high schools,
and fo r its so cial value. Claude C. Crawford says,
We.are concerned not only w ith the le a rn e r's wants but
w ith the wants o f the whole group called so ciety . . . .
Value depends upon the common good, public w elfare, the’ ...
g reatest good to the g reatest number, or the benefit to
a ll so c ie ty .6
With th is in mind you w ill do w ell to look a t th is course
not only as learning how to do something but the way in which
these a c tiv itie s can actu ally be of so cial value. Bringing
the home in closer contact w ith your in d u stria l a rts shop ac
tiv itie s w ill mean a more effectiv e educational program.
Claude C. Crawford, Functional Education (Los Angeles
C. C . Crawford, 1949), p. 7-
^ Ib id .. pp. 13 and 14.
1
PART I . PROBLEBE
HOW TO SOLVE THE PROBLEBE
The home you liv e in may cause people to judge the
kind of person you are. What do your frien d s, neighbors,
or re la tiv e s think of you and your home? A w ell kept home
o ffers many rewards to the persons who are w illin g to spend
a l i t t l e spare time in maintenance and re p a ir. If you lik e
to work w ith to ols and enjoy nice looking and e ffic ie n tly
working home surroundings, then s ta rt now to m aster the
techniques presented in the next eight chapters. The essence
of good home maintenance and rep air lie s in these eight
ch ap ters.
2
CHAPTER 1. REDECORATING
HOW TO REDECORATE YOUR HOME
A. MOTIVATIONS B enefits th a t may re su lt from learning how to
do your own redecorating,
1* PROFITS: A w ell painted house w ill have a greater sale
value.
2. STYLE: You can keep your house up -to-d ate.
3. LASTING PROTECTION: A w ell painted house w ill prevent
d eterio ratio n .
4. PRAISE: You w ill be complimented because your house
looks cheerful, and new.
B. PRESENTATION: Suggestions th a t w ill help you redecorate
your house.
1. CHOICE: How to choose a good color scheme.
a. Check the layout of each room carefu lly before you
plan to p ain t.
(1) I f the room faces north, use a shade which
w ill make up fo r the lack of sunshine, such
as co ral, pink, cream, or prim rose yellow .
(2) If the room faces south use colo rs, such as
pale green, pale blue, or gray.
b. Ask a re lia b le p ain t dealer fo r a color chart and
advice on the best type of p ain t.
c. Avoid buying cheap p a in t.
