Table Of ContentBUILDING A FEELING OF SECURITY AMONG
NEGRO STUDENTS AS CITIZENS OF A DEMOCRACY
A Project
Presented to
the Faculty of the school of Education
The U niversity of Southern C alifornia
m P a rtia l F ulfillm ent
of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of science in Education
by
E stelle Jordan Higgins
August 1950
UMI Number: EP46359
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FA f Sf t t & S b P r c j '
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.
............
Adviser
Dean
TABLE OP CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. INTRODUCTION............................................................ 1
The problem ................................. 2
Statement of the problem ............................ . 2
D efinition of terms used . . . . . . . . . 3
Security ............................ 3
D em ocracy....................... 3
C itizens ........................................................................ 3
Education ....................... . 3
Community ..................................................... 4
Importance of the problem ............................. 4
Method of procedure and source of data • . 5
O rganization of remaining chapters . . . . 5
II. DEVELOPING A FEELING OF RECOGNITION
THROUGH COMMUNITY EXPERIENCES............. 7
The school council*s Hallowe'en
campaign ................................................................... 9
The tra ffic p atro l ................................................ 11
The boys' choir 13
The Boy Scout troop ........................................... 14
Summary .................... . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
I II . DEVELOPING A FEELING OF WORTH BY
HELPING OTHERS................................................... 18
i i
CHAPTER PAGE
O rigin of the program . ...................................... 18
The program a t w o r k ................................................. . 19
Summary . . . . . . . . . . 21
IV. BUILDING ASSURANCE THROUGH EXAMPLES
OF NEGROES.................................................... 23
The p ro g ra m .......................................... 23
The story . . . . . ........................ . . . . . . 24
Student a c t i v i t i e s ............................ 32
D isc u ssio n .............................................. 32
The s c ra p b o o k .............................................................. 32
D ram atization . . . . . . . ................... . . 32
The model . . . . . . . . .................................. 33
The book club ..................................... 34
Sum m ary................................ . 35
V. BUILDING A FEELING OF ADEQUACY THROUGH
CLASSROOM TEACHER ACTIVITIES . . . . . . . . . 36
Group liv in g . . . . . . . . . . . 36
The classroom re s p o n s ib ility ................................. 36
C itizenship clubs . ................................ 38
The class p r o j e c t ....................................................... . 39
C ritic a l thinking ............................. . . . . . . 40
Inter-classroom v isita tio n ...................................... 41
V isual aids . .............................................................. 42
Summary .............................................................. 43
i i i
CHAPTER EAGE
VI. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS.............................................. 44
BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................................................. 46
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE PAGE
I. E ffect of School C ouncil's Hallowe'en
C am paign............................................................................ 10
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
I t has become more apparent during the la s t decade
th at p articu lar stre ss be placed upon teaching children to
liv e . In sp ite of the fa c t th at th is country has practiced
universal education more than any other nation, the kind of
train in g th a t our schools have been giving has not prepared
a ll young people adequately fo r in te llig e n t p artic ip atio n in
the a ffa irs of a dem ocratic government. There has been spe
c ific need fo r citizen s who could cope more effectiv ely w ith
situ atio n s and problems presented by a highly complex and
ever/ changing modern society.
Every au x ilia ry of the Blackshear Elementary School
is faced w ith the problem of building security among its
students. During the past school year, fourteen hundred
seven students and th irty -sev en facu lty members, in the
m etropolitan area, worked together on th is issu e.
The facu lty f e lt th at em otional secu rity was basic
to good citizen sh ip and only a person who is em otionally
secure can expose his judgment to dem ocratic processes;
only such a person can admit the need and p o ssib ility of
learning from o th ers. They also f e lt th a t i t is only a
secure, w ell-balanced person who can share w ith members of
society; only such persons can supply the unifying influence
necessary to the best types of dem ocratic group endeavor.
F aith in one’s se lf is one of the re q u isite s of th a t
fa ith in others which is so fundamental to dem ocratic pro
cedure.
I. THE PROBLEM
Statem ent of the problem. In sp ite of what has been
w ritten and said concerning the f u tility of the classroom as
an embryo society, the b a ttle for democracy must be won i f
its fru its are to function in the adult in stitu tio n s of so
ciety . Nowhere else is there the tim e, the in te re st, or the
p o ten tial guidance fo r teaching citiz en s the methods of so l
ving problems of co n flictin g so cial, economic, and p o litic a l
in te re sts which are esse n tia l in tra n sla tin g American in s ti
tu tio n s.
I t is the purpose of th is study to present to other
Negro elem entary schools of the Texas M etropolitan areas a
guide fo r developing citizen sh ip by building a feelin g of
security among its students through the whole school program.
This guide w ill be av ailab le in the city lib ra rie s to a ll
schools.
The f ir s t problem is to tra in children to p a rtic ip a te
in so cial change. Young children can be helped to understand
group processes through group planning. Beginning in the
lower grades, school councils th a t provide genuine opportun
itie s fo r children to share in decisions affectin g school
policy hold a b rig h t promise for growth toward in te llig e n t
ad u lt citizen sh ip .
The next im portant job of the school is to modify the
general a ttitu d e towards education, fo r too many Americans
regard^ the school as merely a necessary e v il, a place where
one must mark time u n til one is old enough to earn a liv e li
hood.
The la s t problem is to help children fe e l personally
sig n ific an t; they must have recognition in and out of school.
II. DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED
S ecurity. S ecurity was in terp reted as meaning assur
ance; a feelin g of safety; free from tim id ity ; com fortable;
something done to secure good behavior.
Democracy. Democracy is an ideal towards which the
Negro students of Blackshear School strove to a tta in . I t is
a p rin cip le of liv in g and working together successfully.
C itizen s. C itizens were in terp reted by the w riter as
meaning a member of a nation who enjoys rig h ts and p riv ile g es.
Education. Education is a term meaning liv in g ; i t is
