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An experiment in thrift education with special reference to the junior high school

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An experiment in thrift education with special reference to the junior high school

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Content AH EXPERIMENT IN THRIFT EDUCATION WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL A Dissertation Presented to the School of Education University of Southern California In partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Carobel Murphey May, 1928 UMI Number: DP23424 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI DP23424 Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 CONTENTS Chapter Page I* Problem, Definition and Scope *••••••••• • • 1 II* History of Thrift Education.... .... 6 III. Studies in the Field.................... . 22 IV. Purpose of the Present Study * . 52 V. Psychological Basis of Thrift Education ... 35 VI* The Present Experiment ....... 47 VII. Results ........... 96 VIII# Suggestions Regarding Thrift Practices in Schools 127 IX. Summary and Conclusion .... ...... ••••...... 133 Bibliography .......... 140 Appendix ♦ ....•••••••..... ••••••• 150 ii LIST OF TABLES Pag© TABLE I ........................................ 98 TABLE II ....................................... 99 TABLE III .........*......................100 TABLE I V ....................................... 101 TABLE V ................... 102 TABLE VI .............................. 103 TABLE VII ........................ 104 TABLE VIII ................................. 105 TABLE I X ....................................... 106 TABLE X ........................................ 107 TABLE XI ....................................... 108 TABLE XII............................ 113 TABLE XIII................ 114 TABLE XIV................ 115 TABLE X V ........................ 116 TABLE XVI............................... 117 CHAPTER X AN EXPERIMENT IN THRIFT EUDCATION WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL Introduction The problem of teaching the elements of thrift is not new, hut there has been a decided change in emphasis. A review of war-time thrift shows how deeply concerned teachers of the nation ?/ere in the wise use of all resources. Most persons believe in thrift, in all its sane angles and practices but if thrift is to be regarded as a subject of permanent educational value for all times, the standards and methods of teaching, the time to be devoted to it, the principle to be taught, and the opportunity for practice must be worked out by school men through the same methods of educational thought as are used in other school problems. It is a question of the relative importance of this subject to the other subjects of the curriculum. Simply stated, one should ask, of how much practical value to the life of the individual is the knowledge of the simple principles of economics? When a thoughtful person observes the large number of even brilliant men and women, not to mention those less fortunately endowed, who fail for lack of understanding of principles of econ omics, he can answer that education in thrift is of first importance The present Problem In September, 1927, an experiment was undertaken in the Thomas A. Edison Junior High School, of Los Angeles, California, for the z purpose of determining the degree and character of modification that can be made in the thrift practices of the students involved in the experiment. The thought was to carry out the experiment as an organic part of the school activity, as part of the regular program, that is, during school hours: first, to effect changes in the thrift habits, attitudes and ideals of those participating; and second, to measure the changes effected. Definition and Scope For a working definition, one taken from ”Ten Lessons in Thrift,” issued by the Treasury Department of the United States Government (February 1919) is used, "Thrift is good management of the business of living,” The same thought is expressed in simi lar terms in Websterfs Unabridged Dictionary, ’ ’ Thrift: to thrive, to do well.” No educational program having the welfare of the whole boy and girl at heart can be limited by defining thrift as the saving of money. Thrift is shewn: (1) in earning according to one*s ability, (2) in saving systematically, (3) in spending wisely, (4) in in vesting safely, all of which involve the establishment of high standards through education. Industry earns, economy manages, prudence plans, frugality saves; but thrift earns, plans, manages and saves.. .with a view to whole some expenditure at a fitting time.-*- ^ Thomas D, McGregor, The Book of Thrift, p, 1, 3 The miser, motivated by the satisfaction he gets from hoarding, is not thrifty for he denies himself and others the comforts of life. The thrifty person is generous, for one cannot be thrifty at the expense of self-respect, comfort and health, as one lives one’s life as a member of society, A well planned life involves the thrift of body and mind as well as money. Such concepts as the wise use of talent, effort, materials and time should be kept in mind as the practical bases of education in thrift in the school. Success should be measured by what a person is more than by what he has; by what ideals and attitudes he is guided rather than by the size of his savings account. On the other hand, the students should be taught that money in itself is not nthe root of all evil;** but that it is only a medium of exchange between individuals and peoples; that it represents stored up work or energy on someone’s part as payment for production or service, to be used either as the medium for securing intrinsic utility or development. From this point of view, the wise use of money is largely the measure of one’s ability to live well. To summarize, this thesis does not pretend to be an exhaustive treatment of all phases of what should be included in a thorough going economic program of instruction in a secondary school, but concerns itself with the following very typical situations with which students are confronted* such ass A, Problems with regard to earning money. 4 > B. Problems involved in inhibition or restraint with reference to: a. The saving of money of time of talent of health of materials* b. The safeguarding of property at school at home in the city in the nation. c. The developing of an active attitude toward conservation. C. Problems involved in evaluation and judgment essential to wise spending: a* The insistence of return on time - wise planning, on money - budgeting, on energy - healthful living. b. The developing of concepts of value in spending wisely, ^ in resisting high-powered advertising, in maintaining wholesome social relation ships • D# Problems involved in investing wisely: a. The knowledge of the earmarks of a good investment of a poor investment of a swindle of a speculation. b. The development of an attitude of caution in selection, in placing trust, of conservation as to the type of investment. 5 If young folk are taught thrift, a foundation for success and development of character is laid* Indeed, most of the objectives of education and thrift are closely related, for it is only through thrift that such cardinal principles as health, worthy home member ship, and the wise use of leisure are made possible. Through thrift one builds ideals and through ideals one builds character. The educatorfs point of view is well summarized in David Starr Jordan*s definition of thrift, A determination bo live with a margin for future advancement to save a little more than one spends, or to spend a little less than one earns, getting meanwhile the value in strength, in satisfaction or in other worthy returns for the money one feels free to spend. The spirit of thrift is opposed to waste on the one hand, and to recklessness on the other. It does not evolve stinginess which is the abuse of thrift, nor does it require that each item of savings should be a financial investment. The money that is spent in the education of one*s self or one*s family, in travel, in music, in art, or in helpfulness to others, if it brings real returns in personal development, or in better tinder standing of the world we live in, is in accordance with the spirit of thrift.* Prom Courtis the, following is quoted, Those of us who value children above results in terms of knowledge and skill, like to define education as the process of helping children to help themselves, (1) form ever more worthy purposes, (2) achieve their purposes ever more efficiently.^ Since thrift is a comprehensive term connoting a composite of desirable relationships between the individual and the world in which he lives, its encouragement should undoubtedly become the concern of the educator. School Savings Banks have lent a material stimulus to the functioning of the concept, but much remains to be done in the broader field of attitudes, ideals and transfer. ^ Quoted by M. E. Bowman in The School Savings Bank, a Master*s thesis at Stanford University in June, 1922. 2 Stewart A. Courtis, ”The Influence of Ideals upon Success in School,1 1 Journal of Educational Method, II, 316-325, april, 1923. 6 CHAPTER II HISTORY OF THRIFT EDUCATION The contributions to the Thrift Education which are sponsored today have come from seven main sources: (l) from the development of the School Savings Banks; (2) through certain social agencies, such as the Young Women* s Christian Association and the American Society for Thrift; (3) from the special emphasis of the United States Government as a war-time measure; (4) through the influence of certain commercial agencies, such as savings banks, building and loan associations, and insurance companies; (5) from the publica tions of economists; (6) from the school book companies in the con tent of the newer text books; and (7) through the guiding influence of the National Education Association with its permanent committees appointed for the study of thrift. The School Savings Banks As directly affecting the schools, by far the most important influence for thrift has been the School Savings Banks, organized by the banks (with few exceptions), for the purpose of handling the small amounts which school children can save. In some systems the money is called for at school by an agent of the bank; in other places the depositors are encouraged to establish direct relations with the bank. Collection methods need not concern one here. The magnitude of the results accomplished, as shown in the following report, attests the importance of this agency as a basis for thrift education. According to a statement issued by W. Espey Albig, 7 deputy manager of the American Bankers* Association, in charge of its various savings activities, one reads: Nearly 4,000,000 pupils in the schools of the Bhited States are par ticipating in school savings banking and deposited almost #24,000,000 during the year ending June 30, 1927. Seven years ago the savings bank division of the American Bankers* Association reported 2736 schools having school savings. As of June 30, 1927, the number is 12,678. The number of pupils enrolled in schools having a school savings system has in that time increased from 1,016,653 to 4,668,156. The number of pupils participating in school savings has increased from 462,651 to 3,815,785. These figures indicate that while enrollment in schools involved in the school savings banking movement has increased by 358 per cent in the period covered, the numbers participating in this type of savings have grown by 724 per cent* Mr. Albig continues: The deposits, which seven years ago amounted to #2,800,000, are con trasted with deposits during the past year of about #23,700,000. The net savings as of June 30, 1927, were #9,464,178.93, and the bank balances, #39,3-37,073.91. In comparison with last year, the number of schools increased 11.4 per cent; the number of pupils enrolled in schools having a school savings system, 7.8 per cent; the number participating, 12.1 per cent; the deposits, 15.7 per cent, and the net savings, 7.9 per cent. It is important to trace the origin and growth of this movement which has reached such proportions, in order that its implications for education may be better understood. In Europe the first school savings bank was organized at Goshar, Germany in 182G, another at Apolda in Thuringia in 1833. Both of these were started in small German mountain towns, showing that ^ Esf>ey W. Albig, "Wide Scope of School Savings.1 ’ American Bankers Journal, November 1927, p. 336. 2 Ibid. %onroe, "School Savings Banks." Encyclopaedia of Education. movements of great significance often have humble origins. M. Dulac, a teacher, introduced the plan into France in 1833* To Francois Lanrent, a professor of law in the University of Ghent, goes the credit of for mulating and popularizing the plan of teaching children thrift through the school savings. By 1874 the school banks were organized throughout France* Between 1874 and 1886 France established 24,000 school banks with nearly 500,000 depositors, showing deposits of |2,400,000. In 1866 Belgium adopted the plan. Between 1890 to 1894 Great Britain established 6,170 school savings banks* In the United States the first attempt at effecting an organization for savings was through a method used in France.* As early as 1876 a plan had been started by Sereno F. Merrill, at Beloit, Wisconsin which did not extend beyond that school and was dropped after five years of operation. So to John H* Thiry must be accorded the honor of insti tuting the first school savings on a permanent footing in the United Stated.2 Thiry was a native of Belgium and therefore was familiar with the Belgian and French systems. From 1873 until his death in 1911, he devoted his life to school savings banks. On March 16, 1885 he insti tuted a savings bank in one of the ward schools of Long Island City, New York. Subsequent installations were secured in a few places in the United States, not because of any specific demand, but simply because it was used abroad. The methods used were not well suited to American * Espeyr W, Albig,, "Wide Scope of School Savings," American Bankers* Journal, 336, November, 1927. o George F. Zook, "Thrift in the United States," The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 205, 19&Q. 9 children so progress was not encouraging* However, after seven years there was a showing of 27,430 depositors holding deposits of $207,- 426.76.1 From this humble beginning there has developed the system which, as of June 30, 1927, has been introduced in over 12,000 schools, has counted almost 4,000,000 participants who have deposited almost |24,000,000 during the past year, with net savings for the year of $9,500,000 and with bank balances of over #39,000,000,^ Many agencies contributed to the rapid development of the thrift movement during the period 1910-1920, In 1910 Massachusetts provided by law for compulsory instruction of thrift in the schools* Acts of legislature in Hew York, Hew Jersey, California and Minnesota make provision for the correlation of the school savings banks with the local savings banks. Social Agencies In 1913 the Thrift and Efficiency Commission of the Y.W.C.A. in their report emphasized the importance for women of a training for re munerative employment; and more especially for the wise spending of money as well as for thoughtful saving* The American Society for Thrift, organized in Chicago in 1914 under the leadership of S*¥. Straus induced the National Education Association to appoint a committee on thrift, which conducted several essay contests among the teachers and pupils of George F* Zook, ' ’ Thrift in the United States.” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Socio.l Science, p, 205, 1920* o Espey W* Albig, 'Vide Scope of School Savings,” American Bankers* Journal, p. 337, Nov., 1927. 10 the country on the general subject of thrift. Prom the essays of 1916-17 a monograph was compiled by the National Education Association which has become the basis of much of the thrift teaching in the schools since that time. War Emphasis on Thrift. Notwithstanding the agencies already working for thrift the entrance of the United States into the World War brought the realiza tion that labor and materials must be conserved as never before, the financing of the war brought the War Savings Stamps, thrift Stamps, Postal Savings and Liberty Bonds with which everyone is familiar, en abling one to save in any amounts from twenty-five cents up. The school children and the Boy Scouts took an active share in these activities. In conducting the thrift campaigns for government savings, the Treasury Department issued two booklets for thrift instruction, "Ten Lessons in thrift1 1 in May 1919 and "Fifteen Lessons in thrift" in August 1919, splendid manuals of instructions for teachers. the effect of the Government’s influence, through direct appeal, as well as by means of its publications, was far-reaching. It involved stupendous saving in the staples of food supply, the jealous conserva tion of mineral and forest resources, the introduction of effective war prohibition, the growing of home gardens - in a word, the practice of thrift in all phases of home and national life. The war furnished a compelling motive for thrift, so when it ended the American people were well on the way to the establishment of thrift habits, in the school, in the home, and in business and professional life. It is to be regretted that with the close of the war money was 11 lavishly spent in a period of reaction. Seemingly only the lessons of health and physical fitness were carried over. Since 1924 a growing sentiment again expresses itself for a safe, normal thrift program for peace times as indicated "by the program of the National Conference, going as it does into all phases of good management in both personal and national life. Before taking up the discussion of the National Conference the writer wishes to introduce a brief consideration of the very active thrift campaigns conducted by savings banks, building and loan asso ciations and life insurance companies. Commercial Agencies As a direct result of the war there has been a decided change of attitude toward thrift. From a pre-war attitude of regarding the practice of thrift with more or less contempt, this nation has raised this rustic virtue to a place of dignity; from a meaning partaking somewhat of the connotation of niggardliness, thrift has evolved a meaning of -preparedness and good business management. This new atti tude is very clearly reflected in the direction of campaigns conducted by savings banks, building and loan associations, and insurance com panies, through clever advertisements in newspapers, through the issuance of many types of thrift bulletins, pamphlets and magazines. Though the motives underlying these activities are clearly understood, as of direct financial gain to the institutions concerned, yet the influence upon thrift education in general has been of great good. The savings banks have provided most attractive means of helping persons to save; the building and loan associations now sell certificates IE as lew as in five-dollar denominations; and the life insurance companies have gone into the field actively, to conserve health, and to help one to save through attractive endowment policies. It was interesting to note recently, when the writer asked of a large junior high school assembly concerning insurance, that more than half of the students testified to having some form of financial protection through insurance. Other Commercialized Agencies With the growth of the demand for thrift education through school savings, several agencies have incorporated, such as the Educational Thrift Service, Incorporated1 1 of Hew York City, who sell and install a certain thrift service to banks, who in turn receive a monopoly from boards of education for handling schools savings in a specified dis trict. Pasadena, California, operates under such a plan. While these systems yield a profit to their organizers, and for that reason many boards of education are opposed to the granting of such monopolies, yet much has been done by these agencies to stimulate systematic saving. Work of the Economists By the very nature of their interest the economists have been active in the teaching of thrift. It was under their direction that much of the war thrift work was done. The present thesis, however, is more concerned with their contributions to the newer thrift movement, through their books, through their magazine articles, and through the columns of the daily papers. Though not written directly for children, 1 E. J. Corcoran, Thrift Teaching in the Public Schools for Educa tional Thrift Service, Woolworth Building, Hew York City, 19E5. 13 their teachings form the very test of source materials for thrift courses. A survey of the appended bibliography will indicate some what of the number and nature of these contributions. In 1919, a number of eminent economists concerned themselves directly with the subject of "Thrift.** They solicited the contribu tions of leaders in many economic fields, from thevuniversities, from the industries and from the staff of government directors. The result was a volume of some two hundred and forty seven pages, which was published by the American Academy of Political and Social Science, under the title, "The Hew American Thrift," published as the Annals of the Academy, in January 1920. This publication is reviewed in the next chapter as one of the outstanding studies in the field of thrift research. Hewer Text Books On examing many of the new text books, published especially for junior high school use, one notes that the subject of thrift is occupy ing a more significant place in the table of contents than heretofore* For example, in "Literature and Living," by Lyman and Hill, Book 11,^ Chapter III, is devoted to "Saving and Conserving." In Dunn’s "Com munity Civics for City Schools,"^ stich chapter heads appear as "Thrift in Earning," and "Thrift in Saving." Likewise the newer arithmetics discuss such questions as, "What does it cost to go to college?" and "What is the value of an education?" The appearance of these topics 1 Published by Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1925. ^ D. C. Heath Company, 1921. 14 in the nev/er texts no doubt reflects the interest of the National Education Association in thrift education. One interested in thrift instruction notes with satisfaction that these problems are presented directly to the students in texts. No longer is it necessary to count on the teacher to present them merely as supplementary consid erations. The thrift Work of the National Education Association It is significant to note that the National Education Association has made this phase of education one of its main considerations, hav ing created special committees to work continuously to improve the thrift work in the schools. The chief source of information as to the work of the N.E.A. is published under the title ' ’ Thrift Education.”^ The report shows that no conference in recent years has been more significant of results than was the Conference on Thrift Educa tion held at Washington, D. C., June 27-28, 1924. The meeting was convened under the auspices of the joint Committee on Thrift Educa tion of the National Education Association and the National Council . of Education. Since 1915 when the Committee on Thrift Education was organized, meetings have been held each year in connection with the annual Con vention of the National Education Association and at the time of the meeting of the Department of Superintendence. The Committee is, for the most part, composed of men and women actively engaged in teaching 1 A. H. Chamberlain, Report of the National Conference on Thrift Education, printed in Washington, September 1924, by the National Education Association, 73 pages. 15 or in the supervision of schools. Heretofore investigations, reports, and discussions have been largely carried on by members of these groups. The Washington Conference struck a nevir note in bringing to the program many from outside the teaching profession. The value of any school program is to be determined by the manner in which it meets actual life situations. Therefore, to be most effective a school program must have the backing and support of all people - not merely those whose business it is to manage the conduct of schools. To this end there had for many months been planned a national Conference on Thrift and Conservation. This is perhaps the first time in history when there have assembled under the auspices of a great National Education Association, representatives of numerous national organizations to consider problems relating to the school* Some one hundred and fifty of these national organizations interested themselves in the Conference, many of them taking prominent part in the program. The American Bankers Association, the Savings Bank Div ision, General Federation of Women’s Clubs, Congress of Parents and Teachers, American Federation of Labor, American Library Association, American Society for Thrift, National Chamber of Commerce, American Home Economics Association, Y.M.C.A., Y.W.C.A., National Catholic Wel fare Council, Jewish Welfare Board, National Parks Service, United States Department of Agriculture, and scores of other national organ izations representing not only our Government at Washington but industrial, fraternal, economic, and social phases of life took part 16 in the program# The full scope of the ivork undertaken by the con ference can be more freely appreciated by reading the content of the principal addresses which Chamberlain reports* With such a universal interest in the subject, the implications for the future of thrift education in the United States are tremendous# It only remains for the inspiration of these national conferences to take effect in the school, not by reading national re ports, but in definitely planned thrift programs and courses of instruction, w&ich should be the concern of such experiments as the one presented in this dissertation. Thrift Work in California Schools The history of thrift education in California has been the re sult of two lines of endeavor: that of war-time necessity; and that fostered by the school savings banks. When the International Congress of Thrift was held at the Panama Pacific Exposition in San Francisco, in 1916, broad plans of thrift were laid, which were opened in force in Portland two years later with resolutions urgently recommending the teaching of thrift in the schools. The United States having entered the war, the California school children like others were saving money and buying government securities of small denominations and doing their part in planting home gardens and collecting papers, thereby helping to conserve resources. 1 H Rockwell D. Hunt, "Thrift and the American School Room,1 1 The Thrift Magazine, Dec., 1917. “ ” 17 Calif. New York Penn. 2,223 1,187 1,799 536,232 660,372 923,668 283,476 286,752 572,956 #1,288,512 #3,654,388 #4,163,098 75,058 107,881 236,677 #795,901 #2,277,277 #1,168,943 #128,642 #62,790 #155,188 #4,548,129 #5,171,950 #6,760,749 Since the war motive has passed, it is more important now to review the work of the school savings banks upon which the peace time thrift is based, and in which activity California ranks third, exceeded only by New York State and Pennsylvania*'*' The following summary will show comparisons as of June 30, 1927: Schools Savings Banking No. of Schools No. of Pupils Enrolled No. Participating Deposits Average Number Deposit ing Each Week Net Savings Int. Credited Bank Balance Expressed on a pupil participating basis, New York has on deposit for each pupil #18*04; California #16.04; and Pennsylvania #12.17. Expressed on a pupil enrolled basis, Pennsylvania has on deposit for each pupil #11.78; California #8.48; and New York #7.68. The above represents pupils of all grades; in the report no separate figures were indicated for secondary schools. In California the greatest work has been done in the elementary schools, however the junior high schools are rapidly becoming partici pants as well as some senior high schools such as the high schools of San Jose, Alameda, Sacramento, Pasadena and Oakland* In like manner •^American Bankers Association, School Savings Banks, 8th Annual Report, July,1927. 18 it is expected very shortly to introduce thrift work into the senior high schools in Los Angeles* One large hank with its many branches has been for fifteen years consistently developing saving habits in the minds of the school children until at present (1927) 1,200 schools having an attendance of 175,000 are visited every week regularly for the purpose of col lecting such amounts as participating pupils may desire to save*’ * ' This bank has a monopoly on school savings in many cities and in rural schools; in other places it has joined with other banks in the project* The impetus for thrift in the schools of California has come from certain banks that look upon this activity as a good public service as well as a most profitable method of securing a greater number of depositors ten years hence when the present children are larger earners* Other banks have been slow to recognize the possi bilities in the field, but they nevertheless have fallen in line in order to meet the growth shown by competitors* In Los Angeles The 1927 report of the Los Angeles Banks School Saving Associa tion shows a membership of twenty-four banks (twelve having been ad mitted during 1926-1927) with approximately two hundred and sixty- five branches*2 This growth has come within the last five years* Quoting from f , The Los Angeles Plan” of School Savings,*5 School Savings Department, Bank of Italy, Report of 1927* 2 A* J. Gray, Report of the Los Angeles Banks Savings Association for 1927* ~ ~ A* J* Gray, The ( < Los Angeles Flanu of School Savings, pamphlet issued by the School Savings Department, 1927• 19 The need for systematic saving among school children was officially recognized by educators and bankers in Los Angeles in the fall of 1921, at which time Mrs. Susan M. Dorsey, Superintendent of Schools, requested V* E* Fishburn, President of the Los Angeles Clearing House Association, to appoint a committee to formulate a plan of school savings that would best meet the conditions prevailing in the Los Angeles School District. In January, 1922, Mr. Fishburn appointed a special committee composed of W. R. Morehouse, Vice-President of the Security Trust and Savings Bank, Los Angeles, and L. M. Maynard, Economic Statistician, Citizens National Bank, Los Angeles, to investigate the matter. During the following six months the committee made a study of the various school savings systems in operation in the United States and from this study built a plan i*shich met the Los Angeles require ments* This plan will be described in Chapter VIII. After the plan had been approved by the Los Angeles Clearing House Association and the Board of Education, each bank in the Los Angeles School District v/as invited to join the association to be known as the wLos Angeles Banks School Savings Association. The following eleven parent banks, with their eighty-five branches, constituted the charter members of the new association: Bank of Italy, California Bank, Commercial National Trust and Savings Bank, Continental National Bank, Heilman Commercial Trust and Savings Bank, Los Angeles Trust and Savings Bank, Merchants National Bank, Security Trust and Savings Bank, Union Bank and Trust Company, Harbor Commercial and Savings Bank of San Pedro, and the United States National Bank of Sawtelle.^ Under the leadership of the executive committee of the banks and of Deputy Superintendent John B. Monlux, representing the ^ A. J. Gray, The f t Los Angeles Plan” of School Savings, 1927. 2 School Savings Department, Quarterly Report. 20 school board, the school savings have shovm the following growth in the amount on deposit: superintendents have given full encouragement to the work# Regular monthly meetings are held of a representative from each bank in the association with Deputy Superintendent Monlux representing the super intendent1 s office# During 1926-1927 much has been accomplished by Thrift Supervisor A. J# Gray, the representative of the banks, to give the movement publicity# Besides the regular work in the schools, several public events should be especially mentioned# During the convention of the American Bankers Association in October 1926, as part of their Savings * Division program, there was presented by the students of the Thomas A. Edison Junior High School at the Biltmore Hotel, an original play written by their thrift sponsor, Mrs# P# B. Hopkins, MA Project in Thrift Education#1 1 The Thrift Poster Contest displayed in the Civics Room of the Los Angeles Public Library, in March of 1927, in which one hundred and twenty-five elementary and junior high schools participated, attracted city-wide attention# ^ Personal conference with A# J. Gray, Thrift Supervisor# June 22, 1923 April 1, 1927 Jan# 1, 1928 #232,541#55 893,194,73 1,031,696#58 (with an average of #20.13 for each pupil, and 51,239 new _ accounts for the last semester from September to January#)1 The Board of Education, Superintendent Dorsey and the assistant 21 The culminating event of the 1926-1927 year, however, was the luncheon at the Ambassador Hotel at which some seven hundred and fifty persons were in attendance, including the executive and administra tive staffs of the schools, bankers, teacher sponsors, and student representatives from the junior high schools, the entire group intent upon promoting thrift in the Los Angeles schools. Chapter Summary The full significance of this movement cannot be completely forecast so quickly following upon its inception. It cannot be amiss, however, to prophesy that the interest already manifested from so many quarters can be expected to bear fruits of real import to educational objectives and methods. 22 CHAPTER III STUDIES IN THE FIELD A Critical Evaluation of Previous Tfork The studies in the field of thrift education are largely the contributions of those agencies which are responsible for its development. Their contributions, with the exception of two university theses, have been issued in the form of government bulletins, reports of such organizations as the National Education Association, pamphlets of commercial agencies, compilations of articles of economists, certain outlines designed especially for schools, and a broad field of literature on the subject of thrift in general bearing only indirectly upon thrift education in schools. University Theses The study, wFinancial Guidance in High School, by Eleanor H* Danforth, is concerned with the need of financial guidance in the high school, more particularly with the need of instruction in making investments. The thesis gives a summary compiled from eighty questionnaires, answered by school representatives and bankers on the subject of financial guidance for schools, this pro cedure being supplemented by interviews with local persons interested. ^ E. H. Danforth, Financial Guidance in High School, Master*s Thesis Department of Education, University of Southern California, June 1926. 23 This ’ work represents no experimentation in a high school situa tion* Some recommendations of a general nature relative to the teach ing of thrift through other subjects such as English, Mathematics, et al*, offer many good suggestions to the sponsor of thrift education, but no definite lesson plans nor testing programs have been attempted. ’ ’School Savings Banks,” is the title of a master*s thesis pre sented to Stanford University, by M. E. Bowman in 1923.^ This study is a comprehensive survey of the present status of school savings banks, and their method of handling savings* It is the summary from an extensive questionnaire sent to all parts of the United States, together with personal investigations by the author in Berkeley, Oakland, and Alameda, California, with special reference to the elementary schools* The recommendations pertinent to the organization of a plan for banking school savings would be of special importance to a school instituting such a system for the first time* War Time Thrift Studies Noteworthy among the -government publications which grew out of the war emphasis upon thrift two should be mentioned. ’ ’ Ten Lessons in Thrift”^ published by the Savings Division, War Loan Organization, Treasury Department, early in 1919, was extremely popular* A first edition, printed in February 1919, to meet a specific demand, was exhausted almost immediately, necessitating a second edition of more M. E. Bowman, School Savings Banks. A Master*s Thesis, Department of Education,' Stanford University, June 1923* 2 U. S. Treasury Department Bulletin, Ten Lessons in Thrift, 1919* 24 than 150,000 copies* The ten lessons, directed to adults and children, include instmction in household budgeting, thrift in buying, conservation in the community and in the nation, together with canons of investment. As the primary purpose of these was the sale of War Savings Stamps, a new emphasis must interest us now that the motive for saving must rest upon a peace time basis. However the lessons are well organized and extremely valuable by adaptation for any course in thrift. ' ’ Fifteen Lessons in Thrift" also issued by the Savings Div ision of the U. S. Treasury in 1919 was designed for the teaching of thrift and savings in secondary schools or other schools con taining young people ranging in ages from fourteen to twenty years, with the thought of having the lessons presented in connection with the subject of civics. "To show the necessity for individual thrift during the period of readjustment, is the keynote of the bulletin. The general plan of the lessons follows much the same outline as the previous "Ten Lessons in Thrift" with the emphasis still on small government savings, such as the War Savings Stamps. However, no bibliography of thrift can be complete without this study. The material gleaned from the Census Bureau and other government statis tics can be used most effectively in thrift outlines. Xn order to increase the sale of government securities there appeared from the printing office in 1920, the bulletin "Teaching 1 U. S. Treasury Department, Bulletin, Fifteen Lessons in Thrift, p. 10, 1919. — — Children How to Save.”' * ' Since the emphasis is upon saving money to invest in small war loans the pamphlet is valuable only for the sug gestions it offers. During the war period many states devoutly took up the thrift work by following the lead of the government. "Suggestions for the p Teaching of Thrift in the Public Schools,” written by the Assistant State Superintendent, H. R. Bonner, in 1917, is the most representa tive of these state efforts. Its argument is directed particularly to production and conservation, with only general suggestions as to teaching plans. The growing of agricultural products, such as berries, potatoes, pigs and poultry, holds a large place in the out line. The National Education Association The fact that the leadership of thrift education has shifted to the National Education Association promises much favoring the progres of the movement. The meetings of the committees for the study of thrift of various periods have been chronicled in the "Proceedings” of the association. "Thrift Education,”3 issued as a separate publication of seventy-nine pages, is the most significant publication coming from the National Education Association, being the report of the National Conference on Thrift held in 1924. U. S. Treasury, Savings Division, Teaching Children How to Save. Government Printing Office, 1920. ^ H. R. Bonner, Suggestion for the Teaching of Thrift in the Public Schools. West Virginia State Printing Office, 1917. 3 Report printed by N.E.A., Washington, D.C., Sept. 1924. 26 This report represents a symposium on thrift as summarized in the speeches of those in attendance# "Apply Thrift to Every-Day Life", "School Savings Bank Systems", "Wise Spending as a Teacher Sees It", "The Ration*s Business" and "Thrift versus Waste in Industry" are examples of topics on the program# In relation to our problem, namely, the teaching of thrift in the junior high school, the above is most valuable as a source of material, but is not directly concerned with the course of study# Commercial Agencies* Recognizing that the public schools need something in addition to a system of saving money, certain commercial agencies issue pamphlets dealing with such topics as, "What is Thrift", the "Habit of Thrift" and the like£ then drift naturally to a discussion of the advantages of their particular form of school savings# Such is the nature of the fourteen page . pamphlet "Thrift Teaching in the Public Schools" by E# J. Corcoran, director of Educational Thrift Service, Inc# in 1925#* In a similar category might be classed the pamphlets of the American Bankers Association, "Thrift, Hew to Teach It, How to Encourage It", and "The Secret of Thrift" issued in 1921#^ Under this heading the booklets used by the life insurance companies and building and loan associations in their educational 1 Published by Educational Thrift Service, Inc#, New York City, 1925# 2 Published by American Bankers Association, Savings Bank Section, 5 Nassau St#, New York City, 1924* 27 campaigns should be mentioned. Representative of this type of com mercialized social service is the pamphlet issued by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in 1924, ”Let Budget Help,*' which is a practical help in personal bud get-making, made more readable by a humorous treat ment of the subject. From the Economists It is of special interest to the teacher of thrift that in ”The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science,”^- January 1920, one finds the volume entirely occupied with the subject of ”The New .American Thrift” - a symposium from well known authorities in each field, of subjects directly related to thrift, edited by Dr. Roy G. Blakley of the University of Minnesota. The whole is a scholarly discussion for the adult on such topics as, l f America* s New Conception of Thrift,” ”Organized Labor’s Attitude toward the Thrift Movement,” MCapital Needs for Education in the U.S.” and ”The Requi*- sites of a good Investment.” From the School Savings Banks From Duluth, Minnesota, comes the book of 125 pages, ”The Gate way to I n d e p e n d e n c e , compiled by Lulu Adele Grogan, Thrift Secre tary of the Duluth Banks* School Thrift Association. For each lesson, ”The Thrifties,” brownie-like characters, appear, by way of illustrations, with an appropriate thrift verse. ^ Publication of the Academy, Philadelphia, Pa., 250 pp. 2 Lulu Adele Grogan, The Gateway to Independence. Published by Bliss Grogan, c/o Supt. of Schools, Duluth, Minn., 1925. 28 By months and by weeks thrift lessons are provided for the pupils from grades one to eight, with extra material added for the junior and senior high schools. For each month a well chosen bibliography is appended. This represents the %?ork of a city-wide program in Duluth, and is not an experiment in any one school; the appeal is directed primarily to the primary and grammar schools. One feels that a student of secondary grade would be much more interested in a separate book directed more especially to his problems. From the standpoint of suggested lesson plans the writer considers this book the best, so far found, in the field of thrift education in schools* Miss Grogan has organized her material well. Rochester, New York has developed a remarkable record in School Savings. A small thrift magazine comes out at regular periods sup ported by the bankers, dedicated mostly to the principle of saving. With well illustrated, brief talks on savings, with reports of progress from each school, and with poems from the boys and girls, the periodical is interesting reading. The Los Angeles f ! Course of Study in Thrift*^ is prepared for all grades from the kindergarten to and including the eighth grade. It represents the cooperative effort of interested principals and teachers, directed by A. J. Gray, Supervisor of the School 1 A. J. Gray, Course of Study in Thrift. For the Los Angeles City School District, 527 Title Insurance Building, 1925* • 29 Savings Department* In this monograph of some fifty-one pages we have a profitable variety of interesting material for thrift instruction, to form the basis byway of suggestions for the en richment of the School Savings program* With her, "Outline on Thrift Education”3', Florence Barnard, Chairman of the Thrift Committee of the Massachusetts Teachers Federation, *won the first prize of five-hundred dollars as th^e result of a contest, opened to teachers of the country, under the auspices of the National Association of Mutual Savings Banks* While only eight pages of the pamphlet concern the seventh, eighth and ninth grades,yet even in this brief, sketchy outline there are many points worthy of consideration, such as "Service”, "Cit izenship" and "Self-Government." One would say that this study errs in being too broad, for certainly such a subject for example, as "Citizenship", is a field in itself* Chapter Summary* In summarizing the preceding studies one finds an earnest effort on the part of many to provide for a broader thrift program: (l) through the efforts of the thrift supervisors of the School Savings Banks Associations, as shown by the Duluth,Minn *, plans of instruction, and the Los Angeles course of study in thrift* (2) through the work of certain economists, in such a publication as; "The New American Thrift"; (3) through the influence of the National Education Association in its thrift reports; and (4) through univer sity research, evidenced by the two theses reported. 1 Published by the Savings Banks Association of Massachusetts, 80 Federal Street, Boston, 1926. 30 In terms of the problem of the present study, that is to develop a junior high school student into a wise, thoughtful person with reference to his economic problems, the follo¥/ing conditions seem to exist: (1) A variety of plans of saving money through the school savings banks have been provided by certain bankers, who pay the salary of the thrift supervisor who, in turn, works in the schools# (2) The interest of the banks has been directed primarily to the elementary schools, more recently to the secondary schools* (3) The emphasis of the banks has been placed upon saving money* (4) Courses of study for a more comprehensive instruction in thrift have come largely from the thrift supervisors, who in only a few cases have been teachers. (5) Such courses have been planned to include all grades, more especially the primary and grammar grades# (6) No course, with the exception of one, issued in a government bulletin has been written especially for the high school. (7) The government thrift work, though excellent in content, is directed to war savings, not now a part of the school thrift problem* (8) The economists have given much material, rich in content, usable in high schools as a source of materials. (9) The thrift committees of the National Education Association are deeply interested; but up to the present time, they have given no thrift curriculum, nor methods of instruction in thrift education. 31 (10) The writer has found very little contributed by university research workers bearing upon the junior high school problem. (11) In the bibliography, there are listed many books which fur nish valuable material for thrift lessons. 32 CHAPTER IV THE PURPOSE OF THE PRESENT STUDY The purpose of the present study embraces the following points: (1) To build a program especially for the junior high school, a. To build this program in an experimental situation, based on the junior high school plan of organization. b. To provide a practical course in thrift which shall not add to the already overcrowded curriculum. c. To set aside a definite time for thrift instruction in the school program. d. To devise a method of instruction which shall not add another burden to the teacher, so that his attitude toward thrift will not be, njust one thing more to be done•” e. To make a course interesting to the junior high school boy and girl by providing the experience necessary to the a solution of their problemss 1. With reference to earning; such as, How can I earn money to buy the things I need? Shall I work or study outside of school hours? Shall I drop out of school to earn money? What*s the use of going to school anyway? 2. With reference to saving for example, such as, Why should I save money; why not buy what I want? What»s the good of having a School Savings Accotmt? 33 What other ways are there of saving? Why should I care about saving school materials? Why should I come to school every day? 3* With reference to spending; such as, Why shouldn*t I buy what I wish? How will a budget help me? What things will I need later? Why shouldn*t I buy a saxophone on time? Why should I give to the Community Chest? 4. With reference to investing; such as, What is an investment? Shall I invest my money in a higher education? Can I get more than 4$ interest? (2) To participate in the program of the National Education Association and the scores of other agencies, as expressed in the National Thrift Conference, to put thrift education definitely into the schools. (3) To develop those attitudes and ideals expected of a student with reference to community thrift, and later to national thrift by solving such problems, as, a. Why should I not throw papers around in the park? b# Why should I take good care of library books? c. Why should X put my camp fire out? d. Why should I not pick the wild flowers in the mountains? 34 (4) To determine the nature and extent of the work now being done by the school savings banks. a. To evaluate this work in terms of educational standards and objectives - as outlined in Chapter I. b. To build around the school savings bank a more compre hensive thrift program by shifting the emphasis from a savings activity to the development of the student into an independent, self-choosing individual showing wisdom in the management of his resources. Very logically the reader asks at this point, how can a program covering so many items be devised? That was the problem the writer faced in the thrift experiment described in Chapter IV. But before taking up the experiment itself it is desirable to consider those principles of psychology which should form the groundwork necessary to a sound thrift program. This need deserves separate consideration. 35 CHAPTER V THE PSYCHOLOGICAL BASIS OP THRIFT EDUCATION In approaching this phase of the subject the method is one of analysis, in an attempt to separate from the whole field of psy chology only those elements which seem most significant for thrift education. This chapter is concerned chiefly with the consideration of two questions: (1) upon what psychological principles shall edu cation in thrift be based; and (2) how can progress in thrift educa tion be measured? It is well- at this point to recall that Junior High School Education is not interested primarily in the teaching of earning, saving, spending and investing as such, but rather in developing the student into a cautious,wise and thoughtful personality. As he solves his am problems with reference to these considerations he grows; so the process is cumulative. Upon what shall this type of thrift education be based? Of the many phases of human behavior concerned in the answer to this ques tion, one finds original tendencies, habits, ideas, ideals and attitudes. It is not within the province of this discussion to enter into controversy with the psychologists as to just when each of these develops, for it is certain that by the time a child has entered junior high school he is such a complex of all that it is difficult to say exactly what the influence of each is. But this does not keep one from a consideration of the implications of each in building a broad educational program for thrift. 36 From Original Nature Unfortunately by original nature there seem to be more tenden cies which favor improvidence than those which favor thrift* To take stock, a child is by nature a creature who is prone to satisfy his sensory appetites, to show mastery, and to gain approval through display* Originally a person will gratify an immediate want, rather than conserve his strength or save his money for something more worth while to be enjoyed later* At this point the following quotation from Thorndikefs psy chology is significant, that,"to the situation, intimate approval as by smiles, pats, admission to companionship and the like, from one to whom he has the inner response of submissiveness," and to the situation, "humble approval, as by admiring glances from anybody, man responds originally by great satisfaction*"*** A boy is utterly wretched by nature when excluded by the gang, or when he is called a "tight-wad" for not spending money with the fellows; and equally joyous when called a "prince of a fellow" while working like a slave for those whom he regards as somewhat superior* On the side of thrift there are the tendencies to hoard, and to accumulate, but often even these drives seem to work against thrift by creating an attitude of selfishness and miserliness* ’ 1 E. L* Thorndike, Educational Psychology, I, 6* 37 If by original nature a student is improvident,how is he to .be taught thriftiness? From Thorndike again this is quoted, as of ^help: What a man is and does throughout life is a result of whatever consti tution he has at the start and of all the forces that act upon it be fore and after birth. ..* . The basis of intellect and character is (the) fund of unlearned tendencies*-..-.They are the starting point of all education. .*The aim of all education is to perpetuate some of them, to eliminate some end to modify or redirect others. They are perpet uated by providing the stimuli adequate to arouse them and give them exercise, and by associating satisfaction v/ith their action. They are eliminated by withholding these stimuli so that they abort through disuse, or by associating discomfort with their action. They are re directed by substituting another response instead of the undesirable original one, or by attaching the response to another situation in connection with which it works less or no harm, or even positive good.^ The original tendencies must be recognized and be used*for the natural drives are the instincts and native capacities, and especially those bodily and conscious states known as the emotions, which closely accompany the expression of native capacities. To make a person thrifty his original tendencies to satisfy his animal sensory appetites, his strong social instincts which manifest themselves in love of approval, of mastery, of gaudy display and ostentation, must be counteracted or redirected. This can be done only through a program of skillful social engineering. For example, the love of approval may be made to favor thrift by making thrift the popular school activity. The love of dis play may be associated with the disapproval of the social group. If the leaders of the school, through rational insight, can be persuaded to wear simple and appropriate clothing, cheap gaudiness will disappear. If eligibility to student body office be based on school service,the leader will show mastery through earning service merits. ^ E. L. Thorndike, Educational Psychology, I, 2-4. 38 In other ? » r ords, by redirection certain universal stimuli can be made powerful motives for thrift, favoring the formation of desirable permanent bonds, such as habits, attitudes and ideals* Thrift Education Through Specific Habits The first and most universal method of training is habit forma tion* To perpetuate desirable bonds until the desirable response to certain situations becomes habitual is the basic fact in all education* wHabit is thus the enormous fly-wheel of society, its most precious conservative agent. Since habit formation begins early, thrift education should begin in the kindergarten or even with the pre-school child. The careful use of materials, the conservation of health, the development of the habit of promptness, orderliness and the regular saving, even of pennies, constitute valuable training. Spasmodic efforts will not bring results* The laws of habit for mation forbid exceptions and accentuate the importance of regularity. In earning and saving one must be regular and systematic; and in spending one must follow a plan. Many students start bank accounts and budgets who never keep them, up; in like manner, many fail to put into regular practice the health rules of the Physical Education De partment unless some systematic check is provided until the habit is formed* Through Concepts In a dynamic society requiring endless adjustment, mere instints and habits are not sufficient to control conduct; concepts are necessary* * J. V* Breitwieser, uThe Psychology of Habit Formation”. (Quoting William James) H.E.A* Proceedings, p* 558, 1925. 39 A concept, for our purpose, is simply a meaning* It may be either general or particular in its references - it is, in any case, ulti mately a ’cue’ to adjustment, or better, a bundle of possible fcuesf to adjustment, the particular cue to be acted upon being determined by the situation or the problem*-*- At the junior high school age the student appreciates sympathetic guidance, in his problem of making successful adjustments to his sud denly changing environment with its multiplicity of new ideas* With more wants to satisfy as he begins to touch a larger world, wanting to develop meanwhile a larger means of satisfying these wants, the young person’s economic problems become acute* He wants to attend all the school shows and parties; he wants to subscribe to the school paper and the annual; he wants all the equipment necessary in athletic compe tition; he wants all those things \?hieh he deems necessary in becom ing a more successful member of his group. For the first time the boy and girl are conscious of each other and hence each desires to dress better, to make a better personal appearance* It is a time when the mind attempts to grasp principles to unify this new experience; there fore it is the best time possible to establish sound concepts with reference to thrifty behaviour through rational insight* At this age both the boy and girl are able and ready to respond to such concepts as; self help through earning one’s own way, the most economical ways of making a better personal appearance, the value of higher training* They can tinder stand something of the students’ responsibility in the care of property at school, at home, and in the community. In this connection Meltzer says; 1 Wm* C* Bagley, Educational Values, p* 35. 40 There is no spontaneous generation of concepts# Without experience there would be no concepts. Concepts are the medium which relate our past experience to a present situation, or better they functionally relate our past experience to a present situation, they emerge from that situation with an increment of meaning, ready for the confronting of the next situation... .At any moment in the life of one who has had some experiences, it is his concepts which give him his footing for perception and reasoning.^ ^ Psychological concepts, therefore, are not immobile, immutable, but change with change. They are thought and they are the tools of thought. In short, tConcepts are not formulated but formulating experiences• *’ ... Reflexes, instincts, emotions may be mainsprings of action but they are not the sole determinants of our everyday behavior. Hunger does not decide for us where and how we shall eat. Habits and attached mean ings determine these things.2 Meltzer has given in these passages valuable principles to guide one in making a thrift course of study. The experience necessary for the development of proper thrift concepts shall be to bring to the students of the school a series of problems, v/hich will have immediate meaning for him, such as ”shall I drop out of school to earn?” ”What is the relative value of a high school and college education?” ”Shall I contribute to the Community Chest?” ’ ’ Am. I underweight?” or, ”How can I gain weight in order to make the team?” The junior high school problems are constantly changing, the cir cumstances are ever different. The following also from Meltzer is of value in this connection: Concepts that evolve with the evolving situation are necessary for an understanding of changing situations. The application of stereotypes to swiftly changing social situations is an anachronism. With static concepts we can prove unchanging geometric propositions but we cannot solve the problems of life. Life is a challenge. And the knowledge ^ Hyman Meltzer, Children1s Social Concepts, Teachers College Contri bution Ho. 192, 4* ^ Tbid., 5. of life is a series of problems to be solved, not propositions to be absorbed. For the understanding of life in a dynamic society, dynamic thought materials are the instruments that serve.1 Many earnest efforts in teaching thrift have failed because the instruction was based on adult standards; or because of dogmatic, ”preachy” methods, or because programs were too childish and not dig nified enough to get a response from older students* Through Ideals and Attitudes The dominant purpose of all non-vocational education is to build character. The educator is not satisfied with instruction in thrift alone, he wishes to develop in the student an habitual impulse to act, which will serve him in all his future conduct as he solves his thrift problems through ideals and attitudes. Yoelker quoting Bagley says, nIdeals dominate large adjustment. Their intellectual content is often simple; the emotional factor is the important one.”1 Again he states, ”ldeals and instincts supply aims and purposes, they may be said to dominate purposes while knowledge serves to guide. The driving power of ideals can be explained in terms of natural laws especially of the law of effect. They deny present satisfaction for a greater eventual good. One can readily see that it is of the greatest importance in the tranfer value of a thrift program that the ideals become so habitual that they grow into an attitude or a ”set” in the direction of thrift. Yoelker also says that the advantage of the ”set” is to direct the power of selective attention.^ ^ Paul Yoelker, Function of Ideals, 54. 42 It is not so important that a child have a savings account as that he may evolve from this the ideal of earning, of being independ ent, of dignifying labor rather than idleness, of being cautions rather than careless in investing, of looking upon money as a tool toward future development rather than as an end in itself* From the foregoing discussion the reader must not understand that each of these mental phenomena is distinct from the other and that the teacher of thrift can treat each separately# Thorndike explains very clearly, "ideals are kith and kin of man* s original hungers and thirsts and cravings *l ! ^ The motives for thrifty behavior are mixtures of all* As by-products of a thrift course one should see growth in cer tain desirable character traits, such as, being punctual, being civic-minded, being purposeful and being sensitive to true values* E. L* Thorndike, Educational Psychology, I, 310-12 43 HOW CAN PROGRESS IN THRIFT EDUCATION BE MEASURED? As part of the thrift experiment conducted by the writer it was necessary to get a measure of progress at the beginning and end of the experiment* It did not seem necessary to make a highly standard ized test, but rather one that should be valid to a certain degree and reliable enough to show such changes as there might be following definite instruction in thrift* From an analysis of the situation, three phases of the problem seemed to require evaluation: 1* With reference to thrift, what concepts, ideals and atti tudes does the student have? 2* What changes can be effected in his thrift practices? 3* What data of a subjective nature can be obtained from the participant as the study progresses? Since there were no test materials available as such, the writer found important items in certain studies in character testing such as Meltzer*s, Social Concepts of Children;^ Yoelker*s, Function of Ideals;^ R&ubenheimer* s, An Experimental Study of Some Behavior Traits of the Potentially Delinquent Boy?^ Bose*s, Origin and Development of ^ Hyman Meltzer, Social Concepts of Children, Teachers* College Contributions, No. 192, 19&5. ^ Paul Yoelker, Function of Ideals, Teachers* College Contributions, No* 112. 2 A. S* Raubenheimer, An Experimental Study of Some Behavior Traits of the Potential Delinquent Boy* Doctor*s dissertation, Stanford University, 19 22. 44 1 2 Religious Concepts in Children? Watson1 s, Test of Fair-mindedness; and others, by way of suggestions. Says Raubenheimer (p. 11) in the case of achievement tests: The emphasis is in the main on the ability of the subject to per form certain tasks of reasoning, on whether he knows how he ought to act under certain given conditions. The situation in human behavior, on the other hand is one involving a type or degree of activity or attitude, as contrasted with a type or degree of knowledge; doing a thing, cherishing avoiding, desiring something, as contrasted with knowing how to perform a task, know ing what is desirable, or why a particular practice should not be cherished. Koffka thinks that in addition to objective data one should discover the subjective experiences of those tested. His thought is stated as follows: We have already pointed out that psychology employs two kinds of concepts; for in addition to the natural-scientific method of obser vation, we also have recourse to experiential observations.*•.the two are so intimately connected with each other that psychology does not follow them separately. Indeed, the most important method employed in experimental psychology consists of natural-scientific observations combined with reports of experience. We come therefore to a division of psychological methods into three parts: First, the pure natural-scientific method; secondly, the combination of this with experiential observation which is called psycho-physical method, and thirdly, the purely psychological or descriptive method which relies upon observation of experience.^ This additional descriptive element seems to have been deemed necessary by Arai^ in her study of fatigue, and by Meltzer^ in 1 Roy Bose, Origin and Development of Religious Concepts of Children. Doctor*s dissertation, Univ. of So. Calif., 1928. 2 J. B. ffatson, Test of Fair-mindedness, Teacher*s College Contri bution. ® Kurt Koffka, The Growth of the Mind, p. 11. 4 T. Arai, Mental Fatigue. Teacher*s College Contribution No. 54. 5 Hyman Meltzer, Social Concepts of Children. Teachers College Contribution No. 192, 1926. 45 employing the interview method in getting more nearly the social con cepts of children. Following these suggestions the writer determined upon three instruments to gain information: (1) A questionnaire, to gain, information as to what kind of jobs students have held, what they have earned, what they have saved, what form of investment they have made. Also, (2) A test to discover as far as possible, by group testing, the students* concepts and attitudes of thrift through: a. The t f best answer test,” for example: A student who is absent or tardy often is not thrifty, because: 1. He gets a bad report card. 2. The registrar will scold him. 3. He loses time. 4. He makes a poor record for his home-room. 5. Gets into bad company; and b. The “true-false test,” for example: 1. The United States is the most thrifty of nations. 2. Out of money put in savings banks comes the funds for new enterprises* (3) An interview of the students individually at the beginning and end of the course (for one semester) following a definitely outlined procedure. Since the primary purpose of the study was to make an effective junior high school course in thrift education to be adapted to the present need in all junior schools, it was necessary to emphasize organization, subject material and the procedure rather than to emphasize the construction of a highly standardized test. It is the 46 function of the tests to measure certain changes in thought and action rather than to be an end in themselves. Chapter Summary In the present study the procedure shall be to utilize original tendencies by redirection, to utilize the laws of habit formation, to build proper concepts, ideals, and attitudes, by furnishing the experience necessary to develop very special abilities in solving : 1. Problems with regard to earning; 2. Problems of inhibition or restraint in saving time and money, and of safeguarding of property; 3. Problems involved in the spending of time, money and energy; and, 4. Problems of wise investment. A person showing growth in these concepts and progress in related conduct shall be called thrifty. The end product then is a student constantly gaining in information and knowledge, and in the ability to practice the items of this thrift program. 47 CHAPTER VI THE PRESENT EXPERIMENT Introduction The present experiment has three purposes: 1. To formulate a program of thrift education for the junior high school which provides for: a, A comprehensive thrift course especially suited to the junior high school age, which will not add to the al ready over crowded curriculum* h* A definite time for thrift instruction in the school schedule. c* A direct method of instruction which will not add to the teacher’s load. 2. To experiment with such a program in one school for a period of one semester from September to February. 3. To derive suggestions for the teaching of thrift in any junior high school^. Outline of Procedure The several phases of the experiment are reported in the follow ing order: 1. The preliminary work, consisting of: a. The determination of the scope of the course. b. The selection and organization of the materials of instruction. c. The preparation of a series of objective thrift tests to be used at the beginning and at the end of the experiment. 48 d, A description of the tests, e. The constitution of the groups to be tested* 2* The method of giving the course: a. Directly through the Prosperity Club, b* Indirectly through the assembly, the school paper, and certain departments, 3, A description of the general plan of organization and of the Prosperity Club in particular# 4, A detailed study of the fifteen bulletins which constitute the course of study* 5, A survey of the activities that were general or indirect in giving thrift instruction, 6* A brief outline of the ’ ’ Los Angeles Plan” of banking school savings. Preliminary Work Since the experiment was to begin with the opening of school in September, 1927, and to extend through one semester, it was necessary to plan the course of study ahead of time. The first problem for consideration was to determine the content of a course in thrift education. After considerable reading it seemed clear that of the material relating to thrift presented by the various authors most of it could be included under one or more of the following concepts: (1) earning according to one’s ability; (2) saving systematically; (3) spending wisely; and (4) investing safely. 49 Applying these concepts to the high school situation the writer evolved the following outline in an attempt to provide the basis for a course of study in thrift education which would offer experience helpful to a student in solving: 1, Problems with regard to earning money. 2♦ Problems involved in inhibition or restraint with reference to: a. The saving of money of time of talent of health of materials b. The safeguarding of property at school at home in the city in the nation c. The developing of an active attitude toward conservation 3. Problems of evaluation and judgment in: a. The insistence of return on time on money on energy b. The developing of concepts of value in spending wisely in resisting advertising in maintaining wholesome social relationships 4. Problems involved in investing wisely through a. Knowledge of the indices of a good investment of a poor investment of a swindle of a speculation b. Development of an attitude of caution in selection of an investment and in placings one*s trust of conservatism as to the type of investment 50 It will be evident from a survey of the lesson plans, issued in the form of bulletins, which form a part of this chapter, that each of these items was considered in gathering the material of instruction* After the scope of the course was determined, further reading under each of these topics provided subject matter interesting for the bulletins issued weekly to the students after the opening of school. Since twenty weeks constitute a semester in a Los Angeles high school, and since time is needed at the beginning and closing of a semester for organization purposes, it was necessary to give the instruction in fifteen bulletins. In selecting the materials great care was taken to choose what the writer thought would be interesting and valuable to a boy or girl of about thirteen years, rather than vdiat would be deemed valuable by adult standards* Also an effort was made to provide some enjoyment along with the serious ideas to make the lessons more readable. In doing this the language used, of necessity, had to be normal to the high school situation. Preliminary Test Construction The preparation of a series of objective tests to be used at the beginning and at the end of the experiment presented the follow ing considerations: (l) the nature of the groups to be tested; (2) the content of the tests; (3) the derivation of the separate items of the tests;and (4) the problem of the number of forms of each test. 51 Constitution of the Groups to “ be Tested The course of study was designed for a school of some two thousand students, of grades seven, eight, and nine. It was deemed sufficient to use only certain samplings of students to test the results. After consultation with the counselor it was decided to use two groups of entering B 7*s, These groups were chosen for two special reasons; first, because they had not had the School Savings Banks work of the previous year in the junior high; and second, because they were almost identical as to age and intelli gence • Group A, Group A was composed of three sections of 33 students each of as nearly the same chronological age as possible. One section had high intelligence, one average, and one low, according to mental age as expressed by the Terman Group Test, This group was designated as the one to receive instruction in the thrift course. Group B, Group B was composed of three sections of B 7*s, each section comparable, with respect to mental and chronological age, to its corresponding one in Group A, This group was designated as the control group because it did not receive thrift bulletins,’ Group C, Group C was composed of students as nearly like the above two groups as possible. These students were selected from a school outside of the Los Angeles School System, The method of selecting this group made it certain that its members would not re ceive even indirectly any of the thrift instruction given to Group A, 52 Group D. Group B was composed of one section of B 9’s of average ability, selected in order to note the effect of age on thrift instruction. The Content of the Tests- * - In order to test the students knowledge of thrift, that is, his concepts and attitudes, the Best Answer and the True-False types of tests were used. These tests were designed to cover the content of the course as given in the fifteen bulletins. In order to get the items for the tests a visit was made to a ninth grade class in summer school. Their written responses to a series of questions on thrift were made the basis for the selection of the items especially for the Best Answer Thrift Test, If the reader notes the absurdity of some of the items included, it should suffice to say that such responses were given in all seriousness by the students questioned and therefore represent a student’s thought. A Judgment Test In order that the experimenter might gain insight into a child’s ability to discriminate between behavior which is considered thrifty and that which is less thrifty, a test was made, composed of two parts. Each part, in turn, consisted of five cases describing, in the first, the behavior of five students; and in the second, the behavior of five adults. The student tested was asked to rate each case as to the thriftiness exhibited.^ ^ See Appendix for copies of the thrift tests used. p See Appendix, p. 53 The f f Personal Interview Test” It is one thing to find out -what a person knows about thrift; it is quite another to get a measure of one*s thrift practices# The ’ ’ Personal Interview Testn^ indicates the method which was used to discover any changes in the thrift practices of those interviewed. The interviewer discussed informally the items of the test with the groups, explaining what was wanted under each item. The student was told that if for any reason he did not care to answer any question he was at liberty not to do so. The Reason for Using Only One Form of Each Test It is well known, that, in the making of standardized tests, it is customary to develop two forms of the same test, of approxi mately equal difficulty. For a time this problem occupied the attention of the 'writer. It was finally decided after consultation with others that one form of the test would meet the needs of the present experiment, since in the time interval of five months be tween the beginning and the end of the experiment, few items would be remembered which might seriously influence the results. Other Measures Considered; the ’ ’Thriftometer1 1 ^ The discussion so far has dealt with the groups definitely chosen to be tested. In regard to the thrift program in the whole school, it seemed desirable to make use of certain measures or ways of record ing thrift practices. To this end the card shown on the previous page was designed, and called the "Thrif tome ter,1 1 or measure of thrift. ^ See Appendix, p. e i t o 1 0 Name Name of School Savings Bank Thriftometer Age 1. School Sav. Acc’t (Bank Bk. No.) 2. Weekly Deposits (1 point each) 3. Other Savings (Proof) \ 4. Deposits in other saving (1 point each ) 5. No absence during quarter 6. No tardiness during quarter 7. Keeping a personal budget of money 8. No loss of locker key during quarter 9. No loss of library or text book 10. Scholarship ( each A:3; B:2;) 11. Cooperation (A:3; B:2) 12. Effort (A:3;B:2) Total A score of 60 is good; over 75 is superior. C O P Y R I G H T 1 9 2 7 BY C A R O B E L MU R P H EY Possible Points 25 ■ 1 0 5 2 10 10 5 4 5 18 3 3 Home Room Grade Sec. S c o re 1st 2 nd 1st 3 rd 4 th 2nd 10 weeks 10 weeks Semester 10 weeks 10 weeks Semester ' The Thriftometer Card used in the experiment 54 The purpose of the card was to stimulate the practice of thrift, or rather to serve as a self rating scale for each student using it. These cards were given to all the home rooms that cared to use them. The records show that representatives from all the home room, with the exception of the control group, used the cards. In designing the Thriftometer one hundred points were allocated to several items of which the school kept records. Twenty five points for having a School Savings Account was given because these cards were used in connection with the school’s work with the banks. Such factors as the saving of time through good attendancei the safeguarding of school property in the care of locker keys, library books and text-books; and the wise use of talent as expressed in scholarship were taken into account. It was thought best not to include health the first year because the physical education work is evaluated on a point scale by the Physi cal Education Department. Other measures of thrift used are the reports, of the banks as to the number of new accounts opened by the school and the number of deposits made. How the Thrift Course was Given The method of giving the thrift course was one of the most important features of the experiment. Among the social organizations in the school there are seventy- one clubs which meet every Friday morning. One of these clubs, the 55 Prosperity Club, was organized to serve the whole school by giving the instruction in thrift. The course was given in two ways: (1) Directly, through the Prosperity Club, to be described later• (2) Indirectly through the assembly, the school paper, posters, contests and in the several departments. The direct method is the chief concern of this dissertation. During the year preceding the experiment a certain organization had been built up to sponsor a school savings plan. It was only natural to build upon this organization to put into effect a larger thrift program The Plan of Organization in the School 1. The Thrift Sponsors a. Two teachers, vitally interested in thrift, who volunteered because of their interest. b. The vice-principal, in this case the director of the experiment. 2. The Prosperity Club, composed of one representative from each home room (Session Roam). The matter of the choice of representative was the most important of the whole project. It was of prime importance that only those who wished to serve should be placed in nomination} and of those so nominated, that the home room teacher see that a person 56 capable of being an instructor in thrift be elected. The success of the scheme depended upon the choice of representatives having qualities of leadership. 3. The Thrift Captain, elected by the representatives. This officer conducted the club meetings and presided at thrift assemblies and at thrift banquets. 4. The Thrift Council, composed of one teacher from each department of the school, to act merely in an advisory capacity. Not much need was felt later for this group as it was hard for the teachers to find a time for meeting. ®# f f i 16 Principal of the School, though not directly concerned in the thrift organization, nevertheless his support was one of the most important considerations in the thrift work, for teachers and pupils always reflect very quickly the attitude of idle principal. Time of Meetings It was essential that a definite time for the thrift club to meet be assigned. In the experimental school the clock is switched every Friday to the ' ’ Assembly Schedule,” meaning that an extra period is provided by taking a few minutes from each of the other periods. During the forty five minutes so gained every student in the school is allowed to go to the club of his choice. By this method no extra time is added to the teacher*s nor to the student’s day. This period becomes an organic part of the school program. It is the time when the Prosperity Club met. 57 The Duties of the Club Members At each meeting the experimenter presented mimeographed copies of the weekfs bulletin for study and discussion* Also methods of banking in the School Savings Banks were explained* The Thrift Representative took enough mimeographed copies of the thrift bulletin to give the course to the students in his home room on the following Monday* The only thing asked of the teacher was that he make it possible for the representative to present the thrift lesson and to direct the discussion of the problems so presented. The material was pro vided, the home room period of twenty five minutes was set aside, and the one responsible for giving the lesson was provided* Each bulletin was divided into two parts: Part One dealt with learning about thrift; and Part Two was devoted to such activities as opening new bank accounts, checking up points on the Thriftometers, and encouraging general thrift attitudes as related to the use of one*s time and onefs talents* Other duties of the club members were: organizing and taking part in thrift assemblies; providing programs for the Parent-Teacher Association, for the thrift banquet and for parties at school; and helping in the contests and in the drive during "Thrift Week*1 1 To summarize, it was through the Prosperity Club that the school was instructed in thrift, and under its supervision that the School Savings Accounts and other thrift practices v/ere stimulated* It should also be stated that to the two thrift sponsors who assumed the responsibility goes the credit for directing the whole program* 58 To the experimenter fell the duty of preparing the bulletins and of having one thousand copies mimeographed each week. The Bulletins The method of giving the course through the thrift club organ ization has been described. The content of the course as given in the bulletins will now be considered in detail. Since the bulletins form the core of the whole thrift program, they are given in full in this chapter. Indeed the content of each bulletin as given week by week was the chief concern of the author. It was a problem of difficulty to decide just how all the thrift material to be in- j eluded in the course could be condensed into fifteen bulletins; and to determine hov/ the material allocated to each bulletin could be effectively presented. In the presentation of the bulletins no claim is made to an ideal course, however an earnest effort has been made to give a program, practicable for junior high school students. In the prepar ation of the bulletins great care was taken to follow the outline as given on page ^ , with due consideration to the psycological principles involved. Introducing “Eddie Wiz” Capitalizing the interest that young folk have in the comics, the experimenter deviated from the usual stereotyped method of presenting thrift talks by creating a character to give the instruc tion. 59 Taking a cue from the name of the school, Thomas A. Edison Junior High School, and from the name of the school paper, ’ ’The Wizard,” the character created was called nEddie Wiz.” The following quotations taken from the bulletins are char acteristic of his witticisms: ’ ’ Blessed is he who can talk and say something at the same time.” ”You*d better take care of this body, you can*t buy extra parts at a human garage.” ”A good partnership is based on *dollars and sense*.” ’ ’ Convenient credit is like a banana peel, slick but dangerous•” ”lt*s like being twins to educate your dollars to work for That the students might have an understanding of the content of the whole course the first bulletin offered a general outline, including the topic of each weekly lesson to be presented. It will be noted: (1) that the lessons were grouped around the four general concepts of earning, saving, spending and invest ing; (2) that the lessons were presented in the form of problems of interest to the student; (3) that the outline ms very elastic, permitting the introduction of ^y,amount of supplementary material; and (4) that each bulletin encourage rift practices. you.” Bulletin Number Qne^ 1 See p. 66. \ \ \ 5 % 60 Bulletin Number TwcA In Lesson 1 presented in this bulletin, the students were asked to consider the question, nWhat is thrift?”. They were also asked to have a copy of the definition chosen made into a poster, to be hung in the home room. As the students passed from one room to another a variety of definitions were presented. Part One of this bulletin was the thrift lesson# Part Two dealt with starting a bank account# Prosperity Bulletin Humber Three^ fftiat can a junior high school student do to earn money? To answer this question the writer decided to ask the students themselves what each earner was already doing# Consequently a questionnaire was constructed and presented to the two thousand students of the experimental school relative to jobs held, money earned, time spent, and the like#^ The questionnaire included such questions as, What are you doing now, during the school term to earn money? How many hours per day do you work? What part of your earnings do you save? and for what are you saving? 1 See p# 66. ^ See p. 68 2 See questionnaire in the Appendix, p. ISO. 61 Prom the material furnished by the various items of the questionnaire, Bulletin Number Three was written. It will be noted in the tabulation of the bulletin that each grade is considered separately, for the boys,"as well as for the girls. Bulletin Number Four Since certain dangers arise from overencouraging boys and girls to earn, this bulletin concerned itself with the following problems: (i) Should a student drop out of school to earn?, (2) What is the value of an education?, (3) What school laws govern the granting of work permits?, (4) For whose benefit are these laws planned? Bulletin Number Five That the student in the junior high school might know what to expect in case he had to help himself later in senior high school, a questionnaire was presented to, some two thousand senior high school students. The results of this questionnaire form the basis for the fifth bulletin.*' Bulletin Number Six The two questions submitted for discussion were (l) What part of his income should a student save?, (2) How can he save systemati cally? The questions of saving health, time, energy, talents and materials were presented in order that the student might see that improvidence in any one of these leads to failure, even though much money be accumulated. 1 See p. 71. 2 See p. 72. 3 See p. 74. 62 To stimulate added interest prizes were offered by the Prosper ity Club for the three best essays on the subject of thrift in saving# Bulletin Number Seven To encourage students to save for a worthy purpose a list was made of the items indicated by the students on a questionnaire. The questionnaire showed the largest number saving for a higher educa tion# Some were saving for means of transportation, for bicycles and automobiles, others were saving for musical instruments# These were highest on the list#?- Bulletin Humber Eight It was doubted that most junior high school students had ever thought of a budget of time# Bulletin Eight presented the problem of the proper division of time among such items as sleep, school, meals, home help, recreation, and study# The question of the yearly cost to the city of $204,06 for each student was presented that the student might know the actual cost of failure - what he lost in time, money and disappointment, to be absent, tardy or to have to repeat a course#^ Bulletin Humber Nine One of the bulletins which attracted the attention of the stu dents most was Number Nine, devoted to a simple outline of important rules of health. The student was asked to check himself on a brief record sheet, after consultation with the Physical Education Depart- *z ment as to his own health record. 1 See p. 75. 2 See p# 77# 3 See p# 78# 63 Bulletin lumber Ten^ The subject for consideration was, "Going into Partnership with the Board of Education.” From the Auditor1s Report certain items were presented; such as, the value of the buildings, the value of equipment, the cost of supplies and the cost of janitor service* The thought was that the student would make a greater effort to use school property and supplies more carefully if he learned to appreciate the value of the investment* By \my of varying the method of presentation the ”Ask-Me-Another” form of questioning was utilized* Bulletin Humber Eleven^ “A good partnership is based on ’dollars and sense*.” This was the idea expressed in Bulletin Number Eleven, with reference to going into partnership with mother and dad, with the City of Los Angeles, and with Uncle Sam, in respect to the wise use of property at home, in the community and in the nation. Bulletin Number Twelve^ Income management was presented by asking the students the dif ference between the items expressed on three graphs representing Mr* Spendthrift’s Dollar, Mr* Tightwad’s Dollar, and the Educated Dollar* It was stated that money was a medium of exchange and not the ’ ’ root of all evil,” that the thoughtful use of money was the mark of an educated person* A simple plan for keeping a simple per sonal budget was given. As an item of expenditure, the problem of 1 See p* 80. 2 See p * 81 * 3 See p. 82. of sharing with others was discussed. It was shown that miserli ness is not thrift. Bulletin Humber Thirteen 1 The home rooms were asked, in this bulletin to debate the question: “Resolved, that it is of more importance to be able to spend wisely than to be able to earn.” The facts that the T/ool- worth Building was built from the profits of “5 and 10 cent” stores and that Mr. Wrigley owns Catalina Island, bought with profits from chewing gum, were stated to show the junior high school student that the waste from spending even small amounts foolishly has made others rich. There was also included in this bulletin a discussion of such topics as quality versus cheapness in buying, relative values in purchasing, and living beyond one’s means. Bulletin Number Fourteen 2 The problem of educating one’s dollars to work was the subject of this bulletin. The outline included certain investments \vhich were judged safe for a junior high school student such as Government bonds, state bonds, school bonds, and the like. The student was urged to save in the School Savings Bank until he could accumulate enough to make larger investments. Bulletin Humber Fifteen^ The instruction in thrift was concluded in Bulletin Fifteen with discussion of investments judged safe for an adult. Some 65 junior high school students have saved large amounts; they are already thinking of larger investments# The problem of investment was completed with a review of the indices of a poor investment, and of a . swindle. The attempt was to develop in the student an attitude of caution towards all in- ve stments• Since the bulletins contain the very essence of the type of instruction which the author advocates, the reader is asked to follow each bulletin carefully# 66 COURSE IN PROSPERITY MD SUCCESS Weekly Bulletin No, 1. The active cooperation of all home room teachers in helping the Thrift Representatives to put over this' experiment in prosperity will *be appreciated, OUTLINE OF COURSE Organization: Thrift Supervisor; Prosperity Club - one representa tive from each home room; Thrift Sponsors - 3 faculty members; Thrift Council - one faculty member from each department. Method of Instruction: Through the Prosperity Club; auditorium calls; posters; the related parts of class instruction; bulletins. Lesson I* What is thrift? - a well-planned life. Outline of plans for the year; getting thriftors; School Savings Banks; ’ ’ Thriftometer”; contests, v v Lesson II, Earning - What can a high school student do to earn money? Questionnaire from 4000 students; analysis and evaluation of jobs. Lesson III. Earning - What per cent of one*s time should be spent on jobs outside of school? School law. Lesson IV, Earning - Should a boy or girl drop out of school to earn? Relative value of a high school and college education? Cost? Self help. Lesson V, Saving Money - Ytfays of saving - School banks, saving banks, bonds, cert ificates, Exchange and circulation vs, hoarding. Lesson VI* Saving Money - Cards showing growth of savings accounts - Interest, simple, compound. Experiences from class. Lesson VII, Saving Time - What value has time to a student? Make a budget - work, study, home help, sleep, recreation. Attendance record, cost of education to Soard per day. Effect of absence, tardiness, and playing truant on success? Gost of repeating a course? Lesson VIII, Conserving Health and Effort. Health records: height, weight, underweight, health habits. Effort - Examples of efficiency studies in business - brick laying - applied to study habits, Lesson IX. Safeguarding Property at School: What is the cost of equip ment? of replacement? of supplies? r "of janitor service? of paper towels? Relative cost of our school with others? How can we help to keep costs down? 67 Lesson X* Safeguarding Property at Home: furniture, light, gas, etc. Lesson XI* Spending - Personal "budgets, household budgets. Lesson XII* Spending - Good shopping: relative values, proportionate values; helping others* Lesson XIII* Investments - Safe for high school student# Lesson XIV* Investments - Safe and unsafe for adults* 68 PROSPERITY BULLETIN NO. 2 Lesson 1. PART ONE What Is thrift? Will the class please take a vote on ~ ~ which of the following definitions you like best: MEANING (1) ”To spend money for things which add to one’s power - OF THRIFT mental, physical, moral or economic - is thrift. To ' spend it for tools of production wherewith one may in crease his productive power, is thrift. To spend money thriftily is to add to the productive power of both the individual and the nation•” - Carver. (2) Thrift is productive earning; systematic saving; well-planned spending; and safe investing, as related to one’s money, time, energy and talent. (3)’ ’Thrift seeks not merely to save, but to earn. Economy manages, frugality saves, providence plans, thrift at once earns and saves, with a view to wholesome and profit able expenditure at a fitting time.” - MacGregor. (4) Thrift has been described, ”To tighten a looser-wad; and loosen a tight-wad•” (6) "Thrift is good management of the business of living.’ 1 - Treasury Bulletin. Having chosen, one of these definitions, or one you may like better, who will volunteer to make a copy on card-board to post in the home room? Each week this bulletin will come out in two parts: Part One will be information and discussion leading to increased knowledge of prosperity and success; and Part Two with thrift practices. PART TWO How many of you have a bank book shouting to you, ’ ’ Watch me growl” Are you willing to try the experiment of start ing a School Savings Account? Don’t you want to begin saving now for that new bicycle, for the violin, for a college education, for the joy of being independent? Sez Eddie Wiz, ’ ’ The Pessimist said, #It can’t be done*. The Optimist said, ’It can be done1. The Peptomist said, ’I’ve already done it*”. Many of us Edisonites are Petomists who have School Savings Accounts. Edison can’t be satisfied with less than 100j£. Are we go ing to let Hollenbeck and Sentous beat usI One dollar starts the account. Ask for a school bank to drop the nickels in, it takes only 201 We want to report to Mr* Gray that Edison is the first 100 per cent school in saving in the city* To the home room in each school that gets the most points on the . ’ ’ Thriftometer” Mr. Gray has promised a party. Show your bank book to your representative. 69 PART ONE EARNING PROSPERITY BULLETIN NO. 3 Lesson 2• October 14, 1927. What Pan a Junior High School Student Do to Earn Money? (Result of a questionnaire given to all in our school) Most of us are so "busy with school work we do not have time to earn much, indeed it may he better to study hard so as to earn more later - but listenl Did you know that 507 boys and 292 girls worked for pay this summer; 799 Edisonites all together; and that 322 boys and 131 girls are earning something now, a total of 4531 Are we lazy? We should say not I Do you know that 33 boys support themselves entirely; that 298 boys and 82 girls support themselves in part, that 146 boys and 30 girls help to support their family. Read the kinds of jobs we are doing, (which the representative will have copied on the board): 7th Grade Boys Caring for lawns Delivering papers Cleaning yards Driving trucks Home helpers Running errands Caring for children Helpers in factories Helpers on ice and fruit and veg. wagons Clerking in stores Delivering telegrams Cutting, hauling, packing fruit Getting subscriptions Selling junk Bakery helper Painters helper 8th Grade Boys (in addition) Raising and feeding rabbits Nurseryman*s helper Machine Shop helper Helper at Tire shop 9th Grade Boys (in addition) Making “ boxes Turning eggs (hatchery) Messengers Cabinet maker*s helper Cleaners helper Caddy Glazer Collecting bills Selling ice cream, nuts, rabbits, etc. Manual labor - odd jobs Helper at filling stations Passing handbills Packing seeds Making baskets Playing for dances Restaurant work Helpers to carpenters, elec tricians, plumbers. Delivery of meat, groceries, drugs• Janitor work Dusting and washing cars Waiters Packing box lunches Helping lunch wagon Selling magazines Printing cards Working in movies Raising chickens Theatre usher Soda fountain helper Stage acting Boot black Sand paper machinist Painting reed furniture Glass factory helper 70 Page $2 Have the girls been sitting around, twirling their thumbs? at this list from our girls* Look 7th Grade Girls Caring for children Housework at home Housework outside , Usherette Bill sorter Clerking in all kinds of stores Cashier in cafe Packing fruit Packing lunches Punning errands Professional dancing Selling papers and magazines 8th Grade Girls (in addition) Bookkeeping Public laundry vfork Bakery helper Selling Lunches 9th Grade Uirls (in addition) Soda fountain waitress Clerk in meat market Raising rabbits Movie extra Packing candy Selling papers Selling fruit Singing at chur c h Caring for sick Selling flowers Shopping for others Carpenter*s helper Caring for lawns Cash girls Embroidery shop helpers Delivering papers Waitress Sewing Tailor*s helper Teaching piano Book binding Cannery helper Wholesale millinery assistant Stenographer Outside of school the students are working from 1 to 4 hours; and on Saturday 4 to 8 hours. Average wages are about 25 cents per hour, or about #3*50 per week* Some earn as much as $12 to $.15 per week while going to school. Have teachers discuss with you these questions: (1) Which of these jobs have permanent value? (2) What valuable experience in busi ness was gained - etc. Maybe these jobs will suggest something to you. PART TWO The ten highest scores in School Savings Accounts are: 1. 103 A9 - 4 97% H. J. Rogers 2. 232 B8 - 4 81f o Mr. Holliday 3. 327 A8 - 8 7 9% Miss Marquardt 4. 326 A8 - 7 79% Miss E. Rogers 5. 102 B9 - 4 75 % Miss Wentzell 6. 321 B9 - 2 74:% Miss Parcell 7. 211 B9 - 5 70% Miss Packard 8. 327 B8 - 10 69% Mr. Dryden 9. 328 B9 - 1 65% Mr. Fifield 10. 140 B9 - 7 66% Miss Jones A prize of free tickets to the next pay show is offered for the first home room to be 100^. 71 PART ONE EARNING part mo SCHOOL SAVINGS COURSE IN PROSPERITY BULLETIN NO. 4. Questions for the H. R. Teacher to help the representative put before the H.R. for real discussion* 1* For what is a person paid? A person is paid for producing, or making something; or for service* 2• Should a student drop out of school to earn money? Under what conditions? What do you think of the boy who dropped out of school at 16 to pay for a second-hand fliwer and a sax&phone? 5♦ What do you think about the following school laws con cerning work permits? (a' No child under 14 may be granted a permit to work. (b) A child over 14 having finished the 8th grade, or a child over 15 having finished the 7th grade, under conditions of great poverty in the family, may work* (c) All students under 18 who are working must go to Part-Time School (four hours per week.) For whose benefit are these laws planned? 4. What is the value of an education? (From U.S. Bureau of Education, Bulletin No. 22nd.,1917.) Copy on blackboard* Every day spent in school pays #9.00 Here is the proof; Uneducated laborers earn on the average #500. per year for 40 years, a tohal of #20,000. High School graduates earn on the average #1000. for 40 years, a total of #40,000. College graduates earn more than twice as much as a High School graduate• The student Yfho stays out of school to earn less than #9.00 a day is losing money. 5. Community Chest. There are those in our community, who through illness, or through no fault of their own, can not earn. Should the thrifty person help them? To the extent of at least one days wages? The ten highest home rooms reporting last Friday were; 103, 326, 325, 111, 101, Aud-4, 140, 232, 315, 211 and 327. Remember weekly deposits count one point each. Ask all of those who made a deposit to show hands. Bring the number to the next meeting. 72 PART ONE EARNING COURSE IN PROSPERITY BULLETIN NO. 5. Says Eddie Wiz, ’ ’ Blessed is he who can talk and say something at the same timet” - Prante Question for discussion today: What are Senior High School “ "Students doing to earn money? Could I do likewise? Result of a questionnaire given to a nearby high school as to summer work. Boys working 393, girls working 110, total 503. 23 students are supporting themselves entirely. 268 students are supporting themselves in part. 129 students are helping their families. (Copy on the board) Which of the following boys jobs would you like? Notice the Senior High list: 9th Grade. Selling Products: Eggs, papers, fruit, cakes, vegetables, magazines, sandwiches, pop-corn. Selling Service: Clerking, office boy, helper: lumber mill, tin shop, restaurant, heater company, tire shop, auto shop, battery shop, machine shop, painter, plumber, carpenter, iron worker, concrete contractor; agriculture: caring for lawns and gardens, picking and packing fruit; farm work: hay baler; delivering: groceries, drugs, papers, bills, magazines, ice, milk; mi seellane ous: reading meters, bell boy, gun club, driving teams and trucks, playing in orchestra, etc. 10th Grade, (in addition) Helper to Carpenter, painter and plasterer contractor, welder, jeweler, printer, steam cleaner for autos, machin ist, boiler maker. Other jobs: Western Union Messenger, washing, autos, waiter in cafe, janitor, studio extra, caddy, cook, dish washer, boot black, violin mender, usher, engine oiler. 11th Grade (In addition) Plasterer, clay worker, painter, teacher of violin, barber1s helper, Assft., pilot on tug, porter, shipping clerk. 12th Grade (In addition) Electrical worker, life guard, ass!t to medical director, pipe fitterfs helper, S.P. Shops, tile setter, lather, baker, bookkeeper at bank, sheet and metal workers, R. R. car repairer, order clerk, sash and door worker. Note: That the 10th and 11th grade boys are mostly helpers Eo mechanics; that the 12th grade boys are holding real jobs. The boys of this senior high school earned $37,581. during the summer, an average of about $98. for each boy who worked (some only working a part of the vacation). Page $2, Bulletin 5, Continued 73 Says Eddie Wiz: WI surely am proud of the senior high school girl s . ‘ , k During the summer 110 of them reported as having worked to earn $5837.00, an average of $55. each, even with counting those who worked for a week or two. (Copy on the board) What can girls do? Pretty nearly anything a boy can do. Listen, we found 9th grade girls picking fruit, cutting apricots, farming, caddy ing, (for ladies), cashiers in shows, helpers in cafes, ass*t in doctorrs office, repairing shoes, selling papers, clerking in stores -as well as caring for children, keeping house, sewing, hemstitching and working in offices. 10th Grade: (in addition) Working in laundries, at soda fountains, in stores, pack ing coffee, working in ladies locker rooms at clubs. 11th Grade: (in addition) Canning fruit, typing and filing, working as office assistants. 12th Grade (in addition) Trimming hats, higher clerical and clerking jobs. PART TWO Many home rooms showed decided gains this week. Please report your percentage of school savings accounts. We are going to be a 100% school — Says Eddie Wiz, "Atta boy, home rooms, get busy, don*t forget the parties for the winners.” 7 4 PART one SAVING PART TWO COURSE IN PROSPERITY BULLETIN NO. 6. Nov. 5, 1927. Roosevelt said, "if you would be sure.that you are beginning right, begin to-save.* ’ Sez Eddie Wiz, HIt*s all in your head. *You don*t find thrift at the bottom of your purse.* The time to save money is before you spend it.H (Copy on board.) The two questions for today are: (1) What should a student save? (2) How oan he save systematically, or regularly? A thrifty Edisonite will save health, money7 time, energy, talents and materials, including food and clothing. An Edisonite will consider it his duty to protect prop erty: at school, at home, in the city, and in the nation. To Teachers: Bring up for discussion the above points. The Thrift Club will offer three prizes, one to the 7th grade student: one to the 8th grade student,: one to the 9th grade student, ?>rho writes the best composition on any topic suggested in this bulletin. How can a student save systematically? (1) The School Savings Bank Account is the best way to begin. It pays 4$; it will take deposits of any size; it will grow into something bigger. It is a regular systematic way of saving money. The banks lose money because it costs so much to keep small accounts, but the bank is looking for future big customers. Start your account today. (2) A regular savings account pays 4$ and is a good way to save. (3) Talk over certain investments as ways of saving - build ing and loan (6^); municipal or public utility bonds, paying 5% up. Why are the above reasonably safe? Why are the rates of interest rather low? What other ways of saving money do you know? Ask the Home Room Students: (1) How many of you have a School Savings Account? If not, how many will begin now? (2) How many have made a weekly deposit? What is the value of forming the habit of going to the bank, or of saving systematically? (3) Grades come out in two weeks* How many points will you have on the Thriftometer card? Pass out the Thriftometer to each student. What does each item measure? How will yousband? 75 PROSPERITY BULLETIN NO* 7 Nov* 14, 1927* PART ONE 3ez Eddie Wis, "It is O.K. for me to ’toot my horn* because I bought it with my own savings •” SAVING "it is easy to give up candy and movies if you are saving for something nice.” (copy on board) REPORT OF EDISON STUDENTS - Sept. 1927* (from questionnaire) Number of earners. • •......... • .788 Number of savers .................496 Number of spendthrifts (saving nothing).......................292 Number of tight-wads (saving all) 81 FOR WHAT ARE EDISON STUDENTS SAVING? (Answers from Sept. questionnaire) For C o l l e g e ........... 80 For Education above Jr. H.S*.*55 For Christmas.. ........ 16 For clothes.................. 51 For business................. 06 For bicycles.*............... 34 For musical instruments...... 12 For autos........ 27 For music lessons.............10 For typewriters, tools, furniture, dishes, travel, jewelry, school sup plies, annual, dentist, beach outfits, for a good time, etc. Those who have no special aim.......... .....127 (Ask the class) Which of the above students are thrifty savers? Which are not thrifty savers? Is saving just for the sake of saving a good thing? What do you want more than anything? Are you willing to sacrifice a few movies, candy bars and soda pops for something better? Then start a School Sav ings Bank Account today, A girl said just yesterday, ”l did not know I could save, but I started an account in September and now I have $38.50!” Money put in savings banks gets into circulation because it is lent to builders, merchants and to those doing the world’s work. The miser hoards his gold so benefits no one* The spendthrift’s money gets into circulation^but can you say he is a good citizen? (Copy on board) How the Money-Tree grows: In a School Savings Bank at 4$ Weekly Savings 1 year £ years 3 years 4 years 5 years $0*10 $5.30 $10.82 $16.56 $22.54 $26.75 .25 13.26 . 27.06 41.41 56.34 71.68 .50 26.52 54.12 82.82 112.69 143.76 1.00 53.05 108.24 165.65 225.38 287.53 5.00 265.23 541.17 827.26 1123.89 1432.50 Can you figure what a building and loan account at would would be in 5 years? or gas or electric stock at 7%*! If you are 12 or 14 now what will you have at 19 or 20? But remember, ”You can’t eat your cake and keep it too.” Page #2, Bulletin 7, Continued 76 PART TWO Edison has 47^ now of School Savings Accounts. The ten highest H.R.*s are: 103, 326, 325, 232, 328, 321, 140, 102, 212, 327. Look on the bulletin board to see where your H.R. stands. Next week the thriftometers will be made out from the report cards by the Thrift Representatives under direction of H.R. teacher. Remember those who have lost no books get 5 points, those with no loss of locker keys 4 points. Add the total number of points on all your thriftometers; divide by number in room. Report score to Miss Elma Rogers. Home'Room winning will be given a party by Miss Murphey. 77 PROSPERITY BULLETIN NO. 8. Nov. 21, 1927. PART ONE Sez Mr. Goulet, "Thrift is all in your head." Sez Eddie Wiz, "That's all right but some can't get SAYING it out." - G. Tolle. (Copy on board) What value has time to a student? break "1-- School ’ ( hours " T " D 2 Sleep § fast hours. (Ask these questions:) What do you do with the time between school and bed? Do you get the best return for Saturday and Sunday? Make a budget of your time- Show how well you can live on 24 hours per day. Divide your hours among these items: 1...Sleep, 2*..School, 3...Meals, 4...Home help, 5...Recreation, 6...Study. (Copy on board) The Board spends on each Edison student for a year, $128.24 The Board has invested for each Edison student in buildings etc................................... 75.82 Total cost of each Edisonite.................*.... $204.06 Are YOU worth it? When you are absent, what do you lose in instruction? Since the school receives money according to attendance, Edison looses more than a dollar a day if you are absent. What does it cost you in time to repeat a course? in disappointment? in money? Sez Eddie Wiz, nIt surely is like spanking yourself to play hookeyI" PART TWO The school stood 41$ in school savings in September and only 47$ now, but it is encouraging to know that many ex- ' pect that first dollar soon to start the account. If your home room is under 47$ you're below the school average. The Prosperity Club wishes you all the joy of a happy Thanksgiving Day! How thankful we should be for our school, our new lawn, and trees *n' everything. 78 PROSPERITY BULLETIN NO. 9 Nov. 28, 1927 PART ONE CONSERV ING HEALTH Important Rules of Health. - By Payne & Schroeder. DRINK I must not drink tea or coffee. Drink four to six glasses of water daily. Drink no water with ice in it. Do not drink cold water after play. SLEEP Retire every night at the same hour. Get up at the same hour every morning. Sleep ten to twelve hours. Sleep alone in a dark room. Have windows open top and bottom. Do not sleep in clothes worn during the day. EATING HABITS Eat slowly. Chew your food well. Be happy while you eat. Eat your meals at the same hour every day. WHEN I RISE I MUST: Wash my hands and face. Brush my teeth. Rinse my mouth. Drink a glass of water. Clean my fingernails* Comb my hair and dress myself. WHAT TO EAT EVERY DAY Drink about four glasses of milk Eat a warm breakfast. Eat something warm for lunch, as soup. Eat bread and butter at every meal.. Eat fruit every day. Eat vegetables every day. Eat meat but once a day. Eat a cooked cereal for breakfast. Sez Eddie Wiz, nYou*d better take care of this body, you can’t buy extra parts at a human garage.” May you be healthy first - then wealthy and wise. Eddie Wiz’s Health Rules — From Method and Measurement of Health Education. 79 Page #2, SAVING EFFORT PART TWO SCORES Bulletin 9, Continued. MAKE OUT YOUR CM HEALTH RECORD My height is ft. in, my weight is For my age I should weight lbs. (Ask Gym Teacher) I am just right ; underweight lbs.; overweight lbs.(check) If I am underweight I shall drink two quarts of milk daily in addition to my regular diet. I shall rest more. Sez Eddie Wiz, ’ *Atta Boy, Be a husky chap like me!” If I am too fat I shall eat more green vegetables and fresh fruits; and much less of sweets, pastries, potatoes and bread and butter - I shall not over eat. Sez Eddie Wiz, nNobody loves a fat man!” Can you say: My eyes are cared for. I have no cavities in my teeth, (if you need dental attention, see Miss Murphey, perhaps she can help to arrange an appointment for you with some clinic.) The secret of Henry Ford’s success is largely due to the well placed effort of every man. Many studies have been made in such processes as bricklaying shewing that, a man can lay one third more if every motion is well planned. Can you save energy and effort if you plan your school business in a similar way? Sez Eddie: f , lf you let others do your heavy thinking for you, you’re ’dead’ even tho’ you donft~know it7” Every new account raises your Home Room Watch the bulletin board! See your Home Room go up! The Thriftometers show only two library books and only 24 text books lost during the past quarter. Isn’t that a wonder ful record for 2000 students? We believe our thrift program is working. Sez Eddie nYea Boi” 80 PART ONE SAFEGUARD ING Property PART TWO PROSPERITY BULLETIN NO. 10 Dec. 5, 1927. Sez Eddie Wiz, "This business of education surely does come high”. AT SCHOOL: Would you like to go into partnership with the Board of Education? Well here are the figures from the Auditor’s report* (Copy on board): Value of school grounds at Edison.......$99,789.00 Value of buildings.......... 527,095.00 Value of equipment................. •••• 79,037.00 Value of library books .... 2 ,000 .00 Cost of new lawn and trees........ 1,200.00 Cost of supplies for last year.......... 4,572.00 Cost of text books............ 5,557.00 Cost of janitor service and supplies.... 15,786.00 Cost of refinishing a cut desk.... 1.50 Cost of replacing one broken chair...... 7.50 There are some 19 junior high schools in the city. Edi son ranks just below the average in cost of operation which seems to mean that we are not too extravagant nor yet too stingy in the use of the taxpayers* money. Put your two thousand heads together and answer these: What would it save in janitor service if no lunch papers were ever thrown in the yard? Sez Eddie Wiz, ”$400* — Right! Ask me another.” Well, what would it save if the halls were kept clean of dropped papers? Sez Eddie Wiz, ”$300. --Right! Ask me smother.” See here, what would be saved if never a boy engraved his initials on a desk? Sez Eddie Wiz, ”$200. — Right! Ask me another.” Can you get this one? What would be saved if never a tool were broken in the shop? Replies Eddie $30. -Right! Ask me another”. They tell us that $184,701.00 is paid yearly for teachers* salaries at Edison. Now what would be saved if every student were perfect in effort and cooperation and no one ever interrupted the teacher unnecessarily? Sez Eddie Wiz, ”l give up. Don’t ask me another!” We feel like a million dollars to be students at EDISON. Boost for new Savings Accounts, and most of all for regular deposits. 81 PART ONE SAFEGUARD ING PROPERTY PART TWO PROSPERITY BULLETIN NO. 11 Jan* 1, 1928. Sez Eddie Wiz: °A good partnership is based on * dollars and sense1.” Questions for the home room teacher to discuss with students• How to go into partnership with mother and dad: 1. In the matter of saving on grocery bills: a. Balanced meals. b. Personal selection of food, c. Foods in season. d. Good cooking, e. Left-overs. f. More vegetables, less expensive meats. 2. In the matter of saving on clothing: a. Care of clothes. b. Making over, c. How to save one’s best clothes. 3. In the matter of saving light, water and electricity, a. Use only what is necessary. How to go into partnership with the City of Los Angeles: 1. In the use of public libraries. a. What do you think of the student who cuts out library magazines to decorate his note book? 2. In the use of public parks. a. What can a junior high school student do to help keep our parks clean? How to go into partnership with Uncle Sam: 1. In the care of forest camp fires. a. It is our duty as citizens to protect our forests. b. No Boy-Scout or Camp Fire Girl leaves a fire burning, nor rubbish scattered about. 2. • In the protection of Christmas Holly. 3. In other ways of conserving national resources. Wonderful! Over 400 new savings accounts during the Contest Week. Even though Team Two did not have the highest score it had the largest number of new accounts! Congratulations to all the 1315 school savers at Edison! Remember Mr. Gray’s party to the home room in ‘ each team who has the largest score on the thriftometer cards at the end of the semester. 82 PROSPERITY CLUB BULLETIN NO# 12. PART ONE SPENDING Dec. 12, 1927. Sez Eddie Wiz, "Tell your nickles, dimes and quarters where to go, don*t ask them where they went.” This will he a lesson on income management - (Copy on hoard) . X V r $ > ^ L } , . / ; ■ / O 1 'c ^ \z, aj7 cm, / v ^ Mr • Spendthrift* s Dollar ✓ / . \ r. / c~,r 0 7l \ \ / ~ \ /3 7 ' , r><h V " - 0 ~r\*M V / I IV I N ^ Mr• Tightwad*s Mr. Educated Dollar Dollar - Adapted from the chart of the National Thrift Committees# Examine the dollars above. In what way does the educated dollar differ from the other two? Which would make life happiest? There is nothing si|iful about money itself, it is only a medium of exchange between persons. It represents stored up energy or'work, for future use so should he thought fully used. Nov/ making a budget is the best way we know of telling your dollars where to go. Make a plan for the wise management of your income# One like the following might serve - your needs• (copy)_____________ Personal Budget._____________________ Income On hand.••••••...••.1.00 Savings. ........1.00 A l l o w a n c e .2.00 Expenditures: Earned....... ......1#50 Show................. .50 1.00 Necktie............ 1.00 Total 5• 50 . Paper ........... . .20 Notebook.... ..... .40 Church .25 Lunches.............• .90 Balance.............. 1.00 Total............... S.60 (Will the mathematics teachers please help in budget making this week? Thank you. C.M.) Examine your personal account. How can you educate your dol lars still better? What is the value of a budget or plan? Remember, "Thrift is the good management of the business of living." To have a full life we must share with others. How much? Each must use his money in the way he thinks most worth while 83 page #2, PART TWO Bulletin 12, Continued* Many could have had a higher score on the Thriftometer if each one had kept a personal budget* If you keep such an expense account as outlined above to the end of the quarter you will .get five points. To make it easy, we suggest that the home room representative get a loose-leaf note book to be kept in the home room with a page for each member who wishes to keep a budget* Entries can then be made at home room period on any day. Others may prefer a separate little book. See how many points can be earned. The three home rooms making the highest number of points this quarter will be given a party by Mr * Gray* 84: PROSPERITY CLUB BULLETIN NO. 13. PART ONE Sez Eddie Wiz, ”Convenient credit is like a banana peel, slick but dangerous”. SPENDING The high priced Advertising Giant says, ’ ’ You'll buy my goods because I get $20,000. a year for making you do it.” You answer, ”But I have no money.” He replies, "That's easy, *a dollar down and a dollar a month the rest of your life*.” Can you resist such high powered salesmanship? DEBATE IN HOME ROOM: RESOLVED, That it is of more impor tance to a thriftor to be able to spend wisely than to“be able to earn. For what should a student spend money? For gum and knick-nacks? As Eddie Wiz was approaching Catalina Island someone told him that Mr. Wrigley owned the whole island and pointed out the chewing gum magnate*s mansion on the hill, when Eddie with astonishment gasped, ”Upon my wordl Look what we have chewed him intoI” The Woolworth Building, New York's tallest building was built from profits from ”5 and 10/ stores”. Who pays for these things? Are you a good shopper? Do you look for quality and wear ing power in clothing? Do you know relative values? In buying 'bargains* remember, sez Eddie, that nothing is cheap you do not need. Give yourself this test when buying. 1......Do I need it? 2. Do I need it now? 3......Do I need something else more? 4......Will it pay for itself in the end? 5......Do I help or injure the community in buying this? What do you think of the man who earned about $200.00 per month, who with scarcely any increase in salary, on succes sive years bought first a Ford, then a Dodge, then a Buick, then a second-hand Cadillac? Why does one live beyond his means? Because ’ ’ Fine feathers make fine birds?” Each fellow tries to get ahead of this neighbor. PART TWO We are very proud of the record the school has made in the number of new School Savings Accounts — Keep on boosting — Who knows but that these accounts are the foundation stones of "building our estates.” Never too young to begin! 85 PROSPERITY BULLETIN NO. 14 Sez Eddie Wiz, ’ 'it's like being twins to educate your dollars to work for you*" Now that many of you have found it easy to save $25*00 or more, how would you like to be a real investor? An investment means, to put your time, energy and money where it will earn a profit* The profit depends largely on how much good sense you use. Then too, one's profit should be measured in terms of good health and happiness as well as in dollars* A stu dent may earn, save, and spend wisely but he cannot be called thrifty unless he can invest his money safely at a good interest* Money may be invested in an education, in tools for work, or in goods to sell. In such cases money is called capital * If a student has saved and bought a bicycle for $35*00 in order to get a better job he is a capitolist to the extent of |55* Or a student's money may be lent to others at interest: i To the government by buying a bond which is a promise to pay a certain stun at a fixed time. Government bonds are as safe as the government, so pay a low rate of interest, about to 4%» 2 To one's State, by buying State bonds. 3*..*.To one's City, or school district to build city buildings or schools— safe and yield from 4% to 5 4.....To the Schools Savings Banks at 4% interest— unusually safe and has the advantage of one's being able to get his money out easily— that is, one’s money is 'liquid*. 5.....To a Building and Loan Association, quite safe in Cali fornia, pays you Q% or more— Their certificates can be bought on time, say, of $5* per month or more* 6**..*To an insurance company for an endowment policy, which means that one pays in so much in premiums in order to get a certain sum at the end of say 15 to 20 years. Pays about 4% and gives certain protection.' 0ne*s money is tied up but one can borrow on such a policy* 7.....To certain corporations or companies who sell light and gas, etc. Stock in these corporations pays as much as 7%; is reasonably safe, and can be bought on the small payment plan. Sez Eddie Wiz, "You don't go to a plumber to have your teeth fixed, why trust any but an expert as to the invest ment of your money." PART TWO Now that Christmas is over we are putting on a big contest, to close February first, for the three home rooms having the largest percentage on the Thriftometers— Big RewardI — Let's all pull togetherI Atta boy, let’s gol PART ONE INVESTING 86 PROSPERITY BULLETIN NO* 15* PART ONE Sez Eddie Wiz, "Spend and the world spends with you, save and you save a loan*” - Prante* INVESTING Last week we spoke of ways in which a student could invest monoy* This week we will discuss investments you may look forward to having later* (Mathematics teachers please help, if convenient) Investments for the adults 1 * *. * * A home« Even though bought on the installment plan, and even though the taxes and assessments come high, it gives one a sense of pride in ownership and of belonging to a city as nothing else can, to have one*s own home. 2.....Life insurance both for protection and for an endowment to be collected later• 3*....For the small investor, savings account, building and loan, government, city, public utility bonds* 4...*.For the larger investor first mortages on real estate up to 50$ value. Good income property well located with an in creasing value. (Don’t buy real estate without a thorough investigation. Be careful of lots located at a distance.) Stock in local corporations selling light or gas, etc., or in railroads of the best class. There are a large number of investment bankers and brokers whom you may consult for many good types of investment. Did you kno^r that the American public turns over to crooks more than $2,000,000. a year! And that these crooks have regular lists of ’suckers* or ’lillies’ in every town whom they know to be easy marks. Sez Eddie Wiz, "They’re all the time putting ’gold bricks* in new wrappers so how’s a fellow going to know? And then after the crook gets your money he calls you a ’lily*!” Tfhat are we going to do about it? 1....Be suspicious of every investment offered to you. 2.....Don’t buy on ’tips* from anyone, not even from a friend* until you have made a thorough investigation yourself • 3....*Keep at least 75$ of your money in safe securities (such as mortgages on real estate, bonds, etc.) If you must take a chance, use only 25$ of your money. 4...*.Don’t buy into anything located at a distance. If it were good, local persons would have already bought all the stock. 5....Sez Eddie Wiz, "Always use your head, not the other fellovfs!” PART TWO Many new accounts are reported this week, many are working hard for AJs and B’s, hundreds are hanging on to the budget, locker keys and books— Result— a big THRIFT SCORE! Atta boy, hold that line! 87 Indirect Methods of Instruction In addition to the direct method of giving thrift education by means of the bulletins, certain general activities of the high school were utilized, such as, the assembly, the school paper, poster dis plays, social events and contests. The following outline of events was followed while inaugurating the thrift program: Thrift Calendar of 1927 September 13 The Prosperity Club organized. October 5 Thrift Assembly - conducted by the Club. October 28 Thrift Banquet - in the school cafeteria. October 19 The Prosperity Club thrift program at the Parent-Teacher Association meeting. November 3 Meeting of the Thrift Council - refreshments. ) November 4 Meeting with the mathematics Department. November 6 Community Chest Drive - Club helped actively. November 7-15 Essay Contest - conducted through the English Department • November 18 Home Room 103 given free tickets to school show for being the first to get 100*^ in School Savings. November 10 National Forestry Primer distributed through the Social Science Classes. January ' 4 Thrift Assembly - Topic: wInvestment• * * January 11-18 Drive for new savings accounts - Three teams - Assemblies - Noon parade. January 18 Winning team sees free a Harold Lloyd comedy. February 1 Close of the experiment - Close of Thriftometer Contest - a party to the three home rooms with the best score on the Thriftometer Cards given by the city supervisor of thrift education. 88 The importance of some of these events warrant a fuller description* Assemblies It was deemed wise to have a general assembly devoted to the dis cussion of thrift as early as possible in the term, in order to start with a mutual understanding of the nature of the project* With this end in view the first thrift assembly was very elabor ately planned, with the band invited to furnish music* The entire Prosperity Club was seated on the stage to lend dignity to the occa sion* The program given by members of the club consisted of a cycle of four, three-minute speeches upon the general topics of earning, saving, spending, and investing* As each of these speakers finished, he was followed by four other students who, in one minute speeches, told how the idea had been put into practice* For example, after the first speaker had answered such questions as, "Can a junior high school student earn money?", and "What can he do?", he was followed by four students who told how they were actually earning money. One, for example, explained hcm he caddied at the country club outside of school hours* At the second thrift assembly, planned for January 4th, outside speakers were invited. The Supervisor of the Schools Savings Depart ment of the city and a representative from one of the life insurance companies spoke of ways for a boy and girl to invest money safely. 89 The Club Banquet Some events of a social nature were planned for the thrift club to reward members for the serious work they had done. After the quarter grades were issued a simple banquet was given by the club. As guests two city thrift supervisors, the principals of the eight contributing grammar schools, and the school officers were invited.^- The Drive for New Savings Accounts Since one of the purposes of the study was to recognize the work of the School Savings Banks, a special contest was held during a ?ireek in January, after the Christmas rush, for the specific pur pose of interesting students in new accounts. This event was one of the most spirited, as well as one of the most successful of the year for the Prosperity Club. To create friendly rivalry the school was divided into three teams: Team One, Team Two, and Team Three, with a captain and a faculty sponsor for each team. The reward was a free vaudeville and picture shew for the winning team. Competition was keen. Thi*ough group assemblies during the home room period, through impromptu noon parades, and through the wearing of all types of insignia fur nished by the print shop enthusiasm was stimulated. The net result of the contest was four hundred new school savings accounts for the week. ^ For the program, see the Appendix. The songs are typical of those used during the year. 90 The School Paper The thrift column in the monthly edition of 1 1 The Wizard” was most helpful in the present experiment* Certain excerpts given at this point were representative of the contributions to the paper* It was the policy of the paper to use the student’s own language rather than to correct the articles by adult standards* Saving and Happiness (Prize Essay) SavingsJ A word with the meaning of happiness. If everyone would look around and investigate, they \Tould find that in the cases where people are prospering by having good investments, it usually has nothing to do with being left a great amount of money by a rich uncle from Australia* But that by dint of hard working, spend ing wisely, and of course, saving properly, these people have prospered. Of course, every rule has its exceptions and some people are unfortunate enough to perhaps have had some ill luck which prohibited this. On the other hand, let us look upon the other extreme case. People who loaf on street comers and complain to each other as to why they arenft rich, instead of looking for a job, at night they go to the bread line to eat. It is from this sort that robbers have originated. These are the two extreme cases of human nature. Clarence Books, B-8. The Thrift Ship *Twas a stormy night on an angry sea. And the waves were as wild as waves could be And the treacherous rocks seemed to hungrily ensnare Every doomed ship that entered their lair. The ships went down, one after one, And the crash resembled the report of a gun, As some fated ships went to their doom, To dwell thereafter in some cavernous sea room. 91 All the ships had perishedt Oh, but lookt There in the dark sea*s darkest nook, Sending forth its rays like a beacon light Said the angry sea to the ship that was still Riding the waves with a powerful will, ”How can you sail as with never a care? For I am the sea of Debt and Despair Iw "Please notice, angry sea, that at my mast The banner of Thrift is holding fast. And no matter how hard the winds may blow Onward forever, I will go." Then the angry sea grew angry indeed, nI*ve decided, pert ship, that it*s you I shall feed To my hungry nymphs for their morning meal •1 1 And his mighty waves tried the strength of its keel. But all of his efforts were in vain. For the ship sailed onward, down the rough sea lane, And the banner of Thrift fluttered high in the gale. And thus, dear reader, ends my tale. Martha Hunsaker — B9. Eddie Wiz (Prize Essay) I am Eddie Wiz. I came to Edison Junior High, Sept., 1927. I am the brightest of them all. When I first came here, they threw paper in the hall, and played on their way to their classes, and spent their money foolishly for shows. They did not pay attention to what the teacher said. They were not thrifty. I got very angi*y at this and beat a few of them up, and told them to be thrifty. I started the Prosperity Club and Thrift Bulletin. I put wise cracks in the school paper, and made them laugh. Then I went around to the home room and told them how to be thrifty to earn money and save it. Not to run to the store whenever they got any money, but to save it and put it in the bank. So they started to do this and now we have got a thrifty bunch at Edison Junior High School; and when I get through, they will be the happiest people in the world. Marvin Sapp, B-7. 92 Help from the Various Departments It was the thought, in soliciting the cooperation of the several departments of the school, not to interfere with the regular work, but to get their help with the thrift program insofar as it fitted into the course* The Mathematics Department suggested that such items as budget making, and simple banking with the computing of interest on savings could be taught by them without their deviating from their course of study# The English Department conducted the essay contest; the Home Economics Department stressed thrift in foods, clothing, mil linery classes; and the Social Science Department helped with the giving of the tests. The Commercial Art Department made many posters# The Los Angeles Plan of Banking School Savings Since the banking of school savings is an integral part of this experiment, a consideration of the Los Angeles plan is relevant# The writer built her experiment around the system already in vogue, the principal features of which are outlined: Underlying Principles , ■ (1) That there shall be no monopoly granted to any one financial institution, but that all banks in the Los Angeles system shall be permitted to participate# ^ For details the reader is referred to The nLos Angeles Plan” of School Savings, a pamphlet published by the School Savings Department, 1927. 93 (2) That school depositors shall be given entire freedom of action in choosing the bank in ivhich they desire to carry their accounts. (3) That principals and teachers shall be relieved of the detail work of receiving deposits. (4) That the children shall go to the banks in the regular man ner, using coin safes and the regulation pass book. The Order in ¥fhich Thrift is Presented to School Children The following is quoted from the ”Los Angeles Plan:”- * * A talk is given on the importance of living thrifty lives and developing sound habits at an early age. Children are given a folder describing the plan and instructed to take it home to their parents. Upon request each pupil is provided by his teacher with a school safe in ivhich to accumulate his savings. Pupils are instructed to select bank in which they desire to carry their account. Pupils are told that after accumulating approximately $1.00 in the school safe, each should open a school savings bank account in a member bank of the Association. When pupil appears at bank and opens a regular savings account marked ^School Savings,” he receives a ruler and penholder, and later a congratulatory letter from bank through the mail. The plan just described out outlined primarily for the lower grades and was later extended to the junior high school. Early in the experiment certain difficulties were encountered; the junior high school students found the banks too far away for them to make ^ For details the reader is referred to The ”Los Angeles Plan” of School Savings, a pamphlet published by the School Savings Department, 1927, p. 17. 94 deposits on school days and most of the depositors had to work on Saturdays# The district of the experimental school covers about sixteen square miles# There were traffic problems; likewise cer tain discipline problems in having students go so far from school. The same difficulties would not be encountered in a grade school serving its immediate neighborhood# To meet these objections, in an experimental way, a hea'vy envelope was used. This envelope was large enough to carry the pass book together with the savings# Certain information as to the bank, amount of deposit, the students name and address, were printed on the outside of the envelope. The teachers, who were the thrift sponsors, acted as volunteer carriers of deposits for many who could not go to the bank# During the week of the special drive for new accounts, most of the banks agreed to remain open after school# Many depositors availed themselves of this opportunity. In very special cases several teachers furnished transportation for students to the banks during the noon hour. In its main features the ”Los Angeles Plan" is sound and work able, yet it needs to be modified in certain details to be better suited to the secondary school situation# Testing the Results At the close of the experiment, the last of January, the same tests were given as were given at the beginning of the course. The tabulation of the results are a part of the next chapter# 95 Chapter Summary The experiment in thrift education, with special reference to the junior high school, as outlined in this chapter, is the very core of the whole study. Four important phases of the procedure have been described; namely, (l) the preliminary work necessary, before the course could be started, including, extensive reading, the construction of certain tests and the construction of the thrift program; (2) the direct method of instruction through the bulletins taken to the home rooms each week, by members of the Prosperity Club; (3) the indirect method of instruction through such activities as the assembly, poster displays in the home rooms and in the hall, through the school paper and through contests; and (4) the method of banking school savings in Los Angeles, 96 CHAPTER YII RESULTS The results of the experiment are given in the following order: A. The Objective Findings 1. From the experimental groups Scores on the thrift tests (TABLE I - VI p.98) 2* From the school as a whole Thriftometer Gards New School Savings Accounts B* Experiential Observation 1# Based upon personal interview with the students of Group A. 2# Based upon reports from the thrift-sponsors* 3. Based upon comments of the principal* Evaluation of Scores on the Thrift Tests It will be recalled that only certain groups were used for testing, as only a sampling could be used in such a large project: Group A - B7 Grade, who received thrift instruction* Section 1 - a group of high ability (TABLE I p*98 ) Section 2 - a group of average ability (TABLE U p * 99) Section 3 - a group of low ability (TABLE III p*100) Group B - (Control group in the same school) B7 Grade, who did not receive instruction* Section 1 - a group of high ability (TABLE IV p*101) Section 2 - a group of average ability (TABLE V p.102) Section 3 - a group of low ability (TABLE VI p*103) 97 Group G - (Control group out of Los Angeles) B7 Grade, who did not receive thrift course. Section 1 - a group of high ability (TABLE VII p.104) Section 2 - a group of average ability (TABLE VIII p*10£j Section 3 - a group of low ability (TABLE IX p,106 ) Group D - B9 Grade used for an age comparison Section 2 - a group of average ability (TABLE X p,107 ) The groups in the experimental school were made as nearly comparable as possible with respect to mental age, with certain over aged students removed. The groups in the outside school were taken as found. As far as possible the chronological age in months, the mental ag© (Terman Group Test), and the intelligence quotient are given. All cases were discarded if scores on the thrift tests of both October 1, end January 30 were not secured from the same student. The true-false test on thrift was scored and the recorded result was obtained by subtracting the number wrong from the number right. The score on the best answer test was the number right. The basis of scoring was the result of competent opinion, in this case that of the thrift sponsors. The basis for scoring the judgment test was the summary of replies obtained in a university seminar class. It must be remembered that the score indicates the amount of deviation from the right answers, therefore a low score will show a better judgment of thrift practices than a higher score. 98 TABLE I - GROUP A - SECTION X (Given the Course) Showing Scores on Thrift Tests for Oct. 1, 1927 and Jan. 30, 1928, for a B7 Group of High Intelligence Case No. C.A,* M.A. I.Q. True False Oct. Jan. Best Answer Oct. Jan. Judgment Oct. Jan. 1 143 162 113 26 38 18 21 10 10 2 156 160 98 13 22 3 162 162 100 26 40 15 19 14 2 4 133 *68 126 24 32 10 17 12 10 5 141 160 114 28 46 16 22 6 167 167 100 31 28 15 18 12 2 7 147 160 109 30 37 13 18 10 4 8 138 160 116 30 32 18 20 18 14 9 111 157 143 24 34 11 16 15 10 10 143 166 116 24 40 16 23 11 134 161 120 22 38 15 19 10 5 12 143 160 104 32 37 14 23 8 6 13 134 168 125 16 38 19 16 14 176 163 93 30 16 15 165 169 103 26 38 11 23 10 6 16 145 162 112 38 44 13 18 18 6 17 146 166 114 18 160 163 102 23 32 9 20 12 10 19 151 166 110 13 19 20 121 164 135 28 32 14 21 8 6 21 139 161 116 20 34 16 21 12 12 22 149 159 115 28 46 14 21 8 10 23 151 167 111 32 42 11 15 6 12 24 132 167 126 36 42 17 22 10 2 25 135 153 114 14 36 10 19 15 6 26 145 164 113 18 40 8 10 27 155 166 107 27 33 18 20 12 12 28 138 163 118 34 36 29 162 164 101 20 26 13 22 30 153 163 107 36 38 15 19 14 6 31 128 165 129 19 10 32 135 169 102 11 16 TOTAL 639 959 408 540 261 177 N 32 32 32 26 26 28 28 22 22 M 144.9 163.3 113 24.6 36.9 14.59 19.29 11.86 8.05 M Yrs. 12-1 13-8 Difference of means 12.3 4.7 3.81 This is the high section of Group A who received instruction in thrift. The thrift tests may be found in the Appendix. 99 TABLE II - GROUP A - SECTION 2 (Given the Course) Shoeing Scores on Thrift Tests for Oct, 1, 1927 and Jan. 30, 1928, for a B7 Group of Average Intelligence Case No. C.A. M.A. I.Q. True False Oct* Jan. Best Answer Oct. Jan. Judgment Oct. Jan. 1 159 146 92 20 30 17 24 10 8 2 147 146 ,99 26 40 13 22 6 8 3 153 144 95 28 36 7 16 6 18 4 145 146 101 18 25 18 21 4 6 5 143 146 95 28 38 17 30 2 6 6 145 145 100 7 15 7 162 145 90 16 18 3 13 12 10 8 141 147 104 36 39 18 19 7 11 9 145 144 99 16 39 13 20 4 4 10 154 145 95 28 35 13 17 8 4 11 136 143 105 28 28 7 18 6 4 12 149 145 98 19 22 13 136 142 104 16 32 9 15 10 10 14 153 146 96 24 39 12 20 14 16 15 122 144 109 20 36 12 19 4 6 16 149 146 98 16 32 12 18 4 6 17 146 145 100 26 30 11 16 10 10 18 151 148 99 12 34 11 14 6 4 19 131 143 95 13 17 6 4 20 136 145 106 26 26 11 17 8 6 21 141 144 102 20 20 6 16 4 16 22 143 145 102 26 38 13 22 6 8 23 152 143 95 20 33 12 20 6 5 24 137 146 106 11 20 10 7 25 150 147 98 6 10 26 152 147 98 8 16 27 140 143 102 14 21 14 14 8 6 28 145 148 102 20 36 13 20 10 6 29 143 148 96 30 38 11 20 30 143 145 102 12 23 10 4 TOTAL 514 743 335 528 195 219 N 30 30 30 23 23 28 28 27 27 M 144*9 145.2 99 22.3 32.3 11.9 18.8 7.2 8.1 M Yrs. 12-8 12-10 Differences of Means 9.94 6.54 .89 This is the average section of the Group A, receiving thrift instruc tion* 100 TABLE III - GROUP A - SECTION 3 (Given the Course) Showing Scores on Thrift Tests for Oct* 1, 1927 and Jan* 30, 1928, for a B7 Group of Low Ability Case No. C.A. M.A. I.Q. True False Oct. Jan. Best Answer Oct. Jan. 1 138 134 97 10 34 9 15 2 149 135 90 10 40 7 18 3 173 140 81 17 32 4 169 144 85 16 36 14 20 5 134 130 91 28 34 16 20 6 170 145 85 14 28 8 19 7 155 137 89 18 28 4 12 8 158 137 87 10 36 15 18 9 163 142 87 23 44 9 19 10 171 154 84 10 32 13 17 11 164 140 86 20 24 15 20 12 163 136 84 30 36 16 16 13 157 137 88 0 28 11 13 14 156 140 90 24 38 5 16 15 168 139 88 25 30 9 20 16 162 140 87 24 34 10 19 17 162 143 88 34 34 11 20 18 164 142 87 21 24 13 19 19 154 84 35 40 15 19 20 143 138 89 14 32 9 20 21 138 137 100 12 16 22 158 181 103 26 40 19 21 23 165 139 85 24 34 15 19 24 140 132 95 32 36 14 20 25 169 142 84 17 34 12 21 26 142 142 100 22 39 11 14 TOTAL 516 863 280 435 N 25 26 26 25 25 24 24 IC 157.24 135.27 89 20.64 34.52 11.67 18.12 M Trs. 13-1 11-3 Differences of Mean© 13.88 6.46 This is the low section of Group A who received instruction in thrift. 101 TABLE IV - GROUP B - SECTIOB 1 (Control) Showing Scores on Thrift Tests for Oct. 1, 1927 and Jan. 50, 1928, for a B7 Group of High Intelligence Case Ho. C.A. M.A. I.Q. True False Oct* Jan. Best Answer Oct. Jan. Judgment Oct. Jan* 1 142 163 115 34 36 12 20 9 9 2 152 159 105 34 40 19 21 6 8 3 161 164 85 17 19 5 6 4 157 158 101 30 34 18 21 6 11 5 142 160 113 21 17 10 10 6 140 165 116 40 37 14 20 6 8 7 138 166 120 32 20 23 21 7 4 8 145 168 116 32 36 17 18 12 9 9 158 157 100 18 34 10 15 4 8 10 147 160 109 32 28 13 14 12 10 11 155 164 106 26 18 15 17 10 13 12 140 167 119 34 30 20 20 12 8 13 133 164 123 16 15 14 157 165 105 28 34 13 13 12 6 15 148 160 108 34 28 19 21 7 8 16 145 158 109 30 28 17 14 10 2 17 135 159 118 34 32 11 17 10 6 18 144 161 112 30 34 17 18 6 8 19 147 160 105 13 16 12 10 20 148 162 110 11 16 13 16 21 15 20 9 6 22 19 13 TOTAL 468 469 350 386 178 166 H 20 20 20 15 15 22 22 20 20 M 146.7 162 109.7 31.2 31.3 15.9 17.5 8.9 8.3 M Yrs. 12-2 13-5 Differences of Means 0 1.63 .6 This group did not receive instruction in Thrift, hut were members of the experimental school. For copies of tests see the Appendix. 102 TABLE V - GROUP B - SECTION 2 (Control) Shewing Scores on Thrift Tests for Oct* l# 1927 and Jan* 30, 1928, of a B7 Group of Average Intelligence Case No* C.A,. M.A. l.Q. True False Sept • Jan* Best Answer Oct* Jan* Judgment 1 146 149 102 24 18 7 12 14 8 2 141 147 113 28 38 11 19 8 8 3 145 145 100 34 40 13 16 8 4 4 153 145 96 24 28 16 10 5 154 148 96 18 26 8 12 6 6 6 137 143 104 10 20 2 5 8 4 7 138 148 107 26 30 14 19 8 12 8 147 149 102 28 10 15 13 8 9 9 159 145 92 20 30 10 24 8 10 10 142 147 103 24 28 17 15 4 12 11 142 147 103 22 22 14 13 18 2 12 159 146 92 18 34 13 161 146 91 22 32 13 14 8 8 14 140 143 102 24 28 12 10 8 10 15 161 149 93 22 26 10 14 12 20 16 147 148 101 18 25 12 15 22 8 17 136 144 106 6 15 14 16 10 8 18 156 149 96 20 20 19 18 6 8 19 142 148 104 12 37 9 16 6 2 20 165 148 90 18 26 12 18 6 8 21 164 148 91 38 38 13 12 10 10 22 142 145 102 18 35 17 18 12 6 23 26 26 16 19 8 8 TOTAL 500 632 274 328 198 171 27 N 22 22 22 23 23 132 22 22 54 21 21 H 148.9 146.6 99•3 21.7 27.4 12.5 14*9 M Years 12-4 12-2 Differences of Means: 5.73 2.45 1*28 This group did not receive instruction in Thrift, but -were members of the experimental school* For copies of tests, see the Appendix* 103 TABLE VI - GROUP B - SECTION 3 (Control) Showing Scores on Thrift Tests for Oct* 1, 1927 and Jen* 30, 1928, of a B7 Group of Low Ability Case No. C.A. M.A. I.Q. True False Oct. Jan Best Answer • Oct* Jan* Judgment Oct. Jan. 1 152 100 16 16 12 12 14 8 2 151 136 91 24 11 7 8 2 6 3 19 22 11 9 6 10 4 147 144 91 26 28 14 8 5 161 144 88 23 20 14 15 6 4 6 150 137 92 18 18 16 11 10 6 7 159 137 86 15 12 8 12 8 157 136 87 16 32 9 8 4 12 9 148 132 89 8 16 9 8 8 8 10 142 130 92 28 16 10 11 8 12 11 142 137 97 30 30 10 16 8 10 12 150 133 89 36 34 11 11 6 4 13 155 139 91 38 17 6 6 14 176 152 88. 22 21 8 13 4 4 15 163 146 89 10 16 7 5 10 14 16 149 132 89 18 22 7 7 2 8 17 164 139 85 8 23 9 11 8 6 18 128 131 103 28 20 11 9 8 6 19 153 137 90 14 11 10 13 2 8 20 161 133 89 16 22 7 3 21 153 136 90 22 19 6 12 22 165 140 85 32 32 11 19 12 6 23 166 146 88 24 32 17 15 12 6 24 163 143 88 12 10 10 8 25 155 138 89 20 22 26 157 114 14 26 4 8 TOTAL 502 514 12 217 228 192 202 10 IT 23 25 25 24 24 21 21 24 24 M 154.7 139.4 91*2 20*9 21*4 10.3 10.8 8 8.4 M Trs* 12-9 11-7 Differences of Means IS IO « .52 -.42 This group did not receive instruction, but were members of the ex perimental school* For copies of tests, see the Appendix. 104 TABLE VII - GROUP C - SECTION 1 (Control) Showing Scores on Thrift Tests for Oct. 1, 1927 and Jan. 30, 1928, for a Group of B7 - Out of City Case No. I.Q. True False Oct* Jan• Best Answer Oct. Jan. Judgment Oct. Jan. 1 118 24 30 19 9 10 6 2 109 20 26 14 10 10 12 3 93 19 22 15 10 12 6 4 99 20 30 10 12 14 8 5 26 20 15 15 4 6 6 24 30 13 14 8 10 7 105 20 23 9 12 8 6 8 85 20 24 8 9 12 8 9 34 32 17 21 12 10 10 118 18 20 16 20 8 8 11 14 9 8 12 12 6 12 32 30 16 13 8 2 13 87 26 32 17 13 14 10 14 116 20 30 14 19 6 8 15 80 18 28 15 16 14 8 16 20 32 15 14 6 8 17 100 8 9 13 15 10 4 18 12 20 12 14 8 10 19 20 2 19 18 8 10 20 100 12 14 15 10 21 92 0 1 5 7 11 2 22 18 24 17 20 4 10 23 101 21 19 10 10 18 11 24 114 20 32 12 13 4 8 25 110 20 32 16 17 6 8 26 117 18 23 12 16 8 6 27 110 24 28 15 14 8 4 28 102 20 18 10 14 4 8 29 108 22 28 16 20 12 8 30 110 14 32 16 15 31 12 24 10 15 32 109 36 36 14 14 8 6 TOTAL 620 726 106 430 455 25 282 227 50 N 22 31 31 3! 32 32 32 30 30 30 M 103.7 20 23.4 13.4 14.21 9.4 7.6 Differences of Means 3.42 •78 1.83 Comparable group out of city used as a second control group. This group received no instruction in thrift. For copies of tests, see the Appendix. 105 TABLE VIII - GROUP C - SECTIOH 2 (Control) Showing Scores on Thrift Tests for Oct* 1, 1927 and Jan* 30, 1928, for a Group of B7 * ■ Out of City Case Ho. I.Q. True False Oct* Jan Best Answer • Oct * Jan* Judgment Oct. Jan* 1 109 20 14 14 16 12 8 2 91 28 15 11 14 14 6 3 110 28 34 11 14 12 8 4 115 35 34 13 16 6 8 5 36 26 15 20 10 6 6 112 36 34 19 21 12 16 7 102 10 20 10 11 8 9 8 128 21 22 18 19 10 10 9 114 • 24 20 17 11 12 18 10 105 14 14 10 9 10 11 11 38 40 17 18 6 10 12 102 26 32 18 14 12 8 13 114 30 26 14 21 12 12 14 146 26 46 17 17 8 8 15 105 : 28 30 10 12 14 6 16 139 30 24 15 16 6 12 17 30 40 15 19 8 8 18 16 30 11 12 14 6 19 30 36 19 19 8 4 20 24 26 10 18 12 14 21 103 14 22 12 17 8 10 22 110 28 32 18 17 10 6 23 127 13 13 16 17 8 8 24 112 30 32 9 10 10 14 25 129 10 14 8 14 26 8? 36' 36 19 13 8 14 27 98 20 20 12 14 2 6 28 94 30 30 15 13 6 10 29 10 10 16 17 10 19 30 103 28 38 16 19 14 6 31 104 26 26 11 12 8 12 32 93 24 16 14 2 14 12 33 112 32 35 15 17 14 8 34 122 38 38 14 16 10 10 TOTAL 52 48l 34 336 33 i 33 33 33 34 34 34 54 34 11* 0.6 26.0 27.6 ’ i4.i 1£>.1 9.8 9.8 Differences of Means 1*5 1. -.1 Comparable group out of city used as a second control group* Ho thrift instruction was given to this group* For copies of tests, see Appendix* 106 TABLE IX - GROUP C - SECTIOH 3 (Control) Showing Scores on Thrift Tests for Oct. 1, 1927 and Jan. 30, 1928, for a Group of B7 - Out of City Case Ho. I.Q. frue False Oct. Jan. Best Ans vrer Oct. Jan• Judgment Oct. Jan. i 18 22 18 11 8 10 2 Ill 20 19 12 12 8 8 3 99 21 24 11 9 6 10 4 125 25 20 19 19 10 8 5 117 18 32 16 17 6 8 6 24 29 19 20 8 14 7 110 15 18 4 10 8 106 24 20 19 11 4 8 9 125 38 40 17 24 10 113 22 32 16 20 6 2 11 10 9 6 6 12 115 24 20 19 19 2 4 13 128 18 20 17 16 2 6 14 96 6 15 9 10 6 8 15 89 14 16 12 13 8 4 16 20 26 16 17 2 6 17 107 22 36 17 20 4 8 18 106 16 11 16 15 8 10 19 115 30 32 16 14 6 10 20 128 25 38 18 19 4 4 21 105 13 14 2 7 22 129 14 26 11 17 8 14 23 12 21 24 26 33 18 21 6 4 25 112 22 22 16 14 6 14 26 128 22 22 12 19 27 84 14 16 11 11 12 12 28 138 26 36 11 16 10 10 29 16 10 12 10 30 111 20 25 10 10 10 10 31 112 18 22 13 17 32 100 20 24 14 11 10 22 33 22 35 13 17 8 6 34 94 14 28 14 15 10 12 35 26 30 12 12 8 6 36 109 15 7 10 8 37 130 36 36 17 20 10 10 38 109 14 14 39 121 . 22 24 TOTAL 144 540 56 6 2 6 &30 289 -E>9 * H 30 33 33 f r » to to to 37 37 33 33 33 M 112.4 21.2 25.6 14.6 15.3 7.27 8.75 Differences of Means 4.3 .67 -1.T9 ■ ■ ■ wnrj-jr* ~ ~ ------- ^ — ---------3 ----------------- group received no thrift instruction. 107 TABIE X - GROUP D Showing Scores on the Thrift Tests for Oct. 1, 1927 and Jan. 30, 1928 for an Average B9 Grade Case True Best No. I.Q. False Answer Judgment Oct. Jan. Oct• Jan. Oct. Jan. 1 104 32 27 8 19 10 10 2 109 20 22 13 8 3 95 30 34 13 19 3 8 4 80 24 36 13 10 4 8 5 105 38 40 18 19 6 8 6 117 32 38 16 19 7 81 28 38 17 18 14 6 8 106 40 38 20 22 10 10 9 100 35 44 20 20 8 6 10 98 36 33 16 17 6 9 11 94 40 46 19 22 4 4 12 101 36 34 17 18 2 8 13 105 34 42 19 19 10 8 14 98 26 33 14 14 8 6 15 98 34 42 15 23 14 14 16 93 36 36 16 19 1 6 17 89 32 46 14 18 18 98 40 42 6 6 19 91 32 36 17 17 2 6 20 95 30 42 19 19 6 4 21 108 40 42 23 20 10 2 22 92 34 37 19 23 8 8 23 101 38 40 20 22 7 14 24 89 30 36 20 21 10 8 25 100 34 40 14 19 6 6 26 108 27 38 10 18 6 10 27 103 43 42 18 16 6 8 28 120 A A Ti 43 29 108 36 35 14 15 10 12 TOTAL 961 1080 449 508 190 203 N 29 28 28 27 27 26 26 M 99.52 34.32 38.57 16.6 18.3 7.31 7.80 Differences of Means 4.25 2.19 -.5 A B9 group in the experimental group that was used for an age comparison. 108 TABLE XL - SUMMARY Showing Net Gain Per Pupil in Scores on the Thrift Tests for All Sections (For Tests, see Appendix) Group A -*- True- False Best Answer Judgment I.Q. C.A. M.A. B7 - Section 1 12.3 4.70 3.81 113 12-1 13-8 B7 - Section 2 9.94 6.54 .89 99 12-8 12-10 B7 - Section 3 13.88 6.46 89 13-1 11-3 Average 11.89 5.10 1.22 100.3 Percentage Gain 53.11 47.03 13.16 Group B2 B7 - Section 1 0 1.63 .6 109.75 12-2 13-5 B7 - Section 2 5.75 2.45 1.28 99.36 12-4 12-2 B7 - Section 3 .57 .52 CM . 1 91.2 12-9 11-7 Average 2.34 1.55 .41 100.1 Percentage Gain 9.86 12.01 .51 Group €.3 H.P. B7 - Section 1 3.42 .78 1.83 103.7 H.P. B7 - Section 2 1.50 1.00 -.10 110.6 H.P. B7 - Section 3 4.30 .67 -1.79 112.4 Average 3.01 .815 -.556 108.9 Percentage Gain 13.39 5.79 -6.48 Group B9 - Average ability 4.25 2.19 -.5 99.52 Percentage Gain 12.38 13.14 -6.84 ^ Group A received thrift instruction* ^ Group B did not receive instruction. 4 Group C did not receive instruction. Group D, a 9th Grade Group who received instruction. 109 An Analysis of the Summary of Scores, TABLE XI, shows the following points: (1) Group A, which received the thrift instruction, showed a gain of 53.11$ on the true-false test; a gain of 47*03$ on the best answer test; and an increase of 13.16$ on the judgment test. (2) Group B, the control group in the same school, showed gains of only 9.86$, 12.01$ and .51$ on the same tests. Even though these students did get indirectly certain thrift concepts, they only showed about one-fourth as much gain on the test scores, which the writer thinks is significant. (3) Group C from another school, which did not receive the thrift instruction, showed gains of 13.39$, 5.79$ and -6.48$. This group showed an average I.Q. of 108.9 for the group against 100.3 in the experimental school. (4) Scores seem to show that the instruction given by the Prosperity Club through the Thrift Bulletins was effective. Since the items of the tests were taken from the material of instruction, it seems logical to conclude that the tests have a high degree of validity, that is, that they measure what they are supposed to measure, i.e. thrift concepts. (5) There is some relation between being in a higher ability section rather than a lower ability section and the scores on the first thrift tests, before any instruction was given, as the follow ing figures will show: 110 A Comparison of Mean Scores on the Thrift Tests Group A Section 1, high Section 2, average Section 3, lav/ Section 1, high Section 2, average Section 3, low Average I.Q. 113 99 89 110 99 91 Group B True- False 24 22 20 31 21 20 Best Answer 14.9 11.9 11.6 9 9 8 But when it is observed that Section 9, a law ability section, improved more than any other section one cannot say that there is a significant relationship between intelligence and the acquisition of thrift concepts. (6) Conclusions concerning intelligence and thrift cannot be demonstrated by the present experiment since there are so many variables; namely, differences in home room teachers, thrift representatives, attendance, and in the economic background of the students tested. TEE OBJECTIVE FIND IEGS FROM THE SCHOOL AS A WHOLE 111 The objective findings previously discussed were obtained from the experimental groups on the true-false, the best answer, and the judgment thrift tests, designed to measure the instruction given in the bulletins* In contrast it was desired to obtain a sampling of the records of growth in certain other factors - affecting the school as a whole, which were utilized for the pur pose of making the course as comprehensive as possible. The Thriftometer Card To get a measure of the thrift practices of the school as a whole the nThriftometer Card” was created.A review of the card will show that 100 points were allocated to certain thrift practices; such as, saving time, as shown by a good attendance record; the saving of money, as indicated by the School Savings Banks score; the wise use of talent, as shown by a good scholar ship record, and the careful use of school property, as shovm by not having lost a library or a text book. The list does not include all possible thrift practices but only those of which the school kept records. Groups Used for This Report The cards were used by nearly all of the home rooms in the school, with the exception of three B7 classes, constituting the control, Group B Section 1, Section 2, and Section 3 did not receive instruction in thrift. ^ See p. 53a. 112 For this report the following classes were used: 1. The three B7 classes that constituted the experimental Group A, Section 1, Section 2, and Section 3 that received the thrift instruction. 2. One class of A7*s of average ability, selected at random* 3. One class of A9*s of high ability level, selected because they showed the highest thrift score in the school, on the Thrift- ometer Card. How the Scores were Obtained Since the report cards were issued at the end of the first and second quarters, the thrift cards were also scored at the same time. The scores then represent the total number of points on the card for the end of the first ten weeks and second ten weeks of the semester* 113 TABLE XII Showing the Total Score on the Thriftometer Card for the End of the First Quarter and for the End of the Second Quarter for Each Student, in Experimental Group A, Section 1. Case 1st 10 weeks 2nd 10 weeks Gain. 1 23 34 11 2 43 47 4 3 11 21 10 4 42 69 27 5 48 43 5 6 32 40 8 7 13 19 6 8 11 13 2 9 40 70 30 10 37 82 45 11 27 59 32 12 26 69 43 13 19 51 32 14 60 67 7 . 15 27 18 -9 1 16 77 81 4 17 31 49 18 18 35 33 2 19 44 82 38 20 25 69 44 21 39 63 24 22 48 53 5 23 26 69 43 24 35 73 38 25 25 59 34 26 9 41 32 27 41 23 -18 28 11 53 42 TOTAL 905 1450 545: MEAH 32.3 51.8 19.5 This table is to be read as follows: Case number 1 at the end of the first 10 weeks had a total score of 23 on the Thriftometer Card and at the end of the second 10 weeks, a total score of 34, representing a gain of 11 points. ^ A search of the school record showed that the two negative cases were absent frequently during the second quarter. 114 TABLE XIII Showing the Total Score on the Thriftometer Card for the End of the First Quarter and for the End of the Second Quarter for Each Student, in Experimental Group A, Section 2. Case 1st 10 weeks 2nd 10 weeks Gain 1 38 46 8 2 39 33 -6 3 55 72 17 4 36 46 10 5 34 61 27 6 35 65 30 7 29 29 0 8 44 34 ' * } -10 9 32 37 5 10 15 53 38 11 59 76 17 12 30 28 2 13 42 42 0 14 42 60 18 15 60 78 18 16 30 41 11 17 33 37 4 18 38 42 4 19 20 27 7 20 26 14 —12 21 67 60 - 7 22 41 65 24 23 53 63 10 24 25 23 - 2 25 45 40 - 5 26 31 33 2 27 22 37 15 28 20 29 9 29" 32 26 - 6 30 48 58 10 31 26 28 2 32 11 24 13 TOTAL 1197 1440 307 -48 259 MEAN 36.27 43.63 8.1 This table is to be read as follows: Case numte r 1 at the end of the first 10 weeks had a total score of 38 on the Thriftometer Card and at the end of the second 10 weeks, a total score of 46, representing a gain of 8 points. ^ A search, of the school record showed that Case 8, 15, 20 and 29 were absent frequently during the second quarter. 115 TABLE XIV Showing the Total Score on the Thriftometer Card for the End of the First Quarter and for the End of the Second Quarter for each Student, in Experimental Group A, Section 3* Case 1st 10 weeks 2nd 10 weeks Gain 1 31 31 0 2 54 62 8 3 41 41 0 4 70 70 0 5 34 70 36 6 43 43 0 7 44 53 11 8 30 48 18 9 42 44 2 10 26 16 -10 11 56 71 15 12 20 23 3 13 53 64 11 14 21 31 10 15 46 50 4 16 23 70 47 17 39 39 0 18 39 65 26 19 50 67 17 TOTAL 777 958 198 MEAN 40.8 50.42 10.4 This table is to be read as follows: Case number 1 at the end of the first 10 weeks had a total score of 31 on the Thriftometer Card and at the end of the second 10 weeks, a total score of 31 representing a gain of 0 points* 116 TABLE XV Showing the Total Score on the Thriftometer Card for the End of the First Quarter and for the End of the Second Quarter for Each Student, of an A7 class of Average Ability. xrl Case 1st 10 weeks 2nd 10 weeks Gain. 1 2l 65 44 2 55 72 17 3 80 84 4 4 42 67 25 5 41 70 29 6 45 72 27 7 48 59 11 8 37 69 32 9 0 49 49 10 23 22 -1 11 22 48 26 12 12 21 9 13 15 49 34 14 19 38 19 15 35 61 26 16 23 63 40 17 36 57 21 18 36 80 44 19 35 56 21 20 23 60 37 21 46 72 26 22 44 57 13 23 77 77 0 24 34 77 43 25 19 19 0 26 22 44 22 27 27 67 40 by? TOTAL 938 1575 ” 658 MEAN 34.74 58.33 24;S8 This table is to be read as follows: Case number 1 at the end of the first 10 weeks had a total score of 21 on the Thriftometer Card and at the end of the second 10 weeks, a total score of 65, representing a gain of 44 points. 117 TABLE XVI Showing the Total Score on the Thriftometer Card for the End of the First Quarter and for the End of the Second Quarter for Each Student, in an A9 class of Average Ability, Case 1st 10 weeks 2nd 10 weeks Gain. 1 65 80 15 2 54 58 4 3 74 85 11 4 43 51 8 5 71 94 23 6 48 58 10 7 81 94 13 8 59 72 13 9 70 86 16 10 65 60 -5 11 65 67 2 12 81 79 -2 13 59 85 26 14 77 86 9 15 89 96 7 16 65 90 25 17 58 67 9 18 57 64 7 19 61 73 12 20 68 84 16 21 47 70 23 22 65 92 27 23 49 68 19 24 70 81 11 25 79 86 7 26 65 78 13 27 77 73 -4 28 54 69 15 TOTAL 1816 2146 341 -11 • 330 HEAE : 64.13 76.64 12.51 This table is to be read as follows: Case number 1 at the end of the first 10 weeks had a total score of 65 on the Thriftometer Card and at the end of the second 10 weeks, a total score of 15, representing a gain of 15 points. 118 AN EVALUATION OF SCORES OR THE THRIFTOMETER CARD By referring to TABLE XII1 it is seen that on the Thrifto meter Card, Section 1 of the Experimental Group A made a mean score of 32*3 points at the end of the first quarter (ten weeks); and a mean score of 51,8 at the end of the second quarter (twenty weeks), showing a net gain of 19.5 points* Since there were 100 points allocated to the total number of items on the card, the percentage gain may be expressed 60,9. Both case 15 and case 27 had poor attendance records during the second quarter, which probably accounts for their negative scores in gain* With reference to TABLE XIII,^ it appears that Section 2 of Experimental Group A showed a mean score of 36,27 at the end of the first quarter and of 43,63 for the second quarter, a net gain of 7,36* The school records revealed that cases 8, 20, 25, and 29, lost 10 points each for absence during the second quarter* From TABLE XIV^ it is seen that Section 3 of Experimental Group A had a mean score of 40*8 for the first ten weeks and of 50.42 for the second ten weeks, an increase of 10,4^, or a percentage gain of 24^ . Summary of TABLES XII, XIII and XIV The following summary was made to show a comparison of scores for the three sections of the experimental group: 1 See p. 113. ^ See p. 114* ^ See p* 115. 119 Group A Mean Score Mean Score Gain 1st quarter 2nd quarter Sec. 1, High Ability Sec. 2, Average Ability Sec. 3, Low Ability 32.3 36.27 40.8 51.8 43.63 50.42 19.5 8.1 10.4 It appears that the group of high ability showed the greatest gain on the Thriftometer Card which was designed to measure thrift practices. The author found that the student instructor of Section 3, was superior to the instructor of Section 2, which may have accounted for the difference in scores. However, there were so many variables, such as attendance and having different teachers and instructors that no definite conclusions were drawn. TABLE XV^shows the record on the Thriftometer Cards of an A7 class of average ability, chosen at random. It seemed wise to give a report of certain sections not in the experimental group. The scores for this A7 class were, for the first quarter, 34.74; and for the second quarter, 58.33; showing a gain of 24.38. TABLE XVI^ shews the results on the Thriftometer Card for a class of A9*s of high mental ability. 64.85 and 76.64 were the mean scores for the first ten weeks and for the second ten weeks respectively, with a gain of 11.78. A score of 75 was held to be superior by competent judges, in this case the teacher sponsors of the thrift course. That a whole class should make a mean score of 76.64 was considered a remarkable record. 1 See p. 116. 2 See p. 117. 120 From the record of the experimental group and from the record of other classes in the school, it appears that there were gains in the mean gain of every class., between the scores obtained at the end of the first quarter and those obtained at the end of the second quarter. It appears too, that the use of the Thriftometer Card was effective in stimulating thrift practices in the experimental school. School Savings Accounts- Another objective means of measuring thrift practice was the reports of the thrift representatives as to the number of school savings accounts at the beginning and at the end of the experiment. Y/ith the daily influx of new students into the school at the opening of the term In September, it was difficult to determine the exact number of accounts. The first report showed that 41$ of all stu dents had accounts; the second report taken a week later gave only 37$. Probably both we re correct, due to the change in enrollment. The summary of the reports from all the home rooms at the end of the experiment January 30, 1928, showed that 61$ of the students had school savings accounts - :a $ gain of 65. . The greatest increase came during the one drive in the second week of January, with 400 new accounts for the week. These gave a total of 1315 accounts for the school of over 2000 students. On April 15, 1928, after the graduation of 150 A9 students on February 1, 1928, and after the addition of about 350 new B7fs the 121 school reported 57$ in school savings. This shows that the work is growing steadily. The total figures in reality represented even larger gains than the reports indicated because a large number of new students entered the school and many having school savings accounts were transferred during the progress of the experiment. The three sections of Experimental Group A reported a gain of 40$ in school savings accounts. These groups were selected because they had not had the school savings work of the previous term in the experimental school. This phase of the program showed most encouraging results. The number of school savings accounts was almost doubled for the semester even with a constant change in the personnel of the classes being taught. 122 EXPERIENTIAL OBSERVATION By the Students on the Personal Interview In addition to the objective tests already reported it seemed advisable to interview the students of experimental Group A regard ing their thrift concepts and thrift practices. To this end, before the experiment began, there was created an instrument of the questionnaire type which the writer called, The Personal Interview.**- From the responses of seventy-six students to the questions given at the beginning and at the end of the experiment the follow ing significant facts were listed: ■ * * • Earning* There was a slight increase in the number of students earning money out of school hours, and a decrease of two in the mean number of hours per week in whieh the students were employed* This decrease w&.s due, no doubt, to the fact that during the first weeks of school some of the students still held (their summer jobs. 2. Saving Money. There was a 40% increase in the number of School Savings Accounts but a decrease of 12^ in the number of regu lar savings bank -accounts, due to the withdrawal of funds from the regular bank in favor of the school savings. However, there was a net increase of 28f0 in the total number of accounts. The number of deposits by those having accounts for the semes ter was only 1.4 per person. This appeared to be due to the distance a student had to travel to make a deposit, and to the fact * See Appendix, p. 159. 123 that the banks were not open after school hours. There was an increase of 17$ in the number of budgets kept; likewise a decided improvement in the character of the items for which the students were saving. It would seem from these figures that the program was most effective with respect to saving. 3. Saving Time. In September 22$ of the students reported that a budget of time was kept; the number had grown to 31$ in January. An average daily absence was reported of 2.7 for the semester preceding the experiment; in contrast 1.9 was reported for the semester of the experiment, however there was an increase of .2$ in tardiness reported for the same periods. The writer is convinced that the thrift course was effective in improving attendance, but there were so many elements involved that one cannot say to what degree. 4* Saving Health. The writer did not know how exact the students* responses were as to the number who kept the health rules of the Physical Education Department for there was no direct check; but the boys and girls reported a gain of 17$. 5* Spending. As to how time was spent outside of school hours the writer found that there was an average attendance at the movies, for the group, of only five times per week. This finding disagrees with the accusation that junior high school students waste much money in this way. 124 In reporting their spending program a very large number in cluded giving. 78$ reported, in September, that they made regular contributions either to individuals or to the church. In January this number had increased to 92$. The Prosperity Glub had helped to sponsor the Community Chest Drive, in October, as part of their training. 6. Investing. The questionnaire dealt with the problem of investment by asking for responses to the following: (l) What is an investment? (2) Name three good investments. (3) Name three very poor ways of investing money. On the September replies, only 9$ knew anything about the mean ing of an investment; only 7$ knew even one good investment, and only 1$ knew a poor investment; the corresponding figures for January were 88$, 87$ and 83$. A review of Bulletins XIV and XV will show the nature of the instruction that was given. The results more than justified this part of the course. The most significant facts revealed by this questionnaire were: (1) a great gain in the students* knowledge of investing, (2) a significant increase in the number of new savings accounts, (3) an increase of concepts with reference to wise spending, and (4) a gain in the number who kept rules of health. Reports from the Thrift Sponsors The two teacher-sponsors of the thrift program made the follow ing report with reference to the experiment: 125 (1) The program had been effective in the following ways: (a) that it had started promptly at the beginning of the term already organized, (b) that it had been definite because the teachers and students had been informed exactly as to ?fhat was ex pected of them. (2) There had been a noticeable change of attitude on the part of both teachers and pupils. Although both the teachers and pupils had reacted with indifference and in some cases with antagonism at the beginning, this attitude had disappeared quickly during the progress of the course. This they attributed to two factors: (a) that the burden of the instruction had not fallen upon the teachers, (b) that the thrift assemblies and other activities of the Prosperity Club had stimulated interest and respect, (d) they had noticed a change in attitude toward education on the part of the students in that many were now saving for senior high school. They reported that one boy who had been in senior high for the ten weeks since February said that because he had started his savings account in junior high school he was able to have the twelve dollars* worth of athletic equipment which his family could not have given him. This point was further evidenced by the fact that students were spending their money for more worthy things, as shown by the fact that 90f o of the student body had purchased annual tickets, many with a part of school savings* They also stated that children were more conscious of those around their neighborhoods who needed help; that a number of cases 126 had been reported by the children to the Parent-Teacher Association. (3) The influence of thrift had spread into other activities; more particularly had it effected a gain in scholarship. (4) The activity had seemed to appeal to the groups of low ability. It was one activity in which they had been able to compete on almost equal terms, for it was possible to make good scores on the Thriftometer Cards even with average scholarship. (5) By way of improving the system of the program the teacher- sponsors suggested (a) a further participation on the part of other departments, (b) a modification of the banking system to provide some method of receiving deposits at school. From the Registrar The following is quoted: I think that this (Thrift Education) is a very effective method of helping to establish a correct attitude in the minds of the students toward school attendance. I think also that the thrift program in which the Attendance Office has participated since September 28 is in part responsible for the 6% increase in attendance over the preceding semester Comments of the Principal The principal stated that the course had unified many activ ities in the schools; for example, attendance, scholarship, and the protection of school property; and that there had been a noticeable decrease in the number of textbooks lost. He further stated that he had noted a change in attitude toward thrift in general. In conference with the Registrar. 127 CHAPTER VIII SUGGESTOTS REGARD BIG THRIFT PRACTICES IE SCHOOLS The development of the experiment reported in the present study has brought to light many factors of interest concerning the nature of organizing and promoting thrift practices in the schools* Two outstanding features are ?;orth noting, (l) suggestions relative to the organization of a thrift program, (2) modifica tions of the plan developed in connection with the experiment* Suggestions for the Organization of a Thrift Program (1) It is of a first importance to secure the cooper ation of local bankers by showing them that the School Savings Bank is no longer an experiment, but a recognized institution endorsed by large groups all over the country, including the American Bankers Association? that what the bank may lose temporar ily due to the cost of carrying small accounts is offset by the subsequent larger deposits which the young folk will make? and that it is in keeping with the social service program to which many large financial institutions have subscribed* (2) It is desirable for all of the banks in the community to enter into a schools savings association ra.ther than for one to have a monopoly. (3) It is necessary to become familiar with the many methods of banking school savings to secure the one best adapted to the 128 local situation* They are as follows: the Pass Book; Stamp Card; Punch Card; Thiry; Educational Thrift Service; Rieman; Certificate; Envelope; and the Automatic Receiving Tellers*^ Each method has its strong points, depending upon how well it is followed. The writer recommends a combination of the envelope and pass book system, details of which will be given later in this section.^ (4) After the superintendent has made a tentative, workable plan suited to his school system, the support of the Board of Edu cation should be secured. With the banks, the school board and the superintendent committed to the idea a splendid system should be inaugurated• (5) It is necessary to consider the local organization to determine the most practicable system to be operated in each high school. For a school organized on the home room plan a representa tive system is favored under the sponsorship of one or two teachers in charge of a Thrift Club. (6) No success should be expected without the active support of the principals. (7) It is well to make & very special effort to present the course in a way which the high school will respect because most of the materials in existing systems created for the grades will not ^ For details of each see M. E. Bowman, "School Savings Banks'1. Elementary School Journal, 23:56-67, September, 1922. 2 See p. 131. 129 appeal to the high school students# The thrift bulletin plan as presented in this thesis was organized to meet this phase of the problem. (8) Above all, active student leaders must be chosen who will Y/ork consistently for thrift. Once well organized and in operation it is surprising how the interest in the project v/ill grow. (9) To meet the objection that many thrift courses are too narrow, it is desirable to build a broad thrift program around the Schools Savings Bank, adding to wsaving" the consideration of profitable earning, the wise use of money and of all resources, and careful investment# These considerations form the basis of the present course# Modifications Judged Desirable from the Present Experiment (1) With reference to the organization, the Thrift Council should be eliminated because it is too much to ask teachers to meet out of school hours# The Prosperity Club can handle the situ ation to better advantage under the sponsorship of one or two interested teachers. (2) With reference to the bulletins, it was found that too much material vras presented to be handled adequately at one home room session. A better arrangement would be to have the thrift lesson one week and the schools savings talks the next. In this way the fifteen bulletins Y/ould become a year*s course# The second and third year*s work could cover the same general outline, with the addition of more and more difficult problems for consideration. 130 The system is elastic enough to admit any amount of additional material• At first only a few bulletins were mimeographed, and these were supplemented by material copied on the board; but very soon it was found necessary to issue at least one thousand copies weekly so that every student could study from the typed page* This was done at an expense of only three dollars per week, plus the cost of about two hours time of a clerk# Students were trained to run the mimeographing machine* (3) With reference to banking, there is need of much revision* Fundamentally the t ! Los Angeles Plan1 1 is sound in the following respects: (a) that no monopoly is given to one bank; and (b) that the method is as nearly like the regular savings bank as possible# But some auxiliary help should be provided to make it more con venient to deposit money* After all, the habit of saving can only be encouraged through regular depositing every week* Although the writer does not favor the commercializing of the Schools Savings Bank by paying a certain incorporated agency to operate it, a comparison of results reveals the disadvantage of those systems which require a student to go to a distant bank to make his own deposits* On the Thriftometer Cards which the writer used the v/eakest point was the few and scattered deposits which the students made subsequent to the opening of an account in a local bank* The best home room made an average of only 3*5 deposits during the semester. The average for the experimental Group A was only 1.4. 131 With an enrollment of about 250,000 students, Los Angeles shows only about 54,000 with school savings accounts, or a little over 20$ participation. No effort has been made to inaugurate a system in the senior high school. In those systems which operate under a weekly collection in the schools there is in many cities a nearly 100$ participation, with a weekly deposit of more than 75$.^ (Rochester). The writer attributes the difference to the convenience of depositing. To summarize, for the junior high school situation the fol lowing recommendations are offeredi (1) That a student open his account in a bank in the district served by the school in the usual way. (2) That deposits be received either at the bank; or at the school. (3) If received at school, that the following machinery be provided; (a) that envelopes be provided to hold the pass book and the money to be deposited, which shall be sealed in the presence of either the home room teacher or still better at a central t l Bankn in the school in charge of the school teacher-treasurer and his trained tellers; (b) that the central **Banku in the junior high school be merely a clearing house for these envelopes, vfhich will be called for on a stated day by a representative of the bank, or carried to the banks by some faculty member once a week; (c) that one day a week ^ Espey W. Albig, Report of the Savings Division of the American Bankers Association, July, 192'7. 132 be designated as “Banking Day, * 1 with suitable reminders to be placed on the bulletin board the day before. The details would need to be worked out for each school. It seems to the writer that the activity would justify part of the time of a commercial teacher. The experimenter recommends that all schools be encouraged to inaugurate School Savings Banks; that it be made easy for students to deposit money in them; that a broad thrift program involving earning, saving, spending and investing be added to the banking activity; that definite instruction be given in thrift through a bulletin plan as outlined in this study. The results should more than justify the effort. 135 CHAPTER DC SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION General Resume* A# The purposes of the present study were: 1* To build a comprehensive program in Thrift Education especially for the junior high school. 2. To participate in the program of the National Educa tion Association and the scores of other agencies, as expressed in the National Thrift Conference, to put Thrift Education definitely into the schools# 3. To develop those attitudes and ideals expected of students in the solution of their economic problems. 4# To determine the nature and extent of the work now being done by the School Savings Banks; evaluate this work in terms of educational standards and objectives, and to supplement this with a more comprehensive program relative to (a) earning, (b) saving, (c) spend ing, and (d) investing# B# A review of the history of thrift and the studies in the field showed that: 1# Thrift Education has been almost entirely the work of the School Savings Banks, planned largely for the ele mentary schools, more recently extended to secondary schools. 134 2# Educators through the leadership of the National Education Association had become interested seriously in Thrift Education, but up to date had not formulated a course of instruction# 3# No report has been found of any experimentation in a junior or senior high school other than that of the work of the savings banks# 4# No courses in thrift education, with the exception of one small Government outline, have been constructed specifically for the high schools# 5# No tests, constructed to measure thrift by objective means, have been found# II# The Present Study A# The present study was an experimental attempt, (l) to find out if, and how, thrift knowledge could be taught and thrift practices developed through direct means; (2) to determine whether or not a direct method of instruction could be devised that would neither overcrowd the curriculum nor make the teaching of thrift distasteful to the teacher and the students; and (3) to discover whether or not tests could be constructed which would measure progress in thrift by objective means# B# Prom a search of the field it was revealed that to effect this program as an outline a unique plan would have to be created with special reference to the junior high school plan of organization# 135 i C* Such a program as finally evolved included the organization of a Prosperity Club, composed of one reliable representa tive from each home room to meet during school time, to give the course; the writing of fifteen weekly bulletins containing the material of instruction based upon junior high school economic problems; and the evaluation of the results by different types of tests* D* The preliminary work necessary to giving the course included the gathering of the necessary material for the bulletins and the construction of tests to measure the nature of progress# E. The tests were given to three groups of the B7 Grade; one in the experimental school,Tsfaich received the thrift course; one in the same schoolwhicih received no direct instruction through the bulletins butvhich did get indirect instruction through the assembly, school paper and posters; and one from an outside school, who received no thrift lessons either directly or indirectly. To compare the difference in scores for age, one average B9 section was used* III* Conclusions A* Based upon objective findings* 1* The following facts from the objective findings as re vealed by the thrift tests given at the beginning and end of the experiment, seem to show that the direct 136 method of instruction, of even one home room period per week, is far more effective than the indirect method•^ Group A, which received the thrift instruction, showed a percentage gain of 53*11$ on the true-false thrift test; 47*03$ on the best answer thrift test; and 13*16$ on the judgment test* Group B, which received only such indirect instruction as was gained through the assembly, the- school paper and posters, showed a percentage gain of 9*86$ on the true-false test; 12$ on the best answer test and ,5% on the judgment test* Group C, a control group in another school, revealed a percentage gain of 15*39$ on the true-false test; 5.79$ on the best answer test and -6*48$ on the judgment test. It Y/ould seem, therefore, that the instruction through the bulletins used in the home room was effective* The tests were designed for the seventh grade level. Byway of contrast, one class of B9*s of average ability, which had received the instruction, was also given the same thrift tests* This group showed a percentage gain of 12$ on the true-false; 13*14$ on the best answer; and 1 See TABLE XI, p. 108. 137 -6.84% on the judgment test. One cannot draw definite conclusions from the responses of only one B9 class; however, the figures indicate that the tests were too easy for the 9th Grade level. The same class showed a much higher gain on the thrift practices listed on the Thriftometer Cards. 2. The objective findings based upon the Thriftometer Card'*' were as follows; B7 Section 1, of high ability,, of Experimental Group A showed a percentage gain of 60.22% on the sum of the points at the end of the second semester as contrasted with the score at the end of the first. B7 Section 2 of Group A, of average ability, showed a percentage gain of 20.3%. B7 Section 3 of Group A of low ability received a per centage gain of only 10.92. It may reasonably be concluded from these figures, (1) that the use of the cards stimulated improvement in thrift practices, (2) that there seems to be a definite relation between thrift practices and ability. With reference to School Savings Accounts as reported by the whole school there were 37% in September and 61% in January, an approximate percentage gain of 65%. See p. 53a. 138 There were 1315 students from an enrollment of over 2000 students who had School Savings Accounts in January* B. The experiential findings show from the Personal Interview a decided increase, especially with reference to investments and knowledge of wise spending.^ From the reports already given, based upon the observation of the thrift-sponsors,** of the Registrar and of the Princi pal, it may be judged that the program met with the approval of the school as a whole* C* The principal modification suggested was that a better method be provided for receiving weekly deposits* It was found that there was only an average of 3.5 deposits for the semester even for the best class and of 1.5 deposits for the semester for the Experimental Group A* This was attributed to the inconvenience of going to the banks. IV* General Conclusions The data discovered in this study seem to indicate that: A. The type of material used was suited to the junior high school age. B* The method of approach was effective in providing a procedure to accomplish the purposes for which the study was planned, namely to effect modifications in the knowledge of thrift and the thrift practices of those taking part, as to earning, saving, spending and investing. , * See p. 122. 2 See p. 124£f. The whole course was instrumental in unifying many activities through the cooperation of practically all of the teachers and students# f t BIBLIOGRAPHY 140 HISTORY OP THRIFT Danforth, Financial Guidance in High School* . Master1s thesis* University of Southern California* 1926# Monroe, Encyclopaedia of Education* "School Savings Banks'*, 247# Report U* S. Commissioner of Education, 1888-89, Vol* I* pp* 655-669• Thiry, J* H*, "The early history of school savings banks in United States," Journal Social Science, 1888* ^ U* S. Bureau Education, Report of Commissioner of Education, 1896-7, "School Savings Banks" (in Europe and America) PSYCHOLOGY Betts, G* H*, The Roots of Inspiration and Character* Abingdon Press, 1915, Bagley, William C*, Education of Values* Macmillan Co.* Hew York, 1911* Bose, Roy, ^rigin and Development of Religious Concepts of Children* A doctor's dissertation, University of Southern California, Department of Education, June 1928* Of value for test construction* Breitweiser, "The Psychology of Habit Formation," U*E*A. Proceedings, 1925* Courtis, Stewart A*, "The Influence of Ideals upon Success in School," Journal of Education Method, II, 316-323, April* 1923* 141 Gates, A# I#, Psychology for Teachers* The Macmillan Co#, Hew York, 1923# Hart, "A Test of Social Attitudes and Interests,1 1 University of Iowa Studies, Vol# II, Ho# 4# Holmes, Arthur, Principles of Character Making, J# B# Lippincott Co#, 1913# James, William, Psychology# Holt and Co#, Hew York, 1907# Kitson, H# D#, The Psychology of Advertising and Selling, Hature of "belief and method of getting it# Koffka, Kurt, Growth of the Mind, Harcourt, Brace and Co#, Hew York, 1924# Kuo, ’ ’Giving up Instincts”• Journal of Phil#, Hov* 1921# Meltzer, Social Concepts of Children, Teachers* College. Contribu tion, Ho# 192# liunsterberg, Psychology and Social Sanity, Chap* VIII, The Mind of the Investor* Doubleday, Page and Co#, Hew York, 1914# Poffenberger, The Psychology of Advertising* A* W. Shaw Co#, Hew York, 1925# Raubenheimer, Albert Sydney, An Experimental Study of Some Behavior Traits of the Potentially Delinquent Boy, a doctor * s dissertation, Psychological Monographs, Vol. XXXIV, Ho# 6, 1925# For technique of testing# Thorndike, E# L*, Educational Psychology, Vol. I* and II# Columbia University, 1913 142 Voelker, Paul, “Function of Ideals,” Teachers* Gol. Contr., No. 112, 1920. Watson, G. B., The Measurement of Fairmindness, Teachers College Contribution, No. 176, 1925. Watson, J. B., “The Behaviorist Looks at Instincts,” Harpers Magazine, July, 1927. Wheeler, R. H., An Experimental Investigation of the Process of Choosing. University of Oregon, Pub., Vol. I, No. 2. Woodworth, R. S., Dynamic Psychology, Columbia University Press, 1918. THRIFT: GENERAL Albig, Espey W., “Wide Scope of School Savings,” American Bankers Journal, November 1927* American Bankers Association, Thrift How to Teach It, How to Encourage It, a compilation of addresses, New York, 1916. , Savings Bank Section, Thrift, How to Teach It, How to Encourage It, New York, 1924. Atwood, Albert Williams, How to Get Ahead, saving money and making it work. Bobbs-Merrill Company, New York, 1917. Barnard, Florence, Outlines on Thrift Education, published by the Savings Banks Association of Massachusetts, Boston, 1926. 143 Bexell, J. A*, First Lessons in Business, Lippincott*s Thrift Series* Simple lessons in accounts, business forms and business organization for the 8th and 9th grades* Blakely, Roy G* (editor) ”The Hew American Thrift,” published as the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Philadelphia, 1920* A symposium on thrift* Bonner, H. R*, Suggestions for the Teaching of Thrift in, the Public Schools, West Virginia State Printing Office, 1917* War time emphasis. Bowman, M. E*, The School Savings Bank, a Master*s thesis, Stanford University, June 1922 or Elementary School Journal, 23:56-67, September 1922* Bowsfield, Colvin Cullen, How Boys and Girls Can Earn Money, Forbes and Co*, 1916* Corcoran, E* J*, Thrift Teaching in the Public Schools for Educational Thrift Service, Hew York, 1925* Carver, Thomas Nixon, Principles of national Economy, Ginn & Go., 1921. Carver, Thomas Hixon, The Economy of Human Energy, The Macmillan Company, New York, 1924* ____________________, The Foundations of National Thrift* Compilation of studies by several economists. Oxford University Press, New York, 1919* 144 Chamberlain, Arthur H* and James F*, Thrift and Conservation, Lippincott, 1919# How to teach it in schools* Splendid* Collins, Archie Frederick, Money Making for Boys, Dodd, 1917* It tells the boy who wants to make money how to do it, and what to do with his money after he has made it* Conover, W* R*, “Greatest and Least Popular Source of Profit,1 1 economy and thrift, Industrial Management, 73t39-45, July 1926* Dane, Edmond, The Value of Thrifty Putnam, 1927* Talks for young folk on the saving of talent, effort, time and energy* Danforth, Eleanor H#, Financial Guidance in High School, a Master's thesis, University of Southern California, Department of Education, June 1926* Dorsey, Susan M*, “Seeking the Motive in Thrift Teaching,1 1 Addresses and Proceedings, National Ed* Association, LVIII, 130-2, 1920* Fairbanks, Harold Wellman, Conservation Reader, World Book Company, 1920* A splendid school reader on problems of con servation of our national resources* Fitt, Harriett B*, “Thrift, An Ancient Virtue,1 1 Atlantic Monthly - July 1926* Prosperity once under way is cumulative* 145 nFive Investment Fundamentals”, Literary Digest, 91:92, Nov# 13, 1926# ForbUsh, William Byron, Be Square, Charles Scribners* Sons, 1924# Ideals of modern banking, good practical reading for 7th and 8th Grades* Foster, W* T* and Catchings, W*, n01d King Cole in Trouble,” Atlantic, 138:94-100, July 1926. A delicious satire on overproduction* Franklin, Benjamin, Autobiography, American Book Company, New York, (ed* 1907)# Gray, A# J*, Course of Study in Thrift, Los Angeles School District, 1925* , Report of the Los Angeles Banks School Savings Association for 1927* ___________, The ”Los Angeles Plan” of School Savings, School Savings Department, Los Angeles City Schools, 1927* Grimshaw, R* C*, "is the School Bank Worth While?”, Educational Review, March 1927* Grogan, Lulu Adele, The Gateway to Independence, a Thrift Text Book for Teachers, City Schools, Duluth, Minn., 1925* Hall, Bolton, New Thrift, Huebsch, 1923. Good general discussion, humorously written* Earap, Henry, Ph.D., Economic Life and the Curriculum, Macmillan Co., New York, 1927. 146 Harrington, D. W., ”Boy Bankers Teach Thrift”, Outlook, 136:283-5, Feb. 13, 1924. Hoover, Herbert, “Thrift and American Women, Ladies Home Journal, August 1920. Jarvis, Chester D., Work of School Children Out of School Hours, U. S. Bureau of Education, 1917. Kirkpatrick, Edwin Asbury, The Use of Money, How to Save and How to Spend. Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1915. Kirshman, John Emmett, Principles of Investment, A. W. Shaw Co., 1926. Kniffin, W. H*, Jr., ”The Savings Bank and Its Practical Work,” Lipman, Frederick l., Creating Capital. Houghton Mifflin Co., 1918* Money making as an aim in business. Barb^jetWeinstock lectures on the morals of trade, given at the University of California. Lord, Isabel Ely, Getting Your Money*s Worth, Harcourt, Brace and Co., New York, 1922. Explains for girls how to select and how to buy. Ludwig, A., “Are School Savings Banks Worthwhile to the Bankers?”, Bankers Magazine, 95:770-2, 1917. Lyman, Hollo L. and Hill, Howard C., Literature and Living, Book II, D. C. Heath, 1921. 147 Lyon, L. S., Making a Living, Maemillan Co., 1926, A -vocational guidance took. Serves well as an introduction to business studies. Marriott, Sir John, M.P., ”Bulwarks against Bolshevism,” Fortnightly Review, September 1926. The reason of thrift is that it does not make more money, but better men. McGregor, T. D., The Book of Thrift, Funk and Wagnalls, 1915. national Education Association, Thrift Education, Report of progress of the committee on thrift, Washington D. C., 1923. , Thrift Education, Report of the national Conference on Thrift Education, Washington D. C., June 1924. Payne, W., wSelling Thrift”, Saturday Evening Post, 199:27, February 26, 1927. Price, Overton Westfield, The Land We Live In Explains the use and waste of America*s resources. Pritchard, Myron T. and Turkington, Grace A., Stories of Thrift for Young Americans, Scribners, 1915. A good library reference. ”School Banks: School Savings Banks in the United States,” School and Society, 24:492-4* Simonds, A. T., nTeaching Prosperity,” Review of Reviews, Feb. 1925. Smiles, Samuel, Thrift, Harper and Brothers, New York, 1875. 148 Stoddard, W. L., ! t Why and How to Diversify Investments,1 1 World*s Work, 52:477-8, August 1926* Stoddard, W. L., 1 1 Investing for the Child,1 1 Outlook, 144:284-6, October 27, 1926, _______________, "What is an Investment?” Outlook, 143:152-5, May 26, 1926. Straus, S. W., "The Greater Thrift,” Addresses and Proceedings of the N. E. A., 1916. Thorndike, E. L., Educational Psychology, I and II, Columbia Univer si ty , 1913 • United States Treasury Department, Ten Lessons in Thrift, 1919. __________________________; _____, Fifteen Lessons in Thrift, 1919. _________________ , Savings Division,Teaching Children How to Save, Government Printing Office, 1920. United States Bureau of Education, The Money Value of an Education, Bulletin Ho. 22, 1917. Wharton, E. H., ”Children and the Family Finances,” Journal of Home Economics, 16:183-5, March 1924. Wilkinson, M. R., Effective Thrift Work by Parent-teacher Associations,” School Life, 12:68-69, Dec. 1926. Yorke, D., ”Citadel of Thrift”, American Mercury, 11:19-25, May 1927. "Swaddled in it (thrift), she (New England) has been nearly strangled by it.” £ook, George P., The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, "Thrift in the United States," 1920. 149 APPENDIX Objective Tests, Questionnaires and Other Materials Used in the Experiment* APPENDIX 150 Hame_______________________Age__________ Grade________ Sec* BEST ANSWER, ' Head each statement carefully* There may be more than one good answer put a cross before the one answer you think best* Mary, who makes her ovm dresses is economical, because, 1* She likes to sew* EXAMPLE X2. She gets more for her money* 3* The praise of others is pleasant* 4* All girls like new dresses* Do the following like the example: 1* A student should start as savings account because, 1* This is a systematic way of saving* 2. He wishes his home room to 7d.n* 3* He likes to please the teachers in charge* 4. The bankers say it is a good thing* 2* Making deposits regularly, even of small amounts, is the best way for the rea.son that, 1* Every deposit counts a point for the home room. 2* A student forms the habit of saving. 3. One becomes more familiar with the bank. 4* One learns not to be ashamed to deposit small amounts. 3* Students should earn money because, 1. It is pleasant to treat one’s friends* 2. It is nice to look at your bank book. 3. One learns to be independent. 4* Parents do not live always. 4* The most important result of keeping a budget of one*s money is, 1. That one has more money to spend. 2. That many students learn much about figures. 3. That it is very tiresome to keep an account. 4* That one learns to make a plan for the use of his money* 5. The saying, , 1 Thrift comes too late when you find it at the bottom of your purse**, means, 1. You feel pretty bad to find your purse empty. 2. It is better to deposit one’s savings before spending anything. 3. You should get busy and earn more. 4. A poor person finds it hard to be thrifty. 6. Thrift has been defined: , f To loosen a tight-wad, and tighten a loose-wadM, means, 1. It is better to be a loose-wad than a tight-wad. 2. Enjoy your money as you go along. 3. There is a happy medium in saving and spending. 4. Nobody likes a tight-wad. School property should be carefully used because, 1. Much of the money used for repairs should be used for new equipment. 2. Most people think the Board of Education is rich but it really is not. 3. Marks and cuts look so ugly. 4. Some students are regular ’ ’ hoodlums”. The saying, ”The price of success comes high”, means, 1. Continued effort is necessary. 2. A poor boy cannot be successful. 3. Rich people have a much better chance. 4. Everyone wants to be successful. The United States is one of the most wasteful of nations because, 1. We spend so much for chewing gum and perfumes. 2. Other nations who call us wasteful are jealous of us. 3. We, her citizens individually, do not manage our affairs well. 4. We don*t spend more for school houses. The protection of public property, such as libraries is important, because* 1. Mutilated books look bad. 2. Many books are very valuable. 3. Libraries are stocked with taxpayer*s money. 4. Some editions cannot be replaced. A business man should be honest, because, 1. ’ ’ Honesty is the best policy”. 2. A dishonest person is usually caught. 3. A customer hates to be cheated. 4. It is right, A miser is not thrifty because, 1. He is not a good fellow. 2. Wise spending is necessary to one*s happiness and success. 3. He is a tight-wad. 4. Nobody likes a tight-wad. Going to college is good for those who, 1. Can make the teams. 2. Wish to live the fullest life possible. 3. Like the campus life. 4. Have the time and money. A student who is absent or tardy often is not wise, because, 1. He will get a bad report card. 2. The Registrar will scold him. 3. He makes a poor record for his home room. 4. He looses time. Why should one keep the rules of health? Because, 1. Good health is necessary for a successful life, 2. Doctor hills cost money* 3. When a person is ill he does not feel very happy. 4. Illness causes one to get low grades. To throw away a lighted match or leave a camp fire burning in the forest is wrong because, 1. It is unlawful. 2. Burned trees spoil the scenery. 3. Lives may be endangered* 4. Safeguarding our forests.is our duty. A student should save gas and electricity at home because, 1. Bills are often very high. 2. It is not necessary to use more than one needs. 3. You don*t want to make the gas and electric companies rich. 4. It is nice to help Dad. An investment of money means, 1. To buy real estate. 2. To buy something on credit. 3. To place money where it will earn a profit. 4. To start a store. Buying on time is wise, when, 1* One is poor. 2. TChen the returns justify the extra expense. 3. When the article bought is wanted so very much. 4.^ One can get convenient credit. Between business men, ‘ ’credit” means, 1. Having a reputation entitling one to be trusted. 2. To pay when convenient. 3. That one wishes to put off payment as long as possible. 4. That charge accounts are more handy. One should borrow money, when, 1 • lever• 2. When one is just ’ ’crazy” to buy something. 3. When the money is to be used as capital. 4. To buy a new automobile. The careful use of school supplies shows that a student, 1* Is loyal to his school. 2. Has the habit of not using more than he needs. 3. Wants to please the principal. 4* Is too stingy to use more. 153 23, In choosing a life*s occupation a student should, 1* Try to please his parents* 2* Take the job that pays the most money. 3. Seek fame and a big reputation* 4* Seek to develop his own talents to the fullest. 24* If a man has earned great wealth he ought to, 1. TTse it for things he considers to be(worth while. 2. Help poor students through school. 3* Give most of it away. 4. Invest it in great enterprises* 25. Persons who live beyond their means do so, because, 1. It is wonderful to drive a fine car. 2. Fine feathers make a fine bird* 3. Luxuries can be bought on time. 4. They are not willing to xvork* 154 Name Age Grade___________ Sec______ J a n ., A TRUE - FALSE TEST Some of the statements below are true and some are false. IJ a statement is true- underline true; if false underline false, Example: All students are rich. true false 1# To be independent one must save. true false* 2. The boy who spends lots of his earnings for treats is a good sport. true false. 3. Making deposits regularly is the only way to form the saving habit. true false. 4. nThe boy who saves, makes the man worth ivhile”. true false. 5. It is foolish for a poor girl to try to save. true false. 6. Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow you may die. true false. 7. It is easier for one to save if he has a definite aim. true false* 8. A person who lives beyond his means cannot be successful. true false. 9. Money put in school savings banks makes a . good profit for the bank. true false. 10. Money put in savings banks does the people of the city no good. true false. 11. A budget helps one to spend wisely. true false. 12. An ’ ’investment” means to put money, or effort, where it will earn a profit. true false. 13. A person is too thrifty is a miser. true false. 14. Sodapop should not be sold, at school. true false. 15. A thrifty person will not cut or mark desks. true false. 16. A poor man has to give up all ideas of saving if he has a large family true false. 1928. 17* A thrifty student gives all he can afford to the Community Chest* true 18* It is a waste of money for a Junior High School Student to own an automobile# true 19. It is foolish to save money while in Junior High School to go to college* true 20. If everyone should save there would be a panic, or hard times# true 21* To conserve one*s health is more important than to save money# true 22. It is time enough to save when one gets a real job* true 23. Convenient credit” is generally ruinous. true 24. Being late to class has nothing to do-with thrift# true 25# Nothing is a ”bargain” that you do not need* true 26# That which is a necessity for some is an extravagance for others* true 27. The great secret of success in life is to be ready when your opportunity comes. true 28# The student who gets an allowance has no need to keep a budget. true 29# A student who keeps late hours is not likely to succeed* true 30. A student who quits school to work can earn more in the end than if he could finish high school* true 31* ”A dollar saved is a dollar earned”* true 32# A college graduate generally succeeds better than a high school graduate* true 33. The most successful life means the accumulation of the most money. true 34* A junior high school student is too young to earn money. true 155 false• false * false • false • false• false • false • false• false• false. false. false. false • false. false. false• false* false. 35. There is little need to protect forests because the next generation will build of cement and steel, true 36. Saving just for the sake of saving is a bad thing. true 37. The spendthrift by putting money into circulation helps the tovm more than if he should put it in a savings bank. true 38. If ©very student were thrifty the Attendance office would have little work. true 39. First mortgages on real estate are usually good investments. true 40. Building and Loan Certificates are generally not safe. true 41. Investments in mining and oil stocks are always safe. true 42. The student who has the largest savings account is the thriftiest in school. true 43. To keep one’s teeth repaired, even at consider able cost, is good economy. true 44. Recreation is just as important as work. true 45. The United States is the most thrifty of Nations. true 46. Advertisements which tempt us to buy things we do not need should be prohibited. true 47. Taxes could be lowered if citizens should use public property more carefully. true 48. Much of the money used in replacing school equip ment is a total loss to the students. true 49. The Board of Education is rich. true 50. Every time a student has to repeat a course the school suffers. true 156 false• false. false. false. false. false. false. false. false. false. false. false. f al se • false. false. false• 157 A JUDGMENT TEST Uame ______________Age_______Gr ad e Se c J an • 1928* Below five students are described, ^ead the description of each, then in the squares, rate them in order from best to worst, from one to five, as you would act under similar circumstances# Case 1. Kenneth C,, age 16, was earning $16,00 a week out side of school at a filling station. He bought on time a second-hand Ford for #250,00 and a saxaphone for #50,00, After two months a man returned to take Kenneth*s job. The boy* s father earning a moderate salary would not assume Kenneth’s debts, so Kenneth dropped out of school in the . B10 grade to get a full time job to pay for the car and horn. He says he expects to play in a jazz orchestra for a living. Case 2, John W,, is making about half of his way through college by doing typing and helping in the library. He is trying to make the course in three years because he says, HTime means money to him1 1 . There is no time to be with the fellows, nor does he get much exercise. He is a sophmore now and so far has made pretty good grades. Case 5. One of our boys of 14 earned #5.00 by mowing a lawn during part of the summer. The whole sum was paid to him upon the owner’s return in September. Urged by his home room he started a school savings account 'with #1,00, The same day after school he invited four of his pals to the corner drug store where he treated the crowd; then divided #3.10 in nickles among the boys to play the slot machines. The 50jzT which he had left in his pocket he gave to his mother. He does not try to earn anything now that school has started. Case 4, Vera’s father while away on business has to leave her for weeks at a time with her grandmother. For lunches and incidental expenses he gives her an allowance of #2.50 a week. Instead of buying lunches at the cafeteria she brings her lunch from home in order to save enough to go to the picture show at least four nights a week. Her grades are low. She expects to become a movie star. Case 5. Tom, age 15, can easily earn #2,00 a day caddying "I at "the Country Club where he works every Saturday regularly. He is buying parts for a radio set. Last week he played hookey three days to earn extra money so he can finish his set sooner. 158 In like manner rate the following adult cases from one to five# Case 1# Mr# A# tries to support a wife and two children on #&00#00 a month# Socially ambitious he pays #200#00 a month for a furnished house; #60*00 for a maid; #20#00 to a private school for tuition. He never seems to catch up with the payments on his car# . For the down payment he borrowed money on his life insurance policy. Case 2* Miss Smith, a pretty young stenographer, gets #25#00 a week in her pay envelope* #12*00 goes for board and room* Because she gets invitations to dances every night, she must have smart gowns# By doing her own laundry she manages to meet the payments on her fur coat# She further economizes with 10/ ice cream sodas for her lunch. Case 3* With a family of five, Mr* C., age 35, has managed to save about #2000. by budgeting'his modasde income. He is very thankful to the friend who last Sunday persuaded him to buy a business lot for #15,000. (#2000.00 down) on a through boulevard about ten miles,out. Though no stores are are as yet built, great developments are proposed. The agents assure him he will double his money in a year* Case 4. Mr. McDonald, owner of a small store, has taken his family into-partnership in buying a new home. It is not a hard job for Bob to deliver for the meat market after school to pay for furniture for his room, nor for Bonnie to do the maid’s work to help pay for the piano. Can’t say how hard it is for Tim to pass the drug store to go to the School Savings Bank to deposit his newspaper earnings I Case 5. The Z. Department Store gave Jim in 1922, #25.00 per week for his services. He bought a second hand Ford for #250.00. During the winter of 1924, with, a slight in crease in salary he managed to pay for the new Chevrolet* In 1926, with a promotion and monthly raise of #50.00, he got married. It was Freda who persuaded him to buy the nifty new Chrysler. #200.00 per month has been Jim’s salary for the past two years. He calculates they will soon have the down payment on the new Buick Sedan, the new model is so wonderful • 159 Name_______________ Age ________Grade_________ Sec.______Jan. ,1928 PERSONAL INTERVIEW Earning: 1. In what ways have you earned money during the past year? 2. T^hat are you doing now for pay? Number of hours per week. Saving Money: 3. Do you have a School Savings Account? 4. Do you have a savings account in a regular hank? What other way of saving have you? 5. About what part of your income do you save? 6. About how many deposits have you made during the past three months in a savings account? 7. Do you keep a budget? 8# For what are you saving? Saving Time: 9. Do you budget your time? 10. About how many times were you absent during the last semester or year? Times tardy? 11. How do you spend your time outside of school? (a) About how many hours do you help at home per day? (b) What do you do for recreation? Saving Health: Are you overweight? Underweight? 13. Do you follow any definite health rules? Safeguarding Property: 14. Have you made any conscious effort to save school property? What?______ ■ _______Supplies?__________In what way? 15. Spending: r s r 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. What is meant by national conservation? Do you help to support yourself? Do you help to support the family? How many times per week do you go to the movies? For v/hat have you spent money foolishly the last week? Do you contribute regularly to some church? Do you give money or help others? Do you feel you have gotten your money*s worth for all your money spent? Investing: " 22Z 23. 24. Future Outlook: 257 What is an , ! investment1 1 ? Name three good investments? Name three very poor ways of investing money? For what are you preparing yourself? 26. What does your father or guardian do? 27. Do you think this work you want to do will make you happier than any other work? TiThy? 28. What is your avocation or hobby? 160 QUEST IOMAIRE (To be given to those who have worked for pay during the past year.) To find out what students of this high school are doing to earn money# You may omit your name if the questions seem too person, but please co-operate to answer as fully as possible* Thank you* Boy Hame__________ ____________________Girl Age Grade 1* What did you do during the stammer to earn money? 2* How many weeks did you work? 3. About what were your total earnings? _______________________ 4* How many hours per day did you work?_____ __________________ 5* What pay per day d.id you receive?___________________________ 6* What are you doing now, during the school term to earn money? 7. How many hours per school day do you work?___________ 8* How many hours on Saturday? ____________ _______ 9. About how much per week do you earn now? __________ 10* Do you support yourself entirely__________ In part? 11* Do you help to support your family?____________ 12* What types of jobs have you had during the past year? 13* What part of your earnings do you save?_____ 14* For what are you saving?___________________ 15. What method of saving money do you have? _____ 16* What are you planning to do for a life work? 161 PROSPERITY CLUB BANQUET School Cafeteria Music Toastmaster Y/ords of Wisdom Inspiration for 1927-28 Greetings How We Did It Noon, October 28, 1927 Entertainer *s Club Orchestra Glenn Tolle - President Our Peppiest Peptomist Mr, Avery Gray, City Thrift Supervisor Miss Pamela Tyler, Assistant Supervisor Katherine Brown, A 9 SONGS Tune: Funiculi - Funicula, Peptomist Song, 0, come, ye lads and lasses of ambition List to our song, our joyous song For we would start a peppy new tradition So come along, and join our throng. When all the boys and girls of every class room Have bank accounts - one hundred per cent And idleness and waste have met a sad doom We now announce - we*11 be content. Chorus: Edison High School Peptomists are we Working, planning, for prosperity We save our time, we save our health We*re building now for future wealth. Extravagance vd.ll soon be forced To climb the tallest tree. Tune: Keep the Home Fires Burning. Save for a Rainy Day. Earn and save by working You will lose by shirking If your wage be large or small Put some away. When to school you*re going Start your savings growing They will be a friend in need On a rainy day. Many jobs are ready Work will make you steady You will find its really fun To earn your way. Roads to wealth you*re paving With each little saving And you*11 want that bank account When you*re old and gray. (The Prosperity Club extends it*s gratitude for the composition of these songs to Miss Ross and Miss Conover,)

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Creator Murphey, Carobel (author)

Core Title An experiment in thrift education with special reference to the junior high school

Degree Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Program Education

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag education, home economics,OAI-PMH Harvest

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c26-389561

Unique identifier UC11243086

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