New Homes for Old Part 18

clubs connected with the church, and home demonstrations are given when needed.

The Rolling Prairie community mentioned above, too, benefited from a co-operative "County Project" work undertaken in 1913-14, under the supervision of Purdue University. A course given during the year in the rural schools was continued during the summer, open to all children over ten and required of graduates from the eighth grade. The County Superintendent of Schools, the County Agent under the university (States Relations Service) and County Board of Trustees (La Porte County) sent teachers into all parts of the county teaching the boys farming, stock raising, and gardening, and the girls canning, sewing, bread making, cooking vegetables, and laundry work, or if they preferred, gardening. The teacher gave an hour and a half every ten days at the home of each child.

At the end of the summer there were exhibits and prizes in the shape of visits to the state fair, to the university, to Washington, or to the stock show in Chicago. The Polish children who took prizes and who went to the university (some of them had never been on a train) became enthusiastic about going to high school and college, and some are going to high school. The fact that they took prizes interested the whole group, and the experiment affected the agricultural and domestic practices of the community. The sad ending to the story is that the township trustees have never been willing to a.s.sume again the expense of the teachers' salaries, but the possibilities in the co-operative method are evident.

The States Relations Service and the work of the Federal Board for Vocational Education are based on the so-called principles of the "grant in aid," which gives promise of both developing and encouraging local initiative and of obtaining "national minima" of skill and efficiency. Certainly the lack of any national body and often the lack of any state machinery with power to encourage local action and with facilities for gathering and comparing data, reduced the rate at which progress is made. For example, the device of the home teacher planned by the California Commission on Immigration and Housing, was only slowly taken over by the education authorities of California.

GOVERNMENT GRANTS IN ENGLAND

The experience of the English Board of Education may be noticed in this connection. Owing to the interest in national vigor aroused by the rejection of recruits during the Boer War, England took steps to provide food for the underfed school children and medical supervision of the health of the school children. This resulted in the acc.u.mulation of a great body of evidence showing the need of improvement in the conditions and household management in the homes from which these children came. Both schools for mothers and infant cla.s.ses have been recognized as appropriate extensions of the work of the education authority, and the national character of the problem has been embodied in provision for the grant in aid.[64]

The conditions on which grants to schools for mothers and infant cla.s.ses are made, set a standard for those communities desiring help from the central authority, and furnish a basis of judgment as to the work of any local authority. Those conditions are stated as follows:

A school for mothers is primarily an educational inst.i.tution, providing training and instruction for the mother in the care and management of infants and little children. The imparting of such instruction may include:

(_a_) Systematic cla.s.ses.

(_b_) Home visiting.

(_c_) Infant consultations.

The provision of specific medical and surgical advice and treatment (if any) should be only incidental.

(_d_) The Board of Education will pay grants in respect of schools for mothers, as defined in Article II of their Regulations for the year 1914-15, subject to the following qualifications:

(I) That an inst.i.tution will not be recognized as a school for mothers unless collective instruction by means of systematic cla.s.ses forms an integral part of its work;

(II) That grant will only be paid in respect of "infant consultations," which are provided for women attending a school for mothers;

(III) That grant will only be paid in respect of expenditure on "home visiting" of children registered at a school for mothers if neither the sanitary authority nor County Council undertake to arrange for such visiting;

(IV) The fact that a school for mothers receives a grant or a.s.sistance from a sanitary authority (or a County Council) or its offices will not disqualify it from receiving a grant from the Board of Education.

Thus the inst.i.tutions included under the t.i.tle "schools for mothers"

have for their main object the reduction of infant sickness and mortality by means of the education of the mothers. They train the mother to keep her baby in good health through a common-sense application of the ordinary laws of hygiene. The training may be given by means of personal advice from doctor or nurse to individual mothers, by home visiting, and by means of collective teaching and systematic cla.s.ses.[65] It is necessary to distinguish these "schools for mothers," which were educational, from the maternity centers maintained by the Local Government Board, intended to provide prenatal care of expectant mothers.

During the year 1917-18, two hundred and eighty-six such schools for mothers received aid from the central authority. The work of representative schools, as described in the medical officer's report,[66] includes instruction in hygiene, principles of feeding, needlework, and boot repairing.

In the same way the infant cla.s.ses or nursery schools are to be distinguished both from day nurseries which may, if they comply with stated conditions, receive grants, and from infant consultations.[67]

It is interesting to note that these items in the educational program are closely related to the plan under which _Mothercraft_ is taught to (1) the older girls in the public elementary schools, and (2) the girls between fourteen and eighteen in the secondary and continuation schools. Under the stimulus of the possible grant in aid from the central authority and of the supervision and advice of the central authority, this work is developed by the local authority. The day nursery or infant cla.s.s is made to serve the purpose of training the older girl as well as of training and care of the young child.

The argument here is not affected by the fact that under the recent Act providing for a Ministry of Health, these functions are surrendered by the education authority to the New Ministry of Health, as are those of the Local Government Board. Certain functions remain educational, and must develop in accordance with educational principles. Others are sanitary and call for inspection and supervision.

THE LESSON FOR THE UNITED STATES

It is not suggested that the development in the United States be identical with that in England. It is true that there are two specialized agencies referred to under which such work could be developed. Should a United States Department of Education or of Health be created, conceivably such functions could be a.s.sumed by either; and it is most interesting to notice that, with reference to this very problem, the method is already recognized as important and embodied in the educational program of the state of Ma.s.sachusetts. Under a statute enacted in 1919,[68] the State Board of Education is authorized to co-operate with cities and towns in promoting and providing for the education of persons over twenty-one years of age "unable to speak, read, and write the English language."

The subjects to be taught in the English language are the fundamental principles of government and such other subjects adapted to fit the scholars for American citizenship as receive the joint approval of the local school committee and the State Board of Education. The cla.s.ses may be held not only in public-school buildings, but in industrial plants and other places approved by the local school committee and the board. In the words of the Supervisor of Americanization,[69] "this provides for ... day cla.s.ses for women meeting at any place during any time in the day. The establishment of such cla.s.ses is especially urged."

The development of the Federal agencies will probably be most efficiently stimulated if a considerable amount of such work is attempted by local authorities and such social agencies as have been described. If not only local educational bodies, but schools for social work, organizations like the Immigrants' Protective League and the Department of Home Economics, the State Immigration Commissions, and the Young Women's Christian a.s.sociation, could train efficient visitors, prepare and try out lesson sheets on the essential topics, and develop teaching methods, the different branches of the Federal service would undoubtedly be able to avail themselves of such material and of such personnel as would be supplied in this way.[70] The plan outlined earlier in the chapter for educational work for foreign-born women would be a step in this direction.

MOTHERS' a.s.sISTANTS

Attention has been called to the fact that many housewives, either because the husband's income is inadequate or because their standard of family needs is relatively high, or because there is some special family object to be attained, become wage earners and are away from their home during the hours of the working day. The devices used by these mothers for the care of the family during their absence have been described. The previous discussion has also made clear the fact that for many women of limited income who do not attempt wage earning, the task of bearing children and of caring for the home is too heavy, especially during the time when the children are coming one after the other in fairly rapid succession.

The visiting nurse may help in time of illness; the midwife may come in for a few days immediately after the child is born; the man may be very handy and helpful; the older girl or boy may stay at home from school; but it is evident that some agency should be devised for rendering additional a.s.sistance to such mothers. The day nursery suggests itself, and its possibilities are easily understood; but it is an agency that has been developed in response to the demand of married women for the chance to supplement the husband's earnings, or of widows and deserted women to a.s.sume the place of breadwinner.

For the kind of a.s.sistance we have in mind, some such agency as the mother's helper, proposed by the English Women's Co-operative Guild, is suggested. This proposal was developed as an item in a program for adequate maternity care, but has been extended in its application so as to include all women who are attempting to carry the burden we have described. It expresses the widening recognition that the volume of tasks expected of the housewife as mother and caretaker is greater than one woman can be expected to perform. It rests also on the conviction that such a.s.sistance is professional in character and should be standardized in skill.

Experiments in this field might well be undertaken by the same agencies that attempt to receive and introduce the newly arrived groups, and as rapidly as the method becomes established the functions could be taken over by the appropriate specialized agency, whether public or private.[71] For example, the two following recommendations recently offered by official bodies in England ill.u.s.trate the need to which we are calling attention. The first is taken from a memorandum prepared at the request and for the consideration of the Women's Employment Committee.

HOME HELPS

Closely linked with the problem of skilled midwifery, care of the working mother is the problem of arrangement for her domestic life during her disablement.

In the _Home Helps Society_ a movement has been inaugurated which, if widely extended on the right lines for clearly subsidiary purposes, would prove of incalculable benefit to working mothers, and so to the general community. The scheme provides, on a contributory basis, the a.s.sistance of trained domestic helpers for women who are incapacitated, especially in illness or childbirth, from attending to the normal duties of the home. A Jewish society has been in existence for twenty years to meet the needs of poor Jewesses in the East End of London, but the general scheme came into existence under the Central Committee for Employment of Women to provide employment for women who have been thrown out of work owing to the war. Three months is considered an average period of training, but a shorter time is sanctioned in special cases. The women are trained under supervision in the homes of families and in certain approved inst.i.tutions. In the Jewish society no special period of training is demanded.

If a candidate is competent upon appointment she is sent out at once. In Birmingham similar help is afforded by what is known as the "nine days'" nursing scheme, and Sheffield has a provision for a munic.i.p.al allowance to a mother needing such help in a special degree. North Islington Maternity Center has a local scheme for home helps, managed by a subcommittee.

Encouragement has been given to these schemes by the sympathetic interest in them of the medical women acting for the London County Council as inspectors, under the Midwives'

Act. Similar arrangements have been proposed in various parts of the country.

The second is from the Report of the Women's Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Reconstruction on the Domestic Service Problem.

SUBCOMMITTEE ON HOME HELPS

After meeting several times this committee came to the conclusion that, in the light of the evidence that had been given before them, it was not advisable for them to proceed further without reference to the committee which was dealing with the question of subsidiary health and kindred services, as the question of the provision of Home Helps intimately affected that committee also.

The committee on Home Helps pa.s.sed the following resolution:

That with a view to preventing sickness which is caused by the unavoidable neglect of children in their home, the Local Government Board should be asked to remove the restriction which at present confines the provision of Home Helps to maternity cases, and to extend the scope of the board's grant for the provision of such a.s.sistance in any home where, in the opinion of the local authority, it is necessary in the interests of the children that it should be given, and agreed that if the Subsidiary Health and Kindred Services Committee were prepared to adopt it in their report it would be undesirable to continue their own sittings.

The resolution was adopted by that committee, and the Home Helps' Committee was dissolved.

We are not unconscious of the great need that exists for further preventive measures in connection with health services, more especially as regards children, and we think that the question of Home Helps must first be explored in this connection. We are of the opinion, however, that as regards help with domestic work, the position of the wives of professional men with small incomes, and of the large army of men of moderate means who are engaged in commerce and industry is becoming critical, and that some form of munic.i.p.al service might help to solve this most difficult problem.

RECREATIONAL AGENCIES

The public parks, playgrounds, and recreation centers, and the social settlements, const.i.tute the main community provision for the social and recreational activities of immigrant groups living in the congested sections of industrial cities. Certain problems in the adaptation of the services and resources of such agencies to the needs of an immigrant neighborhood have been brought out in our consultation with representative men and women from various nationalities living in different sections of Chicago.

The history of Dvorak Park may serve to indicate the nature of some of these problems. Established when the population of the district it was designed to serve was almost exclusively Bohemian, this small park was given its distinctively Bohemian name, and the district chosen was Bohemian. It became at once a popular recreation center for the neighborhood, as the facilities provided in the playground and field house were admirably suited to the needs of the people. Representative men and women who have kept in touch with the later immigrants of their nationality speak with greatest enthusiasm of the value of the park to the Bohemian community. Its services in relieving the monotony of the lives of immigrant women, and especially of mothers of large families, is noteworthy.

For those to whom it is accessible it provides a type of entertainment which they really enjoy. It is said, in fact, that women who begin going to the park take a new interest in life. The moving pictures are especially popular. The director, a man thoroughly familiar with the lives of the families of the settlement, has sought to adapt the service of the park to their needs. Special entertainments for women with little children are given in the afternoon while older children are in school, and mothers are encouraged to bring the babies. Mothers who have begun going to the park themselves feel greater security in allowing the older boys and girls to go to the evening entertainments and dances because they learn that there is trustworthy supervision.

During the last few years, however, there has been a great change in the character of the neighborhood surrounding Dvorak Park. Bohemians have moved away, and their places have been taken by Serbo-Croatians.

The newcomers have found churches, schools, and public halls established by the Bohemian people, and the impression has gone out that the public park also is a national recreation center for Bohemians. No criticism of the management of the park has been made by leaders among the Croatians, who believe the director has earnestly sought to meet the requirements of the two groups impartially, frequently asking the advice and co-operation of well-known Croatian men and women. They do feel that it is unfortunate that the popular idea that the place is intended for Bohemians only is too deep to be easily eradicated.