The Educational screen (c1922-c1956])

October, 193 5 Page 219 suggestions. It is and has t)(.'en a very interesting study but what the results will be remains a ques- tion. If the scale proves to be valuable, I shall 1)e very hajipy to have made, w'ith the aid of all these experts, a small contribution to this field of education. When the study is completed, it will probably be pub- lished so that those interested may see the complete results of the experiment. The Preparation and Presentation of a Science Night Program DURING the past years of uncertainty our schools have been faced with many serious problems. One of the most severe has been criticism. Some has been merited, for progress is many times measured by a certain amount of con- structive criticism. However, a great deal has been rather unfair and uncalled for. Arising from ignor- ance of actual conditions within the school and measured by education received in the little red school house of yesterday, many people have vented their opposition to rising taxes by attacking most unjustly the new education program of our schools. The press which should support any constructive effort for the betterment of our community has done little to combat the situation, although at times the papers do give space for many of the activities of our schools. To overcome this criticism the schools have been forced by necessity to "sell themselves." To this end we have formed Parent Teacher organizations, issued bulletins, ijublished school papers, and have done everything possible to direct favorable public attention toward our schools. With the idea of showing the patrons of our school some of the out- standing ways in which our boys and girls are re- ceiving modern instruction, many meetings have been held. In these meetings only small groups of students have been able to appear, few patrons, chiefly parents, have attended, and those from whom criticism has been most severe have been noticeably absent. Thus, results have not been as fruitful as they might have been had we been able to secure the attendance of those who have been active in oppo- siticju of our schools. W'ith the idea then of definitely selling our schools to our patrons and more especially to our city. South High School of Denver has organized two "Science nights" in which we have definitely en- deavored to encourage as many pupils as possible to participate in a display of student academic ac- tivities, not necessarily confined to science alone, and which might challenge every student in our school to show for the benefit of their classmates, parents and interested visitors some of the things By ROBERT COLLIER JR. Chemistry Department, South High School, Denver, Colorado w'hich they have learned in the classroom. To do this requires a vast amount of co-operation from every faculty member and student in school. These "science nights" have attracted state wide atten- tion. By actual count our last science night brought over 5,000 people to our building. Some of these came from Greele}^ Fort Morgan, Golden, and Colorado Springs. Organization The organization of such a meeting with its large interested crowds must be made months in ad- vance. Our last Science night, which was held in November, was in preparation in some departments for a year and a half. Alany of our finest student exhibits were displayed by present members of the various departments who had to be trained anew. In preparation for the evening every depart- ment in our school was asked to display some in- teresting project, for there is no department in the modern school which cannot lend itself to such an undertaking. Of course, the usual objections were oflfered from many departments who felt that they coidd show nothing of special interest to people out- side of the school. It required considerable work to sell the idea to some department heads, but with the co-operation of our principal who felt that such an effort was worth while, w^e were able to secure active support from various departments. Publicity The Art Departments commenced work by mak- ing a series of interesting posters which were dis- tributed to other schools as well as throughout busi- ness establishments of our own school area. These l)osters were well done in attractive colors and aroused considerable interest. They also furnished students an excellent outlet for their talent along artistic lines. The mechanical drawing boys made splendid signs for all exhibits and gave invaluable assistance in making large banners for the various departments. Over 600 pieces of lettering were made during the preparations for the exhibit. Our news writing classes were called in to supply fea- ture articles for the citj' papers, and the various lo-