School Panel Will Suggest Civics Change

Two retired Harvard educators have begun to work again on a new educational project.

Henry W. Holmes, professor of Education, emeritus, and John J. Mahoney former director of Harvard and Boston University extension courses, will launch next fall a three-year program to raise the standards of courses teaching citizen ship in Secondary schools.

Involves No New Courses

Actually, according to their plans, this will not mean adding new courses to over-crowed curricula. The educators, hope to point out through varied materials how teachers can in all courses bring about greater appreciation of democracy.

Formerly, they say, students learned about American government in definite civic or government courses taught on a part-time basis. The new plan hopes to see the day when teachers will instill this knowledge with the help of example and material.

Movies, records, cartoons, and paragraphs from other texts will all be used. The work of this research will also include suggestions to teachers on the methods of making the new program function.

Goal is Political Acumen

The goal of the researchers is that pupils will gradually come to think of democracy as a vital force in their lives. The group feels that "all students should develop an interest in political matters and come to think of Barouches and Marshalls as human beings like Washington and Lincoln.

"The net result should mean that as adults the present day school children would the present day school children would choose superior types of political leaders and rid themselves of anti-social prejudices."

Secondary Teachers Assist

Helping the two educators are a panel of secondary school teachers, including Charles G. Buell '23, former Harvard quarterback. Harvard professors, such as Professor Kirtely F. Mather, and Alfred D. Simpson, associate professor of Education, are assisting the work by acting as members of the corporation's board.