There is hereby established a civic center at each and every public schoolhouse within the State of California, where the citizens of the respective public school districts ... may engage in supervised recreational activities, and where they may meet and discuss ... any and all subjects and questions which in their judgment may appertain to the educational, political, economic, artistic, and moral interests of the respective communities in which they may reside; Provided, that such use of said public schoolhouse and grounds for said meetings shall in no wise interfere with such use and occupancy of said public schoolhouse and grounds as is now, or hereafter may be, required for the purpose of said public schools of the State of California.  Investigate and report on the following: 

Provision in your school and in the schools of your state for health work suggested in the table on page 299.

Other provisions in your school for the physical well-being of pupils.

The work of your school that relates directly to preparation for earning a living.

The extent to which a high school can make a farmer.

The operation of the Smith-Hughes Act in your state and in your county or town.

The meaning of the quotation from “The Brown Mouse” on page 301.

The use of “home projects” by your school.

The meaning of the statement that the end of public education is “neither life nor the getting of a living, but living together.”

Differences and similarities between the government of your school and that of the community in which you live.  The wisdom of making them more alike.

Different plans of “pupil self-government.” (See references.)

Uses to which the schoolhouses of your community are, or might be, put.

Hours per week and weeks per year during which your schoolhouse is used.

Economy (or lack of it) in allowing schoolhouses to stand idle most of the time.

The community center idea. (See references.)

Educational work for adults in your community.

Educational agencies in your community besides schools.

STATE ORGANIZATION FOR EDUCATION

The schools of the local community are a part of the state school system.  Education is considered a duty of the state, though it is performed largely by local agencies.  The constitutions of all states make provision for it.  State control and support of education are necessary if there is to be equality of educational opportunity for all children of the state.  Every state has a department of education, and in most states each local community receives a portion of a general state tax for school purposes.  The state departments of education differ widely from one another both in organization and in the effectiveness of their work.  In most states there is a state board of education, composed sometimes of certain