Social Settlements in New York City. Their Activities, Policies, and Administration 9780231890809

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Studies of the Research Bureau of the Welfare

NUMBER

SOCIAL S E T T L E M E N T S

Council

TWO

IN N E W

YORK

T H E I R ACTIVITIES, POLICIES, AND ADMINISTRATION

CITY

SOCIAL S E T T L E M E N T S IN N E W YORK C I T Y Their

Activities,

Policies,

and

Administration

BY

A L B E R T J.

KENNEDY

KATHRYN AND

FARRA

ASSOCIATES

PUBLISHED

FOR

T H E W E L F A R E C O U N C I L OF NEW YORK BY COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY M •CM•X X X V

PRESS

CITY

C o p y r i g h t 1935 COLUMBIA

UNIVERSITY

PRE

Published 1935

Printed in the United States of America WM. F . F E L L CO • PRINTERS PHILADELPHIA

THE WELFARE COUNCIL OF NEW YORK CITY OFFICERS

President Charles C. Burlingham Honorary Vice-Presidents Mrs. Nicholas F. Brady Felix M. Warburg Vice-Presidents James H. Post Henry G. Barbey Hon. Herbert H. Lehman Frederic B. Pratt George MacDonald Hon. Alfred E. Smith Secretary George J. Hecht

Treasurer Winthrop W. Aldrich

Executive Director

Chairman, Executive Committee

Chairman, Finance Committee James H. Post

Director, Research Bureau

Homer Folks

Robert P. Lane

Neva R. Deardorff

Research Committee, 1935 Haven Emerson, chairman William A. Berridge F. Ernest Johnson Bailey B. Burritt Maurice J. Karpf Robert E. Chaddock Willford I. King F. Stuart Chapin Philip Klein Stanley P. Davies Porter R. Lee Godias J. Drolet Harry L. Lurie Louis I. Dublin Rev. Bryan J. McEntegart Homer Folks E. B. Patton C. Luther Fry Stuart A. Rice Meredith B. Givens Charles H. Sears Ralph G. Hurlin Arthur L. Swift, Jr. Special Committee in Charge of the Study of Settlements Louis I. Dublin F. Ernest Johnson John L. Elliott Rev. Edward Roberts Moore Grace Gosselin Mary Kingsbury Simkhovitch Lillian D. Wald

EDITOR'S FOREWORD The study that follows was undertaken by the Research Bureau of the Welfare Council of New York City at the request of the United Neighborhood Houses and was carried through under the general guidance of a joint committee of the United Neighborhood Houses and the Council. The names of the members of that committee appear on the roster with those of the officers of the Welfare Council. The study was intended as an inventory of the services rendered by the body of settlements in the city, an appraisal of the quality of work done by the houses, and an examination of their general administrative organization. The five chapters that were preprinted have been in circulation since 1930-31. Music in ThirtyEight Settlements in New York City appeared in March, 1930; The Visual Arts in New York Settlements, February, 1931; Boys' Athletics in Thirty-Three Settlements in the City of New York, March, 1931; Preschool Education in New York Settlements, May, 1931; Clubs in Forty-Eight Settlements in the City of New York, June, 1931. All of the rest of the book has been in mimeographed form since 1931 and has been available to and consulted by many people. The actual printing has been delayed through the desire to include a section on the less tangible civic services of settlements by Mr. Albert J. Kennedy who has been at work on it since that time. The section grew to such proportions that it seemed wiser to leave it for a separate volume and to print this one without further delay. Owing to the circumstances under which the report has been printed and issued, complete consistency in typography has not been possible. As a final process of editing all of the more important specific statements of fact have been checked and when found to be no longer accurate, have been revised for this printing. The chapters of this study carry their individual authorship so that responsibility for the various parts of the study is definitely fixed. It should, however, be added that the staff on the study owes much to the generous assistance given by the joint committee, by the Research Committee of the Welfare Council, and bv the staff

Vlll

EDITOR'S

FOREWORD

members of the United Neighborhood Houses and of the settlements themselves. This study was made possible through generous grants of funds by the Rockefeller Foundation and the Commonwealth Fund to the Welfare Council's Research Bureau. NEVA R . DEARDORFF

Director, Research Bureau New York December 15, 1934

CONTENTS 1. A n I n v e n t o r y , by Kathryn Farra . . . . Number, location, dates of organization and affiliations of settlements studied; Activities; Membership; Personnel; Current expenditures

3

2. Girls' C l u b s and B o y s ' Clubs, b y Louise P. Blackham and Kathryn Farra . . 4 1 Origin, organization, membership and age of clubs; Leadership of clubs; Internal organization of clubs— Procedure for admitting members—Officers—Committees; Club programs; Social and ethical codes of clubs; Club achievements; Summary and conclusions 3. W o m e n ' s Clubs, by Kathryn Farra Duration, size, and membership of clubs; Programs and activities; Organization and promotion of clubs; Members' valuation of clubs; Summary and conclusions 4. Boys' A t h l e t i c s in T h i r t y - T h r e e Settlements, by Anne E. Geddes Inventory, enrollment, facilities, staff, athletic leagues and associations; The program; Facilities: gymnasia, auxiliary quarters, equipment and apparatus, outdoor athletic fields; Problems related to the administration of the program; Summary and conclusions 5. T h e Visual Arts in T w e n t y - E i g h t S e t t l e m e n t s , by Albert J. Kennedy Aesthetic standards in relation to policy, organization, administration and plant; Inventory: pupils, teachers, arts and crafts offered; Organization of arts and crafts under professional standards; Organization of arts and crafts under the educational-recreational motive; Development in visual arts, 1928-30; Summary and conclusions

106

139

179

X

CONTENTS

6. Music in Thirty-Eight Settlements, by Frances McElwee McFarland

237

Inventory of activities and equipment; Stage of development and quality of music in each of the thirtyeight settlements studied; Questions suggested by the inquiry; Summary and conclusions

7. The Teaching of English and Citizenship to the Foreign Born in Twenty Settlements, by Winifred Fisher and Kathryn Farra

284

Make-up and organization of classes; Class instruction; Coordination with other settlement activities; Qualifications of teachers; Summary and conclusions

8. Preschool Education in Eleven Settlements, by Mary M. Reed and E. Mac Raymond

304

Curriculum; Plant; Staff; Summary and conclusions

9. Personal Service in Forty-Two Settlements, by Esther Midler and Kathryn Farra .

343

Special records of personal service; Organization and administration of personal service; Relation of personal service to community programs; Summary and conclusions

10. Health Work in Thirty Settlements, by Louise P. Brown, M.D

375

Clinic services; Medical examinations of special groups; Other health services; Policies and problems of Administration; Summary and conclusions

11. Settlement Publications, by Louis Resnick Physical make-up; Subject conclusions

matter;

Summary

411 and

12. In-Town Summer Programs of Forty-One Settlements, by Kathryn Farra and Anne E. Geddes C a m p preparations; Day outings; Playgrounds; Playschools; Miscellaneous summer activities; Cooperating agencies; Summary and conclusions

422

CONTENTS

13. M e m b e r s h i p of Eighteen Settlements, by Kathryn Farra Character of settlement memberships; Summary and conclusions 14. Organization and Administration, by Kathryn Farra Boards of directors; Settlement staffs; Personnel policies; Programs and program making; House policies; Plant; Records; Accounting; Summary and conclusions

xi

446

486

Appendices (listed on page xiii) Index

583

APPENDICES A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. I. J. K. L.

M. N. O. P. Q. R. S. T. U.

Population and births, Lower East Side . . . . Settlement clubs studied Membership of girls' clubs and boys' clubs Settlements conducting boys' athletics (not included in sample) Enrollment of boys and men in athletic activities in 33 settlements A graded athletics program Health rules Labor laws applicable to settlements Dangers of pottery work and precautions to be taken, by Alice Hamilton, M.D Thirty-six class sessions visited Twenty-seven classes conducted in 1929-30, not studied . Personal service Houses in which studied ; Houses in which conducted but not studied; Number of records furnished by each house; Workers supplying records and number of records furnished Typical requests of 315 persons applying to 30 settlements in two weeks Analysis of applications for service Settlements included in the health study . . . . Settlements carrying on a health program not included in the study Health services in five settlement neighborhoods Forty-one settlements surveyed Analysis of sixty activities of children . Residence of settlement members Houses included in study of organization, house policies and personnel policies of settlements . . . .

533 535 539 546 547 548 552 553 555 560 561 562

564 567 569 570 571 576 578 580 581

ILLUSTRATIONS Rambler Club—Stryker's Lane Community Center 74 The Amigoes—Alfred Corning Clark Neighborhood House 78 Young Men's Club—Central Presbyterian Church Neighborhood House 81 House Council of Hudson Guild 88 Chorus of Mothers' Clubs—Council House . . . . 107 Mothers' Club—Stuyvesant Neighborhood House . .114 Mothers' Club—Prescott House 126 Lenox Hill Boxers 153 Life-Saving—Flatbush Boys' Club 156 A Pyramid—Bowling Green Neighborhood Association . 159 Children's House—Lenox Hill Neighborhood Association 183 Christodora House 184 Poets' Guild Room—Christodora House 185 Entrance Hall—Christodora House 185 Club Rooms—University Settlement 187 In the workshop—Greenwich House 197 Woodcarving—Greenwich House 199 Lenox Hill embroideries 200 Lenox Hill embroideries 201 Drawing—Educational Alliance Art School .211 Pottery studio—Henry Street Settlement 216 Adult pottery class—Greenwich House 217 218 Pottery made for J. P. Morgan—Greenwich House Woodwork—Lenox Hill Neighborhood Association . 220 Sewing—Lenox Hill Neighborhood Association 224 Greenwich House workshop 234 Reading room for music students in the new Christodora House 244 Brothers—Student-teacher and pupil of the Greenwich House Music School 257 Junior Trio—Music School Settlement 259 The first quartette 261 The first sonata 261 Office secretary registers young musicians—Neighborhood Music School 266 Examination at Board of Health Clinic—Alfred Corning Clark Neighborhood House 309 2

XVI

ILLUSTRATIONS

Rest out-of-doors—Bowling Green Neighborhood Association Lenox Hill Neighborhood Association Kindergarten for Chinese children—Church of all Nations Roof Play—Greenwich House Mothers and children of Stuyvesant House at overnight camp Children at play—Union Settlement

315 320 333 334 430 439

TABLES TEXT

1. The activities of 80 settlements in the City of New York . 2. Activities of 80 settlements (arranged in order of frequency of inclusion in settlement programs) . . . . 3. Full-time paid professional staff of 74 settlements 4. Part-time paid professional staff of 74 settlements 5. Total full-time and part-time paid professional staff of 74 settlements 6. Volunteer workers of 64 settlements 7. Paid and volunteer workers of 74 settlements . . . 8. Current expenditures of 78 settlements, 1929 . . . 9. Current expenditures of 35 settlements for camp operation, 1929 10. Number and type of all settlement clubs and of clubs studied 11. Number of years clubs have been organized . . . 12. Status in autumn, 1929, of clubs studied in spring, 1928 . 13. Age of 56 clubs disbanded 14. Classification of club leaders as paid or volunteer 15. Age of club leaders 16. Extent of formal education of 171 leaders of clubs . 17. Status of leadership of 166 clubs in the autumn of 1929 . 18. Length of service of leaders of settlement clubs 19. Visits to club members 20. Committees within girls' and boys' clubs . . . . 21. Comparison of attendance of members during the months of November and February 22. Number and per cent of new members enrolled in settlement clubs 23. Practices with regard to parliamentary procedure and keeping of minutes 24. Weekly dues of girls' and boys' clubs . . . . 25. Features of club programs, listed in order of frequency 26. Number of different types of activity included in programs of clubs 27. Clubs rendering service or giving money, or both 28. Number of years 56 women's clubs have been organized .

6 8 33 34 35 36 36 38 39 42 47 49 49 51 54 54 57 59 60 62 63 64 66 69 70 72 82 108

XV111

TABLES

29. Number of members enrolled in 59 women's clubs 30. Affiliation of 31 settlements with athletic leagues and associations 31. Types of athletic activities in programs of 33 settlements . 32. M a j o r and minor athletic activities participated in by 33 settlements 33. Grading on five points involving aesthetics in 28 settlements 34. Arts and crafts activities in 28 settlements studied . 35. Arts and crafts activities in 31 settlements inventoried but not studied 36. Ranking of motives in arts and crafts . . . . 37. Music activities of 38 settlements studied 38. Organized music activities of 16 settlements inventoried b u t not studied

39. Expenditures and receipts per pupil for 6 music schools and departments, 1923-26 40. Sex, residence and affiliation with settlement of 31.5 applicants for personal service to 30 settlements during two weeks 41. Types of problems presented by 315 applicants 42. Source of settlements' information regarding needs of 315 applicants 43. Disposition of 315 applicants for service . . . . 44. Education, special training, experience and salaries of 15 personal service workers 45. Amounts spent for relief by 29 settlements in 1926 . 46. Organized health activities in 30 settlements 47. Clinics operated and special examinations provided by the 30 settlements studied 48. Clinics operated and special examinations provided by 26 settlements not studied 49. In-town summer activities of 31 settlements, Lower East Side 50. Members of 18 settlements classified by sex 51. Members of 16 settlements classified by age and sex . 52. Members of 16 settlements, with per cent distribution by age 53. Members per family in 18 settlements . . . 54. Families classified according to settlement members per family, with per cent distribution . . . .

109 143 144 145 190 192 194 203 240 241

270

345 345 349 350 361 363 376 377 378 423 448 449 451 454 455

TABLES

55. Family relationship of members of 16 settlements 56. Members of 8 settlements classified as to cultural backgrounds ' 57. Members of 12 settlements classified by distance between settlement and place of residence 58. Members of 8 settlements classified as old or new with per cent distribution

xix

458 460 464 481

APPENDICES

1. Population and density of population—Manhattan, "Lower East Side"—each sanitary district, 1905, 1910, 1915, 1920, 1925 and 1930 2. Births—Manhattan, "Lower East Side*'—1916-1930 . 3. Number of members enrolled in settlement clubs 4. Range in age of club members 5. School enrollment and employment of members 6. Nationality background of club members . . . . 7. Clearance and non-clearance with Social Service Exchange of 315 applications classified by type of service 8. Two hundred and six applications not cleared with Social Service Exchange classified by type of service given 9. Ninety-five applications from persons not affiliated with the settlements classified by residence of applicants and type of service given 10. Members of 12 settlements classified by distance between settlement and place of residence

533 534 540 541 542 544 567 567

568 580

CHARTS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Membership of settlement clubs by age groups Number of years clubs have been organized . . . Club leaders—paid and volunteer Formal education of 173 club leaders . . . . Features of club programs Major and minor activities in programs of 33 settlements . Age and sex of members of 16 settlements . . . . Membership of 17 settlements according to number of families represented 9. Cultural background of 6,450 members of 18 settlements .

46 48 52 55 71 148 455 457 462

SOCIAL S E T T L E M E N T S

IN N E W YORK

Their Activities, Policies, and

Administration

CITY

C H A P T E R

AN

1

INVENTORY

B y KATHRYN FARRA

N U M B E R , LOCATION, D A T E S OF ORGANIZATION AND A F F I L I A T I O N S OF S E T T L E M E N T S S T U D I E D

Definition of the Term "Settlement" The social settlement has been variously defined. Mary Kingsbury Simkhovitch, in answer to the question, "What is a settlement house?" says: 1 " T h e aim of the settlement or neighborhood house is to bring about a new kind of community life. It is the home of friendly neighbors, and a center of information, organization and service. "The settlement should know its own neighborhood, its housing, health, recreation, industries, family and social life, political and religious associations. It should also be the center through which can flow to the neighborhood the cultural life from outside the neighborhood. "The house should organize the interests of the neighborhood, social, cultural, artistic and intellectual, in order that they may be strengthened through group development. "The house should render services to families, individuals and to the neighborhood, cooperating with all helpful agencies. "The house should be the center where the neighborhood can find its own self-expression in thought and action." The definition which determined inclusion or exclusion in the Handbook of Settlements, issued in 1911, reads as follows:2 "The typical settlement, under American conditions, is one which provides neutral territory traversing all the lines of racial and religious cleavage. The house which is wholly non-sectarian not only from the point of view of its staff, but as judged by the various elements in its neighborhood, represents the main action of the kind of social enterprise here set forth. Nevertheless, it is clear that there is a considerable number of houses having a high degree of settlement spirit while including some of the functions distinctive of a particular smaller or larger division of the church. Where such specific religious effort is conducted without willing or conscious 1 Simkhovitch, M a r y Kingsbury, The Settlement Primer, Boston, N a t i o n a l Federation of Settlements, 1926, p. 9. ; Woods, Robert A., a n d Kennedy, Albert J., Handbook of Settlements, New York Charities Publication Committee, Russell Sage Foundation, 1911, p. v.

4

AN

INVENTORY

invasion of other religious loyalties, it has not been construed as carrying the house in question beyond the distinctive limits of the settlement field." For the purposes of this study we have regarded social, educational and recreational centers, regardless of their affiliations, as settlements if they are philanthropically maintained for the people of a neighborhood— "men, women and children, taken in families as the Lord mixes t h e m , a n d are patronized by persons the majority of whom, at least, live in the immediate vicinity. Boys' clubs, day nurseries, health centers, Hebrew schools, parish houses and coordinating agencies are excluded, as are agencies that are maintained largely for the well-to-do. A few of the settlement music schools, although not social settlements in the strictest sense, have been included because they are closely allied in origin and interests with the settlements and, generally speaking, arc patronized by similar groups. Settlements are primarily neighborhood agencies serving the people who live in the immediate neighborhood. From the analysis of the memberships of eighteen settlements, made in the course of this study and described in full in another section of the report, it is evident that even in those settlements which have a large number of members living at a considerable distance from the house, the proportion of these members to the total membership is small.2 This is readily understood in view of the fact that young children and adolescents constitute the two largest groups taking advantage of settlement opportunities. Organizations Included in the Survey Eighty centers of settlement activity have been included in this survey. 3 There may be a few other organizations which might be classified as settlements or neighborhood houses—terms which are used interchangeably throughout the report. The work of all agencies listed in the settlement section of the Directory of Social Agencies has been examined, with the exception of community centers conducted in public schools.4 1 Addams, Jane, Philanthropy and Social Progress, New York, Thomas Y. Crowell and Company, 1892, p. 32. ' T h e Welfare Council's study of 1766 applicants to selected agencies duiing one week showed that the first agency to which a person in difficulty turns is one near his residence, usually not more than ten or twelve blocks distant. See Farra, Kathryn, Where to Turn for Help, New York, Welfare Council, 1928, p. 22. 3 See the maps, pp. 582-86. 4 Directory of Social Agencies of the City of New York, Charity Organization Society, 1927-28.

AN

INVENTORY

5

Certain facts have been collected regarding every settlement: the number and type of activities, the number of paid and volunteer workers, and its income and expenditures from 1910 to 1929. 1 In the qualitative studies of the different features of settlement work certain houses believed to be representative were selected for study. Each settlement has been examined in several aspects of its work, but none in all. Location of Settlements The study covers 80 settlements. When the survey was inaugurated, in the fall and winter of 1927-28, these were distributed as follows: 63 in Manhattan, of which 31 were in the Lower East Side; 2 in the Bronx; 15 in Brooklyn and none in the boroughs of Richmond and Queens. During the progress of the study 8 settlements were discontinued; 4 of these were in the Lower East Side; one settlement in this section moved to the Bronx, so that the count at present (1931) is as follows: Manhattan, 55, of which 27 are in the Lower East Side; Bronx, 3, including the newly established Crotona Community Club; 2 Brooklyn, 15; a total of 73.3 A glance at the map shows that in certain sections the settlements are clustered. This is particularly true in the Lower East Side where the congestion of population led to the massing of agencies. According to the Federal census of 1910 this area was then occupied by approximately 628,000 persons, or 406 persons per acre, and 12 of its 35 sanitary districts contained more than 500 persons per acre. !n 1930 not a single sanitary district had 500 occupants; the total population of the area had declined more than 100 per cent to 297,000 persons, or 192 persons per acre. 4 When the study began there were 8 other organizations doing neighborhood work within a quarter mile radius of University 1 T h e facts on income and expenditures were obtained in connection with the Welfare Council's Study of Financial Trends in Organized Social Work in New York City. 2 This house has not been studied. 3 Since the study was inaugurated a number of changes have taken place: College Settlement has discontinued settlement work. Its building is now occupied by Recreation Rooms and Settlement, whose previous site was in the path of the widening of Chrystie Street. Disciples Community House, People's Home Church and Settlement and Sutton Place House have gone out of existence. Henry Meinhard Memorial Neighborhood House, Emanuel Sisterhood, Houston House and St. Clare's Mission Settlement have given up settlement work. T h e Sisterhood of the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue has moved from Eldridge Street to Stanton Street. Council House has moved from 74 St. M a r k s Place to 1122 Forest Avenue, Bronx. Stuyvesant House has transferred some of its activities to the building formerly occupied by Council House. Crotona Community Club has been established in the Bronx. 1

See Appendix A.

6

AN

INVENTORY

Settlement, the first settlement in America. Three of these were affiliated with Protestant denominations, 2 with the Jewish Federation, 1 was under Catholic auspices and 2 were non-sectarian agencies. Extension of this radius to half a mile brought the number of agencies up to 27. There are 2 Protestant centers, 1 Catholic house and 2 nonsectarian settlements in an area of eleven blocks between East Broadway and the East River west of the Manhattan Bridge. From 101st to 107th Streets, between Park and Second Avenues, there are a Catholic settlement, a music school, 2 non-sectarian settlements, and 1 supported by the Jewish Federation. Of Brooklyn's 15 settlements, 10 are within a one-mile radius of Borough Hall, which encompasses parts of the Navy Yard, Fort Greene and Red Hook districts. Both in Manhattan and in Brooklyn the sections where the settlements are concentrated are the sections where the population is declining. T h e implications for the settlements in a condition of rapidly shifting population such as that noted in many settlement neighborhoods have not been explored by anyone either in New York or elsewhere. For the settlements attached to special nationality and religious groups the problem is one of following a clientele. For the nonsectarian settlements it is that of adapting their programs to the needs and attitudes of their changing neighborhoods. As population shifts become accelerated, as they do in neighborhoods where property is allowed to deteriorate, the period of possible contact with children and families is so reduced that many settlement activities, if they are to be of any use, must be such as are not dependent for their value upon long time association. A classification of the members of Hamilton House, Union Settlement, Neighborhood House of Central Presbyterian Church, East Side House and Henry Meinhard Memorial Neighborhood House showed that in 1927-28, 23 per cent, 43 per cent, 46 per cent, 49 per cent and 60 per cent of the total memberships, respectively, were enrolled for the first time in those settlements during the season. Analysis of the 1927-28 enrollments of 5 houses showed that of the previous year's enrollment, the percentage retained in the current enrollment varied from 29 to 60 per cent. 1 1 T h e percentage of previous year's enrollment retained in the 1927-28 ment for each of the 5 houses is as follows: Central Presbyterian Church borhood House, 53 per cent; Church of All Nations, 67 per cent; East Side 48 per cent; Henry Meinhard Memorial Neighborhood House, 29 per cent; Settlement, 60 per cent.

enrollNeighHouse, Union

TABLE 1.—THE ACTIVITIES OF 80 SETTLE The Activities Carried on by Each I

Club

Personal service

Health work

X X X X X

X X X X X

X X X X X

X X

X X X X X

X X X X X

X X X X X

X X X X X

X X X

X

X X X X X

X X X X X

X

X X X

X X X

X X X

X X

X

X

X

X

X X X X X

X X X X X

X X X

X X X X X

X X X X

X X X

X X X X X

X X X X X

X X X X X

X X

Grosvenor Neighborhood House

X X X X X

X X

X X X X X

Henry Meinhard Memorial Neighborhood House

X X X X X

X X X X X

X

X X X X X

X X X X X

X X X X

Jewish Center of the East Side

X X X X X

X X X X X

X X X X X

X X X X X

Settlements

Manhattan and Bronx Settlements Alfred Corning Clark Neighborhood House Beth El Sisterhood Bowling Green Neighborhood Association

Central Presbyterian Church Neighborhood House

Church of All Nations

Disciples Community House

Emanuel Sisterhood of Personal Service

Grace Chapel Grand Street Settlement

X X

X

X X

Visual arts

X X

Music

X X X

Dancing classes

Social dances

Dramatics

X X X X

X X X X

X

X

X

X X X X X

X X

Festi- AthletGame vals ics room, Pia and and pag- sports social grou room eants

X X X X X

X X X

X

X X

X X

X X

X X

X X

X X

X

X

X X X X X

X X X

X X

X X

X X X

X

X

X

X X X X

X X X X X

X X X

X X X X X

X X X X X

X X X X X

X X

X

X X

X X

X X

X X X

X X X X

X X X

X

X

X

X

X

X X X

X X X X X

X X X X

X X X

X X X X

X

X X

X X X X X

X

X X X

X

X X X X

X X X X X

X X

X

X X

X X X

;TTLEMENTS IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK Each House Are Indicated by " X . " ime jm, Play'¡al grounds un

V X X

Winter outNature Story ings study telling and trips

X X

X X X

X X

X

t




X X X

X X X X X

X X X

X X X

X X X X X X X

X X X

X

X X

X

X

X

X X X X X

X X X X X

X

X

X X X X X

X X X X

X X

X X

X X X X

X X X

X X X

X X

X

X

X

X X X X

X X X X X

X

X

X

X

X X X X

X X

X

c

c

X X X X

X X X X X

X X X X

X

X

r~

X X

X

i

—

X X

X

V

•/••/// i3 CLUBS •;•; ' / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / • y »

GIRLS' BOYS'

CLUBS CLUBS

3E

2

< H

C/Ï a?

U"c

3

-

V

25.4

o X a si 10.2 10.3

10.2

^ H N i1 ^ H I© I^HTt^

13.3 15.9

8.5

1

- -

7."

É*

CS

Sol 16.9

16.3 15.9

Per cent

Per Num- Per Num- Per Num- Per cent ber cent ber cent ber cent OC

O U~4 COO

o

JO

rt v

•

0.9

0.6

1.7

0.6

Per Num- Per cent ber cent

21 years and over

-

27.1

u,

11 years and less than 21

Id >

18.7 15.0

v>

30.1 31.8

at o

a u

« 0. « c H z u a < j

z OaJ

3

"8 uo kec < a Ou « O H O

Vc C ^u o4»

¡-

rSM . aC >» i M

W 0¿ a.« E H

U < OC

N CM

©s 00 f)

IO «O IH H

CS

ft 4) f>

o


.0 > ¡ Ï J S » ïu I £ g 3 U-g o'SSSísS-SS. 2cï ,ï icii c l a C ' O i i i ï KSK-"-31 ".--•sg a. /; c/: D D

2

BOYS'

ATHLETICS

145

settlements and boys' clubs, is by far the most important of these organizations, so far as the settlements are concerned. Three of the leagues organized on sectarian lines necessarily have a more limited constituency: the Metropolitan League is the local athletic organization of the Young Men's Hebrew Association; the New York Protestant Episcopal City Mission Society League is maintained for the benefit of agencies which come under the Society's jurisdiction; the Inter-Church League has a membership of Protestant church houses. The Boys' Club Federation and the Amateur Athletic Union, on the other hand, are national organizations which sponsor local contests. PROGRAM

Team games, combative sports, informal games, track events, swimming and gymnastics make up the athletic program of the settlements. The activities carried on in each of 33 houses studied are enumerated in Table 31, which also gives a composite picture of the program as a whole against which every settlement may measure the work of its own department.1 It will be observed that the number of types of activities carried on in each house is summarized as an index of the breadth of its program. The wide variations in the curricula of the different settlements are also to be noted. TABLE 32. —MAJOR

AND

MINOR ATHLETIC ACTIVITIES 3 3 SETTLEMENTS

PARTICIPATED

IN

BY

Number of houses participating in Activity Team games Basketball Indoor baseball Handball Volleyball Tennis Football Combative sports Boxing Wrestling Informal games Track* Swimming Gymnastics Calisthenics Apparatus work Tumbling Clog dancing

As major or minor activity

As major activity

33 32 25 23 3 1

33 18 3 4

26 12 20 20 19

5

13 10 8 ^

I

As minor activity

14 22 19 3 1 21 12 20 20 18 13 10 8 5

The list of activities is based on statements made by headworkers, athletic directors and other members of settlement staffs. - Includes broad jump, high jump, dash, shot put, relays. 1

146

BOYS'

ATHLETICS

On the basis of their program development, the houses have been divided into three groups. In the first group are three houses limiting their programs to one or two types of activity, almost exclusively to basketball. GROUP I

Five Points Mission God's Providence House Grand Street Settlement In the second group are 17 settlements with moderately welldeveloped programs, each carrying on three or four of the six types of activities enumerated above. GROUP I I

Church of All Nations College Settlement Educational Alliance Emmanuel House Florence Baker House Greenwich House Haarlem House Henry Meinhard Memorial Neighborhood House Jacob A. Riis Neighborhood House Judson Memorial Neighborhood House Little Italy Neighborhood Association Madison House Society New York University Community Center Presbyterian Labor Temple Stryker's Lane Community Center Union Settlement University Settlement The third group is made up of 13 houses carrying on a full program consisting of five or all six types of activity. GROUP I I I

Alfred Corning Clark Neighborhood House Beth El Sisterhood Bowling Green Neighborhood Association Christ Church House Federation Settlement Hartley House Hebrew Educational Society Henry Street Settlement Houston House Hudson Guild Lenox Hill Neighborhood Association Recreation Rooms and Settlement Stuyvesant Neighborhood House

BOYS'

ATHLETICS

147

The reader should bear in mind that while this grouping is based on the breadth of the program, the houses in each class are not necessarily on a parity so far as the quality of their work is concerned. In many cases there does not seem to be a very direct relationship between facilities on the one hand, and the extensiveness of the program on the other. Some settlements with limited resources have managed to achieve a high degree of program development. Other settlements which are well equipped have disappointingly meager programs for lack of able direction. In a few instances where a very elaborate program has been set up the necessary direction has not been provided, with the result that the work is thin. Other houses, unable to support a large staff, have wisely limited their choice of activities, developing intensively those carried on. Obviously not all the athletic activities which make up the program are given equal attention. In order to get a check on the relative importance of each activity and to determine how well balanced the program is in emphasis as well as range, the athletic director in each settlement was asked to designate the major and minor activities in his house, that is, those on which the greatest amount of time and energy were expended, and those which were relatively unimportant. The rankings given to each activity are indicated in Table 32 and are also presented graphically in the accompanying chart. A glance at the chart shows the unquestioned popularity of team games and of basketball in particular. Next in rank comes boxing. The other activities are of minor importance. Many, as will be shown later, are carried on for such a short season or so intermittently that they do not materially enrich the program. Team games are particularly well adapted to the conditions of budget, staff and facilities under which the settlements are operating. Since the public schools provide a more formal type of physical training, it is entirely fitting and indeed desirable that the settlements should carry on an informal game program. Even in the days when formal gymnastics were in vogue among other agencies dealing with boys, the settlements recognized the superior educational and social values of play activities. The Carnegie Corporation, commenting upon the value of team games, says: "The team system as an instrument of education utilizes the gregarious instinct which begins to awaken in children around the age of ten and, as adolescence supervenes, develops for good or ill into one of the chief springs of conduct and.character. The develop-

i48

BOYS

ATHLETICS

MAJOR AND MINOR ACTIVITIES IN PROGRAMS OF 33 SETTLEMENTS CHART 6

NUMBER OK SETTLEMENTS

BASKET BALI. BASFBAl.L H \NI)BU.L IF \M GAMES < VOLLEYBALL TFNN'IS FOOT BALL

(BOXING COMBATIVI J si'om* i RKSI I

TR \( K

SWIMMING

'cALISTH I N ICS M'l'AI! \H> GYMNASTICS