The Story of Edward Lee McClain High School: An Oral History

Introduction

• Edward Lee McClain High School
• Greenfield, Ohio
• ELMHS was built in 1915 as a gift from Edward Lee McClain and his wife, Lulu, to the citizens of the community of Greenfield. The school was built using Progressive Era Values and filled with hundreds of pieces of art, both original and reproductions. The school has been in continual use since 1915 and still is today.

Problem Statement:

• The oral history will focus on the alumni and the effects of their education in both time and place. It will also explore the alumni experiences with the traditions and the physical space of the building.
• While there is much literature concerning the Progressive Era and John Dewey, little to nothing has been written concerning the building and alumni of ELMHS

Literature Review

Research Methods

Chapter 3

Committee Members

John Dewey and Progressive Education

• Focus on educating the whole child
• Learning through doing and within experiences
• Curriculum of the classics and the "trades" were taught naturally and together
• Deep connection between school and community
• Designed schools using these theories
• Criticisms- left out the poor, useless in the "real world", "dumbing down" of the curriculum

Community and Society

• With community comes culture, and with cultures come traditions that are passed down through generations
• Community has interaction- "shared action", "like minded", and "attach meaning to things" (Campbell, 1998, p. 34)
• Appalachian communities love "the old ways" of doing things and passing traditions down
• Folkschools- Hindman Settlement School, Foxfire, Arthurdale Community School
• Communities and schools working together to solve problems
• "Habitus"- a person's behavior based on their environment

Research Questions

L. Eric Lassiter, Ph.D.

Elizabeth Campbell, Ph.D.

Linda Spatig, Ph.D

Aritij Sen, Ph.D.

• Interview alumni of Edward Lee McClain High School to record their oral histories
• Review personal documents, official documents, and photography
• Use fieldnotes from Centennial Celebration
• Analyze data

• How do former students at ELMHS perceive their experience with the school? And how does this experience shape the school's overall story?
• How do former students at ELMHS understand the role of the community in the school's traditions and unique physical environment?
• How has the school's traditions and unique physical environment affected former students and their lives both past and present?
• How does Edward Lee and Lulu's vision, along with the argument of the artists and the art in the building, articulate Progressive Era values? How are these values negotiated through time in the school's constructed space? And in the student experience?

Literature Review (cont.)

Architecture and Environment

• Learning space has as much importance as curriculum
• Architecture is used to make buildings "look" educational
• One-room and small schools united communities
• Consolidation and larger schools disconnected communities
• Student success is not only dependent on environment-there are a number of factors
• Some critics believe that physical environment and esthetic value have no affect on students
• Vernacular architecture and its role in society

Art, Culture and Environment

• Dewey believed art should be used for "everyday enjoyment" and not in a museum
• Art is an experience-both physical and mental
• The environment speaks to a person's emotions

Chapter 1

Significance of the Study

Chapter 2

The Story of Edward Lee McClain High School: An Oral History of a School's Role in the Culture of the Community

• Contribute to existing knowledge base
• Examine how the experiences at ELMHS affected the lives of students
• Add to the genre of untold stories of small, rural Appalachian schools with unique stories
• Give a voice to past generations
• Inspire others to save buildings in their communities

Legacy and Tradition

Reflections and Further Research

• Edward Lee McClain's biography
• Lulu McClain's biography
• The Gift of the building
• Key Stakeholders
• Dr. F. B. Dressler
• F. R. Harris
• William Ittner
• Edward Lee McClain

Oral Histories

The Gift of Art

• Research questions answered:
• 1. Participants said their experience at ELMHS gave them opportunities and changed their lives. Their time there taught them to work hard and give back. Their experiences shape the overall story because theirs IS the story of ELMHS. There are struggles in the community that affect the school, however.
• 2. Participants said that the school and community are tethered. This was McClain's plan from the start. Letters revealed the public's use of the building from its opening and continues today with activities as well.

Achievement--live in deeds, not years

Opportunity--act in the living present

Purpose, Courage, Duty, Work

• Building opened with no art
• McClain consulted Curtis and Cameron and Theodore Dillaway
• Prints and paintings for the classrooms and hallways
• Teacher guides provided to include in curriculum
• McClain wanted to surround the students with beauty but it also served a deeper purpose (Progressive thinking)

McClain's Murals

• Vesper Lincoln George
• Lulu's gift to the school (Blake, 1932)
• Picture Study Movement
• "The Pageant of Prosperity" 1918
• "Apotheosis of Youth" 1919
• "The Melting Pot" 1920
• Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
• The General Immigration Act 1882
• The Geary Act of 1892
• "Scum of the Earth"

Achievements and Opportunity

• 3. Participants said that the traditions passed down through generations and the respect and values they held dear were all simply understood by all alumni although all felt they did not truly appreciate it while they were students. All spoke of gratitude to McClain, the education and their experiences there. With further research, negative experiences may surface.
• 4. Participants told me that while they appreciated the artwork and the building, most did not recognize the Progressive Era values the school was built on. The McClains chose art that exhibited these values.

Chapter 4

• Kristen White (2008)-diverse opportunities at ELMHS led to achievements
• Javier Saiz Sanchez (1993)- experiences and opportunities changed his life
• Danny Long (1964)- opportunity for all (story of Athena and the African-American citizens of Greenfield)
• Thelma Coffey (1938)- opportunity for any student to take any course they wished to
• Elizabeth Cockerill (2002)- opportunity provided by Wilfred Konneker

Chapter 5

Art as Curriculum

Chapter 6

Purpose, Courage, Duty, Work

• Art is thing that connects all human beings (Dewey, 1934)
• Industrial Revolution caused art to be seen as worthless and this continues today in education with standardized testing.
• Eupheus Techne- the pursuit of knowledge/skill through art (further research)
• Shirley Brice Heath (1998) studied the effect of the arts with other learning. I would like to explore this further.
• Is the art the thing that sets apart the graduates of ELMHS? Are the alumni of this particular school more successful than others in a similar region and demographic? Could this success be duplicated in other schools? What can schools do to save or even start the arts curriculum? How can art as curriculum contribute to student learning and even enhance it?

• Kristen White (2008)- community supports and revolves around the school
• Ron Coffey (1967)- Appalachian culture meeting the needs of the community and the school
• Cathy Rivas (1972)- purpose of the artwork to inspire and used in curriculum
• Susan Long (1970)- progressive nature of the artwork
• Danny Long (1967)- courage and duty shown when The Ohio Facilities Commission wanted to tear down ELMHS (all alumni agreed)
• Brett Pulse (1982)- work ethic, values and morals learned at ELMHS

Important Points

1. The environment of ELMHS was important to the experience of learning.

2. Doing "the greater good" cannot be measured.

3. ELMHS and the community are intertwined.

4. The art in the building affected the alumni and they learned from it.

Dissertation Defense

Valerie Free Jones