A COURSE OF STUDY FOR HOME MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR A P roject Presented to the Faculty of the School of Education The U niversity of Southern C alifornia In P a rtia l F ulfillm ent of the Requirements fo r the Degree M aster of Science in Education fey Eldon L. B lodgett June 1950 UMI Number: EP46200 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. D.isswtafen FltfriiaMng UMI EP46200 Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 '<rt (3 (o aT & This project report, written under the direction of the candidate’s adviser and approved by him, has been presented to and accepted by the Faculty of the School of Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Education. Date.............jlyne.....195_0................. Adviser (R .'Z U s Dean ii COURSE OUTLINE PAGE PREFACE............................................................................ iv TOOL L IS T S ............................................................................... i i i CHAPTER PART I. PROBLEMS HOW TO SOLVE HOME MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR PROBLEMS. 1. REDECORATING: How to redecorate your home................... 2 2. FURNITURE: How to rep air and m aintain home f u r n itu r e ...................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 3* PLUMBING: How to make rep airs on home plumbing . . 19 4. ELECTRICITY: How to service home e le c trie a l equipment and w iring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 5. HEATING: How to m aintain home heating equipment . 34 6. DOORS: How to solve door p ro b le m s .................................. 41 7. WINDOWS: How to solve window p ro b le m s ........................ 47 i 8. FLOORS AND FLOOR COVERINGS: How to keep floors and flo o r coverings in good condition ................... 53 TO THE TEACHER PART II. PLANNING AND ORGANIZATION HOW TO ADAPT THIS COURSE TO YOUR SITUATION. 9* AIDS: How to se t up th is course for your students. 62 10. THE SCHOOL SHOP: How to se t up a school shop for th is course . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 11. THE HOME SHOP: How to se t up a student home rep air center ............................ 73 BIBLIOGRAPHY......................................................................... 82 iii TOOL LISTS LIST PAGE A. For the sm all home shop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 B. For the medium sized home s h o p ........................................... 79 C. For the complete home s h o p .............................................. 80 Iv PREFACE As a teacher of in d u stria l a rts you are aware of the in te re sts, needs, and a b ilitie s of your students. You want your shop courses to achieve ce rtain desirable behavior changes in th e ir d aily lif e . In form ulating the objectives or aims of your shop course you have found th a t the most effectiv e courses are those which have a close relatio n sh ip to the out-of-school or home a c tiv itie s . John Dewey says: . . . the d e sira b ility of sta rtin g from and w ith the experiences and capacities of the learn ers, . . . has led to the introduction of forms of a c tiv ity , sim ilar to those in which youth engage outside of school.*1 In teaching the youth of our country one of the most im portant aims must be to bring the school in closer contact w ith actual lif e situ a tio n s. To do th is there must be a d efin ite program w ithin the secondary school curriculum . The fundamental worth of such a program w ithin the areas of indus­ tr ia l arts is recognized by one of America's leading educators, John Dewey, who says; Study of mental lif e has made evident the fundamental worth of native tendencies to explore, to m anipulate tools and m aterials, to construct, e tc . When exercises which are promoted by these in stin c ts are a p a rt of the regular school program, the whole pupil is engaged, the a r tif ic ia l gap between lif e in school and out is reduced, motives are afforded fo r atten tio n to a large v ariety o f m aterials and processes d istin c tly educative in e ffe c t, and cooperative 1 John Dewey, Democracy and Education (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1916), p. 228. associations which give inform ation a so cial se ttin g are provided.2 One of the “seven aims of secondary education11 is "worthy home membership."3 You w ill find the home and fam ily a very im portant p art of your stu d en t’s lif e . The projects he makes in your shop w ill increase his statu s w ith h is par­ en ts, his frien d s, and his brothers and s is te rs . Edmonson, Roemer and Bacon, in th e ir book, The A dm inistration of the Modem Secondary School, point out, "The home has always been, and is s t i l l , the in stitu tio n to which school systems must 4 give f ir s t consideration." How can you, an in d u stria l a rts teacher, aid the high school student in becoming a more worth­ while member of his home? C ertainly a most valuable course would be one which would involve home improvement. You w ill find th is course has been designed to meet th is challenge. This course is divided in to two p a rts: (1) To pro­ vide many of the most im portant home maintenance and rep air problem s. I t is addressed to the student, as a model fo r the teacher to use in presenting the course* (2) To give d e fin ite d irectio n s to help the teacher in the planning and preparation fo r the courses. The f ir s t of these functions 2 Ib id . . p. 228. _ J. B. Edmonson, Joseph Roemer, and Francis L. Bacon, The Modern Secondary School (New Yorks The Macmillan Company, 194-8), p. 30 (quoting C ardinal P rinciples of Secondary Education. U. S. Bureau of Education B u lletin , 1918, No. 35). 4 Ib id ., P. 28. would require several volumes to give adequate d irectio n s for solving a ll the problems of home maintenance and re p a ir. Therefore, a selected l i s t of references have been included to give ad d itio n al help and d irectio n . The second function, likew ise, could not be accomplished in three chapters. But, again, i t is hoped th a t the references to other sources w ill make possible clear insig h ts in to d e ta ils which th is course is forced to om it. You w ill find th is course based on the functional philosophy of education, which is "train in g fo r the moment in such a way th a t the future w ill be able to take b etter cr care of its e lf ." The content has been selected for its value to the "g reatest number" of youth attending our high schools, and fo r its so cial value. Claude C. Crawford says, We.are concerned not only w ith the le a rn e r's wants but w ith the wants o f the whole group called so ciety . . . . Value depends upon the common good, public w elfare, the’ ... g reatest good to the g reatest number, or the benefit to a ll so c ie ty .6 With th is in mind you w ill do w ell to look a t th is course not only as learning how to do something but the way in which these a c tiv itie s can actu ally be of so cial value. Bringing the home in closer contact w ith your in d u stria l a rts shop ac­ tiv itie s w ill mean a more effectiv e educational program. Claude C. Crawford, Functional Education (Los Angeles C. C . Crawford, 1949), p. 7- ^ Ib id .. pp. 13 and 14. 1 PART I . PROBLEBE HOW TO SOLVE THE PROBLEBE The home you liv e in may cause people to judge the kind of person you are. What do your frien d s, neighbors, or re la tiv e s think of you and your home? A w ell kept home o ffers many rewards to the persons who are w illin g to spend a l i t t l e spare time in maintenance and re p a ir. If you lik e to work w ith to ols and enjoy nice looking and e ffic ie n tly working home surroundings, then s ta rt now to m aster the techniques presented in the next eight chapters. The essence of good home maintenance and rep air lie s in these eight ch ap ters. 2 CHAPTER 1. REDECORATING HOW TO REDECORATE YOUR HOME A. MOTIVATIONS B enefits th a t may re su lt from learning how to do your own redecorating, 1* PROFITS: A w ell painted house w ill have a greater sale value. 2. STYLE: You can keep your house up -to-d ate. 3. LASTING PROTECTION: A w ell painted house w ill prevent d eterio ratio n . 4. PRAISE: You w ill be complimented because your house looks cheerful, and new. B. PRESENTATION: Suggestions th a t w ill help you redecorate your house. 1. CHOICE: How to choose a good color scheme. a. Check the layout of each room carefu lly before you plan to p ain t. (1) I f the room faces north, use a shade which w ill make up fo r the lack of sunshine, such as co ral, pink, cream, or prim rose yellow . (2) If the room faces south use colo rs, such as pale green, pale blue, or gray. b. Ask a re lia b le p ain t dealer fo r a color chart and advice on the best type of p ain t. c. Avoid buying cheap p a in t.