RURAL YOUTH GUIDANCE INSTITUTE 1940 Preliminary Announcement

Pine Mountain Settlement School
Series 13: Education & Educational Programs
Series 21: Guidance Institute

1940 RURAL YOUTH GUIDANCE INSTITUTE Preliminary Announcement

TAGS: Rural Youth Guidance Institute Preliminary Announcement; Harlan County, Kentucky; Glyn Morris; Harlan County Superintendent of Schools; rural schools; educational guidance; James A. Cawood; O. Latham Hatcher; Alliance for Guidance of Rural Youth;

The preliminary announcement for the RURAL YOUTH GUIDANCE INSTITUTE announced the fourth annual week-long meeting of Harlan County teachers, parents, ministers, and other youth leaders from across the country. It was held at the Pine Mountain Settlement School where most of the earlier meetings had been located. The Alliance for Guidance of Rural Youth of Richmond, Virginia, sponsored the meeting.

Begun in 1935 when Pine Mountain Settlement School arranged for a week of a roundtable discussion with the workers at the School and the President of the Alliance for Guidance of Rural Youth, O. Latham Hatcher, as consultant, the seeds for these subsequent Institutes were sown. Hatcher, who had established a strong working relationship with Glyn Morris, the Director of Pine Mountain Settlement, became the “Technical Director” for the Institutes and her ideas may be found throughout the programming.

As the Institute expanded its scope and engagement with like-minded programs and individuals, the need for outside assistance was sought to keep the momentum and ideas flowing. In 1940 James A. Cawood, Superintendent of Schools for Harlan County became the co-director of the Institute with Glyn Morris and after Morris’s departure from the area, he maintained the Institute for many years. The combined efforts of Morris and Cawood may still be felt in educational programming throughout Harlan County. The Institute launched one of the most successful guidance programs in the country for rural youth and garnered a large following.

The 48-page FINDINGS bulletin, printed by Pine Mountain Settlement School students, details the planned program for the 1940 Guidance Institute [RYGI] and recognizes the local sponsors and the executive staff. and planning action.” It outlines the Agenda for the Institute and states the purpose of the Institute, “To help youth by getting light on their needs and resources.” It summarizes the key goals of the 1940 gathering and reviews the accomplishments of the previous year’s institute while outlining the actions planned for the 1940 meeting. A daily time-schedule is given for the August 25-31 Institute.

GALLERY – Preliminary Announcement